Monday's the big day!

I'm moving Monday which means I'm going to have to pack my computer very soon and I'm just writing to let you know I'll have limited access on my phone til the net gets hooked up in a few days.

Don't miss me too much. :)

Packing and Pixels

Thanks to some old electronics boxes from Megan's work and a bunch of wine store boxes, I got plenty of packing done on the weekend, and now there's just a few odds and ends that need taking care of. Been keeping busy with work and getting all the stuff surrounding the move organised. Today I brought home another box of boxes from the wine store because if I don't use them all, my housemates surely will.

I've also been messing around with MSPaint stick people as a new blog has started to emerge from my brain called Miss-Overheard. The basic premise being that I overhear(and likely mis-hear) many things day to day and I try to recreate the silly places my brain goes with those snippets of conversation. I use red text to indicate what I though tI heard. the rest is pure fantasy. An example:

I try to keep it flowing at a steady every-other-day for now. I may be able to do more after the move.

With This Cryogenic Technology I'll Be Unstoppable!

The defrosting of the Mini-cheesecake was a success. Sorry no new pics. Didn't think about it til it was in our tummies.

So, wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed in a freezer-bag in the deep freeze for a month then defrosted (in the plastic wrap) in the fridge =  still amazingly tasty. This means that the two times a year cream cheese goes on sale... I can make a butt-load of these lil beauties and wrap them up for later. :)

Stuff like this makes me realize we're not going to be deprived of anything eating gluten free and frugal. :D

Come on Spring....

So today started rather dismally. A nice inch or so of snow blanketed everything and... well really I'm just glad it didn't happen next week after things started sprouting.

I found this pretty but soon to be dead planter as well as some rabbit prints on the way to work.

After a rather average day at work I stopped off at the post office to get the modem that was shipped. 

I picked up the package and sent of a birthday surprise for my lil sister. I know she reads this... but it's not like I said what the surprise is. :)

Weekend Transformation

This weekend it was time to tackle the front yard. 

Perfect for gardening.

Obligatory Before Shot

Last fall we got London Landscape Inc. to tear up the overgrown lawn, put down some proper topsoil, and cover it all with landscape cloth to keep weed seeds out. It was completed on time and on budget and I was very pleased. Unfortunately the snowplough decided to tear a strip off the yard near the side-walk. Yay.

Friday on the way home I grabbed some Growers Cider cause I knew after a long day of gardening I was gonna want something sweet and cool to drink. Saturday I spent the morning poking around the house and after brunch around noon I got to work.

First thing to do was go out back to the shed for some tools. as I was opening the shed I heard something behind me and managed to take this pic over my shoulder without startling the lil robin.

So Cute!

The yard was going to need edging and stepping stones in order to look tidy and be functional. I started with the heavy stuff first(thank goodness). I lifted the landscape cloth I found a few surprise grass sprouts, then started digging a trench for the edging stones. Around the edge the new topsoil wasn't nearly as deep so I quickly hit what was out original soil. I packed the gaps with dirt and rocks to prevent run-off. 

Clay and sand are not the best soils.

Four done, plenty to go.

Grass has got to be my most disliked weed.

Last fall when London Landscape Inc was coming I dug out the rosebush meaning to keep it in the basement over winter.... It over wintered in the carport. I'm not 100% certain that it'll grow again but roses are insanely resilient (I had a bush trying to grow from a 1" clipping last year) so there's no harm trying. I burred it deep and watered it well.

This is all that can be seen of the poor rosebush I dug up in the fall and left in the carport.

At this point it was almost supper, rain was threatening and I was tired so I figured it was time to call it a day.

Borders complete, stepping stones placed, rose bush re-situated.

I put up my feet for a bit and enjoyed a cider before dinner. After Dinner, Meg and I cuddled on the couch and watched some TV. The cats slept nearby keeping us company.   :)

A well earned drink to relax with.

They're so cute when they're not fighting.

- - - - - ~ - - - - -

It rained Saturday night and I slept fairly well but woke up sore all over. I am SO glad that all I left was the planting. I settled the stepping stones a little lower in the soil for stability, made and anchored a trellis, and made a little... entry arch? near the porch to show the intent of the stepping stones and that they're not there just for some weird artistic reason.

I bought a nice blend of perennials and self-seeding annuals for the base/filler from West Coast Seeds. I bought a bunch of bulbs from the dollar store, and I still have a variety of various seeds from previous excursions into gardening. I wanted it to be a nice low to no maintenance garden. Other than watering I think the only work involved might be taking the dead nasturtium vines off the trellis in the fall. I didn't plant anything to... obviously food... in the front yard but there's some useful plants in with the just-for-decoration flowers.

I planted some helpful flowers like lavender, chamomile, and calendula. To most they'll just be pretty flowers but if the new renters know their herbs, they'll be happy to have them. I also planted the whole length of the neighbour's driveway with garlic and onions. If they're recognised they'll be tasty, if not, they'll be basic greenery with the occasional round flower ball. :)

Sunday morning from inside before I started.

All Done.

Now I know garden folk love progress pics and I will let you know when everything starts sprouting, but I'm moving in two weeks so I won't be back to take pics regularly... just occasionally. :)

Dark Limerick

Across a bridge the lady did stroll,

and so a demon demanded the toll.

She offered her gold,

all his coffers could hold.

But devil, he wanted her soul.

Kindness

I was talking to my sweetheart last night about how frustrating it is to have to censor so many moments in my life from the general public. It's not that these moments are shameful or even embarrassing, the trouble is peoples reactions.

