Dear Quarantine Diary – Week #7

Tags

baking, cooking, covid-19 diary, covid-19 humour, dear diary, humiliation, humour, shopping, Valentine's Day

Dear Diary – I declared last Friday a pajama day! (but just so I wasn’t completely disgusting, I did shower and put on clean pajamas). I was so excited to have family and friends join in or comment on our “Adult Spirit Day”! I think we should plan something for next month. Anyone?

Cheers!

Dear Diary – I am a Valentine’s Day survivor. It’s that one holiday between Christmas chocolate and Easter chocolate, that I tend to despise. Too many bad experiences that make me want to cry out “Bah…humbug!” As always, I wore my traditional black to honour my friend (my little black dress stayed in the closet where it continues to shrink), and we ordered in pizza.

On Sunday morning, I received a cryptic text from Big Guy. I had my suspicions but I played dumb (which I’m really good at doing). Sure enough, within 10 minutes I heard snow crunching outside the front door. I opened to a stranger hightailing it away from my house and a large brown paper bag on my doorstep. Even though it was obviously too small for Big Guy to hide in, I brought it inside gingerly. It contained Tim Horton’s: 1 large coffee, 1 large steeped tea (Mine!), 1 large chocolate milk, and 3 chocolate chip cookies. It was the best breakfast from the sweetest kid!

I miss him.

Hubby also cooked us eggs and hash browns (yum!) and helped with dishes. Little Guy played Halo with me in the evening. 🙂

So it was my turn to treat. I spent the afternoon making pastitio, a layered Greek pasta dish similar to lasagna, with a thick bechamel sauce on top, and loads of gooey cheese. Very low cal. For dessert, homemade shortbread cookies. I experimented with flavouring the icing with tea: purple was earl grey, pink was cherry lucuma, and brown was s’mores chai. If you knew to look for the flavours, I mean really concentate, you could taste them.

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I also made a cardboard template and cut out what were supposed to be tea bag shaped cookies. It took forever. Little Guy thought they were price tags. Obviously the baker on The British Baking Show did a much better job!

Sadly, my kid didn’t get to spend Valentine’s Day with his new sweetheart, who I have yet to meet. Of course, with Covid, they rarely get to meet!! Long distance relationships can be hard at the beginning, however, it also means you have time to get to know each other. That’s how Hubby and I started. Instead of texting, we wrote long letters, and occasionally talked on the phone after 11 p.m. when the long distance rates were lower. There were no phone plans back in the dark ages. Hubby and I also spent our first Valentine’s Day apart and it sucked for other reasons, but we’re still an item, celebrating 25 years in June. Maybe this couple will have quite a story to tell one day: “Love in the Time of Covid”.

Dear Diary – I ordered and picked up groceries on the only day this week that it snowed. Murphy’s law! With the windchill, it was dipping close to -20C, which made for a long, cold wait. I was the only one cued for a pick up and it took forever for them to come. I know why now: I’m feeding an army!

Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairytale.

Wale Ayeni

Dear Diary – Yesterday I supervised Little Guy’s 3 hour Computer Coding Competition. Even though he notified his teachers for the 2 periods he would miss, I still had to notify the school. But where to begin?

I began with the online attendance system used by the school board. It took me 20 minutes of searching and a 5 minute “video for dummy parents” only to discover that the Report Absence Button no longer exists.

So I called local school. She gave me 2 phone numbers for Virtual School. The first number was the correct number to report absences for Virtual School, but the voice mailbox was full, and then it started screaming “error, error” in my ear. So I called the other number and left a detailed voice message. I received a call back almost imediately from a very polite young man, chuckling from his toes. He was a Rogers Communications employee and this was his personal cell phone. Freaking awesome!

Next I sent both schools an email, explaining why I was writing and what number I called to get the “full” mailbox. At least they couldn’t say I didn’t try! There went the first half of my morning.

About 4 p.m., an hour after Little Guy had completed the competition, I received a rather snotty and abrupt email from the local school, giving me the phone number for reporting absences to the Virtual School. Obviously she read my email very carefully. Sigh…

Sheldon: Why are you crying?

