miserable ~ wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable; pitiably small or inadequate
When I first started to use random "m" words to title my Monday posts, I had found a website that listed hundreds of unusual words for each letter of the alphabet and copy/pasted all the "m" words into a document to refer back to without having to keep going to the web site. I don't know how many pages I started with, but I still have sixteen pages worth of "m" words to go.
However, today I did not want to use a random "m" word. Today I wanted to convey exactly how life has been treating me lately, and as words go, miserable is a pretty good one.
For those of you who aren't within rant range of me, my internet went out late Thursday night. I didn't think much of it at the time because the cable for the television had flickered a time or two earlier and I just figured it was part of the same glitch. But Friday morning I awoke and there was still no internet.
So I called Cogeco, who is my service provider. First I tried the direct technical support line and was asked to answer three questions for a quick survey. Being a good sport I did, and suddenly I was transferred to some way too cheerful travel agent who couldn't believe I didn't want a free cruise. When I finally got her to accept the fact that all I wanted was Cogeco tech support, she then blithely told me she couldn't ping me back there so I'd have to call again.
So I tried again. This time I got some kid whom I could barely hear, and told him about the flashing light on my modem. He told me to try resetting it, that didn't work, so then he scheduled a service call for me. For Tuesday. That's five days without internet service. Unacceptable! Oh, and the tech will be coming sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
I never knew how much I'd grown dependent on the internet until I no longer had access to it. What's the weather going to be like? Check the internet. What's the definition for miserable? Check the internet. What's on TV tonight? Check the internet. And the list goes on.
To be honest, this was just the last straw as far as Friday went. Friday was ... a really, really bad day. So the lack of internet service on top of everything else was really hard to take.
But by Saturday I was starting feel a little more reasonable. As the hubby said, "What did we ever do before the internet?" What indeed!
By the end of Sunday (which is actually when I'm writing this so I can take advantage of the free wifi at the library and schedule this to appear at the appropriate time) the only thing I was really missing was the convenience of checking my email and Facebook whenever I liked. Although I'm still angry that a big company like Cogeco is taking five days to set things right.
I must say though, I feel like I've had more than my fair share of bad luck this year, especially lately. I don't recall breaking any mirrors, walking under any ladders, or ignoring pennies laying on the ground. And I always knock on wood when tempting fate. So what gives?
I'm not even looking for some good luck to replace the bad. Just stop heaping the bad luck on me.
Pretty please?
Sep 28, 2015
Sep 21, 2015
Maniform Monday
maniform ~ having the shape of a hand
Where does the time go?
Wednesday is the first day of Autumn ... where'd Summer go?? Seems like it was just yesterday we were complaining about the heat.
Oh, wait. It was just yesterday. Or maybe it was a couple of days ago. I distinctly remember the daughter and I in Walmart saying how much we needed a coffee and opting for an iced coffee because it was too hot out for a regular coffee.
And just for the record ... while I love McDonald's hot coffee, their iced coffee sucks. I've been taking my coffee without sugar for long enough that it was kind of a shock to the taste buds how overly sweet it was. Even the daughter, who does take sugar in her coffee, found it too sweet.
Last week was kind of a roller coaster of good luck and bad luck and that's pretty much par for the course with me, but what made it unusual was the way I'd start out a day on a high note and it would suddenly go downhill, or it would start out bad and take a turn for the better. Normally it's just one or the other.
Other than that, it was pretty much a normal week - get up, go to the gym, have breakfast, work on the transcribing, go babysitting, come home and work on the transcribing some more, have supper, and write/edit in the evening. Insert procrastinating and time wasting as needed. ;-)
Saturday I exchanged babysitting for laundry.
Sunday, which is supposed to be my day off, I spent cleaning the house. Or I tried to anyway. I did a thorough picking up on the main floor and even dusted the living room. Then I gave vacuuming my best shot but neither vacuum cleaner was working. The good one wouldn't suck at all - the filters were clean, the canister was empty, the belt was fine, the motor ran fine, the roller was spinning - it just wouldn't pick anything up.
The old one, which was sent to the basement when we got the newer one, would pick stuff up with the long hose, but not via the power pack that you use on the carpets. The roller in the power pack wasn't rolling. It's possible the belt had stretched out or broken, but I didn't bother taking it apart to see.
