At Home With Ailsa

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February '05 * January '05 * December '04 * November '04 * October '04 * September '04

August 2nd - 6th * Aug. 7th - 12th * Aug. 13th- 17th * Aug. 18th - 23rd * Aug. 24th - 31st

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Tuesday, August 31st, 2004. Hi, Honey! You're Home, again! Man, the last day of August, already. Where does the time fly? Actually, speaking of 'Flying', I thought I might be booking a Flight for myself to go down to Los Angeles to check out a possible Job, but that was last night... after a brief conversation this morning, I probably won't go down for a while, yet. We'll see. It's such a tough decision to move down there, again. All I could think of last night (when I thought I would be jumping on a plane any minute...) was where I would stay and what car I should rent. For some reason, every time we go to L.A., those are our Big Issues. It never seems cut-an-dried like it does in smaller places, where I can remember where everything is, and it's not so spread out that if you choose a Hotel in, say, The O.C. (Orange County), that it would take forever to get to a potential Meeting in Pasadena...

It's not just the Location of the Hotel I'm concerned about -- it's the level of Safety in the Hotel. I'm not used to travelling alone, anymore, so I don't look forward to that. I used to have a little Travel Alarm that went on the Door so that it would beep if anyone touched the door ... I liked that little device, but God Knows where that thing is, now. I was awake all night thinking about it, but in the process I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea (everything's brilliant when you think of it at 3:00 in the morning!) that would completely solve my problem of the hasle of finding a nice, safe Hotel and a decent car without a big pain in the shirt trying to get a good deal on a car that will fit more than one person and your bags...

So here's my Great Idea -- all we have to do is Buy an Apartment or a Condo down in L.A. (or Surrounding Area), and prep it so it's like a hotel (in my thoughts we had already hired a Maid who would come in and clean it at the end of each Stay...), then Rent it out by the Week (and I had already decided on a 'Special' for people staying for Two Weeks...). We would leave my Van (yes, the one I drive every day -- might as well be practical and use a vehicle we already have... remember, this is the middle of the night thinking! ha,ha,ha!) for any Vistors/Renters, so they won't have anything to worry about -- and it wouldn't cost a mint, either! See what a good idea? Maybe I will do that, one day. Must look at some Foreclosures while I'm down there...!

Now it seems that I don't have to rush down to Los Angeles, so that's a big relief, in a way. It's bizarre to go from being really excited at the possibility of going on a trip, and discovering what might be the next phase of your life, then all of a sudden, you're back where you were 24 hours earlier... Ah, well. That'll be my cardio-vascular work-out for the day! ha,ha,ha! Might as well relax and focus on all the Back to School stuff we still need to do -- that's probably plenty for one week, anyway!

Tip of the Day: (Oh, sorry about yesterday -- I totally forgot all about the Tip of the Day -- I could hardly wait to get back to the shop where I got those fabulous Kimonos so I could stock up for Christmas!) Here's the Tip for Today, since I thought about this for a fair bit of the night, last night, too -- when you are considering Moving, or getting ready for a Big Move, start going through all your stuff way in advance. You want to have a look at everything to see what is really important and you want to keep, and what you haven't looked at for (perhaps) years and years, that you can easily live without. (No, not just your spouse, but that might be the case, too... ha,ha,ha!) I know I have one whole Side of My Master Closet that has 'things I'll never wear but like to remember wearing'. Almost everyone has those items in their Closets -- Dwight, for example, actually has a nice Black Suit that he never, ever wears -- not even for our Wedding, when he said he didn't want to wear a Tie...

And I must have twenty or thrity boxes of things I can't recall packing, that I haven't seen since the last house -- we just brought these unopened boxes from the last move. Now that ain't good, is it?? ha,ha! Ah, well. I've made a mental note to go out to the Garage and go through each of the boxes to see what I need to keep and what I can give away. And I'll start doing that right away, instead of waiting until the last minute and being in a big panic to get it done. (Let's see if I can follow through with that great idea!)

Here's the Wee Booth where we got Cara's new Celtic Necklace. It's very pretty, and I haven't seen another one quite like it before,so I'm glad we splurged a wee bit and got it. These Booths are great -- they always have them at this type of Festival, but you can look out for them at Malls when it gets a bit closer to Christmas.