Penny: Because I’m stupid!

Sheldon: Well that’s no reason to cry; one cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid and it makes me sad.

– Big Bang Theory, Season 3, Episode 10

Dear Quarantine Diary – Week #5

Tags

covid-19 diary, covid-19 humour, dear diary, gamers, games, home, quarantine life, shopping, video games, winter

Dear Diary – Semester 1 of Grade 10 ended on Friday. Little Guy was so relieved to be done. In fact, he was downright pleasant to be around. Sunday afternoon we played a game of Carcassone. The difficulty, however, is that with the dining table now a home office, there’s no surface large enough for all the tiles. We sat side-by-side in lawn chairs in front of my small desk upstairs. Even though we shortened the river pieces to eliminate a few tiles, as the game neared, we were in trouble. So we added a windowsill and a mat on top of an open drawer. It’s a 3D board!

There’s a thin line between thinking outside the box and a caffeine-induced psychotic idea

Dear Diary – I ordered groceries for 2 weeks again online. It took me 4 hours to plan meals and compare prices between stores. When it arrived 3 days later, it felt like Christmas. I waved excitedly to the driver. He waved back, probably wondering what kind of nut lived here. Hubby helped me bring the bags inside and put things away.

It wasn’t until the job was complete that I realized, there was no bread! Was it their error, or mine?

It was mine. I ordered 8 loaves of bread for curbside pick-up the next day. There may only be 3 of us in the house, but we go through 5-6 loaves of bread in 2 weeks! Man cannot live on bread alone, but my men can’t seem to live without it!

Dear Diary – I’ve noticed a pattern lately with my instagram account and middle-aged guys. They follow my instagram account for a few weeks, liking most of my posts, especially the selfies. Some of them try to send me a direct message. When I don’t respond, they unfollow. Most of them have no description about who they are, what they like, etc. Some boldly share that they are looking for a relationship. I’m not sure this is the platform I would choose were I single and looking, but who am I to judge? The last guy to follow really made me chuckle. For his description, he wrote: “I’m here looking for a serious relationship that can take good care of me”. Well, as long as the relationship is all about you…who could resist?

Dear Diary – Big Guy gets hot under the collar when people dismiss video games as having no value. We know that gaming is more than just about the game; it’s also about community and so much more.

He passed on a positive story this week. A mom wrote that her 15 year old son has been hanging out with his friends a lot online during the quarantine. One evening, the friend and 5 of his friends were “hanging out” and they invited a solo player to join their “crew”. This gamer was much younger and had been spending a lot of time alone. In fact, it was the eve of his 11th birthday. So they threw him a virtual birthday party. They took him on quests, shared their loot, helped him win battles he couldn’t do on his own, and stayed with him until after midnight so they could sing him “Happy Birthday”. This random pack of guys could imagine the disappointment and heartache of this kid alone on his 11th birthday because of quarantine, and I’m sure this is now a birthday he will never forget!

Courtesy of http://www.9gag.com

Dear Diary – Semester 2 started this week. The first day was a half day so students could connect with their teachers. It took some sleuthing but I tracked down the missing teacher.

“No, please. Please don’t make me get up and go to school!”

“Honey, you have to go to school. You’re the teacher!”

Dear Diary – I was halfway down the stairs, counting all my steps, when I decided it would be less work to retrieve my fitbit from the charger, than to run around the house counting. With it being so cold outside, every step counts! As I charged up the stairs, Hubby asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to get my fitbit.

“What’s a pitbit?” he shouted after me. “Is that some kind of tool that measures how much you’re perspiring?”

When it is warm enough to go out, I feel like this snowman – a round pig squeezed into restrictive, poufy outwear that is slowly coming apart around the edges. On the days when I don’t get out, I kind of feel like I’m coming apart anyway. The bulky coat, sloppy boots, moulding mittens and hat that is just plain too big, make walking feel more like waddling, and then I do start to sweat. Maybe I need a pitbit after all!

My favourite winter activity is going back inside and putting my pajamas on!

