Day 331 - Dog Tag

Today was pretty low key. Much like the past 5 or 6 days. I've got a nasty pain in my arm that doesn't seem to want to leave me. Bah! I decided to take the dogs for a walk & nearly pee'd my pants laughing while doing so.

Oceana doesn't like to go for a walk. She usually plants her back feet & refuses until you tug on her leash. She doesn't quite get it. Meanwhile, you grab your jacket & Valentina is all over the place! I thought I could get away without a leash for Oceana, but no. I carried her to the road & then put her down. She didn't want to walk, so I 'nudged' her from behind for a short ways. When she realized what was happening, she did her best to beat it back to the house. Ha! I grabbed the leash from the back seat of the car & we were off.

I threw the ball for Valentina down the driveway, while Oceana grumpily trotted alongside me. Valentina would drop the ball into my hand & be off like a rocket in the next moment, anxiously awaiting my next pitch. When suddenly it struck me. If I put both dogs on the same leash & throw the ball, Oceana will be FORCED to run alongside Valentina while she obsessively chases the ball. Perfect! Both dogs get exercise!

I thought I was going to die of laughter. Oh. My. Goodness. Poor Oceana didn't know what hit her. Valentina was dragging her all over the yard. I was gasping for air when the ball rolled across a mud puddle to the other side. Valentina was trying to get the ball & Oceana was NOT going in the puddle to help her sister out. 

When I got back to the house, I called Jaco out to show him my ingenious exercise idea. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. Here's the video we managed to capture. This was the END of the exercise session, as decided by Oceana. I hope you get a chuckle out of it. Next time I'll use the harnesses to save the occasional whiplash & help them (Valentina) pull a little easier. Let me know what you think! :o)

xxxx MJV&O

Polar Opposites

Although you'd never know they would ever want to be apart...

Day 298 - A Near Death Day For Poor Oceana

Somedays it's just not a dog's life. Today was one of them for poor Oceana. I was woken up by the stomping of my Mother into my room as she tossed poor Oceana onto the bed. Mom grumbled something about not being able to get any work done with Oceana around & therefore she must stay in my room. Jaco was in the bathroom, so for the next ??? hours I attempted to sleep while Oceana yipped, whined & jumped at my side of the bed. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? Argh!!! 


Finally, enough was enough. I let the dogs back out to terrorize Mother. When I finally got up at 0930, Mom was storming out the door to town. She left me a note to do a bunch of things for her, including picking up the doggy doo in the yard, as Mom had stepped on some with her shoe. Therefore, it MUST be my fault & I MUST clean it up. 


Move boxes to warehouse, move boxes to bunkhouse, package dayplanners, cook fish, walk dogs... good thing I didn't make any plans for today! We ended up taking the dogs for a nice walk down by the river & through the campground. Poor Oceana had her first taste of water. She wasn't too keen on it. Valentina, on the other hand, walked right through it. I picked up Oceana & gently set her in the ankle deep (on her) water. She eventually realized that she would survive getting wet. 


We were just about to turn off the road, when we met a group of 3 walking a small, stocky Collie type dog. They reeled the dog in on his leash & made him sit while we walked past.  As we were passing, the dog stood up. The next thing we knew, the dog was lungeing for Oceana (Poor Oceana!). Jaco had her leash, so he's frantically trying to pick her up before she is eaten alive. There is barking, growling, snapping, gnashing of teeth. Oh the horror! Then, all I see is Poor Oceana reeling through the air, as Jaco has finally pulled in her leash enough, but can't get to her. Thankfully it was one of those rubberized leashes so she had a gradual liftoff! I think she even snapped at Jaco once or twice, as she probably had no clue what was going on. The poor dear missed being eaten alive by the crazy dog. I'm sure she'll never forget this day! I don't know what those folks were thinking. They had so much leash, but they just didn't have control of their dog! Terrible! 


Needless to say, we came home after that. We threw the ball for Valentina on the last little stretch of road & even Oceana chased the ball for a bit. Their personalities are so different, it's quite amusing to see! 


Anyhow, another quite day... But it's the calm before the storm, as tomorrow we Buble!!! Yes, it's time for Michael Buble! I can hardly wait! His show was spectacular last time, and I'm not expecting anything less for this time! Whoo hoo!!! 


Sleep well!
Maria, Jaco & Valentina
xxoxooxxoxooxxoxoxoxx

 Some makeshift teepees along the path

The sun shrouded in clouds & smoke

 Poor Oceana & Papa shortly before her brush with death.

Calm part of the river

 Reflections

 Papa & the puppies

Rocks, leaf & water

Day 281 - Nothin' Like A Good Ol' Thunderstorm!

Another relatively uneventful day... Wake up, check messages, have breakfast, sit outside & read for a bit... Not too enthralling.

I had been up late last night helping Mom rescue one of her hard drives & this morning I took it to her first thing. She seemed quite ungrateful that I'd helped her out - not sure where her head space was at. But then later, all was revealed. She wants to give away Oceana. 

Yeah, I'm pretty much devastated. She hasn't even had her for 3 months & she's already trying to pawn her off. Worst of all on some fellow from her past that treated her like junk... What's he going to do to the dog??? Over my dead body will she give poor Oceana to him!

So, now it looks like I've got 2 dogs. I haven't done any training with Oceana because she's Mom's dog & I didn't want to interfere. I dug out my 51 Puppy Tricks book & the training will commence tomorrow. I get so frustrated with my Mother sometimes. I feel like she tries to 'fix' an area of her life, but gets confused at which one is the most important! The saddest part of all is poor Oceana! She is very submissive & has latched onto Mom like no dog I've ever seen. Mom can't go anywhere without Oceana hot on her heels. 

