News... Not Sure If It's Good Or Bad... But It's News

Not sure what this may mean for us... if anything... but it is indeed news. The complete article can be found at:
http://www.emergis.com/newsroom/News/2007/nov29.aspx

TELUS acquisition of Emergis creates leading electronic health care solution provider

• Emergis supports TELUS' $763 million cash acquisition offer

Vancouver and Montréal, November 29, 2007 — TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) and Emergis (TSX: EME) announced today that they have entered into a support agreement pursuant to which TELUS has agreed to make an offer to acquire all the outstanding common shares of Emergis for $8.25 cash per common share (the “Offer”) by way of a take-over bid. The Offer represents a premium of 17% to Emergis’ average closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past 30 days, 19% over yesterday’s close and values Emergis’ equity at approximately $763 million on a fully diluted basis.

The Board of Directors of Emergis (other than Pierre Ducros, a director of both TELUS and Emergis who was required to abstain for independence reasons) has unanimously determined that the Offer is fair and is recommending that its shareholders accept the Offer. Emergis’ financial advisors have provided opinions to the Board of Emergis that the consideration payable under the Offer is fair from a financial point of view to its shareholders.

As part of the transaction, Emergis’ directors, officers, and certain shareholders - Crescendo Partners II L.P., and Libermont Inc., a company controlled by Chairman Jean Monty - have entered into lock-up agreements with TELUS pursuant to which they have agreed to, among other things, tender all of their Emergis shares to the Offer. The locked-up shares represent approximately 22% of the outstanding Emergis shares on a fully-diluted basis.

TELUS has invested in strengthening its healthcare and financial services capabilities in the last several years, building teams with deep industry expertise and delivering innovative solutions. The strength of TELUS' national sales and marketing capabilities will drive growth in Emergis' solutions, particularly in light of the complementary nature of the parties’ businesses and customer bases.

Despite significant investments, the healthcare industry is in the midst of challenges that are of historical proportions. “If we are going to answer the escalating demand for healthcare excellence and affordability, Canada must invest strategically in healthcare information management systems,” said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. “At TELUS, our goal is to become the leader in healthcare transformation in Canada.”

Emergis’ complementary expertise, applications and customer base will strengthen TELUS’ existing industry solutions. These assets, combined with TELUS’ world-class network, extensive IT infrastructure management capabilities, and credibility with business customers across the country, should accelerate growth in this sector.

Emergis has a strong presence in both health claims processing and pharmacy management systems in Canada, with industry leading applications and services. Emergis’ electronic health record systems for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information, are considered best-of-breed.

The healthcare system is strained by rising costs and ever greater demand due to age-related chronic conditions, expensive new treatments, and higher consumer expectations. Emergis’ electronic health records and health information systems, combined with TELUS’ cross-Canada network and hosting capabilities, provide a platform for healthcare transformation in Canada.

“The private sector has a vital role to play in helping Canadian healthcare providers and payors continue to modernize,” says Joe Natale, President of TELUS Business Solutions. “TELUS and Emergis will provide an advanced set of health information management systems to automate and integrate health records and health claims. Together we intend to promote the development of the electronic health record and create a stronger information backbone that helps healthcare providers work together more effectively for the benefit of patients, providers and payors. We welcome the addition of the key management and deep talent of the Emergis team to the TELUS organization.”

Emergis’ services in the finance industry, which include mortgage processing, point-of-sale transaction processing, and cash management offer customers the economies of scale to meet increasing customer service expectations and cost pressures. This enhances TELUS’ focus and the customer experience for financial services firms across Canada.

“Our team is very excited about joining the innovative TELUS team. Combining our proven capabilities with TELUS’ customer base, strong brand, and financial resources positions the Emergis team to lead the development of solutions in the electronic health claims, electronic health records, pharmacy management systems, consulting, security and financial business process outsourcing in Canada” said François Côté, CEO of Emergis. “This is a great opportunity for our people and for the customers of both organizations.”

“The board unanimously recommends that shareholders accept this offer. I am proud of Emergis’ strengths and I would like to thank the board members, executives, and employees who have built this company,” said Jean Monty, Chairman of the Board of Emergis. "In the last three years, Emergis has re-energized and refocused its business under the guidance of a substantially new Board of Directors. With its experienced management team headed by François Côté, the company is now well on its way to capture the leadership of important elements of the Canadian health IT sector. Over the past three years our share price has doubled and this transaction will place Emergis in the hands of a shareholder dedicated to accelerating its growth and capitalizing fully on its capabilities.”

The Support Agreement provides for, among other things, a right to match any superior offer, customary board support and non-solicitation covenants, and the payment to TELUS of a non-completion fee of $15 million.

The Offer is not conditional on a due diligence condition. The Offer will be open for acceptance for a period of not less than 35 days from mailing and is conditional upon, among other things, valid acceptances of the Offer by Emergis shareholders owning not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding Emergis shares (calculated on a fully-diluted basis). In addition, the Offer will be subject to certain customary conditions, relevant regulatory approvals and the absence of any material adverse effect with respect to Emergis. TELUS may waive the conditions of the Offer in certain circumstances. If its Offer is successful, TELUS has agreed to take steps available to it under relevant securities laws to acquire any remaining outstanding Emergis shares. TELUS expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2008. The Offer is not conditional on financing. TELUS expects to fund the acquisition initially using availability under its existing or new corporate credit facilities.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to TELUS, and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is acting as legal counsel to TELUS. Desjardins Securities Inc. and Genuity Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors to Emergis, and provided Emergis with fairness opinions. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal counsel to Emergis.

Investor webcast and conference call
TELUS and Emergis will hold a joint investor webcast and conference call to discuss the transaction today (November 29, 2007) at 11:00 a.m. EST. The webcast can be accessed at www.telus.com/investors; the conference call dial in number is 1-888-458-1598, code 65789#.

About Emergis
Emergis (TSX: EME) develops and manages solutions that automate transactions and the secure exchange of information to increase the process efficiency and quality of service of its customers. Emergis generated $170 million in revenues in 2006 and currently employs approximately 1,100 people in offices across Canada including: the Longueuil, Québec headquarters and offices in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary. Emergis has expertise in electronic health-related claims processing, health records systems, pharmacy management solutions, cash management and loan document processing and registration. In Canada, Emergis delivers solutions to major insurance companies, top financial institutions, government agencies, hospitals, large corporations, real estate lawyers and notaries, and 3,100 pharmacies. Emergis' shares are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.0 billion of annual revenue and 11.0 million customer connections including 5.4 million wireless subscribers, 4.4 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. Committed to being Canada’s premier corporate citizen, we give where we live. Since 2000, TELUS and our team members have contributed more than $91 million to charitable and non-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.7 million hours of service to local communities. Eight TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead our local philanthropic initiatives. For more information about TELUS, please visit TELUS.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements about TELUS and Emergis that are intended to be covered by the safe harbour for “forward-looking statements” provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may prove to not be accurate and readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on them.

