Day 4 - Not as bad but getting bored and Happy Spring!

I'm currently fighting the urge to not attack my neighbour. She's on her balcony, having a phone conversation on speaker phone. I'm inside my apartment. Not only can I hear her, I can hear the person on the phone. What the hell is wrong with people? Do you think you're the only one who lives here? Do you not realize that all nine units on our side of the building can hear you? Geez.

Anyhow, I think today was better. This morning my co-worker and I figured out the video chat feature on the new program that work set everyone up with, so that was awesome. We go to see one and other. At lunch, a friend stopped by on her way home so that we could go for a walk. I met her outside and we went for a nice walk and chatted away. Having some actualy human interaction was great. Plus it was nice to get out in the fresh air again too.  We made sure to follow the social distancing rules, even though I would have loved to have given her a big. We only passed three other people on our walk. Everyone smiled and said hi. We also nearly got run over by two squirrels who were having quite the fight.

The only "spring" filter I could find.

With my boss being back, there were more emails to deal with this afternoon so it was good to have a productive go of it. I finished off my afternoon talking to my Aunt and Uncle who live in Thunder Bay. It was snowing there but not here, so that's a win for me! (Sorry Heather).

I had a disappointing dinner of "taste like frost burn" turkey burgers (didn't end up eating it) and just sat and watched re-runs on tv. I'm tired tonight. I haven't slept well the last couple of nights so I'm hoping I'll make up for that this evening.

I watched significantly less news today too. Maybe that helped as well. It was heartbreaking to see that Italy has surpassed China for most deaths from this virus but it was reassuring to see that no new cases were reported in Wuhan Province, China today.

While trading comments on FB with a friend, I realized what's bothering my the most about all of this. It's the uncertainty. The not knowing where the end is. Once I made the decision to get surgery to fix my knee, I was anxious. The day I got my surgery date, I calmed down. I had something to focus on. My end goal. I knew how many days I had to make it through. And that's what I focused on. It helped to ground me. I no longer have that surgery date and no one can tell us how long it's going to be until things return to the way they were. Until we can go out and be social creatures again. That's the part that's hard for me. No end point to focus on.

So, I've decided to focus on getting through each day. My nightly blog will be my "focus point". Make it through the hours until it's time to blog again and then go to bed.

Tomorrow or Saturday, I need to venture out for supplies. My bread went moldy today :(

Today is also the first day of Spring.  It's not set to arrive officially until 11:50 EDT but it's here. It's also the earliest that Spring has arrived in 124 years. So that's special. As if to understand what's going on, we have a risk of thunderstorms tonight and into tomorrow. And because it's Canada, our temperature is supposed to change 26 degrees beween the daytime high and the overnight low tomorrow. +15 to -11. Fun times. Going to be a wind one!

"In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours" - Mark Twain

Laundry and an Overwhelmed Bladder

After a pretty stellar week weather wise, Mother Nature returned spring to us today. It was cool and rainy. But I'm not complaining. We really needed the rain (ok, maybe not the areas that are flooded but the tulips needed rain) and it was the perfect day for doing house work.

I managed to get 5 loads of laundry done. Yes, I said 5. And those loads didn't include any bedding or towels. They can wait until next laundry day. You see, I cleaned my bedroom about 2 weeks ago. This entailed discovering all kinds of odds and ends of clothing, creatively hidden. Some were on the floor of my closet or stuffed under the bed etc... Still didn't find mates for all my un-matched socks though. Anyhow, my apartment is now littered with clothing. I did two loads of "delicates" which simply means "can not go in dryer". I bunch are hanging in the bathroom, the "lay flat to dry and reshape while wet" are in the living room and I have several tank tops hanging off door knobs. You know, I never really understood the "reshape while wet" thing. It's a t-shirt. It came out of the washer looking like a t-shirt. How do you reshape it? Am I supposed to make it looking like a nightie or something? Weird.

I also did up all the rogue dishes. I have a terrible habit of only doing dishes every 2-3 days. I really need to learn to do them every day. But then I feel silly using the same plate/bowl over and over again since it's being washed and put back in the cupboard every day. I'm afraid that the other dishes will get jealous and revolt if I don't use them. Don't think dishes can come to life? Well then you've never seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I just wish mine would make the food themselves and then wash themselves afterwards like they do in the movie. That would be pretty sweet.

While on my cleaning spree today, I decided to spice up my water a bit. I bought some strawberries yesterday so I sliced up a couple of them and put them in my water glass. I've done this with lemons before too. It makes a very nice glass of lightly flavoured water (natural too). Well I liked it a lot, so I drank a lot of water today, which is very good. Just try telling that to my bladder. I think I've had to pee every 20-30 minutes for the last 8 hours. It's highly annoying. My bladder's like "WTF Lady? You trying to drowned me??" Maybe I am. I have a "sensitive" bladder to start with so I guess it didn't appreciate all the extra water. I've been told that it's possible to train your bladder to hold more liquid without feeling the need to pee but I kind of think it's just bs. Maybe I'll try it again tomorrow and see what happens.

