Saturday, October 24, 2020

Lists, Bargains and Busy

 As someone who now has to fit 14 days worth of life stuff into 7 I am busy on my good week.  I still have Dr appts and such, but I am fitting in so much more.  I am so lucky where we live the pandemic is not quite as serious or I would likely be self-isolating.  But I am choosing not to, instead of being ultra-careful and having no one into my home.  I am going to quieter stores, masked up, run in, get what I need, get out. Much like the start of the pandemic.  This makes me feel "normal".  I also get to help out hubby a lot more than I will when/if I get surgery for a long time.  This week:

-We had takeout from a water side food shack.  This was our view as we ate of the Comox estuary.  It didn't suck.  While we were sitting there eating we watched a heron fishing for supper, 2 eagles fishing, and a large seal that was also fishing for supper just mosey on by a few feet from the waters edge.  I am so glad we moved here when we did and get to live in this paradise every day.  It isn't perfect (no where is) but we live a very nice life here and it gives me peace to look at this.



- made jam with mom with raspberries given by my BF and store bought frozen blackberries since I didn't get to pick any this summer.  Storebought ones are not as tart so it turned out good but nothing beats wild blackberries in my opinion.  We made 7 small jars worth and hubby has his jam fix for the winter which was my goal, plus less things cramming up my freezer.

-did company banking - timed it so almost no one was in the bank - success

-we changed the tires on both vehicles (which means we drove there and had the mechanic do it).  It is a little early as usually, we wait until mid-November but with so much up in the air in November best to do it now.  We are not driving enough to cause excess wear on our winter tires.  One more winter prep thing is done.

-we hired the company who did our landscaping/sprinkler changes this summer to do our winter blowout.  They showed up the day after we asked and charged half the price of the last landscaper.  Funny story.  We have had a very flaky landscaper/irrigation guy ever since we bought the house.  He installed the original system so we used him.  Now that we have a new irrigation company we are so happy with their response time and service.    Usually, we have to text the irrigation guy about our sprinkler blowout every fall (they shoot air through the lines so it doesn't freeze over winter in case anyone who doesn't know about sprinklers and is wondering what I am talking about)and then remind him 2 weeks later then text him again as we are panicking as the ground gets much colder.  2 days after we had our blowout from our new company the old company shows up unannounced to do our blowout.  Ummmm....no.  Hubby went out there and set them straight.  Oh yeah, last winter after repeatedly requesting a blow out they came....and then never ever billed us.  That happened another year and I had to remind them 3 times to get a bill.  I am not doing that again.   I figure it all evens out in the end.  We usually paid $120 for that service.  This year our new company charged us $60 - and 1 day service!

- A few weeks ago I cashed in my Quality Foods points for a small turkey which is our Christmas dinner.  I had been saving them for this and found the perfect size one.  I have most of our Christmas foods purchased, just need a few more items for the fruit cake cookies that Mom and I will bake in November and freeze.  Pecans were purchased yesterday and I have been stockpiling candied fruit and baking goods in case there is a run on them (pretty sure there will be).



-I have also done 2 5 minute thrift store shops.  Funny how one of the thrift stores I go to is the most safe place - no one and I mean no one gets in without a mask or face shield.  Absolutely only 10 people in the 8 room store at a time - and they have guards at both entrances.  All the volunteers are seniors and it is so important to them to protect all the volunteers as well as the patrons.  The paperbacks were all 25 cents and I found a couple. I have wanted to read Jo Nesbo (Norwegian mystery writer) for a while although some of the drugs I take week 1 prevent me from reading on week 2 I seem to be able to concentrate to read so I started it and am on chapter 3.  I also have a couple books on kindle that I try and read but find that harder as have never loved reading electronically.

In the second thrift store it is rarely busy and so I zipped in and out in 2 minutes with Mom one day.  Hubby accidentally broke the little owl that held scrubbies by the sink last week so we needed a replacement.  This white container was .50 and does the job perfectly.


I have also been purging and selling things on the facebook bidding site.  I did manage to find and successfully outbid others on this absolutely beautiful (and costly new) large Mexican glass jug and margarita glasses.  While I am choosing not to drink alcohol (kidneys and liver are my most valuable organs currently) they are so pretty both hubby and I absolutely love Mexican glass and this is  some of the top-made type that would have been very expensive, even in Mexico.  I paid $21 and we love them.  They go nicely with the rest of my mexican pottery collection.


