Tiny Houses

Are you interested in minimalist living?  Don't need much square footage?  Then these houses are for you!

I was shown today the website for Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.  It's crazy; these houses are like.. +/- 300 sq ft.  Some are even transportable!  And you know what?  They're REALLY cute!  Take a look!  They can have various functions.. as a little cottage, or a guest-house on your property, lock the kids away for a weekend... y'know.. whatever :P  Take a look! (D.M - remind me to talk to you about this.. I have an idea!)

Defeated?

... and sometimes you need to get off the bicycle and take a breather between hills.  Stand back, rest, assess the situation before proceeding.  Try and discover the strength within you.  Call on whatever higher power you believe in for support.  It can be done!

Aye, It's Robbie Burns Day

Listening to the local classical station, they're doing a spotlight special on Robert Burns (along with other choice Scottish music).  I can't say I mind him, though he's not one of my favourite 18th century poets (fair to say most of the poets I follow are 19th century).  Not a bad lookin' guy for his time, I guess.  Ah, I see though, I have one of his books in my collection.  It's not dated (it's very old), though I'm going to guess it was published in the early 1900's.  I thought I would share a couple of his poems for you...

Love in the Guise of Frienship, 1788

Your friendship much can make me blest,
O why that bliss destroy!
Why urge the only, one request
You know I will deny!

Your thought, if Love must harbour there,
Conceal it in that thought;
Nor cause me from my bosom tear,
The very friend I sought.

Love for Love, 1792  (I like this one.. if you understand the language)

Ithers seek they ken na want,
Features, carriage, and a' that;
Gie me love in her I court,
Love to love maks a' the sport.

Let love sparkle in her e'e,
Let her l'oe nae man but me.
That the tocher-gude* I prize
There the luvers treasure lies.

*marriage portion


And one of the poems that became well known...

Ae Fond Kiss, 1791
He wrote this to his love as she left the country... to follow her husband to save her marriage :/

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas, forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him.
Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy;
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved sae blindly;
Never met - or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and deerest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!


And I'll leave you with a song (I think it's beautiful)...

Loch Lomond, by Chanticleer

Signed, your half-Scottish blogger.

Adapting

I'm painting my bathroom; I'm writing you as I take a break.  I actually got the craving to paint last night at 8:30, but I couldn't find all the supplies I needed.  Good thing; the paint had actually gone bad (not fully sealed, air got to it).  So, I talked to the super and we took a look at his paint collection and I found one I liked.  The paint can lied to me.  The colour example on the lid is nowhere close to what's actually appearing on the wall. It's a bit lighter, I mean.  I chose the colour because I thought it would mesh well with what's in there (best to work with permanent fixtures, yes?); the tile surrounding the tub is a yellow-pink, the bits in the vinyl floor tile is hmm.. I'd also say a yellow-pink.  The colour on the wall?  A blue-pink.  You see my dilemma.  Whatever.  I don't plan on living here much longer, so I'll deal with it.  I wanted change, and I got it.

I had more to say, but that's all I want to say right now.

From My Favourite...

"...even darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you."
~ Psalm 139:12

Curses

Sometimes you're cycling up a hill and after much strain and hard work and dedication, you finally reach the top; you're glad it's over.  Except when you reach the top, you see another hill was hidden behind it and now you have to cycle that one, too.

Damnit.

Sometimes things aren't as easy as they originally appeared.

The Plague, Pt. 5

We have to think of a nickname for my noisy neighbour.  I have many choice words, which I'm sure are not suitable for a proper young lady to repeat in public.

Anyways, said neighbour.  Well, as I was in bed for 20:00 (8pm), that's when she started her stuff.  Wine bottles were heard clanging, friends chattering, smoke alarm going off, blah blah blah.  I just laid in bed with my eyes shut until they left for the bar at 23:30.  Ahhh.. quiet.  ... until I was abruptly woken at 03:00 when they came barging in from the bar, thrice as loud as before.  They weren't back 2 min and I called the cops lodging a noise complaint.  I mean dude.. have some respect.  I've lived in a house my entire life.  I chose not to live in apartment buildings AND THIS IS WHY.  *huff*  Anyhoo.. I met the cops in the hall about a half hour later (I buzzed them in) and spoke with them a few minutes.  They were super nice and went and spoke to the crowd.  I heard a few of them leave (they sound like elephants in the hall) and just when I thought I'd have quiet.... there was still a few of them who stayed behind.  I heard them until 0500.  Y'know what?  I give up.

