Things I just remembered I forgot:

1. The movie I was supposed to bring to girls night this weekend because I'm the only one who has a copy, and now it is in a different city 2 hours away.  AND! They don't have it in this city. I can't even buy the dang thing.  *sobs*
2. Apparently, I've forgotten how to pack according to lists.
3. How to make complete lists.
4. AHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I'm going back here soon....

 

First couple weeks of July.

I can hardly wait!

Daydreamer

I'm having a hard time concentrating on work this afternoon. The music is too good, and I want to listen to the lyrics. Or my mind wanders off on well worn paths of daydreams.  The scenery is different every time I take the path, but the path itself is comfortable and familiar.

There are just so many things to think about, to dream about, to pretend about, to plan for, to remember. Sometimes daydreams aren't even real thoughts, just memories of feelings.

Today I'm feeling reminiscent, and it reminds me of summertime. And wicker furniture. At some point in my life, I must have done a lot of daydreaming sitting in a wicker arm chair... or dreamt that I was.

There is something so friendly about wicker furniture, painted or not, with soft patterned cushions decorating it.
Preferably placed in a warm, sunny place. Like on a porch. In the middle of the afternoon on a bright summers day.

Or at the beginning of spring, when you are starting to remember what real sunshine feels like as it shines through the windows and caresses you while you are hidden away from the wind.

Music plays in the background, and you sit in that chair that's full of summertime and coziness, and plan a perfect future.  Or a perfect afternoon, or a perfect vacation. Or the perfect daily routine (cuz let's face it, that takes up a lot of my planning thoughts).

Or remember the perfect hug.

All while telling yourself that you are actually reading a book, or sketching a picture.  Or that you'll only sit down for a minute.

And what does that remind me of?

I need to go grocery shopping before I can make supper.

Ahhh Faure....

I went to my little brother's fiancee's Grad Recital this weekend.  She did a 5 piece set by Gabriel Faure as her second set in the recital.

*le sigh*

I adore Faure.  I wish to have a compilation of all his music, and then immerse myself in it.

She also did one piece that was a duet with a clarinet, and that clarinet had one of the most beautiful voices I've heard. It was gorgeous.  Honestly, and truly.  It made me miss music school.... not enough to go back, but just enough to feel reminiscent.

At any rate, we had a wonderful time in Lethy-town! Going to a recital, having a homemade Chinese FEAST!!  Delicious.

And then I spent Sunday driving all over the province.....

My parents each had to catch a flight in Calgary on Sunday, so we drove up from Lethy-town in the morning and dropped off my Mom, spent the time inbetween drop offs with my sister who lives there. She even fed us supper. ^_^ MMmmmm Alfredo Chicken Pasta.

And once everyone had met their flights, I drove back home to the Hat.

I am very glad it was a clear, beautiful day.

^_^

And now I am back at work.

Yay for Mondays!

Floor Plan, as is.

So.. it may not look like much.... but I can see every inch of it in my mind, and I've already raised 3 kids here (obviously in daydreams).

The floors are all a medium coloured hardwood, and the ceiling is stained planks with crossbeams made of iron poles.  The windows nearly reach the floor, and that line that reads "storage"??? That's a bookshelf.

This is how they've done it.  I think I might have more colour, and I wouldn't paint the ceiling white.

But I would have a ladder up to the master bedroom.

I might raise the ceiling a few feet, and put a 'closet' in the loft so I could get dressed in my room.

I might put a circular staircase into the floor in the middle of this room. One that you have to open a hatch to get to. Like an old root cellar, or a wine cellar hidden entry.

And of course, it would go to my storage room.

There would be sunlight and music. 

And freshly baked bread.

And lots and lots of books.

Blueprints

I have discovered the blueprint to my dream house.  And it only requires a few changes!!!
*heh*

Long ago I decided that I wanted a small house. I want enough living space so we can retreat on rainy days, but little enough that we spend all available time outside.  I want my children to share, and I want to be, ah, 'helped' to avoid clutter and accumulation of junk. (If there's nowhere to put it, I can't take it home!)

I want a small home so we have more yard, if we have a yard. I want a small home so our taxes are lower, so our mortgage is smaller... so we can spend our money on music lessons or dance classes, or really *really* cool vacations.

