Eem-er loves Mr. Milo('s MeMe)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Which time? I've had several names.... Currently, it's Eem-er. Do you know anyone else named Eem-er?
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Ok, I admit it...I am a terrific crybaby. I cried in the crate yesterday when I didn't get to go to the grocery store.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I can't write but I do love to leave my mark.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey, we have it every day.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? I have had many litters...and right now have an adopted child. She's not quite right, though. It's because (ssshhhhhhh) she is a kitten.....



6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER DOG WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Would we both be leashed? Cuz then, probably not!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Um, what?
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR NUTS? Never had them.....but I act like I do!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I think I have already, if you count the times I have been dangling at the end of my leash.


10. YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? I 'm not sure I have had cereal yet.
11. DO YOU WIPE YOUR PAWS WHEN YOU COME IN? Nope.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Getting stronger all the time! And when I am wet, I SMELL really, really strong.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Um...I have only had vanilla...
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their hands....pet me, pet me, oh please pet me!
15. RED OR PINK? I am colour-blind, right?
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOU? My separation anxiety.
17. WHO/WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Rabbit hunting off leash

18. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? kibble
18. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Fishbone play with a cat toy.
19. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Bums, rabbit, bbq
20. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Mr. Milo? I love him. Want to go walkies with him.

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW? Not interested in the tv, but will sit on the couch with whoever is watching....pet me pet me oh please pet me.......
22. HAIR COLOUR? Black and brown and white
23. EYE COLOUR? Brown
24. FAVOURITE FOOD? Orijen kibbles with a spoonful of chicken....

25. HUGS OR KISSES? Anything, anything, just please, please, please love me....pet me pet me pet me.....

26. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SOUND? Soft, sweet voices saying my name.

27. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Sticks, not stones....and I chase bees not beetles.

28. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I flew from one island to another, from one coast of Canada to the other, but I was on my way home then. Thank you, Beaglepaws.

29. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can find a rabbit just about anywhere...and I can climb.

30. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? St. John's , Newfoundland

Check out

this bright idea...... If you camp in inclement weather, all you "have" to do is drink, er, wait, chop wood, er...drink and chop wood to keep the fire going. Wait a minute, that's not such a bright idea, is it? Drinking and using an axe? Yikes!!!

The really bright idea is to stay in the camper van and try and finish Harry Potter before you come home and find out the end via some lame internet bullshit or television bullshit.

I didn't finish but am really, really close. Shhhhhh. Don't ruin it for me. I have not watched news, have not logged in to anything other than e-mail, Blogger and Facebook since this came out. Damn household improvements and the way they steal my time. Damn them. And, honestly, I didn't spend the whole time at camp reading Harry Potter BUT I have not spent any time with the pictures nor the next blog post. So this is all you get!

Until later, then!

Remember....

Have a good weekend, everyone.

stuff and nonsense

I wish I could claim this as mine, but mine just wont grow. The slugs and snails seem to devour it before it can gain any momentum in the growing season. Maybe I will move it somewhere else this fall and hope for the best next summer. Duke's mom grew this and I just wanted to show you all. It is so cool, isn't it? I think it is beautiful. And yummy, too, with some garlic butter!

I have been busy with "the home improvement project" and bandaging up wounds related to said project. One superficial burn from the heat gun, one second degreeburn from the heat gun...two jolting head bonks, one resulting in a little-mini scalping incident...various bumps and bruises and one very stiff shoulder and neck from plastering the ceiling. Lord, when did I get this old....and this clumsy? Since we are improving out habitat, Michael took it upon himself to improve Sebsastion(the Hermit Crab)'s habitat, as well. He had grown to the point where his terrarium(once a window-ledge herb garden box) was restricting Sebastion's walks. He is suprisingly active. Michael made this swank new abode, two stories, with plants and caves and climbing walls. Sebastion is so wonderstruck, he has been rattling around all night, every night. He is obnoxiously noisey right now. Oh well, you can't reason with a hermit crab at 2 a.m. Or 2 p.m., for that matter.

The rains have stopped and thankfully the vines are drying out while we still have time to enjoy the raspberries. They were just turning to mush on the vines but the dry weather is back just in time for some last delicious bowls of berries. It was a banner crop this year, despite the last week of rain.

Blueberries are nearly ripe now, too.

My lacy-top hydrangeas are a-bloom. One of my favourite things in my garden.

And my passion-flower vine. Absolutely in my top five favourite things in my garden. This vine wraps around a trellis in my back yard and reaches all the way up to the top of my deck on the second floor, helping to create a little wall of green back there between me and the alleyway traffic.

So beautiful, isn't it? It's vines interlace with two kiwi vines and hopefully in the next year or two, you won't even see the deck railings at all. It will just be a little jungle wall.

