discoveries to delight in

My dog walking expeditions with friends and neighbours is a nearly daily activity. We all discover little treasures out there, ya know? From the blood red spread of moss at Harewood to the freshwater jellies on the river, every day is full of new suprises. I can hardly wait until the next day for another walk. Today, I discovered my dream house...how wonderful would it be to live here, directly across from an oceanfront park beach that will never be developed? I would move in a heartbeat.Duke, my neighbour's dog, made a dream discovery today, too. A dead seal carcass...mmm...he rolled and rolled. And then rode home in my car. Duke, Viggo and Yuko, the three amigos. At the beginning of this summer, the only one that could swim was Duke. Now? They could be a synchronized swim team for Team Canada! Gold Medalists, for sure.
Here is another dog walkie discovery at Neck Point Park. There were purple starfish colonies everywhere. I don't think I had ever been there when the tide was so low. These little treasures were in the shade of every rock big enough to shade them until the tides rise again. Pretty cool, eh?
Here is some cut and paste photos of the backyard, as Heidi was lamenting hers...the trim on my house is THREE different colours! It aggravates me every time I look at it!!!! There is a raised garden in there somewhere! This side yard is supposed to be paved by these landscaping bricks into a little patio area...hmmm. The awning has been there since we took it off the window 16 months ago, the grass is dead since we thought it would be gone by now, we never watered it...there is a collection of empty planters and bins of rock, for some reason.There is a pile of bricks for the dream patio, they have been in this pile for over a year. The vines growing up the deck are our biggest backyard success, kiwi and passionflower. They grow like mad and people think you know what you're doing. Oh, actually, we built that deck(with help) and that really may be the biggest success!
That's it for today, folks. Tomorrow, I will catch up with the neighbourhood happenings....things have been a little quiet around here, of late, so I have to accumulate some stories...and, by the way, I am not complaining about that at all!!!!
Peace out.

ar-ar-ar

Here is the second crop of roses of the season, not nearly as pretty as the first, nor as fragrant...but the fact that we get two blasts of colour every summer is darn cool, don't you think...
Here is Michael dressed as a pirate for, of all things, a Christmas party. He doesn't like when I put his photo up, so you must live with the black stripe of anonymity. So this photo is a little dated, but I am on a pirate theme today...however, my little pirate of the Caribbean, Sebastion the Hermit Crab, is unavailable for photos as he is naked right now. Yippur, a naked hermit crab isn't pretty, so they hide themselves. He is molting, shedding his skin right now, getting bigger, so he has buried himself in a planterbox of dirt until such time as he deems himself decent enough to appear in public again.
Another dated photograph of Pirate Maggie, oddly enough, at Christmas, again. See the bandana?!? What pirate would be caught dead in a reindeer bandana? What brought about all the pirate stuff? Yesterday, I met a friend of friend...he was quite a character, quite charming in a squeamish, bad-toothed sort of way, ya know?!? In the course of a five minute conversation with the guy, he called me a pirate, a pretty pirate, a pirate gal, about seven times. I didn't get it...I couldn't understand why he kept calling me a pirate but I didn't ask, because it was charming in a squeamish, bad-toothed kind of way, ya know? Later, at home, the moment of "AH HA... I am a pretty pirate gal..."
My only question being, was he looking at my chest everytime he called me a pirate, a pretty pirate, a pirate gal? What do you think?
I tried to upload two more Nanaimo pirate pictures, just for a full, over-the-top pirate effect, but Blogger just doesn't want to cooperate with me today. Some days you're the windshield and some days you're the bug.

forgive me, Mickey and Minnie

My hydrangea is blooming now...it is a lacy top, not what I am used to in a hydrangea, but pretty sweet, all the same. We actually have two but one is just not thriving...actually, we had four but I may have mentioned a time or two about how small our city lot is. Two have found homes elsewhere...and a third may have to find a happier home in order to thrive.
Well, I know that I said I was taking the weekend off, but Michael went into work this afternoon and I was playing game after game of Spider on the computer...so why not blog instead? Michael starts a new job after the long weekend and is trying to finish up some projects here before he goes. I hope the new job is "the one," because this last one has had him down for a while...and I miss my happy man a lot.

