At Home With Ailsa

At Home With Ailsa *At Home with Ailsa -- My Update Page! - At Home I * At Home II * At Home III * At Home IV * Archived At Home With Ailsa Pages! * April '05 * March '05 * February '05 * January '05 * December '04 * November '04 * October '04 * September '04 * August '04 * July '04 * June '04

June '04 *June 1st - 4th * June 11th-13th * April 5th- March 30th

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Monday, April 5th, 2004. Hey, Baby-Cakes! Sugar Dumpling... My Little Candied Apple...really, I have to start having Breakfast before I 'get to writin'! Ah, well. I'll have my Apple Crumble for One when I'm done this... then I have to go check out some Properties that are up for a Tax Sale here with the City of Calgary. Ironic, since we happened to pick up House of Sand and Fog on the weekend. I'd read the Book when it was one of Oprah's Book Selections, and loved the Book. The Movie with Ben Kingsley was incredibly Powerful -- I highly recommend it. But the whole Movie is based on a Guy who buys a home through a Tax Sale from the County, then all hell breaks loose after that.

What was amazing about House of Sand and Fog was the sheer number of underlying Themes -- I'm sure you can guess that I love that sort of thing! Bigotry, Greed, Excess, Corruption, Power, Love, Compassion, Hatred, Secrecy ...man, it was a great movie! And for me to still be mulling over all the different themes ... now that's the sign of a Great Movie!

So back to the Tax Sale thing -- I've actually been checking into this as a method of attaining Properties for about the last 4 months, or so. I'd heard about it a long time ago, but had forgotten how great a deal it can be. What happens is The City or County takes over a Property where the Taxes haven't been Paid -- there are all sorts of reasons why someone would stop paying their Property Taxes, but it is a legitimate way to Purchase Property, so you don't have to feel guilty about it. I've been wondering if it would be possible to contact the people in advance of them losing their Property, so you could pay them directly. Let me know if you happen to know the answer to that...

Have you ever seen those Ads in the Paper where someone has to sell their house quickly, so you can just take over the Payments and give them a few thousand to get them on their way? I would hope that everybody knows to go ahead and sell their property before they get in so deep that they lose it completely -- that's a sad thing when it happens.

So here's what to look out for in Your Local Newspaper -- I have a Link for Newspapers around the World on my Links Page -- just scroll down until you find it, if you're looking to buy property in a different location than where you currently live... Anyway, the Ad will usually be in the Back part of the Newspaper, and come under the Title Public Notice -- Public Sale of Land. The other thing you can do is go online to your own City, Town or County Website and key in Public Sale of Land. It's worth a look to see what's available.

On a more personal note, my hair is a little crazy today -- it's gone mad with the curls! I've got 'Hot Tub Hair'! ha,ha! Ah, well -- it must be from the Heat or something -- I can't remember why, and I'd forgotten that my hair reacts like that... but I'll tell you, it's fabulous having the Hot Tub up and running! We went in for the first time on Saturday Night, and it was wonderful -- hard to believe we let so much time go by without hooking the Hot Tub up -- this is the Tub that Dwight bought two years ago when we were still in our last house -- we had a Hot Tub over there, too. When we sell our houses, we always leave the cool things in the house -- Hot Tubs, Pool Tables... stuff like that.

Oh, you know what was really funny? Dwight and I were lolling around in the Hot Tub yesterday Evening (we had about an hour and a half before The Sopranos and Arrested Development, two of our favorite Shows...), when Aidan came to the Sunroom Door and saw us -- he had been watching a Show in the Living Room, and Cara was watching him... anyway, Aidan takes one look at us, motions to acknowledge he's seen us, then puts his finger up in the 'I'll be right back' signal. Less than a minute later, he's back with his 'Little Swimmers' on and he's in the Tub! ha,ha,ha! Hilarious! We keep the temperature at a 'Family Friendly' Temperature around 99 - 102 Degrees. We keep it under 99 Degrees when Aidan might come in with us.