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See how the Pipers are all standing in a Circle, facing each other? It's a fun way to play, but particularly a good formation when you're playing the BagPipes. My Mum and Dad are still in Scotland (they have a house over there), but I'll ask them about that when they get home -- and maybe I can get that Tablet Recipe, too!

<Scotland><Scottish-Highland-Games><Scottish-Souvenirs><Scottish-Jewelery><Scottish-Sweeties>

Thanks for popping in for a wee visit! It's always nice to see you!

See You Tomorrow, Baby! Ailsa!!

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Monday, August 30th, 2004. Hoy! Only two days left in August -- man, does that really mean the end of Summer?? Has it even started yet? We had some nice days in July, in between all the rain, then August was almost a complete write-off with all the crazy Hail Storms ... maybe we'll have a great Indian Summer... hey, is it still politically correct to use that Term? Native American Summer? Whichever -- the point is that I Hope to God that we get in some nice weather before the Winter hits! Anyway, how you doin' today, Honey Cakes? My little 'Bread and Butter', so-to-speak! ha,ha,ha! Did you have a great Weekend? We went down to the Scottish Highland Games in High River over the Weekend, and it was really nice to hear some great Pipe Music and do some Scottish things. I've been trying to get to that Festival since we moved here (we're 8 minutes from High River and 7 minutes from Okotoks, just outside of Calgary), but that's the first time we made it.

I've been making my way through my big Sweetie Bag that I got at the Highland Games. All my favorite old Sweeties -- Fry's Chocolate Bars, Snowballs, Tablet, Walnut Whips and a variety of other very tasty things... and they are all like eating wee lumps of sugar, really! ha,ha,ha! So I meet it out in these tiny bits so I can have a wee bit of each during the day (and, admittedly, a few in the Evening, despite my earlier resolve not to eat anything at night... it's very tricky when there are Scottish Sweeties t be had!) My Dad used to make Tablet for us when we were kids ('weans' in Scotland -- pronounced 'Wains'), and I haven't had it for years, so I'll have to get the Recipe from him, then I'll put it on the Site so you can try it, too. Tablet is like a Scottish Version of Vanilla Fudge, but it has a really distinct texture that is delicious!

<Scotland><Scottish-Highland-Games><Scottish-Souvenirs><Scottish-Jewelery><Scottish-Sweeties><Chocolates><UK-Mortgages><UK-Shopping>

So I'm wearing my fancy new Kimono, again! I think this'll be my new 'Work Uniform'! It's incredibly soft and luxurious, and the extra wide sleeves don't even get in the way while I'm typing, so it's perfect for working at the Computer. Not so great for Bathing Small Children...or doing the Garbage or cleaning the Toilets -- all the fun things most Mums get to do! ha,ha! I think I'm going to head back to Winners and get some more of these Kimonos, then put them away for Christmas Gifts. I was trying to not do that, this year, since I'm not completely sure where we'll be by the time Christmas rolls around, but I just can't resist these, and they won't be there in November, so I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and go get a whole pile of them!

<Kimonos>(In case you're desperate for one, now, too! ha,ha!)

There's a shot of the Mass Bands at the Scottish Highland Games. Can you imagine these guys (and girls!) marching toward you? It's very powerful. And then the middle picture is the Setting for The Games -- isn't that beautiful? The Mountain Views from High River are amazing!

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See the lovely Sky in the last picture? That's why we thought the Games might be cancelled, but the weather can be so differnt within a few miles of wherever you are in Alberta -- it's really an bizarre thing out here in the West! We had a massive Hail Storm at our place, but High River had a wee sprinkle of rain earlier in the day, and it was hot and sunny for The Games -- go figure! Check out my new Page for the Scottish Highland Games.

Only Two Days before Cara heads Back to School (yippee, she's going back!!), so we have a ton of stuff to do, so better get going! See you tomorrow!

Later, Baby! Ailsa!!

