what a year that was

 Happy anniversary to Kirsten and Shawn.  August 10th, 1996 was a lovely day with all the festivities taking place at the Museum of Nature - a gorgeous place for a wedding. Kirsten was dressed in a simple white gown and I was in a gold shot silk number that I’d love to fit into one day - the fabric is divine. Shawn looked debonair in a tux, but gosh, so young. Actually all of us had smooth, young faces without the mark of experience.

1996 is one of those years to remember. It started off sad with my Aunty Jean’s passing, but while visiting Alberta for the funeral I learned of a cattle drive that would traipse across southern Alberta on land near where my great-grandparents homesteaded. On the way home from her funeral I bought a belt that I’ve worn almost everyday since and I think of Aunty Jean and how important she was to me every time I put it on.

Our first parrots hatched in the early spring of 1996. There was the cattle drive (the best vacation ever). We got Pan, our greyhound, from Kirsten, in the summer. Kirsten’s wedding was the cake topper of the year. Following her wedding my first horse arrived (disaster, but that’s another story). And to end the year we had a huge party and roasted a lamb. All this in one year! Incredible!

We had several hours of beautiful summer day until the clouds socked-in, bringing buckets of rain. Much to Carm’s dismay, it seems that the previously dormant grass was actually saving energy so that it could grow at twice the rate once the drought ended! Today’s moisture will likely triple the growth!

I was browsing the ‘Zara’ website and saw a pair of gold sequin pants! How awesome would that be! So tempted ;-)

 Headline tonight: 5,241,900 cases with 166,071 deaths in the US. There are a total of 119,744 (119,404 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 8,982 (8,981 yesterday) deaths today.

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

~Khalil Gibran

cementing our love

 Like a true Italian, Carm grinned with a satisfaction that can only come from mixing cement. Yes, the new post for the satellite dish needed a bag of the ancient building material to anchor it in the ground. We let it dry overnight and the next morning Carm quickly decided it needed another bag. It’s not an elegant sculpture or a fun paving stone (maybe that will come later), but it’s cement none-the-less!

While Carm was working I sat down on the huge rock near where he was digging but soon jumped up in dismay as 100s of small red beetles were scurrying over the surface. A closer look in the area, including on our little oak tree, revealed thousands of them swarming over every surface. Thanks to the internet it was decided that they are Boxelder beetles and that we have an infestation of them. What to do? Ignore and let nature have her way? Or douse with toxic chemicals?

After a few glorious days of sun and swimming, it was cloudy with bits of rain today. 

Adia has been practicing her mat, not long periods, but with me stepping out of the house for a few seconds. She’s not been perfect but is improving. I haven’t been repeating the command before stepping outside, but that might help. As it is, ‘mat’ is a complex behaviour that means lie down on the mat on one hip (not like a sphinx) and stay there until I tell you ‘ok’.

(edit: we’ve done some more mat with me stepping out of the house and got up to 30 seconds. We’ll work on more duration as the days go by - hey, just a thought - I could use the remote camera which has voice to stretch the stay out longer or maybe it’s a skill that’s not really required?).

We’ve also been improving her backup from a distance, with a sit or down chained at the end. Not particularly useful! But fun and builds attention span. We even got a few decent tries outside with so many distractions. Now if only I could teach her to clip her own nails…

 Headline tonight: Over 20 million cases world-wide. 5,198,422 cases with 165,576 deaths in the US. There are a total of 119,404 (118,984 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 8,981 (8,970 yesterday) deaths today.

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”

~Sylvia Plath

blood bath

 I was standing at the kitchen counter preparing some chocolate chip cookies for the oven when I heard the front door being flung open and Carm crying out “I need your help, something bad has happened…”. My stomach did a flip. When I turned around I was shocked to see his whole face streaming with blood. My stomach dropped and I took a big breath . I would have liked to freak out at that point, but what good would that do, so I collected my emotions and got him to the sink so I could wash away the blood and take stock.

He’s got a big (1-2 in) gash just back from his forehead in his hair which may or may not need stitches. The heavy bleeding stopped quickly and since it’s not gaping we figured he’d be okay. 

And how did this misadventure happen? Cutting the grass under the apple trees. I think a heavy hat and eye protection will be used in the future.

Can you believe it’s Friday again? I’ve said this every Friday for 20 weeks now. A bit repetitive but I’m always so shocked that another week has gone by so quickly. Time has not stopped, even though it would be great if it did.

CBC put out a survey asking people how they’ve managed during the pandemic; after giving it some thought I chose the smiley face icon as I feel that for the most part I’ve managed quite well. I read an essay by Rick Steves (the travel guy) about how it felt to be stuck at home and how he’s embraced the opportunity to learn new skills and visit local sites, and I suppose that’s what I’ve done (to a lesser degree).

We had our first bacon & tomato sandwiches tonight, thanks to a bag of tomatoes from Trudie. We’d been there for a distant visit this afternoon and she told me her recipe for garlic sauce… I gave it a whirl when we got home but it was an epic fail. First I used a fragrant olive oil that overpowers the flavour, then it wouldn’t whip up so I ended up throwing in an egg white which is my go-to sauce recipe. It may end up in the compost heap. But the tomatoes were good, and who can complain about bacon!

 Headline tonight: 5,094,759 cases with 164,075 deaths in the US. There are a total of 118,984 (118,514 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 8,970 (8,966 yesterday) deaths today.

“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.”

Leo Tolstoy