You Oughta Be in Pictures

Tuesday night I had written this absolutely STELLAR post about how I was going to be in a movie shoot. I had told the story of how #2Son had been given this notice, from the school, in November or December about a movie being filmed in our town. He really wanted to go to this casting call and would I take him. I did. And while we were there, the lady in charge indicated that I would have to be there as his guardian, so I may as well fill out an application as well. So I did.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a phone message that they needed an extra for the movie. And the extra was me. Not #2Son. So, as any good, loving, nurturing parent would do, I said I wouldn’t go if he didn’t want me to. And, as any young boy would do, he said, “Whatcha gonna do with the money you make….if I say its okay to go?”. To which I replied, “Save it for high speed internet.” “GO MOMMY, GO!!!!”.

And then I wrote a blog about it. And the blog disappeared. So, here’s a small recap of the tale of my day on a movie set.

So I went. I gave it a hundred million once overs I might add.. It was going to be cold. Veerrryyy COLD!. As a matter of fact, when I came home on Tuesday night, I was not going. Even though I had confirmed that I would be there…I WAS NOT GOING!!!

And then... I got the email. Giving time, location, duration of shoot, and who was going to be on the set while I was there. And…I changed my mind.

So, cut to Wednesday morning (pardon me, I was going to be on a movie set where the word “cut” comes up quite often – just getting into the spirit of things!). At 5:30 am I rose, nothing out of the ordinary, except I wasn’t making lunches nor getting all prettied up to go to the office. The lunch thing was because I was absolutely certain that there would be no school. The temperature, with the windchill, was -45C. The buses don’t run in that kind of weather. I was wrong, but #2Son stayed home anyway…it was cold!! And, with a quick shower and a cup of tea, I was off to my call to the set – 7:00 am.

And, to make a long story short, I spent 15 hours on the set of a movie. I got to say hi to Renee Zelleweger….made some googly eyes at Harry Connick Jr. (they weren’t reciprocated, but who cares!) and really think that I may have made it into a couple of scenes. If not me, The Cav did!! I’m so proud…

But MAN was it cold!!! Nothing like being at a “winter carnival” in -44C weather! AND making like you’re actually having a good time!!! Oh, and if that wasn’t enough…watch a hockey game as well! We weren’t 2 hours into the shoot when I thought…”my feet feel like blocks of ice”. A change into some dry wool socks, and with the gracious crew handing out “hot shots” to warm the hands and feet, I was good to go.

I’m sorry, I could go into a lot more detail, but, due to the confidentially agreement I signed, I’m limited as to what I can say.

But I will say this…, it was a trip! So cool!! It’s absolutely amazing to see the time and effort (not to mention the money) that goes into getting a 15 or 30 second shot in a movie. And, the crew was incredible! The were so caring and concerned and appreciative. The Director (or at least the guy who was giving us direction as what we should be doing and needed to be doing and how we should be “acting”) actually came out and thanked us for bearing the cold temps and doing such a great job. I mean, I’m sure that this happens on any winter shoot, but still…..we spent (and I mean all 250 of us) about 9 hours out in the cold.

All in all, it was really a fun day. Long, but a blast! And, Renee, such a tiny little thing and so very cute! #2Son is about the same size. She made a little conversation with us “background” folk. Harry….oh my! Harry!!! Such a….yeah, he is SOOOO nice!!!

So, when given the opportunity to retire, I’m going to be an extra in the movies. Why not! They feed you. Water you. Give you lip balm and hot shots for your cold fingers and feet! Every need is taken care of while you are on the set. Except for the toilet paper, but hey, put me in charge and I’ll get you 4 rolls!

It was an absolutely great day. And I’m exhausted.

Cut!!

THAT’S A WRAP!!!!

Cue applause and much appreciation from the “BACKGROUND…..GO!!!!”

Put it Where?

The other day I was at work having lunch. As a matter of fact, I was having chunky soup that contained far too many green beans, at least two whole potatoes, not enough carrots and 6 pieces of beef. It wasn’t bad. For soup. I don’t like soup all that much and would much rather have been eating a burger or a sandwich, but I’m watching the carbs going in.

Anyway, there I sat, with half a bowl full of green beans and potatoes. I was finished. And I didn’t have a clue what to do with the leftovers. Normally, I bring my lunch in my own container so I would’ve put the leftovers back in the container and taken them home with me to be disposed of there. But this lunch came out of a can.

What was I suppose to do with it? If it put it in the sink, it would surely plug it up. If I put it in the garbage, the bag would’ve leaked and made a mess all over the place – believe, I know this. ALL garbage bags leak!

One of the guys informed me that I should just flush it down the toilet.

SAY WHAT???

After have been living in the country for the last 17 years, with a septic field, you have to be very careful what you flush down the toilet. Flushing stuff, other than what naturally would go into the toilet, will screw up not only your septic tank, it’ll clog the field as well. You stand the chance of plugging your immersion pump. And if you don’t, surely you need to get the honey truck out twice a year to remove all of the “solid” material from down at the bottom of the tank. All of this can get quite expensive. (For those of you really interested, I can compile a list of “do not flush” items and forward it, just let me know!)

But, here I was, in the city, where apparently the sewer system works a little differently. It was a very strange thing for me to walk into the ladies washroom with half a bowl of soup. For starters, who takes food into the washroom? And then, pour it into the toilet? And finally, flush it down?

Weird, weird, weird.

Almost There

I'm getting close to getting this thing to feel right.

But welcome to my new home. As I said, it's all here, the history, the pictures, the silly stuff and the serious.

The hardest thing for me to do was to post a picture. I take a horrible picture. But this one was taken in the front seat of my car on an early winter morning. I found that the lighting was good. Nothing like the glow from an interior car light to make anyone look better.

Man, the places I could go with that comment!

Before this time

The Summary

Thursday, January 24, 2008

D Day

Apparently today is the most depressing day of the year. Yep, January 24th.

And you know, I can see why. By now we’ve all received the bills for the credit cards that were used over the holiday season. We’re broke as broke can be. It’s been freezing outside for what seems like forever. Every New Years Resolution I made has been broken and remade at least 3 times. I didn’t win a free trip to Sandals Jamaica (I was sure I would because then I’d have to panic and find someone to watch the boys, watch the dogs, watch the house and probably pay through the nose to get SG and I our passports!) And it feels like January is never going to end.

I don’t know about you, but once February gets here I just feel like it turns all good! The month of “love and chocolate”, an extra “day of no work” day on February 18th, the Red River CO-OP cheques get mailed, and given the amount of gas we use, the cheque should be a good one! Spring starts in March (which is also the month of my birth, a fine, fine month I do say!) and then April with the rain and the distinct possibility that some of the perennials will begin to poke their new growth out of the ground. May, well we set up the pool and get the garden seeds in. June….And I better stop because before you know, I’ll be back at January and we’ll all be down in the dumps once again.

Keep your chin up and don’t listen to the hype. Only 9 days and then a new month is upon us. And if you’re anything like me, you can’t believe how fast time is passing by. It’s important to enjoy the days as they come.

Enough pep talk…here’s a funny!

The Burglar

A burglar breaks into a house one night. While shining his flashlight on the floor in the dark, he hears a voice saying, "Jesus is watching you."

He looked around nervously, shook his head, and kept looking for valuables.

He again heard, “Jesus is watching you.”

This time he shinned his light all around the room, and it rested on a parrot. He asked, “Did you say that?”

The parrot said, “I'm just trying to warn you, that's all.”

The burglar asked, “Warn me, huh? Who are you? What's your name?”

“Moses.”

“Well, what kind of stupid people would name a parrot ‘Moses’?”

The bird answered, “I don't know; I guess the same folks who would name a Rottweiler ‘Jesus’.“

Ciao!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Man is it cold...

Had my computer hat on last night. Here and at the neighbours. It's not easy to know a little bit about everything and not a lot about one thing. Vista? Yeah, not looking forward to that!

What else...new email address, hope you all got it and put in your address book. And, I'm running late here today, so that's it for now.

Oh wait





Last night's moon rise. It was kinda weird being home before dark - I kinda liked it.

Ciao

Monday, January 21, 2008

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

It's a wee bit cold out there

This is a good thing!

This....not so good

As I received a lecture on smoking on Friday night, I just have to say it's a good thing I need to go out every morning for my fix.

Much to tell, many stories to relay...just have to find the time to sit and write them!

Ciao!!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Life with my AB

So, I’ve been dreaming again. I hadn’t been dreaming in a long time, or at least that I could remember. It was kinda depressing, because I used to have some of the best dreams. Dreams that I would wallow in all day long and relive by day dreaming. Dreams that I'm certainly not going to tell the www about!! Really good dreams (wink wink if you know what I mean). And then, I discovered that if I sleep on my stomach, I will have dreams. Lots and lots of dreams.

And, as you may be aware, if you’re dreaming, it means you are getting what is called REM sleep. And in order to get REM sleep, you need to be getting enough oxygen. And if you’re getting enough oxygen, it means you’re breathing and your subconscious is able to relax and release and you dream.

Or something like that….

All I know is that by dreaming, it means I’ve been sleeping, which means I’ve been breathing. And it also means there is hope.

And now, I have the “Air Box”, AB for short. It’s actually a CPAP machine, which is the acronym for something that escapes me at this time. Anyway, I went on Thursday and got fitted with a nifty little nose cover thinga-ma-bob, a five foot hose and a head strap. Oh, and they tossed in a chin strap too, because, as I’ve discovered, if you open your mouth while all hooked up to AB and try and sneak even the most minute amount of air through your mouth rather than your nose, well, your air supply is compromised and panic sets in and the nose cover (why not, let’s call it NC for short) gets ripped from your face in a fit of “OMG SOMEONE’S TRYING TO SUFFOCATE ME”.

And with this, I’m supposed to sleep.

The first night, Friday I found out that getting rigged up in this thing was rather sobering AND depressing. I guess I was in denial that I actually needed AB in order to get good quality, brain resting, dreamy sleep. So, while putting on the head strap I got a little emotional. I’ll admit it. I didn’t really want to put it on. And while SG was rubbing my back, telling me that it was a good thing, I found it really difficult to not tell him to go places where it’s really hot by the slang word for fornication. And then I cried. Rather "Drama Queen-ish" I've been told. But, I did put it on, was able to fall asleep and kept it on for about 4 hours. By 3:30 am, well, I’d just about had enough of this, so off it came.

Saturday night, I made it five hours. #2Son came into the bedroom around 4:30 and was asking where the acetaminophen was because he had a headache. It was at this time I discovered that you can’t talk when AB is hooked up and running either. Needless to say, I experienced once again that OMG SOMEONE’S TRYING TO SUFFOCATE ME!! feeling. Not nice. And once again NC was ripped off!

Last night, another 5 hours. But I must say, I think I’m feeling better. I think I’m sleeping better. I don’t know. It’s still too early to tell. There’s a memory card in my AB that will tell them all about how I have slept for the 30 day period that is considered a “trial” for this particular AB. Then we decide what to do next. Same AB? Different AB? All depends on how I breathe.