Dear Quarantine Diary – Week #4

Tags

covid-19 diary, covid-19 humour, humour, sewing, shopping

Dear Diary – It seems I wasted a whole week fighting with a broken sewing machine. It started being goofy a week ago but I didn’t notice until I had completed at least 5 new masks. I had to rip them all apart. Somehow I managed to complete Big Guy’s birthday present right before it quit completely. I investigated with a screwdriver. Everything seemed to function as it should except a small tug would pull the whole seam apart. And now one tiny screw, smaller than a pepper corn, would just spin and spin inside its hole. I messaged my Dad and headed to the post office. The deadline to get this gift to Big Guy on time was tight. Adding insult to injury, as I stepped out the front door, I nearly tripped on the packages of my new Spring fabric. I had orders to fill and no way of filling them.

I am naive. I thought that seeing as we’re all struggling with something during this season of Covid, that we might be gracious and helpful with one another. Not so!

I went to the post office in a drug store and while I was there, I decided to snag some sale stuff, namely food! With groceries being delivered every other week, I find it a struggle to plan out two weeks worth of meals for 3 people (4 if you count Hubby’s second stomach). It’s not just quantity, it’s the hankerings and cravings, and evening grazings.

I didn’t want to use a basket; I didn’t have gloves with me. Instead, I loaded up my arms. But I had one item too many. Every other step, something else fell off the pile. It meant I had to kneel down and set something on the floor to get a finger free to retrieve the dropped item. Only, inevitably, something else would slide off the pile. Or slide off when I was halfway up, knees screaming, face grimacing, sweat pouring. Countless people stopped to watch this ridiculousness before steering around me in a wide berth. I cussed quietly under my breath: “Son of a motherless goat…Come on you stupid box!”. Sarcastically, I softly asked aloud: “really?” I whined: “why?” I sighed, deeply from the back of my throat like an exasperated old geezer. Still, amused onlookers smirked. Finally, before I either a) burst into tears, or b) burst into a string of expletives that would rival a seasoned sailor, I kicked the last treasonous box the remaining stretch to the self-checkout kiosk, drawing still more stares. I didn’t care.

Obviously, we are not all in this together!

I called Dad when I got home because my Dad can fix anything. Except broken hearts caused by stupid boys, but if he could fix that, he would have. If we were allowed to leave our homes, I could have met my parents halfway and traded sewing machines.

Before I ran my errand, Hubby had surveyed the scene of the crime and noted that whatever the screw screwed into appeared to be MIA. So Dad talked me through disassembling the machine. I felt like I was defusing a bomb. Though calm on the exterior, I was shaking inside. Sweat started to bead on my forehead and I slowly removed a screw so small I could hardly pinch it’s head between my thumb and forefinger. I pulled the pin and lifted out the metal ring. Sure enough, I discovered a tiny arm and a tiny nut loose inside. Then I dropped the tiny arm. “Don’t move”, Hubby commanded. I had to set the phone aside while we searched. Then Hubby helped me put it all together, and reinsert the ring. The situation was defused and we were celebrating.

Though I wasn’t quite back in business. Problems continued to dog me. Thread snarled in a bird nest fashion. Stitches wavered or laddered again. Days later after endless ripping, I repeated the operation. I hadn’t quite put the tiny arm in right after all. NOW I’m back in business!

Dear Diary – It required determination, concentration, and perseverance, but for the first time in almost a year, I put my hair in a regular ponytail! It’s been over a year since my last haircut, excluding trimming my own bangs so I don’t fall down the stairs, and it’s getting rather long. My frozen shoulder has meant it’s also a disaster. It drags in my food, gets caught in my coat zipper, and bunches into a rat’s nest every night. I know everyone is struggling with “hair care” these days.

It’s a Snow Lumberjack! You don’t want to know what he’s hiding under the helmet!

Dear Diary – Isn’t it great when our kids teach us something we didn’t know before?

