TOO FUNNY!

Just saw this and had to post it. It makes me ashamed of Montreal drivers ~ moral of the story, don't go to Montreal peeps, come here to Edmonton and visit me instead!! LOL
http://travelcanada.sympatico.msn.ca/TravelNews/ContentPosting.aspx?contentid=50db1e82d6ad490b848e39a49456c70c&show=True&number=5&showbyline=False&subtitle=&abc=abc

BEING BRAVE

There's lots of ways I can be brave...... I can learn all kinds of stuff about HTML and posting pics and audio on my blog, which is all new to me, and I've fallen completely in love with it! (thanks Lors and Pammie for your example!) .......and after scaring the beejeebers out of myself by "crashing" the whole thing from one stupid mistake (PREVIEW JUDE!!)
I mean, breaking out into a SWEAT!! ...... I got real brave and still tried new things, even knowing that the preview button would save me would still freak me out. And another thing..... I wanna know how come all the stupid silly things I do in my PRACTICE BLOG, which I have there for that purpose, never screws IT up!! But you know, I'm the world's biggest chicken shit sometimes, LOL. And I can be brave going to Dr. I.L. Drillya for his becoming-all-too-routine root canals, even though I cringe at the thought of drills! Really, I can be pretty brave about lots of stuff when I have to be. But last night I got REALLY brave, and made myself do something I was very reluctant to do. You know when you just "rush ahead into it before you think about it too much" kinda thing. It may sound silly, but to me it was BIG. I put up my Christmas tree. As soon as I put it together and started fluffing out the branches (and there are LOTS of them on my tree, it's big and beautiful and full!) I slowed down and started thinking a bit too much, and there it was, last year and Mom. It was like getting an emotional jump-start into the past and, worse, all the feelings that went along with it. And I could feel Mom around me, so I just said to her "okay Mom you just hang around me and we'll do this tree together"...... and that's exactly what we did. And it really helped, cuz it became more of a reminiscing of all the Christmases past and some of the things I put on my tree that she actually made for me through the years felt like they were being given to me all over again. You know? It was pretty cool, really. So yeah, the big chicken-shit got through it! And I must say, of a lot of pretty okay stuff I've done in my life, it's stuff like this that makes me feel pretty good about myself. I HAVE COURAGE! LOL
Anyway I know it probably sounds a little melodramatic, and I don't mean it to, but it WAS a big deal and I admit I was so not ready to deal with the heaviness of the feelings that I really had to force myself to move forward with this Christmas. And I'm glad I did, cuz it's my fav holiday of the year, and Mom knows that too!!

While my sister Pam and I were out grocery shopping today, I bought a new Christmas CD too...... I spotted it in Staples, and it was a good price so I grabbed it. It's Frank Mills (pianist) playing all the old Christmas hymns, which are my favourites. I prefer them over the "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' variety. So I've got it in my player right now listening to it, and it's good! And I love a soft piano tinkling beautiful melodies anyway. Him and Hennie Becker, they're both great pianists and I have a few CD's by them, for easy listening, sometimes set to nature sounds, that I play in my cashroom at work lots. That and classical music. The girls who relieve me in there just love it. They call it the "Zen Zone".

So I've got the lights in the tree and they are so beautiful, all jewel colours and sparkly. I like the mini-lights the best so that's what I have. Now I've got to finish decorating the tree, which I'll work on after work one or two evenings this week. Not sure which one of us 3 sisters here in Edmonton is doing the Christmas dinner this year, but I have a feeling who it's probably gonna be ~ more than likely Brenda, she's got the bigger house and kids, so it's easier for us to go there, and frankly I just don't feel like the work! Such a lazybones I am these days. Honest, really and truly
I am, you know the old joke about when vaccuming if you see a piece of fluff on the floor the vaccum won't pick up, you bend over, pick it up and set it back down and keep trying with the vaccum?? Well, I don't even bother anymore, I just leave it there. If it doesn't wanna cooperate with the vaccum, then it can stay there for all I care. As if I'm gonna give my poor ol' back a workout just for that. And that's if I vaccum, which is not as often as it used to be! That's another story......it's a good thing I get company now and then. It forces me to have to clean better than just a bit here and there once in awhile, LOL.

Well peeps I am very much enjoying "chatting" with you, I don't wanna call it a night and get some sleep for the work day tomorrow, but I really should get my ass (and the rest of me) off here and do just that.... alas.
I hope you all have a good week, enjoy those turkey sammiches for lunches!! Take care everyone, and PEACE be yours!

