Condo repairs - day one

When our condos were built seven years ago, the builder screwed up and didn't make the inside of the exterior walls fire-proofed enough. This is a serious issue and the condo corporation has been fighting them about it since. Last year finally agreed to fix the issue. And this month they finally agreed to get the work started.

I'm the president of our condo board so I begrudgedly volunteered our place as the guinea pig. It had to be done eventually so we may as well get it out of the way. Last weekend we packed up everything to get it away from the outside walls ... shelving units moved, knicknacks packed, computer taken apart, etc. Everything is being stored as far from the outside walls as possible (so there's not much room to move around). We took our dog to Gord's son's place for a couple of weeks. Our kitties are at our neighbours, Monica and Mark, during the day (thanks again, Mon and Mark!!).

We have a small two bedroom unit (744 square feet) that runs north to south (our condos are in townhouses rather than a tall building). What they did today is start putting up two layers of drywall in the living room.

Stuff that was against the outside wall is now jammed against other walls

By the door - light switch and alarm

Up into the air conditioning vents

Our living room (Byron doesn't seem to notice!)

The trim in the back bedroom has been removed. Though they are covering the furniture, etc., there was a bit of dust (nothing too serious).

Tomorrow and/or Friday should be worse as they have to tape, plaster, sand, plaster and sand. They estimate it will take three days to do ... then they'll have to repaint ... and we'll have to clean clean clean!

Apparently the owner of the company (the builder) was by three times to see what was going on. From what I understand, they didn't realize the magnitude of the job. Right now, they maintain that the work will be completed in all 180 units in three to four months (using multiple crews). Very optimistic!

So Gord and I are feeling very displaced. Nothing is in its place. We keep telling ourselves that all will be well again this time next week.

Book ~ "Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition" - Harvey MacKay (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Envelope magnate Mackay exhorts listeners to work harder and smarter, weaving personal anecdotes into a creed of success through persistence, instinct, and planning. Hard-boiled business advice like this benefits managers, salespeople, and entrepreneurs of every stripe. Not without humor, not without a dash of humility, Mackay offers nuggets of advice that may help listeners excel.

Interesting principles told in a quick and snappy style. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading others by him.

Reptilia, Toronto, ON

We attended a Single Horizons' event today at Reptilia. It's a reptile zoo just north of Toronto. My friend, Kelly, and her son, Chris, came as our guests.LeeAnn had arranged for a private viewing for us (there were about 20 of us) to get up close and personal with five reptiles ... a turtle, a lizard, a couple snakes and an alligator. I've never been a big fan of reptiles but I figured this was my chance to hold them since it was a controlled environment. They weren't as bad as I thought. Gord, on the other hand, wouldn't go near them. Afterwards we went through the zoo ~ they have a ton of different reptiles. It was gross watching the snakes eating white rats and seeing the dead rats laying around for the snakes to eat later. But that's life, I guess.

Another cool event, LeeAnn!

 

 
 
 
 
 





















































The group was supposed to go to a sports bar/restaurant afterwards but then LeeAnn found out that kids weren't allowed (we had four kids in our group). Instead, she decided we'd go to another restaurant. We (Gord, Kelly, Chris and I) decided we still wanted games so we headed for Chuckie Cheese's. But it was PACKED! So we went to Montana's instead.

Kelly and Chris at Montana's

Hollywood on the Queensway, Etobicoke, ON

Gord and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day by attending an event at Hollywood with 30 other Single Horizoners. My friend, Yvette, came as my guest.

There was a Celtic band playing called the Cape Breton Newfoundlanders. I don't get a chance very often to hear the tunes I grew up with in Nova Scotia.

We had supper before the band started ~ nachos, Caesar salad and a choice of lamb stew, bangers and mash, corned beef and cabbage (Gord had), or spaghetti and meatballs (I had).

Yvette with her green beer

me and Gord

LeeAnn (owner of Single Horizons and a loyal reader ...

