RANDOM: Costco Shopping Trip

 A re-post from 2009 but nothing has changed.

Ahhh Costco. Is there anything like a trip to Costco to make your day? First you have to prove you are worthy to shop there by showing your special card with your special portrait photo on it. I bet they give out awards at their Christmas parties to the staff member who took the worst Costco card photo. Then they all laugh at them in a Power Point Presentation.

Next you are stuck at the doorway in a mass of carts and shoppers that can't figure out that if they stop to read the coupon pages in the doorway the rest of us can't get in the store. These are the same people who block the entire book aisles with their carts while they read up on Kathy Lee Gifford or the latest Oprah pick (yes I read Oprah's picks too but I buy the book and read it at home instead of cleaning the house).

The next Costco challenge is trying to get a sample of the good stuff. Not the Cheerios which you have at home anyways but the chocolate truffles, or chocolate anything for that matter. People congregate around with all their carts at the ends of the aisles. You take your life in your hands when you try to get close to the food demonstrator for your piece. "Please sir, may I have another?"

Last but not least is the jockeying for position at the checkouts. I know they want us to buy carts full of stuff but sometimes all you need is the large bottle of Advil, mostly to deal with the headache you developed in the store. No express checkout for them. Line up with the group buying all the eats and drinks for the soccer tournament. They only have 2 trolleys full. Yes but we still go back.

Who am I kidding. I have never gone into the store and come out with just one thing. Remind me to tell you about the time that woman cut in front of me around Thanksgiving when my back was turned and then spouted off about only wanting good karma. Tuned her up good.

GENEALOGY, RANDOM: The Year Without A Summer

I am joining in with Chari @ Happy to Design for Sunday Favorites. Stop in and see some older posts brought out from the archives to free up some time on a Sunday for other fun things.

I first posted this in March of 2009 but I think it is interesting given the weather extremes we are all experiencing now.
________________________________________________________________

Today we are very concerned about weather patterns and global warming. There have been abnormal instances of weather in the past too.
In 1816 things went terribly wrong and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The normal temperatures in the N.W. United States and in the S. E. of Canada in the late spring were usually around 20-25 degrees Celsius. (68-77 F). Snow in the summer was almost unheard of. Maybe a bit in late May but for the most part never.
In May of 1816 most of the crops that were planted were killed off by a frost. Anything that was replanted after that was also destroyed by two snowstorms in June through eastern Canada and New England. There were widespread localized famines and in a weakened state from hunger there were many disease related deaths.
There was still lake and river ice in July and August as far south as Pennsylvania. The few crops that did grow to maturity went up in price eightfold.
So what caused this you ask? Amazingly enough it was something that happened a year before this. In 1815 in Indonesia the volcano, Mount Tambora, erupted spewing out ash and volcanic dust into the upper atmosphere. During the time frame of 1812-1814 four other major eruptions had already built up the amount of atmospheric dust.
When this happens there is a drop in temperatures world wide. There were food riots, flooding. Hungary reported brown snow and Italy had red snow throughout the year.
I know we had so much snow in our area this year. Not a normal thing for the Lower Mainland of B.C. Now we have rain and cold temperatures and are about 3 weeks behind the normal pattern. We will have to tough it out and think about how lucky we are.
I hear that Mount Redoubt in Alaska has erupted 5 times since yesterday. Uh oh.

RANDOM: What A Mess

THIS IS A REPOST BUT IT IS TIME FOR ME TO DO THIS ALL OVER AGAIN. IT IS EVEN WORSE THIS TIME AROUND. IS THERE A 12 STEP PROGRAM FOR THIS KIND OF THING? NO I AM NOT A HOARDER. REALLY!! I'M NOT.

I am famous for buying more of something at the grocery store that I already have in the pantry. I am very short and can't even see what is on the top shelf let alone reach it. Besides if I am getting one of something I might as well get two. You never know when all the grocery stores in the world will disappear on the same day and I won't have a tin of green peppercorns from Madagascar to make a sauce for my steak.

I luckily had a tall person here to empty out the top shelf for me.
I don't have "food" so much as I have "ingredients". Always the promise of good things. None of the commitment.

Then there are the expired products. Now I will have a record of when it was clean and tidy so that I can see how long I can keep it up. Enough writing. I need to go to the grocery store.

THERE ARE FAIRIES AMONG US

Well now there are some things in life that we believe in and some that we don’t.

Leprechauns? Nope. Not likely.

Unicorns? Only in little girls minds.

Elves & Gnomes? Ya, right! Maybe in your garden or on a travel site.

Trolls? The stuff of kids tales.

