I “saved” this story... didn't even tell Shawn... ok, truth be known I FORGOT to tell him last night.... but this way its new content for everyone!
Yesterday after I stopped at the JD dealer for maintenance supplies, I decided I would go to Stittsville to the Dollarama... just to kill some time and avoid the bit of construction (and the traffic backup!!) going on on March Road.
I wander around the store... got some more poop bags to clean up dog crap... got 2 aluminum foil roasting pans that I like to use when roasting stuff and I'm too lazy to clean my real roasting pan... bought some chocolate bars because Shawn noted that all the good treats got shipped off with Jess....I browsed the Halloween stuff... really just wandering and killing time.
The dollar store is remarkably busy for the middle of the day... mostly Moms with kids buying some back to school supplies. I head down another aisle... it contains things like head phones, telephone cables... cds... that sort of thing and I notice a young woman (maybe about Jessica's age-ish) farther down the aisle looking at phone cables, but I don't think much of it.
I wander down past her and suddenly she turns to me and says “What's the difference between male and female ends on these cables?” While she's saying this she points to the packaging in her hand and points at the words “male end” “female end”. I stop and kinda look around... ok, clearly she's talking to ME. A little panicked by the question, I say “Errr... well I don't work here, but I can try to help you, I guess.”
Instead of answering HER question, I go into tech support mode and ask questions of my own. “What is it that you're trying to do? Do you just need an extension cord for your phone to make it reach?” I notice she's also holding a phone jack splitter, so I add “Or are you trying to turn one phone jack into two?”
She answers, “I have a computer that needs to plug in to a jack and a fax machine that also needs to plug into that jack.”
So I think and say “Well, depending what you're doing with both those machines, it might be tricky to share the same phone line...” and she cuts in and says “I don't know! My boss just sent me over here to buy this stuff, I don't really know what he's planning to use them for.” She seems kind of upset and confused now.
I ask her “What did he tell you to buy, exactly?”
She says “He told me to buy something to change the phone jack into 2 and also something to make one cord longer”..... “But I'm confused what it means when it says “male” and “female on the cords.
To her credit, the dollar store DID have an odd collection of cables... some had “male to male” , “female to female” and of course the “straight” forward (haha! bad pun!) “male to female” ends.
So I start to explain that the cable they have will plug in here, and make it longer and then it plugs into the splitter. She seems to understand how to attach everything now but she doesn't really seem quite “done” with the conversation.
For a moment or two, I'm not sure if I should just walk away or what... so I kinda stand there uncomfortably while she is clearly thinking about this.
Then she says “So the female plug receives the male plug...?” She stops talking and immediately turns 18 shades of red and then a few more of purple.
I stammer and say “Um yes, when they refer to the gender of the cable ends, its really just the same as, umm, sex.”
She blushes and says “Oh gosh, I'm sorry... I had no idea.... I went to Catholic school!”.
At this point, I'm sure there MUST be a hidden camera somewhere and someone is playing a joke on me so I look around all panicked... but no, its just business as usual in the dollar store.
I say nothing more than “Good luck, I hope those are the parts you need” and I bolt to the other side of the store while she heads to the cash register to pay for her phone cables.
At this point, I'm torn between laughing hysterically and feeling kinda sorry for her... I'm SURE she was at least 16 and I would GUESS closer to 19!! (She was old enough to have a job, for instance) Its one thing to not realize about gendered cables etc.... but what the heck ARE they teaching at Catholic school these days?! haha
Overall, it was an entertaining, though uncomfortable exchange. I hope she ended up with the right parts... and that'll teach me for agreeing to play tech support / sex educator at Dollarama!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mower Maintenance... Jess Update...
Yesterday I went and picked up the maintenance supplies from the JD dealer to change the oil etc on the lawn tractor. Last night, Shawn helped me change the oil, put on the new filter, load the grease gun and grease the fittings. It took us longer than was reasonable, but we got it done. :) Next time will go much faster I'm sure... I won't have to go search for something to catch the oil in and stuff like that... that makes the process seem like it'll never end!
Bottom line, the mower is ready to go again and hack back some of the wild... maybe later today once the dew dries up, I'll start cutting again.
We heard from Jess last night (as I posted to her blog) and she sounds like she's doing ok... she's been very busy and still hasn't entirely unpacked. Her roommate moved in and Jess says she seems nice. This part of university (orientation week) seems a little bit more like a summer camp than school, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough, once classes start and there's actual work to be done.
