Day 271 - Farewell Jenny Rose...

Today was my last day hangin’ with Jenn. :o( I’ve really enjoyed our visit! And I must say, I wish she lived closer! We had a blast taking photos out & about, even if it was with our point & shoot cameras! We had a lovely breakfast of maple butter on sprouted grain toast with some fruit on the side. Jenn had never had maple butter, so I was happy to be the first to share my love of maple butter with yet another Maple Butter Virgin! Yum!

We went for a walk to the barns & caught Mom’s horse, Shufly. We took a few photos of the other horses & then headed out for a walk through the meadow. The grass was quite tall & it had rained the night before. Our feet were soaked shortly! Valentina had a blast leaping through the tall grass! She’s so funny to watch. You just see the grass moving a bit & every once in awhile you see her little ears flop above the grass line. She knows how to make me giggle!

We encountered a coyote on our way out. He was healthy – full coat & fluffy tail. He loped up the side of the hill, stopping several times to check us out. The funny thing was the cattle were more leery of us than the coyote! They kept running around us & stopping to get a good look at us! 

We walked for about an hour & then decided we'd had enough. We hung out at the house while Jenn cleaned the ka-ka off of her shoes to spare the poor lad she'd have to sit next to on the plane. I started sorting through a box of old photos. I joked with Jenn, saying she was going to know my entire life story before she flew out today! 

We left for town around 1500 with a quick stop for sushi. Jenn had a hankering for sushi the other day, but had the disappointment of her life at the sushi restaurant in Canmore. I picked one of my favourites in Calgary & luckily it didn't disappoint! We headed up Deerfoot to the airport - during rush hour. Ugh! Thankfully we made it there only 5 minutes past our planned time of arrival! 

I waited for Jenn to check in & also to go through security. She was taking everything on as carry on & I didn't want her to have to throw away her moisturizer. Sure enough, it was a meagre 20 mls over! One more hug goodbye & she was off! Hope to see you again soon Miss Jenn!!! 

I stopped at Chapters to see if they had a book on marriage I'm looking for. No luck. I then stopped at HomeSense & picked up a small wedding present for the James'. They are stopping next week... Yippee!!! 

I arrived home just in time to see Mom back from her visit to my brother's place. He is doing okay. Pretty slow going, but he's a tough, stubborn ol' cowboy... I'm sure he'll be right as rain in no time flat... 

As usual, I procrastinated at going to bed. It was 0200 by the time I turned out the light. One of these days I'll get to bed early. Here's hoping for tomorrow! By the way, it's chemo day... Wish me luck!

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Shufly

Jenn & the ponies

Walkin' in the woods

Home Tweet Home

Day 268 - Deworming.

Yeah, you know it's a story. Today was a day to myself. My Mom left for Saskatchewan to tend to my brother. Why? Well, Mr. Cowboy had a wreck. I suppose they are inevitable & Lord knows it's not his first wreck. Basically his horse came over on top of him, aided by another horse pulling & Jeff split his pelvis, compressed a few discs in his back, had protein in his kidneys & lost his vision for awhile. Yeah. 


He's doing better & is out of the hospital. Mom has gone down to help him out for a few days. Poor feller. I hope he heals quickly, although I think this one may take awhile! 


I spent the day doing a whole lot of nothin'. Well, not really. I walked down to EVIC with Valentina, visited with Joe & Shauna, threw the ball for Tweet Pea on the way back, went down to the bunkhouse & picked up a few bins to sort through (7 years of travel & photos & scrapbooking stuff - oh boy). I let Shufly in & out & that was about it. 


Oh yeah. The deworming thing. The Vet told Mom that while I'm on chemo, I should handle the dogs dishes, cat food, litter boxes, etc, etc. We should also deworm all the animals in the house. Fair enough. Valentina's would be a piece of cake. She'll eat anything. I take a little chip, put some dip on it, stick the pill to the dip & WHOOP, down the hatch it goes. Now, for Adios. 


Let me tell you about Adios. He's like the trailer trash of cats. He refuses to eat anything but Whiskas. I've tried giving him healthy, holistic food. Nope. He will NOT eat it. It will sit there for days on end. As he depletes the mouse, bird & squirrel population dramatically, I eventually give in to save their little souls. I have even tried mixing the Whiskas with the good stuff. He will selectively eat the Whiskas & leave the other stuff. He only eats the 'McDonald's' of the cat world. Occasionally you can catch him tempted to lick the butter off of a kernel of popcorn or the salt off of a potato chip. So, I think I can do the same with the cat as I did with the dog. I dip the chip & attach the pill. Adios licks the chip & pretty much shuts down as soon as the dip hits his tongue. 


