Things We Take For Granted TToT

By Matthew Bowden [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons

It’s been an eventful week for me as far as being thankful, ending a long wait for a medical procedure, and taking the time to stop and think about the simple things that normally I take for granted.

A friend of mine, +Martie Coetser Pozyn  who lives in South Africa, had the misfortune of her pipes freezing this past week and was without running water. This made me stop and think of going through the same thing here at different times throughout the years. The first one coming to mind was the blackout we had during the hot summer of 2003.  That would have to be the number one time in my life where I was thinking about and being thankful for the many things we take for granted. I was so thankful during that time that we were fortunate enough to have a generator to enable us to run our refrigerator.  (I absolutely hate having to waste food) Driving to the bank though to line up outside only to find out that the bank machines were down is something that always sticks in my mind. No access to money, therefore no access to gas to fuel the generator. Again I didn't know at the time that the gas stations were closed due to the blackout.

The things I take for granted and am thankful for are; heat, hydro, running water, and fresh clean air. I don't think most of us think about these things until we are without them.

You can't see the rain all that well
 in this picture but trust me it was
 there and coming down like cats and dogs.

Tuesday, Claire, my mother in law and I were out for a walk downtown. It looked like it might rain but we had an umbrella and it wasn't like we were going to melt. What’s a little rain right ….. On the way home we not only got wet ….. We were drenched to the bone.  If there had of been a wet entire clothing contest, we would have won it. Later on that night hubby said to us, don’t you ever watch the weather forecast; we were expecting over 40 mil of rain this afternoon. Once we dried off and warmed up we were thankful to be home and out of the rain.

Wednesday was chemo day and I was thankful that it only took one poke to get my I.V. started that day compared to the 4 times the previous treatment.

Thursday morning I had a power port or Port-a-Cath installed in my chest as my veins are pouched and too damaged to receive further chemo. Now anytime I need chemo, a CAT scan, MRI, or blood work, it can all be done through the port. I’m thankful that it is now installed and ready to go.

When I first learned that I was going to be awake for the surgical procedure to have the port installed I was nervous. I’d never been awake for something like this before and normally I’m pretty squeamish about such things. They gave me a mild sedative to relax me and froze the area really well where they had to cut and install. There was this huge monitor in front of me where the surgeon could see everything going on. I asked where I could get a monitor that size for my laptop. I’m sure it was close to 100 inches. I was thankful to be awake just to experience an operating room while being awake.

As I am everyday of my life, I'm thankful for my family, friends and pets.

If you'd like to join in on this funtastic blog hop follow one of the links below. 

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

Flash Fiction Blackouts on the Rise

By Wilson44691 at en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Temperatures expected to rise to 132 today. I know folks this has not been a pleasant summer, and with all the water alerts it doesn't make life on the Mojave very comfortable. I do wish I had some relief for you in sight but sadly do not. Please try and use your fans rather than your A/C due to blackouts occurring throughout the west.

Fines will be increased to 2500.00 for anyone caught wasting water. This includes gardens, lawns, cars, and pools, until further notice.

Sighing deeply, I wound up my crank radio yearning to hear some good news.

This is a post for a Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch. If you or someone you know likes to write flash fiction please stop by and join the fun. Each week on Wednesdays +Charli Mills  provides us with a new flash fiction challenge. This week it is "water". You have until the following Tuesday to submit 99 words. 

Wordless Wednesday A few Colors of Summer

Does anyone know what type of bush or tree this is on the bottom two pictures? It's such a pretty white flower and it started blooming just after the lilacs lost their blooms this year. I've noticed quite a few people in Orillia have them, and I'd love to plant one in my yard. I've seen them as trees and also as bushes. 

Wordless Wednesday - A New Friend Comes to Visit

Smudge came for a visit the other day and thank goodness my dogs were both napping inside the house. I'm not sure if the cats name is really Smudge or not but that is what I'd would have named him or her from the markings on their nose. 

                                                                             He or she was quite the little ham.

Linking up to +Ruchira Khanna over at Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday. If you'd like to join in on this fun blog hop head on over there to link up. There are no rules.

Ten Things of Thankful

Happy to say that this is my 200th post on my blog. When I first started this blog I never imagined I'd ever get to 200.

Onto my TToT post for this week.

