Pomeranian Christmas Puppies

Here are two of Teresa's pups and Quinton under our Christmas tree. Quinton decorated the trees with the stars - all at his height. He also played on the xbox for quite a while, watched the hockey game, ran around on a sugar high, and handed out puppies for people to love. Then wanted to be carried out to the car because he was tired. Typical evening.

Dad's First Marlies Game

We got to the Ricoh Coliseum with plenty of time to spare, to line up for the Jiri Tlusty Bobblehead. Dad, Arlene, Kevin & myself found our way to our seats - platinum's centre near the penalty box. There was the fast skating, the fights, the scoring and the Timbits hockey. All the makings for a great Sunday to spend with family.
Dad enjoyed the game, getting into the yelling when the Marlies scored, laughing when the Timbits were skating & falling, and jumping a few times when the puck, the players hit the boards near us.
Even though the Marlies lost it was an amazing game and definitely we will go again as a group.

Hockey Ballet

A quick snap of the Marlies that shows some of the warm up. Note the two players doing stretches at the bench. If I were to do that, there would be ripping and tearing of the groin as well as many pictures taken and posted as proof that some things are never meant to be.  

Marlies Game

Just a quick post. We went to the Marlies game on Saturday courtesy of Kevin and watched a great game. The Marlies won and it was quite an exciting game. As usual watching Justin Pogge do his ritual before the start of each period was a highlight. Later that evening we watched the Leafs lose. 

Halloween 2008

It was an easy theme. Elvis making a comeback at a small diner after years in the grave. Elvis, formally a dancing Santa, 3 greasers - formally vampyrs, monks and convicts, skeleton girls now bee bop girls and the assorted body parts that visit every Halloween. Since my sister Arlene forced me to organize my bins of Halloween items with a list and labels it was a snap to find which ghoulish item was needed. Arlene dressed the bee bop girls, the greasers and made the outfit for Elvis. Jennifer & Mom carved the pumpkins, Dad helped put up the houses as well as videotaping the night. Charlene was on makeup duty and Ashley manned the camera. Adam & Kevin helped put up the decorations and John helped take them down. Bill was our resident ghoul greaser scaring the older kids as they went up to the diners kitchen. Trista was the trophy wife of one of the group with the mink stole and floozy style. The group home came over for a visit and Lori danced with Elvis for a bit. It was a warm night and all went well. Lincoln briefly dressed as Elvis but quickly rolled out of the costume before anyone could laugh at him.

I Got to See a Leafs Game & They Won!

On Friday I woke up with a wicked sore throat. I couldn't swallow without pain and my head felt all cottony inside. It was a day of fielding calls from work and trying to keep it together long enough to make it to 5 p.m. I won't go into the call that came after 6 p.m., I shouldn't have answered it. Later I got a call from my sister and she had a spare ticket to see the Leafs play against the Senators and wondered if I would like to go. Cold be damned, I wanted to see that game. So on Saturday I plied myself with cold tablets, nose spray and oil of oregano to stave off the symptoms of this ugly cold in order to get ready for the game. 

It was amazing. The ice was great, the new scoreboard was clear and huge and the view was great. Bill, Jen, Arl and myself were all screaming after each goal. A chant started in the lower bowl which I heard at first as "Ice the Puck" but turned out to be "Senators Suck". (which made more sense) Luke Schenn stood up against Neil for Stajan and both got a 5 minute major. Neil later got a 10 minute game misconduct. Lots of penalties for the Sens and hardly any for us. Until the last seconds (even that was tense) when we were leading 3-2 it was heart stopping and hoping against hope that the Leafs would not get scored against. 

There it was ... WE WON and I got to see it in person.

Thank you all who made it possible.

The Dock

This heavy unyielding dock had to be pulled up and put on dry land for the winter. It was just me and my 81 (he just had a birthday) year old father up north to lug this thing up the rocky hill. Using a winch, a chain, a rope, a couple of boards and a log we set it up and slowly pulled it up on to the shore. I want to be sarcastic and stand on the dock to organize all the volunteers that came up to help us but why dwell on it. 

