Halloween costume

I decided to dress as an Emirati woman for Halloween. 

Cleaning lady is slowly loosing her marbles

Though where they are going who knows. I have asked her repeatedly to not over feed the cats. She used to leave food for the entire week like I never feed them. Then I've asked her repeatedly not to feed the cats at all  but she still does. 8 hid the cat food in one of the closets, she told my SO she knew where I hid the food. WTF.

She told him.my two smaller cats look starved.  Sure. Both of them weigh 10lb.  Toby, Desert lynx and 18 months is perfect at 10lb.  The vet never suggested he needed to eat more, the vet never even asked what I fed him. Vet thought he looked perfectly healthy.  Ziva weighs 10lb and for her size as female it's perfect.  Then my Maine Coon Jethro weigh in at 20lbs. That's perfect for him. The overweight one is Pixie at 17lbs. If I took.him to vet I'd get a lecture and yelled at. 

It's insulting that after having this woman clean my house for over 10.years that she seems to think that my cats would die of starvation if SHE didn't feed them.It didn't matter if I left 5 heaping bowls of food out just before she cones, she'd add 5 more..... 

Because my SO is sweet and listens to her babble now she's telling him which kitty litter I should use and how much more food they should get.  It really pisses me off since she wasn't HIRED to take care of my cats but to fucking clean my house. 

It also annoys me that at 50+ years old I have an old bitty who has decided that she needed to tell me how to run my life. One day she will piss me off and I will just show her the door. I mean WTF. 

Toby finds cat ears disturbing

This my SO'S daughter dressed up.in her kitty Halloween costume. When Toby saw her he freaked. Don't know why Toby really doesn't like humans to wear ears. 

Relationship

It was 6 months today that I went on a date with a guy I met on OKCupid. We met in Lachine in front of the Dairy Queen and we talked for about 3 hours  We met again a few days later, this time in Lasalle, near his place and the rest, they say, is history.

From date 2 my buddy in Ireland says I was hooked. He might be right, but I was in such mental state that I didn't give it too much thought. I was at home dealing with anxiety and the only thing I'd promised my doctor is to get out of the house and go outside my comfort zone. Driving to Lasalle and hanging out with him was a good way to accomplish what I had promised so went with that and didn't ask myself too many questions.

I could tell he was more into me then the last 4-5 guys I'd met off POF. He was more attentive, said the right things, and really made me feel comfortable. For as much as I am socially inept he's actually quite sociable and friendly and he can talk to anyone. He made me feel comfortable most of the time. Im highly insecure and usually I constantly question myself, I wasn't insecure.

He works as a nurses aid and used to have a carreer as a musician. He played drummer in several bands, including Dave Moran and the Panic band. Parenthood steered him towards a carreer in health but music is in his heart. Rarely does he spend any time not drumming on things.

I've never met anyone I clicked so well with. We are so much alike in so many ways, in the little things. I'm even enjoying cuddling all night with him and anyone who knows me knows I used to prefer sleeping alone.

So it's been six months today that I've been seeing my significant other. I've not said much because I didn't want to jinx anything. I've never felt so close to anyone and it scares me shitless but at the same time it's an awesome feeling. I'm not alone in the world anymore.

Little putz

He fell asleep between us....

All upset because I gave him a pedicure!

Jethro

It's been a while since I post photos of Jethro. He was not impressed taking a selfie either.

Native women are the most invisible of all the Canadian women

For all the NIQAB and BURKA debates around election time, if people think that these are Canada's most oppressed women, you would be WRONG.

For starters the majority of those women who come to Canada who continue to wear face covering, generally chose to do this and are comfortable living this way. They are still a minority in comparison to Canada's women.

However if you talk about Native women, they are the most invisible, unimportant people in the face of Canada. In some provinces until recently they could be sterilized when they visited a hospital for health concerns WITHOUT EVEN BEING TOLD.Yep white hospital workers decide for them to remove their ability to have children.