This week I learned that Chef Boiardi (marketed as Chef Boyardee) was not just an iconic mascot. While known now for his overly salty, squishy pasta in-a-can, he was in fact a renowned Italian chef. He opened his restaurant, Il Giardino d’Italia in 1924. He never forgot what it was like to struggle in a new country. During the depression, pasta could be made and dried at low cost. Chef Boiardi would jar his homemade sauce in milk bottles and provide it, along with dried pasta, to hungry families in his Little Italy neighbourhood in Cleveland, Ohio. during the depression. During the war, his canning factory was commissioned to produce army rations. After the war, Chef Boiardi sold his factory, rather than lay off workers. He remained a consultant and spokesperson until 1978. His likeness continues to smiles from every can.

Every person you meet has a lesson to teach, a story to tell and a dream to share.

Robin S. Sharma

Big Guy is resourceful in the field! Or just very hungry….

Dear Diary – Tuesday it snowed. It wasn’t the volume of snow that was the problem but the way the wind billowed it over banks and swirled it over rooftops, like a swatch of white satin. It clumped on the screen in my sanctuary, obstructing my small view. It was chilly outside (and inside) but my heart was warm. My precious Big Guy was celebrating a birthday and I was happy to tuck in and let the memories billow and swirl. I re-read the post I had written in 2014, My Child, written from the perspective of my heavenly father over that part of my story, and my heart swelled with joy and thankfulness. It has been a strange journey, certainly not the life I had planned so many moons ago, but a good one nonetheless. God is good, even when my small view is obstructed.

Dear Diary – Yesterday I delivered 18 masks to my friend who knows everyone! It’s great to have someone else deal with people. I get to just tuck in at home and create! With my inventory restocked, I turned my attention to pillow covers for my sanctuary. How hard can it be to sew a square cover for a square pillow?

Yes, the bag of chips did make me feel better. I’ve lost an hour and a half of my life, have sprouted 14 new gray hairs, and still have a swatch of fabric and a headache, but my “tearing out” skills are amazing. Practice makes perfect!

Today is a new day. I think I’ll scrapbook.

Bad news don’t ruin my appetite
Don’t let the papers tell me if it’s wrong or right
I just do what I do and I do it, day by day, by day, by day.
I live life, might take it slow
Make mistakes but Oh! that’s the way it goes
I just know what I know and I know it, day by day, by day, by day

Doug and the Slugs, Day by Day

Retail Therapy

Tags

humour, retail therapy, shopping

Does anyone else miss shopping? I don’t just mean the thrill of buying something new. I’m talking about the experience of it. The canned music and dull roar of people talking. The colourful displays. The texture of soft and silky fabric. The aroma when you walk by Cinnabon.

By the end of January, the Christmas crowds are gone and the big sales of leftover crap is over. The “new stuff” is coming out. It’s the perfect time to browse at your leisure, with no particular deadline (or in my case, put in time while I wait to taxi Little Guy home).

Truefact #104: Women who do a lot of shopping may tend to live longer. For women, shopping is a form of therapy and provides stress relief.

The end of January is also Chinese New Year, and our local Mall always has colourful decorations. They might this year too, but I won’t be there to see them. But this is what it looked like in years past…

And now you know one of my favourite places to shop. Thank goodness for online shopping!

I’m not a shopaholic. I’m helping the economy.
Shopping is my cardio!
I could give up shopping but I’m not a quitter!
When I get tired of shopping, I try on shoes.

Happy Wednesday!

Dear Quarantine Diary – Week #3

Tags

covid-19 diary, covid-19 humour, dear diary, faith, humour, sewing, shopping

Dear Diary – I saw the mailman walk by the house this morning. That’s enough social interaction for today.

Dear Diary – A “state of emergency” was declared as of last Thursday but with the exception of school closures, everything pretty much functions as before. We’re supposed to stay home except for “essentials”: medical appointments, grocery and pharmacy pick up, and walks around the block. Arguably, essential means different things to different people. Here was my conundrum: Michael’s, a craft boxstore, is still open, for curbside pick up or delivery, and I’m in need of “spring” fabric. I had planned a trip to Fabricland in January but it is closed. Some would argue that it’s essential I leave home to buy fabric for my business. Others could argue that my business isn’t feeding my family, and therefore isn’t essential. The same argument can apply to furniture stores, home reno stores, etc. In reality, our restrictions are less severe than last March, although Covid is rampant in our province. What do I do?

