Incredibly Good News!!💰

I practically soiled my shorts yesterday when I went online to my bank account and saw what I thought was $3,100 owing on my VISA account. That’s what it said on my February statement. I checked my January statement and noted that I had paid $3,800 to my VISA account after the scamming event, but my February statement had the scam withdrawals on my statement for the second time, plus another huge bill. I called the VISA help line, and a kind gentleman directed me to the minus sign in front of the second scam entries and on the account balance. Vanity refunded me for my VISA card scam!!!!

I did not deserve the refund because I was complicit in the scam. That had been carefully and regretfully explained to me by Issam, my bank manager. I have a theory: I wrote to all the head honchos at Vancity about Issam; I raved about him because he was so patient and helpful with me after the scam. I explained to all the honchos about my speech and how I cannot use their customer service line for help, and that I must email Issam to solve my problems. I have a feeling that may have been the reason for my refund. Vancity is a compassionate corporation with values I admire.

I got my money back. I got my money back. I got my money back. That’s all I can think about. Today, I will be fully engaged in writing thank you letters to Issam, and the head honchos at Vancity.

Her Highness and I enjoyed two lovely long walks on a spectacularly sunny day yesterday. And all the rest of the day was spent on SPACE and trying to determine how to pay my deferred property taxes.

This morning, the good news continues. For one thing, the sky is clear and the big dipper is glowing right above me. And this morning, with dreaded anticipation I weighed myself. I’ve been eating as much as I want, and bigger portions often, but I’ve over sweets. Sugar is a treat when I eat with friends, but I don’t miss it at all. It may be because when I feel the desire, I have a single square of chocolate. Anyway, I was delighted to find that not only have I not gained weight, I’ve lost five more pounds from when I last weighed myself. I weighed 152 this morning. When I decided to drop sweets, and to eat smaller portions, I weighed 197. That’s a 45-pound drop, and I feel great. Losing weight and starting on Tezspire have made climbing hills and stairs incredibly easier.

Today will be another enjoyable day for walking, and I’ll write to Vancity folk, and so some SPACE work. I Zoom with Aidan today. It’s going to be a good day. And tonight, I will watch The Choral as a special treat. It’s $24 to rent, but I got my scam money back and I’m so much healthier. So, tonight I celebrate.

Winter Feels Over!

I did not expect such gloriously warm sunshine midday on Sunday, nor did I expect the sky to clear completely yesterday morning. When I got up, it was pouring rain, but by sunrise, there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. It was a cool 2° and there are more cold mornings ahead when a few days of sunshine and clear nights are predicted. But there’s no snow in the forecast through until March.

I feel like we’ve made it through this season. Spring feels like it’s already here, and it thrills me to know that I made it through a Winter so easily. I’m looking forward to spending time outside. There’s a ton of work to be done on the gardens. I bought a new garden tool on Amazon. I got a long-handled tiny rake so that I can refresh my gardens without getting down on all fours.

Oh, how wonderful it is right now. Robins are back and chirping. I love the sound of them. They are the sound of summer for me. Young people pushing the season in t-shirts, daffs blooming, everything budding like mad, and the fragrances. It smells like Spring. I am so happy!

I worked on my SPACE homework. The job I am doing as a volunteer, creating as extensive a database as possible of speech language therapists who treat stuttering. I’ve spent about seven hours on it so far and I don’t have much to show for all my work. But each day I do a couple of hours and slowly the list is growing. I probably have another dozen hours to do.

When I quit the SPACE work, Her Highness and I went for a lovely walk through the Elder Cedar grove, and we saw only one other person. It was warm and wonderful walking in the sunshine, and then I came home to make a big batch of pasta sauce very rich in fresh vegetables. And for a special treat, I bought some fresh-made egg and spinach pasta.

At 18:30, I was ready for bed. I did not watch a movie last night. I am over exposed. I was saved by the arrival of my six books by Kate Atkinson, and I started reading the first one right away. Woo hoo. I’ll be reading more today, and I’ll do more SPACE work, but the coming week is going to be pretty great. Sun is predicted for almost every day, but with some clouds, so I may get some work done outside.

Interior of the Church of Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland

Dave & Ursula Come to Visit

My mojo for diarizing seems to be back.

David and Ursua got back late Saturday. They are lovely people who had been away for six weeks visiting their daughter in Costa Rica. I really like them, but I was sad to have neighbours again. I loved the feeling of privacy I enjoyed while they were away. 

