Frozen

Nothing more needs to be said!!

Thought for the day...

Robo-kids!!

Or maybe my observation for the day. On Friday I was sitting in the waiting area at Dynacare Labs at Northgate.  I was there for my regular every 6 week blood test--to see what my T3 and T4 levels are doing. As I waited for my name to be called, I noticed that all the people there who were younger than 50ish were busy texting or reading their iPhone or whatever. My generation and older aged people, just sat and looked around. One woman made a call on her cell phone, but then she put it away. I've seen the same thing on buses. The younger generations seem to need to be technologically plugged into some device--they can't just sit and watch the world around them.  I can see this being a dangerous trend as people lose the ability to interact directly with each other and can only do so via social media like FB, texts, or emails.

Really sad--rude too!!

I can see language skills deteriorating as well. And of course, distracted driving or any other activity is dangerous and can be fatal. 

Fool hardy!!!!

I know I'm a bit of a Neo-Luddite ( Neo-Luddism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). I only got a cell phone last fall, and that was because I was so frustrated with trying to get a land line hooked-up at the farm. It's a very limited use phone, mostly for Dave and I to keep in touch when he or I are on the farm.  I was glad to have the phone when I was in the hospital as I was able to talk to a couple of people everyday and not lose my mind with boredom!! And it's good to have if a person is travelling on the highways and bi-ways.  But other than that I don't use it and don't want to.  I hate talking on it--that delayed voice thing really bugs me.  It's like a trans-oceanic call!!  I can't see the need to be in constant contact with anyone!! I don't want to be available at all times!! When I go shopping, I want to shop, not yak on the phone. When I'm in the great outdoors I want to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature, not bury my head in texting or yakking on the phone. I keep asking the question, " How did we manage to function 15-20 years ago before cell phones and computers took over every one's life?" One of these days I might just quit FB and even this blog. When my computer crashed a couple of years ago and I was waiting to see if my files could be saved and have a new computer set up, I noticed how much more time I had and how I had a renewed interest in doing things like sewing and embroidering. Maybe it's time to 'break' a few machines--figuratively at least!!

Oh, and I don't have a dishwasher either!!!

Stairs

Neither of my collies have ever had any problem with steps/stairs.  The first ones they have to learn to negotiate around here are the outside back porch steps--a must for getting outside to do their business. So, for Duffy he was 9 weeks old when he mastered them--with coaching help from Dave and I.  Lanny was 10 weeks old when he came here, so pretty much right off the bat he got the down part going, and with some coaching help from Duffy, got the up part!!  Then there are the basement steps--14 stairs and kind of a narrow tread. Lanny is the most at ease with them.  While Duffy just goes straight up or straight down without stopping, Lanny can stop part-way anywhere on them and turn around on them.  The latter feat is amazing!! I expected he would probably stop doing that as he grew bigger, but no, he still does it!! The neatest thing is that he walks right beside me as we go up the stairs--he can adapt his pace to any situation!! Pretty cool, I'd say!!


I think I have the picture issue resolved--many thanks to Sherman of www.keywestcollies.blogspot.com for a tip to use Google Chrome. I was getting all kinds of really annoying pop-up garbage too and have managed to uninstall some things that were causing that.  I was about ready to give up on blogging, because it was so frustrating to do anything on the blog!!

So, while I don't have any pictures of the doggies on the stairs, I'm posting a couple of sleeping dogs. The one of Lanny sleeping on the cold, hard floor, between the 2 beds was on Facebook a couple of days ago. And the other photo--all 3 of my guys are in the room! I thought it was kind of sweet--but I didn't include Dave--he was all covered up by the comforters anyway. He says I keep this house at too cold a temperature!!

Gotcha Day!!

January 23 was Gotcha Day for Lanny!! It was a long day, of getting out to the airport, getting on a flight to Calgary, then a connecting  flight to Winnipeg.  It was a super cold day in Winnipeg, while a blizzard was blowing in Edmonton!! Ray was delayed at Customs and I was getting panicky that he wouldn't arrive and I'd be going home without my puppy :(((  WestJet was great--as always--they took me to an office where I could call him and find out what was going on.  I was so relieved when he arrived!!  We had to put Lanny and his crate through the security baggage right away, as it was about an hour from flight time.  Once I boarded, I couldn't relax until I was given the form that showed that Lanny was on board too!.  Then after we got into Edmonton, something wasn't working with the baggage area, then they got that going, and everyone picked up their stuff but another woman and I.  Even all the other oversize stuff had come through. She and her 2 little kids were waiting for their larger dog--the smaller had travelled in the cabin with them.  The little boy was crying, scared something had happened--I knew just how he felt!! Again, such relief when Lanny and his crate came through the plastic strips!! Home we went to get settled in.  The cutest little tri puppy in the world was mine at last!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥  He's still the cutest, by the way!!!


