ICE CREAM!!!!

So I was at the mall the other day (have I mentioned how much I hate going to the mall?). I was sitting down and a fellow in his 60's or so in a wheelchair with pretty clear cognitive deficits scooted by. I gave him a warm smile, just because he seemed to be a happy soul.  About 20 minutes later I saw him eating an ice cream cone. It was soft ice cream and he was really enjoying it. He even had a wee bit on the tip of his nose.

Fast forward another 20 minutes.  I'm back sitting in my original spot and he wheels up to me and says "I HAD AN ICE CREAM CONE!!!!!" I smiled and said "I saw that! I walked past when you were eating it and you looked like you were lovin' that ice cream cone."

"I WAS!!!" said he. "I LOVE ICE CREAM!!!!"  Now I was laughing.  His enthusiasm was completely contagious. I'm actually smiling as I type this, just remembering the encounter.  I said "Life is too short not to eat ice cream, isn't it?"

"YEAH!!!! I'm coming back tomorrow for MORE ice cream" he said.  

I've thought about him often since I saw him that day. There was just something really special about the complete joy he had in something as simple and wonderful as an ice cream cone.

I've been trying to be more 'mindful' as of late. I hate the buzz word but I like the concept. That moment with the Ice Cream Dude was a mindful moment. But it was also a lesson in trying to be happy about the little victories in this life.... like loving an ice cream cone SO MUCH that you don't even give a shit that there is a plop of it on the end of your nose.  

David

This guy.

David Yule. Husband of my best friend on this planet, my best friend of 30 years, Barb. I've blogged about her here before.

David Yule was a fucking force of nature. Most of the time he scared the hell out of me. He knew who he was. He had opinions and wasn't afraid to share them, often loudly. When he laughed, he had the most fabulous crinkles on his cheekbones and he laughed often.

He was larger than life. He worked hard, played hard and loved his family ferociously. He married Barb when she was 21 and OHMYGOD they look like babies in their wedding photo. He said things like "Ok. You were right... and I was that other thing."

This isn't the most articulate blog I've ever written, but I don't care. I'm rusty and getting back into it again and this one hurts so I'm just throwing words onto the page.

Barb and Dave were (are? I hate this) the best team I have ever seen. Was it perfect? God no. I remember one time when he made her mad and she drove to see me in Nakusp (a 3 hour drive) just to vent. She tells the story of when he tried to throw out the Disney videos she used to watch with their kids and she threw her wedding dress at him, saying "Here! Why don't you throw this away too?!!!"

But together they were magic. The were a team. They worked hard to move forward in the same direction, overcoming adversity and balancing one another. They loved each other like no other and created a life that was a solid foundation for their amazing kids and a safe and wonderful place for friends - their many, many friends from all over the world.

David worked in Russia and he loved it. Barb kept the home fires burning while he was away, working, driving kids to hockey and once again, they found a beautiful balance. He couldn't do what he did without her and he was her anchor. When he was home, they always found a way to squeeze everything out of their time together.

And now he's gone and it's left a hole that I can't describe. Barb without Dave? How is it even possible? But it is. It's real and it's stupid and it makes me want to scream because if there was ever a man who deserved a long life it was him.

But life goes on. The sun continues to rise and set, as unthinkable as that is after a tragic loss like this one. Barb has found a way to move forward because he would expect her to and he still finds ways to nudge her along as only he could.

Barb will be ok. Jacob and Sara will be ok. But the world is a bit dimmer and less interesting without him in it.

Ruby a.k.a. Stitch a.k.a. Satan

Readers, meet Ruby.  Ruby is the newest addition to the Barth/Conley/Gustafson tribe and she is adorable but very, very evil.  She is five months old and has lived at the Cranbrook SPCA since her birth which I think goes a long way to explaining her satanic ways.  When I met her for the first time, she scratched me and ran away.  She does that on a daily basis and also growls which led me to the conclusion that she wasn't actually a cat, she was an alien like on the cartoon "Lilo and Stitch".  Do you see the similarity?  Do you?  DO YOU?!!!!

Ruby is half manx which is a h-u-g-e part of her charm and I'm sure one of the few reasons that she hasn't been strangled yet.  Not quite manx but certainly not 'normal' (in oh, so many ways).  She has half a tail.  Half.  Have you ever seen anything quite like that before?  Ever?