AND THEN, after all this cleaning and angst over the vacuum cleaners, the extra company we were expecting for dinner called up at the last minute to cancel. And the son in law had a meeting that included dinner. So dinner for six suddenly became dinner for three. *sigh*
On the one hand it was kind of annoying because I could think of a number of ways I would have preferred to spend such a beautiful Sunday. But on the other hand, my house is nice and clean now. :-D
I lead such an exciting life, don't I?
Where does the time go?
Wednesday is the first day of Autumn ... where'd Summer go?? Seems like it was just yesterday we were complaining about the heat.
Oh, wait. It was just yesterday. Or maybe it was a couple of days ago. I distinctly remember the daughter and I in Walmart saying how much we needed a coffee and opting for an iced coffee because it was too hot out for a regular coffee.
And just for the record ... while I love McDonald's hot coffee, their iced coffee sucks. I've been taking my coffee without sugar for long enough that it was kind of a shock to the taste buds how overly sweet it was. Even the daughter, who does take sugar in her coffee, found it too sweet.
Last week was kind of a roller coaster of good luck and bad luck and that's pretty much par for the course with me, but what made it unusual was the way I'd start out a day on a high note and it would suddenly go downhill, or it would start out bad and take a turn for the better. Normally it's just one or the other.
Other than that, it was pretty much a normal week - get up, go to the gym, have breakfast, work on the transcribing, go babysitting, come home and work on the transcribing some more, have supper, and write/edit in the evening. Insert procrastinating and time wasting as needed. ;-)
Saturday I exchanged babysitting for laundry.
Sunday, which is supposed to be my day off, I spent cleaning the house. Or I tried to anyway. I did a thorough picking up on the main floor and even dusted the living room. Then I gave vacuuming my best shot but neither vacuum cleaner was working. The good one wouldn't suck at all - the filters were clean, the canister was empty, the belt was fine, the motor ran fine, the roller was spinning - it just wouldn't pick anything up.
The old one, which was sent to the basement when we got the newer one, would pick stuff up with the long hose, but not via the power pack that you use on the carpets. The roller in the power pack wasn't rolling. It's possible the belt had stretched out or broken, but I didn't bother taking it apart to see.
AND THEN, after all this cleaning and angst over the vacuum cleaners, the extra company we were expecting for dinner called up at the last minute to cancel. And the son in law had a meeting that included dinner. So dinner for six suddenly became dinner for three. *sigh*
On the one hand it was kind of annoying because I could think of a number of ways I would have preferred to spend such a beautiful Sunday. But on the other hand, my house is nice and clean now. :-D
I lead such an exciting life, don't I?
Sep 14, 2015
Misocapnic Monday
misocapnic ~ hating tobacco or its smoke
You know, ya gotta love being Canadian. Well, at least I do.
In the space of less than two days I went from needing the fan on in my office to needing my fingerless gloves on to keep my fingers warm enough to type. And I've heard an ugly rumour that they've already had snow out west.
Surprisingly, we did not get a thunderstorm with the extreme temperature drop, despite the fact it rained all weekend. And we're talking torrents of rain. Hard enough rain that the spot over the hubby's chair in the living room leaked. Enough rain that the hubby had to pump water out of the pool.
And yet the first part of the week was mind-bendingly hot and humid. It was so hot that I even got a ride to the daughter's house for baby sitting. The weather people kept promising us thunderstorms to cool things off, but we never got them.
But by Friday it had cooled off considerably, to the point where we weren't using the air conditioners, although I still had a fan going. And then Saturday it had cooled off to the point where not only did I turn the fan off, I also shut the windows.
And now the weather people are saying that the temperatures are supposed to spike again this week. Go figure. ;-)
It was a quiet week last week, as in nothing much going on.
I wasn't even all that busy, except for Sunday. Sunday, as you may recall, is the day the daughter and her family come for dinner. And, it being a family dinner, I like to have a proper meal. It's also a great time to try out new recipes. That way the hubby and I aren't stuck with leftovers that never of us want to eat, but with food prices the way they are these days we don't want to just throw it out either.
This Sunday I tried something called "Stuffed Onion Bombs" and they got a thumbs up from everyone but the baby because she doesn't eat hamburger yet. ;-) I'm not sure where they got their name from, unless it's because they're 'da bomb'! Bacon wrapped yumminess! And they're pretty easy to make too:
Stuffed Onion Bombs
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3-4 Yellow Onions (med-large)
1 Package of Bacon
More BBQ Sauce
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, crumbs, egg, milk, ½ cup BBQ, onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix together with your hands until thoroughly combined.