As I posted, Jess's internet seems to be down... some issue with Rogers... hopefully it will be resolved quickly. So don't panic if she doesn't reply to emails etc for a while... she's just not able to check them. If you're in need of reaching her for some reason, you can either call her cell or leave a msg with me (via email, phone) and I will make sure she gets it.
Tonight, Shrek 3 is playing at the Carp drive in. They are calling for rain later, so we'll see... I dont think I want to bother if its raining... I mean you can sit in the car and all, but then the wipers will have to be going to see... and we really enjoyed sitting out last time... we'll have to see what the weather is doing after dinner and then decide.
Bottom line, the mower is ready to go again and hack back some of the wild... maybe later today once the dew dries up, I'll start cutting again.
We heard from Jess last night (as I posted to her blog) and she sounds like she's doing ok... she's been very busy and still hasn't entirely unpacked. Her roommate moved in and Jess says she seems nice. This part of university (orientation week) seems a little bit more like a summer camp than school, but I'm sure that'll change soon enough, once classes start and there's actual work to be done.
As I posted, Jess's internet seems to be down... some issue with Rogers... hopefully it will be resolved quickly. So don't panic if she doesn't reply to emails etc for a while... she's just not able to check them. If you're in need of reaching her for some reason, you can either call her cell or leave a msg with me (via email, phone) and I will make sure she gets it.
Tonight, Shrek 3 is playing at the Carp drive in. They are calling for rain later, so we'll see... I dont think I want to bother if its raining... I mean you can sit in the car and all, but then the wipers will have to be going to see... and we really enjoyed sitting out last time... we'll have to see what the weather is doing after dinner and then decide.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The House Sure Is Big and Empty
So today is my first day at home alone. So far, so good... but it DOES feel big and empty, in spite of all the unpacked boxes, etc.
I posted some new pics this morning to the Four Horse Haven album (link to the left) "Goodbye Dead Tree", "Stone Dust" and "Living Room Shake Up" are all new.
The tree removal guys came yesterday and got rid of our dead tree that seemed to be threatening to fall on our house since we moved in. They did a great job and I'd be happy to hire them again anytime. They did a good job of trimming up the branches that we on the roof of the house as well. I thought they did a great job of clean up... there was not much evidence of them being there, other than the tree being gone and a stump... a little bit of sawdust, but not much, as they'd raked up as much as they could before they left. They took all the wood from the tree, like we wanted... they worked really hard. I'm so glad that job is done.
Shawn has more pics of the tree removal on his camera... I'll have to remind him to post them later as well. I took many of mine out the kitchen window, so the screen is kinda in the way.. but it was a good view from there. Shawn took a bunch outside, so his will be nicer.
While they were removing the tree, Shawn and I were doing stuff inside... mostly moving stuff around the living room again. Its been an ongoing issue with how to best setup the living room. Its a long narrow room and we have a long couch. We've pretty much given up on making the projector and giant screen work here... the dimensions just aren't quite right. This is the 3rd wall I've had the couch on since we moved in... and really the last place we can try it... it cant sit with the back against the staircase as the wall there isn't quite long enough and has a cold air return on the floor.. .and it would block the door way into the vestibule on your way to the kitchen and mudroom.
With this orientation, we can at least have end tables again, which we like... place to put a laptop... or drink... or plate of food... the couch is a lot less usable without end tables... at least for us.
I think we're gonna set up our old tv at some point and see how that works... we've been just watching dvds on the mac book since we got here. We like that convenience.. we can watch on the couch... in the mudroom... on the bed.
We also discussed getting cable service... and right now, we're leaning towards not bothering. It was different when Jess was here... she liked to watch tv... but other than a few shows, we hardly watch tv at all... we prefer to watch stuff on dvd. So if I can just get through one season without watching the shows I like, then we can catch up on them next season when they come out on dvd.
Not getting some sort of cable service saves about $50 - $100 a month, depending on what type of service and how many channels you want... not huge money.. but enough money for something you dont use much. I dunno that i an justify it for 3 hours of entertainment per week. If you work it out, it costs me $4 - $8 per hour that I watch it. That seems really pricey to me. So we'll see how it goes... it could all change yet, I suppose.
