A tough habit to kick...

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Update on Storage Solution

A while back, I did a post about how I had to store my mountain bike, as my shoulder injury precludes using it at all this year.

As you may recall, my sister and I spent a Friday evening sticking a big brown vinyl tree on the wall in my dining room. With the bike hanging by its front wheel from a bracket high on the wall, the tree was my attempt to "disguise" the fact that there is a bike hanging on the wall in my dining room.

I quite like the vinyl wall decal idea, especially since you can put all kinds of things up on the walls that are unique and it's a non-permanent, non-damaging type of decorating. Excellent for apartment dwelling.

I hunted high and low, both locally and on the internet, to find more vinyl decals to embellish the rather plain tree that was now adorning my wall. I found nothing on this continent that I liked. Rather... I found nothing I liked that I wouldn't have to cut apart and use only part thereof, discarding the remainder, which I see as a waste of money.

But then I found an outfit in Australia that had what I wanted. So I placed an order with Wall Allure once I had confirmed that they will indeed ship to Canada. 

I picked up the package from the postal outlet this evening and spent about 45 minutes putting up the new decals. This is the result and I have to say I am quite pleased with how it looks!

I still think I want some kind of grass or something for along the bottom, but that's not a great rush. When I find what I want for that area, I'll get it and again do another update.

Meme nicked from Savannah.

1) ONE OF YOUR SCARS. HOW DID YOU GET IT?

Two inch scar along the meaty part of my right thumb. Was working in a restaurant, it was a Sunday and there were only two of us on. I was bringing freshly washed plates up to the front, slipped on some water in the doorway and fell on my side, smashing all 15 plates.  I didn't feel it at first, only saw all the blood pouring down my arm. My first thought, as I jumped up and ran back into the kitchen, was that someone would puke from seeing the blood! I even had bits of china stuck in my forearm. A kind farmer gave me a ride to the hospital. He wasn't at all perturbed by the blood. ;-)

2) WHAT IS ON THE WALLS OF YOUR BEDROOM?
A page from an old National Geographic magazine of a hummingbird hovering in front of some tiny blue flowers. The colours are amazingly metallic and iridescent.  It's in one of those frameless glass picture holders. Also an original abstract painting (in purples) that my sister gave me for my birthday this year (one of her coworkers is also an artist), and an original drawing of trees at sunset by Andrea Pratt, who is from Vancouver and is a fellow blogger.

3) WHAT DOES YOUR MOBILE PHONE LOOK LIKE?

It's a Sony Ericcson Xperia 1x. Touch screen (which I have come to hate) and a slide out qwerty keyboard (which I love for texting and emailing). I can upgrade in December... and I will! (Did you notice the initials of this phone spell "SEX"??? Not that that means anything...)

4) WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?

Lots of pop, some newer country, occasional bits of just about anything else. Music is almost always on, unless I am reading. Then everything is turned on so I don't get interrupted.

5) DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?

Yup. 7:25 p.m. I even have photos of me being born. Pretty unusual, considering it was 1958. But my dad was an avid photographer!

6) WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?

To be with someone that I can't be with.

7) WHO DO YOU MISS?
See above. 

8) IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU OR HAS A CRUSH ON YOU?
I know he is very fond of me. Does that count?

9) WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU KISSED?

Does Pips count? If not, it would be LHB. And that was too long ago for my liking.

10) WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME?

Jill

11) THE BEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED?

Castle!

12) THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO?

My younger sister


13) DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?

No. Not a lot scares me. Only spiders. You want to see me scramble out of the way very quickly? Let loose a big spider and I am so out of there!!!!

14) THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Unfortunately... LHB.

15) WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOGNE/PERFUME?

I don't often wear cologne or perfume so I really can't say.

16) WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOUR DO YOU LIKE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?

I am much more interested in what's on the inside of that person, so exterior colours really mean nothing.

17) WOULD YOU RATHER BE SMART OR FUNNY?

Could I not be smartly funny? Or funnily smart? A combo works so much better than either on its own.

18) COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS?

Coffee, as long as I can add something like hot chocolate to it. Those energy drinks taste gross to me. But then again, so does straight coffee. How about a mocha?

19) WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIZZA TOPPING?

Do I have to choose one? I'd like a whole grain thin crust, with a creamy garlic sauce, topped with chicken, zucchini, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, pineapple, red bell peppers and mozza, please!

20) IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Homemade chocolate cake... dark, rich, moist chocolate cake.... yummmmmmmm!

21) WHO IS THE LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU MAD?
That would (again unfortunately) be LHB.

22) DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?

I don't think a few words in Spanish, French and German count as speaking another language, so I have to stick with just English. The Canadian version...

23) WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT THAT YOU REMEMBER SOMEONE GIVING YOU?

