Bathroom fixtures

Some of you who have stayed at my place for one reason or another might remember the tub faucet situation. The shower and the tub faucet both pour water when trying to shower. Also, the little knobby to turn the shower on is difficult to use. Hard to turn on because you play and play with it to get the tub faucet to stop running and hard to turn off because it still comes out both ends. And when you turn the faucet on, there is water coming from above too, even when the shower itself is not turned on.

But no more .... hopefully. A plumber is here. He fixed the clogged drain and put a new diverter in. Apparently, I'm getting new taps too. We'll see about that. The fixtures were from the 70's and they couldn't find replacement parts to match the old parts. My care taker said that had they not come in today, I might have had a huge problem with the cold water. Some 'O' ring was almost completely worn out. I went to go look at his handiwork. The knobby is still the same but is sitting higher. Hopefully it won't be as finicky to turn on and off. The taps are new and shiny. Pretty plain and boring. But what can I do or say about that ... I do live in an apartment. Strange, though, the tub faucet is now dripping and it didn't before. Maybe it's just emptying the pipes and will stop as soon as there is no more water near by.

My prayer is ...

• to grow closer to God in this time. To grow in passion and to explore the best way(s) for me to connect with God.
• that I would find meaningful, purposeful opportunities (for work and otherwise) that bring glory to God, where I make a difference in people's lives, and where I use the gifts God has given me.
• that I would stay positive and encouraged.
• that my relationship with others would grow deeper.
• that God would meet all my needs.
• that God would use the current circumstances in some amazing ways that could not have happened had the recent event(s) not occurred.
  

Coffee / Tea with a spoon in it

Some of you may know of my little habit where I leave a teaspoon in my cup of coffee or tea. Only a few have picked up on this habit. Of those few were my practicum students this last go-round. So, they bought me a mug with a spoon. The mug has an attachment for the spoon when it's not in my cup. I found that quite amusing. :D Hey, they were using good observational skills to notice the little things.

Update

Just to let you know, I lost my job this week due to the financial crisis. Not sure yet what I will do. I guess I'll take a little break, then start looking at options. The job market doesn't look promising, but maybe my networking skills will help me out. This weekend, I'm off to a camp weekend. It'll be good to get out to a lake and go boating. :D

And, now about MJ ..... Quite the shock. Do you know where YOU were when you heard the news?

3BT for today

1. Seeing a small group of people who are homeless sitting near some flower beds, reading stories to each other out loud.
2. Friends who invite me for supper and a nice evening unexpectedly.
3. The smell of lilacs.

and another for good measure...
4. The flutter of wings of a small bird as it hovers just before landing.

A Moment of 'Christmas' - A second wind of Birthday

When I got home today, I found a package by my door. My excitement grew. I love packages. :) Well, as long as they are good packages - not some bomb or something. Not that I've experienced that and not that I plan to. But packages in the mail are always fun. But, after a brief moment, I double checked to make sure it was mine because my old roommate still gets stuff here. Sure enough it was mine.

No pictures today, folks (but apparently, I'm a "picture crazy" "ant" ;) Thanks B! LOL). I thought, after the fact, this story would have made a good picture . This time, you get to picture this on your own.

So here goes ... picture this...

I walk to my room to open the package. To sit and enjoy the experience. The bed is made. There are a few clothes lying on the bed. Ok, more than just a few, but not a big pile. I'm sitting on the bed, with a reddish - maroonish coloured long sleeve t-shirt on and a pair of jeans. My socks are brown with an orange flower on them. I'm sitting cross-legged. My hair has a couple clips in it, holding my hair back, almost in a half pony tail. Silvery clips with sequins. It is dreary-looking outside - it seems to be snowing. (Oops, I said the 's' word). Because it's darker outside, my bedroom light is on.

I am a little eager in opening the package. Afterall, by then I had read who it was from and knew it was a present for me. :D I remember a text message from my niece a few days ago asking me what my favourite colour was so I wondered what thing might be orange. :D Thanks K. :D At first I start with care. I snip a corner with a small scissor with orange handles (do you get a theme?), making sure not to cut any contents. Then, I stick my finger in the hole and rip. It is easy at first. Then there is some resistance, so I rip ... hard! In an eager fashion. And there is dust everywhere! It looks like a mouse nest. Seriously! Shredded recycled paper bits. And every time I reach into the package to take out another item, I get more dust all over me and the bed. As I pull out each item, I also am brought back to when I lived in Australia. Christmas in Australia.

When I was in Australia, my family and my small group sent me my birthday presents by mail in boxes (one from each). I had fun pulling out each item, reading the notes and enjoying a laugh by remembering special times. Or smiling at memories or the thoughts that went into the notes and the presents. It was exciting. It was fun. And I also was alone. Not in a bad way. But I lived far away from family. So, there was a bit of nostalgia. A sense of missing my loved ones. And a sense of being loved, knowing they took the time to put something together to send to me. Back then, I was experiencing Christmas in summer time. No snow to be seen. Beautiful green trees like today. Maybe on a day similar to today - well, maybe not - a little hotter perhaps. :D Particularly becaue today, we have sleet, or dare I say the 's' word???

Back to today. The bearers of gifts know me well. They know I like chocolate. Dark chocolate in fact. I find 4 different kind of dark chocolate bars. One I am especially eager to taste - Cherry-Chilli-Chocolate. I am curious. I also find Clod Hoppers, Lindt chocolate, and fizzy Mini-Eggs - these should be interesting too. The orange thing is a bright orange stress ball with a happy face on it. :D There is also a book by a well-known inspirational speaker and a set of encouragement cards. And each of my nieces sent me a picture they drew together with a page of rainbow stickers. Their characters are so evident in the pictures, and I smile, remembering the good times with them. The card has one of my favourite verses, Phil. 1:3 - "I thank my God every time I remember you". It's a good verse when loved ones are far away. And it brings me back to the time I received a note from a friend with this verse inside. The good old days. The front of the card has a little chiding in it - "Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art" - chiding in that I'm aging but also beautiful, in that that aging is a beautiful thing - a work in progress, a wonderful piece of art. The card shows love, both in the card chosen and in the note inside. Thanks C for your thoughtfulness! Thank you all for everything!

With the final reach into the bag to make sure I got everything, I accidentally rip it further - I never knew a mail envelope could look so much like a mouse nest. Or the remains of one. I sit there laughing. My shoulders shaking. My laugh - according to my mom - like a tire rolling down the hill. The mouse nest is everywhere! I will need a vaccuum cleaner to clean up the mess. Then, I pick it up to close it, and accidentally puff more. How is this possible??? There are apparently 2 layers of mouse nest! So, now, it is sitting next to my garbage can. I plan to show the bag to my cousin when she arrives in a couple minutes. We seem to find similar things funny and she is not feeling very well - maybe a good laugh will do her some good. And, maybe we'll share a little chocolate while we watch a movie. In the mean time, I should find some supper. So I don't just eat chocolate for supper.

Spring ... mmm

One of the things I did on my birthday was go on a little 'walk'. It was such a beautiful day! Although it started to get quite cloudy and windy. Here are some pictures.






The friendly lady bug ....


And the not-so-friendly lady bug. Seriously, who knew lady bugs could look so mean?!