Christmas!

Merry Ho Ho Ho! Or Happy Kwanzaa or Chanukah or whatever Festivus you celebrate this time of year.

My child is pretty much bouncing off the walls with aniticipation at this point. There was almost a Christmas problem. The LEGO train he has been asking for was sold out when I went to get it! Luckily, they ordered it for me at the store and LEGO totally came through and delivered it on the 20th! What a first world problem - my kid was about to miss getting his preferred toy for Christmas. Really, I think we put way too much time and money into presents. But though I may preach this, I do not practice it. I vow every year that I will institute a rule of one present each (except for Alex, of course) and it never happens and I invariably go overboard with spending.

Cool story to report! I signed up for a contest with Penguin Canada on Facebook. They posted a picture of some of their books with a bunch of cute stiffed penguins. Well, I wanted one of those penguins, kid that I am, so I asked if they were part of the prize. Penguin wrote back (!) and said unfortunately no, they were not, but if I would provide my address, they would send me something. I did and a day later, I got a book in the mail!!! Penguin is awesome! Well, their marketing people are anyway.

I have never read anything by the author before, but am really looking forward to reading it.

And speaking of penguins, absolutely love this movie!



And this one too!



OK, enjoy and all the best!

Tootsie Rolls

Tootsie Rolls will now forever remind me of my father-in-law, Carl. It was during one of his better weekends. We were there and so was my sister-in-law, though I think she was just leaving. There was a huge bag of Tootsie Rolls on the table that her kids had bought. Carl and I were sitting at the table. Mr. P was doing something out in the barn or garage. Penboy was playing with cats and dogs. And Carl and I were just sitting there, keeping each other company, eating those Tootsie Rolls. It was a good moment. He told stories and we laughed. And it was such a sweet time.
Today, I was eating a leftover Halloween lollipop and it was a  Tootsie pop, as it turned out. The taste of that chocolatey middle brought that time back to me. I almost didn't want to finish that Tootsie pop, to make that memory last.

Fall

Fall has me feeling a bit melancholy. It doesn't help that I've been sick for two and a half weeks. We are waiting to find out if Penboy needs to have his tonsils out, but I'm now wondering if I need mine out too. Sigh.

On the plus side, we had a pretty good Halloween, despite the rain. Penboy was a cow.

The cow snout (or whatever one calls a cow nose) kept him dry. We came home with two bags full of Halloween loot. I think people were worried not too many kids would come out in the bad weather.

On the plus side, I lost about ten pounds in the past couple of months.

OK, so totally bad shopping day today. It's Penboy's b-day coming up and we promised him an iPad mini. Yeah, my kid is a total techno geek. We promised him a 32 gig one. Impossible to find in this city. We tried the Apple store first, of course. Nope, they only have 64s. Way too large for him. Then we tried Best Buy, where I would like to add, service was totally atrocious. While Mr. P and Penboy stood around waiting for ANYONE who worked there to help us, I used their laptops to find out if any of the neighbouring stores had them in stock. Nope. The only way to get one is to order from Apple online, which has a two week delivery period. Penboy in tears. Mr. P's face acquired a permascowl the longer we waited to be served. Finally, someone came and said they were out, of course. They got five, that's 5 in total, on the day they were released, and were sold out that same day.
Then had to drag Penboy to WalMart where I (in vain) tried to get him to try on shoes. Then Shoe Company, where Mr. P totally refused to go in. I fear a deeply scarring incident occured there the last time he was in the store and now he refuses to cross their threshold. Penboy and I had to go in though, 'cause his school shoes are falling apart. After refusing every shoe I recommended (he only wanted the ones that light up, which don't come in small hobbit foot sizes), I finally got him to try on a nice pair of Sketchers and reluctantly agree that they would be OK. I would like to add that these shoes are totally awesome - black and orange, and super light.

I feel in need of a treat for me now. I will get one too, once I prepare the venison roast (birhtday boy dinner). I still have a half a bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge. Ah, sweet, golden elixir...

