What is it?

Sitting on the bed next to the window, I noticed my cat's tail wiggling and then the pretty sound of a bird chirping nearby. There in the bush right outside our window was one of these (pic taken from Google):


I honestly didn't know what it was. Hubby told me it was a female Cardinal. Should have known by the crest atop its' head, but I don't ever recall seeing one quite like this back home. Its' beak sure was a bright orange. Hope she visits our window again soon.

And now I'd like to share with you a picture taken by a friend back home this past Father's Day. I'm sure she won't mind...

Now that's a gaggle of goslings!

Sh_t for Brains!!

Round 2 of the greasy splash. Can you believe someone actually did this?!! I'm still in shock over it.

Cooking grease thrown up against the exterior wall from the balcony above us:



The entrance to our apartment (the darker areas are from the first dumping):


This time we're not cleaning it up. Hubby let the manager know about it and insisted she take care of getting it cleaned up and that she'd better find out who it is and stop it. Obviously it wasn't just an isolated incident if it's happened twice in a matter of a few weeks.

It's gross, disgusting and smells bad!! Someone has shit for brains, that's for darn sure!

Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Neighbour

The problem with living in an apartment ... actually, let me rephrase that ... ONE of the problems with living in an apartment is having an annoying neighbour.

As I sit here, some God awful odour is permeating the apartment. If the neighbour above us is cooking, the smell of her concoction will unwelcomely transport itself into our tiny apartment whenever the air conditioning unit kicks on. And it's never a good smell. It's usually an icky greasy smell.

On the subject of grease, several days ago, upon hubby's departure from the apartment he was met by a messy splatter of another God awful smelling substance just outside our door. Took on the appearance of grease, but we're still not sure. We assume the neighbour above us took the liberty of pouring out this abnoxious mystery substance from her balcony above us. What does she think this is? A camp ground?!! I don't understand some people. The rain won't even get to this spot, not that that would help anyway. Hubby covered it with soil and did his best to brush it away, then scrubbed it with soap and water, but traces of the nastiness still remain (see pic). It even covered the nearby bush and surrounding soil. Hubby dug around the bush and moved fresh soil to the top. Poor bush.


This woman also rarely sits still. She is constantly walking around up there, despite the fact that the apartment is only itsy-bitsy in size. And she's not a graceful walker either. (Hubby has a nickname for her, but I won't share that with you...lol) The ceiling makes a loud thumping noise whenever she gets up and then cracks annoyingly with every step she takes. Even my cat will sometimes give an irritated glance up at the ceiling (lol).

We hear a lot of banging around too. And the water gets run a lot, especially in the bathtub. What in the heck is she doing up there? This can go on all day and waaaay into the night. Just last night, she didn't settle down until 3 a.m. It boggles my mind.

Hubby swears he can smell dope at times when the air conditioner runs. I can smell cigarette smoke, but can't say that I've ever noticed that other distinctive smell.

And do you think she could close her door like a normal person whenever she leaves? Of course not! She grabs ahold of that doorknob and flings the door shut like she's about to rip the darn thing off its hinges!

There goes the water running full blast again, and the walking around. Why does she walk around when the water's running? I know it's not the dishwasher; that has a different sound. And she's not running the water for a bath. This is the kitchen sink. She takes showers before she goes to bed, which means I hear the water running anywhere between 1 and 2 in the morning. Wonder what time it will be before she settles down tonight? By the way, she's a college student, so she's now off for the summer and doesn't appear to have a summer job. Oh goodie!

Hubby says he rarely heard the girl before her, except for when she had male company. ;)

The bright side to this situation? We'll be moving soon.

Well it's time to sign off folks and make my shopping list for Wal-Mart. First on the list.....more air freshener!!!

Ouch! My back hurts!!

Haven't been blogging lately. Put my back out about a week ago and I've been taking it easy. Not that blogging is difficult, but when you're not doing much of anything other than laying around in a box, there's not much to blog about.

I did drag myself out this past Friday evening. Have a couple of interviews lined up and figured that was a good excuse to go shopping. Went to JCPenney and Macy's; stores we don't have in Sudbury. Was a bit of a challenge with the back being the way it was, but I managed. Dropped a few items on the floor. Not much fun trying to pick those up!

Of course I couldn't make up my mind on a skirt, so I purchased 3 of them, figuring hubby could tell me which one to keep and then I'll return the others. Still haven't given him a fashion show because the next day my back sure let me know it wasn't happy about my venture out. Several days later, I think I'm now on the mend. :)

And, as always, I look for the bright side in every situation. The bright side to putting your back out? Staying indoors with the air conditioning when it's in the upper 90's outside.

Just finished laundry detail. 5 loads. Had hubby carry the overloaded basket to the laundry room just before he left for work. Managed to bring it back on my own and hope that doesn't mess me up again.

Hubby's work schedule is such that he leaves here at 5:30 p.m. and returns at about 5 a.m. If and when I do land a day job, we sure won't be seeing much of each other. The secret to a happy marriage perhaps? (lol)

Had to smile on my way back to the box (aka apartment) after putting the clothes in the dryers...a Cardinal flew up the walkway in front of me and landed in a nearby bush for a few seconds so I could get a good glipse of her. Such a pretty bird.

Then on my way back from getting the clothes out of the dryer, a frog hopped across the walkway in front of me. I love nature. Well, the pretty side of nature that is. And gotta love it when the laundromat isn't busy. No feuds today! Although the guys that show up some mornings with their whipper snippers after hubby only gets home at 5 a.m. better watch it.

One Thousand Gifts

That's the name of a book I'm currently reading, by Ann Voskamp. It dares you "to live fully right where you are". Although only a quarter of the way through, I wholeheartedly agree with the quote found on the back cover:

"Ann Voskamp is truly one of the most gifted writers I have ever read. If you want a book that will challenge you and mess with you in the most beautiful of ways, this is it. And you won't just read it and put it away. You will return to this treasure for years to come." (Lysa Terkeurst)

"mess with you in the most beautiful of ways". I'm finding that to be true.

The writer has a blog. To be honest, I don't know where she finds the time, but I'm glad she does. Beautiful photography, wonderful entries, calming music. Check it out:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

One Thousand Gifts truly is a treasure of a book. At least it is on my bookshelf.

B & S

'B' is for bunny. Not something I expected to see while driving through an industrial area, but there he (or she) was. So cute.





'S' is for squirrel. Around the corner from bunny, a squirrel. Busy little guy.




BS also stands for Big Spider. I'll take bunnies and squirrels over big hairy spiders any day!

EEEK!!!

Today while checking my e-mail on hubby's computer, he asked me to stand up for a minute because he needed to get by me (remember, our living quarters are tight). With coffee mug in hand, he moved the chair and proceeded to the window. With his back to me, I could tell he was trying to flick something on the blinds into his mug. No doubt some kind of bug. "What is it?", I asked.

THIS!!!!!!

CAUTION: Look only if you dare!






EEEK!!
Holy spider man! Now that's one juicy beast! Biggest one I've ever seen! Complete with hairy legs. Gross!


You should have seen this thing move. Fast and creepy!! Ugh!


I wanted the thing ELIMINATED but, to be honest, not even I could bring myself to squish such a juicy varmint. The thought of it makes me sh-sh-sh-shudder. Eewwww!!

Hubby took the demon critter outside...where it belongs!...and let it go, lecturing me on the benefits of spiders. Ya, ya, whatever. Let juicy spider legs do all that apparent good stuff OUTSIDE.

How in the heck did it get in here anyway? Hopefully it didn't lay any eggs.
P.S. And for those of you who read my Facebook status yesterday, no, this was not the same little black ball I picked up off the carpet. That little critter is still MIA (lol).
Yesterday's Facebook status: I pick up what looks like a tiny black ball of fuzz on the carpet, only to discover it moves! Ew, ew, ew!!! {shiver} Now I don't know where the heck it is, 'cause I sent it flying. Great!

June 1st

Who knew that on June 1st, 1988, I would continue to work at the same law firm for the next 20+ years. After all, I was just there to fill in for a maternity leave.

Looking back, I saw a lot of faces come and go...

- articling students, some to become lawyers at the firm...

- change of staff, some only there a few months, others retiring after many, many years, and others moving on to different law firms...

- the clients. Oh my goodness, the clients! When it comes to family law, we certainly had our share of interesting ones! My former co-worker and I had nicknames for some. Makes me chuckle when I think about it...

- and of course the office parties! Oh, the parties!

I made some wonderful friends at the firm. And I saw a lot of changes in my own personal life. I'd been married less than a year when the firm hired me. A baby would follow three years later ... a baby I would one day see work at the firm for awhile while enrolled in college. I can still remember my boss' reaction to finding out I was pregnant (lol). At that time I was the only one working for her. But we sure did find us one heck of a fill-in! Caused a few of my fellow co-workers to drink (lol). Then there was my inevitable divorce, living on my own, acquiring a house, then ultimately marrying an Oklahoman...which brings me to where I am now.

I miss the people, the drama, the work, the routine, my boss and her yada-yada's and ma'bopper dictations. It was a good place to work. I miss it. Yes, I said it...I miss it (lol). Needed a break, definitely, but I feel somewhat lost now.

I wonder what my next job will be, how long I'll be there and what friends I will make. Finding a job here is proving to be a bit of a challenge. So far I've avoided applying at law firms, but perhaps that's my destiny. I do hope to find employment soon. I feel the bins closing in on me! I expect I'll do better once we move into the house.

When I was packing for the big move, I came across the blouse I wore to my interview all those years ago: