Monday Evening

 Its early early evening, not even, but it will be by the time I publish.  I didn't sleep well last night. I've been awake since 4 so it feels like 10 pm. I haven't done a yoga session for over a week and I notice it.

The weekend was very busy. Family gathering on the man's side. It was a bit of a fiasco, they always are these days. I stay on the perimeter and observe. People that don't have hobbies like to create drama is what I have determined.

I had a great time with my 3 kids, dil and grandbaby. This is going to be a very busy summer on the go for them! Baby is on the run now and into everything.

Election day today. I voted. The lineup was 0 at my polling station. I did see the list and there were more people that had voted than not. (Your name is crossed out once your ID is verified). I doubt that my riding will change from conservative as I'm in the prairies. But this riding did flip for the provincial election so I have a glimmer of hope. #neverpoilievre! I just can't stand him. He gives me the creeps. If you have never had the misfortune of knowing a guy like him count yourself lucky. 

I have started listing stuff for sale on FB marketplace. So far I have made $50 for 1 dress.  There is a dance costume that my friend wants to buy and I have a couple more dresses that I am going to list as well. I have a bunch of sweaters that I used to wear to work as a "uniform".  I'm going to hang up a bunch when I have the garage sale and hopefully make a few $$.  Purses that I don't use at all can go too. They are nice leather ones that should sell.

Kid #2's car was vandalized at his worksite while he was out of town on the job. It's going to be $750 for the insurance repair. Not covered by his employer. Caught on camera an adult sized person on a bike with a shovel at 2:30 am. He doesn't even have coffee money in the console. It was just to be a horrible human.  So now there is that to deal with. The police have less than zero interest in a punk on a bike wrecking cars. Very disheartening. My kid has been working really hard to get ahead and now this.  Of course its going to be me helping him. It's always something it seems. 

On a kind of nicer note: before Easter/on Easter I always miss my grandma. I really missed her this year for some reason. Heart ache and tears missing her. I would give anything to walk into her kitchen and see her smile and her arms open wide for me. Well (here is the nice part) a plant that I bought as a little wee thing last year - because gram used to grow one in her kitchen. Mine bloomed for the first time the day after my tears. It lifted me up for the last week to see that little bloom.  Silly I know, but it was a good thing.

The Good Things:

Little flower

Cash for cleaning closet

Sunshine

I've read 20 books in 2025 with #21 waiting for me to start

Kid 3 loving the job

Things that Suck:

Family drama (for once not mine)

The loon in office to the south

The potential maple maga in office

It's been so dry that dust is blowing all over. 

This Could Take Awhile

 To find what I am looking for might take a year the real estate agent said!  Good grief!  The market supply is very low. The 1 house we ended up looking at did not have a big enough kitchen for me and the garage would not hold both of our vehicles.  Plus kid #3 needs to park at home for the next few years off and on.  I would like to have another parking place so that we aren't playing musical chairs in the driveway.

The second house is already conditionally sold after 1 day on the market.  The conditions are removed after next Wednesday so that will stay on the back burner.

In the meantime I deep cleaned and purged one of the bedrooms. Went through all of my "work" clothes, came out with 2 large bags to donate, a big bag of misc. junk to throw away  and about 40 books to donate to a classroom for grade 7-8's. 1 box that can go into the garage sale. However I have a ton of sports awards still there from kid #3.  Apparently I still need to keep them according to dh and the kid. Trophies/medals/plaques/big framed photos/banners.... they are all over our 2 empty bedrooms.  I guess when we move they will be pared down?  But he won another big award at the end of the season, so that needs to find a spot yet!  There is zero room in his bedroom as he opted for a bigger bed vs more floor space. Ah well I've had worse troubles!

I did over do it and my neck was killing me 2 days ago.  All I could do was sit with the heating pad on.  Thankfully after a day of rest it is better. I need to keep working on the cleaning and purging every day.

