One Piece of Tape

Hot pink tape, that is...

Had a physio assessment today. The verdict is Patellofemoral Pain Symdrome, otherwise known as PFPS. It's sounds serious but it's not. Another common term for this is "runner's knee".  And my pink piece of tape really helps. Usually your kneecap glides smoothly up and down in a groove in the thigh bone, but due to a variety of reasons (injury, overuse, etc) it can slip a bit to one side or the other causing pan. One little piece of tape, placed properly, can make a huge difference.  

I go back for another session next week when I'll get retaped and will get some tape to take with me on our hiking trip coming up SOON! I also have a few exercises I can do to build strength in other muscles around the knee so feel more confident about hiking. Oh, and Annie, these Gowalk shoes are the absolute best!! My feet are in LOVE!

I think I've raved about this store on my blog before but more raving is required! Last year my rain pants were a pain in the patootie! Yes, that's a word. They kept the rain out and the sweat in! When I took them off my pants underneath were soaked. I checked out MEC's online store and they have rain pants with zippered vents. Yippee!! With only a couple weeks left to go I went to their London store to try them on. They were great except the legs were way too long - I hate being 5'3" sometimes! However the store clerk said (and checked on her computer) that through the online store I can get a petite medium with a shorter inseam. Double Yippee!

I ordered them Monday afternoon and they arrived today - and shipping's free! I love you MEC! Oh, and MEC stands for Mountain Equipment Company. A membership costs nothing but provides you with lifetime return if something goes wrong or is defective. 

This week just gets better and better! Monday evening was The Tragically Hip concert. Their front man and lead singer, Gord Downie, has been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. Being the amazing Canadian that he is he figured this was the perfect time to go on tour across Canada - give his fans one last opportunity to celebrate together. He is a class act. I'm not sure how well known they are in the States, let me know if they are, but here in Canada I don't know anyone who isn't a huge Hip fan. They are the best rock and roll band in Canada since Burton Cummings and The Guess Who!

A bunch of us who were fortunate and determined enough to get tickets met for dinner before the concert. Look at my amazing strawberry salad! It was as good as it looks!

Gord and his band sing about Canada - its traditions and landmarks - with such a quirky style uniquely his own. He also physically interprets his music as he sings which is hilarious and touching at the same time.

I don't know if anyone is familiar with the Red Skelton Show which all Canadians gathered to watch every week back in the 1960's but Red had a character he called Clem Kaddidlehopper. Well, I saw Clem Monday night after the second encore as Gord went cross-eyed and turned his hat sideways. All of these personal little weird and wonderful asides are absolutely treasured moments.

It was an emotional night filled with poignant and teary moments. When Gord gently touched the face of one of his musicians I just lost it. I cannot imagine the pain they must be going through knowing this will be their last tour as The Tragically Hip. Tragic indeed.

It was a sold out night filled with sadness and joy. 

I'll post a song from youtube.

Good Riddance May Budget

Well THAT was a spendy month!! I was never so happy to get to the end of a budget month!

Let me scrounge for the GOOD:

• Union Gas dropped to $43 in May - I had budgeted $65; however I now pay Union Gas at the trailer with an activation fee of $40
• London Hydro came in at $63 - I had budgeted $70 - woo hoo! I'm hoping for a further drop (yeah, right - Hydro just goes up and up and up!!) since we aren't using the electric heater in the basement now

That's it for the good.

Now for the BAD:

• I had to pay HST on the trailer - SURPRISE!! That was an unexpected $1,314.00.  Colour me BLUE!!!
• License stickers had to be renewed this month - what a lovely birthday gift! $98.00 Plus this was my year to get an E-Test and I needed an oil change. KA-CHING!!
• Lots of invites to go out for lunch/brunch etc; that's nice but really makes an impact on the ol' budget. Eating out twice in one week is equal to the amount I spend on groceries in a week!
• $45.00 for 40 days of yoga
• I spent $356 on stuff for the trailer: this was "needed" stuff as the previous owners left nothing except a big fat mess. I purchased a small BBQ, side tables, 4 tubs of grasses to plant, cutlery, utensils, bedding, pillows and much more.
• I spent $300 on stuff I needed for hiking and my upcoming trip at MEC (Mountain Equipment Company): a good backpack (the one I have is from Roots and used to be Kazi's high school backpack - it is NOT suitable for hiking long distances and really hurts my shoulders; a day pack for short hikes - it goes around your waist, holds 2 water bottles and has a zippered compartment for snacks and another for keys, ID etc; socks, sock liners, headband for HOT yoga, and a buffy for hiking - it can be used in many ways; and 3 tops (all on sale)

That spree was my birthday gift to myself. 

Needless to say I had to dip into my savings several times during the month which gives me anxiety. Oh yes, I also loaned Kazi $700 as her car needed repairs and was unsafe to drive. She was upset about having to borrow from me but has already repaid $200.  And now I need a new fridge. Arghhh!

Oh well, I will adjust the budget like we all have to do from time to time. Touch wood I won't have any more big unexpected expenses in the near future. I have $2500 set aside for my trip and hope that will be enough. I have an automatic tsf of $300 monthly into savings which helps to rebuild and in a year (when I turn 60) that will go up to $800 or $900 monthly. 

I knew when I retired early at 58 I'd have two lean years but I wasn't expecting so many visits from Murphy!! But that's the way it goes right? The best laid plans...  But I know I will come through it ok and look forward to the future when I can redo the bathroom etc. We can plan for the future but we have to live one day at a time.

June's budget looks good so far!! 