But what about Fairies? Are they real? Have you seen one? Met one? I am pretty sure I have.

I have been contacted by the Fairy Hobmother and a wish has been granted just by telling you about them.

I left a comment on Happier Than a Pig in Mud’s blog when she had been visited by the Fairy Hobmother and Kapow!!!! I was granted a wish. So just by posting about the Fairy Hobmother I was gifted an Amazon gift card.

We often post about our cooking endeavours and our appliances are a big part of that. The Fairy Hobmother is a blog showcasing appliances. It is full of information.

But wait….don’t go yet….if you leave a comment on here you may be next to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother. It is real, I know because it happened to me!!!

MY LUCK-SHE'S A GONNA CHANGE

 I am re-posting this today in hope of having the luck of the Irish rub off on me. I have left the comments from the first time I published it attached as they were pretty funny.

I am in a lotto pool with my coffee group. We buy an yearly subscription and we win squat. Okay not squat but next to squat. Squat divided by 10 is diddly squat. Woohoo. I don't know what to spend my diddly squat on. I could buy some gum or  maybe a burger.

You can't invest diddly squat because it isn't enough. Won't even pay the broker's fees. I could save it for a rainy day but it isn't enough to buy an umbrella

Obviously I am going to have to do something about our lack of winning prowess. We are going to have to change our numbers and I know just how to do it.

We are going to South Africa and we are going to catch us a vulture. Then we are going to kill it and take out it's brain and smoke it. No, no, stay with me here. This will work I tell you it will. The healers say so.

First you dry it and then you mix it with mud and smoke it like a cigarette or inhale the vapors. Then you get the visions. Visions of the future. We will get the vision like the vultures have that allows them to swoop out of the sky and down on a carcass. You will see things. Things that you need to see like horse races, exams or business outcomes. AND LOTTO NUMBERS.

Now I know you will say this is bad and that the vultures are becoming extinct but when I win my mega millions I will open a refuge to rebuild the vulture population. I promise.

If this doesn't work I have a line on a field filled with multi leaf clovers in Lingdale, Teesside, Ireland.

Photo from Telegraph.co.uk Photo:NNP

ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM

A RE-POST FROM LAST YEAR

One of my coffee buddies and I were talking about dreams this morning. She had a dream that she was driving in her car and two people crossed in front of her car. One reached right in the front and touched the dashboard. Only then did she realize that her car had no windshield. 
We discussed the many possibilities that this could symbolize. We concluded that she didn't have a protective shield up. Her guard was down. 
I find it strange that in 28 years without my mom I have never seen her in a dream. Twice I have dreamed that she was on the phone but I have awoken both times before talking with her. 
As a child I often dreamed that I was flying through the air. It was like swimming actually. Arms pulling me around the sky like strokes in a pool. 

As an adult I have had nightmares once in a while. My BB guy has had to wake me up a couple of times when I am making very strange sounds in my sleep. It turns out I was trying to scream but nothing was coming out. 
I have struggled with lack of sleep for a while now. What is really harmful about that is that I don't dream then and that makes your brain act very strange after a few days. It isn't healthy. When I take melatonin for a couple weeks to reset my sleep patterns my dreams are always about current things going on in my life. Usually they are specific to that day's events. Otherwise, when I am not taking melatonin my dreams are random. 

How about you? Do you have nightmares? Do you dream in color? Do you fly?

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW

Have you ever found out something about a friend, family member or coworker that has completely surprised you?
I was at at a get together last night for my supervisor who has left the company. We all met up at a local pub for some drinks and a bit of dinner.
This man is quite a bit younger than me. He was a good supervisor and I learned a lot from him. He was always in a dress shirt at work and very professional. This was my first time seeing him outside of work. He was in a t-shirt. He looked very relaxed and casual. He had tatoos up and down both arms......what......back up the bus. He is inked from wrists to shoulders. I was very surprised.
I was very surprised. Oh sure everybody gets tattoos nowadays. I wouldn't have been surprised to see one or two but full sleeves of tatties? Lets just say I was very surprised.
My father had tattoos up and down his arms too. I never thought anything of it. I don't care if someone is tattooed. Whatever. But you know what? I really think that if this young man wore short sleeved shirts to work he would be perceived very differently. He would be judged by his tatties and not his work ethic and his abilities. I think that is sad.
Granted one makes that choice when they get tattoos but I think that is too bad. They are judged by something that has nothing to do with their capabilities or ethics.
So I wonder how many of your long sleeved acquaintances or coworkers may be hiding a little ink from the world.
Are you? Me? Maybe one of your kids? You just never know.