High drama in the hood...honestly, we see so much of this that I don't even leave my front porch to find out what it's all about anymore. Police, fire or ambulance with sirens and/or lights at least once a week within sight of our house. I just don't get it. What gives?!?
Under this bucket lies a dead mouse...in the end, it was horrible and I feel sick thinking about it. The poor thing thought he(or she) was having a lovely little peanut butter feast...the trap snapped. I heard it go and looked up to see the poor thing was not killed instantly but terribly wounded and it staggered under the fridge. A few moments later, it crawled out to die in the middle of the floor(see it's horrible little trail of death there?). The trap was a hard thing for me to think of using and because it didn't work instantly, I am mortified by the extreme pain and suffering that little creature went through. Please forgive me, mousie, because although I could not bear the thought of you in my house, I did not mean for you to suffer like that. I am so sorry. Viggo checks on his buddies whenever we go to the river...this pasture is right at the head of the trail. He loves to look in on these two and they often come to the edge of the fence to stare back up at him. We went out today and he went swimming and Michael and I picked blackberries... enough for four pies. So, with the five pie's worth already frozen, I am getting close to having enough to share. Greedy, ain't I?

We went out to see our friend's band last night...it was not the kind of venue that is super conducive to dancing. Not all of his regular bandmates were there, either, so it was not as exciting as when he normally plays. Last year he was on a tour opening for Bif Naked... his band is a load of good times!!! Usually. Plus, we were the only ones we knew there! Where was everyone?!? Hello?!?!?!? Even eating out didn't put the evening over the top, as it really wasn't very good at all. Bah humbug. Well, that's about it for the weekend coverage...about as good as weekend television, isn't it? Ha ha. Until later, then.

happy friday

I must make a real effort to get out with the camera this weekend...I am out of new photos...also need to roam the Hood for some blog-worthy news. This is our summer rental dog...his name is Vigan, though I have been calling him Viggo, or Mr. Mortensen most of the summer now. He will be confused when his folks come home. I just couldn't handle one more person asking me if he was a vegetarian when they asked his name. Argh. I don't have that kind of patience...besides, he is as handsome as Viggo Mortensen.
Well, I have some errands to run this morning...maybe I will take the camera out with me...but does anyone need a photo from the grocery store or the liquor store? Though, it is the downtown store and there are always plenty of good characters down there!!!!
Later. Enjoy your weekends, everyone!!!!

laugh or cry

See the passenger all hunkered down in the seat?!? She thinks she is invisible because she is hunkered down in the seat!!!!! High-larious, really, what you will believe when you smoke crack, isn't it?!? "I am so low in this seat that no one will possibly see me smoking crack...cuz I am so totally inconspicuous here hunched as tiny as I can get as to be nearly INVISIBLE. No one on this busy street in the middle of the day will ever know that I am sitting here smoking crack, because I am invisible. It is like magic. Crack makes me magical and smart....."

Cinderella

This is the real reason Cinderella was always scrubbing....not the evil stepmother. Want to know how I know?!? Guess what I am doing today? ick ick ick. Yes, I am preoccupied. Sorry...the dog is useless in this situation. I miss Crook that much more now. Well, better go finish so that I can go to the ball tonight in my fabulous new gown and glass shoes...well, actually, we are going out Saturday night cuz our friend's band is playing, but it requires sensible dancing shoes!!!! Later, then!

