Cheating Death – Again!

As per usual on Sunday, my mother and I had a visit today.  I had to go to Costco so she came to St. Catharines.  We first took a trip to Timmy’s, which was totally packed.  After sucking back a coffee, we hit PetSmart to buy little Abby a treat for her second birthday today!  Kids – they grow up so fast!  We then went over to Liquidation World to buy our yearly box of food items for the local food bank.  Jan took a big box back to Fonthill to donate to Pelham Cares and I will drop off a box here in St. Catharines tomorrow.  I still have to look up where the drop off is around here.  After wandering around the pet store, we drove over to Costco.  I only had a few items to buy, so we weren’t in there for long.  When we were finished and got into the car, I asked where she wanted to go next.  Before she could answer, I yelled “Let’s go for a flight!”  She was a little hesitant due to the wind, so I called Flight Service to get a weather briefing.  The wind wasn’t bad so I then called the airport and asked them to pull out my plane.  I usually don’t fly without my camera, but since it was spur of the moment, I didn’t have it with me today.  I also didn’t have my aviation GPS, but I seldom get lost flying around Niagara.  I figure as long as I keep between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, everything is fine!  Since I didn’t take any pictures today, here is a previous picture of Vyctor, just in case you need a reminder of how cute he is:

 

It was quite dark out and very overcast, but no chance of any serious rain.  It was a very smooth flight and we passed quite a few other airplanes during our travels.  It was far too windy to fly yesterday and the airport was closed for a full week last week, so everyone was getting a flight in while they could.  It was nice to see the large runway was paved, so work is certainly progressing.  I think they are going to keep it closed for another week while they install the lighting and paint the runway.  Fortunately, at least one of the other two runways will remain open.

After our flight, we returned to the apartment and unloaded the car.  I gave Abby her birthday card and Jan gave her the little shrimp cat toy she bought her.  I also then dressed Mya in the outfit I bought her for next Halloween:

The little shrimp toy is at her feet.  I didn’t notice the feathers on the outfit when I bought it.  Abby seems to enjoy licking feathers, so Mya got licked to death while wearing her new clothes:

Fortunately for the kitties (and humanity in general), I only dress them up for Halloween and when it’s really cold in the apartment.  Mya does not seem to mind wearing her little fleece sweater when it’s cold.  Anyway, we did dress them up and took them trick-or-treating to a few units in our apartment building.  We first took them to the apartment at the end of the hall, to see the nice folks that live there.  They have a bird so Abby wasn’t allowed in due to the fact that she would lick it to death.  Here is a pic of Abby dressed up as a bee (get it?) and Mya as a lobster:

It was so nice of them to take this pic and send it to me.  Also, they put some treats in their basket!  I should have asked them what kind they were as the cats LOVED them!  Anyway, we then visited a few more people, then brought the cats back to disrobe and gobble their treats.

You’re probably wondering about the title of my blog, well, let me explain.  You may recall a previous blog entry that I posted a couple months ago.  My friend from work almost got in a confrontation with an irate driver who jumped out of her car and ran screaming toward my friend.  I stepped in front of my friend to protect her – I guess just a natural instinct.  Well, today across from my apartment building, there were three drunk guys (noticeably drinking!) on the bench across the street.  The younger guy started screaming at the older guy then lunged at him.  I stayed across the street, watching in case I needed to call the cops.  Well, a woman crossed the street and started screaming at the young guy.  She told him to back off.  The very large third guy (holding a wine bottle) stood up, screamed at her and pushed her.  At that point, I have no idea how I crossed the street as fast as I did.  I ran up to the guy, screaming “Don’t you lay a hand on her!” He took a few steps back, probably in shock that a little, blonde celery stick would be so assertive!  He took a few more steps away from the girl.  The younger guy then started yelling at her and I was yelling back that it wasn’t worth it and to walk away.  The guy with the bottle told us F***ing B**ches to get lost and I told him to go sit down and stay out of it.  I then told the girl to walk away to try to diffuse the situation, as the young guy was now directing his anger at her.  She walked away, and the young guy called me a racist….  I’ve yet to figure out how there was any racism what-so-ever involved in the situation, but I guess drunk people aren’t very logical.  Things seemed to calm down so I walked back to the apartment.  Yup, my job there was done – nothing more to see, folks!  Carry on!

