Lucy Goes On Vacation

Lucy on Vacation

 May 23, 2010

Our GPS aka Lucy went on vacation with us.  She was a huge help at navigating us around the various areas we needed to get to while keeping us from getting lost.  She even notifies us in advance if a traffic light has a camera not that we are the type to run red lights but it is a nice feature.  She also notifies us if our speed is too high for the area.  In some areas only a couple of miles over the speed limit could result in a traffic ticket so flashing a warning to draw attention that we're a couple of miles over is nice.  It's easy to go over by  a couple of miles too if you are following traffic.  At any rate it was lovely having Lucy along!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Beautiful Sunshine

Last week was spent partly on vacation and part at home still somewhat in vacation mode.  The common them was the beautiful sunshine.  We left the sunny south to arrive home in the sunny north with temperatures close to what they were while we were on vacation.  Yesterday we ended the week with a day spent mainly enjoying the sun while getting a bit of work done in the yards and gardens.  It was just a wonderful day!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

One of the Weirdest Places I've Blogged

Blogging

May 20, 2010 

I kid you not this is exactly where I was blogging from the evening a week ago Thursday.  The bathtub made for a rather nice back rest although the floor was a little hard so my toosh kept drifting off to sleep.  Why would I do this?  The better question is why wouldn't I.  Now there is a very valid reason for blogging from this location.  We had arranged to have the carpets cleaned in the vacation house.  The appointment was for between 1 pm and 3 pm.  The carpet cleaner called about 2:30 pm to say he was running late and would it be ok if he came around 4 pm which in reality ended up being 4:30 pm.  All of the livingroom furniture was crammed into the kitchen and the way the technician hooked up the modem I couldn't connect up outside.  I think we'll have to get a router for wireless use throughout the house but that's another story.  Anyway after the carpet cleaner was finished we slipped down to the clubhouse for dinner then my husband dropped me off so he could play cards with the guys. 

I promptly connected up the computer with the cords protected from the wet carpet and set about blogging in the little bathroom.  It wasn't as if there were many other options as even the patio doors to the lanai were blocked.  When my husband returned he got quite the chuckle!  He managed to get several incriminating photos as well.  So there you have the weirdest place I've ever blogged but my blogging days are far from over so I might come up with another one or two weird places to blog :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Our Vacation Home

Our Vacation Home

May 19, 2010

We have just returned from spending a couple of weeks at our new vacation home.  The house was bought strictly from the pictures based on location.  We are quite pleased with the condition and of course location doesn't get much better.  I'm sure we will create a lot of wonderful memories here!  I will be posting more about our vacation home on my homemaking, cooking, and gardening blogs if you are interested in any further information as well as inside views or the garden.  Now when I talk about our vacation home you have a good visual of what I'm talking about.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas

I've been an Elvis Presley fan since being knee high to a grasshopper.  Over the years we have collected his singles that we play on our old juke box and many of his albums.  Here is one of my favourite Elvis Presley songs.  Enjoy :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Ditch Grass Blowing in the Wind

Ditch Grass Blowing in the Wind

April 30, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-201

Telemarketer Vs Leslie Nielson

I have often thought of humorous value to telemarketing after getting one of those precious [sic] calls.  If you're going for the humour value then wasting their time is the key goal since time is money especially in the telemarketing business.  Leslie Nielson is just hilarious in his approach to dealing with a telemarketer.  The poor girl was definitely getting confused.  He actually managed to waste 5.49 minutes of her time which is rather impressive.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

In Celebration of Victoria Day & Queen Elizabeth's Birthday

Have a happy, safe and fun filled Victoria Day weekend.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - A Different Perspective

Sometimes in life a different perspective is most welcomed.  A lot of times this comes in the form of a vacation.  It's funny how slowing down a bit while enjoying different scenery changes your perspective on problems of all sizes but not only problems.  This past week I have been enjoying a bit of a paradyme shift.  Without all the pressures of the normal environment a vacation frees up the mind to deal with problems sometimes in a refreshing way.  So I am enjoying seeing things through a different perspective.  What a nice blessing.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Toxic People