I went into this Site to Order these Magazines on the Weekend -- what an incredible deal! Shipping is only within the United States, but I'm looking for a good link so I can have a good (and fast) link to send magazins to my Friends in Canada, too, since it's such a big hassle to send stuff in Canada -- maybe because of all the extra Taxes (PST & GST) on every Purchase, so that's too much work for American Companies. Too bad we can't have an arrangement where we just pay the applicable taxws when we get the Product -- sometimes I do that when I order things through the States. But if you are in the States, yourself, or sending to someone in the States, this is one of the Best Deals I've come across in a long, long time!

< >Take 5 Best Seller Magazines for $30! Select from titles such as Maxim, Details, FHM, Woman's Day, Time and more! We have all the Best Selling Magazines! Select your 5 magazines now!<NetMagazines>

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It's The Weekend! August 28th & 29th, 2004. Yo, yo, yo! What up wit' my Home-ies? Homebodies... no, that doesn't sound nearly as cool -- in fact, that really just conjures up a picture of us all sitting around at home, knitting! And I can't remember how to knit, anymore...plus, I can't afford the Wool! It's waaaay cheaper to just go buy the Sweater...! Oh, and that reminds me -- I got a gorgeous new Sweater when we were out getting stuff for Cara to go Back to School. I happened upon it in the 'Teen' Section, but I can't really imagine any Teens wanting to wear it, but it was perfect for me! I'll have to read the label to find out what the wool is made out of, because it's unbelievably soft and cuddly! Slightly Low-Cut, though, so I have no idea where I'll be able to actually wear it, but I felt I had to have it, anyway!

Also, this incredibly beautiful and soft Kimono that I couldn't resist -- I'm wearing it right now -- it's Black Satin with some gorgeous Pink Flowers Printed on it. It's my Special Treat to myself for working hard all the time! And it's yet another item of Clothing that I'm not completely sure when or where I can wear it (I figure I can wear it while I'm working on the Computer! ha,ha! How many jobs are there where you can wear a Kimono to work??)... Aidan tried on the Kimono when we got home, and immediately started doing every Karate Kick he's ever thought of, with all the accompanying Noises, of course! Hilarious! I'll need to make sure this doesn't become a 'Family Kimono' with each person wearing it on different days!

I think we will go ahead and have another Open House on Sunday. Not sure why we have such a difficult time deciding on that during the week -- I think Dwight secretly believes that any weekend, now, we'll fer sures go on a Mini-Vacation! There is a Resort that we were going to go to last year, but circumstances didn't allow it. If we could find the Pamphet for that, or I can find their Online Address, maybe we'll do that some time in the Fall. It's such a tough call with the weather being to screwy -- last week it was colder than it often is in the Winter -- crazy. August and September used to be out 'old reliable' months for great weather... and speaking of insane weather, we got caught in a Hail Storm when we were out shopping, today. It was the worst Hail Storm I've ever been in, in a vehicle. I had to keep the Windshield Wipers going at Full Speed to prevent the Windshield from breaking. Man. Wonder what the Winter will be like?

Tip of the Day: This one's really, really Practical...! You know when you want to Chill a Bottle of Wine (or other tasty delight) quickly? I know, this is extra-important, today... Anyhooo, you run the Bottle under some cold water, then set it on top of an Ice Cube Tray (or whatever...) in your Freezer, then turn up the Freezer to a higher setting. It'll Chill in about 10 - 15 minutes, or however long you can wait. (I'm not completely clear on how desperate you are...! ha,ha,ha) I suppose you could also go with the extra-classy method of popping an ice cube in your Wine -- I would imagine that's frowned upon in certain 'Wine Circles', but when you're in a real hurry, who cares, right? It's not like the whole 'Circle' are there, are they? ARE THEY?? No. You'd be too busy, and you most likely would be on a different Site... har, har!

Well, I better get going! Thanks for stopping by for a wee visit! I hope you get a chance to do something really fun, this Weekend, and who knows, maybe you'll have an 'opportunity' to try my little 'Wine Tip'!

Don't forget about the Scottish Highland Games in High River on Saturday, if you happen to live anywhere near Calgary, Alberta! I go for the Music and stay for the Sweeties! ha,ha,ha!

See You Later, Baby! Ailsa!!

