This Leg

What am I going to do about my left leg (and foot)? I keep injuring it over and over with my silly tripping. Not sure what I can do about it . I was in serious pain today and the stiffness is worse. The Advil didn't work at all. I decided to try some aspirin which has helped a bit.
Should I call the doctor ?
Now the entire knob on the new washer has fallen off. I have to call a service person in the morning because naturally when it happened they were already closed. Nobody in this town works past 4:30 during the week it seems. Can't get use to that.

I really need a sleeping pill tonight.

Year End

I tripped yesterday and have messed up my leg . I thought it was fine until it woke me up during the night. Ahhh, massive pain and cramping caused me to jump out of bed ,which made it worse. Then I had a dizzy spell and crackling buzzing sound in my ears which means I'm going to pass out .
Back down in the bed I lay there trying to stay calm . I'm fine, my leg isn't.

I want to send out best wishes to Anne at Disabled Not Dead and Diane of A Stellar Life .
They have been going through much worse than me . I don't really want to bug them leaving comments on their blogs right now.


It's year end and the news is full of year end stories: best films, photos, top news and so on Here's a couple I found interesting/depressing


Here's one of those making lemonade from lemons stories about skateboarders.

Well the guys are here to do work in the house. Hope it gets finished today .

Tracking Santa and Pilgrims

If you want to know what Santa is up to check out NORAD


Let's not forget happenings in Bethlehem (it is his birthday after all)

Early Start to the Holiday

Here's a quick shot I took with my phone camera of one of my poinsettias. You can see Buddha sitting next to it.

I have started my Christmas holiday a little early, do to a miserable headache that seems to be aggravated by the cold weather. It's supposed to get milder tomorrow and rain, which I find hard to believe since it's snowing like crazy out there now and freezing !

The new washer is finally in operation and it's fantastic. I'm amazed at how little water and soap it uses. The energy guide states that it only uses about $9.00 per year of electricity .The clothes came out of the dryer much fluffier too. I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets so that's a bonus. O.K. that's enough about laundry .

I hope I perk up a little bit before Christmas .This will be the first time in six years that I don't go south for the holiday and I'm a little sad , yet also slightly relieved. I really don't think I could have managed all the travel . I'm planning to go in April when I have a new batch of vacation time. Maybe my work situation will be resolved by then ?

Tomorrow I'm going to take a wack at making a sugar pie Haven't made one in ages. It's a French Canadian dessert, made with maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cream. If I was making a genuine French Canadian Christmas Eve meal, I would be baking a tortiere, a pork pie. Served warm, drizzled with maple syrup, it is a very yummy dish traditionally served after Midnight Mass.
This is very different from what the Italian relatives have for Christmas eve. They always prepare fish dishes as part of a 5 course meal. If I have to choose, I go for the French Canadian meal,even though it is very fattening and much less healthy than the Italian. Then again, my French grandmother who ate a ton of pork , cooked omlettes in rendered salt pork, hardly ever ate vegetables, and even poured cream on her salad , was very healthy. I think it was due to her only eating at meal time, no junk food, and being a hard worker. I remeber her telling us that during the depression they were so poor they ate lard sandwiches sprinkled with sugar !

I'm sure I'll be in bed long before midnight tomorrow . If it isn't too awful out and if I feel better I might go for a walk around the neighbourhood and check out the Christmas lights in the evening.

At Least The Chocolates Are On Sale

Today fool that I am I had a brief moment of optimism. Ha Ha . Everything was going smoothly The guys were making progress with the basement work The washing machine was delivered without a hitch., although they did have to remove a door. (see post below) The basement guy offered to set up the machine which is just as well, as the power cord was packed behind a panel that had to be removed with a socket wrench and a piece of Styrofoam was lodged behind that.
Yeah everything was going fine The guys left ,I had dinner, and decided to try out the washer.
Well now the electric outlet is not working and there isn't another close by . I tried using an extension cord to another plug just to try the machine ,but that didn't work. . The basement guy said he will drop by tomorrow and take a look at it. He may have broken the plug during the demo work.

I won't even bother to go into anything about work(it sucks as usual). how bitter cold it is outside and what a lousy job the city does clearing the streets of snow. I felt like I was mountain climbing on my walks to and from work.
I suppose it's good exercise.

At least the all chocolates and other Christmas items were on sale half price today.
I bought myself the biggest box of the best chocolates and a few boxes for treats for others.
Mmm so good. Lindt Swiss chocolates.

I sure hope I can do some laundry before Christmas.

I feel very very tired this evening and itchy.

Oh yeah guess what the guys found in an old cupboard under the stairs I have never used or even opened ? No not any valuable antiques . A bunch of empty liquor bottles(Jack Daniels), porno mags, and empty prescription drug bottles!

