The bird attack of my dream

Last night I had the strangest dream. The dream itself was rather boring. It was the ending that abruptly woke me up.

Kerry and I were in a conference center or some similar type building with many meeting rooms. We weren't actually attending a conference but were there on some other business. I remember walking past the washrooms and there was huge line up outside the ladies. I don't know why that is. Every event I go to has long line ups for the ladies washrooms. We walked past it and came to a dining room where the students had finished lunch. There was still some people in the room but most had left, presumably the huge line up for the ladies! There was another smaller room off this one and several of the attendees were in there talking to an instructor. For some reason Kerry went into this room to talk to him too.

I was left standing in the nearly deserted lunch room and feeling kind of thirsty. I spotted a couple of those machines that dispense juice or pop on the other side of the room. I was looking at them trying to figure out if they had orange juice or apple juice but I was too far away to see. So I was just making up my mind to walk across the room and check it out when all of a sudden a bird comes flying across the room and lands on my left shoulder and is batting at me with its wings. I'm not sure if it was a sea gull, dove, or pigeon. I remember it was mostly white or grey.

Anyway I woke up then and started yelling at Kerry about the bird in the room and get it out, get it away from me. He told me there was no bird in there. I said a bird just came and got me on my left side, coincidentally the side closest to him. He continues to explain that he's been awake for awhile and no birds have flown into the bedroom.

So then I asked him if he was touching me, brushing my face or something to get me to wake up, but he claims he didn't.

I just hate having those dreams where I wake up suddenly and quickly. It was after 8am and I had to get up anyway, but I sure wish I'd slept a little longer.

An Expensive Cup of Coffee

A couple of mornings ago Kerry and I drove to our local Tim Horton's located inside a shopping mall. As we made our left hand turn and drove into the mall's entrance we noticed 2 police officers standing at the side of the driveway. They didn't appear too interested in us and we continued in and parked. We wondered what they were up to and Kerry figured they were doing a seat belt check. A good spot trying to catch the early morning commuters coming for their coffee. And once someone has turned into the Clover Crossing Mall entrance there is no turning around. Then we noticed the 3rd police officer in the parking lot writing out a ticket to the male driver. We went inside so Kerry could get his extra large coffee double double and his breakfast sandwich and my mocha and muffin. As we were leaving we saw the young man in the truck leave the police oficer and enter the Tim Horton's drive thru. Not buckling up is a $125 fine. Now that was one expensive cup of coffee!

November 18 update

Just under 38,000 words to go. Its tough. I'm at work all day, then I have dogs to walk, and then drive out to the farm to feed my horses. Back home, dinner time, and then some writing time. I'm going to have to average over 3,000 words a day for the rest of the month. I don't think I'll make it, but I'll have a good head start and just keep going in December. And yes, this is bad writing. Bad diaglogue. But the story is starting to take shape and I think with lots of rewriting there might be potential here one day.

November 15 update

I need to pick up the pace a bit. 40,000 words left to go. Divided by 15 days left in the month. You do the math. I can't! Never my strong subject in school! At least its a good start, but bad dialogue.

Writing update for November 11

Its been a slow day in the writing department. 44,000 words to go before month end.

Remembrance Day Service November 11 2008

We headed down to the cenotaph in Cloverdale with the rain only a light drizzle. It had let up from a torrential downpour a couple of hours earlier. So it kept with the theme around here that it always rains on Remembrance Day.

It was a nice service with a parade by veterans, RCMP in color serge, and various cadet groups. The typical introductions, singing O Canada, hymns, laying of the wreaths, and bugle call preceeding two minutes of silence at eleven o'clock. Then the final wreaths were laid, singing God Save The Queen, and the parade route back to the Cloverdale legion.

There were three different groups of airplanes that did fly pasts during the ceremony.

In memory of all those who lost their lives serving our country and those who continue to fight for freedom in far off countries. We wear the poppies for you today.

Monday's update for November 10

NoNoWriMo - just under 45,000 words left to write!

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. We'll be wearing our poppies and going to the cenotaph for the services and remembering our vets.

In memory of all who lost their lives providing us with the freedoms that we live with today.

Writing a bad novel

November is National Novel Writing Month. This is a challenge to all writers is to write a 50,000 word novel before the end of the month. After thinking about it for a week, I decided I'm in.

