Saturday, September 11, 2010

Sept 11th

Goodmorning all.
Today is Sept. 11th, a time to remember the acts of terrorism that hit the USA nine years ago this morning. Unfortunately like lots of other things this has gotten to be a political ax to grind with so many. The Pastor of a church less than 50 people in Gainesville, Fla. (75 miles from here) and the fight over possible building of an Islamic worship center very close to where the twin towers stood. A case of what can be done with freedoms vs. what is moral and right.
As for me I am going to use my freedom to attend a quilt embelishment class this morning. I put 11 small US flags along my front yard last night, and have a big flag flying on a spot next to the driveway/garage area.
The dog training is going well. When a GF came over yesterday morning they did not jump up on her, bark alot (just enough to greet her and check her out). Pumpkin did not run out the door and run away. This is a great improvement!
Marion--we are so thankful that you and yours are OK. I've lived through a few low grade hurricanes, but nothing like having the earth under my feet shake.
There is college football today and NFL tomorrow--I may be a couch potato this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Now---if we could just have slightly cooler weather it would feel like fall.
Sara in Fla.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Juicer to be 'rehomed'

Fran, how disappointing that you might have been so close (Oakville is an hour s/w) and our wood pile is needing splitting again; we would have waited for your visit...lol...but just think, you'll soon be retired and collecting that nice pension teachers have these days. And I'm sure you've more than earned it. Teaching is not an easy profession but it's a dedicated one.

Doris, V-8 Juice...have you checked the salt content...but I smiled at your suggestion. The Champion Juicer was given to me by himself twenty years ago. My tummy obviously was much younger then; it could tolerate the condensed hit of veggies, fruits, etc. Lysteriosis three years ago seems to have permanently altered the flora and fauna in my gut. However, stepped on the scales this morning and after a summer of ravaging Good Karma VeryVeryVanilla Rice 'Icecream' (dairy-free) and 70% dark chocolate bars (handmade here on our main street in town...be still my heart!!) I do not weigh what I thought I might. I crept onto the scales with fear and trepidation and lo and behold...I can have another bowlful of my current passion. It is the small joys in life that matter most...lol. Actually, I think just having all my parts functioning as they should at my age is a major achievement.

So I'm off to deliver my juicer to my former massage therapist where it will be picked up by a friend who is taking my appt. this morning, and I, hers, this afternoon for cranial sacral (sp) therapy. So much for that. I'll clear my head at least.

Rosey

MARION & ROSIE

MARION: I do hope the after-shocks are almost over and things can start happening re rebuilding, clearing up, etc in earnest.

ROSIE: You do paint pictures with words so well!! I laughed at the description of your vegetable mishap! I think I'd stick to salads too LOL
We've been invited to a wedding in Toronto in November!! Sadly I'll still be at school for another month so no hope of us attending. DH's nephew is marrying a Toronto native. He is originally from NZ and they met there, although his family now lives in Australia. They're getting married at The Oakville Club.....(?) I'll make a quilt and hopefully deliver it sometime in the next year or so!

Time to settle down in front of the TV for an hour or so.
Hugs,
Fran
(who wants to hear more about the dogS also!)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Earthquakes & checking in

Marion - Thank you for the updates. There is not much on the little bit of news I watch, as we have so much !@#$ going on here to shudder over. This must be a horrific disaster for NZ and I'm not surprised over the heart attacks. I wonder if they are more from stress, or people working too hard while cleaning up (like shoveling snow type heart attacks we see in winter). Liquefaction.... that is a new word for me. Will have to Google that one and will probably give me bad dreams tonight.

Rosey P -- Do you all get the commericals up there in Canada where the guy says, "Gee, I could have had a V-8!" (V-8 vegetable juice ads) V-8 juice

Jane --- Dogs? Plural? Oh girl, do tell!

Still shaking....

The after-shocks continue. Admissions to hospital with heart attacks, have increased from the usual 2 or 3 a day to 8 to 10 . Little wonder ! The clean up continues and central city is still closed off. Evidently, there are 2,300 homes unfit to occupy, 100,000 need repairs.. We are hearing from the rural community now. Deep fissures in the land, shelter belts (trees) moved anything up to 4 meters, broken irrigation lines... The Port Hills surrounding Christchurch, were basically formed by volcanic eruptions (many years ago, not last w/end !) Some boulders the size of cars were shaken off the top of them, killing some cattle grazing below. These are the hills I walk over with the walking group...

Anyway....other than that, it seems that most people are fine and that authorities are working quickly and efficiently, to get things back to as close to normal as possible.. Liquefaction is the word of the moment. The land under some houses shock so much that sand and water came through the earth like mini volcanoes, not so "mini " in some cases. Some people are knee deep in the sludge which formed around their properties. Hundreds of university students are out there scooping it all up. It's a huge job..

A damp day today but fortunately not heavy rain, so the clean up will continue..

Marion.

