Thursday, May 31, 2007

Google Says Leslie Needs....

1. to be dealt with...(and I say severely! Ha!)
2. to bare a little more...(and I say bare more what?)
3. needs a player...(and I say that I don't know what to say about that)
4. to stop fancying herself...(and I say Amen)
5. to find a place in Paula's life...(and I say Who is Paula?)
6. to complete 30 credit hours...(and I say I didn't even know I was in school, which explains my grades!)


And yes, before you ask, Dilling=Leslie...somehow. In my world, anyway. And Google gave my nothing about Dilling's needs. Go figure.

I do know, and apparently Google does not, that Leslie needs to go home...sigh.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

tricks of the english language.....

I went to Capital High School...my mom lives on Capital Mall Drive although Capital Mall does not exist anymore...I don't recall what the new(ish) name is. Northridge Mall? Northfield Mall? There are no fields or ridges up there. It will always be Capital Mall to me. I imprinted that, I guess. But here's the thing.... ...it just doesn't seem spelled right to me. I guess that it is spelled correctly. It still bugs me for some reason. Capitol. Capital. Capitol. Capital. I know. It's random. It makes no sense. It never has. My life is full of these idiosyncracies, though. Like when I have to clean up the table in a restaurant after eating, even though I know they will come clean the table as soon as we leave...or how I cannot let anyone in a house read a new book before I do....or how, er, nevermind...you get the point, right?
Well, that's about it. I got visiting to do. Just wanted to let you know that I was still alive and kicking.
Also? There is a Capitol Drive downtown...it runs past the Capitol Buildings of this Capital City.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

thanks everyone!

First Email from Michael: Hey Darlin' As I write this at 7AM there are four fire trucks and fireman up a ladder in the alley putting hoses into the wall at 144 Victoria. There is some excitement now with an ambulance in front of our house.....back with more news Email from Emily: michael stopped by today and told me what happened to the store! i'm going to swing over there today and snap a couple photos for you, i'll email them later! miss you!
Email from Erin: knock on the door this am at 6. it was Kevin. while I didn't get the whole story-it looks like the Spanglish may have had a fire. haven't checked it out yet but something must have happened. there were several fire trucks ambulance and police. i'm sure Michael knows and has reported it to you. hope your visiting goes well. duke misses his girlfriend(eem-er).
Another Email from Michael: (he had been working in the yard and had the following experience).... and in the last half hour 4 cars have pulled up and looked a the store and proclaimed, "holy shit! it burned down. now where do I go?" most headed down Victoria. in the last 3 hours , I'd say about 8 visits....

Seems, in fact, I do have photos for the Blahg! Thanks, everyone for the photos, the well wishes, the congratulations and more.
Can't wait to see it for myself, though.

Friday, May 25, 2007

I miss all the fun!!!

Rumour has it...and I must rely on rumour right now since I can't see it....that a certain building housing a certain store and certain apartments was burning this morning....
didn't burn to the ground or anything, but....still.....Hydro came and disconnected power lines, the siding is removed in some places...........
aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
I should have left the camera at home...

Thursday, May 24, 2007

And the batteries to the mp3 player were dead...

Driving Interstate 5 alone on a trip you are not especially prepared for is sort of like having to drive yourself to hell...in your own handbasket.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Two Steps Back....

The morning of the Empire Days Parade broke, grey and cold....after a week of sunny, warm weather, I am sure it might have been a disappointment for some. I found it fitting. Hoorah...clean up the South End for one day...and then let it rain on down. I had spent a fairly sleepless night watching out the window while the same six vehicles trolled for hookers up and down this very same road. The day before, there was a person passed out on drugs on the street while someone else(neighbour beware!) asking passers-by if they "needed anything."
During the parade line up, this white van cruised around picking up stray crackheads and hookers....One of our new regulars is seen here getting in. I assume the driver is offering a warm breakfast to keep them off our street for a couple of hours. So, hey, City, or Salvation Army, or Samaritan House, THANKS EVER SO for helping everyone buy into the fact that nothing bad ever happens on these streets.
And? Mayor and Council decided to line up closer to town this year...I wonder if they were a wee bit worried about coming up here and meeting with us this year. Last year they were just out front. This year, even after the hooker and crackhead cleanup, they decided they just didn't need to put in an appearance down here. Go figure.
So, despite the weather and the disappointment of not being able to speak to mayor and council(I really did want to thank them face to face for the Nuisance Property vote, I did), we set up on the front porch, wrapped in blankets to watch the line up and the start of the parade.