Hi, LeeAnn! Nice haircut!) and I

Harvey and Sylvia with Harvey's birthday beer

Harvey and Sylvia met through Single Horizons about four years ago. The last time we were at a pub event with them, I told the band that it was Harvey's birthday. The band and the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to him and even had him sing a song on the stage with them. But it wasn't his birthday. Ha! So tonight I told the band it was his birthday and they sang "Happy Birthday" to him and the waitress gave him a free beer. His birthday isn't until May!

Thanks, LeeAnn, for coordinating this!

Book ~ "Cue the Easter Bunny" - Liz Evans (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ During a dry job spell, PI Grace Smith dons a bunny costume to promote tourism until she's hired to investigate death threats sent to the depressed, drugged-out husband of sexy soap star Clemency Courtney — who just happens to have a pet bunny. Another sudden job finds her joining her off-and-on PI boyfriend, Dane O'Hara, in a search for long-lost Heidi Walkinshaw, whose suspected abductor, a convicted sexual predator, was killed years earlier by Dane's brother.

I'd never heard of this author when I saw this book at the library. I'm glad I checked it out because I really enjoyed it. It's a murder mystery (which I enjoy) and the writing was funny. She reminds me a lot of one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich, and her Stephanie Plum series. I'm looking forward to reading her other books in this series.

Book ~ "The Friendship Crisis : Finding, Making, and Keeping Friends When You're Not a Kid Anymore" - Marla Paul (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ This much-praised celebration of women's friendships explores the keys to forming emotionally supportive and sustaining connections at every stage in life. Embraced by some of the most popular women's magazines, this book has struck a chord with women everywhere who know that finding close friends as an adult isn't easy. Most women rely heavily on their friendships with other women to share their joy and see them through the rough spots, but common life changes - having a baby, leaving a job, moving to a new town, starting an at-home business, becoming divorced or widowed - not only make it difficult to forge new ties but often fray the ones we already have. Marla Paul brings together the moving personal experiences of many different women with the keen insights of psychologists and other relationship experts in "her wise and helpful book on this much neglected subject."

Nice book about friendships throughout the different times in our lives. I enjoyed reading it and it was appropriate I started it during my weekend away at The Briars with the Girls Night Out Club.

The Briars, Jackson's Point, ON

I spent the weekend at The Briars in Jackson's Point. It was a Girls Night Out Club event. It's the fifth year they have done it ~ it's the third year I've gone. And for the third year, my pal and neighbour, Monica, was my roomie.

The Briars has rooms in the main part of the resort but there are also lodges down the road along the water. Our group of 20+ had the Mayfair Lodge. It was a great size for us ~ ten bedrooms with a common living room/kitchen on the second floor. Our room was on the main floor.

On Friday, there was a champagne welcome and then we headed to the main inn for supper. Then we headed back to our lodge for some drinks, chatting and knitting (I brought my afghan along).

Saturday

I had a massage at 10:15am (it was great! I like a deep massage and the massage therapist combined Swedish with shiatsu) and then a pedicure at 11:30am (my toes are a lovely shade of purple). Then I met everyone for lunch.

Yvette, Monica and I at lunch (look how relaxed I am!)

There are lots of activities at the resort (sleigh rides, snow golf, walks, snowshoeing, a pool, fitness room, etc.) but I felt like chillin' out (life has been way too busy for me lately) so I went to the tower to finish my book. 

The Briars and tower

I headed back to the lodge a couple hours later for more chatting and knitting (and a couple drinks) before we headed back to the main inn for supper. We were early so we went to the Drinkwater Lounge first. 

Chris, Darlene, Yvette and I at the Drinkwater before supper

After supper, Chris, Darlene, Monica and I went back to the Drinkwater for a couple drinks before heading back to the the lodge. When we got there, the PJ party was just getting over.

Sunday

I checked out and then headed to the tower again to read and chill. I went on the 10:30am walk with The Briar's fitness person, Sheila. She took Monica, Arlene and I around the area and we ended up at the lake (Lake Simcoe). The lake is frozen and there were a bunch of people ice fishing. There were lots of trucks and huts on the ice so we figured it was safe enough to hold our weight.

