I gathered up all the additional info that the accountant needed in order to finish up our year end and had a meeting with her so that big chore is nearly over with. I'm using that as an excuse for getting behind in my regular work. It is so HOT today that I was glad to have an excuse to stay in the air conditioning. I also needed to do laundry and that's even better because the basement is extra cool. I had coffee with my best friend and her daughter who is visiting from Portland. Now I need to scrounge up something for supper... something easy and cool preferably. Oooh, problem solved... Cass just came from Grandma's garden so we're having fresh corn and cucumbers and tomatoes with our chicken breasts. And yah, ice cream sounds good, thanks, Curtis.

I'm back from another weekend at the cabin and I should be doing my bookwork but I thought I'd do a quick post first. We had a pretty quiet weekend so I finished my Agatha Christie book and started "Uncle Tom's Cabin", a classic which I hadn't ever read. This morning my best friend came over for coffee and we caught up on the last few days. Kristy has gone to work at a band camp this week so it's kind of quiet here so I better go and try to get caught up with work things.

First thing this morning I did payroll and it took me (Curtis take note) an hour and a half! Then I had to drive out to get my Mom and bring her into town for a doctor's appointment. She has a cracked rib and so was advised to take calcium and will be scheduled for a bone density test. We went out for lunch and we both had liver and onions,haha. She's the only person I can go out with and not hear comments about how gross liver is. Not only do I like it, I need the iron. We also both had milk with that for the calcium (and also because I love milk.) She then wanted to buy groceries and pay a bill so after errands done I drove her back home. I made a banana split dessert and cooked some pasta for a salad, packed up some food, watered my flowers, and now I'm off to the cabin for the weekend.

Yesterday was my work day at the paint store so I put in a couple of hours there. I did some of my work here today (bookwork) but I am getting behind just like every summer. This afternoon I spent quite a while out on the deck with my book. I told Cass that when they declare suntanning and reading as olympic events I will go for the gold!! We may go to the cabin for the weekend but not till I do payroll and get my Mom to her Dr. appt. She somehow cracked a rib last week and is on painkillers that prohibit her from driving.

Today marks 33 years of wedded... ummm... bliss? 33 years of marriage anyway - mostly good. We went out for supper last night for Cassidy's birthday and called that our anniversary celebration too. Besides, tonight is men's night so Garth is golfing. I had coffee this morning with my best friend so again, not much got done til after lunch. Since then I've done laundry, some banking, bought groceries and made pastry to use in a couple of chicken pies that I will freeze. Kristy made a yummy shreddies cereal bar with dried fruit and peanut butter and syrup. Yah, I guess it's still all about food here.

A busy day yesterday cooking for more people than I am used to! I made blueberry french toast for all my kids and some of their friends for brunch then made a roast chicken supper for Cass's birthday supper one day early since her brother and boyfriend were both here. I finished reading The Poisonwood Bible this morning, I thought it was really good and educational to boot. I had coffee with my best friend this morning too and one of her cinnamon buns fresh from the oven, yummy. I'm going for a haircut (and a little chemical alteration of the color) this afternoon so I will likely come home with nicely straightened hair which may not last long in the humidity we're having right now! Well, I better get some work done now as the morning has been enjoyable but not all that productive.

We got home last night from our cross border shopping trip with lots of loot, Cass & I maxed out our exemption,lol. Kristy had to claim one of my purchases. We all got some new clothes and the girls didn't get me out of the bookstore til we had racked up $100 worth of books! (most were bargains). So guess what I'll be doing for the rest of the summer... ok, you knew that already. Besides the shopping, we enjoyed eating out. We went to Applebees for supper the first night which was really good, I don't think we have any of those here. When we'd had enough shopping on Thursday we went to see Mamma Mia which I loved! Pierce Brosnan isn't the best singer I've ever heard but he's still Pierce Brosnan,lol. That night we went to a Mexican Restaurant close to the mall called Paradisios. It was really good too. We went swimming in the hotel pool which wasn't busy at all, just us and two little kids. Spent a little time in the hot tub with the jets going to massage our tired shoppers bodies. Yesterday morning I woke up with a bit of a headache which wasn't too bad til we started driving home. As soon as we unloaded the vehicle I went straight to bed and when I decided the tylenol I took just wasn't working, I took one of my "magic" pills and zonked out. Feeling much better this morning and anxious to finish the book I'm currently reading so I can start a new one,lol.

The girls and I are packing a bag and going to head down to Minot for a couple days of shopping and just doing something different. We used to do this once a year when Kristy lived in Estevan which is only 9 miles from the US border. We always had fun and so are going to do it again. At least now our dollar is stronger so if we get bargains they really will be bargains even with the exchange. So be back later.