After my first day (yesterday) I wrote about 2000 words. Today I've written another 500. Its a really bad start. The object is not to worry about how bad it is. Just keep writing until the goal of 50,000 words has been written. And then its edit time. Or garbage time. Or seeing as how these are computers, hit the delete button time.

My novel is something I've thought about for awhile. A husband and wife who solve murder mysteries. Kind of like Murder She Wrote, but a duet not a single. I was a big fan of Jessica Fletcher. I'm planning a series. Its just getting started that's the hard part.

Hmm, or maybe this has already been done. Anyone remember Hart to Hart?

I need to pick up the pace. Just over 47,000 words to go.....

Fresh Produce

A few years ago I read a rather testy letter to the editor of the paper in response to a letter another man had written. To the effect he purchased his fresh fruits and vegetables from a produce store instead of from a grocery store. The letter writer angrily stated she was "glad" he could afford the fresh produce from the shop. But people like her on budgets had to go to the chain grocery stores for lower prices and often less than fresh produce.

I usually shop at produce stores and its my experience that their produce is lower priced than grocery stores and fresher. On occasion the chain grocery stores have a sale on something and underprice the independent produce stores but for the most part I see much lower prices.

There are several produce stores near where I live. Several of them are on farms and sell strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries while they are in season. Some of them have tables set up in the driveway while others are in closed areas, such as a remodeled shed or garage. Some of them sell other produce as well. Many of these smaller operations are open during the summer while the corn or berries are ripening. Other produce stores are larger and are open year round bringing in their wares from wholesalers in the winter months. In the summer time there are at least ten fresh produce stores within a ten minute drive of my house.

A 10 pound bag of potatoes for .99 cents is a pretty good deal and not one that I'd see in a grocery store. I love grapes and can usually get them for half the price they're selling for in the grocery stores. I sometimes go over to the flea market held in the local fairgrounds and wholesalers have all kinds of produce for good prices. I bought three bunches of asparagus for $5 and I bought a big bag of mixed nuts for $5.

Instead of heading to the grocery store the next time you need tomatoes or apples, look around for a local fresh produce store. You might be quite pleasantly surprised by the prices and the quality.

Going Shopping

When I was a kid I loved going shopping with my mother. Grocery shopping was the best. But there was a mall not too far from our house called Guildford. Anchored by the now defunct Woodward's department store, this was a 2 story outdoor shopping with a bakery, pet store, book store, and many other shops I've long since forgotten. The outdoor walkway was covered so if it was raining we didn't get too wet. There was also a movie theatre and below that a roller skating rink.

But changes were coming in the early 70's. The new concept for Guildford mall was to enclose the shopping area so that everything would be undercover. Eventually Eaton's was built on the other side of the road and a covered walkway with shops went over the street. The roller rink closed down and became a furniture store and over the years the space was broken down into several smaller stores. Guildford became one of the biggest and best shopping malls in the Greater Vancouver Area. I used to go there several times a month through the late 70's and early 80's.

However my shopping habits have changed in the past 10 years thanks to the Internet. I can get most of my Christmas shopping done in November. These days when I go shopping I don't head to the mall. I go to some big box stores but most of my shopping is done online. Even grocery shopping I go to local produce stores once a week or so and do the majority of my grocery shopping once a month or even less.

As for things like clothes and household necessities I buy them as I need them and I don't normally head to the mall for buying. Recently I was part of a discussion about shopping at malls. The consensus is that the majority of people in shopping malls these days are seniors, teenagers, and mothers with young children. I had to think back to the last time I was in a mall, and it was quite some time ago. I'd run in on my way home from dining out because I knew a card shop was in there and I had to buy a birthday card.

The Internet has changed our shopping habits. Retailers on the Internet do not have to pay the high prices of leasing space in a mall. A website is a fraction of that cost.

Its time to get on the wave and that's why we opened our online store. We sell make up, health care products like shampoo, toothpaste, and vitamins. We also sell Perfect water, energy drinks, weight loss products and snacks. In addition we've partnered with over 500 stores and refer people to shop online. Check us out: www.ditto4u.ca

My winning poetry entry

Ten years ago I used to subscribe to an online writer's ezine called Inscriptions. Unfortunately it is no longer in existence. The woman who owned it sold it to another woman who sporadically published it, changed its name to something I've long since forgotten, and continue to sporadically publish it. The content was never the same and I unsubscribed. I have no idea if its still active

