Ann’s Weblog

Had another good day at the McBride Community Market. I sold almost 3 dozen jars of jam, some raspberries by-the-pint, and large green onions. Gary harvested the garlic this morning, and I grabbed 30 heads and sold all of them; I also have on my table some dried garlic, and sold a couple of 60 gm. bags of that.

During the last couple of weeks, I’ve picked some bouquets for the seniors’ lodge, post office, and ourselves. Tomorrow I’ll arrange and deliver three or four bouquets to the family of a couple who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We ARE invited to the dinner and dance, but that’s not why I’m taking flowers. I just like to spread the cheer.

I groomed another of my favourite customers yesterday, Taffy. She and our dog, Lady, have a good time together; I believe Taffy thinks it’s a “play date” every time she comes here.

I’m pretty tired again… sorry I always whine about that. I downloaded quite a bunch of picture from the camera, hardly any of them good “photography”, I’ll sort them out to share another time.

Here’s a favourite FELINE boarder: Malibu wasn’t too upset at having to spend time with us. Yes, he only has 3 legs, but gets around very well. The picture on right is Malibu dozing on my lap.

Tonight, relating to the Garden Chat room, there was more drama, at least on a personal level. To my chagrin, I’ve been accused of back-stabbing and gossiping in a particular incident. I was trying to find out “facts” in the matter, when evidently I should have jumped to a “friends” defence without knowing what had happened. Certainly I should have made no comment, and instead got caught in the middle of something, yet another chat/online “something”. I’m told that I’m disloyal, cowardly, weak, and unpopular. I was told that I was about to be reported to the “McBride Health Inspector” and also turned in for not having a GST number and for having “illegal” boarding and grooming. HUH? This is what my online “friend” threatens when he thinks he has been betrayed. I felt blind-sided. However, it felt familiar. I have been this way before, perhaps with the same chatter using a different nickname. Maybe I’m even all of those things I’ve been accused of. Plus “not very clever”, and insecure, and extremely boring too. OUCH.

As I’ve said before, I believe not one of us is unfailingly gentle and good, but most of us do our best not to hurt others or cause disruption, whether in “online” communities or real-life ones. I’m disappointed that someone is disappointed in me.

Hope you are all well. ~ Ann

Yesterday when Gary answered the phone, he took a message from the health inspector: his office had decided they would cover the cost of the more expensive test done on the jam. Therefore I will only have to pay the $6 with tax that the lab charges for the pH testing alone.

Considering how furious I was that I’d have to pay for the analysis in the first place, compared to the almost $49 that I was billed, this seems like a total reprieve.

Yesterday I made Saskatoon Syrup, and Wild Raspberry & Merlot Jelly. What I made with the Saskatoons was supposed to be jam, but it hasn’t set yet, and might be ‘dessert topping’ instead… still yummy. I used natural apple pectin which I made with our own apples last year. The jelly set well and tastes scrumptious.

Today I’ll try to get the gooseberries picked… what a bumper crop!! Gooseberries are very high in pectin, so I’ll try making that jam without Certo. The raspberries, both tame and wild, are ready for picking again too. What bounty!

Gary weeded some rows in the vegetable garden yesterday, and now I have a row of German Kale without weeds. I think kale might be something I should make spanakopita out of, or pick, wash and sell at the Farmer’s Market; our friend Pete gave me seed for it and this is the first time I’ve grown it. The row of romaine lettuce didn’t come up… not ONE plant grew. I’d say “serves me right” for planting OLD seed, but the seed for the kohlrabi which grew, the kale, carrots and other things, was just as old. There will be many many pounds of peas and beans to sell at the Market. At this time of year there is endless “work” in the garden and yard, but it’s wonderful.

The kennels are full again, and that’s good too. We have a nice bunch who is quiet all night, and they all eat well, play and walk with me enthusiastically and otherwise seem content. In addition to ten dogs, we have a docile cat, a cockatiel and a budgie bird as guests.

I’m antsy to get outside as it looks like a nice day. It’s a bit cool now, but warming up of course; it’s sunny and the prediction is 22 degrees C.. The mosquitoes have abated!! I picked red currants yesterday without getting bitten more than about three times. YIPPEE.

I wanted to tell you about the change in the invoice for the analysis of the jam. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t write in this blog when I’m so outraged; I should remember what a difference a day makes!

~ Ann

The iMac is back from the shop and working perfectly, thank goodness. I’m trying to mark the things that are NOT annoyances, today. I’m working on the laptop at the moment, but I’ll try to do pictures and blogging on the Mac soon.

The weather has been muggy/clammy and windy today, with 100% chance of mosquitoes. The windy weather makes our Internet connection “intermittent”. That is irritating, but really no cause for grief.

