Hunde Haus

Grandma’s Excellent Adventure

2011-12-09T10:59:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I made the long and tortuous journey into Vancouver, to visit with my most favorite people in the world, Kelly, Sumeet and Logan.

And because he makes my heart go wild when I see/think of him I’ve decided that Logan’s newest middle name is Be Still My Heart.

Between Sumeet leaving for work and Kelly coming home from work I had FUNFUNFUN with Logan! We listened to cheesy Christmas tunes, we read some Christmas Carols and stories, we walked around and around the apartment where we got stuck at some point by the table. On the table was a baby food cookbook, and on the cover of the book is the adorable face of a happy baby. Logan was mesmerized by that face. He spoke the language that only other babies can possibly understand….baby gibberish.

Which reminded me of a story that Sumeet had told me before she left for work. She was standing in a line-up with Logan in his carrier…in front of them was a baby approximately Logan’s age. Logan made full eye contact and began speaking to the other baby. What do they say to each other? What is the thought process? I still can’t stop thinking about it.

Once Sumeet left and it was beyond obvious that Logan had no intentions of falling asleep I set him down and we took some photos. Cheesy Christmas photos…I love them!

By the end of all the mind tiring fascination with all the beaded garlands and large plastic Christmas balls, and the strange red hat he was exhausted, as was evident by this last photo.

I absolutely cherished my first foray into grandbaby-sitting. More please!

Lessons I haven’t learned,

2011-11-21T20:56:00.001-08:00

and never will, but others wish I had.

1. Don’t say how you really feel. Even if you say it with deep respect and temperance. Most humans can’t handle the truth.

2. If you get angry about needless deaths ( 14 in 3 years…that the public is aware of ) at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, for gawd’s sake whatever you do, don’t publicly show your anger. And don’t ever speak out about animals in zoos. You’ll be called a radical and someone with nothing better to do.

3. If you believe in people finding pets from established rescues, such as the SPCA or private rescues rather than pet shops, you will feel the wrath of the twat that just bought her cute little mixed breed for $900 from the pet shop. She/he may scream about the fact that she/he damn well did rescue it from that teeny tiny cage it sat in. When you try and explain about the parents of said pup and all the rest of the dogs churning out litter after litter in the puppymill it came from, you will be called a depressing person.

4. If you believe that animal vivisection and experimental testing is cruel and inhumane don’t mention your thoughts on the matter. People don’t like knowing such things exist, and will tell you that you are mean and just nasty to show them the photos while you point out that not one of the inhumanities ever saved a life or elongated one.

So! That was my last 3 days! I’m a radically depressing mean and nasty human.

To them, I will leave it to Jax to say what I feel;

Don’t compromise yourself,

2011-11-20T14:19:00.001-08:00

You’re all you’ve got. ~ Janis Joplin

I wonder what/why/who happened to make that come out of her mouth?

Or was it just a whack of stuff that came crashing down, and she snapped herself into, her self.

That’s what recently happened to me. Stuff crashing down, and I realized, hey, I can either continue to be a robotic version of what people would rather I be or, I can snap into my self.

So…snap!

I can’t imagine spending the remainder of my life, which, in reality, is a helluva lot less years than I’ve already put in, behaving like and doing what others want.

Why did it take so long? I think because, as most humans, we are programmed from childhood to ‘not upset the apple cart’…’put others before ourselves’. I call bullshit on that. If I cannot be me, the real me, then I am not existing for myself, I exist for others.

I’m so incredibly sick and tired, physically sick and tired, of being not me.

If I lose some people along the last part of my journey, it’s not my problem, it’s theirs.

All I can do is be me.

Born Rich and The One Percent

2011-11-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

In 2003, at the age of 23, Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune, captured the rituals, worries and social customs of the young Trump’s, Vanderbilt’s, Newhouse’s Bloomberg's and more in the documentary special, Born Rich.

Before the film was finished a few of the people he interviewed thought that perhaps they may have said too much and threatened to sue. Jamie thumbed his nose at them and released the film, which was nominated for 2 Emmy awards.

In 2006 Jamie finished the next documentary, The One Percent which focus’s on the top one percent of Americans in terms of wealth, who controlled 42.2 percent of total financial wealth in the United States in 2004.

He currently writes a weekly article for the Vanity Fair magazine which can be found Here.

Born Rich, in it’s entirety can be found Here or watched below.

The One Percent is in 8 parts, found on youtube Here or can be watched below.

To find out more about the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has spread worldwide go Here.

One final statement:

Pay attention to me!!!

2011-10-30T22:26:00.001-07:00

Narcissism: Vanity, egotism, self-love. A broader explanation can be found here.

I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of it, I only know that it damages relationships. I also know that because most Narcissists don’t recognize the *problem*, they just go through life making and then losing friends/companions.

Because of our technology it’s easier to see. I see it in bloggers – “if you won’t comment on my blog then I won’t read or comment on yours”. A blogger who I adored for a couple of years actually stated that! She lost a few faithful readers, including myself. I really doubt that she noticed though, and if she did, she would never make the connection. How sad is that. And, really man??…affiliate sponsors??? You might fool some with the”affiliate” title, but really, you just have ads up. Ohhh, fuck, come on already!. Fancy wording…gag.

I see it on Facebook. A friend is so wrapped up in themself, they don’t see the danger they have surrounded themselves with. The below status updates, while not theirs, are a perfect example of what everyone must deal with. ( read from the bottom up ) I love this person dearly, but holy crap it’s exhausting.

Another example is an ex employer, a person who runs an animal rescue. “Woe is me, me, me, me” is what everyone hears. Ad nauseam. Most people see the problem, but overlook it because of the great work she does. I think she’s convinced herself and a select very few others it is altruism. There’s a LOT of these types involved with animal rescue. Sad but true.

Years ago, I thought these types of people were just *drama queens* and did no real harm. But since they do not change, and only get more self involved, I see it’s not just that. I wonder if it wears them out as much as we who watch the demise.

And hey, if these types people are not Narcissistic, they still have some sort of personality disorder.

Get over yourself.

And oh! I wrote a small blurb...top right...just to clarify.

Put up or shut up.

2011-10-22T12:35:00.001-07:00

What is the point of spouting off about the atrocities of life if you cannot even follow your own words.

Don’t bitch, moan and complain about how small towns are losing their business’s to big box corporations, and you shop at those same corps' yourself.

~ support your home town business’s that support other home town business’s.

Don’t rail about how cruel life is for battery hens and cows and then go to fast food/dining restaurants/grocery stores and eat their foods.

~ Shop organic farm raised or quit eating meats.

That’s my pissmeoff for today.

Life Lessons

2011-10-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

My sponge-learning years as a kid, living at home, were from 1957 till 1973. ( I left the family home at 16 )

My father, in an earlier role in his life, was an RCMP member. He patrolled in cars and *walked the beat*, but he was also an RCMP dog handler, and before that a member of the Mounted Squad. Apparently, in those days the *brass* encouraged members to be well rounded in all aspects. Through my father I was taught the basic core thinking of animal respect. And that is that every animal is a sentient being. Once I realized that, my whole world opened up.

I have known since then, that all other animals outside of the human animal, inherently have rights. My worth is of no more importance than theirs.

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That, is the essence of inhumanity. ~ George Bernard Shaw.

As for a life lesson in race relations, I learned that through example. Not one time in my parents home did I ever hear one racially skewed term. Not once. Not in joke, not in anger. Nor from anyone else who came into their home.

So, I spent a very small amount of time working on racial issues with my son as he was growing into a man. I remember only once being peeved with him concerning it. He had come home from grade 4 singing a little Christmas song he had overheard on the playground. I can’t recall all the words to it, but they were derogatory. After a short discussion concerning race, hurtful lies and exaggerations I gently reminded him that he himself was a mixture of races, Caucasian and Cree on my side and Sicilian on his father’s side. He was ashamed of himself. Ever see a 9 year old boy ashamed?? It’s the most pitiful sad thing ever.

Because of the way I was raised, with good and decent core beliefs, and my passing those on to my son, ( and the wonderful same values from Sumeet! ) I know my first grandbaby Logan is going to be empathetic and kind all the way around. Of that I have no worries.

There’s a great group of organized folks with a grass roots website called Empathy Symbol. Some wonderful literature and links there. Click on their logo below to check them out.