I have a bunch of things I should be doing this morning... I need to run to the JD dealer and pick up some stuff to do maintenance on the mower... needs the oil changed, etc. Nevermind the unpacking I should do and the stuff still at the storage unit... ugh.
My neck / shoulder / collar bone are all messed up... and have been for a couple days... since I got home... I'm sure its not stress related *eye roll* or anything :) I even took some muscle relaxers last night, but I don't think they helped enough. Shawn's been working on it for me too... I imagine in a day or so it'll improve a bit. I reached for the squeezy bottle of honey this morning to make Shawn's honey on croissant sandwich that he loves and I almost dropped it. I could lift my arm up to the first shelf to get it, but then i had no strength to hold it... scared me a bit... I was afraid if I dropped it there would be a big sticky honey mess everywhere.
I'm sitting in the livingroom on the couch and the window is open.. and I can smell something yummy on the breeze... not sure where its coming from... but it smells like waffles or vanilla cake mix or something yummy! The dogs also smell it and are both standing there inhaling like maniacs! Maybe we should drive up and down the road and invite ourselves in to help eat whatever it is!!
Ok off to get something done!!
I posted some new pics this morning to the Four Horse Haven album (link to the left) "Goodbye Dead Tree", "Stone Dust" and "Living Room Shake Up" are all new.
The tree removal guys came yesterday and got rid of our dead tree that seemed to be threatening to fall on our house since we moved in. They did a great job and I'd be happy to hire them again anytime. They did a good job of trimming up the branches that we on the roof of the house as well. I thought they did a great job of clean up... there was not much evidence of them being there, other than the tree being gone and a stump... a little bit of sawdust, but not much, as they'd raked up as much as they could before they left. They took all the wood from the tree, like we wanted... they worked really hard. I'm so glad that job is done.
Shawn has more pics of the tree removal on his camera... I'll have to remind him to post them later as well. I took many of mine out the kitchen window, so the screen is kinda in the way.. but it was a good view from there. Shawn took a bunch outside, so his will be nicer.
While they were removing the tree, Shawn and I were doing stuff inside... mostly moving stuff around the living room again. Its been an ongoing issue with how to best setup the living room. Its a long narrow room and we have a long couch. We've pretty much given up on making the projector and giant screen work here... the dimensions just aren't quite right. This is the 3rd wall I've had the couch on since we moved in... and really the last place we can try it... it cant sit with the back against the staircase as the wall there isn't quite long enough and has a cold air return on the floor.. .and it would block the door way into the vestibule on your way to the kitchen and mudroom.
With this orientation, we can at least have end tables again, which we like... place to put a laptop... or drink... or plate of food... the couch is a lot less usable without end tables... at least for us.
I think we're gonna set up our old tv at some point and see how that works... we've been just watching dvds on the mac book since we got here. We like that convenience.. we can watch on the couch... in the mudroom... on the bed.
We also discussed getting cable service... and right now, we're leaning towards not bothering. It was different when Jess was here... she liked to watch tv... but other than a few shows, we hardly watch tv at all... we prefer to watch stuff on dvd. So if I can just get through one season without watching the shows I like, then we can catch up on them next season when they come out on dvd.
Not getting some sort of cable service saves about $50 - $100 a month, depending on what type of service and how many channels you want... not huge money.. but enough money for something you dont use much. I dunno that i an justify it for 3 hours of entertainment per week. If you work it out, it costs me $4 - $8 per hour that I watch it. That seems really pricey to me. So we'll see how it goes... it could all change yet, I suppose.
I have a bunch of things I should be doing this morning... I need to run to the JD dealer and pick up some stuff to do maintenance on the mower... needs the oil changed, etc. Nevermind the unpacking I should do and the stuff still at the storage unit... ugh.
My neck / shoulder / collar bone are all messed up... and have been for a couple days... since I got home... I'm sure its not stress related *eye roll* or anything :) I even took some muscle relaxers last night, but I don't think they helped enough. Shawn's been working on it for me too... I imagine in a day or so it'll improve a bit. I reached for the squeezy bottle of honey this morning to make Shawn's honey on croissant sandwich that he loves and I almost dropped it. I could lift my arm up to the first shelf to get it, but then i had no strength to hold it... scared me a bit... I was afraid if I dropped it there would be a big sticky honey mess everywhere.
