Well Hello!

This is another post about my Christmas Cactus.  You can see previous entries here, here, and here.

So the cactus has been producing flowers since I last posted about it on November 27.  It's usually only one or two flowers at a time, but that is a lot of blooming for a plant I thought only bloomed once a year (and for a limited time!). The flowering has been so consistent, that I actually stopped noticing them as something remarkable.  The cactus caught my eye this morning, however, as it was full of colour with 7 full blooms!  I also counted 14 buds in various states of growth towards flowering.  I asked Mom her thoughts on it's continuous state of blooming, and she said: "It must be happy and healthy".  Way to go, my plant buddy! I hope you stay happy and healthy for many more years to come!

I noticed some blooming action this morning!

Up close flowers.

So pretty!

iPod Replacement - Success!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I sent away for a replacement iPod Nano, as my 1st Generation Nano from 2005 had been recalled by Apple. It wasn't clear what the 7 year old iPods were being replaced with, so I was excited at the possibility of getting a brand new one (the new ones have touch screens!).  Apple emailed me this morning to let me know my replacement had been shipped and provided me with the UPS tracking number so I could watch it's delivery progress in real time.  I tracked the package obsessively throughout the day, and was excited when it read: "out for delivery" with an estimated arrival time of "end of day" Tuesday! That was today, People! 

My iPod was being delivered to my work, so my excitement was growing throughout the day.  While on a walk at lunch-time I spotted the UPS truck near the office and was overjoyed with the idea that it MIGHT ALREADY BE THERE!  Sadly no package was waiting for me upon my return, so I went back to obsessively checking the whereabouts of my package with the tracking number.  And my heart and brain stopped working when the internet told me that the package had already been delivered twenty minutes earlier.  The "proof of delivery" page on the tracking site said it was signed by a name I didn't recognize.  A silent panic attack was erupting in my head, as I calmly told my colleagues I was going to go look for it.

There are three units at my work address, so I went to the other two units to see if anyone signed for my package.  No luck.  Next I contacted UPS customer service, for what turned out to be an excellent customer service experience.  I (sort of) calmly explained what had happened and the CSR clicked a few buttons and was able to tell me that the package had been delivered to the wrong address (three doors up the street).  It might sound odd to say, but I was so grateful to be told the truth in such a matter-of-fact way. I wasn't mad - I was just happy it was somewhere and not lost. The CSR let me know he was sending a urgent memo to the driver to have it picked up and brought back to me, and that UPS would call me back within the hour to provide me with more details. I was still in hunting mode, so I told the CSR I was also going to check out the address up the street, and if I was able to get the package back myself, I would call back to let him know.

I went up the street to a local realtor, who had indeed received my package. The woman at the front desk let me know she had just phoned UPS to inform them she received a package by mistake.  She wasn't able to give it to me - and I understood - as UPS was on their way to get it from her, and it would look bad if they came to get it and she didn't have it anymore.  I didn't mind the further delay, I was just happy that it was confirmed safe and sound.

So at 4:15pm the UPS driver returned with my package and lightened the situation by making a joke about whether I really wanted it. I smiled; I was just happy to have it. Everything worked out and it did arrive by "end of day" Tuesday like they had originally said.

And after all the commotion, inside the package I found:

iPod Nano - 6th Generation, 8G - For The Win!

And just to recap, this replacement is superior to my 1st Generation Nano as it has 8G (mine only had 4), it has a touch screen(!), and it is the most recent model they have.  Thanks, Apple!  Anything else you want to recall?

200th Post

I have been pretty inconsistent with my blog frequency over the past year, but even so, I have made it to my 200th post on My Adorable Small Town Life!  In the coming weeks I might try and change up my template (I'm reluctantly realizing it is old and limited), and I'm hoping to post more too!

Thanks for reading!!

Take It To The Woods

Yesterday John and I went out for an afternoon/evening camp out in the woods. Normally our camp out is near the end of winter/early spring, as the woods are more bearable then (less snow, warmer temps). Even though it is still the middle of winter, we've seen above average temperatures and barely any snowfall this year, so we got to enjoy an early camp out on the weekend.

I love the woods.  It is close enough to home that I'm not scared I'll get lost, and yet it is somehow completely removed from the madness of everyday.  My mind naturally stops thinking about the regular bullshit that normally plagues me, and instead focuses on what is around me.  The fresh air, gathering wood for the fire, the sound of the wind, the smell of the fire, and really thinking about what to eat next.  Did I mention that being in the woods is also an amazing excuse to eat copious amounts of hot dogs? My favourite kind is a Snackin' Dog; that is when you eat the hot dog directly off the roasting stick. I had at least three snackin' dogs yesterday.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos of my fire roasted hot dogs or sausages; they had no time for the camera and went directly into my belly.

The following are the photos I did remember to take throughout the aft/evening:

The awesome stick pile I gathered!

Hello fire!!

Keeping the drinks and condiments cold!

Meat and Marshmallows!

Moon rising.  It was almost full and kept the woods bright.

Fire is kicking ass at this moment!

I'm trying to roast a marshmallow - that's it in middle of the fire.

Marshmallow caught on fire (as always!)

It got pretty dark and the moon got more beautiful.

End of the night fire - beginning to wind down.

Paying With Plastic

I never have cash on me, and if I do, at most it's a twenty.  Everything is either debit or credit, unless there is a "get 10% off" deal if you pay in cash.

Because I spend so little time with cash, I was surprised to learn that Canada now has a new $100 bill.  I had the pleasure of holding one today and looking at all the neat security features, which includes being made out of plastic instead of paper.  Wild!

I then watched this video on the new bill from the Bank of Canada to learn more about it:



Canadian readers, have you seen or held one of these yet?  What do you think about them?  My first thought was that they are props from some futuristic/Sci-Fi movie.