Our Easter was nice.  I made a big ham. 8 people plus grandbaby.  My parental units came to the city (told me the day that they were leaving) but stayed as usual at the golden siblings house.  They dropped by for 35 minutes on their way home. Things are about the same with mother. I predict that she will be a very unpleasant handful to manage in the years ahead. She's having some sort of issue that she can't walk like usual.  She was able last summer to walk 5+ km per day.  Now she can't walk 300 m.  She's not dizzy or short of breath. "I'M FINE!". So that's going to be an issue, but since she's "fine" I won't worry about it.  As history has shown I will be called upon to fix everything when it hits the fan.

Monday is the vote in Canada.  Our advanced polls had record setting attendance.  I didn't get there as I didn't have an extra 2 hours to wait in line!  I will wait in line on Monday. There is no way that I will not vote against our rhyme throwing temu trump. The ding-a-ling that I currently have as an MP doesn't hold a candle to the person running against him.  So I'm voting for the educated, well spoken candidate.

The Good Things:
Spring time

Grandbaby

Sunshine

BBQ's

Feeling lighter with every bag and box that leave the house

Retirement

Things that suck:

Aches and pains

Mortgages

Zero self awareness of the parents

Going Hunting for a House.

A change in mindset has come over me in the last few months.  Being at home every day, spending time cleaning and purging has made me see that this house is not where I want to be for the next 20 years.

Other than my location (which is perfect low traffic cul-de-sac close to schools and parks) there isn't much else going for this place!  The house will be 29 years old this summer.  It needs a new furnace, flooring, paint, bathrooms, and really a kitchen refresh.  I am not the one that wants to do that.  $75000 plus.

We don't have nice neighbours anymore. The lovely couple beside us moved out last spring. In moved a very snooty pair and their teenage kids. They are snooty in that they both roll their eyes when talking about yard stuff (we share a bit of flower bed). Neither of them touch a blade of grass, pull a weed, water, trim a tree. All of it is done by her elderly parents. The first thing they did was to hire a company to cut down 4 big trees, 2 mid sized fruit trees in the backyard, ripped out all of the shrubs, then they paved over the garden to make it a sport court. They also don't shovel snow in the winter (just drive over it).  There were lots of birds that went to the many bird feeders that the previous couple had. The lady complained that they had too many birds in the backyard. I had said "Well there used to be a couple of big bird feeders"  She gave a humph and eye roll "That won't be happening".  Last summer while her Mom worked in the front yard with me she drove overtop of very noticeable pile of small branches that were on the driveway we made for the compost. Rolled down her window without saying hello, informed her mom she would be back by 6, she was her way to the golf course!  

Behind us new people moved in with 2 kids that fight and scream/cry every day. My kids used to play outside all of the time, yes there were some fights, but not daily and certainly not crying all of the time. The girls behind us are unable to get along for more than 30 minutes. The little one is bawling and tattling every day. They are almost 13 and 11 years old. I would think that they are well past the fighting and screaming stage, but no. (when we hear them come out in the yard the dh and I take bets on the time until crying. Under 45 minutes always wins. Loser has to get drink/snack refills)  Then add their 2 very large dogs that are let out to bark at 5:45 am. 

I'm not looking for friends, just people that don't make a lot of noise and keep their yard decent.  

I have 2 houses lined up with the real estate lady to see tomorrow.  I'm excited and also sad.  Its a big change for me. The prices aren't terrible high. I'm not looking at anything we can't have paid off within 5 years.

I'm not even dreaming about putting this house up for sale until we have bought and moved in first.  Then my plan is to empty it out. Clean, top to bottom and maybe paint a bit as I have some very dark colours in some rooms that would not be to everyone's taste and let her fly.  The market is very favourable for buyers.  I think it will sell in less than a week.  BUT that is the cart way before the horse!

Daunting tasks ahead!

