Thunderland

I don't think Mother Nature understood my letter.

The news has been saying all week...including yesterday...that today the sun would come back out and stay with us for at least a couple of days. This news still preturbed me because DBF was only home for Friday evening and Saturday during the day, so of course I wanted it to be nice then...but I was willing to take whatever sun I could get.

Mom will be here in 7 days (yaaaaaaieeeeeeeee) and I want the friggin porch painted by then. This is the first time she is seeing my first owned house and I want it to be pretty dammit! Not that it isn't totally pretty anyway, but the scuffed up porch takes away from the perfection. Grrr.

Anyway, the sky was not blue when I got up. I did have hope though because it wasn't raining, and when I made the quick drive for a coffee it did look like it might clear up. No such luck.

As I sit here we are actually having a freaking thunderstorm. Like...grey, dismal, disgusting skies with gloppy sideways hard rain...and massive boughts of rolling thunder and the occasional hugeass flash of light in the sky. Mother Nature...this is not Summer! (Just in case you aren't sure...Summer usually involves blue skies, a yellow sun, and no precipitation...)

Don't get me wrong, the thunderstorm concept is terrifically cool as a general rule. I always wished we had more of them out West. But this is not the time!

In the blink of an eye....

Yup, DBF was away for 33 days. Longest he's been away since we moved to Halifax. Not the longest we've ever been apart...not even by a long shot (hellooooo, six months of training last year!) but definitely the hardest time apart of our relationship.

It's tough enough being apart, and tougher still because of not being surrounded by my family or any amount of close friends...but of course it was extra hard because of the emotional times with Mojo at the beginning of the month. That wouldn't have been easy for either of us at any time, but all of it combined just made for a rougher than rough month.

So he finally got home on Friday. I had already warned work that I would be taking off as soon as I got the call and wouldn't be back for the rest of the day. This all works out fine, as it was already 2pm our time when I left to get him so a couple of hours on the Friday before a long weekend aren't that big of a deal.

We came home after I picked him up....happy to be home, but a little tough for him walking in the first time without Mojo. (A little tough is an understatement to be sure.) We enjoyed some wine and relaxation and just time together. He had a little nap and I got cleaned up for our night out.

Dinner was at CUT Steakhouse. Just what the doctor ordered, I think. (you can read about our meal over here)

This morning we again took some time to relax, then headed out for brunch. After brunch we decided to go to Toys R Us so he could have a look at things he might like to buy for his son when he got to Winnipeg. Looking for a big fire truck...found a cool Tonka one, but he would actually like something even bigger and cooler. Then we just enjoyed wandering around the mall...just hanging out...and then a little more time in Chapters.

After that it was time to head to the airport. I opted to just drop him off and spare myself a teary goodbye inside the airport. It's always less emotional to do a stop/drop/run, then to linger at the security gate.

One day certainly wasn't long enough.

Thankfully my Mom will be here in a week, so that's something to look forward to! He'll be back a week into her visit, then he's actually home for three weeks before having to head back out for most of October. Gah, the trips to sea never used to bother me sooooooo much. I must be getting extra sensitive these days.

Dear Mother Nature,

I am sure I have written to you about this same topic not all that long ago, but it's important so I thought I'd hit you up again.

When exactly are you planning on bringing Summer to Halifax? Just curious, as usually it falls sometimes between June 21st and September 20th, and here we are almost into September and I think we've only witnessed about two weeks total of what I might refer to as Summer weather.

I have a porch that needs painting, I have flowers that are soggy and in need of some heat, my Summer freckles are already faded out, and all of my cute Summer shoes are collecting dust in the closet. What gives?

I even went out a bought a power washer this past weekend, and took the time to really clean my porch good while the sun was with us on Sunday. Unfortunately by the time I went to bed that night, you opened up the sky and dumped a torential downpour on us, and now my stairs will need a couple super hot days to really dry out enough to be painted. And since you haven't brought the sun back since then, I'm starting to worry that might have been the last sight of it for a while.

