May day! May day!

No... no emergencies here. It's just another day in May. So I'm a smart ass. Bite me.

I figure I might as well do a post so I can keep up with my "post a month" venture... not that I've joined some group doing that type of thing (like the  post a day people) but that so far, that's all I've managed and it seems to be a comfortable pace for me right now.

So. What's happened since I drew you all here with my last post?

March 21 to May 18 this year

Well, the most noticeable thing is the lack of snow. Once it started melting in earnest, it disappeared very quickly. One Monday, we had snow falling, and by the weekend it was +20! Although it has warmed up considerably, our large fresh water lakes are still mostly covered with ice and with the high winds we had recently, these poor folks were in for a very nasty surprise! Thankfully no was was hurt, but a lot of damage was done.

Now that we've had seasonable temps for a bit, the greenery is starting get, well... green! I think I might have a clump of peonies sprouting in the back yard but am not yet sure as they are only about 1" out of the soil. That is the only thing coming up so far. The trees and shrubs are leafing out now and the grass is rising up from the depths of winter killed lawn. I've raked up lots of thatch and sprinkled some seed over what's left. What with the rain today and yesterday, it should start looking more like a fresh inviting space every day!

With the rain, the fire ban will be lifted and one can have open fires again. It was so dry up until Thursday this past week, there were grass fires gone wild in a number of places in and around Winnipeg, one of which was just down the road from my ex's place. Not that I worried about him, but his horses I did. It never got close to them, although the water bombers were called in to combat the blaze.

Yesterday, I traded in my little 2006 Ford Focus hatchback on a 2010 Ford Ranger Sport Supercab 4x4 truck. Since I now have a house, and need something to haul stuff either to the house or away from the house, I decided a truck would be much more practical than a lunchbox on wheels, but I didn't want a full sized one. Although the MoS and I are still friends, and he willingly lets me borrow his truck, I didn't think it fair if I was calling him up every few weeks to use it. This way, I can do what I need when I need to. Besides, I am now much higher up when I drive, which makes seeing through traffic easier. Plus it is easier to find in a parking lot. If I parked the Focus between two full sized pickups, I couldn't even see its roof! So the Ranger will be infinitely more useful, although I will miss the Focus's sunroof and the heated seats in the winter. But there's always trade offs, right?



And on the work frontier, I will be interviewing at the dialysis unit here in my little city to pick up shifts on a casual basis on days off from my other job. Same duties, different hospital. It's a 3 minute drive from home, versus a 45 minute drive into the city. Who knows? Maybe I will end up with a permanent position there at some point in the future and not have to drive into the city at all unless I want to?

I have been back in the online dating pool for months, with pretty much nothing to show for all the time and effort I have put into sending email, flirts and winks. Talked with a few guys, and the most promising had turned out to be anaphylacticly (or however you would spell that) allergic to cats. Nix that then! Did have a face to face with a man who lives too far away to make things practical (a 2 1/2 hour drive) and there was absolutely no chemistry whatsoever.

However, today I met with a man who lives in a town close by. We'd been emailing for several days. He's my age, works in the healthcare field also, and we had a great chat over drinks and wings. At the end, he wanted to see my new truck, as he'd seriously thought of buying one the same but didn't. So he walked me out to it and we chatted some more. And then he asked me if I'd like to actually go on a real date. I said I thought that would be a lovely idea. So now I await word from him on when and where that will be.

Perhaps in next month's installment, I will have more news on that!