Hmm. Okay, I'll take his little Whiskas Temptations, which he LOVES, and attached the dipped pill to one of them. I put them on the kitchen chair out of the dog's reach. Adios eats all of the Temptations but the ones that have been tainted with the dip & of course, leaves the pill. I run to the cupboard for the butter. I'll roll the pill in butter, he'll like that!


I turn around & the chair is clean. Valentina is sitting there. Waiting for more. Oh no! She ate the cat's dewormer!!!! I shove my finger down her throat & miraculously recover the severely slobbery, no longer enteric coated pill. UGH! Okay. I'll just shove it down the cat's throat & make him eat it. I get poor Adios cornered & grab his jowels. I chuff the pill down his yap, scraping my fingers on his razor sharp tongue. He spits out the pill. I try again. He spits out the pill. Again. I shove it in again & clamp his mouth shut. He swallows a few times & PRESTO! Pill is down! He runs away from me. Phew. Wait. What's that on the floor?!? Are you kidding me?!?! Argh!!! He did spit it out!!! I quickly sweep it up before Valentina gets it again. I take it to the kitchen & crush it up with a few Whiskas kibbles & some butter. I try to get him to eat it. No luck. I have reached my threshold. I put the ball of butter, pill & kibble in his dish. That's it. No more food until he eats it. (I'm behind typing, so I'll just let you know, it was 5 days later & Mom shoved it down his throat & he ate it.)


And that my friends, is how you deworm a picky cat. :o) Actually, I'm sure there are a million & one easier ways to deworm a cat, but I didn't know any of them until after the fact. Apparently using an eyedropper & crushing the pill in water works well too... Next time...


How's that for an exciting Saturday night?! Alright... I'm outta here... Bed is calling my name... xxxx Maria & Valentina


Sorry, no photos for today... check back tomorrow!!

Day 219 - Ferry Rides & Pony Rides

It felt strange to sleep without Valentina OR Jaco. I woke up when I heard Ross & Krystle's door open & there they were, dressed to the nines! They had a wedding to go to today, so I was going to meet up with Milla, who was also in Vancouver for the weekend, and then when Ross & Krystle came back after the wedding, they were going to take me out to the ferry terminal to head over to Victoria. 


I took a photo of the happy couple & away they went. Not long after, I got a call. They were early for the wedding. This meant that they wouldn't be back in time to take me out to the ferry terminal, but more importantly, to say goodbye! :o( I called Milla & she came to the rescue! Her & Deric agreed to take me out to the ferry. Phew!


The crazy part was that Krystle had left me her phone & her keys. When Ross called her phone to tell me they wouldn't be back, he suggested I ask Milla if she could take me. I said I'd call her & then call Ross back. It wasn't until I hung up that I realized I didn't know Ross' number & I had NO CLUE how to use here Blackberry! It took me awhile to figure out how to find Ross' number... Luckily she'd called him recently!!! :o) Then Margarita texted Krystle's phone to ask how I was getting to the ferry, not realizing I had the phone. I managed to type a text back, but when I went to find send, my message disappeared! Again, luckily Krystle had recently called her Mom & I was able to phone her & let her know I was taken care of! Oh the dramas of modern technology!!! I guess maybe it's time I got a cell phone! :o) (Hello iPhone 4)


I met Milla & her boyfriend, Deric, at the mall & we made a quick stop at Jugo Juice & then loaded up the luggage & headed out on the highway. Milla & Deric were in for a concert & Milla wanted to do a little shopping on Robson St. We had a great visit out to the ferry terminal & a few big hugs & goodbyes later, we were headed in opposite directions. Milla & I also worked on ships together & I witnessed her first Italian boot purchase in Napoli at Le Fate Scalze (the barefoot fairy). While I checked the link, I saw I missed the photos of their Spring 2010 collection. Sigh. I should be in Italia, photographing their summer line. Next year. Anyhow, back on track... Milla! We said goodbye & I headed off towards the ferry. Just in time, as we left the dock about 2 minutes after I sat down! Close call!