good grief

I am preoccupied with the damn rodent...maybe it's just a mouse, but my imagination is making it larger and larger...soon it will be a marmot running through our walls. Laying out my exercise mat on the floor where I had just seen this thing creeped me out, let me tell you, but I did my exercises anyway. Somebody, quick, congratulate me on that, because normally the lamest excuse not to exercise will suffice. I have done three days in a row, even though it hurts...plus dog walkies and a swimming expedition down to a new spot on the river. My tummy remembers being flat and yummy...I am already walking taller...my body remembers, which is nice...now, if only my thighs and butt could remember how good they looked without all the work!
But, honestly all I am remembering that creature....I can't go downstairs...I saw it go downstairs through the hole in the floor where the cable goes...oh, and hey, I was really shrieking/screaming this morning and no police arrived...what gives, neighbours? Was I not screaming loud enough to warrant concern?!? There is a rodent in my house!!!
Ick ick ick
This house was built in 1923, so there are issues about it...like trying to find and block all the places where vermin get in. It is nearly impossible. There are spiders in the basement(and now apparently rodents), and drafts and the windows in the front don't open anymore. But it is a beautiful old house with all the original french doors(multiple) and stained glass windows, wood floors, glass light fixtures...so I guess dealing with the creature should just be taken in stride, right? ICK ICK ICK...
So, Michael will be home soon and I should go down and unlock the basement door so he can put his bike away....I could cry. Wish me luck...
talk to you later.

one thousand days ago....

Our fridge is covered with other folks' poems...once they are up there, I cannot take down these little pieces of those I love. One thousand days ago is a line in a poem from the fridge...one thousand days ago was October 21, 2003, if my rusty math is right. ... I had been in Nanaimo for one summer....we were renters on the "right side of the tracks."
This was our view in the evenings...
This was our view in the mornings... One thousand days ago, we had deer and raccoons in our yard. Now, you all know what we are chasing out of our yard! One thousand days ago, I had a dog, a toyota corolla, a slimmer body, oodles of energy and a super annoying renter in the downstairs suite. We had horrible carpets, we had a landlord who couldn't be bothered, we had a mountain in our back yard. We had a short walk to the beach, where the dog was not allowed, and to Sprinkles Ice Cream Shack, where you can buy an ice cream cone for your dog. One thousand days ago, we were minutes from Neck Point Park and Piper's Lagoon, a short drive from the best grocery store in town and the best Pub(Longwood) and a short walk from the worst coffee shop. One thousand days ago, I had not seen a giant mouse or a small rat just run through the house(you may have heard me shrieking just now! The police will be arriving any moment, if my neighbours truly care!) , though I do recall one of the biggest, hairiest wolfie spiders over my head sometime around one thousand days ago in that house...also while I was on the computer! Well, enough of memory lane...I have a giant mouse or a small rat to take care of ...damnit...I hate them little suckers. It's almost enough to send me to the SPCA for another kitty(indoor only), though I am not really ready for that, either.

hollyhock

Yesterday, in the paper, it said the RCMP had arrested 26 drug dealers in Nanaimo on Sunday, with a warrant for 7 more. Wow. No wonder we noticed so much police presence in our hood the past few days...What do you do with 33 low-level drug dealers? You have to bust them every single day, don't you? If they keep that up, things might change around here. It was kind of funny to listen to the "wrangler"(I don't know what else to call him) roaming the neighbourhood whistling and whistling and no answer, except a couple of our neighbours who just wanted to mess with him. We were wondering what was up Sunday night because we heard him walking every street, every alley, whistling...all night. Little did we know at the time, that he was looking for his lost flock.
Well, that's it for now...it is about that time...dog walkies and blackberry picking...I did pick another bucket yesterday, even though I wore my sandals again! It's too darn warm to put on socks and shoes...besides, I don't want to mess up my tan lines!!!

