Wandering in my mind

The house is still too quiet, so yesterday older DD and I went for a drive. We checked out a small camping ground just a few kliks away and sat in the sun there for a while (and I have the pink chest and arms to prove it). DD roamed around some and I read for a while, then we had lunch and travelled on.

Off to the big attractions. *snort* We stopped off in Torrington to go through the Gopher Hole Museum. This is definately one weird local attraction and there had to be a dozen people going through it at the same time as us. So on a mid week afternoon, they actually have traffic. Local folks on display as gophers - and you can recognize the local buildings you have just driven past.

Perhaps Nutz and the RV crowd need to check this out.

Older Dd is away from home a lot. With her friends, at her part time job, just bumming around. But my baby, younger DD is at home and filling the house with sound. So since we met the camp bus yesterday morning and I got the quickest goodbye in history as she ran to see her friends from prior years' camps, I am finding the house empty. No one is chasing the cat or grumbling about helping with dishes or switching the TV station on me. It's weird and things won't be normal until she comes home Saturday.

I'm a temporary quasi empty nester.

There is a new dog in the neighbourhood. Friends got a puppy, and it cost $450.00. When I asked what it was, they said it was a pug-shu. Now, I don't know about you, but to me that says mutt. But, curious, I looked in the newspaper pet listing. There are all kinds of mutts listed, golden doodles, cock-a-poos, etc. It seems these little mixed breed pups are being sold for the same prices as the registered breeds.

Maybe I just march to a different drummer, but instead of encouraging back yard breeders who don't get their pets fixed, aren't there enough mixed breed puppies and dogs at the SPCA already looking for homes?

That's all I have to say. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Youngest Dd and I were in town yesterday, getting the few odds and ends she still needs for camp next week. At the local Fields store, they had DVDs for $1 each. They are new, just older movies that you don't see much. Anyway, I got three old westerns that don't show up much on TV for DH and for my self, I got His Girl Friday, They Call Me Trinity and Trinity is Still My Name. The Trinity movies are from the early 70s and are comedy westerns. I have not thought of them in years, and likely never would have, had I not seen them yesterday, but now that I have them, I will watch them with the girls and see if they hold up to memory. What the heck. Six bucks well wasted.

And I think the girls and I will be going to the RCMP Musical Ride on Saturday, if there are still tickets available. We will find out later today. I've been once before, and they really do put on a great precision riding show. I love the charge.

There have been dimes appearing around lately. I found one on the kitchen floor a couple days ago, then when DD and I were cleaning a closet, in a box of odds and ends, we sorted through and there was another dime. Now I sat down at the computer desk and there is a dime on the desk.

Nobody admits to leaving them. They are just there. What do they mean? Will there be more? How many do I need for my vacation?

This story caught my attention. After moving in, this lady discovered someone was living in her attic. Shade of too many horror movies- Get out of the house, the calls are coming from inside! If you read the article, at the end it says

" Ms. Peña said she won't feel sure the intruder has left until a few nights pass without additional noises. In the meantime, she said, she isn't worried.

"I'm pretty fearless," she said. "It's more a desire to make sure my kids are OK. I've got a mother's courage, I guess." ".

Now, maybe I'm just a coward? But keeping the kids safe does not seem to me to be accomplished by waiting to see if he comes back. I'd have been out of there with the first weird sounds and police would have been coming back with me, not telling the squatter to move out. Oh, and dead bolts. Lots of dead bolts. This lady has a bigger set than me, for sure. What would you do?

Bats in belfry? Try stranger in her attic

So the girls at our local registry office (motor vehicles) told oldest DD she should appear in court on her scheduled day and plead guilty to speeding but explain she was a student and the fine was a hardship. Apparently a lot of them do this. So she did, and when the judge asked her why she was asking for a reduction, she replied that she did deserve the ticket, but as a student, it was a huge fine. As a result, the judge dropped her one level so instead of $120, her fine was $89, and she got one less demerit on her license.

Had that been me, there would likely have been jail time added on.

My beautiful pansies are toast. It started as a thunder storm with heavy rain, and then the hail began. I watched from the window as the hailstones bounced on the lawn. It looked almost like something alive, as the ice jumped up and bounced. But what it did to my poor little pansies…sheer carnage. Bits of coloured petals surround the pots that were so lush and full. The little faces aren’t smiling any more. I hope the plants can recover, and that they will bloom again.

Hail, hail, the gang’s all gone.

Well, yesterday was a totally new experience. Would you like to hear? Too bad – I’m gonna tell you anyway. First youngest DD and I headed to Calgary in the early afternoon for a little bra shopping for her. Three new bras from LaSenza later, we went for supper (Chinese) and then on to the camp orientation meeting. It began at 7 in the evening in a business building, 3rd floor and was pretty much over by 8. Leaving, we pushed the elevator button, got in and pushed main. The elevator went down, and when the main light came on, it gave a lurch and a shudder and then refused to open the door.

Well, this is not a big problem, right? There is an alarm button and a telephone call box. So we pushed the button and picked up the phone to call. Now the problem starts. The call goes to hold and a recording. After 10 minutes, we kind of figured no one was going to pick up the other end. So we pushed the alarm button for a while. Repeatedly. And. again. And no one responded.

Working my way around the little metal box, I finally got one bar to show on my cell phone and called 911. The connection kept fading, but held on long enough to tell the operator the address, though when she asked which elevator we were in, I did say “The one with the closed door that won’t open”.

Now the fire department gets sent out and they bring an elevator service man with them. They call through the closed door to DD and me, and assure us we will be released soon. Finally the elevator begins to move, and goes back up to the 3rd floor, where the door actually opens and we immediately jump off. The cleaning lady in the hall seems surprised to see us, and when we ask where the stairs are, she tells us we can’t use them after hours without a key. The only way down is in an elevator. Obviously, we took the other one, and not the one that had been our home.

So one hour after the start of our little adventure, we got released. Man, do you know how hot it can get in a little metal box? But we survived and met two cute firemen and were finally able to head for home, even if we were running an hour later than we intended. Thank cod neither of us is claustrophobic.

And a good Canada Day time was had by all. Somebody (who shall be referred to as DH to protect the guilty) had a little too much imbibement around the campfire pit Saturday night, so when he was getting wood to put on, I poured some water in his canvas chair. He was supposed to sit in it first so his pants were damp, but he saw it and said “What the hell…”. I, of course, loudly proclaimed he had pissed in his chair! Although the denial was immediate, he did make a quick check of his sweatpants, which had me rolling on the ground. When he threatened to find a way to get even, I clutched my chest and wailed that I was sick and it could bring on a heart attack. Might have got away with it, had I not still been laughing.

The steaks I got were SO tender – when we were flipping them on the bbq with the tongs, you had to be careful they didn’t fall apart. Add the bbq carrots and potatoes, garlic bread, cucumber slices (with vinegar) and the marinated veggie salad with feta cheese and top it all off with strawberry shortcake for dessert, and everyone was hard pressed to be able to move after that supper.

Now it’s time for the southern celebrations. Happy Independence Day!