October

Mr. P's dad passed away September 18. It was very sad and took me a while to get over. We went to NY for the funeral, of course. Poor Mr. P also had the shingles at the time. Luckily, the meds he got did the job and he is over it now. I always say leap years are not good for us and they are not!

Life is sort of back to normal now. Penboy has the sniffles, of course, which is par for the course in the fall and winter. I'm hoping we won't have a repeat of last year where he was sick pretty much every month.

The leaves are looking gorgeous and we are officially in my most favourite time of year. I love the crisp, cool days, the blue skies, the trees ablaze.

Penboy's birthday is coming up. He is getting his dreamed-of Apple electronic. Every evening we have to go through scenarios of what he will do once he gets it home. Honestly, what will it be next year? A jet plane?

I am looking forward to Christmas - the decorating, the cooking. The friends...Still a while to go, but not too long. :)

Waiting

Sad news from the States. We are basically waiting for the call to learn that Mr. P's dad is gone. He's been battling cancer for the past year. It's small cell cancer, which has a very low survivability rate. And oh, yeah, it basically starts as lung cancer. I can't believe people still smoke! Makes me feel so helpless.

Summer!

This is the end of my week off. Sigh. I love summer vacay.

We went to Rochester to George Eastman House International Museum of Photography. I loved it. The collection itself was fairly small, but interesting. They even have a camera that was used to photograph the moon on one of the Apollo missions. How cool is that? The house is also lovely, as is the garden.
Here is the lunar camera:

Inside the house was a head of an elephant!

We also went to Taughannock falls, but the waterfall was merely a trickle because of the recent lack of rain. It was lovely though to go back there. We had not been since before Penboy was born! He complained of the heat and the walk all the way there and back.

The people swimming there were doing so illegally, btw. The surrounding rocks are very soft and flaky and have been known to fall into the pool below.

On the way to the park, we got lost, of course, but thanks to getting lost, we stumbled on a really cool antiques shop, where I got a small Fenton milky white vase to my glass collection. Penboy got a really cool model of an old Cadillac and Mr. P got a violin bottle for his brother.

So, now back to work and Penboy is starting camp.

Been a while

How do you know you have not blogged in a while? The site changes the look and feel completely and you were totally oblivious to it.

Things have been insane at work... on many levels. Anyway, hopefully a bit calmer now.

Have embarked on weight loss campaign. I tried the WeightWatchers method... for a day. Mind you, I did not want to fork over $20 a month, so I got hold of the calculators and tried to do it that way. Nope, not for me. There is absolutely no way that I will be calculating how many points all of my foods have. It's either not worry about the point value at all or eat on the 0 points side. I'm guessing that if you actually pay the money, they give you easier methods.

So, back to eating the good carb/bad carb way. Basically, no bread, pasta, rice, or potatos. All of them make me sick anyway. Now, if I could only eliminate sugar. So far so good on this approach. Not sure if I lost any weight, but my tummy is smaller (less bloating), so that has to be good.

I thought I'd get the Women's Health book of exercises. It's like a bible of exercise. But when I got to the store and looked at it, I realized that I can't just look at a book while I attempt some of these contortions (most of which require a home gym). So, I got Jillian Michael's DVD instead. I was only able to do one circuit of it. She kills me. Was in pain for three days after. Have not done it since, but I realize that I do need to. Sigh. Yoga just no longer cuts it, though I still love it.

March

So, almost three months off the Celexa. Feeling much more myself. I wonder how long I'll be saying that.

Sad news. My grandmother passed away March 17. She was 89. It was not unexpected, but still it's a shock. My poor aunt is bearing the worst of it. She took care of grandma and they lived together for the past 20 years or so.

A couple of grandma stories. Once she was babysitting me and we were waiting for my mom to come home. She was standing at the window looking out. She said to me that my mom should wash the windows and just kept looking out. When nobody was looking she wrote my mom's name on the window pane with her finger. Then of course, my mom thought it was me, but grandma came clean. :)

Another time she gave my mom a packet of her favourite cigarettes (it was the 70's, OK?). She wrapped it in like 20 pieces of paper. Each layer was sealed. My mom unwrapped the first, then the second, then the third, all the while smiling. When she got to the fifth and sixth layers, she was getting a bit frustrated. Then she asked us if there was anything actually in there. We said yes, so she had to unwrap the whole thing. She laughed though. My grandma was a joker. I miss her.