SG, on the other hand, still isn’t getting any sleep. Before AB came into our lives, he would worry about me when I stopped breathing and couldn’t sleep because of my snoring. Now, he worries because I’m very quiet…and he can’t hear me breathing.

Sweet dreams.

Ciao

Saturday, January 5, 2008

My Two Sons

On Monday, January 7, 2008, the funeral for a local 16 year old boy will be held in Selkirk. He was stabbed at a party in the early hours of the morning on New Year’s Day.

And, as I sit here writing this, I’m on the verge of tears. I have been since I heard about this horrible thing.

And, I’m absolutely terrified.

#1Son knew of this boy. He went to school with him. #1Son said that, on New Years Eve, he was thinking of going to the same party where this boy was fatally stabbed. A lot of his buddies were going and he entertained the thought of joining them.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him he would’ve never graced the doorstep of that party. I didn’t know the boy who was having the party. Never met him. Never met his parents. Didn’t even know where he lived. And for those reasons alone, he wouldn’t have been dropped off there.

Every single day I think about my two boys. I wonder about them. I worry about them. I’m curious as to what they’re doing. What they’re thinking. What they’re up to. And, as they’re getting older, it’s getting harder and harder to stay up to date with what they’re up to, what they’re thinking, what they’re doing. The doors that used to be open for communication are starting to close a little bit. And I find myself having to dig a little deeper. Find new ways to ask about stuff. Get creative in the field of communication with them.

#1Son is 15 now. #2Son is 12. And I know they need to be allowed to grow up. They need to learn about life and heartache and consequences and fun and danger and responsibility and good judgment and everything else that goes along with getting older and maturing. I think we’ve taught them well. We gave them a good foundation, and we keep adding to it. Or at least try to, when they’ll let us. We’re trying to make that foundation stronger. But they need to learn more about this life stuff. On their own. And I know that I can’t keep them by my side for the rest of their lives, safe and out of harms way. I know all this. And knowing all this is what is giving me more stress and anxiety and grey hair than I ever thought I’d have.

I can’t even begin to imagine the heartbreak that the family must be going through. Can’t. Even. Imagine. Because just thinking about a 16 year old boy, who I didn’t even know, losing his life, is making my heart ache. It’s hitting just a wee bit too close to home.

I may sound over-protective. I may sound dominating. I may even sound like a control freak. But you know what? I don’t care.

They’re my sons.

And I love them more than anything in this whole world. And I want them to stay safe forever.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Christmas Highlights

Ah yes, it has come and gone. And, we did manage to pull it off, and with some style I might add. All of SG’s food prep turned out beautifully! The shopping got done, the gifts got wrapped (Christmas Eve, but during the afternoon – we didn’t pull the “still wrapping at 2 am thing"), the stockings got stuffed, and I mean STUFFED!! I love the Dollarama (insert trademark here) store! The visit by my parents and nephew was a really nice thing. Here are some of the highlights:

You may notice the lack of decorations on the lower half of the tree - two huge wagging tails warrants all the pretty be put up high.


Electric Mitts for #1Son were accepted with the utmost of gratitude

Radio controlled Snowmobile pleased #2Son

A beautiful leather jacket for moi was a big surprise

Bigger surprise, it fits!

MP3 player, with video….oh yeah!

A “mini bar” in a stocking is always a fun thing


A great set of kitchen knives that are muchly appreciated

The two together, well….perhaps not a good mix!

A Christmas Dinner to beat all Christmas Dinners


Gorgeous new dishes to grace the shelves of the cupboard

We’re gonna pretend the old ones are skeets and do some practicing with the gun

The dogs ate the meatballs that were supposed to go to the gathering on Boxing Day

Apparently the meatballs did not agree with Girl Dog

Homemade wine, while still “young”, is a good thing to have around!

It was a wonderful gift having my Mom and Dad here

Now, we see what the New Year will bring!

Ciao

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Christmas Chronicles I

We got the Christmas Tree on Tuesday.

The Christmas Tree went in the stand on Wednesday.

The Christmas Tree will be decorated tonight, which is Thursday.

We used to do it all in one day.

Now, apparently, it has to take three days.


I don’t recall the Tree ever needing 24 hours to “thaw out”, but hey, I’m getting older and my memory isn’t what it used to be.

Ciao

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Chronicles

We’ve been busy here at the house in the north. Preparing for the season with the gathering of food and the purchasing of presents to place under the tree.

We’re still not ready.

But, never to worry, we will be. The appearance of “bah humbug” has made their annual return. And once again I’ve resolved to accept it and move on. Not much I can do about it…..

Take a look at what’s been going on…..

Bacon for Christmas morning


Garlic Sausage; They say its the best!


First shot at breakfast sausage

The above is the result of purchasing a whole pig, on the bone, because "someone" wanted ribs...actually, a couple of nice pork roasts too!

And now, for what has become one of the most stressful traditions that SG has....


That, my friends, is in the smoker as I type this....best thing in the world!

We got a little festive decorating going on too, but unfortunately those pictures won't be posted until the next blog. I could've sworn I'd taken them off the camera and put them in the "blog photo" folder....

Ciao!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Say What You Need To Say

"It's better to say too much than never to say what you need to say...again."

This song is so awesome, and rings so true, that it has almost replaced my all time favouritist ever! Clarity.

Not really. Clarity will always be number one in my heart. But this is running a real close second!

It's part of the soundtrack from the upcoming movie "The Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. And it's the first time the all time favourite guitarist has done an original for a movie. I sooo wish I was on high speed and could load the mp3, but I can't. But here's the lyrics and I think you'll get a good feel for the movie just by reading them.

Take all of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so called problems
Better put ‘em in quotations

Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you’d be better be off instead
If you could only

Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say

Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You better know that in the end
It’s better to say too much
Than never to say what you need say...again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with our heart wide open

Wide heart

Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to
Say what you need to
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say

And for some of my words....I think it's time to start.....

Ciao

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Fire, you make me want you!

A few years ago I remember one of my co-workers coming in after Christmas and telling us about how her and her husband spent Christmas Day watching the Yule Log on the television from the time they got up until they went to bed. She said it was kinda cool to watch a fireplace burn all day and night long, particularly when they didn’t have one of their own.

I admit it, I was jealous.

We were in the new, big, fancy shack, but just a couple years past, we were in the old palace and had the woodstove going all winter long. At Christmas, SG and I would sit, with the boys, and watch the fire burn on Christmas Eve after we hung the stockings on the staircase. It really was the only time I cleaned the glass, at Christmas. That way, the woodstove was special. The rest of the year it was just a heat source.

Then last year, I found out, AFTER Christmas, that my country vision television provider (the rabbit ears!) did indeed have one of the channels play the Yule Log starting on Christmas Eve right through the next day until midnight. Not being one to put the TV on during Christmas, we completely missed it. And I was pissed.

A few weeks ago I was shopping for groceries at my neighbourhood Superstore. And lo and behold I came across a DVD that was the “Yule Log”. Well, hell be damned if I was going to go another Christmas without the visual of a wood burning fire!! I bought one. Brought it home and hid it. Thought it would be nice if, within the next week or so, we would all be home and could sit and watch the fire on the 37” LCD TV that is mounted on the wall. I mean, really, no crick in the neck from looking down, just right there, at eye level, a beautiful burning fire, complete with holiday music.



But then, the day I was held hostage getting my tire fixed, I stumbled across not only my original purchase, but two more options. TWO MORE DVD’s!!!!???....different in appearance yet same in context.




Guess what?

I bought them both.

So now, we have 3 wood burning fireplace DVD’s.

Oh yes we do….And my first thought while watching was that one of these candle manufacturer’s would be oh so very wise to invent a scent to put into candles that would smell of a wood burning fire. Imagine it if you will...No wood to haul in. No ashes to clean up. Just crank the furnace, light the candle, put the DVD in the player. Instant ambience.
But, in the meantime, in our house, SG has figured that if he lights a few toothpicks, walks around the living room while they're burning and then blows them out, well, it’s the closest we’ll get. For now...until next winter. The woodstove WILL be going in….this I know!

Haven’t quite decided which is my fave fire yet…just enjoying it all.

Ciao!

The land of the Undiscovered

Wow, what a week.

It’s colder than cold but I thank my lucky stars that the Cav has been starting. And no flat tires!! It’s supposed to be like this all weekend too. Which is not good. We have outside things to do.

Like, go to the dump. We missed last week and we have bags and bags of stuff that will go to the landfill, but mostly to the recycling. I’ve been on a cleaning mission (okay, maybe just in my mind, but as soon as I’m done this blog it might be a reasonable hour to get my ass upstairs and starting “physically” cleaning) and with the painting and flooring that has been going on here, well, let’s just say I’ve found lots! Lots we don’t need.

We pulled the washer and dryer out in order to paint behind them. And I don’t feel bad about sharing this story with you because the few people I’ve talked to about in my real life have said the same thing.

You will be amazed at what you find behind those two big machines!

Comics from 2003 (no comment), missing fleece sock (I knew it had to be somewhere so it was very smart of me to not throw out the one I had – for the last 11 months), one oven mitt (don’t ask, it wasn’t me who was using an oven mitt in the bathroom!), pens, pencils, paperclips, tacks, facecloths, dishtowels, $2.37 in various coin. Surprisingly, I didn’t find any socks, other than my fleece one. Which is odd. I have 8 socks that don’t have mates. Oh, and I found dryer lint. Lots and lots of dryer lint. It appears that the vent wasn’t quite on all the way and some of the lint found its way under the machines.

So, with a bucket of disinfectant and some rags, I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed. I won’t lie. It was gross. But she’s all clean and purty underneath there now. One thing I did discover was that all that stuff that was under and behind the machines, well, it added an insulating value as far as sound is concerned. Man those machines are noisy now.

This weekend, the fridge and stove get pulled out and washed behind. This one I’m not looking forward to. Who knows what’ll be under those two machines.

Might just discover the source of the smell in the kitchen though….

Ciao!

Friday, November 30, 2007

Held Hostage at the Express

I had a leaky tire. It was a slow leak, but a leak none the less.

And it had gone on for months. And months. And months. Silly me, I kept expecting someone to say “hey, why don’t I take your car and get that tire fixed?” But no one did. What started out with a weekly portable air compressor injection of air had turned into a twice a week injection. And then, every three days. Yet I persisted in the thought that someone would come to my aid and get my damn tire fixed.

Thursday morning it was flat. I mean flat as flat can be. Flat as Saskatchewan! for crying out loud! And to make matters even worse, it was cold outside. Something like -34c with the wind chill. And guess what? The little portable air compressor said it was just too cold to fill my tire with air. Oh sure, I tried to force it to put air in my tire, but it was all for naught. Took me a little bit to figure this out.

Pressure gauge at the start - 0 psig.

Pressure gauge 15 minutes later - 0 psig.