A little over a year ago I was contacted by an individual claiming to be a long lost family relative.  Now this really was different than the spam emails I like to poke fun at.  When I failed to welcome this person with open arms the person turned very nasty.  I have done a lot of genealogy research on my family so I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt this person was lying about being related but you know there is always that little bit of doubt as to what if so I decided to hear this person out.  Obviously this person had and continues to have an agenda beyond my scope of comprehension when it comes to genealogy.  Very quickly, actually within a week this person started making demands of me then accused me of not being interested in her.  Umm, excuse me why should I be interested in a person who is so entwined in lies about their past they don't have a clue at all?  So when I failed to jump for joy at finding this long lost relative that I have nothing to offer and she has nothing to offer me [let's face it we are biologically unrelated strangers joined only through the psychotic mind of someone who wants something that isn't] she sent a lovely John Doe letter.  That only took 5 weeks!  That is where everything should have ended but now this psycho cannot even follow through with her John Doe letter to the point she is now stalking me on Twitter.  So I blocked her so she can't see any of my updates but somehow she is still managing to get through with very snotty, rude comments about how her life is so much better than mine mixed with name calling and derogatory comments.  She doesn't even flipping know me! Here is my one and only very snotty, rude comment about this person if they are reading this which I know they are - You are one seriously, pathetic person who needs professional help immediately.  I feel very sorry for you!  Ok now I've said that I am moving on but will be taking a few legal steps to get this misguided individual to back it of NOW!  Depending on my mood she may also get awarded the special donkey award!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

A Telemarketing Nightmare

Anyone who has followed this blog knows my extreme dislike bordering on hatred for telemarketers.  If you have been following this blog you will also know we have a special phone system at home to deal with these types of call.  Our land line was hooked up at our vacation house so we bought a cheaper phone set figuring we don't need a lot of bells and whistles since anyone important knows how to reach us via cell phone so the land line is really for convenience when here.  I set up the system in the late evening.  I kid you not the very first call was from a telemarketer!  This is a brand new land line so I was not amused.  When the second telemarketer call came through I was less amused.  By the third I was getting testy and by the fourth my Canadian humour kicked into full gear.  This poor enterprising telemarketer aka fourth victim  asked for me by name then went into their script at a point where they asked which did we prefer Master Card or Visa to which I replied cash.  Hey it's the truth but my gosh did this ever throw the telemarketer off especially after a bit of spluttering trying to clarify what credit card I preferred.  I calmly told them I prefer a paid off credit card.  It would appear that wasn't the anser they were looking for so they came back with choose either Master Card or Visa.  I said cash again.  Well it went back and forth like this for a good 10 minutes but heck I was bored and had nothing better to do while waiting for my husband to return from golf so I figure what the heck telemarketer amusement is better than nothing and the best part is I wrote at least one blog post while talking to the telemarketer so it wasn't like my time was totally wasted.  I honestly never did find out what the guy was selling because over the 10 minute period we couldn't get past the cash thing AND I didn't even have to mention the ethics of credit either which is likely a good thing for him because that would have stretched out the call a heck of a lot longer.  I'm hoping he calls back tomorrow, say right about that time I'm a bit bored and need some entertaining :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

How Spam Originates

Have you ever wondered how spam originates?  How do spammers get your email address in the first place?  Well that is quite a simple answer.  Every time you fill out an online form that includes your email address the address goes onto that company's or website's email list.  At some point some of these companies and websites sell their email lists to Mr. Spammer, a pimply faced adolescent loner with coke bottle glasses who's only source of attention is his mommy's ISP notifying her of the latest complaint against her account.  And that's how spam originates.

----- Original Message ----
From: strewn
To: xxxxx@yahoo.co.jp; xxxxx@sussex.ac.uk; xxxxx@mymail.net; xxxxx@allenfg.com
Sent: Wed, May 5, 2010 11:39:58 AM
Subject: business mailing lists

Here's a list package on sale this week only:

Criminal Attorneys - 142,906 total records, 99,857 emails
USA Lawyers Database - 269,787 records with 235,244 emails
Financial Planners Database - 148,857 records all with emails
Finance and Money Professionals Database - 116,568 records all with emails

All complete lists above: $299

There are more list packages also available for consumer, healthcare, business and more. Contact me here for more info or to get samples: Sammie.Poe@newbusinesshorizon.co.cc
---

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Pink Blossoms

Pink Blossoms

April 30, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Who is Jack Schitt?

