The Big Orange Circle of Life

Late October finds us once again preparing for that pagan holiday: Halloween.

Over 20 years ago I carved one small pumpkin for my first baby. Later, two pumpkins were carved for excited toddlers; me wielding the knife and they raking out the seeds and pulp with tiny fingers. Much mess and delighted laughter.

Later still; they grew to be able to draw the faces, hold the knives, and scoop out most of the muck. Invariable I cleaned up - at first because they couldn't do a good job, and later just to finish off their hurried efforts. Odd strings of orange slime pasted to counter-top edges and transferred from shirtsleeves to chair backs.

The tween years arrived. The costumes evolved from cute to macabre, fuzzy to gory. Interest in pumpkins waned slightly, and we no longer got them at the pumpkin patch, or grew our own, but grabbed them at the store during harried candy runs between work and home. Frenetic carving by Mom, candy flung into a bowl, and arguments about why they couldn't go trick-or-treating on their own this year even though "everyone else is allowed to!" Dad arriving home from work and being spun around at the front door and pushed back out to trail after impatient dead cheerleaders and chainsaw-massacre victims.

Older teens. Too old to look like they care about costumes, but too young to miss out on a pillowcase full of candy. Token make-up smeared on faces, and coat-less slouching out of the house to meet friends and knock on a few doors. Dad finally allowed to come home from work and stay home, only to be dragged outside to see 13 pumpkins carved by MOM. (I had to do something with my obsolete enthusiasm).

Mom and dad watching Halloween night TV with firecracker-traumatized cats scuttling about the house, all of us waiting for the kids to come home. Circumspect inspection of piles of candy dumped on the family room floor for sorting and trading. "That one looks like it's been tampered with - throw it out!". Rolled eyes and reluctant compliance. Pumpkin candles sizzled out by raindrops or burned down and flickering out on their own.

Finally, last year, I didn't carve any pumpkins. Didn't buy any. No roasted pumpkin seeds, no stringy muck. Lit a few candles in plastic pumpkins and placed them haphazardly in the driveway. Gave out candy to a new crop of kids I didn't know. One of my kids living elsewhere, the other one out at a party. Crappy Halloween - I felt empty.

This year - Hoo boy! My son and his girlfriend, blossoming young adults, decided to do it all. Drove to the store, bought the pumpkins with their own money (I don't care about the money, but it's a sign), scooped, carved, and cleaned up on their own!

They even bought a pumpkin for ME to carve.

Holy Cow. Talk about your circle of life whapping you in the face with delightful orange muck!

You cannot know the joy I felt, buzzing around the kitchen, roasting seeds, making pumpkin muffins, and watching "The Shining" (channel 53's fear fest playing discreetly in the background). I don't know whose smile was more manically gleeful - mine or Jack Nicholson's!

Sure, things have changed. The pumpkin have evolved from triangle-eyed innocents to cult movie characters (recognize Frank the Rabbit from Donnie Darko?). The kids are now definitely too old to go out trick-or-treating (and I will definitely not be able to sneak any candy from their spoils of war). Instead of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", we'll watch "The Simpson's Halloween Special". The cats are either too old or too deaf to flinch at the firecrackers, and Dave and I will go to bed before the remaining kid arrives home for the evening.

But, the Great Pumpkin has risen again, at least at our house, and the Big Orange Circle of Life continues.

A trip to London Drugs

Call it a shopping trip, call it impulse buying, call it retail therapy, call it what you like. I went to London Drugs today while Dave was at the dentist.....heh heh heh. Another Canadian retail gem, it fills in some of the gaps left by my beloved Canadian Tire, because as much as I love Crappy Tire, one cannot buy prescription drugs nor skincare products there. At least, if you can, I haven't found that aisle.

So, off to LD to buy some hairpoo and other items. I got a bit carried away due to the fact that I had a basket over my arm and stuff kept jumping into it. Not my fault. Anyhoo, the first thing that jumped in was this Joico Hairpoo. HEAVY!