The Wacky World of Weather

I didn't think to take any "weather" photos yesterday but then it would have been near impossible what with the constant downpour and heavy winds. 

Anyhoo, it would have looked like this!

And I was a little busy once I found that the living room was drenched because I hadn't closed the patio doors. Did I say drenched..... I think I meant soaked. I was busy wiping up floors and furniture and now have a lovely display of wet towels draped around the house. I may have to run the dryer as nothing hanging up is going to dry today. Silly me. I was sitting high and dry by my bedroom window glad I was safely indoors and thinking "boy, that wind is strong" all the while not realizing that strong westerly winds were blowing in through the patio doors. 

Oh well, it could always be worse. 

Here's what southwestern Ontario looked like all day yesterday. And today. Can I just point out however, that I am brilliant (accidentally) when it comes to "timing" - I pulled into my parking space yesterday just as a few little drops started appearing on my windshield. By the time I got myself and my packages into the house all HELL broke lose!! Dodged that one...sorta....Today it's only 13c!! Once again I am sitting by an open window and the breeze is freakin' COLD!! 

However....not quite THIS cold!! This is Alberta where winter arrived in summer! They've had over 6 inches of snow and it's still coming down and so are the tree branches. It's a mess out there and I'll take thunderstorms any day over snow.  Which is a good thing I guess since more thunderstorms are forecast and are heading eastward to all my maritime family and friends! 

Watch out!  You're welcome!

Dear Diary:

Brrrrrrrrrr! It's been a long time since I've seen the sun shine and my head is starting to feel the effects of that loss - pound, pound, pound. It's a whole +13c with more rain forecast for today but at least it's not snow like in Alberta.

I got a good bunch of my shopping done yesterday before the rain shut everything down. I went out to MEC and found 2 good pairs of hiking pants - one was on sale and was for "short" legged people like me. Then I found 2 long-sleeved tops, both on sale :) I also purchased 3 pairs of sock liners which worn under hiking socks is supposed to absolutely prevent blisters. I seem to have a major fear of blisters probably due to the fact that I seem prone to getting them. And I bought a "platypus" which is a flat plastic container for water which takes the shape of a bottle when filled. Easy to pack. 

Then off to the Bulk Barn where I purchased cashews, almonds, dates, peanuts, hazelnuts and chocolate covered ginger. Plus a box of CLIF granola bars and a whole bunch of carrot/apple/ginger thingies (like the fruit leathers I used to buy for Kazi before the dentist told me they were the worst things for children's teeth EVER!! (I mixed all the nuts, dates and chocolate covered ginger in a huge bowl and then filled 14 sandwich sized plastic bags. This is my trail food and quite possibly my lunch. My plan is to eat the free traditional English breakfast and then use my trail food to get me through til supper. I need more ways to get "ginger" into my day (for pain relief) so I may take some ginger tea bags and hopefully I can make a tea at the B&Bs I stay at. 

After that was Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up an item for Annie and a couple of things for myself - they had little first aid kits on sale for less than $4.00!! so I bought one for my backpack.

Lastly was Walmart where I bought a long sleeved black top for $7.00 (it's all about layering!) a travel purse (strap goes cross body so that the purse part hangs safely in front) to hold my passport, boarding pass etc - don't want to be rifling through my backpack. Also bought a luggage tag, got a new watch battery as I'll be checking my watch a LOT to make sure I'm on time for the train, tube, plane etc. Also bought 2 sizes of plastic bags to hold my trail food and other items that I'll want to keep dry (daily maps) and to put things in that might break in my suitcase - hydrogen peroxide etc. 

Figured out with the help of google last night how to change the resolution on my camera so I can take more pictures but will also buy another SD card just in case. The one I have is 4g but I think I'll also get an 8g. I'm not a shopper, I'm a picture taker and my worst nightmare would be running out of space on my camera for more photos!!

All that's left to do is lay in supplies for Tisky and get the SD card for my camera. Oh, and laundry...and packing...:)

Assembly Required

So I went to Tepperman's today to purchase a new desk and book shelves. Told the man who was "helping" me (HAH - I had to go tap him on the arm which sorta startled him to see if he was on or off duty) that I wanted the furniture assembled. Well after a good snort he let me know in no uncertain terms that it doesn't come assembled. I either assemble it myself (no thank you) or he can give me the name of someone who will assemble the furniture at $30 per hour!! OMG!! (NO THANK YOU!)

So I left the premises with no furniture. Apparently furniture only comes assembled if it's the really super expensive "real wood" kind of stuff not the stuff made of laminate. I looked at the TWO, yes TWO real wood desks they had in their massive warehouse and said..."no thanks". They were twice as expensive, twice as small and had zero storage. What a scam!

Rats. So now I don't know what to do. I went to MEC (Mountain Equipment Company) instead and spent my money there on a "monsoon" Goretex coat (half price) because you know how bad the monsoons are in SW England, walking poles, special socks that are supposed to prevent blisters from forming from wearing hiking boots daily, gel blister bandaids because I don't trust the socks' claims, a pair of shorts, and 2 pairs of capris (one pair of capris are actual "pant length" on little ol' me") and assorted other items - oh a backpack rainproof cover, spray to make my boots waterproof and I think that's it.

That made me feel better temporarily until I got home and saw all the boxes of books and desk supplies and nowhere to put them!! Poo, now I'm bummed out again. My choices are - buy the pieces I want and hire someone to put them together, spend a day or two trying to put them together myself, or spend oodles of money on the REAL stuff which doesn't suit my needs nearly as well.  Hmmmm...I need more and better options as none of these are suiting me just now.

I'm just gonna drink wine.