[from my email files, oldie but goodie]

-----
WHO IS JACK SCHITT? For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt? We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt'

Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.
 Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt.
Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, who married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt. Inc.
They had one son, Jack. In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt.  Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.... Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt. Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony.The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse. Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt. Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt', you can correct them.

Sincerely, Crock O. Schit

-----

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Telemarketer Prank

As you know telemarketers are not my favourite people. Oh sure they are likely quite lovely people when they aren't calling people at inconvenient times to sell them something they don't want.  The Canadian Police Association conducts a telemarketing campaign a few times throughout the year.  I haven't heard of the Cops for Kid's program in the schools but they usually call to ask us to sponsor a less fortunate child to go to the circus.  I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I've talked to the telemarketer in the video.  The Canadian Police Association telemarketers are every bit as annoying as any other telemarketer so thanks to our phone system with built-in call block we no longer get phone calls from them.  Here's how a couple of pranksters deal with a call from the Canadian Police Association.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday -

This past week has been a mish mash of excitement, change and experimentation so I have really been enjoying being in the moment.  On the change front we replaced all of the rented satellite tv receivers with purchased ones that will save us the rental fees each month.  Four of the receivers were bought from a friend who was changing providers.  The fifth receiver that actually counts as 2 receivers is an HD PVR.  I really like the idea that I can now record programs I want to see then watch them when I want to without having to be there and it still works if the power goes out.  We could record before with the VCR but half the time I would forget to set it for recording.  Any power disruption would result in no recording.  Then we enrolled the the peaksaver® program through HydroOne.  The technican came out this week to install the free Honeywell UtilityPRO™ touchscreen programmable demad control thermostat ($250 value) replacing the horrible programmable thermostat that was put in when we replaced the central air conditioning.  Oh and we did or I should say the guys we hired did a major ripout of a couple of old garden beds we started ripping out in the fall.  The change is unbelievable!  We now have a blank slate in those areas to recreate garden beds the way we want them.  This is definitely exciting!  On the excitement front we have a couple of things in the works that are very exciting but they will have to remain a secret for a week or so yet.  I promise I will be blogging about both of them.  On the experimentation front I have been doing a fair amount of experimenting in the kitchen.  This is always fun and exciting.  Each of the changes, moments of excitment and experimentation were blesssings much enjoyed!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Old Farm Relic

Old Farm Relic

May 12, 2010

Each year we buy a cow (beef on the hoof) then a friend of ours raises it until it is ready to go to the abattoir.   Most years we split the meat with three other couples but this year we decided to keep half ourselves.  Last Wednesday we took a road trip to pick up our bulk meat purchase.  It was a nice, sunny but chilly, windy spring day just perfect for a jaunt in the country.  Scattered throughout the countryside are old farm relics now used as lawn accents standing as a reminder of quieter and gentler times.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

My Husband Surprised Me With Flowers

Flower Bouquet 

May 10, 2010

My husband has the uncanny knack of knowing just what I need sometimes.  I'm telling you he is one of the best there is!  The house issue is now basically in limbo with us having to make a decision whether to sell or not.  It has quickly become quite a dilemma.  There are pros and cons with respect to moving and in hind sight we listed the house way too soon.  Anyway my husband came home with a love bouquet of flowers.  Not only did they make me smile they brightened the room :) 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Like Chalk Art on Asphalt

Chalk Prints

May 9, 2010

The kids came home for Mother's Day.  I am always amazed as how much I notice the little changes in the grandbabies.   I was still writing in the driveway with sidewalk chalk to greet the two little one when they pulled in.  Oldest grandbaby who definitely is not a baby anymore by any stretch of the imagination loves sidewalk chalk.  Oh sure Grandma is encouraging a future graffiti artist.  Anyway when they arrived oldest grandbaby immediately wanted  to know where Papa was.  I replied Papa would be home around 2 and since the weather was cool and it was lunch time we'd have lunch first then decorate the driveway when Papa got home.  We had a nice lunch  and just when we were finishing Papa arrived home a good hour ahead of scedule.  Oldest grandbaby was elated!  A few thumps up the stairs, jacket on along with the cutest rain boots you've ever seen (hey Mommy has good taste) saw oldest grandbaby out the door with the bucket of sidewalk chalked held tightly.  Papa and oldest grandbaby spent quite some time out there drawing all kinds of neat thing in our driveway.  Jo Jo joined them to add a bit of creative drawings.  I went out to take a few pictures.  Our driveway way the belle of the neighbourhoood!