Needless to say I didn't go into work today.  I called in for tomorrow, too.  The only way for me to fall asleep these days (since napping is difficult) is with alcohol - so I'm doing just that right now.  Babu's on the pillow beside me, hanging out.  He just gave himself a bath & is winding down for the night and I'm sitting here talking to you.. with a hot toddy.  Thank God for brandy.

Today didn't consist of much.  I finally fell asleep after they stopped, around 0600 and slept until noon.  I've just been hanging out; ate a bit, sit back with the computer, watched a BoB tonight (Episode 9.. one more to go!) and did some dishes.  While I'm not stuffed all the time, I am getting a bit more of a cough.  I'm starting to get a bit antsy, not having been out of the house for a couple days, nor seeing anyone.  I hope to venture out tomorrow, God-willing I get a good enough sleep tonight.

Ugh.. you poor thing.. having to read my pointless, whiny dribble the past couple days while I've been cooped inside, sick.  Well, thanks for being a trooper.  Cross your fingers I get more strength to venture out to 3D people.

Relax, I Cannot

I'm hating my body right now.  I'm absolutely, invariably physically exhausted; my brain, on the other hand, not so much.  I can barely keep my head up, but the rest of me is fidgety.  Napping today has been impossible and something that happened to other people (or Babu).  I've even gone to far as to bring my laptop to the bed tonight (my battery is toast so I have to plug in and it's a real PITA).  I need to stay IN BED so this is how I'm forcing myself.  I'm even writing this in stages.. I just don't have the energy otherwise.  Part of me wants to clean, the other part.. can't.  Besides, when one lives alone, one has to feed one's cat, clean the litter box, make something resembling a meal, lots of teas and water so there's often not a choice.  Okay, so I'm not as cranky today... but no less whiney :P

I ran an errand today to test my energy to see if I can handle work tomorrow.  Meh.  Not great but not horrible.  Once I got over the exhaustion from just putting on my boots, as soon as I got out and going I wasn't too bad.  And it was beautiful weather.  I wish I was better to enjoy it more.  So.. I will attempt work tomorrow.  I hate that I have to; I believe if you're sick you should stay home (especially if one works at a hospital, in contact with those who's immune systems are also taking a beating), but staying home doesn't pay the bills.  This is when it sucks to be a part-timer; no paid sick time.  In fact, this is one of those, "I hate working at the hospital" days; there's no leniency with time off (and getting it can be very difficult).  I tried arranging to work only half a shift, but I was refused, saying they'd prefer me to work it or not at all, offering the shift to someone for the full 7.5hrs.  Who gives a rats ass as long as it's worked?

Anyways, with some of the forced rest the past couple days, I've done a lot of thinking.  Good thinking, y'know, working out stuff.  I won't write it all to you yet, but I'll tell you how interesting it is how much we carry around our past with us.  And I mean, how much it has the potential to weigh us down without us realizing how much.  I've had depression since I was 16; 98.5% of the time I've dealt with it medication-free and I'm confident to say the older I get, the easier it is to deal with.  It never goes away, but one develops particular coping strategies.  So yeah, it's easier for me to look at the 'darker' side of things most of the time; it's sort of instinctual.  If you see this in me, have patience with me please - know it's something I'm working on; but with the new things I've unearthed the past couple days, might help alleviate that even further.  I'm kind of excited.

Babu's sleeping on the pillow beside me and he's snoring. He's so cute.  His legs are going into little spasms.  He must be dreaming.

Well, I'm going to go have dessert (homemade applesauce), figure out how to breathe better and warm up some (also homemade) chai tea... then I'll think of something I can do with my eyes closed (besides sleep, which will happen in about an hour).  I wrote half of this with my eyes closed.  Woo!  Look at me and my mad typing skillz (yes, I proof-read) ;)    Maybe listen to music?

Hope y'all are having a good weekend and enjoying the weather, wherever you are :)  Stay healthy!

Bah!

This sick business is for the birds.  I have no energy, I barely rested today (not without trying - I found it difficult to), I'm achy, I have zero energy and I only breathe out of one nostril.  Needless to say I'm getting a little cranky.  I caved and ordered pizza (thanks, MK ;).  Yes, with regular (non GF) crust.  Yes, with cheese (dairy).  Don't poke the bear.

I called in for tomorrow's shift and will take it off to rest, hoping I'm well enough for Sunday's shift.  Thank goodness I banked some vacation hours; I'll have to use them.

After my pizza comes, I'll get my butt back to bed and force myself to try and get some sleep.  I'm going to sit back with a Band of Brothers episode (running through the series, on Ep. 7 now).  I love that they're short enough; I don't have to pop in a 2 hr movie.  Very convenient (if I finish this, JK, and I'm still sick, I may need to come borrow MASH).

