Looks Like Winter, Feels Like Winter, Must be Winter

That title should say it all, but it does not. It's not winter...not yet anyway. We are still, technically, in Fall (or Autumn). Outside, however, it certainly looks and feels like winter.

On Saturday, we got dumped with a foot of snow (and it continues to snow as I write this post). Remember how I was whining about how the Christmas spirit has eluded me so far? Well, with all of this beautiful snow, I am starting to feel somewhat Christmas....and I did say somewhat.

What I do mostly feel is very lucky that I am in shape, because for anyone who attempted to shovel out their driveway yesterday, I suspect there were a few calls to the hospital for heart assistance. That snow was extremely heavy. The snowblower did most of the work, but what I did manage to do was to shovel part of the driveway and all of the front porch. That was sufficient for me thank you.

The snow that is currently falling is supposed to dump even more snow overnight.

I did manage to snap a few pictures of the white stuff before the snow plows came by. Enjoy!

The Mattress Saga Continues

Not kidding! I have written a number of posts about our mattress, and the problems we've been experiencing.

The saga continues.

At the end of my last mattress post It's Not In My Head, I mentioned a smell that was emanating from the new mattress. This smell has not really disappeared, even though we tried airing it for the past few weeks.

It's a rather disgusting smell, and between My Sweetie and I we describe it quite differently. He describes it straight out as mold (mildew). I describe it as fried food.

In any case, the mattress smells. It does not smell new (as the Customer Service person was trying to drill into us). It does not smell pleasant at all.

To add to all of this, since we don't know what the smell is exactly, we worry about toxins. Thanks to our wonderful global market, where everything that we buy is produced elsewhere in the world, it is quite possible that the materials used in this particular mattress may not have been top quality. And we get to breathe that crap.

Anyway, not to belabour the point, we are getting yet another new mattress in two weeks.

Here we go again.............

btw....when I said that we were going to get a new mattress, this translates into a replacement mattress. The company will be coming to take away the existing mattress and replace it with the same model. In other words, we had an original mattress which got replaced, and now we are having that replacement mattress replaced.

Not Really Feeling It

The season has suddenly switched. We just finished Halloween, not even 2 weeks ago, and already, some of the homes in our area have sprouted Christmas lights....and red ribboned bells. The gym has some Christmas decorations at the entrance.

I have to say, I am not feeling it. Not yet anyway. Maybe it's because Remembrance day was just yesterday, but to be fair, US Thanksgiving hasn't even arrived yet, and neither has December.

Very soon, we will have snow, and that usually spawns more of a Christmasy feeling. But right now all I can say is 'bah humbug.'

Geekdom Rules on Sunday

As if we didn't have enough computers in the house, it became apparent that another addition was on the horizon. We've been thinking about this off and on for awhile now, and I had considered asking for one for my birthday, but then thought that the money could be better spent elsewhere. As with all things, whim turned to reality, and yesterday, we brought home Silver (my nickname for the new HP Notepad....complete with Windows Vista).

Let me recount exactly how many active computers are in our home. For starters, we both have work Notepads (neither of which belongs to us. If we lose our jobs (God forbid), then we lose those machines). We each have a personal Desktop (purely for the space capacity). Actually, one of us (not me) has a separate Desktop machine (totally built from scratch) for gaming.

Okay, so we are up to 5 machines I think.

We have a very old Thinkpad that we've been using for the boat. That machine is now quite old, very slow, and, at this point, may not serve much more use than being a boat anchor.

Enter Silver. She is a simple yet pretty machine, with a 15.6" screen. The main purpose for this baby is to keep it mobile. We don't want it attached to printers and docking stations. It is meant to be our free-to-move, on-the-spot search machine, instead of having to run upstairs whenever the Web is needed.

Now, as with every new piece of technology, nothing is ever really plug-and-go. There were a few screams last night, all circling around the router's evasive username. Steam began to form upstairs. The air turned a vivid blue color. We needed to engage the wonderful world of global tech support, which accidentally disconnected us, not only once but twice. Hours later, and hopefully a few lessons learned, Silver was connecting to the Internet.

Right now, I am making this blog update from my comfy couch. The sun is trying to stream through the window, and the satellite radio is tuned to an accoustic guitar channel.

Life is good.

One thing. These types of purchases are never conducted while we sit in comfy leather chairs with lattes being served. No way. Instead, we struggle with numbers and decisions while standing in an aisle beside some cash register/computer terminal, under the harsh glare of flourescent lighting. Maybe in the future. Way!

