Thursday 25 April 2013


The U-Haul truck has been loaded and so has our truck - we're taking two vehicles to Mayne Island.  If we run out of time and everything isn't done, I'll stay on by myself.
I spent the day wrapping up some art work to bring over, cleaning the basement (which is empty, practically) and packing up last minute stuff. It's hard to believe that we're actually moving into our cottage....

The night after my last entry, our younger son woke us up in the middle of the night. It has been so long since any of our kids have woken us up that I was totally confused for a moment. He said he was in pain - he was holding his ear and he started pacing the living room. Luckily, I still had some pain-killers from when I had my dental surgery. I gave him one, filled his ear with olive oil again, and he passed out. I told him I'd be taking him to the clinic when it opens at 8-am. I couldn't get back to sleep after that; I was almost waiting for his ear to burst which happened when he was about 8 years old. The next day I had a headache so severe I could hardly function - I think everyone is under the weather right now.

The next day my son insisted on going to school. I was really ticked off about this. He came home looking awful so I took him in and the doctor said he has a bad ear infection. All this week he's had soccer tryouts and refused to miss any of them; he's a trooper. My daughter isn't well either - coughing, sore throat, runny nose.  But she goes to school regardless. My oldest son, however, is fit as a fiddle. Glowing with health. But somehow he couldn't manage to get out of bed this morning; at 10-am he sauntered into the kitchen and gave me a heart attack. I'm losing patience with this boy. The other night he was still up at 1:30 in the morning, sitting on the basement couch listening to music. Living with three teenagers is really trying....I am worried about leaving them when they aren't well. I think Lorenzo will come home as soon as the heavy lifting is done and the lights are installed. I can do the rest on my own. 

Someone once said that having children means that your heart exists on the outside of your body. It is so true. They are always, always in your thoughts - you're never truly free of it and I don't think it matters how old they are. If Lorenzo is here, I feel fine about leaving - but when it's both of us leaving, I have real anxiety. Mayne Island is a long way away - an ocean separates us which is kind of disturbing.

Anyway, my older son is deeply offended that his cousin is coming to stay while we're gone. He thinks he's a model of exemplary behaviour. Reliable and trustworthy. I'll believe that when he gets himself to school on time....


Well, that's it for now. 






        Boys washing the dishes. Mayne Island - 2009






Tuesday 23 April 2013


Last Thursday, I packed my things to head to the cottage. The plan was to leave Friday morning and spend the weekend scouring the floors & windows and getting everything sparkly clean. In my basket I had the requisite three jugs of Vancouver water, tea, old rags, and my favourite cleaning potion...



I love this stuff - I use it on hardwood floors, painted wood, leather, etc. It's lovely smelling too - and environmentally friendly, apparently.

Anyway, Friday morning came and went and somehow I was still here. Postponed my departure for the evening but when the rains came pounding down I didn't want to leave the cozy sanctuary of my home. Set my alarm for Saturday morning. Slept in and talked myself into having a headache. More rain and wind - stood looking out the window and everything outside looked gray and bleak. Put the kettle on and considered my options. Wrist still felt a bit sore, maybe I should wait. Sunday became the new goal: I resolved to take the 11am ferry and get to work! Then Lorenzo casually mentioned that if I waited until Monday, the ferry costs would be much cheaper. Sounded good to me - poured another cup of tea and curled up with my book. By Sunday night it just seemed like a really dumb idea all around.

So we decided to bail on the whole thing, rent a trailer, and head over the following Friday. I'd spend this week getting things packed up and preparing the house for our absence. For some reason, I just couldn't face being there alone. And it didn't help that Lorenzo was talking about wolf spiders hiding in the wood stack outside....ready to pounce!

Yesterday I began making phone calls but unfortunately there were no trailers to be found. Not one. I guess it's end-of-the-month moving time for everyone. So we rented a truck, and we're picking it up tomorrow...




On Sunday, my daughter and I went to Sears and ordered a double mattress and two twin mattresses. And I discovered that Sears can ship to Mayne Island - the Home Hardware is an official Sears distribution centre. And then I saw these great couches on sale....

It has been about fourteen years since Lorenzo and I bought any new living-room furniture, so I felt entitled I guess. He liked them, so I put them on the charge card and arranged to have them shipped over with the mattresses...



They are soft, supple Natuzzi leather and on sale for 50% off until the end of June. I could just imagine how spectacular they'd look against the hardwood floors. A whole vision appeared before me: There we are - jazz music tinkling in the background, a glass of red wine, fire crackling in the stove, candles flickering on the mantle, and there - in the centre of it all - these gorgeous Natuzzi leather couches! A little dash of Italian design on Mayne Island! I enter the scene, wearing something silky and sophisticated - Lorenzo is composing something on the piano....





Woke up this morning and realized I'd been imagining someone else's life.

Who the hell puts white leather couches in a cottage? Suddenly I had visions of chasing my kids away from them, worrying about wood-smoke and finger prints; fretting over every tiny stain and wrinkle. Dog scratches and bunny fluff. Everyone is miserable and scared to sit down.

Gloom descended on my sparkling fantasy. Reality is, I have three kids and two pets and everything in my life is sticky.

With a sad heart, I called Sears and cancelled them. The cottage gets the hideous brown boat from the basement...it's wrinkly and lumpy....I hate it. It's like a big brown ghastly barge and there's rips and tears from when Sachie was a pup. I'll have to get very creative with this one...




Then I pondered over the fact that the mattresses I purchased wouldn't be arriving on Mayne until early June. I decided that I wanted the cottage to be set up by the time we leave on Sunday. Every bed made, every last little thing put in its place. The thought of leaving with yet more work to do in the future made me antsy. So I called Sears and cancelled the mattresses because I needed mattresses right now. When I get a bee in my bonnet, look out. But where to find mattresses at a moment's notice?

I remembered that the Salvation Army sells new mattresses. I called around, and the New Westminster location had what I needed. My son was horrified. He figured they'd be used....you know, bed-bug infested mattresses that someone dragged out of an East End crack house...




I explained to him that it's illegal for any company to sell used mattresses under the Health Canada Act. I called Lorenzo about my plan and he yelled, "I'm not buying used mattresses!" Veins bursting in his head.

Anyway, after he came home from work we hitched his little trailer onto the truck, headed into New West and bought three perfectly acceptable, brand new, pillow-top mattresses for a few hundred bucks. This is a very impressive thrift store - I saw all kinds of interesting things but we had to pick our son up from soccer...




I have to mention this: years ago, when Lorenzo first went into business for himself, he had to go to Edmonton. It was winter-time and the temperature there was minus-30. He didn't have a winter coat and we couldn't afford to buy one. So I went to the Salvation Army. I found a beautiful, Humphrey Bogart-type men's dress coat. Merino wool and cashmere, silk lining, triple-stitched pockets. Made in Italy. Price? $28.

My father trained to be a tailor in Italy. He examined the coat and said, "This would cost about two thousand dollars to have made right now." Lorenzo wasn't keen on wearing a used coat (because he's a snob) but it fit him beautifully - he looked so handsome in it, and he said he was warm as toast on his trip. Thrift stores are amazing - you never know what you'll find.

Today I sorted out linens, pillows, duvets and duvet covers, mattress protectors, etc. and put everything into labelled garbage bags.

So, tomorrow the truck will be here, and we'll be finally loading up a year's worth of clutter and Craigslist finds. Our basement is going to be empty! Yay! I've arranged for my niece to stay and police the teens while we're gone, everything is going to get done, and I'm really, really excited about this.

Around 10pm, my daughter mentioned that she isn't feeling well - her throat is sore. My younger son informed me that he can't hear out of his right ear. We already had this checked out a few weeks ago and the stupid doctor gave him nasal spray. Anyway, I filled his ear with warm olive oil and tomorrow I'm taking him up to the clinic. I can see it now: The trip to Mayne Island gets thwarted again.....

I'm reading such a riveting book right now...




I'm halfway through, and right now Ernest Shackleton's crew has been stranded in the antarctic for two years. Two years living on penguins and seal blubber, battling frost-bite and despair. I cannot fathom how anyone could ever sign up for something like this...it is mind-boggling to me. But what a great read this is. I'm an arm-chair adventurist.



Wednesday 17 April 2013


I think this is the longest I've gone without a post. The reason is, there is no cottage news to deliver. It seems that all of the urgency has completely dissipated - it's pretty much done, so we've been enjoying a much-needed respite. Having Lorenzo home for the past several weekends has been so nice - and almost strange; I've been so used to him being gone that it seemed like we were on holidays. We could actually make plans and do things together. We've had friends over for dinner, gone grocery shopping together, watched tv, etc. in other words, all the things that normal people do.

And then our oldest son turned 16 two days ago, so there were preparations involved for that. It is really odd looking at this tall boy and having to accept the fact that he's only two years from legal adulthood. I cannot wrap my mind around it. Last week, he challenged me to a left-handed arm wrestle. (I'm left-handed, he is not). About six months ago, I flattened him with my left arm. In just six short months, he has grown about seven inches and gained super-human strength. Before I even had a chance to engage my arm, we heard a loud "crunch" - like someone crushing a small handful of potato chips. That was my left wrist. The days of frolicking with my boys are over - I always get hurt. I iced my wrist on and off in the days following but it is still not healed. My son felt terrible. So, it's official: I'm weaker and shorter than these two punks. Strange.... But now I never hesitate to get them to do stuff for me, so that's kind of nice. I'll just pretend that I'm too feeble to manage....sit on the couch eating bon-bons, cradling my injured wrist for the next ten years.

On Monday morning, Lorenzo left for the interior to visit all the customers he's been neglecting since the cottage reno began. I was worried that he'd encounter a blizzard somewhere, but so far the clear weather has held out. I had a lot of apprehension before he left. He was waking up at 4:30am so I left him a note, urging him to take the truck just in case. Instead, he took his hybrid and did not seem concerned. He'll be home on Thursday. 

The nice thing about him being gone is the ease with which dinner is approached. Yesterday, he missed glorious "Pancake Tuesday," which I know he doesn't mind as he's too Italian to understand the joys of eating breakfast for dinner. 

When we were first married he was actually appalled by the idea of bacon & eggs past 9-am. I remember accusing Lorenzo of being snob - and reminding him that if his ancestors had been on the Titanic, they'd have been in steerage. He fired back, "Oh, and your family were aristocrats!" I've never forgotten that - I laughed so hard. In any case, the kids love Pancake Tuesday as do their friends. Sometimes I've had to double the recipe - and I always use buttermilk which makes such a difference. The thing is, it is very tiring coming up with a new meal every single day. Pancake Tuesday is like my little vacation - one bowl, one pan, throw some fruit on the table and you're done...





What else....I am itching to get over to Mayne Island and might leave later in the week, I'm not sure. With my wrist being sore, I don't have the same strength. And I'd want to start bringing some smaller furniture over and all the boxes with odds & ends, etc. Also, the floors and windows need to be thoroughly cleaned. Didn't realize how much an injured wrist can slow you down. Maybe I should have it looked at....my hand is a bit numb and tingly which probably isn't a good thing.

*     *     *     *

I've been meaning to get a "No Soliciting" sign for my front door. Yesterday, the door-bell rang - dog went bonkers. It was two young men representing "Weed Man" offering to sign me up for a free consultation. They wanted my phone number. I told them that I'm not interested and then one of them said,"If they call, you don't have to sign up for anything but we'll still get our five-dollar commission. Can you help us out?" So I gave them my phone number. I have compassion for young people just trying to make a living but I don't support lawn pesticides.

An hour later, it was the Girl Guides selling cookies. There's nothing worse than being confronted with a cute tot on the porch with their hopeful parent standing in the background. I never have cash on me, so had to decline. But even if I did, I might have said no, because they contain palm oil. Palm oil is the cheapest oil on the planet and it's saturated. But worse, is that rain forests - which contain the planet's most bio-diverse ecosystems - are being mowed down to allow space for palm plantations. Palm oil is found in everything from soap to granola bars and it's bad - for us and for the planet. Therefore, I don't support Girl Guide cookies.

A few hours later, another knock on the door. By this time, I was getting ticked off. A woman holding a clip-board identified herself as a canvasser for the Canadian Cancer Society. I told her that I do not support the Canadian Cancer Society. She blinked a few times and said, "May is cancer awareness month."  Think about this for a minute: can you think of a single person you know who hasn't had some experience with the disease? It's practically an epidemic.  It's like having "Rain Awareness Month" for Vancouverites. Imagine someone canvassing for "Cancer Oblivion Awareness." To raise awareness for people who are oblivious to cancer. 

In any case, this woman was not interested in knowing my reasons for declining support which was a relief, actually - discussing big pharma and the multi-billion dollar cancer machine with someone working for the agency is akin to discussing the possible non-existence of god with a Jehovah's Witness. Also, I'm tired of this "raising awareness" all the time. I am fully aware of cancer: it took my mum, several aunts and uncles, my husband's mum, my neighbour's son, and my best friend in grade four, just to name a few. I'm aware of cancer. 

Last month, two fellows from Iran were canvassing for the Red Cross. I told them I don't support the Red Cross. Man, I sound like such a cranky old bag. I support nothing! Bugger off! Anyway, the Red Cross has been under fire for financial mismanagement for years now. They received two billion dollars for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Where did it all go? People are still living in shacks with no running water. I just think it's always a bad thing when non-profits become bloated international bureaucracies; I'd rather donate to community food banks or local environmental groups. And I have to mention that it bothered me greatly when the Red Cross refused a one million dollar donation from the Dixie Chicks because they voiced their disapproval of the war in Iraq. 

So, I need a sign....



But I don't like the thought of sticking something this unattractive on my nice front door. This one is perfect: Who's going to doubt it?






*     *     *     *

BC is gearing up for another election and by all accounts, the Liberals are out and the NDP is in. I chose not to run in this election and my neighbourhood is being represented by a friend of mine in the Green Party. I wish her all the best. I've got to dig up my Green Party signs and get them to her asap. My main reason for not running this time is because Lorenzo is having hernia surgery on May 8th, and he'll need my support. He's not supposed to do any lifting or engage in anything strenuous for about six weeks; if I were gone all the time I know he'd end up injuring himself. I'd find him climbing a ladder or scurrying around with the leaf blower....chasing that one lone pine needle down the sidewalk...

Well, that's my boring blog for today!

Cranky Lady signs off....