Oh, per a suggestion from a friend I got (er, a friend ran errands for me today for some necessities) NAKA's Vital Liquid Greens.  This is apparently power-house stuff and will start taking it in the morning.  Anyone else have experience with it?

Y'know, I haven't been sick like this in a year... maybe two.  I have this belief that while it's not necessary to get sick often, especially if you have a good immune system, it may benefit one to get sick once in a while/rarely.  How else does one fend off communal sickness/illness?  Is my thinking flawed?  What do you think?  I find when I don't get sick for a while and then do... it REALLY hits me.  I remember reading this article once that this guy hadn't been sick in years.  I thought.. good for him.  How can I compete with that?  So.. should we catch the odd common cold and build up our immune system or try and stave them off as much as we can?

Quotes

"Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."
~ Marilyn Monroe

Abandon Man. Oops. I Mean... Ship.

I'm trying to wrap my head around understanding why people more and more are abandoning their fellow man. Or have they always and now it's just being more publicized? (possible)

The captain that abandoned his ship, leaving hundreds of cruise passengers to fend for themselves, some literally left for dead.

The military member who betrays his country leaking information to foreign interests.  Spies successfully infiltrating our Armed Forces having access to very sensitive information.

Three Nortel employees who rigged the books for more bonuses.

And these were just in the past week!

What made these people think only of themselves?  Why did they think it was just about them?  Why didn't they feel supported in their role?  What did we do to lack support of them in their role?  Who jaded them and where?  Where did the anger come from?  The fear?  The apocalypse is surely coming - apparently it's every man for himself these days.

I really don't know what to say about these situations.  Each one is different in its own right and somehow their morals got lost and left to the wayside.  How are your morals standing up these days?  I will surely be re-examining mine.  I've reinforced this time and time again and if you're a regular reader it won't surprise you - don't forget about your fellow man.  There are others suffering on this earth just like you are, we need to be there for each other.  Help a sista out, y'know?

Quiet Weekend

It's my last weekend off for a little while.  I kind of got used to this.. having weekends off.. thing.  I often found myself twiddling my thumbs once in a while unsure of what to do and how to fill time, but it was quickly filled with reading, knitting, movie-watching (btw, Red State, by Kevin Smith?  Wow) and today.. baking.  GF Dark Chocolate Brownies.  They're baking as I speak.  Mmmm.  I was going to do laundry, but it's being used.  Ah, the joys of communal facilities; these days, I soon hope will end.

I've hit a bit of a wall in my self-work.  I'm at a pinnacle of, "What am I afraid of?" but I have no answer (or I have an answer and my subconscious isn't ready to voice it yet).  Am I afraid to truly be happy (pertaining to relationships (or not))?  Am I afraid of success?  Am I afraid of branching off with a sort-of new career?  Ugh.. this all sends knots in my stomach, so I'm going to say yes.  Perhaps not fear, but definite anxiety.  There's a lot more I can say here, but it's a bit too personal just yet and not ready for publication.  I know, this blog is a bit of a bare-all, but, this will have to wait.  *breathes out the anxiety and remembers to re-visit it later*

Mmm.. I smell chocolaaaate...

Was referred to and visited a Dermatologist last week; had a mole removed my doctor was concerned about (my third).  On my back - so it's impossible for self-care.  Thank goodness for nurse friends :)  Stitches come out and results obtained in a few days.  Melanoma, I'm told, spreads fast and is one of the cancers that can actually kill you, so we're swift to stay on top of things.

Choir has been going well, but I'm not at all pleased with my voice.  I start out alright, but my voice gets worse with use (read: not one constant range, not strong, wavers).  It was suggested I might be developing a cold and I have been coughing a bit more than not lately, so possible.  I just wish I knew how to sing *properly*.  Vocal lessons, I *cannot* afford.

~Wow~  Whoever said GF food has to be dull and tasteless has NOT tasted these brownies.  God, I'm a fabulous baker.  See?  This is why I need to move and obtain a larger kitchen.  The space I have now does NOT suffice.

Alright.. the rest of the evening calls and I think I'm going to kick back with a movie on TV, some knitting, dinner and brownie-eating :)  Hope y'all have had a great weekend and got to relax before a new week begins.  If it's cold where you are - stay warm!

A Bit Depressed. Also, Blundstone's Are For Skinny People

I'm finding myself with a myriad of thoughts today, all weighing me down.  'How do I help this person?  How do I help that person?  How do I help myself?'  I'm munching away on my Flourless Chocolate Snowy Mountains.  Not at all a suitable dinner, but that's what it looks like it's shaping up to be.  Which is full of sugar. Which will make me sick.  Bleh.