In more sad news, we are still monitoring how my father-in-law is doing. His cancer spread to his brain.

In happier news, penboy went to his first confession today. He was super nervous, but was very happy and relieved when it was over (all one minute of it). I went too and was a bit stumped as to what to say. I mean, if you lead a fairly normal life, what can you possibly have to confess. I lie a bit, of course, who doesn't, but other than that? I work and I come home and try to have some fun on the weekends with penboy and Mr. P and that is pretty much my life. Who has the time to sin?

So now penboy is ready for his first communion, which will take place at the end of April. Wow, my boy is getting all grown up!

February

So, I have to tell you that I went off my "happy pills." It's been over a month now. I am pretty surprised at the changes that are taking place. Just a bit of anxiety so far, but perhaps that was just brought on by the fear that the "big one" would hit. Stupid thing, anxiety, things that should help, can actually bring it on, like exercise. The increased heart rate and breathing can mimic and bring on an attack. Not fun. But, as I said, so far, so good. Aside from feeling a lot more emotional (on serotonin enhancers you kind of feel even all the time), I feel more energetic, less lethargic, but also, a lot physically colder. Weird. When I was on Celexa, I was always hot. Now I am freezing. Bizarre. I'm hoping all this will normalize after some time.

So, for me, February has been a month of navel gazing a bit. Mind you, it's the worst possible time for it because I am crazy busy at work and my co-worker is off on mat leave (her third).

My grandma is not doing well. My mom is off to Poland tomorrow. Hard to say, but it seems like it's the beginning of the end. She's had a stroke and they found a mass in her lungs that is cancerous. She's never been a smoker, so likely this is actually a secondary tumour. I was going through my linen closet yesterday and I found a lacy table runner she crocheted for me a long time ago and almost burst into tears. And of course, the sucky thing for me is that I can't even see her one more time. Can't tell her anything. Can't hold her hand.

The one nice thing about February has been Valentine's Day. Mr. P got me a lovely necklace, a huge box of chocolates, and a bottle of wine. Basically, all a girl needs. He also took us out for a nice Milestones dinner.

Another nice thing is that belly dancing started up once again. Meagan is a tough teacher, which I like. She really insists on us doing the moves properly. She made me sweat a lot yesterday. So maybe one day I will be able to do this:

Favourite Book



I have hunted for this book for most of my adult life. First of all, I did not know the English title because I had ever read it only in Polish. I read it first when I was about eleven, and had loved it ever since. It took me a while to figure out the English title, all thanks to a site that sells Polish books. They had it in Polish and that way I found the author - Clare Compton. From there it was easy to learn the title was "Harriet and the Cherry Pie." OK, that was the easy part. Turns out this book was only published in 1963 and then in paperback in 1968 and that's it. Never re-printed in English, though it has been in Polish. I started haunting used book sellers' sites. They had it, sure, but in hardcover, the first edition and for $50, a bit more than I was willing to pay. And then finally, at the beginning of December, I found it from a seller in the UK in paperback. Ordered it immediately. It came a couple of days after Christmas. Oh, joy!!! And now I've read it for the first time in almost 30 years. And I still love it!



And to all my friends out there - I love you, but I am not lending this book to anyone! It's just too important to me.

I bet you're wondering what it's about. It's the story of a little girl (Harriet) who comes from Bristol with her sister to live with a great aunt because their father is posted to Australia for six months and their mother had died. The great aunt owns a cafe called the Cherry Pie and is very young and energentic. She makes the girls feel at home, but Harriet feels lonely and out of place, but by accident meets people who are involved in the theatre and then becomes a child actress and stars in a play. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the writing is very nice, all cosy and comfy and this book has become part of me. I often imagined myself in Harriet's place.