I did give my Dad 2 pairs of Thermal Underwear for his birthday. He can wear it the next time we go up. As it was I was wearing a touque & coat in the kitchen. Even Lincoln decided not to go in the water for a dip - it was just to cold. 

This season was filled with work. Tarring and patching the roof being the main work. I did get a new leaf blower and enjoyed blowing leaves into the next county. I didn't do as much reading, a sad result of all the work that had to be done. 

I love Turkey. I love Thanksgiving. Turkey sandwiches, picking at the turkey, tasting the dressing, all the side dishes. I love having the family get together and sit around chatting about whatever, the noise of it all, just the flow of being surrounded by the people who touch your life. On top of that a birthday cake - sorry no pumpkin pie for me - pumpkins are for carving not eating. Time to check out the turkey again.

The Begining of Fall at Redstone Lake

I had a couple of days off and went up to the cottage.  At the landing where we keep our boat we were unloading the van when I cut my thumb on a razor snips (or the package it came in). I screamed, threw everything down and had to tend to the 3/4 inch slice on the pad of my thumb. In the meantime Lincoln came up and hid in the van, maybe hiding from the razor snips that will bite for no reason.

It was cool at night, enough for a small fire just to keep warm. A very restful night and in the morning I woke up to a cacophony of sound. It surrounded the cabin and kept growing louder. Now fully awake I opened the door and saw a murder of crows. Crows everywhere, they filled the trees, chatting about crow stuff, flying in swarms. I have never seen so many crows at the cottage.

The porch roof still leaks so once again we were up there patching away. Dad brought out an old bike that he rode around the yard with Lincoln biting the wheels then just running beside him.  Poor puppy, he is sore and limping when he gets up.

Halloween Yard 2007 Alcatraz Theme

The Halloween Season Begins

Prestigious Redstone Lake

It was around dusk and from the path I could see what looked like a glowing tree. I hurried into the cottage, got my camera and called my Dad to go see this wondrous sight. While everywhere was getter darker there were a couple of trees that the last bit of sunlight was striking.

From underneath the tree the changing colour of the leaves were lit up by the last ray of sunshine making them appear to be glowing. They had their own light amongst the dark pines and truly seemed to be glowing from within. 

Last of the Bathroom Renovations

I'll I have to do is a bit of touch up paint then the bathroom is done. The floor is redone. The big mistake that I made was to pick out the floor tile on the cheap and before the look was finished. It just didn't go with the room. It was a little off. It really started to bug me. I bought a bunch of loose tiles to bring to the house so I could see which would be right for the bathroom. Some of them were close but I didn't love them. Then we went to Lowes and right away found an abundance of nice tiles. The tiles are great. They were easy to install, have a simple pattern and the colour matches the paint and the vanity. We installed them the next day and I love the look. My Dad & I stained the baseboards to match the vanity. I did take down those weird green scarf curtains. I could never keep them even and they kept slipping, I was forever fixing them. The white curtains look much better. Finally, I am happy with the bathroom. 

Lunch-cam

Quinton's personal Lunch Cam.

Dock Spider and the Supervisor

Gotta love the size of the Dock Spider with her egg sac. She looked dried out and sort of dead but when we touched her leg she moved slightly. Girly screams were heard amongst the pines. 

Being away from the group home is weird. Not working directly with the gang but working on the workings of the group home is totally different than what I am used to. Taking on two group homes is a challenge and I wish it were just the one - my group home. It is a nice break from the physical work. 

Maybe I can make a difference or maybe it will be just a break for me. Time will tell.

Installing the Vanity

We took the old vanity out and replaced it with a new granite top vanity. I found out that my Dad & Mom went to Sears 40 odd years ago with pen, paper and measuring tape in hand and sketched out a vanity that they both liked. They would make several trips to Sears to check their vanity with the store one. My Dad built the vanity out of skids and other wayside wood. That vanity is solid and has never given any trouble since it's inception. For now we are using it in the hallway near the bathroom to store cleaning supplies and other such stuff. Later, it will go up to the cottage and become a bathroom vanity once again. 