You know what you can get here? Those cool New Pocket Bikes -- and they have a Mini-Motorbike, too... and about a million other cool things! You have to be extra careful with those little Mini-Bikes, but you have to be careful with anything that's motorized (or comes in a bottle or is sharp and pointy, for that matter...). They look like a lot of fun, and I wouldn't be surprised if they came up with special parks for people to ride them -- just like regular Moto-Cross Bikes, which Dwight is heavily into, and has been for years... maybe they have a deal where you can ride these bikes on the Moto-Cross Trails... worth checking into!

Oh, and I asked Dwight if there's a way to slow these little Pocket-Bikes down a bit, if you wanted to, and he told me two ways to do that. I'll have to write down the information so I can tell you, too! Something about a 'sprocket' or a 'spignet'... something like that, and something else about a 'governor' that could control the throttle... I'll have to ask him again....

< >You won't believe all the cool stuff you can find at this Site -- take a minute and have a wee look around!

Oh, and they have Oxi-Clean, too -- the one Product that keeps things sane around here, since Dwight no longer freaks out at the mere thought of a spill that could lead to a stain... I keep a couple of Spray Bottles with the Oxi-Clean and Water mixture ready for any small spills, and now I put a Scoop of Oxi-Clean in the Carpet Shampooer that I absolutely loooove! You wouldn't think you could 'love' a vacuum, but when it's this useful, it starts to go to the list of 'Things I Love the Most...'! That's probably a fairly good indication of where my life is at, right now, though, ain't it?? ha,ha,ha!

We went to the Scottish Highland Games in High River, Alberta, today, and I got some great pictures! It was pouring out at our house (8 minutes away from where the Games were), so we weren't sure whether the Games were still on. The funny thing there is that of all the folks in the world who aren't scared off by a wee bit of rain, it's the Scots, so the Games went on!

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I took a ton of pictures, so I think I'll go ahead and make a whole page just for them, then in case you've never been to a Scottish Highland Games Festival, you can see what they're all about. Good idea, huh? And of course I scored a whole bunch of great Sweeties and some lovely Jewelery, too. And Aidan got a wee bag of Sweets, too, so he was happy.

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Friday, August 27th, 2004. Hi, Honey-Pie! Sugar Pie (NOT Sugar Lump -- that's probably not a very good description, now is it? ha,ha!)... Are you run off your feet either getting yourself ready to go back to school, getting someone else ready or just having to listen to all those folks talking about it endlessly (like ME, I suppose!)? I love thse Staples Ads, "It's the Most... Wonderful Time of the Year!" It's funny how you can hardly wait for the Summer Vacation to Arrive, then can't wait for it to come to an end, so you can all get back to normal... I think we're all Creatures of Habit, and it'll be good to get back on track.

So I've found out a whole lot of information about Home Schooling over the last few days. As it turns out, Kindergarten in Alberta is not Mandatory. I suspected that, but didn't really think it would be true. Ah, well. The deal here is that students need to attend School from 6 - 16. Aidan will be turning 5 on September 11th (sigh -- he doesn't know the whole connection to that day, Thank Goodness...), so I don't have to worry about what I'm going to do with my small boy who is just a tad crazy... in a cute kind of way, but not-quite-ready for school that is Formal. Plus, I don't believe he is old enough to handle the whole Bus thing. Cara had no problem at that age, but she was a much different child, and already had plenty of experience being in Nursery School, so that was different.

My Big Plan is to Home School Aidan until we sell this house and move -- since I used to teach Kindergarten, anyway, I'll just set up a center like I would if I had a regular Classroom, and he can 'Go to School' in the comfort and safety of his own home. If you have small children and you are keen to give them a little project they can do at home that's perfect for developing their Reading Skills, you can get a package of Styrofoam Cups and put each Letter of the Alphabet on the Cups. Set them out where the child can easily reach them. Whenever you think of a word or find a word on a Package or Flyer that begins with 'The Letter of the Day", you can have your child cut out the word, or you can write it out for them, and have the child place the word in the cup. You can review the words you've collected in each of the Cups whenever you feel like it. Kids love this, for some reason...! They're very easily amused at this age -- it's when they hit 45 that they are more difficult to entertain! ha,ha,ha!

