Ann’s Weblog

Today the little pomeranian “Cinder” went home to Prince George. Oh my goodness, we will miss her sassy and sweet presence. Here she is sharing Lady’s chair:

The bathroom renovation is coming along as it should. The gyproc got finished and primed on Wednesday and I stayed up late putting a coat of paint on after Gary did the “trim”. Then this afternoon I put another coat on. We debated about putting a rich, dark, rust colour on the walls, to more closely coordinate with the tiles, but since I had already bought this paint along with a similar grout, we thought we’d give it a try:

It looks very different with the light off and the light on…

Tomorrow the electrician comes to complete the work on fan, pot lights, and switches and then Gary and a friend can do the tiles (when schedules permit). That small window will be replaced one day soon. A vanity and coordinating cabinets are being built and the countertop is stashed behind our sofa. A new “Toto” dual flush toilet will be installed once the tiles are done. It feels like “coming down the backstretch”.

Christmas? I can’t believe it’s mid-December. I can’t feel the Christmas spirit. I don’t feel like even putting up a tree, let alone other decorations. I’ve been quite content with most of my gift choices, and hope to see all 3 daughters over the holidays, but that’s not a “given”. Up until and including the Holidays, we will have extra pets to board, which is always what I want.

Things have been fine, but today I had a minor meltdown when my sewing machine refused to sew! I have cleaned it, changed needles, changed bobbins and threads and consulted the manual. There isn’t a “sewing machine shop” closer than 200 km.. So… it might be that I can’t get some Raggedy Anns completed nor a project for a gift for one of my daughters. I cracked under the strain and cried; perhaps an idea will come to me or the damned machine will magically smarten up. If I feel ready for it tomorrow, I will try again.

We have our friends’ little Havanese dogs with us, so I’ll try to get some current pictures posted soon. The owners have gone on a Mexican cruise.

Talk to you all soon. Love, ~ Ann

Pictured above are Cinder (and Cinder YAWNING!), Rosie, Sarah cat, Maverick and Sophie. As usual, to see or print out a bigger photo, just click on the thumbnail image. This is only part of the lovely lot we have at the Pet Hostel, so I’ll try to get more portraits done later.

Cinder is a diminuitive pup, a four month old pomeranian. She is dainty and quiet in the house, and outside she plays hard and is afraid of nothing! She was constantly inviting our dog, Lady, to play, and trying to beat Lady to a ball that I threw. Cindy was yawning in the second picture, not making a ferocious face.

Pictured next is Rosie, who has taken a little time to warm up to us. We don’t force ourselves on such a “reserved” guest, but take care of her needs, walk her on the leash, and talk to her reassuringly. A most unusual thing happens with Rosie’s eyes; when she is first here for a visit (she has become a regular), her eyes look completely black, as if only pupil is showing. As she relaxes, her brown eyes sparkle again and look less haunting… she appears quite composed in this photo and happily jumped up on the dog house to be brushed and petted (and photographed). She eats well while she’s with us, and seems less furtive each visit.

The pretty panda-colured cat is “Sarah”. She’s sweet and affectionate, and content when in her cat kennel. Sarah looks quite regal in this shot, don’t you think?

Maverick is a gorgeous Golden Retriever who is well-behaved and dignified, but with a great sense of fun as well. He was frolicking about until I told him “Down”, for the picture-taking, and it tugged at my heart to see him look so worried!

And you might remember “Sophie”, who has been a regular guest and favourite. Sophie was born here, a daughter to my American Eskimo female, fathered by a handsome border collie from a nearby farm. She is gentle and quiet, and always welcome to “board” in our house, as you see her here.

My perennial roots & some plants arrived this week, and I’ve opened boxes and watered some of the pots; they are all in my grooming shop as the temperatures still are well below freezing at night. I got a phonecall from the nursery stock wholesaler: evidently I had forgotten to fax my order in November! Therefore, I will not get all of what I wanted and needed for trees and shrubs, but I’ll send that along right away. It’s all starting to prey on my mind again… after a winter of lovely hibernation, I’m going “from 0 to 60″ suddenly, not only in terms of hours of work, but charges (working capital) on my credit cards. I have to decide where all the plants and nursery stock should GO, in order to make a “wannabe garden centre” really pay. I know one thing for certain: I couldn’t have done, and WASN’T doing, most of this alone.

I must run along to get some “real” work done, as opposed to the very fun stuff of writing to you nice folks. Gary and I started trying to straighten out the greenhouse yesterday; it was “useable” at the onset, and as we worked on it, the wind came up (and the temperature plummetted while the snow started again)… the structure ended up a pile of twisted pipes and torn covering AGAIN. If only I could find a grant or other funds to build a large, PROPER greenhouse.

Take care, everyone. I so appreciate you checking in. Love, Ann

P.S. The lion’s name is “Dioko”.