And on the off-chance that you've been watching all the Reality Dating Shows, and now you're convinced that Hot Tubs are only for the Dating Couple ... Nope! They are great for families and regular folk -- we get a lot of chatting and laughing done in the Hot Tub. It's just another relaxing place to be, and all the kids can jump in, too -- just no splashing, which is better in any case. The other thing that is fabulous is the Therapeutic Value that the Hot Tub has -- Dwight won't need to go to the Chiropractor so often, and it was the Tub combined with a great Physiotherapist (Scott, where ever he is now...) that healed a terrible Arm injury I had for years (one of my Special Needs Students attacked me when I was teaching in L.A. -- that just happens from time to time in that Field), and a bad Neck Injury from two car accidents out here in Calgary.

I was looking for a Link for Magazines from Overstock.com today, because I still haven't sent my bestest friend, Greg, his Christmas Present -- don't worry -- he'd be in shock if I ever got a present to him on time! His Birthday Gift usually arrive sometime in November but Greg's Birthday is on July 21st... that's just the kind of gal I am! ha,ha! Anyway, I hadn't realized that Overstock has Magazines, too (really, they have everything you could possibly imagine, and then about a zillion other Products after that...!). Anyhooo, I have to Order Maxim Magazine for Greg -- Dwight really likes that Magazine, so I figured Greg would enjoy it, too. I never did find the right link, but I did find this one that is very useful for any 'Wanna-bee' Writers in my Audience. And the best Writer's Magazine is, by far, Writer's Digest, if you want an insider's track to Writing for a Living.How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines>

Tip of the Day: You know a really easy way to clean your Sponges you use in the Kitchen Sink? Pop them in the Dishwasher whenever you're running it. You can throw them in the Washing Machine, too, but the Dishwasher is the fastest and easiest way to clean the sponges.

I'll go get some pictures for you -- be right baaack!! (Now won't you be surprised if I come back with my Bathing Suit on?? ha,ha,ha,ha!)

Well, it's just one picture, today -- I made this last week when I was procrastinating about doing something else that I've forgotten about now... some important business deal, no doubt! ha,ha,ha! This is the sort of thing I am likely to do when I'm fed up with something not working, or not going through fast enough...

So here's what I did -- I had a Frame from Walmart that I must have bought a few months back, and it happened to be sitting behind a plant in my office. Then I cut out a picture from one of my 2003 calendars that also happened to be within my view from my office chair -- you know how you spin about when you're fed up?? Then I spied some scissors that I'd left on my desk a while ago, and Voila! A little bit of cutting and pasting later, I had a lovely new picture to hang up. And according to the Psychic, Daffodils are very lucky, so maybe that'll help my Business Deal go through a little faster, then those Big Checks will come my way -- also what the Psychic said!! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Thanks for popping in for a wee visit, today!

See you tomorrow!

Love & Luck, Ailsa!

Every day, now, I'm gonna try these new Links -- let me know what you think...When you check them out, it supports my Site, so that's always a good thing, right??

The Weekend Update for April 3rd & 4th, 2004! It's the Weekend -- YaaHoo!! And guess what's working? No, not Dwight... even better than that -- The Hot Tub! WooHoo! It should be hot enough to get into by Tonight, but I ain't no fooool -- I'm sending Dwight in first! ha,ha,ha! Electricity and Water -- that's a combo Dwight can try, and if he's still okay, I'll get in, too! So what's up? How you doin'?? Did you have a great Business Week -- get a lot done at Work? It's fun to accomplish a lot of stuff, then you can sit back on your laurels (or whatever you call your beeeehind! har, har!) and enjoy what you've done! That sounds good, doesn't it?

I got an interesting thing in my e-mail, this morning, and I'll get the Link for you because it's fun to read and might make you feel good about your Future, which is a positive thing all around... It was from Rose Marcus -- she's an Astrologer that I discovered in a Financial Magazine I like to read. How funny is that?? (The part about the Astrologer being in the Financial Magazine, not the bit about ME READING a Financial Magazine... now how flaky do you think I am -- well, I'm considerably less flaky than what you might currently believe... and one day I'ma gonna prove it to you! ha,ha,ha! Not today, though -- today can be a 'she seems a little wacky' day!!)

