My Christmas Eve Ritual

 We just got done watching 'Serendipity'...luv that movie! And now everyone is heading to bed, so I will be up till all hours wrapping the final few gifts, filling all the stockings and eating chocolates while I watch 'It's a Wonderful Life'...it's my Christmas eve ritual, lol!! I had bought some cute little fake pills for the big boys stockings....one was 'Having a Bad Hair day' pills and the other were 'Hangover' pills and do you think I can find them now?!! Nope!  lol   I wonder what else I have hiding that I've forgotten about even, LMAO!!

Happy Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving is my favourite time of the year....all that food and no gifts to worry about, lol! 

We had a lovely weekend, even despite the fact that I've been working since last Friday!! Cody came home Friday nite and was full of stories. I actually had to stop him at one point though when he was talking about girls and parties, lol.....a little too much information for me! I sent him back with a batch of homemade cookies and it's a good thing I didn't send him back with too many goodies because the boys could hardly fit into the car to go back up north, lol....they were carrying things on their knees!

I hope everyone had a great weekend 

Anyone Watch the Debates?

 Did anyone watch the debates on tv?

Either the Canadian one or the US vice presidential one?




I watched both, lol....flicking back and forth. I was interested to see how Sarah Palin came off.....
and was impressed that she didn't sound as much of a hick as I've seen her at other times, lol!!

I like how our candidates were seated around a table....and they were actually able to talk
to each other, unlike in the US debates. I thought they all reallly ganged
up on Stephen Harper though....Wow!! And he held his cool through it all!

Pics of the College Rez

 Well, it was over 925 km round trip!! We used two tanks of gas,

which was around $90 for the trip.....yikes!

But oh, what lovely scenery! Rolling hills and lots of lakes, it was gorgeous!!

Here's a few pics of Cody's room...one from each side.
Hannah had fun helping him make his bed and put his clothes away in his drawers 





And one of their living/dining area when you walk in the door....
3 bedrooms in the hall downstairs and 3 bedrooms upstairs...two baths.
I really like the cathedral ceilings and the windows along the front.
Cody's friend Mitch is in this pic..this is his second year, and he's unpacking
all his small appliances....he had everything you could imagine, lol!

Getting Over It, lol

 Well, it's been a week now and I don't think I've done so bad, lol!!

I was going to call him the day after we dropped him off and Colin and Mike said 'You can't call him already, he's only been gone a day', lol....so I texted him and let him know I was thinking of him  Then called the next day 

It's just hard being sooooo far away....I'd luv to be able to have him for supper at least a nite a week, or even be able to take them all over a big casserole or muffins or cookies, lol!

Leaving For College Tomorrow :(

 Yep, Cody has just left with his friends for their last hurrah before they all head out to college tomorrow morning 

He will be riding up with one of his roommates and we will meet them and his parents
and another roommate and his parents there in North Bay.
It's almost 300 miles away...a 5 hour drive approximately.

Cody and I went shopping tonite for towels, sheets, dishes, etc....
I was supposed to work right through till Tuesday but I decided to call in sick
for tomorrow as I'm not sure I could live with myself if I didn't go,
it's not like this day will ever happen again, KWIM??! 

I hope our long trip is very uneventful, lol, and that we don't get lost, lol!!

Back From Havelock

 We're back and we had a wonderful time!!

We say Travis Tritt, Clint Black, Kris Kristofferson, Tracy Byrd, Aaron Tippin, Joe Diffie...just to name a few 

And here's me with Johnny Reid....he signed autographs and chatted with every fan who stood in line
and even gave out hugs!!!

We survived a freak hail storm without getting too wet and then had fun
watching the younger crowd do a little mudsliding, it was hilarious!!
Oh to be young again, lol!!

Leaving for Vacation

 Kids and I are going on vacation today....

back north with mom and my sisters as every year.

Cody won't make it this year because he's still in Alberta,

the first time since he was born that he hasn't gone, lol!

Colin has to work both jobs today, so he will be coming back

tomorrow for the reunion with Mike and then he'll stay

the rest of the week with us.

 

We are coming back Wednesday as all 3 of the kids have

their final soccer game of the season, until the tournament next weekend.

And I go back to work the day after we get back, my boss managed

to schedule me for a few 4-5 hour days to get started and see

how things go with my knee.

Went to the Dr Today

 and he said that yes, I will be ready to go back to work on the last date he gave me....

which is August 6, the last day of my holidays, lol!!

