Welcome to the 26th edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

With Mother’s day around the corner, I figured I’d join many others in dedicating my TT to my mum this week. *smarmy TV infomercial voice* But wait, that’s not all. In addition to a TT complete with facts about mum, you’ll also receive a list of words and phrases my parents used that the hubby had to learn after hooking up with me!

Thirteen things about my mum. Mum is the 4th of 10 (living) children and was named for her mother. The four eldest all immigrated to Canada. Mum was a registered nurse, retired, and then went back to work years later as a teaching assistant in the NB school system. Mum immigrated to Canada and landed in BC with her eldest sister. They eventually moved to Ontario to be closer to their eldest brother. Mum met my dad at a legion dance (in Port Credit, I believe) in the late 60’s. Mum and dad moved back to Scotland for a time but decided to return to Canada in the early 70’s (after my sister was born but before I came into the picture). Dad was already back in Canada and working when mum gave birth to my sister in Scotland. She returned to Canada on her own with an infant. Despite having her driver’s license for donkey’s years, mum has only recently started driving. When I was in school, mum took upgrading classes from STU and Grant McEwan. Mum’s an extroverted people person. She’ll talk to complete strangers and know their histories in no time. Mum’s outspoken and not afraid to tell people what she’s thinking. Mum’s the keeper of the family history. She has a phenomenal memory but needs to write it all down cause I have a memory live a sieve some days. The hubby tells me (and everyone else, if I were being honest) that my mum has a thick accent and when she’s excited, speaks so quickly he has difficulty understanding her. I’ve never noticed. I guess you don’t hear accents in your own parent’s speech. Mum’s incredibly strong. She’s survived the hell of my teen years and dad’s illness and subsequent death with dignity and grace. Bonus: Thirteen words or phrases I grew up with that the hubby had to learn late in life… This was a difficult one, since lots of words and phrases my parents use had to be translated when the hubby and I started dating – and through the years. To make it easier on myself, I’ll admit to falling back on ones that not only have I had to translate, but ones that I’ve been known to say to the hubby myself. So, no mention of argie-bargie (argument), tattiebogle (ragamuffin), sweeties (candy), swally (swallow; devour), feart (afraid), hoose (house), moose (mouse), cludgie (lavatory; toilet), heid (head), ta (thanks), wallae (wallow), gie (give), or wean (baby, child) on the list, although they certainly deserve a mention somewhere. Oh wait, I did mention them 😉 Bog – Loo; Bathroom (also twa-let) Whinge – Whine; Whining. As in quit your whingin’ and get over here to help. Tatties (also Tawtie) – Potato Bahookie – Buttocks. As in get your bahookie up here. Knackered – Exhausted; Very Tired. As in no the noo, I’m knackered. Daft – Stupid; Silly; Insane; Crazy. As in don’t be daft. Dram – Tot of liqour. As in gie us a wee dram. Knock me up in the morning – Knock on the door to wake me up when you get up in the morning. I still remember the look on the hubby’s face the first time my mom said this to him. Knocked up definitely means something different in Canada than it did to my parents. Deid (also Dede) – Dead Blether – Babble; Chat; Talk Nonsense. As in stop your blethering. Beastie – Bug; Insect. As in the beastie bit me. No the noo – Not right now Whish – Hush; Be quiet. As in would you whish? Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: thursday thirteen, t13, meme, mum, Mother’s day

According to the news (here & here), the housing crunch in Edmonton isn’t just hitting civilians. Military families, many who originally lived off-base because housing was cheaper in the city and surrounding areas than it was in Edmonton Garrison, are finding themselves facing the same housing issues as everyone else in the area. Rents are skyrocketing and available houses are few and far between.

While military housing hasn’t been free for as long as we’ve been associated with the CF, I remember a time when it was partially subsidized (ending in the mid-to-late 90’s) and made financial sense for many military families to live on base as opposed to in cities and towns located near by.

Years ago on many Canadian Forces Bases, single military members could live in the shacks (barracks) for an indefinite period of time. Married couples without children could also find homes available to them. The hubby and I were able to live in Q’s in Borden and Winnipeg. Sure, we had to wait 10 months for an open Q when we moved to Winnipeg, but at least we qualified.

When we moved to Edmonton, we were told that no houses were available to us at Lancaster Park because we didn’t have children. Oddly enough, they had quite a few empty houses in the area at the time, we just weren’t allowed to live in one. We did manage to qualify to live in a run down, sewage spewing (don’t ask, it’s a gross story) mess of a row house in Griesbach.

Military housing is infamous for being sub-par. I learned a few things very quickly in my tenure in Q’s:

1. Many civilians think you live in the house for free and don’t pay rent.
2. Civilians who know military members pay rent don’t often realize that it’s no longer subsidized and that rents are based on the average rental rate for the area the base is located in. You may pay 50-100$ less for a base house than any other house in the area, but it’s hardly a bargain.
3. Military families who live in Q’s aren’t protected by provincial rentalsman offices and can’t withhold rent if there’s a problem with the house you’re living in. Rent comes directly off the military member’s paycheque. Sure, you can complain to the ombudsman or the CFHA, but you better ensure you don’t become an administrative burden or you could find your career adversely effected.
4. Having a hornet’s nest in the walls of the house, waiting 3 weeks for a working bathroom (when there’s only one in the house), 4 months for a hole in the roof to be fixed, or 4 days in the dead of Winnipeg winter for a back door to be put on your house won’t get you a discount on your rent or a move to a different Q. Don’t let the CFHA mission and vision statements fool you – the reality we’ve experienced over the past decade is very different.
5. Civilians working for DND have qualified for Q’s, while military members sit on waiting lists hoping for a place to live.

