Well, one thing that Wil and I did was to treat our family to season tickets to our towns hockey team. The Smiths Falls Bears. If you didn't know...lol...hockey is HUGE in Canada. So I may not get all the football I want and you don't hear much about baseball but I will get my fill of Hockey. The Bears are Junior A hockey team...which basically includes players 20 years and younger, many players are high school aged but this is like the minor minor major leagues. So it is a developmental team but it is quite possible for the NHL to draft from Junior A in fact in 2008 3 players were drafted to the NHL from the Bears. So Wil and I went to the first game last night. Unfortunately we were in the youth arena because the brand new arena that is under construction isn't quite done so it wasn't super comfortable but it was fun. It was strange not hearing the U. S. National Anthem...kind of sad but I will get used to that. The other thing that was unusual was that I was cold and asked Wil to get me a hot chocolate. He did and (unlike Colo Spgs) when he walked it back to me it was still hot...it gets better 15 minutes later when I drank the last little bit...it was still hot. My tongue is proof this morning because it is definitely burnt. What a difference low altitude makes. Anyways, the hockey was great....lots of checking and even some fights. You could tell that these guys are trying to prove something, it was very fast and furious. We will enjoy getting to know the players and rooting on the Bears.
The girls went to their first school dance last night and from the little I hear, they had fun. It is hard to get info from teens.
Our church had a guest speaker this week. His name was Ian Juby and he was fantastic. He is a scientist who is all about proving creation. Here is his website: http://www.ianjuby.org/. It was so cool. He talked about humans and dinosaurs coexisting, even showing us fossils with human and dinosaur footprints. He talked about the proof that the dinosaurs died in the flood...and went on and on. It was really cool.
Speaking of church, Wil and I have settled on First Baptist Church. It is a beautiful church founded in 1833 with a gorgeous old building. The church has a very traditional feel with some contemporary added in. It is a church I think my dad would have enjoyed. They have been so welcoming and friendly not only to us but the youth pastor really has been great at reaching out to the girls. The pastor actually called and invited us to lunch tomorrow. Cool huh?
I think that is it right now...have a great weekend!
Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Volunteering turns into a job
So last Monday I am settling in to do paperwork. We had cooked a turkey on Sunday and we had boiled the bones over night and I had just finished removing the bones and starting the turkey soup and I was in the process of getting all of my paperwork out to filter through and the phone rang. It was Jen, the shelter manager, asking if I could come in a help. One girl had quit and one guy hadn't shown up and they were desperate. "I'll pay you of course and just put you on the payroll." I was flattered and told her to give me a half hour to finish with the turkey and went in. Where as there is usually enough people to have the cat rooms and kennels cleaned before we open at 11, I didn't get the cat rooms cleaned until 3. What a long day! It was fun and I was flattered that she asked me to help. Anyways, now I am on the schedule for 2 days a week which will be nice. Now, I am sure you are saying what all is there to do at the shelter...well let me fill you in.
Cats: We have about 100 cats/kittens. Most of the cats are in their own private kitty condo cage. We let the cat out, take everything out of the cage, wash the litter box and food/water dishes in bleach, wipe down the cage, dry the cage, line the cage with newspaper, fill the litter box, put in new food and water and a clean blanket, round up the cat (not usually a problem but we have a few that you can chase around the room forever!) and close the cage. We do that with every cat/kitten every day. Then there are medications/vaccinations and of course we play with most of the cats or try to as we are cleaning the cage to make them more adoptable. I have a couple favorites right now: Maxwell is an adorable black kitten who came in so small that he had to be bottle fed and he and I bonded because he sits on the back of my neck while cleaning his cage. Marvin came in ferrel and vicious and the first couple times the girls and I cleaned his cage, we cleaned around his growling, hissing body. Now, although still reserved, he loves to be petted. I love the grumpy ones, they are my challenge. Then there are the kittens, we just had a mama cat have 8 kittens, yes 8! One of every color pretty much except no grey. It is fun watching them grow.
