Looking for jobs has never been more frustrating.
I have already applied for over 20 jobs and the impossible websites with their terrible programs are unbelievably difficult to manage.
Did you know that everything you apply for in any government program has limitations that do not allow you to easily input information. All you can do is follow the prompts and then hope for an explanation box to correct the programming limitations with accuracy?
Moving is a real eye opener if you haven't done that in over 4 years.
These are a few things you will likely suffer as you await your lifelong collection of...
Footwear- My only pair of 'North Face' running shoes, still in great condition, do not give me any blisters on my toes like the brand new summer canvas runners I had to buy as I wait for my household of stuff, here. *Note- Flip flops are the wrong footwear for exercising and going to a walk. My back is suffering from this incorrect footwear as I await my good shoes.
As a arthritis sufferer I actually have had great success in choosing the right footwear for my active lifestyle.
Outerwear- I am the kind of person who has kept all my outerwear for over 20 years now. I purchased a really nice coat at Mega Deals a few months ago... this would be the time I need that... it's a cloth elegance... I think the same as my cream fake fur name brand which I purchased 6 years ago.
Casual clothes- Everyday clothes are so necessary for... well, every day. I have plenty of that... those just need to be where I am.
Professional clothes for interviews and such the like... I save one particular jacket for that... a JR that I purchased about 7 years ago at a greenhouse, on 'what I call greenhouse row' just outside the perimeter. It was a 'once in a lifetime' style buy. I wore that for an interview at a vehicle dealership in 2021. Classic clothes last.
Furniture- It's so hard to wait for all my old furniture which I have such an attachment to... it's emotional... my pink chair that is 36 years old, my dining room set which is 33 years old, my sideboard which is new, purchased in Winnipeg 6 years ago... (actually, all my furniture, except my pink chair, was purchased in Winnipeg), my industrial shelf, 12 years ago, that was a Home Sense buy as well as my armoire, purchased 20 years ago...
My tea room white slatted top with black wrought iron legs and chairs... featured on the cover of The Orchard Walk El Dueck. I purchased that at Eaton's.
My collection is aging but well loved, by me.
I really needed my brand new printer 10 minutes ago to print a legal document.
Just waiting for that phone call.
Book II
Simmy's phone rang and she put aside her laptop and answered.
"Hey, this is Sam. Would you help me out on this self- defense paper I'm working on? You were hit by your husband and I think you can, maybe, help by your experience."
"Yes, absolutely. Start with a definition that is simple and direct. Write this down. "Self- defense or self- defence in Commonwealth English is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well- being of oneself from harm."
"Got it. So, in your instance, were you able to defend yourself from harm?" Sam hesitated, trying to recall how the situation had transpired.
"Not completely but my countermeasure, a common kitchen cooking pot was a very effective shield."
"Ahh, yes. That was good thinking on your part. The least harmful is always the best. I'll call again if I need a little more information," Sam tipped his chair back and put his legs up on the desk. "It's afternoon coffee time. Take a break. You've always been too hard on yourself. You can't take responsibility for the initial attack. That was unprovoked. You were just defending yourself."
. . .
All of my unpublished works are currently at my 225 house, in Dauphin. I really need my handwritten work to continue working on this. A little silver metal box with my memory stick, of my first published novel, is very valuable for me to be able re- publish. Another memory stick, of a bygone pastor is also in that box. It needs to be protected.
I am working on my next posting.
This is my rough copy of my novella that is in that location... right now. I am praying that all my work, from my past, is protected and will arrive here unharmed.
My white basket of test papers is very important to me. I put the entire basket into a heavy duty Co-op bag with handles... for safe storage.
Here is an example of book II. Copywritten (El Dueck)
Chapter-
The Just Shall Live By Faith
Life in this small town was
really getting to be an unsteady gait of secrets. There was joblessness but
most of the township was run by government funded programs so the pace of life was
very slow. The only people awaiting opportunities were the new residents,
people who were married to someone who was transferred there.
Simmy had met quite a few locals.
A retired judge. a beautiful Irish woman who seemed transposed in a town that
scarcely thought of a place like Ireland.
One of the best small businesses
in town had one of the best architectural footprints in a place where the rare
project was mostly municipal, or provincial. The juxtaposition of the early
century brickwork married to the modernity of steel echoes from city to city,
across the prairies.
I got just a tiny bit excited when I saw an ad for a company that I have hauled quite a bit of furniture out of in the last four years.