#1Son, who was all toasty warm and sleeping in his big comfy warm fleece bedding, was woken by my yelling “please get up here, my tire is flat and I need you to work the big compressor and fill the friggin’ thing!!” Now, #1Son loves nothing more than getting woken up, but getting woken up to go outside in the frigid weather…uhm, NOT.

Anyway, we got it filled, I got to work and the day went merrily along its way. Lunch came and I made a few phone calls. Actually I made 27 phone calls. And no one could take my car to fix my tire. They were all too busy fixing other people’s tires. Finally, on the last call, I found a place. First come, first served. I sped like a demon there after work. Checked the car in at 5:30. Was told it would be about an hour and half. No problem. I’m in one of my favourite stores in the world, Wal-Mart. It’s the Christmas season, I can scout around and find some gift ideas (seeing as NOT ONE OF MY CHILDREN HAS GIVEN ME ANY WORD ON WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SANTA PUT UNDER THE TREE!!!!!!! Sorry, didn’t mean to yell.

Check back in at the “tire and lube EXPRESS” counter about an hour later and my poor little Cav isn’t inside on a frigid cold night. As a matter of fact, the same two cars that were in there when I checked the Cav in, well, they were still up on the hoist. So back to perusing the aisles, doubling back to see something I liked the first time around and then back into the bowels of the store to continue my scouting.

Well, to make what has turned into a long story short, after checking the Cav in at 5:30, they finally relinquished her back to me, complete with a fixed tire…at 9:47! That is four hours and seventeen minutes after I handed over my keys! I must’ve walked down every aisle three times, and that’s not mentioning the aisles I really liked…those ones I did 4 or 5 times.

I think it’ll be a while before I go back to Wal-Mart. But hey, if you want to know if they have something, shoot me an email. I’ll be able to confirm or deny. And, if they do, tell you the exact location, right down to which shelf and how far from the left it is.

Ciao!

Monday, November 26, 2007

29 days and counting

One month today, it’ll all be over but the clean up.

Time is flying by I must say. It seems like it was just last month I was putting the garden, waiting for the Girl Dog to have her puppies. Speaking of Girl Dog, we’re still not seeing any real change in her to indicate she may be knocked up. I hope she isn’t. Other than the pukey thing that happened earlier this month, the teats aren’t getting any bigger and her belly seems to be the same size. Mind you, she’d only have one or two growing in there anyway, so who knows…One month today, we’ll know for sure.

So here’s something. #1Son was given an open shift at the place he works. Which means, he has the key and the alarm code to get into the building. And is then responsible for getting everything turned on and going. You wanted to see the nerves yesterday morning when he came and woke me up. But he pulled it off, even remembering to lock the door once the alarm was disabled. The boss didn’t take the key away, and gave him another open shift next weekend. All this responsibility for someone who can’t hang up his coat. Sheesh.

I’m a little sad our football team lost yesterday. But our quarterback did good for a first time starter. Sir Charles certainly didn’t live up to his prediction. And, I’m just glad the cup is on the prairies. Could make for interesting times next season between us and them!

I must get my stuff together and start planning for the holidays. A little shopping has begun, and I will continue on this week. I started decorating yesterday but still have much to do. I’m looking soooo forward to the food its sick! No wonder I weigh what I weigh! The shopping is a bit of a challenge. #1Son is not forthcoming with any gift ideas and #2Son has a list a mile long.

That’s it, that’s all for now.

Ciao.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

WARNING – CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES

The other night I let the dogs out to do their business. Which these days, involves one quick little squirt and then, if they had their way, hours and hours of walking around sniffing the ground. We've had the pleasure of having coyotes, deer, fox and quite possibly the rumoured cougar come by to visit. How do I know this? Dropping identification. Don't ask. So there is lots to smell. And, if I leave them out for long enough, they eventually start sniffing the same spots they’ve already sniffed, but smell their own paws and think they’re on to some new, undiscovered, never been smelled before smell. And start all over again. Going over and over the same route they’ve already taken. It drives me batty.

But when I was out there, I heard a cat meowing. I knew immediately that the cat was in our yard, and from the meowing, that it was just a kitten. And Boy Dog and cats…well, not a good scene. I quickly got the dogs back in the house, grabbed the flashlight and headed out. SG was looking out the window and said it was in the garden, so that’s where I headed.

I saw the kitten. I heard it too, as not only was it meowing to beat all hell, it had a bell on its collar. So it was someone’s cat. Not what SG calls a “feral feline waiting to procreate all over the place, infesting the world with more cats.” Not a fan of cats SG is!

I managed to get the cute little fluff ball to come up to me and it was purring and body slamming itself against me. It let me pick it up and I figured that this little thing was only about 3 – 4 months old. It was still all full of the downy type fur and didn’t weigh much. I wanted to get into the light to see if there was anything on its collar that would tell me where it came from. So, I walked up to the front deck, into the light and that was when the dogs saw me. Outside, without them, holding onto something that I shouldn’t have been holding on to.

Well, the barking and jumping on the door started and this poor little kitten went a little ballistic. I’m assuming it has never been around dogs, because it really did not want any part of this scene. I moved away from the door to try and get a look at the collar and maybe take it off. When we had the pups, we put their identifying info on the underside of the collar and I was thinking maybe this kitten had something written on its collar.

#2Son decided he wanted to see the pussy cat. He really wants a cat, as do I, and I think secretly I was hoping that there wasn’t any identifying information on the collar and that we would be able to keep the kitten…you know, after getting no responses from the signs and picture we would put up indicating that we found a kitten. Amazing how fast the brain processes things isn’t it?

When the kitten heard the door being opened, it was having no part of hanging around to see what was coming out of it. Not with the barking and what not it had already heard. This kitten turned into a super power kitten and no matter how I hard I tried to hold on to it, it was leaving.

And, it left its marks too.



So, hopefully super power kitty found its way back to its home. I’m a little worried, the collar was getting a little snug and needed adjusting and if it isn’t adjusted soon, well, I don’t want to think about that.

Ciao

Hello, Anybody Out There?

Almost two weeks since I’ve blogged.

And I’d apologize but honestly, I don’t want to.

You see, struggles abound all the way around! The areas of my life that contain nothing but the male gender are giving me grief. And I’m pretty near getting to the point where I don’t like boys very much anymore! And I am considering banishing them from my life. Running away to live in a convent is sounding like a really nice thing right now. However, I don’t think the nuns would have me.

In my male dominated world you’d think I’d be used to it. The boy thing and all that it brings with it. But every single day brings new “challenges” (you know, the fancy word for bullshit) and frankly, I don’t want anymore challenges.

I’m seriously seeing signs that puberty starts at 10 and quite possibly never ends.

So, the priority has been to try and survive this testosterone hell that has been bestowed upon me. Keep the peace. Bring harmony. Promote good karma. Avoid bloodshed AT ALL COSTS!!

All the while, trying to instill life lessons that will help these boys get through the rest of their days on this planet we call Earth. You know, lessons like these:

Consideration
This is where you put your shoes in the closet so someone doesn't trip over them. And hang up your jacket, you know, in case one of the dogs decides to throw up all over it and then I have to do another load of laundry. Or take your glass to the sink and rinse it. Better yet, wash up the 3 glasses, two bowls, 4 spoons and knife that are there. Or put your dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, not right next to it on the floor.

Respect
This involves treating the people around you with goodness and niceness. Not getting into their personal space with your physical-ness and man handling them all around the kitchen. Or making jokes about how the bad the washroom smells after someone forgot to leave the fan on while knowing that just the thought of a smelly washroom will make me throw up right where I sit.

Co-operation
Working together as a team to get the job done. Where we all chip in to pick up and put away the stuff that everyone has left laying around…waiting for the girl to do it. It’s not my stuff. My stuff gets put away, back in the same spot where I got it from, when I’m finished with it. It’s your stuff I’m talking about here. And as a side note to this one, when you do finally figure out how to put things away (I still have hope on this one, it has happened), please put them back where they came from. The plastic containers that often house the raspberry yogurt I send as part of your lunch DO NOT get put in with the pots! Nor do the pots go in with the serving bowls, got it? Good.

Responsibility
Someone did it. And it wasn’t me. So please, take “ownership” (another fancy word for blame) and step up. If it was you that were throwing things in the living room when you weren’t suppose to even be in there in the first place, and broke the candle holder that I picked up at a garage sale for $.25 (which meant the world to me by the way), own up to it. Or, if you’ve had two weeks notice that an essay is due, don’t wait until the night before (and only after I get a call from your English teacher) to bring the work home to “GIT ‘ER DONE!” Child Labour in Third World Countries is NOT my forte. I do think I’ll get a pretty good mark though. Whoops, did I say me…I meant you will.

Compassion
This might be known as empathy as well, I’m not sure, I’ll have to look it up. But, after you’ve kicked someone with your steel toe boots, all over a stupid piece of gum, missing their “man jewels” by mere inches, instead of ten minutes later yelling “you done crying yet?”, how about you go and see if they’re okay, if they can still speak or if they’ve stopped throwing up?

Oh, and there’s more, much more. But I’ve gone on long enough. I fear that putting any more on paper will give you the impression I’m not a good parent and that I haven’t raised my children with the right values.

But I’m pretty sure I have. There’s just something with the hormones that doesn’t allow the message to get through. Doesn’t allow them put the whole thing together.

And I think there’s something wrong with their ears as well.

Because they sure can’t hear the words “Stop” “Not now” “Don’t…..PLEASE DON’T” ‘WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST STOP IT!!!!!!”

Ciao!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Road Trip

I went on a little road trip yesterday. Had to head to the Vet’s office in the next town over. The dogs have the beginnings of an ear infection. They’re just starting so I called the office in the morning, let them know that I would be coming by to pick up the same ear prescription we got last year when Boy Dog was rendered deaf by a severe reaction to the algae in the lake. Well, at least I’m assuming he’s deaf. He certainly doesn’t listen when I call him. But, I digress.

The Vet of course needed to see the dog. Cha-Ching! Automatic fifty bucks there. I told the girl that answered the phone that the dog didn’t need to see the vet, I knew there was the start of an infection there by the way they were doing the non-stop scratching and rubbing and digging of the paw inside the ear and the moaning and groaning when the itch was finally satisfied and that I just wanted to stop by and pick up the ear drops. I told them there wasn’t any signs of inflammation yet but if I didn’t get the drops, there surely would be soon. She indicated that she’d have to call me be after speaking to the doctor. Half an hour later, she calls and informs me "okay you can come by and pick up the drops". Thank you very much.

So, I headed out. I loaded up the CD player with a recording of a concert that my favourite guitar player did at Red Rocks this past summer, and with a quick stop to get gas and cell airtime I was on my way. I don't like driving without air time on the cell. I've won many a radio contest while driving. While waiting to pay, I thought “hey, coffee for the road, good idea!” Poured myself a small “Rocky Road Cappucino”. I stuffed 4 packets of sugar in my pocket, just in case it wasn’t sweet enough and went on my merry way. I like my coffee with two sugar and no cream.

