IKEA, a word that musters a myriad of emotions in husbands everywhere. Actually we had a very productive trip(s) to the Yellow and Blue store. Mrs. found several Christmas items and a much needed set of new lamps for the living room. This becomes just one more step of our continuing 70's removal project.
I have satisfied a need to obtain several PL type fluorescent lamps that IKEA has for a price that cannot be beat by anyone. These are great! 11 watts of power to get the same as about a 60 watt light bulb the old way. They have 4, 5, 7, 11, 15 & 20 watt versions in both large (M) and small base sizes.

991101 - The sudden turn of the weather has of course caused concern when driving to work. This will be lessened in the new car with a more comfortable ride traveling to the office. The new car has ABS brakes and a slightly different response to braking. I don't know if it is me or do disk brakes on all 4 corners act differently than disk/drum combinations? She will become used to this in due time.

Speaking of driving, the city in their questionable wisdom have begun the new intersection at MacLeod and Anderson. This (they say) will be a 2 to 3 year project that will screw with traffic in ways that have yet to be seen in this town. Carolyn has an alternate route planned to avoid some of this mess.

991108 - The counter measures to avoid the traffic are working to an acceptable degree due in part to her reduced hours of work. Speaking of reduced hours, I am beginning to believe it is too early in her healing cycle to significantly increase the hours worked per week. Her complacent manner at the office is part of the slow "bystander" stance she must take to ensure she remains stress free and fit, mental health wise. I remain worried that she may become fragile in mental strength and become hesitant to continue. This would take the healing process at least several steps backwards and delay further progress. You know what they say about your wits. They are like your car keys, you can't leave them at home and you have to have them with you at all times, nor can you lose them or you will be marooned and it's a LONG walk back.
We as bystanders are always forgetting appearances may seem normal but it is the internal workings that have been damaged. Whether they be emotional or physical the difficulty seeing these things are challenging. The constant reminder of a nagging "thorn in your paw" or "bad back" can not be seen from the street but to the patient it is omnipresent.

(SAIT)

The new intersection in the south is going to be an act of expensive and complete chaos. The recently completed intersection at MacLeod and Canyon Meadows was bad enough. It has not solved the traffic problem on Canyon Meadows nor MacLeod north bound. The only thing solved was south bound MacLeod and this was not really a problem to begin with. I still ask myself why did they do it and how do they justify such a huge expense.
As a bystander watching the daily progress of the construction (MacLeod and Canyon Meadows) when it was under way I wondered sometimes aloud. Two things, first if they are to spend the amount of money they did, why not design it for the future? Add another lane when crossing the creek or the overpass above MacLeod? Second, when they were building it why did they not work on it all the time during the 2 years it took to complete it? It appeared to have only about 3 to 4 months of actual work on site but 2 years of mess. It would seem to me that if they put their mind to it they could have it completed in 2 months of constant work. They would appear to be hero's and the job would be done. Pay everybody overtime and poof, you have it, with quite likely money saved.

(Telus)

cont'd...
Take note today how long it takes to travel through the MacLeod and Anderson intersection in your direction during times of congestion. Compare this to what it will be 3 years from now and we can both shake our heads. They had a plan in the paper that looked much like the typical Deerfoot death traps. My goodness if that is what they are going to do why not just shoot us and save insurance money and needless suffering. I would hope the city planners have learned something from past mistakes and not repeat it. (/humor) I have said before, how many deaths does it take before they realize they are fools to believe they made a huge error.

The House
The fan keeps us cool...
991031 - Snow again, what is the deal here. It's not supposed to snow for at least a month yet, and that would be an early snow at that. It is a shame the kids out on All Hallows Eve have to walk around in this stuff. Last year we had somewhere around a couple hundred kids and this year about 75. Candy left over for ME! That is if I get to it in time.

991109 - The 7RP has taken yet another step toward fruition. Disposal of several lamp fixtures dating to several decades ago and wide spread use of PL lamps.

(D2M)

To be continued...