Random Thinking

2011-10-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

My brother and sil are moving back this way from Winnipeg. They’ll be a scant 2 hours away up country…oh lawdy lawdy the drive there is stunning. All mountains and trees, I will be in my element.

I was going through some clippings and misc. papers I’d ~~hoarded~~ saved through the years. This is one of my all time favorites…

I had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance a week ago. The subject reminded me of film noir meets the 3 stooges wrapped into one dumbass package. And it brought around to mind just why I chose to separate myself from specific people and groups . So to anyone who believes things, without concrete proof, and not simply because you’d prefer to believe it, I give you the following:

and they also get this next one…because…well…it fits!

and this one too!

The days are shorter, the humidity has dropped, there’s a really lovely crispness happening all over…I warmly welcome Fall!

Fir and Cedar rusty and gnarly

The colors, the easier to breathe air, the lovely smells wafting up from 6 inches of leaves on our mountain walks, the hoodies and sweaters and thick puffy socks, flannel bedding with wool blankies on top, oh my yes! I welcome Fall!

The other day I went down to the river by myself to sit, think and ogle the mountains. I was sitting far back in the trees when these boys pulled up and set up a fireworks display way out on the rocky dry river bed. Totally ruined the peace and quiet but it was a welcome interlude. After they were done they picked up all their debris and drove away. Love seeing young people being responsible for their messes!

These beautiful colors are courtesy of Chrissy’s hanging basket…love these bright colors right now!

I’m mentally gearing up for tomorrow. I’m going to be going through all my books and knick knacks and just general *stuff* and dumping what doesn’t make my heart go pitter patter in 2 seconds. I seem to accumulate so much I have to purge twice a year!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

The dog who hated toys

2011-09-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

That dog would be this dude

Okay, hate is a ridiculous word to use. More like has no need for them.

At all. Ever.

He favor’s the bottoms of my jeans, most especially when I am putting them on. Or scooping poop is another great time to trip me up by going between my legs, grabbing the bottom firmly and yank!

Or the shop vac extension. He kept nosing open the closet where it was stored and stealing it, so I allowed him to claim it. And it’s not like he chews the crap outta’ it, he just gives it a few chomps and then stashes it. A couple times a week after Ticket and Watcher are in a deep rem sleep, he will bring it out, chew it a few times and nose it back.

Weirdo.

Did she just call me a weirdo?

Watcher and Ticket on the other hand, are game for any kind of fun with anything, anytime or anywhere. They especially favor ripping up stuffies and chewing apart sticks. Any species of tree will do, although they seem partial to Willow and Maple. Not weirdo's.

I like this ingenious idea from some folks in Vermont. Sticks, cut from Maple trees marketed and sold to ~~idiots~~ other folks who for whatever reason, are ~~clueless~~ stickless. Fetch Stix

I don’t do TV

2011-09-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

I believe it is now 6 years that I have not possessed a TV. The bill for the luxury of it had climbed from $72 to $80 per month when I called a halt to the whole damn thing.

It was becoming horribly expensive, the packages were stupid, and I never watched it 3/4 of the time it was on anyway. It was background noise that had become a normal part of everyday living.

Youtube started the ball rolling for me. Do you realize that you can watch full length movies, tv shows, documentaries, cartoons…you name it, for free there? All genres and all eras! Playlists and playlists. Look at it as a free Blockbuster’s.

TV stations all over the world stream their news online now. A lot of those stations as well have their scheduled TV shows available for FREE an hour after they have aired!

Then there’s torrents. If it’s not available somewhere for free online you can always download it from one many tracker sites. Want to watch all seasons and episodes of your favorite TV show…voila! Want to watch a hard to find film…voila!

I have a few favorite sites that I frequent when I want to soak up some fun and or brain info. One is the National Film Board of Canada. Over 1500 films of all lengths, documentaries, interactive…all genre’. Love this site.

One of my favourite films I’ve watched there was about the Mohawks on their reserve in Kanehsatake in SW Quebec. A short summary: In 1990 the town of Oka ( on the edge of the reserve ) decided they wanted to take some burial ground land, that was an obvious cemetery with numerous headstones etc., and make a golf course. The Mohawks said fuck off. It became the first well publicized violent conflict between First Nations and the Canadian government in the late 20th century. The Quebec Provincial police, local police, RCMP, and finally the army came in. First Nations bands across Canada held blockades along all major roads, highways, railways etc. It lasted more than 2 and a half months and one person died. Read more about it all here and then watch the film below or on the NFB’s site here.

Another site I like for watching online is Top Documentary Films. A tip for this site…sometimes it says it is only a short clip for the documentary. Don’t turn it off, just let it play out, the entire film will be there. Crackle is another good site and Viewster is not bad either.

I’ll never have to buy another TV ( on average they only keep their full potential for 1 and a half years ) every few years, not one more outrageously expensive bill, nor not one more increase in cost. And, aside from some opinions, it is not a major ( or minor ) wear and tear on your computer! As well, you can take your computer/movies wherever you go, unlike your TV.

Now, after I've said all that, go outside and play!

Wow...what a view!

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

After 7 years of apartment living, Kelsie has become a first time house renter! And whoa, what a great rental!

It sits on top of a mini mountain just outside of Hope, with a view that made my jaw drop. Every room, except 2, has a magnificent view of the Fraser River and Cascade Mountains.. And those 2 that don’t, have views of the forest. Le sigh…it’s absolutely beautiful.

The view from the extremely spacious deck on top of the garage, and the view from the living and dining room…

In the yard was this odd plant. Is it an Elephant’s Ear? It looks like it, but the leaves on this one are much wider than any other I have seen.

Along the back of the property were these bundles of Curly Willow branches, and thicker stalks. I’ll grab a few next time and get my craft on. :)

Happy first time house renter!

The sun was shining all day…

But the smog was disgusting. I haven’t seen it this thick for a few years. Crazy!

Yesterday was a great day. The company was as always lots of fun and the view made my heat go pitter patter. Yay!

Winter’s on my mind

2011-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

What happened to summer? There were no where near the hot sunny days I had expected. Now, I am by nooo stretch of the imagination a *sun baby*, but dang it, I wish we had seen the sun more this tiny corner of the world! I have never once in my life laid myself down to tan; not even in my teens when it seemed to matter the most to others of my age group. If I am outdoors on extremely hot days you’ll find me walking through or sitting in the shaded forest or down at the river under trees. Or, like now, sitting in an air conditioned cool trailer while it is 88 Fahrenheit out doors. But still, I wished we had seen more sunny and warm days.

In spite of, or maybe because of the great weather we’ve been having, aside from an entire 24 hours of rain, my mind has wandered to winter. And the cold it brings.

Friends, Dianne and Dave, have some extra asphalt roof tiles hanging around and so I need to nailed down to the 4 wooden steps into the trailer. Last winter they were just too slippy…I worried constantly about the dogs and pulled muscles/broken body parts. The broken body parts was of course the high end of the what ifs but still. Watcher and Ticket can at least see what the steps and ground look like and what to avoid/be careful with, but Henry just plods through life thinking all is fine. I need to make sure he can keep on plodding safely.

The Plodder

Also I need to get under the trailer and stick insulation in all the places that I can see light enter through. I thought I had done a pretty good job of that last year but apparently not, as the propane for heat was at $200 per month. I guess that’s not too bad as the walls are only 2 inches thick. I think a fair bit of heat was lost due to the thinness of the door. I was thinking that maybe the only way I can bandaid that is to find a good looking wool blanket, attach double sided sticky tape and tape ‘er up when we’re indoors. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions

I will never, ever again live where I don’t have at least one sunroof. This one of the two is in the kitchen.

Climbing Nightshade beautifying the chain link fence.

Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? ~Robert Brault

Hope you all are having a great day!

Hope Photo Day

2011-09-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Some photos of my little burg, Hope.

No home delivery, all mail is picked up at our teeny Canada Post.

A great place to sit and watch the river, and contemplate.

The same bench, a few months later, when the yearly rise of the Fraser River overtakes it.

This is a one stop light town,( seriously ) and here’s the corner where it’s at, Third St and Wallace.

and another angle with a beautiful flower basket hanging from the entrance to City Hall

The war memorial in our gorgeous park

The only *department store* in town.

Hope has had a lot of movies filmed here, but the most famous of all was Rambo First Blood. And so there is an extremely cheesy face cut-out thingy I try to force upon ~~drunk~~ nice and obliging cousins when they travel here. Here’s my cousin Denny ~~hating my guts~~ smiling and happy while I take his pic!