The Day After Halloween

Halloween is over, and it was a bit disappointing. Everything was ready. I had made 100 goodie bags to hand out. The front porch was decorated. We had dressed up as hippies. The weather was perfect.

Well, almost perfect. The kids didn't come. Sorry, a lot of kids didn't come. Last year, and in years prior, we had anywhere from 75 to 100 little creatures visit. Not this year. For some reason the numbers were down. It was closing in on eight o'clock, and we started handing out 2 and 3 bags just to get rid of it.

When we decided to pull the pin on everything, we stayed dressed as hippies and went to a favourite local restaurant for dinner. That was good.

.......and I love Halloween....even more than Christmas.

It's Not In My Head - the Sequel

It might not be in my head, but now it's in our nose. The wonderful replacement mattress, which has been providing me with restful snoozes, has an odour, an odour which vaguely resembles mildew. And we are not amused.

This started probably minutes after we received the new mattress. The protective plastic wrap was removed, and the mattress was set in place, and all of those lovely toxins started to be released into the atmosphere. My Sweetie noticed it first, seeing as he has a most excellent sense of smell. For me, I have noticed that I am sneezing more than usual, and am feeling somewhat congested (and it isn't a cold).

So, now we have a call into you-know-who....the mattress Inspector ...Mr. MI. He is due to come back and examine the situation.

Oh, and there's something else! The pillow top has already shifted!

What happened to quality assurance I ask you?

Further to all of this is the fact that we have had the bed turned down all week. All of the covers have been pulled back, right to the mattress cover. The ceiling fan runs on high to try and get rid of the smell....and still it lingers.

This grates highly on my nerves, since I detest not having the bed made. I am obsessive about having the bed made everyday. The room looks as though it is in turmoil, with the duvet and assorted pillows strewn everywhere.

I hope this ends soon.

And don't forget to check out my sidebar, which now has Google displaying Ads about Mattresses!

It's Not In My Head

About 2 years ago, we purchased a new mattress set. This was an expensive purchase consisting of a king sized mattress and box spring, frame, headboard, 2 sheet sets, duvet with cover and box spring cover. It was a nice set...on the surface.

Over time, I began to notice that the comfort level for me was declining. I would get into bed, and just when I was getting comfortable, I would need to roll over. That's when the evening event would take place. I would roll and roll, back and forth, evidently trying to find comfort. When I glanced at my body impression under the blankets, I found that I was SINKING! There was a deep crevice into which I sank! At times I felt as though I were sleeping in a ditch.

Finally, I had enough. Hubby had no problems on his side of the bed. He was comfy. I thought that this was all in my head.

Until I called the company who sold us the mattress. They booked us an appointment with the MI...the Mattress Inspector. I didn't even realize that there was a job role of this nature. When Mr. MI arrived, he basically looked at the mattress from 10 feet away and said "your mattress is defective. You're getting a new mattress.". That was music to my ears. I was doing a major Happy Dance.

After some measurements were taken, and forms were completed, we were given the go ahead to pick out another, more suitable, mattress.

The waiting was the hardest part (thanks Tom Petty), but it finally arrived, after much banging and crashing to get it up the stairs...leaving the hanging light fixture dangling by two arms.

It's been about a week now. Things are better. The mattress is firmer and my evenings spent rocking and rolling are over.

Now there only remains one little issue.....a smell.....more to follow on this one.

Cheers.

I forgot to mention that we could have simply done a switch for the same type of mattress of equal dollar value, but we were so unhappy, that, for a nominal dollar upgrade, we got a better mattress. It has a thicker pillow top and is a taller mattress in general (interpreted this as 'the sheets now have a snugger fit'). I guess you could say that buying a mattress is like a bunch of chocolates...younever know what your gonna get!

End of Sailing Season

The sailing season has come to an end...again. The boat has been hauled and winterized. All that is left to do is to rig the frame (and repair the broken pieces from last winter) and get the winter cover on.

Haulout is always a job and a half. There are so many things to do in advance, then there are things to do on haulout day itself, and then there are post haulout tasks. Sometimes these tasks seem like they are never ending, but the list eventually gets complete.

