Help! I Fell Down and Couldn't Get Up

I did this on Thursday night. It is a good one isn't it? I was helping Paul put insulation between our floor and the ceiling of the basement suite. We were almost done (isn't that when it always happens?) I was standing on one of Paul's Aluminum sawhorses and I was really focused on getting a piece of insulation to fit just right around the heating duct. It all happened so fast I am not even sure what happened.

I think my foot slipped off the edge of the sawhorse and I went down. I had no idea my foot was so close to the edge of sawhorse, one moment I was working over head and the next moment I was laying in a small bookcase that belongs to our renters.

I broke the top shelf on a little particle board bookcase and one of the screws holding it together left me with this beauty. Would you like to see a close up?



Paul asked me if I was okay, as I was getting up and I said, "I think so." There was a hole in my pants and I peeked through it and told Paul I scraped up my leg a little. I went upstairs and was feeling very shaky so I just laid down on the floor. I laid there for a few minutes and then I did not feel so good. I went right into shock, I asked Paul if he could come up and help me out.

I was cold and sweaty and started to vomit. Apparently I had fallen much harder than I had realized. Paul wanted to have a look at the scrape, so I took my pants off and the scrape was much larger and deeper than either of us had first realized. The top of it was pretty deep, you can see by the bruising around it.

My left foot is very sore and I was sore under my right arm into my armpit and across my midback as well. I have been to both the chiropractor and the accupucturist since it happened and I am feeling very good now. The cut is still a little sore at the top and my foot is sore at the end of the day, but mostly I am getting grumpy because I have not run since I did it. I get grumpy without my runs.



I feel like I got off easy. I have been injury free for a very long time. The law of averages said I was due for a clumsy moment. I am lucky that I was not seriously hurt and that I only have to miss a little bit of running. I am going to go Wednesday night and give the leg a test drive. I am sure it will be good as new.

Picture Time

I have someone I want you meet: Everyone this is Lola.



I hate to expose the soccer mom image, but now you have visual for the cold hard truth: I drive a mini van.




Mom, the laminate floor picture is for you. I love the floors, they are easy to keep clean and they make the whole house look bigger. I love the color, it makes me think of honey.

The following 2 pictures I took one evening last week of an amazing Kamloops summer sunset. It looks like the sky is on fire doesn't it?

Dog Money

I know you are all wondering what on earth is 'Dog Money', well I am here to explain.

You know that I adjust animals, mostly dogs. When I first started adjusting dogs in the office I did them all for free. And then one day I came into work and I realized I saw more dogs than people that morning. I also got tired of people asking me what they could do for me in return for treating their animals for free. I had one woman actually tell me she would be bring her dog in more often if I charged her for it. She felt bad for taking up my time and not paying me. I finally started charging the dog owners $20.00 a visit. They seemed almost relieved by this.

Any way I save the $ I make treating dogs and use it to enhance my yarn stash and to support my Main Street Clothing habit. Well I have been saving my Dog Money for a while and I paid off my visa bill with my babysitting money and tonight I bought myself an iPod mini. I bought the 6GB which holds 1500 songs, that should keep me running for a while. I was going to get the 4GB one but this one 'previously opened' so it turned out to be a better bang for my buck. I would show you a picture but it is currently hooked up to my computer blinking "DO NOT DISCONNECT" I am a bit chicken to plug my camera in at the same time that my iPod and my computer are meeting each other for the first time. I don't want to confuse any of the parties involved on the first meet 'n' greet, it could blow the whole relationship.

Book Worm

I am sorry! It has been awhile since I have blogged, almost a week.

We had a great time during Dad and Corinne's visit. They left Friday morning and were headed back to California with a detour to visit a cousin of Corinne's. They had a good time and so did we. We spent most of the time around here just talking and enjoying the company.

Remember the trip dad and I took to the used bookstore? Well that is the reason I have not been blogging. I thought I had read all of Diana Gabaldon's Highlander Series, but it turns out I had missed the 5th book, The Fiery Cross. I bought that one and then I figured it had been so long since I had read any of them that I should re-read the 4th book, Drums of autumn, just to refresh my memory. I had forgotten how great her books are and I have been sucked right back into her tales. I am almost done with the 4th one and I am not sure if I want to start the 5th one or if I want to go back and read the first three before I start number 5.

I am terrible when I get into a book, I will stay up reading in bed until 3:00 in the morning, I will spend every free second I have reading until I have devoured the book cover to cover. I have neglected my knitting and my blogging. The good news is I am on page 953 and I only have about 100 pages to go. I will finish soon and we will return to your usual programming. Until I start book 1 or book 5. Which one should I read?