I'm sitting in the livingroom on the couch and the window is open.. and I can smell something yummy on the breeze... not sure where its coming from... but it smells like waffles or vanilla cake mix or something yummy! The dogs also smell it and are both standing there inhaling like maniacs! Maybe we should drive up and down the road and invite ourselves in to help eat whatever it is!!
Ok off to get something done!!
Monday, August 27, 2007
We All Survived
Twas a BIG weekend... and I'm still attempting to recover! I successfully dropped Jess off at university yesterday... we had a short and only mildly teary goodbye... there were people all around watching us cry.... we both LOVE that!!
The university drop off was quite a bit different than any of us expected (Jess, Kyle or myself). Being a smaller residence, they were not very busy, but still had a large crew awaiting new arrivals. In less than 10 minutes, they had emptied my van and taken everything up to her room... well including my SWEET CORN!! I had to get that brought back down :) Its MINE and you cant have it! Nyah nyah ;)
I guess I had expected much waiting in lines and then carrying stuff upstairs and generally just hanging out. But they were done quickly... then they asked that I move my van, in case another arrival came... and I asked where I could park it for a while... and then I was told they were discouraging parents from sticking around. So I went up to Jess's room, had a VERY quick look around and told her I'd better get going. Then we went outside, had our short goodbye and off I went.
I really felt like I'd just dumped her there... its just impossible to do anything without mother guilt apparently! I only made one stop on the way home in Port Hope and made it home in about 4.5 hours. I was exhausted and I headed almost immediately for bed where I slept for a good 2 hours.
We heard from Jess last night and she sounded like she was doing ok, then I was able to relax a bit.
Shawn and I had a delicious supper of Herrle's corn and tenderloin steaks and mostly just sat around all evening, web surfing and watching tv. It has cooled down here again... yesterday was lovely... today seems pretty good so far too. The hills are really clear, so I know its not humid :)
This morning, we slept in a whole bunch... then now we're waiting for the tree guy to come and cut down the dead tree and trim the other branches. I imagine he'll be here soon. I'm glad Shawn took the day off, then we could both sleep in today... which we both really needed :)
I had a lovely weekend visiting with my parents, my aunt and my sister and her family! Thanks for putting me up for the night Mom and Dad :) It was nice to go "home" again... That HOME word sure is confusing these days! :) We ate lots of delicious food on Saturday.. it was awesome! Thanks for a great weekend!
That's it for now... just wanted to let everyone know we survived!
The university drop off was quite a bit different than any of us expected (Jess, Kyle or myself). Being a smaller residence, they were not very busy, but still had a large crew awaiting new arrivals. In less than 10 minutes, they had emptied my van and taken everything up to her room... well including my SWEET CORN!! I had to get that brought back down :) Its MINE and you cant have it! Nyah nyah ;)
I guess I had expected much waiting in lines and then carrying stuff upstairs and generally just hanging out. But they were done quickly... then they asked that I move my van, in case another arrival came... and I asked where I could park it for a while... and then I was told they were discouraging parents from sticking around. So I went up to Jess's room, had a VERY quick look around and told her I'd better get going. Then we went outside, had our short goodbye and off I went.
I really felt like I'd just dumped her there... its just impossible to do anything without mother guilt apparently! I only made one stop on the way home in Port Hope and made it home in about 4.5 hours. I was exhausted and I headed almost immediately for bed where I slept for a good 2 hours.
We heard from Jess last night and she sounded like she was doing ok, then I was able to relax a bit.
Shawn and I had a delicious supper of Herrle's corn and tenderloin steaks and mostly just sat around all evening, web surfing and watching tv. It has cooled down here again... yesterday was lovely... today seems pretty good so far too. The hills are really clear, so I know its not humid :)
This morning, we slept in a whole bunch... then now we're waiting for the tree guy to come and cut down the dead tree and trim the other branches. I imagine he'll be here soon. I'm glad Shawn took the day off, then we could both sleep in today... which we both really needed :)
I had a lovely weekend visiting with my parents, my aunt and my sister and her family! Thanks for putting me up for the night Mom and Dad :) It was nice to go "home" again... That HOME word sure is confusing these days! :) We ate lots of delicious food on Saturday.. it was awesome! Thanks for a great weekend!
