Goodbye cruise, hello February

Did you enjoy yourself? Was it a good cruise? What kind of questions are those? Posed by someone who hasn’t cruised for sure. We had a wonderful time on the Emerald Princess where our every wish was anticipated and granted. Details as follows:

Day 1 – Uneventful flight to Philadelphia (rocking chairs in the airport if you can believe it) and then on to Florida and milder temperatures. Over to Brazil, a café in a mall for a surprisingly good supper and across to the Bank Atlantic Center for the Bruins/Panthers game which runs to an overtime period and shootout. We have great seats (thanks to the shore captain) just five rows behind the players benches at center ice.

Day 2 – Get caught up on email and then off to board the Emerald Princess which is fairly efficient so we find ourselves in our stateroom and meet Saul our Mexican cabin steward who spoils us. A quick planning meeting with the Australian (very young) Asst. Cruise Director who is pleased to find out I’m low maintenance. A great meal of prime rib with flourless chocolate cake for dessert in the DaVinci dining room and life is good.

Princess Cays

Day 3 – Princess Cays so we book a snorkel excursion with Capt. Jimmy out to the reef and the visibility and numbers of new fish do not disappoint. The water temperature is coolish and explains why some of the passengers are wearing wet suits. The shore captain is already discussing procuring ‘tommy johns’ as the short sleeved, legged suits are known. Rita the assistant gets us each a 'sea biscut' which are sand dollaresque like creatures. We check out the beach, delicious BBQ, stalls and catch a tender back to the ship.  Another great supper and we collapse.

Day 4 – Up early for the 9 am Blog 101 presentation which is eagerly received by a small audience without  technical or presentation issues so a good feeling. The remainder of the sea day to enjoy so tie in the sun on the deck, tea at 4 pm (for me). We get gussied up for formal night and a stop at Vines, the wine bar for tapas (me) and sushi (he) before supper at the Crown Grille.  The steak house is amazing, the service fantastic and we are waddling by the time we leave. We take in the late show of Motor City Musical and the singers and dancers are good.

Day 5 – Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Driving on the left side of the road, right sided steering and wild senior female drivers) we share a van with a young couple crewing on an expensive yacht who get dropped at Kmart and we head over to Coki Beach.  Great visibility, schools of fish (many new to us) and a beautiful beach. Then we wander over to Coral Gardens to visit the underwater aquarium, stingray, mangrove, turtle and shark displays. There is even a sea lion show and wonderful reef exhibits. A great way to spend the afternoon before we check out the duty free, buy a book from a retired mariner and head back on board.  Vines to enjoy some rose, and a wonderful dinner in the Michelangelo dining room with great staff.

Champagne Reef

Day 6 – Roseau, Dominica. A full day spent with Benjamin our cab driver who takes us snorkeling on Champagne Reef where it feels as if you’re swimming in a glass of sprite and there are large schools of many different kinds of fish. Off to Trafalgar Falls where Naithan our intrepid guide takes us on a hike up through the hot and cold springs. We shop the craft stalls, check out the fruit/vegetable market and decide that this island is a place we’d like to spend more time. The drink of the day is a 24K margarita and life is good.

Day 7 – St. Geroges, Grenada where we’ve visited before, it’s showering and we only have a partial day so we opt for a cab and head over to Morne Rouge beach. We attempt snorkeling but the shore captain only sees one fish so we summon our cabbie back early and head to the waterfalls. Here we see some jumping displays, buy some spices and have some photo ops. We check out the International Café for treats (highly recommended) and veg for the afternoon. A wonderful Italian meal with other Canadian guests.

Day 8 – Kralendyk, Bonaire – arrive at noontime and it’s a breezy day with showers. We catch a ride over to Klein Bonaire with Capt. Mike (after he gets the speedboat started) and enjoy a different area of the reef than we saw last time. The visibility isn’t great with the roughness but we still see lots of large and different fishes.  We grab a cab and head out for the southern part of the island, visiting slave huts and the solar salt flats with Cargill Salt Co, then Lac Bay to see the windsurfers before heading back through a tropical downpour to the ship. We make a quick decision to see if we can get reservations at Sabattinis and are graciously invited in to enjoy a sumptuous five course Italian meal.  Very elegant and highly recommended.

