Eeeewwwwww!!

Medi centres are disgusting places!!!! Doctors offices are bad enough but medi centres are just so much worse! They are full of sick people!!! YUCK!!!

Last night was date night and guess where I spent it!!! YES! In the medi centre! After almost a week of pain in my right chest/ rib area, Lloyd had had enough, so he insisted I get checked out. So as he had had the afternoon off for us to meet with our contractor for the new kitchen, we headed into town to the medicentre. (For those in the UK, a medicentre is like a drop-in doctors office that anyone can go to - you don't need an appointment and it isn't your own doctors office - you don't even have to have your own family doctor over here - we do but I didn't bother making an appointment there this time so we went to the medicentre instead)

Well, anyway, I signed in at 4pm and they said there would be an hour or so wait, so we went to Joey Tomatoes for dinner!! Had a nice quick early supper before heading back to the medicentre to be told there were still 15 people ahead of me and it would be another hour and a half wait so off we went AGAIN - this time to get a birthday gift for Susies friend. Got back at 6:15pm to be told 8 people still ahead of me and it may be another hour STILL!!!! I decide to wait anyway but tell Lloyd to head off and get the groceries (I sent him to get GARLIC!!!!) while I wait.

So I sit in the only vacant seat. This is when I start to regret my decision. This is when I start to think that Michael Jackson has a lot more sense than people think he has! I wish I was wearing a mask and could stop sharing the same air as th epeople around me. The woman next to me is on her cell phone telling someone she thinks she has pneumonia - she then starts hacking up 'something' and coughing it into tissues which she puts into a bag. The man opposite is constantly sniffing (one of the things that drives me INSANE), all around me are sick people and I can literally see their germs crawling towards me through the air......SWIMMING towards me...I want to pull up my sweater over my mouth and nose and I want to turn away from the lady next to me but I don't want to be rude. I want to screw up my face in disgust every time she sneezes and snorts. OMG I am such a snob but it's HORRIBLE in there. All these sick people should NOT be out in public...


lol ok ok I KNOW it's the medi centre but REALLY!!!!!!!!

Lloyd eventually arrives back and comes in and sits with me and I can see on his face he is thinking EXACTLY the same as me and of course he isn't as subtle as me and he starts whispering (far too loudly) things to me....about private medical treatment and how Alberta really should have private doctors and offices where you don't have to wait and don't have to sit with sick strangers (I won't use his real words here) and of course I try and explain about how most Albertans are against the 'third way' but he doesn't listen lol......and in some ways I do agree with him and in the UK it does ease up the public system a lot by having people who can afford to pay for their care pay for it and go through faster.....I know some of you won't agree with that but why have those who can afford to pay take up valuable places in medicentres??? In may ways it helps both sides.

Anyway.....I think I went in just before 7:30pm!!!! 3 1/2 hours after arriving!!! But at least I wasn't actually sat there waiting all that time.

The Doctor is pretty sure I've just badly strained all the chest muscles on the right side but couldn't rule out a fractured rib - so she sent me off to have chest x-rays and prescribed a months worth of Tylenol 3's to be taken every 4 - 6 hours. She said it could take 3 - 4 weeks for it to heal. They said they'll send the results to my own Doc today but whether its strained muscles or fracture the treatment and healing are the same....

The cause? Coughing!!!!! I had no idea you could cause this much pain from a cough!!! You can actually cause a fracture from coughing!!! Who knew!!!! lol!

Tylenol 3's are not agreeing with me :( I didn't sleep last night :( they make me dizzy and drunk and feel weird. They only really take the edge off the pain...not sure I'll bother.

I'm eating lots of garlic today because I am paranoid I'm going to come down with some weird virus from all those germs in that room last night lol - omg and I am not normally a germaphobe but really, eeeeewwwwwww!!!

Cheerios Addict....

Thinking of Cheerios Addict...who today became Mom of two :) Her and her hubby were due to welcome their precious Daughter into the world by C-section today :) A baby sister for their little boy!

They are all in my thoughts today and I hope everything went perfectly for them :) I can't wait to see pictures and read all about it!!!

ATC Swap!!

I forgot to post pictures of the artist trading cards I got back in the swap! They arrived back on Friday. Here they all are! The aim of this swap was to make an atc for each person in the swap that had a picture of yourself on it. It also had to have your username from Scrappershaven on the front of the card!

It is so nice to have a card with pictures of all the people from scrappershaven!!! this was such a fun swap to take part in! Can you spot Tess in there? Aren't they all wonderful???? Some talented scrapbookers and cardmakers at SH for sure!!!! And atc's are so much fun to make and send to each other - these little cards are just 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches!!!

The bottom picture shows my little atc tin that I keep them all in - but I am now taking part in a 'Hottie' atc swap and then my tin will already be full so I need to go and find an atc album or something I think!

Almond Roca Squares

The Squares the children made together this afternoon....

For Cori.

Cori, I've been chatting to Chris, my 15 year old, about your Son. Firstly we were talking about your Son shaving. Chris desperately wants to shave. Every few weeks he will come to us pointing at his top lip and saying he needs to shave. He does NOT need to shave. There is not a hair in sight. Sad but true....Occasionally we think there may be a bit of a shadow. We all stand around and look in all different lights only to decide it's either a smudge of pencil or simply bad lighting.

I think he's a little miffed about your Son NEEDING to shave ;)

Anyway I was showing Chris your blog and we were laughing about your Sons choice to cut his hair off rather than wear a hair net or pony tail for food classes at school! Cool guy you have there! Chris couldn't get over how grown up your boy is compared to my 12 year old Laurence!!