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into where I am ( at the moment! ) calling home.

And leave a comment dammit!

Touching the tops of trees

2011-09-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

My heart loves these mountains. Any mountains will do, but because I live amongst these beauties, this is where my heart beats.

I quite often oogle and ogle at all the switchback logging roads around here while on Google Earth, and dream of the time I’ll go. But, my piddly little van would never ever make it to the top, or even near. And that irritates the hell outta’ me.

I got an invite yesterday…. I went with Kelsie and Doug to the top of 5000 foot Stoneman Mountain. It was absolutely one of my favourite day trips since I’ve lived here in Hope.

I think we crossed 5 bridges and 2 different valleys. The only wildlife we saw were Ravens, plenty of other birds, and a few Trout. Not surprising though as Doug’s truck runs on propane and was as loud as a freakin’ freight train. Oh, and the proof that were indeed other critters around. Bear scat and Elk prints. Without further adieu…here’s the trout, poop and print.

The first valley…where I willed the bears to come out and start lumbering around. Which they didn’t.

What is wrong with these trees? Sad looking things…

And down to the valley above…

Heading up…

Came to this mess, realized we were only about 100 feet from the top and stopped.

And the foliage…a Wild Yellow Raspberry…and only one!

It was a really great few hours! Thanks for the invite Kelsie and Doug!

and then there’s Chrissy’s summer home

2011-08-30T07:00:00.001-07:00

Her man’s family has land right smack on the banks of the Fraser River in Yale, so every summer is spent fishing from the banks with nets, net dipping, or poles. Oh, and swimming and sucking in as much Vit D as they possibly can.
I went there yesterday and it was hard, no, near impossible to leave. I loved it.

Where the muddy Fraser River meets at the opening of the creek

There were many pockets of Garnet Sand, but I didn’t see anything bigger than coarse sand. :(

I very stupidly wore jeans…what the fuck was I thinking?? It was sweltering hot! But, I did dip my tootsies in.

A friend of Chrissy’s dip netting

A Brown Bear across the river came out of the bush for a moment, but quickly headed back in.

I was walking to my car and turned around…and almost returned. I could swear I heard my chair whispering for me to come back and set myself back down.

Bye Chrissy, and thanks for the invite..I absolutely loved it!

Logan Day!

2011-08-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

This past Friday was one of those days that will be indelibly imprinted in my brain. Logan is laughing. And smirking. And lifting his lip in a sneer, with disgust. He’s been doing this for quite some time, but it was the first time I’ve seen it!

Listening to Dad ( check out the lift and sneer of the lip at the end, it's a family trait hehehe )

Fantastic hand to eye co-ordination

Smiling all the time!

He’s teething! Already at only 3 and a half months!! Poor little baby…big rocks trying to break through his gums…so very very unfair.

I’ve got a plan in place, and if it all works out, I will be living a lot closer to my grandbaby. Oh my…I miss him. Once a month visits are just not cutting it.

What did we do before computers??

2011-08-21T07:32:00.001-07:00

I was image searching for imaginative ways to paint a small bookshelf and came across this funkalicious shelf. I adore this!! Totally solves the problem with what to do with the digest books that are of no use anymore doesn’t it! Check out the artisan’s site for more funky stuff here: This Into That.

I’m thinking on heading to the thrift shops and find older animal digest books and make a shelf for all of my canine and other critter reference books/novels etal. I wonder how he did this? A specific glue? screws? a combination?

And, surfing for a particular German word, this popped up:

I came across this photo while organizing my folders, can’t remember what site I was on when I saved it though. I really liked the camaraderie of the women, so today I digitally put a frame on it and liked it even more.

I was reading about Gadhafi’s latest terrorist acts and was struck by the photo that accompanied the article. It showed, what looked to be, is that he is a very vain man. Was that eyebrow pencil??? I found a larger photo from CNN and yup, he used eyebrow pencil!
Then I started doing an image search on CNN and found another that made me laugh. Any woman who uses liners or powders to define areas will see what the jackass was trying to do in the top photo. ( definitely NOT photo-shopped )

Maybelline will not be seeking out a contract

This next photo I didn’t find surfing, it’s my Henry! Taken immediately after he and Ticket were wrastlin’…he’s a happyhappyhappy boy!

This and That

2011-08-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ticket and I had some personal space/girl time away from the ~~thugs~~ boys and walked around our area yesterday.

She’s so different when all alone with me. Introspective in some ways. I wonder if she is relaxing in the differentness of the mood, or wondering why they aren’t here. Regardless, I know she is enjoying herself for all the uninterrupted meandering she does.

She does a lot of flitting about and smelling here and there so it is difficult to get a good photo of her unless she is focused on something.

Yesterday I got a lot of these:

So I focused myself on the flowers that were screaming to be photographed.

Wild Sweet Peas

There were pink ones

And white ones

Not sure what this one is…I used to know the name but my memory of it has gone blank!

These are wild snapdragons, sometimes called Monkey Flowers

I’ve never know the name of this one…maybe you do?

I have a HUGE Wild Pink Rose bush behind the house, in the early summer the smell is absolutely intoxicating. Here’s what they looked like a month or so ago:

and here’s the rose hips yesterday. I’ll be harvesting them after they go through one frost. Or when their stems are brown…whichever comes first. I know a couple of people that make jams and jellies out of them but I find it too bland, but they make a helluva great cuppa tea!

Queen Anne’s Lace

Last evening I visited with Kelsie…we had a couple cups of tea and chatted. Nice visit. As I was leaving I spied these boots!!

LOVE THESE BOOTS!! But alas, they belong to this little girl, and I don’t need a 6 year old girl pissed at me. So I didn't steal them.

That’s the perfectly delightful Brianne, Kelsie’s gorgeous daughter. She just learned to ride her 2 wheeler! Congrats Brianne...that's a huge accomplishment!

I had some extended family camping not far from here and they drove into Hope to visit with me for bit. Met them at our beautiful park downtown and took a few photos that I'll put up tomorrow, but here's one of Ticket that Wendy took with her phone.

K, I need a nice cuppa Red Rose. Hope you are enjoying today, it was super sunny and warm with a much loved gentle breeze. Perfect!

My Dirty World ~ Part II

2011-08-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Oh ferfucksake man.

A week or so ago I spread a huge bag of shavings in the yard to keep the dogs from bringing the dust in. ( teeny yard, no grass ) But seemingly, it wasn't helping. Vacuuming every 2 days didn't help at all. Frustrated!

So, yesterday I am again vacuuming and turned around to tell Ticket to ~~shut the fuck up~~ please be quiet ( she wants to eat the vacuum ) and I see this effing plume of dust coming out the back end of the effing vacuum heading straight at the JUST vacuumed kitchen area. What the ???

I empty it, clean it out, put it back together and try yet again. Same damn thing. My eyes and brain glaze over wondering how long this has been happening. There I was blaming the dust from the trains and the dogs. And again, oh ferfucksake.

I go online and google "why the eff does the vacuum blow dirt out of it's rear end" ( but nicer ) and find out that this can be easily fixed by buying paper filters. And this blows me away.

It's a shop vac ferfucksake. Aren't they supposed to be all powerful, so fantastic they suck up water and it's all good? But dust knocks it out? One of the reasons I wanted the shop vac was it's reputation for it's toughness and apparently as it is written on their guarantee that it does not require filters.

But according to a few message board shop vac *experts*, after time they no longer do the deed they used to do so well. So, I guess I need to buy filters ferfucksake.

Tomorrow I shall rent a pressure washer and hose this tin can out of the meter of dust that a-hole blew out..

On to a more positive topic; ( and less with a potty mouth, although I can't promise there will be absolutely no swearing ) I've made some changes in my life lately. Most of them having to do with standing up for myself more and not allowing myself to be run over.

And what comes hand in hand with that? Some people think you have become a bitch. To them I say, I'm not being a bitch, I'm just being stronger. C'est la vie...

Not wanting to miss one moment of the big fight....

Ticket and Watcher warming each others bums

Pee break on the way to Manning Park last fall

I hope you are enjoying these last days of summer. We had a lousy one here, and I feel bad for my sunaholic friend Chrissy. So to her I say, get out there and soak up that sun...snow will be upon us in no time! (ducking from all the useless suntan lotion she's throwing at me )

Flowers everywhere!