Dad is in the House

Dad and Corinne arrived on Monday afternoon. We have been having a great time. We hung out around here and had dinner on Monday night. Tuesday morning I drug Dad down to Cowboy Coffee and too some of the used bookstores downtown. We had a good time just browsing for books, all three of us managed to pick a couple out (Quentin was with us too) Corinne stayed at the house and rested, she was pretty tired from the drive up.

Sebastian and PJ have been going to Adventure camp every morning this week. They are having a great time. Today they went to the Westsyde animal park were they got to feed the goats and have a nature walk. They are worn out by the end of the day and they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow at nap time. This is wonderful thing, can we have summer camp all year around?

Last night we went to a buffet dinner and show. It was a lot of fun, it is a performance they put on for the people riding the Rocky Mountaineer. You learn a little about Kamloops history and the talent on the stage is pretty impressive. There are only 5 actors/singers in it, but they all have amazing voices and one guy plays 6 different instruments. We had a good time.



Dad tried to go the Highland Valley Copper Mine today, but there were no openings for the tour, we did not know you even needed a reservation. He was bummed that he did not get to see it. We will have to make reservations next he comes for a visit.



The last photo is of Paul, Doing what he does best, eating a homemade chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie. He was getting ready to go out to dinner.

Camping

We took the kids camping this weekend. We left Kamloops after I got off work on Saturday and we drove a bit out of town to a forestry site and camped overnight with the kids. We had a great time.

The drive there was a bit of an adventure. We were towing an old tent trailer behind us, the tent trailer is older than I am, and only has a table and some beds. It is perfect for us, just enough to get us off the ground and have a clean, bug free place to get the kids ready for bed and what not.

As we were crossing the Overlander Bridge just heading out of town I heard a big "CLUNK" and Paul looks out his side mirror just in time to see one of the tires off the tent trailer go sailing by him. "We just lost a tire!" Paul pulled over down a little side road and got out to inspect the damage. We watched the tire go sailing across 3 lanes of traffic, while praying that it did not hit anyone.



We watched the tire roll into the parking lot of a church, it finally stopped when it struck the retaining wall that surrounds the sign announcing Sundays topic. (Sign from God?) While Paul surveyed the damage I ran across the road to retrieve the tire.

Canadian Tire (the name of a hardware store, hmmm, another sign from God?) was right up the road so we disconnected the trailer and went to get some the parts to put the tent trailer back together. Another run up the road and I found one of the bolts on the street so we knew what size to get when we got the store.

Did I mention it was 100 degrees out and there is no air conditioning in the truck???



It only took us about 15 minutes to get what we needed and to get back to the tent trailer. I asked Paul if maybe this was some sort of omen and perhaps we weren't supposed to go camping this weekend. He shook off my suggestion and had the tire on in no time at all.

We were ready to hit the road again. I did make him check all the bolts on the other tire before we set off again. The bolts off the tire we lost were stripped. We made it to the forestry site without further mishap.

We were the only ones at the campground. Just us and 9 million bugs, comprised mostly of mosquito's and wasps. You could hear a constant drone in the air, the buzz of the bugs overpowered the sound of the river. I have never heard or seen so many bugs in my life.



I would reach down to smack a mosquito that was biting my leg and I woulds kill four in one swipe. I put jeans and a long shirt on everyone and that seemed to help. It also helped if we kept moving. The bugs settled down in the evening and we had a nice night out there.

The kids watched the first stars come out and then PJ said she was tired and I put her Quentin to bed while Sebastian stayed up and helped Paul find some fire wood.

Sebastian stayed up quite late a watched the fire with Paul and myself. It was lots of fun hearing Sebastian ask his dad a million questions: "Daddy, where did the sun go?" "Is it daytime where Grandma Judy lives?" "Why are there stars?" "Where is the moon?" "When will you put out the fire?" "How" "Can I watch when you do it?" and on and on it went.



Around 10:00 at night Phil and Leanna came by with a bottle of wine. We drank that and talked around the fire until about midnight and then the Linfields headed home and we went to bed. We had a good nights sleep, the tent trailer is very comfortable. The drone of the bugs woke up early in the morning.

By the time we had breakfast and a walk down to the river to throw stones for a while everyone but Sebastian had been stung by a wasp. We were tired of the bugs and ready to go home.




We packed everything up and headed for home. We got home around one in the afternoon. We all had a great time and everyone wants to go again when the bugs have settled down a bit.

I have so many fond memories of camping with my family as a kid. It is very cool to be passing on this tradition to my children.



The kids started Adventure Summer camp this morning, they have a week of it from 8:30 to 12:00 every morning. They had a great time. PJ is so worn out from playing softball and running around in the water park that she is actually napping. Let's hope she doesn't wake up grumpy.

Dad called last night. He and Corrine got as far as Belingham yesterday and they expect to be in town sometime this afternoon or evening. The kids are looking forward to seeing them (So am I!)

