BLACK FRIDAY

Going shopping today [8:30 am]...gonna see whether buying new charger for camera [60.00] or get a NEW camera! Better be a good deal or the money don't leave the pocket...;)!


Gonna wear black too!






On another black note....




As per a REQUEST from a faithful follower, I am posting her DARKSIDE ZODIAC. Which is Gemini. I have relatives that are from that zodiac also, so it's an interesting read!




ALL must remember these are not MY words!

These are NOT my opinions either!

Nor do I take them to be a true read, for how would someone know all that about everyone? Everyone is brought up differently and I feel that makes a BIG  difference in your personality. Plus one also must come up with a good idea to sell books now days with the net and all!


So.....


You got a complaint, take it up with the authoress Stella Hyde.


There are some points in mine that really ticks me off and I'd like to slap her upside the head!

I do wonder how she comes by some of these thoughts and whether she has any friends left?






YOU ARE WARNED......I don't want to lose one of my friends and one of the few commentators to my blog! My family/friends knows who I am and how I feel...I would NEVER accept this at face valve!






WARNING:






"Gemini: May 22 - June 21


Gemini is a masculine mutable Air sign, ruled by the planet Mercury. It is the third sign on the zodiac wheel, directly across from Sagittarius, and is named for the Constellation, Gemini [the twins], which constantly ducks and dives behind the sun at this time of the year.
On the darkside this makes you an unreliable, roguish sociopath with a light finger and the attention span of a hyperactive mayfly."


See what I mean!


Want more....?





"Annoying Habits:


Punctuality: You're rarely late but never stay long since you are usually on your way to somewhere else that you think might be more interesting or stuffed with classier celebs.
Toothpaste: You have a shiny new electric toothbrush "borrowed" from somewhere, and toothpaste picked up from unguarded retail displays-you didn't pay for it, so why would you give a damn about how it is squeezed!
Temper Gauge: 0 to boiling point in five seconds, inventive invective, blistering bitchery, then back down again in two, mostly because your attention has wandered off. You prefer to get even, not mad.


Personality: feckless, reckless, two-faced. Brightside you is famous for your irresistible charm and sprightly wit. But you [and I] know that it's all a facade isn't it? It's all sparky patter to shift the eyes of the gullible away from what your really up to."

There is much more cause she goes on a lot.




Next...


Bitch Rating: A++. We bow to the zodiac's Bitch Queen. Your lightning rapier zigzags with such sparkling wit and style that many bitches don't know they have been slashed for at least three weeks; and your apologies are always so transparently heartfelt and sincere.


Favorite Deadly Sin: Oh, come on! Only one deadly sin? For you, the dilettante of depravity? I don't think so. You need at least four: two for each twin. What to choose? Pride, for sure, although you prefer to use its other name, Vanity [you know you look good so why not say so?]; Lust, because it is fun; Envy [why should the rich have all the nice, shiny things? Indeed, why should anybody have anything you want? And Greed. Greed is good. What's wrong with wanting it all?


Blame your planet Mercury! Mercury is a small dense busybody that scurries sycophantically around the sun in just 88 days, practically joined at the hip with our local star. It doesn't mind the heat just as long as it can be self-important in the kitchen."

A lot of her predictions have to be calculated with what time of day you were born...etc.




So Gemini....if you want more you got to leave a comment and I'll send you what else she has to say that you won't like...;{

IS IT DONE YET....?

I continue with the....MLC whining...

As usual, my problems always have to continue....one must never say they are bored!

I am a very happy person that I have computer savvy children...my "Gurus"!


Remember my email issues...couldn't reply or send any new messages!

PoD's my "Email Guru"!

It does irritate me, that all they [the kids] do, is come in and ABRACADABRA....all better!

But it's an irritation I can live with...:)!

I can now do all those things as the business is very dependent on it!
 
She also had an answer on the typing problem...got to learn the keep my hands/wrists up OFF the front of the laptop's built in mouse pad sensor area?

Problem is...it still does it even when I am careful and don't have my hands/wrists near it?



All was going so well...

THEN THE LAPTOP STALLED.....BLACK SCREEN!!!!!

PICTURE PULLING OUT HAIR!

I tried everything....unplugging, button pushing....zero! nadda! crapola!


S.O.S. to PoD...


ABRACADABRA.....[unplug/remove battery/wait/put back in]

A BIG THANK YOU TO BOTH MY GURU'S!!!

PoD must have called BillyRoo [no answer] because he called late that night and his first comment was when I told him what had happened since he had left was..."I've only been gone ONE day and you've already broke it?"...;}


Was a nice ending to an already stressful day which started out rotten with an upset [overeating...I wonder why] stomach/diarrhea morning and what is either a cold [coughing] or snow mold allergy [plugged sinuses]?