So, Friday, I purchased a double mattress. I am intending for it to sit atop an old antique bed frame that I purchased at a garage sale on Hawthorne. I also purchased an old antique bed frame at a 'cottage country' garage sale last summer or the summer before. That one is an exact replica of one I purchased, circa 1986.
The sofa, sectional, grey chair with wood leg repair, and leather chair with turned leg were all hauled to Dauphin in my truck. I am so grateful I had a truck at that time. I had very strong opinions about the styles and chose all of them to my great enjoyment. Although I love the button- tufted sofa for all the sleeping comfort it provided for me in the last three years, I am thinking the sectional, although not my favourite colour, would work best for me because of carrying weight and moving into a small space. I am also very grateful that my chair, which was amicably moved from current address, by my husband and a pastor, to the church I attended, is being safely stored for me until I can find someone to help me with getting those pieces to where I currently live. I hope my current vehicle can make that long drive without mechanical problems.
The first pieces were purchased in 2023 and the next in 2024.
Now I have applied to work at this place. I really hope this works out well. I could use some surplus.
The think I would have enjoyed working at the decorating place I applied at, in person, in the out of town location. I purchased some vinyl plank flooring for the bathroom renovation, at that store, and then installed it. I find the glues somewhat toxic but the brand new subfloor made the installation very smooth.
The cleaning business, in the same town, I also applied at, three times, in person, but I was not nearly as excited about that position and each time, I was told, they didn't have any openings.
Then I applied at the store where the tub, vanity, and kitchen taps were purchased but they didn't have an opening either. It sure was fun, for me, getting those projects completed.
So, last Christmas I purchased a lot of the 'Fraiche' (pronunciation- 'fresh') line of Christmas ornamentation for decorating. I bought a fake Christmas tree. I purchased the metal 'Merry Christmas.' I can't remember how many garlands I bought. I bought a beautiful gold resin tree. Gold bells... 9 gold metal dinner bells... many other gold metal matte bells as well... the lovely stringer of bells that I decorated my bathroom with... I really love that line of decorations.
I also purchased a cedar tree, which is on the fake fireplace mantel, from a local florist who retired right after that. I also purchased a tiny little blue glass purse, as an ornament for my Christmas tree. I really tried to buy a metal basket- weave garden table, from her, but I couldn't quite convince her to sell her fathers' work to me. Her father was still alive, at that time, and he had created amazing iron works in his youth. He may have, even, made the fencing at the B&B... possibly the most romantic fences in that town.
The Fraiche tea towels were such a favourite of mine. I still have maybe four or more in the linen closet at the house. They may still have the packaging on them. They're ecru and have a stitched bow, in monochromatic thread, on them, as well as a ruffle. I won't have to re- buy those for years.
My red and white square box of glass Christmas ornaments is a collection I have been working on for 40 years... often just one or two per year.
There was one Christmas idea that Warren borrowed from me.
I had purchased two very large, I will call them garland hooks, when I owned my 29 year house. They were a 'strong enough' method to hold garland, Christmas lights, and some ornaments. The beauty of a long- time ownership of a house is that you can do these things without making phone calls to anyone because ownership surpasses rentals. I think I purchased the ones I had in my 29 year house from a business that still exists in Bird's Hill but also used to have a location on Academy Road. I think I left those in my house when I had to sell it because they do require a bit of installing for weight. I may still have a photo of my ornamental hooks on my external hard drive in my armoire out of town. My birth certificate is also in there... one of those updates we have to re-fresh when we are of the generation that still had typewritten birth certificates. This is a method I use for remembering where I put things. Put these important documents with this so you remember that... I'm sure many people have interesting methods for where to put important things.
Like most people, Christmas is often about vintage, a memory collection of ornaments... and, last Christmas I really decided to re- fraiche (re- fresh), and I'll use the whole collection I purchased last year, this year again.
Just like my vintage La Canadienne boots that I wear to Handels' Messiah or Christmas Eve service... my little black boots with the silver buckle, over 20 years old now, can still be purchased as booties.
That's how... Everything old becomes new again.
So, I have sent 12 pages of house contents to my lawyer and a few others... waiting to get my furniture and entire life items, purchased over 45 years... and I am not sure what the hold up is on Warren's end at 225 5th Avenue, N.E. in Dauphin... my home for four plus years.
If you see anybody making off with my stuff... make sure it is going to my storage locker in Winnipeg.