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REPEAT POST: THIS GOOSE EGG WAS NOT GOLDEN

Here is an older post from last March. I thought it would be a fun one to repeat.

I received a long distance phone call this morning from one of my sisters. She told me to turn on the local news and have a look at my "weapon of choice". What did I see there. An old Electrolux vacuum cleaner of course She sure has a long memory. Many, many, many years ago when I was about 4 or 5 years old, in self defense I am sure, I took the metal pipe from my Mom's vacuum and whacked her across the head with it.

I was just a tiny little girl but apparently I had enough muscle to swing that sucker pretty good.
She ran to our Mom's room and woke her from a nap. Mom wasn't happy about the wake up but when she saw the size of the goose egg on my sister's forehead she let out an "OMG".

Now in my defense I must say she must have done something to deserve this because I have never hit anyone since. I also don't remember this so I have to take her word for it.

Mom did what they did in those days...she taped a huge coin tightly to it to try to keep the swelling down. No doctors, no Children's Aid, no clinic.

By the way this same sister used to double me on the back of her bike and she would go so fast I would scream and scream. That I do remember. See I told you she probably deserved it.

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WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN?

*** I have edited my blog badge code so it actually show the picture I have here when you put it on your site. If you have my badge on your site could you please change the code to the updated one. Thanks***

(No making fun of the hair do or the groovy 60's pants thank you very much. If you can't say something nice then don't say any thing at all at least make it funny)

Do you ever think of the people who have passed through your life only to go on to lives of their own? People who you may have played hide and seek with or kick the can on a warm summer's night? People who were growing up where you grew up?

I think of these people often. I think of the silly things we did. Apparently I told people that I was a witch. Uh huh. I had forgotten about that until this weekend. Why did I suddenly remember this? I made contact with a two sisters that I used to live near when I was about 11 or 12. I found her and her sister on Facebook. I guess I kind of scared her for a while. She was younger than me and I was pretty convincing. Sorry girl.

Once you start remembering some things bits and pieces start to flood forward. I started to remember lots of other names and details. It has been quite a trip down memory lane but you know what? You really can't go home again and quite honestly I don't want to. I want to see these women for the great people they have become today. How all of us from the same place in life have grown up and moved on and made such differences in our worlds.

This is an example of the world wide web at its best. Facilitating the reconnecting of people all around the world. Without Facebook I never would have visited with them. It has also connected me with distant relatives that I knew nothing about. So even though there is lots of  bad stuff on the net there is lots of good stuff too.  

I probably shouldn't even mention that one of my boys thought this picture of me was my brother. Uh huh. He actually thought that. C'mon people that side parted  flipped over hair was really cool. Really. If any of you have any doubts about how cool the 60's were here is a little clip for you to get you in the mood. This clip is so hysterical. Oh how I loved the 60's but you really can never go home again.

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WHEN THINGS GO WELL

We always seem to get annoyed with little things but some days things go well. Like today.

• I needed to go to the post office and raced up there figuring I was too late. Nope...they are open until 9:00 pm. 

• My BB guy was given a free crock pot. Cool. 

• I have to go and buy a big bag of dog food tomorrow. Today in the mail was our free bag voucher for being a loyal customer at the pet food store. Score. 

It is the little things that can make your day.

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RANDOM THOUGHTS - THOUGH NOT MINE ORIGINALLY

Random Thoughts

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least KIND OF tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice-mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Mom what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Now keep in mind these were not written by me but are just being passed on for a little light humor. 

WE WILL SELF DESTRUCT AT THE BUZZER

I gotta tell you I am getting a little paranoid around here. Things have been self destructing on a regular basis. I know things get old and wear out (oh gosh how I know) but this is getting on my nerves. 
When we renovated the kitchen several years ago we replaced the dishwasher and microwave but kept the fridge and stove because they were fine. 
A bit before that we had to get a new washer and dryer when they quit. Now the bleach/soap/softener dispenser only dispenses some of the time and the handle broke off of the dryer.

Well we replaced the fridge finally a couple years ago. So far so good.(shhh don't say anything)

 

 This past November we replaced the stove that had many issues.

The handle on the microwave broke off so now we pull it open by digging our fingers up under the bottom of the door and pulling. 

Last night my BB guy went to open the dishwasher and the handle broke. Now this is more of an issue because the handle also starts the dishwasher.

Now don't get me wrong. Those appliances had held up a long time. It is just that when it rains it pours. Oh ya, forgot to mention we have a leaky roof and will have to replace it this spring when the weather permits...and the bank account. 