The real aggravation of the day was finally receiving the lab results for my jam and the invoice at the same time. Before last week’s Farmer’s Market in McBride, I finally got a call back from the Health Inspector to say that my jam sample had “passed”. What I wasn’t prepared for, after the Inspector had said I’d be billed for the analysis (probably only about $6 said he), was an invoice for $48.75!

Evidently, the pH determination on the jam costs $6 and tax, and the “Water Activity” analysis costs $40 and tax. Samples for sale to the public have to pass only one or the other, so I would think that the laboratory should test for pH first, and if the sample “fails”, then perform the expensive second test. The health inspector concurs, but didn’t say he was sympathetic. I phoned his office so that he might be better informed when he travels, confiscates samples, and tells people that the ministry pays for the “shipping (picking up of) and the analysis”.

The rest of my conversation with the inspector went ’round and ’round the issues. It’s too complex to rehash in my weblog, and the more I replay it in my mind, the more confused I get. In one conversation we were talking about botulism being the prime concern, and another time we were talking about molds. One time we were talking about sticking to recipes and methods on the packaging of the pectins (being reliable) and another time he was saying that those were safe for families but not necessarily for the public.

I’m sick of this issue and tired of hearing myself whine. I’m disappointed that the person who commented on this issue in my blog didn’t speak to me in person about it. At any rate, the public protection is in place, as if we all need saving from each other’s pot luck dishes and jams, so I don’t have much choice other than to comply.

I’ve been annoyed by a bunch of things today that I can’t write about here. This made me feel sorry for myself and tears of anger didn’t help. Eventually, I went out picking saskatoonberries, which was relaxing; the berries on our tree in the yard were pathetic, but I crossed a field to find an almost-forgotten “wild” Saskatoon bush, and the fruit was plump and juicy and easy to pick. I’ve settled down quite a bit. The small irritations of the day added up to more than the sum of them, and tomorrow is another day.

~ Ann

Sorry I’ve neglected you for so long. Our beloved iMac is BACK in the shop, and I’m afraid I’m not as motivated to do the photo handling and blogging on this little Dell laptop. While it’s perfect for what I bought it for (chatting) and, as we’ve learned, “back-up”, it is not a joy to use as is the Macintosh computer. The repair shop put in a defective part, evidently, as the iMac is back in the shop for the same problem that it went there for in the first place.

We’ve been busy, Gary with his horseshoeing and me with the pets and plants. I had dogs to groom 6 days last week, and the Farmer’s Market on Friday. I’m trying to think if anything profound happened here since I last made a blog entry, but … nope. Most days are a joy in their own way.

I’ve made reservations for us to attend a play that our talented friend Sharon has produced and is acting in. We’ll travel to Enderby for this event, and stay across the street at a motel; it’ll be a rare treat for us. We plan to go in mid-August with another dear friend Mary. I haven’t been more than 40 km. from home since January when I went to Calgary, and Gary and I haven’t travelled together farther than that… for even longer. These are choices we make, and I have a reticence about leaving the kennels in anyone’s care except Gary’s or Rhonda’s… thank goodness Rhonda is available. She’s another close friend.

I worked most of Saturday grooming dogs, and Sunday afternoon too. I hate to let anyone down: actually it’s the DOGS that I’m trying to help. Some dogs are really suffering from the heat and need extra coat (sometimes matts) lopped off. Owners often work all weekdays, so to me, it’s good business to accomodate their needs on the weekends.

Some folks from Prince George, who have boarded their other dog here, brought me ANGUS to groom on Saturday, while they golfed at our local course:

Isn’t Angus a noble dog? He was so gentle and sweet. I left him a “combover” rather than shave him bare all over.

This is a “little” dog I groomed last week. She is a good-natured dog, and I’m glad to be part of making her more comfortable, but I’m always afraid that her heart won’t stand the business of the truck ride and the grooming. She is probably twice the body weight that she should be; she pants constantly and sometimes her tongue looks cyanoic (bluish) while I work. At times her belly drags in the dirt, though sometimes she seems to be able to hold it up. She DOES feel better with the very short haircut.

I took some flower pictures yesterday:

I’ve run out of time for blogging… work calls! I might be back later.

Thanks for checking in. ~ Ann

Good heavens, it’s disturbing how the time flies. Weeks seem to evaporate. Every morning when I wake up I have to get my bearings and decide what day it is, after who I am and where I am.

I don’t think I told you something interesting and positive which happened early this week. While we were driving with Paul and Lori on Monday (Canada Day holiday), we notice that one of the street trees (on Main Street) had been demolished.

On Tuesday when I had a manicure and facial, I questioned my friend the esthetician in case she knew what fate had befallen the tree. She told me what SHE had heard, that someone had driven drunk into the tree so hard that the tow truck had to LIFT the vehicle from the splintered trunk! Fortunately the driver wasn’t hurt, though hopefully she has learned from this.