He said my both my knees were kinda loose but my bad one felt good enough that I should be able to take the brace off....start doing it around the house and then progress from there. The way it feels now though, I think I may need a tensor bandage on it though when I go back to work....though that's two weeks away so it might be fine by then  It just that my knee still feels a little squishy when I walk, lol!!

Mike, believe it or not is still waiting to be booked for another MRI....it was almost 8 weeks ago that they did the x-ray that the dr looked at and thought he didn't like the looks of it....so for all that time it may have been healing wrong!!! The waiting in this system is crazy unless you are admitted to the hospital it seems!!  We have to go all the way back to Ottawa (a six hour round trip) to do the MRI and hopefully she will be able to book us an appt with the surgeon there at the same time.

Seeing as how we were in the city, we went looking for cars or vans, whichever we found first and we found a green Ford Taurus that was right up our alley and within our finances, lol! Comes certified and e-tested and it should be ready tomorrow or Friday 
Well, that was painless, as I can't believe we found one that fast, lol!!
Plus I called to put the insurance on it today and they said they will send an adjustor out to look at the van so we may get some $ for it after all 

All in all it was a good day....thank goodness, cuz I've been feeling overwhelmed thinking about it all 

Colin Ditches my Van

 What's everyone up to this weekend??

We were supposed to go to my sisters today for my nephew's birthday but Colin
put our van in the ditch, so it's in the shop 
Thank goodness him and Colton weren't hurt and there wasn't alot of damage,
but he's got the truck at work today so we still have no vehicle, lol!

He's working two jobs now, he's done at No Frills and is working at a camp park here
cleaning up campsites and such, mowing lawns...etc....
and he got a call from The Bloomfield Carriage House a local restaurant
and they have hired him on as their sous chef....they got his name from someone involved
with the Iron Chef competition that he took part in...he is tickled pink to be working and training there!!
Especially at only 17 years old!

Cody our oldest is still out west. He just finished a week opening a new No Frills in Vancouver and
last nite called us from the Okatokes (I think that's how you spell it, lol) near Calgary
and they are spending 3 weeks there opening new stores....
his first time on a plane and his
first time away from home for that long! I guess it will get him
prepared for his first year away at college this fall 

The two youngest spent the nite at friends' houses so it's just Mike and I today.....
we aren't going far seeing as how we don't have any wheels, lol!!
I've got sheets in the wash and need to go hang them on the line, but that's
about all on my list for the day, lol!!

I think I'll lounge around in the swing and read some of my latest book too 

Off for Another 6 Weeks

 I had quite a day yesterday!

Mike and I went to Belleville with the two youngest for my check-up with
the orthopedic surgeon there. He has put me off for at least another 6 weeks,
and I now have a new leg brace on....$175 for it, but it has hinges on it unlike my last one.

When we got home I had a physio appt in the afternoon and while I was laying there
on one of the beds (it's just one big room there) a car came crashing through the
front door!! Talk about shocking, lol!! A little old lady had been parking out front
and hit the gas instead of the brake.
I should have been forewarned about the glass when on the way home from Belleville
we were following a big dump truck and a huge rock hit our windshield. It now has a big
crack in it that we'll need to get fixed 

We have been repeating our mantra that seems fitting here as of late,
"It could have been worse!", lol!!

Good thing I FINALLY got my short-term disability cheque today...
I've been off more than a month with no $$!!

So it looks like I'll be spending most of my summer home with the kids,
and now that I can walk much better we'll probably spend most of it
at the beach...it's not like I ever swam there anyway, lol...I won't be caught dead in a bathing suit 

Mike is still waiting on a call about his last set of x-rays that were taken almost 4 weeks ago!!
Crazy!!! But they said if they were fine he could go in a soft brace
and then start physio for a few weeks.....all of that time would have been
up by now and he could have been back to work....but there was a mix-up somewhere with them!

I've Hurt My Leg

 Things are not progressing well herelol

 

Mike is doing much, much better and is actually able to almost

sleep right through the nite now, and isnt' taking any of the Percocet

they gave him. Good thing, because yesterday we were transferring a big

water container from the back of one of our 1/2 tons to the other

and I gave it a big shove and when I went to regain my footing

I stepped down and there was no tailgate

I fell onto one leg because the other one was still in the truck

and after a visit to the hospital I am now in a knee imobilizer

and off work for at least a week with a torn ligament.

