The Rainbow Bridge came yesterday, for one of my loved ones...

...around 2:00pm, one of my fur-babies, Suki, passed away from "renal failure"! She was 4 days away from turning 11.

I buried her last night at 11:11...on a clear and cool night which happened to be the start of a new moon?

I have more to say later about her untimely death and how it changed our lives?

But my heart is too heavy to continue right now...

R.I.P. my Suki Yama [ June 7, 1997 - June 3, 2008 ]

I MISS YOU ALREADY!

WTF

I was rudely awaken this morning by being flipped out of bed by my mattress/bedding, finding myself being wedged tightly between the frame and the sliding doors of my closet! The landing was soft, because of the bedding, but they also ended up trapping me because they encased me so tightly!

The first thing I did was panic because I'm not too crazy about being restrained like that! I felt like a beached whale tangled up in a fishing net! Then I had to laugh at my predicament...how was I going to get out!

Well, with a lot of wiggling and butt shoving the bed frame and closet doors, I managed to free myself. This only took a few minutes but felt like an hour! It was still dark out when it happened so I turned on the lights to see what time it was...4:47 am!

The real odd thing about this happening was the dream that I was having at the time! I had been replaying an incident from my past that happened between my two younger sisters, Buttons, Eener and me.

My parents were out and I was babysitting them. It was bedtime, I was really tired and wanted to sleep, but all they wanted to do was fool around! It didn't matter how much I shouted at them to shut-up and go to sleep...they wouldn't listen! They both shared a room and they were just across the hall from mine. So I planned my revenge!

It was dark out and there was hardly any light, so I was able to crawl across the hallway and sneak into their room. The closest bed to me belonged to my younger sister Eener. I slipped under the bed and waited for them to stop yakking. Finally they lay quiet for a few moments and that's when I reached out from under Eener's bed and grabbed her!

You should have heard the ear piercing scream that she let out! The scream was so loud that it ended up scaring Buttons. She reacted by screaming and flinging herself against the wall beside her bed! This caused the bed to shift, her mattress flipped and it pinned her!

Of course I rolled out from under the bed laughing...tears running down my cheeks. I turned the light on and found both girls in hysterics and crying! Then I realized that Buttons was more panicked than Eener because of the predicament she was in. She couldn't get out and it didn't help that she was still unaware of why Eener had screamed! She too was encased in her bedding!

Our parents came home to quite an uproar and I was in big trouble because of it!

The weird thing about this tale is the dream, my experience that awoke me from it and the time in which I figured it happened...4:44?

Those who have kept up with my blog knows that I have a thing with numbers and the number 444 [to me] means an angel has contacted me.

So....did Buttons get back at me for my sadistic prank from our earlier years?

Also, out of the blue, I received a call last night from an old friend inviting me to go "garage sailing" with her this morning in the town-wide garage sale next to our town. "Garage Sailing" was a big favorite of Button's and mine. It's been over a year since I have attended one [I had to kick the habit]. With my business not doing too well and money being tight I hadn't really planned on attending it. PoD's not really into it too much [she's been doing this clean sweep thing] any more and missing my sister hasn't helped the desire either. So I thought..."why not"?
Making a mental note with myself last night to make sure to get up early enough so I could shower before going.

So...is this also a sign from her telling me that it's okay to go?

That's why this blog is labeled WHAT THE F__K!

Post 333....this number is supposed to be the devil's son's number...?

But seeing as I don't believe in the devil, I guess one should never mind the number!

The one thing I do believe in, is the evil that is in some people! Or maybe that some are so brain dead that reasonable thought never enters their brain...ever?

What kind of person would fire a dangerous projectile towards an occupied house?

I can't for the life of me, justify this act, let alone wonder why any person would own such a weapon that could fire this thing in the first place!

Why the rant....

Yesterday morning, PoD dug out a tiny dart that was embedded into the wooden frame of one of her veranda windows! She really had to dig deep to remove it, meaning that it had to of hit at a high velocity [I watch too much CSI]! If her or one of her kids had been standing on the step, they would have been hit in the head by it! The angle that it came from showed that it might not have been fired directly at her place but as far as I'm concerned it should have never been fired...period! The height of it suggested that it was fired from a high position...like someone standing in the back of a truck. A drive by?

We're not sure what kind of distance these can be fired from in order to keep their power, but if it was a short distance, as stated in target practicing, then it was deliberately fired at her house to bury itself that deep! Scary thought!

This is the tiny object I'm talking about...This picture shows these ones to be plastic but the one that PoD dug out of her window frame was made out of metal. I seriously think that even the plastic ones could dangerous! This is the type of object it is fired from...

Those darts can only be fired from a hand held air gun and not from an air rifle [we checked]! How would you react if this was shoved into your face...it sure looks real to me! It scares me to think that something like this is showing up in our small town! The sad thing is that these air guns/rifles are bought as a toy/game?

Needless to say we went to the cop shop and reported it! They should be concerned about the existance of these...what if they stopped a vehicle and found themselves looking down the business end of this "harmless" toy?

We're still waiting to hear from them...?

STRANGE AND SCARY NOISES....

It's okay to read this....I'm not whining [as usual]...