But back in the Inscriptions days the owner used to run monthly contests with various prize packages. Then early one year, in time for Valentine's, it was announced the world's worst poetry contest. The prizes were a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com and a box of chocolates. My two favorite things! Books and chocolates! I had to enter, but I'm no poet. But still, this was a contest for bad poetry. Maybe I had a shot. So I borrowed the cadence from an old Christopher Marlowe poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love". It took me 15 minutes to write. Then I talked myself out of waiting and coming back to it later to make any changes. This was supposed to be a bad poem. So I emailed my entry immediately. And yes, I won. I received an email with the code for the $50 to spend at Amazon. I was disappointed that I didn't actually receive chocolates. What I received was a $20 gift code for Godiva chocolates web site. Imagine my disappointment when I went to their site and found that they only ship to the lower 48 states. No good to a Canadian winner! :(

But I had an aunt who lived in California so I used my gift code and had a box of chocolates sent to her, much to her great surprise when she received them in the mail.

And here is my winning entry:

The Forgetful Maiden to Her, her, her... (with apologies to Christopher Marlowe)

Come live with me and find my glove
Your reward is my undying love.
For I am forever losing things,
I swear my possessions all sprouted wings.

And we will sit upon the docks,
And watch the waves crash on the rocks.
My love for you is like these flumes,
A rose in summer that always blooms.

No cap of flowers, no buckles of gold,
Help find my glasses before I grow old.
They're lost forever and that makes me sad,
Please find them for me and make me glad.

Keep an eye out for my gown of fine wool,
Then we'll enjoy a swim in the pool.
And I'll gaze adoringly into your eyes,
Find my things, and I'm your prize.

I'll give you pleasures all year round
If you brave the snow and find my lost hound.
I opened the door and he bounded out,
If you bring him back, I'll nevermore pout.

Every night we'll sing and dance,
Come live with me and take a chance.
Incredible delights await you my love,
But first find my glasses, my hound and my glove!

The Small Project that turned Big

The upstairs of our house has been a renovator's battleground all of October. After our discovery of the hardwood floors and ripping out the carpets, things were put on hold for a bit. Ultimately the advice we were given was that it would be less costly to refloor with laminate than try to repair the original hardwood. So we purchased a nice Yukon cherry, enough laminate to do the entire upstairs less the bathroom and kitchen.

Mainly due to Kerry's construction trailer being stolen during the night of October 1. The trailer was recovered the next day, but less $20,000 in tools that were inside. Fortunately all the tools had been diarized in a database with serial numbers and photos and this information was given to the police and our insurance company. But its been a real pain replacing these items and of course it will take months for Kerry to realize exactly everything that was missing until he starts looking for something. Fortunately the more expensive tools were inside the house due to the renovations.

Kerry proceeded to tear down all the living room walls so he could rewire the plugs and light switches. Plus he was never happy with the way the walls looked. Not a good drywall and mudding job.

Unfortunately he undertook this endeavor while I was at work and gave me no advance notice. I came home to a house and contents completed coated in drywall dust from the deconstruction. There wasn't much I could do. Kerry had already removed all the bedroom doors in anticipation of receiving the new ones and he'd removed my closet doors so all my clothes were coated in dust. The worst was the grand piano coated in dust. That is horrible to clean. I'm probably going to need a tuner to remove the keyboard and give it a good cleaning.

And then there was more dust as he cut and installed the drywall, mudded, sanded, and repeated. I kept the kitchen and bathroom as clean as I could and let the other rooms go.

But finally an end is in sight. The dining and living areas have been painted. My new walk in closet is painted and just ready for the laminate floor. The dining room and living room have the new laminate floor installed. I have been doing a lot of cleaning of the drywall dust and things are looking better. Our new doors are not installed yet, but they are in the workshop, already painted, just waiting to be installed. Kerry is currently putting trim around the doors and other openings in the dining and living areas. With the exception of the office we plan to have the painting completed and the floors done by mid-November.

Its looking good.

A small project that quickly escalated into a large one.

Halloween Recap

It rained all day on Halloween. But by late afternoon it had slacked off to a drizzle and for early evening, prime trick or treating time, the rain had stopped, though it was certainly cold and wet outside.

We had about 25 to 30 kids stop by for treats, and some of them were doubles. A couple of times we were out on our covered sundeck doing some work and called them to come back for more treats.

So undoubtedly the dampness kept many of the kids away.

Now what should I do with the leftover goodies?