Dogs: Right now we have 15 dogs. Each dog is in an indoor kennel at night so in the morning we take them out. That in itself can be exhausting...they are full of energy and drag you around the yard. Then the first thing is getting the laundry started. All of those cat blankets and dog blankets, we do about 8 loads of laundry, wash and dry a day and are not caught up at the end of the day. Then you poop scoop the morning poop out of the runs and wash down the runs, feed them breakfast and start on the indoor kennels. Each indoor kennel gets taken apart and washed and swept and and then dishes get washed and replaced and bleached and disinfected and by the time you do the outside and the inside...hopefully you get all that done by 11 for opening then it is the little things: more laundry, vaccinations, medications with each meal, poop scoop as needed, take dogs for a walk (which honestly doesn't happen much), prepare lunch, feel lunch, collect dishes, put indoor kennels back together after they are dry, bed, blanket some treats and fresh water, more laundry and return clean laundry to the cat rooms. Then at 4 we bring the dogs inside, clean the kennels outside one more time, more laundry and finish miscellaneous duties. That is if all dogs are healthy. Add in 2 sick dogs and you have to quarantine them and walk them a couple times and clean around them and time goes so fast. Here are my favorites: Princess, a hound that fell out of the back of a pick up and the owners abandoned him at the vet. She had to have a back leg amputated and is doing so well. She is really strong and sweet and will pull you all around the yard. Tucker, another hound that is so much dog but he wants to be sweet but his energy makes him ornery, like pulling the hose into his kennel and putting a whole in it so that when we came out he was drenched with a fountain coming from the hose. Ellie, a beagle who is so sweet but barks at strangers so no one sees the real sweet dog that she is. Coco, a little jack russell who is a diva and has to be an only dog because he tries to fight with all the big dogs, and Rocky who is part pit bull and therefore since they are illegal in Ontario we can't even walk him and I think he is probably one of the best behaved dogs we have...oh I could go on and on.
It is hard work but very rewarding. I come home with new scratches, bruises and nips each day but I do like it. I am a little concerned about doing it in the winter. My body doesn't work well cold, I get alot of pain, but I will do it as long and as much as I can. The people are very wonderful and very friendly.
The girls are doing very well in school. It is much more laid back which I am not sure is good but they are having fun so that is good right now. I hope they are learning something. The first dance is Friday night. Tiana seems to be turning into quite the social butterfly and Tabitha is auditioning for the school musical. They both are attending 2 youth groups during the week and the dances at the youth center on Friday nights. We recently got a gorilla cart to help us haul rocks and the girls had fun with it...see below.
Wil is in BC this week for a meeting. He spent 12 hours in airplanes and airports yesterday due to delays so hopefully his trip back will go more smoothly.
It is raining today, so my plans to work in my garden area are foiled. I have an area that I want to turn into a flower garden, incorporating my plow. But it is full of rocks so I can't rototill it so we are digging it up and hand straining the soil. In the midst of doing the first bit, we found grubs so I have put down some grub parasites, called nematodes so now it is time to try to finish a bit more. I have some pansies, a sunpatienc and mum that need to get in the ground before the first frost so that is what I plan on working on this week so I can get them into the ground this weekend. I am not used to being able to plant so many cool things so I am reading up on it. My bloomerang lilac is blooming and my black lace that was run over by the lawn tractor is sprouting. See pics below.
Cats: We have about 100 cats/kittens. Most of the cats are in their own private kitty condo cage. We let the cat out, take everything out of the cage, wash the litter box and food/water dishes in bleach, wipe down the cage, dry the cage, line the cage with newspaper, fill the litter box, put in new food and water and a clean blanket, round up the cat (not usually a problem but we have a few that you can chase around the room forever!) and close the cage. We do that with every cat/kitten every day. Then there are medications/vaccinations and of course we play with most of the cats or try to as we are cleaning the cage to make them more adoptable. I have a couple favorites right now: Maxwell is an adorable black kitten who came in so small that he had to be bottle fed and he and I bonded because he sits on the back of my neck while cleaning his cage. Marvin came in ferrel and vicious and the first couple times the girls and I cleaned his cage, we cleaned around his growling, hissing body. Now, although still reserved, he loves to be petted. I love the grumpy ones, they are my challenge. Then there are the kittens, we just had a mama cat have 8 kittens, yes 8! One of every color pretty much except no grey. It is fun watching them grow.
