Musings on a Small Life

Tom Dryden is...was...my mother's cousin. A distant cousin of mine too, of course, though I met him only once a few years ago. He was quite the character, a real shit disturber -- but not in a malicious way. A joker, with a very big heart. Even meeting him only the once, that much was evident to me. He passed away yesterday morning, after being diagnosed two months ago with pancreatic cancer. He and his family have been in my thoughts every day, as I've asked the Universe for mercy, so though it's terribly sad, it's also a relief that he now is free from suffering. Blessings and Peace to all. THOMAS HENRY DRYDEN July 20, 1938 – April 28, 2009 After a courageous battle with cancer and accompanied by his family, Tom passed away in Montreal. He is survived by the loving members of his clan: his wife Céline Levaque; his daughter Natalie Vann , her husband Lex and their children Danielle and Nicolas; his son Andrew, his wife Geneviève Garneau and their children Maxime and ...

I have a tiny back "yard," all of 16 feet x 16 feet behind my townhouse unit. Fenced. Spent a number of years putting in my little perennial garden, complete with limestone rocks as border and larger ones as stepping stones. Have given blood (literally) and sweat and skin to that garden. Then along came the boys, Nicki and Derry. And in one season (last year) they managed to demolish most of my hard work. They tore through the plants, swatted at them, nibbled on them, lay on them, played in and on them, hid in them. They managed to kill off everything but the chives along one side. Nothing but dead plants and mulch left. So yesterday afternoon, it being an amazing 24C, I decided to split my hostas and put some in the empty space. I've never tried to dig up and split hostas before. Mom told me it can involve hacking away with an axe and I now understand why. Even though I didn't use an axe. Do I even have an axe? Beats me. I'd have to go looking.... But my spade wo...

Even after all the walking/hiking I did on Saturday, I was ambitious enough to walk up to Rona, Starbucks, and Zellers yesterday. Probably just under 5kms, so not that far. Still on the hunt for new living room curtains. Rona had a few nice ones, but $50+ per panel is WAAAYY out of my budget. So I hopped the bus and headed over to Value Village, my favourite store. To look for summer tops that were loose (but not too big) to cover the blobby body I now have, and to check for curtains. As if Value Village ever has decent curtains. Huh. I found two pairs! One pair of tab panels, cotton, for the living room, in earth-tones that go with my decor (though not with the old area rug I have in the room or its matching hall runner), and one pair of soft yellow rod pocket panels for my bedroom. The tabs were $15 for the pair, the rod pockets $13. Wow! I was so excited and so impressed. Oh, I did find several tops plus a really nice all-weather jacket with a detachable hood (for a pricey $15), but...

Yesterday was a wildlife adventure day! I had decided on Friday to head out to a local conservation area on Saturday morning, given that the weather was to be sunny and very warm. I've been a few times already this Spring, but it's been really cold and rather bleak looking. Not yesterday morning! The first thing I saw when I got off the bus at the closest stop to the park was a wild turkey, a male, running up the street toward me. A car was approaching from the same direction I was walking and the poor thing, which seemed to be quite flustered to begin with (wild turkeys aren't exactly the brainiest of birds), really got upset. He veered off into a little gully, and as I approached, hoping for a pic, I could see him running up the other side, into someone's back yard. Then he finally took to the air and I have no idea where he went from there. Wonder what got him in such a state to begin with? So I didn't get a pic of the wild turkey, but I did get pics of frogs, de...

Why isn't it Friday yet? Please tell me it's Friday, that's it not only mid-week. *Whine, whine, whine* I've already had a gooey chocolate chip cookie...but only because I can't drink at the office. A little sparkling white wine and fresh orange juice would go down nicely now. And think! I'd be mellow, wouldn't be frustrated with a certain department's shitty data, my eyes glazing over from trying to sort it all out. Think how easy life would be if I were a duck. Eating, mating, raising young. Uh, wait...The raising of the young doesn't sound so great, but hey, at least it wouldn't be an 18+ year commitment. Okay, I could do the duck thing. No chocolate chip cookies, though. Just as well. No bemoaning weight gain, either! On a cheerier note, one of my Amazon orders (one of many ) shipped yesterday. It might show up today, but if not, then likely tomorrow. Hurrah! Because it has Kerrelyn Sparks' newest book, released last month. She has anothe...

I live about five kilometers from my office, maybe slightly less. No car, which is fine, albeit often inconvenient. I've just figured out that my daily commute time, whether by bus or by walking, is 105 to 110 minutes. Multiply that by five days a week and you get 525 to 550 minutes of commute time. Which breaks down to 8.75 to 9.17 hours every single week! :-O Oh, I realize people in larger cities commute for longer times, but I'm going only a maximum of five kms! It's ten minutes to work via car, as opposed to our public transit. Nine hours a week...That's a whole day. In fact, the work day here is seven hours, so it's more than one full work day per week. Think what I could do with that! Hiking, picture-taking, errands, serving the cats...uh, that one doesn't sound so great. LOL. Sleeping! Yeah, I like the idea of an additional nine hours per week of sleep. In my dreams....