As always, I had the camera along and I thought “get it ready in case I see anything good.”


A little bit of snow, just as I head West.


The untrained eye might just think that there's wild life out in that field. Just hay bales.


Apparently it's true - they don't get as much snow out West.

You know that saying “move along, there’s nothing to see here, move along now”?

Oh, and Rocky Road Cappucino? Waaay too sweet!

Ciao

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Back off!!

I could’ve died Thursday. Really.

The day started out as it usually does. Get up, log in to the ‘puter and get on the internet. Check the few sites while waiting for the email to come in. Then, back upstairs to proceed preparing for the day. I’m going to spare you the details of the love and care I take when slapping some salami between a couple of pieces of rye bread and then carefully choose the store bought snacks that I’ll send with the boys…

Fast forward to the drive. I’m on my final leg of the route I take to the office. I’ve navigated my way out of the country, on wet and icy highways, through “frequent deer crossings next 10km” terrain and over a couple of bridges that apparently had some black ice on them. I didn’t see or feel it, but the radio said there was so it must be true.

Cruising along in a line of red tail lights as far as the eye can see, I like to leave a few car lengths between me and the person ahead of me. Just me, I’m not a tailgater. So, the person in front of me brakes, I brake and can immediately sense that this is going to be a little harder brake than the normal brake. We're coming to a stop pretty quick here. No problem, I’ve got the room.

A quick glance into my rear view and I see headlights coming at me, and they’re not stopping! But, because I’m anal about leaving room between me and the guy in front of me, I was able to pull ahead a bit and steer to the right. I didn’t care if I hit the guy in the Lexus next to me, I was trying to avoid getting crushed by the big, BIG truck behind me.

I think it finally dawned on the idiot in the big truck coming up on my back end that hey, were stopping here!!!! and that he’s a little late to the game and if he doesn’t move, he’ll hit me. Never mind hit me, how about totally destroy my car....WITH ME IN IT!!! Squish us up like an old cracker box. Or an accordion.

He cranks it to the left on onto the median.

Okay, We’ve all stopped. Mr. Lexus dude managed to move to his right, thereby allowing me to avoid hitting him. But here’s the scary part.

By the time the idiot in the big truck behind me was able to stop, his headlights were at my door. RIGHT ‘FRICKIN BESIDE ME!!! I could've reached out and touched the front end of his truck!!

The traffic begins to move again and we all resume our original positions in line and proceed. I’m not too shaken up. More pissed off really. I mean, I could’ve dented the Cav, scraped up a Lexus and then, more than likely be found 100% at fault, all because I was trying to avoid what I know would’ve been certain death.

I think the idiot in the big truck behind me was a little more freaked. He kept what looked like a ¼ mile of road between him and me. And it wasn’t just me, I hightailed it outta that lane and drove in front of Mr. Lexus dude. He at least had a clue of what is was we were doing here - driving - and that he needed to pay attention. Thank you Mr. Lexus man for moving.

And I’m fairly certain that idiot in the big truck guy was wishing he’d brought an extra pair of pants and underwear to wherever it was he was going.

Ciao

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

It's different in the North

What a difference 15 minutes can make.

This was the view in my driveway yesterday morning at 6:57 am.


Nice thing to wake up to NOT!! Particularly on a Monday morning. On a Monday morning where you are still wishing it was Sunday.

I find it quite puzzling that, at this time of the year, the freezing rain and snow always manage to happen sometime during the night, anywhere from Sunday to Thursday. It seems like it never happens on Friday or Saturday night so all the people who think they know how to drive in this stuff find out they really don't and can spend the weekend learning. It has to be out there waiting for everyone as we rise and try to shine to start our work week.

But, like the saying goes here in this fine province "Don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it'll change".


This was 15 minutes later, 15 minutes south of my driveway. Sure I had to move to find different weather, but I also have to move in my yard during the summer in order to find the sunshine!

Happy Tuesday, may the snow Gods wait until Friday. Any Friday.

Preferably the Friday before Christmas.

Ciao!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Colour, its a good thing

We left the country yesterday. Yes, yes we did. And if you can believe this….All four of us went into the city....together!

Now, for most of you, you’re saying “So…..” But for us, well it’s kind of a big deal. We never ALL go into the city. It’s usually me and the boys. Or SG and one of the boys. Or me by myself or SG by himself or one of the boys with some other family. So, yeah, it’s a big deal.

It was decided that it was now time to get crackin’ on things that needed doing in the house. The summer was over, the outside stuff was, for the most part done (we are NOT going to talk about the flower beds or the garden, thank you very much!) and maybe it was time to break out the paint trays and rollers and do some touch up and repaints.

A battle with traffic resulted in the thoroughly ticked of SG stating, in a very loud, determined and forceful voice (aka yelling) “I am never, ever, EVER coming to this part of the city on a Saturday ever again!!! If I even mention coming to a store in this area, I give you permission to cut off my…” well, you get the point. He was not a happy camper.

So here we are, big box store, at the paint chips. #1Son was easy, his paint was called “Sun God” and he found it right away. #2Son on the other hand, after having lost the battle with what kind of flooring is going in his bedroom – he wanted the same vinyl that is at our back door, we’re going with the hardwood that has been installed in the rest of the house – was going to stand strong and proud with his selection of the colour for his wall.

He went into this with a “water theme” in mind. He said he’d kinda like to be sleeping in an “aquarium”. I tried to steer him in the direction of blue greens, the sort of water colours that you would find in those travel brochures where there are really attractive, slim, fit people lying on a beach in a hammock, sipping drinks with umbrellas and fruit hanging out of them in a much warmer climate, but for some reason, he kept heading back to the colour of algae. Really bright green algae!

WE had to compromise.

Instead of the really bright and bold and so very NEON green, we opted for the “Wreath of Green”. Which is really where I wanted to go in the first place but you know, we had to make this decision together. And kids, they have to touch every piece of cardboard that has green on it and no matter how gross and disgusting the colour is, and try their luck with getting moms nod of approval.

And during all this SG and #1Son have vacated the area. SG was in a rather silly mood and kept handing me paint chips with a “here, get this” “this is nice”. And of course everything he handed me got the nod of disapproval. I just wasn’t sure which room he was talking about when he was handing me these colours. He walked away in disgust, muttering something along of the lines “just pick the frickin colours YOU want and I’ll paint it!”

Now, for some, this would bring a huge smile to their face. For me, the wrinkles on my forehead just got a little deeper. You all remember the horror and trepidation and fear we went through when we painted the living area? Actually put “colour” on the walls? And a colour different than off-white? We were basket cases.


But it turned out nice. We like it. But now, I’m being left with making the decision for the paint colour ALL ON MY OWN!

I did this once. When we had the house built. We had the paint colour catalogue for weeks and just never sat down to pick out the colours. We knew we were going mostly with grey, but had a choice of colours for the two bedrooms. I get the phone call from SG indicating that they needed our colours RIGHT NOW or it would be all grey!. I raced over to the builders, gave them the two colours and yes, here we are, all these years later with the two most icky colours ever.

But its changing. Wreath of Green for #2Sons room.

The bathroom needs doing as well. If you've been to our house lately, you've seen the mish mash of "test spots" using existing colours on hand. I decided on the "Tuscan Hillside". Its a sage green and will go really well with the $4.00 shower curtain. The picture doesn't do it justice. Or, at least it better not dry that way!


The master bedroom you ask? SG picked it and handed it to me in what I’m sure he’ll say was a joke, but “Smokey Claret” for our bedroom. It seemed fitting and is really quite nice.

And if it doesn't look good, I can blame him. He picked it!

Ciao!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Got An Idea? Anyone?

Writers block seems to be what I’m suffering from.

I mean, I sit down at the computer, knowing that I really should write something about my oh so incredible life that will not only entice you to come back and want to read the blog, and maybe even look forward to it, but will also fulfill my obligation and promise to myself to update this thing at least three times a week. Update it with the funny, the sad, the mundane goings on that happen out here on the wide open prairie.

And then, when it comes time to write it all down, absolute jack squat. Not a thought goes through my head that warrants moving my fingers at a fairly quick pace to put the words out there.

Oh sure, during the day, I have a thousand good ideas. Well, one or two anyway. At least 2 or 3 opportunities that take place that would make such good blog fodder. And I laugh out loud, thinking about how I could write it up so that you too would get the giggles that I enjoy just thinking about writing it up. And I often say to myself, “write that idea down”. But negotiating my way through the dark, down the highway at 115 kms per hour, in a car whose headlights don’t exactly shine bright (hey, its only been about a year since they crapped out, why rush getting them fixed?) while trying to fumble for a pen and piece of paper, well, maybe not such a good idea. Or, while working my butt off at the office, having random ideas pop into my head and thinking “I should open up a Word document and write this up right now” is not what I’m getting paid the big bucks for. And, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t blog at work, unless it was incredibly urgent – like that time in the old blog where I absolutely HAD to tell you about something huge that happened, only not to tell you at all.

I cropped SG out..he doesn't want his face on the www
and having him the pic just wrecks the fantasy anyway!

I only surf my message board and my 14 email accounts (well, there’s only 5 of them and four of them usually just contain spam) and spend a little time on Facebook (insert trademark here) which is a huge time waster, and I do this only at lunch I might add! It’s funny, because all three of us, first thing we do at lunch is open up the expolorer window and go to our Facebook accounts, read the notifications and then open up Gmail…it’s great! We need to get lives I'm thinking.

But come time to actually have to write something up that is entertaining and forthcoming with finely polished detail and insight into my life and the lives of the others who share this residence with me, Nothing. Nada. Zip. Jack squat.

So, I have to put a plan in place that will allow me to make some notes and, more importantly, keep the notes! so that I can refer back and write something that is actually worth something. Something that will entertain you, make you laugh, make you cry, make you ask yourself “why do I spend time reading this crap, er I mean highly entertaining, insightful, stuff?”

Just so you know, I’m aware of the deficiencies and am working on it!

Ciao

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Let the clean up begin

Halloween went well. We had 18 kids, maybe 19, I can’t remember…I was getting through it by consuming some well fermented grapes in a glass.

You see, when you live in the country, where the houses are far apart, and most kids are driven from house to house because the driveways are like 500’ away from each other, not to mention very looooong and for the most part, dark, the comings are pretty far between. So yes, one entertains themself with a glass or three of cabernet and one of my new favourite shows, Private Practice. Very hot, you should check it out.

Then, you factor in two idiot canines who bark at their own shadow, never mind when someone pulls into the driveway or comes up on the deck or knocks on the door. And with said idiots managing to scare the living daylights out of adults, never mind children dressed as fairies and witches and hockey players, and need to be locked in different rooms (yes, we are keeping them apart - at this point FOREVER!) and all they're doing is whining and crying and barking, well, you get the point. Bring on the Grape!!!