2011-08-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

My Shamrock plants, a purple and a green that I planted together, lovelovelove camping outside in the late Spring and entire Summer. Technically, it's a Wood Sorrel called Oxalis Triangularis and can live outdoors in our area if protected. I have had mine for 10 years or more and have divided it up ( it has teeny tiny bulbs ) dozens of times and given them away. It goes through a dormancy period in the winter...all the stems and leaves gone...quite pitiful. But then pops back up in March or so if we have plenty of light. It's also edible! RV99F3HHMYF5

Visited a friend’s garden the other day. Just in time for the Loganberries. My timing is perfection.

I ate so many I was burping Loganberries.

My Sage is going through it’s final stages for this year. The seeds have dropped, and it’s more yellow than green. I like the following photo of it as it shows all stages and the flowers are still beautiful.

And mmmmmm!! Chocolate Mint! I’ve never done anything with it…except walk by and squish a leaf and drown in the aroma daily.

When I had a garden ( waaay too many moons ago ), I had Pineapple, Orange, Chocolate and both Spear and Peppermint Mints on both sides of the door. Whenever the dogs came in or out they would brush themselves on it and the smell that came wafting from them all was so closeyoureyes and relax with it all….I miss my mints.

This is a St John's Wort living behind my home. It is rampant around here…dots the meadows and runs alongside the highways and byways right next to the Chicory and Golden Rod.

Mmmmmm, Blackberries. My very favourite berry. This year I plan on making a few goodies with them. Jam, pies, some juice to add to Olive Oil for salad dressings ( omg yum! ) and just a helluva lot of frozen berries. Just an FYI…Blackberry Daiquiri's in the winter months are especially favourited.

Johnny Jump Up wildly growing among the bush and trees behind us.

And a photo of Henry from almost 2 years ago…geez, hard to believe he was ever this teeny!

Bears and Shitting Your Pants.

2011-08-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Found this little gem while organizing the disgustingly huge mass of photos and videos on my comp that, well, need to be organized.

Yesterday Chrissy took me to a spot, right along the Fraser River in Yale, that she, the 2 boys and man in her life( his family's land ) spend a large majority of their summer.

We got there and I had to take 5 minutes to just suck it all in. Of course, you have to completely love mountains and rivers and sand ( bloody well beach sand!!...bleached over sparkly clean silt basically ) and this canyon to totally appreciate it.

I walked around with my mouth open. Dotted throughout the forest of massive Fir trees and Salmonberry bushes were 3 tents, a cooking and eating station and plenty of smaller areas to sunbathe, read, play, whatever. All of which was right on the banks, literally, of the Fraser River. By the time school begins and they are back permanently in their house a month from now the creeks will swell from the last of the mountain melt, which floods the river and voila!/shame the ideal camping spot is under water till next summer.

Wow. That was the one word I said a good dozen times. It was just so beautiful. Then I reached for my camera, so I could take some photos and drool over them later.

I had left the batteries for the camera, in the photo charger. At home.

We thoroughly enjoyed the views, then went on to another spot where more fun could be had. It was one of the many run off creeks ( from the melting mountaintop snow on both sides of the river ) and that area as well was just stunning. The creek water was 100% see through and we could see a half dozen Salmon ( Pinks I think? ) resting before they fought the rest of the way up the mighty Fraser to their spawning grounds. Next spring I'd like to go there once a week to photograph the progression of the river, creek and banks alongside them. Try my hand at a time lapse mini film when done. :)

Next we headed over to a spot on the opposite side of town, (stopping for my freshly charged batteries...yay! ) that Chrissy and her friends used to play around when they were kids.

We followed a pretty well worn vehicle path

Which narrowed to this

and then we saw these fresh bear claw marks

Being as how it is berry, fish and camper garbage season...and there are bears walking around all the time, we decided to head back. But we carried big sticks and talked loudly!

These are 2 human and animal tunnels that run under Highway #1

This water is flowing down Silver Creek from the Cascade Mountain Range and right into the Fraser River.

Oh! Another little gem!

Enjoy today...go do one spontaneous act of kindness.

Sweat, Swearing and Happy

2011-08-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a day of sweat, swearing and finally a few happy moments.

The sweat and swearing involved separating 7 of these 3 month old Silkie babies

from one rooster, 3 hens, and 6 five day old chicks. The moment we ( Fred and I ) tried doing any type of herding, chaos ensued.

Once the adult birds realized we weren’t coming after them or the wee ones, they told the 7 teenagers to go hide somewhere, stay together and to shut the fuck up.

Seeriously, they told them that.

They told them and they listened so damn well we started thinking they had fled the yard and were now carousing the streets of Hope.

Hacking my way through Blackberry AND Raspberry bushes 8 miles thick *shaking fist at Fred and his ~~lousy~~ non-existent pruning skills* I spotted them huddled in a corner almost completely camouflaged.

And not saying one damn word.

A 1/2 hour later, 6 were all safely crated. The last one was just too damn fast!, or we were just too spent from it all, whatever. The 6 were loaded into the car, ready for the trip to be passed off to the ~~sucker~~ lady who was offering them a new home. She’s known as the Food Lady and her blog can be found right there → Woo Tube. ( for future reference, a link to her blog is also found in the link at the top here under “Human Stuff” Also for future reference, she, along with others operates a Border Collie rescue right here → B.C. Border Collies )

We went in the house, bathed our wounds, and headed off to meet up. Then came the spectacle of exchanging them from Fred's crate to the Food Lady's. 5 of them were easy peasy, but the last one loosened itself from Fred’s grip and took off running like crazy for grass and bush that was even more foreboding looking than the Blackberry/Raspberry jungle at Fred’s house.

Fer fuck sake man.

The 3 of us were vainly trying to catch this 8 inch chicken in grasses that at some point were over our heads. Absolutely ridiculous. The Food Lady sent in a young pup she is fostering to perhaps flush out the chick. Seconds later, the sound of a chick being eaten alive came from the grass.

The chick was fine. Oh, there was a bit of canine saliva on it. And it was obviously traumatized from the whole wicked morning, but then so was I. Fair’s fair.

Happy moments from yesterday; 1 ) I was able to grab a big ass bale of shavings while out. It’ll keep some of the silt that sits on top of the dirt in my small yard down. Less dust in my home. I really could use 3-4 more, but was in someone’s car and not my van. Next time. 2 ) Received $12 in coupons for free products from Island Farms! I had purchased some milk from a store here and it curdled ( ewwww! ) within 2 days. Long story short, the store owner blamed it on crappy milk, and the company blamed it on poor handling on the store’s end. I profited, and that’s all that matters to that story. :) 3 ) Was asked to house and dog-sit for 3 days next week. It's within eye sight so it's only a matter of feeding and tending to the dog. I'll take Ticket over to play with it daily as well as take it on walks with us. Also, they've offered me the use of their tub so I can bathe my guys! It's been almost a year since they were bathed; there is only a 6 gallon hot water tank in this sardine can and that wouldn't even get one of them damp. So, I'll make a few bucks AND have clean dogs. Sweet!

I took the next 2 photos of the field where we met up with the Food Lady

This one shows the height of the grass the ~~bastard~~ chick escaped to. Told you it was head height!

And that was my yesterday.

Today has been calm and quiet. So far.

Observations and photos

2011-08-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Henry’s nose fits perfectly in my eye socket.

‘Bruised’ eyeballs scare small children. ( sorry again to the little ~~scaredy cat~~ girl at the post office. )

Fact: if dogs sleep on your pillow and bedding before you retire for the night you will have sweet dreams and a restful sleep.

Fact: I’ve never before used the word “retire” when speaking about going to bed. Sounds like I’m a high falootin’ 1920’s rich bitch with a cigarette holder. And a drawl. And a dry martini. And white elbow length gloves.

I bet I would have been beautiful too. Like the grand dame below.

The pride parade ( the photo above is from that day ) made me feel, ohhh, I don’t know, less outwardly colorful. My anthem now is to wear more color.

I’m going to wear brighter colors! A brighter shade of blue jeans? Maybe a sparkle of pink nail polish? Clean my white runners more often?

Yikes, I need a make-over!

Fact: Grandbabies make your heart hurt sooooo bad in a good way. It’s akin to experiencing the same intense love you have for your own child, but different. It’s freer. It’s exhilarating. It’s a grand thing.

This 1 window skylight of the 2 in my sardine can makes me smile.