Enjoying Other People's Birthdays

Had a great day celebrating Car's birthday and Mr. P's birthday. Both of them have actually already passed, but for various reasons we had not celebrated them. So, I went over to Car's place and we had a lovely Japanese lunch in Aurora. Bought an extremely cool scarf which I did not need and some sunglasses, which I did. Then this evening, we went to Milestones to celebrate Mr. P's birthday. Had a lovely dinner and I persuaded him to try Bellinis (mostly because I wanted the monkey toy and I was the designated driver, so no booze for me). We did not get the monkey alas, but got a moose and a beaver/squirrel thingie (oh, yeah he had to have two because Penboy wanted a toy too).

I like other people's birthdays!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Well, it's been a banner Christmas day for gifts. I got a laptop! And so did Penboy!
I really have the best husband in the world. And not just because of the electronics. He let me sleep in at six in the morning when our child was done tearing into his gifts (he got up at 5:30). He was the designated driver last night so I could have some Christmas Eve wine. He cleaned the kitchen yesterday and took out the garbage countless times. :)

So, the day has been all about learning about laptops and stuff. And sleeping. I slept very badly last night and have been pretty tired all day.

We are off to my friend Car's tomorrow and seeing Mrs.Peel Tuesday. Love the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

... and Happy Holidays to everyone who does not celebrate Christmas. May all your dreams and wishes be fulfilled.

'Tis the Season... Almost

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I've been trying to fashion my own felt decorations and let me tell you something - there is a reason you can buy these things instead of making them. Still, it's fun and I learned the blanket stitch pretty well.

Penboy and I are going to Casa Loma for gingerbread decorating later this month. I'm looking forward to seeing the castle decorated for Christmas. And speaking of gingerbread, I finally made it and it turned out pretty good, I think. Of course, my mom turned her nose up at it a bit, but I was expecting this. I was not given the honour of making it for the family at Christmas. That's OK, I will make it for friends.

Penboy has the sniffles. He went to a party Saturday afternoon and Sunday was sniffly all day. Today he's sniffly too. I am having tummy problems and I think a liquid diet will be de rigeur for the next little while. We're just a bunch of sickies right now.

Hoping to get out to the movies this season. I really want to see "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "W.E." Both of them are coming out this Friday, I believe. Mind you, Alec Guiness will be a hard act to follow. Too bad they don't make "Smiley's People." Anyway, Moscow rules all the way.

November



Penboy persuaded me to go to Black Creek Pioneer Village yesterday. It was a fabulous idea. I had not been there in yonks, at least since high school.


They had the place decorated for Christmas and we even spied a certain gentleman in red with a white beard coming in as we were leaving.




From there we went for lunch at a certain Toronto mall and it took us 10 minutes to find a parking spot about a kilometer away form the entrance. I say, Black Friday and Saturday should be cancelled.

In other news, Occupy Toronto people seem to be gone from St. James park (and about time) and I am still not 100% clear what it is they were protesting. They did not do a great job of explaining their protest or even publishing a list of demands. I know they are against banks, but not sure what they propose as an alternative - keeping money in a sock? And what about loans? Back to loan sharks? It's very puzzling. I will just go on with my regular, middle-class life with a job and consumer debt.

October

So, here we are in the fall, friends. October has been busy already, and we're barely past the half mark.

We went to Parry Sound again, for Thanksgiving weekend, and this time made it on the 30 000 islands cruise. It was beautiful - emerald green water, blue sky, trees blazing with reds and golds. Also saw a swivel bridge for the first time. I didn't even know such things existed.

Now it's all about the prep for penboy's birthday. This year we are having a party, mainly because he went to so many parties last year. Booked an indoor playground, bought plates, cups, napkins, loot bags, loot bag contents, decorations. The only thing I still have to get is food and drinks. Now, of course, there is one kid in his class who is allergic to everything, and after some pondering, I realize I can't cater to him. Penboy keeps asking "what's Owen going to eat?" And I say "fruit" 'cause that is the only thing this kid can eat.