I had some excitement this morning [8:30] at work!

I was talking on the phone to PoD [she's home sick right now] when I could hear strange sounds coming from the back door area of my building. I got up to investigate [while still talking to her] and found nothing going on outside the back doors...also the noise had stopped when I had got up? Looked around, no sounds, so I went and sat down again. I didn't mention it to her at that time about these noises. Then a few minutes later it started again and I went silent...then she could hear it. "What's that noise" she said?

So I got up and went to investigate [she's still on the line]. The noise stopped?

The sound was kind of tinny, like the walls of the furnace, but it wasn't coming from that area. I checked outside again and nothing was around, or had been, as there wasn't any tracks in the new falling snow [yes it's snowing AGAIN]?

Very puzzling?

This was kind of spooking me and PoD too!

No noise, as I checked around again! So I went and sat back down. We kept talking, trying to figure out what it might of been, when it started once more, only louder! So I quietly tip toed to where the sound was coming from and stood listening...

"Oh my God" I said to PoD, chills running up and down my spine....

"You won't believe where the sound is coming from"? making chills run up and down both our spines!

It was coming from an area straight across from where I was standing and where there wasn't any tin to be making that sound! Or so I thought! Upon closer inspection there was my old trash compacter [from upstairs] and it's sides were tin!

On the line PoD is telling me to open it up and check it out. My first thought was that the noise was too loud to be a mouse and I wasn't sure I wanted to have a rat come barging out at me! But in the end I warily opened it...finding nothing! With all of the noise I was making...the banging sound came again...but closer to me!

Right beside the compacter, hidden, was an empty tin wash tub! I slowly pulled it out and what to my wondering eyes beheld...a tiny little mouse! He was soooo cute!

I guess with it trying to climb the tall sides and falling back in, made the inner area echo... making the noise sound larger than it should have been.

PoD and I had a good laugh over that one!

Now what to do with the mouse? Me being one that can't kill anything [except bugs] decided to release it to the wild...or the dumpster far enough from my back doors. I didn't need it to come back to visit!

The noise and experience made the heart pound for a minute and happiness over finding just what it was even better!

Nice way to start the day!

MORE CRAP ON MY CRACKER...

If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all!

I feel like this poor cat....

Once again I have gone through more nightmare situations than I'd like to handle!

It all started with the water heater crapping out at the place where I now live! Thankfully I don't own the place, so I wasn't hit with that cost, but I still had to endure living without HOT water! Luckily it got fixed [after three days of waiting for the plumber dude to get his act together]! You can breathe a sigh of relief...I can now shower!

Then the water heater at my work place decided to quit working!

Had to call the "ex" in and even he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it? It was only 3 years old? So I had to heat water in the microwave before I was able to wash alum sign blanks, dishes...etc. One thing I couldn't do, was being able to afford to replace it! So I had nothing else to do but live with it...after all third world countries learn do without!

A few days earlier, I had turned off the furnace because it was starting to be really nice outside, trying to save money? The birds were singing, the trees had buds forming on them, the air was even becoming unbreathable [people were preparing their lawns]...spring had finally sprung! I was even going to start walking in the evening!

Suddenly the weather takes a turn for the worse and a cold front hits us! With the colder weather the heat had to be turned back on! Guess what?

NO HEAT! [Yes....I paid the bills!]

This meant trying to operate machinery that isn't meant to be operated in cold weather but seeing as it wasn't too bad out, we managed anyways. Work just had to be done, heat or no heat!

We were managing...

Then the weather decided to crap on all of us AGAIN...bring back winter in it's worst form! Wham...2' of wet snow! Like everyone else I was just getting to enjoy walking outside without BOOTS and heavy coats on! I should have known better!

Well the temperature inside dropped from barely manageable to totally unmanageable! I even dragged [through HUGE snow banks] a portable heat from my residence, in order that I MIGHT be able to get some designing work done on the computer? NOPE...computers don't like the cold! Picture me sitting there with mitts, toque, boots and heavy coat on! The heater couldn't even keep me warm! My "ex" had promised to drop by when he could get out of his place to see what was wrong with the furnace. So I had to wait there until he arrived...which wasn't until 1:00pm. Meanwhile I managed to keep warm by moving around doing grad decorations!

After an hour of dorking around with the furnace he decided to check the electrical outlet...NO POWER was getting to it! It seems he forgot, that he had shut off the electricity from the power box, when he was checking out the wiring that we are doing upstairs in the renovations.

Why the power was being routed from the upstairs box is beyond my comprehension? I had checked the box downstairs and all had been okay! I never ever though that it would have been connected to upstairs! Another curse for the previous owner!

So this morning I now have HEAT and HOT WATER!

On top of everything here at work, my grand kids are down sick again with colds/coughs thus PoD can't come to work and my cat, Suki, isn't doing too good right now. I have had to decide between paying bills, feeding them and me or take her to the expensive vet! Sadly she has to pay the price. She was starting to enjoy the green grass I was bringing her from outside and it was helping with her tummy ailments...now it's frozen!

I'm trying hard to look on the bright side of things only...it's just that I can't seem to find it?

[Deep sigh]!