Day 9 – Oranjestad, Aruba -  we check out the wi-fi outside of Dunkin Donuts and get caught up on the news then head back to plan adventures. It’s apparently not easy to visit the southern end of the island as cabs are $45 per hour per person so we opt instead to catch the bus to the beach to snorkel. A British couple from the P&O ship Azura is docked next to us and we spend a great afternoon snorkeling in the rain and seeing large schools of fish with decent visibility. We catch the bus back, grab some drinks and nachos, say goodbye to our new friends and even get a chance to shop the craft stalls as we make our sailaway deadline.

Day 10 – another 9 a.m. presentation this one The Art of Blogging and it’s a bit better attended with more interaction. Sun deck and e-books for the afternoon. Final formal night and lots of great conversation at a wonderful supper.

Day 11 – a final presentataion on Creative Writing and this one is held in the conference room as the theatre is being readied for the culinary show. A small but loyal group and the topic goes very well. Watch the movie Bridesmaids in the afternoon – hilarious, my daughter was right – and give Saul his birthday gift of an Aruba t-shirt. Final supper and then the crew show where our wine steward Dragan is an amazing drummer it turns out as we watch is drum solo.

Day 12 – disembarkation and over to the Premiere Hotel which is a small family owned facility that lived up to its 950 positive Trip Advisor reviews. We make our way to the grocery store as we have an efficiency room – large, looking over the beach – to stock up.  Lounge chairs by the pool after the walk.

Day 13 – start the day with a stroll to Starbucks and then check out the beach for a while. An early supper at Greek Islands Taverna – it did not disappoint from last year – where we share some portions and YES the lamb chops ARE that good, Greek salad, calamari, pita and dips with a bottle of Greek wine and even baklava for dessert. Ahh, crash early that night.

Le Tub for supper

Day 14 – over to Port Everglades to retrieve the snorkel gear bag which didn’t get picked up when we disembarked and that was quite the adventure. Lots of security issues, entry through the crew check in etc. but we escaped and made it back to the hotel to plan our excursion. Take the water taxi down to Hollywood – think beach blanket movies – which is a 60s time warp complete with boardwalk, kitschy stores and lots of eateries. We opt for supper at Le Tub which apparently Oprah says has the best burgers in the world – excellent and huge portions – with great margaritas and then we catch the boat back. It’s late and chilly by the time we are deposited back near the hotel at 8 p.m. but what a great time.

Day 15 – a final morning in Ft. Lauderdale to do some swimsuit shopping at the stores, have some dermabrasion at the beach – it’s really windy and the surf is up before heading out to pack.  A very intense security clearance which includes a full body scan, shoes off and barked directions and uneventful (which is good) flights to Philadelphia with a slight delay and then back to the land of snow. A wintery drive home arriving by 3 a.m. to be greeted by the fur children and collapse into bed.

What a great time was had by all, now to adjust to cooler climes.

Emerald Princess Here We Come

So...we're into the countdown now and I'm talking hours not days for the vacation. We're headed out to the airport for a 7 a.m. flight to Philadelphia and on to Fort Lauderdale to see the Bruins play the Panthers tomorrow night. Then Tuesday it's off to the Emerald Princess for all the fun there is to have. We're at the teacher daughter's this evening and she asked her father if he was excited yet? He denied this stating "I don't get excited" but we think he's either not being completely truthfull or too cool to get excited.

And no, we 're not worried about advertising the fact we're not home. We've left the boy captain looking after the fort, critter sitting, lobstering when the weather allows and putting in a $30,000 engine in the boat. That should keep him out of trouble or at least I'll convince myself it will be fine and deal with reality upon my return.

So we're keeping fishermen's hours in the a.m. and I am NOT a big fan of these early hours so it's off to catch a nap. Next update will be from the land of sun. Later.