2. Cut top and bottom off onion, cut in half and peel off skin. Then separate the onion into "layers". Use the larger outside layers.
3. Stuff your Meatloaf mix between two Onion Layers (essentially making an onion seal around a large meatball)
4. Wrap each "bomb" with 3 slices bacon and secure with toothpicks.
5. Bake in a dish with sides (to catch grease) at 425 for approx 40 minutes or until internal temp 165.
6. Add BBQ sauce all over and bake an additional 5 minutes!
Here's a link to the recipe I sort of used. I pretty much just used my own meatloaf recipe and then followed the directions from there. And because I didn't want my "bombs" swimming in grease, I baked them on a rack in a roasting pan and then transferred them to a glass pan when I added the BBQ sauce. But my advice to anyone trying this would be to use one of those foil pans that can be just thrown out afterwards. It's pretty messy.
If you like meatloaf and you like bacon ... then try them. You'll love them!
My gift to you this Monday. :-D
You know, ya gotta love being Canadian. Well, at least I do.
In the space of less than two days I went from needing the fan on in my office to needing my fingerless gloves on to keep my fingers warm enough to type. And I've heard an ugly rumour that they've already had snow out west.
Surprisingly, we did not get a thunderstorm with the extreme temperature drop, despite the fact it rained all weekend. And we're talking torrents of rain. Hard enough rain that the spot over the hubby's chair in the living room leaked. Enough rain that the hubby had to pump water out of the pool.
And yet the first part of the week was mind-bendingly hot and humid. It was so hot that I even got a ride to the daughter's house for baby sitting. The weather people kept promising us thunderstorms to cool things off, but we never got them.
But by Friday it had cooled off considerably, to the point where we weren't using the air conditioners, although I still had a fan going. And then Saturday it had cooled off to the point where not only did I turn the fan off, I also shut the windows.
And now the weather people are saying that the temperatures are supposed to spike again this week. Go figure. ;-)
It was a quiet week last week, as in nothing much going on.
I wasn't even all that busy, except for Sunday. Sunday, as you may recall, is the day the daughter and her family come for dinner. And, it being a family dinner, I like to have a proper meal. It's also a great time to try out new recipes. That way the hubby and I aren't stuck with leftovers that never of us want to eat, but with food prices the way they are these days we don't want to just throw it out either.
This Sunday I tried something called "Stuffed Onion Bombs" and they got a thumbs up from everyone but the baby because she doesn't eat hamburger yet. ;-) I'm not sure where they got their name from, unless it's because they're 'da bomb'! Bacon wrapped yumminess! And they're pretty easy to make too:
Stuffed Onion Bombs
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3-4 Yellow Onions (med-large)
1 Package of Bacon
More BBQ Sauce
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, crumbs, egg, milk, ½ cup BBQ, onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix together with your hands until thoroughly combined.
2. Cut top and bottom off onion, cut in half and peel off skin. Then separate the onion into "layers". Use the larger outside layers.
3. Stuff your Meatloaf mix between two Onion Layers (essentially making an onion seal around a large meatball)
4. Wrap each "bomb" with 3 slices bacon and secure with toothpicks.
5. Bake in a dish with sides (to catch grease) at 425 for approx 40 minutes or until internal temp 165.
6. Add BBQ sauce all over and bake an additional 5 minutes!
Here's a link to the recipe I sort of used. I pretty much just used my own meatloaf recipe and then followed the directions from there. And because I didn't want my "bombs" swimming in grease, I baked them on a rack in a roasting pan and then transferred them to a glass pan when I added the BBQ sauce. But my advice to anyone trying this would be to use one of those foil pans that can be just thrown out afterwards. It's pretty messy.
If you like meatloaf and you like bacon ... then try them. You'll love them!
My gift to you this Monday. :-D
Sep 7, 2015
Mucrone Monday
mucrone - stiff sharp point forming an abrupt end
Yes, that's right. Once again Monday has snuck up on me. I tell you, it feels like forever since I wrote last Monday's post.