Statements that address activities, events or developments that TELUS or Emergis expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to those regarding: completion of the proposed transaction; strategic plans and expectations; business and financial prospects; expected efficiencies and economies of scale from the transaction; future financial or operating performance and cash flows, including improved growth and returns; and statements regarding strategies, objectives, goals and targets. There can be no assurance that any transaction between TELUS and Emergis will occur, or will occur on the timetable contemplated in this press release.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the control of TELUS and Emergis, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed in or implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the risk factors disclosed and identified in TELUS’ and Emergis’ public filings made with securities regulatory authorities in Canada (on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States (on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), as applicable, and also include the following risks, uncertainties and other possibilities: valid acceptance of the Offer by holders of 66 2/3% of Emergis’ outstanding common shares not being obtained, approvals or clearances required to be obtained by TELUS and Emergis from regulatory and other agencies and bodies will not be obtained in a timely manner or at all; anticipated benefits, efficiencies and cost savings from the business combination or related divestitures cannot be fully realized; costs or difficulties related to the integration of Emergis’ and TELUS’ operations will be greater than expected; and business and economic conditions in the principal markets for the companies’ products and other anticipated and unanticipated costs and expenses and other risk factors relating to Emergis and TELUS.

The forward-looking statements included in this news release represent TELUS’ and Emergis’ views as of the date hereof. While the companies anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause their views to change, they specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release or any other forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of either of them. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release should not be relied upon as representing their views as of any date other than the date hereof.

LEGAL NOTICE
This news release is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of Emergis. No proxy solicitation regarding a business combination involving Emergis or offer to purchase the outstanding common shares of Emergis has been commenced. The solicitation and the offer to purchase Emergis shares will only be made pursuant to an offer to purchase and related materials that will be mailed to security holders of Emergis shortly. Those materials are expected to be mailed to Emergis shareholders on or before December 11, 2007.

Investors and Emergis security holders are advised to read these materials carefully when they become available and other offer documentation regarding the transaction to be filed with securities regulatory authorities in Canada, as they will contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the offer. Emergis security holders may also obtain a free copy of the offer to purchase (when available) and other related documents filed by TELUS and Emergis at www.sedar.com. When available, the offer to purchase and other related materials may also be obtained from TELUS, Attention: TELUS Corporation, Investor Relations, 3-555 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3K9, Canada or Emergis, Investor Relations, 1000 rue de Serigny, Suite 600, Longueuil, Quebec J4K 5B1.

And Not So Usual... (post #2 for today!)

Talked to Mom and got the fondant recipe... need to get some ingredients to try it. Thanks Mom!!

Went out to muck out my goats... they were nutty... to the point I was getting annoyed with them. They spilled the muck bucket TWICE... both water buckets...sent my almost full bale of straw that was piled nice and neatly a flying... general pains in the butt!! It was cold... a bit windy... kinda unpleasant dealing with the goaty shenanigans.. it's really rare they are this irritating!!

When I was just about done, I was going to just dump the muck bucket and go inside, but then I decided to go sit in their shelter in the pile of fresh straw I put in. I was kinda tired and getting a bit cold, but I thought what the heck. So I go in and make myself comfy... it really is remarkably warm in there!!!

Of course my two little brats come inside and nibble me and climb on me... but that's fine... its enjoyable enough.. I like hanging out with them. The nibbling and climbing goes on for quite a while... Bert was especially social with me today... he's way less in your face than Ernie and is often a little more skittish than Ernie.

After a while, I'm no longer fun and Ernie has lost interest.. he munches some of the fresh straw and then lays down near my feet and starts chewing his cud. Bert is still really interested and is standing in my lap (no wonder my thighs have little bruises on them all the time!!) and he's schnuzzling me and mouthing. He starts to lose interest... Ernie gets back up and moves closer and lays down right beside me in the straw... right along my leg.

Bert then goes around the other side of Ernie and lays down between Ernie and the shelter wall... and they are both quite content to lay there with me and chew cud. Ernie tucks his head under my leg and under Bert's head and dozes off.

It was wonderful... we must have sat there like that for at least half an hour. I did take my camera out and take a few pics, I'll post them in a minute... they aren't great, it's hard to take shots like that, but it was so neat that they are so comfortable with me to just lay down and snuggle in the shelter.

Finally, my butt cheeks were falling asleep and I had to get up.... I was all the way out of the shelter before they got up... they came out and ate some hay while I dumped the muck bucket using my new sled (which is super awesome, by the way!!) and then hollered at me as I headed back in the house.

I love my little goats... even after they were little shits making a mess of all the tools and stuff. They really ARE just like human kids.... one minute they are driving you crazy and the next minute they give you an unexpected hug or kiss and all is right with the world again.

Just The Usual

Not much going on around here... today is very cold.. like - 14 C, with windchill around -22 C. My goat babies got their blankets put on this morning! The cold should be short lived though, tomorrow its supposed to be +4 or 5 C and maybe some RAIN. Lovely. Like just be winter now... this fall winter fall winter stuff is getting kinda old!! (I know be careful what you wish for!!)

Last night right after work, Shawn and I went out Christmas shopping. Mostly HE shopped and I killed time... he was shopping for me. I did get a Christmas present from him already though, but mostly because it was too big and awkward to hide!

How old am I?? Ok, OLD, let's leave it at that... guess what he gave me? A plastic sled... you know, the sort where you trudge off in the deep snow to some hill and zoom down in? A weird gift for an old broad, yes? Even weirder was the old broad ASKED for it for Christmas. Ok ok, so I haven't actually lost my marbles (just misplaced them temporarily... probably in some box!) Its actually to help me do my goat chores.

I always muck into a muck bucket, then trudge about 200 feet away in the deep snow carrying it to the manure pile to dump it... Now I can put the muck bucket on the sled and pull it to the manure pile. Or put a bale of straw on the sled and drag it down to the goats. I don't really plan to use it to zoom down a hill.

In fact, after receiving the sled last night, I was whining about how flat our land is and that I couldn't try it out. Well, I forgot that at the corner of the property (on the side with the neighbour, not the vacant lot side) that there IS a hill that goes down into the swamp! Umm, yeah, I don't think I'll try that... at least not until I'm SURE the swamp is frozen solid! ;)

This morning after I took Shawn to work, I made a quick stop at Farm Boy to get a loaf of bread, then I headed up to the Kinburn Feed store where my hay / straw supplier works to pick up the straw I ordered from him on Monday. I paid him for my 10 bales and told him I'd load it (as he was busy loading the truck with the fork lift) and he wouldn't hear of it.

By the time I went out and moved the van next to his truck and got the doors unstuck (frozen) he was there up in the truck moving bales to the back where I could reach them. I fit 10 bales in the van easily, I could likely get 15 or 16 in there before it would get too hard to stuff them in.