AstrolinkAprilforecasts.doc (75 KB) OR www.rosemarcus.com. You know, I should make an Astrology Page, just for fun... I see me working on that sometime in the near future... ha,ha!

I have been having a lot of fun looking for Contests and Free Stuff for you, though. That stuff is great -- wouldn't it be cool if you were able to Win some huuuge thing, then we could post that on the Site? Here's a couple of Samples -- ooooh, I loves me some Free Stuff! Get a FREE 60 Minute Phone Card!>Choose from a list of products you can get for free!>

Today we have to put up a nice neat new House For Sale Sign, hopefully with the Mail Box full of Information Sheets that I made up ages ago... I'll take some pictures to show you the Final Project. And Dwight has to put the rest of the Boards on the Deck -- the ones we had to remove to lift the Hot Tub out of the Deck.

Okay. let me go get you some pictures of the Fully Operational Hot Tub!!

Well, here she is -- our beeeautiful Hot Tub, all full of Water and ready to go! WooHoo!

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Can you see in the Third Picture how the Railing is 'missing'? Yep, thanks to that crazy wind storm that came out of nowhere last week... so now that whole side of the Deck need to be replaced. Ah, the joys of Home Ownership!

Now I have to run upstairs to make Breakfast for everyone -- Scrambled Eggs & Salsa -- if you haven't tried it, it's delicious!

Thanks for popping in for a wee visit! Have a Fabulous Weekend!

Love & Luck, Ailsa!

Oh, and I have Two New Letters on my Ask Ailsa Page, so swing in there for a quick read, too!

So here's the cool thing about the internet -- absolutely anyone can make money with 'Da Net'... and aren't we all up for making a little extra million or so?? ha,ha! But seriously, check this out -- everybody knows somebody who needs a Wholesale Flower Connection -- why shouldn't that be you?? Worth checking into, no doubt!!

Friday, April 2nd, 2004. Hey, Baby! What's Up?? Did you enjoy your April Fools Day Pranks and Jokes, yesterday?? ha,ha,ha! I have to say I really had a laugh when I was writing my bit about Dwight runningo ff to join the Circus -- he would never do that -- they don't Pay enough! ham,ha,ha! Always a Boy to watch the 'Bottom Line'! So the Clown Shoes, Tutus and Leotards are still safely in the Closet, which is an excellent location for them! ha,ha!

I just answered a couple of Questions on my Ask Ailsa Page, so pop in to see that when you have a minute. I get a lot of letters from My Wonderful and Brilliant (not to mention good looking! ha,ha!) Readers, so I'll try to get one or two letters on the Ask Ailsa Page every day -- or a few times a week, at least, depending on my schedule... One letter is from Kara, who was out to visit me last weekend with her wee boy, about Bathroom Exhaust Fans and Building Insurance, and the other letter is from William, a fellow who also went to Queen's University, my old Alma Mater... he's thinking about Building a New Home (as opposed to Building an Old Place...) in Ontario Countryside. I grew up in Ontario, and my Parents Built their own home on an Acreage, too, so that's a nice little connection!

Dwight and I went outside to get the Hot Tub hooked back up yesterday afternoon, and it's almost ready to go -- I put a wee story about that on the Ask Ailsa Page, so you can look out for that -- one day I'll learn how to connect one thing directly up to another thing, but I don't have time to do that, today, what with trying to figure out how I can sneak a nap into my Afternoon routine, 'n all! ha,ha,ha! In a nutshell, though, (which is where Dwight seems to reside a great deal of the time... but I digress for a cheap gag...! ha,ha!) the Tub still isn't running, but it's full of water and looks fantastic! One of Dwight's Electrician Buddies is popping over tonight to have a look at the System and Install a New Breaker...then, I hope it'll work.