I’ve ranted before about the disadvantages of online shopping, and fabric is a small market. Thumbnail photos don’t accurately reflect the product. I spent 5 hours on Friday sourcing fabric to stretch my bucks! In addition to colour and print, I had to consider cost, shipping dates, and measurements. There was no standard means of measuring – I had to calculate cost per metre based on inches, yards, centimeters, and feet. Math…no pressure!

Source: trenchcoatsoft.com

I ordered from Michael’s first, swallowing the $15 delivery charge. Then I ordered from Wal-Mart, which had free shipping…but is shipping each fabric swatch… one. at. a. time. Yesterday I received 3 tiny packages of elastic in a large envelope that was so well taped, I got my 20 minute work-out!

The first package arrived 4 days early, sometime after 8 p.m. I picked up the “Your package has been delivered” after 11 p.m. No one had knocked and I was already in bed but I didn’t want it stolen. Anyone who up to no good in my neighbourhood Monday night, I’m sorry I scared you. I had to turn on the porch light to find the package, and I was too lazy to get dressed first. It’s rather chilly outside for a t-shirt and panties.

Normally I’m a flannel-kinda gal. But lately, the dying inferno of my youth has re-ignited, and I’m waking on fire, several times in the night! I would love a smoking hot body, but this is not what I had in mind. I am developing 2 temperature settings – hypothermia and hades! The blankets are on and off, like a cat in the middle of whatever you are doing. Legs in – too hot! Legs out – too cold! One leg out – worried monster under the bed will eat one leg. When will the madness end?

There’s hope, however. The weatherman has predicted an arctic vortex heading our way. He’s afraid for his life, but I’m wondering if it be a life-saver, providing the optimal sleeping temperature.

I don’t think these fellows will mind.

Dear Diary – The sky is gray and it looks like it should be snowing. I know evening will soon be upon us, and I welcome the darkness. It’s like a heavy blanket wrapped around our home, soft and warm, inviting. I should be writing, or sewing, or doing something useful, not just sitting here idly watching the giant pine tree outside the window. The branches are frantically waving at me in the wind. I know it’s a cold wind that bites through winter clothing, and swirls menacingly around the edges. I was outside earlier, and I was happy to be come home.

I feel like those branches, my thoughts constantly moving and my focus swirling about, but I never really get anywhere. I sense frustration creeping in around the edges, and I have to remind myself: patience. Just as I can’t see the wind, I see movement and know it is there. Just as I can’t see Him, I know God is moving and He is there. Not everything is about the destination; it’s also about the journey.

You take a chance every day – getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.

Lt. Frank Drebin, The Naked Gun

Dear Quarantine Diary #31

Tags

baking, covid-19 diary, covid-19 humour, dear diary, humour, shopping

Dear Diary – When was the last time I played in the leaves? Last Saturday!

With exceptionally beautiful weather and all my guys home, it was the perfect time to tackle the annual Autumnal Yard Clean-Up! While Hubby cleaned up the last of the tools from his carport project, the boys & I raked and bagged leaves.

I should have been more alert when I heard conspiratorial whispering, because Big Guy grabbed me and dumped me in a huge pile of leaves. They were dry and crispy, and sunny yellow as they closed over my face. I lay there for a moment, laughing and letting their earthy smell bring back memories of running and tumbling into piles of leaves, first with school mates, and later with my own little boys. Both boys tower over me now. We ran around tossing bunches of leaves in each others’ faces. I couldn’t fend them off as they shoved leaves down the back of my shirt. I was picking leaves and sticks out of my hair for the remainder of the day.

Once we had dealt with the leaves in the front yard, Hubby and Big Guy worked on trimming the hedge. It had received a haircut a few weeks earlier, but a “mohawk” ran down the centre, waving mockingly at me when I relaxed on the couch. The haircut required a ladder and climbing into the top of the hedge, but the job is done! My father also needs a hair cut in the beardal area, but he won’t let us get near him. I bet our hedge clippers could do the job!