Enjoy your day…You only have one August 4th in 2011!

Blog Stats

2011-08-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

This blog was started so family members could keep track of my life. Also so I could have somewhere to journal and keep all my most favorite photos! It's remained with a very small following ( thank gawd, because I hate crowds ) because I do not *advertise* my blog on other sites, join groups of other bloggers, nor join up to search engines. I like it fine the way it is thank you very much!

While I have Sitemeter tracking some stats of visitors to this blog, I find that Googles own Stats are much more interesting.

Keeping in mind that Google Stats have been tracking since May 2009, here are some of the stats!

Here's an overview

Here's the stats from the Posts section of the overview. I am not surprised at all about the first one being "Chain Saw Carving Capital of the World Hope BC", but the second one did! "Cowboy Boot Windchime, Stuff and the Fruitcake Lady" also brings back some sad memories. One being that my Cowboy Boot Windchime was stolen from me by a co-worker at my last place of employment. So, if anyone is driving down Stave Lake Road in Mission BC and sees it, steal it back for me! ( and kick the thief Renee in the ass. K, thanks. )

These next stats are the Traffic Sources. I'm just thankful that people spell Hunde Haus correctly.

Some search words/phrases that people have used to make their way here....

And the last stat, the Audience.

There ya go! Stats from a really small blog with an even smaller audience.

I spent a couple of days vamping up my blog. I LOVED it. For about 20 minutes. Now I realize I will spend a couple more re-vamping. I'm not loving it so much any more. I do like the spark of color of flowers but there's just something not quite right. But that's all for another day, because TODAY I AM GOING TO SEE MY GRANDBABY LOGAN!! YES I KNOW I'M YELLING!!!

Pride Parade

2011-08-01T20:38:00.002-07:00

Wow, my eyes are still sore from all the bright colors, my ears are still ringing from all the music and sounds, and my mind is still boggled and loving all the fellowship and pure joy I experienced yesterday at the Pride Parade in Vancouver with my friend Rob.

Police, Firefighters, Ambulance, Nurses, Punks, Dykes, Trannies, and a big bucket full of others were there!

I took over 500 photos. My delete button is worn down, as is my pointer finger. It was so incredibly hard to select which ones to put here so I almost put them all. Go grab a cup of tea/coffee and come back and relax to see them all! Enjoy! ( as usual, click on the photos to enlarge them! )

Cyndy, Brock, Frankie and more

2011-07-23T13:14:00.001-07:00

I think Cyndy and I have known each other for 3 million years and friends for all of them. I love her with all my self.

Brock is a 5 year old female Cockatoo, a relative baby for the breed considering they can live to be 60ish. One day when it was particularly chilly for a bird, who has plucked a few chest feathers, her person Fred made her a *sweater* out of one of his tube socks. It looked pretty damn comfy!

Along with Budgies, Canaries, Finches, Lovebirds, and a Cockatoo Fred has Silkie chickens, 1 rooster and 5 hens. He dutifully gathers eggs every morning, but these sly chicks managed to stash 7 eggs. They hatched and voila, the Silkie family grew to be 13. Yowzers. Anyone want a Silkie baby about 2 months old? Or 7? Seriously.

The Roo, giving explicit instructions to the hens to hide! hide! hide! themselves and the babies.

Frankie contemplating on whether or not to tell the roaming neighbourhood cat to eff off.

This is Jack. AKA known as Black Jack. Dianne and Dave, his people, don’t live too far away. This summer, we are getting all our dogs together for a play date. ( nudge nudge…right Dianne? ) The first photo is with no editing. The next one is a few I played with last night. This dog is so incredibly handsome you can’t foul up his photo!

Sunset from one of my most favourite views in Hope, up on the Cheam Mountain above Herrling Island.

And on another day down at the entrance to Herrling Island

How rude. How crude

But even Travis Bickle agrees

Next Sunday is the Gay Pride Parade in the west end of Vancouver and I’m super excited to be going.

I’ll be driving in with Fred and Shannon and meeting up with Rob and hopefully Cyndy and my sister Jamie will be able to join up with us. You can read about the parade etal on the Vancouver Pride site. It is going to be a day filled with color, pride, drag queens and more fun than a

The big yellow ball woke me up this morning. Thank you sun for gracing us with your warmth and light. Please stay for a few days.

Have an absolutely glorious weekend guys!

A Canine Fueled Weekend.

2011-07-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Jo, a dear old friend and Carol, a new friend…and their dogs, Gunny and Annie, ( an Australian Shepherd and Turvuren, which is a Belgium Shepherd ) came to attend a herding clinic and trial last week a few miles away in Laidlaw. Also along for the ride and great socializing experience was Rojo, Jo’s 8 month old Australian Shepherd, of which I didn’t take photos of…sometimes I piss myself off.

On Saturday I took Ticket for a few hours, where it rained almost the entire time. No surprise there though as that area is so tight between the Cascade and Coast Mountain Ranges it’s shocking when it isn’t raining there during our wet season.

Ticket was fine with the rain, until a half hour into it. Then she pawed up at me, make some boo hoo poor poor pitiful me noises. I knelt down and shared my umbrella with her for a few seconds then she spotted Jo’s empty chair.

I was standing to her left, quietly opened my camera bag and brought it out. She glanced up at me but stayed put. The second I slowly stepped forward to try and take a photo she went to jump off, probably thinking the rain had beat some sense into me, and that we were heading to a dry area. Carol hung onto her collar so I could take the photo. Doesn’t she look like she’s having a grand old time! Like, this is the bestest day ever! Like she absolutely cannot live without a day in the rain!

It was wonderful to see Jo again, she’s fun, energetic and has a lot of insight, of which I gladly feed from. And fantastic to meet Carol and her dog Annie and her 3 Miniature Pinschers!

Jo and Gunny

Go get ‘em Gun!

Partnership

Waiting to herd cattle.

I didn’t get any photos of the cattle herding because I was using Jo’s camera. It’s fancy schmancy and I coveted it. I must have one. Nor did I get any of the duck herding as I was a coward and didn't have the appropriate cover for my camera.

The dogs that were there were beautifully well trained ( great simple manners along with more complex ones), they were absolutely adored by their people as much as they themselves adored them.

Carol’s Tervuren, Annie

All these photos below were taken in about 1 minute. These 2 Border Collie pups rough housed, got themselves tangled up together and with people, were untangled, then promptly began to happily beat on each other again. Good times! :)

Puppies MUST play!

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Hope you all are enjoying today! It’s quite lovely where we are, I better get our asses out and enjoy it more!

Dogless on a dog stroll..

2011-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Kelsie and I drove just a few minutes out of town to a great dog stroll area I recently came across. Apparently, when she was a kid her parents took her camping there!

It was a quick walk before she began work so we could see what flowers are blooming now, so the dogs stayed at home. And boy did they lay on the guilt when I got back. Mopey faces, lottsa’ whining and snivelling. It was sad and pitiful.
Back to the walk…

The Salmonberry Tale

First there were two...then one...then none.

The End.

The only bad thing I can say about Salmonberries is that they are small and go down the gullet too quickly.

Huckleberries!

Here’s a memory of Huckleberries; North Vancouver, specifically Seymour Mountain when it was mostly bush, 8 years old. Instead of walking on the road to go to/from school I would take a shortcut through the woods. Walking across log bridges to cross the creek and eating handful after handful of Huckleberries. Ahhhh yes, good times. :)

Same thing goes for these little beauties though; too small and disappear too fast.

Spirea

Foxglove

If I hadn’t bent over to scratch an itch *shakes fist at mosquitoes* we wouldn’t have seen this Foxglove. There was only one, how weird is that??? and it was bent over and under another plants leaves. The rain had beaten it down.

Wild Strawberry

Go West young woman!

or East...whatever.

Cement Art

Natural gas pipeline completely effing up the view.

A teensy bit of vertigo happening!

The Lupine’s are dying out, but the Daisy’s are flourishing.

A young Heart Rock.

Camping spot! Even I, a complete anti-campinginatent type of ~~spoiled~~ human, would enjoy pitchin’ a tent here! ( only for one night though )

A bouquet of Daisies.

It’s supposed to stop raining by late morning today. I hope so, as I have plans with a dear friend to do outdoor stuff! Here's hoping we all have a fantastic day!

My Dirty World.

2011-07-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

You try living in a 35’ fifth wheel with 3 German Shepherds!