Not only is it one big mama of a hairpoo bottle, it also helps with one's balance. Says so right on the bottle, and here it is balancing on the fencepost so I can take it's picture. Here's a closeup! Isn't it talented?

After that I found the hairpoo I REALLY wanted, this pantene super volume stuff, because I've been noticing a lot of hair ripping falling out lately, so I've decided that I need to make the most of what remains. Here are my new pantene twins, and I hope they puff up my hair like botox-y lips, for that sexy tousled look we all want at all times.

Here are the twins. May they serve me well! Oh dear....a sudden, scary thought. Does this stuff plump up ALL the hair on one's body? Hmmm....This could lead to a bit of a 'fro below....

(if it does I'll let you know!) No I won't.

(So much for that wispy new underwear I just bought).

Ahem! Now on to some skin stuff:

I bought this Aveeno hand cream stuff because I saw a positive review of it in a QUILTING magazine, and I am currently in training to become a QUILTER and have bought all the stuff, so now I feel that I must have the handcream of a quilter, as well. Makes sense, no? Besides, I like the name. Aveeno, aveeno, aveeno. Ah-VEEEEE-no!

Then I saw this cool body wash stuff, so I threw that in the basket too.

Then I saw.... DAVE? Dave got out of the dentist and came into LD, so I had to run away down the aisle and around the corner so he wouldn't see me (and stop me). So much for more Aveeno.

Around the corner from the Aveeno aisle is the hand soap section. I hurriedly grabbed an olive-leaf scented pump bottle and scurried around back to the skincare aisle. I caught sight of Dave looking for me, but dropped to the floor and rolled behind a display of hot water bottles, where I waited until he passed. I saw him pressing buttons on his cell phone, so I quickly turned mine off!

As I got to my feet I found myself face to face with the Oil of Olay section. Interpreting this as a divine message from above I grabbed a bottle of Olay Total Effects (7 in 1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer, plus 'Touch of Sun') and thought, "What the heck, you only live once (but look like you've lived 8 times by the time you're done). I am ready for anti-aging. Bring it on! De-wrinklify me! Puff up the rest of me to match my hair!"

Suddenly I heard Dave approaching again, so quickly dove behind a tower of Depends (unlike the Oil of Olay, I refuse to interpret THIS as a message from above. Not ready for Depends yet. ) until he passed. Crawling under his radar, I rounded another aisle. I found myself right in front of a new product I've been wanting to try: Tetley Tea Infusions. Here it is, and I see I've accidentally intentionally photographed the French side, because here in Canada we are all bilingual, which means we all have two lips, and therefore can sip some of this Tetley Tea Infusions through a straw. I'm so glad I'm bilingual. Oh Canada, bien agiter!

OK, enough pictures of my shameless consumerism. Dave eventually caught me in the Premature Halloween Candy aisle, where I was trying to open up prevent a bag of Tootsie rolls from jumping in to my basket. Failed.

He added some batteries and a new water bottle, and we headed for the checkout.

As we left LD, Dave turned to me with suspicion love in his eyes. "Isn't your phone turned on?", he said.

"Honey", I said, "Never mind the phone. I bought this new Pantene stuff and can't wait to try it...."

Kathryn : )

There's nothing like a good BM

Hi there,

First, a picture of my son, and my cat.

For no particular reason.

And now to the topic at hand, one that's near and dear to many of us:

Man there's nothing like starting the day with a good BM.

Today I had two, out on the deck.

Dave was with me, and he had two as well. After 25 years of marriage we often do this type of thing together.

They came out warm and steamy, but quickly cooled in the crisp autumn air.

In between the first and second BM we had coffee.

I honestly thought I was only going to have one BM this morning, but after the coffee I got the urge to have another one.

If Dave had his way he'd have at least 2 BM's every day, but I usually like to have one every couple of days.

And I usually like to have my BM by myself, so I don't have to worry about the look on my face, or the sounds that I make. Silly for me to be shy about it, but I am.

