egg sad

Henretta was eaten by some horrid animal last night.

down sizing

I think in the past I've referred to it as the bat cave... or as my secret hideout... some call it the front door. In the summer I like to spend alot of time out here.... (I know, this is a repeat picture... I'll get my own digital camera someday... get over it!)


Anyway, back to the day of hedge trimming::
I got to the house where we were to attack the brush.. and attack we did! Lam Chun Yee (aka T.Lam:: Bush man) and I tore the place apart. It was like we were born to do it. I'd have to say, I make a pretty excellent logger, and if I wasn't near morally opposed to the idea, I might take it up as a profession. I chopped down two trees. now, by "chopped" I really mean I used the hack saw, but that's as near to chopping a tree down as I've come... and the one was 15-20 feet tall, so I got to yell "timber"... but I don't think I can quite cross off "chop down a tree" from my life list just yet... somebody hand me an axe.

Now, there really is a connection between the bat cave and the logging. hang in there.

the other night I came home and looked at my house. I like looking at it, it's beautiful. I noticed something was amiss... but couldn't figure it out. The sun was shining on my bike on the porch and I was briefly distracted by it gleaming off the streamers. I went indoors. The next morning, greeted by sunlight yet again, it's warm rays woke me as I stumbled to the bike to ride to work. "Strange", thought I, "it's so sunny here". It wasn't until I returned home and I sat on my bike staring at the house that it hit me. I was sitting looking at the porch wondering why I'd never noticed the fact that we had our street number written in TWO places, in plain view. "Plain View?!? Plain View?!? Why can I see the front of my house?!? someone cut down the trees!"

sucker for punishment

it's true. I'm going to attack the hedge at work again this morning... Having learned my lesson, I'm going to use the smaller and MUCH lighter hedge trimmers. My hope is to have full use of my arms by the end of the day ;) we'll see how it goes.

Have you ever noticed (if you are a blogger or even just a lurker) how the people you read in blogs become a community? Even though you've never really met in some instances? I've had this conversation with my Roomie quite a bit in the past.. and it's hit home alot this past week as a number of people I "know" have lost family members and pets they've loved... I hurt along with them...

I fell asleep in the sun poarch again last night. ug. I love summer.

See it with your own eyes.

I know there's been some doubt out there... but he is real.
Last night we were invited to Tim and Kellie's for supper and a camp fire, and someone snapped our pic. About time. Now you overseas folks can give up the ribbing, and you relatives and what not can have a glimpse... no fears, you'll get your turn in person...

Camp fire was lovely, I smoked both the fire AND part of D's cigar... why the special cigar occasion? In celebration of T & K's new baby girl Grace Emily... she's a cutie, make sure to stop over and give her a squish!
Kellie's turned out to be one of those moms I hope to be... really laid back about whatever... it was neat to see her interacting with everyone and the baby, but allowing everyone their turn-without the hover. Pretty cool.

of hedges and trimmers

not that I like to dwell on things... but.. ok, I'm a little OCD sometimes.
My attack on the neighbour's hedge is going well... a little at a time, we'll claim back the remaining third of the sidewalk. (By we... I mean... uh... all pedestrians.. yeah.. that's it) Sunday night I was walking home from my guy's apartment (he's got cable!!!!) and decided to make use of the dusk as a light cover on my rampage. I was clearing a large chunk when I realized there was a vehicle at the set of lights behind me... and saw they were watching me.... I pretended not to notice... and tried to blend in with the giant bush. It didn't work so well.
This is a small town.
PaSheff rolls down his window as he passes and calls "Lesley's in the amazon".....

flashback to Friday... a BUSY day at work, much driving to support people at their jobs much trying to be everywhere at once.
I arrived at one of the CH homes, and as I drove in the long driveway I watched and heard the branches as they dragged across the van. Thankfully, I had the heavy duty hedge trimmers that belong to work in the back, so I set to work on the offending plants.
Key word in that last sentence would be "heavy"... gas powered... heavy..... not made of plastic.... heavy.... two handles.... heavy.... industrial type...

I got maybe a fifth of the drive done, hacking in about 3 feet of brush, and well above my head... wow, the driveway is really wide now, and discovered I could no longer lift my arms above my shoulders... no problem, I'd clear the brush to the compost pile, then start again.... I dragged the branches to the back, and stopped inside to sign something... only to discover I had NO fine motor skills- only shaking. I went back outside to start the trimmers back up... nope, couldn't pull the rope to start it. *sigh* the hedge had beaten me.

The next morning (Saturday) I had gimpy arms. It was sad. I was useless.

I'm thinking of doing a drive by of the neighbour's offensive hedge with the work van and trimmers ;)

cars

... I saw the movie last night. It made me laugh... ok, it may have made me cry too, but that was expected right?

Anyway, what this is really about is the cars that are in town right now. It's nearing to summer and the tourist season is just about to hit high gear... (eek, I'm guessing stay away from the beach tomorrow!)and with the heat of the summer beginning to warm the sands... the number of cars and the number of pedestrians has started to increase.
Not so cool since there's huge amounts of construction going on.