Well I'd better put the nose to the old grindstone and get some work caught up...

I just hope that the old grindstone keeps working?

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY....

This may sound silly but I am only now recovering from the high emotions that hit me while I contended with the stress that comes from "stage productions"! Having to tell myself to quit thinking about set building/prop making/cat herding/prompting...etc, has been very hard and my final "pissy fit" at the end didn't help!

During these productions [which was about 3 different restaurants], I worked on a real high, forcing myself to try to remember everything during that time frame so I wouldn't let my fellow thespians down! So when I was hit with a "it's not my fault I missed my lines because I was almost poisoned by bad food" and everyone looks at me...hit me below the belt!

After it was over, I couldn't get out of there fast enough!

No one was really accusing me or pointing fingers but it made me accuse myself! When in actuality, the bad food wasn't my fault...they were supposed to have provided me with their own food daily...my job was putting it together for their usage in the play!

It was just the lowness of someone else's comments, to cover their inability to learn their job, that hurt me the most!

I tried to laugh it off as a small minor thing but couldn't...I'm too anal about what I do and how well that I do it! It was a flaw that just ate at me!

This made blogging impossible until I could rationalize my "pissy fit"!

My mom always preached to me..."if you haven't got anything nice to say...don't say anything at all and if you can't let it go...wait til' a cooler mind prevails"!

I'm cooler now!

As for our production...it went well! Thursday night saw a small crowd of 41 people and they enjoyed the show but were pissed off at us because there wasn't a bar. How can you enjoy a bad performance without the possibility of getting pissed to help one's self get through it? Friday's crowd was larger and were allowed to get pissed if needed to...all that commented later enjoyed it enough not to! Saturday showed us a "sold out" crowd. From comments all went great!

We had our flubbed lines but the crowd never noticed...thankfully they don't get to read the script! Prompters have to read it nightly! Our group was professional enough to pull it off! I even had great comments on the set and props...when they could find me.

But my job didn't end when the curtains went down. The set had to be made right for the next evening's production. This meant washing dishes, cutlery and getting the stuff ready to take home to fill again. So I had no time to go out and get my "pats on the back" for my job well done. Some of the others did offer to help me and some did help [thank you Wilma], but by then I had already completed my tasks. Every night I ended up trying to go to sleep only to have my exhaustion keep me awake. Mornings always came too soon! I worked each day [even Saturday] to keep up with the work that was finally starting to come in.

So in all...I worked myself into having a silly comment upset me!

It's from this last experience that I have finally realized that I'm just not young [or healthy] enough to do this anymore! Getting riled up over a stupid comment was the final straw for me!

I've decided that the younger ones need to experience the stress that comes from building something to please others! If I do anything for this group again it will only be something where I need not attend rehearsals or work too hard! I love community theater too much to just do nothing...maybe the table centerpieces? I don't think I could screw them up as bad as these last ones were[not my comment, I just got to hear it later].....?

There was one bright angel that struggled with this production with me and who also cared too much on how "we are slowly losing the finer points" that are needed to pull these thing off...Wilma! She was my "taxi driver" and an ear to bend after each rehearsal...she kept me on the straight and narrow...giving me the strength to finish it! Hopefully she doesn't get burned out also! Thanks girl for all you did for me!

Lastly but not the least ,was the help that my daughter gave me...even after she told me that she "wasn't doing anything for the play this year"! I enjoyed working with her on the building of the sets...she was the strength that helped put them together! She even filled in for Wilma once when she was away. She's expressed an interest in acting...maybe I just look after my grandchildren instead...?

I wanted to have photos to put in my blog on what I had accomplished this year but my camera must have sensed my mood because all of my shots are too blurry! Must be my old age shakes?

So now my "pissy fit" is over!

WE'RE BACK FROM VISITING THE WIZARD...

We actually came back on Wednesday!

I finally have enough energy to report our venture to the northern city for the long awaited 3 Act Festival!

I journeyed up there with Pebbles & BamBam and the trip was made even more exciting with at least 2" of snow on the road! We had left with plenty time to take it slowly...so we did. There was no wildlife to be seen anywhere!

The excitment came when we were nearing the city limits! The truck that was pulling the trailer, with our set in, it suddenly hit a bump and started the trailer to rock and sway! Thankfully "Cowboy" kept things under control! Visions of "hard work" laying all over the ditch became my newest nightmare...not to mention the possibility of injury to the two guys in the truck! Luck was with us after all cause we arrived with that being the only incident!

Unloading took a short time as did the set up...all had arrived safely without any damages. It pays to carry tools...everybody knows that if your prepared for trouble - trouble never happens? We even managed to have a successful rehearsal!

The hosting club even provided us with a tasty lunch. They even let us use some of the food for our play...which was both very nice.

We accomplished so much that we all had time to do our seperate things.

I spent my time relaxing?

Managing all of the stage stuff [set placement, curtains, props & food] totally exhausted me, so I wanted my extra time to be spent resting...mostly so that I could party longer that night.

Seems fate still had some things in store for me....

I wanted to take advantage of the pool and hot tub, at the hotel. But it so happened that there was a dance festival being held this weekend, so both facilities were packed with noisy kids! The ones of us that had windows [we had a horrible skylight...no window] in their rooms, opened up to the pool, they had to listen to the noise! What was worse...?