I debated long and hard with myself about whether to post any pictures, but finally decided that those who know me can handle it, and those who stumble on this blog by accident really don't have to come back.

Unless they're quite immature, like me.

Without further ado.....my two BM's, before I disposed of them and let the squirrels eat the residue.

(Warning - they came out a funny shape and I don't know why.)

Yes, these are my Bran Muffins (BM's).

What did you think I was talking about?

Kathryn : )

Now what's this all about?

Now why is the dew on this plant all around the edges of the leaves? Very pretty - like a beaded edge. But what's it really all about?
Dave says it's the meniscus effect augmented by the boundary phenomenon. I know he just made all that stuff up instead of saying "I don't know".














Why is the spider upside-down? To get a head rush? Is this normal? Do they always do this?
















Of all places to sit in the garage, why does Milo choose to sit in the sawdust under the table saw? Why?

















Why am I so happy when I see this?


My mind is full of questions this morning.

Kathryn : )

A trip to Canadian Tire

Howdy all,
Dave and I went to Canadian Tire today. What is Canadian Tire?, you ask.
Well....
How can I describe it? Basically, it's a House of Worship for all agnostic Canadians, a just a darned great place to go for all the other Canadians.
It started out as a TIRE store for gosh sakes. Hence the name.
Then.............they diversified!
You start your trip into Canadian Tire (or Crappy Tire, as many people call it, not because the tires are crappy, but because we Canadians have a weird sense of humour and have to put down our Canadian Institutions. It's really a term of endearment. Trust me. Just like we call Tim Horton's "Timmy Ho's", but I'll leave that for another day)

Back to Crappy Tire:
First you go through a shiny chrome turnstile. Whee!
Then, you glide past the credit kiosk, trying not to make eye-contact with the person who tries to get you to sign up for a Canadian Tire credit card. (We already have one, thanks!)

Once past the quagmire of the credit kiosk one is free to wander at will.
In our case Dave immediately took off for the tool section, while I shot off in the other direction toward the housewares, patio furniture, and handy gadgets areas.
I contemplated the coffee makers and crock pots, delighted in the dishes, marvelled at the mugs, prognosticated at the plastic containers, hemmed and hawed at the home decor section, and ruminated over a rack of spices! Picked up item number one: a bag of Masala Spice mix (the recipe on the back looked interesting).

A little later I leaped into the lighting section and ogled the Ott Lights. Anyone who is a stitcher knows what an Ott light is, but for those of you who don't - it's a light with a full spectrum or daylight bulb in it. I stopped to bow in adoration at the version that folds up, but couldn't justify buying it. Ott lite, I'll be back for you someday. Wait for me!

As I left the lighting section I rounded a corner and was nearly mown down by a large man pushing a buggy at breakneck speed. It was my husband!
"Looking for toilet paper", he announced purposefully, and whizzed past me into sections unknown.
I glimpsed two boxed office chairs in the buggy before he disappeared from sight.
After a lot more browsing I realized that I had lost Dave completely, so I whipped out my handy cell phone and called him!

Him: Hello?
Me: It's me! Where are you?
Him: (Tersely) I'm in automotive, waiting for them to put more (effing) tire gauges out.
(Dave is passionate about tire gauges)
Me: Well, I'm happy to browse some more, so just phone me if you can't find me!
Him: OK. They're out of (effing) toilet paper too, those slimy dogs!
Me: Oh dear! They've lured us here under false pretences. TP in the sales flyer, but none on the shelves!
Him: We'll have to get it some other (effing) place.
Me: (In soothing tones) I'm sure we'll find it at Safeway. Why don't you go to your happy place and get yourself a new screwdriver or something?
Him: (Somewhat mollified) Well maybe. I had my mind set on that (effing) TP. Double rolls.
Me: I know. They have no right to treat us this way. I'm going to go and buy a spatula.
Him: OK. Bye.

I wandered to the kitchen ware section and speculated on a spatula. Settled on a nifty number with blue silicon paddle and eco-friendly splintery wooden handle.
Wiggled the wooden spoons and nearly chose a cherry wood one, but left it for another day. After all, a new spatula and a package of Masala spice mix should be enough for anyone, right?

