Sunday Night Catch Up

I feel like it has been a whirlwind two or three weeks. So here's what's been occupying my time and energy lately.

We were down one vehicle due to an unfortunate accident in a parking lot. (The "kids' car" got badly damaged while it was parked in a highschool parking lot - the insurance company declared it a write off, so it got taken away and we were paid what the car was "worth" which wasn't a whole lot). We decided to let the kids (and I say kids, but they are 17 and 21) use my vehicle which I've been driving forever and is still a reliable workhorse of a vehicle, and I would get something different and "new".

New doesn't mean new. New means different. We like other people to experience depreciation of brand new vehicles. I also prefer someone else to put the first scratch in the car, so it doesn't have to be me. For three (?) weekends now, my husband and I have been driving around going to various car dealerships looking for the right car for me. I like SUVs. We have brutal winters here and I like to be up off the road with four wheel drive below me. I wanted a slightly smaller SUV than I've been driving and was partial to Kia Sportage, or Kia Sorento. We just couldn't find the right combination of all wheel drive, the correct colour, heated seats (a deal breaker for me!) and price.

Again, I remind you, we do not live in a city where there are great numbers of car dealerships to search through. We drove a lot! In one way, it was kind of nice, just the husband and I. We'd eat out, chat a lot, look at cars, test drive some, it was kind of like dating, except more stressful because I really needed to get a new vehicle!! It has been exhausting for him, as he's been dealing with his own health problems, but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, finally, on Saturday, we drove to yet another town (maybe an hour and a bit away) because I had found a couple of vehicles on the website of a Toyota dealership that looked promising. I am now the proud owner of a Toyota Rav 4 that I will be picking up this Thursday (more driving). I'm very happy. It is a "limited" which means all the bells and whistles (leather seats, yay!!) and it was still in our price range. We do not spend big money on our vehicles but we have yet to buy a "lemon".

As well, I have  been working Monday to Friday as always with extra work commitments. I've had a long overdue dentist appointment and now have lovely clean teeth with no cavities. I FINALLY cleaned up my little vegetable garden and packed away stakes and tomato cages and dug out the last of the potatoes and thrown bean plants into the compost. I cut back more perennials and cleaned out the last pots and window boxes of their faded summer flowers. One cat has been treated for worms and probably fleas and I have to remember to take care of the other cat. That's the dilemma with cats who go outdoors. They hunt and get parasites, you treat them for said parasites, then they go out and hunt some more. Yechk!!

When I was cleaning out my garden, I discovered two lovely not-too-big zucchini, so I made a batch of my regular chocolate chip zucchini muffins for this week's lunches and snacks. I also made a ham for supper. We haven't had ham for quite some time and I'm planning on making split pea and ham soup with some of the leftovers. It's becoming home made soup time!

We have been very fortunate and have not had hard frosts or snow yet. Hallowe'en is in two days and there have been Hallowe'ens of the past that have been cold, snowy, rainy, mild, windy, any combination of those... We don't get a ton of trick or treaters, but some years we get a fair amount, especially if the weather isn't horrible, so I purchased some treats to be ready.

People at work dress up for Hallowe'en and I'm a bit of a straight laced party pooper, but this year I decided , why not? So I found a costume at Value Village which was not some kind of suggestive sexy vampire get up (why are they all like that???) and instead I'm going to be a giant banana (and no that wasn't meant to be suggestive in any way).

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated my mother-in-law's eightieth birthday. We took her out to dinner at a nice place in a nearby town and then brought her back home for cake. She is in a retirement home due to her dementia, but she's very healthy otherwise. Generally she is in good spirits, but maintains that people have been in her room and moved things around. This is a common theme. She wouldn't remember if she had put an item in a different spot, or even what she had in her room, so it might just be easier to believe that others are doing things. Being around someone with virtually no short term memory is a very good reminder to live your life NOW, not put things off, and not worry about the little things.

I've been watching Outlander on Sundays (Diana Gabaldon's novel). I've read her whole series and enjoy the tv shows, but some are quite borderline pornographic in spots and I always have the remote in my hand ready to switch to something else if my son should walk into the room. Not that I think he doesn't already know the whys and whereabouts of human sexuality, but more that he should say something along the lines of, "Mom!! What are you watching?!?!"

Well, there you have it. There's the Sunday night review. Have a great week, everyone.