Maybe Tomorrow I'll Want to Settle Down...

Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.



I know the Littlest Hobo is supposed to be a family show that is supposed to make us feel good about life, but the truth is that I can't watch it, or even hear the theme music without crying. The Littlest Hobo ran on CTV in the late '70s and early '80s, but was on TV in rerun from into the '90s, which is how I came to be familiar with it.

As I said, I find the show every sad. Firstly the Hobo has to help an miserable person, who hates dogs, of strays or life, or something. Then Le Misérable falls victim to some terrible event--the last episode I saw Le Misérable stepped in a bear trap and then fell in a hole upside down.

So course it's then up to the Hobo to save Le Misérable, so he tries to fix the problem on his own, but being a dog, and not having opposable thumbs, this is difficult. In the end, the Hobo always goes into a small town where he finds a kind-hearted person, who comes into the woods and helps Le Misérable.

Alright so the show is formulaic, I don't consider that its greatest flaw, but I just can't get over how sad it is to see a dog choose a life on the road instead of a life with people. After all Hobo, or London, was a German Shepard, not a wolf. German Shepards are very affectionate. They also like their comfort. It just doesn't make sense to me. Hobo, wouldn't you rather set up house with one of those many, many kind-hearted people, settle down, lounge on a couch, enjoy the fact that you now have access to food that was once accessible only by can opener.

But I guess not, because at the end of each show he just carries on. And I sit on my couch, pathetically trying not to cry. And maybe I should just try to let it go, after all, my dog is safe and warm.

You Gotta Appreciate the Effort

I have not been as strict with Cadie as I should have about mooching for food. I eat on the couch, and I know that I should push Cadie off me while I'm eating, but I don't I let her snuggle in, even though I know the only reason she's there is that she is looking for food, not love.

Anyhow, I've noticed some interesting behavior on Cadie's part. She sits on my lap and sticks her tongue out as far as she can push it in order to try to steal the food from my plate, held half a foot over her head. I know it's bed, I know I should be mad at her, but all I can do is admire her determination, and her belief that if she stretched just a little further, she'll be able to grab that food.

Rainy Afternoon

Has it stopped raining? Can  we go throw the ball now?


The tornadoes from the American Midwest, the same storm that closed the airports in Chicago yesterday, blew into Toronto at 5:00 pm. I find it fascinating that we can track weather so precisely that we can know exactly when it will hit us.

Anyhow, those big fat rain drops started falling just as Cadie and I were heading out for our afternoon walk, and if you were reading this blog back in September you'll know that I feel that this is a personal attack. Although the more reasonable side of my brain knows that this is just a base conspiracy theory.

The downside of the downpour is that Cadie didn't get enough exercise again last night, and she spent most of the evening bouncing off my walls.

The upside is that the rain wasn't that bad, and so far it looks like today is going to be a great day. The other upside is that there's nothing I like more than wrapping Cadie in a towel and having a nice, long snuggle with her, which is exactly what I got last night.

The Things Every Little Girl Needs

I have strict beliefs about the things that every little girl needs:

1) a teddy bear--though this hasn't worked out well for Cadie, who get so excited that she tears them apart in the space of 20 minutes, not worth the $40.

2) a pretty little coat to wear out on fancy occasions. I'd been eyeing this coat since last year, but I had been reluctant to buy it because I felt that $40 was too much for a dress coat. This last weekend, I picked it up for a cool $12.50. Totally worth it. It even has a little skirt. Very cute.

Carpe Diem Weather

I wish I could say that I hadn't been blogging because I was doing something important, but that would be a lie. Mostly I've been lounging around city parks like a bum. But, in my defence we've now reached Carpe Diem weather here in Toronto.

The point where you know that the number of warm, sunny days is far fewer than the overcast rainy days or the snowy cold days, and you make sure that you go out, lounge in parks, or sit on patios and soak up every last bit of faint fall sunshine.

And alright, we never had the amazing show of colours here in that Barrie had, or even Brantford and Hamilton, but it has been a nice, long, hot summer that flowed into a nice, long, cool fall, and it seems that we are now headed into the rainy beginnings of winter, with extreme cold and snow to follow shortly.

It's funny how time changes, it feels like only yesterday that it was August and I couldn't find any relief from the heat, and now the harvest is mostly in, and Thanksgiving is a distant memory.

Now the ground is covered in gold. It crinkles and rustles like a dress as we walk over it, is beautifully uncreased in the places where no one has touched it. We should take advantage because soon the ground will be covered in crystal, and crystal is cold, and wet, and makes nothing more than a barely audible crunching sound.

So Cadie and I have been sitting back and enjoying the weather while we can.

Because the times, they are a changing.

One Person's Trick Is Another's Treat

Poor Cadie, she had no idea what hit her, when I came home last night with a bee costume. She initially thought that it was a stuffed animal for her to fling around and tear apart; but no, in actuality, it was the dreaded Halloween costume torture. But she looks so cute right? I thought it was adorable, Cadie's aunt C thought it was adorable, but Cadie just stood there, glaring at me, and waiting for someone to save her.

No one tried to save her, and in the end she decided she would save herself. The first thing she did was pull the hood off. The second thing she did was try to grab at the sides of the costume, and the third thing she did was chew on the tags. As the costume didn't fit it (way too short in the body) it was the tag chewing that mobilized me, as I wanted to be able to return said costume.


