Monday 31 December 2012

And a Happy New Year!

Although it is only noon here, the celebrating has begun.  Tee and Coco and Muffin are off for lunch at the local sushi place and then Coco and her friends are getting together tonite and Tee and Muffin are off to a New Year's Eve party where their friends are playing.  The band consists of 3 boys (they are still boys to me even though they are in their mid 20's) Tom, Ian and Jesse.  Tom and Ian went to high school with Tee and so we have known them since forever.  They play here and there and all the members actually have "real" jobs but I think they are still waiting for their "big break".  They are such lovely boys and I would just be thrilled to see them make it in the music industry.  They regularly post new videos to YouTube and they get lots of hits, so who knows?  Anyway, they are playing at a resort north of here tonight and a bunch of the gang are going up there to celebrate with them.  Thankfully, they are all getting hotel rooms so I don't have to worry about Tee driving.  I think there are about 10 or so going so it should be a fun night.  Coco and Nats are visiting friends then heading to a gorgeous park in the heart of the little town south of us where there are lots of celebrations going on.  I know that they have a skating rink and music and I suspect they will have an outdoor pub and some live music as well.  It is a very old park and has the most beautiful mature trees and gardens making it very popular with the bicycling and jogging crowds in the summer.   Maybe the girls will find some cute boys to party with.  (Fingers crossed.)  LOL
PJ and I are taking life easy at home tonight.  Some snacks, some drinks and he will likely fall asleep before the ball drops, but who cares?  Back in the day, we used to have the parties at our house and the whole crowd would party all night.  When I think of it now, I don't know where we all squeezed in.  That was just a little house.  But lots of fun.
Kitboo is not crazy about the snow that we have gotten over the last couple of days.  She will go as far as the back deck (PJ had to shovel it for her) but did not venture down the stairs until today.  I had let her out and forgot about her again and when I came back to the kitchen, I looked out on the deck to nothing!  She was gone!  I called her but did not see her peeking out from her usual hiding places.  Then I spotted the little paw prints heading around the side of the house toward the front.  Oh, oh, I don't like her going out to the front as we have lost so many other cats to the insanity of the drivers on the road.  I went to the front door and as soon as she heard me open the door, she was up the steps and in the house with a flick of her tail to me!  I guess she made her way to the front then didn't want to have to brave the snow to get back again.  Spoiled kitten! She is now safely ensconced in her fave new spot, on the dining room table.  I don't have the heart to shoo her off and it still has the sheet on it from the wrapping of Christmas gifts.  I guess I will have to put a stop to that soon.  But not today.  After all it is New Year's for kittens too!

Best wishes for 2013 to all.  Thanks for allowing me to entertain you.

Love from Lulu xxx

Thursday 27 December 2012

Post Christmas

Well, here we all are again.  The mad rush is over; the presents have been exchanged, the turkey roasted, the drinks drunk and the cleanup begun.  Maybe not yet, exactly.  Christmas eve was rather quiet here; we never really know who may stop by and in the past we have had lots of Tee and Coco's friends stop in.  Coco made a fantastic dip this year, Buffalo Chicken Dip.  I will post the recipe for anyone reading this and interested.  It was deeelish.  I also made my usual (2 ingredient!) sweet and sour meatballs.  And we also had shrimp, pate and lots of wine!  Christmas Day was mad; Coco is the official alarm clock in the family and makes sure that everyone is up and at it by 5.  Once all the prezzies were opened, Tee and Muffin made their way to Muffin's place so that he could collect his loot from Muffin's folks!  They are far too generous. Muffy had plans with her family so Tee came home to a nap and a very relaxed turkey dinner with us.  Coco brought her laundry with her and got caught up on that and while I was doing the cooking, PJ and I watched a couple of Christmas specials.  Like I said, very low key here.  
Normally, on Boxing Day, PJ and Coco like to go shopping for all the picked over bargains.  As you can infer, not my cup of tea.  However, PJ declared that he was not going anywhere and stayed in his pj's (haha) all day.  That was okay with Coco as she and her roomie, Nats, were intending on spending today shopping.  I fear that Nats is as much a shopoholic as Coco, although since moving out, Coco cannot afford to spend as much anymore.  
All is quiet with Tee and Muffin today.  He is off til after the new year and Muffin does not start college til the 7th.  I suspect they will just be getting caught up on sleep and taking it easy for the rest of the week, in prep for New Year's Eve.  Some friends of theirs have a NYE engagement for their band just north of here so I think they may attend the party.  I have not heard what else is going on; Muffin and Nats are having a little get together at their place too.  
PJ is off to work today having to crawl through the first snow storm of the season.  According to the forecasters, it is supposed to take down the GTA, then move east.  Whatev.  We ain't scared of no snow!
Must go now; KitBoo thinks that she wants to go out!  HAHAHA, she is in for a surprise!

