Cadie is exhausted! We had a nice sleep in this morning, and when we got up, I kept her walk short and sweet, in all I think we were out for about 15 minutes. Cadie was so upset, she kept struggling and pulling to be able to stay out longer. I finally got her back in the apartment and forced her to eat her breakfast. She then threw herself on the couch and sulked while I prepared my own breakfast. After 10 of the most despondent minutes of her pampered life, the phone rang, the distinctive ring that it always means there are friends at the door. Cadie immediately popped up and ran to the door. In an attempt to keep some order I picked her up and opened the door so that she could see that her favourite boy-dog Toby, who was here for a visit.
It was kind of like a scene from a movie, the two dogs ran toward each other, and, standing on their hind legs, reached out and embraced, wrapping their front legs around each other. For a brief second it was touching and adorable, then the teeth came out, and the growling started. Instead of a heart-felt hug they were wrestling. C and I kept an eyes on the "kids" while we ate our breakfast, then we headed out for Sunnybrook Park.
C, Salt's mother and myself are all part of the small dog meet up group, and they were having an event at Sunnybrook Park today. For the most part it was pretty low key; Cadie engaged in her favourite activity, tennis ball chasing, for most of the time. Toby chased after Cadie, and a couple of other dogs. The event was a lot of fun, attracted a huge number of small breed dogs, and helped raise money for an organization called Helping Homeless Pets. Cadie came home and immediately fell asleep on the couch, she got up only long enough to move from the couch to the bedroom. She is now back on the couch, head between the feather pillows and the couch back, feet dangling at 45 degrees above her.
Later this afternoon, I received an email from this same organization with the details for their auction, take a look if you're interested in helping a good cause.
http://www.mycausemyauction.com/Items.aspx?a=hhp103
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A Lucky Break
People, and by that I mean my friends have been telling me that I am on a lucky streak these days. I'm starting at a new job, which is a wonderful professional opportunity, I'm taking on a car, I'm getting a makeover on Saturday, I've had the opportunity to return some favours to my good friends, and besides all of these big picture things I just seem to walk into the nail salon at the right time, or pick up the last of the something at the grocery store. However, tonight was the best luck of all.
I spent the day at my new job feeling awful, I mean physically feeling run down. It's been going on all week, migraine, nausea, cramping and fatigue. I don't know if this is about nerves, if I'm having difficulty adjusting to my new physical environment, or maybe my motion sickness is setting in on the bus ride in, and staying with me through the day. The other alternative is that I am really sick, and I should go and see a doctor, but I don't want to do anything rash, and I seem to be alright once I leave work, so I'll give it a couple more days to see if things settle down.
What does this have to do with my luck? As you know the first week at any new job is always the busiest and most stressful. This week is busier as I was on tap to help a good friend move tonight, and I am taking my neighbor's briefly, on Saturday evening. Today was also the worst day for all of the above listed symptoms. However, I have a great brother, living not far from me, and he came and had a little visit with Cadie this afternoon and this evening. This means that coming home from a busy and tiring day I found an equally tired little dog. This is not only good luck, but a fabulous luxury.
Enough from me, Cadie and I are headed to bed. Ahhh! La dolce vita.
I spent the day at my new job feeling awful, I mean physically feeling run down. It's been going on all week, migraine, nausea, cramping and fatigue. I don't know if this is about nerves, if I'm having difficulty adjusting to my new physical environment, or maybe my motion sickness is setting in on the bus ride in, and staying with me through the day. The other alternative is that I am really sick, and I should go and see a doctor, but I don't want to do anything rash, and I seem to be alright once I leave work, so I'll give it a couple more days to see if things settle down.
What does this have to do with my luck? As you know the first week at any new job is always the busiest and most stressful. This week is busier as I was on tap to help a good friend move tonight, and I am taking my neighbor's briefly, on Saturday evening. Today was also the worst day for all of the above listed symptoms. However, I have a great brother, living not far from me, and he came and had a little visit with Cadie this afternoon and this evening. This means that coming home from a busy and tiring day I found an equally tired little dog. This is not only good luck, but a fabulous luxury.
Enough from me, Cadie and I are headed to bed. Ahhh! La dolce vita.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A Cool Respite
Cadie is much smarter than I am, I am struggling with the heat, but Cadie has found the perfect solution. She insists on going out for a good long walk, even with this heat and humidity. She still insists on having her ball thrown for her, and she chases it with the same gusto she uses during cooler, happier seasons. How does she do it? She uses the ground to cool herself off. She walks for 45 minutes or so, then chases the ball for 10 or 15. But then, just as I am starting to worry that she might overheat, Cadie drops to the ground, and spends some time lounging in the tall, cool green grass...with the pink tongue hanging out.