Once I was loaded, I thanked him and then headed home. When I got home I opened up the big doors to the feed room and moved the last few bales of straw from the last load out of the way and stacked the new ones up... I can pile them 5 high in that little building with no trouble. I put the older bales at the front, so they'll get used first.

I swept out the van with the broom, I didn't get all the bits of straw, but its not bad. Maybe tomorrow when its warmer I'll take the shop vac and get the bits around the edges of the mats.... today is too cold for that! I swept up the feed room and reorganized things a bit and then I was getting kinda chilly so I came inside.

I'll go out later and muck out the goats... let it get as warm as its gonna, first. At least the sun is out :)

Oh and my goats are finally starting to believe that beet pulp is NOT poison. Yesterday morning, I mixed some grain in with it and put a few raisins on top and they ate it up. I made them some more last night and they ate that up too. It was kinda cute cause the beet pulp mixture was a bit wetter and they were making adorable slurping noises while they ate it. Sounded a bit like Pixie eating her dog food, which is always kinda yucky sounding... but when goats do it, its not *quite* as gross! :) Besides, they aren't doing it IN the house, which makes a difference.

So not much happening around here... just the usual stuff.

Busy... But Can't Remember What We've Been Up To!!

I swear, I keep thinking about posting... but never at the right time... I'll think of something to post, say, when I'm driving... or remember that I haven't posted, you know, when I'm just about to fall asleep at night... that sort of thing. Getting older SUCKS!! :)

Anyhow, as always, we've been busy around here. We put up some more Christmas stuff this weekend... decorated the banister... cut some stencils and we bought some of that snow in a can stuff and we're gonna try that out on some windows. Both Shawn and I are a bit obsessed with the snow in a can stuff, as we always wanted it as kids and never got any. Now we're adults and we can do whatever we want, so na na na na boo boo! ;) I'm sure it won't be near as fun or exciting as either of us has imagined over the years though.

I think it was Friday when I went crazy with 3 tubes of caulk upstairs. I caulked around all the upstairs windows and the windows in the mud room. They are not the original windows to the house and they are really quite crappy. (I'd rather deal with leaky OLD charming windows that leaky not so old crappy windows.)

I think its helped cut down the drafts a bit, but the windows themselves also leak some, so we may try that temporary plastic stuff that you put on with a hair dryer on some of the worst ones and see if it helps. I need about another 3 tubes of caulking to finish the main floor windows, I just have to remember to BUY it!!

We also cleaned up the house over the weekend as we had some guests over to visit us and our goats and I really didn't want them to know that we live in a pig sty... oh wait, now the whole world knows!! ha ha

I spent today running around... went to the feed store and got more grain for the boys.. also picked up a bag of beet pulp for them (more on that in a minute) and 2 bales of pine shavings. Also talked to my hay/straw guy about getting some more straw... I've used 7 of the 10 bales that he brought me originally and I don't want to run out. He'll bring them to the feed store and then I'll pick them up there in the mini van... means I can get them when I want and not have to wait for him to drive down in the dark after he's done at the feed store in the evening. Suits me great :)

So I bought some shredded (not pellets) beet pulp to feed to my goats. Mostly, the point of the beet pulp was to offer something else to eat that would also provide them some extra water in their diet. It's winter and I worry they aren't drinking enough (although, they are drinking almost as much as when it was warmer, so I'm just being a mother hen.)

I brought it home and dumped it into a garbage can so it wouldn't get wet or allow the rodents in... and then I took a small amount (that's always KEY with beet pulp!!) and put it in a bucket, brought the bucket in the house, put in hot tap water (about 3:1) and let it soak while I mucked out their shelter. Came back in and it was nicely soaked and mushy, still warm, but not hot.

I took it out to them in their feed pans and set it out for them... they did think I brought grain and were very disappointed to find I put goat "poison" in their feed pans instead. Apparently beet pulp is repulsive. I even squeezed some out with my hands and tried hand feeding it and nope! absolutely not! Fussy goats... I left the feed pans with the beet pulp out there, thinking maybe they'd eat it later. NOPE.

I'll try again tomorrow and add a bit of their grain to it and see if that entices them. It's a weird texture and they don't have any older animals to show them that its ok to eat it.... and they ARE just babies that were just started on grain before they came here... but still!!! EAT IT ALREADY!

Goats have a reputation for eating everything... like tin cans and old boots... but with my goats, nothing could be farther from the truth... they are fussy!!! I bring out some lettuce leaves... perfectly fine, *I* would still eat them... and sometimes they gobble them... but should a leaf ever fall on the ground...NOPE, not eating THAT... its *dirty*!

Same with hay... they are bigger wasters than horses!! "Oh I pulled that out while looking for the tastiest fluffiest bits and now I can't possibly eat that... its filthy and not suitable for royalty such as myself!" Grrrr! Fussy buggers.

Yet, these same creatures think NOTHING of pooping in their water bucket... their feed pan or their hay feeder. Umm, hello, maybe you should think that through?!?!

Tonight Shawn and I took the projector screen and wrapped it in that plastic stuff that skids get wrapped in. We wrapped it about a thousand times in different directions and once we were satisfied that it was reasonably well protected, we put it in the basement, laying across some boxes so its not directly on the floor. It's kind of a "white elephant" in this house... no good place to hang it and use it... yet, we don't really want to sell it or anything either. So we'll store it for a while... maybe we'll come up with a plan of how we could actually use it. Who knows? At least its out of my living room where I eventually plan to set up the Christmas tree.

Besides going to the feed store today, I also ran around and did some secret Christmas things... bought a few gifts... that sort of thing.

I've also been considering making some sort of Christmas yum yum eat'em. That's Shawn speak for making something tasty. I thought about making sugar cookies and I haven't ruled it out. I have an idea that adding ground up vanilla bean might be yummy. The other thing I was thinking about was something my mom made years ago and I don't really remember what it was other than yummy.

I know it involved Eagle brand sweet and condensed milk and somehow you mixed that with something... maybe icing sugar and you ended up with little balls of tasty goodness... she sometimes mixed almond extract or peppermint extract.. and little silver balls or sugar sprinkles or maybe a nut went on top. They were very sweet and almost like fudge.

Again, I have this idea that adding vanilla extract and maybe ground up vanilla bean might be awesome. Maybe if Mom is reading this she will remember what I'm talking about and fill me in on the details that I've forgotten and maybe just maybe even have a recipe or something for me. (hint hint!!) :) And why did she stop making it?? Was it as delicious as I remember?? Wait.. Fondant? Is that what it was called??? Perhaps.

Anyhow... I'm not sure if I'll end up doing either of those things... but I've been thinking about it anyhow... weird for me for sure... I can roast meat and stuff, but I'm no baker! But being out here without access to all my mother's home baking sure makes me crave stuff like that!!!