My son had a bit of a fender bender at the beginning of June and I’m thankful that he didn't get too badly hurt,  just a lot of soreness from the impact.

Thankful that our Insurance coverage provided us with a rental.

I was sure that the truck was a write-off, but thankful they were able to repair everything and that we’ll be getting it back this week.

One of the twins moved out. Yes I’m thankful for this as it is time. He has lived away from home before so I've already gone through the empty nest thing.  A few years ago he moved home, which was to be for a short time.

Happy that Allan didn't move too far away and I can easily see him as he’s still in the same city as us.

Thankful my mother in law won at the casino this past week because it made her very happy. 

Hubby is taking a few days off since he’s been working nonstop for the past month. Thankful he realized he needed a break.

Thankful that I can now walk to the outdoor market on Saturday’s again as they've moved back to within walking distance of my house.

Thankful for the local grown tomatoes as there’s nothing quite like a toasted tomato sandwich in the summertime.

Thankful for the two ceiling fans we installed in our home this past February as they’re sure a big help in the heat of summer. 

To join TToT please follow one of the links below. 

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Depression and Ten Things of Thankful

"Light At End Of Tunnel" by lkunl via freedigitalphotos.net

Hi Everyone,

 I know I’d posted that I’d let everyone know where I've been for most of March, April, and May. I woke up one day in March a few days after a chemo treatment feeling anxious (this was new to me), and not feeling comfortable being alone. I was also feeling very depressed about life in general. To make a long story shorter the steroid that I take for anti-nausea called Dexamethasone can cause anxiety and depression. The day before I get my chemo treatment I start on this drug twice a day and continue taking it the day of, and the day after chemo.  It gives you a euphoric feeling and then bam, it brings you down a few days after stopping it. So now I’m on an anti-depressant and Abilify to counter act the Dexamethasone.

TToT

Now that I've gotten that out of the way …. I am so happy, and thankful to be back writing or trying to write again. I had no interest in even opening my computer up let alone posting anything. I did force myself but usually I only did so to play Bejeweled, or Texas HoldEm Poker.   

I am thankful for my latest CAT scan results. The tumors are still shrinking! You can read all about it here if you like.

Thankful that I have a son that not only knows how to make coffee, but has been getting up earlier than me lately and making it. There’s nothing quite like coming downstairs to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee that I didn’t have to make. It always tastes better when someone else makes it too.

About two weeks ago I woke up one morning and wanted to get out of bed. This had not been the case in so long. I think I knew that’s when I finally had hit a turning point. I’m not quite back to springing out of bed at 5 am, but I did get up at 6 to start writing this.

So very thankful that I have a hubby that stands beside me no matter what happens. In sickness and, in health ….. This man has been through so much with me over the years. I think he deserves an award. This Sunday is not only Father’s Day but his birthday and my twin sons birthdays. My only hope is that he takes the day off and gets to relax a bit.

Through all of this I tried to keep up with Scrabble and Words With Friends. I forced myself to play even though I did lose more often than what I used to. I’m thankful to all the people that I play these games with even if you did beat me.

I’m thankful that I've gotten my appetite back except there’s one little problem,  and that’s that I've gained weight. Back onto the lower carb diet I go, soon :)

The weather has been gorgeous and I’m so thankful that all the snow melted. There was doubt in my mind as I pictured going through this entire spring never seeing that horrible white stuff disappear.

Thankful that it is time for my mother in law to come for a visit, as a lot of you know we are pretty good friends. She arrived in Toronto on Thursday night and will be at my house on Sunday.

Once again I have to say thank you to my online friends that kept sending me messages of concern during my lost in space time. You guys mean the world to me. 

I've learned that no matter what life brings there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Check out all the other TToT posts by visiting the following links and Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

Flowering Ghost Cactus on Wordless Wednesday

Flowering Ghost Cactus

Linking up to Abracabadra on Wordless Wednesday

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Orillia Shoe Tree Wordless Wednesday

Orillia's Shoe Tree at Lake Couchiching Park
Susan Zutautas

I have not been posting for quite some time now and later on this week I'll try to explain why along with an update on the cancer. 

Thank you to all of you that have been messaging me with concern. It's so nice to have friends that keep you going when things get tough.