Decadent

Definition of decadence...packing for a southern Caribbean cruise yesterday while a major blizzard howled outside. Ahhh. Into the countdown now - only three more days. Can't count sleeps as that would be too complicated what with one night shift and half a sleep day thrown in there. And I certainly appreciated being able to take off two of my shifts this set of four - may just get ready in time to leave after all. Hard to believe that a few years ago, packing for vacation didn't involve charging the e-book reader. However, the usual pre-vacation flurry of activity, described by a friend as "everything breaks down, needs to be replaced or comes home just as you're trying to get away" is in usual form. As I have been leaping up out of bed to record items I've remembered for the 'to-do list' I have discovered I have a talent for writing in the dark as my handwriting is the same as in full light. Must come from all those night shifts and dim lighting.

I got up on snapping cold Wednesday to find (after a thorough premises search) the only cat in the house was Klyde. Apparently (it was later revealed) the shore captain had made quite a production of leaving the door open while he used the remote vehicle starter so Gary and his shadow Stanley absconded without his knowledge. Since we were out of catfood and treats (shore captain forgot to pick those up as well) there was nothing to tempt them with. I was concerned that I would find two carcasses on the road. I called them and checked the yard to no avail but when I approached the deck I found a rodent corpse so I knew I was on the right track - apparently they had felt the need to catch their own breakfast but unfortunately lacking street skills had sacrificed an inedible mole! When I approached the woods at the edge of the yard I heard rustling, frantic yowling and two hysterical cats burst through the brush. There is no honor amongst thieves (or felines it seems) as Gary lend the charge - legs do your duty - galloping towards me, panting with dilated pupils as if on street drugs and was quickly scooped up and deposited into the house. Stanley proved a bit trickier to capture as he was having a full blown anxiety attack which included frantic pacing back and forth in the frozen ditch just out of my reach, hyperventilating and yowling. I managed to snag him and deposit him inside as well. I had to sacrifice a can of tuna for their breakfast and promise them I would return with cat food. Too much excitement for early morning.

New year so new benefits which meant a massage appointment - ahhh. Too much computer work is bad for the back. Scored well at Frenchy's with lots of baby clothes for a friend of the western daughter (daughter will have to purchase the Ivory Snow to wash them in as part of the arrangement) which a grandmother shall take out for me. I picked up some southern wear for both of us old folks heading cruiseward and some neat gifts. Had a good visit with a neighbour who is also awaiting a first grandchild. Apparently teenaged babysitting of our brood did not discourage her daughter from starting a family of her own. Also chatted with a friend of a friend about cruising and the plans are in the works for a female cruise next year - now THAT would be fun. Groceries and home to walk the dog before starting supper. Full day. 

use for paper books now

Have you heard of de-constructed and re-imagined books? Thought that was what a book report was hmmm. It does seem to be a use for all those traditional books now that e-book readers are so popular. That is if you can bring yourself to destroy the tomes. Speaking of artists in the newspaper, I found an ad for Tommy Hunter - One Last Time tour. Made me think how much my mother would've have loved this as she thoroughly enjoyed Friday evenings spent with Tommy. When I showed the ad to the life partner he said "last time, I should think so, he must be 100 by now". And while on the topic of recording artists I heard on CBC radio that Joel Plaskett is releasing a song per week out of his new album - Scrappy Happiness - through CBC. You can find the first track called 'You're Mine' on the site here:

http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/joel_plaskett-youre_mine

Memories of all those good summer concerts. Ah. Still waiting for Jimmy Buffett to cooperate and put on a concert when I can make it. Shall have to content ourselves with the Bruins vs Panthers hockey game in Fort Lauderdale instead - won't be seeing native son Brad Marchand as he's out for five games suspension though.

Had a phone call from the baby daughter about one of her nursing courses in university. She had a question about the formula for calculation of gravity infusion of IV fluids. I couldn't believe this was being taught! I managed to drag from the depths of my memory that 25 drops/minute was 100 ml/hr. and advised that:

1. we don't use the formula now as we use IV infusion pumps
2. we never did use the formula even 35 yrs ago, we counted drops and 6 per 15 sec. was it
3. we had a card with doses/drops = volume for calculation for other rates
4. why would this be taught when there is so much info required that could be useful?