I will post some pictures of their arrival for you, if you are lucky I will even get a picture of the ever elusive Lola posted for you.

Smarties vs M&M's

It's the big Canadian debate: Which is better the made in America M&M or the Canadian Smartie?

They are the same idea really, chocolate covered in a hard candy shell. It seems most the Canadians I have spoken too (read: Paul) prefers the Smartie. They (He) claims the candy shell is thicker, crunchier and just better. The chocolate is better in the Smartie on this I will agree, the thicker candy shell melts in your hand and is to crunchy for my liking.

The smarties biggest downfall: no peanuts. We all know about my addiction to the peanut M&M. Whoops...did you all think I had successfully passed that 12 step program. I made it through a couple of steps:

1. I was (and still am) able to admit to myself there is a problem.
2. Sh*t, what was step two???

Now I found these:



And I hate to say this, but they are better than M&M's. (I know that if Bush gets a hold of this information that my American citizenship will be revoked, please don't pass this blog posting on to him.)

The Smarties have better chocolate and the colors are better too (yes that matters) there are pink and purple in there! Check out that web site, I learned that almost 17,000 Smarties are eaten a minute in the UK, that puts my M&M addiction to shame.

Okay enough sweet talk.

I know how much you all loved my Superman shirt, here is another one for you, this one may be better. I tried to find it in your size Mom but the sizes ore screwy (of course) the large fits me and I think PJ could wear the small:



I took the kids out shopping today (a nightmare, they were on their worst behavior) and must have been asked about 3 times "Are all of those kids yours??????" Like I had 30 children out with me (I only had the three, it just felt like 30). This got me thinking, I should have a T-shirt printed up that just says: "Yes, they are mine" Of course the testosterone group out there would think assume the shirt was referring to my breasts not the kids. Trust me if I bought new girls they would look better than these do!

Company's Coming

I could not resist posting this picture of Paul being such a good dad. Yes he is painting PJ's nails for her, no he is not wearing a sweater. He gave me a dirty look for taking this picture, but I have to say it one of my favorites.

Sometime next week Dad and Corrine will arriving from California for a visit. We are looking forward to seeing them. We have not seen them since Christmas and we are due for a visit.

I get homesick every once in a while and I am feeling that way now. Missing Darryl's 50th birthday is making me homsick. Sometimes I just miss everyone, I can't help it. I guess it is normal for me to feel this way now and again.

George and Judy (Paul's mom and dad) will be here for the first week of September so hopefully all this visiting will make me feel better.

Is is me or is the summer just flying by? The kids will be back in pre-school in just a few weeks. This will be Sebastian's last year of pre-school then he will be off to Kindergarden. This will be my last school year with Quentin at home to keep me company, I think he may even be old enough to start half way through this school year if he wants to.

I can't imagine having all of them in school 5 mornings a week, I will be able to lay in bed in eat bonbons get lots and lots done then. I am sure I will find ways to keep busy, of course I have a year yet before that happens. I will start my to do list now so I don't forget anything.

There will be a year when Quentin is in pre-school and PJ will be in Kindergarden and Sebastian in the first grade, when this year rolls around all three kids will be done at school at diferent times and I will spend all day driving back and forth picking up kids at school. That will be a hoot!

Okay enough rambling here, I will take my scattered thoughts and go do the laundry. Anyone need any whites done?

A Good Hair Day

About 4 or 5 weeks ago I gave the boys a haircut. Well, I gave them a buzz cut, for the summer cool, easy and free. It costs me about $40.00 to take them all down to First Choice and get their hair cut. I decided to save a few bucks and do it myself.

I had them sit on a stool and used the clippers with a short gaurd for the sides and longer one for the top, so it had some shape to it. The cuts came out nice, the boys sat still for me and they both liked it when it was done. PJ asked me if I would do hers the same as the boys and told her I was worried she would not like it and convinced her to let me trim her bangs and leave the rest alone. She was happy with that.

Today was haircut day. PJ watched as I got both the boys all trimed up, asking once or twice if I would do hers next. "I want mine like Sebastian's and Quentin's." she said. She tried this line to: "I will be able to talk on the phone better." She was trying to get me compromise to just cut it short around her ears. There will be no mullets for PJ.

I put her up on the stool. I told her I would take her to see Kenny for a big girl hair cut like mommy's. She shook her head no, she was adamant that her hair should be cut like the boys.

I got down on my knees, eye level with her, and I told her: "PJ, I will cut your hair to look just like the boys if you are sure you want it that way. That means no more pony tails, no more long princess hair, no more barettes. Grown ups will tell you what a cute little boy you are (I know this from experience) are you REALLY sure that you want you hair cut like the boys." She said, "Yes." in a firm voice.