I made my favourite pasta and lentil soup for dinner tonight (a very domestic day for me!). It was my best batch yet. I added in some marinaded tofu that I browned up first and it went really well with the soup. I also added in some smoked paprika and some Old Bay seasoning this time. It really made the broth yummy. I also cut back on the amount of lentils and pasta that went into it, so I had a more broth like soup. I find that it tends to thicken up quite a bit when you use the full amount that the recipe calls for. I have leftover soup for lunch tomorrow as well as some to go into the freezer for dinner another night. I think I might make muffins or something tomorrow. We'll see.

But now I think it's time to go and crawl into bed with my book...after I clear what's left of the clean laundry off my bed! I was good and put most of the dry stuff away already. I guess the rest are on my "to do" list for tomorrow.

Good Night!

Sarah

More tulips which were probably very happy about today's rain!

The Little Things In Life

Since my eyes seem to be staying open for the time being, I decided to blog since I haven't done it in what feels like forever. It's actually been about a week but you get my point.

It was a very odd week. I was very tired all week. My inconsiderate neighbours helped me out Wednesday and Thursday night with the no sleeping thing. On Wednesday, there were a bunch of people out back from 3 different cars. In addition to the car doors slamming, the inconsiderate bunch were standing around smoking and talking....at midnight. WTF? Middle of the week. Don't people have jobs?? The next night, my new downstairs neighbour had some people over and they woke me up at 10:18pm, 11:25pm, Midnight and 12:25pm - they kept going out on the balcony to have a smoke and kept talking/laughing. Not to mention the fact that the dude keeps slamming the screen door shut. The guy who lives across the hall from me broke his ankle and has to go up and down the stairs on crutches (and he's a big dude too, I think about 6'3"). His hopping/operating of the crutches up and down the stairs is quieter than some of the jackasses in my building.

Besides my lack of sleep, things at the office were "off" this week. We're coming up to a big transition period where most of our casuals are leaving and we're getting a new crop in and I think that has a lot of people on edge. There seems to be a lot of stress and tension in the office. It wasn't an overly positive environment this week. And there seemed to be a good deal of "personal drama" that spilled into the office too. Maybe everyone has spring fever. Who knows. I'm just happy that the weekend's here and I can relax.

I had an absolutely fantastic day today. It started off with me getting to sleep in. I got to pull my summer clothes out of the closet and re-discover things I forgot I owned. I headed out with Stephanee today. I haven't been out with her in quite a while. It was nice to hang out again. Even though I'd been upset with her, I still missed spending time with her. I've spent a lot of time alone over the last 2 months, mostly by choice. I needed the solitude. I spent a good deal of time thinking and reflecting on life and myself and my goals and dreams. I needed to do it. And am happier now as a result. Just like we spring clean our homes, it's nice to do a spring cleaning of our minds too.

Steph picked me up around 11:15 am and we headed out to Dollarama where we nearly froze to death. Their AC works quite well apparently. We then decided to grab lunch and head for the river. We found a nice picnic table and ate lunch before heading down one of the pathways along the Ottawa River. It was beautiful. The rapids were crazy, the Canadian geese were everywhere, the birds were signing, we saw a wood pecker and a hawk and the temperature was perfect. It looked like spring but felt like summer.

After the path on the Ottawa side of the river, we headed into Quebec and took a walking path along the river on the Gatineau side. We were able to get quite close to some rapids there. We then decided that we needed to cool down (partly due to the weather, partly the scenery...) so we headed to DQ for some treats, which we then went and ate at Britannia Beach/Park. After the treats we walked some more and ventured out onto the rock bluff at the beach. We walked most of it until we encountered a large group of spiders so we turned around and headed back. It was actually quite funny. I said to Steph "We might want to head back. I can count 5 spiders on the rock ahead of us". I turned around and Steph was already half way back down the bluff!!!! LOL. We saw a turtle sunning itself on a log too.

After that we decided we needed a cooler destination so we opted for Chapters. I needed a new book anyhow, so it was a good choice. After getting said book, we headed into Starbucks for their half price Frappachinos. I managed to score us a free one too, which one of Steph's husband's co-workers ended up enjoying. Once home, I ventured onto the balcony where I sat and read and drank my Starbucks for the better part of an hour and a half. I decided I should make dinner then. I had a lovely t-bone steak with some corn and a nice salad and a can of Pear Cider. A perfect Saturday dinner. After dinner, I had a very relaxing, very refreshing and very welcome shower. My feet were nearly black from wearing my flip flops all day.