Love Jude

APRES TURKEY DAY

Well it's the day after ("apres", oui oui!) all the turkey dinners in the States, and what I wanna know is ~~ how did everyone enjoy it?? I'm watering at the mouth just thinking about my next turkey dinner at Christmas..... YUM! I tried soooo hard yesterday to get an audio Thanksgiving message on here, joined the Audioblogger thingy and everything, made a message....waited all day...never showed up on my blog, tried another one.....waited.....nothing. So then I get the bright idea to go read up the audioblog FAQ and lo and behold!!! Looks like it's only usable from the States so far....... AARRGGHH! Yup, it's those simple little things like details that'll get me every time! Sheesh!

Well peeps I just got back from my dentist appointment with the by now famous Dr. I.L. Drillya, and he did the final filling on the root canal which is doing just fine, and he was supposed to do either a filling or root canal on another molar. Well. Turns out it definitely needs a root canal, and really I've lost so many molars on that side that I guess I don't want this one yanked afterall. So we compromised. I told him after my body gets back to completely normal again that I'd come back for a root canal, and only go on the antibiotics IF and only IF it gets infected, like this one did. So I'm off the hook for now. And no, that's NOT his real name ~~ and if you really thought it was, then I wanna hug ya cuz you must be mentalpausal like ME. (you poor thing)

What a gorgeous autumn day to go for a walk!!! The sun is beating down and the breeze is stiff but refreshing, and it's just SO ALIVE out there! I almost wished it would have taken me longer to walk to the dentist and back, it was lovely. I could have kept wandering around my neighbourhood, but ~~ LAUNDRY AWAITS ME! A woman's work is never done, the saying says, and it's true isn't it? I just got it started, but I still have to go strip the bed yet too. (no Debs, "strip the bed", not "strip ON the bed") Savin' that for later! LOL **go Judy, go Judy**
(hmmmm, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" could come in handy here)
Def Leppard famous song in strip bars if anybody out there doesn't know the song ~ not that they wrote it for that purpose!!! It's just a really really fun song for the fans to sing along to at their shows.

Okay! What's next?? I'm really looking forward to the wedding reception here next Saturday for my sweet friend Monica, who just married her soul-mate Shane on the beach in Oahu. You may remember I was telling you about a wedding gift that I made for them, and once this reception has come and gone I'll try my hand at posting a pic of the gift on here. I've been to Maui 4 times on holidays through the years and it's my favourite place on earth! (not that I've been all over the earth or anything.... ..... I should be so lucky) but you know what I mean. Back in 1977, 1978, 1984 and 1989 I holiday'd there and fell in love with the place. It's not as commercialized nor as crowded as Oahu, particularly I guess Waikiki and Honolulu, but it has the night life if you want it and the party bars even through the day. But the beaches go on forever and there are lots of them that you may say "hi" walking by someone every 5 or 10 minutes. It's absolutely lovely. And the people are so friendly and laid back. And if you EVER go to Maui, you simply must go to Lahaina (old whaling village) and browse through the gazillions of little shops on the water front. Dammit now I wanna go back there..... couldn't take the heat anymore though. In my hot-flashing lifestyle, I'd probably do better sunbathing on a glacier up in the North Pole regions...... aaahhhh... **sizzle sizzle** Could cause global flooding though, yikes!

Well peeps I guess that's about it for this time. I hope you are all having turkey leftovers and sammiches now to your heart's content! Be good to yourselves and to others ~~~ Until next time, PEACE!!
Love Jude

HAPPY U.S. THANKSGIVING!!

First off, let me take this opportunity to wish all of my wonderful American friends a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving! We Canuks had ours in October..... being as we're totally neighbours I don't understand why the hell we both aren't the same, but then what do I know about anything as sensible as that?? Sheesh! Oh well I don't mind that ours is earlier ~ actually it gives us 2 whole months to do the entire "lets get sick of turkey for brekkie, lunch and dinner" thing all over again, LOL Actually I really love turkey ~ turkey dinner of course, and I could eat turkey sandwiches (my fav sammich) forever! WHITE MEAT ONLY, PEEPS!! Mmmm slathered with mayo and some cranberry jelly ~ eaten with a baby dill pickle, and a nice tall cold glass of skim moo!! YUM! I could "gobble" on those for a loooong time. *hee hee* Never ever ever ever ever eat the dark meat though, I can't think of much worse than putting all those poultry veins and arteries in my mouth. Much less CHEWING on them!! Eeewww!

