Yesterday Dan & were standing on our back deck admiring Dan's handy work. He had raked the entire backyard for me & picked up all kinds of crap that had accumulated over winter. We noticed our 84 year old neighbour Cranky Franky with a green bottle in his hand. I whispered to Dan, "can you see what that bottle says on it?" Dan confirmed my suspicions - it was Kill Ex. We have a pesticide ban in Halifax - have had for about 8 years. You cannot use pesticides. Just then Cranky Franky looked up at us, then sprayed some Kill Ex on -gasp- a weed.
About 5 years ago I had seen him do a similar thing - also with Kill Ex. I assumed the best & asked him if he had some soapy water in the spray bottle. No, he assured me, it was Kill Ex. I reminded him that it was banned. He claimed it wasn't. So I narked on him & enquired about how strong the Kill Ex was. The region said it was one of the worse ones - agent orange used during the Viet Nam war.
So I narked on him again today & asked for the by-law officer to call me. He was very pleasant & understanding. I explained that I have environmental sensitivities & I get very bad eczema on my hands when people use the stuff. Five years ago it was so bad I got a major infection - pus & open blisters on my hands that spread to my lymph nodes in my arm pits. My little Czech doctor was furious, "who cares about dis grass. Ve make people sick to have de nice grass?" But I digress. I just love quoting my little Czech doctor - can't resist.
The by-law officer explained that they don't test to see if people are using pesticides. So they would encourage me to gather evidence - but not to trespass on his property. Then, with evidence and a statement from me & Dan, they could take him to court. I asked how these things usually get resolved. He said, "people usually don't realize you aren't allowed to use pesticides. But one case I was involved in where people took a neighbour to court, the pesticide user claimed it was soapy water in the bottle. So the judge threw it out." Meanwhile, he had left a pamphlet, explaining about the pesticide ban & asked him to call the bylaw office.
I am not really sure it is a great idea to ever take your neighbour to court. But I was intrigued about how I could possibly gather evidence. Could we get a telescopic lens on our tiny digital camera & take photos a la a Spy movie? Should I ask him, while Dan films, how he gets his grass so nice. Then when he brings out the Kill Ex, have bylaw officers get out their cuffs? Should I get my neighbours involved? - I suggested it to one of them & they got very sweaty. "Us, undercover?" They didn't want to risk retaliation - after all this same neighbour backed out & caused $5000 to another neighbor's car & tried to drive away, pretending he hadn't noticed. This had us all giggling in horror for months. They suggested going through his garbage. Perhaps I could dust the bottle for fingerprints?
Please, blog readers, send in your suggestions.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Crazy Trip to Harvey's
A friend gave us a gift card to Harvey's. We needed to do some errands in the area so we made an "event" of it - the 4 youngest & me. Sarah, Matt & Sam had never been to a Harvey's. They were mesmerized. I was a little dazed & confused myself. They each got a single hamburg combo - hamburg, fries or onion rings or salad & a drink. I got a small box of fries myself- my dirty little indulgence - 10 fries twice a year - as my bad liver doesn't allow me process fat very well. They thought it was so cool. You get to choose what you want on your burger! You carry a little tray to your laminated table & sit on vinyl seats. The seats swivel!
Matt said, "Harvey's is a really classy restaurant."
Matt said, "Harvey's is a really classy restaurant."
No shoes, No service
I had to quickly drive Katelyn to school. So Sam hopped into the van shoeless. I needed some bread so pulled into the grocery store on the way home. Matt & Sam said in unison, "Sam can't go in- he isn't wearing shoes." I said no one would care. They said, "No, mom. There is a sign that says no bare feet." I said I would keep Sam in the cart & then no one would care. Matt said, "leave us in the van while you go in." I said no. Sam & Matt sat there with their arms crossed & said, "well we aren't going in."
