Life Begins at Retirement!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy Birthday Michael

A Year in the Life of Michael

A year ago at the London Wine and Food Show

Michael is....years old!

He loves to try different foods

AND...is a lover of fine wines!

Exactly one year ago - Happy 53rd!

Micael loves.....icecream cake!

Words to describe Michael:

giving

(he gave this painting to friends who own

Jambalaya restaurant)

Michael loves......music!

You've got the beat!!

Michael in a contemplative moment...

Michael loves to....cook!

and eat outside near the campfire

brrrrrrrrr!

Michael loves to.......fly his kite!

and now we have the most spectacular kite-flying

location of all time!

Michael loves......a challenge!

Yes, he made it to the other side:)

Michael loves.....to be outdoors!

Michael is.....finding his way...

Michael is so very appreciative of nature's beauty...

Michael loves to encourage living things to grow.

Michael transplanting baby trees from our forest.

He enjoys working hard, especially outside!

Michael loves.....to take photographs

and explore new places.

Michael loves....sunshine.

Catching some warm rays at Gahan's..

Charlottetown, PEI

Also home of the best fish and chips ever!

Michael...getting to know our new home

on the Island!

No stove? No problem!

Michael loves...an open fire!

Michael loves....farm equipment!!

Learning another skill for the Island:)

Michael - the Badass Buddha!

Michael loves....the beach!

NorthPort, PEI

Michael is.......spiritual...

finding the perfect spot

for meditation.

Michael loves.........icecream!!

I mean he REALLY loves icecream,

especially and almost exclusively

Pralines and Cream!

(COWS icecream, based in Charlottetown, PEI

very good, very expensive!)

Michael loves.....adventure!

On our way to PEI!!

(No, not by canoe:)

HAPPY 54TH BIRTHDAY MY DEAR!!

MAY YOU ALWAYS

REMAIN TRUE

TO YOU!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Weekly Wrap - Missing the Green

Wrap de Jamon y Queso Crema

Newsbeat:

Ha ha ha - wrap...get it?

Sorry, it's been a long day. And I'm tired and ready for a nice lay-in tomorrow morning, til at least 8am!

Anyhoo, my weekly financials are kind of ho-hum. I finally got paid today and my estimate was over by $11 so that sucked as I was really hoping I'd under-estimated. AND we (Michael) bought Sarah McLachlin tickets today as she's coming to London in March. ($164)!! Michael's paying for them but since it's his birthday on Monday and he LOVES Sarah I'm thinking of paying for them as a gift. That'll really put the squeeze on my budget but I think I can swing it. I ended up with an extra $100 in my misc. budget due to spending less on gas and groceries. I could put it towards debt BUT I still want to purchase a birthday gift.

Makes sense...I think:)

This my two week chart. Susanna, you mentioned that the phone/cable/internet was so low - well, that's because only my cell phone bill has been paid so far this month, the home phone, cable and internet haven't been paid yet, when they are you will see that column take a big jump.

I spent another $13 on iTunes - my goal is to purchase ALL the Beatles music one album at a time. That'll take awhile. Other than breakfast out last Saturday and putting $20 on my Starbucks card last Sunday I've spent NO money, NONE! Oops, told a lie... we went to see Black Swan today after school, a matinee so it was cheaper:) Wow, the music is still running through my head - SUCH a good movie.

Heartbeat: had a tough few moments with my daughter this week. She broke up with her boyfriend of over two years. It was her decision and she talked to us about it and seems good with her decision. The tough moment was when I got up Thursday morning to get ready for work (5:45am) and her bed was empty. What a feeling and the thoughts that rushed through my mind - it was horrible.

I checked my cell phone for messages - nothing...checked the home phone - nothing. Asked Michael to check his phone...nothing.

So I called her cell number. Rang and rang and rang. I'm pacing around, what to do what to do...Called her number again and she answered - she and her friend had gone out together on Wed. evening and she ended up sleeping at her house. Of course at that point all my anxiety became relief and then anger. Later we talked, cried, rehashed things, hugged.

Man, being a mother can be hard sometimes. And scary.

Header: Prince Edward Island - isn't it so green?

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling tra la la la la la!

Poor Richard Sifkitz. While riding his stationary bike to lose weight he starts to disappear into the strange mural he painted on his wall depicting the microscopic men at work clearing out his hardening arteries. Who woulda thought?

Me, I'm only staring at my map of Canada wondering how far I've gotten in my journey from London to Alberton, PE. How dull am I?So far over the past 11 days I've pedalled 157km (97.6 miles)which brings me to lovely Mississauga - I'm almost in the city of Toronto!!

I've pledged to ride 15km per day, 5 days a week for a total of 75km per week. I've already surpassed that goal by 7km and I've got 3 more days in the first 2 weeks to ride, ride, ride, let it ride:) My goal now is to stay the course. I'm notorious for starting off all gungho but losing steam (getting bored)part way through.

One thing that keeps me going is thinking about Michael and I cycling the 470km Confederation Trail in PEI from Tignish to Elmira...must..get..in..shape...

We plan to pack light, spend the nights in B&Bs and take lots and lots of photos along the way:)

First the island, then....the WORLD bwahahaha!!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Question from a Reader

Ice Fishing Huts, Prince Edward Island

Susanna asked the question (which I thought was a reasonable question):
"how can you tell if a lake is frozen enough to walk on?"

I thought it worth throwing out there to see if any of my maritime friends
know the answer (I sure don't)!

Last winter when Michael and I were out hiking he walked out to the
middle of a frozen lake to talk to a fellow who was ice fishing.

He tried his best to persuade me to walk out with him, even to take
just a few steps on the ice but I refused.

I have this morbid fear of falling through the ice and getting
trapped under the ice. No way was I going to take the chance.

So, who knows??

And here's another question - what do those guys do all day inside
those little huts while they're waiting for a fish to bite??

Feeling Better - Thanks!!

So far this school year I haven't had any sick days, touch wood. For some reason I don't catch stuff - must have an amazing immune system. That and lots of hand sanitizer:) I can't remember the last time I had a cold or the flu - it's been years.

HOWEVER, I do suffer from migraines from time to time. But it wasn't a migraine (or megraine as my brother calls them) yesterday - just a bad headache and kinda nauseous feeling - so tucked myself in bed by 7pm and had a wild and crazy night of dreams. Did you know I'm getting a boat? Yeah, apparently, but it's not a very good one as it was taking on water! I also tried out a flotation tank in my dreams - very relaxing I must say. I must have had a bad case of the night sweats last night - all of my dreams were about water!

Anyway, here I am, back at my desk at school, waiting for the little monsters to arrive...and that's just the staff har har har!

Talk to you all later.
By the way - it sure is nice of y'all to leave me comments to "feel better" - it's good to know you care and I mean that most sincerely:)
Thanks!