I mentioned in my last post that we are going big this Christmas.  Part of that is to light up our back yard so we can see it from the inside of the house.  I love the fact that my house has windows in every single room except the mud room.  Large windows look out to our patio and we usually string vintage Christmas lights in our cedars.  We are still doing that this year but adding two six-foot light trees to the patio (held down with cement blocks if the wind picks up).  I don't have a great picture of them as hubby put together one last week when I was on an off day to cheer me up so this photo is taken from the bedroom but you get the idea.  We love them - they will look fantastic along with our existing decorations.

We have an election in our Province today.  Over 800,000 people chose to get a mail in ballot which we did along with Mom.  It was sent off 2 weeks ago.  In the last election only 100,000 people did that.  It may take a few weeks for them to count the ballots before they can determine if our Premier stays or goes....the joy of running an election in a pandemic but I do have to say that I am so glad that mail in ballots in Canada are not that big of a deal and that we were able to vote that way.  

Anyway, that's what's shaking in our world.  Today it is sunny but cold, only a few degrees above zero and we actually had a frost yesterday.  Our sole plan today is to hang the exterior lights on the house that require two of us.  The rest can be done together if I am feeling well or by hubby alone if I am not.  We will wait until the end of November to turn them on but at least this is one more winter/Christmas preparation chore out of the way.  I've done a bit of Christmas shopping and packages are starting to come in.  I am storing hubby's at Mom's house and Mom's presents at our house as hubby is like a little kid when it comes to presents and guessing/find them.

Tonight we are ordering in Pizza, picking up up Mom (she is in our "bubble" of safe people) and watching a movie.

Take care, everyone, stay safe and wear a mask! :)


28 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you're able to get out and live a normal as life as any of us can at the moment. I don't think any of us can go far wrong by wearing a mask, maintaining a safe distance and washing our hands, there's absolutely no reason to live in fear, it;s just common sense.
    Your lunch spot looks absolutely gorgeous and I'm mad about your Mexican glass set, even tap water would taste better coming out of that!
    Is it funny how charity shops can stick to the rules and yet the big chains can't? It's the same here.
    You'll love Jo Nesbo and absolutely adore Harry Hole, the flawed hero.
    Get those lights on now, you know you want to! xxx

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    1. I was so super impressed about how hard and fast the charity shop held to their guns:) They don't mandate masks here but businesses can ask (and refuse those who don't). I already am on chapter 5 so it's safe to say I see more Jo Nesbo books in my future!

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  2. Wishing you well on this difficult journey, Cheapchick. Glad you're still able to get out and about as you describe.

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    1. I am very lucky, I went into treatment pretty healthy and my body seems to be bouncing back well so I can have good days with my family and have some real life other than treatment. Thank you!

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  3. It's good to hear that you are able to get out and about a little bit. I'm envious of your view...it's looking pretty gray and gloomy out here today.

    Take care, hope you hear about your surgery soon.

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    1. Either my surgery will be late November early December or several months away if more treatment is needed first. The hard part is waiting but we are trying to make the best of it

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  4. You always find the most wonderful things! Glad you'e able to fit so much in when you're feeling well. Those light trees are a great idea for our terrace. The cats would check them out I'm sure, but probably leave them alone. I'll see if I can find them here. Usually we find artificial Christmas trees or bare-branched trees strung with lights. Both are too inviting for the cats. Thanks!

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    1. We thought the same thing, that those lights would work fantastic in an apartment or somewhere you can't have a regular tree. We found it at home depot so hopefully somewhere in Spain they have something similar

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  5. I love those trees. Would you mind giving me the link to the purchase site? I think they would work well for decorating outside our nursing home. Volunteers are planning to go big on outside decorations this year. Well as big as we can and not have maintenance get grumpy.

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    1. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/home-accents-yard-decor-6ft-led-cone-tree-multi-color-steady/1001057157?fbclid=IwAR3ck-d23HR_p3YsjBK2uqbjoJ0u6bi4zEP_prmnmp6P17ai0XJW2hrbljM - . They are apparently highly rated, and very easy to put up (2 mins), they come with stakes to put in the grass but we are putting on our brick patio. They collapse into a 7 inch tall box for storage, very user friendly. And last year apparently they were hard to find in stores so we ordered early online. I hope they last - I read alot of reviews before buying them

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    2. Thank you for the link and the very useful info. They sound just the ticket.

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  6. Gosh you're packing more into your days even with your treatment than I am at the moment, you're putting me to shame (and good for you for doing so). And I absolutely LOVE that Mexican jug/glasses. They're right up my alley!

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    1. I love love love Mexican pottery and glass, was so happy to find them and after I bid when hubby picked them up we realized how much better they were than we even thought. Someone took a crappy picture to post to bid on and I knew what it was but many wouldn't have.