Then, desperate, I did something no parent should do. I said, "I was going to buy you ice cream at Pinky's this afternoon. But if I have to use the money for gas & come home without bread, then I won't have any money left for Pinky's." They crossed their arms again and said, "Fine. Let's go home." So home we went & there was no Pinky's. As we were driving they said, "we can go home & get our sandals on & walk to the store." The idea of carrying 12 loaves of bread home from the store with little boys that don't understand about breads squishability factor was not highly appealing to me.
Then, desperate, I did something no parent should do. I said, "I was going to buy you ice cream at Pinky's this afternoon. But if I have to use the money for gas & come home without bread, then I won't have any money left for Pinky's." They crossed their arms again and said, "Fine. Let's go home." So home we went & there was no Pinky's. As we were driving they said, "we can go home & get our sandals on & walk to the store." The idea of carrying 12 loaves of bread home from the store with little boys that don't understand about breads squishability factor was not highly appealing to me.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
New Coat for Marsha - No New Coat for Sam
So there we were at Value Village on a mission. Sam needed new t-shirts. He has exacting taste. If a t-shirt was 1 cm. too long, he is not interested. I hunted through all the 99cent t-shirts & Sam found 2 of them acceptable.
Then I found a new all-weather type coat for me. It was $15 but still had the tags on & fit me nicely. I bought it & am very happy with it. Dan says the only thing bad about it is that it has a logo on it for a contracting company. Who cares.
I wanted to get Sam a new winter coat for next year. He said, "I know you don't like my coat, but I really like it." The lining of the coat is totally ripped at the collar - so the white stuffing is exposed. There is a big ink stain on one cuff & the seam is ripped along the other arm. There is a gash in the back of the coat.
But Sam says it is a good coat & won't wear a better one if I buy it.
Then I found a new all-weather type coat for me. It was $15 but still had the tags on & fit me nicely. I bought it & am very happy with it. Dan says the only thing bad about it is that it has a logo on it for a contracting company. Who cares.
I wanted to get Sam a new winter coat for next year. He said, "I know you don't like my coat, but I really like it." The lining of the coat is totally ripped at the collar - so the white stuffing is exposed. There is a big ink stain on one cuff & the seam is ripped along the other arm. There is a gash in the back of the coat.
But Sam says it is a good coat & won't wear a better one if I buy it.
The Scale Model House
Dan has been working with some partners on a scale model house in Tech Ed. Just an aside - why? What exact practical application does this have to real life? I don't remember the last time I needed to make a scale model of a house. Oh wait. I don't remember because I've never done it. But I digress. And I like the teacher.
It seems that the group has run out of time. So Dan volunteered to bring it home & finish it. It was just a cardboard shell of a thing. Dan has painted the outside a vibrant blue - since it is an oceanfront house. He made shutters. The inside has wood floors & green walls to reflect nature. He plans to make tiny little curtains, a stove, fridge, cupboards & furniture, etc. Right now he is on a hunt for glue sticks - he has looked at every store in our neighbourhood. Everyone is sold out - even our neighbours.
When I asked Dan why they weren't using bandsaws, etc. to make a bird house or book shelf he said, "because it is called TECH ED., Mom, not shop. We have to learn all kinds of technical knowledge."
Ah. Next week Katelyn is going to a Music retreat for 2 days at a resort - all expenses paid by the school board for everyone in the province taking this pilot course - which is 12 Grade 11 students in Nova Scotia. When I asked what they were going to be doing she said, "mostly partying, but on the last afternoon we are going to have a class." I pointed out that as a taxpayer I was opposed to this. She said, "well the school board is always being criticized for not spending money on Fine Arts." I said, "I am all for spending money on Fine Arts but this is not Fine Arts spending. This is a party- probably because there is money left in a budget."
But as a parent I am cool with it - she'll have a good time I'm sure.
