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Posted by Spike Driver on May 26, 2008, 8:50 pm
Great to hear from you Gemini.
Hugs & God bless,
Dennis & Gail
Not Likely wrote:
>> On Fri, 23 May 2008 21:58:15 +0200, YarnWright wrote:
> <snipped>
>>> PS, have you ever read some of Gemini's l-o-n-g posts? Sure, they're off
>>> topic, but they're SO newsy and fun... and lately RARE, so when she does
>>> post, it's a TREAT!
>> Yes, I used to enjoy them too. It is quite a while since she posted but I
>> assumed she just needed some space after losing her cousin, Linda. I hope
>> she will come back here again.
>> --
>> Bernadette
>
> I haven't been here for a while and being as I just had a bad bout with my
> health and am sitting here at the computer this morning, I thought I'd peek
> in to see what's going on... and lo and behold I came across this posting in
> which I was mentioned. See, it shows that you should watch you say because
> you never know who's listening (or reading in this case). LOL Thank you
> both for your nice comments on my past posts. :o)
>
> I actually left the newsgroup (only checking in once in a while) due to a
> lot of bickering that was taking place, and going through the loss of my
> cousin Linda and the fact that my son had been out of work for so very long
> and debts were piling up, I was already stressed enough without adding to it
> by reading nasty stuff on the newsgroup. In any case, I *do* peek in once
> in a while, but I doubt that I'll be back fulltime... ever. I'm trying to
> stay as stress-free as I can, my health needs it.
>
> My son managed to get a job back at the end of February... unfortunately
> it's only up to July 25th then it's over. So hopefully he has another job
> lined up before this job is finished. It isn't the best paying job in the
> world, but he is enjoying it for the most part.
>
> Ontario Works (social assistance, which my son had to go on after his
> unemployment benefits ran out and he was still out of work) back-tracked on
> helping him to complete his three level cabinetmaking program (with five
> courses in each level) like they said they would do. In fact it was the
> Ontario Works caseworker who sent him to another branch of the government to
> see if they could assist him in starting his business... they told Matthew
> as well as his caseworker that YES they can help him starting his own
> business, but only if he can complete all his courses within a three year
> window of receiving his last unemployment cheque (May 2010). The Ontario
> Works caseworker then told Matthew that they would have no problem paying
> for his courses since it's for the future of his career of having his own
> business... and they would even pay for gas for him to get to the courses,
> work boots, etc... just not for the wood or tools (supplies), he would be on
> his own for those things. They paid for three courses for him... then she
> wanted him to go into a "Focus Workshop" at Ontario Works for 6 weeks and he
> would be going to a different caseworker at that point.
>
> He did the workshop with his new caseworker, then an interview was set up
> for the job he's at now... and no mention was made about getting him back
> into the cabinetmaking courses until I got Matthew to get after them about
> it. He was told by his new caseworker that it couldn't be done. I got him
> to request a meeting with the new caseworker and the old caseworker so that
> they old one could fill the new one in on how she had set it up and got it
> approved by their superior. They had the meeting where the old caseworker
> said "I never said we'd pay for ALL the courses. I thought you only had two
> or three left to do." That is an outright lie, because I was at the meeting
> with her when she told him that they would have no problem paying for the
> courses because it was for his career... and she was told that he had a
> couple of courses left in the FIRST level, and had two more levels after
> that. In fact she even suggested to Matthew that he double (or triple if
> possible) up on the courses so he *could* complete them all within the three
> year window so the other branch of the government could help him get his
> business started. Once again... government back-tracking! Without their
> help, there is no way that we can afford the courses... expecially not two
> or three of them at once... so he'll never get them all completed by May
> 2010 so the other branch of the government can help him get his business
> started. :o/
>
> Anyway, on to other things.... We no longer have our swimming pool. At
> the end of last summer it developed a small slit in the bottom, so we
> decided to let it drain out and we'd patch it this year before re-filling
> it. It drained and remained empty throughout the winter, except for the
> snow that went in it. Then a couple of months ago when we had spring thaw
> and all the snow melted, then we had lots of rain on top of it... the dirt
> around the pool (remember the people who lived here before us had sunk 3'
> into the ground... why is anybody's guess) gave way and caved the pool walls
> in on over half of it... frame and all. There's no way we can afford a new
> pool (it can't be fixed either), and we certainly can't afford to get enough
> dirt in to fill the hole where the pool sits... so Matthew went into the
> pool and made a few bigger holes in the bottom to let any rain water drain
> out so it doesn't attract mosquitoes. So now it sits, a great nasty looking
> hole in the ground with part of the frame still intact and the rest totally
> caved in. Matthew didn't use the pool often, but I used to go in there
> everyday... sometimes two or three times a day... to cool off and to do my
> water exercises, which is so good for the fibromyalgia.. and I actually lost
> 11 lbs last summer doing that too. Can't do that anymore. *shrug* Oh
> well, more important things to worry about than whether we have a pool or
> not.
>
> Decided to make some banana bread two weeks ago. Got all the stuff measured
> out and the bananas mashed and ready to go, then went to get the bag of
> flour out of the cupboard. Didn't read the side of the bag so when I opened
> it I wondered what the tiny brown fleck were in it.... thinking the worst...
> bugs. EWWW!!! Then I looked at the side of the bag... it was whole wheat.
> Okay. I had never made banana bread with whole wheat flour before, but
> since I didn't have all-purpose flour and had no extra money to go buy
> some... and everything else was already measured out and ready to go... I
> made it with the whole wheat flour. It tasted just as nice! That's one
> large bag of whole wheat flour, so I'll be making banana bread every other
> week (every week is a bit too often for us) until it's gone. ;o)
>
> My cousin Linda's son talks to Matthew online at least once a week, and
> since his Mom passed away he's all alone in Toronto and not liking it at
> all, even though it's where he was born and raised. He's been telling
> Matthew that he might like to move up our way to be near us. Considering
> that he's used to a HUGE city like Toronto, he may have a hard time living
> in our small town... it's very quiet here with not a lot to do. However,
> there are a couple of nearby cities about 30 to 45 miles away, so if he
> doesn't like small town living but wants to be near us he could live in one
> of the cities. In any case, there's a lot of checking on things before he
> makes a final decision... like apartments, rent, JOBS, etc. So we'll see
> what happens.
>
> Well, I should go. I'm still not feeling the best and I need to rest.
> Maybe I'll find my way outside to sit in the sunshine, since we're *finally*
> having some nice weather. Had two weeks of REALLY warm weather about a
> month ago, and while I enjoyed it along with everyone else... it was far too
> early for it to be that warm. Makes me concerned what the weather will be
> like in August... we may need to get out our long-johns and sweaters. LOL
>
> On that happy (not) note... take care of yourselves. I won't be back for a
> while, but be careful what you say about me... I'll read it when I come
> back! ROTFL
>
> *hugs*
> Gemini
>
>
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