I want a home where there just isn't space for an entertainment system. I want a house where every inch is used and used well.  I can't even begin to describe how much I loathe inefficient floor plans; those terrible awful sprawling monsters that waste space just because they can't think of anything else to put there.

I do want a porch. I want room for a garden.

I want lots of bookshelves.

And enough counter space to function. Although I have found that I can function with a very limited amount of counter space in my kitchen.

I want big windows and lots of sunlight. I want to be able to spend money on quality construction instead of square footage.

And I think I found the blueprint.  In Martha Stewart Living, of all the crazy places.

It's an old cabinesque rectangle of a building that they've renovated into beauty and tucked storage into like it was a yacht.  It's only 540 sq ft, and every inch of it is lovely.   I probably wouldn't paint all the walls white, and I would raise the ceiling a few feet so that the loft of a master bedroom is more than pup-tent height (and so I could add a dresser on the side or something).  But I would totally keep the climbable bookshelf that leads up the loft. I would keep the barely wide enough for a tub bathroom. I would keep the one and only kids room that could hold 4 if it needed to.
I would keep the hardwood floors, and the wood stove.

I would probably add a cellar hatch to lead down to a basement (also added) in the middle of the living room floor. Because I do feel I need space for food storage.  And a hot water heater. Except I really like those tankless, single coil water heaters. They don't store water, so they don't ever flood your basement, and they have never-ending hot water.

How are these not more popular???

I would want some sort of tv for watching movies... perhaps a drop down screen and a projector.  That way it hides when out of use, and doesn't become the center of attention and focus.

In any case.

I have found 540 sq ft of my own personal heaven.

And some day, I will build it. And live in it. And love every beautiful inch.

Things to do:

1.  Sleep.
2. Make a real work schedule so I know which days I'm supposed to be in which office.....
3.  Compile all of my various to - do lists that are strewn throughout several desks, my computer, and 2 notebooks....
4. Errands (but not till morning! actually... since sleep is first on the list, none of this is going to happen tonight. Except sleep.)
5.  Laundry (ok, this may happen to a small degree tonight.. but it's an ongoing project)
6. Learn all the tricks I need to use Simply Accounting
7.  Sort through a truck load of file folders to figure out what the heck the last person in this job did ....
8. Make sure my bills are paid
9. Cancel my cell phone plan. That phone is gone. Lost. I have donated it to Ethiopia inadvertently.
10. Sleep.
11. Eat
12. Find some new music!!!!
13. Figure out how in the heck to add some exercise into my daily routine.
14. Ride a horse
15. Plant a garden
16. Prune the tree, and bushes, and pull up the old silvermound (this will likely happen just previous to #15)
17. Get my car back.
18. Make sure everyone I'm responsible for is getting their paycheques.
19. GO DANCING!!!!
20. Sleep.

Annnnd after that?? Well.. I'll have all the other things I've got written down on those other to-do lists to consider.. and this is going to take me a few days anyway.

Somewhere in all of this, I also have a bunch of travelling to do.

And before too long, it'll be July, and I'll be back in Ethiopia!  This time, I don't think I'll even *bring* my phone.

<3

Workityworkity!!

I now have yet another JOB!!!!

Just part time. You know. One of those things.  Just doing some bookkeeping. And managing. And keeping people on task.

*shrugs*

That's how we roll.

Cabin fever.... O_o

I have been struck with the restlessness that means spring is pretty much here.  It was beautiful out the other day, so my Dad and I went and trimmed trees and bushes and overgrown plants of various sorts in the front garden beds. I didn't need a jacket. Or gloves.  The soil was cold, but bearable.  And the sun was shining and it was BEAUTIFUL.

It's gorgeous out again today, but I am stuck in the basement, trying to get the new laptop up and running for my Dad so he can get work done again. He's gone out on errands to keep from beating it with a stick to try to make it run faster......

Although it is tempting, I don't think sweettalking the progress bar is going to make it progress any faster.

>_<

In other news!!!

 This is what I want my backyard to look like soon.....

However, it's all a leftover straggly mess from the plants we had last year, all decorational. BUT! Dad and I have decided we are growing vegetables this year. And all those superfluous pretties can be dug up and ditched.  Edible is the new sexy.

(Uh... I may have just said that. I don't think I have every said such a thing to my father, however.)

Back into the swing of things!

Annnnnnd WORK!