Well that's as much as I can remember about what's been going on lately so I'll leave it at that for now! :)

Snow.. On The Ground!

Last night we finally got some snow! There's 3 - 4 inches on the ground and they are forecasting another 20 - 25 cm in the next 24 hours!! Being the first snow of the year, its very pretty... clean and picturesque. I'm sure the novelty of it will wear off quickly!

Of course, our internet cable is still across the driveway, no one has come to bury it yet... so we're all tucked into bed last night... the snow hasn't started.... and we're lying there all comfy and warm when I remember it's supposed to snow overnight and we have no idea when the snow removal guy will show up!!

So Shawn got up, put on his coveralls, went out and unplugged the coax, moved the "ding ding" and the rubber mats and then came back into bed.

The snow removal guy didn't come, though I imagine he will tonight or tomorrow morning. I remembered to park under the tarped building last night and there was nothing on the car this morning, which was nice!!

When we let the dogs out this morning, they were all excited when they saw the snow and Buddy ran all around crazy and biting and eating the snow like a madman. He loves the snow and does this every year... its funny to watch :)

Then we went out to the goats and took their gate off so they could come out. Being born in July, they've never seen snow on the ground before and both were very wary and cautious about it... they didn't want to step out. Finally Ernie got brave enough to come out, then Bert soon after... they both walked around with stiff, straight legs, not really knowing if it was safe to walk on or not!!

They were so busy exploring the snow that they even forgot about eating their grain for about 5 minutes (a really long time in "goat world"!) As each flake hit Bert's back, his skin flinched (as if a fly was landing on him!). We cut them some evergreen to munch on... put their hay and grain inside... they'll get used to it, I'm sure!!

The drive into work this morning was fine... we even saw a snowplow on our road before we left... the roads were just wet... some parts had a bit of slush on them, but mostly in Kanata... the roads closer to our house were in better shape than the ones near work!!

The traffic going in March road was thick and slow... anytime the road isn't perfectly dry in the morning, that's true... not sure why.... a fair bit of volume and a few people over reacting, I imagine.

Heard on the radio that TWO OC Transpo (Ottawa's bus system) buses were in ditches this morning... way to go guys!!

I'm going to upload some pics to the FHH album in a while, so look for those. That's it for now, though!

The Thing Works!

I tried the Singer out last night, just turning the balance wheel to try to get it to go. I found some manuals online for similar machines.

At first, it wouldn't go at all. The wheel would turn, but the mechanism seemed seized. I fiddled around for a while, wondering if I'd done something wrong. Finally, I got Lisa to help me. :-)

We took the locking screw and balance wheel off the machine to get a better look. We couldn't see much, although a little piece seemed like it was in backwards.

The manual I had had instructions on how to oil the machine, so we tried that, oiling all the points that are recommended (actually, we never did oil the bottom points of the machine, I realize now).

After a bit of oil, the damn thing works -- the mechanism runs as smooth as silk. Wonderful action.

The treadle takes some getting used to -- it's like playing with a yo yo -- you have to get the timing just right. But it works. :-)

If my modern Kenmore works as well as this Singer does in 70 years, I'll eat my hat. :-)

Today sometime I may try threading it up and running some real stitches with it. I'm sure the tension will need adjustment and all that, but that's to be expected.

All Sorts of Lighting

I haven't posted here in a while, but today seems like something I can comment meaningfully on. :-)

Today was the lighting installation day.

We replaced all of our outdoor porch lights (two in the front, two in the back). The old ones were nasty, rusted out, barely attached, filled with bugs and filth, and had barely functioning motion detectors that shut off when you were there, and blinded you as you were coming in.

The new ones are just simple lights from Home Depot, elegant black fixtures, a bit larger than the old ones (I think more in scale with the house), but importantly: they're installed securely, they're simple, and they turn on and off with a switch, rather than on their own whim. :-)

We discovered a couple things about the house when we were putting them up: the addition on the back of the house is insulated on the outside with blue foam insulation, which is nice. The old house, over the brick, has 2" framing under the siding. It may also be insulated between that: we couldn't tell.

It's just getting dark now: soon we'll be able to test the lights.

We didn't get to doing the kitchen/dining room lights (probably tomorrow). Instead, we installed Christmas lights.

Mostly we put them on some of our new fences: they should be really nice once its dark out. We also put some on the Red Shed Used for Storage Needs Some Work.

All in all, a really fun day. :-)

Update... New Pics...

I posted some new goat pics... some of these even have some of Shawn and I in them!! I do look really scary and I apologize to our more sensitive readers, but its been chilly here in Dunrobin and I've been cold!!

To enhance my look, we went to TSC yesterday and bought insulated coveralls... we each got a pair. Shawn had a hard time getting ones to fit, most of the bigger name ones had really short sleeves! He finally found a cheaper brand that fit reasonably well. They probably wont wear as well or be as warm, but he doesn't need quite the same level of heat that I do. His are a respectable blue colour.

Mine... well, they are warm. They are made by Dickies, which I LOVE having a tag on my boob that says so and they are ugly... that nasty baby poo brown colour (light brown and kinda orangey).... ever so attractive... NOT. But they are friggen warm... I put them on to go out and feed this morning and it wasn't quite as chilly as it has been and they were almost too warm. They are also very heavy and a bit hard to move in... I really feel like a kid bundled up in a snowsuit when I wear them!! Oh the fashion sacrifice, just to be toasty!! ;)

Yesterday we did a bunch of clean up work around the yard... loaded up all the rolls of fencing (one at a time) into the lawn tractor's trailer and hauled it over to another part of the yard, where it'll be out of the way once the snow flies. We put away the patio furniture that hadn't been used in a while... into the red shed for winter storage.

We also ran an extension cord from the red shed into the white shed to power my feed room light... I didn't bring out a power bar with me, so its still not switched, but now at least it works by just plugging it in. I used it last night when we fed and locked up the goats and WOW is it ever nice to have a real light in there. There's only a 60 W bulb in there now and it could take a 100 W if I thought I needed it brighter yet!

We also went up to Galetta yesterday (about halfway between here and Arnprior) and watched the horse sale for a little while. We did not plan to buy anything... and did not buy anything :) Its not quite as bad as the Tuesday sales at Kitchener, but not near as good as Carson's sale in Listowel.

Prices were low... lots of quarter horses broke to ride went through and sold for around $300 - $500. A couple donkeys went through also... they ranged from $25 (!!!) for an older donkey, that wasn't halter broke with horrible nasty feet to about $130 for a nice little donkey that was halter broke and about 2 years old. I was a bit tempted by that donkey, but sat on my hands and it was all over in a few minutes.

Then we went to TSC, as I mentioned before... then it was about 4:30 pm and I was starving so we went to Steve and Denni's (if you remember we went there this summer after the Arnprior fair when we were scorching hot and ate salads!) and had dinner... we were there so early we actually beat all the old people...there was about 5 or 6 groups of older people that arrived right around 5pm.