Anyway, it's a lot better to know what we're doing, since things were really up in the air for the last couple of weeks with all the school issues, but now they're all solved. We even went in to Cara's High School to make sure she has all the Courses she wants for this Semester, and I only have one Pet Peeve -- I hate when they 'Misname' a Course. Cara had told me about a course called 'Financial Management', so of course I made her sign up for that. I've been waiting for years for the High Schools to start really teaching kids what they need to know to survive Financially in the world... but here's the kicker (now there's a word I've never uttered in my life, but seems okay to write!)... Cara got her Text Books for her courses, and she had an Accounting Book in the pile. I said to her, "What's with the Accounting Book?" She says that's what the course is that I made her take. Ugh. Now that's False Advertising, if I've ever seen it. Not enough kids signing up for Accounting 101, so they slapped a better Title on it, and whammo, the Class if full. Full of students who would like to learn how to manage their own money...

Tip of the Day: Always check the Fine Print -- for Courses, in Legal Documents (and yes, all those little tiny words will come back to haunt you if you figure they're just too little to count...), in Real Estate Documents, Marriage Vows (you might want to remember to skip by that whole 'Obey' part...), you name it. If you can't be bothered reading the Fine Print, have a Lawyer Read it and tell you what you have to watch out for, and be sure to listen carefully. When you sign on the Line that you have understood everything, that's a solid commitment, so if you want to make any changes, do it before you sign. It's more common than you might think for folks who say, "Oh, it'll be fine. I'll deal with that later, but I really don't think this applies to me..." That's just asking for trouble. And for Courses, read the whole Course Description before you sign up for it -- we didn't have that option, so we were only going by the Title. Ah, well. Maybe Cara will learn how to Balance the Books, and she can use that info for her own money, as soon as she gets some! ha,ha,ha!

Here's my sweet little Tia and her fancy schmancy Collar! We hadn't actually seen it for years, but her last Grooming was so good that now we can see it. You can check through Petco for a great selection of Dog Collars -- I'm surprised more folks don't buy them for themselves, since they're like a gorgeous Choker!

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Okay, better go get some more stuff done! Oh, I just about forgot to mention -- if you live in the Calgary, Alberta Area, there's a Scottish Highland Games out in High River this Saturday. Dwight saw the sign for it (although he didn't read it...!), but I would imagine it'll be on all day. I loves me a Pipe Band Competition, and love all the Highland Dancers! I used to be very involved in Highland Dancing, and spent many a half an hour practice jumping over 'The Swords' for the Delicate Sword Dance. Aidan would have loved that, except he would have used the swords for swash-buckling instead! ha,ha,ha!

Thanks for popping in for a wee visit! See you on The Weekend!

Later, Baby! Ailsa!!

I need to Order some Magazines for a great Friend of mine, today, so I thought I'd put this link on since it's great to get a Fabulous deal like this! 5 Subscriptions for $30 Bucks -- can you believe that??

< >

Take 5 Best Seller Magazines for $30! Select from titles such as Maxim, Details, FHM, Woman's Day, Time and more! We have all the Best Selling Magazines! Select your 5 magazines now!<NetMagazines>

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Thursday, August 26th, 2004. Hey, Good Lookin'! And I don't just mean yer eyesight, neither... although, that seems pretty good, too... and mine has pretty much evened out over the past year since my Lasik Eye Surgery. I find I still have to adjust my eyes to be able to read certain things (or, say, see my toes...!), but overall it's been fantastic! I find it's been coming up a bit, lately -- when we were out at a Restaurant and I had to quickly read something from the Menu, I had to bring the Menu right up to my face to see it -- and when you're paying with the Debit Card at the Store, I have to really focus on the little machine to make sure I'm hitting the right buttons, since they can't seem to use a Universal Device that everyone can use it quickly without a big struggle... and each time I feel the need to explain that I had the Lasik Eye Surgery, and have to hold the item close to my face. Whatever -- maybe it's just a sign of Age! ha,ha!