The fact that this breed is double coated makes it almost twice as bad. They shed their top guard hairs year round, then comes the oh so lovely spring and summer when they shed their soft, fine, downy undercoats as well.

Even my outdoor flowers are decorated with dog hair

There are some local wool spinners that will take the undercoat and mix it with sheep or alpaca, spin it and knit you something from it. I could probably get a couple of full size blankets knit from my 3 year in just one year. Seriously.

My Mum still doesn’t understand the thought process of dog hair.

The door opens, the hairs quickly look up to see what type of fabric is entering their domain, they see the fleece shirt/sweater/slacks she has on and happily leap on board. Maybe I should have a cotton jumpsuit hanging outside for her to put on before coming in?

I do feel lucky that all of my guys love to be brushed. They actually are jealous when one is being brushed and they are not. Or maybe it’s just the whole Mum is paying attention to him and not me. Either way, they will gladly stand to be groomed.

In the normal shedding periods, ( 9 months of the year ) I brush every 3 or 4 days. Though, often I am picking out the occasional clump as they saunter by me. Or if they are calmly sleeping, and I spot a clump, I will saunter over and pickpickpick like a primate will do to another. ‘Cept, I’m not picking out bugs and eating them.

The tools

The one on the left goes first, then I pull out the big gun, the Furminator. That baby is my saviour. If you have a dog, and don’t have a Furminator you are missing out. The amount of dander it seeks and destroys is amazing. It’s a must have.

I’m hoping for sunny skies and warm air today…hope your day is what you want!

Love Hurts

2011-07-10T07:30:00.001-07:00

Ruger was one of those dogs that when he loved something, he loved it to death.

Ruger’s joys in life were very simple. His ball chucker's, squeaky toys and marrow bones. In that order.

He loved his ball chucker's sooooo deeply he chewed them mercilessly. He loved them to death. We went through 6! No matter where I stashed them he would creep, crawl and climb to get at them.

The squeaky toys were coveted and stored in corners only Ruger knew of. He would lovingly, and gently, squeaksqueaksqueak them for hours. Literally hours. When it got to be I might think I would lose my brain over the incessant squeaksqueaksqueak I would send him outside with them. A lady that lived across the way and down a bit remarked one day about the squeaksqueaksqueak. I asked if the constant sound was making her nuts, she said that she smiled every time she heard it because she knew the joy he found in them.

The marrow bones were given out to each dog, they would take off with them and lovingly suck and lick them till they were dry. The very second one of the others walked away from his/her bone Ruger would slink in and steal them. And again, put them in corners only he knew of. I found 4 stashes of marrow bones after he passed.

Henry

Henry is another who loves so incredibly deeply. But with Henry it is not ball chucker's, squeaky toys or bones, his obsession is me. He can’t sleep, sit, eat or play close enough to me. If he could fit in my pocket he would.

In the morning when he wakes me ( he is an awesome 6:30 a.m. wakeup call ) he does it ever so gently; a couple of delicate face licks and a paw on my stomach. The moment I stir, he is allll over me. In the next second both Watcher and Ticket come and slurp on me, which Henry takes great offence to. He grumbles and growls and then starts giving me gentle flea bites. Which within a matter of a few seconds, turns into slightly harder flea bites. And if I don’t get up in moments he acts like he will chew on me. He gets so over stimulated, and with what he feels are competition for my attention ( Watcher and Ticket ) that his brain explodes.

I walk to the bedroom and he is right on my heels. Literally. Into the bathroom, to the kitchen sink, to my chair….on my heels. Wherever I go, so does Henry. The amount of times he has walked into the back of me are countless. I have German Shepherd nose patterns on me constantly.

In the sardine can we live in my hands are forever on his cheeks, helping him turn around without whacking into corners and walls. He hears “careful babe!” at least 30 times a day. Or “caaaareful” as he manoeuvres the few steps down to our yard.

I had a great day today. Visited with Fred and Pat, and gave their 2 little puppers a bath. 14 year old brothers Toby and Eddie. Poor Toby has a home-made cone on his head to keep him from scratching at himself. And he’s pissed.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday!

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T16:17:00.001-07:00

Hope had a Canada Day street party ( of sorts ) today. Face painting, food and beverage vendors, a Strongman competition, and a classic car show.

By the time I left home at noon, it was in full swing. For Hope. It was difficult to guesstimate how many were there as it was spread over several blocks. 1000 maybe? On the high side. :)

Look at all the ~~pretty colors~~ cool cars that I saw!

The STRONGMAN COMPETITION was through this throng of people, of which I did not want to go wading through. And they need to change the name of their org. as there were some bad ass looking females there.

Do you see Smokey the Bear in the foreground of the last photo? One of the reasons I specifically went there today was, I kid you not, to have my photo taken with him. But by the time I circled around the block he was gone. *sad face*

And for your listening pleasure….

I’m going to head down to the river after dinner. Mostly just to see what the water level is at.

Because one day it can be like this…

and the next like this…

Have a great long weekend!

Family Day

2011-06-26T12:49:00.001-07:00

Drove the long and boring trek into Vancouver yesterday…but totally worth it to see my grandbaby Logan!

Kelly BBQ’d for us all, and holey moley it was great! My first BBQ of the season…I’ll be pulling out my little one today, wiping it down and readying some veggie kabobs for my supper.

As usual, I took a boatload of photos, and also as usual, only a few turned out to my liking. Here’s a few…

It’s a perfect day outside; sun shining, a slight breeze and some Habanero Pepper plants need to be potted! Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Doin’ The Davie St. Stroll

2011-06-24T13:13:00.001-07:00

I visited my Dr. in Vancouver yesterday, then met up with an old and dear friend.

*I’ve embedded my comments directly in the photos, so just hover your pointer over each and there you go! And as usual click on them for a higher resolution*

And that’s it! Then I headed home and tailed this truck for part of the way.

A great afternoon for me. Lots and lots of laughs, awesome company and beauty every which way I looked.

I Am A Canadian

2011-06-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

I Am A Canadian

I am not a rioter, or a fear monger.

I wear balaclava's only when skiing or tobogganing

and the only cocktails I partake of

are made from Canadian Rye.

I love hockey, oh yes, I really do,

but I also love football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball and darts.

Okay, yes, and curling.

But to each his own, and that's just fine eh.

I respect my police, the courts and our laws.

If I feel something needs changing,

I don't take hostages, blow up buildings

or kill my politicians.

I politely discuss it face to face with the powers that be,

and we change it together.

I have opportunities, great health care,

understand and appreciate our gun laws.

I can go anywhere in the world

proudly proclaiming my citizenship, and be warmly welcomed.

I have clean water, Smarties and Red Rose Tea.

Canadians have never owned slaves,

we have our own breed of horse; The Canadian,

we drink real beer...not yellow water, and we are just

so flippin' nice, kind and gentle.

Our government recognizes the health benefits of our weed,

admits it,

and some of us are legally allowed to grow it.

Same sex marriages are performed everywhere,

we truly love and admire diversity,

we are a proud proud melting pot of people,

and I am honored to be a Canadian.

Colleen Donnelly ~ June, 17, 2011

Ohhhh pretty flowers!

2011-06-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

There is a massive growth of Wild Roses immediately behind my home. Oh my gosh, the smell wafting from them is glorious!

A few further feet down, Scotch Broom

Lupine

I have no clue what these sweet things are, but they remind me of French Lavender

Delicate Wild Daisy

Lilac…oh how I love you!

Wild Lily

And a friend told me the name of this a couple years back, but the memory is lost! ( Jean, are you reading this? Help! )

I had spotted the Lilies after coming back from a friends home, and so pulled over to photograph them. Looking just beyond them I noticed a rough road and fields of wild flowers! Whoa, how cool is it to live somewhere for a few years and all of a sudden find another perfect dog walking stroll! The grass was knee high, and I panic at the thought of ticks on the dogs, so no walking there yet. But come Fall and Winter we are definitely heading there.

Hope you enjoyed your Thursday!

Please stop growing old

2011-06-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

That's what Watcher hears me whisper to him occasionally.

He now opts to place himself a few feet in front of the electric fireplace when his joints and bones are complaining.

I watch him select how and where he will carefully place his feet when going up and down our 3 steps to the yard.

He is getting just a touch more impatient with both Ticket and Watcher when they are close to him. Most especially Henry, as Henry just blindly flails himself around, unable to take note of Watcher's discomfort.