This is the really NEAT part of the saga: the Village of McBride has purchased the replacement tree from me! The office/administrative staff chose a Russian Olive tree; it wasn’t the largest tree I have in stock, but they wanted a contrast. I hope the guys who do all the maintenance keep it watered while it gets established.

This is a Russian Olive tree (many years older than the one planted this week in McBride:

There is a terrible mosquito problem in our Valley, which I’ve alluded to in earlier posts. Gary has set up a “smudge” for the horses, and I continue to be impressed that they know enough to stand in the smoke to escape the bugs:

My daughter, visiting briefly before flying up to a geologists’ camp to work, has walked in the door!! Byeeee! ~ Ann

Had a big day in the dog grooming shop; I’m trying not to make anyone wait too long. The morning started with a small dog-butt emergency: a little shih tzu was messy under his tail, for one thing. I didn’t even ask for that owner to wait, but told her to bring the dog before my first appointment of the day.

And what a delightful dog “Jigger” was. He is a 4 month old purebred, and he was as quiet as he knew how to be. I was patient with him, and it’s all part of getting used to being groomed. His owner brushes him and cares for him very well, but he had had some, uh… bowel trouble, so I helped out with the clean-up.

My first scheduled client is a shih tzu cross; the owners hadn’t brought Snoopy to me for quite awhile, partly because there WAS, for a time, a groomer closer to them. I was happy to have him back, and he is a dream to clip and bathe.

Then my dear friend brought her wonderful border collies to be groomed. Both Bobby Jo and Timmy are a little timid of the process, though they are stoic and obedient. Excellent care is provided for them in all ways at home, so it was not an ordeal to bathe, trim and fluff them up! It was nice to have a however-short visit with my friend, the dogs’ owner, too!

Along came another Shih Tzu to round out the day. The little dog, “Boss” is visiting in McBride while his owner is giving cancer the best fight he’s able to. I was glad to see Boss again because HE had been taken to the Valemount groomer as well; he’s a good little boy and I gave him a short, practical but CUTE clip for the summer.

I managed to thaw some ground beef during the day and cook some stroganoff, basmati rice and sauteed mushrooms for dinner, and then I was too tired to eat much. I don’t need it, anyway, as I’m always fighting extra pounds.

Now that I’m showered and in my comfy lounge wear, I’m going to try to get into my favourite chat room. If that fails, I’ll just read my new Ann Rule book.

I’m joyfully awaiting the visit of my daughter, who will be in the Valley for a little while for work. I won’t see THAT much OF her, but any time with her will be awesome.

Take care, friends. ~ Ann

This evening I had the privilege of grooming a lovely little dog, Shyla. She was furtive at first but then relaxed and seemed to enjoy her “spa” treatment:

As usual, these photos can be enlarged in order to get the “whole” picture or print them out.

It has been a full weekend and a full day. I’m really tired, but after this am going to shower and then CHAT in my treasured “Garden Room” online.

This is Uno, who you’ve met before. He is here because his owner is ill; he can stay as long as the family needs him to. Although in this shot he might appear to be baring his teeth, he is actually smiling and “sitting up” for a home made dog biscuit, after which he came in the house from his kennel. He’s happy, although now I see his harness is askew.

Above is the Belgian Shepherd “Copper”. Isn’t he stunning? He is the “Turveren” type. Copper was with us for the long weekend, and I shampooed, brushed and trimmed him. He’s dignified through all of it.

These German Shepherds were with us on Friday and Saturday:

On the left is Boone, who is a 4 month old male, and on right is Beauty, an 11 month old female. Both were just as gentle as can be, and many who came through the yard admired them. Although they were always vigilant, they didn’t bark without good reason.

Gary put new shoes on his Morgan riding horse “Bud” today:

Our friends gave us this doghouse because their dogs didn’t seem to want to use it, and though I couldn’t seem to get my little dog “Buddy” to STAY in it while I took a picture, he most definitely enjoys it! Buddy is getting old… he is 15 this summer! He seemed ill a few weeks ago, but since I shaved off his heavy coat, seems puppyish in both appearance and demeanor:

The same dear friends who let us have the doghouse also let us take care of their two dogs this long weekend. You’ve met Chico before, but this is the first time that Jenny has been here since I’ve kept a blog:

Okay, I’m on a roll here. This is my truck as it came HOME from the Farmer’s Market on Friday afternoon. It might look full, but in fact I sold quite a few plants that day. I’ll take tubs of plants each market day whether I ever take food for the public again, and will also take produce when some is ready.