And once again we're celebrating Labour Day by doing as little as possible. LOL
Labour Day ... the day kids all dread and parents all look forward to. It marks the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year. At least for some kids, that is.
I can't believe the amount of upheaval we've had regarding schools lately!
Enrollment has been dropping off across the board in our town over the past few years, and rather than allow our kids to take advantage of a better education that comes from smaller class sizes, the school board decided, "Hey, let's shut down these smaller, friendlier schools and create one big generic school instead! Never mind that half the kids will have to be bussed to it instead of walking, we can save crap loads of money and give ourselves a raise!"
They did the same thing with the high school too.
Last year our town boasted three high schools, but the powers that be decided to close the beautiful West High School with its charming atmosphere and hardwood floors, the original high school of the town, and amalgamate it with the East High School instead. But first ... they were going to renovate and turn the East High School into a big enough school to accommodate everyone.
Actually, I think the renovations have been going on for a couple of years now. One of my nieces went to the East high school, and most of their classes were done on-line last year, which was not the most brilliant of plans because over half the students are bussed in from outlying farm country where internet reception is spotty at best. Nevertheless, in the spring the town bid a tearful goodbye to CDCI West, as it closed its doors for the last time.
The only problem is, the renovations to the East high school (now known as CCI, Cobourg Collegiate Institute) are not done. At least they sure didn't look done when I drove by it this morning. Supposedly the offices and classrooms are usable, but rumour has it the cafeteria isn't finished and there are wires still hanging from the ceilings. I won't even mention the big, portable chain link fences still cutting off access to most of it. I'm sure I won't be the only one interested in what happens tomorrow.
And while we're on the subject of being at the mercy of builders ... one of my nieces is starting her first year of university this year. Bad enough this sweet, but shy, girl is having to deal with moving from a small town to a big city, but the residence she was supposed to be moving into is not habitable yet. Hundreds of first year students, many of them from out of province, are without the rooms they were promised, as well as the pre-paid meal plans. Hotel accommodations came too late, if at all, and were completely inadequate. You can hear some more about it HERE
So it looks to me like not everyone is celebrating Labour Day this year.
Yes, that's right. Once again Monday has snuck up on me. I tell you, it feels like forever since I wrote last Monday's post.
And once again we're celebrating Labour Day by doing as little as possible. LOL
Labour Day ... the day kids all dread and parents all look forward to. It marks the end of the summer and the beginning of the school year. At least for some kids, that is.
I can't believe the amount of upheaval we've had regarding schools lately!
Enrollment has been dropping off across the board in our town over the past few years, and rather than allow our kids to take advantage of a better education that comes from smaller class sizes, the school board decided, "Hey, let's shut down these smaller, friendlier schools and create one big generic school instead! Never mind that half the kids will have to be bussed to it instead of walking, we can save crap loads of money and give ourselves a raise!"
They did the same thing with the high school too.
Last year our town boasted three high schools, but the powers that be decided to close the beautiful West High School with its charming atmosphere and hardwood floors, the original high school of the town, and amalgamate it with the East High School instead. But first ... they were going to renovate and turn the East High School into a big enough school to accommodate everyone.
Actually, I think the renovations have been going on for a couple of years now. One of my nieces went to the East high school, and most of their classes were done on-line last year, which was not the most brilliant of plans because over half the students are bussed in from outlying farm country where internet reception is spotty at best. Nevertheless, in the spring the town bid a tearful goodbye to CDCI West, as it closed its doors for the last time.
The only problem is, the renovations to the East high school (now known as CCI, Cobourg Collegiate Institute) are not done. At least they sure didn't look done when I drove by it this morning. Supposedly the offices and classrooms are usable, but rumour has it the cafeteria isn't finished and there are wires still hanging from the ceilings. I won't even mention the big, portable chain link fences still cutting off access to most of it. I'm sure I won't be the only one interested in what happens tomorrow.
And while we're on the subject of being at the mercy of builders ... one of my nieces is starting her first year of university this year. Bad enough this sweet, but shy, girl is having to deal with moving from a small town to a big city, but the residence she was supposed to be moving into is not habitable yet. Hundreds of first year students, many of them from out of province, are without the rooms they were promised, as well as the pre-paid meal plans. Hotel accommodations came too late, if at all, and were completely inadequate. You can hear some more about it HERE
So it looks to me like not everyone is celebrating Labour Day this year.
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