This is a post for Wordless Wednesday. Linking up later when Ruchira posts. Chemo tomorrow so the link may be a bit late. Sorry about that. 

A Closer view for those of us that are blind or getting there :)

Have a great Wednesday EVERYONE!!!!!

Linking up to Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday. 

Wordless Wednesday - Spring is Here?

Does it look like spring is here to you? I took these pictures today March 26th, 2014. Please note that the snowbanks in the pictures above have all been cut back. I'd hate to see how high they'd actually be had the city not come and taken a good part of the tops off them. Some years I've been starting to think about grilling. Can you even find the BBQ in that first picture? 

There was a funny post on Facebook today that was perfect for this part of the country: "For the Easter egg hunt this year I won't die the eggs. I'll be like, Good Luck finding them." 

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone and don't let the weather get you down. It can only get better from here ....  right!

Linking up to Abracabadra  and to for Wordless Wednesday.

Silly On Sundays 14 Kitchen Mishaps

Do you ever cook something that you've never made before and it's God Awful? Or burn a pan because you were too busy to check the oven due to being on the computer playing a stupid game or reading something really interesting? I sure have but when I make a terrible tasting dish I have hubby conditioned to eat it no matter what. He knows if he tells me the truth I more than likely won't cook for at least two days. This something he's learned over the years, it didn't happen over night. Still though I know when he doesn't like something that I've made because he very quietly eats it without saying a word. When asked what he thinks of it he'll say, oh ya it's good.

I find Gordon Ramsay can be a really funny guy. Put him and Ellen together and I'm laughing like a hyena. So for today's SOS post I thought I'd share a video when Gordon was a guest on the Ellen show. Hope it makes you laugh like it made me laugh. 

 

If you have a funny story, a joke, a funny poem, or had or did something silly lately please share it. If you'd like to join in on the fun of this blog hop you can link up below or share it in the comments. Grab my button if you'd like and hope that every one has a very silly Sunday.

 Always remember what Charlie Chaplin used to say: 

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." 

Add caption

Be sure to visit my co-host the RealHousewife as she always has something silly to share on Sundays.

Anger Ignited - Flash Fiction Challenge

ScottishWildcat via MorgueFile

“You've got to be kidding me; she actually said that about me! Where the hell does that woman get off telling you anything about me? She sits there upon her high horse dreaming up tales to tell, which have absolutely no truth to them whatsoever. Does she not have a life of her own to worry about? Someone needs to stop her, and now!”

As I stormed out of the house I stopped and to grab my trusty baseball bat from the hall closet. "Enough is enough, and this will end today. God help me”, I yelled in frustration.

This is a post for a Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch. If you or someone you know likes to write flash fiction please stop by and join the fun. Each week on Wednesdays Charli provides us with a new flash fiction challenge. You have until the following Tuesday to submit 99 words. This weeks challenge was to write a hyperbolic response to a frustrating situation. 

Wordless Wednesday and the Magical Powers of Baking Soda

Baking soda magical ..... seriously??? Not quite but almost. Let me explain.

Tupperware strainer that is 25 years old

I've used baking soda to clean out Hubbies gungy Thermos as well pots and pans. For the thermos I put about 2 tablespoons of baking soda in the bottom, add some hydrogen peroxide, (about a cup or so), put the lid back on, and let it sit overnight giving it a good shake from time to time. When you empty the thermos it looks brand spanking new.

If you're going to try this I suppose I should tell you how I put a small dent in my kitchen ceiling. One time added a little too much hydrogen peroxide and when I went to open the thermos it popped off like a champagne cork and went straight up to the ceiling. To avoid this loosen the thermos lid slowly making sure you have a good grip on it.

Back to the picture of WW ..... not so wordless today but oh well ....

The other day +Kelly  and I were talking about baking soda and somehow my Tupperware strainer that is almost 26 years old wandered into our conversation. Funny how stuff like that happens. I was telling her how I need a new one only because mine is so discolored and it grosses me out just looking at it.  Kelly says to me, easy peasy fix woman, use some baking soda and scrub that crap off. Boy did I ever feel silly as I slapped myself in the head ... only because this hadn't occurred to me. Doesn't that strainer look as if it were brand new? I should have taken a before picture because I'm sure most of you would have thrown it out long ago too, if you'd seen the way it used to look. 