Sunday morning coming down

I made my ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls this morning...I can still smell it in the house, and on myself. It is my mom's recipe, and extremely decadent, with heavy cream and lots of sugar...mmmm. Tomorrow, I start my exercise regime again...I haven't done any since I lost Maggie. I am feeling soft and I hate it, but I have never achieved that endorphin rush "they" talk about when exercising so I hate every frickin' minute of it. I believe endorphins are a lie...but I will NOT go up one more size. I just won't do it!
Spent a bit of time blackberry picking today. I wanted to fill this bucket but didn't quite get there. I won't wear sandals next time!
Some of our neighbours got together for a bit of a picnic in our neighbourhood park...beginner's luck at bocce! Who knew? Michael and I used to watch the old italians in Vancouver play just off of Commercial Drive...the yelling, the bickering, the whooping....now I get it!
Delivering prayers and wishes skyward....some especially for Gwen and Sean. Love pours forth.

Em, some days

a photo says it all....

catch up

Cara, this one is for you...I saw your comment on the flickr page...this is a digital photo of my film image so not so very clear. I am not sure about uploading it to flickr(because of the quality of it) except I would like to find out for sure what it is!
Again, my wonderful orange blooms on the back deck....I love them.
And my dahlias...this is our last year with dahlias...our city lot is so tiny and they take so much garden space. We relocated two of these to our dear friend's house around the corner...she has a nice large yard with barely anything in it. So, come fall, this one will join the others over there, leaving us a little extra room in our garden for next year...and we can still go visit!
Alright, that's enough for one day...I still haven't gone on that dog walk cuz I walked out of the house this morning without my keys...locked out of my car and my house! So....without further ado, it's dog walkies time.
bye

updates on the hood

I have been neglecting my Junior Hood Reporter duties lately...I have been more interested in other things...I am starting with a pretty picture of flowers on my back deck though, because I am always utterly amazed that something grows in my presence...it should be a dried up old stick, but look at it!
Two evenings ago, there was quite a commotion on Nicol St. out behind us. I don't know what this is...two ambulances, lots of cops, lots of people milling around on the sidewalk, one guy down in the crosswalk. There was no car to be seen, so maybe a hit and run? He wasn't moving much but was quite vocal, so hopefully he is alright...there was nothing in the paper... I really don't want to say this, but maybe I should. Maybe he wasn't white enough to make the paper...but maybe I am full of crap. I don't know. It just seemed like a lot going on down there to not make the paper, especially if it was a hit and run, or an assault, and there were so many witnesses.

Here is the Crack Delivery Van...must be borrowed or stolen...it's in too good of shape to be full of all the crackheads who came out of this. It was like the clown car at the circus...some jumped out , some jumped in...I don't know where they came from or where they were going...but someone must have scored big and was literally driving around making deliveries...again, I say, if they put that much effort in LIVING LIFE, what couldn't they do?
Yesterday was eviction day for the some of my most annoying and scary neighbours...sadly, this is all I really saw of the whole thing. I was on a trip to Victoria. I saw these two really big officers arrive, though, and two girls started packing stuff out of the house. I know they were not on the lease, only the really big kinda scary guy is left from the original leaseholders. After I left, apparenty, the slumlord,er, landlord arrived to see the haps. He has not been around much, which is weird, cuz usually he is always out there peaking through all his tenants' windows(creepy). I think the big guy must have really intimidated him, literally, and he has been staying away...so, the cops were gone at this point and the big guy starts screaming and towering over his ex-slumlord, er, landlord. Then, he starts chasing him down the street. It would be scary cuz he is a big guy and the slumlord, er, slumlord,er, LANDLORD, is tiny and old. I should feel sorry for him, but I don't. He continually rents to these kinds of jerks...there are still major problems in the basement suite of the same house...
Someone has dumped a couch in the back alley, which, of course, has become a bed, a meeting zone...now, I guess, once again, we will have to take care of it, rent a truck, with our money, take it to the dump with our money...
Amanda(I used to call her the Bulldog before I knew her name....she looked like she could kick your ass! Lordy she looked like a roller derby queen) is back in the hood. She was one of the "regular" girls here...she always seemed to maintain herself pretty well. She always kept her weight, didn't seem to binge too much...but she's back. I have seen her four times this week. Each time, she is doing the Crack Attack Dance. She is about half the size she was...she LOOKS like a crack whore now. I am not sure what this feeling is I have...she is "lost" now, and I am a bit sad in some way I do not understand.
A known Pimp was cruising the neighbourhood (while I was away camping), keeping an eye on his girl(s). One of our dearest friends and neighbours confronted this guy and his friend in their car. These two guys got out of the car and then began to threaten my friend...threatened her, her dog, her property. Were right up in her precious space!!!! Six neighbours came out and surrounded the car, the police were called, desciptions and license numbers taken. Nothing was done about it...the registered owner of the car was "in the hospital," according to whoever answered the phone at the residence of the car's registration. No one called the hospital to check that, nor to ask who was driving his car while he was in the hospital. Yesterday, the same guy is driving through our hood again, in a different car. He saw my friend on the street and raced his engine, screaming obscenities at her, pounding on the windows...reported to the police again. They say if we see him to report his "suspicious activities." They have said to stay away from him...he is "bad news." How about this? How about he stay the fuck away from here?!? How about that? Is that too much to ask? If you KNOW he is bad news and is threatening bodily harm and property destruction to residents here, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
Hmmm, also, two big police actions yesterday, one near the McD's on Nicol and one near the Salvation Army. No news on what they were about, though...time for dog walkies, talk at you all later.