There was major leveling that needed to be done in order to install the new vanity. Apparently our house slopes into a vortex near the back right hand corner of the vanity. Old houses what can you do? Dad figured out a way to correct it and lots of adjustments later it was finally level. There was a lot of moving the vanity back & forth, carrying the granite top from back room to the bathroom to the vanity, then reversing the entire procedure, checking the levels at each step before proclaiming it level and ready for gluing. The taps were fairly simple to install except for the drain plug. I won't go into all the details but suffice to say Dad figured out a way to make it work. Personally I was ready to have a non level vanity, non working sink plug and would have accepted any jury rigged bathroom at this point. Thanks to Dad it's back to being a properly working bathroom. Mom is working on all the decorating details. She just came back with a new soap dispenser and new, colour coordinated towels. 

The floor needs to be tiled and there is some touch up painting to be done and a few odds and ends things to finish up. The majority of the work is done and hopefully the rest will be easy.  

Small Bathroom Renovation

We put the trim up and painted all the wainscoting, purchased new towels and replaced the taps. There is a new towel bar and face cloth ring and best of all a new toilet paper holder. This wondrous object does not rely a on spring loaded tube but instead pivots upwards so all you have to do is lift it up to replace your roll. 

The vanity will be replaced. The one in the picture was built by my Dad 40 years ago. It took a long time to repaint all that detail and if it weren't for the counter top we wouldn't have bother to get another vanity. We're going to try and preserve the cabinet and take it up to the cottage if possible.

Bathroom Renovations

I wish I had taken more pictures at the beginning of this reno. Really to show the major difference in the bathroom. The bottom picture shows the patching that was just started and decisions about what was going to be done were in it's infancy. Nobody could make a decision about the wallpaper, paint or tile. After seeing a design that sort of looked like our bathroom some basic plans were made. We put in wainscoting and wallpaper (top picture) but hadn't figured out about paint colours. The lighting was changed and that made a big difference along with the medicine cabinet. I accidentally cut the cord on the blinds when doing the wallpaper, so add new blinds to the list of replaced items. I have painted till my arms and back ache. You can see the old paint colour on the long cabinet and on the walls. All of this was replaced with softer colours. The next picture I post will show the colours as well as the new taps and blinds. While sitting on the floor applying a second coat of paint I slightly bumped the drain pipe under the sink. The last bit of rust holding the pipe together gave way and I had horrid slime water from the pipe splattering everywhere. 

Now the pipes have to be replaced. When taking off the painters tape, I took off some of the paint so now I am into paint touch ups. Even though we are almost finished and I am proud of the work that has been completed sometimes I wish I could just watch some hired professional do the job while I sit back and sip a relaxing cup of tea.

Redstone Lake Sunset

How can you not feel relaxed and happy while standing at the lakes' edge and looking out at this beautiful sunset. I had the company of many mosquitoes and some black flies and the thankfully the deer and horse flies decided to wait in the woods till daylight before rejoining me in the delights of the cottage. 

We had thunderstorms, a leaky porch and the general opening of the cottage to work through. I am tired, bruised but the restful sleep without all the city noise was well worth it.

Lincoln smells lake fresh after continually taking dips in the lake to cool off and remove pesky bugs. I can not wait till the next trip up to the cottage.

Happy Fathers Day

Try JibJab Sendables!

What to Do?

I have been offered a 5 week stint as temporary supervisor at the group home. I have done the position as a contract several times before and I have stated that I do not want to become a permanent supervisor. It is just not worth it. So why take it? I just don't know. I have been weighing out the decision like my life depends on it. 

For every point I can counter point. I think it will depend on how it can benefit me for the short term in the summer. It would be nice to make my own hours. But the responsiblity, the details, the whatever. 

There is so much more to this decision than I can write and I need to have an answer by Friday.

Tom Mabe funny phone call

WWGRD?

Bubbles

A cool May day that was unable to sustain the bubble production but Quinton and Lincoln did not notice. 