That would be Pyewacket, a kitten I got for Christmas when I was seven. (My mum named him. I had nothing to do with it.) I've always had cats since then. And I mean always. That's 46 years of constant catness.

24) DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE?
Quite a few someones, actually. Am I limited to liking only one person?

25) ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?

Yeah, my thumbs are, but as I get older and the arthritis gets worse, bending them that way gets more difficult and more painful, so I just try not to. It's not a useful feature anyway. Not sure why they put it in the Extra Features brochure.

26) FAVOURITE CLOTHING BRAND?

Whatever I can find that is long enough and looks good. That constantly changes, so I can't pick a favourite.

27) WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR?

Mazda CX9. I like SUVs... what can I say? ;-)

28) WHAT COLOUR IS IT?
Stormy blue mica.... It's blue. It looks nice. Who cares what they call it?

29) WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE KIND OF EXERCISE?
Horseback riding, but that is in the past now, because of my back being buggered up. So my bicycle has taken over. Except that's out for this year because of my shoulder, so I guess it's walking! I can't really tell you what my favourite kind is, though, because that's kind of personal... ;-)

30) WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?

I would, I did, and he did. And I love him still.

Repair work

Well, I finally have a surgery date for the repair of my shoulder. July 26th is it! That will be exactly seven months to the day I injured it. I've been doing the exercises the doctor gave me, which are done with my other arm assisting, and even then it still hurts.

I've also been using an 8 lb weight to do bicep and triceps work. (Very light, I know... I use 15 lbs for my good arm, but the shoulder can only handle the lighter weight.) I don't want all the muscles in my arm to be totally wasted away. Enough of that will happen after the surgery, as I will have my arm in a sling and complete immobile for 3-4 weeks post-op.

When I went looking for a picture to use in this post, the one above was funny enough to get a chuckle out of me, so I snagged it. Got it off a blog of a guy who had the same surgery and is documenting his recovery. The file name for the artwork is "owwww". ;-)

In the two months before the surgery, I've decided that tackling a bit of excess weight is a good idea, so I've started a program to achieve that end. With the walking and the change in eating habits, I have so far managed to drop 9 lbs. It's a good start and I'm working hard to keep it going! I'm hoping to have most of what I need to lose gone by my OR date. All the clothes I wear right now will positively slide right off if I get to my goal. Okay, not if... when! Positive thinking is the way to go, right?

And thinking positively, if all goes well during my rehab after surgery, I should be back at work in time for Christmas!!! Or perhaps in November. Returning to work will be a slow and gradual affair, with duties and time increased as my shoulder allows. If I find I can't do my job as I did before (although I don't see why I won't be able to... there are lots of people around to help with heavy lifting), then I will have to retrain to do something else. Perhaps get into the computer end of things at the hospital. I was in talking to my boss last week and she mentioned that the unit will be starting to use new software in October and that perhaps I would want to work with that... but I would have to see how that would work with my disability benefits. I won't want to do anything that screws that up, because if it turns out I can't get back to work as planned, that will be my only source of income.

So I have a plan. In the meantime, I just have to hurry up and wait.

Totalled?

I've become a tea drinker.

Not because I particularly like tea. And what I drink is not black tea... except for the odd chai. No, I drink tea that doesn't taste like tea. Like Chocolaty Chai, or Rooibos. I do have the odd green tea once in a while.

And every cup of tea is sweetened with two packets of Sugar Twin.

I am sure some of you are recoiling in horror! Why would I not use something like honey, that golden goodness chock full of natural sweet?

Well, because I am on a diet.

My preferred hot drink is a mocha, minus all the whipped creamy stuff. I just want half coffee, half hot chocolate. That, unfortunately, is loaded with sugar, which means calories, which means it is now a treat and not a several times a day drink. I nearly wept at the thought of doing without when I first started on this diet, but now, it's fine. I can handle it. I've adjusted well. I'm tough, you know.

You see, in the fall of 2008, I had my gall bladder removed. It was full of sludge and not acting appropriately. In fact, it made its presence known much more often than necessary, which had been causing me quite a bit of distress over the previous three years. So I had the offending organ lopped off and discarded.

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you might recall this was the same time that That Damn Cat earned her nickname. I was slimmer then than I am now. The ensuing time has seen my weight creep up by about 25 lbs. I am not pleased! Neither is my wardrobe.

So I decided it was high time to take matters into hand and do something about it. I have the time to devote to such antics and likely will for the remainder of the year. Hence the full-on effort to shed said extra baggage and return to my svelte self... I know it's in there somewhere... I've seen it before!

