Northern Mom

This picture is the finished floor looking into the kitchen from the dining area. The border pattern continues to the door. Hubby had a bunch of pieces of Marmoleum left over from a few different jobs so instead of wasting this was the result.

I'm sure that there will be lots of work this fall with the basement being added. It will become their retirement home and will sell the house here in the city. It's a great place to go anytime of the year.

I bought 3 tickets to see Dora at the end of June yesterday. I haven't told Jo yet that we are going. I don't think she will understand having to wait 71 sleeps until the show. I bought an extra ticket for Kelsey and if she thinks I'm going to divulge the price of the tickets she came to the wrong blog. I managed to get 2nd row seats to the left of the stage. Platinum is what they were called. I'm hoping that Jo enjoys it!

Hubby went to price windows yesterday. I'll be meeting him later today to have a look at them and decide if the door he picked will be the one we will get. The door is at the top of the basement steps and I find the stairway so dark and dreary that I want a door that lets in a lot of light. The door that he picked is almost all window with the blinds built right into the window. I was leaning more towards one that had the frosted window panes. They both have pros and cons. The one with the frosted glass gives us privacy, but the one with the blinds will give us more light. The windows are almost a no brainer. I really wanted a bay window in my kitchen over the sink. I don't think that's going to happen. To replace the same size window is about $200.00 and to order a bay window is almost 1000.00 and we have to build a roof for it. Can you guess which window I'm getting?

Speaking of money. The gas in our part of Northern Ontario hit 111.9 yesterday. Just before the long weekend it went to 106.9 and was down to 104.5 yesterday afternoon. I have less than half a tank. Figures. It is rumoured that we can expect to pay up to 149/litre by mid summer. If I get back to work I just might consider picking up a little car to boot around in. But I suppose by the time I pay the insurance I won't be much further ahead.

My dog has finally decided to shed her winter coat. It's driving me insane. We have a Siberian Husky. The fur flying around this house is insane. She hates to be brushed or combed but I think I'm going to have to take the comb to her anyways. The fur is falling out in clumps. She's a beautiful dog but once she is gone there will be no more dogs for us. There are too many places we can't take her. We used to take her to camp but she little dogs are a snack for her and we just don't take the chance anymore. Here is a picture of her from a few years ago at camp. She will be 9 in June. We were really worried about her when Jo came home. She actually adjusted really well and tolerates Jo amazingly. She's a great dog for the most part.

As of the weekend the snow in our yard is officially gone. While driving out to camp on Saturday we drove by one of the golf courses and there is still snow is places and there were people out playing. I like to golf, and lose enough balls without adding snow to the mix. White balls are tough to find in the snow. I do love to golf in the spring. No black flies or mosquitos yet and when your ball strays from the fairway it's easier to find before everything has started to grow.

Jo came home from Daycare yesterday smelling just like summer! Sunscreen season has started for us. I was playing with her on her swings and I gave her a push that sent her flying and landing on her back on the ground. I picked her up and felt like a shit for hurting her. Between the sobs she told me to put her back on the swing and go higher mommy. Right back on the horse. I think I'm in really big trouble with this child. She has no concept of fear.

Last week Dani and this week Silver Creek Mom both posted about the prefix of Mrs. and Ms., family names and changing them when married. There are days that it bothers me that my Visa says Mrs followed by my name and then married name. When I married my first husband I took his name and within a month of breaking up I was back to my original name. When hubby and I were getting married he was adamant about me changing it. I changed it. Looking back I suppose I could have fought the point. I'm just glad that we are past the days of being Mrs. Hubby's entire name. My ex MIL had been a member of the Girl Guides for years and years and they could never find her membership. She had registered under her husband's name as Mrs His first and last name. Years ago I met a man who had a french/spanish hyphenated name and he and his wife combined both of their names. I don't think I'd like to lose my total identity. I have a perfectly good first name to use. If ever find myself in the same position that I was in when my first marriage ended I will be returning to the name I was born with.

Step Dad is coming home today. It will be a long recovery I think and hopefully this will help to add a little more to his life. All will depend on bloodwork and the speed at which the cancer decides to travel. We're still not sure if Chemo will be an option. I'm still very concerned about my mom. It's going to be a long road for all of us. On the weekend my cousin gave me a "Thingamaboob". It really puts the whole cancer thing into perspective. The size of the beads represent the different size of of lumps found in the breast at different points of examinations. Time to start being a little more aware.

I did call yesterday and make an appt with my Dr to have a few things addressed. I think getting back to work will make a big difference and I'll talk to him about changing meds and see what happens from there. It's not until May 9th. I'll hang in until then. I might even consider increasing my dose. I'm at the low end of the dosing so maybe addding one pill a day might help. The one think my Dr is great for is giving me some options where the amounts are concerned. He starts me at the lowest and then has me increase on my own as needed. I should have thouht of this sooner. Maybe some day I'll learn to recognize the highs and lows and know when I'm starting to sink. I think starting today I'll try that and then maybe the extra will have kicked in by the time I see him in May. There is nothing worse than switching depression meds. It normally takes 3 to 6 weeks to see any effect, so when you change there is a 3 month window where things are really up and down.

It's supposed to hit a high of 20C today. Time to shave my legs and maybe break out a pair of capris and start my day!

Good day to all