And to close, just a note (should you find yourself fortunate enough to live in Nova Scotia) to mark June 8 and 9th on your calendar as it will be clean sweep dates.

Appreciate

When I arose from my slumber after my last night shift and attempted to gather my senses to get to my hair cut appointment I decided to use the luxury coffee maker the children got the shore captain for Christmas. Not to make coffee for myself as those close to me know that although I love the aroma of brewing coffee, I don't (can't) drink it. I perused the offerings of specialty teas the children had so thoughtfully included for me and chose sweet peach black tea. It smelled lovely as it made its way to the mug but I had not been fully awake so didn't notice the ICED tea on the cover. Not sure what method you use to make iced tea or coffee in the fancy machine but it sure wasn't just pressing brew. The result didn't look right in the cup and it left small brown bits on my lips and tongue. Another one of those hazards of post night shift operating equipment.

The following day was spent in union meetings on the phone from 9 a.m. to 4:15 pm. with only a short break for lunch. I used this break to head to the Dollar Store and purchase a bag of school supplies for a local chef who is heading to Belize for three months. When I expressed my envy at his trip, he reminded me of my two week vacation and all the wonderful meals I'd have while he was eating rice and beans, beans and rice, rice and beans.One of these days that will be me with the envious onlookers as I head out for three months. Sigh.

Speaking of trips to underdeveloped countries....a colleague and myself are attending a tropical health conference at McGill in May and we're really looking forward to it having taken it in about six years ago. I have already surrendered my annual education premium which was deposited in December for the registration - foregoing the most popular use for holiday shopping. The latest WestJet sale sent me scurrying online to see if a decent airfare could be had and with a $392 round trip Halifax to Montreal, taxes in price (minus a $100 travel credit) - it's booked.

The hair cut is one in a series of appointments to make me presentable for vacation. I also scanned the LL Bean catalogue and selected a skirt to pull over my swimsuit - for making my way to the buffet without changing. Feeling very brave about the selection I checked out the large lady swimsuits, I mean swimsuit dresses. Having difficulty deciding on the style I asked the boy captain his thoughts. He pointed to one in bright blue with deep v neck and crossed straps. "Do you think I can wear that?" I asked. He looked surprised and said "why not?" So, I thought to myself 'why not, indeed?' and ordered the swimsuit as well. Now, apparently the moral of this tale is to NOT take your fashion advice from a 24 year old male who was wearing a t-shirt which reads 'date me before I'm famous' and is used to looking at much younger, slimmer female physiques.When the order arrived I'm happy to report the skirt is a great fit and idea, the swimsuit was a miss as it squished my boobs out under my armpits and made my back stick out through the straps. Yuck! When I offered to show the fashion adviser how it fit he adopted a look of horror and declined. So now I'm stuck with paying the postage to the shipper and waiting for the refund through customs. My first negative encounter with LLBean so far.

The past few days have been spent polishing my presentations for the cruise and they are almost ready for a dress rehearsal with my self described "not very computer savvy" friend on Monday. I've not heard from my clinical placement and will likely require an extension as the days are numbered before our departure. I did take two shifts off in anticipation of such a last minute rush so at any rate will be able to use the time for packing.

Although it's been very mild lately, and not at all winter like - it's sure not tropical and a break away from the yell phone which has pretty much grown to the shore captain's ear is in order. Low lobster prices, angry fishermen, the boy captain needing to replace the engine in the boat and getting ready for vacation all at the same time. Glad I'm busy myself!

If you noticed the title of this post - appreciate - that's my word for 2012 - driven in part by the obituary for a class of 76 nursing school classmate which I found in Monday's newspaper. We are so lucky to have our health. Here are some instructions:

CHOOSING YOUR WORD
Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself
in 2012? It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a
thought, or a feeling, or an emotion. It can be singular or plural.
The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This
is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word -
this is YOUR word.

One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow
yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is
totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it
will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it
percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in
very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just
aren't ready for it yet.

Again, be open to the possibilities.

Which nicely corresponds with the quote of the day:

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day."
Edith Lovejoy Pierce

in days to come,we will reread- turn the pages, and call it History..

