Ann’s Weblog

I’m having quite a time dealing with some feelings of disappointment, at least in the area of home improvements.

Our door that was so expensive and locally made is gorgeous, but due to a combination of me not asking for (or knowing) exactly what I wanted, and the process of finishing this door, it is turning out to be just not as wonderful as I’d hoped. And it cost so much.

The whole bathroom renovation is still in limbo. We have that costly piece of granite sitting behind the couch. At the place that we purchased it, we were told that there was no “undermount” sink that would fit the narrower-than-standard counter top. So, after a lot of running around, we agreed on this big-assed rectangular sink that looks pretty nice but also seems to take up half the vanity. When we chose the sink, my impression also was that not as much granite would have to be cut out to accommodate it; when we picked up our countertop, there was a HUGE hole that is presumably the correct size. I guess if it’s covered up by the bigass sink, it’s a moot point how much granite was taken away. I have come to believe that we COULD have found (or had made) a small undermount sink to install, leaving a large expanse of the beautiful granite visible. I rather wish we had chosen a vessel sink, but we had taps and faucet that were not for that kind of sink.

We finally had a visit from the contractor who has agreed to build the vanity to fit this countertop. It has been months of waiting, but he’s enthusiastic and we believe he’ll do a good job. At least he has the measurements and we have the hope that he’ll work on the project at home. Of course, the vanity will be the last thing to go back into the bathroom after all the other changes come about.

We asked a different contractor to take on the rest of the bathroom reno. He also said that he couldn’t start until November; we have no idea what part of the month he’ll be here. While he was looking at the “job”, he checked the spacing of the floor joists (for the whole house) and noted that the home is built on joists with 2′ centres instead of the NOW-required 16″ centres.

When our friend (the contractor) remarked on THAT… a little light bulb came on in my head. THAT would be the reason that our new ceramic tile floor in the kitchen has failed! There are now more than thirty cracked tiles in that floor, which is a source of irritation and angst. Every few days, I’ll reach for something in a cupboard, shifting my weight, and feel and hear another tile crack. It’s sickening, and another huge disappointment.

The contractor who did the kitchen also built us some cabinets, and he did a very good job; I had told him just to make us some “good plywood” cupboards to match the old ones. While he was spraying contact cement on the tops of the units in order to place the arbourite, he over-sprayed onto the fronts of two of the doors, and promptly cleaned it with Varsol. What we didn’t know was that this spatter would show up when we stained the doors! This lends a slightly unsightly appearance to our new cupboard units, and I find this another… you guessed it, disappointment.

The hardwood flooring in the living room, though perfect at first, has separated at some points on the butt ends of the pieces. I think this also might be due to the joists being so far apart.. there is more “give” in the floor perhaps. The pre-finished hardwood pieces were well seasoned when we bought them… it just shouldn’t have happened. As it is, the offending gaps are mostly hidden under Gary’s recliner and shouldn’t be any bother to anyone, but hey, I’m venting. I’m on a roll.

There are some disappointments in my life that I can’t even write about in my public diary. I guess I’m just in a bad mood; none of us have the fairy tale all of the time, and in general MY life is great and smooth going and blessed.

I’m so glad Gary’s home from his conference. HE is no disappointment! And soon I’ll get to see my three daughters (and a soon-to-be son-in-law) again, and THEY are in no way any disappointment to me… exactly the contrary. I do have many blessings.

Tonight we’re going out to a friend’s house for dinner… she has tried a new Thai recipe, and we’re looking forward to that.

Yesterday the deal closed on the rental home I purchased. I was jubilant, AM jubilant about that. I hope the renter who is in the house will stay for years, and we trust each other. I will improve the house in any way that is needed, and some of the ways that are wanted, as we go along. As it is, the place is comfortable for a young woman and her baby. Because this purchase was a private deal (no real estate fees), it is already worth more than I paid for it. I feel like I got something “out of my system”, and I believe I’ll learn and grow from the experience.

Anyway… I guess I’ll go back to the last of the dog grooming. I have enjoyed caring for a number of furry friends today, those which are boarding too.

Thanks for checking up on me. ~ Ann

It’s 2:30 am and I can’t sleep. I’m in Calgary for just a few days, but this is a strange time.

Myrtle has been ensconced in the hospital for several weeks, all rehydrated and partly rehabilitated and waiting for a room in an “assisted living facility”. I keep hearing a voice say “nursing home” in my head. My oldest daughter Shelly has done a wonderful job of stepping up to the plate, choosing the best of the facilities of this kind so that Granny can be on a waiting list. Then, this afternoon (actually, now YESTERDAY) Shelly got a phonecall and then let the rest of us know: Myrtle has her space available and will be transferred there tomorrow.