Today I saw something that takes the cake... mmm.. cake, I could go for some cake.
I was stuck in traffic on Division St, right where the construction is (thankfully) winding up, for the ninth or tenth time today, when I saw this lady venture out to cross the street. she saw an opening and she was going to take it... regardless of the traffic lights a mere 50 feet away... she starts across, and it QUICKLY become apparent to all observing, there's no frigin way she's going to make it before the Mac truck that's come over the crest of the hill.... she shuffles her walker... yes, that's right... HER WALKER.. along a little faster... then takes note of the truck... and then... it happened.
this lady who moments ago was shuffling... PICKS UP HER WALKER AND RUNS GRACEFULLY across the street... once on the curb she continues to carry her walker, walking strong... Until she sees the large number of people staring slack-jawed at her.. she places the walker on the ground and begins to shuffle once more.

I'm not trusting granny.

count down

in as much as I'm dreading the end of summer.
in as much as I don't want the end of summer heat, or the return of the school year, or the leaving of students... ok, one student....

the countdown is on::

10 weeks till Shelter Valley.

*sigh*

return

you know when you go on vacation... and you really just don't want to go back to normal life?
That's how this weekend was.

I survived. I met MANY people. Many family members and many friends. And it was good, and I had fun, and it was so great to get away and do something a little different. And I REALLY liked the people I met, and I made some neat new friends.... But getting into my own car last night and driving home I was sad. I didn't want that time to end, I didn't want to go back to my life just yet.

now... back to work.

to the legions...

now I know you're going to hate me for it, but I'm going away again for the weekend, and you're all just going to have to sit tight till the next installment of my ninja diary can be written.
I'm sure you'll get over it.

I'm going for a lovely weekend in Ottawa with my guy. (read:: AHHHHH! I'm meeting family and friends, people I don't know... will they like me? AHHHHH!)
it'll be fine.
*gulp*

Shady corner of the street

I live on a beautiful street. With some of the nicest houses in the 'Burg situated on it, people will make it their destination on their strolls.
That said, there are also a few very sketchy buildings that bask in the shade of the decrepit tannery. One of these such buildings, the sketchiest of all sketch, is just two doors down and across a laneway. It's a big old house that if restored (and a porch added and landscaped) would be one of the most lovely places to see... but right now, it's been retrofitted to house seven tiny apartments, most of the tenants are really nice... (have you ever met friendly downtown mike? He lives there) But then there's that guy.
You know the one? With the sunken cheekbones, the long stringy hair? The windbreaker jacket and the baseball cap? Speedwalking to the beer store with some young (too young) girl in tow- in leggings and a tube top? You know the one?
He lives there... Now, I HATE stereotypes... But this guy IS the stereotype. I get nervous walking past him at night. I'm sure he's a decent person... But I am still nervous.
The cops visit his place often. They drive past daily. They question him whenever he's outside. Apparently this has my nextdoor neighbour in tears. She has two small children, and the combination of the noise from his place and the cops stopping by is too much.... Or so says my landlord. I believe it.
So last night I'm out on the step talking to my landlord, she's QUITE upset about a variety of things that are happening in her life, and she's not one to keep those sort of things inside.. It effects how she approaches everything and everyone. As we're talking, skinny sketchy begins to walk past our house, young tube top in tow, my landlord spots them and announces, "I need to have a word with this young man, I told nextdoor woman I would!" I get up to go inside, wanting NOTHING to do with what she has planned. She shouts at me as she marches up to him "Don't you go anywhere, I need you there!" reluctantly I sit back down, hopfully in a place that he won't notice me...
Landlord marches up to sketchy, gets in his face, and in his way and announces loudly "I need to speak to you sir" (not said with any respect) he says "no I'm on my way somewhere" she says "NO I need to speak with you, it needs to happen now!" he replies, "leave me alone lady" (and he's very careful with walking around her).
She then GRABS HIS ARM in attempt to have him face her to talk... Now, this wasn't something that was done as a restraint, this is just the way she talks to people when she's serious, and on more than one occasion I've been tempted to ask her to let go of me!
Sketchy screams at her "LET go of me lady, you can't touch me, you've got nothing on me, you can't touch me, leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you!!!!" LL yells back (as he walks away from her) "You better not cause any more trouble around here! Do you hear me? You leave people alone!!! There won't be anymore of what happened last summer!!!" (which left me wondering.. What did I miss last summer?) Sketchy yells back, a little further down the street by now, "Lady, things have been delt with, don't touch my arm, don't touch me, stay away from me (oh, right, she's now walking after him, but only to the edge of our property) Things have been cleared up with the police, I'm clean" LL (overtop of him) "You're a drug dealer!!!!" Sketchy "NO I"M NOT get away lady", "I'll call the cops!" "I'm clear, they have nothing" "get back here!" "you touch me again lady! Don't touch my arm, don't touch me!" "I'll touch you again... I'll grab your arm if I have to!".... "Don't threaten me lady"....He's now far enough away that they both finally feel stupid for screaming down the street and they stop... LL marches back up to me quite heated and upset....
she says loudly enough for him to hear "THAT man is dealing CRYSTAL METH to TEENAGERS out of that house"
"you really can't touch him. Or threaten to touch him... Not even on the arm"
"I can't?"
"no... You can't"
"oh".