All of my jobs are now keeping me quite busy, and the last couple of days I have been up earlier and started work by 7:30... yesterday it was 6:45 am... I ate breakfast at my computer.
*heh*

It's actually how we planned it, Mom and I. We wanted to get a lot done in the morning before we "went" to work, in an effort to keep the different roles we are filling completely separate.  Basically, we decided it would be effective to enforce daily split-shifts.  Work at home from 6:30 (or 7, depends on the morning) till 9 or 10. Work at the office from 10 till 2 or 3.  Come back home and work here from 3 till 5, have supper, and then decide if there is anything else we need to get done.

My problem with this (much as it is AWESOME and I think the best way to make it work), is that I personally shift focus far more frequently than that.  Here I am at home, knowing I'm not going to get into the office today, and I've spent a couple hours on home office work. Half an hour working on things for my Dad, and an hour or more answering emails for the "work" office.
It's only been 3 hours.

Heh.

I may have to train myself to stay on task folks. Again.

And somewhere in all that insanity, I'm supposed to have enough energy left over in the evenings to do my schoolwork.

HAH!

Oh, and I want to start a garden.
Yup!
Yay for Saturdays!!!

Spring is coming

I want to grow a garden. A desire for making bountiful the earth has taken hold of me and I am willing to weed every day to reach my goal!!

Of course, first I need to plan what I'm going to plant.

I want vegetables. YUM! And herbs! *le sigh*  And flowers... but I may not have to do much for those, we've already got irises taking over our front garden plot.

At my parents house there are garden beds that I can use. One in particular where the rhubarb is king and the grape vine grows has ample space for planting some seedlings.

Another option, to make sure the rhubarb doesn't get jealous and eat the rosemary up, is to use containers.

And of course, I have spent some of my morning's spare time in looking up garden plans, and seeing what is possible.  I kind of want to do every single thing you see in this line up.... But I don't think we have that many containers available to us. *heh*

I have long fancied my own Herb Garden, but there are so many different ways to accomplish it that I am overwhelmed. Couple that with the fact that I haven't held still during planting/growing season.... or stuck around for harvest time, and I have been fresh herb deprived for far too long.

At any rate.

Someday, and hopefully starting this year (if only on a small scale), I will grow my own produce. And live off of my garden quite happily for many many months. ^_^

A: Pepper 'Hungarian Hot Wax' -- 1

B: English thyme -- 2

C: Basil -- 1

D: Pepper 'Medusa' -- 1

E: Tomato 'Elfin' -- 1

Workity Work Work

First day back at work since coming home.  I have.... surprisingly very little to do!  Well... the computer has lots to do.. but I just had to click a few buttons at the beginning, and now I must sit back and wait.

Waiting.
And Waiting.

For those dang pictures to all upload to where I want them, so that I can begin to properly organize them.

Bah........
Speaking of pictures... want some cute ones?

Home. ^_^

My bed is so comfortable!! My room is so big!!  My tap water is so drinkable!!

And it's 4 pm, and jet lag is starting to set in.  I may not be fully responsible for anything quirky that happens this evening.
Or I might be.
You never can tell after a long trip.

^_~

Yallum!

I have confused my poor little computer. It is loading everything in Swedish, because I am so obviously not in Kansas anymore... I mean Canada.
Although I wasn't aware that Swedish was such a popular language in London.......

We have made the first leg of the journey with some semblance of sleep, and I was so happy to see yogurt and croissants for breakfast at the Air Canada Lounge!!!!

I need more sleep. Lots of it. But I've had food, and a shower, and clean socks, so for the present life is pretty good.

It is a raining miserable looking day outside, but that's ok because we only had about 4 hours, and that's really not enough time to bother going out sightseeing anyways, and we knew we'd be beat and want to just rest once we got here.

Another 8 hour flight to Calgary, then a short little stint to the home town, and we should be allowed to crawl into a car that will transport us, finally and blissfully, home to our own dear sweet beds where I can sleep into next week (depending on whether your week starts Sunday or Monday....)

I may need food.

Bah.

I've got another 2 hours before we board the plane. I may just start working on cashing in all those hours of sleep I'm owed...

<3

Almost the end...

Well,
Today and Tomorrow folks, and then I get back on the plane and head home. I am sad, and super excited, all at the same time.

But, since that's all a little confusing, what you really want is pictures, isn't it? ISN'T IT????
Yup.
I thought so.

These are all from Community Clinic days, we saw a lot of people!

^_^