Happy Day!

I think today is going to be great!

I don't have another recipe to post. Hey..I just did the tea biscuits! But, let me explain...

Good Thing #1 - I found a home for my baked goods.

When I was in Toronto, I would bake all the time and bring the goodies in to work for my coworkers. Now that I am in BC and telecommuting...wow that's the first time I've actually said that...usually I just say I work in Toronto.  What a great word that is, everything you need to know all rolled up in one little package...wait, haha, I digress! Now that I am telecommuting, I have no one really to give my baked goods to. I bring some to my mom, but she has favourites she wants me to make, so I don't get to do my own thing as much...but I've fixed that!

My dad lived and died in this area. While he was alive he worked for the same company for almost as long as I can remember.  His boss is a very nice man and while I haven't spoken to him often over the years, he still knows who I am (he knows my sister a lot better...but she has lived here off and on over the years), so... I went to see him.

I was nervous and after I left the hardware store, I wasn't sure I wanted to just pop in across the street. I had that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach when I push myself to interact with people I don't know well or when I'm in a confrontational situation.  It all sounds easy and I know what I want to say beforehand, but it doesn't come out like that. Usually I sound like a babbling idiot. BUT...I did it. I had to, like jumping out of the white water rafting boat into the water...no regrets and what if's and might-have-beens.

We talked for a few minutes and did the normal "How are you" meeting things and then discussed a bit about Table Saws. And then I asked if he could help me with something...before he could get all wary (I would be - people who drop in only to ask for things SUCK) .. I asked him if I could drop off baking when I make it.  He smiled, I smiled, and the deal was struck! RELIEF! I still babbled, but I got the heck out of there while I still had some dignity :)  I kindly left a loaf of yummy Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake to truly seal the deal :) Yay! I win! Hahah.

Good Thing #2 -  I get my truck back today. It got a wee bit of scuff on the front bumper at the Uhual place in Toronto. It wasn't me! I know where the front bumper of my truck is. It was a guy who works there...I just didn't notice until I was halfway to BC...and really, it wasn't that bad, so it's not worth the fight.  So...back here...I have a friend close by that I've known for years...and he happens to be an auto-body painter with his own company. Yay! I left my truck with him on the weekend and it's ready today!  Yay!  I miss her :)

Good Thing #3 - My other sis (Sis #1) will be in town today, so I'll get to see her.  I saw her a few weeks ago when me and sis #2 went to visit her and pick up some furniture :) Yay!

Good Thing #4 - I'm going to buy a mitre saw (on sale). I will be able to cut wood in a straight line. Yay, Yay, and more Yay!!

What a great great day!  Hope you all are enjoying yours!

Arrived alive

It was a quick trip across Canada. We left Toronto, Ontario sometime around 9:30 am PST on June 21st (Saturday) and kept driving until we hit our destination in southern British Columbia around 5:30 am PST on June 24th (Tuesday).

Spidey and Yun relaxing in Scarborough, Ontario before the trip.

My poor little truck was jam-packed, behind the seats and in the box! Sleeping was NOT easy! We couldn't slide the seats back or tilt the seatbacks back very much because my TV was back there along with pillows and odd and ends.  Along the TransCanada highway there are pullouts all over the place, and in the middle of the night, you will no doubt find long haul truckers taking a nap too. The stops are noisy affairs with the sounds of traffic and headlights make sleeping hard - but we did it!

We did a few other stops too, since we needed to stretch our legs and also wanted to get a Geocache in each province. I had a Spidey and Yunshoof (owl) from work that joined us on our adventures ...sorry, us meaning my sister and I.

If anyone is driving the Transcanada, here are a few hints

1. Winnipeg SUCKS for driving through at night. The bypass is a mess of construction. I highly recommend driving through it in the daylight! There are so many pilons and reflectors, turns, and signage that it hurts the eyes - not to mention traffic flies through there. It was the only time I felt worried driving on the whole trip! Trying to find the right way to go was difficult.
2. There are very few rest stops in Manitoba on the TransCanada. It could be because it is only aprox 500 km across. If you are tired, there is a great rest area at the Ontario/Manitoba border, a rest area in the middle (near Sutton I believe), and another at the Manitoba/Sask border.  These are going west, not sure what is on the 'going east' side.
3. Wawa, Ontario...for some reason the mileage signs always indicate the town was always 'about an hour away' but it took forever to get there!
4. Ontario takes FOREVER to get through, but once you are through that, it's a fast haul across the prairies until you hit the BC mountains. (Maybe they are alberta mountains, but I'm from BC originally, so I'm claiming ownership for my province :)
5. A lot of the corners from Wawa to Thunderbay, Ontario do not seem to have the right slope or bank to them, they feel 'flat', so it's like you are being pulled outwards when taking them. It was a bit nerve racking at first.

Spidey and Yun checking out the moose in MooseJaw, Sask.

Being uprooted and in a new place is a feeling I'm used to. Being uprooted, in a new place, but not in a place of my own is something else entirely.

Yes, I'm with family, but that isn't the same as having the complete privacy of my own place and doing my own thing. Like walking from the bathroom to the bedroom completely nekkid after taking a shower!

We'll see how things go.  Work is nice enough to let me work from BC, so at least I have $ coming in.