I had a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and tomato macaroni soup. Shawn had baked lasagna with a dinner roll, salad and soup... we both had cokes and dessert was included... red jello (my choice) or rice pudding (Shawn's choice)... the total bill was $25.19! We love diners... good food... and cheap! :)

We came home... fed the dogs... fed the goats and then just hung around watching tv on dvd and doing some laundry.

Shawn has tomorrow off... yet another vacation day.... I think today we're going to do some electrical work... maybe replace the kitchen and dining room lights (we already bought the same fixtures as are in the mudroom and bathroom/laundry room). We may change these fixture out eventually when and if the kitchen gets redone, but for now, it'll mean more light in the kitchen... and we can get rid of that horrible broken fixture in the dining room. Baby steps.

We're also hoping to do some outside electrical.. replace the fixtures by the front and back doors... remove the friggen motion detectors that have a warped sense of humour and think its funny to randomly plunge us into darkness when we're moving a whole bunch right in front of them!! I'll be happy to just be able to turn a light ON with a switch and have it STAY on until I turn it off... oh the things that make me happy!!

I'm hoping that we'll also have some time and energy to put up some outside Christmas lights... we don't really know where to put them yet... our front trees are all way to big to really do a nice job on them... and its hard to attach them to the house... we're looking for easy and safe... nothing that requires a tall ladder or monkey like climbing on the roof!! I'll have to go out again and look and think about what would look ok.

So, if you're planning to try to reach me today... it might be tricky to get me on the home phone (it doesn't work if we've turned off the power!) but I'll have my cell in my pocket as usual, if anyone needs to reach us.

Ok, time to get to work!!

Kijiji Strikes Again!!

I am so addicted to kijiji... sometimes you only see junk... but sometimes you get a really neat deal!

Obviously we got all our page wire fencing from someone on kijiji... a couple weeks back I also got an awesome nativity scene, its made of olive wood and has a "made in Bethlehem" sticker on the back. (Imagine its a thing over there, making stuff like that to sell to tourists... but still its awesome!)

Tonight after supper we drove all the way to Renfrew (about an hour away... north... or west.. or whatever direction they refer to that as!! Towards North Bay!) and we bought a Singer treadle sewing machine!! And it still works apparently... we haven't tried it out yet. Shawn looked up the serial number online and it was made in Quebec in 1936.

It's very pretty and really neat. When I saw it on kijiji, I immediately thought I should get it for Shawn for Christmas. Then I emailed the seller and it took her until supper time tonight to get back to me (I guess she works all day?) and wondered if we could pick it up tonight and if not, she had 4 other people that also wanted it. So I obviously couldn't make it a surprise, so I showed Shawn the pic online and askedh im if he was interested and he said he was... so off we went.

The best part? It was $50. $50... yes.

Kijiji is awesome!! :)

Hello My Old Friend...

My old friend "Speedy Internet" that is!!

Last night we finally gave up on Bell's wimax unplugged service. It was just getting unbearable... sometimes working, sometimes not... but if it ever DID work... twas so slow. It worked better in the summer for some reason.

I checked on their website and apparently its not even a supported technology at our address... so its surprising it worked at all. Shawn and I phoned Bell to cancel it (it was in his name) and after quite some time, some stress and some craziness we succeeded in canceling it. We immediately had no internet access.

Then we decided to call Rogers... I know, I know, I swore I wouldn't, but there is no other reasonable option here... after talking to 2 agents, we finally got an "appointment" for installation today... between 8am and 8pm. Lovely.

Anyhow, they arrived just before 1pm... they didn't call first like I requested, but I was just cleaning up the goat pen, so it wasn't a big deal. It took them a while to make it go... the buried cable that crosses the lawn was not working, so they ran a new cable out to the big pole at the side of the road.

Now I have a very long coax cable running through the grass and across the driveway to the house. Apparently they sub contract out the burial work and they will show up... sometime... is their best guess. Hopefully before the ground freezes... or that'll be a big crappy poo poo thing this winter!!

So now we have internet again... and man is it speedy!! I can hardly believe it!! I'm happy again... I don't have to wait 15 - 20 minutes for each email to load! Yay :)

2 Obits

Obituaries - Nov. 10, 2007

LEHMANN, Helen Winnifred - Passed away peacefully, on Friday, November 9, 2007 at Forest Heights Long Term Care at the age of 89 years. Beloved wife of the late William Lehmann (1983). Loving mother of Donald and his wife Sharon of Powassan and Larry and his partner Auldene Quennell of Jacksons Point. Dear sister of Grace Frohlich of Kitchener. Sister-in-law of Mildred Asmussen and Rilla Lehmann both of Kitchener. Grandma to Virginia Herbert (Tim), Ken Lehmann (Linda), Kimberley Hicks, Terry Lehmann and Paul Lehmann. Great-grandma to 11 great-grandchildren Keeley Herbert, Brandon and Travis Lehmann, Kyle, Ryan and Amanda Hicks, Felicia, Dillon and Cassandra Lehmann and Omarai and Siraya Lehmann. Predeceased by her parents, Edgar and Edna (nee Holtzworth) Asmussen, son Billy Lehmann; daughter, Virginia Lehmann; brother, Howard Asmussen; brothers-in-law, Joe, Bernard, Rudy, Arnold, Gerard and Carl Lehmann and sister-in-laws, Anna Graff and Marie Bender. Helen’s family will receive relatives and friends on Monday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at the Henry Walser Funeral Home, 507 Frederick St., Kitchener, 519-749-8467. Funeral service 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 in the chapel of the funeral home. Rev. Katharine Edmonstone of Highland Road United Church officiating. Interment Woodland Cemetery followed by a reception at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers donations to Highland Rd. United Church would be appreciated by the family (cards available at the funeral home). Visit www.henrywalser.com for Helen’s memorial.

Obituaries - Nov. 10, 2007

GRAHAM, Ann Marie - Suddenly, in Guelph, on Thursday, November 8, 2007. Anna Graham, age 34 years. Beloved fiancée of Jon Halliwell of Guelph. Dear daughter of Laura Burt of Brantford and David Graham of New Brunswick. Beloved niece of Lloyd and Carol Lindsay of Guelph. Dear sister of Beverly Borman (Ken), Kathy Burt, all of Brantford, Michelle Menhennet (Chad) of Niagara Falls and Vanessa Lindsay - Botten (John) of Halifax. Loved aunt of David, Skylar, Shauna, and several other nieces and nephews. Loved granddaughter of Norman Field of Irish Lake and the late Margaret Field and the late Grace Lindsay. Resting at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel , 1099 Gordon St., Guelph (Monday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m.) where a funeral service will be held in the funeral home chapel on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 1 p.m. followed by cremation. A reception to follow the service in the Fellowship Lounge of the funeral home. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Guelph Humane Society or the Guelph Little Theatre would be appreciated by the family (Cards available at the funeral home or condolences at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com)

Sad... 2 Deaths

It's an extremely sad day when there are 2 deaths that touch our lives.