Tonight I get into my blog and I see that my MoodSmilies is down because the site owner exceeded their bandwidth. Okay......fine. But I don't want this big white box on my side panel that says exactly that. No fun, right? So I just deleted it. What the heck, I can TELL you in a post if I'm happy or bitchy anyway. You'll be saying either " Look, here she comes, we're gonna get a HUG!!".....or..... "Look OUT, here she comes, and she's wearin' that funny diaper thingy again!" Nah... I'm never really "bitchy" per se..... I'm usually either happy, or just too damn tired to be happy. LOL Even if somebody pisses me off I don't stay mad long. I just get even and then I'm happy again.....
**Update: I decided to try something......and it worked! I just made my OWN mood heading and pic, comlete with a little explanation beside it! Yay for me!

I don't wanna talk about my situation at work and how I'm still not sure I'm going to get what I need for space in the new place. Let's just say that so far nothing's changed and I'm stressed. But......I don't wanna talk about it cuz I'll wanna go tell somebody to bite me. See, my one manager who's boss is the one who seems to feel I don't do anything important enough to warrant much space (okay well that's how it feels to me right now)..... well this one manager of mine happens to be the least able or willing to fight for stuff and get it. My other two managers would fight for it. But I don't wanna talk about it...... too depressing!
I know, I know....... shut up then!! LOL

I'm so pooped after only working 3 days. I can't honestly remember what it felt like to have had so much energy and basically no aches and pains all those years before now. (well, except every month when I had cramps from hell or all the times I got migraines that made me blind and then pass out hurling in the toilet.) But I mean the everyday, wake up and jump out of bed stuff, you know? Now, if I even attempted to "jump" out of bed, I'd just hurt myself. I slowly get upright and then do a kinda shuffle to the biffy. And after a half hour or so, I can walk normally again. Knees, ankles, back and feet. The first to go! What else is left, I ask you??? Oh well I didn't mean to go on and on about it, I just wanted to share that it's my "Friday" and thank heavens, cuz I'M POOPED. I get to relax some tomorrow and do a bit of laundry maybe, maybe not.....lol And then Friday I have to go back to sit in the dentist chair again and see what Dr. I.L. Drillya has to say......filling or root canal?? And we ALL know what I think about THAT!

Well peeps that's about it for this one, and I sincerely hope you all stay safe and happy. Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends, and to the rest of us...... well, Happy One Month Before Xmas!!
Peace be yours,
Love Jude

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY!!!

Can't help it.....I simply have to share this with you! Some of you may recall that on November 11th., our Remembrance Day, I received via email an audio clip that made me cry, it was so great. Well tonight I got into a really great HTML site and lo and behold I found out how to get this posted. So here it is...... just click on the play button on the left side.

Peace,
Jude

A BEAUTIFUL DAY

I spent this afternoon in the company of some really wonderful ladies, all of whom were there, including myself, for a "Mother Blessing" for our friend and sister in spirit Crystal Joy. She is due to have her baby within the next month, and now she is loaded down with more love and support from us. We brought her food, prayers, words of support, and beads. Each of brought a bead and while we took turns stringing our bead on the bracelet, we shared our support, prayers or whatever we brought. In the end, we put her bracelet on her wrist, which she will wear until after she's had her little one. But that's not all......afterwards, we each made our own bracelet with beads and we are all wearing ours too until the baby comes. Then while we ate and visited, C.J. was given a pedicure and foot massage, and a manicure and hand massage. And then we laid her down on the sofa and used face paints to paint what we wanted on her very prominent belly. There were hearts, sunshine, baby feet, and words, like "support" and "love" and "faith". Of course the belly paint will come off with her next shower, but it was for the moment and it was all very lovely. There were many tears shed during the bracelet ceremony. And when we left, we were each given a candle, and when C.J. goes into labour, each of us will be called, and we will light our candles, which burn for 18 hours.

Apparently we DID get a skiff of snow last night, but by the time I went outside at noon today it was gone and looked just like it looked before, so I wasn't even aware of it, LOL See Patty? We ALL say "skiff" of snow here!! And Debs, the lady who I came and went with today said she was out watching the Northern Lights the last two nights here!!! And I didn't even know it was happening..... missed it altogether! Anyway it was a lovely, warm and sunny day today. Very enjoyable.

Back at it tomorrow, on the job. I can't tell yet if I can't wait to hear if there's a decision on my new cashroom plans, or if I'm too scared to hear what the decision is!!! What a buck-buck I am, huh? LOL
I'm fairly confident we'll get something......I'm just worried that we may not get what I NEED in there. And I know exactly what's needed, so I've now asked for bare minimum, and I hope we get that. Fingies crossed!!