Have a great Wordless Wednesday everyone, and if you want to join this fun blog hop follow one of the links below and link up!

Abaracabadra

                                                                         

 Create With Joy

                                                                

 The Jenny Evolution

Silly On Sundays 13 Coaster Collection

Hi and Welcome to Silly On Sundays. We've now hit week 13 and I hope this signifies a lucky week. 

Grab my button if you'd like

This past summer I was out looking for coasters. We'd gotten a new coffee and end table to go along with our newly renovated living room so off I went on a coaster hunt. Surprisingly the stores in town didn't have that much of a selection. One kitchen store I went into said that they couldn't get coasters. What???? Why not? The answer I got was that people weren't buying them as much anymore as they once did. I found this a little strange and unbelievable so I continued on with my hunt. 

A few weeks passed by and still I'd not been able to find what I was looking for so every time I'd go out for lunch or a beer I'd help myself to the coasters that came with my drink. You're allowed to do that right? Hope no one sends the coaster patrol after me as I'd hate to be locked up. 

My sons girlfriend Meghan noticed one day what I was doing and she started grabbing coasters for me as well. Then my my mother in law jumped on the coaster wagon. I now have more coasters than I know what to do with. But hey one can never have too many coasters right. 

A few of my favorites

I suppose the silliest thing is that at Christmastime I ended finding a set of six coasters at the Mariposa Market in Orillia. Of course I bought them! I wouldn't actually steal a set of six. 

Loon Country by Jason

Backside of Muskoka Brewery Coaster

My newest and most favorite of all. I love the artwork that went into this.

Front Side of Coaster

Do you think it's silly to have a coaster collection that is slowly turning into an addiction?

I did a bit of reading and found out that there are a lot of people that collect coasters.

What do you collect?

Anything silly happen to you this week? Please share it with us and join in on SOS.

My co-host +Kelly Umphenour has been cooking up a storm a with a silly story over at RealHousewife.

If only I'd have gone to Amazon I would have found these. 

Ten Things of Thankful

Each week I think to myself how am I ever going to come up with ten things, and then some weeks I skip this blog hop altogether. Then I begin to feel guilty that I didn't participate. One week leads to the next and I start thinking I'll skip it again. Truth be known I enjoy reading others TToT and since I skipped out on it last week I feel I need to just do it! So let's get started.

1. Thankful that I'm getting used to not feeling guilty when I nap during the day. Even though I usually wake up like a bear coming out of hibernation (family not thankful at all) I'm finding the more I nap the less grumpy I am. 

2. During the week I cooked a turkey I had bought during Christmas because they were on sale for 88 cents a pound. I can never pass up a sale like that. Thankful that my family didn't all walk out on me last night when they asked what was for dinner, and I answered with one more night of turkey. I wasn't about to waste any of that Tom the Turkey and it actually fed 4 of us for 4 nights. Oh and did I mention I made a turkey lentil soup that was to die for. It was delicious if I may say so myself. If you'd like the recipe I have it posted over at +Squidoo. 

To view recipe please click here

3. Thankful that when I'm tired hubby has no problem filling in and helping out by ordering in.

4. Thankful for posts on Facebook such as this one:

5. Thankful that I've found so many people that like to play Scrabble and Words With Friends. I only wish that +Stephanie Henkel and +Susan Kaul would let me win once in a while. 

6. Thankful that my mother in law liked the poem that I wrote her this year for Mother's Day, and didn't think it was lame. 

7. Thankful that I've been able to go an entire week without a craving for a McDouble. Not sure if I'll make it through the weekend without one though. Did you know that there's 390 calories in one of those little buggers. Not to mention the 380 calories in a medium fries. Who can have a burger without fries!

8. Thankful that I have another +Dean Sault  book sitting here waiting to be read, since I just finished Ghost of Lost Eagle. 

9. Thankful that more people are starting to join in on my Silly On Sundays blog hop. 

10. As always, I'm thankful for all of you who come by and read what I have written. 

If you don't already participate in TToT and would like to, follow one of the links below. 

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Meaning of Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Silly On Sundays - Silly Dogs

HI and welcome to yet another SOS. Today I thought I'd talk about silly dogs. I've always thought my female dog was just being plain lazy by eating all the time while laying down. I worked at a dog kennel a few years back and never once did I ever see a dog lie down while mowing down on their breakfast or dinner, and started to think that Maggie Magz  had learned this habbit from my husband who loves to eat on the couch in front of the TV while in the horizontal position.