Pictured are oldest grandbaby's chalkprints.  Aside of the doctor and parents I was the first to hold this very precious little one.  I can't believe how time has flown.  Seriously all the babishness is gone and yet like the one that went before will always be my baby.  In front of me stands a little one more than willing to gives hugs and kisses yet assert authority and buck the system.  There is definitely a strong streak of defiance mixed with even stronger respect.  I gave oldest grandbaby a huge huge then cuddled youngest grandbaby enjoying the baby that still was while memories of my baby now a parent flooded through me and all was well.  I saw what we worked so hard for coming full circle in our grandbabies nourished by what we taught out kids. And life is good :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Hidden Pond

Hidden Pond

April 30, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Mother's Day Flowers

Calla Lily

My husband surprised me with a beautiful potted Calla Lily for Mother's Day.  It has long been a tradition here that rather than being gifted with flowers potted plants are preferred.  The gorgeous lilies will thrive indoors through the winter but will enjoy being outdoors in the nicer weather when danger of frost is gone.  Aren't they beautiful?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

It's Time for Your Monday Chuckle of the Day!

Monday's always get a bad rap because quite frankly that when all the little, annoying problems seem to happen.  It doesn't help the perception either by being overtired from a weekend of fun.  Now if this cute little video does brighten your Monday blues nothing will!  Enjoy the chuckle and remember problems are easier dealt with if you can smile :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  Today I celebrate Mother's Day in two ways.  First I was very, very blessed to know the love and nurturing of two mothers.  Their love will follow and guide me for the rest of my life.  Secondly I was extremely blessed to become a mother to my own children who continue to the chain of love passed on to them.  Becoming a mother is one of the best things I ever did in my life second only to becoming a wife.  It is true once a mother always a mother :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Mothers vs Teenage Daughters

Waiting in an airport can be a rather interesting adventure.  Quite often my husband and I will make up stories about people we see but other times we seriously have to bite our tongues to keep from bursting out laughing.  I love to people watch whenever we travel so as a mother can totally relate to Jeanne Robertson's recap of an airport argument between mother and teenage daughter over a boy.  Enjoy the chuckle :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

My New TheraShoe® Trainers

My New Shoes

May 5, 2010

A couple of nights ago we decided to do a little bit of shopping before stopping for dinner.  Notice the little bit?  We don't shop for the sake of shopping so unless we have a reason to shop we don't.  We currently have a bit of an ant problem so after several attempts at natural control we finally broke down and decided to pick up HotShot®, a highly effective insect control with residual effects up to 9 months.  We discovered this product when doing a knock down for centipedes when we moved here in 2007 and haven't had to use it since then.  In the meantime, we will continue looking for the ant nest to eliminate it.  So that was our main reason for shopping.  We decided that we each would buy something to wear for the summer at the same time.

I haven't gone through my summer clothes yet so don't know what I need but I'll tell you I always need shoes!  I found a pair of TheraShoe® trainers.  I'm seldom wear trainers but have decided I need a couple of pairs if I want to do more walking on a daily basis, part of my plan towarde increased fitness.  I had seen these and similar style by other brands on television.  They reminded me of the wonderful Earth Shoes we bought back in the early 1980's.  Earth Shoes had a heel was lower than the toe called a negative heel that was meant to promote proper alignment of the spine when walking.  Earth Shoes were pricey but we each managed to buy 2 pairs that saw a lot of use.  Oh how I wish we had bought a few more pairs as those were some of the best we've ever had!

Fast forward to my new purchase.  TheraShoe® shoes have a certified impact reduction system by the Academy of Therapeutic Footware.  They are designed to help improve posture, exercise core glute and leg muscles, reduce shock to back, hips, knees, and feet as well as help improve gait when walking.  They have a rocker sole which is not a new concept as I have a couple of pairs of shoes with rocker soles that are just delightful to walk in.  The rocker soles on the TheraShoe® is a bit thicker and more pronounced.  I tried them on in the store and oh gosh they did feel ever so comfortable!  Here comes a leaner, more fit Garden Gnome :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

I'm In The Money!