Dogs: Right now we have 15 dogs. Each dog is in an indoor kennel at night so in the morning we take them out. That in itself can be exhausting...they are full of energy and drag you around the yard. Then the first thing is getting the laundry started. All of those cat blankets and dog blankets, we do about 8 loads of laundry, wash and dry a day and are not caught up at the end of the day. Then you poop scoop the morning poop out of the runs and wash down the runs, feed them breakfast and start on the indoor kennels. Each indoor kennel gets taken apart and washed and swept and and then dishes get washed and replaced and bleached and disinfected and by the time you do the outside and the inside...hopefully you get all that done by 11 for opening then it is the little things: more laundry, vaccinations, medications with each meal, poop scoop as needed, take dogs for a walk (which honestly doesn't happen much), prepare lunch, feel lunch, collect dishes, put indoor kennels back together after they are dry, bed, blanket some treats and fresh water, more laundry and return clean laundry to the cat rooms. Then at 4 we bring the dogs inside, clean the kennels outside one more time, more laundry and finish miscellaneous duties. That is if all dogs are healthy. Add in 2 sick dogs and you have to quarantine them and walk them a couple times and clean around them and time goes so fast. Here are my favorites: Princess, a hound that fell out of the back of a pick up and the owners abandoned him at the vet. She had to have a back leg amputated and is doing so well. She is really strong and sweet and will pull you all around the yard. Tucker, another hound that is so much dog but he wants to be sweet but his energy makes him ornery, like pulling the hose into his kennel and putting a whole in it so that when we came out he was drenched with a fountain coming from the hose. Ellie, a beagle who is so sweet but barks at strangers so no one sees the real sweet dog that she is. Coco, a little jack russell who is a diva and has to be an only dog because he tries to fight with all the big dogs, and Rocky who is part pit bull and therefore since they are illegal in Ontario we can't even walk him and I think he is probably one of the best behaved dogs we have...oh I could go on and on.
It is hard work but very rewarding. I come home with new scratches, bruises and nips each day but I do like it. I am a little concerned about doing it in the winter. My body doesn't work well cold, I get alot of pain, but I will do it as long and as much as I can. The people are very wonderful and very friendly.
The girls are doing very well in school. It is much more laid back which I am not sure is good but they are having fun so that is good right now. I hope they are learning something. The first dance is Friday night. Tiana seems to be turning into quite the social butterfly and Tabitha is auditioning for the school musical. They both are attending 2 youth groups during the week and the dances at the youth center on Friday nights. We recently got a gorilla cart to help us haul rocks and the girls had fun with it...see below.
Wil is in BC this week for a meeting. He spent 12 hours in airplanes and airports yesterday due to delays so hopefully his trip back will go more smoothly.
It is raining today, so my plans to work in my garden area are foiled. I have an area that I want to turn into a flower garden, incorporating my plow. But it is full of rocks so I can't rototill it so we are digging it up and hand straining the soil. In the midst of doing the first bit, we found grubs so I have put down some grub parasites, called nematodes so now it is time to try to finish a bit more. I have some pansies, a sunpatienc and mum that need to get in the ground before the first frost so that is what I plan on working on this week so I can get them into the ground this weekend. I am not used to being able to plant so many cool things so I am reading up on it. My bloomerang lilac is blooming and my black lace that was run over by the lawn tractor is sprouting. See pics below.
It has turned very fallish. It is crisp in the morning and evening and the trees are beginning to change. I had forgotten what fall was like and the hot tub is so nice as it gets chillier.
We have finished clearing our land. We found a lawn mower type thing that is for brush clearing on Kijiji which is similar to craigslist. It is easier and faster than the industrial whipper snipper that we were borrowing. So now it is about clearing it some more and figuring out what we can use the lawn tractor on and what rocks need to be moved. It really has opened up our space and it is nice that the bugs have been beaten back more. We also found 2 non functioning wells, some copper wire, some old air conditioner parts and miscellaneous other junk.
Not much else right now. I need to go get dressed. A friend from Kingston is driving up to pick up her crock pot today and we are going to lunch.
More later. My love to all and I love hearing from you.
Brenda
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Catching up
Tiana seems to have stumbled into a babysitting career. She answered a flyer for child care and now has a job that pays 5.50 per hour 2 Saturdays a month at a house just a little bit down from our house. She also found out that there are several families in the area that may be interested in her also, so she is excited to earn some extra money.