I started blogging to keep track of my mortgage payoff.  I worked my tail off and did it by myself in 3 years.  This time the man is helping, in fact he will be doing the "heavy lifting".  But the time has come and I'm preparing.  I will start with having a garage sale in 2 weeks. SO MUCH STUFF!!

Wish me luck!

Happy Easter !!

Meeting with the Advisor

 I was able to get a quick meeting set up with my financial advisor.  I do like how he has all of my information printed out separating my different investments into funds and then the holdings of TFSA RRSP and non registered investments.  Then a one page summary showing different dates as comparisons. 

Even with the US markets in a free fall, my Canadian investments are holding strong.  I maxed out my TFSA for the year as planned.  I was going to max out my RRSP amount but he talked me out of it.  My pension amount has me in a lower tax bracket so there is no benefit to reduce my income with RRSP's.  I have now invested that money and will pay tax on the investment income and be further ahead.  Plus it is easily available that way if we (I) find a house to purchase.

Next year we will look at income splitting to bring down dh's tax rate.  I got a refund this year, and dh, needed to buy RRSP's to get a refund, but that is fine.  I also did kid #2 and 3's taxes and they both got refunds.  The GST rebate will help them both as will the final carbon tax rebate.  Kid 3 landed a job within 2 hours of submitting his resume online.  Starting at $20/hr with a raise following end of probation period.  Also the hours allow training to continue uninterrupted.  Good experience to get I think and will be exposed to a wide array of trades.  Not what he plans to do, but if you don't see them and know about them, you can't be sure that it isn't for you.

Kid 3 has been back home following the teams not continuing in the playoffs.  His year was very successful in spite of how the team finished in the playoffs. It has been a big adjustment as it was last year.  Different that thankfully there isn't the pressure of school and finals.  Going to take 2 classes from University this fall.  There was too much downtime this past season even with a part time job.

Spring has sprung, sort of.  Typical in that we get a nice slow melt and the streets are cleared, only to get a few cm of snow again.  Today it is sunny and a nice quiet Sunday.  I need to run to the grocery store to pick up some fresh beef on sale for tonight.  I will also be doing a salad.  All of everything is local except for celery.  I wasn't paying close attention to my diet a couple weeks ago and now my skin is unhappy.  It's clearing, but it takes a bit.  When I do "clean eating" or my version of such, I feel much better. Clean eating for me is nothing processed or deep fried.  Thankfully I now have the luxury of time to plan and prepare meals that work for me. I'm not a "foodie" so its not like I could have a cooking show (I would need a way nicer kitchen for that).  

That is one of the things that I'm looking for in a new house.  A nice kitchen.  I need a big island that doesn't have a sink in it, a laundry room on the same floor as the bedroom, a quiet private backyard and a few other must haves that are very elusive. 

Tariffs will affect new home builds, so I will wait and see how things shake out.  Hopefully our new PM gets into office next month.  One thing that I never thought would happen is that I will be voting for his party.  The MP that is currently in our riding lied right to my face when he was campaigning for the last election. (what a surprise)  At my doorstep he claimed that he was a good catholic christian. I do not belong to a church, practice any type of religion, nor do I have any plans to, but don't tout that proudly and then lie.  Its not a good look.  Almost like he didn't read the bible?!  (I have).

The dh's family has had a sad string of people passing in the last 2 months.  There is a new "trend?" if there is such a thing with funerals/memorial services, that they are being held weeks/months after the death. Covid was the reason for this the past few years, but it's continuing I guess. One is next weekend and there are 2 happening in May and one in June. You can plan then I guess? It kinda puts a damper on spring for me.  I don't know.  I would rather get it over with.