I'm doing this sensibly with walking, watching the calories that go in (without being ridiculously stringent) in an effort to make the weight loss gradual so it can stay off. I figure by the end of summer I will be right where I want to be. Slim and trim. I've also incorporated what exercises I can that don't require a right arm, such as ab work, legs, and some weights working arm muscles not involved in lifting the arm away from the body. I can do bicep curls no problem, as long as I use a lighter weight than what I used previously.

Hence the tea totaller. Something with flavour but no extra calories. It's working too. My clothes are already getting looser. Soon they will fall right off and I will require smaller bits to wear. Of course, it also means my bits are getting smaller too, but that is the price I must pay.

Long term forecast

	Monday May. 16	Tuesday May. 17	Wednesday May. 18	Thursday May. 19	Friday May. 20	Saturday May. 21
Conditions  6am - 6pm
	Sunny	Mainly sunny	Sunny	Cloudy periods	Cloudy periods	Variable cloudiness
P.O.P.	0%	0%	0%	10%	0%	40%
High	22°C	22°C	22°C	24°C	25°C	24°C
Low	5°C	8°C	9°C	11°C	15°C	15°C
Wind	SE 10 km/h	S 25 km/h	SE 15 km/h	E 10 km/h	E 5 km/h	S 10 km/h

Things are finally looking up here in what was called "Winterpeg" just a short time ago.


I will be happier, though, when the overnight lows hover around the 20 degree mark, rather than those single digits for the next couple of nights.


I much prefer the hot, hazy days of summer to any other time of year. And even though I will on occasion bitch about the humidity (a dry heat is easier to deal with - I like it when my sweat evaporates rather than pools), I'll take the heat any day! Minimal clothing, golden skin (yes, I use a 30 SPF sunscreen all the time), sandal clad feet and cold drinks... that's what summer is all about!


Looks like I will have plenty of time to enjoy summer this year. I'd better stock up on sunscreen... the kind that doesn't sweat off. From spending five years in the southern USA in the 90s, my sweat glands have learned how to produce copious quantities of liquid electrolytes. I sweat like a proverbial race horse!


And I don't mind sweating. It feels good, although it must be followed by a good scrub in the shower or I end up smelling like a rank old buffalo butt. Seriously. I (unfortunately) take after my father in several ways... sweating and getting stinky is one of them. Hairy legs is another, but let's not go there... that's a bit personal. There are ways that I take after him that are not at all unfortunate, though. Like looking like him (minus the beard), being tall and strong, being athletic and mechanically inclined, to name a few.


So Winterpeg has now changed to its summer nomenclature of "Windypeg". Being as flat as a table top here (which is why all that flood water spreads out so far - there's nothing in the way to stop it!) means that when the wind blows, it gets up to gale force in no time. We don't have mountains here (there are a few blips in the western part of the province but not around Winnipeg) and the forests are to the east in the Canadian Shield region. We here in Manitoba like to think that Manitoba does not suck, Saskatchewan (to the west) blows. Meh... it's an inside joke. (I know some of you will be trying to figure out how to pronounce Saskatchewan... One of my cousins has a good one for that: So~Scratch~Me~One.)


The bugs are starting to appear. I think a mosquito tried to land on me this afternoon when I was sitting on my balcony, reading in the sunshine. I swatted it away before giving it a chance to bite. Lila has been trying to figure out how to get at the bugs through the windows. I will have to keep a close eye on the screens... The last thing I need is her pouncing on the screen, only to have it pop out of the frame with her and it falling to the ground from the 4th floor. Yikes!


Along with the weather improving, so is my fitness level. I am walking almost daily. I try to get at least two walks a week that are at least an hour long. The others are in the range of 40 - 45 minutes. And I walk briskly, so I make sure it's a decent cardio workout. I have my trusty little iPod plugged into my cranium as the pace setter. My goal is to get rid of the extra weight that's crept on since I had my gallbladder removed 2 1/2 years ago. I've made some headway in that respect already, so I'm on the right track. I figure by the end of summer, I will be just about perfect!


And what more could a girl want???!!!???

A shiftless sipper

Today I traded in my sort-of gas guzzling Chevy Blazer. I'm gonna miss the high and dry ride that an SUV with 4 wheel drive gives, but I sure won't miss filling the gas tank, considering the price of gas just shot up to $1.32 here (well, 131.9 but all you non Canadians wouldn't know what that meant). And for those south of the border, I think that works out to about $5 a gallon. It's lots.

The Blazer had a 4.3L V6 engine and although not as bad as some SUVs, it was still a bitch to feed.

Now, I am driving a zippy little 2006 Ford Focus ZX5 SES. It's also an automatic, which is the main reason I bought it. My shoulder didn't take kindly to shifting gears any more (yes, the Chev was a manual transmission, which is my preference... or was, up until recently for obvious reasons). The centre arm rest in this car even flips up out of the way, so I don't have to worry about forgetting and resting my elbow on it, only to be jolted by pain in my shoulder whenever I drive over a bump.