When someone calls to report a native woman missing, usually the LEO's will generally hmmm and haw and say things like "But she probably just went to visit her mom in another rez" "But She went on a binge drinking and will come home" " But she probably just run away, you'll see she'll be back".

We all know that the first 48 hours after someone goes missing are the most crucial. Most of the time in case of missing aboriginals, the police never bother to check until it's been weeks, months.  They really don't care.
There are so many missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada and no one cares  but other indigenous people.

Nobody takes them seriously if they report issues with the police. Who you going to believe, an invisible woman or a police officer.   Hopefully they will have an inquiry about the native women in Quebec that are being sexually harassed by the QPP in the Val d'Or area.

Frank'Ncat

Omg. That's adorable

More First Nations vote, and get voted in

Historically many aboriginals in Canada do not vote in Federal elections, they consider them to be a farce, and to make no difference. I'm not sure if they wanted to #heavesteve that badly, or even if the presence of Ashley Callingbull, as Mrs Universe made a difference, but the first nations came out to vote in numbers. Several polling stations in the far north ran out of ballots. Tons of people not on the roster came to register to vote. Apparently 20% more first nations people came to vote than before.  Also 10 Natives got voted it, the most ever. Congrats to everyone who got in!

This is absolutely awesome. I'm glad they helped get rid of Harper. shudder.

Canada gets painted red

So Canada elected the son of it's favourite son. It also happens that he's being touted as the Worlds sexiest leader.

He's really not my type but I could see how women can consider him attractive. I hated his dad, and did not see the appeal. My mom, while not a big fan of all his politics was a big fan of the man himself. As I age I am starting to see what she saw in him and for sure Justin has some of that charm his dad had.I hope he holds up to his promises. I want to see legal pot in my life time!!!

This is the first time in my life that I voted strategically instead of for what I totally believe in. Like most Quebecois I'm probably closest to the NDP in terms of ideology. But lets face it, if Quebec is very NDP it means the rest of the country isn't. Voting Liberal as a strategy made sure Harper didn't' get back in. Not 100% happy with a Liberal majority, but would have been far less happy with any conservative win.

So for the first time in my life, I've actually voted for the ones in power, and well Mr Trudeau make us proud again to be Canadians!!!!

I LOVE MIKE MYERS

This video had me pissing myself. Probably one of the best things I've watched all week!!!!

The day to heave Steve!

All I can say today to everyone is GO VOTE!!!

If you don't like Harper, then it's up to you to get rid of his Sorry ass.  

Toby wants to play

Pretty fabric, I must lay on it

I want to bunch it all up

If I can't play with fabric must sit on the patterns.

Two faced hypocrits

So the conservatives go around writing that Trudeau supports legalizing drugs, including hard drugs in other languages like Chinese and Punjabi to scare some of the immigrant voters, but then goes to parties with the Ford brothers.

EVERYONE in the world knows about Rob Ford and his crack cocaine habit.  That sounds pretty much like Harper ENDORSES Ford's lifestyle choices.  Go figure.

So Harper is against Legalizing marijuana  but is fine with politicians who use Crack Cocaine....

Toby call home!

One day Toby might be able to call me at home, if I get this gizmo for him.

Batiks that make me tic....

These are all the batiks I've purchased so far.  The most expensive being the dragonfly batik I picked up at the Club Tissu in St Hubert. 

The two smaller fabrics on the photo are those I already made dresses with.   Three of the other 5 I have an idea of what I'm making. I just love batiks. Don't know why but they speak to my soul. I need more!

New fabrics to sew...oh my

One of my friends went to New York City for the Thanksgiving week-end and brought me back some fabric. All the fabrics shown except for the red bottom left and teal bottom right come from NYC. 

The two Navajo prints are cotton knits, the other fabrics are stretch sateens. Best of both worlds, a cotton fabric with a bit of stretch. Woot.  The two teal pieces are both Rayon knits. Ièm not crazy about the shiny sheen on the darker knit, but it seems it might make a spectacular evening dress. 

