It's an odd world

What an extraordinary world we live in. There are, as they say, the "haves" and the "have-nots". This is some information on the "haves",

There is so much injustice and poverty in the world, that now some of the uber-rich feel "guilty" for displaying their wealth, yet they still have an innate need to spend. So now there is something called "stealth weath", hidden wealth in other words. These people buy these things and derive pleasure in just knowing that they have it on them. Example. Pearl earrings covered in rubber so that they look like cheap plastic beads, but the pearls are worth $900 each. The rubber can be peeled off if the wearer suddenly feels the need to look wealthy. A "plain" gold band, until you take it off and look inside where you will see inset diamonds...hidden from the outside. A dime (yes, a 10 cent piece) made of platinum, the owner can jingle his change, it looks like 30 or 40 cents, but in reality it's worth thousands.

And listen to this and then tell me that there isn't something really wrong with our world. Ingestible (as in edible) silver leaf pellets which makes your feces sparkle and glitter before they are flushed away. Try to explain THAT to an inner city child or an orphan in Darfur.

I always thought that my favorite flowers were carnations. They last a long while, they have that frilly and feminine look to them and they have that wonderful sort of cinnamon smell. Plus, you can put their stems in food colouring, and a few days later, like magic, you have a new coloured flower! I also have always known that my favorite colour is yellow. So where is this going? Well, yesterday, while coming into Victoria via the Airporter bus I saw a field full of daffodils and a sign: "Daffodil Pickers Wanted". I instantly thought 2 things, 1) How could I not realize that DAFFODILS are my favorite flower? How could I not?? That yellow colour, that little trumpet, the short little season that you can have them? I guess the season is the reason, they are here for such a short time that you sort of forget about them. Who ever says things like: "Oh, my sweet hubby/boyfriend/lover bought me a gorgeous bouquet of daffodils" ? Who ever breaths deeply and says: "Wow, smell that aroma, doesn't it remind you of daffodils?" Poor daffodils.

The seconds thing that I thought was: "What a great sign: Daffodil pickers wanted." Where else would you see a sign like that? It makes the job sound so appealing, can you imagine being in a field of daffodills and being PAID to pick them? Now, realistically it's probably a crummy job, your knees and back would ache, there is probably sap in the stems that smells like dandilion sap (but I love dandilions too) and may even have little bugs and crawly things that you have to shake out, not to mention bee's. But I love the idea of picking daffs for a living...the thought of wandering though a field of yellow makes me smile.

I'd post a picture of a daffodil, but I am using my Dad's Apple computer and I can't even figure out how to change the colour...I was going to post this in yellow.

I just changed over from the "old" blogger to the "new", and as most of you know, I am not a techno-whiz, not even in your WILDEST dreams. "They" (you know, the little people who live inside my computer) promised me that everything about my blog would be the same (so...then why change it?) and the first place it took me was here, to "new post"...so I have written this and will now go to my blog and (Hopefully) see not only this, but all my other stuff as well. (crosses fingers and prays to the Techno-god.. )

Stuff. Boy, I have been thinking about "stuff" lately. So much so that I even found George Carlin's "Stuff" routine on U-tube and watched it (OMG, he is as funny as ever...)
My friends Nicole, Chad and Abigail are moving to Africa for a year (OK, don't let me get started on that subject...the green eyed monster rears her head a little bit)
Anyhow, they have to rid themselves of lots of stuff, and I have been looking at my life and thinking that I should do the same. Not because I am moving to Africa (or anywhere else for that matter) but I have just SO MUCH STUFF. But, you know, really, when is stuff "junk" and when is stuff "really good stuff"? Take these books for example. They are old, and not in good enough shape to be worth anything, and it would be silly to take them anywhere (like Africa) but I could never get rid of them, they have been in my life for as long as I can remember. I mean that quite literally.Some of them (Dotty Dimples Flyaway) were my grandmothers when she was a little girl. Some of the others were bought by my mom before she was married. They have that old book smell that only a booklover will appreciate and the flyleafs are beautiful art in themselves...swirls of colour on linen paper. The books are bound in embossed leather and some are handstitched and dated in the 1800's. Junk? Yeah, they are. But to me? As the commercial says, priceless.
I admire my friends so much for being able to clean out their lives and start this great adventure, but you know what? I'm sure glad I have grown kids because if I ever decide to move away for a period of time, I'm afraid that they will inheirit all my "stuff."
 

Opossums

I'm not sure if you can read this, so I'll write the words below, but I"ve gotta tell ya, a friend sent me this card and maybe it was giddiness from being hungry, but I thought it was the funniest thing I've seen in ages!

When confronted by an aggressor, opossums will lie motionless and appear dead until the danger passes.

Her: "...so my mother will be staying with us for the week and...oh for crying out loud Clarence! Stop that!!"
 

Anna Nicole

So who is tired of Anna Nicole Smith? To be honest, I find the whole thing somewhat fascinating and even though it's such a worn out statement by now, she really is this generation's Marilyn Monroe. Larger than life, even in death.

I find the fighting over her body to be revolting, and my opinion is: Give her to Howard, she obviously loved him, and let him bury her next to her son. Watching all those interviews with her after her boy had died was just heartbreaking and I think she lost a lot of desire to live after he died.

Which brings me to another point. Not only the importance of a will, but the updating of it after any sort of change in your life. How many of you out there (especially you with babies and children?) have wills? Not just a legal guardian for your children, but an actual updated will? Life Insurance?