At least nothing was broken though, and though I can't walk on it

at all right now, I am hoping that I'll be able to go back to work next week

Great way to get the long weekend off eh?lol

 

Our 17 y/o is out in Calgary till Sunday so that only leaves Cody to

do chores and he's been working everyday. He did drive me to the

hospital this morning though, as he's the only one here who can

drive right now

When it rains, it pours doesn't it??

Quick Update

 Just a quick note before I'm off to work this morning 

Things went well at the hospital....I have never been in a hospital
that was so efficient and sooooo quick!!!!
Dr. said the xrays look good, his neck is healing up wonderfully
just as it should be....so another 3 weeks in the brace and then
if the next xray shows it's healed up fine he'll have physio for a few more weeks  After the 6 hour drive he was still not feeling
too much pain...so that's a good sign too 
And bonus....I got out of a whole day of chores yesterday, LOL!!!  I luv my boys!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike Had an Accident

 Hi Everyone...I could use a few prayers about now.

Mike was bucked off a horse he was training today and after spending 5 hours at our local hospital with x-rays and such...they have air-lifted him to Ottawa...which is 4 hours from here. He felt fine other than a sore neck and shoulder and his right arm and thumb were all pins and needles but they had him all strapped up to a board so he couldn't move his neck about.

They saw bone fragments in the back of his neck and he's been sent to see a nuero-surgeon. I couldn't go with him, and keep calling the hospital and they are doing a catscan and will most likely do surgery in the morning. I will be leaving in the morning sometime with my mil and bil to see him...but it just really sucks that he's that far away and who knows how long he'll be there 

I would really appreciate it if you all could keep him in your prayers that they can remove these fragments before they do any damage....thanx so much ladies.

Update on Mike

 Just an update 

I can't tell you all how much your thoughts and well wishes mean to me...I've relayed them to Mike too and he sends thanx 

I'm afraid I'm going to get burnout 

Yesterday I was up at 5 and off to work, then stop at the grocery store and also to get a prescription on the way home, and his work to pick up a time sheet so he can get his last hours in for pay, the home quickly to check on him (Cody had been with him till he went to work at 1) and put some potatoes and carrots in the crock pot with the roast I had put on in the morning, put the groceries away and then back to town to pick up a son at school and take him to work, Mike's work again to drop off his work phone and his time sheet, then home again where his sister and nephew were waiting for me. She was just leaving but he had come to help with hay since both boys were working. So after we got a wagon load and dropped off the big round bales I made it into the house to eat at 7. I dished up supper for Mike and the little kids and then out the door again at 7:45 to do chores down the road. The little ones came to help with water and we made it back here at 8:30. I was pooped and somewhere along the way I pulled a hamstring or something, as now I can hardly walk!!!  I couldn't even sleep in bed last nite and after two hours of crying from the stress and now my freakin' leg and trying to find a comfy spot I ended up downstairs with Mike..him on the couch and me in the lazy boy chair!

I phoned in sick for today as I have sooooooooo much to do here as we are making room in the living room for a craftmatic bed that his mom is sending over (she didn't like it), plus I have to drive to the city to sign papers for our very last mortgage renewel (WOOT, WOOT we are done the mortgage on the farm down the road on the 30 of this month, and will be done the mortgage on this farm in 5 years....a bright spot in my week for sure!!!) I can only get up for about 20 minutes at a time before my leg aches so bad and this morning I barely made it thru dishes before I felt all hot and felt like I was going to throw up 

I feel so bad complaining because after all it's Mike laying there on the couch with a broken neck not me....and I know it's got to get better I just have to get over these first few hurdles.

Mike is Home

 we're home now and he's recouperating on the couch.

We went to Ottawa to pick him up last nite. Got back home around 1:30 a.m after we got lost following a Google map that led us to a dead end, lol!!!

He has an unstable fracture in the neck...it's pinching a nerve and that's why his right arm and thumb are all pins and needles. They didn't seem concerned about the fragments at all.

He had a choice between surgery and then wearing one of those crowns for awhile or wearing a neck brace for possibly the next three months. He chose the neck brace and we go back to Kingston in a month to see how things are going with it.

He's not feeling too bad, they gave him some Percocet....though I think I need some after being trapped in a van with my mil for 6 hours!!!

Getting Rid of Some Junk

 Well, lo and behold...the sun is shining here!!! Woohoo!!!