Dear Diary – After a beautiful warm Saturday, we were hit with brutal winds and snow Sunday evening. By Monday morning, the trees were stripped bare, the yard was covered in snow, and the roads were covered in ice. My friend was frozen solid.

On Monday, I ran away from home. Why? Because…

Girls just wanna have fun, oh girls just wanna have fun

Dad was away hunting (again) this week so I spent some time with my Mama. This was the first year that Dad has hunted for two weeks, for moose and deer. He rarely even sees any deer. One year, when he called Mom mid-week from a pay phone, he asked us to “stop praying for the deer”.

Mom usually visits me and we’d go Christmas shopping, but with my tiny home housing a school and office, and my spare room in a mess, it wasn’t practical. And even I don’t want to shop in my area!

Despite sliding my luggage (and business supplies) to the car, my trip was uneventful for a change. It wasn’t uneventful for the folks whose RV was on fire on the other side of the highway.

How do 2 ladies pass the time during a pandemic? First, we went grocery shopping, and we binged on HGTV!

I also picked up some much needed socks!

On Tuesday morning, we shared one screen for our online Bible study. I had to keep us muted because we sometimes got a little rowdy! Who said studying the kings and prophets would be boring? We hit the “city” for the afternoon: Fabricland (nothing says adventure like 100% cotton Christmas prints), Michael’s (to look at shiny things) and then….we really threw caution to the wind…we went to the Mall. We barely ventured in the door, but still, I bought a dress and we people-watched in the food court with a cup of Tim’s. We even shared a doughnut! We spent the evening cutting patterns and flipping between the American election and a Jane Austen movie.

Wednesday morning, I made crostoli della nonna, and I didn’t burn the house down! Dad showed up unexpectedly at dinnertime and joined us for our “girls’ dinner in” which included my aunt, and we played card games.

He never saw a creature bigger than a breadbox, unless you count the hunter who asked for directions. Half an hour after that, he had 2 more hunters wander by…looking for their lost friend! Oh dear! Dad also tracked a deer to the edge of a cliff… I’m pretty that deer was a decoy. They’re smarter than the hunters!

This morning, the plan is to make salvation doughnuts, and I’m seriously considering going AWOL today and not heading home until Friday. I have to restock the fridge; I don’t want my guys to starve!

Keep calm and be crazy, laugh, love and live it up because this is the oldest you’ve been and the youngest you will ever be again. American Hippie

Dear Quarantine Diary #10

Tags

baking, covid-19 humour, dear diary, humour, shopping

Dear Diary – I survived groceries in the city. We live in a “hot zone” but there were no sterilizing stations for the carts. And, as expected, most people were not wearing masks or gloves, and some were completely oblivious to their surroundings. Even though the aisles had signs, people were wandering the wrong way in the “one way” lanes. By people, I should say women…women talking to other women in person or on the phone, or women so absorbed in their cell phone grocery list! I shopped where I don’t usually shop and therefore forgot a few items and had to double back. With the one-way aisles, I felt like a mouse trapped in a maze. I managed to come home without something but now I forget what I forgot. Oh well!

By the time I got home, washed and put everything away, I was exhausted. I spent the rest of the day trying to contact my friend so I could deliver her groceries. I dropped them off the next day but not with the Tim’s she requested. I’m not going anywhere I don’t have to. Even to Tim’s. It’s a sad, sad world.

The problem with the world is the intelligent people are full of doubt, while the stupid people are full of confidence. – Charles Burkowski

Dear Diary – This past weekend was my last chance to bake before Summer temperatures forced us indoors, huddling by a fan, waiting for the A/C to run again. On Saturday, I baked lemon meringue pie, from scratch. I used a crust recipe from a tried-and-true baker. I only had to make one emergency call to Mom because I knew my pastry was not right. It’s still not right and half of it is in the freezer because by the time I was done rolling out enough for one pie, I was done! How did my Grandmother bake 2-3 pies a day!!?? The lemon curd went smoother than expected, and the meringue was the prettiest cloud I’ve made. It tasted as good as it looked. Which was a nice change!