We could be talking about loneliness and I can't bring up the stranger who talked my ear off for an hour about his ex-wife and his dog and the big kerfuffle surrounding their breakup. Or the lady at the bus stop who really wanted to tell someone about her cats and how she's worried about the one that's sick cause she can't afford the meds.

We could be talking about hunger and donating to foodbanks, and I can't bring up the times I've given food to people instead of organizations. I can't talk about the times I've offered to buy a meal for someone who needed it.

I can't talk about these moments because I always get one of three reactions depending on the type of kindness I was showing another human being.

Because it's usually what's thought of first, lets call giving money to someone with no intent or desire for them to repay it Type1. This ranges from helping a friend pay their rent to giving a toonie($2 coin) to the guy sitting on the sidewalk downtown.

Type2 would be all those other things you can do for someone. Listening when they need to talk. Giving someone something you don't need anymore but you know they do. Giving/buying food for someone else.

Oddly enough, unless they're my close family(or close enough friends to be considered family) peoples reactions have become so predictable I can categorize them.

Reactions:

As for type1&2. Well look at you fishing for attention/compliments.

Bs for type1&2. OMG you're the sweetest person evar! You should feel so good cause you're amazing.

Cs for type1. You really shouldn't give out money because they will just spend it on booze or drugs

Cs for type2. You really shouldn't talk to/be nice to/be anywhere near strangers because they're gonna do something awful to you.

Let's address the A's.

Really? I bring this up in a relevant conversation and have a point to make and some reason you think it's all about me wanting praise? My acts of kindness are simple one-on-one social interactions. If I wanted attention or compliments I'd do something big and public like a run-to-cure-X or a charity booth in the park or something.

On to the B's

If someone does something drastic like donating 90% of their annual income to reducing the spread of AIDS in Africa.... okay they deserve a hi-five and probably a plaque or something to hang on the wall. Basic human decency should not be surprising. I would much prefer if acts of kindness were common enough that we didn't have phrases like “I've done my good deed for the day” in our common language. There is no quota on kindness.

Now lets address the C's.

In the case of Type1, who cares what they spend it on? Most people are going to tend to their basic needs first, and if your life sucks so bad you'd risk dying to escape for a few hours, who am I to judge? It's not common for someone starving to choose escape over food. If they do, that is addiction and they need medical help. Making sure they starve to death before they can get that help isn't kindness.

Think about it. To someone with an addiction, their addiction comes first so they're always going to spend a specific amount on their drug of choice.(I've even seen this apply to hardcore tobacco smokers.) I know nothing about drug prices so pretend we're talking about $20/week. If they've bought their $20 worth, they're good til next week and any other money will go to the other things necessary to life like food. If they've been so broke that they couldn't buy the $20 worth yet, uh, duh the $5 you gave them is gonna go to drugs. That's what addiction is all about. It overrides the brain's natural function and makes itself the most important thing. Putting people into withdrawal because “they'll just spend it on drugs” is backwards thinking and will not help them eat.

In the cases of Type2, it cost me NOTHING but a few minutes. I'm always in public with other people around and it doesn't inconvenience me at all to listen to someone who's lonely while I wait for the bus. What else am I going to do with that time that is more important? Facebook? Angry Birds? In the case of giving items, I have more than enough. It will not harm me to give what I don't need to someone who needs it. I don't understand the mentality of people who think otherwise.

Picture walking down the street on a rainy day. You're using your big umbrella because you saw the weather forecast called for pouring rain, and as usual you have a backup DollarStore umbrella or raincoat in your bag because you always keep it there for emergencies. You're getting on with your day, running errands dry and comfortable, when you spot someone who's obviously worse off. They're huddled in a doorway using a piece of quickly sogging cardboard to block the raindrops that bounce off the sidewalk from getting into their drier doorway. How can any sane person walk past? How can you not give them your easily replaced backup and just replace it later? How can you be so cold?

No it's not your responsibility, it's not your job, it's not your problem... it's our privilege to have so much that we can help others without harming ourselves. It's our privilege to “just replace it later”. It's our privilege to have the choice.

This has been bothering me for quite some time. Thank you for reading.

I want to shut him up.

He isn't even talking to me

and I have this urge

to shout him down

to change the topic.

Then I realize,

I felt the same way last time

someone was talking like that

and that time I did shut it down.

I feel ashamed.

I stopped people from exploring the philosophical concepts of determinism and free-will simply because it made me uncomfortable.

Hypothetical constructs should not be fearful.

People who refuse to grow and learn are frightened by the hypothetical...

that is why I am ashamed.

I couldn't handle the idea

that I have no choice in anything

and that everything

I do,

I say,

I am,

was predetermined from the moment time started.

I shut down the conversation with the point that it didn't matter

which was true

because it didn't affect day to day life

or the apparent choices we make

so it wasn't worth discussion.

And so,

a moment of weakness

caused by staring into the abyss of nihilistic philosophy,

now creates a blush of shame

A sure sign of spring

Looks like the grocery store is ready for spring. Anyone started working outside yet?

Sorry It's been a while

I'd like to say that I haven't been writing because I'm packing, or because my social life is blooming, or because I've been working on the garden... I won't though because those things haven't been checked off my to-do list either. Mostly I've been spinning my wheels and worrying.

I have however, written some poetry and made some very terrible MS Paint comics. The poetry I'll be posting on here bit by bit. The comics have their own blog and will be released every other day for now, maybe more or less as time goes on.

Good Thing We Didn't Have Grass This Year eh?

I saw the plow tracks and the damage done, 

a little strip torn off of every lawn, 

ooh-oh the damage done again.

Week's end will be time.
Edging down, bulbs in, seeds sown.
Fingers crossed; no weeds.