I'm back in "town" from the cabin. We had a quiet weekend out there, the highlight was Kristy's birthday supper on Sunday. Same menu every year, spaghetti with meat sauce, caesar salad, garlic bread and angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream. I did quite a bit of reading as usual, fiinished one book and started "The Poisonwood Bible". I like the way it's written, the mother and four daughters are all narrating their story. I was a bit bored yesterday, so much so that I almost considered going golfing. Instead, we packed up and came home and I watched a movie, Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Anniston, which was pretty good.

I slept in this morning and now feel kind of groggy, I think a big pot of coffee is in order strictly as a remedy!  

Yesterday was catch up day for me at the store. I also had to pay the last of the bills before the end of the month which just sneaks up on me so doggone fast! The thunderstorms just keep rolling in day after day. We had a terrific storm around 5:30 PM (yesterday) with one lightning strike awfully close... so close our house shook. It cleared off after that but another one was brewing and hit at 1AM... woke me up from my beauty sleep! This one had hail with it and it did some damage to some of my flowers. It looks like we may have a few days now without storms, I hope so. This morning I baked a big batch of cupcakes - chocolate with cream cheese and chocolate chip filling... yummy. Most of them are going over to a friends house as many of her family will be arriving because sadly one of her brothers died suddenly. Two other friends and I are planning on making a meal for them tomorrow night. Now I must go shopping for ingredients for a large potato salad that I will also contribute. Be back later to visit hopefully.

I'm back from the cabin again. The weekend (which I made into a long one just because I can) started out really well. We stopped at my Mom's on our way out to the cabin and had supper there with her and my nephew who had come to visit her (he's 17 and still wants to come and visit his Grandma.. I think that's so cute.)and my niece who was just passing thru. When we got to the cabin and I was putting away groceries, I kept smelling an awful smell, like something rotting and sure enough I eventually found the culprit... a dead mouse caught in the trap we had under the sink!!! I averted my eyes until Garth removed the offending object and then I held my breath while I cleaned the cupboard with javex cleanser. Yuck!! On Friday I read most of the day (my favorite thing to do) and then Mom and my nephew came out and we made a fire and roasted hot dogs (Harvest brand of course)for supper. I had made potato salad and opened up a can of beans and my mom had brought along - what else - rice krispie squares,lol. Perfect cabin meal. Saturday morning we had to get up bright and early (and you know how difficult that is for me) in order to drive my nephew into the big city in order to catch his plane back home. We made a stop at Costco and Michaels then went to East Side Marios for lunch. Since we hadn't eaten THAT much we stopped at the Dairy Queen at Fort Qu'appelle for a Pecan Mudslide.... mmmm, so good. That night Garth barbequed stuffed salmon and baked potatoes for supper. A friend came over to eat with us and stayed til 1AM! We just sat outside around the fire visiting. The next morning I woke up with an awful headache so I went back to sleep hoping it would go away. When I woke up next, it was worse and tylenol just wasn't working. It was so bad that  Kristy drove back to the city to get my migraine medication. I told her she saved my life. After I took it I fell asleep for another 3 hours and woke up feeling better. I will not go anywhere again without that medication. That night we had another severe thunderstorm and tornadoes touched down in some areas of the province. Yesterday was quite a nice day so I made up my crappy Sunday by again reading in my lounger on the deck. On Saturday when Kristy and I were in Regina Garth went our picking saskatoons and got two gallon pails full so I've made 3 big pies with some of them. I'll freeze the rest because that is such a treat for us in the middle of winter. Ok, I just looked over this post and realized I am OBSESSED with food,lol!!

After coffee with my best friend this morning (first things first!) I paid some bills and cleaned up around here. Now I'm finishing laundry and will pack up and head to the cabin for a few days. Anyone who know my friend Faye (or even if you don't) should wish her a Happy Birthday on Saturday... that's when she catches up to me in age,lol!

I guess it was wasted time watering my flowers yesterday because we had a terrific thunderstorm last evening that went on forever and it POURED!! It kept raining off and on today and the humidity is unbelievably high for this area. On the plus side, my hair is about as curly as it can get,lol. Today I had coffee with a friend in the morning and then did laundry, cleaned, went for groceries and made a yummy supper. My mother in law gave me a bag of frozen beet rolls. If you're not familiar with these, they are little rolls of bread dough wrapped in a beet leaf and baked. To serve them, I fry some onion in butter, thicken with a bit of flour then add whipping cream and cook a bit. Pour that over the rolls in a pan and heat up. Oooohhh, I love them! I'm sure the cholesterol level spikes right after eating but so worth it!

The first order of business today after I got up nice and late was to go for coffee with my best friend. I had to cut it short because my Mom called and said my older brother, who is a truck driver, would be passing by her house and would stop for lunch. Kristy, Cass, and I headed out there and had a yummy lunch and a fun but short visit. When I got back home, I tackled the garden again and it's starting to look pretty good now, so many flowers blooming.