Balloon Man won a blue ribbon for something. It should have been for standing around in Birkenstocks during the weather(May long weekend? Hello? It's gonna get cold and miserable SOMETIME!) while waiting for the parade to start.


Line up to the right of us....and somehow, I lost the photo for the line up to the left of us and I won't load it now because it will be out of order.....sorry.





There were several Thunderbirds on parade.....our favourite was this pink one so that's the photo you get....




Our friend's son is a Cadet, and heading off to march in the parade here, on a grey and dismal afternoon in south Nanaimo.




The giant Blue Brothers Band sounding FANTASTIC playing "Jesus is Just Alright" by the Doobie Brothers....I LOVE the Doobie Brothers. I do.
And today, as I drove by one of those "Uninhabitable" properties owned by the same landlord as the one across the street, I saw a single cop car there...and about 15 crackheads. Seems they are inhabiting, despite the ruling. Later, as I drove by again, cop was gone, crackheads everywhere, front door open.
Two doors down from me, someone is dealing.
Two Steps Backward.
I am so tired.







Friday, May 18, 2007

One Step Forward

There has been some good neighbourhood news, as you may remember... one landlord's property has been pronounced a Nuisance Property. What you may not know, is that soon after, two more of this same landlord's properties(also crackhouses) were "condemned" as Uninhabitable. What this means is that it hits his pocketbook...which is exactly where it's gonna hurt him...and possibly help us. So I would sincerely like to thank the city for those steps forward...baby steps, though they may be.
There was also a meeting with the parks department to discuss the future of Nob Hill Park, our neighbourhood park. Looks like there may be some new toys in the future, but no doggie poo bags. I guess that it is alright to be a crackhead shooting up or smoking up in the park, sleeping in the park, pissing and pooing in the park, but dog owners beware! There will be no poo bags provided AND once the new wood chips go in, Animal Control may come give you a ticket if your dog is near the woodchips around the toys..... And the Band played on...be sure to take a walk in our park, picnic, enjoy the oaks, the rocks, the ravens, the view. Take it back. It is ours, ya know?

And yet.....I still harbour some grudges....

can you tell?


Despite the Nuisance Property statement, there is still too much sh....er, stuff going on around here. The drug problem for a town this size is ASTRONOMICAL. And the police force? Undermanned. Tragically.

I am sick to death of pulling back my curtains to watch another hooker work my street. For the love of God, Michael's mom was here. This is a residential neighbourhood. Sure, maybe not the richest, but RESIDENTIAL all the same. How about opening up some city owned property for hookers to work on? Honestly. Is it really that much to ask?




And? This gal is both "working" and dealing....just before this photo, an undercover cop was here in an unmarked car, talking to them.....why did he leave? Just PLEASE sit there and watch them for FIVE MINUTES!!!!!!! You have to know what they are up to....REALLY YOU DO! I don't want this in front of my house. I do pay taxes, you know. Also? This house would be worth AT LEAST $100,000 dollars more ANYWHERE else in town. At least. Do you get it, City? You are losing money, the all-precious, the most important thing you think of...
revenue.





You are losing it to crackdealers and we are losing sleep, a sense of well-being and probably precious years off our lives. ARGH. The frustration is unimaginable.
The City is here daily this week, cleaning up for the Empire Days Parade on Sunday. It may be the only day of the year that the Council actually SEES the southend...and it's all cleaned up for them, sterilized....go figure. The vacant lots have had the weeds cut, the streets will be cleaned, the hookers and drug dealers moved on for the day, the litter patroled....the homeless moved somewhere, the crackheads contained. IT WON'T BE REAL!!!!!
Like I said, I truly thank them for the baby steps....but there is so very far to go....and we would like to be able to imagine the day that the rest of the city embraces the South End for what it really is... the true history of Nanaimo, the heart that once beat for this town.
Okay, that's it. Hadn't ranted in a while...so you had to know it was coming, right???? Ahhhhhh. Whew. Thanks for listening.
















Wednesday, May 16, 2007

busy busy

catch up tomorrow....

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Sechelt

I am so far behind in posting...it is so busy here in the neighbourhood, and my recent travels, and the great dog walks and fantastic weather, Michael's 40th b'day, Michael's mom's visit(still here)....May is always a very busy time for us...but, let's go back to Sechelt for a quick recap...and then I will try to catch up in the next few days in some kind of coherent order.
I love Sechelt. Have I mentioned this before? I love the time spent there with Emily, Aethan and Barb. The feel of the beach, the town, my friends, the space...the very air I breathe there is something special.
The beaches are a place of wild abandon.....
...and the tenderest of discoveries....
followed by quiet moments with friends in a little cabin surrounded by a garden of magic and stuffed to the gills inside with love.