It seems that the group has run out of time. So Dan volunteered to bring it home & finish it. It was just a cardboard shell of a thing. Dan has painted the outside a vibrant blue - since it is an oceanfront house. He made shutters. The inside has wood floors & green walls to reflect nature. He plans to make tiny little curtains, a stove, fridge, cupboards & furniture, etc. Right now he is on a hunt for glue sticks - he has looked at every store in our neighbourhood. Everyone is sold out - even our neighbours.
When I asked Dan why they weren't using bandsaws, etc. to make a bird house or book shelf he said, "because it is called TECH ED., Mom, not shop. We have to learn all kinds of technical knowledge."
Ah. Next week Katelyn is going to a Music retreat for 2 days at a resort - all expenses paid by the school board for everyone in the province taking this pilot course - which is 12 Grade 11 students in Nova Scotia. When I asked what they were going to be doing she said, "mostly partying, but on the last afternoon we are going to have a class." I pointed out that as a taxpayer I was opposed to this. She said, "well the school board is always being criticized for not spending money on Fine Arts." I said, "I am all for spending money on Fine Arts but this is not Fine Arts spending. This is a party- probably because there is money left in a budget."
But as a parent I am cool with it - she'll have a good time I'm sure.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Ogre Mom
Katelyn came in the door & said, "Guess what mom. I was asked to represent our school at a province-wide model legislature. It is Friday, Saturday and Sunday." She had said no. I said,"I guess it is because you have the job interview on Friday night, you don't want to give up your entire weekend & you didn't enjoy doing it last year." Katelyn said, "those are the real reasons but I just told the teacher my Mom would kill me."
Just call me Scapegoat.
Just call me Scapegoat.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Dan's vote of confidence
I was at the grocery store reaching way up high to get all the boxes of Rice Milk that were on sale. A man came up to me & said, "I'll help you with that" & got me down all the rice milk. I said thanks & then he started to talk me up. I smelled lonely flirting man trouble so I made a quick exit stage left.
But this is not the interesting part of the story. I came home & told the kids.
Dan is incredulous. He stops what he is doing & looks perplexed.
"I don't get it, Mom. Why would ANYONE hit on you?"
Hmmm. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
But this is not the interesting part of the story. I came home & told the kids.
Dan is incredulous. He stops what he is doing & looks perplexed.
"I don't get it, Mom. Why would ANYONE hit on you?"
Hmmm. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Visit from Jason
I got a call from the water commission claiming they needed to replace our water meter because the water meter man couldn't read the meter. I paused. "Have you had a change in policy?" I asked pleasantly. No. "Hmm..." says I, "it is just kind of weird because we've lived in this house for 10 years & they have never had trouble reading the water meter before." The clerk didn't know but could they come by tomorrow with the new water meter. Ron asked,"are they going to charge us for this thing we don't need?" I hope not.
So the next day Jason shows up at the door. I again gently inquire why all of a sudden the water commission can't read our water meter. He doesn't tell me at first, but I eventually weasel the truth out of him: the meter readers don't LIKE our old water meter. They want to replace my water meter with a remote-controlled on so that instead of walking into our back yard to read the water meter 4 times a year, they can just drive down the street with a radar-like water gun. Ahh.
So I take him down to the basement & show him the water meter (I had cleverly asked Ron where it was before he left that morning.) Jason starts to hyperventilate a little, "Oh Jeez, oh no." I asked, "Is it a bad water meter?" Jason says, "No but in order to change it I have to be able to access both sides of it & one side is behind dryway. I'll have to come back another day after your husband has cut a hole in the drywall." I had stayed home for this guy - it was a sunny day & I hadn't gone for a walk with my kids. I wasn't staying home again. I said, "couldn't we CUT the drywall ourselves?" He said, "I can't do that ma'am. We have a new policy. Two weeks ago we cut a man's drywall & he called & demanded that we re-drywall & re-paint. I said, "well, how about I cut the drywall then." This was said with a bravado that I really didn't have - since I had never cut drywall before. But I took him over to the tool cupboard & we looked for a drywall knife/saw thingy. I picked something up & said, "is this it?" Then I drew a square on the wall & said, "would this be a good place to cut?" With approval from Jason I started sawing with a "ee-er, ee-er" kind of sound. Jason started hyperventilating again, "Jeez. Be careful. You are going to cut your hand." We-ll I made on teenie mistake. I tried to cut drywall with a stud behind it - which didn't work very well. I didn't tell Jason that I am very well trained with proper knife use - from my many years as a teenager working a butcher shop. I thought that might scare him since he seemed to hyperventilate so easily anyway. Once I started cutting through the drywall that was studless, things went very well.