It's really remarkable how intuitive animals are, or rather, it's remarkable that humans aren't as intuitive as animals. We must have had these instincts at some point in our development, but they are now gone, and we are left hovering, several feet from the cool ground, and a couple of inches from inadequate fans. Oh well, this can't go on for ever, fall is just around the corner.
It's really remarkable how intuitive animals are, or rather, it's remarkable that humans aren't as intuitive as animals. We must have had these instincts at some point in our development, but they are now gone, and we are left hovering, several feet from the cool ground, and a couple of inches from inadequate fans. Oh well, this can't go on for ever, fall is just around the corner.
Friday, July 16, 2010
A stroke of luck
The temperature in my apartment has become unbearable. Cadie spends most of her time flaked out in the coolest room, the bathroom. I am trying to spend most of my time asleep so that I'm not focusing on the heat. Uter is alone in loving the heat. Her tank is as a warm as a bathtub.
It's been a busy week. Salt was over for a sleep over last week, Wednesday was my last day at my old job. It was very hectic, but there's no end in sight, I start at my new job on Monday, and although I am very excited, I am also hoping for some slightly cooler weather. I've been fighting a migraine for the last 2 weeks, and I'd really like to feel "normal" on my first week.
In spite of not feeling well, Cadie and I have had some luck this week. I woke up this morning and knew that I didn't have the energy to walk up to Sherwood Park, instead we headed over to our usual park. It closed Monday for construction, but I thought, let's just try it. As I said, we got lucky, Cadie had a good romp and we were back home by 7:30. Already by 7:30 the world was so hot and humid I just couldn't stand it. Except for a quick trip to Davisville Park late in the afternoon, that was all the exercise Cadie needed. Which was great, I had lunch with a good friend, then came home and went right back to sleep.
Anyhow, I'm off to bed, I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the kind of day when I can get some housework done without feeling sick.
It's been a busy week. Salt was over for a sleep over last week, Wednesday was my last day at my old job. It was very hectic, but there's no end in sight, I start at my new job on Monday, and although I am very excited, I am also hoping for some slightly cooler weather. I've been fighting a migraine for the last 2 weeks, and I'd really like to feel "normal" on my first week.
In spite of not feeling well, Cadie and I have had some luck this week. I woke up this morning and knew that I didn't have the energy to walk up to Sherwood Park, instead we headed over to our usual park. It closed Monday for construction, but I thought, let's just try it. As I said, we got lucky, Cadie had a good romp and we were back home by 7:30. Already by 7:30 the world was so hot and humid I just couldn't stand it. Except for a quick trip to Davisville Park late in the afternoon, that was all the exercise Cadie needed. Which was great, I had lunch with a good friend, then came home and went right back to sleep.
Anyhow, I'm off to bed, I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the kind of day when I can get some housework done without feeling sick.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A Tragic Accident
The heat wave continues here, and I am beginning to lose patience. Cadie is so stoic, but the temperature, the necessary change to our routines as a result of the temperature are all starting to wear us down. I usually get home about 4:30, feed Uter in her special feeding bucket, put her back in her tank and take Cadie out for a good long walk. Today I forgot to move Uter back to her tank, which meant that Cadie and I had to rush home to find poor Uter trying to climb out of the feeding bucket. I have no idea where she thought she was going, but I give that turtle props for her willingness to try to improve her situation.
The shortened walk for Cadie wasn't really an issue though; as stated before it's hot, and one my neighborhood dog walking friends has put me in touch with another one of her friends who is considering getting a new dog. I had made plans to head over to this woman's place after super, and I figured that the visit and the subway trip would wear Cadie right out. My hosts are considering getting a dog, and had never seen a Ganaraskan, so they wanted to meet one in the flesh before deciding one way or another
We arrived at their home, a cool little town house on 7 floors. I was happy to keep Cadie on leash and try to restrain her, but our hosts insisted that Cadie be allowed to roam freely. I agreed, mostly because Cadie was more interested in her own tennis ball then in exploring their home.