Arlene, Monica, Sheila and I on Lake Simcoe

Monica and I went back to the tower to read for a while and then headed down for lunch.

The Girls Night Out Club - our last lunch before heading home

Book ~ "The Mirror" - Marlys Millhiser (1997)

From AllReaders.com ~ When Shay Garrett looks into the grotesque and evil mirror she receives as a gift on her wedding eve, she is drawn back in time, awakening in the same house, but in another body, that of her grandmother, Brandy. The independent and headstrong Brandy is transported as well - from 75 years in the past into her granddaughter, Shay's deserted body. Shay is forced to live the life of her grandmother, being called crazy by all of society and is tortured by knowing the future and being forced to endure it.

I enjoy time travel books so this one interested me. I really enjoyed it. All the sites that I read about it gave it rave reviews. The writing is well-done and moves fairly quickly. It was interesting reading how Shay reacts in Brandy's world and vice versa.

Happy birthday, Sister Sarah!

Today is my favorite sister's birthday

(actually she is my ONLY sister!) .

Sarah is now 38

and lives in Halifax, NS.

See ya soon, Sis!

Book ~ "Positive personality profiles: "d-i-s-c-over" personality insights to understand yourself - and others!" - Robert Rohm (1997)

From Amazon.com ~ Using the easily learned "D-I-S-C" system, Dr. Rohm’s Positive Personality Profiles helps readers understand themselves and others. This book will clearly describe key differences in basic personality types, give practical insights into how people respond, provide keys for understanding your children, and explain methods for working with others.

My Marketing Management instructor introduced us to this in Tuesday night's class. Gord and I are both ISDCs:

I ~ People/outgoing
S ~ People/reserved
D ~ Task/outgoing
C ~ Task/reserved

I strengths ~ friendly, compassionate, carefee, talkative, outgoing, enthusiastic, warm, personable, fun

I weaknesses ~ weak-willed, unstable, undisciplined, resltess, loud, undependable, egocentric, exaggerative, frivolous

I under control ~ optimistic, persuasive, excited, communicative, spontaneous, outgoing, expressive, involved, imaginative, warm/friendly

I out of control ~ unrealistic, manipulative, emotional, gossip, impulsive, unfocused, excitable, directionless, daydreaming, purposeless

I Types like ... exposure to people, lots of activity, making people happy, making people laugh, short-term projects, to be on the go, prestige, selling while they play

I Types ... can be "higher than a kite" or "lower than a skunk", have lots of friends, wrongly believe that talking and doing are synonymous, need self-discipline

I Types are ... fun to watch, great starters, poor finishers, likeable, prone to exaggerate, easily excitable

I Types don't like ... being ignored, being ridiculed, being isolated, doing repetitive tasks

I Types want you to be ... fun, responsive, stimulating, postive, upbeat, enthusiastic

CPR Certification

I got my CPR certification (level C) this afternoon. It was a Girls Night Out Club event in conjunction with Single Horizons (I'm a member of both clubs).

LeeAnn, the owner of Single Horizons, was there and it was great to catch up with her as I haven't seen her in a while. I discovered that she is a loyal reader of this blog (hi, LeeAnn!!).

Learning CPR was as easy as ...

A ~ airway
B ~ breathing
C ~ circulation

We learned what to do if someone isn't breathing or has no pulse (or both).

We also learned what to do if someone is choking. That's Gil, the instructor, showing us what to do on LeeAnn (she was soooo pleased ... NOT!). And here's LeeAnn and I with our new pals for the afternoon.

Book ~ "Replay" - Ken Grimwood (1988)

From Goodreads ~ Jeff Winston was 43 and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died. 

And when he woke and he was 18 again, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness. 

Until he dies at 43 and wakes up back in college again...

Awesome book! This is the second time I've read it in two years.

Book ~ "We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive" - Laurie Notaro (2005)

From Goodreads ~ She thought she’d have more time. Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no - it’s happened. She has officially lost her marbles. From the kid at the pet-food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe “I’m going to kick his hair’s ass!” to the hapless Sears customer-service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, no one is safe from Laurie’s wrath. Her cranky side seems to have eaten the rest of her inner thigh, Chub Rub and all. And the results are breathtaking. 

Her riffs on email spam (“With all of these irresistible offers served up to me on a plate, I WANT A PENIS NOW!!”), eBay (“There should be an eBay wading pool, where you can only bid on Precious Moments figurines and Avon products, that you have to make it through before jumping into the deep end”), and the perils of St. Patrick’s Day (“When I’m driving, the last thing I need is a herd of inebriates darting in and out of traffic like loaded chickens”) are the stuff of legend. And for Laurie, it’s all true.

I really enjoy her books and this one was very funny, as were the other books of hers I've read.

"Léo", Tarragon Theatre, Toronto

Set in Santiago, Chile, three young friends form a bittersweet love triangle during the political upheaval surrounding President Salvador Allende’s assassination. Told through Léo's memories, the play travels through childhood, first friends and first loves. Passion and poetry weave together in this story of innocence disappeared.

This play was at a small theatre at the Tarragon Theatre, which seats about 80 people. We sat in the front row and it felt like I was eavesdropping on a conversation rather than watching the play. The first 10 minutes or so sets up the events to come and it gets rather intense after that. I enjoyed it and would recommend it!

Before the play, we had supper at Mayday Malone's at Bathurst/Dupont, just south of the theatre. Both Gord and I had pizza. Mine was pepperoni with roasted red peppers. Very yummy! Gord had pepperoni, mushrooms and bacon and pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce and said it was good.

Toronto Marlies 2, Syracuse Crunch 3

Gord and I went to a Toronto Marlies game tonight. They are the Maple Leafs' farm team and this is their first year in Toronto (they spend the last 13 years in St. John's, NF).

It was a great game but alas Toronto lost. The score was tied at the end of the third period so there was a five minute sudden death and then a shoot out.

It's good cheap hockey and the arena was about 1/4 full. Our tix were only $10 each and, because there were so many empty seats, we sat in better ones after the first period.

Book ~ "Enchanted, Inc." - Shanna Swendson (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Fish-out-of-water Katie Chandler suffers in her thankless job as assistant to marketing manager "Evil Mimi," worrying that maybe she just can't hack it in New York City. Will her colleagues ever consider her anything but a hick? For a girl from Texas, the Big Apple is stranger than a foreign country, but she discovers that the weird things she notices are signs of real magic afoot. Her "small-town honesty and common sense" soon land her a new job at Magic, Spells, and Illusion Inc., which traffics in benevolent sorcery. "You ... are of the rare breed who can neither do magic nor be influenced by magic. You see the world as it is," an MSI executive explains. With her clear-sightedness, plus business acumen gained working for her family's feed-and-seed store, Katie will play a pivotal role in MSI's magical battle against a malevolent competitor. From sanitized descriptions of New York City life to hunky wizards and fairies on the subway, this book is pure and innocent fantasy, suitable for preteens or readers hungry for a cotton candy read.

I didn't really enjoy this book so I don't know why I finished it. The story was wacky - not what I usually read but I was willing to go "outside my box". I didn't really care for the writing and I found it kind of boring. But I kept at it hoping it would get more exciting ... and it didn't. Very predictable and blah.

Second City, Toronto, ON

We went to Second City tonight with my friend, Franca, and her husband, Rafeil. It was good to see them again.

The theme was Reloaded. It was sketches and most of them were funny. The performers were lively and a couple of the guys were a hoot!

Book ~ "Girlfriends for Life: Friendships Worth Keeping Forever" - Carmen Renee Berry and Tamara Traeder (1999)

From Chapters.ca ~ What's one of the most meaningful relationships in your life? You probably have a great girlfriend who's been your best friend through thick and thin. Girlfriends for Life: Friendships Worth Keeping Forever is a tribute to a woman's most passionate defenders and trusted critics - her girlfriends. Berry and Traeder continue the best-selling Girlfriends series with a book that includes new material from fan mail and true stories from readers.