Oh Lordy and this is the week I have to go BACK to the dentist for another filling... if it's just a filling I couldn't care less, but if he tells me it needs a root canal I think I'll have to hurt him. I'm beginning to wonder if he just isn't a little root canal crazy or something. Like I said before, I'll tell him to fill it or yank it. No more friggin' antibiotics for me for awhile!! So, we'll see what happens when I see him on Friday.

Well that's the end of another weekend.....I hope you all have a good week, stay safe and PEACE to you and yours!
Love Jude

THIS 'N THAT

Well another weekend is here, and another week closer to Christmas! I just read on Patty's blog that they got some snow down in Calgary, just a few hours south of us in Edmonton. I'm thinking it will probably not be long before we get it too...... it's been a nice October/November really. We could have had a ton of the white stuff for awhile now ~ it happens now and then! Anyway Patty was talking about how icy it was....and that is really the worst thing about winter for me. Without the icy stuff that comes sometimes, the rest of the winter season I love. Especially for Christmas!!

In the last 2 days, two of my friends have posted about birthdays..... one has a niece and the other a daughter, who are both turning 20 yrs. old.
Holy schmoly, believe it or not, I can actually remember back to my 20th. birthday too! (yes peeps, she does still have the odd memory cell kicking around in that space between her ears...) I remember I was single, and had been living here in Edmonton with my older sister Linda for a year and a half. My mom and dad and two younger sisters still at home, were living in B.C., as my dad had finally retired from the Airforce the year before. I remember feeling really lonely for them, and wishing I could be with them for my birthday. That Christmas though, my sister Linda and I took the train from Edmonton up to northern B.C. to spend the holidays with them. Okay I have to leave this topic now....
LOL...... it's too close to Christmas and I'm missing them!! Anyway, I just wanted to say that hearing about these two young women turning 20 made me think " I could be their grandmother!!!!" (mind you, I'd have had to be 16 when I had their mothers) But still, it's possible, right??

On Sunday, I'm going to what we normally know as a "baby shower". It's for my sweet friend Crystal, whose name is Crystal Joy and I call her "C.J." Apparently I'm the only one she allows to call her that, LOL.
Anyway, this one is called a "Mother Blessing" party, and it's really different, and wonderful! This is C.J.'s first baby, and her mother is no longer with us. So she invited her older sisters who are mothers, and her close friends who are mothers, or who are a support in her life. I guess that's the category I fall in! Anyway, each of us is bringing either a poem, or prayer, and a bead. Any kind of bead or stone, that has a hole to make it into a bracelet. So some of you who know me, know how much I love stones and crystals, and have so many of my own, all for their different properties for healing or whatever. I picked out a few stones and did "my thing" with them (cleansing and programming them) just for C.J. And what she's going to do is wear that bracelet that we've made for her with all our love and support in it, when she's in labour and having her baby. I chose 2 stones: one is an amethyst, and the other is an aventurine (pale green) and I also had a little silver heart that I'm adding to it too. And then, I wrote her a verse to read and to keep, it's actually a prayer. It's about how she's carried inside her all her life a "child", her inner child, and now she is carrying another child....... anyway it asks for God's guidance into Motherhood for C.J. and His guidance for her little one..... I printed it out and scanned a picture of 2 little angels on the paper. And we're each bringing a snack, so I just made some chocolate chip raisin cookies today to take. So I'm looking forward to seeing what else the other ladies are bringing or doing. Interesting huh?

Not much else to report, I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend, and we'll catch up again soon! I'd like to leave you with a sweet little quote that my friend Mae gave me once........

"Like Flowers on a windowsill, the human spirit leans
toward the sunshine of freedom, for that is where
we bloom the best".....

Peace to you all,
Love Jude

BACK IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING!!

No more buttroid, no more root canal infection!!! Can life get any better than this? I'm stopping the damn pills today, no more for this chicky! This is BIG news for me.....

I had a lovely dinner out with a girlfriend last night, we don't see each other very often, but stay in touch of course. So we had TONS to catch up on, and I got my "Mae fix", LOL Anyway it's great to be feeling better and able to enjoy myself once again. My friend Monica got married yesterday on the beach in Oahu, wish I could have been there to witness her happiness ~ but I'll be at their wedding celebration party here on Saturday Dec. 4th.