I said, "PJ, it is nap time, I am going to put Quentin down for his nap and you sit here and think for a few minutes, if you still want it done when I get back I will be happy to do it for you."

I left her sitting on the stool for about 5 minutes (this is like 10 years to a 3 year old). I came back just in time to see her take the scisors and cut a large chunk of hair above her right ear. "Never mind Mommy, I can do it by myself."



She sat as still as could be...



It was far more traumatic for me than for her. I don't know why, I don't care how long or short her hair is. I have had short hair most of my life. I was afraid she would realize what we had done and she would cry, that she would want me to put it back. To "Fix it" I was worried she was not sure what she was asking for.



When I finished and she was sitting on the stool with a buzz cut, she looked at me with those big brown eyes and said, "Mommy, how do I look?" I said, "PJ, you look beautiful." She said, "But, wanted to look like a boy!" My hats off to my beautiful daughter, who knew exactly what she wanted and made sure she got it.



She is as happy as she could be. There has not been one tear, not even a trembling lip. I have not even seen her reach up to feel for the hair that is no longer there.



Debbles was shocked when she saw it. She said she would not have been able to cut it if it had been Layne.
I got a chuckle out of that!



Paul seems to like it too. I have heard him muttering to himself about how shocked Grandma Judy is going to be when she comes to visit next month.




I know my mom won't be surprised at all, it would take for more than this to surprise her. Mom bucked my hair off when I was quite young too, I couldn't be bothered to take care of my hair so Mom
cut it. The best part of the whole day is that PJ loves it, she is just as happy as she can be with her painted nails and her pretty dress. She is now calling herself Daddy's bald princess.



She is beautiful.

Check This Out

Check out this article: Click Here!

And I thought I was doing well to knit in the movie theater.

Great Big TOYS

Here are some pictures of the tiny trucks you saw in the bottom of the mine. This thing was massive. That picture I posted on Monday was me looking up the arm of this thing and into the sky I think it is 65ft tall, but I am not sure if I am remembering that right. A lot of this heavy machine runs on electricity, if you look close you can see the power cord hooked up there in the photo. Highland Valley Copper is BC Hydro's 3rd largest consumer. WOW!

Would you like one of these for your very own? This baby cost Highland Valley Copper $12 million in 1989. Save your pennies, big toys cost big $$.



We were lucky we got to take the tour in this 12 passenger van instead of on the bus with 50 other people, there were only about 10 of on it and only 5 were adults. I took this photo so you could get an idea of just how big the scoop was on this thing.



Scoop of Ouimet Family anyone? You could hold a party in this thing.



Here is a photo of one of the dump trucks. Remember the big scoop the Ouimet family was standing in? That can fill this dump truck in 4 scoops and it only takes 3 seconds a scoop. This thing is full in about 12 seconds. That's a lot of rock!



Quentin sitting in the tire. When I saw the big oil stain on the tire, all I could think was that must be one big dog!



A better view of the tire. Apparently there is a big rubber shortage right now and the mining business is at an all time high. These tires only last about a 6 months on a truck and the run about $27,000.00 each. That is what Highland Valley Copper pays for them at bulk rate, some mines pay as much as $47,000.00 each for them.



Another view of the dump truck from the back. I don't really think I had an idea of how big these trucks were until I stood next to one.



A happy boy on the ride home, digging in his very own bag of rocks.

I am sorry for the delay on the post. I finished my year end for the accountant yesterday and never made it to Blogland. I hope it was worth the wait!

Highland Valley Copper Mine

Whoops this is backwards! Stay with me while I try to figure this new picture thing out. This picture is from the same lookout I mentioned below but I am looking right instead of down into the mine. Look to the skyline at the left of the of the photo, do you see the mountains in the background? That is some of the leftovers of what has been pulled out of the mine and has already had the copper extracted.




We took the kids to Highland Valley Copper Mine this weekend. They had an open house, free tours, free hotdogs, popcorn and icecream. They even had free coffee, pop and water to wash it all down it. Uncle Chris the Clown was there, Miss Kamloops was face painting the children of Kamloops it was a wonderful day.

I have some great pictures for you. I don't know if you will get the enormity of the whole thing through the photos or not, but I will try to give it a go. The picture above is taken from a look out directly down into the bottom of the mine. Take a look at those toy trucks down in the bottom of the mine. I will show some photos of those tiny dump trucks in a bit here.

On a Smaller Scale

This is the Logan Lake Chamber of Commerce. Logan Lake is the town that Highland Valley Copper Mine is located. The irony struck me, very large mine, huge machinery very tiny Chamber of Commerce.

Sneak Pre-View

This is just a sneak peek at what Tuesdays post has in store for you. Looks Good doesn't it?