Returning from a vacation is exhausting. I need a vacation from my vacation.

Being able to do laundry before leaving, while chillaxing on the last night makes the unpacking process so much more simple.

A guest suite in a generous friend's house is such a pleasant and far more homey way to be in a city you once lived in. A hotel would make it all seem so wrong, so foreign, as though it is and always be a place to visit, not somewhere once lived. Thank you once again, Linda.

The obsessiveness of not being without something has turned my purse/backpack into an old lady purse that can make multitudes of everyday things appear from it. Except dental floss. And that was only a test. Thanks, Kim, for proving my purse does not hold everything, but now has a mini dental floss in it.

Cemetaries are beautiful places. Even when someone you love is in one.

Often, it is those that are humble in their skills have the sharpest. Thank you, Brandon, for what you added to my vacation and my life. Not sure you will ever understand how much the simplicity of what you do when you are brave enough to face it does for me. Thanks for getting up there a few more times and allowing me to get it.

Some people never change. It's amusing to rely on the insanity of a select few.

There are times when people come into our lives and we think that we regret our time with them. Sometimes, they leave things with us that teach us. Often, what not to look for in a friend. Sometimes, they leave us with the connections of people we cannot imagine being without.

It's so mindblowingly amazing to have friendships that can pick up where they left off no matter how long it has been since last contact.

Brunch is a good meal. Sunday brunch is even better.

I miss where i used to live. But up here will always be home. It's good to be home.

I know you are missing the colours, so i thought this would be nice for you. Let me know if you want me to mail you some... ha ha ha.

Anyone want a rice cooker? We have an extra one.

My sister in law gave us one for xmas a few years back. Then, two years later, gave us another one. I think she forgot she already got us one. The second one has been sitting in a box for a while until the other day when i decided to get it out and try it. It's a bit bigger than the first one she gave us... so we are going to keep number two.

Anyone want the number one? Free. Email me and we can arrange a drop off or pick up.

Today is mine and (e:Uncutsaniflush)'s 6th wedding anniversary. We met, in person, for the first time on Friday, 6 October, 2000 and were married exactly one year later. We were married on the deck of the house we lived in the first 3 years of our marriage, and most importantly to me, the place i realized i love this crazy bald head of a man. He rocks. I wouldn't trade him for anything in the whole wide world.

I've been using the nickname LeeTee since i got married. Thing is, my real full name is Leette and so few people can pronouce it when they read it and i get called LeeTee when they do, so why not just go with it. Most people call me Lee, since i hate hate hate the name Leette. And, now that my last name starts with a T, i figure, LeeTee is even more appropriate.

Today, however, i got myself a new nickname. Last night, two of my co-workers were sitting in the backroom, doing the closing stuff. One had met me and the other hadn't. The one that hadn't looked up at the schedule and asked the other, "Who is this Lettuce person?" When they told me that shortly after arriving and introducing myself to the co-worker i hadn't met yet, i almost burst a lung laughing. So far, it is my favourite nickname. I want them to call me that. I want a name tag that says that. But the manager said no, my name tag has to stay boring -- "Lee".

Today was my first official day at work "on the floor". All i had done before that were training exercises and a bit of re-stocking. And would you believe it, my very first official customer ever was one of our own. An (e:peep). Oh, (e:Enknot), you lucky, lucky man...

As i mentioned in a previous post (see below or (e:LeeTee,41260)), i am now in possession of my late maternal grandmother's rings. I have been trying to get a decent picture of them... but this will have to do.



And, for our overseas contingent who says she misses rain, i tried my best to take a good picture for you. I think it just looks like a wet street even though it was pissing down rain. Maybe i should have timed it to take just when the lightning was flashing?

Here you go, (e:Ladycroft).

This weekend, my parents came to visit. Of course they did, there were (e:peep) happenings....

I decided, earlier in the week, since it had been getting colder, i would make some cabbage rolls for them.

They would be bringing Ralphie the dog (their dog sitter is getting old and not well, and the dog himself is getting old and not well as i mentioned in a previous post, (e:LeeTee,40897)), so i knew that my dad would not want to arrive and leave "poor Ralphie" alone in a strange house so we could go eat out.

I have made cabbage rolls once in the past before (e:LeeTee,25631) and i tried to remember all the lessons i learned from that time, even though it was over a year ago. I think have the seasonings better and the fake meat i used was a better blend. But, during the process, i ran out of cabbage. Too much filling, not enough cabbage.

So, i put my shoes on to walk to Guercio's. Forgetting that i had taken the string out of my yoga pants to try to makeshift leash the beagle i sorta rescued the other day, (e:LeeTee,41203), the fast pace i was walking made my pants fall down. OK, now, our 'hood of Grant and Bird isn't the best, but i reckon i might get mistaken for one of the many tradeswomen if i kept that up. So, i had to hold my pants up... which, in a very odd way, made me fit in a tiny bit better with a certain segment of the population here. Either that or i looked like some crazy lady wannabe.

The end result of my second attempt at cabbage rolls (oh, please, do not ask me to spell the polish word i know how to say that translates to pigs in a blanket!) was good. No one complained or got sick. My dad loved them, my mom even liked them, the meat eater that she is. Of course, one could never mistake my version for one with meat, but it has it's own charms.

The rest of our weekend with them was nice... low key. I helped my parents give Ralphie his Subcutaneous injection for his kidney disease. My dad claims things are more calm when i jab him with the needle. Once again, being a former i.v. drug user finally comes in handy.

The biggest surprise... no, shock, of the weekend is that i am now in possession of my late maternal grandmother's wedding and engagement rings.