That's it for now... just wanted to let everyone know we survived!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
New Four Horse Haven Logo
I've made a rough first draft of Lisa's logo idea for Four Horse Haven - it's over in the sidebar to the left.
I think it turned out ok.
I think it turned out ok.
And...they're off.
Lisa and Jessica left this morning (very early - we were up at 5:am) to make the long drive to the Toronto area to drop Jessica off at Ryerson. We packed the van with all sorts of stuff for her last night, so this morning they mostly just needed to hop in the car and leave.
There were many tears shed this morning when Jessica left to start her new life. (btw - she has a blog of her own where she plans to chronicle her adventures away from home). It's sad she's leaving, but exciting too - I remember going off to university, living away from home for the first time. I think it'll be the time of her life.
I'm staying here at Four Horse Haven, looking after the dogs. I considered going back to sleep after they left, but I couldn't imagine sleeping, so I've been puttering around here with the dogs, doing little jobs that have needed doing for a while.
I fixed the dog run where bad dog Buddy had a conniption and almost disassembled the door and escaped. I've reworked the wire so everything is linked together, and added new wire so he shouldn't be able to pull a stunt like that again.
I started removing the bolts on the back step: we've got these precast cement steps at the front and back steps of the house. They used to have railings, but they've long rusted and been removed. The back step still has bolts protruding from the cement. It's shockingly hard to remove them: the bolt cutters didn't dent them, so I ended up using Dremel cutoff wheels, which was fun enough other than shattering two of them. I got 2 of the 4 bolts removed, after much time and effort. I may go back out later and do the other two.
There were many tears shed this morning when Jessica left to start her new life. (btw - she has a blog of her own where she plans to chronicle her adventures away from home). It's sad she's leaving, but exciting too - I remember going off to university, living away from home for the first time. I think it'll be the time of her life.
I'm staying here at Four Horse Haven, looking after the dogs. I considered going back to sleep after they left, but I couldn't imagine sleeping, so I've been puttering around here with the dogs, doing little jobs that have needed doing for a while.
I fixed the dog run where bad dog Buddy had a conniption and almost disassembled the door and escaped. I've reworked the wire so everything is linked together, and added new wire so he shouldn't be able to pull a stunt like that again.
I started removing the bolts on the back step: we've got these precast cement steps at the front and back steps of the house. They used to have railings, but they've long rusted and been removed. The back step still has bolts protruding from the cement. It's shockingly hard to remove them: the bolt cutters didn't dent them, so I ended up using Dremel cutoff wheels, which was fun enough other than shattering two of them. I got 2 of the 4 bolts removed, after much time and effort. I may go back out later and do the other two.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Packing, Strays & Sushi
Its been a busy few days around here, as usual! The stone dust arrived the other day... we got about half of the machine shed done that night, but haven't gotten back to it... between the weather and trying to get things organized for this weekend, there's just not been enough hours in the day.
We've pretty much got Jess all packed up.... we'll load the car tonight and just throw the last few last minute items in before we hit the road. My goal is to be on the road by 6am, we'll see how that works... leaving earlier gives me more time to visit back home... especially being as its kind of a short visit. I'm also going to attempt to make it to the bank in Kitchener before it closes so I can close our safety deposit box there. Its already empty, and I would've closed it before I left, except I forgot one of the keys was tucked away in a filing cabinet that had already been moved. Now I have both keys with me... so we'll see if I can make it before they close!
Jess and I have been riding the emotional roller coaster all week... clearly, going off to school is the right thing... she has to go start her life, doing what she loves and is so good at... but neither of us is really *ready* for this either. I know I speak for both of us when I say that we're both working hard to constantly maintain our composure... if either of us lets our guard down just a bit... there's tears. Should be a *FUN* weekend. We're pretty sure that we'll both be shriveled up and dehydrated by Sunday night. So needless to say, NO I don't want to talk about it... I'm sure we'll both survive... time is a good healer.
I'll be heading back to Ottawa Sunday night... leaving from Toronto... Monday, Shawn's taken the day off to spend with me, since we wont get to hang out this weekend together... the tree removal guy is also coming on Monday. Of course, Shawn is staying here with the dogs all weekend... someone's gotta hold down the fort.
Its rather hot and humid here again.... after all that nice cool weather... I've got the AC on today... it was unbearable without it, especially since we're doing Jess's laundry today.