No Rest for the Wicked and the Walking Wooden Man

Lately I have been working my fingers to the bone and every time that I take a break I think "No rest for the wicked." I keep taking that saying as the work never ends for the wicked with me having to keep working. If I think about the real meaning it takes to much thought and I just go back to thinking No rest for me. 

While helping Elaine pack up stuff in her parent's house she was explaining some of the pieces such as the wooden wife beater from New Zealand and the wood carving of a man. This carving has been nicknamed Walking Wooden Man because he decided to leave the spot I set him down on and didn't return until the next day. Quinton said Walking Wooden Man may have visited his toy box for the night. Quinton has adopted him and his extended wooden family which includes some African carvings. 

All the Pomeranian puppies have found loving homes and the Toronto Marlies won their last game. Just too tired to write as there is no rest for the wicked

Chickens are Tastey on the Inside

Many things have been going on this past week. Quinton celebrated his birthday, we visited Trista's new apartment, we watched a Marlies game and I dragged through a busy work week. 

In response to seeing a flock of pecking chickens, Quinton said Chickens are tasty on the inside. Very insightful and true. 

Trista has a very cute apartment. She is slowly getting everything just the way she wants it and it's close to her work. Good for Trista.

There seems to be drama abounding at the group home. I'm trying to keep out of it as there is so much real work to be done. Why do people have to make mountains out of mole hills? Why do I have to feel like I have to respond. Knee jerk reaction or am I just a drama queen working her stuff? 

The Marlies game was a great outing for the gang. Everyone enjoyed the excitement of watching the game live even though they lost. We have to do that more often.

As a side note there are still a couple of very cute pomeranians for sale. Check them out!

Misheard Lyrics

I listen to the Podcast of my local radio station - Chum 104.5 of Roger, Rick & Marilyn after I come home from work at the group home. They play the listeners misheard lyrics every now and again and then I start hearing the misheard lyric instead of the correct words from that point on. In fact I enjoy the odd lyrics better. Recently they talked about misheard lyrics on YouTube. People have submitted visuals of the misheard lyrics and they are hilarious.  I love Sean Paul's Temperature and Fall out Boy's This ain't a Scene done by Xikaze. I had to look up the real lyrics out of curiosity. 

Work is so non-stop that I am looking for anything that will make me laugh. Although I am not being treated like a Helper Monkey as much there are other pressures that keep me hopping. Like the conversation I had with one of the Residents, he kept insisting that his air conditioner wasn't working and I kept saying I had just checked it and indeed it was working. He asked me at one point maybe I had mistaken the fan in another room for his air conditioner. I walked away to collect myself and to try to think of how to explain it to him without having both of us repeat whether it was working or not. Finally I asked him what year he had checked it (2007) and told him when I checked it (2008) and he said he would try it out again and would phone me if there were any problems. Sure enough, 5 minutes later he calls with the proclamation that it is not working, no cold air was coming out and it was seizing up. Manny went up to check on the beleaguered  air conditioner and found it was producing cold air and fixed a potential problem. I am looking forward to having time off and not worrying about whether his air conditioner will hold up in hot weather.

Check out the Pomeranian Puppies

What a weekend! Cleaning, striping wallpaper, dancing and having Pom breaks. Every once in a while we would hear what sounded like tiny birds chirping. In the back room the Pomeranian puppies were waking up and chirping like birds. In between the cleaning we would take time to visit the puppies. It is very relaxing to pick one up give it a cuddle. The little pups would just cradle in your arms looking about the room with great curiosity. Just visit the link to see what cuties they have become.

In the midst of the chaos of renovations, Quinton found a music box in the shape of a piano. He came up to me and asked if I would dance with him. I was totally surprised when he wound the music box up and we danced a waltz like dance. It was very touching and very brilliant on his part. Later we used the music to play musical chairs, then we had music to eat popcorn by while chatting about the puppies. 