PS I can't seem to download photos.  I tried to do a post the other day and had problems, but thought it was just a glitch that would go away. No such luck. A small circle that changes colors shows up on the photo link window and seems to freeze the whole thing. If I figure out how to fix this, I'll post the photos of Lanny's first day here!! But I wanted everyone to know that I didn't forget Lanny's Gotcha Day!!!

Well, they are sort of playing...

Don't look at the pet feet--I did a trim 2 weeks ago, but it's so cold they are growing hair on their feet all the time!!

Yesterday morning, Duffy and Lanny engaged in some tug playing with Froggy.  And it probably involved some who could claim ownership too!!  Only once before has Duffy got involved in a tug game, so I was happy to see this. Duffy has not initiated any play with Lanny, he's just not into toys anymore and if he wants to play, it's with his humans not other dogs. It's like the only child that spends more time with adults than with kids, and consequently always feels more comfortable with them.  Ahem--that was me!!

Duffy and Lanny just aren't a good fit--at least at this point.  Lanny obsesses about Duffy, Duffy obsesses about food--what a neurotic little household!! LOL  Things would have been better, I think, if Lanny was a submissive dog, or maybe I had got a small dog that Duffy could always feel protective towards.  They both need to be only dogs, but for different reasons. Maybe this will change as Lanny gets older, I don't know.  But it's really tiring, at a time when I am stressed to the max with so many other things.

It snows, and snows, and snows, and snows.  And when it doesn't snow, we have freezing rain, which makes things so treacherous, and then makes shovelling the walks 5 times as hard. We had a couple of days here and there that weren't bad--actually got above 0'C (32'F) but it's mostly cold, and too much wind that makes it colder.  It's all so depressing, especially since it's been like this since the beginning of November.

My friend Jacqueline, her husband, and 2 kiddies are visiting from Australia--poor guys!! Jacqueline and I went to see Hobbit 2 and went to supper for my birthday, and then we all went for supper one Saturday.  But they have endured an intestinal bug, now the flu is going through their ranks, and in a week they will be back to sunny Oz.  Their holiday has to rank up there with 10 worst holidays ever!! Crappy weather and being sick--yuck!!

Christmas was a non-event in so many ways.  I took Dave to the ER on December 19 and he's still in hospital.  He had a recurrence of the shortness of breath, no energy, etc. that led to his hospitalization in January and to an angioplasty. He's had quite the 2 weeks with hospital experiences--a screaming hollering woman who did this for 30 hours before she was moved out of the room--yes here they mix male and female patients in one room, which I think is so wrong for so many reasons. She was moved, only after she almost bit the finger off a nurse!! Isn't there a psych unit for these cases??Then there are the 3rd world immigrant staff that empty human waste containers while the patients are eating--gag. He lost it that evening and reamed the idiot out and called the charge nurse.  They have on his chart, "patient is agitated", probably a few times.  Yeah well, with having no sleep for 30 hours and your meal ruined, who wouldn't be?  He's had all sorts of tests and will have some more today. He had a relapse on Sunday for about 6 hours and that was scary.

All this has made me have to think about a different life than the one I envisioned on the farm--we may not be able to handle it.  That makes me so sad.  I finally have my heart's desire and it's too late.  I ate my Christmas dinner by myself and Santa never came here this year!! It's depressing to have the one family member you've got, in hospital for Christmas.

Then there are lawyers--got the estate lawyer's bill just before Christmas and I almost had a heart attack.  I have to liquidate some of my retirement savings to pay it--over $52,000--because he chose to use the % of the estate to calculate the fee.  Yes, I guess it's allowed, but it seems so greedy for the work he actually did to probate a will. All in all any faith I had in human kind is at an all time low, and I realize more completely than ever before that most people are motivated by greed.  I am going to have to sell a quarter just to pay the upcoming lawyer bills, the taxes, etc.  Some inheritance.

All I can do is hope that 2014 is going to be better and that some of these issues, health and other wise will be resolved.  In the meantime, it's time to shovel!!

Happy New Year!!