That was yesterday!


Today has started with a skiff of SNOW with a temp of  +2 and it's overcast. Hopefully that's all the snow that we do get, as I am really getting tired of whining....;}

no I'm not....:}

RUNNING THROUGH MUD...right now!

Should have made a symbol for 3 weeks!

Things have been pretty tense lately, due to the usual [?] computer problems that happens yearly at this time?


It's a weird malady that seems to hit this time of the year like clock work! I used to call it "Theater Meltdown" as it always happened while I desperately needed it during those productions times! It would just quit working?

You all know my living is made by the use of a computer. Most of my waking hours are spent on the computer, designing for 8 to 10 hour stretches sometimes! This is also seems to be the massive designing time as potential [tire kickers] customers have spent hours dreaming their dreams while snow bound!

Plus, I am doing some stuff for the theater production right now?


So are my, massive designing hours, causing computer overheating?


This last bit has been the worst!

My computer's video card decided it needed to come to a noisy end! Think of the sound of a semi truck using it's "retarder" brakes as it slows down! That's the sound I have been listening to for at least 3 weeks....12 - 15 hours a day!

Been through the "what it might possibly be" routine too!

Couldn't afford to buy a new video card and this one wasn't fixable!

Meanwhile, my computer guru [BillyRoo] has been busy working and had been unable to get to it until now.

Prognosis:
I had to say goodbye to my old companion and am now using the laptop that he gave me a while back.

SILENCE AT LAST!

Thing is having to have everything switched from one machine to the other!

Right now I am without the capabilities to email, upload photos and use my designing program that needs the new fonts that I had been using. I'm not used to the key board and for some reason the cursor skips to another line while I'm typing making the sentence make no sense?

More GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!


Remember...this old dog isn't great at learning new things!



The other whine alert comes from BillyRoo!
 
His time was wasted from having to appear for jury selection...he wasn't picked!

This time!

Seems he has to re-appear in April to once again be up for selection!

This can go on for at least a year!

Thing he did learn...there is NO excuse in getting out of jury duty! All that did try [30 out of 200] were turned down and it seems "death" was the only excuse that might have been accepted...;{
The only ones that they weren't accepting were those of "native blood", as that was the nationality of the man on trial [rape & assault].

Good thing he hadn't been picked, as the trial was starting that very day! PoD would have been stuck there with no ride home! That wasn't in the letter that they sent! They were expecting maybe another selection instead of a trial!

They did get to see someone that they knew from home that did get picked and had to stay! She was the last person picked out of 12! She was not happy as she has a fairly young family to look after.

And NO, age wasn't a factor as BillyRoo said they were of all ages. There was even a young guy dressed as "Jesus" who had shaggy [ratty], long haired and bearded. He even came with his mom...;}He got picked!

He also said that the place was packed full with those waiting to be selected, so his odds of being picked next time are still the same odds of NOT getting picked again and still have to return yet another time!



The only good thing about this time frame is the weather! The sun. has been fighting with the fog as of late and seems to be winning! Today is supposed to be another balmy day with the degrees being above 0!

The snow around here is almost all gone! The only complaint is the width of the river that runs by in front of my place! Makes for wet feet while trying to get in or out of the car! But then I'd rather wear rainboots instead of snow ones!


Happy to get that misery off my chest...


You all have a nice day now......

A HUNTING WE WILL GO...

Part 2

Woke Saturday morn at 8:30, [bed at 3:00] feeling refreshed and raring to go, which was good because I needed to get the house in order/cleaned just in case someone wanted to see the place [if they were bored that is] plus had to figure out what to wear for the evening festivities. Plans were to spend a couple of hours with the group in the afternoon [see how the night went], go for the supper then quickly back to the courthouse.

Ended up adding work too...which was okay

Finally excitement time!

Picked up PoD around 4 ish and headed to the courthouse to see how their night went.

All was quiet when we walked in there except for a banging noise upstairs. We put our stuff in the safe room with the rest of the food/equipment and went to look for them.

It was still hot in there... yet not as scary feeling? Found the banging noise turned out to be the heat register in the men's can...sounding like it was going to explode?

We found them all fast asleep in the judges chambers, that is, until I tripped the motion detector they had set up on the Judge's bench, off...;)

Seems their sleep hadn't been too great.

First it was too hot...opened the windows

Then it was too cold...cause the windows were open

Reports of lots of strange noises out in the courtroom...sounds of a Judge's gavel being banged on the Judge's bench a couple of times. One of the "newbies" reported waking up once to see, what she thought, was a tall dark shadow of a big man standing in the doorway to the courtroom. She said she didn't feel scared at all and felt that he was only curious, so she was able to go back to sleep? I wouldn't have!