#1Son was right ticked at me. He indicated that his plans for the evening were a movie in town, then, out with the buddy’s to purchase eggs and toilet paper and get a little destructive. Mom said no. Then, the backup plan was to go with #2Son and his buddy and “get me some suga!” Okay, so at 6’4”, I really didn’t think this was going to happen. I showed him an example of #2Son getting the big handful and him getting the lonely sucker. Needless to say, he was not pleased. Even worse when I explained that “gate night” is on the 30th, not the 31st.

#2Son went with his buddy. He left the house carrying the costume – one of those inflatable horse costumes, complete with cowboy hat. It was cute. And he wanted it. So, the wallet a little lighter to the tune of thirty bucks, a man on a horse with really long back legs it was. He didn’t leave until 7 – this daylight savings time change moving thing has really messed with a lot of stuff – and made it back home at 9:30, complete with a pillow case full of tooth decaying essentials. When asked where his costume was, I was informed it was at his friends. Being the ever inquisitive mind with the questions that manage to nail them to the wall every single time, (aka a really smart Mom) I asked if he was dropped off right after trick or treating or did he go back to the friend’s house for a bit. He said he was dropped off right after trick or treating.

Aaaaand BUSTED!! The little bugger didn’t even wear his costume! Just the cowboy hat. The look on his face when the realization that he just blew the whistle on himself settled in, well, it was priceless. The look on my face indicated that I was not a happy Mom.

So now, we begin the cleanup. It started early, however in limited release. You can imagine what we’ll be dealing with when they’re both home after school tomorrow and the wrapper wars begin.

Ciao!

PS I attempted to add some pictures, however the internet doesn't appear to be co-operating. I'll edit later.

PPS Finally a co-operting internet!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Jinxed it, didn't I?

Sooooo, you’ll never guess what happened here on Saturday night.

While standing in the kitchen, preparing the mushrooms for their ultimate journey into the sauté pan, there was a wee little scuffle going on by my front door. Hearing the sounds of dog feet scratching, and knowing that there was a possible ear infection that Girl Dog might have, I turned and looked. You don’t want her scratching the damn thing off, which I’m fairly certain she would, given the moans and groans that she lets out whenever she scratches herself, anywhere!

And I nearly crapped myself!

There was Boy Dog, on top of Girl Dog and doing the one thing we have spent the last 3 weeks trying to avoid.

I screamed and in two steps was over there, pushing him off of her. I’ll spare you all the details, but I’m thinking, and really really REALLY hoping that nothing happened. Given the scene after the fact I’m almost positive nothing did, but you never know. The whole transpired in about 5.2 seconds and while I know Boy Dog is good, he really can’t be that good! And like I said, no gory details, but all signs indicate that nothing happened.

And now, we’re back on 24/7 watch, lockup and well timed room visits on an individual basis.

Now, before y’all go on about how we never should have let them be lying side by side in the first place and how we should’ve been on guard and they should’ve been separated and we should have been more diligent (wait… that’s ME going on about me… never mind!), here’s the thing. There were no signs that she wanted any of this action. There were no signs that she was still entertaining the thought of having puppies. The “all clear” was here. They were outside playing together earlier that day without any indication that this would happen. We took them for a walk together on Friday night and quite frankly, they didn’t want anything to do with each other. I just don’t get it.

All I know now is that I need you all to start praying that there isn’t any New Year’s puppy or puppies.

Ciao!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Life in Hell has ended?

Dare I say it?

Dare I put the words into sentences and actually type them up and let the world know?

Am I just jinxing myself into another week from hell if I do?

Will the mating Gods shine upon me with more sniffing and spotting and attempted mounting if I actually say…..

IT’S OOOOVVVVEEEERRRRRRR!

Two weeks of absolute canine madness and well planned ins and outs (the door people, the door!) and lockups in various kennels around the property and in the house and we have attained success!!!

There was no canine interaction in this house this time around!! We were successful in letting Girl Dog have a break.

I'm fairly certain that if you were to ask her, she'd say it was the worst two weeks of her life. And don't even think about asking Boy Dog his opinion!!

It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't fun. It wasn't stress free. Like the one day I thought for sure we'd come home to #2Sons bedroom door having been chewed down, the kennel ripped open and two dogs with big cheese eating grins on their faces. It didn't last the 5 - 7 days that they say it does. And the next time we rest, one of them is leaving the property I'll tell you that!!!

And, to celebrate our success, tonight its the Bin 555 Cabernet Sauvignon, Baked Potatoes, Caeser Salad, Sautéed Crimini Mushrooms in a lovely wine sauce, giant Tiger Prawns and Grilled Ribeye steaks.

So now, we look forward to March when the dance should begin again. Only this time it WILL last 4 - 6 days. Because I still miss those puppies!

Ciao

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Who said this was a good idea?

Okay. So maybe trying to keep Boy dog and Girl dog in the same house while she’s “in season” isn’t such a good idea.

Sure...we have the inside kennel and a number of rooms that have doors. Sure...we have the outside kennel that has 3 foot walls made of ¾” plywood and 4 foot chain link, plus another steel door and a screen door. Sure...we have a chain tethered to a 400 pound doghouse (that has a window I might add!).

But, we also have a completely and totally obsessed, neurotic, hormone driven Boy dog. And a Girl dog that will do whatever she can to be with him.

Saturday was hell on wheels. It didn’t matter what we did, or where they were, there was the constant crying and whining and screaming and howling. From BOTH of them!! I got up early (you probably know that due to the massive influx of blogging) and took Boy dog for a walk to the back fence line that borders the bush. And then I turned back toward home. And then I turned and headed toward the bush. And this went on and on. I was determined to tucker him out so he might consider at least having a nap and then we could nap too. And he was just sooo excited to be out and walking with me that he ran and ran and ran. But every single time I turned and headed towards home, he bolted like a bat outta hell. And then I’d whistle and he’d dig up ground running back to me. Boy dog must’ve put on 4 miles to my one.

We finally headed back to the house and guess what? The screaming and whining and crying and howling kept going on. We were working in the yard and Boy dog put on another 8 or 10 miles doing circles around the house.

Girl dog was nicely tucked away in #2Son’s room. Safe from all that may penetrate.

Sunday brought more of the same. Except this time the boys and I escaped! #1Son decided to come with me to town to buy some food, and #2Son was heading to hang with one of his buddies. After deciding not to tackle a slight traffic jam in our small town, instead of turning left, I turned right. I had forgotten the water jug anyway so may as well drive home and pick it up.

And a good thing that was!

As we pulled into the driveway, #1Son says “Look at Girl dog…she’s hanging outta #2Son’s window”.

Holy crap!!

There she was, trying to jump out of the window. And there was Boy dog, egging her on. How she managed to climb through about 4 inches of open window is completely beyond me. But she did. And she landed on her feet, with only her chin hitting the ground.

It was only the through the power of who knows what!! that we were able to keep the two of them apart.

And I’m not even going into how Boy dog chewed through 2 feet of ¾” plywood trying to escape to get at her!!!!

We are soooo hoping that the end is near. But someone said “because they’re not mating, the “fertile period” could continue for up to 2 weeks”.

Lord…… please help me now.

Ciao

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Any way the wind blows

Something went wrong the day the leaves decided to drop. In the 18 years we've been living on this little piece of wide open prairie, I can recall maybe 2 years where the wind gods decided to show us a leaf or three hundred thousand. For the most part, the leaves have always landed in the neighbours yard. And he'd be out there, with his grass catcher attached to his riding lawnmower, picking up leaves and dumping them in the garden. He'd always give us a shot or seven about "your damn trees, dropping their leaves in my yard!" and we'd have a good laugh.

Not this year however. Nope.

The winds have been coming from the northeast, which is never good anyway, particularly in the winter when its snowing and our driveway gets all blown in and then we have to go out and fire up the snow blower or, or up until last year, actually pick up a shovel and move the snow. Come to think of it, we might be doing the same shovel dance this winter. #1Son got a little hot headed last year when he was asked to blow out the driveway and decided (I'm assuming here) that if he picked up a rock with the snowblower, something might break and then he wouldn't have to snowblow the driveway. But I'm off topic here.

So the leaves have been coming down all week and with the rain, it smells kinda like wet leaves out there. Which is a nice smell. It's sort of the prelude smell to the smell of winter, which really doesn't have any smell at all because its usually so cold that things freeze and when things are frozen, they don't carry any smell.

And with the leaves coming down all week and the winds coming from the northeast, this is what we have to contend with.

To be quite honest, I don't even have a clue where the rakes are. Or if we even have any rakes. But I wouldn't mind raking some of those leaves up and tilling them into the garden. They compost really nice and add a good texture to the soil. And from what I hear, it's also a good upper body workout. The kind of workout that you don't really notice how the muscles in your arms don't get used until the next morning when you're trying to brush your teeth and you can't quite maneuver the toothbrush around the inside of your mouth.

Maybe the neighbour will let us use his grass catcher and riding lawn mower?

Ciao!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Yes, I bake

Okay, the barrage of blog posting is almost over. You see, when you fall asleep at 8:35 on a Friday night watching the season premiere of Men In Trees, you kinda wake up early and what else is there to do but come down and play on the computer, have a couple cups of tea and smoke a cigarette or two? I'm probably gonna catch hell for that, (the smoking part) but the window is open, I'm freezing and Boy dog and I are far enough away from Girl dog that there is some quiet in the house.

But, it's getting close to 7 so we'll be able to go upstairs soon!

So, here's some pictures to whet your appetite early on a weekend morning. I was busy Thanksgiving weekend!


DQ Blizzard (insert treademark here) birthday cake. Not worth the extra cash, the Kit Kat (insert trademark here) was stale.


Store bought pastry and canned no name pumpkin - our pumpkins weren't ready in time.


My first lattice top! And apparently the pie was good.


Apple pie with home-made pastry - mom you'd be so proud!

Ciao!

Don't forget the lyrics

I would soooo rock on that show! But that's not what this is about.

You ever get where you have a song in your head and it just won’t go away? You sing it all day in your head and sometimes out loud and when you’re trying to concentrate on something it just pops in again and you start singing it? Or you wake up to it, running through your brain? It even plays when you’re trying to fall asleep.

Yeah, I’ve had a week like that that. It started last Saturday and is still going round and round my brain. I mean, I used to really enjoy this song. I even had #1Son download it for me so I could listen to it any time I wanted. But now, well, it’s been overplayed. In my head.

And it’s not the whole song either. Its just one part of it. Third verse I think. And only 14 lines. But still! It’s getting really annoying.

So I was thinking that if I actually put it out on paper and typed the words that keep repeating themselves in my head that maybe someone else would catch the bug and take it away from me. That way I could sing a different song!

So here you go. Pick it up and run away with it would you?

“I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassles
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free
(I'll have the quesadilla)

I'm gonna dress my ass with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
Blow my money for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar”

Now go forth and sing it baby!! ‘Cause I’m singing a new tune now!

Ciao

The Mating Dance – NOT!!