The work goes on across the street at the old church. The barbed wire came down and the height of the fence is down to four feet. It is still made entirely of pallets on one side(I will get a picture of that for you soon), because, apparently there is a bylaw about height and about barbed-wire, but not about it being HIDEOUS BEYOND ALL MENTION. Once again, the landlord who preys on this neighbourhood gets away with kicking us in the ribs. Thanks ever so. I wonder if this would be going on next door to Korpan, the mayor?!? There are probably different by-laws for the north end of town. Spanglish is still there with peeling siding falling into the alley, garbage accumulating, and nothing being done.

Ah, hell, I didn't mean to start ranting. I got up early today and am still a bit grumpy about it. I have a hair appointment and I hope the Beauty Queen doesn't mind the plaster in my hair and is gentle along my scalping site. So, in fact, I better go primp. You don't arrive at the Beauty Queen with bedhead, even if she is just going to cut it all off!

kudos

To the city...today they are at one of the neighbour's houses cleaning out the yard....this yard. Can you see a yard? Nah? That's right. Because he hoards. However, before the city got here, he was out distributing some of his garbage throughout the neighbourhood so that he can pick it back up again later...and since the city only has orders to clean up this property, well... you all know how red tape works, right? I know that there is some sort of particular thing misfiring in the brains of people who hoard, but we all have to live with the consequences here. Some of those consequences are that crackheads and drug dealers feel very safe in the maze created here. And we live in a city...I can't imagine what other "vermin" find this mess a safe haven. I wonder what that means to us neighbours now that the critters will all have to start looking for new homes. Ew.
Well, gotta go...read a chapter of Harry Potter, pick some raspberries and then start plastering the walls of the walk-in closet. Eek. It's gonna be so gorgeous...did I mention?

At Last....

Three years I have been itching to do this home improvement project. A couple weekends ago, we sold off the furniture in one of our spare bedrooms at the garage sale. Last week, I moved our master bedroom into the spare bedroom revealing the last carpeting in the house...ick. At last, I get to tackle the Master Bedroom! Ugh. Look at that. So old and stained, the stains don't come out even with a cleaning anymore. And stinky. Did I mention stinky?

So, up came the carpet and guess what? Linoleum beneath the carpet...in a bedroom?!? My heart died a little. I thought, like the disappointment in the kitchen, that the lino might have been glued directly to the wood floor.

But, take heart, my heart! It wasn't! Merely tacked down here and there. Hooray~

This newspaper was under the carpet....December 1966. Is that REALLY how old that carpet is? No wonder it is so stinky!

And this newspaper was under the lino....June 1947. In 1947, you could buy a house on a corner lot in Vancouver for $5,950.00. Or a full-blown mansion for $14,700.00.

And beneath it all?

Pretty much pristine fir flooring. A couple of little rough spots...little ones. Sigh. Beauty, eh?

Even our walk-in closet has hardwood. Swank. And check out those baseboards! 5" tall, all real wood baseboards. Same with the trim on the doors and the windows. Of course there are about 15 layers of paint on them, but I don't mind the work.

Look at what I know is beneath it all!

It's going to be gorgeous. Venetian plaster on the walls for texture and the restored trim and baseboards with our beautiful wood floors. I am practically drooling just thinking about it. Aren't you? It's taken two days to nearly finish scraping the closet...the bedroom? It looks like miles of trim to me right now, to tell you truth. Miles. Upon miles.

But, baby, I can handle that!

Name that Kitty

Somebody has forced us to make room in our hearts for Kitty...well, two somebodies.... two somebodies who have already forged a very deep and meaningful bond that neither Michael nor I have the heart to tear asunder...so today I will call the SPCA to find out about their low-income pet spay/neuter program... and get on that list. And make sure that she is, and remains, an indoor kitty as long as we live on this road.

And perhaps we will have to finally come up with a name...and we already have some in the running for now. If you want to add your suggestions, then comment away, my friends.

Already suggested: Lucky, Mackerel(because she is a mackeral tabby), Fishbone(for the same reason AND Aethan wants to call her Fish), Seal, Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie...let's see, there was Nano, Tiny, Bitsy...but I don't think this kitten will remain tiny. I think she may be a big one....judging from her feet...and her attitude. Oh, Kitten and Puppy, too. Chase because we found on Chase River Estuary. Duchess because Duke found her. Queenie. Have I forgotten any?

I figure, really, she'll only come to "Kitty" anyway, soon enough....or the sound of a soft food can touching the can opener....

Her eyes are no longer brilliant blue, but a lovely grey with green flecks around the pupils. Maybe they will turn all the way green in time. She is a fiery little rocket when awake, and pretty well coordinated already. Growing daily in a visible way! Fierce with Duke, who found her, and playful with Emma, who dotes on her. Maybe this is Emma's last baby, eh? The only one that won't be taken away from her.

Well, that's it for now.