This was nice, it gave me a chance to chat to this fascinating woman, a former nun, she hinted that she was a retired academic and professor, who has been to every corner of the globe three times at least by her count. We chatted for awhile, until Cadie became bored with her tennis ball, and took to do some exploring. We agreed that this was a good time for a house tour. I was a little disconcerted to have Cadie out of my sight in this stranger's home, she's still young, and I like to keep an eye on her.
We walked all the way up and my hostess gave me the quick and dirty history for each room, pointed out some of their more treasured possessions, the Chinese Art in the room called "The China Cabinet" the antique oak dining room suite, the Greek religious idol and framed Chinese silks on the walls of dinning room. Also in the dinning room was stunning rug, my hostess pointed it out to me and asked if I like it. It was a beautiful cerulean blue with cream and coral accents, and a perfect cream fringe. My hostess told me that her husband had purchased it in Istanbul and it had arrived only a few weeks earlier.
Cadie trotted along in front of us, as we made the last stop, which was the living room. It too was full of beautiful art, including a lovely rug; red this time with a cream accents and a fringe. My hostess was in the process of explaining to me that it was a rare find for a Canadian warehouse, as they had seen this rug in Istanbul as well. I was just turning to admire the rug from another angle when I noticed that Cadie was squatting. Thankfully, she was not peeing, still, there she was pooping in this stranger's home. My hostess got me some Kleenex and I, mortified and apologizing profusely, cleaned up the mess. I was so shocked, Cadie hasn't had an accident like this since early puppy hood, and here we were acting as ambassadors for the breed. So, since I could offer no explanation, I just kept apologizing.
It goes without saying that our visit ended very shortly after that. My hostess showed me a couple more treasures, mostly photographs, as well as a pair of broken shoes. At which point her husband showed me to the door. The last three minutes of the visit were terribly painful with both of us being overly courteous "thank you for coming." "Oh no, my pleasure, thank you for your hospitality" "No. Not at all, thank you again." This went on until my hostess made a little joke about all of the "thank yous" going back and forth.
As I hit Yonge Street three thoughts run through my mind:
*Never let your dog off leash in a strangers home
*Thank God Cadie did her business on the rug bought in Canada, and not the one newly arrive from
Istanbul
*I wonder what Cadie was up to while she was out of sight...on second thought...
The shortened walk for Cadie wasn't really an issue though; as stated before it's hot, and one my neighborhood dog walking friends has put me in touch with another one of her friends who is considering getting a new dog. I had made plans to head over to this woman's place after super, and I figured that the visit and the subway trip would wear Cadie right out. My hosts are considering getting a dog, and had never seen a Ganaraskan, so they wanted to meet one in the flesh before deciding one way or another
We arrived at their home, a cool little town house on 7 floors. I was happy to keep Cadie on leash and try to restrain her, but our hosts insisted that Cadie be allowed to roam freely. I agreed, mostly because Cadie was more interested in her own tennis ball then in exploring their home.
This was nice, it gave me a chance to chat to this fascinating woman, a former nun, she hinted that she was a retired academic and professor, who has been to every corner of the globe three times at least by her count. We chatted for awhile, until Cadie became bored with her tennis ball, and took to do some exploring. We agreed that this was a good time for a house tour. I was a little disconcerted to have Cadie out of my sight in this stranger's home, she's still young, and I like to keep an eye on her.
We walked all the way up and my hostess gave me the quick and dirty history for each room, pointed out some of their more treasured possessions, the Chinese Art in the room called "The China Cabinet" the antique oak dining room suite, the Greek religious idol and framed Chinese silks on the walls of dinning room. Also in the dinning room was stunning rug, my hostess pointed it out to me and asked if I like it. It was a beautiful cerulean blue with cream and coral accents, and a perfect cream fringe. My hostess told me that her husband had purchased it in Istanbul and it had arrived only a few weeks earlier.
Cadie trotted along in front of us, as we made the last stop, which was the living room. It too was full of beautiful art, including a lovely rug; red this time with a cream accents and a fringe. My hostess was in the process of explaining to me that it was a rare find for a Canadian warehouse, as they had seen this rug in Istanbul as well. I was just turning to admire the rug from another angle when I noticed that Cadie was squatting. Thankfully, she was not peeing, still, there she was pooping in this stranger's home. My hostess got me some Kleenex and I, mortified and apologizing profusely, cleaned up the mess. I was so shocked, Cadie hasn't had an accident like this since early puppy hood, and here we were acting as ambassadors for the breed. So, since I could offer no explanation, I just kept apologizing.
