Ann’s Weblog

New Year started out just fine… dinner with friends at their home, and water supply restored to our house. The problem was a broken fitting within the well.

Sunday morning brunch with several close friends was fun too. However, after stopping at the bank and then the grocery store, Gary’s truck wouldn’t start. It had caused a problem a few days ago when we had the hassle with the water, but then seemed to be without issues after all. It explained itself by quitting at the IGA parking lot… we physically pushed the truck to a place which was out-of-the-way, and called a friend.

The “boys” switched out the battery, and then it was determined that the alternator was the more likely cause of the problem. We hoped that we could get home, but ended up stranded, briefly, on the highway. Our friend was following, so we didn’t have to walk or wait in the bitter cold wind, and now the truck has been towed to a service station for repair… whenever.

We still have a friendly house-and-yard full of dogs. You might remember Colleen, who stays indoors with us no matter what the weather:

And this is her partner in the same household, Wally; we haven’t known Wally as long as we have Colleen, but they are a GREAT pair, honest in spirit and well behaved.

On the night after New Year’s Day, we had Zev and Sharon over for an “Indian-style” feast… that is, I did the best I could to serve some good ethnic food. We had Butter Chicken, Dry Spiced Pork Curry, vegetables in coconut milk and dhana jeera, some chick-pea dish that I forget the title of, raita, pappadum, saffron basmati rice, and mango chutney. Gary had actually found a white Okanagan wine which was labelled, “Great with mild Indian curry.”. Our friends brought a red wine which was also lovely with the meal. We just had vanilla ice cream for dessert, as we were all quite full.

Sharon has inherited her dear late mother’s dog, who is more teddy bear than canine. Murphy is about as angelic as a dog can be, and is very attached to both Sharon and Zev:

All of our dinner parties are overseen by Lady, and she gets to watch us from her “own chair” unless we run out of seating for humans:

Thanks for checking in… ~ Ann

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

Okay, I’m back now… banking done, lunch eaten (good lunch, great visit), winning lottery ticket cashed ($2), and grocery shopping accomplished.

Here are some more pics:

Tika, a “long-term” boarder whose mistress is working at a nearby resort, is happy with us, and we with her. She goes in and out of the house just like one of our own, because she doesn’t leave the yard or even our sight. While doing her usual walkabout yesterday, she found a horse hoof trimming… a treat that many dogs enjoy for good chewing:

We finally had to let the little puppy “Molly” go home, but of course I reminded her family that we are always available for dog sitting should they get in a bind again. Molly loved our dog Lady, and Lady truly enjoyed romping with the pup:

One of the things that happened this week was that our sofa got reupholstered. Just last Monday we took our couch and two chairs to our friend who does that work, and he is already halfway done. He shyly suggested we pick up said couch in order to give him room to do the chairs…

I include this photo more to give my daughters an idea about the colour, than anything else. It’s a difficult hue to describe, as it is called “Avocado”, but is actually the colour of the RIND of avocado, and not the “green” of the flesh.

Gary has been busy building some basic doggy shelters to replace most that we already have, nine altogether. I have four in my shop in various stages of getting painted. This green is most unusual… it was a “mis-tint” for half price from the hardware store, and I really like it. It is a sort of “organic” colour, I think. When I run out of that paint, I’ll choose another, perhaps strange paint, for the rest of the houses. Perhaps there’s a rich purple in the mistints section.

I so love our cats. Pictured is Gilbert, who is resting on her ladder, as content as can be. She isn’t cold: she’d be allowed in the house, but prefers to be out hunting or surveying the world from the roof of the house, or other perches. On the right is the cat “Fiona”, also a spayed female, who was given to me by a physician who was moving out of town. Fiona lives in my grooming shop as she believes herself to be a princess.

Pictured below is Tugger, who has been a long term guest. I was worried that he had become a “lifer”, that he had been abandoned, but finally I heard from his owner. Tugger will be “sprung” from here by the end of January. He is a good boy and we have enjoyed his company.

I’ve come to the end of the pictures that I took yesterday. I should be out painting doghouses in my shop, but it’s almost time to put some supper together! I might rather watch “Holmes on Homes”, play Scrabulous and cook, maybe Chat too. Also, I had a delightful visit on the phone with my eldest daughter in Calgary, who was reading this blog even as I was working on this entry. I miss all three of my darling wee ones all of the time.

Thanks for reading my blog! Love, Ann/Mom

If you are at this Blog but don’t know my website addy, this is it:
“Ann’s Website”

Above is “Bear”, a terrier poodle mix who has been a client for several years. When his mistress brings him to me, Bear’s heart is pounding, and he shakes and looks terrified. As soon as I start his “spa” treatment, he is absolutely fine, relaxed and cooperative. When Bear is groomed, his coat resembles a Persian Lamb coat, which I’m familiar with because my mom had one, in the same colour!

What is Lady thinking? That the guinea pig is “lunch”, more than the kibble in front of her? When I hold “Squeak” on my lap, Lady looks anxiously at the pig without trying to paw, lick or bite him. I don’t know what would happen if the two were without supervision, and I don’t want to take the chance of the pig suffering harm.

Yippee, my middle daughter is coming back from Argentina in 10 days. I will go down to Calgary to visit with all three daughters and my stepmom. I think that my travelling daughter was tempted to stay in South America, and I’m sad if she doesn’t want to come “home”, but it will be wonderful to see her.

I groomed two Shih Tzus yesterday, and a large Golden Retriever today. I have been neglecting to take pictures of EACH client/boarder. Lately I’ve found it impossible to log on to my website’s administration pages to change things THERE. As WELL, I managed to “screw up” several pages on my website, and had to remove the links TO THEM, until I can understand where I went wrong (they are showing up as pages of HTML or CODE, only!).

*Sigh* I might just have to CHAT in the Yahoo Gardening Room today.

Thanks for stopping at my weblog. Please note that I managed to add links to my “ARCHIVES”, although I haven’t figured out what has become of all the blog pictures I once had!! There’s always a new quandary where computers are concerned. ~ Ann