Ruby was named after one of the characters in the television show 'Supernatural'.... a beautiful demon.  Appropriate somehow, no?  'Stitch' CERTAINLY would have worked well too but for now, she's our Ruby and we love her.

Now if only I can get her to stop taking her evil demon poops in my plants.... maybe I'll smite her.

Suze-isms

Yes, I've been away a long time.  Blah, blah, blah.... I apologize.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.... so sorry.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you all about the 'Custom Dictionary' on my BlackBerry.  I was looking through it the other night and had so much fun that I simply have to share it with y'all.  Now for those of you who are even less technologically inclined than I am (a rare beast you must be if you exist), a custom dictionary keeps a list of words that you use frequently that the existing dictionary on the BlackBerry doesn't recognize.  Here we go.

Abbotsford: Where Jim's parents live, folks who I absolutely ADORE.  Their home has become a refuge for me and I love them so much.

Absolution: Since when is that not a word???  Sheesh.  Apparently I must require it on a regular basis.

Advil:  Thank fuck for Advil.  You know those people who always say "Oh, I just HATE taking painkillers".  Yeah.  I'm not one of them.  I buy it in bulk at Costco.

Apologize:  Whatever.  My BlackBerry is set to UK English where they want me to use 'apologise' instead.  Looks dumb and reminds me of a former co-worker who really needed a head-squishing.

Asshat:  Bwah ha ha ha ha ha!!!!  Love that word.  Reminds me of Shannon, a former co-worker who I love and who is funny as fuck.  She introduced me to it.

Bitches:  Yay, Bitches!  Especially the Blind Bay variety.

Blech: Really, what other word can you use?  "Susan, would you like olives on your pizza?"  Blech.

Bwah:  As in "Bwah ha ha ha ha"!

Carmella:  Short for 'Carmella Soprano'.  My darling offspring believe that I have mafia-wife hair.  Hence the nickname.

Citran:  Apparently the dictionary recognized 'neo' which is best paired with 'citran'.  Please see 'Advil' above for opinions re: voluntary pain.

Clusterfuck: A word describing my life at least 3 times per week.  Plus, I just like any word I can pair with 'fuck'.  Yes, I'm a potty mouth.  So was Elizabeth Taylor.  What of it?

C*nt:  I really, really, REALLY want to type the entire word but I don't want to offend anyone although the mere suggestion of the word has likely already done the job.  People who know me well know that I love that word.  I refuse to let anyone make a word that describes a part of my body into something derogatory.  Reclaim that word, ladies.  Seriously.  It's ours.

Ding-ding:  A term of endearment, really.  If I haven't called you 'Ding-ding' at least once, I probably don't really like you all that much.  Just sayin'.

Donde:  As in "Donde Esta", Spanish for "Where is".  I use it all the time.  "Donde esta keys?!!!"  or even "Donde Esta Love?!!" if I feel that I'm not getting enough attention at any given time.  Hijacked this one from Seeso.

Fiestaware:  I heart Fiestaware.  I have no words.

Fishercat:  Dear God.  This is whole blogpost of it's own.  I'll be sure to make it my next one.... in another 7 or 8 months.  Thought I better say it because all of you were thinking it.  Haters.

Fuck:  Also - fucked, fucker, fuckers, fuckin', fucking, fuckity (as in 'what the fucikty fuck?!), motherfucker, motherfucking and last but not least, fucktard.  I'm seriously sorry if I've offended anyone here.  I was raised Catholic and was unable to use that word for the first 16 years of my life.  I have a lot of making up to do.

Helga:  Another nickname for my hair.  From my children.  They think I'm actually powerless and the only reason I have any ferocious-ness at all is because of the independent entity that resides atop my head.  Is my hair really that bad???

Hijinx:  Seriously!!!  Is there a better word in the English language?  Love getting up to all sorts o' hijinx on a regular basis.

Nyquil: Please see above definitions for 'Advil' and 'Neo Citran'.  If I had a triplicate prescription pad I'd be dangerous.

Ohmygod:  Much more effictive with no spacing.  Also, "omg" and "omgomgomgomg". 

Pooter:  Cutest word in the world for my downstairs girlie-bits.  'Pooterville' is also there for which I have no reasonable explanation.

Roundy: I like to put a 'y' on the end of many, many words.  It's cute when I do it, I swear to god.