for Life or Something Like It

So this is a digital photo of an old 135 mm photo, grainy at best. The stains are on the photo, not on the carpet or on my arms, not from the dog! He was a good boy! When I was 3 or just 4, I got this puppy. For years, people thought I had named him Henri...I guess cuz he was a poodle mix. As an adult, I think it's hilarious that they all thought I even would know that Henri is a French name...and that my little dog was even(gasp) French??? I was 3 or 4!!!! I mean, yes, of course, we'd all like to think I was such a little genius...especially me. He lived with that mistaken identity for the rest of his life. I don't even remember how old I was when I discovered that EVERYONE thought his name was Henri...but I knew his real name...and then it became ever so much more special to me. Like knowing Batman's secret identity.
When my folks got divorced and we moved into a little apartment, my Grandma took him. I saw him nearly every weekend during the school year and spent my summers with her and my dog...only he did become her dog. I didn't mind. They really grooved on each other and I am so thankful to her for saving him...they had lots of good years...lots.
Want to know his real name?


Ornery: as in.....

Main Entry: or·nery Pronunciation: 'or-n&-rE, 'är-; 'orn-rE, 'ärn-Function: adjectiveInflected Form(s): or·neri·er; -estEtymology: alteration of ordinary: having an irritable disposition : CANTANKEROUS - or·neri·ness noun

Isn't that a hoot?

wheat

These were a wedding present to Michael's mom, once upon a time. She bought a new set so I got them. I have been in love with them since the second I saw them.
Not a single missing piece... that's a lot of pressure for me. I intend to use them everyday, too...because if I only used them on "special occasions," they might never come out of the cupboard.
Besides, doesn't the dish, and how much I love it, make it a special occasion?
Absolutely right, it does.
Well, that's about it this morning...haven't even finished my coffee yet, but I couldn't wait to show off...
later, then.