I couldn't relax so I decided that I needed something to read to help me out. This meant going outside to a convience store across the way.

I got lost trying to get out of the building!

I don't like elevators at the best of times and the one that they had, made me nervous with all of it's noises! Deciding to use the stairs I went down too many floors and ended up in the basement. Seems that the area I landed up in was accessed by the outer doors to the rooms. I couldn't even find the entrance to the lobby! They had a hallway that was seperated by a wall and I went up and down it a few times before I figured out that it was not a seperate hallway...why it was built that way was beyond my comprehension? I figured that I must have wandered into the new addition? The door I did find, led me to the back parking lot! With my luck still holding, I went the wrong way and had to back track and ended up walking around the whole hotel! Something that should have taken a few minutes ended up being 20 minutes later!

I did have another embarassing moment...I forgot to make note of the room number as I left to pick up that something to read! Thankfully no one was around to watch me swiping my keycard at all of the rooms that I thought might be the right one. I did manage to find the right one and didn't have to go down to the lobby to admit my stupidity!

I finally did get some rest! Seems the searching for the book made me tired because I barely read it!

I did have more problems with my keycard while I was staying there!

Finally it was time for our performance!

It went smoothly except for a drop in the lines. I should have been there to catch it with a prompt but I had gotten myself into a mess with not taking my insulin on time. I had been running around seeing to everything and forgot how stress affects my sugar levels. I was crashing sugar wise and this slowed down my thought process, thus breaking my routine. Normally the area that they were in never had any problems so I wasn't prepared for it. It was becoming more difficult for me to move quickly from one set to another. This makes it one more reason why I shouldn't be doing this anymore. Especially not by myself!

Other than that the audience sounded like they enjoyed it!

Finally it was over and all that was left was the take down! I must say that it took hardly any time at all.

Sadly a sugar crash puts me into a mental funk that's hard to get out of and thought processing after one never improves without sleep.

But it was time to party!

It was nice to have an applause as one enters the green room. It's kind of a tradition that they do that honors the performing group that night. We got to eat right away...seeing as they wait for us on that also.

Our town is known for it's ability to party and we didn't disapoint them! Wilma had been at the first two green rooms and said that they had been boring! Our group likes to dance [me included] and dance we did! Sadly, [at 1:30am] I had to go to my room and left the younger ones to continue with their wild antics!

The nice thing was that the green room was held in the same hotel where we were staying so one could "walk" back to their room. Our rooms just so happen to be a long ways away! Guess what...my keycard wouldn't work in the door [yes, I had the right room!] and I had to traipse all the way back to the lobby to get them to program me another one. I was really tired after what felt like a 2 mile walk!

My roomates straggled in at 4 in the am. Hang overs were to be expected at 9:30 am when we went for our adjudication.

I had gotten up early [as usual] and had already eaten breakfast [slowly] waiting for some signs of life from the others? The group that were to perform that day had already left. Going up to the room to do my wake-up call found me struggling to use the "now hated" keycard! No such luck! Had to pound on the door to get some response.

I was more than happy to had over my useless keycards...I guess they're not made for my "magnetic" personality!

Our adjudication was great! The adjudicator had nice words for my set and remarked on my use of "spinning" sets. She used a more technical term but damned if I remember what it was. Poor Pebbles had to do her lines while running back and forth...it was some kind of teaching thing? Poor girl looked like she was ready to retch! The adjudication went on for 2 hours...but it was time well spent. We have some new ideas to try for our town performances!

Finally home time!

I came home to more cat puke on my rug...my poor Suki can't handle being away from me for so long...

All we have left to do is go back on Saturday to see the last performance and the awards...hopefully we did well?

As for home...I only have to read that play 5 more times! 2 practices and 3 performances. It won't be too soon for me!!!

WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD...?

Actually we're off to perform for the wizard?

We will be taking off at 8:20 am this morning and head up to the town way up north from us, for the long-awaited 3 act festival.

Practice last night was so-so and with Wilma not being there, my daughter PoD, stood in for her. She did pretty good for someone who has never read the script and only saw it performed once. It's pretty hard to read lines and go through the other actor's motions. The poor girl had told me in the beginning that she didn't want to do anything play wise but did end up helping me [no surprise] anyways. She helped with the building of the sets and also did some of the set painting. Thanks kiddo! I don't know where your mother would be without you?

We had to pack the sets/props up after practice...while it snowed out! Yup! As usual it just had to start snowing! I think it would have been too much of a shock if it hadn't! It did managed to dump at least 2" of the white stuff on us! Hopefully that's all the befalls us! It's pretty disappointing after all of the stuff had almost melted away!

My cat, Suki, wasn't too happy to see the suitcase come out this morning. I put it off as long as it was possible so it wouldn't stress her out too much? I'll only be gone one and a half days but that should be enough to stress her out lots, as it doesn't take much to do it. PoD did promise to check on her and hopefully give her a few reassuring hugs for me.

So wish us well and hopefully we'll be able to get our act together for tonight?