SUNDAY FAVORITES - ME WANT COOKIES

Joining in with Chari @ Happy to Design for Sunday Favorites. This is a repeat post from May 2009. You can join in too. Just republish one of your earlier posts that people may not have seen. Then go to Chari's site to link your post for everyone to find.

I just read in Saturday's paper that there is a doctor from Miami, Florida who has created a cookie that helps you lose weight. Before you get a speeding ticket heading to the Oreo aisle lets be clear this is no ordinary cookie. It is a cookie that costs $59 US for a weeks supply. For us Canadians it is about $5,000,000 if you get my drift. It is all the rage in Hollywood so we know it must be great, right?
These special little guys will curb your appetite due to the special proteins in them. You still have to be on a calorie reduced diet for success. My question is why don't you take the $240.00 a month you can save by not buying these and reward yourself with shopping, movies, manicures/pedicures, massages etc. as you lose weight with a regular low calorie diet. That could be one heck of an incentive I think.
Here are some more wonderful diet ideas that have come down the turnpikes in past years:

• 1757-Dutch physician, Malcolm Flemyng figured you could use soap as a cure for fat because he noticed it washed away fat and grease on his linens and dishes. He suggested eating or drinking it. Might I suggest a full bodied Palmolive with your grilled chicken.
• In the early 1900's Horace Fletcher was known as "The Great Masticator". How brilliant was this guy. With his plan you could eat anything you wanted. That is right you heard correctly, anything. You just couldn't swallow it. Chew and chew and chew for as long as you could and just swallow the juices and spit out what ever was left. I find this works especially well with wine. I chew and chew then swallow the juices. Whoops, nothing left to spit out.
  
• In the first half of the 20th century you could get a prescription for something called dinitophenol. This tasty treat would raise your body temperature and put you in a feverish state causing you to burn calories without doing anything. The fact that it could lead to blindness and death was a small price to pay for that size 4 body.
  

SUNDAY FAVORITES -

Today I am joining in Sunday Favorites with Chari @ Happy to Design. Stop in there to see some older posts from the other bloggers too.

I posted this back in May and today I will actually reach my 20,000 visitor so I thought it was the perfect one to post again. You can see that I had a different banner back then.

Let me tell you right from the heart how much I enjoy our interactions. You people are so fun and interesting. You are kind and caring. You are faithful friends. 
Thank you each and every one of you for visiting me in my own little world. I love to hear from all of you....even you lurkers. Come on and join in. Don't be so shy. They are all really nice. I promise.

RESTAURANT RANTS

I read an article in today's Vancouver Sun newspaper discussing issues people have when dining out or what servers dislike most about patrons. 
I have to agree with a lot of them on both sides but seeing as I am not a server I will list mine from the patron's point of view. 

• Do not ever, ever clear a dinner plate from the table while others are still eating. 
• When I order the wine do not present it to my husband for tasting. 
• After pouring the first glass of wine for the table do not come by and refill our glasses for us. Perhaps the designated driver is only having one glass. I don't want to drink out of their glass and I don't want to waste the wine. Also we may have enjoyed the one glass and wish to re-cork or to wait to have the rest with a meal. You know if it is poured in front of people they will be sipping on it and it will be gone before the main meal. 
• Do not become my best friend forever. You are at work not at my house for a party. Be polite and attentive but for the most part invisible. 
• Quit trying to upsell everything. If I choose an appetizer don't try to add a second one. When I order food don't try to "biggie size" it and I am not referring to fast food places. If I want to add a side of mushrooms to my steak I will ask for them. If I choose a wine don't suggest the next price point up. If I order coffee after dinner don't try to suggest adding a shot of something. I know you are told to do this but it is rude. 
• Don't rattle off all the specials. I forget the first 3 by the time you get to the last 3. Ask if we are interested. 

So what about you? What burns you up when eating out? What ticked you off when you were a server? 
Just so you know I am a very generous tipper.

SUNDAY FAVORITES - DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

Chari @ Happy to Design is our host for Sunday Favorites once again. This is number 28. Sunday Favorites lets us show an older post that our new readers may not have seen. Ideally it also gives us the day off other than checking out other blogs for their Sunday Favorites. Join in. 

This was originally posted March 8th, 2009 when it was time to set our clocks forward so I thought it was appropriate to post it now when we are setting our clocks back one hour. 