There are days that I simply cannot wait to open up my spam folder.  Oh the delights that one little folder holds for me!  Heck just this week alone several long lost relatives had the bad misfortune of passing on without spending their millions of dollars leaving all of their estate to moi their only living relative.  Just in case all this new found money wouldn't be quite enough I was issued this great ATM Card details as follows for no particular reason other than I'm a nice person.  All I have to do is reply to the email will all my full information and the card is mine.  What do you think the chances are of me replying?

----- Original Message ----

From: frankly white
Sent: Thu, April 29, 2010 6:17:10 AM
Subject: CODE

The ATM CARD payment center, has been mandated to issue out an ATM CARD value of {900,000 USD},to you, which you can use to withdraw your money in any ATM machine in any part of the world.,For more information’s and directives. Note that because of impostors,we hareby issued you our CODE OF CONDUCT,which is (ATM-900). For him verification purpose.

NAME:frankly white
E-mai: atmdelivery19@hotmail.com"

(SEE BELOW)
CODE OF CONDUCT.............
NAME IN FULL...............
DATE OF BIRTH...............
AGE........................
SEX..........................
MARITIAL STATUS.............
HOME ADDRESS................
NATIONALITY.................
COUNTRY......................
OCCUPATION...........
POSITION...............
OFFICE ADDRESS...............
TEL.........................
MOBILE......................
DECLARATION....I.................do hereby declare that the information given above,
is correct to the best of my knowledge and believe the same to be true.

Regards,

-----


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Lone Tulip in Bloom

Lone Tulip in Bloom

April 28, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Golfer's Christening

While browsing through YouTube I discovered Jeanne Robertson.  She is an amazing funny comedian who proves you don't have to resort to foul language or bathroom humour.  I quite enjoyed this short video of her describing the golfer's christening.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

But Everyone Uses Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to connect with friends and family.  There are a lot of privacy issues surround Facebook with each new update they do disclosing more information about their users that the users might not necessarily like.  A lot of countries with stronger privacy laws including Canada are constantly on the outlook for Facebook breaching the civic rights of their citizen.  A few years ago I signed up for Facebook but never used the account.  As the privacy issues came to light I went back to tweak my settings and continue to check from time to time.  Contrary to some beliefs that you should always use your real name online, I did not.  Now I'm glad I did not especially with the concerns the privacy watchdogs are expressing.  They have every reason for concern!  Some social networks along with Google especially with their introduction of Street Maps are slowly pecking away at our privacy.  That may be perfectly acceptable in the US but not so in other countries. 
 
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - April Showers

According to weather predictions for our area it is supposed to be a rather dry spring.  After a winter of below average snowfall this is not the best news.  April was not a wet as it could have been but when it rained we seemed to get a fair amount at a time.  Over all it was a dryer April here so how that affects local farmers and home gardeners remains to be seen.  For now every shower we get is a true blessing!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Meet Our New Lucy

Last October I posted about Lucy.  I should explain a bit further Lucy is a GPS we borrowed from one of our kids for a road trip.  My husband who refuses to use metric if at all possible set the GPS up in miles and the voice to a British accent similar to what you would hear on Coronation Street.  We promptly named her Lucy then burst into fits of laughter when my husband started talking back to her.  As road trips go it was one of the most enjoyable as there wasn't so much as one flare-up over my inability to read a road map.  Even when we went off the route to do a bit of site seeing Lucy got us right back to where we were supposed to be.  It was amazing how easy getting around city streets for site seeing and other points of interest was simply by adding in the desired address.  After borrowing Lucy a few times we finally broke down and bought our own Lucy.

Our Lucy is a TOMTOM GO 630 with US and Canada maps, emergency menu, voice address input, spoken street names and several other great features.  Lucy has a few additional features the old Lucy didn't have so it will be interesting discovering how they work.  At any rate our next road trip out of familiar territory will be a lot easier with Lucy.  Expect to hear more about Lucy in the future.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010