The 6 Little Pomeranian Puffballs

A few quick lines and pictures of the new pom pups. The bottom 2 pictures were taken when the pups were a week and two days old. The top 2 pictures are at 2 weeks old. Elaine told me that their eyes are open and they can stand and get around a bit now. They fall over a lot and they are starting to interact with each other. She says the pups are licking or sucking on each others ears. Teresa is at their beck and call, nursing them at the slightest squeak. What a good mother. I can't wait to see the pom puffs in person. Holding them in the palm of my hand, so tiny and cute. Look who needs a forever home. I hope I can resist the sweet loving looks from such warm cuteness.

Teresa the Pomeranian has her Pups

Teresa has a pile of Pom pups recently, all appears well in pupville. Quinton and family were down from the farm and while his parents were out purchasing wood pellets, Quinton was showing off his writing skills. Sometime later, I asked him to draw a picture of Roger (his imaginary friend). He drew a circle, then added two eyes - one bigger than the other, drew a crooked smile. He added two stick legs to the head. Quinton looked at the finished portrait and laughed and said "He has no neck." We had a good laugh over this and continued to write and draw. 

Lately, I have had several dreams where I am vacationing and taking pictures of the local sights. This is very relaxing and it saves on time and money but I can't download the pictures from my dream camera.

Lead Belly and Garbage Farts

I've always called it lead belly. The feeling that what ever is sitting in your stomach feels like a lead bowling ball and not moving at all. Family day started out great, David and family were coming down from the farm, Trista was coming in from Hamilton and the sun was shining. I had a bit of a off feeling early on but didn't much pay attention to it. Then at the mall I started to feel sick. Nothing says fun like breaking into a sweat thinking that you might hurl the contents of your stomach for all to see. I think I made my self feel worse by wearing a heavy winter coat in the mall causing me to overheat. I didn't get sick but it was always on that edge. The day went fairly well as I fended off a headache for the most part.

Now I wouldn't be mentioning it but my dog Lincoln did get sick, twice. I found the first small pool by his water bowl. I thought about not cleaning it up and saving my stomach some turns but what if somebody slipped in it. Darn funny yes, but what if it was me? I would be laughing until someone joined in and started pointing at my puke drenched body. 

As I  was playing on the computer, I heard this oily, gurgly sound, I look behind me and there is Lincoln staring down at a huge pool of vomit. Using a dust pan to scoop up the puke puddle, Lincoln starts to hork again. I ran him in the bathroom and made him stay in the bathtub with the theory that if he has to throw up again what better place. I left him there and went back to cleaning up, trying not to think of what I was doing. Lincoln is feeling fine today except for the horrendous garbage farts he keeps leaving.  

On a lighter note, Lincoln went to the vet for a followup and no more itchy spots and no more trying to hide antibiotics in cheese. I did get him a heated bed with 3 inches of foam to use in the basement. He was having a bit of trouble getting up after sleeping on the cold floor. Luckly,  I had a stack of Canadian Tire money to offset the price of the bed. The bed seems to help and the picture shows how comfortable Lincoln is. The only thing you can't see is my face reacting to yet another Lincoln garbage fart.

Lincoln and the Missing Paw

It started out as a case of the fleas. We found the little bloodsuckers in October and went on a kill and destroy mission for months. There is nothing weirder than seeing this bug on the belly of a dog. It looks like they are swimming or skating on the skin in swirling patterns, almost hypnotic but very creepy. They are fast and hide well and make you feel itchy from afar. Nasty little creatures but crunch very satisfactorily between your nails. After a vet visit and two applications of a flea control medication the bugs were gone. Then a sore appeared on Lincoln's belly. I thought it was a fleabite that was infected so I applied an antibiotic cream to it and it disappeared. Much later I noticed more crusty spots, personally it looked like bird crap on a redden area. I bathed Lincoln incase it was a reaction to the flea medication. It seemed to help but not totally. I got a special antibiotic shampoo and made poor Lincoln endure weekly baths. I even got him a spray to treat the itchiness, which he hated and he would run and hide to avoid the strong smell.

Then I had a dream that he lost all the hair from his neck down except a fringe around his lower torso. In the dream I saw him walking around near hairless when his left front paw fell off. There he was walking on a leg bone with a dried out paw sitting on the floor. I cried non-stop till I finally woke up. That day I booked an appointment for the vet.

