Bullets

Not as in a gun, but as in a style of listing things. So here goes:

• The drywall is up in the basement. Have not gotten to the taping and mudding part yet but that will come soon. And I need to frame in under the stairs to build a couple of fixed shelves for long term storage of bulky items like the cooler and sleeping bags. But that's not bad for doing it all on my own... I have a few scrapes and bruises to attest to that.
  
• I had estimates on a new furnace and air conditioner. Have set the date for install on July 23rd. Price tag comes in at just under $8K for both so it qualifies for the hydro loan so it gets tacked on to my monthly gas and electric bill. No out of pocket $$! Yay! My pockets don't have any $$ these days.
  
• Teak survived the Canada Day fireworks at my bedside, when I should have been asleep. They started at 10:45 pm and went on for a full 30 minutes. The beginning bangs saw him trying to get under my bed. A 60 lbs dog just does not fit. So I spent that whole 30 minutes and then some leaning over the bed, playing music on my phone, singing away and rubbing his ears, trying to drown out the fireworks. It didn't work very well but was probably better than doing nothing. I had hoped he would go into the basement to his hidey spot (which is much quieter than upstairs) but no. He had to stay with me... and be beside himself with fear. *sigh*
  
• I have suspended my television cable service for the summer. (I know... crazy eh!!) I want to get more done around the house and tv is too alluring at times when I am feeling lazy. The only thing I have really done is started watching "Orange is the New Black" on netflix. So far 3 episodes starting at Season 1 Episode 1. Give me a year or two and I might actually make it to the current season! LoL
  
• I ventured back online again a while back. You know... the dating game. So few people responded to flirts and emails, it was getting quite discouraging. One guy (my view counter said he had looked 16 times) finally messaged back saying the site does weird things to make you think someone is looking lots. I don't see why. And there are only a few that seemed to look many times. But whatever. I chatted a number of times with a man who lives about 2 hours away. I told him right off the hop that I was pretty skeptical about the distance but we met for a coffee anyway. Turns out he is really into alternative healing methods (energy grids, reiki, crystals, etc) and felt he had to turn me into a 'believer'. Well, no surprise.. I balked at that right off. I am very solidly science based, thankyouverymuch, so did not really like him pushing me to agree with what he believes. I know lots of people put stock into this but I have never had someone prove to me in a repeatable observable way that it actually works. So... no. And besides, he lives too far away, and was shorter than he put on his profile (being 5'9" means I am a bit of a stickler about being able to look someone in the eye at the very least).
  
• Shortly after that meeting, I met someone else on the same site. He is very close to my age, and a few inches taller (always good!). We have started seeing each other and have been really enjoying getting to know one another. He is educated, witty, creative, caring, compassionate and really fun to be with. As with everything, I am going with the flow and seeing what develops. We've had a number of pretty indepth talks and it's all been good. I am going to be hopefully optimistic. So far there's been no scary things creeping out of the closet. LoL So keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck.
  

And for your viewing delight, I bring you a few photos I have snapped in the past little while. All with my cell phone camera.

Lila's "Einstein" hair
I did not photoshop this at all
The effect is the flash ~ she was only about 2 feet from the wall

The smoke from the forest fires out west made for some crazy sun
This was taken at about 6:00 a.m. last Saturday

A beautiful hibiscus in someone's front yard
These become indoor plants for the winter or they
freeze solid and die

A dragonfly on the wall of a building
Seeing lots of these right now which is great
because they eat mosquitoes!!!