Hannah's little friend and her slept on the couch last nite and they
are just waking and wanting breakfast now.
Mike had a bin brought in and we are getting rid of some old aluminum and steel
that's laying around the farm (THANK GOODNESS!!!!!), lol
because the price is wayyyyy up right now, so that will keep us busy today.
I'm thinking we might just round up all the branches and stuff from the lawn
and do up a nice big burn barrel today too 

Earth day

 Wondering if anyone took part in Earth Hour last nite between 8 and 9 pm??

We shut our lights off to watch tv, lol!

I drove through town last nite and I didn't see any of the businesses taking part 

RIP Nicky :( :(

 Well I don't want to get everyone on a downer but I had a rotten weekend

 

We lost our 12 y/o border collie Nicky late Saturday nite, just before midnite,

and I am trying to stay strong for the kids but I can't forget the look of

her as she took her last breaths

While I am happy that I was there for her, I just can't get it out of my mind.

I think she had a stroke or something, at first we just thought that she had

eaten something bad as she was listless and then when we came home

from a friends house late that nite she didn't seem to be able to move

her hind quarters and shortly after lost control of her bowels.

She tried to move her head but she didn't even look like she

recognized us....even when we said her name

 

She was getting old and we knew that and had been wobbling about

some days with her hips, but just the nite before she was happy and

eating the kids' pizza crusts. Taking her to the vet for an emergency

late that nite just didn't seem an option when she was that far gone

and all I could think of was her on the cold steel table there....

I would rather she just go at home....but I still wonder if we made

the wrong decision and if we would have taken her first thing if

it all would have turned out different.

 

We got her a few months after we moved here to the farm and I

already expect her to wake to be at my bedside in the morning to let

her out....to eat the kids toast crust (they really missed that this morning too)

and to nudge my arm when I'm sitting her on the computer because

she wants attention. I haven't even been able to tell Mike about her last

minutes because I can't talk about it with bawling

 

I'm sorry ladies...I just had to get it out

Colin won Iron Chef!!

 WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

I'm so happy for him and his teammates!!!

First their mentors deserted them (the chefs who had been training them didn't show up)....
and then they had to bring their own knives because the chefs had them,
and then of course the fiasco of them going to practice one final time
preparing their meal before todays finals (it has been two weeks since they practiced)
and they couldn't go shopping here yesterday because the grocery stores
were closed because of Family Day so they couldn't practice!

He phoned just now and said he won all sorts of prizes from local restaurants and stores,
his own professional knife set and folding bag for it, a big cooking pot,
tickets to see our local OHA team the Belleville Bulls,
and to top it all off a $500 bursary for the college if he decides to attend there 

He said that after the winner was announced he had people swarming him
to take his picture and asking him questions and telling him
to talk into the microphone please, lol.....
I think he felt a tad like a celebrity!!
He has no idea though what tv or radio stations they were!

I guess we're gonna have to watch all the local news tonite eh? 

There were camera crews filming the competition today and all the contestants
will get a DVD copy of it....but they aren't sure yet which station it will air
on tv and when.

How cool is that??!!!
I'm not gushing too much am I??? LOL

Dinner Invitation

 Not sure if I told you all or not but Colin (my 17y/o)

is in the Iron Chef program at school. It's an afterschool activity
and they work with a local chef to prepare a fancy meal.
There are 18 high schools in quite a big area here that are participating,
and they have competed in the kitchen of the local college campus.
Well Colin's team was one of the top 3 so they are having finals on Tuesday 

Last nite we had an invitation to go to dinner at the college and have their chefs in training
make the finalists a fancy meal  We had for an appetizer

Grilled Citrus Chicken on a Pan Fried Ciabatta bun with
Smoked Chipotle Adobo and Baby greens

Then for an Intermezzo (to clear your palate of the spicy Adobo sauce we had

Lemon Sorbet with Strawberry

Then the main course was Mini Lamb Roast with a Pinot Noir Reduction,
this had fancy piped mashed potatoes and two asparagus spears
and a piece of zuchinni and shallots on the plate also.

Then for dessert Chocolate Raspberry Torte 

Most of it we weren't even sure how to go about eating, lol,
as it came with sprigs of thyme on top, or stacked so high you
didn't know how to tackle it!!

It was a nice evening though, and it all came out in different courses so we were there for over 2 hours 

The finals will be videotaped and shown on the local tv station and all
the kids will get prizes for partipating and a dvd copy of the event.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!