We are now the owners of a stylin' remote-controlled water meter.
So the next day Jason shows up at the door. I again gently inquire why all of a sudden the water commission can't read our water meter. He doesn't tell me at first, but I eventually weasel the truth out of him: the meter readers don't LIKE our old water meter. They want to replace my water meter with a remote-controlled on so that instead of walking into our back yard to read the water meter 4 times a year, they can just drive down the street with a radar-like water gun. Ahh.
So I take him down to the basement & show him the water meter (I had cleverly asked Ron where it was before he left that morning.) Jason starts to hyperventilate a little, "Oh Jeez, oh no." I asked, "Is it a bad water meter?" Jason says, "No but in order to change it I have to be able to access both sides of it & one side is behind dryway. I'll have to come back another day after your husband has cut a hole in the drywall." I had stayed home for this guy - it was a sunny day & I hadn't gone for a walk with my kids. I wasn't staying home again. I said, "couldn't we CUT the drywall ourselves?" He said, "I can't do that ma'am. We have a new policy. Two weeks ago we cut a man's drywall & he called & demanded that we re-drywall & re-paint. I said, "well, how about I cut the drywall then." This was said with a bravado that I really didn't have - since I had never cut drywall before. But I took him over to the tool cupboard & we looked for a drywall knife/saw thingy. I picked something up & said, "is this it?" Then I drew a square on the wall & said, "would this be a good place to cut?" With approval from Jason I started sawing with a "ee-er, ee-er" kind of sound. Jason started hyperventilating again, "Jeez. Be careful. You are going to cut your hand." We-ll I made on teenie mistake. I tried to cut drywall with a stud behind it - which didn't work very well. I didn't tell Jason that I am very well trained with proper knife use - from my many years as a teenager working a butcher shop. I thought that might scare him since he seemed to hyperventilate so easily anyway. Once I started cutting through the drywall that was studless, things went very well.
We are now the owners of a stylin' remote-controlled water meter.
Dan in Real Life
Why is Dan not posting this? I dunno. But Dan has had lots of excitement lately.
1. He had a root canal. He might not need a crown - to be determined.
2. He had stitches in his thigh. He fell onto a broken lawnchair, cutting his thigh. We regret that the way of getting the cut was not more heroic. Ah ... but the hospital ... that was heroic. The doctor was great - he gave Dan 3 choices: a gel that would freeze the area in 30 minutes, a needle that would freeze the area in 2 minutes, or a bullet to bite on.
Dan chose the gel. Thirty minutes later the doctor comes over with the suturing kit. He starts working & Dan kind of winces in pain. The doctor says, "that doesn't hurt very much, does it?" Dan said it was OK - after all we had already been there 2 hours & really were very anxious to get home & watch the Habs game. So the doctor started suturing. Then Dan said in a dreamy, blurry kind of voice, "tell me something, Dr. John. What does it mean when you feel really really, really cold." The doctor looked up & said, "put down the head of the bed." Dan had had a Vesa Vegal response to the pain.
It turns out that the gel hadn't worked at all. Dan had stitches without any freezing. As Dan rightly points out, "now I can call myself a man".
3. We got a late night call from a guy at our church: Would Ron & Dan be interested in going to see a World Hockey Championship game? Ron & Dan watched the U.S. v. Germany in the quarter finals. They said the Metro Centre was filled with Germans doing German chants.