All got up except for Brett [the computer techie] who said he was still tired and hadn't got much sleep because of all of the strange noises. I think it was that he was sleeping on the Judge's bed, that made him restless. Miles [from the ghost hunters group] had told of feeling his head being pushed into the pillow when he tried sleep on that same bed?

So we spent the next two hours chatting on their take of the courthouse and compared notes on our feelings. The two newbies are also sensitives and so we all exchanged stories on our experiences that lead us to be there.

The psychic [Diane] swore that the place had changed inside and it was no longer a good thing. She had gotten a bad vibe about this trip before they had even started out so it didn't help her to find that her thoughts were right. She does a reading on the place before we start any investigation. No one gets to see it except for Jan [our leader] and she seals it in an envelope to be opened after we complete the investigation.

They hadn't done much as yet other than set up the computer/monitor and one camera in the courtroom so had plans while we were gone to finish the set up. This is what their digs looked like...

PoD & I went for [wildlife] supper...

I was amazed to see all of the vehicles at the hall...the place was jammed packed! I have never seen so many people in that place! Our dinner theater nights never had that good of a turnout! I guess hunting is definitely a big thing here? Boy was I wrong in thinking that they were having a poor turnout and needed people to eat their meal, that's why the free tickets. The last thing they needed was two more people in there!

We thoroughly enjoyed the meal [I went strictly vegetarian ,except for the gravy] and would have liked to have stayed [the people watching would have been fun] but we were more concerned about missing something at the courthouse.

We got back to trouble!

Brett wasn't doing so well?

He had slept most of the time we were gone and upon waking he looked gray. This man normally has a reddish blush to his face and is quiet but does give input when asked. All said he'd been his usual joking self on the way here and had no sign of illness. The only one close to being sick was me with this annoying head cold.

But here he was, gray looking, dull eyed, and confused. He was bad enough to scare all of us! I even suggested the hospital...last thing I wanted was him having a heart attack! That wasn't his problem...no symptoms of that type of distress. He kind of looked how I felt when my blood sugars are real low...he's not diabetic.

Thinking that maybe the heat of the place had got to him we had him go sit out in the van where it was cooler. The psychic went with him [they are close friends] to make sure all would be well. Minutes later they had brought him back in...the cold had just made him worse?

Diane figured that a healing/cleansing circle might help, as the vibe she was getting from him, was that he was being drained of his energy from this place and might be possessed?

I can see all of you shaking your head right now and saying..."yeah, right" with deep sarcasm!

Well, so was I, until I saw him transform right before my own eyes!

We performed a "smudging ceremony" which is done by burning sweet grass [cleansing agent] while holding hands in a circle while Brett stood in the center. A religious [not crazy about] chant is repeated while urging the entity to get out of his body! Holding hands protects us from it.

I know this all sounds like doo-doo to you and I was just as skeptic until I saw Brett's face change. I have never seen a face go from dull gray to a healthy pink tinge! I kid you not! I saw his eyes go from being dull to looking alive again...he even stood taller!

The is no way I would ever accuse Brett of being a faker...I have never gotten any weird vibe from him. Others I have doubted and have had thought them as being fakes but not him. I could be wrong [but I don't think so].

I have left this place many a time feeling pretty drained of energy! We go through a lot of batteries...like they are being drained. Many feel the spirit world needs energy in order to manifest it's self?

All was okay again!

Except for me...I was uneasy again! Seeing that happen made me a bigger believer. I have my own mental ritual which helps give me strength...it's called being "strong willed"...something my ex says I have a lot of...;)

This was more cause for talking and it seemed like everyone was avoiding what we were there for...the investigation!

Group photo...

I'm exactly where I like being...behind the camera [even though I take lousy shots]!

We did finally get going...

Circle sitting in the courtroom...

The set up...

The only orb...

There are a few faint circles in the shot but I'd say they are dust motes. There should have been tons of dust due to rug and gallery traffic...I know they don't clean that often.

I'm not crazy about circle sitting! It's hard on the back, your legs fall asleep and I don't like using my senses that much. I am more into the paranormal by using equipment, instead of myself, to find out where there really is something to this. I have said that I do want to feel something and in the next breath I don't. I know sounds nuts! Oh Well...

So we sat.

Sitting in this dark courtroom is creepy for me. Since my last episode [deep sorrow wanting to cry] I have hardened my mind against that happening again! PoD and I both have stated that we'd like to see the shadow again...hoping to get it on camera too.

The others were all seeing shapes in the doorway behind me and I tried to see what they saw, but nothing that I could see.