It goes without saying that our visit ended very shortly after that. My hostess showed me a couple more treasures, mostly photographs, as well as a pair of broken shoes. At which point her husband showed me to the door. The last three minutes of the visit were terribly painful with both of us being overly courteous "thank you for coming." "Oh no, my pleasure, thank you for your hospitality" "No. Not at all, thank you again." This went on until my hostess made a little joke about all of the "thank yous" going back and forth.
As I hit Yonge Street three thoughts run through my mind:
*Never let your dog off leash in a strangers home
*Thank God Cadie did her business on the rug bought in Canada, and not the one newly arrive from
Istanbul
*I wonder what Cadie was up to while she was out of sight...on second thought...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Surviving the Heat Wave
The worst thing about a heat wave is talking about how hot it is, and, in the interest of focusing of the positive I try to avoid talking about the temperature. Just for the record it was 33 degrees C, in the shade, 43 with the humid ex and 50 in the sun. That's far too hot for anyone who likes snow. And unfortunately the temperature has become a bit of a problem for those of us who own fury little ones. Cadie likes a good chew, so yesterday I took her to the park, and she chased the ball and then dropped to the ground and proceeded to chew on it until she was warn out. We had met Salt at the park, but she didn't find an alternative way to wear herself out, and she had a very bad night. Salt and her mother came over tonight for an indoor dog park, but it was pretty obvious that she needed more than just a ball to chase, but it was so hot, we couldn't ask the dogs to walk today. In the end we decided to take them down to the parking garage. We started with sled dogs, pulling and straining at the end of their leashes, and after only 5 or 6 trips up and down the parking garage we had tired dogs. By this time a nice breeze had blown up and the shade was very enjoyable, so the dogs also had a chance to sit in the grass.
Uter, being a tropical sort of turtle is loving the heat. The water in her tank is up at 28 degrees C, a nice hot bath really. She is watching me as I type this. That's the problem with prey animals they never really love or trust you. Oh well, I can't complain, happy turtle in "the bath" exhausted dog passed out on the cool floor. Off I go to cool off myself.
Uter, being a tropical sort of turtle is loving the heat. The water in her tank is up at 28 degrees C, a nice hot bath really. She is watching me as I type this. That's the problem with prey animals they never really love or trust you. Oh well, I can't complain, happy turtle in "the bath" exhausted dog passed out on the cool floor. Off I go to cool off myself.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
GYST Update
So...I'm pretty embarrassed about being away from this blog for so long, but I have turned a corner, and I so I am back.
I started writing this blog back in February when I met a woman who inspired me to look at the positives in life, and I continued until I got sick in April. Unfortunately, getting sick left me with too much time to sit and think about the fact that I was seriously unhappy. The point of the blog was to focus on the positive, and start to make some magic happen for me. So in many ways I think I needed the break. However, since then some magic has happened. I have lost a little weight, not much, but a little. I am starting to feel a little more comfortable in my home, and most importantly I have a new job. I have a lot to look forward to at this time, so I thought it was the right time to come back to this exercise.
Cadie is good, she's had many adventures while I've been trying to get my life on track, she put on a life jacket and went swimming in Shadow lake with Salt, she's changed her afternoon routine so that she is now going to a new park. Cadie's been to woofstock and she's spent this weekend running around my mother's backyard. Little Cadie is finally asleep after spending no less than 8 hours on her feet chasing rabbits and squirrels.
Anyhow, since I am now able to focus on the positive I will be back more often.
I started writing this blog back in February when I met a woman who inspired me to look at the positives in life, and I continued until I got sick in April. Unfortunately, getting sick left me with too much time to sit and think about the fact that I was seriously unhappy. The point of the blog was to focus on the positive, and start to make some magic happen for me. So in many ways I think I needed the break. However, since then some magic has happened. I have lost a little weight, not much, but a little. I am starting to feel a little more comfortable in my home, and most importantly I have a new job. I have a lot to look forward to at this time, so I thought it was the right time to come back to this exercise.
Cadie is good, she's had many adventures while I've been trying to get my life on track, she put on a life jacket and went swimming in Shadow lake with Salt, she's changed her afternoon routine so that she is now going to a new park. Cadie's been to woofstock and she's spent this weekend running around my mother's backyard. Little Cadie is finally asleep after spending no less than 8 hours on her feet chasing rabbits and squirrels.
Anyhow, since I am now able to focus on the positive I will be back more often.
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