Today’s symptoms:  I was actually feeling better today than I’ve felt in over a week.  I ended up with a bad headache after the flight, and I’m having some sharp body pains tonight.  Still, I’m going to focus on the positives – I felt pretty darn good overall!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/31/2010 6:45 PM

Montreal

My friends at work and I usually go to the Cool Moose for our morning break.  You will not find a more friendly place in town.  You can walk in there in a blah mood and leave with a smile on your face, plus some yummy coffee and food in your stomach!  Apparently someone compared the owner Chris to a gnome.  I must say, if gnomes are anything like Chris, then gnomes rock!  Anyway, a regular Cool Moose patron was kind enough to pass on this picture he took of the twins:

Aren’t they adorable?!?!  Both Chris and the gnome can be found at the Cool Moose at

71 King Street in St. Catharines.  I’m usually there around 10:15!  Oh, and they have the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had.  Yum!Chuck and I went to Montreal for a business lunch this past Friday and Saturday.  This was our third time there and again, we had a wonderful time.  We stayed over in Toronto on Thursday night to catch our Friday morning flight.  It was only 55 minutes.  Unfortunately, my head almost exploded once we started our decent, due to the pressure change acting on my sinus infection.  I survived!  We took a cab to our hotel, the Queen Elizabeth (Fairmont) .  This was where we stayed during our last visit.  Again, we were up on the 18th floor.  Here was the view from our room:

Not bad, eh?

After checking in, we walked over to an office where we were meeting some wonderful folks for lunch.  We went out for lunch with them the last time we were there too.  It was so nice to see them again!  We walked over to the Baton Rouge for lunch.  It was a very brisk walk.  I remember the last time I was there, I was frozen and said “I will dress much warmer next time.”  There I was in the same light coat and no gloves.  Brilliant.  Anyway, the company and meal was great.  Here is a pic of us gals after lunch:

It was sad to walk in separate directions after departing the restaurant, as it was a really nice visit.

Next, Chuck walked me back to the hotel and he grabbed a cab to go visit another office.  I decided to browse around the underground mall, including the Eaton Centre .  I was actually quite fatigued and felt yucky from the sinus infection, so I kept my wandering to a minimum.  I went back to the room and waited for Chuck.  When he got back, it was time to eat.  The 18th and 19th floors of that hotel get this special lounge.  I believe I posted pictures on my blog from the last Montreal visit.  They have a ton of really nice finger foods and snacks.  I ended up pigging out on the veggie chips.  Chuck pigged out on nuts, cheese and tuna salad sandwiches.  Here was the view:

I decided to go up to the food area one more time.  I noticed earlier there was a coconut cream pie-looking item at the end of the table.  I thought I would surprise Chuck with a plate of yumminess.  I was curious why it was under a heat lamp.  I figured it was a type of sugar pie (famous in Quebec) and was best when warm.  Since we ate so much, I just go a small sliver for us to share.  I walked back to our table with the pie slice on a plate and told him that I brought some nice pie.  Chuck looked at me like I had three heads and was completely mental.  He then informed me that it wasn’t coconut cream pie, but brie cheese!  Duh!!!

My heart was in the right place, at least.  I felt really bad because I realized how expensive this type of cheese was, and it’s the only kind that Chuck hates!  We did our best to hide it between a couple of plates.  I was going to put it on the guy’s table next to us when he wasn’t looking, but the dude didn’t budge!

We wandered down St. Catherine St. to browse some shops on Saturday morning.  We left for the airport before noon for our 2:00 flight.  It was a nice quick flight back, and we were back into St. Catharines to greet the children that evening.

Today’s symptoms:  I’ve been having swallowing-reflex issues the last few days.  Apparently a fairly common MS symptom.  My brain tells my mouth and throat to swallow, but nothing happens.  I almost chocked to death on my delicious chicken noodle soup from the Cool Moose at work today!  Hopefully it won’t last much longer.  I had a bad headache today with more fatigue than usual.  I’m going to attribute it to the trip and sinus infection.  It will be better tomorrow!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/25/2010 7:34 PM

Duh!!!