We have done this for many years now, with various sizes of boats. This boat, which we have had for 5 years now, is the biggest that we have had, but even with all of the extra stroage space, we have managed not to overload it. There are always the necessities that need to be onboard (safety gear, etc), but the extras were kept to a dull roar this year. I guess that's where experience comes in.

This past season seemed especially short. I don't think there was one weekend where we weren't paying special attention to the weather...ah yes the weather...which would change at a moment's notice. Fall was no different in that aspect, what with the warm summer-like temperatures one day, then snow falling the next.

...and they say that global warming doesn't exist...yeah right!

It's Snowing Here Today!

Ayeee....it's only October 21st, and it is snowing outside. Big white flakes, with some of it actually accumulating on the ground. Our deck chairs are still outside. I managed to get out at lunchtime to remove the curtains from the gazebo, but I stil have to rescue my deck frog or he is going to freeze.

Last year we had snow on November 7th, which I thought was a bit early. Now I take that thought back. October 21 is definitely way too early.

Maybe we'll get all of the snow out of the way now, and there will be none left to fall in December.

*fat chance*

Withdrawal for a Political Junkie

The lamenting is over. The decision was made. The election and the fallout from that is finished.

Since September 7th, when the writ was dropped, I was actively involved with the election process as it related to supporting our candidate. When I would finish my day of 'real' work, I would visit the office almost every day. There would always be something to do, whether it was door-to-door canvassing, literature drops, or putting up lawn signs. I also maintained the candidate's website every day.

That was just the tangible stuff. I also met, and I think I have said this before, some really nice people, a few of whom I can call my friends. As we got to know each other more, we would greet each other with a hug. When hard times fell, we would hug. We would end the day with a hug. We became huggers.

This past week I have been experiencing withdrawal. I miss my friends, my huggers. I miss the stimulating conversations. I miss updating the website. I miss the excited pace, and the adrenalin rush of having a special guest, like Frank Mahavolich or Michael Ignatieff, join us. I think of the fun that we had, and there was a lot of it, I get a lump in my throat.

Now we look forward to the aftermath, the lessons learned. We will get together and plan for the future, whatever that will hold for us. We will change the things that didn't go right, and will continue with the tings that have always worked well. We will strive to get our government back.

And we will hug.

All Over But the Shouting

It's all over but the shouting now. Election 2008 is finished. Millions of dollars were spent to bring us into pretty much the same minority government. Think of what that money could have been better spent on.

Aftermath, we are both a little beat up and very tired. The past six weeks have been quite hectic...right up to the very end. Yesterday was spent trying to get the vote out, but it was not to be. Mostly what hurt us was voter apathy...people who did not get out to vote. As they say, if you don't vote then don't complain. That pretty much sums up everything.

Politics is a funny game. The players change, and even the rules change.

The future is a little cloudy, and things need to change. That much is obvious. One thing is for sure, it will be exciting.

Remembering Mery

Many years ago, when I was starting a new career as a computer programmer, I was introduced to a lady named Mery. She was an adept programmer. Her forte was DB2 and CICS programming. She was a whiz.

The more we worked together, the closer we became. She was from Iran, and was trying to improve her English. She had a daughter in Iran, and she had made plans to return to her country and bring her daughter to Canada to live. This was a very intense time for Iran. The Gulf War was still active. As a team, we were all immensely worried about Mery and were hopeful that her daughter would be safe with her.

Mery did return with her daughter, and we continued to work together for many years. We went through some trying times together at work. But we always seemed to surface somehow.

When I changed employers, Mery and I lost touch. I think she went to work in the States, but was unsure of where she went.

Recently I was thinking about Mery. I had found a gift that she gave me for my birthday back in October 1994. I kept it in my nightstand drawer. With the world of Facebook, I decided to search for her. Instead I found one of her relatives, and through correspondence, we had managed to have Mery's and my information exchanged, with the hope that we would be able to get together.

That was not to be. We will not be getting together.

Mery passed away on September 28th.

"The Angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hands of God... "

There Is Always Hope

Last night there was an interesting political program on CBC, Canada Votes 2008: The X Challenge. It was a debate-style program with 4 candidates representing the 4 main political parties: Liberals (Scott Brison), Conservatives (Blaherty), the NDP and the Green.

The audience was comprised of engaged citizens who were decided voters, and, at the beginning of the program.

During the show, important audience questions were posed to the candidates, and their responses were heard, along with a small inter-candidate debate. At the end of each question, the audience was asked to rate which candidate won that particular round of questioning. At the end of the evening, one of the candidates would be the winner.