With those profound thoughts, I'm off to boot the dog off the couch and out into the mudroom and head to bed myself.

Bringing in 2012 in Style

As I walked to the door at 1 a.m.with our Cape Breton friend who had been the life of the New Years Eve house party we’d just left, regaling attendees with tales from his Catholic school upbringing, I was carrying the decorative plate which had held the cherry loaf his wife had made for a previous evening at our place. It was Pinky (no, not Pinky and the Brain) but the classic portrait which is the mate for Gainsborough's Blue Boy. As I placed it on the bench (neither of us wanting to anger the owner - who had already had to forgo partying to spend the evening at work - by breaking it) he said “oh yeah, the holy plate”. Now he is visually impaired and has on occasion referred to himself as illegally blind as his sight’s been stolen but I stopped and looked again at the plate saying “it’s Pinky”. He was undeterred and said “oh yeah, but it reminds me of the holy plate Mom was given when I was a kid. It was a decorative plate of one of the saints or someone and looked like Marie Antoinette on a swing. My younger sister always called it the holy plate – as in Ma, Ma Joey’s eating off the holy plate again.” It was the perfect ending to such an evening. 

Today has been spent sleeping in, eating leftovers, napping, playing on the computer, drinking tea, reading, walking the dog, researching and booking a hotel for our post cruise stay in Fort Lauderdale while NOT doing any housework. A lovely start to 2012! The return to work (and reality) with a night shift is another matter.

Saying Goodbye to 2011

 This evening we'll be toasting goodbye to the year 2011 and in the true spirit of growing older the years do seem to be accelerating! We'll spend New Years Eve as we have for most of the past 37 we've been together - together, this year attending but not hosting a house party. I've only worked for a few and that's been by intent as there is NOTHING sadder than working New Years Eve as you can't celebrate it another time, when it's over, it's over and you've missed it. Christmas can be celebrated at any time you choose - as evidenced by this year's on December 26th.

The two Maritime daughters were home previous to the big day to help with holiday preparations - tree purchased, up and decorated, baking, visiting, wrapping and other last minute errands which are even more important when the woman of the house is working shifts and living with a very busy Grinch involved in the lobster industry.

Speaking of lobstering, this gives me the opportunity to insert a link to a video here which has gone viral online. It's a lobster fisherman who has a bit of time on his hands as they steam over to a next string and that he's not the usual scantily clad, anorexic dancer in a music video makes it's even more hilarious. It's tough, cold, dangerous work and you have to have a bit of fun to keep you going (or so the Boy Captain tells me while he regales at 8 p.m. suppers with yarns of buffalos - the industry name for a clawless lobster pantomimed as a flip phone by the bander who holds it to his ear, laughs and says to the hired man "it's for you", or the hired man doing the quick draw with two 'pistols' on his hips) as he is the oldest of the three on his boat. But as his mother I try NOT to think of their under 25 status:

Lobster Fisherman Is Sexy And He Knows It Viduba - Video Download

The Boy Captain has been having another dental emergency situation at the holidays where a wisdom tooth erupted and cracked (he has a pain tolerance which allows for leaving these things) on the opposite side of his jaw from last year this time. This necessitated a trip to the local dentist, antibiotics and referral for dental surgery as the root was too close to the sinuses. A week later he had severe nerve root pain which caused a trip to the ER (after EVERYTHING we had in the house didn't touch the pain) which his older sister chauffeured and it was reassuring to know that although the hydromorphone he was given beat the pain he was not a fan of the 'good drugs' and managed with the toradol instead. An appointment with a specialist in the city two days ago was the final solution where he had the surgery under a local and was held down by the assistant after instructing "just get it done" and he is recovering well. So well in fact that he went lobstering yesterday and managed with tylenol # 3s and only a slightly swollen face - after a good night's sleep he is himself again and working away in the barn. Good to have such a strong constitution for such things.And of course it did give us a chance to descend on Costco, buy more Kcups for the shore captain's coffee maker Christmas gift and visit the urban sister/daughter, 