1. He had a root canal. He might not need a crown - to be determined.
2. He had stitches in his thigh. He fell onto a broken lawnchair, cutting his thigh. We regret that the way of getting the cut was not more heroic. Ah ... but the hospital ... that was heroic. The doctor was great - he gave Dan 3 choices: a gel that would freeze the area in 30 minutes, a needle that would freeze the area in 2 minutes, or a bullet to bite on.
Dan chose the gel. Thirty minutes later the doctor comes over with the suturing kit. He starts working & Dan kind of winces in pain. The doctor says, "that doesn't hurt very much, does it?" Dan said it was OK - after all we had already been there 2 hours & really were very anxious to get home & watch the Habs game. So the doctor started suturing. Then Dan said in a dreamy, blurry kind of voice, "tell me something, Dr. John. What does it mean when you feel really really, really cold." The doctor looked up & said, "put down the head of the bed." Dan had had a Vesa Vegal response to the pain.
It turns out that the gel hadn't worked at all. Dan had stitches without any freezing. As Dan rightly points out, "now I can call myself a man".
3. We got a late night call from a guy at our church: Would Ron & Dan be interested in going to see a World Hockey Championship game? Ron & Dan watched the U.S. v. Germany in the quarter finals. They said the Metro Centre was filled with Germans doing German chants.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
Abarba-bits and bites
At Abarba-house, our life is full and funny because of the serendipitous nature of the everyday. Let me give you some examples:
1. Dan calls Ron, "um, Dad. Is it hard to do drywall work ... do we have any drywall compound around?" Ron asks why. "Well Dad, I just thought I would see what would happen if I punched my hand through the wall in the basement. And I found out. It went through." We didn't even get mad ... though we were thankful he decided to try this experiment in the basement, not the living room. Now, lest you think evil of Dan ... this morning he asked if he could clean up his room (that he shares with his 2 messy brothers) AND the basement in exchange for watching Mission Impossible this afternoon. I said yes. He did a fantastic job ... as good as I could have done it. He even vaccuumed.
2. A while back Katelyn told us a story about a man with purple hair she met in the Public Gardens. He told her a bunch of corny jokes while she was trying to figure out in her head how to get away from him tactfully. Last night Kate & Dan went to Shopper's Drug Mart & who should be in line in front of them but the man with purple hair. This time he had an accomplice - a husky bald man who the kids thought might possibly be purple-haired man's caretaker. Here are a sampling of the jokes:
Q. What do you call a cow who has just given birth to a calf?
A. Decalfinated.
Q. What kind of flowers grow between the nose & the chin?
A. Tulips
Q. What kind of flowers do ladies wear?
A. Lady Slippers.
Of course, the kids knew the answers to all the jokes because Purple-Haired man had told them to them before. But Purple-Haired man was so delighted that they knew the punchlines that he kept punching Dan in the shoulder everytime he got a right answer. Meanwhile the husky bald mute caretaker just laughed silently at each joke.
You might have had to be there.
3. I am looking for some new workout DVD's - I recently developed arthritis in my knee so I have to do really low-impact stuff. This is - er - a pain. I have found someone that I really like - Ellen Barrett. Her stuff is often ballet-dance type moves, combined with weight training. I am very picky about instructers. They can't be too dippy, they can't be fat (what is there to look forward to in this video if the instructor is fat?), they can't require too much co-ordination & they have to explain things well. I have been getting workout videos out of the library - a great way to try them out.
4. I have recently started cooking for a week at a time - it has been quite an inspired decision I think. Today I have cooked:
Chalupas (black & pinto beans, sweet potatoes, garlic, onion, turkey thighs) - served with taco fixings.