Not much for news, other than the plans I drew up for my new cashroom (in the new building that we move into next year) were highly appraised by my 3 bosses, and 2 of theirs......now we're just trying to sell the 3rd. guy. Yesterday, at the suggestion of my 3 bosses, I had to type up a list of ALL the things I do in there. Let me tell ya, it's a LOT. I hope he understands then just why we need it. Wish me luck!!

Here's wishing you all a simply wonderful day today ~ Peace to you!
Love Jude

STILL LEARNIN'.........SIGH

I thought after screwing up my blogskin so bad that I had it all back, and then some (with the little changes I made), but last night I realized that all my post titles were missing! Where did they go?? Blog Heaven??
And I mean, ALL my posts, right back to the beginning. Well I found out that I was missing one little itty bitty code in my template (that USED to be there, go figure) so I just typed it in there. All my old titles came back, except for my last post, just can't seem to make the elusive little devil appear! So I'm gonna see if this post pisses me off or does what it's supposed to. Yes, I'm having fun yet.

Well we got the BIG news yesterday at work..... looks like it's a sure thing that our office is moving a block away to the building we wanted. And my boss hauled out the newly arrived floor plans and went over them with me. They didn't figure my cashroom in the plans, and she pretty much told me "we're getting one", and asked me to design the cashroom of my dreams. So I did that last night, and gave them to her today. She liked it, and so did the girl who job-shares with me in there. So now it's "wait and see what they actually give us", and she told me to ask for anything I want......and maybe that way I'll get at least most of it. So we're pretty pumped about all new furniture and things, although we won't be moving until next summer or fall. It's a H U M O N G U O U S space compared to what we have now. I told everyone we'd all probably lose weight just from walking from our desks to the bathroom, LOL
"Okay peeps, we're open for business, so I'm going to lock the back door now ~~ see ya in an hour or so!!"

Seeing as I always like talking about my body parts and body functions with you ( don'tcha love it when I share?) I thought I'd give ya the latest update on my "root canal / antibiotics" saga. I've been in so much pain but didn't wanna take a full dose of the damn pills, but not sleeping at night for the throbbing infection in my tooth finally made me start taking a full dose as of this morning. So far, so good. The Immodium and the Acidophilus seems to be, um......, holding things in, shall we say? There, see? That wasn't so bad......I didn't even MENTION a body part this time. I'm falling down on the job here, grossing you out.

Well in a couple more weeks I'll be forced to make the decision whether or not I can cope with Christmas decorations etc. I always put my tree up and decorate the house at the end of November. Can't see going to all that fuss and work for only a week or two, you know? I know Mom would want us to try and enjoy the season this year, especially after the horror of it last year. But it's still so soon, and so damn sad. I'm thinking that I might just do it anyway, and if I cry, I cry. Thing is I know I'll shed some tears regardless whether I put up my tree or not. This week last year was when suddenly she wasn't well and she was diagnosed. Where the year has gone, I don't know.....and we've all survived, just like we always have.

Well, I didn't fall asleep last night until about an hour and a half before the alarm went off this morning ~~ so I'm hoping for an earlier one tonight. Guess I should say goodnight for now, and wish you all a good day tomorrow! **PEACE**
P.S. ~~ I FIXED IT!! I FIXED IT!!! (took a couple tries though, lol)

LEARNIN' MY LESSONS......

Who would ever have thought that by just changing a teeny tiny little hex colour code for a background could make your entire blog come crashing down??!! And who would do such a silly assed thing?? ME!!
Yes, I did that. And I've learned big from this mistake in more ways than one. Lors' sage advice to NEVER save changes without first previewing them will be my motto now. And Debs and Janna ~ I never would have thought to save my code somewhere for future need. So thanks you guys! Take a bow....... (that'd be Janna with the cute bow in her hair, she's such a girly-girl, LOL) And the other bright side of my silliness: I have spent 2 days solid working on this to get everything back (well, between being sick, another topic) and in the process I have learned so much about some of this stuff. So much of it has my mind boggled, but some of it I've begun to see some sense in.
You many have noticed that I've changed the sidebar subtitles ~ and added a few of my own. That was fun to do!