His muzzle, ear and feet tip hairs are over taking the black ones. I tell him he looks distinguished, but to please stop growing old.

Since the weather has been nicer lately, and the fireplace is not turned on except at night when it's colder, he finds himself a sunbeam outside and drenches himself in the warmth of the au natural heat.

He has always been my velcro boy, but lately he has become my canyouputmeinyourpocket boy. He simply cannot sit closer/lay closer/spend enough time with me to suit him.

He is asking for more time alone with me. And I gladly give it to him.

Ticket senses Watcher's neediness now and only once challenged it. She tried to get in between us with her tom-boyish pushiness and he only had to lift his lip once, with no snarl, and she backed up and let him be. Very unlike her. Good girl Tick.

But poor Henry...he has never ever learned to properly read these guys, being blind does that to a dog. He still refuses to accept that Watcher does not appreciate or want a dog hug. He will go on forever having his dog crush on Watcher. Keep on keepin' on baby.

And Watcher, please stop growing old.

Yards make for happy dogs, and their person!

2011-06-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Since my home is on wheels, and where we are is only temporary, I decided not to invest my hard earned (and sparse ) money and time on a fence. So, as I often have to lately, I improvised.

4 years ago I saw a super deal on a used dog kennel. A 4 paneled 6 foot high x 10 foot wide chain link dog kennel, including a swing door. Like this...

I didn't buy it for my dogs...there was no rhyme or reason, ( I can be dangerous at flea markets ) it was just such a damn good deal! I have a lot of friends with dogs and thought one of them could use it somewhere along their way. But no one ever did, so it just leaned against a shed from day 1.

Until I got busy yesterday and *made* a yard! The panel with the door started from the front side of the trailer, went out 10 feet, and the other 3 went down the side and I *borrowed* a gate to close it off on the opposite side at the back. Within a couple of days I hope to use the lumber I have and build a 10 foot panel along the back and that will gain an extra 120 square feet. Sweet!

Before this the dogs had to go round back of our sardine can and into a penned off kennel behind the house whose driveway we are parked in. ( wow, that was quite a run on sentence! I'm not fixing it though, because I'm lazy like that )

The best part about this new yard, according to the dogs, is that they can come and go at will. The door to inside is always open when they are out..

Look at what I can do...I can go out, and I can go in when I want!

Or at least till it's wicked cold outdoors again. The second best part for all of us, and I think I can speak for the dogs this time, is that I too have room to sit out with them! I have already put my small table and chair out there under a small Maple tree.

But, it's still basically a dog yard, which means grass will never grow. So I figure about 6-8 bags of white wood shavings like this ( 8 cubic feet per )

and it will be great! The only down side to the shavings is that the dogs track it in. But, it's easier to clean than the mud and dust they would track in without it. This amount of shavings will make it about six inches high, the yard will never be muddy and it's soft enough for the dogs to pick out spots to snooze in, if they wish to.

I had the same height amount in the pen, cleaned it as they pooped and once a month would take out an inch of the shavings and throw them in the compost next door. When it got down to two inches I raked it up and replaced it with another fresh 6 inches; it's the perfect solution to a very small yard with the huge potential for a mud wallow.

It's a small yard, but it's our yard.

Oh Hi Henry!

I hope everyone enjoys today! I'll be spending it revamping this blog...it's just a wee bit cluttered, and it's something I enjoy doing. See ya's!

Things I’ve Learned

2011-05-26T13:41:00.001-07:00

When people show me who they are, I will believe them the first time.

Spontaneous acts of kindness are apt to be extremely contagious. I will do them often.

I am thankful for my vision.

I never allow a cruelty towards animals, of any species, go unchallenged.

I always take advice from Elephants….

“I'll just have to save him.
Because, after all,
A person's a person
No matter how small."

Find the joys in every day. Hunting frogs and sunbeams on the bum are 2 of the good ones.

Laugh when the mood strikes you!

Red Rose Tea and Bears guarding crops…available only in Canada!

I try very hard not to be judgemental. Each of us does things uniquely, as we are each individuals.

When I have done something that causes another being discomfort, I sincerely apologize immediately..,.before it gets blown up.

and I always remember that…

Now go and play nice with the world and the beings in it!

And then there was bliss…

2011-05-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 18th 2011. That’s the day the world got lucky.

Logan Roop was born to Kelly and Sumeet.

I left my home at 7 a.m. to drive the 2 hours to make the scheduled birth at 11…giving myself an extra 2 hours for road delays.

No clogged traffic through the mountains!

Still okay past the mountains. Nice sunshiny day!

Yikes, I’m glad I’m not heading east! Look at those poor saps to the left! Lots of folks heading out of the concrete jungle of Vancouver for the May long weekend.

‘Bout an hour away, blasting Bob Marley, smilingsmilingsmiling…

EEEEEK!!!! Just over the top of the hill…gawddamn people heading to the island taking up my road space and time….get the f**k outta’ my way!!!

K, it’s all cool. I get there by 10:00. Plenty of time to spare. I go to the Labour floor, tell the nurses I’m there and to let my son know. Whew! I am shown the waiting room, walk in and begin to get anxious. I do a LOT of this:

looking out the window

and looking at the ceiling

and door eye-balling

and LOTS of clock-watching

and more and more and more door-watching

And then, the skies parted, the world stopped revolving, all the people and animals in the world stood still and held their breath.

Welcome Logan, happy birth day! Get ready for the time of your life!Your Grandma loves you! *perma smiling*

Trials and Tribulations of Being Human

2011-05-06T00:01:00.002-07:00

They never end.

Thank gawd. Otherwise we’d all be void.

Death of family member, poor health of other members, soon-to-be born member, *lost* member, member in stressland, and plain ‘ol mental tiredness has kept me from blogging.

Wednesday was a wonderful respite from it all. My friend Kelsie and I took a 5 hour road trip. I handed her the camera and here’s some of the less blurry shots she took from the passenger window while I was driving and some when we got out to stretch our legs.

Almost every field we saw was filled with the beautiful yellow of Dandelions.

Or a beautiful horse…

Or someone who replaced a sign but never took away the original. How odd. Apparently BC Canada’s 604 area code came into practice in 1947, so who knows how old the bottom sign is. Here’s some interesting trivia about the 604 code. ( also tidbits about the U.S. and Canada there )

We drove down 0 Avenue, which is always an interesting drive. O Avenue is quite simply an undefended border for Canada and the U.S. By *undefended* I mean that there is no distinction that there even is a border. It’s an old 2 lane paved road, on Canada’s side of the border…..not very long, maybe about 20 miles.

U.S. on the left, Canada on the right.

A marsh on the U.S. side

Blueberry bushes on the Canadian side

Small plane soaring low across 0 Avenue, Canada to the U.S.

Salmon Berry flowers

It was a warm day, warm enough for us to roll down the windows and enjoy it, and the view.

But one of the tips of Mount Cheam still defied the warmer weather we are having

And something that makes me laugh!

Enjoy your Friday!

I'd like to grow very old as slowly as possible.

2011-04-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Charles Lamb said that. He was an English gentleman poet and a loyal brother to his sister, both of whom suffered from bouts of Melancholia. What a pretty word for depression.

It dawned on me about 2 years ago that if I fracture a bone, it will take me much much longer to heal than just 10 years ago. Once that sunk in, well hell, it freaked the crap outta’ me.

I remember the olden days ( did I just say that out loud?? ) when I was as nimble as a Gazelle.

As agile as a Cougar

And as sure footed, err, sure tailed as a spider monkey

Okay. Maybe not. Maybe I was never as nimble, agile and sure footed/tailed as I think I use to be. Whatever.

I remember leaping up onto counters to clean the top shelf, and bouncing down BOING! when finished. Now I seek out the step-stool and configure the whole procedure like an expert mountain climber.

I warily peer up at the top shelf, look down with trepidation at the step stool, and begin to formulate a master plan. Because, hey, people have been known to fall off 2 foot step stools and die.

Then I make a tea. And say out loud to myself in my bestest Scarlett voice, I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow. The dogs then look at me and sneer.

I bravely hike the 2 steps to the top of the stool ( hey, a person could fall off a step stool and break their necks and die you know! ) , tightly grab hold of the corner of the cabinet and gingerly pull myself up so I’m standing on the counter. All the while planning how and where to place my poor aged body ~~when~~ if I fall.