Schmoosh:  Also, 'Schmooshy' and 'Schmooshing'.  A lovely way to describe cuddles.  I really do love schmooshing.

Wowza:  a way I express being speechless.  I am incapable of being speechless, therefore I needed to create a word that replaced speech-less-ish-ness.

Zilla:  Something I put on the end of a word to accentuate it.  How tired am I?  It's 2:58am.  Tired-zilla.

Rowan-ish-ness

Rowan.
Reluam (Pronounced 'Ra-loom' for some unknown reason).
Ra-loom-a-loo.
Ra-loomy.
Rowan the Dragon Mauler ('Reluam' is 'Mauler' backwards.  Don't ask.)

Rowan is lovely.  He came to visit the night before Connor's birthday 3 weeks ago and decided to stay. He needed a soft place to land.  We had an extra room.  Makes perfect sense, no?

Rowan is one of Connor's best friends.  He's a remarkable young man; President of the Youth Society, Honour Roll, Student Council, Saxophone Player (piano too) and is just really, really sweet.  He fits right in with us and already in this short amount of time, I can't imagine our family without him.  He thinks he may want to be a lawyer.  I think there's no doubt that he'll achieve whatever he puts his mind to.

Gigi now has yet another brother/quasi-brother (Connor, Jack, Bryce, Adam and now Rowan) and I really think she doesn't have a chance at dating until her mid 20's.  I now have someone who can reach for the r-e-a-l-l-y high things in the cupboards.  Connor and Jack have a built in xbox playing, D&D geeking, homework-doing brother/friend. 

We love our Ra-loom and we're so happy to have him here with us.  He's a bonus to our family and we're better because he's in it.

   Rowan looking dapper and happy.

Rowan and Gigi looking fierce.

Randy 'n Rowan

So y'all have met my friend Randy; he was here for Thanksgiving being a pain in the ass, as per usual. (See Randy?  THIS is how I get the last word in.  Mwah ha ha ha ha!)  This past weekend, Randy decided to come for a visit again... I decided to let him because he was bringing his beautiful, feisty, wonderful daughter, Grace. 

The last time Randy stayed at Shangri-la, he slept in the spare room on an antique bed left here by my sister and her hubby.  Now, I know that 'antique bed' sounds very quaint and refined but apparently that isn't exactly the case.  When Randy found out that Rowan (my new quasi-son....I'll get to that in a minute) was sleeping on the antique bed, he was horrified.  He went on to describe in cringe-worthy detail just how uncomfortable it is to sleep on a bed that has springs poking through the mattress.  He also pointed out that Rowan is 6'4" and it's a double bed which isn't exactly long enough for our Rowan.  I asked Randy if he could pick up a foamy and bring it from Kelowna to make the bed a bit more comfortable.  He completed disregarded my request, being the Ding-Ding that he is. 

He ignored my request by bringing a new Queen-sized bed.  The frame.  The box spring.  The mattress.  Pillows.  Two sets of bedding.  A special Buzz Light Year pillow from Grace.  He also brought clothes (bags of clothes) and a barbeque for me.  Overwhelming.  Really. 

Randy saw a need and simply wanted to help.  His generosity left me speechless which as most of you know is NOT an easy task.  Rowan asked me why Randy, a complete stranger to him, would do something like this.  I told him "Randy wants to make a difference and he believes in your potential."  Then I think I might have smiled and said something like "Don't fuck it up" but I don't remember for sure. :)

I've known Randy for just over a year and he's become one of my best friends which is an elite category when you consider that people like my Barbs and my Seeso currently live there.  I know I say it often but I'm really incredibly lucky to have such amazing friends and family.  I'm not sure I'm worthy of them but I try my best to be.

Randy and Grace. 

Grace is now 14 and a young woman but is every bit as beautiful as she was in this photo.

Ok, ok, ok! I couldn't wait.

Here is the Night Time/Day Time bit I was talking about in my previous post! (If you haven't read it yet, please do so now before watching the video.  Yeah, I'm serious.)

Ok, now that you've read my previous post, you can watch this.  Try to imagine me on an airplane looking out one window ("Night time!") then the other window ("Day time!!")

The video is literally 17 seconds long so just do it!  I promise you'll laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THrpJSstWZ8

(Two posts in ONE month and it's only November 3rd, Barb.... )

Yup. That's it....