I did have this weird feeling that something was sitting on the bench behind me just over my right shoulder. I kept looking over my shoulder but saw nothing. Turning back one time I felt this sharp jab in my right shoulder blade...like someone poked me with a bony finger. Hard enough to push my shoulder ahead a bit.

Talk about freak out!

I know it wasn't a muscle spasm!

Poke yourself hard in the shoulder [go on do it] that's what it felt like!

That was it for me...happily the others were done for the moment.

Refreshment break!

Nobody wanted to go the basement!

They did set a camera up in the hallway down there. While they set up we took a tour to see what was done for the museum part. I was amazed at the salt & pepper collection in the living room in the Custodial Quarters. The back bedroom was made into a nursery. The antique dolls were too creepy!

After our refreshing break we decided to try the sitting again in the courtroom.

Jan & Amy where doing something in the Judge's chamber and heard loud scratching noises in the curtains near where their bedding was. Upon checking they found a bat clinging to the curtain about 9 feet up it. Of course we all came to the screaming...;)

I ran downstairs [in the dark by myself] to get the "Bat Patrol" weapons, which are kept in the Council Chambers [safe room]. These are two tennis rackets! One to hit it down to the floor, once it's on the floor [only stunned] use both rackets as tweezers to pick it up and carry to release it outside [where it will fly back to it's home in the courthouse attic]. PoD was the lucky one to do the deed while the rest of us covered our hair...;) She was pretty good...got it on the first try!

Bat's are supposed to be hibernating right now but I figure the intense heat must be wrecking their sleep patterns. I'm just happy they weren't all busy flying around...what would they eat?

Well we all calmed down and started the circle again.

Right away I felt that thing at my back again [we all sat in the same places as the last time] only stronger. PoD wanting to experience whatever I did, traded places with me.

The new spot felt much better even if was only one seat away from the creepy spot. PoD too began to feel that something was there...you could feel it even if you couldn't see it!!

During these sessions in the courtroom my sinuses always became clearer and I could breathe better, which I found strange because they would become plugged again in the safe room.

I don't think we had been sitting too long before I suddenly couldn't breathe!

Gaspingly I tried to tell them I couldn't breathe but it was hard to talk!

The only thing I could think of was fresh air...outside!

Coughing and gasping I finally made it outside...there is no way anyone would have caught me, that's how fast I ran!

Sure enough...it worked!

I could breathe again!

Nothing covered my face, nothing touched me, yet I feel that something DID. NOT. WANT. ME. IN. THE. COURTROOM!

I guess all hell broke out after we left [PoD & me] because The "newbie" guy started talking funny? Not funny ha ha, funny as in strange!

This group uses a machine that is supposed to gather energy from what's around it and it talks. I'm suspicious of this machine, as I've heard they are programed with a vocabulary? So is it a kid's game or not?

Anyways...this guy started relating a story that had appeared in his mind [supposedly something that went on in this courtroom many many years ago] while he was sitting there. He would say a few statements and the machine would answer back. You can stand near this machine and try to get it to say something and it won't...it can be very creepy when it does say something! It says "Murder" a lot!

Also they said the atmosphere had changed when we left! From the heavy feeling that we had felt to something somewhat lighter? Did the bad thing leave the room with us? Because what I felt was BAD!

When they rest of the group came down you could tell something was wrong!

The newbie guy had changed!

He now looked EVIL! And he had become quite annoying...sort of on the belligerent side!

It's hard to explain how you get used to seeing a normal look on a stranger's face and then it looks evil. I swear his eyes were darker...more sunken looking and his face was flushed!

I don't know this guy from Adam so whether he was acting or not, I can't say, but when someone's face and their demeanor changes, in such a short time, makes you wonder. After what had happened to me...I'd believe anything right now! Sensibility says otherwise!

Hopefully they caught all of this on tape...for once we had a camera running!

During this guy's time during the courtroom sitting, this guy kept repeating this same name over and over again "Henry Harvey"? He also kept saying [while I was there] that something wanted him to go the "Jury Room"...it wanted to play cards with him?

Down in the safe room he kept saying these things over and over! No one could reason with him!

Jan also revealed what was in the envelope that Diane had predicted for this weekend ...
"Someone has tried to cleans this place [will find out if anyone else has been in here that we don't know about], something is very angry in here and something is going to happen to QoH"!

I don't know about the other stuff but mine sure came true!

I had, had enough with the courthouse!

So PoD and I packed it in around 3:00 am....




Stay tuned for part 3 [blogger doesn't like my long stories?]....yes it hasn't ended yet!

A hunting we will go...

