Seems like an oxymoron saying NEW jalopy doesn't it? That's the fact though. Jon bought an old jalopy of a car for me to drive. It doesn't even run. Apparently it needs some transmission work. How much work is yet to be determined. Something is telling me by the time it's all said and done and said jalopy is on the road it's going to cost a good chunk of cash. Meaning he would have probably been better off buying a more expensive car that was in better working order rather than buy this one just because it was $100 (cheap).
It's a 1991 Volkswagen Passat .. black in colour. I was going to get some pictures this evening but I lost the daylight quite rapidly. Still getting used to the time change. Who knew one hour could make such a drastic difference is a day!
There are a few minor rust spots on it but for a 1991 it looks pretty good.
On the down side, when we were trying to push it off the dolly, Jon felt something snap in his calf so he's at Out Patients right now getting it looked at to make sure it isn't something more than a pulled muscle. Here's hoping it isn't something that's going to lay him up for any length of time. Especially put him off work because then it's going to be a money factor issue.
He was originally going to get out and tinker with the car a bit before dark but then the leg thing put a crimp in that plan.
I will update this post when I know more.
The posted picture is the one I took from the classified ad.
I have NEVER been a reader. Maybe if I had a cozy fireplace with a big comfortable chair I could be coaxed into it but I don't. I have been making an effort though because I want Rianne to love books and reading.
As far back as I can remember I've never liked reading. Book reports in school were hellish for me because I never could "get into" the required reading material.
In my adult life I have been opening my mind to reading novels again and it goes well until I come across a book that bores me and then I lose my passion.
Two years ago (gosh I can't believe it's been that long already) .. I got into the Twilight series and blew through those books in a matter of weeks. I couldn't put them down and even bought a little book light so I could keep reading after going to bed. I was hooked on those books. I really enjoyed them.
More recently I was introduced to the Shopaholic series of books my Sophie Kinsella after finding a few of them at a flea market. Not only do I have the first 4 books of the series but I have two of Kinsella's stand alone novels as well. The only two novels I have to get to finish the series is "Shopaholic and Baby" and the most recent "Mini Shopaholic".
I should have enough reading material to get me through the Winter but if I'm ever at the flea markets and see something that grabs my interest I'll buy it to have on my book shelf.
Sophie Kinsella is also Madeline Wickham but I was told that she writes more humor as Sophie Kinsella and more serious novels as Madeline Wickham.
So, for those of you (if anyone) who reads my blog, feel free to leave comments on books that may be worth the read.
I could spend a good hour in at Coles and probably longer than that at Chapters looking through books and not only that but the Chapters stores have Starbucks in them so wheee for a good read and a delicious latte. That makes Maggie a happy girl.
I read to Rianne a lot too. Her Little Golden books are going to be well read by the time she starts school. Her favorite is Scuffy the Tugboat and more recently, Barbie Fashion Fairytale. She is obsessed with that one at the moment. I'm glad she likes books and being read to. She should really enjoy it when she learns to read by herself.
So .. I am presently reading "Shopaholic Ties the Knot" and I am enjoying it as much as the previous two shopaholic books I've read. I am glad I discovered this little gem of a series.
Not a word of a lie, it's been raining almost daily since before Halloween. Not just light showers either. I'm talking about downpours. As I type this right now it's pouring out and the back yard is flooding yet again. Rianne looked out the window and said "I told you we should have bought a boat" and I think she's right!
It's so dull and depressing out it affects my mood. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way on dreary days. I don't feel like doing anything and as luck would have it, there's nothing for me to do so it suits me just fine.
As bad as the rain is here, at least we aren't in the flooded areas of the Province (yet). Yes, my back yard is flooded and 3/4 of it is under water and the basement is running two sump pumps at least we aren't under the state of emergency that is affecting Barrington, Yarmouth and Argyle right now. Moncton New Brunswick is flooded as well.
Everyone is hoping the rain will stop soon before we develop webbed feet.
This past Sunday Rianne celebrated her 5th Halloween. She was so excited to go Trick-or-Treating so we took her to the mall at 2 PM but it didn't start until 3. Oops! We killed time shopping in Canadian Tire and then we went to the little arcade where she played games, won tickets to redeem for a prize. She won 90 tickets, went to the counter and asked for a flower that was 150 tickets and they gave it to her. They must have thought she was one cute My Little Pony. It was very nice of them to do that.
At 3 PM she started treating at various stores and got a few things but what I don't understand is ... Trick-or-Treating is for KIDS and a lot of the stores were handing out those hard Werther's Original candy. Not the best choice at all .. and one employee actually refused to give her a treat because she said that was what the boss sent over and she didn't feel right giving them out to smaller children because of the choking hazard.
We came home from the mall, had an early supper and as soon as we got our first little treater, Jon took Rianne out around the neighbourhood. Not long after they left, they were back. Tired perhaps? Nope, she came home to empty out her FULL bag and they were off again.
They came home a second time to empty the treat bag, came home again for the third time .. this time it was because Rianne needed a bathroom break. I changed her out of her wet tights and boots, put jogging pants, dry socks and her rubber boots on her and they left again. She was having the time of her life out there. So cute!
When they came in for the night, I went through her goodies and sorted them out and took away the hard candy, suckers and pop. Oh and about the pop. She knocked on one door and they were about to put a can of pop in her bag. She proceeds to say "not another can of pop. I don't drink pop because it's not good for kids.." Yes, she actually said that! The homeowner said "oh I'm sorry. Then I have something else for you" .. and gave her a little bag of chips instead. I'm sure that lady will remember Rianne for the rest of her life, LOL.