To my credit, I'm PMSing like a mo'fo.  I'm bloated.  I want to rip out my uterus.  Heat helps, Advil helps.  Going to take the rest of the day off and maybe that'll help, too.  Sit back with a girlie movie and some knitting (which I'm trying to complete in adequate time for the season for my friend).

Ahh.. James Ehnes on the radio playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op: 64. I think.  Fabulous.  That makes everything better (he's my most favouritist violinist).

Right, so I tried on a pair of Blundstone's (you have no idea how much I want these boots).. and right where the boot comes up the leg a bit, is where it's a bit too tight for me; my calves cows are too fat for regular boots.  Always have been and I imagine unless I lose a bajillion pounds, always will be.  The rest of the boot fits magically and perfectly and they're so versatile - it's exactly what I need.  I'm almost willing to forsake the uncomfortableness.  Or, maybe I'll go back to try them on when I'm not retaining water :/  ..or irritable :s

What was going to be a work-free week has become quite busy.  Literally a week off and it's been filled in with appointments, visits with friends.  Not complaining, just for being in a mood of not feeling very social it doesn't seem like I have a choice but to interact with people.

I'm shutting off for the rest of the night.  Hope you've had a good start to the week!

Feeling Cramped

I need more room.

My always-evolving baking skillz are taking up more room in my kitchen than I can afford.  The one shelf I have devoted to my baking pantry is full to the brim, and even beyond.  It's starting to spill over to another shelf, and it can't because THAT shelf is other regular pantry items.  How can I stock and save money and make meals if.. I can't stock?  I really only have one upper cupboard to devote to food.  That's not a lot, is it.  With this and other minor issues (parking when having company, noisy/inconsiderate partying neighbours, etc) - it's time to move.

So, this summer I am hoping to be in a new residence.  I have an idea of what I'd like (from what's worked in the past, what I've seen in the area around me) and I have a small list of must-haves, but other than that, it's free-reign.  I'm not going to put a lot of effort into the search, though.  I'm leaving it to word-of-mouth (this means you if you're local :) ), and I might do the odd search, but that's it.  I'm leaving it with the mentality, "if it's meant to be, it'll come to me".

Health Stuffs

Good morning.

I'm munching away on my yogurt, off-season peaches and GF granola.  This just tastes horrible.  Not having season-fresh fruits sucks.  Blech.  Watching Canada AM and the top stories this morning are the hockey game last night (oh, Canada :( ), the pick in Iowa for the Republican party (Romney), people dismissing signs of Alzheimer's or Dementia (leaving diagnosis and treatment too late) and prolonging the life span in lab mice with stem cells from younger mice.  I'm not sure how I feel about that (prolonging the aging process).  I'm thinking I don't agree with it.  Don't mess with nature, yo.

So I went to the G.I yesterday to get the results of my breath test 6 or so weeks ago for lactose intolerance.  He didn't have the results in front of him because they were still being scanned, but he was pretty sure it came back positive.  Damn.  I knew I felt better in Sept when I did the lactose-free/GF elimination diet (plus a combination of other things), but I thought it was more gluten than dairy.  Maybe not.  Sooo... I'm absolutely clueless what to have for breakfast in the morning now.  I mean, I'm going to eat up what's left of my yogurt (an entire container), and GF's really aren't supposed to eat oatmeal (possible cross-contamination)..so.. I'm at a loss.  I might have to go back to that sufferable Dietitian.  The doc gave me a handout on FODMAPS (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides, and polyols).  I've never seen 'polyols' before, so I'm gonna have to look that one up.  So anyways, back on the almond milk I go.  This is going to take a while to digest (ha, no pun intended), so I'll get back to you on my "plan".

I wanted to write about other things, but they'll have to wait.  The morning has progressed and I need to get off the computer and move around.  Hope Wednesday is a productive one for you!

The Power of Vulnerability

I caught this video today on TED Talks.  It really did a lot for me.  The people that she speaks of, who embrace vulnerability... that explanation is the embodiment of who I try to be (and what this blog is about, etc) and I hope that's how I come across.  If I get the results of embracing said vulnerability, well, that remains to be seen.  Anyways, I hope you enjoy this.  About 20 min.

I'm back from leaving my blog in a ghost town; will try to write soon to fill you in on everything.  Hope you're having a good week :)

Quotes

Earth and sky, woods
    and fields, lakes and
    rivers,
the mountains and the
    sea, are excellent
    schoolmasters,
and teach some of us
    more than we can
    ever learn from books.

~ Sir John Lubbock (English naturalist, 19th century)