Ann’s Weblog

I went to Calgary last weekend, and had a wonderful visit with my three daughters. Of course I did spend some time with my stepmother, who is now in a nursing home; that is somewhat saddening, but we did find some bright moments.

There is some very rugged country en route:

These are views of the Banff-Jasper Parkway, which is majestically scenic at any time of year, but which can be treacherous and subject to sudden changes of weather and road conditions. I was very lucky this trip, as there was compact snow on the road in places, but mostly bare and dry or bare and wet but not icy. And, as I’m fond of saying, there were “not too many OTHER idiots on the road!”.

Every time one stops along the Parkway, one is greeted by a raven looking for a handout; now I plan for it, though I’m not fond of ravens. This one, as large as a housecat, received a brownie:

The Pet Hostel is not too busy at this time… it’s a little break from the pace. I’m glad that the garden and garden centre have been “put to bed” for the winter. In some ways, it would be nice to grow vegetables and flowers all year ’round, but I would have to give up something in order to “keep up”. As it is, I’m thinking that the summers are too hectic, but this year the weather was wonderful and the bugs, very few, and the memories are precious. Shelly’s and Merv’s wedding, along with the party here in August, and the associated time with family, were all high points, of course.

I’ve had a few dogs to groom this week, and have neglected to do photo shoots after most of them. This is a darling wee puppy from Valemount, a new customer for me, and related to some shih tzus that I groom regularly. This is Daisy:

I really have to run along and work again now… I just have a beloved regular client to groom today, “Mickey”. I have fallen behind on Raggedy Ann doll requests and MUST get sewing again this winter, along with catching up to bookwork and taxes.

Take care, my friends, and have a good day. ~ Love, Ann

Okay, it’s really never too late. This morning I had my very old dog put down; he had suffered some strokes. Although he seemed quite hearty for a guy his age (about 18 years), we knew he would have a miserable winter. I dreaded that one day there would be an emergency, where Buddy simply couldn’t get up or otherwise appeared to suffer. I’ve second-guessed myself a lot since I made the appointment for him, because at the time he was staggering and falling, then seemed to recover somewhat since then. But the deed is done now. He was a dear dog who was cheerful and well-behaved his whole long life.

BUDDY

I’ve missed a bunch of days (weeks) that I was quickly going to make a post “Life is wonderful…” or some such. Life IS wonderful and has been great around here…. lovely summer, enough paying work and other work, great relationships including a good man (BEST, in my book): all has been well. Even so, I’m thinking that this might be an autumn or winter of “loss”… I had an 18 year old dog, and have a 23 year old cat, an ancient guinea pig, and a number of treasured human friends who are unwell. It’s better to be optimistic even about these things, but surely it’s alright to feel prepared.

This morning a dog went home (Max, a large yellow lab who was a DARLING) and a fine old boy, Rowsah, arrived. We also have Pilot, a golden retriever, and Razz, a chocolate labrador, Bella, who is Susan’s foster dog from Calgary, and Sophie, our good friends’ border collie cross. As well, we have Bodhi, who has stayed with us many times and is very content, although he cannot be loose when the cats are about.

Last week, a friend brought an injured kitten to our house, late in the evening. It was hard to tell how badly hurt the animal WAS, as there was blood obscuring its facial features. There seemed to be no broken limbs nor other injuries OTHER than to the cheek and lips, which seemed very odd, since the kitten was found in the middle of the highway. I offered to take the cat overnight so that it could be contained and kept warm, and we could decide in the morning what should happen if it lived the night. I’m not a vet and usually decline to have any part of this kind of incident… it is no help to an animal to delay treatment by a professional OR euthanasia if that is what is indicated.

However, this story has a great ending! We kept the kitten in a large airline kennel while it started its recovery and I gave it penicillin, and in a few days, he was eating and wandering around the house soliciting affection from Lady. Yesterday the friend who found the kitten came to adopt him.

Some PEOPLE should be euthanized. We decided that the most likely way that cat incurred the injuries it did was if it was THROWN from a vehicle on the highway.

The garden is all “done” except for Gary’s planting-of-the-garlic. We had wonderful crops, even corn, during this warm summer. I wish we could start from Spring again… everything worked out so well right from my buying trip with Eunice (for trees and shrubs), through Shelly & Merv’s wedding in Newfoundland and the celebratory garden party here, to the Farmer’s Markets and all. Seeing my daughters and Gary’s daughter more than usual through the summer was terrific!

I’ve  sold almost 500 jars of jam this year so far. Thanks to Donna at the local coffee shop, “Beanery 2″, I continue to have requests and sales, and I keep up the best I can using frozen fruit.

An elderly friend died yesterday, or more specifically, the husband of a dear lady who is a good friend. Although there will be MANY family members visiting the house in the following days and weeks, I did manage to get over to show my sympathy. I took jam and flowers (the very last of the blooms) yesterday, baked bread last night, and delivered it this morning. They will be feeding a lot of people, and though I know they can afford anything they need, the home-made goods seemed appreciated.

Bodhi

Sophie

View from driveway '09

Ginger & Turbo

Rowsah

I’m finding the blog program and/or the browser I’m using to be quite quirky at the moment, and I don’t have the patience. I was trying to “line up” all the thumbnails, and I keep accidentally deleting pictures I wanted to change the position of, and other mysterious feats. It used to be, in this weblog service, that a “Thumbnail” could open into a picture that was the original size. Am going to leave this for another day or week. Gary is home now, and we are going to go perform burial rites.

Love you all for visiting. Thank you for your friendship. XXX