Eventually found Dave getting ready to head for the checkout. Cart full of aforementioned desk chairs, a handcart dolly thing, a few tire gauges (how many do we need? Is he buying them as stocking stuffers?), several packages of paper towels (in lieu of TP?), and a chopping knife.


Quickly seizing the opportunity I grabbed a bag of chili-lime pistachio nuts and a package of Voortman's Almond crunch cookies that were in the impulse section next to the batteries and Bic lighters.

What a haul!
Trundled home, and Dave put away his beloved paper towels in the space left by our decimated TP collection. Must get some TP somewhere! Meanwhile I put together one of the office chairs for my craft room, and am now resting my right arm, which is sore from screwing in the (effing) bolts to hold the thing together.

Hope everyone had as good a day as we did!
Kathryn : )

CATCH-UP POST

Oh dear - it's been 10 days.

A brief catch -up then:

Finally got to meet an Internet friend in person. Alberta Ann and her husband Wilford came by for supper on their way to Vancouver Island. I think Dave scared them a little with his overall Dave-ness, but they handled it fairly well! I'll post a picture or 2 at some point.

While they were in our neck of the woods our son was away camping and managed to lose his cell phone in Osoyoos Lake for the second year in a row!

Before trip.......

Me: Don't lose your phone in the lake like you did last year.....

Son: (a tad scornfully) I'm not going to do that again mom!

After trip.....

Me: (Innocently) So you lost your phone in the lake, eh?

Son: (exasperated) The only reason I lost it was because it was in the pocket of my shorts when I jumped in the lake!

Me (I have no response to this stunning logic, and my tongue is now bleeding from biting it)

So...Off we go to the phone store to get him a new phone. He's on my contract, so I get the bill, but he pays me back. All this will change when he's 19 and a legal adult!

Anyhoo, fortunately I have a $150.00 credit towards a new phone.

Unfortunately, he doesn't want any of those cheap phones.

Fortunately he wants to buy a phone just like mine!

Unfortunately I got mine on an extreme promotion ($49.00) and the same phone now costs 400.00 MORE!

Fortunately the girl at the phone store encourages us to call our service provider and HAGGLE!

Unfortunately I'm not so good at haggling, and while I get some discount on the monthly contract I don't get a much discount on the actual phone, just my 150.00 credit, leaving phone still costing $300.00.

Fortunately the girl at the phone store tells me to CALL BACK AGAIN and KEEP HAGGLING!

Unfortunately this whole process takes over an hour and Dave is waiting for me to get to work

Fortunately my son gets on the phone and does a bit of haggling himself and we eventually get another 150.00 off the phone, so son is OK with paying 150.00 himself and we are feeling stoked about the whole affair. (while forgetting that we wouldn't have to be paying anything at all if he hadn't lost another phone in the lake).

Unfortunately son has little money to last until payday, so fortunately mom pays for the phone and then son buys mom a latte to celebrate and all is rainbows and sparkles and dolphins and unicorns and lollipops between mom and son. Son must pay mom back next payday. Mom feels like a dorky pushover, but wants son to have phone so mom can keep track of son. Mom wonders if she is normal, decides she is NOT normal, but doubts she will ever be able to do anything about it.

Son (who has a day off) goes home to play with new phone. Mom goes to work to earn money to pay for roof over son's head, future crises, etc.

More later,

Kathryn : )

My Favourite Things. Mine.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Sapling-like ankles, a husband who’s smitten,
Laundry that’s folded without static clings
These are a few of my favourite things

Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels
Dumbbells and barbells and waistlines like noodles
Low interest mortgages absent of strings
These are a few of my favourite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Sons who go driving and don’t end in crashes
Daughters who listen to wisdom I bring,
These are a few of my favourite things....

When the frog bites, When my knees sting
When I’m feeling saaaaaad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I go out
To Dairy Queen and buy myself a blizzard.