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  7. I love the post, and the imagery of lunch while watching the wild life. I too think any time you can ge tin nature is well spent. Go big on Christmas and enjoy every light and twinkle. I'll start more planning after our family conference tomorrow, but also plan to make it nice and special, and am hoping ot contribute to other families holidays as well. I'm glad you are able to get out and enjoy things, with the precautions in place.

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    1. There are very few cases on our Island and I think 3 in all the nothern area which is us (the island is huge, takes 8-10 hours to drive from one end to the other). Cases though in Canada have increased a lot this week so I fully expect things to get worse here and then I shall be more careful but as an oncology nurse said to me - with so many people wearing masks things are safer now for cancer patients than they were before the pandemic when people regularly went out when they were sick spreading germs!

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  8. You are doing so well. I still haven't gotten the courage to enter our second hand stores as of yet. Wonderful treasures were found by you.

    God bless.

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    1. Some are better than others. Salvation army has a large store that isn't too busy in the mornings near me - that is likely the safest for now. I hate not doing the things I love and so for now am going to. When I hear about surgery I will change my behaviour, nothing is going to interfere with that.

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  9. Glad you’re doing well! I had just started reading your blog when you got ill so I’m really glad you decided to wrote again. I love that tree! Wishing you continued strength in your battle against the beast

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  10. By the belly-aching that some people voice here in the USA, you'd think that masks were the equivalent of a dagger in the heart, for cryin' out loud! I don't mind wearing one in the least, as it does enable us to get out once in awhile and not catch the virus. I love going to thrift shops... I have two favorites. I must admit I haven't been to them this year at all but... perhaps I should. Perhaps it will be next week, thanks to your post! :-) ~Andrea xoxo

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    1. I think thrift shops are safer than bloody grocery stores right now! Most are charity and are super safe - plus the money goes to such good causes. If everyone wore masks our safety level as a population would massively increase. Oh well, we can only do for ourselves at this point.

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  11. You are so busy! I wish you were taking it easier. I left an answer to your comment on my blog but, in case you miss it: You talked about having to stay at a hotel in Vancouver. Here is what my SIS does: She brings her own sheet set and puts it on top of the hotels sheet set. Then she wipes every surface with sanitizer including the remote controls for the TV and the A/C. She tehn cancels housekeeping so that noone enters and touches anyting. On top of canceling, she keeps the "Do not Disturb" sign always on the door. So, when you must stay at a hotel you can do this. Take care and be well my friend!

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    1. Sounds almost exactly like what we do (except the sheet part but might do that next time. We have always sanitized remotes/everything but when we went in August boy did we ever sanitize all light switches and everything. We also canceled housekeeping and kept do not disturb sign. We never eat in restaurants, only takeout and have snacks and drinks so we have to run out less. Busy is good for me, keeps my head on straight. When I have to sit in bed for a week after chemo I get depressed. The second I am feeling better and up and about doing things (even just the laundry) life is good again. I am taking care of myself though, they do encourage you on chemo to get as much activity as possible in as not everyone is well enough to do it. I am so lucky I get good days

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  12. So thrilled to hear another update from you! So wonderful you're enjoying so many moments of joy, and have fun plans for the holidays ahead. You're reminding me to do the same! I keep you in my thoughts, with prayers for successful treatment and the best possible outcome. So glad you are feeling well enough to keep doing what you enjoy when you're able! Such a reminder to us all to keep at it, life is to be lived & enjoyed, despite any day-to-day hardships that we face.

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    1. Yes, as they say you only live once - I have a 10 year plan so no point in feeling sorry for myself. I need to enjoy and embrace every day as we all do

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  13. Keep the ten year plan, I hope this doesn’t come off wrong but my daughter in-laws dad was diagnosed with liver cancer six years ago at a level which the prognosis was poor. He started a new drug trial and amazing!!! Response. In June things were not working as well with tumor growth etc.... my son and now new daughter in law got married in August so he could walk her down the isle. (They’d been together 11 years!). He got accepted into a brand new drug trial in July and on October 26 miracle results again. His is not really chemo but an immune type but know there are amazing care and treatment progress every month. His new treatment was just approved the day before his appointment. Some number was 1000 and it’s now 77, and the tumor was 10 and now seven cm?. Day by day.

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    1. Your comment doesn't come off wrong at all - it is my full intent to be a "statistic breaker" and these stories are mere proof that it can be done. I believe in chemotherapy and immunte therapies, have seen what they can do, and new things are happening every day in the medical community therefore I am going to try and live each day as I did before, the best I can :)

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  14. I am not sure why, but your posts have been very comforting lately. Maybe a reminder that other things besides Trump vs Biden are going on out there. (Plus I have a deadline that keeps hanging on and being obnoxious. Sigh.) Thanks for keeping up the blog -- it helps keep your readers sane.

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