oops, i did it again!

and it hurts.............a lot

so there I was minding my own business on Tuesday morning. I pulled up in front of a client's brand spankin' new apartment building, lowered the step, put my foot on the ground and BAM! i went down...............nothing to brace my fall so I fell with all my weight (ahem) on my left shoulder and crumpled up in a ball afterwards.

I had the very best of clients, someone who spoke English as a first language (Not always the case in my job) and someone who was able to call for help immediately (had their wits about them).

I got a ride in an ambulance! And i got gas! The kind you suck in and it makes you happy and makes you forget about the excruciating pain you're in! And it makes you talk funny! Like you've been sucking helium balloons!

Chris met me at the Trauma unit and was able to be with me in and out of the x-ray dept, the trauma unit, the waiting, the more waiting, the, 'i can't believe i did this' waiting, she ate my lunch while waiting................

Finally the diagnosis:

I have a torn rotator cuff.

And it hurts.

A lot.

Lots of ice. Morphine. tylenol 3.

More ice. More drugs. it's all good in the hood.

But it hurts.

Did i say a lot?

cuz i meant it.

There's nothing sweeter than a little home away from home. We are enjoying our little trailer in the woods. Quiet, peaceful, happy times. This past weekend we took BB along and she loved it.

For 24 years my parents owned their own little place in the woods, my mom sold it when she married Paul in '98. I know she's missed having it. Going to our little place brings back a lot of happy memories for her and I'm glad we're able to share it.

Yesterday I needed to fuel up the bus before starting my shift. We fuel up at the card lock at the end of the road. It isn't a regular gas station but there is a regular gas pump for cars if you use your credit card. Otherwise it's just buses and trucks and a lot of semi's.

I was the only person there fueling up, it's quiet there in the morning. Along came a SUV and the driver pulls in behind me and tries to go sideways so he can get as close as he can to the pump behind me. Duh. He gets out of his vehicle and says "You can move up?" I say, "no, I'm in the middle of getting fuel".

Once again, "you can move a little? I can't reach the pump"

I say, "No, I'm in the middle of fueling, go the other side". I point to the whole empty side. He says, "My gas tank is on my side" Me? "Turn your car around".

So he harumphs and gets in his car, backs it up and then pulls in facing the same direction on the other side of the pump. Rocket Scientist he's not.

He jumps out, point to his gas tank on his side of the car and points to the gas pump like I'm stupid and says "See? it's on the wrong side!"

I'm still pumping by the way, it's a bus, it takes awhile.

He gets in his car and drives off. He couldn't figure out how to pull his car around so that his tank was on the right side.

Made me laugh all day.

I think it's important that we share as a couple, don't you agree? So I shared. And guess what? Chris got my cold! Yeah! No, not really but it is an exact duplicate so far. Here's hoping she doesn't get the eye infection with the nasty goop oozing from the eyeballs.

sick and tired

sick, i haven't felt this sick in years. all stuffed up, coughin, spittin, you name it, i have it. slept this morning for 2 hours. not hungry. so not like me this sick business. and the worst of it? no voice, and i have so much to say! and it's really important! no, really it is!

ok, back to bed.

Family Dinner

I always miss Chris when she's away.........it's so quiet around here with just me and 'the boys'. I love the 2 little furry creatures and all, don't get me wrong.

I miss Chris's words of support when I've had a bad day or sympathetic ear when I complain about the lousy dispatching which seems to get worse as the days go by, but don't get me started on that............grrrrrrrrrr.

I miss her wise words of counsel when we talk about family stuff.

I miss her laughing at silly things.

I miss her big smile coming in the door at the end of a very long day.

Yup, she's a keeper.

The short bus just pulled up. Yup, your ride's here! Whew! Glad I was able to go to Refresher Training yesterday. Apparently my motto of "Get in, shut up, hold on" isn't going to cut it anymore.

Be Careful Out There

I was in Timmy's yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to pass gas. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my gas with the beat of the music.



After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my coffee,and noticed that everybody was staring at me....

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

And Then Came California..........