On to some better news:  

• I have been reading like crazy and using the library weekly.  So far this year I have read 14 books.
• I continue to do yoga and it seems to help me sleep better
• The grandbaby is such a sweet joy!  Starting to toddle around and says a few words. Into EVERYTHING!! I have to do a quick babyproof before the visits.  Other baby news - dh's sister is medicated better now and seems to be finally acting like a mother. That has reduced a lot of drama.
• I have gone through about 75% of the junk in my basement and what I'm not keeping is in a big pile for a garage sale this spring. The rest has been thrown away and what I'm keeping is better organized so that I can find it and use it.  Still some more to go.
• Next week the dh is on vacation (staycation) and I will get his help to fix our closet. There is a big purge of clothes coming.  I had thought that I might need some of them for a volunteer position, but I don't think that I'm going to take it on as of now.  Plus I can wear more casual vs business casual that I have if I do plan to volunteer.

I am off to try an accomplish something now, besides this ramble.  I didn't do my yoga yesterday so I didn't sleep good.  Late start to today!

Happy Spring!!

Elbows Up Team Canada

 

Mike Myers we love you!

What I would really like to say would need to be behind the 18+ 

Yah yah, here I am in my tiny world.  I’m angry. I’m anticipating horrendous outcomes for North America.  

I am clapping to Doug Ford.  Fist pumping when Charlie Angus talks. 

So proud of our Prime Minister. 

What a time this is. Unbelievable. 

One of the lunatics in charge: Muskrat actually ran to Canada (to his cousins farm near me) to hide from his African country military service in 1989, then in 1990 he moved to attend University in Ontario. His mother’s family is kkknown for their beliefs.  Published.  They moved to Africa because they aligned with apartheid.  So sieg heil is what it was.

Facts.  Not debatable. If you align with this you are unwell and your soul needs help.

Also: “Yeder nazi ist ein hurensohn”

This is the person deciding what the US government spends. 

Unrecognizable what is happening south. 

As a hockey mom I fully endorse “Elbows up”. And for those of us in the know:  

“Skoden”

Savings in the Every Day

 This has been a cold month.  Very very cold. Again that equals savings for me.  I don't like going out, so I'm not tempted to buy anything.  I also get creative with the freezer and the pantry.  Found some chicken drumsticks last night that were looking pretty frosty.  They were ok.  I tried a new recipe that was meh, but edible.  The salad made up for it.

Our groceries have cost a wee bit more this last month as I am only buying local.  In doing so have found some new brands that I really like, so that has been a win.

Personal expenses this month that were voluntary:

Party decor for grandbaby. (I will be able to reuse most of it for many years and I bought it on sale)

Starbucks for coffee out with a friend

Grabbed some frozen veg for kid #1 that they were out of and the store was on our way. (I don't expect $5 to reimburse me)

That comes to under $35 for Feb.

BUT there is a gift to kid #3 for travel.  Didn't get to go with the school like my other 2 kids because of both sports and covid.  So there is a trip planned that I will give 1/2 the cost.  This comes out of my "Kid account" that I have had for almost 15 years.  Separate from my everyday chequeing and savings.  I funnel any reimbursed expenses in there.  When kid #2 needed a vehicle I was able to help (only $1000 needed) without affecting my other 2 accounts at all.  In fact as I look back in my blog I think that I used this account for most of my older 2's travel expenses too.  So I will happily assist without affecting my savings plan.

The party will have 10 people for dinner.  I think I will just do the same menu as xmas day.  Turkey and all the fixin's.  It was easy to do much of it ahead of time + leftovers for me and the man for several days.  Plus I sent the kids home with a small lunch container.  I will need to buy a turkey today and then get it unthawed. 

Today its supposed to warm up to -20 C.  So I won't need my boots that come up to my knees, only my ankle boots! It makes it easier to walk around the store.  Maybe costco and I can grab some coffee too.  I didn't sleep last night, so I have had a very late start today after having a morning nap.  Still have wet hair this afternoon.  Thank god I didn't have to go to work.  I would have been a zombie and then more than exhausted for the rest of the week.  I've had a relaxing time typing this out, sitting in the sun from the window and not feeling guilty.