It wasn’t even cool before we got into it. No time for staged photos!

On Sunday, I decided to try Beth’s Foolproof French macarons with raspberry buttercream icing. I knew not to let the title fool me – just because it says “foolproof” doesn’t mean I won’t find a way to screw it up. I have managed to navigate nary a “foolproof”, “no-fail” recipes into complete disasters. I even have the crime-scene photos to prove it. Most of the cookies turned out really well and I could eat a bucket of the raspberry buttercream. I say “most” because I accidentally grabbed wax paper instead of parchment paper and those 12 cookies were permanently welded to the paper.

Don’t worry Mom – I saved you some!!

Dear Diary – We have a senior citizen bumblebee living in our yard. I frequently catch him just hovering in the air over the patio, between the porch and the lilac tree. Is he trying to remember where he’s been or where he’s going? After a minute, he’ll dart off in one direction. Within 10 seconds, he’ll dart off in the opposite direction.

I guess we’re all entitled to a senior’s moment.

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. Mark Twain

Dear Diary – For years, in an effort to instill a love of reading, Little Guy had to read every evening as part of his homework. Well the education system’s plan has backfired! He has to do a book report for his English class and he’s been dragging his heels for weeks. It’s due next week and he’s only halfway through the book and over confident that he can complete the assignments without having to read it all. I’m doubtful.

Too bad he’s too old for Captain Underpants. Those were books he’d read  over and over again. Tra la la!

Dear Diary – Hubby made an observation this week. When it’s 10C outside, our next door neighbour walks around the back yard shirtless. Now that it’s 30C (40 with humidity), he’s walking around the backyard wearing a sweater and a winter hat. I get hot flashes just looking at him, and not in a good way.

Have you ever watched someone and thought, “I wonder who ties your shoelaces?

Graduation

Tags

graduation, humour, shopping

I’ve decided I like shopping a whole lot more when there isn’t a special occasion coming up. When there’s the pressure of a deadline, suddenly there’s nothing that I like, in my size.

Little Guy was going to graduate from Gr. 8,  and we  both needed something to wear.

When Big Guy graduated many moons ago, the expectations were a shirt, dress pants and a tie. I’m not sure that’s enough any more. I have heard other Moms of recent grads mentioning tux rentals, limo rentals and the need for the right pair of ridiculously expensive shoes. It seems the significance of the milestone is overshadowed by the name brands and photo ops.

Little Guy is a no-fuss kind of guy, which is good because as much as I love him and wish to shower him with good things, I’m not spending my life savings. These clothes will be worn for an hour in a hot banquet hall, followed by dinner (which he’ll probably end up wearing), and a dance, (where the girls dance in a cluster while the guys try hard to ignore them).

Even though I “pre-shopped” to eliminate dragging him from store to store, there was still a great deal of gnashing of teeth on the way to the Mall. Little Guy was super unimpressed that I was cutting into his time to “relax”. Like I had nothing better to do with my time?

We went to the Bay. I don’t like the Bay. The prices are high, the choices are slim, and the racks a mess! The suit jackets and pants were not together, and most didn’t match. The hanger size-tag didn’t match the tag on the item. Our options were Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren. Gasp.

He snarked. He sighed. He rolled his eyes. He dragged his feet as he trailed me to the change room, with an aura of disgust about him dark enough to blot out the sun. Then he locked himself in the change room, and I sunk into an orange plastic chair that was splattered with something brown and sticky.

Hubby called to see how it was going. I think he sensed the despair even before I said “hello”. He was kind enough to look up some addresses for me for men’s stores, so we bought a white shirt and black pants, and headed out.

So if you should ever doubt
Wonder what love was all about
Just think back and remember dear
Those words whispered in your ear
I said, True love.
– Madonna

The silence in the car was palpable, broken only by a snarled “I just want to go home”. “I know,” I huffed, “and at least you’ve had something to eat”.  Then I took a different track. “I love you and I just want you to feel good. This is an important moment in your life, one you’re going to remember”. Meanwhile I was wondering if all he’d remember was being forced to shop against his will.