Here you can see just how small and tight this was

Aunt C and I did go back to PetSmart to see if there were any other costumes that might work, but everything was either too small and tight, or too large and floppy. I tried a shark costume on her that looked like the robe of a prize fighter. We also tried a shinny alien where the hood was so large that she couldn't see anything.

Oh well, I guess this means that Cadie will have to be a cheerleader again this year. Good thing that's a cute costume too.

My Latest Favourite Picture of Cadie

Can you see her eye lashes? Cadie has the most beautiful eye lashes, long and curly, very girlie girlie.

I had a party last night and Cadie was very good, she begged a little, but on the whole she was very good. I think she was completely overwhelmed by the number of people in the apartment, and the din that goes along with that.

I figured that she'd be exhausted today, but then when the alarm went off at 6:30 she popped up and was ready to go. So after dropping my mum and brother at the train station I took her for her usual walk, but then when we got home she crashed hard, and has been in bed every since, she got up briefly about an hour ago and I took her for a run. It was straight back to bed for her though, and just now she barely raised her head when I went in to see what she was up to. I love having a dog.

A Dog and her Dragon--the Thrilling Conclusion

So I've been trying to upload the second part of this video for two days now, and I have to admit that it's just not going to happen. Instead I will show you some stills of the event. My vet is very particular about Cadie having stuffed toys, as she's afraid that Cadie will destroy them (which is a no brainer) and that she will eat the stuffing, which can become a serious health concern.

As you can see, this is a distinct possibility. Cadie really loves chewing, and goes to town on her stuffed toys, which is why there are so many pictures and movies of this event, as I stayed and sat with her so that I could take the toy away if it started to become a problem.

In all, I would say that Cadie spent a good hour "playing" with this toy, and that it was demolished by the time she was through. At one point I took the toy from her, and restuffed the stuffing into the dragon and gave it back to her. But it took less than 2 minutes for the couch to be covered once again.

Oh well, dog toys are meant to be destroyed, as long as there is enjoyment to be had in their destruction, The dragon toy had to be thrown away, but I guess that's to be expected. Cadie needed someway of managing her energy; an hour of dragon eating left her exhausted, which is exactly what I like in a dog.

Movie Thursday--A Dog and her Dragon--Part 1

Later you can see the hilarious conclusion

Happy Thanksgiving

So as you have probably heard me say a million times over the weather has been absolutely terrible this week, even going back to last week. Though we did get out for a walk under threatening  skies Wednesday night. I think if I had to choose a muse I would settle on clouds. Don't misunderstand me, Cadie is beautiful, and sweet, and I love her, but she isn't as ever-changing as a cloud.

These two pictures are of the same piece of sky at the same time, just with a different focus. It's just so funny to see how the sky changes depending on what you are focusing on. But this is a dog blog, so here is the dog ;)

She's looking scruffy, but she was having the time of her life. You might be able to see the desperation in her eyes, that's because she is annoyed with me for wasting valuable ball-throwing time by taking her picture. We did head into the off-leash trail and have a little walk, but it was getting dark so we only went around once. But those fifteen minutes were enough to change the world, and when we came out we were greeted by this sky.

I love this picture, it makes me think of the beautiful cinematography from Gone with the Wind. But more than just a reminder of beautifully stylized movie, this sky was a harbinger, do you remember the rhyme?

Red sky at night

Sailor's delight

yes, this sky indicated that better weather was ahead of us. And the next day the sun came out.

and the sky was so clear and blue all you could see was the trail of burning gas from air planes

And the leaves are really starting to put on a show. I'm now in the habit of taking my camera with me whenever I take Cadie out, so while I'm not a talented photographer, I'm just going to post my photos and let you enjoy some of the highlights that I was able to capture.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Driving into work today I heard the the most welcome news; the rain is set to end tomorrow and we'll have sunny weather straight through the long weekend. Hurray!

Honestly I couldn't take another day of rain. Every day, it seems, for the last week I would be sitting at my desk, worrying about the ominous sky, and every day, it seems, at 4:20 or 4:30 the clouds would open up and the down came the rain. Needless to say it washed out our walk just about every evening. We had a sunny Sunday, but unfortunately I was on the couch with a head ache and a bit of fever. It left me wondering why the universe hates me so much it would purposely steal the highlight of my day. I'm just being honest, that's how I felt at the end of the day, and last night's most depressing episodes ever of both Glee and Being Erica just worsened the my sense that I've been cheated.

But all of that is behind me, the sun is due to come out, and stay out for the whole of the long weekend, maybe the universe doesn't hate me. This means tons of long walks, and bright happy sunshine, and a great meal.

in other, dog-related news Cadie found her Tricky Treat Ball (TTB) I have no idea why I didn't see it when I looked under the bed, but I didn't, meanwhile, eagle eyes Cadie put her paw on it right away, so at least I now have something to distract her while I'm trying to head out to work.

Happy Friday!

Today is the most beautiful day of the week for a couple of reasons:

1) it is cool, with a wonderful, bright blue sky and not a cloud in sight (a big change from the rest of the cloud filled week)
2) it's Friday!

I had a tough time getting started this morning, I also had another rough night; I woke up ever hour pretty regularly stare at the clock and try to figure out what the numbers meant. The combination of these things means that I am cranky from lack of sleep, and from a desire be out in the world, not trapped behind a desk. Yes I know I am living for the weekends, and that's not a good way to live, but I don't care, the weekend is where the fun is.

happy Friday everyone