Quick feel-good book.

Like son, like father?

Here's Gord and KC crashed on the couch tonight. Yesterday his son, Ken, was in the same position with the same dog!

KC is definitely a bad influence!!

Super Bowl

Gord decided to host the Super Bowl party at our place this year. So he invited his son, Ken, and his childhood friends, Alfred, Craig and Kevin.

He started labouring over a big pot of chili on Friday night. I'd never had chili before and it seemed weird to have a big bowl of thick sauce. So I make some fresh bread (using my bread machine) and a pot of rice.

An hour into the game, we ate. And I've gotta say that I really enjoyed the chili ~ it was very tasty. And having the rice and bread was a nice touch!

Craig had arrived with a big duffel bag. After we ate, he hauled out his comfy pants (which he changed into) and a big brown blanket. He sprawled out on the floor and watched the rest of the game. Ken eventually did the same.

I'd never been to a Super Bowl party. And this was a wild and crazy one ... NOT!! Ha! But they had fun hangin' out and it was great to see them.

Book ~ "The Glass Castle : A Memoir" - Jeannette Walls (2006)

From Amazon.com ~ Freelance writer Walls opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls' father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."

Excellent book! Walls had a wacked upbringing and it's amazing that she has turned out as successful as she had.

KC got a fur cut!

It was time for KC to get a fur cut today ~ she was looking very shaggy! Here are the before and after pix. We take her to a great groomer named Pat at Clean Paws.











I took the boys in for their annual check up this morning. They are both healthy. Yay! The vet is very happy that Morgan is taking to his puffer.

Book ~ "Friendshifts: The Power of Friendship and How It Shapes Our Lives" - Jan Yager (1999)

From Amazon.com ~ A rewarding, sensible self-help manual for making, keeping and improving friendships, sociologist Yager's how-to takes its title from a word she coined, which refers to the way friendships change as we move through life's stages. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with adults, children, teenagers, workers and executives, she examines the challenges to friendship posed by marriage, divorce, parenthood, job changes and geographic relocation. Yager has distilled a morass of psychological and sociological research, including her own. Among her findings: it takes an average of three years to form a genuine friendship; women, as they advance in the corporate hierarchy, increasingly distrust workplace friendships, whereas men open up and trust these friends more; friendships can be a source of help for dysfunctional families, and for adults who had poor early relationships with parents or siblings. This primer amply supports its central message, that friends are vital to our emotional health.

Excellent analysis of friendships.

Book ~ "The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" - A. J. Jacobs (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ The original Berserkers were "savage Norse soldiers" of the Middle Ages who went into battle stark naked! Or consider the Etruscan habit of writing in "boustrophedon style." Intrigued? Either hunker down with your own Encyclopædia Britannica or buy Esquire editor Jacobs's memoir of the year he spent reading all 32 volumes of the 2002 edition—that's 33,000 pages with some 44 million words. Jacobs set out on this delightfully eccentric endeavor attempting to become the "smartest person in the world," although he agrees smart doesn't mean wise. Apart from the sheer pleasure of scaling a major intellectual mountain, Jacobs figured reading the encyclopedia from beginning to end would fill some gaps in his formal education and greatly increase his "quirkiness factor." Reading alphabetically through whole topics he never knew existed meant he'd accumulate huge quantities of trivia to insert into conversations with unsuspecting victims. As his wife shunned him and cocktail party guests edged away, Jacobs started testing his knowledge in a hilarious series of humiliating adventures: hobnobbing at Mensa meetings, shuffling off to chess houses, trying out for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, visiting his old prep school, even competing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Indeed, one of the book's strongest parts is its laugh-out-loud humor. Jacobs's ability to juxtapose his quirky, sardonic wit with oddball trivia make this one of the season's most unusual books.

Interesting (and funny at times) book that took me about six weeks to read ~ like reading the actual encyclopedia, I could only read it in bits here and there.