So........ I got my root canal on Thursday. And getting it wasn't so bad, much the same as getting a filling, really. But AFTER ~~ OY! It hurts really bad..... and now I'm pretty sure it's infected, as the whole side of my face is in pain. And of course you all know by now how antibiotics make me turn into a poo-machine from watery hell...... well, I still have the antibiotics, but I also got me some Immodium and some Acidophilus at the suggestion of the pharmicist. And some Ibuprofin cuz it helps the pain and swelling. So IF I get the courage up to take the antibiotics, I'll see if the other two things with it keep me from getting so sick. I was really upset tonight and even had some tears over it ~ I was supposed to attend a party tonight that was a celebration of a wedding of my friend's that took place last year out of town. They had the "Edmonton party" for it tonight. Mae is such a wonderful friend, she's been there for me through it all (she's in the Sisterhood Celebration photo in my Photo Album in here. She's wearing the animal print blouse, sitting directly under me) and she was my maid of honour when Albert and I got married. Because their wedding was out of province, I couldn't go. So all year I've looked forward to this celebration tonight. And because of this root canal, and the antibiotics I took last week, I was so sick today that I couldn't make an appearance. I talked to her on the phone and of course she understood, but I just wanted to be there so it made me cry.
And it may not be over...... in 2 weeks I'm supposed to go back for another filling, and he told me depending on what he sees when he drills, it may be another root canal. Well guess what. I'm telling him to just do a filling, period. I'm not going through this again so soon, it's going to take my poo-machine MONTHS to get back to normal already, LOL. So there, doc!! Anyway, the Ibuprofin has kicked in and I managed to keep some food down, so we're on a roll now!

Hey, I think I mentioned that we are getting our yearly performance reviews at work right away ~ well before I left to go home for the week on Wednesday, my boss grabbed me and said she wanted to at least "start" mine, and finish it next week. Turns out she wanted to send me home for the weekend knowing that she gave me a nice raise. And as usual she made me blush, the review is good. I can't imagine ever working for anyone but her anymore ~ she's such a great person!! Love you Renata!!

A friend of mine sent me this really GREAT audo/video clip for Remembrance Day, just in time for me to screw up my blog, of course. I don't know how to get that in here anyway, but maybe another blogging friend from Calgary can.....Patty. If not, I'll try to get it in next year. It's very touching.....a guy singing a song about the veterans.....goosebumps all over my arms and tears in my eyes. Anyway to some people Remembrance Day (or Veteran's Day in the U.S.) is just another holiday. But it never has for me. Since I was a little kid at school on the Airforce bases, we always knew it was about brave men and women who lost their lives to give us our freedom. God bless them, and the ones who are still fighting for it now. They're all our Freedom Angels.

Well peeps that's about it for this time I guess. I hope the snow stays away for all of you who don't want it yet, and for any skiers out there, I hope ya get what ya need! Stay well everyone, and we'll chat soon!

**** PEACE****

OOPIES!!!!!!!

Sorry folks, lost my blog entirely..... but I've got it up and running again! Thanks so much to Lors, Debs, and Janna for the help and support, once again! (..... never ever republish edits until you've "previewed" them Jude!!!) Back in biz, peeps!

REMEMBRANCE DAY IN CANADA

Today, November 11th., is Remembrance Day in Canada, a day we remember and honour our fallen Canadian soldiers, and soldiers everywhere, who gave us our freedom. I proudly wear my poppy, and say a prayer for those souls who fought for us. God bless the brave men and women in times past, and in the present, who risk their lives for all of us.

POETRY FOR JANNA

My friend Janna (and others too) shares a real love of autumn with me. Even though we haven't had much of an autumn here in Edmonton this year, I know it's still blazing gorgeous colours in other parts of North America, and I wish it was still like that here! However, it's not, and rather than gripe about it, I'd like to share a poem I wrote about my favourite season (and Janna's) with you all. I wrote it a couple years ago after getting inspired looking out my window at a beautiful, sunny autumn day..........

**ahem**..... (that was for Debs)

THE CHANGING

Windfall colours glow in trees

And dance among chill breezes

Autumn's breath cools the air

Before the water freezes.

Clouds skid along in a rush

Much quicker than before

Pumpkins plump while flowers fade

On frosty garden floors.

Summery sun, once so warm

Replaced by rays subdued

The laziness of summer gone

Now wintry thoughts intrude.

Proof of breath hangs in the air

From morning exhalations

Frosty crystals on the ground

Are rich in their sensations.

Dried foliage crunches underfoot

Soon blanketed in white

As Mother Earth shares her gift

Of Autumn's wonderous sight.