No Faith

It would be nice to think that tomorrow everything will go smoothly The washer will be delivered , set up, and working. The guy will finish the work in the basement. I will come home from work, put everything back in place and it will all be fine.

Only I know none of that is likely. I got a call this evening to confirm delivery of the washer. I was told delivery time was " between 8:30 a.m. and who knows" and I'm ninth on the list. So you know what will happen.The delivery guys will show up at 6:00p.m when it's dark, they will moan and groan about how these old houses are so narrow, they will piddle around trying to get the stupid washer downstairs, they will contemplate removing the doors (unnecessary) I won't have the proper hoses for the connections. The guy won't be able to finish the work in the the basement due to the above. The house will be a mess. I will be exhausted and not care.

Yeah I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, especially with more of the same ugly weather.
What fun.
I 'm oh so very tired this evening.

Snow Cane

Imagine a hurricane only with snow .That's what we had today. It sure wasn't fun walking home in that wind with snow up to my knees . It's over now, although we're expecting more of the same on Sunday. Everybody was whining about the rain last week and not having snow for Christmas
Well we have plenty now.

I may have to go to the laundromat tomorrow . My new washing machine won't arrive till Monday
and the wash is really piling up. Not looking forward to that.

I'm way too tired to write anymore Trudging through that snow, I feel like I've I've been mountain climbing.

Robot Care

If it meant you could remain independent in your own home, would you have a robot instead of a human carer ? The robots are here Are you ready ?

Thank Heavens for Art

A grim meeting today. I guess I was a bad girl this year because Santa won't be granting me my wish to tele work, at least not any time soon.

I found out much to my dismay, that it will be a least four more months until work gets the Health Canada report, because they are back logged. Yeah I'm just one of many in the pile.

Four more months seems like an eternity, especially when I'm already in the hole for so much lost wages. It's so insulting to be told that I'm "not trying to help myself" and " you're not the only one in this situation" yeah thanks for that. When I was told that they (management) " really are in my corner" and " really are trying to help", my only reply was "if this is help, please stop trying to help me" I wanted to tell them to get the hell out of my corner, but decided against it. I still have some self control left .


Here I am heading into 2009 with very little money , everything falling apart in my house , and tired beyond descriptions . Oh well the rich folks are suffering too .Poor souls don't you just feel so bad for people who think they can live and not work for their money. Just shove money in a hedge fund and let the "gurus" make it work for them. They won't even be able to afford to go to the doctor now, Ha Ha. I'm so mean. Can't help it I'm in a foul mood. I really don't know how many more poor people we can have in my city. There are already so many poor and the rest of us are stretched and can't help much more. Damn all you reckless bankers, economists, financial advisers etc. etc. You have ruined the world. I'm not the only one who thinks so

At least there's art. Art is great therapy. Try it, check out ArtBeat

I wish I could afford to go to New Orleans to see the exhibit Prospect 1. They are planning to make it a yearly event. Perhaps if my prospects improve, I can go see it next year. yeah O.k I shouldn't try to be so clever. Seriously though, if I could travel to see every art exhibit in the world I would. Art is soul food.

I'm making so many spelling mistakes and I'm looking right at the keyboard. I feel as though I'm dyslexic, reversing letters in words .

One last comment about work I really would like to tape some of the conversations at the office, so that people would realize that when you dwell in the land of grey cubicles, you really should be careful what you say. Even though you can't see people, dozens of ears are listening and they aren't even trying. .

Not Much Cheaper

First before I start moaning check out SL Liew's postcard blog


Crazy isn't it that buying a new washing machine only costs slightly more than getting the old one fixed. It seems so wasteful to do it I really feel guilty .

What's the point of me using cloth bags to shop and recycling bottles, if I'm going to then chuck a not that old washing machine. I think the delivery people will take the old one away and maybe it will get fixed and sold as refurbished . It certainly isn't worth me spending the money to do it and who knows in six months it might just conk out again. Yeah O.K. I'm rationalizing trying to ease my guilt. I guess that's the old school Catholic girl in me "waste is a sin".

I remember when I was a girl ( old fogey moment here) how my mother got all the appliances and the t.v. fixed over and over. I'm sure she had the same washing machine for 25 years and the same black and white t.v. up until the 1970's . She only got a new colour t.v. because my brother bought it as a gift for her when he started working full time.

Later in life she was more well to do and got into the throw it out habit. Hole in the sock ? throw it out. Sheets worn out ? Don't do like my grandmother and cut them up and make pillow cases ,
no, throw them out.

Not that I'm a big fan of Cuba but they drive cars from the 1950's. They just keep on fixing them. And they don't have to bankrupt their country, bailing out some old dinosaur car company. When did it happen that our entire economy depends on people going out and buying crap they don't need ?

Tomorrow morning I have a meeting with my manager, which I already know isn't going to be a good meeting. It's mild out and raining and now I'm going to have a bath and listen to the opera show at 9:00 Always look forward to that on Sunday night.
My Christmas shopping is nearly done too Only have one more gift to buy. I wonder if that person would like an old washing machine ?