II can’t believe I’m sharing this with everyone, but I would like it to serve as a learning experience.  For about five days, I thought there was something really wrong with me (apart from the obvious).  I noticed that despite shaving my armpits every night with my nice new four-blade razor, the hair was growing back at an alarming rate.  OK, maybe”alarming rate” is a bit of an exaggeration.  It’s not like any of the town-folk of St. Catharines were calling the police with Yeti sightings.  Anyway, I wondered if extra/quick hair growth was some sort of freaky MS symptom that I wasn’t aware of.  I scoured quite a few reputable MS websites to verify my theory.  There was nothing of the sort listed on any of the sites.  I was starting to get quite worried and a little embarrassed.  Mind you, there was nothing to really be embarrassed about since no one could see my new problem.  It’s not like I had a billowing cloud of hair protruding from my shirt sleeves! Still, I was getting concerned.  On the fifth shower after this hair-raising tale started taking place, I reluctantly picked up my razor- a tear trickled down my cheek.  With my lip quivering, I raised the razor to eye-level, to ask why it had forsaken me.  “I deplore you!” I shrieked!   Suddenly, I noticed something was amiss.  Upon closer inspection of the razor, I realized that I had installed the removable razor head upside-down upon the handle!  Man, what a dork!

 

Ah, but the ineptness doesn’t end there, my friend.  Just the other day,I was speaking on the phone with my mother.  I asked her to look for some RCA cables that I had at her house.  She thought she spotted some in a filing cabinet and told me she needed to put the phone down while she picked them up.  Once she had them in her hand, she proceeded to tell me that she had them.  I didn’t hear her too well as she put the RCA cables up to her head instead of the phone!  Duh!  I couldn’t believe she could be so utterly clueless.  I told her that I was going into the other bedroom to look for some other cables I had.  I too had to say that I was putting the phone down to dig out the cables.  Well wouldn’t you know I did the exact same thing – I put the cables up to my head and told her that I found them.  Duh times two!  You know the Ya-Ya Sisters?  Jan and I are starting a club called the Duh-Duh Sisters.

Today’s symptoms:  My balance is fairly bad today.  I wonder if the sinus and cold issue has anything to do with making it worse.  My fatigue was quite bad today.  I think it’s due to the meds I’ve been taking to fight the sinus infection.  Plan on getting a good night sleep and be back to “normal”-ish tomorrow!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/20/2010 7:40 PM

Speck of Jan

What a joyous weekend.  I went for a really nice flight by myself on Saturday.  It was perfect, clear weather.  I first flew over my mother’s house (the gutters still look pretty clean!).  I called her while I was up there (yes, I was on the phone while flying….oops) and she came out onto the driveway.  I got a picture of her, thus the title of my blog “Speck of Jan”:

I told you she was tiny!

For the rest of my hour long flight, I just listened to some tunes on my iPod and cruised around Niagara.  The Fall colours are really coming out.  On the way back towards St. Catharines, I flew over Howell’s Pumpkin farm:

Anyone want to use this picture to cheat on their maze?

I thought flying over these pumpkins really meshed with how I decorated my plane:

Oh, I almost forgot.  Soon after starting up my plane, I heard over the radio that the Lancaster was doing a low and over.  Here are a couple of shots – it was such a sight to see and hear!

I started taxiing toward the runway as soon as it flew past.  I didn’t even make it to the runway before the Lancaster called the tower and stated he was clear of the zone!  Geesh!

Before I went on my Saturday flight, I brought some fudge to the folks in the tower.  One personage asked if I was still considering bringing one of my hairless cats by for a visit.  I suggested it to him months back.  Ironically, I had the same thought before leaving for the airport that morning.  Needless to say, Mya and I took a little road trip to the airport this morning.  She was a little nervous upon arrival, but within a few minutes was her cute, affectionate, putting and playful little self.  I think she may have converted one person there from just a dog person to a dog and cat person!!!

Here she is checking out the view:

She was surprisingly quick on picking up on the technicalities of the radar system:

She noticed a couple planes were getting fairly close to each other.  She picked up the radio and called one of the planes, stating that he had an unidentified plane at his eleven o’clock, 400 feet below him.  The pilot called in “no contact” as he clearly didn’t have the other plane in site.  Fortunately, the plane coming toward him heard Mya’s call, and quickly located the oncoming plane.  He banked to his right while letting Mya know that he spotted the traffic and took the necessary maneuvers to avoid him.  The tower burst into applause as we knew Mya just diverted a potentially tragic event!  She was offered a position with NAV Canada on the spot – just said she would think about it.

Right now Mya has collapsed in a tiny heap of cuteness, after her harrowing day!

Today’s symptoms:  Feeling pretty good today!  Still dealing with my sinus thing though, which has caused some unpleasant headache sensations in my…..well….head!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/17/2010 6:59 PM

Rudolph’s in Town

I hope everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving!  Actually, I thought it was Christmas this past Friday.  I looked out the window in the bathroom and saw Rudolph flying over downtown St. Catharines:

Chuck and I went to my mother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.  As usual, her meal was perfect.  It was the usual turkey dinner fare, with a new squash and apple dish which was also perfect.  Man, I haven’t eaten that much in a long time.  She topped off our meal with a pumpkin-mousse pie.  Holy cow!  Moooo!  It was so good!  Thanks again, Lil’ Jan!