I was talking to my Doctor the other day about Age and the various signs of it (and mostly how they would affect me and which medications I could or could not take...), and he had a very interesting take on the whole Aging thing. He said that a real sign of getting Old is when you decide to Compromise on what you want, then become Comfortable with the Compromise. It's all about Comfort Level. When you are younger, you are almost always willing to push the envelop to get the most out of Life, but as you get older, there's a real tendency to say, "Well, this isn't so bad... I guess I can tolerate this for another 40 or 50 years...", then off you go to get old and tolerate your Life. Now, how good is that? Hmmmm. Must watch out for that, since me thinks that's what I've been doing for a very long time, but the whole notion of taking a huge Leap to see if I can find something 'Better' is pretty scary.

It's funny that when you are really young, you never think you will still be struggling with what you should or shouldn't do after a certain Age. Everyone has an age in their mind where they think they will 'just ride it out from here...'. Mine keeps changing, since I never seem to find a place where I'm willing to stay forever... except for when I lived in California, and I truly loved living there. I need to be realistic, though, about what Life was really like for me down there -- the weather was always great, and I never had to worry about Snow and Ice on the Roads (a major concern for me in Northern Climates...), but I spent a tremendous amount of time all alone down there. My Thirtieth Birthday was one of the Loneliest Days of my Life -- just me and Cara in a restaurant all alone -- everyone lives very individual and independent lives in Los Angeles...and of course you have to cover up what you're feeling with your children, particularly when they are little (Cara was 4 at the time), so I just had to wade my way through that.

My concern is that despite how lovely the weather will be, if I would just be putting myself in that same old scenario for the sake of better weather and a great job. Maybe those two things are worth it -- it's been such a long time since I've really thrown myself into a regular job (I work away at my Site with a great passion, but not at a 'Real Job'...), and I know the Rewards are Great from that. And maybe I would meet someone really nice and kind, who wasn't crazy... I suppose that's a possibility! It's always trepidatious to make a Life-Altering Decision, so I'm weighing this one out very, very carefully and slowly. When I was younger, I just leapt at opportunities, but now I am a lot more cautious. At least I'm still looking at the possibilities, so I guess that's a good sign of Youthful Behaviour right there!(Youthful or Stooopid -- whatevah' -- who has the time to consider the difference?? ha,ha!)

Tip of the Day: Stay in Your Youth, at least in Your Head! Why not? Is it really a great thing and 'the right thing to do' to never make a change, or to accept something that makes you unhappy just because you agreed to try it years prior? There's the whole thing that Society needs you to make a decision and stick by it, no matter what, but I'm not so sure that's working for us. There's an awful lot of people on Anti-Depressants... wouldn't it be worth a try to make some change in your life, first, to see if it's life's circumstances that are making life difficult, and only resort to Drugs as a very last resort? (And no, I'm not considering Anti-Depressant Drugs -- that Sody Pop Wine seems to be working fine, for now...! ha,ha!) Anyway, even if you were to make a little change, every here or there, maybe those little changes would add up and you'll find yourself in a more interesting place. You never know until you try, right?? Maybe even a wee holiday away -- you'll either want to move to the Destination or you'll be thrilled to get home to your old one! That's the beauty of Vacations!

Here are the August Sunset Pictures I was telling you about - we have some stunning Sunsets at this time of year, so I took a couple of pictures to show you. Pretty, eh?

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You know what I regret (well, that's probably a fairly long list, so I mean regret about some pictures...!)? I wish I had tried to take some pictures the night we had the amazing Northern Lights -- they were absolutely incredible. I've never seen anything quite like that. Next time, I'm gonna give it a shot, even if it doesn't turn out... and I think there's a little 'Life Lesson' in there, too! They're everywhere, ain't they?? ha,ha!

Thanks for swinging in for a wee visit -- here, I was going to talk about the info I finally found on Home Schooling, but now I've run out of time, so I'll do that tomorrow... Now I think I could use a little bit of Chocolate -- that's enough 'Mood-Altering' stuff for today! ha,ha!

See you tomorrow, Baby! Ailsa!!

Check this out! You know how I have my friend, Stephen Robert Johns on my Site, because he is a great friend and incredible Artist? Well, Steve spends a fair chunk of time in Costa Rica as an Artist in Residence. Isn't that cool? And I have some lovely friends from Costa Rica, so have a wee look to see if you'd like to go there for a fabulous Vacation! Maybe you'll see Steve!!