Judy October 2001

REAL WOMEN SURVIVE MONDAYS

I ask you....... was it universal, or was it just everybody here in Edmonton who didn't sleep last night and were yawning all day at work today? There wasn't a full moon, so maybe there's some planetary thing going on.... well I guess there's ALWAYS some planetary thing going on....... I woke up at around 3 a.m. with a splitting headache, what THAT'S about I don't know..... as if it's not bad enough having a splitting headache in the middle of the day ~ but when you're trying to get some SLEEP for gawd's sake??? I mean, I wasn't DOING anything, , just laying there minding my own business and snackin' on some Z's. I wasn't doing headstands or tryin' to immitate Linda Blair's 360 degree headturn from The Excorcist..... honest!! Hell, I wasn't even having a bad dream! But for some unknown reason, all too often I'll wake up in the middle of the night with my head banging so hard it makes my stomach sick.
So anyway, up I get and take some Exedrin X-Strength, which is the one pill that does it for me. I cannot lay down with a headache, it just makes it pound worse, but I tried anyway so I could maybe catch some more snoozin'. By 4 a.m. I had to give up on that silly notion and get up for the day. Of course, by about 7:30 my headache was all gone and my eyes wanted to slam shut, but now I had to get ready for work. Figures huh? And I get into the office and just about everybody there had a bad night and we all had eyelids at half mast all day. Can you say
"CREEPY"???

Not to piss you late Xmas shoppers off even more (who ME?? ) guess what I did last night?? I got them all wrapped too! LOL So now instead of piles of boxes, bags and gifts laying all over the floor, I've gone one better ~~ now I have piles of wrapped gifts and full gift bags all over the floor. And no Xmas tree up yet to put them under. But hey, they all look so puuurdy laying there now!
There is sometimes a method to my madness.......sometimes......

You know what I never did? I haven't welcomed some newcomers I've linked to my blog! Sorry ladies! Welcome to Terri and Tracey, who I linked up in the last couple weeks, and also to Patty (another Albertan! Yay us! ) and
Kate, I've added them just tonight. It's great to have you all popping by here!
The lists of friends just keeps growing and growing....... and I love it! Now I won't be mentioning any N-A-M-E-S here...... cuz I gotta live with these people and I also love them to death.....but there ARE friends and loved ones right here in Edmonton who I know visit me here too ~ but you just don't see their names on here. Honest peeps, I really DO have friends here too!! One or two........lol There's that saying ~~~ " I think I'll throw a party and invite ALL my friend." Just kidding, I've a lot of wonderful connections here, they must just all be real shy.
Besides, just how many people can you pin in one spot on a guestmap??? (is that a trick question, Jude?)

Well it only snowed here for the one day, on Sunday. And today it was warmer and it's all melting away again. Doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. This year I really missed all the autumn colours being around for awhile. It dumped on us when the leaves were still all gorgeous, and ON the trees still, and we haven't had much of an autumn since then. Don't get me wrong, like I've said before, I love the winter here too. I adore the changes of season, I mean, REAL changes, not just a drop in temperature. We get WINTER. And summer. And spring. And autumn...... well, usually anyway. And I can't imagine living somewhere where it's warm and snow-less all year round. I couldn't even bear going somewhere tropical for Christmas....... I'd miss the trip altogether if I had to do a Christmas without snow! (sorry Danni ~ but you know what I mean, lol. I know in Australia, the Yuletide season comes in your summer months.)

I'm trying real hard to ignore the topic of my dreaded root canal this Thursday.
Maybe if I don't think about it, it'll just happen while I'm sleeping or something. I'll let ya know after the deed if I got my brains drilled by accident.....oh it's a molar on the BOTTOM of my mouth....heh heh. Well, he better have a good aim then!
Wouldn't you think dentists would have the fewest friends and the most hate-mail??? I mean, who's gonna LIKE them, really? Maybe they should all wear those black rimmed glasses with the attached big noses and mustaches. That way nobody will every recognize them at a party and want to hurt them. You know, for all the times they had to go for a "drill and drool". Must be a lonely life......

Oh well, I guess I should try to get to sleep earlier tonight. Who knows, maybe the planets will all re-align or whatever it is they do tonight, and Edmonton will be a "kindler, more gentler" city tomorrow morning......lol. I wish you all a rejuvinating rest tonight, and may you all dance with the Angels!

Peace be yours, and Goodnight!!
Jude

GETTIN' THAT YUUUULETIDE FEELIN'!!

