Day 199 - Mother's Day... Awhhhhh!

We're not talking a lot of sleep here folks. My mother decided to pull an all-nighter yesterday. Her favourite Uncle sadly passed away & she didn't want to miss the funeral. This meant driving to central Saskatchewan & back in the same day. Yup. 1100+kms. She arrived home at 0430, expecting to leave for Wainwright at 0900. 

I didn't want to wake her, as I knew what a full day & night's drive is like & what you feel like after it's finally over with. But, come 1230, I figured I better wake her up if we were going to go at all. 

In true Mom fashion, she freaked out at the time & quickly got ready. I, on the other hand, was not so speedy. Hey, I was up half the night worrying about her! We left at nearly 1500, just as the snow began to fall. We had hail, rain, sun & snow within the first 20 minutes of driving. She wanted to turn around & go another time, I insisted we go. 

Where were we going? What's so special about Wainwright? Isn't today Mother's Day? Precisely! We were going to get a sister for Valentina! This one would be Mom's dog! Double the trouble, double the fun! 

Roxie, the lady I bought Valentina from, has had severe health issues for the past while & didn't have the energy to get rid of the pups, which were a whoopsie in any case. She had a female pup that she wanted to give to Mom awhile back, but Mom wasn't sure. Apparently she knew how bad I wanted her to have the pup, so she said yes. She decided to surprise me & tell me the news when I arrived home.

I was excited to meet the little pooch! She was going to be a lot of work, as she is nearly 6 months old & hasn't had any obedience training. Adding to the fact that she would soon be leaving her 'nest' & joining a home with a new dog, a giant cat & 2 women! She was in for a real culture shock! 

Thankfully the weather improved shortly after we left. The clouds were threatening, but we drove out of anything wet! The #2 hwy was a zoo! It was packed! I was happy to pull off at Wetaskiwin & head east. The traffic was much gentler - to say the least! 

Previously Mom had chosen Annie as a name for the dog. I talked to hear about it & we decided that Annie wasn't such a suitable name. Her niece had a dog by the same name, as does my friend, Roxy, who visits often. I could see the ensuing confusion. So we discussed name after name after name. I went through the Spanish & Italian words on my iTouch. Sadly they were mostly words for eating out & shopping, so that didn't help much! I forgot the Afrikaans dictionary at home, but even if I had brought it with, I wouldn't have known how to pronounce it in any case! We scanned the Atlas on the iPod... nothing. Finally I said, 'How about Ocean?' Mom said, in an unconvincing, 'Yeah'. Then I thought of a ship I once knew, 'How about Oceana?' Then Mom has her 'Anna' namesake & it's a funky name to boot! 'Yeah!' Mom liked it! 

Okay. Done! Oceana it is. We were about 3 kms out of Wainwright at this point! Uh-oh! She needs a middle name! Quick! Come up with something! Well, it's May, Mother's Day, how about 'Oceana May'? I can hear your eyes rolling... But it suits her! Just put on your best southern drawl & you've got the name down pat! :o)

We didn't get to Roxie's until 2000. Cohby answered the door & I could hear heaps of barking going on. Their GIANT Retriever, Lucky, was barking away. Cohby put Lucky into his kennel, but Lucky's head was sticking out the top! As Lucky barked away, I thought I'll just take Valentina over & he can meet her. I've never seen a Retriever tap dance! His feet were going a million miles a minute, clicking away on the kennel floor - it was priceless! Cohby then decided to put Lucky outside, but that was no small task! Lucky pretty much dragged Cohby out the door! He is a big dog! I think both Mom & I couldn't have handled him as well as Cohby did! Well done!

And then there was Oceana. Roxie brought her out & she wanted nothing to do with us. She played with Valentina & ran to Cohby & Roxie, but not Mom, nor I. We were there for an hour or so, visiting & just spending time with Oceana. Pretty soon it was time to go, so Mom scooped up Oceana & she clung to Mom like she'd known her all her life. And that was it. They were bonded!

I'm pretty sure Cohby was sad to see the puppy go, as I don't think the mother is having any more, but I told him to be sure & visit this summer. The dogs will be waiting for him! I'll be waiting for him & Roxie! :o) I know they'll remember him!

We stopped at Boston Pizza for a quick take away bite & then it was back on the road again. Traffic was much lighter this hour of the day & we took a new trail across the north end of Calgary - Stony Trail. It was super quick & easy to get from North Deerfoot to Hwy #1. Perfect! We got home about 0300. I was beat. A headache was settling in as we arrived home, so here's hoping it's gone tomorrow... I'm about done with headaches!

Sleep well! Valentina is snoring as I type! xxxx

Maria, Valentina, Nonna & Introducing... Oceana May

Good afternoon, this is your 1230 wake up...

Okay, I'm actually speechless at what to write for this one. Insert what you will...

Roxie, Cohby, Valentina & Oceana. She's much friendlier than she looks in this photo! :o) Valentina still has her pretty face!