HAPPY EASTER

I guess it was time to update the old blog or those of you out there, will think I went the way of the others. Seems more and more are falling by the wayside. I may not blog very often and might seem boring to those who do check in, but I can't see me ever stopping....but my Alzheimer's might think differently?

The best thing I like about easter is the chocolate [that's a word that diabetic people shouldn't utter] and hot cross buns. Too bad sweets help make a person feel better...at least they do to me.

I miss the fun I used to have with my kids at this time of year and how we used to color eggs. It was a messy job but fun to watch how creative they could be. My most favorite job was hiding the treats. Rule was...``those that were not found belonged to the Easter Bunny. As the kids got older the treats became harder and harder to find ;)

My son was supposed to have this weekend off but hasn`t shown up as yet and I fear that he might have had to work. Will be calling him later to see whats up. Normally my daughter has easter dinner at her place but seeing as I have borrowed 4 of her chairs for our play her Dad decided to host it at his. Just as long as I don`t have to do it I don`t care who does it.

Monday we`re supposed to have a play practice then pack up the stuff to travel northward to the festival. I want to make sure that all is packed properly so that all of my hard work doesn`t go to waste...by haste!

I hate the fact that I still have to attend practice just because some people couldn`t get their crap together! Being stage manager and prompter has been the most challenging ever! Hopefully the bad dress rehearsal has shaken some of them up and made them get serious! I have never spent soooo much time running back and forth trying to prompt all that need it. I even made up cue boards so that they would know when they had to go on and what they must do, but do you think that anyone uses them...no! I have been very ``anal retentive`` in my job and I guess that I shouldn`t expect that of others...but I do!

Oh well....Tuesday, I plan on trying to ignore all that`s bugging me and think only of the time spent away from my depressing situation at work. The lack of scenery on the way up there should help.

On a lighter note: All of you out there have a special Happy Easter and hope the bunny drops lots off to you!

Here`s a cute poem that I came across and thought I send it out to you...

Hard to believe that it's the middle of March right now! I must wish all of my loyal fans a happy and lucky day! No history lessons here...look it up yourselves ;)

This month has been a crazy time for me and I am completely exhausted from all of the play crap! Yesterday the set finally left my building and it's now where it belongs...on stage! Props are all finished and there's nothing left for me to do but herd the cats [stage managing]. I would really like to thank Wilma for stepping in and helping me with the "blackout" sequence near the end of the play. I personally think that it should have been the director's job to direct that part and not left for me to do! May the lucky of the Irish be shinning on you girl!

Things haven't been going to well with the play? Some actors still don't know their lines and dress rehearsal is Thursday. Prompting has been a real chore! This play has had it's problems...one actress got a new job and had to quit. The replacement hasn't had the same length of time to learn her lines completely yet, but is managing. One hides her script on the set and can't seem to read it properly? The date for the festival didn't give us much time to practice, yet some decided to take a weeks vacation? The light/sound guy had to miss the whole month of Feb and should be showing up now to practice his part, but has gone missing? The director is doing that job while still giving directions [they should be done by now]. This is one play I wished I'd stayed out of! I guess I'm getting too old for these kind of problems? It's time for me to retire completely!

There's been good and bad going on at my shop right now. The bad part is I am barely making it...my main support hasn't been doing much, so the income isn't in coming...just minor stuff from the town's people. The good part was...it gave me LOTS of time to work on the DONATION stuff. I've had to tightening the belt soooo much that I'm starting to feel skinny [not]! Seems the "Year of the Rat" is truly going the way that was predicted for me...[slow times a work] when the money [that's supposed to arrive] does come in, will have to go towards paying outstanding bills [it will be spent right away]! Like I was told by a commenter..."be thankful that I have a cracker to have crap on"! So those who see me grinning...know that I am "just bearing it"...cause I do have a cracker to crap on! Here's hoping that's ALL of the crap that befalls me! Having great children helping me out during these hard times, makes me even more thankful... for they ARE TRULY my "pot of gold" at the end of this rainbow!

THIS IS FOR THEM [& Wilma too]...
The shop is still decorated for St. Patrick's Day and normally I change it up for Easter but this year the Easter stuff will stay right in it's box. It's too soon for me to want to do anything decor wise in the shop and seeing as it's mostly for my benefit [no customers to see it]...it's just too much work for this tired old body! Besides...I still have Grad decorations to work on!!!

Maybe I'll find a bunny hiding in the shamrocks?SO....I'm going to get dressed in my green colored clothes and go looking for that rainbow...do they have rainbows with snow?

Just MAYBE the "Luck of the Irish" will shine on me......SOON?

A FLASH FROM THE PAST...

Been finding it pretty hard trying to keep my blog going, whilst slaving at the designing/building/painting our stage set and props! While I am doing this stuff my mind never stops...

Suddenly "a flash from my past" reminded me that I had designed and drew my first stage set in grade 4 [9 yrs old]. It was a Xmas skit about Santa and 3 Dwarfs named Hardrock, Coco and Joe. The set was Santa's sleigh and his reindeers. It was also the first time that I even performed! I played "Joe". Our whole class had to audition for the parts.

I just had to look it up and believe it or not...there it was. The info on it said that it was written in 1951.