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Wednesday, August 25th, 2004. Yo, yo, yo! What up with my Home-ies?? That's what the folks who do the Home Schooling could be called, too, although they might correct my English, then I wouldn't want to bother with them anymore...whatevah'! I spent a fair bit of my day, yesterday, trying to find some solid information about Home-Schoolong Aidan for Kindergarten until we move (which, with any luck, will be sooner than later...), and really didn't get anywhere. That's annoying, in this day and age of the Computer, where pretty much any piece of information should be at your fingertips, right? I did find some interesting Sites while I was poking around online, though, so it wasn't a total waste.

And I took Aidan into my Doctor to see about getting a prescription for that drug that will allow Aidan to sleep through any Dental Procedure. He said it was no problem at all, so we're going to try it at home, first (the Doctor's Suggestion), then find a Dentist who will agree to work on aidan while he's sedated with this drug. Of course, the name of the drug is in my purse, and I can't be bothered going to get it, right now, but I'll find it and give it to you. I wrote out that quote from the book on Dentistry that I read in the summer regarding General Anasthesia and Dentistry Treatments for Children, so you can see it, too, on the off-chance that you are (or will) deal with a similar situation in your life. It's all about sharing information, ain't it? Unless you're with the School Board, then it's a Big Secret -- "Just Try and Find Out"!

Hey, have you seen The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? Man, that's hilarious! John Kerry was on, tonight (I've just recently started watching it where I can hear it -- I used to just watch it late at night if I was working on my website by myself, but I just Mute the TV, or the Volume was so low (so as not to disturb Dwight, who doesn't like when I work on the computer when he's at home... go figure...) that I couldn't really hear it. Now that there's absolutely nothing on at 10:00 p.m. at night, we're watching The Daily Show together, with the Volume Up! WooHoo! And now I see (and hear) what I've been missing all these years! But that's the first time I've really heard John Kerry speak without being on a Podium, and what a Brilliant Man. That's a Good Quality in a Leader, fer sures! I would imagine that Jon Stewart will have a major impact on how many Young People go out and Vote (Every Vote is a Good Vote... especially when it's counted! ha,ha!), so that's gotta be a good thing. So I suppose this is the Silver Lining in terrible TV Programming for the NightLife-Challenged Folks such as myself...! ha,ha,ha!

We did all see a Brand New Episode of The Amazing Race, which we all enjoy, especially the scenes of people behaving badly. If you've you've been following it, there's a good-looking white guy (there's a good description, right there! ha,ha!) named Colin, who is involved with an equally attractive Girl -- 'Whats-Her-Name', I'll call her, since I've forgotten... but I do know she acquiesces to his belligerent behaviour all the time, and I don't like to see that. There's a very good portrayal of how someone can get mixed up with a Crazy Personality, though, because if you watch it, you can see how he flies off the handle and she quickly does a little dance around him to make HIM feel better, since he always thinks he's been wronged. Yes, unfortunately, I've done that dance many, many times, but I hope to try a new, more rhythmic and fun dance at some point in my near future... It's like a little bit of People Watching with some Great Scenery thrown in!

Tip of the Day: Sometimes it takes a lot more work to do what you know is the Right Thing to Do -- the easy way is generally to go along with whatever someone else tells you to do, but it's good to examine exactly who it is who is doing the telling, and whether you feel in your heart that they should be in charge of your Actions. I'm sure that the vast majority of people know themselves and their Loved Ones more than a Stranger (or, say, a Politician...), even when they are in a Position of Trust, so it's really important to follow your own Instincts. They're there for a reason, so why not spend a bit more time following your own self than blindly agreeing with someone else? And if you turn out to be wrong, so what? Then you can go back and follow the Crowd -- maybe they DO know what they're talking about! Plus, the Lemming Costumes are very, very cute!

Okay, better get going! Thanks for clicking in for a visit! It's always lovely to see you!

Talk to you later... I'll be back with some nice new Pics!

And speaking of Costumes ... Here's what really happens in my Office while I'm working! ha,ha! That's Aidan wearing his Caterpillar Costume, which he has never successfully worn outside for Hallowe'en...but at least he enjoys putting it on from time to time to play with Tia!