I'll start taking a list of anyone who wants to dog sit while I'm visiting Jaco this winter! :o) 

I joked with a friend of mine today that I'm sure Mom would have pawned my brother & I off had she been given the chance... Now that I think of it, I do have that one girlfriend who looks A LOT like Mom & she's a few years older... Hmm...

Needless to say, I wanted out of the house, so I put the girls' matching raincoats on & went down to EVIC. The thunder started to roll half way there & we arrived just in time for it to start pouring. We sat inside & observed the flashes while Joe counted the time between lightning & thunder. Some of them were pretty close!

I waited awhile before I walked back home in the rain. The girls didn't really like their raincoats. At one point, I felt like I was dragging both of them, instead of them walking on their own. I turned around & sure enough, I was dragging them! Their hoods had fallen down over their eyes & they couldn't see a thing! All I could see was a red or pink coat with a little black nose poking out the front end & a tail out the back! 

They were both caked in mud & dirt by the time we arrived home, so I carried them straight to the tub. A quick rinse & towel dry & they were good as new. They had a blast ripping around the house playing & drying off. One excited wiener dog is fun, never mind two of them!

I decided to bake something this evening. I found a recipe for banana bread in my Caribbean cookbook (Thanks Winners!) that sounded good. Of course, I don't use the regular ingredients & well, I think I'll have to bake it a few times to perfect it. I used raw sugar instead of light brown sugar, coconut flour instead of self-rising flour, almond milk instead of milk... The flour made things pretty dry. I added more milk & an extra egg. Additionally, it said to grease the tin, so I put olive oil on it. Then added the parchment paper. I'm not sure how it happened, but the bottom of the bread is oily & there was a bunch of water & oil in the bottom of the tin. Let's just say it's edible, but heavy. Next time, I'll cut out some flour & perhaps use butter instead of olive oil?

Seriously, someone needs to invent Culinary Bootcamp for people like me. I could be a Fruigivore like my husband. He'll eat oranges, I'll eat cherries & berries. Lord help us come winter! :o)

In any case, I decided to make myself a routine last night. It works for kids & dogs, so why not me? As I type this entry, I'm about 2 hours behind schedule, but I'll see what I can do to catch up! :o) Part of my schedule includes meal planning for the following day. I liked the look of a lot of the recipes in the Caribbean cookbook, so I'll see what I can find that's yummy! (& healthy!)

I finally hooked up my Magic Jack, after giving my husband grief about not having his set up! :o) I'm pretty excited about it! If you leave me a message, it emails me the message & I can listen to it in my email program! How cool is that? I love Magic Jack! (Did I mention you pay $20/yr for long distance anywhere in Canada & the USA?) And you can take it anywhere in the world & call Canada/USA for that same $20/yr??? What a great invention! **It costs $40 for the Jack, $20/yr or $70 for 5 yrs, plus $10 for a Canadian number** See website for details. Okay, my infomercial is done! :o)

I caught up with a girlfriend from Saskatchewan last night. I haven't spoken to her in awhile & it was great to hear her voice. She has two adorable boys, Buster & Huxley. She has caught a lot of flack for naming her first son, Buster. Agreed, it's not a common name, but it TOTALLY suits him! Last night we Wikipedia'd 'Buster' & there are a lot of famous 'Buster's' out there. Even I was impressed! One from South Africa & one from the UK who was involved in the early developments in IVF! Crazy! I hope her mind is at ease, knowing her son has a unique & meaningful name.

Our conversation was cut short when the lightning returned & every flash I saw made a click on the phone! Okay! Time to go! I fell asleep to the sound of the rain hammering down outside my window.

Have a great Sunday everyone! xxxx

Maria, Valentina & Oceana

Matching jackets for the sisters.

Please, Mama, play with me?

Tangled up!

I've got it!

Tug o' war!

Day 200 - Headache & EVIC

No, the thought of work didn't give me a headache... I woke up with the same one I went to bed with last night (gee, one could terribly misinterpret that statement!) only now my headache was worse! 


Joe had told me that both he & Shauna would be at EVIC this morning & it would be my only chance to see the two of them until the chaos of the summer kicked in. Shauna has filled my position at EVIC & I'm thrilled, as now I can see them both a lot more this summer! :o)


I hauled my butt out of bed & dragged the new puppy (quite literally, as she didn't want to walk) & Valentina to EVIC. Of course, everyone loved them upon first sight. In our short hour there, we made several new friends, although Valentina has a new thing about her voice. Hmm... I hope I don't see barking in her future...


As my headache worsened, I thought I should boogie home. I had called the Fertility Clinic before I left & ensured my referral had made it there safe & sound. It had. I was now waiting for the Doctor to call with my appointment. I walked into the house & they had called! Could I come for an appointment at 1300? My heart sunk. It was 1320 & I'm 1/2 an hour out of town! Oh no! I was so sad! I called back right away & they squeezed me in for tomorrow afternoon. Perfect, as I had my MUGA scan just before. I was nervous & excited for everything to finally fall into place!


The rest of the day was spent between napping & unpacking. I think more napping than unpacking was accomplished! My neck is still quite sore & enlarged. I'm not excited about that. These headaches are kind of freaking me out too. But, why am I telling you that?! Worrying does none of us any good! 


Okay, I'm taking a painkiller & slathering my face with peppermint oil... When I say I'm going to cry myself to sleep... now you'll know why! Yes, of course, it's because I miss Jaco!!! That much!!! :o) But I do, really!!


Love & hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxx

The girls find a sunny spot to rest

These girls find a sunny spot to hike!

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!