I was even able to find the video version of it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5Ohgl7eTM

I guess the old Alzheimer's isn't as bad as I thought it was!

2008 is a LEAP YEAR

Leap Year Traditions

Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.

St. Bridget's Complaint
It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.

February 29th in English Law
According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage.

Scotland Tradition
The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.

Greek Superstition
There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year. Apparently one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year

Sadie Hawkins Day
In the United States, some people have referred to this date as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose.
Sadie Hawkins was a female character in the Al Capp cartoon strip Li'l Abner. Many communities prefer to celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day in November which is when Al Capp first mentioned Sadie Hawkins Day.

In Canada

I remember the fun of this day. Growning up in my day and age, the rule was that a boy had to ask the girl out and if she never got asked out, she was known as a "wallflower". The schools that I attended always held a dance on this day and the boys were never allowed to say no. I knew many a popular boy that hid on this day! We even dressed up like "hillbillies" to go to this dance. All knew it was meant to be just good fun.

I don't know if the schools still carry this tradition or not?

I know that no guy has to fear anything from me...I happen to be much older and wiser[?] to make that foolish mistake....

As for 'Lil Abner running away from Daisy Mae...?

HAVE A HAPPY SADIE HAWKINS DAY...for those of you who celebrate Feb. 29th

A SAD, SAD DAY!

Today is "Button's Day" for us here...no work will be done for the shop... in remembrance of the ending of her work day!

Sadly this marks the 4th anniversary of my sister's untimely death!

Four long years of wishing her to be still in our lives!

The pain of her passing hasn't eased one bit!

This morning I was awaken at 4:44 with ringing in my ears and tears in my eyes?

4:44 in the mystic world, is supposed to mean that an angel just got their wings or is trying to contact you!

I hope that my angel has hers already and just wanted to let me know that she's still here with me?

Like I said it's already a SAD, SAD day....

OOPS

I must tell you of my error in reporting a story of my brothers impending trip.

Remember those little games that one played, where someone whispers in your ear, a story, then you have to repeat what you heard to another person? The story that comes back to you is totally different? Well, it seems thats what happened to me! I should have re-reported this earlier but my involvement with our play had become more than I figured and somehow I forgot [old age thing]?

Anyways I reported that my brother was flying off to a scary place and my worries about it? It seems that my sister and I were playing that "story" game! He finally read my account and had to e-mail me the truth. These are his words from part of his e-mail:

"To ease your mind a little, I'm going to Chandigarh, India, not Kandahar, Afganistan. I couldn't run my fat ass quick enough to stay out of trouble in that country. I was scheduled to leave for Chandigarh (it's approx. 200 km NNW of New Delhi and about 300 km from the Pakistani border) today. Some problems have occurred in Chandigarh, and we are on hold. I don't know for how long. As you can see the only danger I will be in, is that I will be close to the Pakistani border.
As to what I'm teaching, well that is not the right phrasing. I'm a welding instructor, preparing foreign workers to weld and write the Equivalency Test set down by the Province of Alberta and the Country wide Red Seal Program. These foreign welders are already qualified welders (tradesmen). So, I'm not a teacher, just an instructor whose task it is to make sure all those coming to Canada are close to the standards set by the Red Seal Programs and should be able to pass their tests when they get here.
I have lots of work in the Ft. McMurray area (leaving Thursday afternoon for 3 days) and if the India trip does not get the go ahead soon, I'll probably be off to the Ukraine, sometime in the middle of March. I'll be gone approx. 34 days. I hope this clears up what I will be doing. You couldn't pay me enough to go to where they're sending our military."

Lets say...I have never been so thankful of being wrong! I haven't heard anything since but I always think that's a good thing as "no news is good news"!

My brother was touched that strangers would care enough to worry for him and I must thank those who did comment.

He also reminded me of the story "Why I don't like Monkeys".

In my zoo story, I told about the bear but forgot about the monkeys that we would feed!

These monkeys could quite entertaining and would stick their hands through their cage begging for the food we would bring them. Well there was this one monkey that had a real nasty habit. Once you gave him his food and you didn't have any more he would coax you closer and then pee on you! It was even worse if you didn't bring him food at all! He was one nasty character! I shouldn't blame all monkeys for his misdeeds but they all had nasty habits. I guess to me, the only cute ones... are stuffed!

Hopefully I can find some time to report a little more often but like I said...I'm busy making props and stuff for the play!

TO US

Today I am 57 and my grandson is 9. We also celebrate this day with the "Traveling Dude"...My exes brother. I won't say how old he is because that's his business!

I met with the kids yesterday to give JD his present just in case I didn't get to his place to visit today. So have a happy birthday JD! I couldn't find anything on his heros...the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"...but maybe this will do!For me I'm happy to see another birthday come...I don't dread my age like some do! I'm happy just to be still alive!

My son woke me up this morning [7:30 am...6:30 his time] to wish me a happy birthday and was amazed that I had slept in! He figured that I would be at work already...he knows that I seldom take time off. He has to work today but doesn't mind as it is a holiday and will be paid extra. "Traveling Dude" contacted me also and we wished each other well....he reminded me that everyday to him is a holiday [he's retired]! I wish!

