welllllll ... it was *quite* a week ...

Gee, you know ... I try to keep it positive, try not to whine or complain, kvetch & carry on (on my blog ... in real life , I can hold a pity party as well as the next guy !!) ...and sometimes I slip , but I try. But then this week came along ... and OH it was a doozy !!! I could say a few positive things like ... I am alive. There are still undiscovered species in the world. ummm .... but that is nothing like my week !!!
I have an ongoing hand/arm problem that was dealt with about 5 years ago ... involved 2 surgeries and 3 bouts of phsyio. And then finally some DEEP bruising physio that fixed it. I made radical work & career changes and then happily carried on ... thinking it would never return.
Sloooowly over the last few years ...DUN DUN DUN ... it did return. So I ignored it until I couldn't and decided to bite the bullet and start deep tissue massage therapy ( and literally bite the bullet ... or my lip... or anything ...) . Found a great therapist and off I go. OWWWWWWW!!!! It was brutal as I expected but what I didn't bargain on was an allergic reaction to the soothing balm ... irony ... My arms turned bright eat-my-flesh-off-the-bones red with the whole arm being a raised welt. Both arms. Nothing could touch them. Then came the blisters. ooey yucky blisters. As the therapist said ... if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have none. Yep. I agree sometimes. This is after 2 weeks of constant hives because I was pretending to myself to have no worries about this whole problem. "Me ? I'm not worried . Nah. " POP POP POP HIVE HIVE HIVE . SO I have been one sweet BLOTCH for all of this week too. Yesterday I had such a big hive on my foot, I couldn't wear my shoe the last half of the day !!
But ... it is getting much better. Skin is white again (except for the hives) and I can touch my arms !! WAHOO !!! And this may be an honour ... "Worst Arms Ever" was my diagnosis. Like human bubble wrap to massage. Pretty sweet huh ??! I'm so making a badge to wear to my next session !!
But there is a bright spot ... I am going to tell you what my secret fear was ... when the yellowy globs started appearing on my arms, I had no idea they were blisters. I was horrified. I thought the fat in my arms had all globbed together into these hideous masses ... I was terrified it would stay that way !!! (now it may have been all the Benadryl ... let's say it was ... but that was my honest to god fear ...) I was DELIGHTED to find out they were blisters !! So silver lining to every cloud ... hey ! I did end up saying something positive after all !!
Have a great week !!!

Storm ?

What if there was a REALLY BIG storm ... and you missed it ?? That's what happened to us ! Over on our little shore, we are a world away from the Valley ... or 10 minutes., whichever ! Many times in the winter , we hear all the cancellations because of snow. We look out the window ... "Whaaat ? There's no snow !!" We leave the house, turn the corner ... SNOW !!! So we are never really sure what lies beyond the curve of the road. So imagine our surprise this morning !! We had no power but we also had no power the night before. (go figure !) There were some gusty winds and flashes of lightening but really ... the house didn't shake, the windows didn't rattle, nothing serious. The gargoyles were still sitting on the step. Even the plant pots and other things not gathered up yet were all where we left them. It was far less the the regular nor'easters that we get all winter. So we were shocked to hear of all the trees down, wires fallen, trucks blown over ... wow. We navigated the mountain road, avoiding the LARGE trees and wires down, we looked in amazement at all the toppled signs and trees. Feed Man's sign was ripped from the building and the steel was peeling off the roof ... Crazy ! It must have been quite a night in the Annapolis Valley !
Here's a little note ... Sunday DECEMBER 12... picked tiny red cabbages from my garden in a t-shirt, the brussel sprouts are still growing. Monday DECEMBER 13 ...we let the fire burn out in the furnace in the a.m. ...midnight ...17 degrees. Can you believe it ???

CHOMP chomp CHOMP

Hi !! Did you forget about me ... or think that I forgot about you ??! NEVER !! I have been super busy and also had the flu followed by a 25 day cold. It seems to really like me - won't leave me. Ah, but someday, it will tire of me .
This post is all about ... er ... eating and taking bites. Shocking that I would be so keen on such a topic ... I hear you snickering ... And its also a bit strange as a lot of it was almost a month ago but it seemed pretty great at the time. And still does !
One Saturday after work, we set out for lunch. We ended up - after a long story that I will spare you - at the Tin Pan in Port Williams. Cool place. The tables are covered in hundreds of business cards, tickets, and bits of odd money. Lots to keep you exploring while you wait. the wait was long but WORTH IT !! We had a breakfast and oh my. Buttery scrambled eggs - and I mean scrambled, not overcooked and then chopped up ...a pet peeve of mine ... The sausage were crispy, the bacon was just plain darn bacony, and the ham ... well I gave that to Charlie. (My desire to be Jewish has made me really not like ham ...) But the toast ... I don't really like toast. But this ! Well, it was thick slabs of fluffy crispy buttery goodness. Pillowy really. Yes, pillowy. You could sleep on it ... except you'd have butter in your hair ... And it came with 3 pots of HOMEMADE jam !! Strawberry, raspberry and spiced apple. HOMEMADE !!! Ahhh my.

And see that glass at the far right ? Charlie ordered that ... and I coveted it. It was a milkshake that came in a tall-filled-to-the-top glass and the metal container too and it was ... CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER. I have never tasted anything like it. It is incredible. ... leave me with my thoughts for a second ..
Ah, okay. Then we went away the next day too. And , again, we ate. We really are good at that ... sadly. But this time it was German. It was AWESOME. Schnitzel so crispy, spaetzle, even the veggies on the side were amazing. Oh so good. I totally recommend a stop here if you are on the way from Lunenburg to Mahone Bay.

Then we went on to Peggy's Cove.

I had never been before ! I always thought, "I have beautiful rocky shores and a lighthouse right outside my front door. I don't need Peggy's cove". Okay... here's the eating part ... I EAT MY WORDS !!!! It is MAGNIFICENT !!! WOW !!! A glorious day !

And since then ... what have we done ? Worked , played, slept a tiny bit , played and worked some more. We have been to a sweet boy's birthday party, had a Nerf war, had our Friday night dates, been to the city, made hundreds of kits for work, picked loads of tomatoes, laughed a lot. Pretty much good.
Now I am taking a bite out of fall. I had decided last year that I was NOT having our annual pumpkin party. Too much work. Then I had family talk about how they were looking forward to it. Some already had pumpkin plans. So I waffled and debated and waffled some more. And at the last minute, I changed my mind and said "okay" . But not before I made some big changes. I had to cut it down. It was so big last year and just too much. I didn't even have a chance to have fun !! So I had to cut the list back to family and family friends as well as the folks who have come from the very beginning ... and I am really sorry that some will be left out but I just couldn't do that again. Bigger isn't always better. Back to basics !! So I have just finished making 8 big batches of chili and soup comes later this week. We'll eat well anyway!!
So, the Purolator lady just brought me a big box ... I must go take a look and start in on it . Have a great one !!!
CHOMP CHOMP !!