I love the ferry rides. Although I didn't enjoy much coastal scenery - I slept the whole way! I woke up & we were pulling into the harbour! Whoops! Karen & Werner were there to meet me on the other side. Werner is from South Africa & I used to date his twin brother. Karen is from Victoria & they met when Werner was studying at UVIC. She was at a friend's party & Werner's distant relatives lived on the same street. They had invited him to come along. Karen was supposed to be introduced to a local fellow, but when she heard a South African was coming, she was all ears. Karen had been to East Africa recently & the rest is history! You'll be hard pressed to find a more well suited match. They look good together, they are considerate & thoughtful of one another, & these two have so much fun together, you can't help but have fun too! 


I was excited to see their home. They bought it a few years ago, but have done MAJOR renovations. Wow! It had definitely changed since my last visit... which was last July. The main entrance was finished, the bathrooms up & downstairs... I know who I'm calling if I ever need reno advice!! Karen has classy taste & I like her style... Even if I didn't I wouldn't write it here because she's a black belt in Karate! :o) 


Werner (Vairrrr-nur) dropped Karen & I off at a friend's place & he went to town to get supper groceries. Karen & I were going to ride some horses. Karen rides English & last week she rode a gelding with a few separation issues. He tried to buck her off! Way to go Cowgirl & stay on! So she asked me if I would like to ride one of the mares while she attempted the bronc again. I ride western & luckily they had a saddle to suit me. Now, I haven't ridden since (?) Chile? South America last January 2009? As luck would have it, the mare was in heat & apparently Dudly Studly had tried to mount the mare, Sunny, earlier in the day. GREAT! There's only one mount allowed on the horse at a time & if she's saddled, I'm it!!! 


We got on our horses & Karen looks at me & smiles, as she says something I completely couldn't understand. I racked my brain - Spanish, no, French, no, hmm, Afrikaans! I had no clue what she just said! 'Huh?' came my reply. 'Are you ready?' was the sentence. Apparently I haven't been learning enough! :o) 


I was quite nervous, as I haven't ridden a horse in heat with other horses around, so I wasn't too sure what I was in for. Apparently mares in heat urinate A LOT more, as every 2-5 minutes, she would stop & mark her territory. 'I'm over here boys!' Great. The pen was quite small, compared to the wide open fields of the prairies I grew up on, so we weren't in a dead run or anything. We mostly walked around, Karen trotted around a little, trying to get 'Studly' to collect. I jogged a little bit, but after awhile, the hormones kicked in & my mare began throwing her head around & wringing her tail. Sorry, no fight in this Cowgirl. We decided to get off & attempt lunging the gelding. 


I've lunged my old horse, Cactus, before, but it was in a round pen. Here, we had a LONG lunge line & that was it. The horse knew exactly what he was supposed to do, but we didn't. I didn't know how to make him stop or slow down & he didn't take long to hit a lope! After we dug up a dirt circle, we decided to call it a night. We bid our (trusty) steeds farewell & went inside the house to call Werner to swing by with the 'wagon'. :o)


Karen & Fred, the owners of the farm, had quite the taxidermy display. Fred is an avid hunter & I can honestly say, I've never seen a collection of animals quite like it! Wow! Poor Karen was mortified, as she is vegetarian & loves all God's critters. Don't get me wrong, I do too, but for a select few creepy crawlies! Fred knows Cody Robbins - I guess it's a small world! 


Werner soon picked us up & we were on our way back to their home. We enjoyed some great visits & a wonderful dinner, although I took my pills too close to dinnertime & I ended up feeling quite sick half way through the delicious meal! I felt terrible to waste all that food! I was so impressed with Werner's gentlemanly ways... Karen & I were visiting & she had a glass of apple juice. It was nearly finished & Werner grabs it without saying a word & refills it. He put it back in front of Karen, while her & I kept right on talking. She didn't even ask! How thoughtful! I was impressed! Boys! Take note! Werner has his Doctorate in Mathematics. If you want to solve anything, ask him! 


We chatted about their cat, Sahara, their upcoming trip to the UK & Rome, and a plethora of things in between! I sure wish they lived closer - I always enjoy my visits with them!


Anyhow, pretty soon, we were all a little sleepy. I was excited for tomorrow, but I didn't have any troubles falling asleep! 


Lekker slaap,
Maria & Valentina
xxxxx

Mama & Papa To Be!

It's a BEAUTIFUL belly!

Milla & Deric

On the ferry

My own private island. Sigh.

A sweeter private island!

Arriving in Victoria

Karen & the horse who's name I've forgotten! C-something

Apres-ride

Winter provisions

Fred & Karen's gorgeous Irish Setter

The Paddock

Werner the Chef

Sahara wanting out. Again. :o)