Not only is this day our birthday... it's also a holiday called "Family Day". This is a winter-break holiday and everyone gets the day off from work and school. Granted the kids here have the whole week off from school. I think the teachers do this just to show parents how great they are because they put up with other peoples children [monsters] for 10 months out of the year. Personally I think they all deserve medals for doing this kind of work!

I've been suffering with headaches lately [mostly because of the painting of props] and missed last nights play practice. Although I still did spend time working on the props while I was supposed to have been resting. I've been designing and making set props for our play for three weeks straight now! With having to do the stage managers job as well...it's beginning to tell on me. This set has been one of the hardest I've had to do in a long time and I'm still running the changes in my mind..there are some change-ups that still have to be worked out. I know I don't have to do all of this myself but I'd rather do it myself, than take the time to explain to someone else of my crazy ideas...this way they get to see the final idea instead. Explaining takes longer than doing? So I guess I better keep the whining to myself!

Anyways....the sun is shining right now [a rarity in it's self] and I think I'll take a stroll to work where I will be immersed in stage managing duties...

Hopefully I'll have time for a nap later and then, maybe, I might make play practice tonight...?

TODAY IS FLAG DAY IN CANADA


If you knew that [without the help of your calendar] then you were smarter than me!


Here's some info for me and those who were not aware of these facts taken from the Wikapedia Library:

Flag Day in Canada is celebrated on February 15, commemorating the inauguration of the national flag of Canada by Governor General Georges Vanier on that date in 1965. The day is marked by flying the flag, occasional public ceremonies (especially in 2005, its 40th anniversary), and educational programs in schools.
The banner replaced the Canadian Red Ensign, which had been in use, if not officially, in one form or another since 1868. The new flag was proclaimed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on January 28, 1965, and first flew on Parliament Hill on February 15 of the same year.
Flag Day was instituted in 1996 by an Order-in-Council from Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of his Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, and is officially called National Flag of Canada Day. Outside of the federal government, however, this title is little used. The official name could be interpreted as suggesting there is a national flag for Canada Day. The somewhat awkward official name, with insertion of the qualifying words "of Canada," likely stems from the problem of using the word nation or national in Canada, where it is invoked by various groups such as aboriginal peoples, called First Nations, and by the province of Quebec, which is sometimes referred to as a nation (e.g., National Assembly of Quebec). At the official level, it was decided National Flag Day would not be acceptable. Despite this, National Flag Day, and especially Flag Day, are commonly used.
At the very first Flag Day ceremony in Hull, Quebec, Chrétien's speech was drowned out by a group of demonstrators upset by proposed cuts in the unemployment insurance legislation. Chrétien left the stage and while walking through the crowd he encountered Bill Clennett, one of the demonstrators who was shouting "Chrétien, au chômage" ("make Chrétien unemployed"). Chrétien grabbed Clennett by the neck and pushed him aside. Chrétien was criticized for this incident, which came to be dubbed the Shawinigan Handshake, after Chrétien's town of birth Shawinigan, Quebec.
Numerous Canadians feel that Flag Day should be declared a national statutory holiday, as there is a long period early in the year (between New Year's Day and Good Friday) without any holidays, except in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario (see Family Day). That suggestion grew louder as the flag celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005. On Flag Day in 2007, New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Peggy Nash introduced a private member's bill to make Flag Day a national statutory holiday. Nash said her bill would have made Flag Day a federal holiday and it would have been up to the provinces to decide if they also wanted the statutory holiday.

So now you know what I know!

I have put my flag in the window and almost wore my crazy flag hat...?

Blogging has made me become much smarter....?

Hope Cupid doesn't mess things up for you?

And to all my friends and family
Have a very happy day....from my heart to yours...

UP, UP AND AWAY...

Today my oldest brother, Tank, flies away to Kandahar!

My sister explained it to me that it wasn't the same one as the one that's in conflict with the USA? Not knowing my geography [cause I missed that day in school], I looked it up on the net.

I found out that there is only one Kandahar!

Reading the news this morning on the net, the lastest was about the release of the guys who financed the hijackers of a plane to Kandahar!

It's one thing to worry about a person, one knows, taking their chances in flying anywhere [one of my fears]

...but to a country that's known to be having conflict problems...is another!

Another thing that doesn't bode to well...he's going there to teach! He'll be there to teach foreign teachers how to teach welding?

Don't hijackers just love holding teachers for ransome!

I'm happy that he's finally doing something that he loves to do but hopefully it won't be at a dangerous price!

Will be keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well!

HAVE A SAFE TRIP TANK!

BEAR NIGHTMARES!

Last night I had my reoccurring dream about "The Bear"! I'm always trying to get away but my feet are like I'm running in mud! All I can feel is this bears hot breath on my neck and the doomed feeling that I won't get away! I always wake in a cold sweat.

WARNING...maybe too graphic for some...continue at your own risk!

This stems from an incident from my childhood...one that my sister Buttons and I shared. I was either 7 or 8 yrs old at the time and she was 6 or 7?

We used to live next door to Edmonchuk's first zoo. It was located about a half a mile from our house and it was a park/zoo that boasted one of the city's first pool [where we swam competitively].