And now I'm sitting at the computer, blogging and thinking about uploading the photos from my day. After this, I'm going to curl up and read for a bit more before heading to bed. I wish I had a light on my balcony so I could read out there. That might be bad though. I might never go to bed.

If you're out in the sunshine this weekend, remember your sunscreen (I did!) and enjoy.

Good Night!

Sarah

You call this Spring? Oh Look! Firemen!

This has to be one of the worst springs that we've had in years. The weather just can't seem to even out. I got used to this roller coaster type weather when I was in Alberta but this is very odd for Ontario. Environment Canada is calling for a significant snow event on Friday. This isn't good.

We had some excitement this morning. I'd gone on a coffee run. When I came out of Tim Horton's, there was smoke in the air and I could see it rising from the back of the restaurant across the street. By the time I got a block away, the fire trucks were arriving. So I dropped off the coffees and headed back out with 2 co-workers (it was only a block away). So we got to stand there on our break, watching the firefighters in action. I have to say, some of them were on the very handsome side of things. LOL. Sadly, that was the highlight of my day. Who am I kidding? That's been the highlight of my month thus far. Luckily, the restaurant wasn't heavily damaged. It was a fire in their exhaust system.

An alarming number of people in the office seem to be sick at the moment, coming down with spring colds. Given our wacky weather, it's not surprising. I just really hope that I don't come down with a cold before or during my trip to Montreal. I don't really want to get sick after it either, but if I'm going to catch the cold, I'd like to do so after the trip. I still have a lot of cleaning/organizing to do before Michelle gets here. Guess what I'm doing this weekend? Yeah. Cleaning.

I think I'm going to go and crawl into bed and try to get warm. It's a little chilly in my apartment this evening.

Good Night!

Sarah

How I feel some days.

An (almost) Perfect Day!

What a day! Finally, after months and month of ice, snow, cold and bleak weather, we were reminded today that humans are meant to be outdoors.

I started my day off by sleeping in. I then had a lovely shower, did my hair and make up and headed downtown to meet Gidgett for brunch. She was kind enough to retrieve my iPod for me which I'd left at work on Thursday, so I feel whole again. The brunch we were headed to wasn't just any brunch. It was a special, epic one, at my favourite restaurant: Courtyard Restaurant.

That place is amazing. It's in an old stone building and is beautifully decorated. The food is out of this world. This is what I had " 'Perfect' Scrambled Eggs, Crème Fraiche and Chives, Sourdough Toast, Bacon or Sausage, Oven-Roasted Tomato, Herbed Hash Brown". I have to admit, they really were perfect scrambled eggs. Before the main course, they served as a scone with jam (which was delicious), we had a mimosa to drink with our meal (champagne and orange juice) and then for dessert, we each ordered a different option and then split the two. We had: "Flourless Chocolate Cake, Cherry Purée, Cherry Crumble" and "Sticky Toffee Pudding, Caramel Sauce, Crème Anglaise" Both were outstanding. The Sticky Toffee Pudding was my favourite. I'm pretty sure this is where I want to go for my birthday dinner.

After all that food, we headed out into the sunshine and the market. We met up with Adele and went on a sight seeing/shopping tour of the market. I ended up coming home with fresh spinach and feta ravioli, roasted garlic tomato sauce, highly addictive rosemary and sea salt artisan bread crisps, drunken sausages (they have Mill St. beer in them) and some cupcakes from the Cupcake Lounge. It was a good outing. I had the pasta for dinner and 1 cupcake for dessert. A winning combination really. The sun was out the whole time we were venturing about. It was so great to feel its warmth on my skin again. It renewed my soul and spirit and gave me new hope that the warm spring weather will soon be here. It was also nice to spend some time with a couple of ladies who I rarely see outside of work. It's very therapeutic to be able to talk to people who can relate to some of the stuff I'm dealing with or for me to be able to offer advice because they're going through something I'd been through before. It nice seeing things from a different perspective too.

After dinner, I was ready to settle down for the night when Xtintor texted. He was home alone for the night as his ladies were at the in-laws so he asked if I'd like to go for coffee. Despite being rather sleepy and having already taken my bra off, I said yes. I got dressed and we headed out. I opted for herbal tea while he went for the Venti, full caffeine version. We headed to Britannia Park where we found a trail near the beach that was mostly clear of snow. We walked and talked and admired all the beautiful stars that are out tonight.

Just as I was being dropped off, my father phoned to rub in the fact that his hockey team beat my hockey team. I guess there had to be one flaw in my otherwise perfect day. LOL.