So with the decrease in size of engine (the Ford is a 2.0L 4 cylinder), decrease in gas tank size and decrease in insurance costs, this little thing is a money saver all round!

Plus it's got lots of extras. It's kind of the sporty model Focus. Leather interior, great sounding stereo, heated front seats (winter will never be the same!), sunroof, cruise control, air conditioning and all that stuff.

Tomorrow will be our first highway drive as I am taking a trip to the barn for a visit. Better burn a couple of CDs to take along!

She's the colour of wine... I think I will call her "Merlot".

A Lady in Waiting...

Well... perhaps "lady" is a stretch. I prefer to think of myself as all woman, with a touch of tomboy thrown in for good measure.

But the waiting part is all too real.

Today I received a letter from my surgeon. I was anticipating getting my surgery date in the mail and hoped this would be it. He had told me at the office that there was a two month wait.

No, this was not it.

It was to inform me that there is actually a three month wait. Gaaahhhhhhhhh!

And that they would inform me of the actual surgery date 6 - 8 weeks prior.

He also was *ahem* kind enough to fill out the insurance form I had left behind at my last visit for my disability and rehab benefits that should kick in next month. For a stiff fee of $40. Hence using the term 'kind' loosely.

As I read over the form, I saw that he put an anticipated return to work 4 - 5 months post-op. Which means the surgery will likely be in August... and that puts me being gainfully employed once again at about the one year mark from when I injured my shoulder.

I shall go mad, I tell you, MAD with boredom long before then. Perhaps I shall take up crocheting (which I know how to do) or knitting (which I am useless at) or something that does not require much arm movement. I think I will also get a library membership and read every book known to man.

I've always wanted to be a lady of leisure... I would just prefer to actually be able to leise about without any restrictions to activity or bank account.

Harrumpf, I say.

What Beavers really do

Storage Solution

There's just not enough room on my tiny 4'x12' balcony for the bike. Actually, the usable space on the balcony is more like 4'x9', as the air conditioner sits in one corner. So between my two chairs and the BBQ, the bike needed a different home. And I wanted it out of the elements as well, as it's not going to get used this summer.

Given that the laundry room's 6'5"x13' space is allocated to the washer, dryer, built-in shelves for linens and a shelf unit I put there for storing stuff, plus the cats' litter box, the bike won't fit in there either. So it came down to finding a corner to keep it out of the way but inside.

So it now resides in my dining room!  I managed to put a bracket on the wall to hang it by the front tire. Good thing I have a little step ladder and am fairly ambidextrous, as I had to drill the holes into the 2x4 framing in the wall and then crank in the big screws using a ratcheting wrench that comes with screw driver heads and the various bits needed accommodate same. That was hard work!

But the hardest part was figuring how to get the bike up there! I struggled with that one and lifting the bike with one hand just didn't work... it's too heavy and I needed to guide the wheel into the bracket. After several tries and severe frustration, I finally figured out I had to 'walk' the bike up the wall. So I straddled the rear tire and held onto the handlebars and rolled the wheels up the wall. I can't tell you how relieved I was that I accomplished that!!!

Then I decided it needed a little camouflage. So I found a wall decal (vinyl) that is put up in sections and is completely removable in the future. Friday evening, my sister came over for dinner and afterwards, we tackled this job. I had thought of trying to do it myself, but once I saw the size of some of the pieces, I knew my shoulder would never let me do it!

It took the two of us about 2 1/2 hours to stick this thing up. I think I managed to have hot flashes the entire time. Gak! Needed a shower when we were done, but I am pleased with the result!!

What I want to do now is find some more decals to dress it up a bit and add some colour. So I am on the hunt for some grass along the bottom, and perhaps some flowers and butterflies/dragonflies to scatter throughout the branches. I'll be looking locally as well as online.

It was suggested by one of my nieces that I string lights on it at Christmas time in place of a tree. There is certainly room underneath for presents! I might just do that...

Mother Natures bites back... yet again

Having a flood of near epic proportions doesn't seem to be enough for Mother Nature to inflict up those of us who reside in Manitoba.

Yesterday brought rain. Which, in springtime, isn't a necessarily bad thing as it cleans up the grit from winter, allowing things to green up a bit faster. But this morning, this is what I awoke to find outside my window. Add to it a temperature of -5C and it's like October and not the first of May.

But... this is the Prairies... and it is only the beginning of May... and we are prone to rapid (and unwelcome) fluctuations in the weather at this time of year. Hopefully the forecasters are correct with the sunshine and + temps for Monday onwards. The added precipitation was completely not wanted, given the amount already on the ground in the form of floodwaters. I've tried to get it shipped elsewhere, like Texas, but that request has fallen on deaf ears apparently.