My Career in Juicing is Over

Cripes, what a nuisance. I'm going to make soup from all those vegetables. That juice hit my tummy like a ton of bricks and I had nothing but gas all yesterday afternoon. I had a massage scheduled at 3:30 and believe me, having gas at the same time as a massage gets to be pretty tricky (or embarassing as the case may be). Between the pulp flying all over the kitchen and getting stuck in my hair and the gas, I think I'll try and sell the juicer.

Jane...plural of the word 'dog' bears explaining.

How are things now, Marion.

Rosey

ROSEY

What a story. I suggest that you simply cut up all those veggies into a salad. You get all the fiber along with the nutrients amd the satisfaction of chewing. Use a fat free dressing. They are much more paletable than they were a few years ago. Make a mess of it and have it for several meals. I need my protein so add some canned kidney or other type beans which I marinate briefly in some of the salad dressing. Sometimes I use the frozen "cocktail" shrimp. Just put the desired amount in a strainer under the faucet briefly until thawed and toss it with the salad. Or you could invest in a juicer.

More later about dogs. That's right, I said dogs with an s.

Jane

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Oh Rosey !!!!!

Thank you for starting my day off with a good laugh !! The thought of you juicing your carrots and the visual images that went with that , are priceless ! My own juicer is buried somewhere in the back of the kitchen cupboard and it can stay there as far as I'm concerned !!

We had a good sleep last night despite the fact that there were over ten after shocks. We must be getting used to them. My DH gave me a shake at one stage because I was snoring (who me ??) I nearly hit the ceiling thinking that it was another big one. !

Met with a friend who is project manager for a demolition company yesterday. Sights that he had seen made him realize how fortunate Christchurch was with the timing of the quake (4.30am.) He had been into warehouses and Super-markets and said the products and shelving had been thrown everywhere. Imagine if those buildings had been full of people.. There are sad stories coming out now of loss and hardship , but still no serious injuries.

We have friends who are celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary today. We are meeting them for lunch . It will be nice to see them. Last week seems a very long time ago.

Marion.

The Joys of Juicing

Doris, I feel like Rip van Winkle coming out from under a rock when I go into the city these days. Reminds me of someone living in the Ozarks except now they probably even come to town.

New Zealand's quake toll tops $1.4 billion dollars. We can all read about it off the internet or in newspapers. It is reported to have struck 30 kilometres west of Christchurch. Is this in your direction, Marion, or the other way. Also says that the aftershocks are still being felt, as you've mentioned with yourself and with your friend in Christchurch .....7.1 magnitude earthquake. Life goes on, as you've pointed out with your tea for others but how traumatized people must be .

My one day resolution of juicing for lunch instead of eating a meal may end today. I've spent 3/4's of an hour wrestling with my old Champion juicer...the cadillac of it's time twenty years ago. I forgot to put two bowls in front of each other, one to catch the juice, one to catch the pulp. I now have carrot pulp buried in my nest of curls somewhere. So I thought I'd get smart and tied a plastic bag around the pulp outlet, turned the machine back on and it sucked all the air out of the plastic bag and it hung like a limp d***. So that wasn't a good idea. By the time I put 1/2 a beet through, an apple, four carrots and parsley which stuck to the sides of the tube going into the juicer, I no longer had an appetite. Maybe this is what juicing is all about. I have one large glass of tasty juice, pulp in my hair, the floor, which thanks to Hope has now been vacuumed up and I'm thinking that this cut back on my food intake may not take.

Rosey

the joys of travel

Rosey, I find similar challenges when I travel. For me, it is not so much the soap dispensers (although the quality of soap could be improved so that it does not strip the natural oils from my hands,,,, but I digress) as the frustration of the automated water faucets on the sinks. Sheer madness, if you ask me.

I have seen those parking lots where you pay with a credit card, DH uses one when we go to hockey games, but they are frustrating and don't always work properly.

Our lovely cool, dry weather has left. It was glorious while it lasted. Autumn will come, though, and we all enjoyed the brief preview, as it gave us much needed relief from the endless heat & humidity. We had a record 90+ days of high heat and humidity this summer. All the area golf courses that have bentgrass greens suffered damage. Some golf courses lost their greens and are closed for the year. The greens can survive some spells of high heat & humidity, but these went on for-ever and the damage is done and permanent.

I pulled out an old Baltimore Album block that I have not touched in maybe ten years, and finished it. I have several blocks, and really need to make this up into a nice wall quilt. It's funny how, with all my fancy computerized sewing machines and embroidery machines, that I have a need for hand work. Such is the irony of life, or perhaps my mind seeks balance from technology. Enough with philosophizing! I will not give up my microwave oven or my dishwasher. LOL

Have a great day!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Wednesday.

Three months ago we decided that, as a church, we should put on a "cheer up" afternoon tea for the old and lonely in the community. The winter had been long and dreary, lots of grey wet days and not much sunshine. The date chosen was Tuesday,Sept 7th. Yesterday. Very appropriate. From our small rural community we gathered about 120 persons and had them all seated at tables with delectable baking, sandwiches and fresh flowers (camellias) We also had a talented group of enthusiastic singers leading a sing- along which included "Pack up your troubles" "We'll meet again.." and other favourites from the war time years. It was just great to see the happy, relaxed faces singing along...Many of these people had endured the frightening experience of the earthquake, on their own , in the dark and cold, on Saturday morning.