The house across the street had a Haunted House" set up inside. Apparently it was quite impressive according to the kids who came here. Some were too scared to go in but Jon took Rianne in so it couldn't have been that bad. It's nice to have people on the street who love Halloween as much as I do!
Rianne ate some treats and then brushed her teeth and went to bed. She was out like a light in no time at all. Uttering the words "this is the best Halloween ever!!" over and over again before going to sleep. Awww ... LOVE her!
The funny things is ... leading up to Halloween she wouldn't take her costume off. Now that it's all over and her costume has been washed and she can wear it without worrying about ripping or staining it, she hasn't asked to wear it once!
She spotted one other Pinkie Pie Pony @ the mall but other than that it wasn't a common costume at all. Not like a Witch or Pirate.
Even though we were still a family of three while Jon was away, it didn't feel like it. I felt like a single mother for those 6-months.
It's so nice having Jon home again .. not only does my family until feel more complete but I'm getting things done around the house that I couldn't get done myself. Just this month alone there's a new expansion tank on the furnace, new taps on the kitchen sink, digital thermostats on the main floor as well as upstairs and all of my twigs that came down during Hurricane Earl have been taken to the Enviro Depot. Next on the list of renovations is the bathroom. He has already converted the access to the water pipes in the shower into shelves/storage and when you have a TINY bathroom you need all the storage you can get! Then we have to find flooring and a new vanity that is space saving. The big pedestal sink is beautiful but not practical. After the bathroom is done (and it won't be anytime soon) we will tackle getting a better layout in the kitchen. I am fairly certain that this house was on the market for as long as it was because of the small bathroom and awkward floor plan on the main floor. I guess people just didn't see the potential like we did. I'm not one that needs a big spacious bathroom anyway because that's only more area to clean. All the necessities are in there (tub/shower, toilet and sink) so that's all I need in a bathroom.
Jon said he saw nice hardwood flooring at the building supplies store the other evening and he wants to get it to do the hallway upstairs. It squeaks and he absolutely hates having a squeak anywhere, whether it's on a vehicle, a door or a floor. He really improved the squeaking of the stairs shortly after we moved in. He's so handy!
He had big visions of going away to Alberta, making a small fortune and then coming home and rocking on with the home renovations but it didn't work out that way at all. He didn't make all that much for whatever reason so now we are back to square one with having to save little by little for everything. Give us more time to compare prices and designs though so it's okay. Oh, he did win the Lotto 6/49 last week but it was $1,000 and that's going toward the property taxes. Certainly better than a kick in the pants though for sure!!
The only thing I miss is being able to "starfish" in bed and get a good night sleep. Good ole hubby snores like there's no tomorrow and I haven't slept through the night in weeks. I'd love to be able to wear ear plugs but I would hear Rianne if she needed me through the night (she never needs me through the night anymore but it's just a "what if" scenario that's in my head). For now I'll just deal with it. He doesn't sleep through the night either though because I wake him up. Why should he sleep when I'm laying there awake. EVIL!!
The week leading up to Halloween is always magical for me. Seeing all the decorations .. which I might add have vastly improved since I was a kid (wow that made me sound old). Now there are fog machines, animated ghouls, ghosts and goblins, fake rats, bats and spiders, air inflated decorations and ones that glow and blink. Back in the day you were lucky to find cardboard cutouts of pumpkins, witches and black cats. Forget about the lights and decorations they have today. It's impressive!
We were in a store in Halifax (Bayers Lake Business Park) called "Spirit of Halloween" and it was amazing! They had almost every costume, accessory and decoration imaginable. Very impressive! Imagine, having entire stores dedicated to Halloween now. It's getting almost as commercial as Christmas.
Rianne is going to be My Little Pony this year. More specifically, Pinkie Pie. She saw it on the Walmart website and set her mind to it. Jon bought the costume in Edmonton before he left. He went to three different stores before finding it too. He's do anything for his little girl and he was determined to get this costume for her. She was so excited to get her costume she wanted to wear it everywhere so we had to take it away and hide it before it got ruined. She gets to wear it to Story Time @ the local library this week and she is excited about the idea of wearing it again. Then the big trick-or-treat event on Sunday. The Abrdeen Mall is hosting a treating event starting at 2 PM so we will probably take her to that before Jon takes her house to house in the neighbourhood. I will stay home and hand out treats to the kids that come. I hope we don't get A LOT of treaters because as of this moment we are only prepared for 40 and I've been hearing about numbers ranging between 80-100 so I'm nervous. We are supposed to buy more treats this week for a back-up.
I will post more pictures of my front step next week. I have to wait until Sunday to put some of it out or it will get ruined. We've been getting some very high winds the last couple of weeks. I hope the weather is fabulous on the 31st.
Here's wishing everyone a SAFE and HAPPY Halloween!!
Today is the day that Rianne and I have been waiting for since April.
Jon left Alberta this afternoon. He is presently in Saskatchewan driving East and he isn't going to be stopping for a sleep until he reaches North Bay Ontario. That's one heck of a long drive and it's going to be keeping me awake tonight no doubt. I get so nervous when he's on the road doing long drives like this. Thankfully this is the last long drive!! Once he gets home he won't be going away for work again.
He visited IKEA for one last time yesterday and I sent him on a hunt for Rianne's Halloween costume since the odds were better that he'd find it in Edmonton. He found it at the third Walmart he went to so it's official .. Rianne is going to be a My Little Pony (Pinkie Pie) this year. She is excited!!
Rianne's face lit up when I told her this morning that it was October. She knows her daddy is coming home in October and her smile went from ear to ear knowing October was finally here.
Monday is going to be a GREAT day!
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