Many people wrongly assume that if you die without a will, "everything" will go to your spouse. Not true. Every province has different rules about what happens if you die intestate (without a will) but there are 5 major drawbacks to anyone no matter where you live.

1.Provincial law will dictate who gets what. It is NOT always the spouse.
2.You will pay more tax when you die without a will. Why give the government any extra?
3. Delays are a given, without a doubt. An administrator for your estate will be appointed and this all takes time. Do you have a car payment or house payment to make? Are all your accounts joint? They might be frozen...and a bank will only wait so long for a payment.
4.Extra costs are guaranteed. Amongst other things, any money owing to a minor must be paid into court (set aside in a trust) and that costs.
5. The Big One: A judge will decide who the guardian of your child will be. Without a valid will, you forfeit the right to decide who will raise your children.

Many people think: "Oh well, my parents will raise the kids." but what if his parents want the kids as well as yours? What if the judge decides that ALL your parents are too old/too sick/too poor?

GET A WILL. You don't need an expensive lawyer, go to a Notary Public, or even get one of those pre-printed ones and fill it out and just have it notarized.

You know, there are so many little things that you never think of. When we had our wills done, quite a few years ago, we wanted to leave it all to the kids. How simple. Then the notary asked us: "What if one of your boys gets married and then you die...and then he dies. Do you want this wife to have half of everything you own? What if she has kids from a prior relationship. Do you want them to have half? What if you're in an accident and you are both in a coma? Who is going to pay your bills? Who is going to decide if the house should be sold? So many choices to make. Does the executor know your wishes? Who IS the executor? Does he/she get expenses?

Do you know if your spouse wants to be cremated or buried? Are you married? What do his/her parents want? Maybe they are hugely "anti-cremation" and will argue with you over what happens to the remains. What about life support? Remember Terry Schiavo, and the legal fight that happened there?

I'm sure that Anna Nicole never dreamed that her body would lie in a cold room, decaying, while people fought over who should have it. How sad. I mean, really, how incredibly tragic. And a simple will (in her case just an update) would have saved so much trouble.

So. Discuss it tonight and make a plan to get a will.

So what happens, scientifically that is, to our bodies over the winter? Does the cold weather cause cells to expand? I don't quite understand it, all I know is that some strange phenomena has caused a great many of my cells to expand, or maybe multiply and the result is that some of my jeans don't fit anymore. Most odd.

Do any of you have any answers to this? Does it happen to you too?

My name is Gypsy....and I'm a sock-aholic. 

I look all goofy-eyed here, but it's a good picture of Dad. It's his 79th birthday on Valentine's Day. 

Me and my Dad

I will be heading off to visit my Dad in the next few days, this picture was taken the last time I was there.  

Hey! She's sleeping....no pictures! 

"Geeez, here we go again." 

"I don't WANT to put my ears up and look cheerful....just take the picture already!" 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! 

How to catch an elk.

Steven has been doing some volunteer work with the Ministry of Environment this past month or so. It's a very interesting project, and in a nutshell what they are doing are catching and collaring female elk. Apparently there is some concern that the elk are living too close to town, and having their young here, and thus the young are not learning to migrate. So the Ministry has decided to collar approximately 80 female elk with GPS collars and then track their movement for the next 2 years. They set up traps in various areas and bait them with alfalpha and the elk wander in and can't get out. Then fellows then "shoo" the elk further into the trap into a narrow area where they (the elk) can't move, then they are blindfolded to keep them calm, a blood sample is taken and a collar is slipped on. The elk are then set free. The whole procedure takes minutes and is done in silence so as to not frighten the animal. It used to be that the animals were tranquilized, but that is really hard on the animal, you never really know how much to give them and they often hurt themself trying to stumble away. This way is quick and painless, plus the animals get a good dinner of alfalpha as well! The traps are checked every morning so that they are not in there for more than 24 hours. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 females, sometimes there are a few bulls as well (they are just sent on their way...no "guys" allowed in this project!) and sometimes there are as many as 20 deer trying to eat the good stuff!
 

The minute the blindfold is on they calm right down. Until it's over their eyes they are terrified amd quite in a state of panic, but the moment they can't see you, they relax. 

Steven and a cow elk. I shouldn't laugh, but this picture just cracks me up. The elk is just so calm and silly looking with that goofy blindfold on.  

The collar is slipped on over the blindfold and then the gates are opened and they take off like a shot! 

The bulls aren't collared, they are just let loose and off they run!! 

Collared and running back to freedom. 

How to beat those Feb Blah's

Yes, I baked cookies for the dog. A very simple recipe; flour, rolled oats, peanuts, a banana, applesauce. Bake a 350 for 15 minutes. I ate one myself, it was bland and tasteless, but Gypsy seems to like them!

Febuary Blahs.

It's that time of year for the Febuary Blah's. Nothing to write about, no news, nothing to report.

It's melting and slushy and messy outside one minute and then it snows and freezes and the roads are filled with ruts. Ot potholes. Or both. Driving is a hazard for the anyone with back problems. It's rainy and foggy and gloomy. Even the deer are showing their displeasure by pooping all over my yard, as if it's my fault that there is nothing to eat (now that they have demolished my little shrubs)

I'll see if I can find some pictures to post to brighten up the rest of this month.