Which is when he says:

"Now Mom, see that guy there....can you imagine HIM sticking a penny up his nose and getting it stuck there????? I mean....REALLY????????"

And he's right.....I look at your Son and I just can't see him doing that! He looks too grown up. And when I think about it, its the kind of thing a three year old does! Sam should be doing it!

But this morning Laurence comes downstairs with a penny stuck up his nose - literally stuck - Queens head facing out!!!! Up his nose!!!! I mean.....WHY??????? Why would he do that??????? Why????????? lol!!!! It looked hilarious

So if it's ok with your Son Cori I think Chris wants to switch brothers!!! He wants the cool younger brother (who actually looks older lol) who would rather cut his hair off than wear a ponytail and who doesn't stick pennies up his nose!

Pumpkin flowers

Our male pumpkin flowers......and yes, this is my dining table which we have pushed up against the doors for more light....

Making brunch..

The boys made brunch today....pancakes and hash browns! Chris peeled the potatoes and par boiled them then diced them up and fried them in cajun spices! Laurie made the pancakes! Susie, Abby and Sam got to enjoy the results for an early lunch! Maybe these snow days aren't so bad after all! Chris even brewed coffee for me!

This afternoon Susie, abby and Sam have made Almond Roca Squares supervised by Chris - they are in the oven at the moment.

Yummy :)

Earth Day 2008

Normally I would be all in support of Earth Day. Normally I would post links to all kinds of great websites full of ideas on ways to help the planet. Ways you can all recycle...play your part in reducing your environmental footstep.

But today, as I look out of my window on the 4th day of continual snowfall, on the second snow day when school buses have not run at the end of April, when the storm has gone full circle and we continue to sit amidst a winter storm warning and have another 10cm of snow coming towards us at least!

If it was just wet snow at warmer temperatures I'd understand but it's damn cold - -8c and a 50km winds with a COLD windchill of close to -20c again so the dogs can't go out for long and Charlie can't go out because the snow has drifted too deep by the workshop for her. It's up to Chris's thigh when he goes to feed her.

So screw it!

BRING ON GLOBAL WARMING!!!!


Normal cheery and more environmentally friendly thoughts will resume once this shitty weather passes, I'm sure ;)

Two more assistant beekeepers!!!

Susie and Sam in the bee veils :)

Cheering me up...

Lloyd stopped off to get milk on his way home from work and also brought me home these beautiful roses to cheer me up on this miserable snowy day in April! I'm so glad I picked today to make him his favourite dinner :)

Thank you baby - they're gorgeous!!! A deep, dark, velverty red!And perfect for playing about with my macro lens :)

i think tomorrow I'm going to flick water at them and take pictures of them like that ;)

At home due to the weather, snowed in, in April lol.......it's driving me KWAZY!!!!!!!
The roses defintely cheered me up :)

Off to make my gorgeous hubby a cup of tea :)

(this picture didn't come out well because my flash batteries need charging - and I can't be bothered to wait so I edited it BADLY lol....but thats why its so crappy)

A rose by any other name.....

would smell as sweet...

Chris's latest plan......

Chris has a plan. He says he's been doing research on the net. He says if you stay in bed for three days undisturbed, you can grow up to four inches in height. You can't get up though and have to have your meals brought to you.

He'd like to try this over the next long weekend.

He does say that the effects don't last long though because of the effects of gravity.

He was trying hard not to laugh while telling me this.

I was trying hard not to laugh while listening.

I suggested he ask his Father about this at dinner tonight,

If his Dad agrees then he can try it over Victoria Day Weekend (not very likely lol)

The things teenagers will try to get to stay in bed all weekend!!!! OMG!!!

Not a normal Monday

We got the phone call at 10pm last night to say school buses were canceled. So today is an official snow day. The children are home. We also got a phone call to say Abigails drama class is canceled for the day. The roads are very bad - lots of cars in the ditch. Lloyd took my truck to work as it's much safer in these conditions.

It is after 2pm and I am not dressed. So lazy but I emailed Val and she too is not dressed so I am not the only lazy slob on a day like this :) That makes me feel better :) Val is a lazy slob too :)

Our pumpkins are flowering like crazy so I posted on LP about hand pllination and Andrea posted a fab link about how to pollinate them - it seems I can wait a week or two until the female flowers (still in bud) flower and then I can pollinate them myself by hand quite easily - or they may not flower until the bees arrive which would be ideal!!

I spent all morning sat in bed studying my bee text books. Then I crawled out of bed and made toast and then have since spent the time at the computer studying bee forums and LP. Sam and Abigail are not interested in me at all when their much more interesting older siblings are at home - so there is nothing for me to do - I did all the laundry at the weekend - we vacuumed and dusted yesterday and I cleaned the bathrooms yesterday too - the kitchen was done by the children this morning (woohoo they are home and its their chore if they are home woohoo) so I am being ultra lazy. I will get showered and dressed in a bit and then make a cottage pie for dinner.

This weather has put me back in lazy sleepy winter mode - I want to hibernate like a bear again!

sigh........

Weren't we basking in +24.9c temperatures this time last week???????? Enjoying my porch and thinking Summer was here?????

What happened?????????

Assistant beekeepers at the ready!

Trying out the new beekeeping veils! I won't be wearing one after the first day I doubt, but Lloyd wanted one and we got a childs veil too so that the children feel more comfortable around the bees to begin with.