Way back then parents weren't afraid for their children [or at least mine weren't] if they went that far away, by themselves, to play in the park.

This park was also home to many wild[?] animals and was called the Borden Park Zoo, which by way opened in 1909. The Zoo was part of the Exhibition grounds. This Exhibition used to have a permanent Carousel [now permanently located at Fort Edmonton Park] and Roller Coaster. We had fun as kids playing on these attractions on their off seasons. If our parents only knew how close we came sometimes in killing ourselves, they would have locked us in our rooms!

Anyways back to the bear story...

Buttons and I liked saving crusts of bread, food scraps, etc to feed the birds and animals there. These animals got to know who we were and I remember the joy of being able to feed them. The zoo caretakers got used to seeing us there also and never worried about us...because we were always careful and never mean to the animals.

The zoo was in the process of closing down [official date was 1954] and the animals were slowly being relocated to the new zoo far away. It took many years to accomplish this. With it being partially closed there weren't too many visitors as before so the security wasn't that great.

One of our favorite attractions was the bear...
To us this guy was really cute and just loved the scraps that we used to bring him. He was our "live" Teddy Bear! We even called him Teddy and thought he would be a nice pet! He would even let us rub his nose through the mesh fence, licking our fingers. When I think about it now we were very foolish thinking this bear could be tame enough to be considered a pet!

The only sad thing was that some of the kids and some adults used to tease Teddy a lot. They would bang on the fence, poke sticks at him and generally make his life hell.

Way back then the animal enclosures weren't as safe as they are now and contact with Teddy was pretty easy. His enclosure consisted of a fence and a mound of dirt that was his sleeping den or a place to get out of the weather. This mound of dirt wasn't very well protected and it's fence wasn't very high. The mound was constructed in such a way that the bear wasn't able to climb it to get out so everyone felt safe?

Trouble was the fence wasn't high enough to keep others from getting in and torment him by throwing stuff down on him.

One day Buttons and I had collected enough scraps that we decided to go and visit our animal friends. We could hear the screams as we got closer to the bear enclosure! There were hysterical people all around, wailing and crying. Above this turmoil you could hear Teddy roaring! Wiggling and squirming, Buttons and I managed to worm our way to the fence to see what was going on!

I'll never forget that sight as long as I live!

There was our "cute" bear throwing his head back and forth sideways, roaring in rage, with what looked like a red doll in his mouth. It was like watching a dog tear apart one of it's toys! All I remember most about the scene was how red it was and how the "doll's" legs swung wildly around! It was like watching a gore scene from a movie...stuff was flying everywhere!

Somehow a young girl had climbed the fence and had fallen into the bears enclosure! Teddy had immediately attacked her and was busy tearing her apart! I guess all of his rage at being tormented all those years was too much for him and he was now taking his revenge!

The bear handlers where trying to get him to let go of the poor girl and were jabbing him with their long sticks...to no avail. He wasn't about to let her go! Finally a shot rang out and he fell to the ground! Only he didn't die right away! It took a few more shots to kill him!

Only it was too late for the little girl!

It was a nightmare scene... too much for two young girls to take in! Both Buttons and I walked home hugging each other and crying hysterically! Forever to have our thoughts changed about bears! "Teddy" was now to be our nightmare!

Our mom was livid when she found out what had happened! We never went back to the zoo! In fact I think they moved it out faster after that! The new zoo opened in 1959 and I believe it took quite a few years before it ever hosted bears again.

We both had nightmares about it for years. I still do!

Through the years this event really affected me and has forever changed the thoughts I have about "Teddy Bears".

This toy misleads children into thinking all bears are cute and cuddly creatures! Their killer instinct is down-played too much! I know now that "Teddy" wasn't solely to blame and that all bears should not carry his misdeed. Wild animals were meant to be free...after all "it is the nature of the beast". I just think it's dangerous to lead children astray knowing the beasts true nature!

Today...if I know that there are bears in the area...I return home. I have been driven out of my favorite camping area because the bears that live in that area started getting too close for my comfort!

It was even scary hearing that there used to be "Prairie" Bears in this area! Thankfully they don't exist anymore!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR?

Today the chinese celebrate their new year and this year is supposed to be the year of the Rat?

I checked up on their sites and found out that I was born in the year of the Rabbit?

This is what they describe me as...

Advantages of Rabbit people:

Affectionate, clever, gifted, ambitious, smooth talkers, talented, obliging, always pleasant, respected and trusted by others, tranquil, avoids big risks, keeps a promise, likes a contract.

Disadvantages of Rabbit people:

Too sentimental, easily superficial, melancholic, many emotional involvements, too cautious, conservative, some detached family attitude, weeping or weeping with joy for no reason, uninformed sometimes, ignoring knowledge at times.

This is what they say I have in store for me this year...

Rabbit people in the Rat year (2/7/2008-1/25/2009):

-This is not a very lucky year for health, business and job.

-Don't work too hard.

-You may get some money then lose it later.

-Good luck rate among 12 animals: #9

To quote Wilma.....my life this year is going to be..."CRAP ON A CRACKER"!

How does one keep up their head after a forecast like that?