After I got home from Hawaii I unpacked the suitcase, drove BB back home (where she still is after a week and a half getting 'caught up'), picked up Chris, headed to Bellingham to sign title documents for our new place in the U.S.A., back to Canada for dinner, got the news that our friend D was in hospital, sorted that all out, home again, up early to do laundry and re-pack, pick Chris up from work and away we went! To California! I know!

For several years we've been invited to take part in T.E.N. (The Evangelical Network) and this was our first time. It was really worth the travel and effort to get there. We both enjoyed it so much. Met lots of great people and had a sense that we're not the only ones out there - who love God and love each other kinda people.

Lots of good music, Thursday night was like a Gaither Homecoming of Gay People, I think he should come and record a video of that - be a big seller for sure! Southern Gospel by the Gays. Yup, they were there and did they ever sing. Wow.

Friday we went shopping cuz that's what we do. We shared the shopping van with Kenny Bishop (of the Southern Singing Bishops) and laughed when he talked about heaven (in the van). His view? When y'all get to heaven and start walkin' those streets of gold I'm gonna be swimmin' in chocolate! Yup, love me some Kenny. The boys took off for the make-up store when we got there so Chris boldly proclaimed, 'we're going to go look at tools'. That's my girl.

Friday night Kenny gave a concert so of course we bought his CD, he's such a cutie pie, sweet too.

Saturday I visited with my friend Linda who drove up from San Diego to have lunch with me, good times. I saw her last fall when we went to San Diego and got caught up on 25 years so it's funny that here we are having lunch again 6 months later and still have so much to talk about. She didn't ask a lot about the conference I was at, even when the guy in the dress walked by, all 6'8" of him, where DOES he buy his shoes? He wore high heels the whole weekend. Anyways.........

Jay Bakker spoke on Saturday night and he seemed a little scattered and disjointed but he was suffering from jet lag and so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. His heart shone through what he shared though and I appreciated his kind spirit.

Sunday morning was the best. Sharon Hollis of Indiana, what a powerhouse! It's been years since I have seen a woman, man, anybody under that kind of annointing. Wonderful speaker, gifted, funny, had us rolling in the aisles and praising God at the same time.

Our flight left after lunch and we were glad to get home and sleep in our own bed late Sunday night.

Chris celebrated her birthday yesterday (May the Fourth be with her) so we had dinner out at a fave spot.

Back to DART'n..........peace out cub scout.

Hawaii with BB

We had a great time in Hawaii......again. Great weather, perfect in fact. Cooler at night, nice sunny warm days with a little sprinkle of rain here and there. Saw our friends.......always good.







Changes ahead for my dear friend Mrs. A. She's put her condo on the market and is moving into an Assisted Living place so the next time I'm on the island I will visit her in her new home. In the meantime she's still screaming around town in the Taurus making men quake in their boots (or flip flops) when they see her coming. A force to be reckoned with but a dear soul and one who loves me and has always been so generous with me.






My friend Becky who never changes even though life has its ups and downs. She continues to always be upbeat, caring and a lot of fun. Becky lives in the building next door to her mom and dad and looks after them on a daily basis. She amazes me with her strength in the middle of life's storms.










Friends of ours, Dana and Carol who have blended their families and have 4 amazing kids that I adore. Lots of love and happiness in the household and a real thrill to meet Dana's mom for the first time. I think our two moms became best friends the moment they met.

































I love Hawaii for so many reasons and I never fail to see the beauty. I love palm trees. The sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore. Sitting by the pool of the hotel meeting people who live less than 30 miles from my home that I've never met before. Going to the giant flea market and meeting people from Florida, all 4 had been to Vancouver and loved it. I love the sounds of Hawaiian guitar and the sweet sounds of serenaders by the hotel.

My Favorite Blog

Yesterday we did something spontaneous and drove to Seattle to meet the Pioneer Woman in person. I've been reading her blog for the past few years and love it. It's always entertaining and often educational.





PW is a crazy kinda person, lots of personality and full of life. She also is a wonderful cook and photographer. Last year she wrote her own cookbook full of recipes that she illustrated herself.