Yesterday when we were about to leave to pick up Shawn from work and go have Mexican for supper, just as I was about to take the dogs out, I noticed there was a stray dog running around our yard. (This is stray #3 and I've only lived here not even 2 months yet!) So out I went in the pouring rain (without MY dogs!!) to try to catch the stray... he was kinda nervous, but friendly enough looking... unneutered male, likely a lab X border collie cross... mutt.
** Some time passed**
Ok, now to continue... I caught the stray dog in the dog kennel... locked him in there with a few dog cookies and called animal control. Since I was in the midst of taking my dogs out and they were in need, I decided to take them out one at a time. Buddy first of course... he initially barked meanly and was unpleasant. If he was polite, I just let him sniff through the fence.. if he was rude and aggressive, then he caught hell from me. Soon he just ignored the stray in his normal "I'm better than everyone" sort of way.
The whole time Buddy and I are out, Pixie is in the house with Jessica going NUTS. Angry barking, the whole bit. Jess and I switched dogs at the dog and it was Pixie's turn. For a cute, dumb, soft headed lab, she sure has a nasty side. Her tactic is to walk up to the fence and then snarl when the other dog looks her way. So, same as with Buddy, as along as she was polite, she could interact through the fence, but as soon as she was unpleasant, she caught hell from me. Well... in the end, she never stopped catching hell, even though I escalated her punishment. Nasty, poorly socialized animal.
Its funny though, she always used to be the more social dog at the dog park... friendly with other dogs and people... somehow that's changed... I'm sure its our fault somehow... but I blame Buddy :) He always makes antisocial noises and stuff, but when it comes down to it, its all beneath him and he ignores the other animals.
45 minutes later, the animal control guy showed up and loaded the dog into the van. Obviously this wasn't the same dog as before from across the street, but those people moved away and left their dog (the one we were maybe going to get) with the new tenants. The new tenants brought at least 2 other dogs... and maybe this one was one of theirs, I dunno... they are set back a ways and we can see some stuff going on, but its too far to really identify a dog.
I told the animal control guy that it was possible it was their dog... but that I didn't go over... they now have a gate across their laneway, as they let their 2 ponies have the run of the place... I didn't want to open the gate and wander in there with a dog that may or may not be theirs... with ponies running loose. They also have a large pack of kids, but they weren't visible at that point, probably due to the rain.
When animal control left, he went across the road and read their sign, but didn't go in... so I don't really know what happened... I guess he took the dog to where ever they take them here when they are waiting to be claimed.
Tonight was Jessica's choice of meals... I told her I would cook anything or take her out anywhere she wanted to go. She decided she wanted sushi and had looked up reviews of various local restaurants. None had glowing reviews... so she decided instead of taking a chance on unknown sushi, we would get it from Farm Boy and bring it home. Farm Boy makes their sushi onsite and makes it fresh... we've eaten it a bunch of times now with no ill effects.
After we picked up Shawn we went and bought a whole bunch of sushi and some sandwiches for tomorrow's trip. We pretty much ate all the sushi that we could... had there been more, I couldn't have eaten it... and I think both Shawn and Jess were full! I get the vegetarian sushi (no fish!) because I'm still not eating fish since I had a minor allergic reaction to shrimp a few yeas ago. Its good enough and the only "fishy" thing is the seaweed which doesn't seem to bother me at all.
We loaded everything in the car that is ready to be loaded... there are some more things that will have to wait until morning... like pillows :) Otherwise, I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be!
I know Jess is looking forward to going to school... and I'm looking forward to hearing about her adventures... in spite of all the tears and worries... its a good thing and we'll survive.
We've pretty much got Jess all packed up.... we'll load the car tonight and just throw the last few last minute items in before we hit the road. My goal is to be on the road by 6am, we'll see how that works... leaving earlier gives me more time to visit back home... especially being as its kind of a short visit. I'm also going to attempt to make it to the bank in Kitchener before it closes so I can close our safety deposit box there. Its already empty, and I would've closed it before I left, except I forgot one of the keys was tucked away in a filing cabinet that had already been moved. Now I have both keys with me... so we'll see if I can make it before they close!