Hamburg soup (veggies, split peas, hamburg, brown rice, soy sauce)
Turkey soup (turkey thighs, veggies, red lentils, brown rice, curry seasoning)
Arborio rice pudding
Pumpkin custard (pumpkin pie without the crust)
Turkey curry (turkey thighs, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, raisins, french-cut green beans, carrots)
Rice salad (brown rice, veggies, black beans, soy sauce & rice vinegar)
Sweet n' sour chicken (3 chicken breasts, pineapple, celery, onion, green pepper)
I will also make Walnut-lentil pate & white bean hummous this afternoon. I have two big crockpots & they get used as well as my stovetop. It feels good to get all that food in the fridge & takes away from the craziness of the supper hour during the week.
Now I am very very tired. I guess that is to be expected. I actually seem to have a weak & dizzy, achy virus ... spent two days really down with it, then got better, but seem to lose energy about half way through each day. Weird.
1. Dan calls Ron, "um, Dad. Is it hard to do drywall work ... do we have any drywall compound around?" Ron asks why. "Well Dad, I just thought I would see what would happen if I punched my hand through the wall in the basement. And I found out. It went through." We didn't even get mad ... though we were thankful he decided to try this experiment in the basement, not the living room. Now, lest you think evil of Dan ... this morning he asked if he could clean up his room (that he shares with his 2 messy brothers) AND the basement in exchange for watching Mission Impossible this afternoon. I said yes. He did a fantastic job ... as good as I could have done it. He even vaccuumed.
2. A while back Katelyn told us a story about a man with purple hair she met in the Public Gardens. He told her a bunch of corny jokes while she was trying to figure out in her head how to get away from him tactfully. Last night Kate & Dan went to Shopper's Drug Mart & who should be in line in front of them but the man with purple hair. This time he had an accomplice - a husky bald man who the kids thought might possibly be purple-haired man's caretaker. Here are a sampling of the jokes:
Q. What do you call a cow who has just given birth to a calf?
A. Decalfinated.
Q. What kind of flowers grow between the nose & the chin?
A. Tulips
Q. What kind of flowers do ladies wear?
A. Lady Slippers.
Of course, the kids knew the answers to all the jokes because Purple-Haired man had told them to them before. But Purple-Haired man was so delighted that they knew the punchlines that he kept punching Dan in the shoulder everytime he got a right answer. Meanwhile the husky bald mute caretaker just laughed silently at each joke.
You might have had to be there.
3. I am looking for some new workout DVD's - I recently developed arthritis in my knee so I have to do really low-impact stuff. This is - er - a pain. I have found someone that I really like - Ellen Barrett. Her stuff is often ballet-dance type moves, combined with weight training. I am very picky about instructers. They can't be too dippy, they can't be fat (what is there to look forward to in this video if the instructor is fat?), they can't require too much co-ordination & they have to explain things well. I have been getting workout videos out of the library - a great way to try them out.
4. I have recently started cooking for a week at a time - it has been quite an inspired decision I think. Today I have cooked:
Chalupas (black & pinto beans, sweet potatoes, garlic, onion, turkey thighs) - served with taco fixings.
Hamburg soup (veggies, split peas, hamburg, brown rice, soy sauce)
Turkey soup (turkey thighs, veggies, red lentils, brown rice, curry seasoning)
Arborio rice pudding
Pumpkin custard (pumpkin pie without the crust)
Turkey curry (turkey thighs, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, raisins, french-cut green beans, carrots)
Rice salad (brown rice, veggies, black beans, soy sauce & rice vinegar)
Sweet n' sour chicken (3 chicken breasts, pineapple, celery, onion, green pepper)
I will also make Walnut-lentil pate & white bean hummous this afternoon. I have two big crockpots & they get used as well as my stovetop. It feels good to get all that food in the fridge & takes away from the craziness of the supper hour during the week.
Now I am very very tired. I guess that is to be expected. I actually seem to have a weak & dizzy, achy virus ... spent two days really down with it, then got better, but seem to lose energy about half way through each day. Weird.
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