March Madness

Today is March 19th, and that means that there are only twelve more days, and the month will be over.  I find that once the first three months in a year are complete, it seems the rest of the year is on fast forward. Remember when old people used to say "time just flies by".  They are right, it certainly does.  

March is an interesting month, and my favorite part is the anticipation and arrival of spring.  One of my fondest memories about March was the calving season. I loved spring and those baby calves.  There was nothing more amazing to me than the birth of twin calves. My thoughts go to those cattle farmers who will be anticipating calving in March or have already started.  Just making sure the animals are safe and dry during the cold weather or storms is so much more work than anyone truly realizes. My memory is that some unsuspected cow will wander off to find the worst place ever to have her calf during a storm. Calving farmers are amazing, it doesn't matter how many cows they have, they know when one is missing.    

I am titling my March projects "March Madness".  I think it is only suiting because there are some pretty big projects that I have planned to happen. Who knows what type of madness will occur while I'm doing them. 

At one time, March Madness was when my bestie and I would get together at her house and scrap book.  She has beautiful supplies and ideas and I had nothing but my pictures.  We would set aside an entire weekend and we scrapped.  I am not a scrap booker because as I mentioned you need supplies, but I am a scrap booker with other people's supplies.  It was just so much fun, just being together was the best therapy a girl could ever want. It was also productive, as my photos are in order because of the madness.  

March is the month I pay for my license and insurance for my car.  Next to my taxes my license is the largest bill that I pay. I made the decision to pay my license and taxes once a year as opposed to monthly payments.  So, license is due the end of the month and is written on the calendar, we all know how nothing is missed once on the calendar. I am reminded of the madness in many households where there are several licenses that come due in various months of the year. I have a wee bit of dread for one bill, I can't imagine what that must be like.  I assume they just throw it on the pile of things that need to get paid to function.    

I recently slept on a Comfort Tech Cool mattress, and I slept so much better than I usually do.  It is a memory foam mattress and I have always stayed clear of a memory foam because I thought I would get too hot.  The memory foam companies are on to that and are now adding the word "cool". I did my google search and the life span of a mattress is 7-10 years.  I think mattresses should have a date on them when they are bought because 7-10 years just swoops by. I decided to get the memory foam mattress from Costco, so it would be delivered to my door. The sucker arrived all 72 pounds of it.  It comes all wrapped up in plastic and appears like a flat pancake.  Once you burst it free, and air hits it,  it takes one minute to get to full size. So far all is good, it hasn't fallen into the category of "why did I buy this".   

This is a Costco bedroom not mine.

With the arrival of a new mattress, I was faced with the challenge of getting rid of my old one.  I contacted one of the thrift stores that does pick-up to find out they can't take used mattresses.  They suggest I contact another group that picks up furniture and delivers it to the needy.  By the end of the day, two volunteers from the St. Vincent De Paul program were at my door to get the mattress off my hands. They were headed straight to another home of a woman with seven kids who had nothing.  I can't believe the groups in Brandon that help the poor and the struggling. The hardest part is that I am totally unaware of most of them.  I am stumbling around and through contacts I hear of great places and groups. I always have my ear to the ground for contacts that help others and I find it hard.  What is everyone else doing? I wish there was a better system to be aware, or maybe there is, I'm just not as resourceful as I thought I was.  

One thing leads to another and since I have a new mattress, I have put "attacking my bedroom" on the March list. This will be true madness because I plan to follow through with the "look at it, clean it and take care of it" plan.  I do a lot of shuffling of clothes in my bedroom but little else. The moment of staring something in the face and saying "what should I do with you" is about to happen. I will have to be in the mood, so I am hoping that mood arrives before the end of March.

I am going to do my own income tax this year, yep, I am.  Then I am going to take it to my Income Tax Lady, and have it done properly.  Did you know that you cannot pick up a paper income tax form anywhere.  You have to print the form or order it through the mail.  I printed off a copy so to me that means I am committed to my idea. This is the first year I pay taxes from my pension, OAS and CPP. I don't think it is going to end well for me this year, but who knows.  

St. Patrick's Day was on Friday and it is a celebration of Irish religion.  I realized today that I have zero green clothes to wear on the 17th.  I did make some very pale green cookies with white chocolate and mint chips in celebrating the eating of green food. 

                               

Mom has joined me this weekend for her winter holiday in Brandon. The hunt for puzzles is on and there won't be a thrift store that will be spared.  Dollarama, Northern Reflections, Walmart and Giant Tigers are some of her favorites. We blasted out a circle puzzle in between shopping trips.  As a rule, Mom brings on a storm and her stay is often extended.  This time she caught a ride, and they had to leave earlier than planned because of blowing snow.  We will see what tomorrow brings for departure.  

Winter storm earlier this month

March highlights so far was a wild and crazy winter storm. Of course, we have sprung ahead in time, and for me that went pretty smoothly.  Let's face it, what does it matter what time it is once in retirement.  The men's curling has come and gone, which I found was exciting and something to watch on a regular basis. Spring will be arriving and that is always encouraging.  Sadly, the country mourned the death of two police officers in Edmonton.  How can we stop the senseless deaths of the brave men and women that devote their lives to protect us. 

I am not sure how much I will or will not get done in March. I remind myself I am retired, productivity is selective.  I don't base my days on what I get done, I base them on how I feel by getting things done.  Let the madness continue.  

I just love her