We would like to extend our condolences to Kyle's family... his Great Grandmother passed away this afternoon at 2:43pm. We will keep Kyle and his family in our thoughts during this sad and difficult time.


I heard from Jessica this evening and she told me of the death of Anna Graham, the production manager that she learned from during her coop and volunteer stint with Theatre & Company. Her untimely death was actually in the local newspaper... I'll put the text at the end.

I know my daughter thought highly of Anna, learned tons from her and really respected her. I feel for her fiance and her family. What a horrible thing to have happen, I'm almost speechless.

To my daughter, hang in there, I know you have a very busy month ahead of you, with many projects, tests, calls, etc... You can do it... I know it seems overwhelming and horrible right now, but do it... it's what Anna would have done and what she would want... she would not want her death to make it hard for you to get through a very important time at school, attending a program that she helped inspire you to pursue. Do it for Anna. I love you, girl.


Link to the article

Wrong-way car kills woman

Ann Marie Graham was a former manager with Theatre & Company

GREG MERCER AND VIK KIRSH

Ann Marie Graham was 34.

GUELPH

A woman described as "a rock" in Kitchener's theatre community died early yesterday in a three-vehicle crash on Guelph's Hanlon Expressway.

Ann Marie Graham, 34, died after her car was hit by a man police say was impaired and driving the wrong way on the Guelph expressway shortly before 1 a.m.

For more than four years, Graham, known to friends as Anna, had been production manager at Kitchener's Theatre & Company, essentially running any production held at the company's King Street stage.

Staff at the theatre were so shaken by the news many asked to go home early yesterday, said Chris MacFarlane, who replaced Graham as production manager in February.

"Almost anyone who worked in theatre in this region would have at some point worked with Anna," said Brad Hutton, general manager at the King Street theatre company.

"She was everyone's rock, she was my right hand. This all seems surreal."

For Hutton, she was also a close friend, a neighbour and someone who could be counted on at the last minute to house-sit and walk his dog.

A memorial is being planned within the next month at the theatre, Hutton said.

"She was one of those people who always very positive, very upbeat, and extremely good at her job," said Cheryl Ewing, director of marketing with the King Street theatre. "She had an impact on a huge number of people."

A 38-year-old New Dundee man, Lance W. Fried, has been arrested as a result of the crash. He's charged with impaired driving causing death and driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his body, police said, adding alcohol was found in his Ford Explorer.

The driver of a third car involved in the crash was not injured.

Graham, a production co-ordinator for the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, was engaged to marry John Halliwell of Regina.

It appeared Graham was on her way home from work when the crash occurred, Robb said.

Graham was deeply involved in the theatre community outside of Kitchener, too.

She was the Guelph Little Theatre's technical director and a board member for seven years.

Past president Rosalind Slater said Graham continued to lend her technical expertise to various productions.

Her untimely death has stunned many, Slater said.

"This is a real shock to the arts community in this area. We all know and love Anna."

Graham earned a University of Guelph bachelor of arts degree in drama in 1997, and stayed in touch with fellow students and professors like Paul Ord.

"She had a huge network of friends," the drama professor said.

She relished the performing arts, throwing herself into her work "with passion, energy, sensitivity and sensibility," Ord said, noting her talents extended from arts design work to, more recently, management and technical direction.

"She will be missed," Ord said.

She was a stage manager and volunteer for the Hillside music festival and helped direct and stage manage performances of productions by Guelph playwright Tony Berto.

"She was probably the most positive, can-do person I ever met in my life. She was beyond compare," Berto said yesterday.

Graham is survived by relatives in Arkell on Guelph's southern fringe and Brantford, including her aunt, Marilyn Field.

"(She was) a great young lady," Field said yesterday.

Field said Graham was raised in Arkell by her aunt and uncle, Carol and Lloyd Lindsay, before moving to Guelph as she grew into adulthood.

Yesterday, Field said the family was getting many calls from friends and colleagues wondering if the woman who died was "our Anna."

Field's husband, J.C. (John) Pennie, said Graham was a natural leader and a hard worker with considerable skill.

He said her life was snuffed out in a tragic accident that never should have happened.

"I think she had a great future," he said.

"She worked long hours and late hours."

The family, he said yesterday, is too devastated to consider funeral arrangements until today.

"They're still struggling with the grief," Pennie said.

A police investigation continues.

Anyone with information is asked to call Const. Lisa McGinnis at the Rockwood detachment at 519-856-1506.

Goat Coats & New Pics

It's been chilly here... no real snow to speak of YET, but a cold wind. My baby goats decided it was too cold to leave their shelter anymore, even to come out for food... I don't like them in there all the time, as I think fresh air is good for them (but what do I know?).

After doing some internet research, I found out its very common to put blankets on goats... most of the places you can order online are in the states and even with the dollar being worth something, I don't like the border surprises. So I decided that I would take a chance on Greenhawk's dog blankets.

I attempted to measure the goats for blankets and wow, was that ever difficult. Even with collars on, they wiggle and waggle and jump, you'd think I was trying to kill them!!

I decided that they are about the size of a medium dog and went off to greenhawk. I picked up 2 medium dog blankets and then tried them on this morning.

If measuring goats is tricky, blanketing goats is next to impossible... that is, until you get out the box of raisins! ;) Our really "outgoing" goat, Ernie (read, into everything constantly!) took to it ok, he mostly wanted to chew it frantically. Our other more reserved, quiet goat, Bert, was pretty sure I had strapped a predator onto his back. It took almost half a box of raisins to convince him otherwise!

Anyhow, the medium dog coats are *just* big enough for now... we may have to modify or add something to the belly strap at some point soon... there's a big jump in sizing between the medium and the large though, so they need to do some growing before the large will work. The dog coats have no buckles, so if they really want them off, they can probably work the velcro and get them off.

Once they had them on and were no longer freaking out, they came out of the shelter and started to eat the outside hay! Apparently so far, it works. Now I will not be surprised if next time I go out I find them naked and huddled in the shelter again!!

The pics are in the Goat Coat & Dehorning album in FH... enjoy :)

Fences & Dehorning

First off... I'm feeling better... not 100% yet, but darn close. I still have a few days of antibiotics so the healing trend should continue. Not sure that Shawn will be so lucky... he may need another trip to the doctor yet... we'll see.

Twas another busy weekend around here... Shawn pounded a bunch more posts.. all of them, in fact, except a couple corner posts that get done when the fence goes up, so no big deal. We also got a bunch of the fence up and secured... in the dog area along the back and up the side to the corner right behind the white building. We still have to come across and up towards the house, but that run of fence is over half done.