We got two new leather reclining loveseats for our family room on Saturday and I would love to have the time to recline and watch a movie but there just seems to always be something going on.

I didn't get to sleep in today as planned because Garth's niece and her boyfriend were staying here overnight and their friends were calling them early to get on the road. I went into the paint store this morning for birthday cake for one of the staff. They were busy with customers so I did my work for the week while I was waiting. Then (and this is for Cindy) I had coffee with my best friend. She just got home yesterday from a cruise to Alaska. She enjoyed it although they had pretty cool, rainy weather. I went out in the garden as wet as it is and started weeding it because I just couldn't stand it anymore. I still have a lot more to do but it looks better already. My girls and I are going out for supper... not like we haven't eaten enough in the last 3 days but I don't feel like cooking today after feeding 24 people last night. Besides, I have a couple of gift certificates to use before they expire. Maybe we'll find a good movie to watch after that and then bed and I WILL sleep in tomorrow.

I'm so tired I should go to bed but I just thought I'd get you all caught up on my exciting life,haha. Friday I went to my great aunt's funeral. She was my last living great aunt but she was 99 and in a nursing home so it wasn't really a sad funeral. It was so good to see cousins and other relatives there although it seems that those are the only times we see each other any more. Friday night we went for a barbeque at Garth's sisters with all his family and some racing friends of theirs. Saturday they were all over here and then went to the car show and then to the mother in laws for supper. Tonight was our turn to host everyone after the races. Kristy went to Regina with my mom to pick up my nephew from the airport as he wanted to come visit his Grandma for a week. Oh, and we celebrated Garth's birthday as well!

Will someone please tell me where I live? I thought it was the prairies but it seems more like Ireland or something.... it's been pouring rain ever since I got up! Nothing like the brief thunderstorms we are used to or the teaser showers we get when it's really dry and we are praying for rain. My garden in saturated and growing like a tropical jungle and by the time it dries enough for me to get out there I may need to use the machete Garth brought home once as a souvenir! I'll be back later after I see what the day brings me and I have something to report.

I worked ALL day... first at the paint store and then as if my brain wasn't already frazzled I tackled the books at home. It's 8 PM now and I'm quitting even though I'm not finished... hey, maybe I'll get fired!!! I wanted to be at the cabin this week but it just didn't work out for me. I want to weed my garden but it keeps raining and it's just too wet out there.

I had a nice relaxing couple of days at the cabin. Then yesterday I took my Mom to see my Aunt who is still in the hospital recovering from a stroke. It's about an hour and a half drive, but we were really pleased at how much better she seemed. We visited with her for quite a while then headed home. On the way home we pass a small town where my Mom's Aunt is in a nursing home so we decided to just drop in and see her for a minute. When we got to her room a nurse was with her because she had tried to feed her some supper but she was having to struggle to breathe. The nurse tried the mask thing with the medication and the steam but that didn't seem to help so she stopped that. I thought at first she was choking but then it was just a fight to draw every breath. After a while we decided to leave and let Mom's cousin know that she was really bad. The nurse told us that she didn't think she would make it through the night... by the way, she is 99 years old. So we drove to the daughter's house and let them know and apparently one of the grandaughter's went and stayed with her until she died at 11PM. So now I guess I'll be going to a funeral the end of the week.

Today... listen up people... I got up at 6AM!! Yes, believe it! I came into town with Garth when he came in for work and at 10 we headed into Regina for an appointment Garth had with his surgeon to get on the list for another hip replacement. There is a nearly 2 year waiting list for that surgery but hopefully he can get in on a cancellation like last time. We of course went to Costco and so now I can hardly decide what to eat first. We were both starving as we shopped so we were even worse than usual,haha.

Wednesday was another little birthday celebration when I went to the paint store to work, the girls had cake, candles and a card along with a gift certificate that I think I'll use for a facial. That evening I started on a chore that I had been putting off for a whole year,lol. I had to enter a years worth of payroll into my computer program. I worked on it all yesterday morning too til my brain needed a break so I went out and cut the grass. Garth cooked up some halibut for supper that the girls brought from the West Coast and surprisingly I really liked it! Then we had a wild storm, pouring rain, hail, and super strong winds. A lot of trees on our street broke off and the street was actually blocked for a while. Our power was out the whole evening so I read until it got too dark and then went to bed. It's really weird not to have the tv or computer. We ate some ice cream treats for fear that they would melt if the power was out TOO long,lol. The top of one of our Colorado blue spruce broke off and was laying in the garden. I measured it and it was 12feet. We dragged it to the curb and the city workers took it away. I finished up my bookwork today so it is all ready to go to the accountant for our year end. We hope to go out to the cabin tomorrow for a few days so hopefully the weather will improve.