Dear Teen – it’s not always fun being your parent either. I secretly roll my eyes behind your back too. Love Mom

I glared at him through the driver car window. No way was I going in this men’s store alone. He shuffled slowly behind me, shoulders hanging low in defeat. Within 5 minutes, he was skipping back to the car with a big, goofy grin. I’m not sure if he was happier that we found a vest or the fact that we were done and heading home!

Last night, we celebrated! And he looked good!

Just in case I don’t make it through this thing they call parenting, can I get my straight jacket in pink?

 

What’s In My Cup: Gaba Guava

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#whatsinmycup, food, shopping, tea, what's in my cup

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I had ordered something for a gift for our ladies at church. But…the package wound it’s way from Seattle to California and back to Vancouver…before it started winding it’s way cross-country. It wasn’t going to arrive in time. Friday afternoon, I put Plan B into action and I went shopping!

Have you ever wondered what 100 tea sachets look like?

I will never have this much tea in my house at one time, and yes! I had to exercise a lot of self-control. Since I was already at the store, I also treated myself to a cup of the Tea of the Day, which happened to be a new flavour, Gaba Guava.

This is a fruity, tropical tea, with a low caffeine rating. It contains green and gaba green tea, as well as guava, pineapple, apple, papaya, coconut rasps, orange peel, orange blossoms, red currants, and safflower blossoms. Honestly, it reminded me of hot Five Alive but with a strong grapefruit flavour. While gaba green tea is purported to have multiple health benefits, I am willing to try it again in the summer as an iced tea.

Gaba stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter naturally occurring in our brains. It assists information travel more efficiently and accurately to our brain. It’s been credited with lower stress levels, improved sleep and reduced depression and anxiety. Some teas, like oolong, naturally have high levels of gaba, while others are processed in a high-nitrogen, oxygen-free environment during oxidation. 

Guava fruit also has health benefits because it’s rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. It can aid heart and digestive health, help balance blood sugar, and boost immunity. Guava  may also be good for your skin  – and that’s something every mother could use!

Beautiful skin requires commitment, not a miracle. – Erno Lazlo

Happy Monday!

Confessions of a Tea-aholic

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#whatsinmycup, shopping, tea

I like tea. That’s no surprise to anyone who knows me or who has been hanging around here for more than 5 minutes. I have 9 teapots and a large variety of teas to fill them. Also, not a surprise! The question I get asked all the time is – how much tea do you have?

In the Spring of 2017, when I hosted a dinner party for fabulous ladies, I prepared a Tea Menu. I thought that would be easier than trying to rattle it all off or drag it all out. There were only 36 on the list (but a few more I selfishly kept in the cupboard.)

This Spring I counted. At home, I now have 55 (there are 2 tea chests in that pile).

At work, there are 14.

So just how did I end up with SO much?

• some were given to me as gifts – birthdays, Christmas, etc. Just two weeks ago, 9 were given to me by a friend whose daughter-in-law works for the company, Steeped Tea and was clearing out some of her inventory.  More tea parties for boss and me!
• some were given to me when other tea-aholics cleaned out their cupboards. My hoarding instincts took over and I said “yes” to it all – No tea bag is left behind.
• some flavours are a single tea bag. Every. bag. counts!
• Quality vs. quantity. I have a lot…not all of it is high quality.
• I went shopping and I needed wanted a little treat. Tea doesn’t have calories like chocolate eclairs.
• It was on sale. A few weeks ago, I bought 3 cannisters of tea at David’s Tea because it was buy 2, get one free. (In case you’re interested, I bought Forever Nuts, Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, and Cardamom French Toast!)I confess, it’s an exorbitant number. None of my justifications are strong arguments.  They cut into my limited storage space, and many will go stale before I have a chance to consume them. Which means I should get busy and put the kettle on (because my birthday is coming). Happy Monday!

Shopping is actually very similar to farming a field. You can’t keep buying the same thing, you have to have a bit of variety. Otherwise you get bored and stop enjoying yourself. – Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic