With the two new book cases now snuggly in their places I’ve been having a great time getting re-organized. The DVD cabinet is looking great and also makes that little alcove look bigger – bonus!! The (wrong coloured) cabinet is now in the office closet (replacing one of those plastic 4-drawer thingies) and is even better than I had hoped. It’s holding so much more that the 4-drawer unit and looks great despite the fact it’s hidden behind louvred doors. I also had to re-arrange one of the two Ikea book cases that Mom gave me for Christmas oh so many, many years ago and which have never left my side. I’ve used them wherever I’ve moved and they’ve survived the test of time. Managing to empty all of the papers, office supplies, tape, envelopes, etc. to that book case, I can dispose of the one filing cabinet and make the office look bigger – another bonus!  Not wanting to spend a lot of money on this project, I still managed to buy a couple of organizers, trays and racks to fill my little heart with glee as I whiled away the hours clearing, sorting and putting things back. It’s a silly thing, but it’s my thing – and I absolutely love doing it. I literally go to bed thinking ahead of time of how and where I’ll put stuff. It’s like Christmas to me!

The last of the cabinetry to be decorated is under the television, but I’ll work away on that as I find a couple of small items that will look good and fit the rest of the decor.

With the bulk of the organizing now complete, Nat and I headed into St. Catharines this afternoon. My regular check-up with Dr. Broksi was good news all around. The blood pressure was up a little bit, but the drive into the City has horrendous. We drove through blinding snow, whiteout conditions and an unplowed QEW. A bit hairy to say the least but we didn’t realize how bad it was going to get until we reached Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. It was slow going and just as well we left a bit earlier than expected, as we arrived just a couple minutes short of my scheduled appointment. With the good news in hand we took a chance and trekked over to WalMart on 4th Avenue to pick up a couple of small items and then back to Niagara Falls to drop off the rest of Lucas’ birthday present. We had ordered movie tickets with free drink and popcorn for two and they arrived today in the mail, so we made the excuse to drop them by his Mom’s on our way home. As the snow was really blowing at this point we dug in our heels and headed for the warmth of our little house, ordering pizza on the way.

Thinking of Bonnie and knowing she doesn’t always get a chance to go to Ikea, I sent her an email, told her our plans and she was in. Off we drove into Burlington on Monday morning with list in hand. We had checked the Ikea catalogue beforehand, did our measurements for height, width and depth and pretty much knew exactly which cabinet we were going for. The three of us strolled along the display rooms chatting away, checking things out and soon came upon the cabinetry section. With our details having been written down we made note of the Aisle and Bin numbers where we could find the same and continued strolling along until we stopped for a drink at the restaurant before proceeding down to the Marketplace. We found what we were looking for after walking through the Marketplace and picking up a couple of extra doodads – my supply of napkins and a drawer organizer. We were then off for lunch at The Gateway in Grimsby and homeward bound. We dropped off Bonnie so she could get back to her designing job and Nat and I continued over to Costco to pick up some fresh trout and haddock while we were in the area.

Tuesday:-  Before we had left for Britain, Nat’s name was called for July duty. After advising of our plans, the Court put Nat’s name over for the January sittings and that Tuesday had now arrived. He was off to Welland in the morning, expecting to be there most of the day, and while away I decided to put together the cabinet we had purchased. Being the organizer that I am, I laid the top, the bottom and sides in their proper order on the floor. Following the instructions, I was able to put together the cabinet with relative ease, taking me a couple of hours (having a bit of a sit down in-between instruction pages!).  Quite proud of myself I pulled the cabinet up, pushed it over to where it was going to go and what to my surprise I noticed a problem!! A problem that I wasn’t too sure was that big a deal, but I’d have to check with Nat. He had called just after noon hour, not being picked, and was able to come home and enjoy the rest of his day. He sat down and told me how things went and the procedures that were followed. It was interesting to listen to, being a retired legal secretary (albeit a corporate one) and we were both glad it was over, at least if and when he was called again. (He’s been lucky enough to have been called twice before!!).

I soon told Nat to check out the cabinet that I had so proudly finished, but discovered that we had chosen the wrong colour, and did it make much difference? The colour we were going for was “Beech” to match the coffee table and TV cabinetry. Apparently we had picked up the “Birch” which looked a little pale next to the other furniture. Taking the rest of the afternoon to get use to the colour and discussing our options, we soon came to the conclusion that it would have to be exchanged. However, we had also purchased the doors that were extra, but a nice touch. Doing more research to make sure we could get the proper colour, I checked online and discovered that Ikea didn’t have “Beech” listed in its colour choices for these cabinets. With more back-and-forth discussions, we soon concluded that we would go for the “Medium-Brown” that would match the CD cabinet, still be able to use the doors and that we would keep the lighter cabinet and use it in the office. We’d still take the doors with us,  just in case we had no luck at all and could, in fact, return them.

Wednesday:-  As usual, we had nothing to do the next day – Wednesday – so back up to Burlington we went. We arrived by 10:00 AM on the dot, trotted through the design centre again and headed straight to where the cabinetry was to get the new Aisle and Bin numbers. We headed down to the warehouse, picked up the new cabinet and we were off and home in time for lunch. Job done! Plus the rest of the day would be spent putting the new cabinet together and our day would be complete!

Thursday:-  This morning woke up and all excited to get all of our DVD’s organized in the new cabinet. Once completed, it looked good and was pleased they all fit and had room for more! Nat had mentioned that after lunch he wanted to re-work the Ikea TV cabinets. He wanted to return the back to the one cabinet in order to make it square and the doors would then be inline. We had originally left one back off in order to put all of the electronics in it – stereo, cable and DVD receivers – and it worked well but was always on Nat’s mind  that one cabinet was not sitting completely square if you moved it, and this was the day to finally put things right. The two cabinets would be switched and the electronic equipment would be put in the other cabinet that had only holes cut out in the back. Confusing story, but we knew what had to be done. Each and every component had to be unhooked, unplugged and taken out, along with the Apple TV and the Wii. Now that I had removed some of the DVDs there was going to be a little more storage space in the second cabinet that could be used for anything extra. As with all things Nat and Twila it didn’t necessarily go as easy as we had hoped. We ended up fussing and mussing about, unhooking, unplugging everything, re-hooking, replugging in everything not once but several times in order to get things straight in our heads. It looked as if nothing had changed. Nat was at least able to put in the back of the one cabinet and it was now sitting square and the doors, once re-hooked, looked perfect. In the end we ended up with one cabinet full of electronic components and the second cabinet now empty – the same as we had started! All for one piece of veneer backing!! This was one of those Frick and Frack days where we at least knew what had been done!!

Friday:-  As of this posting, it’s about 7 hours away and trust me, no Ikea product will get assembled or re-organized. I’m cleaning and hopefully finding some doodads for a now empty cabinet.

We also finally received and got hooked-up the new Airport Express. So far we’re not having any trouble getting the internet, but just our dumb luck, the Apple TV is now lighting up every once in awhile. A white light will come on and stay for about 10 seconds and then turn off and not necessarily in any time pattern. I’ve put it into sleep mode, I’ve checked and rechecked the settings and I’ve downloaded the latest update. Now I’m in the throws of more online research to see what the heck is going on. Technology really does make your life a lot easier, but jeez Louise, it can be a living hell whenever it acts up. As much as I love Apple products, there are times when I think Steve Jobs felt there were only geeks wandering this planet!

As Nat and I wanted to see our best friends before the end of the year, we took a drive into St. Catharines on Friday. We decided to make a good day of it, so on our way we stopped in Niagara Falls at The Mandarin for a nice lunch. We then continued on our way into St. Catharines, loaded up on Kaisers at our favourite bakery, and then drove over to Floris and Cecil’s for a really nice visit, got caught up on some news and enjoyed tea and biscuits before heading back home.

New Year’s Eve day saw the two of us getting ready for the rest of the week as usual. With groceries and other errands done in the morning, we then returned home, had a bite to eat and then started a little light house cleaning and completed a couple loads of laundry. The kids will be coming over tomorrow just before noon, so I wanted to get one day ahead. As I was on the last stages of my jigsaw puzzle I sat in the dining room afterward trying to get it completed so I could free up the table for Sunday lunch. It wasn’t long after Nat finished watching a football (soccer) game on telly, when he stuck his head through the door and asked if it was finished yet. “Almost”, I replied, “but with your help it’ll go a lot quicker”. So he joined in and by 3:30 pm we had finished. “Have one last long look, dear”, he said, “it’s gotta get torn up soon!” After our supper I broke up the pieces and popped them in the little ziploc bag. I’ll keep it until I get a chance to send it on to Jenny. Being the City of Calgary, Alberta, I think she’ll get a kick out of it.

The 2nd of January Nat will celebrate another birth year – very, very much to his chagrin. With Susan, Tom, Laura and the grandkids coming over tomorrow we’ll have a small lunch of cold cuts, roasted chicken pieces, salads and potato chips before Nat opens up his gifts. I found him a gorgeous blue sweater at Gary Water’s Store when shopping with Bonnie and I know he’ll love it. He loves the clothing at Gary Water’s but feels it may be a bit too “high end” for him. Personally, I think it’s not. He’s a “high end” kind of guy and looks fabulous in the sweaters I’ve bought in the past.

We’re looking forward to Sunday and seeing the kids, as we don’t see them that often anymore. So we’ll enjoy the first day of 2012 with family and hope the good times continue throughout the year.

Happy New Year to everyone and hope 2012 is successful for all.

As Christmas Eve was approaching, Nat and I had to keep telling ourselves that we were going out that evening. Another one of those years where it seems like just another Saturday and our usual routine was taking place. It was just as well we were going out as there was no hockey on that night and poor hubby would have been bored out of his mind. So why not visit with some of my family, eat a little, drink a little and laugh a lot. This year Claudia was hosting Christmas Eve and Thamazine was doing Christmas supper. Arriving at Claudia’s a little early we were able to have a nice quiet chat with her, Darby and Tyler before the rest of the gang arrived and the quiet would soon be replaced with two youngsters running around (excited about the next morning!), and adults meandering in and out of the kitchen, living room and family room. Who could blame them – with candy dishes sitting in every little nook and cranny, we all wandered around as much as we could with big hands dipping in every bowl containing coloured confectionaries that tingled the taste buds. Soon it was time for the buffet of beef-on-a-bun, salads, roast chicken, and desserts of cookies, squares and cakes. Every child’s dream – a house full of chocolates, sugar-coated treats, gum drops, jelly beans, Hershey Kisses, ribbon candy and so much more the old brain can’t remember them all! I always admire Claudia and how she can accomplish so much and still be sane!

With our usual excuse “We’ve got a ways to drive”, Nat and I headed home and snuggled in our easy chairs by 10:30 pm. I’m yawning so I decided to hit the hay, leaving Nat looking for something to watch on telly and amuse himself until he can meander off to bed. We both awoke early as we were scheduled to be at Laura’s place for 9:00 AM. She had her two kids for Christmas week and was hosting Christmas morning for herself, Karly, Lucas, her ex-mother-in-law, her ex-hubby and Zoe (her dog). We arrived just as the excitement was winding down from everyone unwrapping their gifts, so we handed to the kids ours’ and soon began to join in the conversation and visit with Marilyn and Shawn, both of whom we haven’t seen in quite sometime. Each of Karly and Lucas showed off some of their presents and both seemed happy with what Santa had brought them. We left Laura’s as it was getting close to noon, drove home for a bite to eat and then headed off to Thorold to visit with Susan, Tom, Felicia and Bridget before leaving for Thamazine’s for supper.

We arrived at Susan and Tom’s just after 1:00 and the girls were snuggled on the sofa playing with their new teen-age toys and gadgets. The Dagenais family looked as if they had a very happy Christmas and again, after giving the girls their gifts, we soon joined in the conversation and had a chance to get caught up on family news and activities. Another nice visit and we were off again.

Thamazine’s place smelled wonderful as we walked in the door. The aroma of turkey and all the trimmings emanating from the kitchen was a killer. I was full blown hungry by now and as Daryl said he was brining the turkey, I, myself, couldn’t wait to bite into that juicy bird. As usual we were the first to arrive and more quiet time to visit with the family before the balance of the other families arrived. Zach had arranged a ping-pong tournament for later and was all excited, being the sports lover that he is. He was organized like the pros. Zoe was primping and preening in her bedroom putting on the final touches for her guests. She’s growing up so fast and has somehow turned into an early teenager much before her time (only 10). Not long after our arrival the rest of the gang started to appear and meandered downstairs to where we were and had a seat before being called to supper. It was fun listening to what everyone had received from Santa and watching their eyebrows squint as they tried to remember. It sounded like each and everyone had a great morning and was thrilled with their presents, too.

The meal was gorgeous. Daryl’s brining the turkey was a success and with mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies and stuffing, we were all enjoying a great dinner with fun conversation and a few laughs. The meal was so good I just had to go back for seconds, which isn’t what I’ve being doing of late. For the longest time Nat nor I have been able to eat big meals and we’ve been practising restraint in portion sizes. Nat and I weren’t going to have any leftovers, so I made the best of things and enjoyed as much as I could. Dessert came a little too soon after the main meal and I was only able to enjoy a small piece of cake, albeit a great tasting small piece of cake!

Soon after the meal the ping pong tournament was announced. I was informed Darby and I were up first and Zach led us into the small playroom, shut the door and soon began explaining the rules. This guy was serious! He had done his research and with his new laptop at hand he was ready to play a professional game – or so he thought. He didn’t realize or understand what the “Rouse” girls were like – a lot older, a little less mobile, and really slow in the old foot work! Darby and I were now ready to play. With Darby still young, springier and so much lighter on her feet, it was soon becoming apparent who was going to win this match. It wasn’t for lack of trying on my part, but for some reason the old “hand-to-eye” co-ordination had gone down the drain. I use to be pretty good at this game!! What the hell happened?? I couldn’t even get a good volley going and poor Darby was waiting at her end of the table as I struggled to even find the ping pong when it bounced around the floor as my paddle went swinging right by it. The final score was 15-2 (Darby) and at last I could go back to my easy chair in the family room, join the other older adults in chit chat and listen at the closed door for the other ping pong matches that were taking place. With roars of laughter coming from the playroom it was clear that everyone else was having the same trouble I was. It was apparent that the younger set had the advantage, but the whole game itself was fun and everyone had a great time. The huffing and puffing from the older adults as they finished their game was funny and yet sad. Each one of us had forgotten that ping pong was a fast-paced game if you wanted it to be, and the younger set was certainly making it that way. Zach had truly arranged a “pro-like” game despite having a major handicap – old Aunts!!

Our “We’ve got a ways to go” was soon coming from our lips again, so we said our goodbyes and headed home. We were getting tired, had had a great time and were now ready for those easy chairs at home. Another year of good food, great fun and loving family. Compared to last year’s Christmas with my miserable mood and emotional crisis in tow, this year was so much better. It felt good to be relaxed, somewhat carefree and being able to just let it go. I was able to enjoy myself, had only one small excitable moment which I soon took care of and didn’t let anyone “get to me” – even though I was tempted once or twice. “Take a deep breath” is now the phrase lit up in neon inside the old brain and so far, it’s working!

Boxing Day saw Nat and I literally doing nothing. We laid around the house with Nat doing his crosswords, me playing games on the iPad or Mac, and deciding what to have for supper after last night’s feast. It was nice. I even pulled out a jigsaw puzzle I had picked up for myself at Costco and began enjoying something I’ve not done for a long time. When I’m finished I’ll send it along to my sister-in-law in England – another jigsaw puzzle fancier.

The rest of this week has been quiet. We’ve done a couple of errands – license plate sticker for the van, some printer paper and getting frustrated as hell with the internet cutting in and out. Can’t wait for the new Airport Express to arrive. If that’s not the problem, then I’m a monkey’s uncle and will be totally out of mind as to what the real problem is. We can only continue to keep our fingers and toes crossed and believe that January 2012 is going to begin on a good note!!

Nat and I continue doing everything we can think of with the Airport Express that’s done us so well over these past years. Even after the cable guy checked our lines and they were fine, the problem reared its ugly little head again the next day.  We went on a quest to search out this mysterious ghost, find the little bugger and get rid of him. We reset the Airport, we unplugged and plugged it in, we reset it again using it’s original network settings, we turned the Mac off and on, off and on, we went through diagnostics, we went through every networking step we could think of, and still the internet would still drop off every now and then. We were now thinking it had to be the actual Airport Express and again, with more investigation, I realized ours was 802.11g and the new Airport Express is now 802.11n. Hmmmm – I’m now thinking there was something amiss since our AE was now more than 5 years old I’m guessing it’s past it’s prime. While on another errand we dropped into the Future Shop and had a wee chat with their Apple expert. After our long explanation was over and his eyes now glazed, he soon came around and agreed that it very well could be the Airport Express. Once I told him it was 802.11g his eyes blinked, his head jerked a little, and he told us that our 802.11g AE hadn’t been sold for 5 years now and was probably the culprit. He did, however, suggest that we try using Firefox as our browser and test that before going through the expense of buying another AE. After some discussion, Nat and I agreed that it was probably in our best interest to just buy a new Airport Express and so I ordered one yesterday evening.

Waking up this morning I was thinking to myself that it should be a relatively easy day. One little errand this morning and that would be it. No such luck. It turned out to be another one of those mornings where I couldn’t get the internet up, I couldn’t get the bluetooth mouse recognized and the printer was showing no paper, when, in fact, it was loaded. As I wanted to deliver some cookies to my hairdresser for her wine and cheese party tonight, I decided to leave the computer mess until I was done plating up my little treats to take down the road. When I checked the freezer for my Christmas stash I had baked a few weeks ago, I discovered some “little elf” had been snacking and I was suddenly depleted of the Krispy Krunch and Oatmeal Cookies. I plated up what was left, along with some Chocolate Chip and headed down the road for my delivery. My hairdresser was pleased as punch when I walked in the door and her customers were all smiles as well. I apologized and told Jen I was unable to attend her soiree tonight and wished them all a Merry Christmas and a good party. Scurrying back home I soon began setting up to bake two more batches of cookies for Christmas gift packs. I mixed up the dough before lunch and I’d bake them in the afternoon.

With the new Airport Express not scheduled to be delivered until the end of December, Nat and I were going to have to press on and continue to struggle with getting the net up and running whenever it decided to fall off the grid. Every morning so far, I’ve had to re-recognize the Airport Express and wait for as long as it took for the Bluetooth to recognize the mouse. This is now getting very frustrating and I’m having withdrawal from not being able to get connected. After all, Nat needs his crossword printed out each morning (now a daily routine) and I need to get the mail, and, well, just get connected!! It’s psychological perhaps, but not knowing I can get online gives me a feeling of somehow being isolated from the rest of the world. I wouldn’t be able to post to this Blog, I wouldn’t be able to look up Nat’s crossword answers whenever he got stuck, I wouldn’t be able to email my family in Canada and overseas. Not that I do that much, but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right!!! Yes, I could use my iPad, but it’s the fact that we’re not getting connected on the main iMac. The iPad being able to get online via Airport Express was another reason why we came to the conclusion that we did. The iPad is running a less powerful operating system and I’m still not able to get to my iMac games – Tiny Bang Story, Sudoku and Solitaire – along with the programs (or Apps, as they’re now called) – Handbrake, Evernote, Pages, The Print Shop, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes – all of which need updating by getting online. I’d miss my podcasts which I watch and listen to almost on a daily basis, whether through the Mac or the iPad. These are things that have become fairly important in my daily life – mundane as it may seem – but it’s my life and this is how I fill some of my quiet time.

In between all of this hustle and bustle, Nat and I made a gift exchange at Niagara Square (Future Shop) with Thamazine. I returned her second batch of gifts that I had finished wrapping and she gave me another small load to be done. As there wasn’t that much to finish off I managed to get the balance of her items wrapped by the next morning. And that was even taking my time and flitting in and about the office every now and again to check on how things were going. I really, really enjoyed wrapping Thamazine and Michele’s gifts and hope I’m able to do it again next year. As I’m feeling so much better than this time last year, I took my time and made a couple of special bows for a couple of special gifts, and tried to get the old imagination in gear to do a little something extra for each parcel. I’m afraid the imagination couldn’t do what it wanted, as my supplies were running low, so I was a little disappointed in a couple of items, but I know the kids won’t remember while they’re ripping open the Christmas wrap faster than you can blink an eye. As I had spent only $1.00 on some additional small bows, I prided myself in using up what I had left from years past. The wrapping papers I bought from Costco was still running strong after 5 years, but at last getting low, and the wired ribbons I purchased along the way were more than enough to complete the tasks at hand. This was also a great way of filling some of those days where sitting behind a computer monitor was now (even for me) wearing a little thin.

Now the cookies are baked, the parcels are wrapped and the little decorations around the house are looking pretty good. With only boringly mundane (and repeat) shows on television, (except for the hockey games), Nat and I will pull out some of the DVDs that have gathered a little dust, snuggle in our easy chairs by the fire and enjoy what WE want to watch over the Christmas holidays.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

P.S. to this post:  Just received an email from Apple – that Airport Express is on its way. Merry Christmas and God Bless, Apple!!