Tip of the Day: It's ever-so-helpful to have 'Friends and Buddies', or at the very least Acquaintences, who know something about Construction. They can save you a lot of time, trouble and money, because they can quickly identify a problem or tell you how much something ought to cost. I had a wee visit with a Neighbour, yesterday, and we were chatting about Air Conditioning (who doesn't have a wee chat about Air Conditioning?? ha,ha!), and she was telling me that they just got a quote to have Air Conditioning Installed in their house, which is a bit smaller than our house, and they only need to Cool the Upper Floor of their Bungalow -- well, the quote they got was almost double what it probably should cost them, depending on their current Heating System. I told her I'd send Dwight over to have a wee look -- that one quick visit could save them over $2,000., so that was well worth a conversation, right?? Plus, we got to relax and have some Tea in the Sunroom -- now don't you want to pop over for a wee visit, too?? ha,ha,ha!

Oh, I almost forgot about Survivor and The Apprentice, last night -- what a couple of fabulous shows! So on Survivor, Boston Rob moved up about 20 notches for me when all he wanted to do was 'protect his girl'...Come on... collective sigh... now that's really sweet!

And then on The Apprentice, I was really surprised to see how thrown Amy was when things weren't going well with Hot-Headed Nick. For one, he would make a terrible Partner for her, since he looks like he wouldn't manage well if she has a higher level of success than he achieves, which is very, very likely, given how smart and beautiful she is, topped off with a very temperate Personality... do you see a Movie Career in her Future, or is that just me?? ha,ha,ha! But she seemed to be dwelling on the lack of receptiveness to her all day (by Nick...) instead of being focussd on the Sales Task at hand. And Nick couldn't let go of Amy saying that she felt that Bill was her biggest competition...

My favorite part of the Show was at the end with T-Roy and Kwame. These two guys are at the Top of their Game, and handled themselves with Grace Under Pressure. Very impressive. And very different from how Two Women together in the Past Shows have reacted... we need to train our Girls to handle themselves calmly in the Board Rooms of the World, and The Apprentice is a great Show to demonstrate how to handle yourself effectively... I think the competition is now between Kwame and Amy -- I like Bill, but Bill often doesn't like how other people work, and a good boss needs to let their Employees deal with situations as best they can, otherwise the Boss will end up doing all the work -- Kwame seems to have the best skills in that area -- plus, I want The Donald to keep Kwame around long enough for them to film him working out without a shirt, again... one can always hope! ha,ha,ha,ha! Okay, I know that's just a tad shallow!

Okay, let me go get you some new pictures... be right back!

Do you love a Big Seafood Dinner, and want to know how to make it at Home? Well, you know how I've mentioned that I was a Waitress in a Seafood Restaurant when I was a Student in University? As you might well imagine, I hate to let a learning opportunity slip by me, so I got them to teach me how to cook all the food on their menu while I was there! (And, yes, I was a great Waitress, because I loved to chat with our Customers, and there's nothing I appreciate more than great service...!)

** Crab Legs, Shrimp & Strawberries!

Makes a great Date Meal, too!(This applies only to our Single Readers -- now you Married Readers must know by now that yo' spouse is just gonna get really mad if you try this meal out on a Date that don't include them! ha,ha,ha!)

Okay, so this couldn't be easier -- just buy your Snow Crab Legs (you can get King Crab if you like, but Snow Crab is easier to get into ... fewer cuts to yo' hands in your frenzy to get into the meat..! ha,ha!), and they can be Frozen or Fresh, depending on where you live.

Boil a Giant Pot of Water with a little Salt in it. Put the Crab Legs in the Boiling Water and let them cook in there for 14 Minutes. Take the Crab Legs out of the Pot with Tongs and put them on a Platter. Serve them with individual bowls of Melted Butter -- just pop it into the Microwave for about 20 seconds to heat it up, ready for 'Dipping'! Yummy!!

