My bed was more than welcome last night. By the time I got home from work, ate something and did a stint in the Jacuzzi, I’m not sure I was still conscious. I THINK I said goodnight to poor Karen, but I wouldn’t bet my life on that. I vaguely remember the beasts cuddling up to me, then I was out until 3 AM this morning. I prepared coffee immediately on waking – sleet outside and there’s a good chance the hydro will go off later. Coffee warmed on the wood stove is not so tasty but the waiting time is much shorter than it would be making it fresh in the old percolator, especially because the weather is not so cold so the stove isn’t burning like it does during the winter.

This old brain is not as quick as it used to be, but I am determined to learn everything there is to know about the job I am presently doing, even if the paycheck is about half of what I was used to earning. It’s a challenge, physically and mentally. I’ve always admired the stamina of cashiers; their ability to serve the customers, often having to deal with impatience, or unreasonable demands, or just looking up and seeing the seemingly never-ending line of clients waiting their turn. So far I have not heard one word, even amongst themselves, about an unruly customer (and there are some!) from any of my co-workers. As tired as they may be, they are always smiling and pleasant as they serve one person after the other. It is unbelievably refreshing, and my respect for them and the work they do is even higher.

And that, my friends, makes me SMILE.

Sharing it with you – sending it out with my Dunany Demons who seem to be leaving their mark everywhere before Spring forces them into hibernation!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

My DIL is doing as many hours as she can at the moment so that she can take time off when my son goes in for his surgery. Because her shifts are in late afternoon and early evening, I get to care for Little Flea until daddy gets home from his job around 7 or 8 PM. It was planned that yesterday be one of those moments, but my work schedule changed, so I was no longer available until 7 PM. Fortunately Karen offered to fill in, and both my son and I arrived at the house one after the other to find Little Flea quite happily enjoying her stay with my substitute.

Karen has twin grandchildren a year younger than Miko (Little Flea’s real name) but doesn’t get to see them often, except through Facetime, because they live such a distance away. She will be leaving to babysit them while her son and wife are on vacation in early April, and we’re going to miss her here. The lady is a Godsend. I have no qualms about the beasts finding the time long in my absence; Karen spoils them more than I do. Even the mouthy bird is quieter with her. Not everyone would split their time between their own place and upstairs to ‘keep the homes fires burning’ as she does. It makes everything so much easier.

And here I am writing about this in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping because I am working again tomorrow, or should I say later today. I am then off until Sunday, if things don’t change, which they tend to do there. I am still enjoying it though, and each day seems to be easier physically, so that’s a plus. I’ve only missed one hockey game up to date, so that’s another plus!

My beasts are lying around me, and each of them have had a turn at coming and flopping their heads on my knee to coax me back to bed. I’ll finish up my green tea and lemon and honey (great for this cold), take a minute to text a good morning to my daughter who begins her day at 5 AM, and will give in to the beasts’ desire. Hopefully I can snooze for another couple of hours. I just remembered that my percolator wasn’t set up for the cup of jo needed to get me functioning when I get back up, so I’ll do that too.

Sending you out SMILES for the day. Hoping you pass them on!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.

My Keurig left me hanging the other morning. This is the 4^th or 5^th one to come through my hands. The lady was NOT happy! I grumbled that I was going to buy an ordinary percolator, and here came Karen to the rescue; she had an extra one lying around downstairs.  She cleaned it (it had been in storage for a while), then set it up on my counter and turned it on.

 It began to moan. Literally!

The sound was much like the squirrels make when they’re having a crooning session under my roof. Sam went racing to check the stairs, then scampered to the end of the hall, his ears flitting back and forth as he attempted to find the source. He finally ended up sitting in front of the counter, giving the percolator the death stare. It was hilarious! After a couple of mornings, the machine noise was standard, no longer the eerie moaning, but Sam still gives it the evil eye when I plug it in. I should add here that it beats the Keurig by a mile; dependable, HOT coffee, and, according to what I read, uses less electricity. It’s a keeper, even if Sam does think it’s possessed.

I understand his concern. I was wondering the same about my new/used stove. It is one of those flat burner tops with the touch controls in the front, slightly higher than waist height. I would put the oven on to preheat, or even during a baking session, and notice later that the oven was off. Huh? I knew the oven was working, well, most of the time, because this only happened occasionally. It puzzled me until I discovered the reason why.  I’ve always been well-endowed in the chest area, and now gravity has come into play, so whenever I would lean over to get a spice from the top of the stove back, or just to stir anything in a pot on one of the rear burners, the ‘well-endowed gravity powered’ part of me would brush on the touch control. That’s all it took to close it down. My kids got a big laugh out of it; I didn’t have to tell them but it made for a laugh during one of our family get togethers.

It has been raining all weekend here – there goes my beautiful snow – and the humidity is at 100%. Already aching from the unusual physical activity of a 5 day working stint, my arthritis is contributing to the cause. Jacuzzi and movement plus a little help from my friend, Tylenol, is keeping the pain to a low level, and my son and Little Flea are bringing along my blond Rugrat for supper tonight, so I’ll get to preparing the chop suey; it will be chock full of veggies and love and SMILES!