The overall winner was Scott Brison for the Liberals!!!

What was most interesting was the pre and post percentages:

Before the show, the audience revealed how they would vote:
38% would be voting CONS
33% would be voting Liberal
17% would be voting NDP
12% would be voting Green.

At the end of the show, the percentages were quite different:
52% would vote Liberal
29% would vote CONS
16% would vote NDP
3% would vote Green

These are interesting numbers. People actually got to hear Scott Brison explain the Green Shift plan, and people listened.

Blaherty came of as bullish as he usually does. Maybe people are just plain sick of bullies. After all, they wouldn't want bullies in their schools, so why have this behaviour in government??

Love Affair with a Sweater

After Steve H. broke his own law in order to propel our nation into yet another election (and for some of us it has been an election a year), he started his (ahem) campaign with a new look. He donned fuzzy sweaters. This was supposed to create a warmer image of the man. This was supposed to display a softer side of the man who is known as king control freak.

For the life of me, I still don't get what people are in love with. The man has zero charisma. All he can announce to the public is yet another doom and gloom bully promise....fighting crime...fighting criminals....imprisoning 14 year olds.

It is known that this party cuts funding to the Arts....a big no-no. They claim that ordinary people are not interested in the Arts. But I find it interesting that while they made the Arts cuts, often the Arts are only available to the wealthy. That is the one demographic that this party caters to and is hitting at the same time. Interesting thought.

They don't give a hoot about anyone except the wealthy. They don't give a hoot about the poor and the homeless, about women, about gays. They will go to great lengths to pump buckeroos into big business....probably the same big business that pollutes our air with toxins. Oh, forgot, they don't have a plan for taking care of the environment, so it's okay to freely pollute the atmosphere. No charge!

Be careful of the bullies that you might elect into power. Don't let that fuzzy sweater distract you. And above all, beware of politicians who never look you in the eye.

Just like that box of chocolates....ya never know what yer gonna git!

Conservative = Negative

My vote in October will be for peace. This peace will, hopefully, end the constant fighting and bickering that comes from the Conservative government. Hence, my vote will not be for them.

*Caution - political rant*

Everything that I read about and hear from them is negative, and to be quite frank, I am sick of it.

Their new crime and punishment plan will put 14 year olds in prison for life (btw - I read somewhere that this affects about 1000 individuals). Crime specialists say that this will not fix the problem, nor does it address the root cause. We can only hope that one of the Cons flunkies kids shows up on this list one day.

They're cutting funding to the Arts (this affects Quebec directly). How stupid. Everybody knows that the Arts attracts tourists AND guess what, it also allows people to become exposed to culture. The keyword here is allows, since under a Cons government, there is not much allowance for anything, but there is lots of room for doom and gloom.

The Environment. The Cons have no plan, but they have lots of criticism. They will criticize anyone and everyone, in order to get THEIR point across ad nauseum.

This government is no longer moderate. Far from it. It works only for the rich and wealthy.

Let Them Eat Meat

Since I am currently immersed in the political realm, this gives me ample subject matter to write about. Today's fodder comes to us through the insensitivity of Gerry Ritz (no affiliation to the cracker, but who knows.....).

Gerry, Gerry, Gerry....what have you done?

Let's try to compress all of this into a nutshell. This shouldn't be too difficult to do. Listeria. We've been hearing a lot about the Listeria problem, and the 19 confirmed deaths that have resulted from the bad lunch meat that was consumed. Without getting into the details of listeria (since you can check it out on the Web), this has a political link.

The listeria crisis was still simmering even as the election was called on September 7th, yet the party in power ignored it. They didn't provide any safety measures and did very little to address the issue. Add to the fire Gerry Ritz...Agricultural Minister (for the Feds). He managed to contradict himself during a TV interview. That was his first problem. Then, last night, it was revealed that he managed to say some callous comments during a conference call...."This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts," Ritz said."...........And when told about a new death from listeriosis on Prince Edward Island, the Minister said: "Please tell me it's (Liberal MP) Wayne Easter."

This is only one example of the stellar candidates that are part of Steve H's closest MPs...hand picked and guarded by the chief himself. No class, no brains, no tact.

How does this affect the election? Well, 2 things. One, it provides a distraction for Steve H and his clonies, since now they have to manage general media damage control. Two, they also have to get the Cons candidate in Malpeque back on track...the one who was running against poor Wayne Easter who was called out in that statement.