Now I'm going to do some yoga, read my book, do something with my hair and get my breading for the fish ready.  The man works with a fellow that has done a lot of ice fishing this year and the very cold lake pickerel is so good. Plus he fillets them perfectly.  Such a treat.  I think we have about 5 pounds from him.

The good things:

Savings

Babies

Sunshine and a glimpse of warmer weather

Things that suck:

GERD at night

Putting up with the news.

Low Spend Month

 For the month of January grocery expenses were under $300!!  It wasn't that hard when there is only 1.5 people to feed. There were only 4 trips for groceries mostly gingerale fresh fruit and veg. One was for  a few road trip snacks. I am not a big eater.  You wouldn't know that by all of the weight that has added in the last 5 years.  To that I give all of the credit to menopause and stress.  I'm still 15lbs over what I would like to be.  That isn't thin, that is just fit into my clothes better.

I also only had the older kids and grandbaby over x1 meal.  With the sickness that the man had I didn't want to spread it to the kids.  For that meal I only needed a few fresh vegetables.  Everything else was freezer and pantry.

This month will be a bit more as there is a big birthday with family I'm hosting and the man has his appetite back.  I grabbed a couple small beef roasts on sale as they are good for at least 2 meals for us.  They were $10 each.  Last month I got a tray of chicken breasts $5 off at Costco.  I divide them into bags of 2 after I hammer them /tenderize them flatter and remove the icky tendon.  Tonight is Honey Garlic chicken with noodles and broccoli.  Leftovers for tomorrow with a small salad.

Last night I made 2 doz gluten free banana muffins with a new recipe that called for some almond flour and sour cream.  They turned out awesome!  You cant tell that they are made with the gf flour.  As a bonus it cleaned up the frozen banana wasteland in the freezer and used all of the soon to expire sour cream.  They would be even better with walnuts or pecans but I had neither.  I also can't eat chocolate anymore as that seems to exacerbate my new autoimmune rash.  But chocolate chips would be great.

My love of reading is back in full swing it seems to be directly related to how cold it is outside.  Example -30 = lots of reading!!  In January I finished 4 books, and I'm starting #2 for Feb.  My genre is mystery and thrillers now.  And almost all women authors. Last year of my 25 books read only 2 were written by men. John Grisham (because none of my ordered books were ready yet and I do like a good lawyer story) and a highly recommended to me: Timothy Egan "A Fever in the Heartland".  A fictional book based on real events.  It explains much about below and somewhat here above the 49th parallel.  It was a very enlightening read.

Some of (my opinion) best reads in the last couple of months:

Ask for Andrea by Noelle H Ihli  

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (I know that I am late to the hype on this one!)

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Our travel was survived (barely) with about 18 hours of driving there and back (including 2 pitstops).  I drove 4 hours there and 2 hours home.  The man came back and relapsed with his health.  He went to the mediclinic and came back with a mega dose of antibiotics for a week.  After 2 days he's better.  Our hotel had a small kitchen, I didn't cook, but the full sized fridge was nice instead of the little ones that always seem to freeze everything you put in.  I brought some food and snacks from home. So I was able to have a nice salad for dinner one night and milk for my cereal stayed cold. There was always coffee/tea/hot water plus a flavoured water available for guests in the lobby which was really nice. Also the coffee maker in the room.  So that saved a trip to starbucks.  There was a free daily big continental breakfast but with my dietary restrictions now I didn't have much.  The man ate pancakes bacon and eggs every morning.

Our kid did great!  It was nice to see him playing well and enjoying himself.

Well I need to get back to my doing "retirement things": laundry, cleaning, yoga session, reading and getting lunch (egg salad sandwiches) and dinner ready.  I may just add a little nap too :)

Things that are great:

kids

grandkid

trip away was not as $$ as feared

when a new recipe is better than you hope!

Things that suck:

the hellscape to the south

my parental units

If one more person asks "What do you do all day?" "Aren't you bored?"