When it Rains, it Pours!

So far 2009 has been an exciting year and this is only the second week. We had water pouring through the ceiling, which hubby fixed successfully. Then our neighbor, Marrianne, who lives alone, fell and ripped the tendon out of her knee. Subsequently, she went to the hospital and stayed there for 48 hours before surgery was performed. This morning I picked her up and brought her home. She can't do much for herself, so I am helping her out when I can.

Two nights ago, hubby slipped on the ice when he was working and did something to his back. He was in a lot of pain and today I phoned a chiropractor, who agreed to see him. He came home feeling much better and his wallet was a lot lighter. I guess it won't put as much strain on his back not having that $75 to carry around. He has to go back Monday for another treatment, which will make his wallet another $30 lighter. Seems to me that his back will not be under as much strain. Hopefully at that point he will feel much better and not have to go back. Keeping my fingers crossed.

On a happier note, Brandon phoned on Friday and asked if he could stay overnight. He arrived about 7pm and we watched a bit of TV and then had two games of Mario Baseball. The first game he beat me 15 to 1. He was ecstatic. However, the first time I batted in the second game, I hit a homerun. He said, "Okay, Grandma, no more mercy for you," and beat me 9 to 1. At least I did better the second time, but he was thrilled that he won both games.

This morning, Brandon and I went to Zellers (Canadian department store similar to Wal *Mart.) I happened to see comforters in a bin in the center aisle. They were marked $19.95. I didn't expect I'd find a Queen for that price but found two and I bought both. That is a great deal. Comforters are usually very expensive. I bought a cream one with roses and a black and white one. When I get the camera working, I will take photos.

When it rains, it pours. Some negative things have happened this year, but have also received a few blessings. One counteracts the other and that's what life is all about. ~Blessings, Mary~

Today at the Optometrist

I found this photo of a woman in an old box of clippings that came from an auction sale some time ago. I thought it was a nice likeness and since I like old photos. I kept it. I'm sure that a family member would love to have it.

Passing this Along

Today I was honored to receive this beautiful award from Storyteller at Small Reflections. This is a beautiful award. Thank you so much, my friend.

• The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
• The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
• There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social,
• Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
• The Blog is refreshing and creative.
• The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or older Post to support.
4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

So without further adieu and in the hopes that these bloggers will pass the award on to others, I present this award in alphabetical order to:

Anni at Hootin' Annis
Jackie at In the Land of the Living Skies
Pea at Pea's Corner
Peggy at Hidden Haven Homestead
Sammi at Bears in Exile Return Home

I hope you ladies enjoy the award and please pass it on to others who fit the criteria.

Please pray for my neighbor Marrianne. She had just received word that she had a job interview in Nunavut next week. She got the word on Wednesday and they had planned to fly her in for three weeks to get the feel of things. However, on Thursday she phoned me crying. She had gone out in her slippers (silly lady) to shovel the snow off her deck. She fell and hurt her knee badly.

When she went into the house, she went upstairs. (silly lady) and I told her to come down on her backside. She did but something went wrong and she fell down the stairs and put her leg through one of the spindles...the same leg that was injured in her fall outside.

She went to the hospital this morning about 2 am and is still there. They were to perform surgery at 10am, but all was delayed and she was still lying on a gurney when I went to see her at 3:30pm.

Do I see a pattern here? Possibly she is not meant to go to Nunavut or possibly she is not to go at this time. I ask you to pray that God's will be followed.

Enjoy your weekend and remember to take some time to spend having fun with family. ~Blessings, Mary~

Update: Marrianne has been admitted to hospital and her surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, please keep her in your prayers. She's in a lot of pain and more serious emergencies will bump her back. This I can understand but it's still not very nice. However, she is more comfortable as of 9pm, when they found a bed for her and gave her something to eat and drink.

Plumbing Disaster

Remember when we did the renovations of the upstairs bathroom? It looked quite sharp and though hubby had never gutted and renovated a bathroom before, he did quite a good job. The plumber connected the bathtub and shower, but hubby did the vanity and sink. I was quite proud of him and everything worked great.

The other day the tenant told us that the taps on the sink weren't working. If he turned them on, water was running everywhere. Hubby checked it out and the sink needed new taps. He went and bought them and today he installed them.

About an hour later, I heard dripping and when I walked into the living room, there was water coming through the tiled ceiling. I called him and he went upstairs right away and corrected the problem. Trouble is, I guess about a gallon of water had gathered on that ceiling tile and when hubby touched it, it came crashing down and water went everywhere.

My first reaction was OMG! That poor laminate floor. When the Christmas tree stand leaked, it was flooded and now again today. They tell you not to get water on laminate flooring, but such is life. We can't always control things as we'd like. So hubby mopped it up and cleaned up the mess. He put the ceiling tile outside to drain and luckily by 6pm tonight, it was dry and ready to be put back up. Poor hubby. He had a difficult day for more reasons than this. I felt really sorry for him as he's been trying to do everything around here while I've been sick. He's done a fine job but enough is enough.

It all turned out for the best. As far as I can tell he got the water off the floor quickly enough that it didn't do any damage. The ceiling tile seems to be fine but probably only because of his quick action to take care of it. Now, he is sleeping peacefully. At 11pm, he will get up to get ready for work and then battle the snow that is falling. He sure has a lot on his plate right now.

In other news, Brandon, Jordan and Michelle didn't stay sick long. They recovered quickly. The boys have been in school all week and Michelle went back to work as well. Take care and try to stay away from this nasty bug that is going around. I am doing a bit better each day but am still far from well. I'm hoping that by early next week I've made a complete recovery.~Blessings, Mary~