I think I speak for everyone around here when I say 'PLEASE BRING ON SUMMER...WE ARE MORE THAN READY'.

Thank you!

Sincerely, Bi0nicW0man

Health Crisis

Last night I was out for dinner with a couple of friends (friend M, friend B, and friend B's hubby). Good times. Eating, talking, being merry.

As we were finishing up, friend M said she was all of a sudden not feeling well. A wave of nausea, then some funky breathing. I scooted out of the booth so she could walk around. She does have asthma so thought maybe she was having an attack. I walked with her to the end of the restaurant to get some air and to have a drag of her puffer. It didn't help.

So then her breathing started to feel constricted to her, so she thought maybe it was an allergic reaction. She recently found out she has a sort of allergy to potassium...things like bananas and kiwis, so she usually carries Reactine with her just in case, but she didn't have any in her purse.

She got all shaky (like someone might if their blood sugar dropped fast, but she had just eatten dinner), then she got all hot, and she said her breathing was worse and worse. Like she wasn't intaking any air on her right side.

We were just offering to drive her to a clinic or the hospital when she decided that she wanted 911. Freaking scary. I sat with her and held her hands while she kept grabbing ice cubes and holding them to her chest trying to cool down while friend B was on the phone with 911.

Thankfully the paramedics only took a couple of minutes to arrive, so by the time we walked down the stairs from the pub, they were pulling up (I do have to say that they didn't move very "urgently" though....sort of sauntered along...it was frustrating to watch). They talked to her and by then her breath was catching and she could barely say her own name. They got her over to their ambulance, and were checking her vitals, etc. Friend B went with them in the ambulance, friend B's husband followed in their car, and unfortunately I just came home. I felt so helpless...but what was I going to do?

Friend B called me when she got home 2 hours later. Friend M's hubby had made it to the hospital to sit with her, so B and her hubby could go home. After the 2 hours, she was still sitting on the ambulance gurney waiting to even go through triage at the emergency room. Like seriously? Good thing she wasn't actually having a heart attack or something (which is what the paramedics thought might be happening).

In the end, I heard from her this morning that they finally did some blood tests on her at 4:30am, but she had to wait a couple of hours for the results...and of course, really never figured out what the problem was. They recommended that she see her own doctor and get tested for more allergies...maybe seafood or citrus or something...she'd eaten calamari and a pesto chicken sandwich. Her breathing ended up returning to normal on it's own and her chest wasn't tight anymore...but not due to anything the hospital did for her.

I can't believe she waited that long. This country needs some serious help in the emergency care departments.

Its not quite the same as shoe shopping...

Who knew how fun it would be to buy a new lawn mower?!!

We had a crappy little lawn mower. Brand new last year, but mind you it was in the clearance area at Home Depot and DBF got it for $20. It is missing the power handle...the piece you hold on to to keep it running. So we have to remove the spark plug wire to turn it off. No big deal if it was actually a GOOD mower, but it's sadly not.

I used it for the first time here in Halifax a couple of weeks ago. DBF has been mowing the lawn most of the time we've been here and although he mentioned it was a bit of a pain in the ass he hadn't really said much else. Well, I'm here to tell you it SUCKS!!! I used it all last Summer at our old place and because the lawn was flat and didn't grow tooooo fast it was fine. But here we have a very sloped portion in our yard, and the lower portion grows like crazy. The first time I used it, it was constantly clogged and it created not one, but two embarassingly huge smoke clouds when I ran it on too much of an angle. (I say embarassing because it was so bad my neighbor came over to make sure I wasn't on fire!)

Anyway, I used it once more a week later and that sealed the deal. No bag on it was the final straw. I hate raking when I don't have to. It's fine to leave the clippings when they are nice and light, or to mulch them back in at the beginning of the season, but right now we need to bag the clippings.

So, after checking out prices for a couple of weeks...I noticed a nice one show up in the Home Depot flyer. The only other mower I had seen that I was considering prior to this was $269...but it was a brand I hadn't heard of. This new sale one was a Cub Cadet...so a good brand...and was $279. I went in, chatted with the guy, figured out that it was a way nicer mower, so bought it.

Woo! Gotta love being on a mission and just going for it without dicking around.

Came home, set it up, oiled it up, gassed it up, and gave it an inaugural run with the bag on our front yard. So freaking awesome!! It's not self-propelled, but it is light and nicely powerful so it runs like a dream.

OK, and to be just a bit girly...it's super cute and yellow!! (and DBF will still like it because it's manly and has all the functions he asked for)

A Saturday Rant

So, my first experiences with selling a few things on Kijiji were quite good. A 27" TV, a 14" TV, my Ikea TV cabinet. All sold for basically my wanted price, all to nice people that showed up when they said they would, all within 3-5 days. Nice.

Then DBF put up a few things. His flat panel monitor sold easily for asking price within a day or two. No surprises there. His car stereo equipment has been a tougher sell but that's more because he needs a knowledgable buyer, not just anyone is going to buy it up. No worries though, we knew that might be tougher.

Now, I'm trying to sell a good WHITE fridge and stove. You would think that these would be highly sought after. They are white, they are modern, they are reasonably priced. Especially here in cottage country where so many people seem to be looking for stuff for their family cabins. But good God, it's been the biggest pain.

People email, ask a bunch of questions, say they are "very interested", then either offer some ridiculous lowball price without even seeing the items....or....never get back to me....or....tell me they are coming and don't show up. (Ya, this lady emailed me like 4 times saying how badly she wanted these and how they would rent a truck and be here this morning and blah, blah, blah....only to not freaking show up!!!) What is it with people?

Everyone wants something for nothing. It's annoying.

And that's my rant for today.

T-minus 10 Days

Til honey comes home! Yaaieeee. I'm sure it will feel like 10 months because let me tell you that the first 3 weeks of this trip have seemed like 3 years.

Of course, what this reminds me of is all the stuff I thought I was going to get done while he was away. Mind you, I didn't do much the first two weeks because of everything that happened with Mojo so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. The crap weather hasn't helped either since two of my major projects would involve having some solid sunshine for at least a few days.

Those two main projects are:

- powerwashing and painting the front porch and stairs.
- powerwashing, sanding and painting the fireplace thing in the backyard (that thing is a freaking eyesore)

(I also had grand visions of working on the edging around the deck and such, but realized quickly that I can't do that one on my own. I'm thinking that will be next Spring's project.)

The other big remaining task is:

- the spare room! - moving extra storage boxes down to garage, setting up new bed, hanging art, cleaning up old dresser, finding new bedside table and lamp - you get the idea, I'm creating a guest room for my Mom to visit.

I am quite proud of getting the garage all organized though. That was a massive weight off my shoulders. The help of good friends was key on the project.

Now if the people that respond to kijiji ads were better at actually showing up, I could finally get our old appliances & furniture sold. I mean seriously, who emails and asks a bazillion questions and then doesn't show up? Or why would you offer half my asking price without even seeing the item? Or buy something and then get it home and decide you don't want it (not my problem!)? People are nuts.

I also wanted to find some cool adirondack chairs for out by the firepit, but maybe Mom and I will find those while we are out touristing around next month. (Anyone know a good place to get them in the Halifax area?...you know, the actual handmade ones...not the do-it yourself shitty ones from Canadian Tire.)

Anywho, I guess I just needed to write this down..and now that I see it written out I'm not so overwhelmed. Really, I only HAVE to do the guest room. The others can just wait for Mother Nature to work with me, and maybe for DBF to return. (Oh, I should note that he's only home for one night and then gone for another two weeks.)

Worth a Read

I added this guy to my blog list about a week ago, but having just read a few more of his posts that gave me a hearty giggle I thought I'd give him a shout out over here where you all might actually notice the link.

Check out [redacted].