So now I'm quite sleepy and I'm pretty sure my feet stopped talking to me about a half hour ago. I think sleeping in tomorrow is definitely in the works. So's cooking a prime rib roast (never tackled one of those before).  I hope everyone has a very happy Easter.

Good Night!

Sarah

Outside of my favourite restaurant (in the summer)

Stranger and Stranger

So things at work are getting stranger and stranger. I think we either have ghosts or gremlins who run a-muck when no one's looking. And I think everyone is suffering from a strong cases of Spring Fever. Or Cabin Fever. And in some cases Bieber fever. I'm not kidding about the last one.

Other than that, it's been a pretty normal week thus far. Nothing super exciting to report. I've tried a couple new recipes in the kitchen, with some good success, which is always nice. And I've managed to keep the stove clean for 4 days now. Now that is quite the accomplishment for me!

Change seems to be in the air once again. Maybe it's the fact that Spring is nearly here but it's something that I can feel. A shift in the air, a sensation in my bones. I'm changing. My thinking is changing, my mood is changing, my attitudes towards a lot of things are changing. How I see myself, others and the world around us all is changing. And I think it's all changing for the better. I feel...hopeful. For once I want to embrace change instead of fear it. Go with it and enjoy the ride rather than try to safely plan everything out.

It feels good.

Good Night!

Sarah

Sunny Saturday, Spring Cleaning and Strength

I haven't been in much of a blogging mood lately and frankly, I've been too damn tired. So I decided I'd better log in tonight and get some words on the screen. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, I'm going to bed an hour later than planned. To off set this, I shall attempt to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow morning. Not sure if it will work but it's worth a try. My mother tried to tell me that clocks go back an hour tonight instead of going an hour forward. I think she was just trying to find a way to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow.

I had a pretty darn good day today. One of the best I've had in a while. The sun was out and that seemed to be the key. I stood on my balcony in the sun for a bit this morning and it felt glorious. I'm in spring cleaning mode too. I had originally planned to stay home and just clean all day but this afternoon I decided that it was too nice to stay home all day so I escaped for a bit.

Before I left, I managed to get the dishes done, a load of laundry done and some dusting done. I then went downtown, had a Beavertail, walked around the market, taking in the wonderful sunshine, stopped at the butcher and bought a beautiful New York Strip for dinner and then came back home. I did some more cleaning once I was home. I tackled the greasy vent cover that's in the hood over my stove. Thanks to Pinterest, I got it clean without any effort. Just some boiling water and baking soda. Amazing. I also got the burner inserts clean that way. My stove is spotless (for now). I got the toilet cleaned and my bookshelf dusted too. I was on quite the roll. I really do love Pinterest. I was standing in the kitchen, holding the filter and trying to figure out how to clean the damn thing when suddenly, magic words popped into my head. They were "go check on Pinterest". I'm so smart! The answer was there and it worked and now I have a clean filter. Yay!

Tonight I watched the movie "The Other Guys". It was horrible. So I watched the first half of Mall Rats to make up for it. I'll finish watching it sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping to continue my cleaning spree tomorrow.

Adding to my good mood today was that I booked 2 trips this morning. Nothing overly exciting but I'm happy about them. The first is in April. I'm going to Montreal with my old friend Michelle. We're taking the train from my house, which is awesome since I love taking the train and it's a great trip from Ottawa to Montreal (and faster than driving). The best part is that I used some networking skills to get us a LUXURY hotel room for a very budget friendly price. I'm very excited. I can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans we get up to when left to our own devices in Montreal. This is going to be great.
The other trip I booked was just a train ticket home for the May long weekend. My bday (a kind of big one) is one the Thursday before the long weekend and my Great Aunt's 80th bday is the Friday of the long weekend, so I'm heading home to go to her party. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. I haven't seen them since Christmas so this will be great. I hope the weather is nice.

Since it's actually 12:34am instead of the 11:34pm that my clock says, I really should get to bed. I have a lot more cleaning ahead of me tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be warm but cloudy and maybe some rain in the late afternoon. Perfect cleaning or book reading weather. I have a couple of books that need to be read so we'll see what happens. I found a very yummy sounding scone recipe on Pinterest too that I might attempt. LOL. This truly was a good day. I'm starting to feel like myself again and I really don't have the words to explain how amazing that feels. It's more relief than anymore. The days are getting longer, the shadows are weaken. Step by step, I'm walking back out of the darkness and into the light again.The birds chirping this morning is the kind of sound that makes my soul smile. We're not totally out of winter's grasp yet but we're close and I'm experiencing a strong sense of relief and accomplishment. I've made it through another winter in one piece, coming out into spring, just a little bit stronger than I was when I went in late last fall.

Good Night!

Sarah

My favourite sign of spring: Lily of the Valley