I feel like a choreographer. Mastering the art of NOT letting your two canines meet and lock up is a very creative process.

Act I,

Scene I
Awake to the sounds of whining, crying and scratching at 4:53 am (seven minutes BEFORE the alarm goes off – I am pissed).

Sit up and try and figure out who’s where…Okay, Boy dog is outside the bedroom, Girl dog is in.

Tiptoe to the door, hoping not to disturb Girl dog…nope, her nose is already at the bottom of the door, sniffing.

“Go lay down!” and she does, she’s very good this way.

Exit bedroom quickly, trying not to let Boy dog in or wake SG.

Scene II
Scurry down the hallway to the living area. Look left, look right, ask yourself “where’s the green neon light?”. Ah, there it is. Grab it and put it on Boy dog and quickly let him out. He does a 360 and jumps up on the door, looking back in.

Scene III
Remove Girl dog from the bedroom and put her in the kennel by the back door. Proceed outside to see where Boy dog is. Ah, there he is, running circles around the house, trying to find a way back in. Up on the deck, still whining and crying. “GO PEE!!!!” Nope, not gonna happen.

Scene IV
Let Boy dog in. Remove green neon light and lock him in the bathroom. Immediately head to Girl dog, put green neon light on her and let her outside. Down she goes, sniffing and having little pees all around the house. Twenty seven point three seconds later, back in. This time, we head straight to #2Son’s room where she lays on her bed. Close door.

Scene V
Let Boy dog out of the bathroom, try not to get knocked over in his haste to try and hook up with Girl dog. Green neon light back around his neck, out the door he goes. Nose to the ground, he’s off, around and around the house, sniffing and squirting all over the place. 10 minutes later, let Boy dog back in. No worries about Boy dog running away, Boy dog isn’t going anywhere, just in circles around the house. Boy dog lies down at the door and has a rest.

And repeat. It really is only a one act dance. We do like to mix up the rooms a little bit though, keep it interesting.

Ciao!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Love is in the air

Girl dog is “in season”.

Boy dog is “in love”.

But not totally "in love".

He’s still following ME around rather than trying to climb into the kennel, by any means possible, including chewing it open, breaking his teeth by trying to tear open the cage door or ripping his nails out by trying to scratch his way in.

The whining is still at a moderate level, not the incredibly loud, crying, screaming type whining that accompanies complete and total frustration with not being able to mate.

Nope, not totally "in love" yet. Wait until he figures out he's not getting to be a daddy this time around.

The worst is yet to come.

Can I come live with you?

Ciao

Saturday, October 13, 2007

I Can See You....

It’s pretty dark out there in the morning I must say. And, given the fact that we haven’t seen the sun in what seems like forever, it’s kinda depressing.

I’m usually up between 5 and 5:30. I spend a little time on the computer, make some lunches for the males, get myself ready for work. Sometimes I’ll even do last night’s supper dishes or bake muffins or cookies or something. This really ticks SG off I might add. Once he hears me doing dishes, or smells the baking, he just can’t go back to sleep.

And then there are the Dogs. They are bustin’ to get outside to do their business. Boy Dog bolts down the stairs, puts his nose to the ground and goes. And goes and goes and goes. Not once stopping for any kind of business transaction. Just smelling and sniffing and going. And he doesn’t listen either. I can call and whistle and call, and he just keeps on going. Its like the whole yard was invaded by some other species over the course of the night and he has to smell every single blade of grass and tree base to find out just who the hell was here while he was sleeping.

Girl Dog, she sorta hangs around the deck, runs out a way to do what needs to be done and then comes back to the deck to stand beside me and wait for Boy Dog. Or at least she used to. You know how kids will watch other kids and start to mimic them or pick up their bad habits? The same thing happens with dogs. Girl Dog now feels that it’s very important to do exactly what Boy Dog is doing. Including the not listening part! The two of them head off on this great sniffing adventure, ears turned off, and only the occasional lifting of the leg or squatting, depending on what they smell and if it warrants being covered up.

The neighbours just love me I’m sure. Whistling and calling my dogs at five in the morning. But the main thing is, I can’t see them. Its pitch black. And so is she. And for the most part, he is too. But SG has come to my rescue!



This little unit gets hung around the neck. And it flashes brightly, quickly and it helps me to see where the Dogs are. That coupled with the flashlight, I don’t have to worry. Since the two of them stick together, side by side on the great sniffing adventure, it works out well.

Oh, and thats my new printer/copier/scanner that I got for thirty bucks - good deal!



I know the picture doesn't do it justice, but imagine if you will, that green light blinking about 10 times a second and moving around the front yard. I'm sure the neighbours thought we were being invaded by aliens or something. And yes, they think I’m nuts.

But you try and find a couple of black dogs in the dark.

Ciao

But I LIKE Vowels

We’ve entered the world of “txt msgng” here at our house. It’s kinda fun, but I’m really not very good at it. Neither is SG. But #1Son is really good at it. And fast! SG and I, well, we take too long to type in the words. Me particularly as I feel that it is really important, if you’re going to type something, you type it right. You take the time to put your commas where your commas need to be. And you end a sentence with some sort of symbol, whether it be a period, question mark, exclamation mark, whatever. And make sure that the words are spelled correctly. Grammar is important as well. So usually by the time I get my message into the phone and I've reviewed it and am ready to hit "send", I’ve received 3 or 4 more from #1Son, asking why I haven’t answered him.

Then I discovered that I can use the computer to text message. What a wonderful thing someone designed! Honestly. I can sit at my computer at work and text my little heart away to both of them. Using my keyboard. Where the letters are in their normal place and where I’m very efficient! With a speed of around 70 words per minute, I can load up their message centre faster than they can read!! It’s very cool.

I thought I’d share a little sample of some recently received messages from the two oldest males in my house. And, just so you know, these are the actual words that are on my phone:

Text to #1Son before leaving the office to see what SG is making for supper:
“beets me im hvg peeenuts”

Message received from SG the other morning:
“Now what what time is your meeting thanks for lunch i cant find my puntuation stuff”

#1Son telling me about an incident in school:
“Thas not wut he sed”

A message sent to #1Son asking where he was:
“y”
“Because I’m curious as to what your doing” (remember, I’m on the keyboard at work)
“nm”
Now that can be interpreted as “never mind” or “not much” I’m not sure.

When did we stop using the cell phone to actually speak to others? I mean people, it's a "telephone", you know, the kind that you can talk into and hear out of?

Ciao

Sunday, October 7, 2007

I can't sleep

It’s now 7:35 am.

I’ve been up since about 3:47 am.

Why?

Well, I’m kinda ticked and excited all at the same time.

Ticked because they had a birthday party for my dad last night. His birthday was actually on Thursday. I missed it. The birthday phone call I mean. I don’t know where my head has been lately, but it certainly hasn’t been anywhere in the “now”! But that’s a different blog for a later date. Anyway, I knew that this party was coming up. All the family was there, including my dad’s niece from Saskatchewan who has decided that moving to the West Coast would be better than where she was; and her mother (dad’s sister, my aunt I’m supposing) was there to help her move. I had suggested to my mother that, since we couldn’t be there, perhaps my nephew TW could bring his webcam over and #1Son could hook us up here so we could be part of the party as well.

A phone call to the west coast to see about getting this hi-tech party participation dance along via the www going indicated that the web cam never made it over. Apparently TW forgot it.

TW forget the webcam? TW forget anything that has to do with computers? I THINK NOT!! TW lives and breathes for computers and all things associated with computers. He’s going to be a Computer God!!

Now, I’m not pointing fingers here, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t TW that forgot. I’m thinking that it might've been the party organizer that forgot a couple of small details to this party -- like asking TW to bring the webcam? I’m just saying….

Excited because its Thanksgiving weekend. This weekend is almost as good as Christmas in my opinion. Its autumn, my favourite time of year and the geese are flying and the air is crisp and the sun isn’t so hot and the leaves have all changed color and float through the air. And, we’re heading over to one of my SIL’s for a family dinner today. And I’m making the potatoes and the apple and lemon pies. And it looks like most of SG’s family will be there. I say most, because some of them are out at the lake closing up the cottage and some of them might be coming and some of them might not be coming. Hopefully as many as possible will show up and we’ll have a good 'ole family time! You know the kind of time where someone ticks someone else off and then they spend the next 2 months not talking to each other and then decide to mend fences because Christmas is right around the corner and everyone should be happy at Christmas and you might have to sit next to them at the dinner.

I'm also excited about tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day #1Son turns 15.

Oh man.

Ciao!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Bun in the Oven

With all the best intentions, and a huge, huge heart, SG nearly killed us all this past week.

Thanksgiving is coming. It’s next Monday for those of you that are reading this and aren’t familiar with Canada and our holidays. October 8th. Which also happens to be the day #1Son turns 15. At 1:02 am I might add.

And with Thanksgiving comes the prep of the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberries, and all the other fixings that go along with a delicious Autumn meal. And the stuffing tends to be a bit of a challenge. Oh, I make great stuffing, I know this. But gathering the left over bits of bread and buns and stuff, well, sometimes it’s a bit of a panic. And this year, SG did some forward thinking and decided that the bag of buns that had been sitting on the counter for the last 5 days that no one was eating could be dried out in the oven and then used for the stuffing. My sweet SG. Me, I would’ve just stuck ‘em back in the freezer and used them when I needed them. He put them on a cookie sheet and set the oven for 120 degrees and into the oven they went. So thoughtful.

We have issues with our oven. It has a digital temperature thingamadooey and it has recently decided that it will do what IT wants. Put muffins in at 350 and, I’m assuming the oven doesn’t particularly like carrot muffins and turns the temp to zero. Put cookies in there and the I’m supposing the oven feels that it needs to get the job of baking them over quickly and just adjusts the temp from 375 to 425.

So SG has the buns in the oven, thinks that they could just stay in there all night at 120 and they’d be perfect for when I woke at 5 to begin my day. And he came to bed.

The oven apparently thought a little different.

At 2:30, SG woke me to find out why he was smelling what he thought was coffee. I head out of the bedroom to see the house, from the ceiling to half way down, filled with smoke.

At 2:31, the doors and windows were opened and the airing out of the place began. Bedroom doors were closed and there we were, out on the deck in our pj’s with the dogs. Upside: the full moon was beautiful.

It would appear that the oven thought that it should adjust its temperature to broil. Broil, which I’m assuming is hotter than the 550 degrees the digital temperature thingamadooey goes to.

And here you have the buns.

Stuffing worthy? I think not. And the house still stinks!

Ciao

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Winnipeg Radio

It absolutely sucks right now.

How can my listening enjoyment life be so good one month and head right into the toilet the next?

I’ll admit. I’ve been an avid listener and fan of Q94. I have ABSOLUTELY loved it. It’s been good to me (you know, John and the tickets and the oh so unbelievable Meet and Greet…you’ve read about, you’ve seen the picture!!) and I’ve been a dedicated listener well before that experience and ever since. Sure, I’ve lost patience with it at times. They tend to repeat songs far too often, but for me, it’s not so bad when they’re repeating songs that I enjoy. When they repeat what I call crap however, I get a little pissed, but I get passed it.