birthday

Today would have been, should have been, Maggie's 15th birthday. Eight months ago today, she fell asleep for the last time in my arms. I miss her endlessly.
I was unemployed, unhappily married and living in a rental that didn't allow pets. I walked past the pet store. I fell in love. The absolute best impulse purchase ever made. She howled all the way home in my truck, sounding for all the world like she was six feet tall and just as wide. She was six weeks old and fit in my pocket. I cried for the day I wouldn't have her anymore.
I came from a family that didn't teach me how to be a whole person. I am not whining about it...there are lots of us out there. There was no such thing as unconditional love. People left and didn't come back. There were times I knew, beyond doubt, that I was a burden. There was drama, and tension and the catch-all phrase of Dysfunction. We didn't hug. We didn't touch. We all had our own lives that we had to direct ourselves. Some called us latch-key. Looking back at it, I think the term feral is more apt.
I didn't know why I kept picking lousy relationships and staying, or even that they were lousy relationships. I didn't know why I had such a drive to self-medicate. I didn't know there was anything WRONG with me at all.
As I got to know more about me, some things had to change...it's hard to change your whole life when all your whole life long has been marked, though. It took a long time. I got divorced...broke down, overmedicated more....bought a trailer and hitched it to my Jeep and hit the road...we were
modern day nomads. I was only brave enough to go because there was someone to go with me. Maggie.
Maggie was the only constant in my life. She was the only thing I let close to me for a long time. She taught me that relationships can last longer than a little while, that LOVE is not that giddy head over heels feeling that you have at the beginning(that makes you act rashly, like walking down an aisle way too soon) but those feelings that remain after. Responsibility is NOT burden. There is joy in rolling in warm sand. Macaroni and cheese is always better shared with someone you love. She taught me that in order to take care of her, I had to take care of myself...take care of myself... mmm, a strange, if intriguing idea.
There is so much more to our story but it's mine...none of it is truly exciting. She wasn't Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin. She was just a little beagle with a dedicated heart. Sometimes we have pets. Sometimes pets have us. She blessed my life. She saved me in a way that is difficult to explain. She made me human, a full(still flawed) person. That seems like a lot to put on a little furry soul, doesn't it? But she did...or I did, for her.
I miss her little smile, eyes curled in laughter as she looked over her shoulder at me when I would take her to her favorite walking spots. I miss her pissy face when she couldn't have something she wanted. I miss her singing in the morning when she awoke to see us all together in bed, another full day together to celebrate. I miss her toenails on the hardwood.
My last thought....
I imagine that as I go out of this world, if there is anyone watching, they will see me smile just before my light goes out. My arms will open and they will hear me whisper "Maggie" as I go home.
I miss you, Chicken. Be so very good. loveloveloveloveloveyou

last camp entry

On a roadside lake on the way into Kamloops...he seemed so lonely out there.
Roadside lake coming out of Kamloops....
Tan lines...good friends. We had a great time. Thank you so much.
The littlest fisherman...
This is a pine beetle infestation...on the highway over the pass back to Vancouver...you may need to open the picture up larger in another window to see. All those trees that are tinged with red? They are dead, or will be within two years. Acres and acres, mile upon mile, hectares and hectares, kilometre upon kilometre. Any way you look at it, it is a tragedy. What will this land look like in two years? How much further will they spread? What can be done?!? I can't put into words how HUGE this devastation is. It staggers my mind...imagine the biggest clearcut you can...then keep multiplying until you cannot fathom it. It will be ugly..a cruel scar on the earth in one of the most beautiful spots there is.
Well, enough is enough. Camp is over. Thanks for bearing with me.
G'nite.