In knitting news, I have finished the Harry Potter scarf and have started on baby blanket for co-worker, but I am already thinking about taking it apart and starting again because it's too thin. Yeah, OK, it doesn't have to be super thick, but I'm a lazy individual and making a thin blanket takes way longer, so I would rather double the yarn and go with thicker. Anyway, I have until mid-February to finish, so not that long.

I have also been making bracelets for United Way and they've been selling on the spot, so I keep having to make more. That's good thing, of course, but keeps me away from my knitting time.

And finally, we are almost finished watching Lost. OMG, I am really ready for this series to end. It's been really interesting, but there are only so many iterations of John Locke that I can take.

Splint Free!

The splint is off my broken wrist (that was broken August 1, thank you very much). I feel much better and am back to regular activities like knitting. Penboy is a newly minted Harry Potter fan and wants a Gryffindor scarf, which is about half made now. Pics of the finished product will follow.

In other news... my sister got married. And I found out about it the day before. It astounds me that she can do stuff like this. This is the woman who caused me to join Facebook in the hopes of keeping in touch with her. She did communicate with me there a few times, but clearly did not think it necessary to mention that she was engaged. Slipped her mind, do you think? Of course, she also did not tell our dad and I can only imagine how hurt he is. So, how did we find out, you ask? From my aunt who let it slip that she was resting on Friday because she wanted to be fresh for the wedding on Saturday. Grr. I feel doubly betrayed.

It's funny though. There was no mistaking the satisfaction in my mom's voice when she said "yes, your sister is getting married... for the first time...at her age..." Yah, OK, your daughter's been married for eight years now and is six years younger, we all know. :) I should 'splain that my sister is my dad's daughter from his frist marriage.

One-handed Bandit

I am broken. Literally. Well, OK, just my wrist, but it seems to be taking a toll on the rest of me. I was getting out of a paddle boat at Safari Niagara, slipped and fell and injured my left wrist. Of course, I refused to go to emerg because of a. c difficile in the Niagara region and b. the six hour wait times. So went to physio instead. After about two weeks, the therapist said she was not happy with the progress and I should go get it x-rayed. By then I was in a lot of pain, so went to emerg. Yep, after six hours of waiting, and many painful x-rays (had to twist arm in many directions), found out it's broken. They then sent me to the fracture clinic at Mt. Sinai, where, frankly I looked the most healthy and whole. I got away with a splint, which I have to wear for four weeks (one down, three to go). It's my left wrist and only now I am finding out how much I normally use it. Even stupid things like washing my hair and getting dressed are hard. But worst of all - I can't drive! Gaaah!

Summer!

Summer is offcially here - that means splash pads, ice cream trucks, trips to the beach... We did all three this long weekend. And bbq. Yep, we are those people now, the people we hate because they have a bbq on their balcony and the smoke goes everywhere. We couldn't beat them, so we joined them. So far, we've had four bbqs. Yum. Today we even had my parents over for a bbq lunch. Oh, and I am spreading the evil by helping my neighbours get their own bbq. They have no car, so I drove them to WalMart today to get their own bbq, brickettes, and tools. Ha!

In other news... I have stepped over to the dark side and... joined Facebook. It's all my sister's fault. Why? After five years of no communication from her, she sends me a Facebook invite. So, I joined and sent her a message saying "I'm so happy you got in touch! How are things with you? Here in Toronto, it's been really hot lately." And what does she write back? "In Warsaw it's cold." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after five years of no calling, writing or otherwise giving a sign of life, my sister imparts this earth-shattering revelation - it's cold in Warsaw.

But speaking of long lost friends, found one! My friend Justyna from elementary school, no less! I did some sleuthing on Google and various other sites and found her! She's married and has two little boys and we've been e-mailing a bit. I miss her. We used to play together for hours. We used to walk each other home after school until our moms came home and pulled us indoors.

OK, last bit of news. My lovely husband gave me an iPod Touch for our wedding anniversary! Oh, I so love electronic toys!