The flight over is always a thrill. I don't like planes, but something about climbing aboard a float plane makes me shiver in a good way...




Though new rules make it a wee bit less enjoyable for some passengers....




And this is the beach road I want to live on...




If you click on the photo to make it bigger, you will see where the house is I want. A sweet little a-frame tucked into the trees, but with a view of the water...and a little deck built out over the beach for morning coffees and evening coctails...
Sigh.
Okay, gotta go. Still have company and a sunny day. Talk to you all later.







Saturday, May 12, 2007

are you paying attention?

Suprise! Here we are! I am caught up in everyone showing their true selves.... this is nearly both of us. Hope you are all well. It's Spring!!! It really, really IS spring! I must have Fever or something.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

hiya!

Well, Michael's mother arrives tomorrow for a week...and Michael turns 40 this week, too. Busy, busy. I have been cleaning like a mad fiend. And didn't get to post about Sechelt.
I may not post this week. No family, his or mine, know about Nanaimo Blahg as we don't want people to worry about us...well, we don't want family to worry about us! Or the neighbourhood! I hope it's a quiet week around here while we have a visitor...especially Michael's mom! If I get a chance, I will post. Until then...take care, everyone.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

for Barb

When I send you photos, they seem to be unreadable so I thought if I blogged them, you could download them. There are more, with Aethen, but they will have to wait....Maybe I can send you a disc with lots more photos. This is Casper. He is greenwellies rescued love. We have rescued pets in common. And her daughter, Emily. ..and a love of beach glass and the ability to walk with our eyes focused on the pounding point of where the surf meets the sand.
Rescue a pet today. Every puppy will find a home. It's the older dogs that are in need. Really. Desperate need.

Full of love and mellowed of the problems of puppyhood....



or kittenhood......this is Tai...or Ty...or Ti...I never thought to ask until I was just now writing this. I do so love an orange tabby, though. Another Barb rescue. I LOVE his love bites. Is that wrong of me?



Rescue love on a full-size bed.


Peas in a pod....












and the third wheel...she SO loved that KIT-ton....so, tomorrow? more Sechelt stuff...cuz I so LOVE the place. I will show you where I want to live out the rest of my days....stay tuned!





Sunday, May 06, 2007

One year and one day ago

I initiated my blog....I wasn't sure where it was going and I sure as hell was unprepared for the response.
I made it to talk to a friend who had moved away. She's back now...I can walk around the corner and see her...but the blog goes on...why? Because I like you...M-O-U-S-E....
I have found friends from...well, from everywhere. I even get to meet some of you!!! Or have met some of you....at least a phone call or snail mail or something else....what a fantstic time I have had. I love you all. Really, I do.
Imagine when, not once, but twice, I received such an honor.... thinking-blogger (sorry, I can't figure out the picture link)...most of the time I just feel I am ranting, or worse yet, reaching, for something to talk about. It's the dog photos, isn't it?!?
So, I have 5 nominations...some of which have been nominated before. Is that cheating? There are just so few that I KNOW are keeping up with me. They have to know to read to know they're nominated, right? Not that it matters....I read them because THEY ROCK!!!! Really.
There's Cara, whose art and honesty is amazing...who's Newfoundland accent is almost unitelligible in writing but whose speech is refined and sweet....check her out. Check out her links. Say a prayer for Spazzz for her... she is missing one great kitty right now.
hickchic is number two....she is an amazing writer. Believe me. Wait for one or the other or her novels to come out. Better yet, write to a publisher and get her published! You will laugh. You will cry. You will feel in touch with a different power. You will remember what every era of your life felt like, including those you have never experienced!
greenwellies is number three....She is amazing. She touches every soft emotion you have. Honest. Life on the beach never sounded so good. Never has ever anyone sounded so proud of her life, her family, her friends. I am proud to be one of them...do you know which one?
advicefromasinglegirl makes me laugh out loud. Loudly...and all by myself.
randommeandstuff makes a 40 year old remember exactly what it feels like to be a freshman in college. What more could you ask for? Really?


There are more that I read... you know who you are...I wish I could nominate everyone. Some I read every day, feeling something wrong with my world if I don't check in. Look at my links.
There are others that I don't comment on...I should link them, I guess, but with all their comments they just look so busy.
thepioneerwoman
dadgonemad
foodiefarmgirljust to name a few...
and it's Sunday night, time for bed, busy week, tired....
talk more tomorrow?
Love to you all.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

tourist in my own backyard

I was gone a few days....who knows where I was?Do you recognize this?
More to come...gotta unpack and catch up with the rest of you....