Whose idea was this? Making me get up an hour earlier. Did it start with Ben Franklin like I have heard or was it William Willett. It didn't go over well back then and still today people grumble. Now my coffee buddy EW is correct that WWII had something to do with it but that was after the previous two clowns got it started in Great Britain.
The energy saving benefits of Summer Time were recognized during World War II. Clocks in Britain were put two hours ahead of GMT during the summer. This became known as Double Summer Time. During the war, clocks remained one hour ahead of GMT throughout the winter.
Chickens apparently do not like this one bit.
Countries around the equator don't have to have it at all because the days and evenings are always about the same length.
Now I have to figure out what time it is back East so I can phone and not wake someone up. Spring forward 1 hour, 3 hours ahead in their time zone but now 4 but I am ahead 1 hour too so that makes it 3 again and never mind. I am going back to bed.

IF YOU ONLY HAD A BRAIN

It is getting to be that time of year again. There is snow at the higher elevations. A winter wonderland will soon be everywhere. Many people will get out their skis or snow mobiles or hiking packs and head on out to the mountainous areas. And like every year some of them will lose their lives. 
They will go into areas that are roped off and signed saying Out Of Bounds or Avalanche Area. Look, look at the fresh powder snow over there. The signs don't apply to me. I know how to ski, my machine is powerful enough to get me out of there.
Or will they go for a day hike with only their light jacket and a bottle of water. No one knows their route. No one even knows sometimes that they have gone hiking. 

At some point the Search and Rescue people will be called out to find these people who have gone off the trails or simply get lost and are not prepared in any way for a night or two on a rugged mountain. Even if it doesn't snow it is still extremely cold. 
These rescue personnel will risk their lives trying to find you. They have other jobs they must leave and family that love them and they will risk it all to save your sorry butt. 
I think you should have to pay for all costs associated with your rescue if you are out of bounds. 
Nineteen snowmobilers — all but one of them in B.C. — have died in avalanches in Canada this season, according to statistics provided by the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC). The number accounts for 75 per cent of all national backcountry fatalities, which also includes a heli-skier, a mountaineer and four out-of-bounds skiers.
In several of the snowmobile-related incidents, slides were triggered as a result of highmarking — a deadly practice where riders push their machines as far up a steep slope as possible.
              This information from the Vancouver Sun Newspaper.2008-2009 season.

My husband has encountered several idiotic people who were not prepared for the outdoors and had zero common sense while out there. One guy actually left the hillsides and went to the bar without telling his female companion. She hunted high and low for him for hours eventually getting some assistance from my husbands group. She was going to spend the night alone in an empty cabin to see if he would show up when someone found out he was cozy in the bar. I wonder what that car ride home was like? 

Anyway people use some common sense. Out of Bounds means just that and yes it means you. Tell people where you are going when hiking and be prepared for the worst. Wear avalanche beacons and carry shovels and poles for rescuing. Take walkie talkies. Flares? Sure why not. Be like a boy scout and be prepared.  

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE "CANADA"

So I know you probably don't watch the Canadian version of this show but wanted to crow about one of our Canadian contestants. This is Tara Jean Popowich from Lethbridge, Alberta. I have never watched the show before but when I found out she was on there from my niece I tuned in. My niece is out of the country right now so I have to watch so I can update her.

I met Tara Jean only once when she came to watch her brother's hockey game one night in a Vancouver suburb. She was teaching dance at the time at a well known, elite dance studio in the downtown Vancouver area.

My niece and her husband billet hockey players for the Cowichan Capitols team every year in their Vancouver Island home and when they come to the Mainland to play I always go and watch mostly just to visit with family who always come with the team.

This particular night Tara Jean and a friend had taken several buses and a rapid transit train to get to this suburb just to watch her brother play hockey. It took them a couple hours to get to the ice rink and they really didn't even know where they had ended up but they found the rink.

Being the local person at the game my niece asked if I could get them back to the train so they could get downtown. It was about 11:00 pm and of course I would give them a ride. I remember thinking how tiny and young these girls were. The fact that they were living on their own in Vancouver at age 18, working on a dream was really amazing to me. I took them the Sky Train station that would get them directly where they wanted to go and I worried and worried that they would get there safely. Forget the fact that it was a Friday night and they were probably heading out to party somewhere once they got back into town. I just think like a mom.

Any way Tara Jean is doing great on the show and the judges love her. I wish her the best.

NEW OLYMPIC TEAM?

I don't know why but these photos make me smile.
They are monks in a southeast district of Jongkhar in Bhutan. Although the government here has taken great care to maintain the traditional culture we can see advent of western influences. Just a few decades ago they were still a feudal place with no roads, proper schools or hospitals. 

My guess is that the new guy has to chase the ball when it rolls out of bounds and down the mountain side. 

Photo credits: SYNGYE WANGCHUK/REUTERS