"Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can be either flowers or weeds."

author unknown

It's official...............

I am literally drowning in boxes. Just getting from the couch to the kitchen is a major escapade. To get to the dining room is like being on safari!! At least the final countdown is now on.

Tippet Richardson delivered 100 standard size china crates and boxes. I will put my little boxes inside in order to speed up the moving process. The little boxes will be easier for me to handle once at the house - i'll be able to unpack them gradually at my leisure.

The old hound says in a couple of months I'll be laughing about all this. (actually I'm laughing about it now really  ). I now remember how I lost weight during the last move - lugging those boxes around is hard work!! Put that together with running up and down the stairs and I shall be svelte for summer in no time!!

Easter Island Comes To Oshawa?? More Bunnies and Micromovements Continue....

For a brief moment I considered this fellow for my front garden!!

a very brief moment!! He is kind of neat and rather imposing.

I am progressing, but still have so much to do. I did manage to line up and get my car license sticker yesterday. Very inconvenient of my birthday to fall in the middle of all this chaos! I also picked up a certified cheque to deliver to the lawyer on Wednesday for my downpayment. Ouch!! That's the biggest cheque I have ever written!! It's for a good cause though.

Still have to deal with the phone and cable company. Still have lots of packing to do. Tippet Richardson are bringing my boxes and packing material and tape today. I hope (!!) to be packed by next week so I can spend all my time at the house.

Excitement is building now. I feel like I'm on the brink of a big adventure. At least the sun is shining and the snow has gone. I think I would have died if that weather from last weekend happened on my moving day!

Rabbits seem to be a recurring theme in my life lately. At work we have adopted two very cute bunnies called Sunny and Brook. (my hospital is called Sunnybrook!) We are hoping they will help to relax the patients. I find them very soothing myself, despite the fact that I have to feed them and clean out their cage. We have made a rotation list for those willing to chip in and help care for them. So far two of us have signed up. Way to go OnMyWay2Paradise!!

Extreme Power Shopping, Thingies and A Winter Storm In Spring

It is April, spring has sprung, but on Saturday morning it looked like the middle of February! Snow in the form of big fluffy flakes were madly whirling, but that didn't deter Sheila and myself from our long awaited shopping trek! Intrepid Sheila even arrived by bus bearing an ironing board that she is kindly donating to me!

We started at 9am and finished at 6pm. If the stores hadn't closed we'd probably have kept going! Not too many people have that kind of shopping stamina so it's great to find that kind of partner. I liken it to big game hunting. It's the competition, the thrill of the chase, the finding of that one perfect thing. We found a few perfect things over the course of our day.

One change of plan was the Proctor and Gamble warehouse sale. I had received a special "invitation" for a pre-sale peek. Apparantly so did most of Toronto! The line up, outside in the driving snow was miles long. I love to shop, but not to stand in line, even if it means saving a few dollars on Tide!! We ditched Pand G and headed to our favourite shops. Winners - we made it to two of them, Home Sense - two again, Bombay Company, Sears Home, Linen's and Things and my favourite little metaphysical shop called Odyssey.

The universe was smiling at us because the treasures kept popping up. Sheila found a great bathtub-spa set up for a remarkable price. I found a pair of cheerful yellow vases for my new kitchen. Olive spoons, strange metal bars to remove cooking odours from your hands, mirrors, all manner of objets d'art.

The piece de resistance for me was at the Bombay Company. (by the way, we had a ball in the kids section of this store - it's full of fun and funky things that any inner child would love!). I found and fell in love with a wine cabinet. A classic piece that will never go out of style. I couldn't let a deal like that go by so I ordered it, assured that it won't come in until after I move.

We also came across alot of "thingies". You know, items that look interesting but you have no idea what they are or what you would do with them. Some thingies are just too eclectic for even my taste! Here are some pictures of "thingies" that defied definition.

what can they be?

We looked at many different styles of furniture, this is one look that I decided against!!

We even found a metal sculpture version of "the old hound"!!

All in all it was a fantastic day. Relaxing and fun and full of suprises! Thanks Sheila! we must do it again soon!

April Fools Day.....

Was a quiet one for me. Nobody played any tricks, including myself. I did send some April Fool's E Cards though, the most notable being to Sheila1 since I managed to send it to a hotmail account that doesn't exist. I guess that makes me the fool......

I went to look at furniture....again.....sigh......

I checked out The Brick, Sears Home and Leons. I love the prices at Leons, but they just didn't have what I am looking for. Sears is the closest, but I am still not 100% sure, therefore I will wait. It's fun wandering around visualizing rooms even if I don't care for the styles.

As I walked around Leon's I heard a voice say in a questioning way "misslill?". (yes, some people do actually call me misslill, they have done so for over twenty years). It was a lady I worked with over twenty years ago at Riverdale Hospital. I am always amazed when people recognize me, I suppose because I don't consider myself that memorable.

I would like to know what part of the universe is in charge of reuniting long lost folk precisely at the moment when you (or in this case I) look most like a bag lady! When I go furniture shopping I make sure I wear my oldest jeans and baggiest T shirt and comfiest old sneakers so I can measure and look under and generally crawl all around the sofas and chairs. It never fails that if I've had my hair done and am dressed to the nine's I don't see a single solitary soul!! Anyhow, it was nice to see her. She hadn't changed very much in appearance and was always a lovely, kind, gentle soul. Nice to have seen you again Carmen!!

I also popped into the animal shelter. There is a very nice one in Scarborough. While I was there I met a very nice lady named Audrey. We talked for quite a while about this and that ....and the other thing. She comes every week to drop off her newspapers for them to use (a very good idea, I hadn't thought of that) and to see the animals.

There were lots of rabbits and rats, 2 finches and quite a few cats. Only three dogs, a collie, a boxer and a pit bull. Rather sad about the pit bull, he had been surrendered because the landlord where the owner lives would no longer allow that breed. Here in Toronto there is alot of controversy about that breed and the number of attacks on children caused by them. I personally do not care for them as a breed and would never have one as a pet. I'm more of a mutt lover myself! (and of course old hounds! )

There was a lovely gray/blue 4 year old declawed lady that caught my eye, but I held myself back. They are all so loveable, and look at you with those big soft eyes........

Work was lively (don't forget, I have to work after all these daytime jaunts). Spring seems to be seeping into everybody's bones. Mary and Rhonda and Yvonne made corned beef and cabbage for supper with fresh bread. The patients and the nurses ate well!! It was delicious.

Rhonda was looking forward to this weekend and we teased her mercilessly about it. She is almost 8 months pregnant and going for a spa getaway with a girlfriend. When she booked it they only had "romantic getaway packages" with fireplace rooms etc. We kidded her that everyone would think they were lesbians and that they would know for sure she was the girl because of her "condition".   I hope she has a great time. She is expecting her 3rd boy in May.