Sit back and watch for more tidbits to unravel.

Quotes courtesy of Canoe.

Addendum - What is particularly interesting here is that the other day, Steve H. fired Senior Conservative Spokesman Ryan Sparrow for reprehensible comments that he made for "for the reprehensible comments he has made regarding the father of a Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan". Steve H. has yet to take any action regarding Gerry Fitz.

Tales from the Campaign Trail

You just never know what to expect on the campaign trail. Last night was one of those nights.

We were in an elite part of the city. Beautiful waterfront homes nestled among old trees. Sailboats were out on the water for a dinnertime race (not much wind though). Quite spectacular.

Of course, as in any area these days, renovations were visible at various homes.

We came upon one house that was in the middle of renovations, when something caught our eye. Just below the eaves there were three baby raccoons, hanging on and remaining very still and quiet. They could see us on the ground and wanted to 'blend'. Well, they didn't blend that well, because we could see them, and hear their scratching as they tried to ramble their way to their 'home' in the roof.

Later, as we were ending our visits, we could see one of the babies huddled high atop a tree.

Who knows what will be out there tonight?

A Family of Sorts

Since the political world is on the radar for me and my blog, I will continue with a few stories.

In my last post I talked about when we got involved with politics. It wasn't just a fleeting thought. It was the last Federal election. January 2006. I was growing increasingly angry at what I was hearing from the 'then' Progressive Conservatives. I despised the leader, even before he became the party leader. I had to do something to vent this anger. The gym wasn't able to provide a suitable outlet. I was still angry. I needed something more.

I decided to call up the local Liberal campaign office to see if there was something that I could do. They welcomed me with open arms. There were so many things to get involved with. Door to door canvassing, phoning, office work, receptionist, signs, articles....you name it, and it had to be done.

We canvassed people's homes. A lot. Mostly, people were polite, whether or not they held the same political beliefs as we did. I probably only had one door slammed in my face. Not bad.

Of course we lost that year. The wake was not fun. People were crying, though I did not understand what at that time. The Progressive Conservatives became the Conservatives. No ,more Progressive (that says a lot).

What we didn't know then was that the future would hold a Provincial election. Again we got involved with similar activities. This time our hard work paid off with a victory. Let me tell you that victory is certainly a lot easier to take than defeat, especially with so much that goes into this very short timeframe. I felt exuberant at the win. I saw those more closely involved absolutely over the moon. Again I did not quite understand.

Now we are in another election, an election that was not supposed to happen until NEXT year. The PM even had to break the law to get it...that's how badly he wanted to thrust the country into another expensive election, during hard economic times.

Anyway, the bottom line, for me, is that I now understand the emotions of others. You can make some really good friends. There is always open-minded discussion available. There is always something sweet in the candy bowl. Sometimes there's a free BBQ. And there are hugs...they go a long way.

I want our party to win. I want our local candidate to win. I will feel over the moon if we win, and I will cry if we lose.

I finally understand.

On the Wall

We're on the wall, baby! We're on the wall!

That probably doesn't mean a whole lot to anyone, but I shall explain. During the past week, and throughout the campaign, My Sweetie and I will be volunteering time to the campaign. We will put signs on lawns. We will participate in the door-to-door canvas. We will do drop-offs. We will, again, be a Host House. I maintain the website. We put out fires. We contribute ideas. We do lots of things. There's always something to do. All of this with the same goal of getting our candidate elected.

We got involved when we moved here. I should correct that statement...I got us involved when we moved here. Through this, we met many really fine people. Each year, through Federal and provincial elections, we continued to get involved, and met more people.

This year, we each have a personalized envelope at the campaign office (for mail, drop-offs, etc).

Okay, so it's not a corner office at a ritzy office in the big city, but this is special for me.

Around and About

Things are pretty hectic around here, and will be that way until the election is over. I am busy volunteering on the local campaign. Knocking on doors. Discussing issues. Updating websites. Going crazy.

All of this in addition to my real job, which has just been busy upon busy.

So if you don't see me around here too much, that is why.

Now, I don't discuss politics on my site but rest assured that this is a big election this year. Our Prime Minister felt that it was time for a change, and we do too! Perhaps it's time that he moves on. So if you have a habit of not voting, you might want to read up on what is going on, and have your voice heard by placing an 'X' on a ballot on October 14th. it's our right.