more camp stuff

The area around our campsite/resort was loaded with wildlife. These little guys were brave and foolish, coming down to sit with us, teasing and playing with the dogs...and the kids. The first night, we were sitting around after dark, watching the bats skim the lake surface. We kept hearing this high scree-ing. Some thought it was the bats but Michael and I thought it was too loud to be bats. Sure enough, all of a sudden, about 6-8 owls start swooping from tree to tree over our heads, like some bizarre nature's game of musical chairs. It was so freaky and cool! Then a huge wind storm came up, we had thunder and lightning....the sky was so big there that it was ever so much more impressive. You forget, living in town, just what a night sky is supposed to look like...out there, you feel small and insignificant in the grandest of manners. I love that feeling...that raw emotion of knowing, absolutely, that the earth is breathing the same breath you are, that it's heart's rhythm is your own. The next morning, the loons' cries greeted us. Walking the dog, I had a raven follow me for 20 minutes while we "talked" together. So many treasures on this earth. After a week of camp with temperatures in the high 30's and 40's(C), no matter how much fun you're having, you begin to become a bit grouchy. We were sleep deprived, hot, dehydrated, dirty...longing for a little "civilization." We were on our way into Kamloops where we knew we had a hot shower, clean clothes, food without that smokey campfire taste, a BED, indoors, a refrigerator with COLD beer and air-conditioning when we happened upon this godscene...as if the sky was understanding just what we were thinking. Eagle overhead....
Falkland Fire...we passed this forest fire on the way in to camp. We passed it again on our way back out...it burned a long time. This day, it was reported "Contained but not controlled." It was raining when we left Kamloops two days later, thank goodness. Just a shot of some grass...I like the colour and the texture... so, that's it for this installment...a few more shots I'd like to share in the next post... maybe later tonight I will wrap up this trip.
Until then.

finally....

Here we go...heading off in the vw. Yes, that is a vase of real flowers. Luxury and beauty at all costs. The Summer Dog loves his travel bed. It was hot, lordy, 44 and dry as a bone through the Frasier Canyon. It felt like we were breathing in an oven. We bypassed every ghost town, sorry. We were miserable in the heat and the big black dog was worse, so every stop we made was along the river...we'd stop, everybody out of the van, plunge into the water fully clothed(and furred) and then climb back in the van. We'd be hot and dry within ten minutes. I lost count of how many times we stopped to cool off. It was longest trip to Kamloops we ever took. We're going back for Thanksgiving and hopefully October weather will be better ghost-town-touring-weather.
In Kamloops, it was just as hot and dry. His folks have air-conditioning, though. Whew. Across the valley from their house, we saw this fire flare up in seconds. Luckily it burned so hot, so fast that it burned itself right out. There were other fires doing serious damage elsewhere... everywhere. We stayed one night in Kamloops and headed to Sugar Lake...met up with everyone who could make it. One of our dear friends lost her mother to cancer just the day before so, of course, their family did not make it. Our hearts and prayers, love and support, pour out of each of us, HS. We missed you. Crack of dawn and the fisher boys are out already. It's all they ever want to do...fishfishfishfishfish. Even I tried my hand at it. Sadly, all those poles in the water for days and only one fish between all of us. I guess they really are there but apparently we were not fishing "deep" enough. Hmmm.
There is a "Fire Camp" next to where we stayed. This helicopter kept flying in and there were groups of "young people" learning canoe skills like how to flip one over that's upside down and how to get back in one if you fall out. I don't know what kind of fire they will be putting out, but apparently, it will be IN A LAKE.
I spent a lot of time looking at this view. We had the use of a little boat so we were daily, the whole lot of us, out of the resort camp and off on our own little beach somewhere. Quiet(except for the kids that came with us and the two dogs) and private. All in all, it was pretty ideal. It was hotter than h-e-double toothpicks, though, and even with the lake to get in and out of, by the last day, I was really getting grouchy. So was the dog.
Well, that is the extent of the photos I can load tonight...and I have written a lot today, in general(I also made 8 loaves of zuchinni bread with my neighbour, took two dog walks, and planted all this indigenous moss in the rock path out back today). Tomorrow, I will post some more photos, Blogger willing, and tell you some of the cool specifics of camping at Sugar Lake. G'nite all.

the night before

Since I am having trouble with the photos today, I will catch you all up with the story of the night before we left...I don't have any photos to accompany that one...though I thought the RCMP might have some for me.
I know it will be a rambling tale. Sorry about that.