Roughing it at Camp Cowichan

We plunged headlong into camp season this past weekend. We loaded up the van with friends, dogs, beer, food....all the real camping essentials and headed up to Cowichan Lake to one of the more "remote" forestry campsites. Yeah, real camping. The rough stuff. The REAL thing. So after our arrival at this unnamed forestry campsite(it's too delicious to share...not very many sites here and I would hate to lose my new favourite spot to someone reading this!), we established "base camp" in a quiet, little spot less than a minute's walk from lakeside.

A quick perusal of the best spots on the lake....

then, back to Base Camp, where Bez was installed as camp guard dog. We need a camp guard dog because(remember?) we are roughing it out here. He looks intimidating enough, eh? We thought he could keep the bears, or at least the chipmunks, at bay. Turns out, Bez is not the strongest camper, poor little city dweller.

Finally, down to the serious business of Roughing It. It was rough, too, let me tell you. You should have met our campground host! And her cat! Yikes. Seriously, it's amazing we made it out of there alive!

And? Our bocce court was full of holes, sticks, rocks AND pine cones! Off-road Bocce. Now that's rough!

And then? We had to hike into the woods to find sticks and stuff...stuff like fresh, wild huckleberries. It is very rough to find the perfect marshmallow roasting stick, too. It's so very rough. Plus, this walk put us in closer proximity to the CrazyCatLadyCampgroundHost....oh my.

And you know what else is rough, don't you? Forgetting your very favourite bbq sauce at home and having to grill your buffalo steaks over the campfire with a slighty less fantastic bbq sauce. That's rough. Really, really rough.

And having Bez count every beer you drink like some kind of militant camp guard dog/slightly disdainful chaperone is rough, too! Always keep in mind who you are making camp guard dog!

Yawn, and waking up in the morning is rough....you have to admit that. And making organic espresso in the bodum....er, oh dammit! I mean making sludgey old camp coffee is awfully rough, isn't it? Especially when all you have to follow it up with is scrambled eggs and sausage? I mean, it's not as if we had toast or anything.....oh, wait...there were bagels...but NO cream cheese! We had no cream cheese!

Well, swimming WAS rough. On some of us. The two newbie campers, Bez and Eem-er, sure didn't think too much of it. At all.

But everyone else liked it...it was cold in that lake....though we didn't really find that part too rough.

Because it didn't take too long to warm up once you got out.

Man, did I mention that it was rough out there? Really, really rough?

But you know what the hardest part was? The absolute roughest part of it all was? Breaking camp and coming home.

Thanks for a great time, you guys!

ARGH!

So the same landlord who owns Spanglish owns this next door to Spanglish. It, too, has been nothing but trouble..or should I just say that this landlord is nothing but trouble. This structure is not residential but he has rented KNOWINGLY to another family. Legally they cannot live there. Why doesn't the landlord go to jail? Huh?

And just who did he rent to and why are they building this ridiculously hideous fence of plywood and BARBED WIRE? And why is the landlord letting them?!? If his property is legitimately up for sale, why would he let it get even uglier than it's previous slumlike state? Someone, somewhere, in the upper echelons of this town, please formulate some plan to get rid of this slumlord! He is thumbing his nose at the neighbours and directly at you, city council, bylaws and RCMP. Honestly, I can't believe we have to keep dealing with this crap.

And? How long does Spanglish get to stay in that horrid state? Maybe it should have just burned all the way to the friggin' ground. It seems the only way to get rid of the slumlords around here is to let their property burn all the way down. Otherwise the buildings just get to stand here in this end of town with boards on the windows and doors, ugly and hateful, collecting squatters and rats. Wouldn't happen in the north end. Next time, Fire Response, could you just let it burn? Please? And, quite honestly, hopefully there is a next time.

summer time

Raspberries from my garden....grrrrrr....you better keep your hands off my raspberries!!!!

Oh how I love the colours of summer...No more oranges and far fewer apples...in fact, I only get them to add a little sweetness to my daily dose of carrot-beet juice. Mmmm, now everyone, doesn't that sound YUMMY! I know, I know...but I like it and I like how I feel doing at least one healthy thing for myself! Cherries from my neighbour's tree....wowzers!

The weather has broken today. It's still warm but not stifling. The last few days were so hot that the only dog walks that seemed inviting were out at the beach where it was a couple degrees cooler.

Neck Point Park is full of little succulent treasures, if you know where to look....

and you remember to look closely. Very closely.

"Kitten" is still here, still unnamed. Tiny, eh? Did you realize how tiny in the other post? Teeny tiny. So tiny, I still cannot tell if it is a boy or a girl, hence the no name thing.

At first I was convinced it was a boy.

Now I think girl.

I think I have to wait a bit more before I can tell, but I think I have time now. "It" doesn't seem to be going anywhere...if you know what I mean. I don't dare say it out loud. Wink.

Eem-er still doesn't know what to make of this new situation, but at the end of each exhausting day of guarding kitty, following kitty, nosing kitty, and obsessing about kitty, I think just the tiniest bit more progress is made.

Er.....or not.