Finished with the hated chore, I look down and face the 128 million miles to the floor. I contort my body and stretch my leg out to meet the top step. All the while saying to myself * careful, c a r e f u l, c a a a a r e f u u u u l.

And then I party and make myself another tea.

Because I'd like to grow very old as slowly as possible.

Know why? Because my first grandbaby is going to make his/her entrance in a couple of months…here’s the latest portrait of our wee perfect and precious darlin’

Treats! For me!

2011-03-26T14:16:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was a bit of a drag. On our normal morning run, just a few minutes into it, Watcher whipped around a corner and spooked a flock of Junco’s. Henry, hot on Watcher’s trail couldn’t see the birds and ensuing panic of them, but he certainly sensed it, and felt it. The feeling part was when one of the Junco’s lost it’s freakin’ mind and flew directly under Henry’s chin.

The fear that overtook Henry was so intense, he flattened to the ground and shook. I kept walking, calling to him in a happy * life’s a bowl of cherries * voice. But nuh uh. He was not budging. Ticket went back to him, touched his nose and took off. That is normally enough to get him moving again. But not this time. So we all sat on the ground saying nothing. Just letting Henry catch his breath and mind.

10 minutes later we were off again. But all the way home Henry walked with a lowered body and with not nearly as much excitement. Ohhhh sonuvabitch. I was worried that this may develop into a serious fear of that stretch of our walk,. It happened before….he had the unfortunate luck of stepping into a mud filled hole that went up to his elbows. We now have to walk waaaaay around that spot.
Sometimes, there’s no convincing a blind dog the danger is no longer there. At least, this blind dog.
I left them all pooped out and headed down to the post office to collect the mail. My sleepy little town still has not progressed to door-to-door mail delivery. I kinda’ like it that way. At least a couple times a week I’ll run into people and we go for coffee or over to the park and yak for a bit. I’d miss those moments if we had postal delivery. :)

Anyway, while 9 times out of ten my mailbox contains flyers and bills, this time was different. Along with the aforementioned, It had a card letting me know there was a package waiting for me at the desk. With a big smile on my face I picked up my package and headed home.
Unwrapped the package and there on top was a really sweet card inside of an equally sweet organza *envelope*.

Digging through the sytrofoam chips I uncovered 3 bars of home made soap! All 3 bars wrapped in pretty paper, tied with pretty string. And each bar had a sticker with my initial. I immediately unwrapped a bar and washed my hands with it. :) Oooh la la, soooo soft….and nice bubbles!

Thank you to my friend Nancy for truly brightening my day! She has a super cool blog A Rural Journal , where she writes about her life on her 80 acre farm in eastern Nebraska. She has a couple of gorgeous German Shepherds, a whack of chickens, other fowl, a nasty rooster, a bunch of cats, the occasional few cows and a husband to attend to. Whew! I’d take her life in a heartbeat. Except for the husband. Oh, and she takes awesome photographs of all of the above as well as being a craft wizard. Yep, I want her life and her many artistic talents.

Good things continued on in the day. On our afternoon walk, Henry trotted calmly past the horrific-junco-experience stretch of the walk as if nothing happened. YAY!!
Has any of your dogs experienced a fear they just could not get past? Or one that took ages to overcome in the end?

Hope you all have a great weekend! It’s supposed to be rainy and sunny here, which is great…better than rain all weekend.

Bill Robinson and his Camp Defiance

2011-03-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

Bill Robinson. He was a miner, a trapper, a carpenter….well more than a simple carpenter, I guess an engineer of sorts, because he planned his home, and built it, fisherman,gardener and a fellow creature of all things nature.

I have searched and searched, dug through web archives and physical archives and have only a small bit of the man’s life. And that bit only tells of his existence at 22 Mile.

21 Mile is a point that is literally, 21 miles from Hope. That is where Bill Robinson carved a homestead out of the forest right smack dab beside the Sumallo River. The Sumallo winds alongside the Crowsnest Hwy and is quite beautiful all on its own. The river is many miles long, but resembles a creek as it is on average 12 feet across and has many bends and turns in it. It is one of the many narrow rivers close by that are consistently being fished for it’s multitudes of Trout. Mmmmm, pan fried trout…

Bill Robinson named his homestead Camp Defiance. He built his cabin, a second smaller cabin and a cook house/storage shed, all from the forest around him.

A man after my heart.

I wonder what he thought when he realized that the Hope Princeton highway aka Crowsnest Hwy, aka #3 Hwy, was going to be built meters from his home in 1949. Here is a link with a bit of information, some very cool older photographs of Bill, his friends, his Camp Defiance and some beautiful watercolour paintings: Camp Defiance

I grabbed Kelsie and we drove up the highway to snag some photos and do some planning. When the snow is gone, and it’s a bit warmer we are going to cross the creek and go exploring on Bill’s old homestead. Maybe even camp there for a night or two!

After driving this highway hundreds of times, we noticed something neither of us had before. Was it the remnant of an old stone chimney, or a monument of sorts? I don’t know, but am determined to find out!

A few blocks from home we stopped on the banks of the Coquihalla River to suck in some of the sun straining through the clouds. It was a vast difference from the grey and pissy days we’ve had of late.

More heart rocks…

Don’t forget about the super duper Full Moon tomorrow night! And enjoy your weekend!

Girls Day

2011-03-14T20:23:00.001-07:00

Ticket, I, Kelsie and her daughter Brianne spent a bit of time at the river today. It was yet another grey and sometimes pissy day, only saved by the color Brianne’s boots. Her coat brightened it up as well, but the boots. Ohhhh, the boots.

I want a pair.

Ticket, very impatiently waiting for Brianne to * throwthedamnstick*

I wonder if she’s happy?

This and That

2011-03-13T14:09:00.001-07:00

I was surfing one day and came across a web site that has to do with heart rocks. They were requesting other people’s stories of their own heart rocks, so I obliged by sending them my story of the first heart rocks I happened across. You can read it here at THE HEART ROCK COLLECTIVE

Daylight Savings began today.

An extra hour of daylight….well thanks! Who can’t use an extra hour of light? After the short and sometimes grey days of winter, this is a welcome change. I’m taking full advantage of the extra hour this spring. A fence and a long narrow garden box need to be built, a whack of scrub and 3 trees need to be eradicated, and a fair amount of tree branches need to be trimmed. Sounds great to me! The best thing is that I can do it at my leisure. It doesn’t all need to be done in a day…although I would love it to happen like that!

Made the last batch of winter suet for the birds yesterday.

This little guy got caught with a mouthful of suet, he looks angry!

The snow is basically all gone now, the grubs are plentiful. I found that out yesterday moving a chunk of fallen tree….they came skittering out. *shudder* I’ll keep putting out the dry commercial bird seed mixed with black oil sunflower seeds for another month or so. Then it’s over for those beggars, and onto cleaning out Hummingbird feeders. I forgot one hanging off a branch this past winter…it froze and cracked in a billion pieces. I never seem to come across them in thrift shops or garage sales, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a decent one on sale.

These videos cracked me up. Hope you get a few giggles too!

Don’t Piss Off Smokey!

2011-03-12T14:35:00.001-08:00

Every time a Tsunami hits anywhere, all of B.C….well at least the people living close to the shores….begin to sweat. Questions and accusations are peppered at the city officials. “Why aren’t all the buildings up to Tsunami/earthquake code”, “Well what are you doing about it then”…when the answer is inevitably No.

The largest recorded Tsunami hit Lituya Bay, Alaska in 1958. It was a whopping 1720 feet tall wave. That’s just under 5 football fields in lengths.

If it ever does hit the shores of the southern west coast of B.C., there isn’t a whole lot people can do. Hang on? Instead of down at 0 ft. sea level, I’m at 152 ft above.

Where I’m at, I’m not worried about a Tsunami. The biggest natural disaster that scares the crap outta’ me is a fire.

In the spring and summer everyone that lives surrounded by forested areas sweats a little. Then, when the tourists start rolling through, camping in the midst of dry timber with all the campfires going, that gets even more stressful. Every August for years now, the Ministry of Forests places a ban on all camping fires. A bummer for the campers who are looking forward to roasting the mallows and weenies, but a teeny tiny bit less stressful for those of us who live year round in these areas.

But as always happens, there are always a few people that think that law does not apply to them. That’s when we get serious here and sic Smokey on them.

But seriously…..