Yesterday we had a mini reunion at our house. One of our friends birthday was Friday and he was coming up to help Wil with a couple things so his wife and I conspired to have a surprise BBQ. So we invited 2 other couples. One couple left the Springs 2 years ago and the other couple left last year. So we all hadn't been together in over 2 years, and it sure did feel like old times. Very neat couples and one of the wives birthday was earlier this week so we celebrated that also. All I know is there was talk of us all renting a house boat next year and going on vacation together....how fun would that be!
So I should update you on the dog. We did go look at the dog and she was wonderful. I don't want to go into it because it makes me sad, but we did not get the dog. It looked like we would and we brought her home to see how she did with our pups but it just wasn't the right time. She was a fantastic dog, well behaved, played fetch, very mellow but it wasn't meant to be. It was a very tough decision.
I am volunteering at the shelter and am loving it. I am actually trying to get them to give me a part time job since I am there anyways. It sounds like they are working on it but we will see. I figure that with the girls in school, part time would be fine and it will give us a little added income to take the sting out of the budget. Plus it forces me to get off my butt and out of the house.
I think that is it for now.....have a great day and I hope to hear from you soon!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Finding what ails me?
Well, I haven't updated because I have been in a really low funk and I don't want to spread my sour mood. And I don't want it to seem like it is all bad because it definitely is not. I received a card from a dear friend and it really struck home. She said, "you have always had to work, now that you can put your feet up for a bit you don't know how to handle not having to keep your nose to the grindstone." She really nailed it. I feel very unproductive and useless and I lack purpose with not having a job. The word depression has been ever present in my mind but I know it is situational so there has always been hope but yes, I am fighting hard against depression. Some days I win, some days I don't but every day I try. Anyways because of the card, I have started to try to refocus a bit.
One thing that really hit me this week was there was a day that I went downstairs to work more on organizing things and I turned on the radio. All of the sudden I found myself singing and be bopping around. I hadn't done that in awhile. So I asked what is different today....what I came up with is music. I have always been very connected to music and lately I have been watching alot of movies and TV while doing things around the house. I have said to many people that TV/computers suck the life out of people, well my life was being sucked. So the first thing I am doing is turning off the TV and turning on the stereo and listening for inspiration and listening for fun again.
So yesterday we went to Montreal to see some friends of Wil's. It is about a 3 hour drive so I worked a bit on our budget...that is always depressing and then just decided to listen to music. Here are the songs that hit me and this is the order they came in on random on my ipod:
Magnificent Obsession:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cel_O-qy0i0
This was the first song that came on....just listen and hear the words...I don't need to explain anything...I needed a new focus.
Sheltering Trees:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYQ5oS1O-C0 (couldn't find a non cheesy video)
I definitely have alot of sheltering trees, I just miss them so
When you Come Home: couldn't find a good you tube video but it is by Mark Shultz, there is an ok one with Billy Gilman singing but it is not the same- it made me think of a couple things. One- I get to come home at some point and reunite with family...that will be fun and two- my home is not on this earth I need to focus on the right things.
Red Letters:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrVwNfbxIM
Such a simple and powerful song...the strength and power I need is out there just not in where I am looking
God is Good:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdClvbdhTpc
I have always believed this, well time to practice what I preach. If He is good all the time then why am I so bummed out? Satan is alive and well isn't he.. GRRRR!
Pray for Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFP8dtCWYAw
'nuff said
If I Know You:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saz4uMB2KGo
I am not sure why this one came towards the end of the trip but it was a song that I used many, many times when I was a single parent and feeling like I wasn't going to make it through a day. I wore out this CD. Now as I write I am thinking...what a great reminder of days gone by that were long and depressing but as I look back they were also fantastic and life shaping....so again I need to refocus and realize that this is a short period of time and I am going through it for a reason...hmmm...thanks for the help on that one.
There were other songs last night but those were the standouts. I am not out of the depression woods yet and will fight it for awhile I am sure but hopefully I am on a better track than I was....climbing the hill not sliding down the slope.