Hope you receive the ones I’m sending out to y’all! Pass them on!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

Perfect weather yesterday here! Sun was shining and it was warmer, an ‘open coat stroll’ kind of day. I went into work for 2:00 PM and parked as far away from the building as possible in the designated employee area, but the walk still wasn’t long enough. When we finished up it was dark, and one of my co-workers informed me that we were allowed to put our vehicles closer, right beside the side exit door, if we were on closing shift, seeing that the lot is so empty at that time of night. Hmmm   – yes; the whole woman walking alone in the dark thing. I thanked her and wondered what she would say of the years I spent, often by myself, wandering in the city streets during all hours of the night while working with street kids. Our town is more a large village than a huge urban city, so I admit that the danger here never entered my mind. I will follow the rules, however, and I am much older now, so can’t fight back as hard or run quite so fast if the need ever arose. J

By the time I got home the hockey game was just ending, and my HABS were losing, although Karen told me they played a good game. I caved and watched the highlights, because I knew there was no way I would be still up when the Express version came on; three days in a row had me thinking hug beasts and bird, Jacuzzi, drink, food and bed, in  that order. I haven’t been this physically challenged for ages, but I’m enjoying it and find it easier daily. Getting back into shape, my son texted me. When I answered that I would rather use sex for that, he sent a picture of a man shaking his head in despair, as I knew he would. I’ve been telling my kids for years that the stork delivering babies story is just a fairy tale.

Today I am off, and my Little Flea will be coming this afternoon and staying until her dad finishes work, at which time he will join us for supper. Because of the job, I wasn’t able to have them on Sunday as usual, so I’m looking forward to the visit with a huge SMILE! I have the whole weekend and maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have my other kids and families too!

Sending the SMILES out to you, sunny as the day!!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

The head cold is slowly leaving my system. I was able to go to work yesterday with a little help from non-drowsy medication to slow the coughing and nose blowing.  There were new things to learn, and soon my mind was more on that than the lingering symptoms – the old ‘break your little finger to take your mind off your headache’ thing.

It will probably be awhile, if ever, before I can get to any sleeping routine. For the past two years I have been living in pyjamas, doing my job from home and able to grab a couple of hours of snooze time here and there whenever the need arose. My shifts are not usually long, but one is standing for the majority of it, and needs to be dressed, awake and focused. It’s gonna take some adjusting!

My grandson contacted me Saturday night to tell me he had good tickets for the hockey game on Tuesday, and was inviting myself and Little Flea’s daddy to go with him. I warned him that I hadn’t yet received my schedule for this week, having missed last Thursday with the cold. It was the first thing I checked on going in yesterday and, sure enough, I’m booked for that day from 2:30 to 9:00 PM, so once more I have to refuse. Truthfully, I would be a bit leery of going into a crowd of 21,000 people anyway, many probably not wearing masks. It’s still too soon. I won’t be able to watch the game until midnight, when they show the Express version, so I’ll keep the radio turned off until I get home. My youngest son, being the tease he is, warned me that he was going to text me the score. Pest.

We had a snow storm on the weekend – it’s a winter wonderland out there right now – but warmer temperatures are predicted for the coming days. All good things must end, and winter is on its way out. It saddens me, at least until I see the grass and the dandelions, then I’ll accept the coming of spring, at which time the squirrels will move out of my house…. and that alone will make me SMILE.

Have a great day, Folks! Sending you SMILES to help it along.

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

UGH! I am sick. It’s a head cold with all the trimmings; sore throat, congestion and runny nose, sneezing, coughing, eyes watering, ears ringing, fatigue, headache….and it’s not going anywhere fast. There was no way I could work my shift on Thursday, so I had to call off sick for my second day at the new job. Not a good start, but there wasn’t much I could do. Neither the patrons nor the clients would appreciate my lowering the mask every 10 minutes to blow my nose or cough, I’m sure, nor could I have stood in one spot behind the cash for any extended period of time.

Good news for my son – at his appointment on Wednesday the surgeon told him his kidney will be removed with 6 weeks, but that he wasn’t too worried about the liver. The biopsy would show more. They have already scheduled a blood test and final scan in preparation for next Monday and Tuesday. Things are moving and that reduces our worry somewhat.

That’s all for today, folks – feeling like a wet rag here, but still SMILING!

Sending it out to you – wiped down with plenty of Lysol to keep the germs off!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

Probably getting the flu shot and our continued practicing of mask, hand washing and distance Covid procedures resulted in my not suffering much of a cold anytime this winter. I certainly won’t blame cuddling with Little Flea on Saturday (who could resist that anyway?) for spending the whole Monday night awake with sneezing/congestion/just feeling blah. It would happen exactly before the first day on the new job, wouldn’t it? It had to be Murphy’s Law. I managed only two hours sleep between 5:30 and 7:30 AM, but there was no way I was going to call in sick, although I did drowsily wonder how I was going to function at all, let alone retain the training required.