We also moved the goat enclosure a bit so they would have grass and leaves to eat again and give the ground a break where they've been all this time. Its a nice system the dog kennel fence and the 2 part shelter, makes moving the whole shebang easy and it takes us about 30 minutes to do it.

Speaking of baby goats, they went and got dehorned yesterday... it was very stressful for them and us!! We worried about them all day long. I called around 2pm and they told me they were awake and nibbling hay, but that they needed another hour before coming home. We didn't end up getting them until about 530pm, which was ok, the clinic is open til 6pm.

When we loaded them in the morning, they were very good and just jumped right in the back of the van and into the dog crate. (We used pixie's old crate this time, to save some time and effort first thing in the morning and they fit ok this time, but probably not again.. at least not together.) When we got to the clinic, I went in first to find out where they wanted them and then I went back out and we put on their leashes and out they jumped.

They were so good, walking on their leashes in a strange place... they just followed us, no problem. We put them together in a dog kennel, after I pulled out the newspaper that lined the bottom. It was just too slippery with the paper in and I didn't want them to EAT the paper either :)

When we went to pick them up, there were other people there too picking up their pets that had been there for the day, to have procedures done. We paid our bill ($127.56) that included both dehornings, the sedatives, the local anesthetic and a shot each of long acting antibiotics. Oh and a can of blue wound spray and taxes. I thought that was really reasonable.

Once the paperwork and payment was done, then they brought the boys out (after I made sure no dogs were expected to be in our path!!) and they lead them down a hallway around the corner from where we were. The walked kinda hesitantly as they were still kinda sedated... not their normal curious and energetic selves! Just before they came around the corner, I crouched down and called them and they both recognized my voice and walked very quickly over to where we were standing. They seemed happy to see us after their tough day!

They looked like little sad goats... their horns missing with silver spray over each area to help clot any blood and help prevent infection.

We got our after care directions and then started to leave the waiting area. In the waiting room they had various plants, hibiscus and some other tropical looking plants I don't know the names of. The goats were very interested in nibbling them, but we managed to get out before they got any of them... luckily as I think some of them are poisonous.

Out to the car we went... they didn't want to walk down the steps in the dark... and they were kinda wobbly still, but we got them down and out to the car. This time they couldn't jump in... they were tired and didn't have the coordination required so I lifted each one in and put them in the crate.

We headed home in the dark and they traveled pretty well. When we got home, we went and got flashlights and then unloaded them by lifting them out again... I didn't want them to hurt themselves when they were unsteady on their feet. We clipped their leashes on and headed out towards the enclosure. They both got really excited when they saw their fence and were enthusiastic to go right through the gate. (After we take them for walks around the yard and put them back in their fencing, neither ever wants to go through the gate and have the fun end.)

I tucked them right into their shelter with some hay and water... no grain until this morning, after the sedative had totally worn off and their tummies would be functioning normally again.

We went back to the house, exhausted and tired and hungry and we showered and ate some dinner. We watched a show on dvd while we ate. Then we decided maybe we'd go to bed early so we got ready to go outside and take the dogs out. I decided I also wanted to check on the babies before bed, to make sure they were ok.

We went out in our jammies, with coats and hats on, as it was raining. When we got out there we saw with the flashlight that Bert's one horn wound had bled quite a bit and he had congealed blood hanging in sheets / chunks from his face and his one eye was almost glued shut from dried blood. So much for going to bed early! I sent Shawn in to get some clean up supplies and I got a collar from the white shed to help hold him still.

I picked the chunks of partly dried blood off his face and then started to soak the dried blood off around his eye and pick off what I could. He wasn't thrilled with this process, but tolerated it remarkably well. In the mean time, Shawn and I got soaked and cold in the rain. I applied the blue wound spray to both of them. Bert's bleeding had slowed down to just a seeping bit of blood.

The whole time we were out there, in the darkness, cleaning up goat blood.. we could hear the coyotes not far off yipping and howling and moving around in the night. I don't know how close they were, but to hear them moving, they couldn't have been too far. Creepy.

We were all ready to go back in the house and then Bert scratched the site with his back leg and opened it up again. ARGH. So we untie the gate and I go back in and hold pressure to it until the bleeding slows down... I reapply the blue spray and then we get them locked up and off we go back to the house.

We were both really worried about whether they'd be ok or not, especially with the smell of goat blood and the coyotes nearby, but we went in anyhow and headed right to bed. I woke up once in the night and thought I should go out and check on them, but talked myself out of it because if they were resting quietly, I didn't want to disturb them and get them moving around.

I woke up early, about 30 minutes before the alarm and I got dressed and took the dogs out, leaving Shawn in bed. I started dog food and then went out to check the goat babies. I went into the white feed shed to get some hay and other stuff I needed and didn't see them peeking out of their shelter. I was a bit worried about what I might find when I got there. By the time I was done gathering everything in the shed though there were 2 cute little faces looking out and they were calling to me.

I took them some hay and a small amount of grain. Ernie's wounds looked good... Bert's one was ok, the bloody one from last night had seeped some more and needed cleaning up... but nothing near so bad as last night. They were much brighter this morning and really happy to eat.

I wasn't out there that long when Shawn came out to check his babies too. He was really relieved they were ok and we finished up out there and then came in, fed the dogs, made his lunch and then off to work we went.

I'll have to go out in a bit and finish cleaning up Bert's face now that he's had a chance to eat a bunch... he'll likely be a little more patient to stand still with a full tummy.

So, as of now, all is good and I hope they heal and recover quickly and without any further incident. I'm glad we had their horns removed, but it was also scarier than I thought it would be... whether they'd be ok and stuff. Maybe I'll take a couple pics of the boys when I go out and post them. It doesn't look very nice, but once its healed and the hair grows back, should look alright AND be much safer!! I can worry less now about losing an eye!!

That's it for now!

Third Time's the Charm??

Well we'll see. I went BACK to the doctor today... I was still feeling crummy and a little worse than I had... my left ear was pounding and throbbing... my throat hurt so bad I couldn't drink or eat anything without wanting to cry.

It was a different doc this aft at the clinic... and he looked in my ear (hurt so much for him to look at, it brought tears to my eyes!!) and said that my ear drum looked like it was about to burst from infection. He looked at my throat and said, "It might be strep, but we wont swab it, it'll hurt you too much, we'll just treat it".

So he prescribed me more antibiotics.. for 10 days... (one dose per day) and already tonight, after one dose, I feel much better. My ear is still sore, but bearable... my throat hurts, but I ate dinner. He also told me to stop using the inhalers and just let the infection get cleared up with the drugs. He said I could use the ventilin if I needed, but stop the other two right away.

I think I'm back on track now... I think the original antibiotics were working, but it just wasn't a big enough dose or for long enough. It was one pill a day for 5 days and by the 5th day I was just starting to feel better... then felt worse after they were gone.

