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.