Okay, so the night before we left on our trip, we were loading the vw...out the back door in the garage. So I was taking the bags downstairs to Michael and he was taking them from the basement to the van. In the 30 seconds it took me to deliver one backpack to the basement and walk back upstairs, there is some f'ing guy standing in our livingroom going through the shit on the cabinet!!!! Michael is in the garage...I don't want to scream cuz I don't want this guy to freak out...who knows what the fuck he will do...so(and I don't know why THIS is smarter than screaming) I charge right up to the guy and get right up next to him. "What the fuck are you doing in my house?!?" I say in my best imitation of the Billy Goats Gruff. He had the nerve, er, not the nerve, but the incoherence to keep telling me he'd been invited!!! He was actually arguing with me about being INVITED and where was his backpack? Lordy, a crazy loon, I think. How do I get him out? He is standing there arguing with me about it! Eventually, I have manuevered him to the door, we're still YELLING at each other, Michael has finally heard just as the guy is taking off down the street. We call the police. 45 minutes later, (since there is no emergency, I guess) the police arrive. Did I mention before that we live three blocks from the RCMP station? If they had arrived in the first five minutes, say, they might have got the guy but then there is all that paperwork to do, forms to fill out...yaddayadda. Anyhoo, I give my descriptionto the officer...it is a thorough description, I was extremely close to the guy, after all. We point out that sometimes, across the street, several people often arrive empty handed and leave with new backpacks so maybe, just maybe, this guy did have the wrong address and that they(RCMP) should maybe, just maybe watch what's going on over there...and we head out of town for our trip, thankful for our great neighbours who will watch our house and water our plants. Yesterday, my first full day home, the RCMP call to ask if I will come down and look through some photos, they may have a suspect in custody. So, hey, wow, they are doing something...making an effort, right? (An aside here: One of my neighbours was verbally threatened with bodily harm and property damage for approaching/confronting a pimp last week. The RCMP were provided with license plate numbers and a vivid description by 6 neighbours and no arrests were made!!!!) So I go down there and wait around 25 minutes, even though THEY called me. I am led to a room with a video camera filming me, a detective who knows nothing about my case, has not read the file, shows me the photo lineup... uuummm, my description was a white guy...white guy, blond hair turning white shoulder length, kinda curling, blue-grey eyes...older-ish like55-60, or a real hard livin' late 40's kind of look, know what I mean? We flip through about four photos and I said to the detective..."Did you get the right photos? Is this the right file?" Page after page of younger, crew-cuttish native men...the only resemblance was that hardliving look to the faces. Eight more pages like that...all younger, all native. So the detective sends in another detective to talk to me...she says "sometimes in the stress...bad lighting...the whatever"...C'mon. I said, "did you read the file?" Nope, but there had been a rash of b&e's that night, same m.o., the suspect was native. As if that explains how my white guy can turn into their native...and are they then only looking for natives? ARGH. However, as she walked me out, she asked about that night, and did he say anything? I reiterated how he really seemed to believe he had been invited and that we were supposed to have a backpack for him...then I told her about the house across the street(whose address is one number higher than ours). She asked my address and then looked me in the eye and said..."the white house?" So they know, right? They know.
So next entry is about camping and fun times.
until then.

ah, c'mon now....

Hey, what's up with the whole photo thing right now? I come home to find I can only load 5 photos....and since I didn't KNOW that, I have loaded the wrong photos, out of order. When I take them off to load the other photos, so my story is in the correct order, Blogger won't load them at all. WTF? Pardon my language, but this is a pain...and I even got up early to catch up here and still have time to make zucchini bread with all the zukes in the garden we came home to...feels like a Monday, know what I mean? Argh.

home at last

Hello to everyone!!!!!
Holy moly...I am home and just as busy as before I left...in fact, it feels like we never left at all. There are a million other things I should be doing and I guess that Blogger agrees because I can't seem to load my photos...and what's a story without photos?!? On that note, I guess the Blogger Gods are telling me to get off my bum and finish up some chores around here that we didn't get finished before we left....so, when I can load some photos, I will be back...talk to you then.