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Tia is almost always in my Office with me -- she likes to be close much of the time, which I think is very sweet. She loves to check Aidan out, so you can see her giving him a wee sniff in the second shot, then by the third shot, you can see the 'Game is On', and the two of them ran away shortly after that! Funny. And all in a days work... this I'm gonna miss!

See you tomorrow! Hey, tell all yo' Friends about my Site, next time you're doing some Forward, or something... I have Two Names for the Site, now -- www.Buildyourownhouse.ca and www.BuildBuyRenovateSell.com. Either will work!
Later, Baby! Ailsa!!

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Tuesday, August 24th, 2004. Hey, Baby! Wha'zzz up?? What's goin' on in yo' life, today? If you have Kids going back to School, or you're heading back to School, yourself, you'll be going shopping for the zillion things you have to buy for school, these days. We used to get very excited about the prospect of new Pencil Crayons, Pens and a Pencil Case. I think most of the rest of the stuff was supplied... not any more. I think it cost me about a Thousand Bucks for Cara, last year... and from what I hear, that's pretty standard stuff. She's in High School, so that includes Back-to-School Clothes, but the amount of Basic School supplies has definitely increased over the years.

I still haven't heard back about Aidan -- I need to know if Kindergarten is even mandatory out here in Alberta. I need to know whether there's a Home-Schooling Program that would work out for us until we move. It turns out that no-one is in 'the office' to take questions from Parents until later this week, but we just found out that School is going in on September 1st (Calgary Public Schools go in on Sept. 7th, so we were thinking we'd be going in at the same time...). Ah, well. That only gives us a week to get the materials together or find a school -- whichever is going to work out. That's cutting it close to the wire.

So you know what I've been meaning to mention for you to try that will greatly improve your life that you can do during a House Build or a Major Renovation... Add a whole pile of extra Insulation to any Room that you want to Soundproof. The TV Room, the Master Bedroom, Bathrooms, a Music Room, or any Room with a Teenager... what a difference this will make for you in the long run. The key to Soundproofing is adding extra Insulation between the Walls and between the Floors of the House (if necessary). Dwight was telling me that there is a new type of Insulation (yes, our conversations are rivetting... funny you mention that...! ha,ha,ha!), and it has a greater density than the standard Pink Insulation -- this new one is Brown -- that's how you'll recognize it, apparently. You can also look for a metal thing called a Z-Bar, which will 'catch' the sound waves as they travel through the Nails. No kidding. We had the Z-Bar Product in our last house, and it was really effective.

Tip of the Day: When you are having your Insulation Installed, be as assertive as you have to be to make sure you get the Interior Walls Insulated. For some reason, quite a few 'guys' who install Insulation already have their own little notions about where you should insulate, and they will actively work against you to do what you ask them to do... so you need to say, "I want all the Interior Rooms Fully Insulated, and use the Extra-Dense Insulation for the Master Bedroom and the TV Room". When they shake their heads in disagreement, just repeat yourself. I'm not sure why the folks you hire to do a job want to make major decisions that go against yours, but they often do, so just keep on it. It's your House, and you're paying for it, so get what you want. And if you're having a Home Built for you, be sure to make that request to your Builder at the beginning of the Build -- you'll pay a bit more, but it'll definitely be worth it!

I have a bunch of investigating to do, today, so better keep this short, today... I'll go grab some nice new pictures. Be right back!

I was just going to put on some nice Sunset Shots, since we've had some beautiful sunsets, lately, but then I remembered that I have all these Insulation Shots from the Build!

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See in the First Picture it's still at the Interior Framing Stage? That's when you need to tell your Insulation Installer to do all the Interior Walls. It has to be done before the Drywall and after the Plumbing and Electrical, so you need to move quickly to get it done. Usually the Insulation and Drywall are scheduled very close together, so really watch for that.

That's the Upper Level of our house -- the Bedrooms, Bathrooms and the Sunroom are on the South Side of the House. That's the beginning of the Kitchen in the Middle Picture, and the Vault in the Great Room in the Third pic. Looks cool, doesn't it? I love the way the Vaults come together at that section of the ceiling!

Thanks for swinging in for a little visit! Just think of al the noise you can make in the future with all yo' new Insulation! ha,ha!
See you tomorrow, Baby! Ailsa!!

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See ya', Baby! Ailsa!

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