Tonight I wash all this fabric. Last night I could just look at it in awe Note the two fabrics that didn't come from NYC were picked up at Fabricville at lunch yesterday. The teal I'd been thinking about since Saturday. The red sateen, I knew would match the red printed sateen, so I had to have it, especially at buy 1 metre get 2 free. Usually can make a dress in 2 metres. The extra meter can be used for accents for another dress.

Conservatives spread lies in other languages

Isn't Canada great? Harper's conservatives are so afraid to lose that they tell blatant lies in campaign ads. They are saying that a vote for Trudeau is supporting prostitution, illegal drugs etc...

I'm guessing the person who made the ads are the same morons who say that Sex Education in Ontario will teach children how to become prostitutes.

Here's an article from CBC attacking conservative ads aimed at Chinese and Punjabi communities. Funny how Harper's conservatives think they count even though they aren't "old stock" Canadians.

You would think he would want the Muslim vote too.. they are far more conservative people .... Things that make you go HMMMM.

A woman after my own heart!

My first encounter with any kind of computer was at Trafalgar in 1979 and it was a PDP-7 located in Quebec city, that we connected to using a teletype.  Basically a typewriter with paper.

It was a love-hate relationship from the get go. I'd type a command, and it would either understand or tell me some generic line like "Bad command or file name", and I'd reply "FUCK YOU" to which it would reply again "Bad command or file name".

What's sad is that girls like me were given access to computers fairly early on, but it's still a field completely dominated by men. ANd then you read Margaret Hamilton's story.

She would have inspired me if I'd read her at a young age. I still think she could inspire my grand daughters if I have any!!!

Ottawa is just boring....

I don't know who writes the ads for Ontario Travelnet, but it looks like they never leave home.

I got an email with this title "Spend a weekend rediscovering edgy Ottawa‏"

On what planet is Ottawa EDGY? It's one of the most boring cities in all of Canada. You can watch the sidewalks roll up by midnight. Anyone knows if you want to party you cross over to Quebec.

Other then being boring, it's one of the most policed cities in Canada, because it's the capital and we have all these ambassadors and dignitaries that live there. Hell good luck trying to drive to the US embassy in Ottawa. It's like a fortress that can't be accessed except by foot and they see you coming a mile away.

The only reason I go to Ottawa is to visit friends or take tourists. My favourite spot in Ottawa is the science and technology museum. There's also the Goth store that used to be in the Rideau Centre but moved a few blocks away, Trivium.  Other then that I'd be happy never going to Ottawa again. 

My ass is far more EDGY then Ottawa can ever dream to be. I wonder if the person who wrote this ad ever left Ontario in their life....

Toby deserves to get his day in video :)

Solidarity with all our Canadian sisters -

     

 

Hey Harper, do I matter now?

Indigenous women are fighting for the right to be safe and in control of our own bodies, and instead of launching an inquiry to uncover the systemic racism that caused an epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, Harper attacks our Muslim sisters for what they choose to wear.

PM Harper, it's my body, my clothing, and MY decision. You will not distract me from issues that actually matter to me as a Canadian.

In solidarity with our Muslim sisters.

Thank you Lena Aittauq and Karen Kabloona for launching this social media campaign.

#doimatternow #MMIW #deadcat #cdnpoli #elxn2015 #elxn42 #polcan
My friends feel free to take your own pics and post with the #doimatternow hashtag!

Post updated:

p.s. I hope our current MP Leona Aglukkaq takes note of this campaign and pushes for an inquiry.

p.p.s. My friends, please VOTE. Even if you don't like any of the candidates, even if you don't know who to vote for. The only way politicians at the national level will actually care about indigenous issues is if there are votes at stake. They won't bother to do anything for us if it doesn't win them any votes no matter what they do. Voting by eenie meenie miney moe is better than not voting at all.

Refusing to vote is not protest, it's giving up!

author/Facebook page:

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril 

 

Itch from hell

Smells great.. but...