Part One...Friday Night

Got the happy news Friday morn, that it was okay for the Calling Lakes Paranormal Investigation Ltd. group from Fort QuApple to come and do their 4th investigation at the Courthouse.

This makes it our 8th in there!

It's been almost 3 months since we were last in there with the group from Saskabush, so PoD and I were happy to be doing our fav thing once again! Both of us keep hoping to experience something more, maybe to feel something touch us...

One should watch what one wishes for...

What a weekend...tickets to the Wildlife supper on Saturday and now a weekend investigation....

This one was a "spur-of-the-moment" sort of thing. The group had planned an investigation in Hudson Bay but got canceled. Thing was, they had two "newbies" from there, wanting to be included. It was their first. They were more than happy to travel to here instead of not doing one at all.

Plans were to meet them at the courthouse at 8:00, so wanting to get some stuff done in there first, for ourselves, we got there around 7:00ish.

From the moment I turned the key all felt, not good!

You all know by now PoD and I are what is called "senseatives". We are both very intune with our senses. If it don't feel good, we usually back away...not this time!

Wished I had!



First, the blast of heat that hit us, was INTENSE! It was like walking into an oven!

We both knew from previous experience that it gets mighty hot in there. The floors are stone/cement/marble and have to be heated from the basement.

I want to know if they turn the heat up full blast on the weekend, when it's not open, to do all the floor heating, so they can turn it down and be comfortable during week? And if so, they knew we were going to be in there this weekend, so why did they?

Maybe they're trying to bake the ghosts...;)

Anyways...the safe room was unbearable, so we opened all of the windows...instant relief!

One of the things we had planned to do was the ball experiment again. We set up our movie camera in the foyer and positioned the ball for filming. Finishing that, we both looked up the staircase, looked at each other and decided not to go any further!

Looking up that dark staircase had made chills run up and down my spine!

Big feeling of dread was next...

It was the same feeling I got when I looked down the stairs to the basement after opening that back door.

The heat wasn't the thing that kept us from investigating further cause you do get used to it after awhile. What was bad was the vibes we were both getting from the whole place!

I HAVE NEVER FELT IT THAT BAD!

I had picked up the key to place earlier and the place did creep me out then, but not as bad as it felt now!

So we sat and waited...and waited and waited and waited...

As we waited we babbled about this and that....

Creeped our selves out once, by talking about what we would do if the ball suddenly rolled down the hallway towards the room we were in....

The place was making its usual creepy noises.

Thought I heard music coming from the basement once?

By 10:30 we called it quits...this left us worrying about what might have happened to them?

I was just settling down to watch a movie when they called...they're here!

So I went back to let them in and help unload...PoD had decided to call it a night.

They all looked pretty tired and had decided not to set up until they had rested...which was okay with me.

I still had that bad feeling!

I didn't say anything about the bad vibe Pod and I got from the place. I wanted them to form their own opinion.

From the moment they entered they felt it too!

The psychic that travels with them wasn't happy about what she was feeling and even said that it felt like someone had tried to cleanse the place and it went wrong?

On their previous trips they set up in the safe room and slept there...not this time. Plans were to sleep in the Judges chamber... four women in the livingroom area and the two guys in the bedroom.

I thought they were nuts!

I went home and slept in my own SAFE bed!


Stay tuned for Saturday's adventure....and a glimpse into the real scary unknown...

Woke this morning [4:30] with the urge to do this

The dream or should I say nightmare converstion with my step-sister, irritated me sooooooo much that I am having a hard time with my thoughts this morning!


What a way to start the day!


I was reliving my last phone conversation with her and I had ended the distasteful thing by wishing that she would never call back!

I know that everyone has their own opinions and they are entitled to them, but when that same person NEVER EVER agrees with me or even comes closed to accepting any of  MY OPINIONS!

If I say the sky is blue then she would tell me that it was something else!

This woman also changes her past stories to suit the moment and leaves me feeling like I know nothing or remember nothing? Buttons had that same problem. She would tell me that she too wished that this person wouldn't call either because she always made her feel like she was retarded?

Her ex boyfriend once stated that he was going to tape record her statements and play them back to her, because she did the same thing to him!

I keep trying to accept that this is the way that she is but I am finding that it is too hard to pretend that she might finally see what she is doing to all around her!


I can't take it any more!


Will she ever change? Can't see that happening! How do you tell a "know-it-all" anything?


Will I change?

NOPE! I am just as stubborn as she is! I probably come off as a "know-it-all" also, but I do try to listen and respect others views even if I don't agree! I have gone this far accepting her for what she is because I do love the irritating brat!


Is the stress worth it?



So I am going to give myself a big

For being so stubborn and letting something irritate me enough to blog to the whole world about childish things!


Am I afraid that she will see this?