Take out a Shrimp Ring from the Freezer in advance, and you can serve the Crab Legs with the Shrimp Ring, French Bread, Strawberries, and possibly Baby Potatoes, if you like! All easy to do and it makes for a lovely meal! Now do you want to come over for Tea and stay for Dinner?? ha,ha,ha,ha! We should all have a big meal together, sometime...that would be a whole lot of fun!!

Thanks for swingin' in for a wee visit! I hope I can save you some money, time and stress, too! Wouldn't that be great??

See you on the Weekend!

Love & Luck, Ailsa!

Thursday, April 1st, 2004. Good morning, Folks. I'm in shock, this morning... I just got up and found a note on the Dining Room Table -- it was from Dwight. He's finally done it, after years and years of threatenening and holding it over my head... he's run off to join the Circus. I knew it would probably happen one day, but I didn't see it happening, today. How ironic, with April Fools, and all... I went to check the Closet, and all his stuff is gone -- the Leotards, the Tutus, those stooopid Clown Shoes -- everybody knew they were too big for him -- who was he kidding?? What a Clown! The Note said he had to," follow his Dream, his pasion" (Dwight can't spell...), and become a Trapeze Artist. Artist my ass -- all they do is hang about all day, but I suppose he is good at that -- plenty of practice, anyway.

Well, I better go clean up -- what a mess -- I think some of his friends must have swung by to pick him up -- what a load of Clowns -- and never enough seatbelts for them all, either. I hope the Coppers nab them and their stooopid little Monkeys, too. Well, I'll tell you -- it's for the best...it'll be good to get that little monkey off my back, at least until next week when he'll be angry about being demoted to 'Pet Patrol', which is just a fancy euphanism for 'Pooper Scooper' -- I hope it's in the Elephant Tent! Now that'll show him!

I need to go collect my thoughts and find the Insurance...

Happy April Fools! Go have a leettle bit of fun, today!! ha,ha,ha,ha! Ailsa!

Shocking April Fools Day Pranks!>

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Wednesday, March 31st, 2004. Hello, Dear. Dearie. My Wee Dear...okay, who sounds like a Granny, now?? ha,ha,ha! (I can't talk like that -- I Hope to God it's years and years before I become a real Granny! Must remember to keep Cara locked up!! ha,ha,ha!) That crazy Dwight used to call me 'Dear' when we were in our early years... used to really creep me out! I'd say to him, "Ugh, you're creepin' me out! Just call me Baby", so he did and it stuck...and now it's lucky if he says goodnight to me at all, what with the old age 'n all!! ha,ha,ha! (I know, that one is for me -- Dwight's only 45, but I find it endlessly amusing to think of him as 'old' -- now what's that all about?? Probably his 'new look' that he's recently adopted. Of course I have a name for it -- I call it the 'Old German guy moving to Florida'... now, Dwight is German, so I can get away with that, and he would looove to move to Florida... but he's been tucking in his shirts, hiking his pants up and wearing his socks pulled right up to his knees -- all very disturbing! He used to do it for a laugh, but now it looks like he's settling into his brand new look! That ain't right!! ha,ha,ha!)

Oh, speak of the devil, and there he is... (it's an old Scottish Phrase, if you haven't heard it a million times before, usually as you enter a room where people have been talking about you!) Dwight just walked in the door... he's sick today, which is very unusual for Dwight, so I had to run upstairs and tuck him into bed, make more soup for Aidan ( he has a wee cold, too...), then come back down to my goigeous Office to finish up my work for today. Aside from my usual Daily Update (this At Home with Ailsa Page...) and my Ask Ailsa Page, I've been busy making a new Contests & Free Stuff Page for you, my extremely good looking and lucky Readers, who also happen to enjoy saving a few dollars here or there (until you have, say, a couple of hundred thousand dollars, then it's off to buy more Real Estate! ha,ha,ha!)

And if you have an extra minute and are 'curious' about what kinds of 'apparel' I like, you can take a peek at the bottom of my Drugstore Stuff Page ... I hope I got the right picture, but let's just say it would go very nicely wit' mah boots!! ha,ha,ha!

So the Hot Tub is back in it's rightful spot in the Sunroom Deck (it's sunken -- the Hot Tub, I mean, not the whole Deck!...), but the weather has taken yet another turn for the worse, and so has Dwight, so we're going to run the risk of the pipes freezing and bursting, again, if Dwight doesn't have a good snooze to get rid of those icky germs so he can go back outside and hook up the whole Hot Tub... All the electrical needs to be reconnected, then we have to Fill the Tub and turn the thing on -- fingers crossed that everything is working properly! Dwight had me pop out to the Deck to check the temperature of the water that is currently sitting in the Hot Tub from his 'Test Run', yesterday. It's cold but not frozen, so that's a good sign. Now I better go make Dwight some soup, too! And maybe a 'Hot Toddy', too -- hot Whiskey and Water, with a wee bit of honey and lemon, for Dwight's taste!

Crap of all crap -- my Tip of the Day was lost when I was trying to Save it -- this stoopid computer is driving me u the wall, today! Ugh. Well, I'll make it a quickie Tip, then do the one I had for today another day...

Tip of the Day: If you have an 'Older Home' (that can be anything from Ten Years old to over a thousand years old, depending on where you live -- here in Calgary, the City of Everything New, a Ten Year Old Home is considered to be a 'mature' house -- that used to really break me up when I first moved here, but now with all the Brand New Neighborhoods, I get why they say that...) and you want to give it New Life, consider painting the Doors and the Trimwork Bright White. If you have enough money in your budget to replace all the older brown wooden doors, switch them out for White Colonial Paneled Doors or French Glass Doors. You'll be amazed at how quickly and easily that can change the look of your home.

So that's a weird thing -- for some reason, all of my work on this Page has shifted over to the Left Margin -- and here I like it in the middle... now how did that happen, I wonder?? Just another 'puter mystery!

Let me go get you some new Pictures ... be right baaack!!

These are my new 'replacement' flowers for the Front Entry, Second Level... Bright and Cheery -- just the way I like everything, including People!! ha,ha,ha!

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Thanks for Popping in for a wee visit -- let me know if you Win Anything, or what kind of ree Stuff you get from my new Contests & Free Stuff Page! See you tomorrow!

Love & Luck! Ailsa!!

These just appealed to me because I looove Easter!

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Easter Gift Baskets >

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Tuesday, March 30th, 2004. Hello, Hello, Hello! Sorry I'm soooo painfully late -- my crazy computer kept freezing up for some unknown reason... well, I'm sure some computer folks would know why, but I don't have a clue... anyhooo, here I am, now! Can you believe it's almost April 1st -- April Fools Day?? Drop me a line and let me know if you've ever done or had a great April Fools Joke...When you're Single, it's always fun to go with the old tried and true "Ooops! I'm pregnant"... or "Hey, I'm getting Married!" These are particularly uproarious depending on your Lifestyle! ha,ha,ha! Now, they would just be shocking and miraculous, so not quite so funny -- ah, how times change... Check out this Link I found for a few laughs! Shocking April Fools Day Pranks!>

Aaaah, this thing froze, again! Now I'm almost out of time before the Crane gets here -- remember we had to cancel the Crane on the Weekend because the Winds were too strong, but it's a very mild day, today, so the Hot Tub is going to be tested to make sure it'll hold water, then lifted back into the Sunroom Deck. I hope, hope, hope that the Hot Tub is back to normal, so we can get in there, now that the Weather is nice, again!

<Search for homes in the Orange County MLS!>

See ya', Baby! Ailsa!

Shopping *Great Freebies! * Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS

I love this Ad for Spongebob Squarepants Screensavers because on of my very favorite Spongebob scenes is where Spongebob is secretly watching a Show of Jellyfish like it's a porn movie, when Gary the Snail comes in the room and Spongebob yelps at getting caught watching 'something bad' and quickly changes the channel so Gary can't see it ... Hilarious!

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