We are still getting after-shocks, some nearly as high as the first quake. We nonchalantly roll our eyes now as we run to a "safe " place ..

Doris, how lovely to be anticipating having your son and DIL moving back to be closer to you. I hope they are able to sell their home and make it soon.

Rosey. Well done you, coping with all the challenges of your big city ! Since DD moved from Christchurch and DMIL died, I haven't had the need to be in the city much at all. It got to the stage that I avoided driving in. This all changed last year when a farming friend retired to the city and was a bit disorientated and at a loss for things to do. We decided to meet when the husbands played golf.. We have enjoyed some nice outings and I have become more confident about driving and parking around the city. We looked forward to our days out together. At the moment she is shell- shocked in their home on the hill. No damage but lots of movement over the last few days . It will be awhile before we decide to go into the city for more outings I think.

I've had so many phone calls and emails from overseas. I feel quite a fraud having to say that we are fine and that our home is intact, though I suppose that is what most people calling are hoping to hear......

Time to put another log on the fire. It's cold and damp here today.
Marion.

Sign-in

I guess all I had to do was to email Eric and tell him that I'd lost my sign-in and the next moment it worked. No, it wasn't magic. Who knows. I'll have to email back. My toolbar did a toss several days ago and I lost it only to find it hiding somewhere else in my computer and not working properly.

Marion, are you not glad, having looked at Christchurch on the news, that you are living in the country at the moment? The video inside a store is incredible. I'm glad you are none the worse for wear but that must have been a very scarey time for you. It was an earthquake of some magnitude nor had I known that New Zealand was on a fault line.

I drove into the city (Toronto) today, a rare occurance these days. The first ten years I lived here in the country, I drove in once a week, went to the Art College to work in the library, visit friends, get my 'city-fix'. After ten years, I stopped. Traffic, mainly, the problem. However, an appt. this morning took me right into the heart of the city with no way in or out without stopping, starting and sitting in traffic. Surprisingly, I managed to cope with it quite well by sniffing Young Living Oils. I have a small container of cotton batting soaking in Theives Oil. Sounds odd, I know but it helps me deal with the gas fumes in traffic without getting shakey when I get out of the car. The embarassing thing about going into the city so infrequently is, for example, having to look at my fat and getting fatter rear end as I walk past store windows. Trying to imagine myself thinner isn't helping loose those five pounds I've tagged onto my back end. It is trying to figure out how to pay for my parking with my credit card on those post machines which I did for the first time today. It is trying to figure out how to use all the different soap machines I encounter in ladies washrooms in the city, airports, away from home. Such is life that I actually came home stimulated, energized and thinking I should do this more often....get in amongst civilization more. But then I've just spent the past hour and a half on my familyroom couch, snoozing and it's only 8 pm. Why is it that I have delicious and sound sleeps right after my supper and I'm awake at 4 a.m.??

Rosey

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Phew... that was a shake up !!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and best wishes. It was so good to receive a call from Fran and to know that you were thinking about us. As some of you know, we live out in the country and it's been quite a lonely experience. We were urged to not leave home if we didn't need to, so we have been here since the earthquake. DH has gone out today to help somebody . We have had power and water throughout and sustained very little damage.

The earthquake woke us at 4.30am. , we ran downstairs and out onto the lawn. (which was frosty and very cold on bare feet !!) It was very noisy and the sound of things falling and breaking (just a few ornaments) as the house shook, was very strange. Eventually DH decided to get a car out of the garage. We sat in that, with the heater and the radio on, for the next hour or so, while the worst of the after-shocks continued. It was daybreak when we came into the house and inspected the place for damage. We were delighted to see that the house itself was intact.

We phoned neighbours and friends and nobody seemed to be too distressed . The TV. was on all day, reporting from Christchurch. There is a lot of damage there, mostly the older buildings, lots of chimneys down and shop frontages. They sealed off the city centre because of unsafe buildings. We are so fortunate that it happened when it did. Five hours earlier or later would have seen the city full of people with inevitable loss of life. As it is, we have only two people in hospital with related injuries, and no loss of life. As the day progressed it became evident that smaller rural towns had sustained considerable damage too. Torn tarmac, buckled railway lines, more chimneys down etc. Underground the sewer pipes are damaged and the water mains, there is concern about that and possible water contamination. Civil defence, council and government departments all seem to be working calmly and effectively. After-shocks are expected to continue for the rest of the week at least...

Nice to have the Internet back on again. Lots of emails coming through from UK wondering how we are. Spoke to my sister , daughter, son-in-law and two cousins yesterday. It was bizarre . There I was, sitting out in the sun, looking at my spring garden and talking to my "nearest and dearest" while, just a few miles down the road there were people in distress, sorting out their badly damaged homes...

We have been fortunate indeed..

Marion.