We learned very quickly upon arrival in Edmonton that if you don’t have children, you better find somewhere else to live. Luckily for us, we bought out house a few months before the housing market went through the roof. Our mortgage is less than what we were previously paying in rent. Sure, I may have had a busted sump in my basement last week but within 48 hours my water issues have been resolved, my basement is dry, and I’m not spending days sitting on hold with CFHA begging for assistance.

My heart goes out to military familes, seniors and low-income families who are facing the current housing shortage and crazy rent increases. Edmonton is a wonderful city to live in, but it’s quickly being priced out of reach of many who currently live here.

Technorati Tags: Canadian Forces, Housing, Edmonton, CFHA, PMQ

Thane Burnett, a writer with the Sun Media chain, has been working on an interesting project of late. His articles focus on the early years of many of the soldiers who have died as part of the NATO operation in Afghanistan. In conjunction with family members, he had gathered photos and memories to share with a nation – one that often forgets it’s soldiers until it’s politically convenient to send them off on yet another peacekeeping tour.

If you have a few moments today, you may enjoy the following:

• Article: Return to Innocence – Thane Burnett
• Video: Return to Innocence – Thane Burnett
• Article: When they were young – Thane Burnett
• Link: Return to Innocence Project – Sun Media

Technorati Tags: Thane Burnett, Canadian, Canoe, Sun, soldiers

There’s a reason I’m not a contractor. What I thought was flooding is apparently “minor seepage”. The contractor noticed that the float had somehow become disconnected from the sump pump and it wasn’t turning on to shift the water outside to the water main, which caused the water to flow into the basement through the boring hole. What I thought were leaks in the foundation turned out to be the lowest points in the basement and thus where the water was pooling. First thing he did was fix the sump pump and less than 30 minutes later almost all of the water was gone from the basement. I got the “it doesn’t matter what time of the night it is, you should have called immediately” lecture – so I’ve warned him I’ll be calling in the middle of the night should it happen again – and then the basement was loaded with industrial heating fans to dry it out.

The walls have been inspected for water damage and the baseboards and vents removed to check for any sign of water in the walls. So far, it’s looking good. The list of repairs turned out to be pretty minor (and affordable) and began yesterday. By the sounds of things, they should be finished up today.

We’ve got a to do list for outside when the ground dries enough to do some digging, but he thinks that can hold off until the hubby gets home to lend his arms and back to the digging process. Being your own manual labour helps keep the costs of repairs down 😉

There’s no sign of mold in the basement and the last flood was many, many years ago (the previous owner’s son lives in the house next door and grew up in this house) so it doesn’t appear that this is a common problem with the house. The sump pump was added to the house after that watery experience. The end verdict appears to be that had the sump pump been working properly at the time, the water wouldn’t have been all over my basement floor.

As for my poor neighbour, he had one of the few basements on the street that didn’t have any water seepage and was kept busy running from house to house inspecting the damage. Guess there’s no such thing as a weekend off when you’re a contractor living in Edmonton.

There’s a tonne of clouds in the sky and it looks like it may soon rain again so I’ll soon know the quality of the repairs…

Technorati Tags: water damage, flood, sump pump, contractor, neighbours

It’s been raining here for over 24 hours and for the first time since we’ve owned our home (2 years this month) the basement has flooded. I’ve spent the last 4 hours (since the discovery) with a wet/dry vac and a tonne of blankets and towels trying to get a handle on the mess. Of course, the hubby is off on exercises for at least another 15 days and I have no way to contact him to even let him know what’s going on.

See, I thought I knew what I was doing when I quit my job – I put enough money aside to ensure that we could pay our bills until I could find a job that I liked and a company I wanted to work for (well, until the end of July at least). I have a feeling all those plans will be quickly laid to waste considering the amount of water that’s floating around here and the fact that I can’t trace it’s origin. The ceiling is dry, the walls are dry, and the windows aren’t leaking. I have a feeling it’s a problem with the foundation – which means that repairs are going to cost a small fortune.

I’ll be up all night trying to keep this mess under control and first thing tomorrow morning (well – a reasonable hour at least) I’ll be banging on the neighbours door asking for help. Thank goodness he’s a respectable and honest contractor. If he can’t find/fix the problem, he’ll at least know who I should contact for additional help.

Someone send me good luck vibes quick – I’m in desperate need of them!

Update: It’s just shy of 8am and I’ve been up all night trying to keep the water levels down. I’ve identified four leaky areas and as I suspected, they’re all foundation issues. From the looks of things, we’ll need to pull down two walls, fix the leaks, and get new walls put up. Going to give the neighbour at least another hour to sleep in before I go begging at his door for help. And yes, it’s still raining outside. *sigh*

Technorati Tags: water, flood, basement, repairs, contractor