NOPE


She isn't interested in the fact that I write one, let alone snoop it out!


If she did...


Then it is time to have this out!


I am also dragging up a thought about this weekend that doesn't make me happy either and it's bugging me too. Something about the honesty of new people I have met and their judgment of me? Hopefully I am just being paranoid?





I'm going out for a walk and hopefully wear off some of the bad karma I am feeling right now!


I better go before I slap myself again...


p.s.

Will I regret this blog?



Probably!


It had to be said!

TORNADO WARNING...

Yesterdays weather matched my mood and even felt a bit satisfying while scary at the same time!

The morning started out fairly muggy as we have had nothing but rain since the last weekend, which I had been griping about how dry it had been. Then by afternoon was changed to a tornado watch!

PoD had finished up her work here and went home.

The first lightning show started around 4:00 or so and became quite a sight to behold...

We had the green sky and terrific wind to add to its drama. BillyRoo and I watched all of its excitement while thunder shook the house....

It was SCARY and exciting all wrapped together!

PoD had emptied my rain gauge earlier, so it was very surprising to see it FULL [40mm] around a hour later! That's how fast and hard the rain came down!

We watched the clouds swirl and were both amazed to see how fast and low they were traveling! We had bets on the huge tree across the street not surviving this storm, as half of it was dead and should have been cut down.

As it turned out we had nothing to worry about... its still standing!

The other exciting part was watching the torrents of water coming down the street!

The photo below shows BillyRoo's car and the roadway which by then was completely covered! The dark stripe is the dirt and gravel being washed from the neighbor's driveway across the street from where ever it was coming from.

We live near the bottom of the hill [PoD lives near the top] and get a lot of the water run-off going by the place. Happily our place kind of sits on a hill so there was no worry of flooding from the run-off but others at the end of the street weren't so lucky...
The poor guy at the corner [white garage] was busy trying to use his truck tires to divert the river away from his house but found it futile as it was coming down the hill to his place too fast to be directed elsewhere. You can see by the photo that the streets are full! You can't see the curb at his place! It didn't help him much that people kept driving by and making large wakes of water as they motored through it.

BillyRoo just had to go join the thrill seeker too and I was able to get a shot of the driveway with the gravel run-off.


I had to use two cameras as one [BillyRoos] kept focusing on the rain drops making the shots dark and blurry looking. My camera caught all of the "Orbs" dancing in the rain...;)

The storm decided to let up for a bit so PoD & Trebor called and we decided to check out the rest of the town to see how things faired...
Everywhere we had pot holes the water had added to the damage!

The top of the hill was clean with surprisingly hardly any tree damage. But as you drove downward you could see the pavement heaved all over the place! Big chunks of concrete pavement had washed up all over and was laying in the middle of the roads!

We have pipeline workers living in trailer courts around town and they had LOTS of water and muck to contend with. We saw many a resident busy digging trenches worried that the rain wasn't going to stop. We saw lots of low-lying spots full of water and who knows how their gardens faired? We never planted one so we were smiling!

We even drove out to the reservior to see how the run-off faired there and was amazed at the massive amount of water in the fields surrounding it! I know the rain did some major damage to crops!

This was NOT the kind of rain the farmers were asking for! I think some of them had been praying for rain too hard!

Finishing our tour, PoD dropped BillyRoo & me back home only to be met by a cop vehicle parked across the street from my next door neighbors? He was there for a good 10 minutes before another cop car parked behind PoD's car!

What the hell?

The one across the street got out and went to my neighbor place but was stopped by the barking of the mean dog [remember previous story about that dog] and he stopped dead. Mean while the other cop got out of his vehicle and they both stood at the gate keeping their distance from the dog as they yelled for the guy to come out! Which he finally did. The cop patted him down and put him into his vehicle and drove away...

What that was all about....who knows?

They did drop him off 3 hours later?

So that was our exciting evening...


Getting up this morning [4:30] to the sound of wind rattling the window and thought...here we go again...but NOT

It's just windy right now...which I'd rather have than HOT & MUGGY!

My rain gauge registered another 20 mm since the last emptying so the total is now 60mm in less than a 24 hour period!

I did take another shot of the pavement near my place...

MY HERO.....MAXI!

It's been tense around the PoD household since Maxi [their #1 cat] became ill! They've been in living hell with thoughts of cancer being in his throat/tongue, rotting jaw/teeth...even having to put him down...:(. He's had special diets/foods and she's even pureed til they were drinkable!

He was suffering just to eat? He's was medicated to cure whatever...yet not getting well?

In all...everything done just to see that their fur baby had a chance to live a quality life!



Thursday he went in for dental surgery [very expensive] to remove what was rotten and see what else could be happening...