What Will Break Next ?

The computer is back to normal after much time wasted configuring, installing, downloading, etc. etc.
Now the washing machine is broken. It won't spin . At least I managed to get two loads of wash done .

Hard Drive Horrors

Thought that while I wait for the computer guy to call back I'd do an update here. Right now the other computer is formatting XP. It would actually be a very easy thing to do, install a hard drive and an operating system. The trick is knowing were all the menus are and what to look for in them. That's how they keep you a tech slave, by hiding little bits of information here, there, and everywhere. Instructions for anything to do with computers are either vague or misleading.
"Just plug and play" remember that one, when USB ports came out? Yeah Ha Ha!
I suppose it keeps people employed in what ever country this guy is calling from. It's a dead give away when they start asking what time zone you live in, or are shocked when they ask you how the weather is and you tell them it's 5C.

Right now it's raining and has been all day, which is better than the -20C last weekend.

OK here's my MS challenge : To get rid of these anxiety attacks I have worrying about fatigue.
I get freaked out every Sunday worrying wether I can make it through another week. Worrying, that when I'm hit with those sudden bouts of extreme fatigue if I will pass out or have an accident. I think that's one reason I stay home some days,(like today) because I dread the horrible brain dead exhaustion at the end of the work day and it's not even as bad as it use to be thanks to the drugs.
Maybe my friend is right, maybe I will here some good news about my work situation before Christmas. Which would be the opposite of so many people hearing that they will be losing their jobs after Christmas.
Well gotta go. The computer is done with set up and is copying files. I'd like to know what files exactly since everything got wiped out. Hmm, must be those little hidden things I can never find.

Coincidence ?

While scanning various blogs today I came across this tag at Donna/Inner Eyes.
You go to your Pictures file, select the fourth file, fourth picture, post it and tell about it.
I will do the same as she , not actually tag anybody, and leave it up to however might read this to try it.

In one of those funny coincidences of life, here's what I had in my fourth file:


That's me, Christmas 2004 at the UFO museum in Roswell,New Mexico. That's also the year that I finally dragged myself to the doctor to try and figure out what the heck was wrong.

Four years later and I'm hoping that by 2009 there will be some resolution.


Here's an interesting article about Baclofen as a possible cure for alcoholism

Desperation

Usually ,I'm not into this sort of thing, however since it's about MRI's and medical bills, here's a
bizarre news story.
A woman claims that there's an image of the virgin Mary ( yeah we Catholics think that) in her MRI.
She's putting it up for auction on Ebay. Are people that desperate to pay their medical bills? and who would buy such a thing ? Do people collect MRI's ?

It's bitter cold outside 20-C. Even with two sweaters on I could only manage a 20 minute walk and only then because I made several pit stops. The LCBO has beautiful Christmas gift sets. Wasted on me though, since I barely drink any alcohol now. I'm already dizzy enough without the aid of booze.

I'm not looking forward to my morning walk in the cold and dark to go to my grey cubicle.
Who picked the decor at my office must have misunderstood and thought they were doing a jail. Pale grey green walls, a puke green grey carpet, with a triangle and squiggle pattern, and to top it off pale grey cubicles. I refuse to spruce up my cubicle though as that will give it a feeling of permanence and I so want it to be temporary.

I have a guy coming next weekend to install a new door upstairs with a lock on it. I'm planning the return my home office Oh please Santa !! bring me the gift of tele work!! I'm getting desperate and I don't have anything to sell on E Bay.

Did a bit of Christmas decorating . For some reason I went a bit crazy with the lights this year.
I must need brightening up.

I am so itchy tonight.

National Day of Remembrance

Nineteen years ago on December 6th 1989 in Quebec, fourteen women were shot and killed, simply for being women. The gunman, Marc Lepine, blamed "feminists" for his failures in life.

For more Information visit Status of Women Canada
and the CBC archives for news coverage, the day it happened.

A Cookie A Day

Here's something that I thought I would share . If you like cookies you'll love the"Cookie a Day" advent calendar. Everyday from now till Christmas, follow this link, click on the Christmas tree, and get a cookie recipe. Even if you don't bake you might get some ideas for cookies you'd like to try. The super markets and bakeries all have special cookies this time of year so you should be able to buy them.

Otherwise it's been a very strange day The weather couldn't make up it's mind; going from snow, to rain, to sleet, to freezing rain and back again . The politicians are behaving badly too. It will be interesting to see next Monday, if we end up with a coalition of parties running the country or if the Prime Minister will simply close parliament early to avoid a no confidence vote, on the Tory economic statement . At least I get a reprieve from possible wage cut backs although that could still happen. Regardless I'm putting in my request to take the summer off again. If things go badly I can always cancel it. Sure hope I don't have to.