Little butane stove Rocks.

Love the little butane stove, that I bought for $15 at LeBaron. It's easy to use and I can get around my fear of plugging propane tanks to the propane stove!

Found out from friends that Asian stores seem to have the best price on butane.

So Canadian tire has 3 butane containers for $8.99

LeBaron has 4 butane containers for $8.99

Marche Sheng Tai on Sources blvd has 4 butane containers for $4.99

My friends get their butane from an Asian Market near Atwater downtown Montreal.

Friend goes home today

Hockey Playing Gnome

As I write this, my friend in somewhere on the road probably just entering Edmunston, New Brunswick. She was in Riviere du Loup an hour ago. 

We had a great time during her visit. We shopped at Ikea, we went to MegaMall Vaudreuil or whatever it's called last Sunday and shopped still we dropped. She came to lunch with the gang from work last Thursday. We went to Ottawa earlier this week. It was fun :) I could have joined her at Peel last night but decided that I would rather work late to make up the Tuesday I took off to go to Ottawa. 

I took a photo of this gnome at the Canadian Tire in Ste Dorothe back in June. Adding it to this entry is completely gratuitous.

Abu Garcia spinning reel fishing rod

Today I went to 2 Canadian Tires before I managed to buy the Abu Garcia fishing rod. Last week at the Canadian Tire in Kirkland, the clerk admitted sheepishly that while tehy showed 7 in stock no one could locate them. This week when I came back I got help from a different clerk and she too, came back sheepishly to say that they could not locate any of the fishing rods. That's when I went to the Canadian Tire on Sources, and then had just received 3 so he was able to fetch one for me from the stock room.

I like the name. Abu in arabic means father of. And Garcia reminds me of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful dead. Somehow it makes me think the fishing rod will be very zen. 

It's a spinning reel and I have no idea how to us it. I did a piss poor job of putting the line on, but I figure I need to learn how to do it. I looked at videos but it wasn't helpful. I can't follow. Yay ADHD! 

Reading the instructions doesn't help either because I get confused by the names and the way instructions are written. AGHhhh.  I did the reel twice. The 2nd time was much better then the first, but I'm sure it wasn't good enough. And at the same time I just wanted to go out in the rain [and we all know I hate being outside in the rain. I feel like I'm going to melt if I get wet], and try the new rod out, even in the back river. 

All dressed up and nowhere to go!

So yesterday I stayed home and did absolutely nothing. I had worked all my hours from Monday to Thursday, so I could take Friday off. My gf was going up to Ottawa for the day and offered to take me up. I figured I'd visit my friend. Apparently it was not to be. He had 3 doctors appointment that day. The only day in the month where he had any plans!

So I figured I had the day off we could go canoeing. But I checked the weather at the park I was planning to go to, and it was going to drizzle in the morning followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon. Since it's not safe to be on the water during a thunderstorm and besides, I don't like being outside in rain in general, we did not go canoeing. 

I also messaged my friends I went canoe-camping with last month, knowing it was last minute, but they had already made plans. But I've learned over the years that it's better to ask and be told friends are busy, then to find out in a few weeks that they were free that day and could have enjoyed your company! 

In the end I stayed home and decided to watch "Without a Trace" all over again. The weather was not appealing at all and after the cleaning lady had left, I had no motivation to do anything or go anywhere. It probably didn't help that I couldn't sleep till about 4am and I woke up at 6:30am like I would if I had work that day!

Maybe today I will go to Canadian Tire to see if they have the Abu Garcia fishing rod in stock. I was going to pick it up last week-end however the clerk told me rather apologetically before giving me a rain-check "We list having 7 in stock but no one has been able to locate them at this point".  The rod is normally $79.99 and was on sale at $29.99 and has excellent reviews. I need a new fishing rod. I love mine, but I got it I was 10 years old. I need one that is a bit sturdier :)

Went to Ikea with my gf last Wednesday night. I impressed myself, by spending only $25 there, and for that price, other then light bulbs for my little star lamps in my bedroom, I got a LED flashlight, and a small broom/dustpan set to use camping.  There tends to be lots of sand that accumulates in the bottom of the tent. would be good to get it out just before putting tent away. Now equipped to do so.