How hard can it be? That's my private joke, when something that should be quick and easy to do around the house, turns into the repair or renovate job from hell. So. The other weekend I bought a new curtain rod from Home Depot, for the living room. I didn't bother to remove the existing one and put the new one up, as I wanted to wait for new curtains. However, having spent this entire weekend busing and walking all over the city trying to find something I really like and also can afford , without success, I decided yesterday that I might as well change the rod. Take the old one off, raise the new one up a bit, and presto! Simple. Ha. Famous last friggin' words. It could have been simple and quick, except that every single window in my house has behind it and around it something that interferes with the drill. Not wood studs, the drill would go through those. Something metal. Many metal somethings, in fact. You can't drill deep enough into the drywall to put in the anch...

I've been thinking a lot about perceptions for the past couple of days. How could I not, with Susan Boyle so much in the news? In case you are living under a rock, she is the middle-aged Scottish woman who totally blew everyone away this week by her incredible rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Miserables , while on a British talent television show. Blew everyone away because she looked dowdy, frumpy. Was unsophisticated, unpolished. Admitted she had never been kissed and lived alone with her cat. And gee, as everyone knows, you have to be outwardly beautiful and glamourous to be talented and deserving of success. My boss actually sent around the You Tube link the other day, which was surprising in itself, since he normally doesn't gravitate to the feel-good, inspirational stories. I watched it then at the office, watched it again on two different news stations that evening. Bawled my eyes out in the privacy of my own living room. Because here is so...

Straight ladies and gay guys, meet Tre Smith . Senior agent and lead investigator for the Toronto Humane Society. He's been my hero (and that of one of my co-workers) since he handcuffed an abusive jackass to the guy's car door handle to save a dog's life. (That created a big stink, but eventually Tre was reinstated to full duties with THS.) He's hot, he's buff, he fights for the rights of four-legged animals, he's intelligent (has a degree in law and criminology from York University) and as far as I can tell, he's straight. Has a gorgeous partner/wife and the cutest baby girl (and you know how I feel about human babies). Have I mentioned that he's hot? He's currently being featured in a Metronews.ca (Toronto) article, on-line at http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/Work/article/212611 . If that link is no longer working, you can always find snippets of news about him and his work at the Toronto Humane Society web site. Every shelter needs a Tre. Hell, ...

Five consecutive days off, including two vacation days. Supremely productive inside the house, lots of walking and hiking and picture-taking outside the house. Plus errands to boot. Plenty of reading, plenty of cat time. Lots of R&R. Totally wiped out by less than one morning back at the office. Granted, it's rare for me to have an utterly flat-out, chaotic day here. I couldn't manage if it were the norm. But...Did it have to be my first day back? Huh? *Whine* I need a rewind. Or five more consecutive days off. *Headdesk*

Okay, there is something seriously wrong with Mother Nature when the windchill factor on April 12th -- April 12th, almost mid-month, you understand -- is -9C for much of the day. Something seriously wrong when it "warms up" to a windchill of -1C. I barely could get the cats to go out at all, let alone for a few minutes at a time. And even dressed in long johns (I swear , I'm never going to be able to get out of these things) and two other layers besides, you couldn't have pried me out of the house today. Hell, I needed my heating pad at my back just to warm up. You have full permission to kick my ass if I complain that the weather is too hot this summer. IF the temperature ever gets hot, which, at this rate, isn't likely. The amazing thing is, I saw daffodils in bloom yesterday. Huh.

Yesterday, as I was leaving work for the day, two of my co-workers, S. and D. (just in case they don't want me to name them) gave me a birthday card and some excellent Lindt dark chocolate Easter eggs. Normally we kick in and order lunch for staff birthdays, but we're not doing that this year for mine (my choice), partly because some of us are taking a few days off and partly because we're low on our personal "petty cash" right now. It was a really lovely and sweet gesture and I deeply appreciate it. And by the way, that chocolate was awesome ! I understand that work friendships don't usually translate to personal friendships beyond the office. Sometimes yes, but more often no, since it's the job that is the common tie. Regardless, I have been deeply blessed to meet these two amazing women and to have them for co-workers. They have seen me through some really difficult times over the years and are, in fact, the only two humans here who have offered such un...

Quality of life versus quantity is a tricky topic for many, I think. I know someone who's little Jack Russell terrier has lymphoma (which is terminal, no cure). Treatment options were to do nothing, treat her with chemo to prolong her life, or give her Prednisone to alleviate the symptoms for the time she has left. He--wisely, I believe--has opted for the latter. And I know of other people who go to great lengths to prolong the lives of their fur companions--constant tests and treatments, supplements, drugs. That's fine if the animal isn't suffering physically or mentally and will recover, but in my opinion, not fine if it's an incurable disease. I understand why people go to these lengths: The animals are their family and they can't bear to let go. Maybe I was lucky with my Chumley, because he hadn't been ill, he had a blood clot that let go one night and he had to be rushed to the off-hours vet and put to sleep. Yes, it was horrendous and I hope to Goddess I n...