The holidays (wisdom teeth aside) were busy as I worked but went well - except for the western daughter who we miss especially at this time of year. We were pleased that she had a friend (and his family) to spend it with though and some time off from her new electrical apprentice position. We shipped out some crustaceans with her gifts and they arrived in good shape for a proper Nova Scotian Christmas. I worked days on Dec 24 and 25 which were manageable as sometimes they can be wild! We called Boxing Day Christmas, put the turkey in to roast and had eggs benedict before opening gifts, a big meal and just barely time to clean up a bit before company arrived while I rushed off for a night shift. I usually do fine on nights but fought the sleep monster after midnight and was sure glad to crawl into bed for the day. A quick to-do list and then off to work again as the last daughter packed up to go back to work. So, you can see that making my way through six days off is bliss. Still enjoying the tree - which is one of the benefits of getting it up late. The very thoughtful gifts we all received means that not one of us in standing in line to return/exchange anything this week.

I attempted to use the computer a few days ago and was blocked from my email etc by 'outdated security certificates' so after a bit of troubleshooting with the computer tech on the phone he suggested that the date on the computer might not be correct. He knows his stuff as it was July 2010 as it turned out. Gremlins. Just a heads up should it happen to yourselves.

And speaking of all things tech some of the newest job descriptions are for green collar workers, nano surgeons and cyber soldiers - I'll leave it to you to figure out which are which. 

So as we look forward to our next vacation and in keeping with the last post to include more travel info here is an article on packing from a professional traveler from the sounds:

Packing—What Stays and What Goes?
I have a love/hate relationship with packing. Filling a suitcase tends to mean I’m headed somewhere fun, but trying to decide what to put in it can cause some serious anxiety.
After 10 months of travel this year (and 10 packing sessions), I’ve come up with the Top 3 things to pack and Top 3 things to leave at home.

What to bring:
•	Sunscreen—you wouldn’t believe how many people forget it
•	Power adapter—to power up that hair dryer, battery charger or computer
•	Rain gear—it’s no fun being hindered by the weather
What to leave:
•	Your fifth book—this is what hotel book swaps are for
•	Your step counter or anything else that will make you conscious of things other than having fun
•	The shirt you’ve never worn—and isn’t new

Rule of thumb: If you were to get to your destination and realize you forgot your [insert object here], how upset would you be? Anything less than mildly devastated and it should be left at home.

And a selection of sites/articles for your armchair traveling pleasure follow:

http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2009/09/7-habits-of-highly-effective-travelers

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/now-is-the-best-time-to-travel

New Years Resolution for 2012:
To work less and travel more

I'd like to say that I'll do less housework but that would be a hard one to keep as I'm just doing enough to keep ahead of the weekly cleaning lady now.

Now where did I put that.....life?

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?  I wouldn’t be surprised if I were typing into a black hole after the lengthy silence but I am thrilled to be able to report that I have my life (or some semblance of it) back again after my final exam. And yes 83 is a perfectly respectable mark if I do say so myself. Now, just a few clinical shifts and it will all be over except for the certificate. Yeehaw! One of the new graduates at work said “there aren’t you glad you did it?” and I replied “no, at this point I’m just glad it’s over”. It has been a major commitment of time and energy for the past year. Apparently the program is being revamped and will be shortened to 10 months from 12, one exam instead of three, one clinical instead of three and all the irrelevant to rural emergency RNs material – as in mechanical vents, arterial lines etc. will be made electives for the tertiary centers and rural folks will get to choose palliative electives etc. Makes me (yet again) feel like a woman ahead of my time. 

 

“Having more joy does not necessarily require a life overhaul—you may just need to create more space in your life for moments of joy.”
— Debrena Jackson Gandy

Speaking of free spirited women as I was announcing my mark to a coworker (who unfortunately is a widow) we were discussing her upcoming first cruise and she said “I’ve been checking out the spa, it looks really good” Couldn’t argue with that. She confided that she’d been going to the tanning bed as her former partner hadn’t approved of that. Now, I can’t imagine him forbidding her or in fact her heeding such an admonition but sometimes it is easier just not to argue. So she said “now I’m doing all those things he didn’t agree with” and I countered with “well I’m doing all the things I want to do now and he’s still around” so we both chuckled at that. 