It has finally come to this. This chapter in a long life, mostly well lived, hardly fits the dynamic, successful and intelligent person that it’s written for. I am hoping that in a more “social” setting that is a “care home”, Myrtle may feel happier, though she has shown amazing acceptance of the decree that she can’t care for herself anymore. I will help with the “move” later today (this being Friday, though wee hours) and show some courage in order to help this transition go smoothly, and will be as cheerful and matter-of-fact as I can. Not phony though… will just do what I’m able, in order to show my love and support.

I feel frustrated and troubled though. None of us know what lies ahead, certainly, but my stepmother seemed to sabotage the efforts of others in their attempts to keep her comfortable and safe in her own home. My youngest daughter Kim moved in with Granny and did a marvelous job of watching over her. Myrtle, however, would often refuse food or water (or other healthful drinks) and then smoke too much and wash prescribed meds down with sherry. This state of decline and jeopardy continued, with other family and friends trying to support Myrtle’s “independant living” until she was too ill (again) to stay out of hospital. We all worried constantly, while visiting and helping all we could.

I just want to run and run until I wink out… live, love, enjoy whatever intellect and passion I have. I’m sure that most of the elderly or brain-injured who we see in “nursing homes” once wanted the same for themselves.

On a profoundly lighter note… all three of my beloved daughters and Shelly’s fiance, Merv, were with me at Myrtle’s house for Indian food tonight. I have managed to see a fair bit of my family while in Calgary, which is amazing considering their work, school, and study schedules. It is hard to describe the feeling in my heart as I visit with the girls; they get along so well and have such lively discussions around me. They are all so accomplished in their own ways; I feel that they are intellectually superiour to me but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying our times together. I was lying awake for hours this night, just reviewing our lives, examining the things I should have done better, wish I hadn’t done or said, and what I might do differently in years to come. A lifetime seems to pass in the blink of an eye.

Anyway, I’ve exhausted myself counting thoughts instead of sheep and wishing for sleep… so I guess I’ll go back to try again. Thanks for reading my blog. I’ll soon be back in the Robson Valley, missing my daughters terribly but feeling “in my element” again and preparing for winter.

Last night, as I sat watching TV, I heard an odd sound indeed; it seemed like a human infant was crying by our back door. Instead, it turned out to be the “caterwauling” of two of my beloved cats. Who knows why they despise each other:

They barely moved as I opened the door and watched them. I didn’t want to do anything to shift the balance of power which seems quite equitable; Gilbert and Kelly do this “standoff” quite regularly, and both eventually sidle away from the situation, with no bloodshed. My other cats are a tortoiseshell named Fiona who lives in the hay barn, and Skitty, who is now 22 years old and lives in my grooming shop. All four are spayed females.

Here is a picture of the Virginia Creeper planted along the dog runs, and we also have it climbing the house and porch (where we have to control it).

And this is a picture I took yesterday while it was snowing… though you can’t see ANY snow in the air or on the ground. The flakes were so sodden that they disappeared as they hit the ground, in most places. The photo was taken from our front door, as I had JUST got warm in the house and didn’t care to step out.

I have jam cooking on the stove, so I’m running away again. Bless everyone this Thanksgiving weekend. ~ Ann

As an update and a tie-in to my last blog post, I can report that the two thin cats that I “rescued” are now with the loving owner who first looked at them.

I guess this blog application is going to work with Firefox, yay.

I don’t know how to start, it has been so long. Sorry to all who have checked while I wasn’t keeping up. And thanks, also.

Since I last posted, I had a few busy weeks, and now business has slowed. The garden centre is closed for the winter, although I still have a lot of planting to do, in order to save nursery stock for the spring. I do not have as much “left over” this autumn, and the digging in the vegetable garden is relatively easy digging.

For Canadian Thanksgiving, we have a wonderful cross-section of doggy society as guests. We have Smudge, Winston, Axle, Marley and Sheila, Missy, Beowulf and Chester, Cinder and Mouse. I have had a couple of weeks in which I didn’t have too many dogs or cats to groom, but I feel I need that rest.

For many months I had been trying to save money in order to replace my truck, which still has a lot of life left in it. There is a local business which finds and restores recent model trucks with body damage, and I put my name in last year for them to look for a truck for me. We don’t really get a colour choice… just to take a truck when it’s ready or keep waiting. The result was this, my “new” truck which actually has 10,000 miles on it:

When Gary took me to the dealer to get my truck, we saw that our friends had a used tractor for sale, so I bought that for Gary, too:

Here is our dog Lady, resting in the usual way, in her chair:

… and that’s all the blogging I have time for at the moment. I’m trying to get ready to go to Calgary to see Myrtle, my stepmother, and my darling daughters; a quick trip for which I’m wildly excited.

Love ~ Ann