As Chuck and I were getting ready to leave, I discovered that I was totally coordinated with the large hazard pylon thing out in front of her house:

Talk about a stripe-fest!

On Sunday, Jan came up to St. Catharines and we hit a couple malls and Costco.  It’s funny how you go into Costco for just two or three things and you come out with a buggy full.

I’m glad the weather was somewhat decent on Monday.  It was the last day the Niagara District Airport was going to be open for at least a week.  They are repaving all three runways (as far as I know).  Chuck and I went for a local flight just after noon.  He snapped a few photos during the flight.  You can see that runway 01 has been partially repaved:

I thought they were going to rename runway 06/24 due to the magnetic variation, as they did in Tillsonburg and Toronto.  It looks like I was el’wrong-o!

Here we are just after lifting off:

We hit a touch of rain while flying around Niagara.  Chuck phoned my mother when we arrived in her area and she came out to wave.  What a dedicated and devoted little mother I have, willing to stand out in the rain to wave at her cute and loving daughter.

It was sad when we were coming back in to land, since I knew it would be my last flight for a least a week:

Nothing too exciting is planned for this week.  I’ll be sure to tell y’all about it if anything happens.

Today’s symptoms:  Much more tired and weak than usual.  Quite a nasty headache too.  I’ll try to get a good sleep tonight so I can feel sassy and joyous tomorrow.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/12/2010 7:39 PM

Checking the Gutters

I feel really bad about not posting a blog for over a week – how rude! 

My mother and I took a trip to Rochester this past weekend.  Actually, we left on Thursday and came back Sunday.  We had a great time.  The main purpose was shopping.  I believe we filled this objective quite nicely.  Our hotel was right near the one large mall, as well as a slew of box stores.  We hit this mall on our first day.  The next day we took a 20 minute drive to another large mall.  We found some amazing deals, mostly at the Burlington Coat Factory store.  On Sunday, we hit some of the larger box stores around the area of our hotel, and hit the mall again.  It was fun to go back to our room each night and admire our newly purchased goodies!  For our last day, we went to Wal-Mart and Target, then one final stop at Tim Hortons before heading home.  The Timmy’s there had pumpkin coffee!  It was quite yummy.  I’m disappointed that it isn’t here in Canada.

It was a wonderful time and I hope we can make it yearly trip!

I haven’t flown for about three weeks, due to feeling yucky.  I was feeling better today and the weather was perfect so I headed out to the airport after work.  They are repaving the larger runway, so I had to take off from the smaller one.  Just as I took off, the small door to access the engine flew open.  Ugh!  I was so nervous it was going to rip off.  I called the tower and let them know that I had to come back around and land.  After landing, backtracking and parking at the runway threshold, I turned off the plane, ran out and closed the door.  I was shocked when I climbed back in the plane and it wouldn’t restart!  I think I tried for almost a minute.  I had all of my electronics turned off so I wouldn’t kill the battery.  I turned my radio back on to tell the tower I was going to have to get out and push.  I tried starting it again after turning on the radio, and she started perfectly.  I must have a radio-powered starter!  Cool!  I headed up over the airport and did some aerobatics.  I asked the tower-folks to keep their heckling to a minimum, as I hadn’t done any  aerobatics in over a month!  After about 30 minutes of loops and rolls, I headed out to Fonthill to check my mother’s gutters for leaves.  They looked pretty good!  I think I’ll have to clean them out in a few weeks.  After flying over Jan’s house, I was going to head over to Port Colborne, then Fort Erie.  However, I suddenly felt rather icky.  All at once, my throat, ears and head started hurting.  I decided to head back to the airport.  I’m not surprised as everyone at work has been sick over the last couple of weeks.  I guess it’s my turn!  It’s too bad I had to cut the flight early, as it was a really nice day.  Here are some pics:

Welland

Niagara Falls

The new hospital being built in St. Catharines

I’m just going to veg for the rest of the night, and hope I don’t feel too much worse tomorrow.  I certainly don’t want to be sick for Thanksgiving this weekend!  Gobble Gobble!

Today’s symptoms:  Much more energy today than I’ve had in weeks.  It’s too bad this cold had to set in.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 10/7/2010 7:11 PM