If for no other reason that his "Olympic Moment of the Day".

And me without my sunscreen...

FINALLY! A gorgeous, sunny Summer day. First real one in an entire week, and even the one we got last Saturday wasn't even this good.

Of course, I hadn't expected it to stick so wound up out there without my sunscreen. At least I was in a t-shirt so I didn't get too burned...but of course it's a scoop-neck tanline now. Argh. Oh well.

Went for brunch with some girlfriends and it was so exciting to be able to sit out on the shady patio and enjoy the outdoors. Lovely! Good company, good food, good weather. What better way to spend a Sunday, really?

After brunch I just did some wandering around on the waterfront with a couple of the girls. We watched one of the acts for BuskerFest....a troup of Jamaican acrobatty-type guys. I was calling them "Jamaican Cirque du Soleil"....which wound up "Jerk du Soleil" (as in Jerk seasoning...LOL). They did all of these amazing flips and gymnastics and strength tricks, lifting and holding themselves and each other...with a finale of the lead guy doing a running start into a flip over seven people (by people I mean kids from the audience). Just incredible. The athleticism required must take constant training. These guys were built!

The girls had to head out after that so I got an iced coffee and enjoyed a bit more sun and walked the length of the waterfront boardwalk. It's mostly the same stuff I saw when I visited here last year (little did I know at the time that I would be living here a year later!)...so after walking back to my car I decided to head out.

Actually would have been a good day for a drive, but I hadn't thought about where to go, so ran a few errands and then came home to tackle part of the lawn. The back lawn needs another hot day to really dry out from the torrential downpours we had this week but I got through the front and side. What we really need is a new lawnmower with a bag...I should've bought that today. Note to self!

Here's hoping that Mother Nature got my call, and is planning on keeping Summer around for a while. I like the neato thunderstorms but not the clouds and wet that come with them. Three cheers for sun!!!

Ding Dong

Someone keeps ringing my doorbell today. I don't know if it's the same person, or three different people. It's annoying whoever it is.

I generally don't answer the door during the day, because I figure that if I worked outside the house I wouldn't be here to answer it so why should I answer it just because I happen to be here. If I'm expecting a courier or something, then that is different, but just random folks at the door can come back some other time. Chances are they are selling something or collecting donations anyway.

The first ring today was at 9am sharp. Well, I get up at about 8:59 and drag my butt into my office with bedhead and nightie so I'm definitely not answering. The next ring came around 1pm...and I was dressed but was actually in the garage wiping down the fridge we are selling so I wasn't going to drop what I was doing. That person actually had the nerve to ring the bell three freaking times before they finally gave up. The third time was just a few minutes ago, and again I'm working so too bad for them.

I peeked out the window the first time and last time and there were no cars or delivery trucks out front so I can only imagine it was someone going door-to-door.

I checked the front porch after the triple-ringer and found a piece of paper that looked like it had been folded and tried to prop up on the door handle. It was just a hand-written scrap with a woman's name, phone number, the word "cleaner" and a note stating she has an opening tomorrow morning.

I wonder if she has the wrong address and had an appointment to clean someone's house, and thinks she's been ditched or something?

Bye Bye Birdies

I just went outside to check on my feathery little friends....and they are gone!

I guess they were a little older than I thought.

I'll miss you little birdies!

Someone up there must love me...

So yesterday morning when leaving the gym, I was stuck in construction in traffic. It was taking forever and I could see the flagpeople yelling at each other so I rolled my windows down to see if I could hear what the hold up was.

Pushed the button for the passenger window and heard a "click" "click" "drag" "scrape". Crap. Pushed the button again and the window slid for about a half second, then dropped. Yup. Bonk. Right into the door.

Ugh.

I knew that a clip or something had snapped, but tried pushing the "up" button anyway. Nothing.

Ugh some more.

Thankfully it wasn't raining....yet. So I drove it home and called in to the shop. He had me bring it in and sent me home in a cab and I told them just to keep it overnight because I didn't want to have to go back for it in the afternoon.