I have always loved these rings. I have no idea of their monetary value. I just think now, as have i always, that they are pretty.

When my grandmother died, my grandfather gave them to my mother.

Before (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i got married, i asked my mom if i could have grandma's rings. She said no.. grandpa might be offended if he saw that i was wearing them and not her.

My mom rarely wears them, not being a fan of them. When she does, as when my grandmother wore them, i would try and take them off and put them on my finger.

While sitting on our front porch this weekend, i did that very same thing. I reached over to my mom's hand, and took off the rings and put them on my finger.

She said, "You can have them" to which i replied, "Yeah, i know, when you kick it, i will get them" and she said, "No, now, you can have them. You love them. You keep them."

Shock and tears came next... grandma's rings. I have grandma's rings. Even now, thinking that they are on my finger as i type this, makes me well up a bit.

Turns out my mom had been thinking of giving them to me recently. When she was visiting her brother and sister in law over labour day weekend, she was wearing them and mentioned to my Aunt Pat that she might give them to me. Soon... before she died. That she would like to see me happy to have them, not wait until she died to have them.

The stipulation of me having these rings, as writen in my mom's will, is that since i cannot have children of my own, is that i pass them onto my neice, my brother's daughter. I promise.

Wow... grandma's rings...

So, yesterday one of the reasons i went with (e:Uncutsaniflush) to Lockport is that i needed a distraction.

Sure, i could have occupied myself around the house, but i had already done most of the tasks that would take up the time i had.

Mostly, it was because i was a bit nervous.

See, i got myself a real job. Sure, i could have kept on with the occasional odd jobs i have been getting, but it doesn't fit in with my grand plan.

Today, i worked 4 hours. Next week, i also work 4 hours. The following week, i will work the amount of hours i was hired to work -- 20. A nice way to ease back into working, after over 7 years being a housewife.

Plus, the manager was supercool about me needing time off (yeah, already!) next month when (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i will be heading to Knoxville to visit his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death.

So far, all i have really done is fill out papers and start training... watching dvd's, reading manuals and answering questions in a work book. So no sore feet on the first day... woo hoo.

I think i will like this job. So far, i can't see why i wouldn't... but like all jobs, ya never know until you get in there and get dirty.

I saved a 13" beagle bitch from getting run over today.

She was wandering along the sidewalk, in downtown Lockport on the sidewalk of N Transit in front of Walgreens. Almost as soon as i notice her, she plops herself onto the road in front of an oncoming pickup truck. I dropped my bag and ran into the street, waving my arms, hoping the truck would stop. It squealed to a stop, and the driver began cursing at me. I picked up the dog and showed him. He looked shocked, then started to give me a huge lecture about putting my dog on a leash. I told him it wasn't my dog, she was just wandering... but he was already driving away.

I carried her to the grassy area in front of the store and looked for a collar or tags. Nothing. She had big dangly nipples, so i assume she had puppies recently. She was sweet and licked my face. She wasn't interested in the Cool Ranch Doritos that were my lunch, but she did drink the majority of the bottle of water i had in my purse/backpack.

I took the string from my yoga pants out as a make shift collar and leash, but she was having none of it. Seems she thought it was a game.. she dodged it and licked my face when i got close enough. Then, all of a sudden, she decided she had enough of me, and ran away, across W Genessee (thank godness no cars were coming!) and into some bushes.

I hope she made it home ok. And i hope her humans won't let her escape again... she doesn't have a lot of road smarts.

Now, why i was wandering the streets of downtown Lockport by myself is another story.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) was asked, at the very last minute, to help with an inventory of the Hallmark cards at the Walgreens. His boss told him it would only take 2 hours, and promised if i let him go do the inventory, a couple of boxes of Boca Burgers would head my way. I told him to make them Morningstar Frams Grillers and he had a deal.

So, i went with, thinking i could kill 2 hours in Lockport then (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i would continue on with the plans we had for the afternoon.

The 2 hours turned into nearly 5.... so, at 6pm, we thought it wouldn't be wise to head into Niagara Falls. We both have to work in the morning.

Instead, we had dinner and went to Walmart... i don't really *need* the new clothes for work, but now i don't have to make do.

As i have mentioned before, (e:LeeTee,25699) i make my mom a specialized calendar every year for xmas.

I used to do it all by hand -- measuring every calendar grid, writing in every number.

Then, i did it partially by hand, doing the calendar grid with a word processor, copying them out and then drawing in every day.

Then, i began to do it all with CorelDraw. I did that for many many years. I am so familiar with the program. Plus, i just alter the previous year. Which means i did all the hard stuff a long time ago, and the rest is just creative fun. We've had a dual boot thingmaggie (linux and windows) so i can have my CorelDraw to do my the boss mom calendar.

Well, for so many years, i say i need to start early so i can redo it from scratch on something open source, since we don't really use Windows anymore (except for the dual boot so i can use CorelDraw).

So, tonight, i have been trying. And trying and trying and trying. Shit, i am frustrated. None of the 3 programs we have right now has everything i need. Is it so hard to have something that will make a table or grid that is more than a word processor?

Open Office Draw seems to have a lot of things i could use... but... once i started, it doesn't. Or maybe i'm just to focused on the way i know things to be able to find them. I'm stupid, in other words.

I could not get a table from it, unless i draw every line and/or box by hand. And it doesn't have PMS colours or any way to ensure i am always selecting the same colour for different objects (i think it would be wise to always have, say, the exact same colour of blue on every number in the same calendar month). I can't seem to edit objects to a path.

• sigh* I think starting in September might have been too late...