I was sad when our men’s hockey team lost in overtime. I was also sad that the USA won; it’s become such a loathsome country, I want them to lose at everything. I listened to the broadcast; I couldn’t sit and watch it. I did my morning chores so that when it was over, I was up for walking in the light rain with Her Highness, and we were happy to see the sky getting brighter as we walked.

When we got back home, I built up the fire. It was My Day so I could burn as much wood as I wanted. And then I got to working for SPACE. Province by province, going from West to East, I am trying to capture contact information for as many speech language therapists that treat people who stutter as I possibly can so that we have an extensive database of SLPs for our advocacy and research work.

All my work is volunteer except for the work that I do on our grant project. When I work on the grant, I get paid forty bucks an hour. It’s not a lot, but it’s income to replace some of my scammed cash. I’m grateful to Aidan for choosing me to be part of the grant staff. Plus, love our objectives of the work we are doing. We are to identify ten service providers and assess and improve their accessibility for dysfluent people.

At 11:00, the sky cleared and the sun came out. I immediately served lunch and then Her Highness and I went for a trail walk at Ricki Ave. I had my coat open, no hoodie up for the first time this year and since the Fall, the few people I passed were carrying their coats!

When I got home, I worked outside. I collected all my empty plastic and tin juice and pop containers and took them to our elementary school because they were having a bottle drive to finance their grade seven’s annual trip to Thetis Island. It felt very good to help them. I love this island and doing what I can to contribute to our community’s wellbeing.

When I got home, I did yard work! Yard work, in February! And with no coat. I got rid of all the pruning detritus from my Fall pruning, and I collected things from around the shed and yard to go into the garbage can that had hardly anything in it. Collection is today, and I was able to fill the bin with stuff I no longer wanted.

When I got tired and came in for a rest. I had to shed my hoodie because it was so warm in the house. I opened some windows to cool the place down, and I let the fire go down knowing that I’d want heat from a fire again in the evening.

Dwight called. It was pouring rain in Vancouver. He’s likely free on Friday to have lunch with me. That’ll be nice, to be with him in person. We’ll have a leisurely lunch, then I’ll drive to Ambleside in West Van to walk Sheba before we go to John and Bunny’s for dinner and to sleep over.

At 15:30, there was a knock at the door and, of course, Sheba went berserk barking like a banshee. It was Dave and Ursula from next door. They came in and we had a lovely impromptu visit for over an hour. I was thrilled to have their company. And then, when they left, our regular evening routine began.

Hockey Morning (No Kissing)

I was up at 5:00 and I turned on the TV to watch the US/Canada hockey final. Well, I didn’t watch it, but I turned it on and listened to the play-by-play while I lit the fire, fed the pets and did morning chores. I wanted Canada to win because I’m Canadian, and because my distaste for all things American made me want the USA to lose. The other thing I noticed is that I kept thinking I’d see Mr. Sexy, François Arnaud in the dressing room shots.

Saturday was fine. I got a lot of work for SPACE done and we had good walks. It rained much of the day, but it was light, and the temperature rose. This morning, it was not bitterly cold when I went out to chop and fetch wood. There’s no snow in the forecast until the end of the month, so I think this Winter has been a wonderful one. Two short snow flurries that didn’t stick, and no storms, no power failures. That’s the kind of Winter I like, especially as the daffodils are starting to bloom already.

I’m still loving The Pitt, but I’ve watched all the back episodes, and now I must wait for the coming eight Thursdays to see the rest of season two. It’s compelling television, still, I’m moving more to reading and writing in the evenings. I seem to be tiring of movies. 

The other night, I had a mild manic evening. I thought I had a terrific idea for a project, and I spent the entire evening writing it up and writing an example of the kind of story that would be the essential part of the project for participants. However, the next morning, I was not interested at all in doing it. 

I’m seriously looking forward to the day. Two of my favourite vloggers post today, and I will do more SPACE work. It’s tedious work, but I really enjoy having something practical to do that will serve Aidan and SPACE well. And when we walk today, I’ll be wearing the new Winter shoes that I bought yesterday. I wore Winter shoes all this season. I had no need for boots ever, so I’m very keen for more mild Winters.

Canada just tied the game at the end of the second period. I teared up. My condition makes me vulnerable to tears, but I was elated for Canada and all the Canadians so hooked on hockey.