But he called me at 3:30 to tell me it was done anyway. I braced myself for being told it was some golden $4 kajillion dollar part and like a thousand hours labor. I mean that just seems to be the way, right? But noooooooooooo....instead he tells me that it was covered under a warranty extension! And since they did the one, they did the driver's side too. All no charge.

Yippeeeee!

For a minute there I saw the funds for my fabulous new LCD TV for the bedroom going out the window....

Our New Friends

Over the last month or so we noticed that we had a "pet" birdie. The same little bird would be hanging around our back deck quite often. We are pretty sure it's always the same bird because he/she has a little tuft on his/her head....and he/she is pretty much the only bird we ever actually see on the deck.

I've tried to get it's picture on a few occassions but I'm usually too slow.

The other day I was out there and noticed that there were actually two birdies hanging around. So I stood quietly in the doorway trying to get a photo. That's when I noticed one of them fly into my planter....root around a bit....then fly out the other side. Then, the other one did the same thing.

Turns out they must be Mommy & Daddy, because after they left I had a look and there is a nest in the planter with four little babies in it!! Yup, right there in the soil under the impatients and other annuals they've made themselves a comfy little home. Probably been there for a while because the babies are looking pretty grown up....not grown up enough for flying or anything, but enough to have fully grown faces and voices when the food is incoming.

Here are a few shots. I check on them every day, and water carefully around them, but try not to disturb too much. I don't want to piss off the Mommy & Daddy!

Cheer

Even from far, far away bestest friends know how to send a little cheer. Thanks Jamie!

Hardest Post I've Ever Had to Write

He just didn't get any better over the weekend. He was in pain and it was the best thing we could do.


I'm not really religious and I honestly don't know where humans go in the end, but I believe in doggy heaven...and I know that there is a neverending grassy field filled with bowls of kibble and big sofas and beds for our friends to lay on. He'll be happy there.

I'll miss you Mojo.

If he would just eat something...

...then we could probably carry on for a while. It's like a stupid Catch-22. He won't eat, so we can't give him any drugs. But he's not eating because he feels so crappy. Argh.

He's resting comfortably as far as I can tell. Mostly he just lays on his side, but breathes quite heavily. He's still drinking a fair bit so that is good...he's not dehydrating rapidly....and he's peeing regularly but not so regularly as to be over the top. He still got me out of bed at 2am, but at least this time it wasn't raining...and then he let me sleep for 3 hours before he needed me again.

I can't help but think that if he would just freaking eat something this would have a happier outcome. Well, for the short term anyway. But he's not interested for a reason and I just have to accept that. He's getting weaker and definitely losing weight...poor guy.

At least I have a close friend back from vacation now so he'll go to the vet with me tomorrow if I need him. Arron asked me to be with Mojo til the end...and I want to do it, but I am not sure I can....so having his best friend there will make that easier. I'm getting the blood tests redone tomorrow just to be sure that we've done all we can do. I am hoping for a miracle from the vet.

Getting Along

One day at a time, right? That's how me and the furry pants are taking it.

Last night was a little better. I'm still sleeping on the couch to be near him if he needs me. He only woke me up once at 2am to go outside, then let me sleep through until about 8:30 this time. Unfortunately I think this is more due to the fact that he's getting too weak to deal with his arthritic hind end as often as he was yesterday.

He's still not eating and I imagine the nutrients that we filled him full of through the IV are pretty much gone by now. So he's really just going on his own steam at this point. He's being such a trooper though.

Each trip outside takes a little longer than the last. He gets down the front stairs, but then needs to rest before making it the next 10 feet to the boulevard. Then another rest after the pee. Then another before heading back up the stairs. He must be in agony, but he's pressing on. Our good boy.