Well I've just spent the ENTIRE DAY making Christmas gifts ~ and everything that I had to make, is now done! The rest of the gifts are storebought, and I've already got those too. Now don't start cussing me, just cuz you haven't got started yet, LOL. Hey I could leave it till the last minute like lots of folks do, but I cannot stand shopping then, when all the last-minuters are shoving everyone else around like crazed animals! Nuh-uh.... not for this chicky. It's bad enough going for groceries at Super Store on the weekend......my sis Pam and I go together often, and we're always laying bets when we pull into their parking lot if we're going to be homicidal today or not...... "to kill someone....or not to kill someone....
that is the question!" I'm talking about all the REALLY RUDE PEOPLE who didn't ever learn to say things like "excuse me" and "oh I'm so sorry I banged into you!!" Like, I'm in just as much a hurry to get the HELLO! out of that place and go for a smoke as they are, you know? Anyway I ain't no dummy and I get MY shopping done e a r l y. LOL

Well peeps if you've been keeping up with my babbling, you may remember that I was supposed to go the dentist today for a root canal. For precaution, he always insists that his patients take an antibiotic for a few days before he does the procedure, and then finish them afterwards. Like, he gave me a prescription for 50 of the little devils! So.....just like the last time he made me take them, (and every other time I've tried to take antibiotics over the last 20 odd years) I end up having to stop them after only a day or two. This ain't pleasant, but if I can talk about my buttroid on here ( which is GONE by the way!! ) ........then I can tell you all about this too. Antibiotics give me diarreah. And I don't mean just a little bit of "oopies I gotta go ~ now." I mean, "IF YOU DON'T GET OUTTA MY WAY RIGHT NOW I'M GONNA SHEEITE ALL OVER YOU!" You know, the kind that you cannot hold in. You just hang in your bathroom all day so you can sit down real quick like and blow the toilet completely up, oh.....say, no more than about every 20 minutes or so. So. Needless to say, I couldn't leave my house today to go get my root canal afterall. I was terrified that I'd either shit all over his chair in the middle of getting my face drilled off, or I'd shit myself walking there or back. How pleasant a thought is THAT? So I phoned him this morning and let's just say we "had a chat". He finally "got it" that I just can't take the stuff. To clarify, if I absolutely HAD to take it (life-threatening infection or my boobs were gonna fall off if I didn't ) then I have to be prescribed something to keep the diarreah away too. I just found that out when I phoned and talked to a pharmacist today too. Thank God for telephones.....LOL
So next week I'm going to get the dreaded root canal but he's not making me take anything until after he's done, and then only if I feel like I may be getting an infection. THANK YOU THERE IS A GOD!

Now that we've talked about my bum and my mouth (eewww those 2 words don't exactly go together well, do they?) how do ya like me so far? LOL I'd like to invite you all to check out my Photo Page ~ it's near the bottom of the page, just scroll on down....... It's meager at this time, cuz I only had room for 5 more pix on my "free" Photo stuff from Bravenet. All the other pix I have in there are for the e-card service I put on here. Anyway there is pix of 2 of my sisters, Pam and Brenda.....my sis Linda lives a few hours south of here ~ HI LINDA!! and some of my very closest friends. There are also 2 pix I've titled "People I Miss" and I blubbered a bit putting those in. The "cropping" or sizing didn't work too well for me (what do I know about that kinda stuff? I got them IN HERE, didn't I?)
but at least you can see the pix. You have to click on each pic to get a larger pic with the caption of the pic and then click on that one, and get an even larger one to view. When I decide to lose the odd other one in my e-card service, I'll be able to post even more in my Photo Albums.

Let's see, what else is happening in my little world? Well....... I've been happily busy over the last few days adding some more goodies to my blog. I've got a weather thingy for Edmonton, and also a MoodSmilie thingy..... and it has a comment button on it too....so when I tell ya how great or crappy a day I'm having, I can elaborate on it for ya. LOL Thanks to Janna, my NYC Southern Sista, for the idea for those! And of course, the Photo Album page is new.
It's all moocho fun, and I must say it's become almost a "hobby" for me. (great, just as she gets rid of her buttroid from hell, she starts sitting for days on end at her computer.... ) Well just so you know, I've learned to do lots of kiegels while I'm sitting now. Geez I'm almost at yet another body part so I better give it up for now, LOL My "down there" isn't particularly for public chatter.....
heh heh......

Well it's been fun, but I gotta go. I hope you all have a terrific weekend ~ those of you who are sick (poor Tracey! poor Pammie!) or banged up from a fall (poor Debs!) I wish you all complete wellness! Fast! Take care, and God bless you all........until next time ~~~~*** sign my Guestbook! *** pin my GuestMap!
**LOL** (I'm SUCH a nag......)

Love, hugs, and healing from Jude *****