I've always emphatically stated that my favourite colour is yellow.  For the most part it is but tonight I saw another colour that rivals it closely.  I don't have a specific name for this colour so I'll just call it "when-the-sun-sets-and-you're-above-the-clouds-watching-it" colour.  Yeahhhh.  Also known as 'orange'.  Please see the photo below as an illustration:

I guess there is actually some yellow-ish-ness in it, no?  And while this photo is lovely (thank you google photos), the actual sunset was much more beautiful.  Tonight, watching sun set above the clouds as I flew to Victoria was pretty amazing.  I was also able to look out one window and see night time and the other window and see day time (Night time.... day time.  Night time... daytime.  My friend Shori is laughing her ASS off right now reading this.  I'll add a link that will explain why this is so freakin' funny in my next post).

ANYhoo.... the concierge will be calling at 7am with my wake up call (.... "would you like another call again 10 minutes later, Ms. Barth.... just in case?"  "Why yes.  Yes I would, Mr. Concierge.") so I'd best get some sleep in my Delta-like bliss.

G'night all. :)

Thankful

I love Thanksgiving.  Love it.  Love it.  Love it.

I think you're getting the picture, no?  I'm not sure what it is.... perhaps the time of year and leaves changing colour.  Or maybe it's the fact that it's a holiday that involves food, family, friends, laughter and relaxation without the insanity and stress of things that often accompany certain holidays, say like Christmas. 

I'm always excited for this particular long weekend but Thanksgiving this year was one of the best I've had in a very long time.  The Brats were all with me at Shangri-la and my good friend Randy came from Kelowna to spend it with us.  We just hung out, played poker and a board game called 'Sequence', laughed and drank the wine and port that Randy brought.  (No, the kids didn't drink the boozes.  Sheesh; shame on y'all who thought that.)

I felt.... well, thankful.  Cheezy, I know but I really did.  I have much to be thankful for.  I live in a beautiful place and I have a great job with amazing colleagues.  I have the best damn friends anyone could ever have.  I was raised in a loving home with incredible siblings who I'm still very close to.  I have incredible kids who adore me for some unkown reason.  Is it perfect?  Not by a long shot but the shit stuff (trying to swear less, potty mouth that I am) I have to deal with is pretty minor when you look at the big picture.  Plus, I have great people in my life who help me wade through the stuff shit. (Sorry; I like swearing way too much).

So, Thanksgiving.  I think maybe I just really like having a day once a year when I have the luxury of taking a moment to remember all the things that are great about my life.  Plus, I really love stuffing. :)

(Randy and the 'Brats du la Brats a la Brats' eating Thanksgiving dinner)

Nemesis

Before I start telling you about my nemesis, I must apologize for missing September on my blog. My new lofty goal was to blog at least once a month.  I failed.  Already. *sigh*

Onwards.... to the little fucker I hate.  Anyone who lives where I live will know what I'm talking about.  My friends from afar won't have a clue.  I'm talking about the Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) a.k.a. 'the stink bug' (thanks for the official name, Tammy O!).  I hate them.  H A T E.  As a rule, I don't hate.  I'm not a hater by nature.  Stink bugs?  I hate.

Looks harmless?  I'm sure it does.... but it's evil.  They dive bomb you.  They like hair.  If you try to catch them, they release a smell (something like rotten bananas).  I woke up in the middle of the night last week to one crawling up my back, underneath my shirt.  Insta-awake.  Jumping around the bedroom, crazy hair, wild eyes.  Turning the light on, trying to get it out from under my shirt only to suddenly smell THE SMELL.  A-a-a-r-r-r-g-g-g-h-h-h-h.  Yeah.  Try to get back to sleep after waking up to that at 3:00am.

Now y'all might be thinking I'm a wimp at this point, however there are a lot of them.  Jack capture some in a jar tonight; it took him about 20 minutes to catch them and he caught about 30 of them.  Inside the house.  Here's what I've come to understand this week....

(Jar O' Stink Bugs)

Stink Bugs turn Suze into

(New fridge Magnet courtesy of my dear friend Sue)

I actually caught myself looking forward to snow so that it would end the stink bug reign in my house.  I didn't think there was anything I hated more than snow....

* This blog dedicated to cute little Margie Simpson who thought Barb and I were joking about the existence of stink bugs.  Careful checking your mail in the next week, Mah... I have a jar with your name on it.  Mwah ha ha ha ha.