Jess and I have been riding the emotional roller coaster all week... clearly, going off to school is the right thing... she has to go start her life, doing what she loves and is so good at... but neither of us is really *ready* for this either. I know I speak for both of us when I say that we're both working hard to constantly maintain our composure... if either of us lets our guard down just a bit... there's tears. Should be a *FUN* weekend. We're pretty sure that we'll both be shriveled up and dehydrated by Sunday night. So needless to say, NO I don't want to talk about it... I'm sure we'll both survive... time is a good healer.
I'll be heading back to Ottawa Sunday night... leaving from Toronto... Monday, Shawn's taken the day off to spend with me, since we wont get to hang out this weekend together... the tree removal guy is also coming on Monday. Of course, Shawn is staying here with the dogs all weekend... someone's gotta hold down the fort.
Its rather hot and humid here again.... after all that nice cool weather... I've got the AC on today... it was unbearable without it, especially since we're doing Jess's laundry today.
Yesterday when we were about to leave to pick up Shawn from work and go have Mexican for supper, just as I was about to take the dogs out, I noticed there was a stray dog running around our yard. (This is stray #3 and I've only lived here not even 2 months yet!) So out I went in the pouring rain (without MY dogs!!) to try to catch the stray... he was kinda nervous, but friendly enough looking... unneutered male, likely a lab X border collie cross... mutt.
** Some time passed**
Ok, now to continue... I caught the stray dog in the dog kennel... locked him in there with a few dog cookies and called animal control. Since I was in the midst of taking my dogs out and they were in need, I decided to take them out one at a time. Buddy first of course... he initially barked meanly and was unpleasant. If he was polite, I just let him sniff through the fence.. if he was rude and aggressive, then he caught hell from me. Soon he just ignored the stray in his normal "I'm better than everyone" sort of way.
The whole time Buddy and I are out, Pixie is in the house with Jessica going NUTS. Angry barking, the whole bit. Jess and I switched dogs at the dog and it was Pixie's turn. For a cute, dumb, soft headed lab, she sure has a nasty side. Her tactic is to walk up to the fence and then snarl when the other dog looks her way. So, same as with Buddy, as along as she was polite, she could interact through the fence, but as soon as she was unpleasant, she caught hell from me. Well... in the end, she never stopped catching hell, even though I escalated her punishment. Nasty, poorly socialized animal.
Its funny though, she always used to be the more social dog at the dog park... friendly with other dogs and people... somehow that's changed... I'm sure its our fault somehow... but I blame Buddy :) He always makes antisocial noises and stuff, but when it comes down to it, its all beneath him and he ignores the other animals.
45 minutes later, the animal control guy showed up and loaded the dog into the van. Obviously this wasn't the same dog as before from across the street, but those people moved away and left their dog (the one we were maybe going to get) with the new tenants. The new tenants brought at least 2 other dogs... and maybe this one was one of theirs, I dunno... they are set back a ways and we can see some stuff going on, but its too far to really identify a dog.
I told the animal control guy that it was possible it was their dog... but that I didn't go over... they now have a gate across their laneway, as they let their 2 ponies have the run of the place... I didn't want to open the gate and wander in there with a dog that may or may not be theirs... with ponies running loose. They also have a large pack of kids, but they weren't visible at that point, probably due to the rain.
When animal control left, he went across the road and read their sign, but didn't go in... so I don't really know what happened... I guess he took the dog to where ever they take them here when they are waiting to be claimed.
Tonight was Jessica's choice of meals... I told her I would cook anything or take her out anywhere she wanted to go. She decided she wanted sushi and had looked up reviews of various local restaurants. None had glowing reviews... so she decided instead of taking a chance on unknown sushi, we would get it from Farm Boy and bring it home. Farm Boy makes their sushi onsite and makes it fresh... we've eaten it a bunch of times now with no ill effects.
After we picked up Shawn we went and bought a whole bunch of sushi and some sandwiches for tomorrow's trip. We pretty much ate all the sushi that we could... had there been more, I couldn't have eaten it... and I think both Shawn and Jess were full! I get the vegetarian sushi (no fish!) because I'm still not eating fish since I had a minor allergic reaction to shrimp a few yeas ago. Its good enough and the only "fishy" thing is the seaweed which doesn't seem to bother me at all.
We loaded everything in the car that is ready to be loaded... there are some more things that will have to wait until morning... like pillows :) Otherwise, I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be!
I know Jess is looking forward to going to school... and I'm looking forward to hearing about her adventures... in spite of all the tears and worries... its a good thing and we'll survive.
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