Love from Lulu xxxx

Saturday 22 December 2012

Countdown to Crazy

Well, it looks like we successfully made it through the end of the world. Although some would say that it is still crumbling piece by piece.  I often wonder about these so-called "seers" that regularly pop up to predict the demise of the world.  Surely, it must be a craving for attention that they are lacking else where.  Too bad.
So now we move on to the preparations for Christmas.  YIKES.  Still only half my wrapping done; no food prep done.  And KitBoo has decided that she loves to have her afternoon nap on the dining room table.  Currently it is covered with a sheet and being used for wrapping the prezzies and she loves to roll around in the paper bits and ribbon.  I don't know, don't ask.  She has some fetish with paper and bags and boxes though, I know; if anyone brings a bag of any kind into the house she will try to get into it, paper or cloth.  Muffin often brings food over here as she is gluten free and will shop for items that we can prepare and serve here for her.  Inevitably, Kit will not just look in the bags but will attempt to get into the bag or lay on it.  She also loves to nose her way into bigger paper bags, ie. take away bags with the handles, and will actually jump right into them.  As I am writing this, she is in the spare room with me laying on a discarded gift bag that I threw on the floor yesterday, in my haste of finding the others.  I don't dare pick it up now.  She already gave me a talking-to earlier when I let her out in the wind and snow and then forgot her.  She must have been waiting on the doorstep as I saw dozens of little paw prints back and forth all over the step.  When I opened the door, I got a Mroworow as she rushed in.  
I really must get myself together today.  PJ has gone to get a haircut and pick up some last minute stuff.  Tee is still sleeping - big shock there.  I don't know what Coco has planned for today but we may see her later.  She texted me yesterday saying that she has all of next week off so she would be coming over EARLY Monday morning.  I said, "No worries, if I am still in bed, just come crawl in.  Dad will be gone to work."   Knowing her, she will have a field day smelling, touching, shaking, and guessing what is in her packages under the tree.  She CANNOT be trusted.  We have to make sure that her gifts are under wraps from purchase to Christmas day.  PJ once drove around for a month with her gift in the trunk of his car just so she would not find it.  Even when she gives a gift, she cannot wait til the day and it drives her nuts if she cannot tell someone.  In some ways it is nice that she still has the excitement of Christmas.  I completely get it; I am the same!

Love from Lulu xx  

Friday 21 December 2012

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas!

Sadly, we still have no snow to speak of, which in this northern clime, is not just unusual but down right disappointing.  In Canada, not having snow for Christmas is like the Cali coast not having sand, or Bermuda not having that beautiful turquoise water.  It is not natural.  And for a lot of people it is a harbinger of bad.  My mother used to say, "Green Christmas brings a full graveyard."  Essentially, it means that the flu bugs and viruses are more likely to breed in the milder weather as opposed to the freezing cold that will kill them off, making people sicker and hence the greater chance of death.  I'm not sure that it is scientifically backed but it was just one of the many little sayings that she had when there were "signs".  For instance, if the trees produced more than normal nuts, like pine cones, that would indicate a harsher winter - the wild animals would have to scavenge for their food and would need the additional nuts to survive.  She also claimed that robins will announce coming rain by chirupping as will the leaves on trees by turning themselves "inside out", meaning the wind exposes the undersides of the leaves.  She was also a firm believer in the "pink sky" prognostications.  A pink sky at night was a sailor's delight; a pink sky in the morning was a sailor's warning.  Sometimes her signs were accurate, sometimes not so much. 

I absolutely must wrap today.  PJ does not wrap ever and has been hounding me to get at it.  He will con Coco into it when she is around but we won't likely see her until Christmas eve now.  Her work party was last night and I know she has some visiting to do as well as partying over the weekend. I also must get at some laundry; PJ refuses to use anything but the big bath towels after his shower and they are all in the basket.  He told me that since there were no clean towels, he was reduced to using a paper towel to dry off!  Silly man.

Tee is in for a half day today then off for the next 2 weeks.  His company is a family owned business and they are very encouraging of family get togethers and the whole family Christmas season.  The owner is a lovely old dear of 88 who comes into the office every morning.  He does a little walkabout and chats with some of the boys on the floor everyday.  His children actually run the company but he still signs every cheque by hand.  Tee's boss has already warned Tee that when he sees Mr. C on the floor to keep an eye out to make sure the way is clear and he doesn't trip or take a spill.  Mr. C likes Tee and will chat him up some mornings, sometimes he gets a wink and a salute.  Sweetest man alive. 

