Stuff Coming In, Stuff Going Out

The medical attention continues. Nat’s been taking care of me quite faithfully and in all honesty, a little too well. I may try and sneak by a dressing change, but dear hubby isn’t letting me get away with it. My arm is almost raw from removing tape and/or bandage strips from the tender underside, an area that really hasn’t seen daylight since I was a young petite business woman in my 30’s. Let’s get realistic, shall we. My tender flabby underarms will never see the light of day from here on in. At least the cyst has been reduced to an ugly little blight and is becoming a former shell of itself. The days of healing are now upon us, thank God!

With a lot of boredom now setting in and with the weather still somewhat balmy but cold, Nat and I decided to take a walk-about in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday the 16th. We assumed the colder weather would keep the tourists at bay, but we were wrong. With the  Canadian Dollar being as low as it is, who can blame the Americans. We managed to bob and weave around everyone else with the same idea as us, and soon came upon a newer store (1 year old) Olde Thyme Candy Shoppe which was a sheer delight. Chock full of sweets, treats, goodies and even (what use to be known as) penny candy. Nat and I headed to the British Import section and picked up a few items for ourselves for consumption later. “Consumption later” denotes that mine were demolished before midnight!!

We continued our day trip by visiting the Scottish Shop, By-The-Lake and Bake Shop, for a few more goodies. I finally found a half decent smaller-sized purse that I could work with – and on sale, too boot!!! Nat picked up some sausage rolls at the Bakery and with some more window shopping we were on our way home. The fresh air was a welcome change from what is becoming a stuffy kind of month.

On Sunday the 17th we attended a surprise 70th birthday luncheon for dear sister, Gail. We arrived early, as usual, at the Dunlop Adult Learning Centre, and were greeted by Thamazine and Liz who were in the throws of still setting up. Finally the guests had all arrived, and once the guest of honour was over her surprise we began our lunch with slices of roast beef, chicken pieces, salads, rolls and fruit. We enjoyed seeing Bonnie and she certainly looked to be in really good spirits. We couldn’t help but admire her new hobby of painted mini-bird houses. They were adorable. If I didn’t grab one to buy before everyone else, I was going to be out of luck. Just my luck everyone was eyeing the same one I was, but Nat tossed $20.00 in Bonnie’s hand and we were off and running. We really had a great time and, naturally, seeing my family and Gail’s friends was great fun. The snow was now beginning to fall again, so Nat and I felt it was time to head home.

Monday soon arrived and I was back to the usual items left over from the weekend – laundry and cleaning. Nat and I also had a good clear-out from the basement sump pump room. This little room had become an “if you can’t see it, it’s not there” kind of room along with some storage items that were put aside “just in case”. A few days earlier I cleared out a bit of formal glassware and other items no longer in use from the dining room Sideboard. It, too, was becoming a bit of a hiding place for bits and bobs from family get-togethers or meals. As those family sit-down meals and BBQs have become almost distant memories, it was time for just keeping the bare necessities. Any formal glassware was no longer going to be used in our family so we became realistic. Nat and I had now created quite a pile of stuff and it soon became apparent that another Garage Sale was at hand this Spring. Not quite enough for a large garage sale on my part alone, so I’m thinking a few invites to participate may be forthcoming to the rest of the family.

The days wore on and not knowing what gets into me now and again, another heated discussion soon reared its’ head about renovating the kitchen. Not truly knowing what Nat was thinking in that noggin’ of his, he soon revealed it was the financial aspect. We both agreed we didn’t want to drain whatever savings we now  have, but he soon came up with another idea, and with that we began to discuss the compromises we could make, the definite wants and to get a professional’s help. So we called our contractor.

Simon came by a few days earlier and he was definitely a great help for what we were envisioning. He also came up with a couple of ideas that we never thought could be done and looked like they would be affordable. With our and his ideas in mind he soon departed to make his calculations and get in touch with us once they were done. Now that we’ve got some plans in hand, Nat and I have a good idea of how we want to proceed. Now, it’s just a matter of how to get Nat to actually take that first step.

With what we thought was a pretty good week, we ended it by going to the Bartletts’ in St. Catharines on Saturday to see how they were doing. As always, we had a great laugh and chit chat. It always feels great to see their smiling faces and warm charm.