Speaking of freedom and the ‘freedom 55’ way of thinking, a coworker the other night (who actually IS a pension prisoner) was moaning about the fact that she’d likely be participating in the ‘freedom 75’ plan and would be living in the Manor attached to the hospital and the staff would change her depends and send her over to work a 12 hour shift with her walker saying “see you at 7”. In the way of nurses black humor at 3 a.m. we found that hysterically funny. In fact when I think of it - the following logo is pretty apt as well. So much for that "age is just a number" way of thinking eh?Reminds me of my Dad telling my mother-in-law on his birthday when she had dropped our kids off for his birthday celebration, while we were vacationing, that "there's been a mix-up, the numbers are reversed I'm really 18 not 81 you know" and those who knew him would certainly believe that.

I was reminded early this morning though that no matter how much things change, they stay the same when I checked out FaceBook to find another old nurse online at 7 a.m. and when I questioned the reason for this she said “checking out an online tutorial for making bows”. That would be the change; the same would be the fact that we’d both been driven out of bed by our lobstering families. She by her husband and daughter who is going this fall to band lobsters (another change in the demographic of young men heading west to work in the oil patch) and moi by the ringing of the cell phone which the shore captain left home for the second time in four days. 

The shore captain has been officially put ashore this fall and he’s grieving a bit although he’s been much too busy for several years to do it justice. It makes me feel as if I’m working as a UN negotiator when the two generations are under the same roof at the same time. The senior male has letting go issues and thinks the boy doesn’t want him to help - the junior one feels as if his father is telling him what to do (he is) although as I advised him “it isn’t always about you, he’s struggling with the succession planning you know”. With the hours they are keeping and my shift work, sharing a house with them is like caring for feral cats. You leave food out for them and it disappears, sometimes there’s a mess you have to clean up and occasionally you have to go looking for them or coax them to eat. 

My early start got me underway to town for a Frenchy’s shop – and you know you’ve scored well when you spend $62 and the bag is bigger than groceries of the same cost. When I was in line at the checkout for groceries actually the man ahead of me turned and said “do you have an Air Miles card?” and I wasn’t long stuttering yes, producing it and thanking him. He said “Merry Christmas” and was off so I asked the cashier if it was a big order as I was still recovering from the gift and she said “over $180” so I was very pleased, as well as shocked that someone WOULDN'T have an Air Miles card????

Sunset in paradise

So while waiting for the men folk to come home this evening I enjoyed the beautiful sunset of the unseasonably warm day and a cup of Lady Hannah tea which always make me think of the western daughter as that is where I’ve purchased the tea. Although according to my online search it is widely available. http://bit.ly/s0tPPi The electrician daughter is beginning her apprenticeship this week. Memo to self to call and see how that is going. She’s  been working in the oil patch but if you’ve studied, you really want to work in your field. She even had an invite to the Christmas party before starting with the new company – a company box to watch the Edmonton Oilers – woohoo! Much better than what nurses get for sure - carols in the front lobby just don't come close. 

Speaking of Christmas music, the teacher daughter has been making her way through Christmas concerts with her grade 3/4 class and it has been fraught with all kinds of drama. Projectile barfing on the way to the stage, yowls from struck elbows, and tears of fear of disappointing a parent. Oh the trials of an elementary school teacher. 

The nursing student wrote her final midterm in Microbiology today and pronounced it “tough” but had marks to ensure a pass before writing. She pulled off an A- in Community Nursing and scored a reference from her clinical instructor so all is good in the academic world. Her crisis du jour was a breadmaker question – that I can handle. 

So, now it's back to work in the morning but at least my 'days off' from here will be filled with holiday preparations versus studying trauma algorithms. I may just go wild and crazy and read a novel if I feel like it. And of course getting in to the cruise planning swing of things. Woohoo!  Or perhaps I'll just simplify my life as per this Huffington Post article  http://huff.to/tRIBNN. Actually, life is pretty good when the only complaint you can make is that you didn't get Air Miles on your L.L. Bean order eh? More travel info in a next post.