I bought a copy of her cookbook to give to my friend for Christmas. But because she always has a lame excuse as to why she's too busy to get together she has yet to receive her cookbook. BUT because I am such a great friend I put all bitterness aside and brought her book with me, it's just been gathering dust on my bookshelf anyways and had it signed by PW so that whenever my friend DOES have time to see me she will get her own personally autographed cookbook by PW. Maybe when she reads this (cuz I know she reads my blog) she'll reconsider some of those lame excuses. Ahem.









We got to the bookstore at 1:00 just to get a ticket to come back at 5:00. It was really well-organized. You picked up a ticket for each book you wanted signed and it had a letter on it. When they called out your letter you got in line then and only then giving you lots of time to look around, have something to eat, etc.








When PW walked in she was accompanied by her oldest daughter and her mother-in-law. Her daughter is as tall as me but a lot sweeter. She was happy to roam around the store and talk to people. She wore the coolest boots so she showed them to us when I asked her to. Very accommodating, like I said, she's sweet.



So NOW I'm off to pick up my mom and head to Hawaii tomorrow!...

This was my boyfriend when I lived in Hawaii, I spent many hours chasing him around the island in his Ferrari, watching him play beach volleyball at Ft. DeRussy, or looking for him at his restaurant. I don't know what he's up to now but I'm gonna find out!



This is my other boyfriend in Hawaii. I look forward to seeing him again too while he's not chasing bounties and putting away the bad guys. Chris isn't coming on this trip so I won't have to share him this time.



Actually, this is more what it will look like........aloha! BB and I are off to Hawaii for a week of sun, fun and seeing friends.

It's just about a done deal! Our offer was accepted on a little bitty piece of property with trailer and deck and a cute little shed all in pristine condition.

Just across the border and not so far from home. We're looking forward to having a place to chill.

There's a familiar theme around our house...........we used to have our whole bathroom done in this theme.........big girls at the beach. Now we see it in the funniest places.



We spent the weekend on Vancouver Island in Sidney at a beautiful resort on the water. It was a rocky ride over on the ferry, I've never seen dishes go flying quite like that before and we were more than happy to get to safe docking.




We spent a whole afternoon exploring Sidney. It's a beautiful little place and although it seems like a small town there was a large variety of places to eat, book stores selling new and used books, several gift stores, home accessories, flower shops, etc. Nice people everywhere we went.



We ate lunch at a little Swiss bistro and the people next to us were quite chatty when we sat down and looked at the menu. After we ate our lunch (yum) somehow we struck up a conversation with them and heard their life story. Very interesting. They had endured so much illness, cancer, heart attacks and on and on, broken back, and just at the time they were better their daughter had her bowel burst and they stayed to take care of their granddaughter. Amazing what people have to go through. But the over riding message the lady said over and over was 'I'm at peace with God, I'm not afraid to die.'

The greatest message of Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead. Because of that hope we can go on living without fear.

We are so blessed. We live in a beautiful province and are able to enjoy it in freedom.




Because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Happy Easter!

The Problem with Deforestation

The best part about having the Paralympics in our city is the opportunity to drive groups to events. Tuesday I drove a group from a day program,full of enthusiasm and excitement to see a sledge hockey game between the USA and Japan.

They offered us free tickets to join them so we got into see most of the game. Amazing to see the speed and skill played on ice. Very impressive.

Its been a wonderful experience to have the Olympics and Paralympics in our city. I am very proud of all that has been accomplished by our athletes and the response by spectators. A once in a lifetime experience for sure.

Stopped by my fave coffee place this morning to get a java to go. Rolled up the rim to win and I did! $100 gift card. Made my day, put a skip in my step and a whistle in my walk!

The Olympic fever that hit Vancouver is still alive and well. In fact, it's awesome. I've never seen such patriotism in my life. Lots of red mittens still being worn, toques (yes that's what they're called) and Canada scarves.

Impromptu singing of "Oh Canada". My fave?

Driving a bus of 12 'mentally challenged' adults home from their day program and listening to their deafening version of our national anthem. You gotta love it. Nothing else mattered to them than singing with gusto. All the little hissy fits on the bus, 'who gets to sit beside who today', 'i don't like you anymore but tomorrow i may just be back in love with you' dilemmas gone.

Priceless.