Friend lucky in her bad luck

My gf had scheduled an oil change at her favourite Montreal garage, the Midas on the corner of St Charles near the 40.  They also do an inspection with the oil change, and the mechanic noticed that one of her tires was beyond bald, the metal was sticking out. 

How she made it from Oromocto to Montreal in the psychotic weather, with the construction holiday traffic on those tires is a mystery to all of us, but we are all grateful that none of the tires decided to have a blowout on the highway.

She was planning on shopping in Montreal, but I doubt she planned to shop for tires!  She found a good tire sale at Canadian Tire, buy 3 get the 4rth one free! Either way, her vehicle now has 4 new summer tires, that won't risk going "BOOM, boom, boom, all through the town..."

Gardening boots

My trip at Canadian Tire this morning was not a complete waste. I did end up picking up some rubber boots for gardening  on special. 

They are the most comfortable pair of rubber boots I've ever owned.  They also appear to be warm.  I have some "billy boots" that date back 20 years ago. I wear them if I need them but I've never found them comfortable or warm. Even with a thick pair of wool socks.

Canadian Tire disorganized, manager surly

I went to Canadian Tire in Kirkland this morning to pick up a few items including some "Color my Garden" black CIL Cedar Mulch that was $2 off. You buy them at the cash and pick them up with your vehicle at their gate.  It was obvious the kid working there wasn't the sharpest in the drawer, since he needed the help of another clerk to figure out which mulch the folks before me bought.

After waiting what seemed like 20 minutes, he finally gets to me, tells me to pull my truck near the mulch. That's when they start to panic because there was 7 packages and I had bought 10. In the end there was only 7 to be had, they had to get the manager who told the kid he needed to take me to the cash to get me a refund since they didn't have it now, but they may have it this afternoon.  The kid was telling me to follow him and the bags weren't even in my truck.

The manager was surly and not very nice, considering it's not like *I* complained. I paid for product they didn't have. I was not responsible for the blunder, they were. I didn't ask to speak to a manager. The two boys who coulnd't find more of the mulch went to get the manager.


She made me feel like somehow I was a HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS and  I should be more understanding that even though I was in before noon, and the product is clearly advertised in their flyer and on their website, that it's normal for them to sell product they don't have.  Then it's a HUGE INCONVENIENCE for them to refund the poor SCHMUCK who bought them in good faith. 

That's OK, what goes around comes around.  If she has no tolerance for people perhaps she should get a job restocking shelves at night. What's for sure is karma will get her. She'll meet someone as surly as her I can guarantee it.

I didn't feel like an appreciated client that's for sure. I felt  like how dare I buy something they didn't have in stock and made HER look bad. DO you think she apologized for store not having it? NO. She made it sound like I  was being totally unreasonable for buying 10 so early in the season.

And overall there was the smell of fried Eggplant.......

Nothing is quite as satisfying. I just can't help myself.

Thankfully I do not take my youngest daughter grocery shopping often. She tends to hide the eggplant and abandon it randomly in the store before I get to the cash register. Not much satisfaction finding out you need another trip to the store minus aformentioned daughter.

Right up there are the Cremi "Mint & Cream" sugar free candies. Quite addictive. Must get another bag. Must try other flavours.

I went to Canadian Tire today. It was an absolute zoo. I didn't really need christmas lights, but I had to check out all the sales. At one point I was trying to get out of this aisle. I must have tried about 8 times to finally be able to get out of the aisle. I was giggling, finding the whole thing so incredibly absurb.

Ever notice that the bigger the sale, the more clients they attract, the more likely they are to block up aisles with huge pyramid-like displays making it imposible to get around with a grocery cart. It makes more sense to park the cart 5 aisles away from where I wanted to be, it was the only way to be able to approach the items I wanted to check out.