Good News!

Report is he's like a new boy! Perky, happy & looking like he wants to play...


Seems all of his problems stemmed from his being allergic to the plaque on his teeth!


Who would have thought it was "just rotten teeth" that was making him that ill?


?

Can this happen to humans? [Is that why some [me] who don't look after their teeth have poor health?]


Lessons learned:

-ALL animals in your household should have their teeth brushed regularly...especially cats [who don't chew bones like dogs do]

-expense that can be incurred while your animal is sick means...we should all carry health care services for our animals as well if we are to consider them our "furbabies"!

Maxi is MY hero [look for cat saves family blog]and I want him around ALWAYS to make sure that my daughter, son-in-law & grand kids stay safe...


I KNOW HE'S ALWAYS LISTENING.......WATCHING.....


SO..............

BRUSH!

Hope Thumber learns from this picture...


Because I can't see me holding onto a BIG bundle of fur/24 claws/full set of BIG TEETH.....trying to brush HER TEETH!!!

EARTH HOUR?

I didn't know that this event even existed and it's being the 3rd year of it running?

What is Earth Hour...?

Sat. Mar 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 pm they have a "Lights Out" in support action on climate change!

This includes doing a technology detox! No Cells, DS, Blackberry...etc.

I'm happy to add that I do my share now:

1. Don't own any of those gadgets especially a cell phone...I borrow one when needed

2. Only constant source of light in my place are low watt night lights & some led lights...I like the dark!

3. Turn off all computers when not in use.

4. No external sounds going like T.V. sitters, radio, cd...etc.

5. Room temp at near freezing...visitors [?] must wear sweaters

6. No dishwasher...dirty dishes some times runnith over but saves on hot water...:)

But:
Must draw the line at NO TV, computers, digital cameras, scanners, printers & power tools!
These I can't live without!

So tonight at "EARTH HOUR" I PLEDGE to do away with all luxuries for 1 HOUR!

What am I going to do at that time?

Who knows?

Maybe paint some prop pillars by candle light?



Most probably take a nap so I can be up all night...


SO HOW ABOUT YOU......

FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!

If you got that kind of phobia...I wish you the best of luck today!


Avoid BLACK CATS...which would be hard for PoD as she has one, who also happens to be full of the devil today!



Happily I don't have that problem! I usually have good luck [knock on wood]...?


For those with the phobia...do you know that there is 3 - Friday the 13ths this year! Normally there is only 2 but it has something to do with last year being a "leap year"? We had one last month [Feb] and will again in Nov.


As for the movie buff in me...there's always the great classic "Friday 13th", which by the way has been remade [again] and was supposedly released Feb. 13, 2009. Will be renting that one for sure. It doesn't matter how crappy they make them...I still got to watch. I would classify this movie more gore than scary!


I wonder how many more lives Jason Voorhees has left?



Did you know there is a "Crystal Lake" in Sasakatchewan?


I looked for the cabin but I didn't find one........:O


HOPE YOU ALL SURVIVE THE DAY.........

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...?

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!

Need I say more...

PoD and I are no longer in the Wedding Planning business! These two sisters [as depicted above] have made us realized that there is TOO MUCH STRESS in that kind of occupation!!! Add their mother to the combination and you will have two weddings from hell!

PoD has even backed out from being the "Matron of Honor" for one of them! Friendships have been torn asunder from the antics of these two! Maturity is definitely NOT one of their qualities!

Many signs were there...

First Sign:
One should have realized from their first comment of "NO TACKY WEDDING DECOR" that it should have been taken as a warning...not just a slap in the face?

Second Sign:
Cancellation of a shopping spree for wedding decor [road trip with Wilma and Puffy]...seems I was destined not to go that way. Thankfully I don't have to eat that expense. Had bought candles for table decor but PoD can used them for meditations, that she now needs in order to unwind from uncalled for stress...

Third Sign:
Change from reasonable decor to "Extremely Elegant" in order to out do each other. Both wanted us to make theirs the "BEST"?

All I can say is that I am SO very happy that we are NO LONGER doing this...

I feel like I just dodged a bullet!

A letter of WARNING about those Magic Erasers!

This was sent to me by one of my Neices:

Attention to all of you who look after children:

One of my five year old's favorite chores around the house is cleaning scuff marks off the walls, doors, and baseboards with either an Easy Eraser pad, or the real deal, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I remember reading the box, wondering what the 'Magic' component was that cleaned crayon off my walls with ease. No ingredients were listed and absolutely no warnings were on the box, other than 'Do not ingest.'

My package of the Scotchbrite Easy Erasers didn't have a warning either; and since my child knew not to eat the sponges and keep them out of reach of his little brother and sister, it was a chore I happily let him do.