We planned the visit like a kidnapping. Get Lincoln in the van, he is happy relaxed, pick up my nephew Kevin, close to the vet snap on the lead, park in front of the vet office, slide open the van door, run Lincoln straight in then park the van. On the home, reverse it so the van sits in front motor running and Kevin runs out to the van with the dog pushes him in and the van takes off towards a parking lot while I pay the bill. Very co-coordinated, all that was missing was the ransom note.

For the actually visit Lincoln has a bacterial skin infection, nothing contagious, and fixed by a week of antibiotics. Lincoln was very good there but shook like a leaf the entire time. He even lay down with his belly showing for the vet to look at his under carriage. He got his dog shots, got weighed, needs to lose a pound or two and it was back to the van and home again.

Next week is the follow up appointment. Must book the get away car. 

Finding Trista

There is nothing like the panic, the horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when you get a call asking if you have heard from a family member. The exchange of "No I haven't, what's going on, what has been done so far." - over the phone is excruciating. Trista went on a visit and should have been home safe in Hamilton hours ago but a frantic call from her boyfriend Sean shattered the calm of a pleasant Sunday evening. I checked the train station for delays as there had been white out conditions throughout the province and messaged her mom about Trista's whereabouts. While waiting, I sent out Angels to protect her, psychic energy towards her, tried to make a mental connection with her, anything rather than sit there and worry of all the horrible possibilities that could befall her. To add to the worry, my brother David, his wife Elaine & son Quinton were on the road going back to the farm driving on snow covered roads and dealing with white out conditions. 

We get the call that Trista is all right and safe at home. She fell asleep on the train. Such relief that it immediately relaxes all those tight muscles. I phone my brothers' family to tell them the good news and to check how they made out driving back to the farm. I am told of a near miss on the highway where a car was bearing down on them apparently drifting off to their side of the road and the road disappearing with snow blinding them on and off.  

I decided to look up some resources on the internet after feeling helpless on what to do for Trista.  As for the road conditions we have the Weather Network that updates often and has road conditions for the province. I know it is lame to say I can't imagine what a family goes through when they are waiting for news but I got a tiny taste of it and my heart goes out to all those families. 

Dreams

Some dreams I can not figure out. I will look up what the symbols are, what is the feeling of the dream, what has been going on that brought on the dream. Even with all that sometimes I am left wondering about the dream. Lately I have been having more vivid dreams. Some brillant, beautiful full of rich textures and colours. The odd one vivid but disturbing. It would be a lot easier if the symbols were straight forward. Better still, seeing the winning numbers to the lottery. 

I have been developing a plan for dealing with winning the lottery. I still want to look after my group home, after all it is like a second family. Of course my immediate family would be taken care of financially. Then my friends. This is what we debate about at the group home. How do you divide up the money? What is fair? Do you have to divide up the money? Would your friends give you any money if they won? Would they even tell you? Would you tell them? First to answer those questions I would have to win the lottery.

The Mental Shaking off of a Bad Situation and the Marlies

How do you get rid of a pain in the butt? I am trying to be the better person. I give out great advice about how to deal with the situation. I try to take the higher road, give the person the benefit of the doubt. The whole thing should have died a natural whimpering death, I even admitted that it did not affect me emotionally. Not anymore. The person is no longer in my work world but the tentacles of his poison are still winding it's way through the group home. Time to take a hot shower and cleanse myself of the entire situation.
On a lighter note I went to see the Toronto Marlies play on January 4th as a birthday gift. What a time, it's nice to see our team win consistently. The fans there are loud and boisterous. I got a kick out of the people seated in the goal zone area, with their orange clapper sticks (I'm sure there is another name for them). The banging would start out strong and loud but there was always one point where it could not sustain itself and it would slowly lose the beat and fade away. Me & my sister Arlene started listening for that exact moment. I think we chatted non stop inbetween yelling for the Marlies. There is nothing like hearing the scratch of ice skates on the ice, the sound of the puck on stick and boards and the occasional body hit.