So, it really is beginning to look like Christmas in the house but I guess we will have to wait for that white stuff for the total effect. Hope you are ready; it is getting to the nail biting countdown.

Love from Lulu xx

Thursday 20 December 2012

Pre-Christmas


My beautiful daughter, Coco invited me to come to her place last night to see her BFF, Mels and her 4 kids. Auntie Coco was making dinner and doing the gift exchange at her place.   Mels married very young and chose to have her children in succession.  The oldest is 9; the youngest 3.  She has done a remarkable job with these little angels and they are very well behaved, sweet children.  It was somewhat chaotic but on the other hand, I got lots of hugs and cuddles.  The oldest went through a stage of being rather stand offish a couple of years ago and I was concerned, but it seems that he has now grown more confident and was sitting with my arm around his shoulder (he was holding it there) for quite a while before something of interest caught his eye.  The 5 year old has always been a little cheeky and has quite a sense of humour; I have told Mels that he will be the ladies man, the smoothy.  One day last summer, having spent the afternoon in the pool with Muffin (Tee's gorgeous gf) the week before, wanted to know where Muffin was.
Him: Is Muffin coming in the pool with us?
Coco: She isn't here; she is at her house.
Him, pausing for just a moment: Is she coming over today? 
Ever after that, Tee knew he had competition.

The 2 girls, 7 and 3, are lovely and chatty and crave attention, wanting to sing and dance for you.  The older one sang 3 or 4 Christmas songs for us while her sister danced around the room.  Too cute. 
Mels and Coco have been friends for over 15 years since their early teens. They are more sisters than friends and they have been through life's ups and downs together.  I could not ask for a better friend for Coco and I consider Mels one of my own as well.  Her babies have visited my house regularly since birth so I cannot help but be attached to them.  They were oh so concerned about PJ, their surrogate granddad cuz he couldn't make it last night but sent them a bag of socks in assorted sizes and colours.  I have never seen kids so excited about socks!  Hilarious.

At one point in the evening, the oldest wanted to know if Tee (my 25 yr old son) had any Pokeman cards.  Our conversation:
Me: "I don't know; you will have to ask him the next time you come over.  If he does, I am sure you can have them."
Him: "No, I wanted to give him some of mine."
My heart melted.
Then just as they were gathering up their things to get ready to go, the oldest girl came to me and said, "Gramasita (a name given to me many years ago; originally it was Mamasita from one of Coco's ex bfs, then evolved to Gramasita when the babies started coming), don't you have a big gift for me?"
I looked at Mels who frowned.  I said, "No, should I?".
"Yes", she said, "A giant hug!"  Again, giving me just more reason to adore these kids. 

So much to do right now.  Going to a Christmas lunch on Sunday and I want to make something to take.  I have a little hostess gift of 8 of those lovely porcelain Chinese style spoons but I also want to contribute to the buffet as well.  I also have a load of prezzies waiting to be wrapped, but not today.  Getting my hair done and maybe my nails too.  I also need a peddie but too busy for now. 

Thanks again, for sticking with me here.  So far, so good. 

Love from Lulu xx

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Intros All Round

Hi anyone who is reading this.  I have to admit I tried this before and was too lazy to keep it going but maybe this time I will be more motivated to share.  I would like to write random bits and pieces about my life, my family and my friends just to be able to express my inner thoughts and feelings.  In order to give perspective to that I will make some intros to the cast of characters who will be talked about, complained about, bragged about and generally gossiped about here.
PJ: the wonderful man that I have been married to for a very, very long time.  He is just a regular working stiff, 35+ years at the same place, no degrees, no high powered job, just a very good guy!
Coco: my beautiful daughter, who is 31 and not married and no kids, which is a thorn in my side cuz I am desperate for a cute little grandbaby to snuggle.  Coco is a teacher at a day care centre and as much as she adores the children, the kids and the parents love her.  She has been doing this for about 7 years and LOVES it.
Tee: my handsome son, who is 25.  He too is not married but he has a wonderful gf, Muffin, who you will hear about frequently too.  No kids there either.  Tee works at a steel cutting plant and has been there about a year.
I can't forget Kitboo, our sweet little black female cat.  We have had her since last spring.  She has some interesting personality traits that I will probably talk about later.  
So that is the whole gang.  You will likely hear about friends as well.  We don't have an extended family since all the grandparents are gone.  PJ is not particularly close to his sibs and I have none.
Thanks for sticking with me so far.  Let's see where it all goes.
Love from Lulu