So tonight is another night and we shall carry on. I think I'm all cried out for now, or maybe just numb for today. Arron has been quieter on the emails today so hopefully that means he's burying his thoughts in work and keeping his mind busy on other things for a while. I can only imagine what he must be feeling stuck out there. I think this all happened now because nature is trying to keep him safe from having to deal with this in person. Things happen for a reason, even if the reasons don't seem clear to us.

Make Me Strong

I'm a wreck. Emotionally and physically exhausted.

Our vet called me early yesterday evening to tell me that Mojo's prognosis took a turn for the worse. She redid his bloodwork again and his kidney values have actually gotten worse. He is in renal failure. :( He can not recover from this. She is quite certain that the lymphoma has attacked his internal organs, which has caused his kidneys to fail. This is why he is peeing out the fluids almost as fast as he is taking them in and probably why he won't eat.

There is basically nothing we can do for him at this point. Because he won't eat, she still can't give him the prednisone steroid to help make him more comfortable. She suggested I bring him home for the weekend so he isn't living at the hospital anymore. She is sure he is in pain and that his quality of life is on the high end of bad. We can tell because he isn't even wagging his tail anymore or barking or eating or anything a sick but happy dog would do.

So we'll tough it through this weekend, but I'll be taking him back to the vet on Tuesday....and he likely will not be coming home....

It's been exhausting just since I brought him home at 8:00 last night. Because his system is so weakened, the mild athritis he had in his hind end has excelerated to the point of him hardly being able to walk. Our entire friggin house is stairs and it takes every last bit of his energy to get up and down them. He has to pee every 2-3 hours, so that means I'm putting him on his leash, trotting with him down the front hall stairs and then the front porch stairs (in the rain, so that's not helping), coaxing him out to the boulevard for his pee, then trying to convince him to come back up the stairs. More often then not he just collapses at the bottom to rebuild his energy while I try to pet and comfort him while getting rained on. Then after like 5 minutes he can barely drag himself up to the front door. It's so sad to watch. And I'm sure the neighbors love the look of my exhausted ass in a nighty over yoga pants with bedhead and a hoodie at 4am.

Anyway, enough of the depressing details...I just needed to let you all know where it stands. Talking about it makes me feel like I'm doing everything I can. I really miss my Mom and my friends right now...doing this alone is not helping.

The most difficult part of this whole thing is that I am the one that has to relay all of this news to Arron, who is helplessly stuck out at sea. I was a wreck emailing him, but his emails are making me feel OK that I'm doing the right things. He is trying to see if he can come home, but it's doubtful they'd let him leave and it's a $1400 round trip flight from where he is.

Who picks the timing for this shit anyway?

Doggie Day Three

So Mojo had to spend the night at the Emerg clinic again....booooo.

I picked him up from our vet last night and he was stronger and actually barking. Woooo. The techs said he had actually been barking a fair bit of the afternoon...which is good news because he has barely made a peep in days. And those of you that know him at all, know he's a talkative little bugger. I often refer to him as Barky McBarkBark...or Barky McAsshole. :) I was happy to hear his asshole bark!

He looked a bit stronger, but still so much little a sick little old man. I think he was pretty happy to see me until he realized I wasn't taking him home. Dogs are smart like that...they can tell when you turn the car the wrong way.

He had to stay at the clinic with the IV another night because he still isn't eating. The doctor wants to start him on steroids because she is so certain that he likely has lymphoma, but she can't give him the ones she wants to until he starts eating. Hopefully that's today's big success....food. I tried to even tempt him with cheese last night, but no go. He's drinking like a mofo though.

So I picked him up this morning and brought him back to our vet. Hard to say if he's any better...I think he's sick of having to be moved around...and who can blame him. (I have to say I think this whole only one overnight place in town thing is slightly stupid.) I'm hoping he just gets sick of being at the vet and clues in that if he eats he gets to come home.

I'm so lonely without him here. For a year and a half he's been my companion...even when he's annoying and pisses me off. Aside from the week before we moved, when DBF took him in the car to cross the country, I've never been home without him. It's wierd. I keep waiting for him to come wandering in the room and eat the cat's dinner. :(