But now, they’ve gone and messed with my morning show. And I am really very upset about that!

Who the hell is Corey Kimm, or however the hell you spell his name, and this Natalie chick??? What the hell has happened to Beau, Tom and Dez? I mean, I know Dez has been off on Maternity leave but now B & T are over at BOB???? Really, what the hell is going on??

And what about Dez? She's disappeared off the Q website....

Why would someone take, what I feel, was the best morning show in radio and screw around with it? Actually, make it go away all together. Whether they loved each other or hated each other, they had the goods! They made me laugh, they made me cry…well, maybe not cry, but that time I heard about Beau’s bird flying the coop, I was a little misty I will admit. They were GOOD!!!

And now, what am I left with? Wheeler and Hal? Nope, idiots, both of them. Tom and Joe? Perhaps the lesser of two evils, but I still think not. Ace & Chrissy PULEASE!! Give me some adult entertainment! I don’t even know the names of those two that are on 102 point whatever…I just know that I don't really like them! And, HANK does not even rank! Ron and Carolyn, I like them, they make me laugh, but again, it’s not my Beau Tom and Dez.

I miss my morning radio that was once Q94 and I’m really upset about it.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Oh no, it's coming!

So, check this out.

It’s September 22nd. It’s going to be a gorgeous day or so they say. Nice and sunny and warm, a good day to get our butts outside and get the yard ready for winter. Because, like it or not, winter is coming. It always does. I have proof that it’s going to be here sooner, rather than later.

And we have lots to do. We have a garden that needs to be cleaned out. We have two flower beds…well, they used to be flower beds. Now they’re just overcrowded mud beds that contain copious amounts of weeds that have successfully overtaken the flowers. Oh sure, there’s still flowers in there, but for the most part, no, there isn’t! So those have to be cleaned out. And it’s not going to be a case of pulling the crap out of there, nope. It’s going to mean shovel time and lots of it.


We have pool that needs to be put away. We got it down last weekend, cleaned it, dried and then left it. It wasn’t as much of a chore as the last edition, but a big job none the less. And because you neglected the thing completely in the last month, you have to check it and clean it really good. You have to make sure you get all the green out of it. And whatever that brown stuff was as well. And we were very tired once this was all said and done. And then it rained. Again and again and again. So, we’ve got to clean it and dry and put it away. It sorta feels like the movie Groundhog Day.


SG has been processing tomatoes this week. So that has to be put into jars and canned up. There’s probably another 40 lbs of tomatoes out there, not sure if they survived last night but if they did, they’re coming in to go into the jars as well.

But back to the winter coming sooner rather than later…check it out.


Yes, that’s #1Son at 7:20 this morning, in the Albert and Walter suit, sitting in the car waiting to go to work. And that’s me, scraping the windows.

Told you I had proof!

Ciao

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

"Someone took it!!"

School supplies are going missing…

I’m well aware of the fact that #2Son does not pay attention to detail. This detail can and does include picking things up that he drops, walking past the exact thing he is looking for, putting things back to where he got them from, misplacing his math homework, bringing what he thought was HIS math homework home only to discover that it was actually someone else’s, and, well, you get my drift. I'm not sure, but I think it's just a "boy" thing.

So, now he’s “lost” a pencil case (complete with pens, pencils, pencil crayons, felt markers – the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket comes to mind, but whatever), a ruler and a geometry set.

But hey, being the kind of person that has a hard time throwing anything out, I AM READY! I’ve got a stash of old pencil cases, felt markers, pencil crayons, pencils and pens. Hell, I have five “partial” geometry sets that I can piece together for him to make two almost brand new ones.

And, We’re only a few weeks in…can't wait until December!

Ciao!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Have a Little Patience

What a great song that is...

As I get older I find that I am running out of patience. Seriously. I mean it.

I have no patience for all the stuff that I used to just shrug off. It is mostly prevalent in driving. I spend about 2 hours a day driving. From home to work. And then, from work to home. And I really am having a very difficult time of late, dealing with the idiots on the road. I'm going to rant here, but it's my blog, so deal with it!

Where the hell do these big gravel trucks get off driving side by side? I mean, I can understand if one of them is making a left turn at the very next intersection, but lately, this has not been the case. It’s almost as if they think they’re a race car and can get from zero to sixty in 5.4 seconds. There they are, lined up at the red light, both lanes occupied by trucks that weigh a ton or 7… The light hasn’t even turned green yet and they’re revving a little, moving a bit forward, almost as if they’re saying “I can beat you, I can beat you”. And then the light turns green. And then we go, oh so very slowly, while these two big, heavy, fully loaded gravel trucks think they’re on a drag strip and for them it’s a race to see who can make it to the finish line first. Meanwhile, we’re slowly creeping up behind them, doing a top speed of 15k. It really, really frustrates me. As in on the highway, “slower traffic keep to the right”. There is absolutely no reason why these idiots can’t line up, one behind the other, and make their way down the roadway.

And what about the 30 some odd year old clerk in the WMart today…what a thing she was! #1Son decided he was going to purchase the CO2 cartridges and paintballs that #2Son needed in order to use his newly “found” paintball gun. (By found, it was in a garbage dumpster that one of SG’s clients discovered and thought it would be a good gift for one of the boys.) So there we are, at the cash register, preparing to pay. It was then remembered that #2Son would need a hopper for the paintballs and there was one, waaayy up on the top shelf. Well be damned if the clerk didn’t have to get the ladder, climb it and get the hopper down. The attitude was absolutely amazing. So, while I stood there and waited patiently to give my approval for the purchase, she was banging and slamming and storming her way up the ladder, a scowl to beat all scowls on her face. Once the hopper made its way to the counter, turned out we also needed an adapter. No adapter to be found on the WMart shelves, so really, why bother buying the stuff? The look on her face was one of the same look I get with the damn gravel trucks, however, I do not show this look in front of my customers!!!!

It was then I seriously considered turning into my mother.

You see, my mother, she doesn’t put up with this kind of crap. She speaks her mind, no matter what is on it! If she feels that someone is being an idiot, she tells them. If someone isn’t giving her the service she deserves, she tells them. If someone does something really stupid, she tells them.

However, being a smaller town, and this being a WMart that I frequent often, like almost every Saturday, I decided that it would be best to keep my mouth shut. But what the mouth can’t say, the eyes will.

I took a look at her, one of those looks that said “Really? You’re going to make my son feel like an inconvenience because, first, he’s a teenager and second, he thought he’d drop seventy bucks here and you had to work a little bit to help him do it? And, because dropping this seventy bucks without being able to use the 70 bucks worth of stuff we decided that we wouldn’t buy the stuff you think you going to treat him like dirt on your shoe?” When she saw my face, she knew the words weren’t much further behind and, for some reason, changed her attitude…SERIOUSLY! While we waited for the 19 year old customer service supervisor to come by and authorize all the voiding that needed to be done, she apologized that we had to wait for the voided transaction to be approved.

And then there’s the frustration that comes with people that don’t possess the ability to “forward think”. You know, the kind of thinking that, when making a decision to do something, you don’t consider the long, or short, term repercussions of what it is you’re doing? Like, for instance, “if I turn the stove element on high and then leave the kitchen while the pan warms up and forget the pan is on the element and burn all the Teflon coating off of the pan, while, in the process, nearly burning the house down, do you think my mom is going to get mad??”

Yeah, I’m out of patience.

And with #2Son quickly approaching puberty and #1Son (please God PLEASE!!!!!!) nearing the peak and, the good Lord willing, a quick descent to the end of it…I need a little patience!

Ciao!

The 15th

Wow, the middle of September.

The furnace has been coming on for the past two nights. Personally, I didn’t want to switch the button over from “cool” to “heat” until today, but this apparently happened when I wasn’t home.

And given that, I suppose we should probably take the pool down this weekend. I’m hoping that taking this one down will be easier than taking our previous version down. It should be. Good times were had in that pool this summer.

No, there isn't going to be any pictures of the skinny dipping that didn't take place...this is a family blog! Heck, I even try not to swear (it bothers my Dad!).

All in all it was a good summer. The garden (complete with crooked rows!) suffered somewhat. Well, actually, it really suffered....A LOT! With the litter of all those cute, adorable puppys, well, that was all consuming. The weeds on the other hand, thrived! But I'm glad because it still put forth massive amounts of produce even with all the weeds in there. We just didn't really appreciate a lot of it. However, the "self-seeding" of it all should really cut down on the planting I'll need to do next year.

We had some time out at the lake, which is always really nice.





We had some nice bonfires and even lit off a whack of fireworks.





Not necessarily the best picture of a firework, but it's the best I got. I'll get better, don't worry.

#1Son made a whack of cash from his first job! And he spent a whack of it as well. Wise purchases however, so I'm happy with that. Now if I can just convince him to save some of it!

#2Son wishes he could get a job. To quote him "I hate that he flashes his cash like he's Rockafeller". Soon my son, soon.

Boy Dog and Girl Dog are fine. She'll probably come into season again within the next month...and then our lives will be hell for about 3 weeks! One of them will be living in the kennel outside for the duration!

And with that, I'm out.

Ciao!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Bear Bait Blech = SCORE!!!!

So, I suppose it pays off....all that gross-ness that has been gathered...

Don’t even have a clue what we’re going to do with it, but #1Son shot himself a bear tonight.

And a big one it was! Seven feet long from end of snout to end of tail (which is the way I've been told you measure ‘em).

I can honestly say its been a while since I’ve seen a smile this wide!

He's happy. And I'm so very, very happy for, and proud of him.

What the hell happens next, and what we're going to do with the meat is yet to be determined!!!!

Ciao!!

I know what you did last summer...

72 jars there...dills, bread and butters, relish, pickled sweet peppers.
Still to come, tomatoes in every way, shape and form, and the delicious jalapenos.

Salsa Time!

I love this picture, the sparks are so cool...well not literally.

Ciao.

It's too soon!!

Shouldn't these colors be showing up in late September?

Ciao

Sleep Apnea

"The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed; of the three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer."

Wired for air I was on Wednesday night.

And, it would appear, I wasn't getting much.

Ciao

Monday, September 3, 2007

Bear Baiting = Blech!!

The guys went out to the bear bait site on Sunday morning. Again, the barrel was cleaned right out and it appears that the bear(s) may have been a little ticked off when the replacement stock didn’t arrive sooner. Various logs and rocks and stuff that had been set up around the barrel were apparently thrown out of the way while they scavenged for more food/oil/fat/ stuff, looking for every single morsel they could find.

They came home indicating that when the bear was “taken” (I really don’t like the words “shot or killed”) he would most definitely be referred to as the “Root Bear”. The fact that the grease troughs and fries and tossed out food stuffs that #1Son has been gathering from Albert and Walters has been a huge attraction, he really will deserve that name.