Shawn isn't 100% healthy either... but isn't awful... I'm thinking he might have had the same problem.. just never quite kicked it.

We did end up getting flu shots last night... neither of us felt too bad. In hindsight, it probably didn't help anything, but we're young and basically healthy, we'll be ok.

We attended the flu shot clinic in Carp, at the fairgrounds... they had a great setup... I asked one of the shot givers how many people they were expecting during the 3 hour clinic and apparently last year, they put through 1100 people in 3 hours and expected about the same or slightly more!!

When we arrived we were in a longish line... I figured it would be about 45 minutes until our turn... but in reality it took about 5 - 7 minutes to get through the line!! They had lots of shot givers and many really organized volunteers steering people through. It was amazing... some Kitchener clinics could really learn something from them!!

They also offered a "health fair" at this clinic, so afterwards, when you had to wait 15 minutes, you had something to do. We went to the booth where they were doing blood glucose testing... I had mine tested and it was very good... yay :) They also had a booth for blood pressure monitoring, a dentistry booth, a chiropractic display... that sort of thing. Interesting enough when you have 15 minutes to kill.

While we were hanging around, we noticed some signs posted for a pasta church supper at the Anglican church next door. I asked Shawn if he wanted to go and of course he said yes. So we headed there next and paid $7 each for a spaghetti dinner, with garlic bread, juice and cake for dessert. There was also coffee and tea. It was remarkably good and kinda fun.

We didn't stay long or socialize or anything... then we headed home to feed dogs and goats.

It wasn't our traditional "go to the flu clinic and then dinner with my parents" (which I was kinda bummed about missing out on earlier in the day) but it was ok and fun enough. Its strange the things you miss... like who would miss having flu shots and dinner with your parents? That's weird... but it was a "thing" we did... for a bunch of years... and I know I enjoyed it... but then again, I'm weird that way. (ok I'm weird in many ways!!)

Anyhow... Jess called tonight to chat... and let me know when she's done school for the semester and stuff like that... so now we'll start to make plans for that. It works out well to find out now, as we need to book the rest of Shawn's vacation days soon and her schedule affects what we want to book off.

After work tonight, Shawn helped me clean up the goat pen and hut... I didn't get to it during the day because I just felt too awful... I did feed them in the morning... and threw them more hay later in the day, but was just too tired and miserable to actually clean up. We put their collars on and took them out and about for a walk... they really enjoy that and get excited when you put their collars on... silly goats.

They munched on the raspberry bushes and ate some grass... and some leaves and other plant matter... I really like taking them out and watching what they eat... its all different than taking a horse out to graze... a horse will generally find the tastiest look patch of grass and them systematically graze it until its gone. Whereas the goats, they nibble here and nibble there and wander this way.. .its interesting the difference between grazers and browsers.

They really like if I let them go in the white building where the hay, straw and grain is stored... I made the mistake of letting them eat a handful of grain in there the other day and now when I take them out, THAT's where they want to go right away. If I don't let them go (and I often don't) Ernie has a bit of a temper tantrum, usually falls to his knees in protest. I keep them moving and they eventually get over it... but every time they SEE the building, they think we should go in there and get some grain... piggies.

Monday should be interesting as its dehorning day... the big trip to the vet clinic. Should be very interesting to get everyone up and fed and then the goats loaded and to the clinic in Pakenham by 730am. From there, I'll take Shawn to work and hopefully he'll be mostly on time... he'll have to bring his work clothes with him and change either in the car or at work, as I'll need his help to move the goats to and from the car, etc.

The clinic called tonight to remind us of the appointment and I asked if there was a specific entrance we should use and she told me to just bring them in the front door... THAT will also be interesting... I'm sure they wont' do bad goat things or make a mess or anything!! I told Shawn that we really should bring the dogs right after the goats, because after the goats, our dogs would likely look well behaved!!! (They are always stupid and nutty at the vet's).

Enough babbling... its bedtime!
Night y'all!

Goat "Tails" -- Part Deux ('cause we're close to Queeeebec, doncha know?!)

So Tuesday, I didn't bother taking goat temps... they seemed about the same and I just never got around to it.

Yesterday, I was out with them and there was still an occasional cough, so I though I better take their temps again. Back up for a minute... we finally put new holes in their new nylon collars (had to burn them in) Tuesday night so I could stop just tying twine around their necks. The look real spiffy :)

Anyhow, so I put Ernie's (the bad goat) collar on and do him first. He struggled a bit less than the first time, but was still not real pleased, but the digital thermometer beeped after a while and his temp was normal. While taking Ernie's temp, Bert (the good goat) hangs around, but doesn't really interfere, just kinda hangs out and watches.

Then its Bert's (the good goat) turn. I put his collar on, get him up against the shelter... one hand holds the leash and his tail up so he doesn't clamp it down, the other hand holds the thermometer. He's not thrilled, but being the good goat, he stands very patiently. Of course, while we're waiting for the beep beep beep, Ernie the BAD goat is poking around, biting at me and generally being a pain... so I have both hands full and can't push him away... so I stand on one foot and kinda kick in his direction. He mostly stands back far enough to not get hit.

At some point, I have to stand on both feet again and as soon as I stop kicking in his direction is moves in closer... this goes on for a while... I stand on one foot and kick... then I have to stop. During one of the stops, Ernie zips in close, grabs the end of the digital thermometer sticking out of Bert's butt, pulls it out and flings it 2 - 3 feet and it lands in the water bucket!!

I'm yelling at Ernie, Bert is a little freaked out about the yelling and the fact that something was very quickly removed from his butt and starts to jump about... I let him go.. .swear at Ernie and then retrieve the thermometer from the bucket and shake as much water out of it as possible. Of course, it hadn't beep beep beeped yet... so poor Bert has to endure the process yet again!! He's a little less tolerant the 2nd time around... can't blame him. This time I position myself so I can stand on one foot the whole time and kick in Ernie's direction... we get the beep beep beep... and all is normal.

Friggen bad goat... pulling stuff outta his brother's butt!! The little brat!! What will be next? Will he start throwing wet washcloths in his brother's face??!?! ;)

Always an adventure around here. So the goats are still healthy enough.... brats.

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I just have to say how proud I am of the goat babies though, their collar training is coming along nicely and I've been able to take them out of the nursery enclosure the last few days and take them on walks around the property to eat stuff. They love doing this and are getting braver. The raspberry bushes are a favourite snacking place.

They don't really yield to pressure very well and its mostly them going where they want and me trying to keep them out of trouble... but I'm pleased with their progress... it really helps that they are under 50lbs and are easily dragged if they change their minds about going somewhere... not like 400+ lb calves... calves have a real weight advantage during halter breaking.

Maybe this weekend when Shawn is around during daylight, I'll get him to take a few pics of the boys walking around on leashes... they are dorky looking :)