This video is of a Great Dane puppy named Jessie that is I think now around 16 weeks if I'm not mistaken. I've been watching her grow since +Dean Sault first brought her home. Don't tell my dogs but I'm in love with this dog, and think that she's the sweetest pup I've seen in a long time.





When you're a large or giant breed dog I can see the purpose of being in the horizontal position to eat as it's a long way to go to bend down to get at that food.

Now they do sell at the various pet stores or on amazon dog dish stools that grow with your dog. See what I'm talking about below.

Add caption

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M49QPO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000M49QPO&linkCode=as2&tag=everythisusan-20

Sorry for the amazon mess above but I couldn't get the code to copy properly for some reason. 

This dog food bar stool will grow with your dog as your dog grows. It raises from 12 - 18 inches. This is great unless you feel your dog should lie down while eating. I'm exactly sure which way is healthier for the dog but I'd think the normal way to eat would be standing up for them. Now I understand that Jessie was tired this day that she ate in the video but for all you dog lovers out there this dog dish bar stool may be just the thing that you're looking for.

I would like to get a few of these for my pups but they're seven now and I don't really want to start trying to change the way they've been accustomed to eating all these years. 

While I have your attention, or think I do I must share a book that I'm almost finished reading. I have 20 pages left to go. You know how you know you're getting to the end of a book that you just love but know the end is near and you don't really want the book to end.... Well I'm finding this with Dean Sault's book called Ghost of Lost Eagle. This book is a western romance and I must say that it is the first western romance book I've ever read. It has not disappointed me at all. Dean is such a fantastic writer and I'm so glad to have met him. I can't wait to read all of his books. If you're looking for a great author to start reading I suggest starting with this one. 

http://amzn.to/1hWtpUy

This book is available in paperback or on Kindle. 

Be sure to stop by and see how the RealHousewife's old dog teaches owners a new trick. 

Thanks for stopping by today for Silly On Sundays. If you'd like to join in on this blog hop all I ask is that you share something silly yourself.

Have a Silly Sunday everyone!

Flash Fiction

The following 99 words are for a flash fiction challenge over at Carrot Ranch.

The prompt for this week is to write 99 words, no more and no less about the aftermath of an avalanche. I misread the prompt and you'll see what I mean once you read my 99 words. 

As we were racing down the hill I felt a strange and eerie rumbling going on as the earth shook beneath my skis. I looked over at my son who most likely did not hear or feel anything as his music was probably cranked.

Scared to turn my head but feeling I had to; I saw the white cloud approaching behind us.  Quickly I motioned to Allan that we were in big trouble.  Seeing the look of terror on his face we both knew deep within our souls that this might indeed be the end for both of us. 

Silly On Sundays #11 - Trapped

Hi and welcome to Silly On Sundays. If this is your first time here and you're wondering what this is ..... Silly On Sundays or SOS is a blog hop that +Kelly Umphenour,  my co-host, over at RealHousewife and I do on Sundays. If you'd like to join we'd love to see you link up below.

There are no rules whatsoever. All we ask is that you share something silly that you saw, heard about, did, or something someone else did. Share a funny picture, video, or even tell a joke. Funny or silly poems are welcome too.

The silliest thing that I read about this week was about this woman in Toronto, Ontario, that was trapped inside The Bay all night. The Bay is a very large department store. If you'd like to read the whole story that I read you will find it here.

Apparently Emily Keeler who happens to be a writer said the experience was terrifying. The store had closed, was locked up, and there she was all alone in The Bay. Here's the silly part of this entire thing. She was tweeting. People were tweeting her back with suggestions on what to do. Someone gave her the phone for the police. Obviously this was some kind of a joke that she'd set up herself ... or was it? You can see all the tweets back and forth at the link above. When asked to be interviewed by City TV News, she refused. 

The things we do in Canada for publicity and attention :)

Does anyone remember this kids TV show called Today's Special? I used to watch this with my boys when they were little. When I read about Emily being trapped in The Bay I thought of this show.

That's my Silly On Sundays for this week. 

Thanks for stopping by everyone and have a great Sunday! 

Do something Silly today.