Still not sure what we’re going to do with the meat of the bear. My rule: If we can’t eat it, you don’t shoot it. I know some people who eat bear meat, so maybe we can help a buddy out! Rumour has it that sausage is really the only good thing that comes from a bear….I’m really at odds with this.

The bear bait barrel picture is really kinda gross and dirty. If you don’t want to chance tossing your morning cookies, don’t go any further.

Ciao!

Target practice. Apparently they can all hit the target!

Not a bad shot, I'm told.


Now, take about 30 loaves of bread, some danishes, bagels, cinnamon buns, french fries, onion rings, burgers and hot dogs and mix it all in with this stuff, and man, that's a mighty nice buffet!

Friday, August 31, 2007

Up next, September!!

Wow, August 31^st.

Where did the time go?

The summer has been just a blur and I can’t believe that September is tomorrow.

July was spent in the pool and with puppies. I miss the puppies. Every time I see a little puppy on TV or in print, I get tears in my eyes. Last night we were watching one of my summer time addiction programs and this commercial with a little puppy playing with toilet paper came on and, well, yeah…. #2Son laughed at me. They all laugh at me. And they better stop, because I’m this close to getting a kitten!!

August we had vacation with the boys. They had a week at the lake and I had 3-4 days to myself at home…that was sweet! Me getting time at home alone never happens so it was a good thing. Then a week at home to spend some quality time with each other and do things like move rooms around (I’m now in the basement and #2Son is upstairs in my old office – this is okay because going up and down the stairs is a good exercise for the glutes). Then it was back to work and now its September.

Lots of canning of cucumbers has been done and the tomatoes are just starting to come now. Good think I like the colors red and green. Speaking of tomatoes, the few stragglers that have been showing up on my counter have been delicious. But now I must stop! Toasted tomatoe sandwiches have ripped up the inside and roof of my mouth and now, instead of being enjoyable and sweet and juicy and delicious, its really rather painful. But then again, I’ve been eating one or two everyday for the last 7 – 8 days…

I must go now, the canines are wanting out and I have to shine the light on boy dog as he has taken to wanting to wander. There are bears and coyotes in the area and for this I am concerned. I don’t like to let boy dog out in the dark, because he gets his nose to the ground and goes….and goes….And goes.

It does make him uncomfortable to be in the spotlight while he’s doing his business but perhaps he should learn to ignore his nose and stay home!

Ciao

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

So, I thought you might enjoy viewing the fruits of my efforts for getting up so damn early yesterday to see the lunar eclipse. You’ll have to look hard however, it is there. If you ask me, it just looks like a “smoky” moon, you know the kind you get when it’s July and the forest fire winds are blowing the smoke into your area and you can hardly breath, never mind see the stars at night?


From the tall tree, it's three little trees over, sorta between three tree and four tree...c'mon you can see it!! When I compressed it for posting, I lost a lot of it. But I'm not changing my post now!

School is back next week. I personally am looking forward to it. Got a little taste of it yesterday however. It appears that albert and walters is having their staff picnic this afternoon. #1 Son offered to bring some kind of dessert. Guess who found out late yesterday afternoon? That’s right…I guess its his last kick at the middle school routine because I’m assuming he won’t be needing last minute cakes in high school. Speaking of which, we have an appointment to change up his schedule for the upcoming school year tomorrow. I really don’t think it’s a good idea for him to wait until second semester to take Math. He has trouble remembering how to add already, how can he possibly stand a chance if he waits until January?

#2 Son is hell bent on building himself some kind of motorized vehicle to scoot around in….starting with the motor. Yesterday had him and his buddy (who wasn’t suppose to be over here in the first place as we weren’t home!!!) pulling out every broken piece of yard equipment they could find, trying to pick out a motor that might work. So now my back yard is littered with old roto-tillers, lawn mowers, chainsaws and a snow blower. SG (this is the boys dad in case you’re trying to catch the new lingo….) sat them down and discussed how they have to get the “body” of the vehicle figured out first, then they can work on the motor.

And for me, I must check out for now. I have a chocolate zucchini cake that is waiting for icing….

Ciao

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I've been mooned

Apparently there’s a lunar eclipse going on out there right now. I wouldn’t know however, because it’s cloudy where I am. Not totally cloudy but not clear where the moon is!

The weather report yesterday assured me that it would clear up over night. I got the boys all excited about waking up at 4 am to sit out on the deck with cups of warm tea and watch the earth pass between the moon and the sun. They were pretty pumped about it too. I think this house was in bed earlier than it’s been all summer.

Number 1 Son begged me to make sure he woke up, even it that meant bugging him fourteen thousand times until the point where he got up, all ticked off and stormed upstairs. Number 2 Son wanted to be woken as well. He even got the extra quilt all ready to snuggle up under.

But alas, I am the only one up. Instead of staring up at the sky, here I am. The boys are still sleeping however.

I’m off to check the sky again. I’m hoping that some of the clouds will clear off and I can at least see part of it. Take a picture or two. Who knows when the next one will be. Sooner, rather than later I’m sure. And what about another solar eclipse? There was one back in the early 80’s…isn’t time for another one?

*** UPDATE ***
Slight clearing allowed me to catch a glimpse. Not as bright as they said it was going to be, but apparently the view is better on the Pacific side of things.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Nice Camera...

With the never ending desire to clutter up the www, and, it's been a while since I've posted any pictures, here you go. The camera does a really good job when its in the right hands...those hands NOT being mine!!

Over the Shoulder Boulder Holders

Now, I don’t know if it’s just me, but things sure have changed since I purchased my first bra, oh so many years ago. I remember back to the days when all the rage was for the “Dici” bra. With absolutely no support, a choice of 3 colors – white, beige or black, and the affordable low price of $4.99, it was all the rage. We all had them. I remember one of the girls we hung out with actually had the nerve to buy a black one and wear it! Needless to say, we were all a little jealous.

So, fast forward to 2007. With the younger days far behind me, many years of the bra-less movement, the birth and nurturing of a couple of kids, and some excess weight, it has now come time to investigate the possibility of a little more support for the “girls”.

So I asked my sister in law where a good place is to get a good fitting and purchase a proper bra. You know, the kind of bra that will give support yet still look nice…. Being a dedicated user of one make and model, it was time for a change. Time to shake things up a little bit, if you know what I mean. Well, more like pick things up, rather than shake…

She couldn’t remember the name of the store, but told me the location. Thrilled with the idea of getting properly fitted and breaking free from my usual, I headed to the mall. She did give me the heads up that this place was a little on the expensive side, but you know, getting the fitting and a good quality bra was the most important thing. Once I was properly fitted, I could take that knowledge anywhere and use it to purchase properly.

It was a quick trip I must say. I found the store. Some very pretty bras, but I wasn’t looking for pretty at the start. I was looking for, well, a starter bra…uhm…maybe I should re-phrase that? The place had a couple of other women there so I started walking around, just taking a look, waiting for someone to ask if they could help me.

Then I saw a price tag. Wow, $18.50, good deal, nice bra. I moved in a little closer to see about sizing and it was then I realized I really should get my butt to the eye doctor. The price was actually $185.00. I stood back quickly, almost as if I had got a shock just by touching it, and shook my head. Did I see that right? I head over to the next rack, yep, I’m seeing right…$235 on this rack. Let’s see what the wall has…$215, $175, oh wait, here’s a little better deal $135…hello???? That’s almost a week’s worth of groceries!!!

Thank goodness no one asked if they could help me. Trying not to look like a complete fool, I slowly exited the store, feeling somewhat like I shouldn’t have been in there in the first place. I had no idea. Really, no idea…

I do have however, an appointment at the bank on Tuesday to see about a small, personal loan…I really did like that off-white one with fancy needle work on the straps….

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Back at it, in every way

So, the other blogs are history. Deleted from the www. It’s really too bad, but hey, a new start is always in order! Particularly in my life! Every Monday I have a new start. I say “I’ve got to be out the driveway, on my way to work, by the time the 7:00 news is on…everyday.”

EVERY MONDAY!!! A New Start!

I got back to work this week after 2 weeks off. I left the “boys” in charge at the office. And I’m not talking about my boys (wait, maybe I am...). Being the only female in the office it was a tough thing to let the males be in charge. But I must admit, albeit begrudgingly, they did okay. I came in to a ton of emails, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 187-ish, my in basket was stacked not so high and I was locked out of the business system. Doesn't bode too well with this paranoia thing I got going on, but it was all good in the end. They were happy to have me back and quickly sunk back into their “questioning” ways!

The holiday was good. The males in the house had a week out at the cottage and I got 3 days at home by myself. That never happens, me being in the house by myself. It would’ve been much sweeter if I wasn’t so stressed, but it was good. Did a lot of canning. A lot of TV watching – no struggle on the remote side of things! Tried to relax, but was stressed about putting the two big dogs in a boarding kennel while I was out at the lake with the family. Won’t kennel them again…if they can’t go, then we (okay, maybe I) don’t go.

Spent the second week at home, more canning and tons of cleaning. I think we had a record run to the garbage dump (and this is with re-cycling!!) and still have much more to do, but it can wait for the weekends. The bulk of it is done, and in August yet. I called it my overdue spring cleaning!

And let see, what else. The pups have all found new homes and the emails are pouring in thanking us for having such beautiful and smart puppies. Everybody is absolutely in love with their pup and for this, I am so thrilled. I’m glad they went to good homes, and I don’t know if its my right or not, but I still feel that they are ours. I haven’t started harassing for weekly photos yet, but if I don’t get any on a monthly basis or so, I’m gonna raise some hell.

More to come in the days ahead, including pictures of the life we’ve been living and more anecdotal tales of my world. Like the guy in the Ford F150 (or 350, I don’t know) who was nuzzling his Schnauzer whilst driving this morning, or the reason why geese walk across the road in June and July, rather than fly…I know the answer to this one, believe it or not.

But for now, I must go…Son #1 needs to be picked up from work.

Ciao!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Third time the charm?

I'm guessing you're saying "how many times does this nutbar want us to change our bookmarks in order to read about her somewhat comical, moreso boring life?"

This should be it.

I think that I've been messed up and around with enough to NOW know a few more secrets of internet anonymity (yeah, okay....). But if I wanted to be anonymous, why am I posting a blog?

I've said it before. I'm going to find a way to make money off this thing. Really... I am. And one day the whole world will be reading it and laughing...or snoring....one of the two.

In all truthfulness, after the dog debaucle and the bull crap that I had to put with, and strangers that didn't know me, but knew of me and getting to know me (does that make any kind of sense??) I thought it best to start a new one.

So in essence, family and friends, and strangers that are truly strangers, can read my blog. The family and friends will have the address and the strangers can happen upon it by accident. And I think I'll be happy with that.

But don't look for any links to anything that might implicate me in a way that someone might get to know me that I don't want to get to know me. Linking a puppy blog? Baaad mistake!!

Some people are better, or have more patience than I, with Google!

Ciao

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