James Lind

Below is the play-by-play commentary of Ashley’s shopping experience for bedding supplies…and the adventure continues!
 

They didn’t have a very good selection at all; all ugly…
so I left that store and drove further to another one.
When I got there, they only had ugly ones as well and
they were like three times more expensive than the other store;
but I was desperate, so I bought a plain white duvet cover.
It’s got some raised pattern on it at the bottom.

Then I wanted a European pillow…so I bought one of those and a case;
but then I got home and discovered that it wasn’t a Eupopean pillow!
It was a V pillow; but the bag had a big European pillow sticker on it!
So now I don’t have a pillow case for it.
Then I look at my duvet cover…
Usually you get one duvet cover and two pillow cases, but alas no pillow cases.
I know…the world is out to get me!
The bag says “contains one King size duvet cover and two pillow cases; but they lied!

So now I have to go back to the store. (which by now is closed for the day)
I wanted everything to be organised now.
Oh, and I bought cushions…I love cushions!
Green cushions….I love green!

Then five minutes later…it’s raining!
Not a big deal for New Zealand, unless you have clothes hanging out on the line to dry!
Man that sucks! It would have been dry! It’s been so sunny all day, now it’s all wet again!

My poor Ashley…

Well, June 28th is the day. My little girl will be graduating from high school! It’s amazing the young woman that she has turned into. I didn’t really see it coming either. I remember her birth at the University Hospital in Saskatoon. I remember her face when she opened a Christmas present of The Little Mermaid (see above). I remember her grade eight graduation. All the other parts seem to be a blur! How can 17+ years go by so quickly? So here we are, a month away from high school graduation! We needed to have her graduation dress hemmed. The first person we called said $65.00 and “if you leave it with me now, I’ll have it done by June 15th.” Hmmm, I’m not a dress hemmer(or whatever the word might be), but that seems expensive and as it turned out, took way too long. So who do I know that would know someone who sews….hmmm, perhaps a dancer! “Hello Chisa, I need a dress hemmed!” “Where did you ever find a dress YOUR size?”(insert laughter here). Anyway, to make a long story short, Chisa made some calls for us and found someone who does very good work for a reasonable price. Free plug for Kay’s Sewing in the Cumberland Square Shopping Centre! I think my problems are over, my day is going along pretty good!

So I pick up Nikki from school, and we head over to have the three week inspection of her tattoo. The artist was busy, come back at noon any day, before she starts inking. No problem….off we go looking for work pants for Nikki. Hey to a guy, black pants are black pants. Perhaps I am wrong! An hour and a half, and eight stores later, no pants. Oh well, on to the next project, taking the grad dress over to Kay’s Sewing.

Hold the train there big fella…not as simple as that! Nikki starts firing the questions at me. How long should the dress be? Do I need to get it taken in on the sides? I need to have my grad shoes on. What if she doesn’t know what to do? Will she hem it in time for grad photos? Crisis! My answer was, hey they’re professionals, they’ll know what to do! Just in case though, Nikki calls her mom! I didn’t hear the conversation; but next thing you know we’re off to Kay’s. Works for me! We arrive at Kay’s, mention that Chisa sent us, and receive the royal treatment. Got the dress pinned and we were out of there. Oh yeah, and there was this woman dropping off pants for alterations that was hitting on me. But I’m spoken for, and I was sure to mention my girlfriend at least a couple of times. Off we went for some groceries, then off to work for me!

On a health note, I went for another 30 minute walk today and leg held up fine. Running though is out of the question at this point. The jarring effect was a bad thing when I tried! Hopefully, the road to recovery will be quick!

On a personal note, the Twisters ball team that I play for had to forfeit it’s first game in seven years; because of a shortage of players…we were one short. I thought we had it covered this year as we now have nine females and eight males registered! Seven females and three males were no shows! Six people let me know with less that 24 hours notice, so we had no way to cancel the game. C’mon people, it’s a phone call or an email 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE! ’nuff said! 

Today is my son Bradley’s twentieth birthday! He’s celebrating it over in Dublin, Ireland! Actually he’s on a working holiday, having left in February and scheduled to return in August. He’s done some traveling already, visiting Frankfurt, Prague and Amsterdam. He’s currently working and saving for another excursion.

He got he travel bug when he was in a program called Katimavik which is a government sponsored youth experience. He had such a great time meeting people and traveling across Canada, he thought now was a good time to travel abroad! I can’t argue with that. He’s hoping to come back in time for culinary school in the fall.

The pictures above are Brad and his sister Nikki, ages seven and five; Brad at his high school graduation; and finally the going away picture that I took just before he departed for Ireland.

Happy Birthday Brad!

I just had the most wonderful thing happen to me. After having probably the worst night of my last fifteen years of existance, I was blessed with a second chance. I am not sure whether I deserve it or not; but I will take it, run with it and make damn sure I don’t screw up again! I AM smart enough to learn from my mistakes. And am fortunate enough to have someone understanding enough in my life to see the good in me. Thank you.

I am truly one lucky man. My life is just about complete now, and as I approach my fiftieth year, I continue to be blessed by special people in my life. No one really knows how long we will have on this planet, so make sure that those you hold special; know that they are special! Live each day to the fullest, enjoy the present, live for the now.

This is Chisa. She’s my best friend. It’s her twenty second birthday today.

Chisa is a Japanese name meaning “someone who is petite, polite and lady like…” In my language it means “attractive dancer, biker girl and best friend!”

I’ve known Chisa for just about four years now and I can honestly say that she is one of a kind! Which is too bad really, because the world really could use a lot more people like her.

Chisa currently works at a local bank here in Saskatoon as well my favorite restaurant/watering hole, which is a where we first met. For all you single guys out there, bad news…Chisa does have a boyfriend and they just celebrated one year not so long ago.

Chisa is very involved with dancing, which has taken her on numerous adventurous trips. I believe the next one is this July which will take her to Las Vegas! Yeah right, “dance trip”! lol

Happy Birthday Chisa !

As I sit here I picture a wonderful blue sky, so clear you can see for miles. I picture two people walking hand in hand. Touching, looking, knowing they are special to one another. They share a bond that no one else can share with them. They are special in that their souls touch one another in some unknown way. They may be separated by miles but their souls still touch and combine to make them feel whole again. They are in tune to one another’s feelings and know when one is hurting.The bond they share goes beyond human emotions, beyond love, beyond friendship, beyond fellow mankind. They are soulmates in another realm. They touch and know the other is the other half of their soul. They talk and know what the other is going to say before it is said. They hear the other call to them when they are lonely, in trouble or just need to feel the love they share. They know deep in their souls that when one leaves this world the other goes with them in part.They are lovers on a different plane. They communicate without bounds, without commitments, without holds because they know that whatever is needed the other will provide. It goes well beyond sexual connection, beyond being loved, beyond knowing that the other person cares. They are here to make each other happy and to feed each other the small things that are missing in their lives. They give of each other not material things but give of themselves so that it is touched with kindness, understanding, caring, love, and a belief in one another and trusting of their souls. They know that one day it could very well end but they still continue to be there while they can. To give all they can and to find that something that is missing within themselves in the other person.