Today we are going to go look at a chocolate lab. Wil was looking for power tools and an ad came up for a 4 year old chocolate lab. I yelled (jokingly) at him for forwarding it to me. I have wanted a bigger dog but I get nervous that it is going to be too much for me. I love my doxies but they can't go walking with me and give me a good work out and I would like to get out and walk around a bit and I would like a companion but am I ready for a 3rd dog and a big one...I don't know. I have emailed back and forth with the owner and the dog seems like it would be a great fit but I am on the fence. We will not bring the dog home today, at least that is my plan. We shall see.
Tomorrow, I am not sure what we are going to do. There is a fair in the next town over so we may go over there...we will see. It is the girls last day of summer so we will see what they want to do and then school starts on Tuesday. YAY! Their first day of high school! We made it, now can we make it 4 more years? LOL!
More later. My love to all! Below are pics- a blurry one of Wil and I going out for my birthday and one of the two girls and their friend going to a semi formal dance. Oh I forgot to tell you about my birthday so I will do another blog just for that in the next day or two.
Brenda
One thing that really hit me this week was there was a day that I went downstairs to work more on organizing things and I turned on the radio. All of the sudden I found myself singing and be bopping around. I hadn't done that in awhile. So I asked what is different today....what I came up with is music. I have always been very connected to music and lately I have been watching alot of movies and TV while doing things around the house. I have said to many people that TV/computers suck the life out of people, well my life was being sucked. So the first thing I am doing is turning off the TV and turning on the stereo and listening for inspiration and listening for fun again.
So yesterday we went to Montreal to see some friends of Wil's. It is about a 3 hour drive so I worked a bit on our budget...that is always depressing and then just decided to listen to music. Here are the songs that hit me and this is the order they came in on random on my ipod:
Magnificent Obsession:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cel_O-qy0i0
This was the first song that came on....just listen and hear the words...I don't need to explain anything...I needed a new focus.
Sheltering Trees:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYQ5oS1O-C0 (couldn't find a non cheesy video)
I definitely have alot of sheltering trees, I just miss them so
When you Come Home: couldn't find a good you tube video but it is by Mark Shultz, there is an ok one with Billy Gilman singing but it is not the same- it made me think of a couple things. One- I get to come home at some point and reunite with family...that will be fun and two- my home is not on this earth I need to focus on the right things.
Red Letters:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrVwNfbxIM
Such a simple and powerful song...the strength and power I need is out there just not in where I am looking
God is Good:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdClvbdhTpc
I have always believed this, well time to practice what I preach. If He is good all the time then why am I so bummed out? Satan is alive and well isn't he.. GRRRR!
Pray for Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFP8dtCWYAw
'nuff said
If I Know You:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saz4uMB2KGo
I am not sure why this one came towards the end of the trip but it was a song that I used many, many times when I was a single parent and feeling like I wasn't going to make it through a day. I wore out this CD. Now as I write I am thinking...what a great reminder of days gone by that were long and depressing but as I look back they were also fantastic and life shaping....so again I need to refocus and realize that this is a short period of time and I am going through it for a reason...hmmm...thanks for the help on that one.
There were other songs last night but those were the standouts. I am not out of the depression woods yet and will fight it for awhile I am sure but hopefully I am on a better track than I was....climbing the hill not sliding down the slope.
Today we are going to go look at a chocolate lab. Wil was looking for power tools and an ad came up for a 4 year old chocolate lab. I yelled (jokingly) at him for forwarding it to me. I have wanted a bigger dog but I get nervous that it is going to be too much for me. I love my doxies but they can't go walking with me and give me a good work out and I would like to get out and walk around a bit and I would like a companion but am I ready for a 3rd dog and a big one...I don't know. I have emailed back and forth with the owner and the dog seems like it would be a great fit but I am on the fence. We will not bring the dog home today, at least that is my plan. We shall see.
Tomorrow, I am not sure what we are going to do. There is a fair in the next town over so we may go over there...we will see. It is the girls last day of summer so we will see what they want to do and then school starts on Tuesday. YAY! Their first day of high school! We made it, now can we make it 4 more years? LOL!
More later. My love to all! Below are pics- a blurry one of Wil and I going out for my birthday and one of the two girls and their friend going to a semi formal dance. Oh I forgot to tell you about my birthday so I will do another blog just for that in the next day or two.
Brenda
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