Offending ingredient is most likely to be peach

We concluded yesterday that the rash on my scalp is most likely due to this shampoo. I am allergic to peaches, perhaps it's because there is peach in the ingredients. Right now my entire scalp is covered in tiny little red spots, and it itches so badly. After work today will be spraying benadryl in my hair in hopes the itch dies down. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Of course my hardware is bad. There is nothing wrong with your code, oh Mighty Engineer!!!!

I was put on a new project at work so I'm working with people that I've not worked with before. The engineer in charge of the team worked with my daughter's dad, back in the 90's and he's never worked with me.

I found a really nasty bug that kept crashing the setup and was preventing me from doing much productive testing. I documented it.  One of the programmers came to see me but didn't see anything obvious at first. Then his boss came around, and had the balls to say "Since you are the only one who seems to have this issue, are you sure your hard disk is good?"

I bit my tongue to not respond "Oh? Is the big boss giving everyone on a new project new hard drives?" 

I went home pissed. The next morning I made a point of reproducing the crash on 2 other setups. I even asked my boss if I should take a brand new drive to install an OS to prove the point. He said not to go crazy!

Yesterday the programmer in charge of debugging came to my machine to debug the problem. After all was said and done, he tells me not to use the features I used to crash the application and that I found a really big issue, one that has been missed the past 6-9 months this application has been tested.

Just because no one else had found the issue does not make my hardware defective. I hope he's learned that his statement about my hardware made him look like a pompous ass!

GO VOTE FOR CHANGE!!!

And then, there were three

Since December 2013, my friend has been living in my basement. I had offered her to stay in my basement to give her opportunity to find a job in Montreal. Sadly the unemployment rate for people with limited French in Montreal is really high and she could just find a cleaning job which barely paid for food and gas to get around. But it was better then Oromocto.

Since May 2015, my youngest daughter has been staying with me since coming back from the UK. She was hoping to find a teaching job, but finding teaching jobs in Montreal in English school boards is almost impossible. With all the austerity messages and the cuts at the English school boards, she has not found much. It's really sucky because my daughter is highly qualified and has an awesome resume. She was hoping to move out before the end of the summer, but asked if she could stay till October to save up more money. Don't get me wrong she's working hard at the pool, but this is not a good paying job in comparison to what she could make teaching.

In mid August I asked my significant other if he wanted to move in along with his daughter. He did and has been living with me since sometime in August.  That means that about 3 weeks ago at some point there was 8 people in my house. THere was my friend, along with her 3 visiting children, my daughter, my SO and his daughter. Wanted to take a photo and should have...

So my daughter moved out on Sunday. Her dad came down from Ottawa with a bed and a moving truck and helped her get things out of my house. Though I'm really sad she has not found a job, I am happy for her.  She's going to be 27 tomorrow and she is in her own place. I remember being in my 20's and wanting a place of my own.  I never had a place of my own till I was nearly 40. Always lived with someone.

My friend was planning on moving to Norway sooner then later, but now she has to go back to New Brunswick because her asshole ex, got training for 4 months and possibly work for months, where he won't be home.  Sadly her youngest, now 13, was so traumatized last year by Beechwood school he never wants to come back to school in Montreal. He wouldn't have to go to Beechwood, he could go to PCHS but he's not budging. He likes it in New Brunswick. So my friend is sadly moving back to New Brunswick. At least while she's there her asshole ex won't be.

So as of tomorrow night, there will be just the 3 of us in my house.

Leaky roof turned out to be less expensive then anticipated.

Thankfully after examining the roof, we realized that it wasn't losing tiles or falling apart. In fact there was a tiny piece of the aluminum siding that had gotten loose just on the side of my bedroom. It would have made total sense that the water would leak into my walk-in closet.

We nailed back the siding into place and just to be safe we put sealant on all the seams of the roof. Around the fireplace, the satellite dishes, the pipes.  It's supposed to be sunny till the end of teh week so it should have a chance to dry.