On Friday, Gary’s Father’s Day gift arrived at Sears… I had ordered him a new recliner chair. I find it comfortable, and last night when there were guests here for dinner, each person had a “turn” in it! It’s not made of platinum, but our friends seemed to think it a pretty good resting spot.

We had a wonderful group of friends here last night. We had, in one room, a film-maker, a theatre director/horseman, a writer/singer/actor/theatre company owner, a teacher/insurance broker, crown prosecutor, pharmacy technician and a gentleman farmer/horseman, all extremely accomplished in their main fields but each in MANY other endeavours as well. I didn’t include Gary and I because you’re acquainted with what OUR pursuits are. If I might say so myself, dinner was yummy (rosemary roast turkey, rice pilaf, gingered yams, garlic bread, salad made by Sharon and Zev, and baklava for dessert). The wine was plentiful, and the conversations all fascinating, constant and often loud. It was a busy and wonderful dinner party.

Gary’s uncle Paul and his girlfriend Lori stayed overnight and this morning we went out for breakfast, which was very nice. Afterward, we went to the Whistlestop Gallery , and then stopped at McBride’s very cool old-fashioned ice cream shop (which is run by the children of a friend who I’ve known since she was a child). Then Paul and Lori were on their way back to home, and I finished grooming Copper and scurried around doing other stuff.

Well, as usual (I’m sure you get tired of hearing it), I’m weary and am going to clean up and get some rest. I might also visit with my online friends of course. Thanks for checking in with me. ~Ann

I didn’t take the camera to the Social last night. Aside from the mosquitoes causing some misery, everyone I spoke to had a pretty good time.

There were so many functions in the Valley this Canada Day Weekend, that I thought the Ice Cream Social would have a huge turnout. Instead, the conflicts of schedules, and PERHAPS even the huge mosquito outbreak, kept some people away; there was a “medium” crowd of about 400 folks. Many of us stayed indoors while we had our treats of ice cream and other sweets, and then went outside for more visiting and coffee. The bugs were horrendous, as they have been in many spots in our region.

It was a good visiting evening, and Gary and I didn’t stay for any dancing as we were both tired. The health inspector was not in attendance at the Ice Cream Social, but our local MLA, Shirley Bond, was. Bless her heart for coming out to such a controversial function; she seemed to be truly enjoying herself.

On with my day! We’re expecting several friends for dinner tonight… it was my chance to cook the 23 pound farm-raised turkey which was resting in the freezer. We have rice pilaf, gingered yams and other things on the menu, and one friend is bringing a salad (we LOVE her salads!). For dessert we’ll have baklava, a new batch that I made late last night. Gary’s uncle, who is more like a brother, and his girlfriend, who is more like a sister-in-law, are on their way here. I am so excited about the crowd who will be here for the evening, and we’ll either hide out in the house (because of the mosquitoes!), or perhaps, later, sit around a bonfire (NOT singing Kumbaya). ~ Ann

Since no name was left with this comment to my last post, I’ll respond in this blog…

“The Inspector is just doing his job and any other market in the province has its vendors follow the same guidelines. You have to look at it from the perspective of the buyer. Just because you may follow food safe guidelines doesn’t make it safe. Young children and weak immune systems make consume your products and they have to be 100% safe. You should have nothing to worry about and not even stress about it if you are up to date with your food safe certification and adhere to those guidelines. As for the Ice Cream social, I have gone for years and a few times there was questionable food handling. Now I just eat the Ice Cream.”

I have been a “buyer” at the markets and a consumer of food served in similar venues for a lot longer than I’ve been a vendor. In the case of the Ice Cream Social, I’m not sure what questionable practice you observed, but there has never been a case of food poisoning in the 30 years of the tradition, in a person of any age. In the case of the ethnic potluck in Fort St. James, there had been no problems with shared food in the 15 years that they had held that Canada Day function.

When I discussed the whole regulatory system with the man who held the inspector position last year, he gave me an example of a high-end restaurant, employing a professional chef, whose practices led to illness in 50 people. The chef claimed “This has never happened before!”. MY reaction was that, if the restaurants are making people ill, perhaps the Ministry should be policing them more than the community members who share food.

I do want to offer that I am a kind person and generally thought of as “polite”. To suggest that I don’t realize that the Inspector is just “doing his job” is condescending. I did not launch any personal attack, and in fact would have enjoyed a visit under other circumstances, and to the last health inspector, stated, “I realize that you have a job to do.”. On the other hand, we are being regulated in almost every phase of our lives, “protected” by our government, ostensibly, and this has gotten alarming and tiresome. We have responsibility PERSONALLY for what we consume and for many other aspects of our lives.

All well, it is time to go for breakfast at one of McBride’s “high-end” restaurants… thanks for reading my weblog; it’s interesting who visits here, and it’s fine if we don’t always agree. Often there are valid aspects to all facets of an issue. ~Ann