If I had known that both brands (and others like them) contain a harmful alkaline or 'base' chemical (opposite of acid on the pH scale) that can burn your skin, I never would have let my little boy handle them. A Scotchbrite Easy Eraser was rubbed against his face and chin, he received severe chemical burns.

At first, I thought he was being dramatic. I picked him up, put him on the counter top and washed his face with soap and water. He was screaming in pain. I put some lotion on his face - more agony. I had used a Magic Eraser to remove magic marker from my own knuckles a while back and I couldn't understand why he was suddenly in pain. Then, almost immediately, the large, shiny, blistering red marks started to spread across his cheeks and chin.

I quickly searched Google.com for 'Magic Eraser Burn' and turned up several results. I was shocked. These completely innocent looking white foam sponges can burn you?
I called our pediatrician, and of course got sent to voice mail. I hung up and called the hospital and spoke to an emergency room nurse. She told me to call Poison Control. The woman at Poison Control said she was surprised nobody had sued these companies yet and walked me through the process of neutralizing the alkaline to stop my son's face from continually burning more every second.

I had already, during my frantic phone calling, tried patting some numbing antibiotic cream on his cheeks, and later some Aloe Vera gel - both resulted in screams of pain. The Poison Control tech had me fill a bathtub with warm water, lay my son into it, cover him with a towel to keep him warm and then use a soft washcloth to rinse his face and chin with cool water for a continuous 20 minutes. My son calmed down immediately. He told me how good it felt. I gave him a dose of Tylenol and after the twenty minutes was up, he got dressed in his Emergency Room doctor Halloween costume and off we went to the hospital.

They needed to make sure the chemical burn had stopped burning, and examine his face to determine if the burn would need to be debrided (from my fuzzy recollection of hospital work, this means removing loose tissue from a burn location). My son was pretty happy at the hospital, they were very nice and called him 'Doctor' and let him examine some of their equipment. The water had successfully stopped the burning and helped soothe a lot of the pain. I'm sure Tylenol was helping too.

They sent us home with more Aloe Vera gel, Polysporin antibiotic cream, and some other numbing creams. By the time we got home, my son was crying again. I tried applying some of the creams but he cried out in pain. Water seemed to be what worked the best.
After a rough night, his face was swollen and couldn't move his lips very much. The skin on his cheeks was taut.

Today he is doing much better. The burns have started to scab over, and in place of red, raw, angry, skin we have a deeper red, rough healing layer. I can touch his skin now, without it stinging.

If you are a parent or grandparent, this post is meant to save your loved ones from the horror these parents went through. Please share it with other parents, grandparents, babysitters, aunts and uncles ~ anyone you know who spends time with kids.

BLOGGER PROBLEMS

For some reason the computer I was using to blog on no longer lets me? I'm using my ancient machine to type this one out and it's unreliable at best!

All is still busy here at work and having to sit at the computer all day long makes me not want to sit there any longer than I've wanted to!

Will be continuing soon....

Bear with my blogging woes...

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!

Maxie does not have CANCER after all!

Thankfully we waited for the blood tests to come back before deciding his fate! Doctors can be wrong on visual diagnosis and one must get that second opinion...this being his blood work-up.

The best words in the world was hearing the doctor's assistant say "we have GOOD news"!

Seems what they were seeing, when doing the physical, was his throat/gum area at the back of his throat was raw and swollen on both sides, with lacerations! His blood worked showed that somehow he had most likely swallowed some cleaning substance that might have happened while drinking water out of the bathroom sink, toilet or tub at some point. Or maybe while laying in the bathroom sink [because it's warm] and might have picked up some leftover residue cleaner that hadn't been completely been washed off and was ingested while he was cleaning himself.

WARNING!!!

His ailment didn't just happen overnight! This happened over a long period of time and had been slowly eating at his throat! The vet says that these substances can be picked up anywhere people use these harmful cleaning substances and even the pesticides outdoors...all can be picked up on the fur/paws and subsequently ingested! All it takes is for something to open the skin and the caustic stuff will do it's job!

It's not only cats that have this problem...this can happen to your dog!

Hopefully this can be reversed! Maxie has had to stay the weekend at the vets because the next 48 hours is the deciding factor whether his health will pull him through...so he's not "totally out of the woods" as yet! One good thing was that his liver hadn't shut down and there seems to be no damage there!

I'm still waving my magic heath wand in his direction hoping that anything might help him to get by this!

Maxie after all is MY HERO...without him my daughter and grandson might not have survive the intruder that broke into their house in Edmonchuk 7 years ago! He deserves to live a long time!

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR PET TODAY?