When I was looking around for part time work, I had applied online to one of our village grocery stores. I knew there were staff shortages, and being willing to do weekend and evening shifts would be to my advantage. Dealing with the public after so long would provide the change of pace I wanted, keep things interesting. When they contacted me and offered a Cashier supervisor’s position, I accepted.

Boy, oh boy! To supervise others, one has to learn everything about those finicky cash registers first, don’t they? So that’s what I did for 6 ½ hours – stand behind a plastic shield and scan groceries, play nice with customers, and take instruction from at least 8 different leaders and/or experienced cashiers, all the while grateful for the obligatory face mask that was hiding my runny nose. I enjoyed it immensely, and my only gaff was scanning in $2000 for a single fresh lemon. I jokingly told the nice client that it made for an expensive tequila drunk, and he laughed with me, replying that he would have to forgo the salt if lemons were selling at that price.

All in all, it was a fun day. My feet were sore and I was ready for bath and bed nearly immediately on getting home. There was some cuddling to be done first. Thankfully Karen was there for the beasts and bird, but they are used to my being always around, and were quite energetic with their welcoming antics. I’m not sure what time I crawled into bed; I was sleeping before my head hit the pillow.

The HABS are still out west so the game is on at 10:30 tonight. My next work shift is only at 11:30 AM on Thursday. Couldn’t ask for better timing, and that makes me SMILE!

Sending one out to you as usual – a fresh lemon with that?

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

It was my DIL’s birthday on Saturday, and ‘my son’ was taking his wife out for the seafood that she loves.  Because she works most weekends, this time off made it a rare and special treat. It was a treat for me too; Little Flea spent the night with Mémère!

 The child was sneezing when she arrived here, then there was congestion, and she slept restlessly for only 4 hours, each of those interrupted every 30 minutes or so by her waking, trying to breathe, poor pet. I didn’t sleep at all, worried that I might not hear her if she needed help or comfort. When she got out of bed around 7:00, I ask her if she was not tired, telling her that I had been awake all night. Her expression contrite, she leaned into me, one tiny hand softly stroking my cheek, and kissed me gently on the nose. An apology like that goes straight to the heart.  

Her mom picked her up just before noon, and I suggested to Little Flea that she have a nap before putting on her party dress and coming back later. I followed my own advice and grabbed a short snooze; the family was coming to celebrate and there was food to prepare for a dozen of us. Although Karen had prepped much of it the day before, there was still lots to be done. It has been ages since we’ve been able to get together like this, and I was looking forward to it.

Everyone showed up, the 3 Rugrats included, much to my delight, and it was a terrific evening of hearty appetites, discussion, laughter and teasing, true to form. This time I had wisely put out paper plates, so the cleanup went quickly at the end, with only a small twinge of guilt at my contribution to the overloaded garbage dumps.

Covid has certainly done a number on us for the past two years, but it also makes us realize how precious moments with our loved ones can be. “A privileged blessing,” I told the beasts as we happily relaxed at the end of the day. “Sometimes we need a knock on the noggin to remember what that means.” They wagged their tails and I took that as agreement, and it made me SMILE.

Hope you all had good weekends too, folks. And hope the SMILES sent out to you just make it better!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC

It was a short night. We watched the Toronto Raptors compete until it was time for hockey. My HABS were playing Calgary Flames, and the game only started at 9:00 because of the time difference between Western Canada and here in Quebec. The overtime had it ending even later, but was well worth staying up to see, especially because we won. Again!

It was past midnight before the fire was stoked, the bird covered, the beasts’ water bowl filled, and we were settled into bed. The dogs actually gave me some space, and I slept deeply until Elie decided to push on my bare toes with her wet nose. It’s one of her quirky ways of showing affection, so I can’t scold her for that, even if the clock read 4 AM. I groggily moved my foot, but she followed right along, her head now fully under the blankets and, as pleasant as it was, it woke me to the point where there was no use staying in bed.

My dogs rarely wake me in the morning, or anytime I go to snooze really, and I count myself lucky. I hear so many people complain about being pestered to go outside early, or for food, or just to play. Mine are usually quite willing to wait until I give sign that I am ready. If they hear strange noises they bark, of course, and that is what they are supposed to do, and on occasion they will be sick during the night, or Mommy will shake the whole bed with her terror of thunderstorms. Truth is, the mouthy bird is far more demanding that the 3 beasts altogether, and if she doesn’t get her 8 to 10 hours of sleep, she can be a real harridan. Her squawks can be heard all over the house, even by the neighbours during the summer when the windows are open. In spite of that, I’m quite fond of the little mouthpiece. She certainly keeps things lively around here.

I heard Karen downstairs when I made my first coffee, and her answer to my text asking if she was ok confirmed my suspicion that she had spent the night up. What a pair we are!! Regular hours are not observed here, and the older we get, the less it seems to matter. She did say she was off to bed now though, so I figure I should do the same. A couple of extra winks will keep me from getting grouchy during the day. The beasts have been fed and out for their needs, as was the bird; I was wise enough to make my coffee decaf, so this should work out.  Thinking of cuddling up to the doggies under warm blankets with the perfect chill in the bedroom makes me SMILE.

Wishing you a great day and sharing the SMILE with you…just because!

LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC