I have only one more sleep until my vacation begins.
Mark is taking a week off with me so I'm very excited about that. Ordinarily, he can't take that much time off with me but, given that there is a holiday on Monday and we have to go out of town one other day, we just thought that he may as well take the whole week off so, yay! A week off for him and two weeks off for me.
One of the things we'll be doing during our vacation is going to the passport office in Whitby. A friend of ours is going on a course in Florida for a month (in September) so he needs to get a passport and we offered to run his application up there. From all I've heard, it's much faster to get it done there than it is to do it in Ottawa. We thought we'd get ours done at the same time because neither of us has a valid passport and it looks like we'll be needing one next year if we want to do any cross border shopping (thanks to that asshat Bush).
We have a couple of other little day trips planned but other than that, not much else. I'm kind of glad. I think we can both just use a break to chill out around town, hang out with Sam and just enjoy the summer weather while it lasts.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Meeting Austin
While I was out of town on the weekend with my mum (at the shower), I had an opportunity to finally meet my cousin Kelly's son, Austin. He's 8 and this is the first time we've met, sad or what!?
He's visiting my Aunt & Uncle (his grandparents) here in Ontario. Austin lives with his mum in Alberta and, until last September, my Aunt & Uncle lived there too. I can't imagine what a huge adjustment it was for them all to be so far away from each other. It also explains why I haven't met Austin before. I think the last time I saw his mum was in 1997 when my grandmother died.
When we saw Austin, my mum grabbed him for a hug (she's met him several times on visits out west). I introduced myself and shook his hand. I think he was a little surprised (he seemed braced for another hug) but was cool with that. After a while, we deserted the "grown ups" and went down to the basement to play a game on the computer.
I'm not sure if this is your experience or not but I kind of like how, even at the ripe old age of 41, I can still hang at the kids table.
He's visiting my Aunt & Uncle (his grandparents) here in Ontario. Austin lives with his mum in Alberta and, until last September, my Aunt & Uncle lived there too. I can't imagine what a huge adjustment it was for them all to be so far away from each other. It also explains why I haven't met Austin before. I think the last time I saw his mum was in 1997 when my grandmother died.
When we saw Austin, my mum grabbed him for a hug (she's met him several times on visits out west). I introduced myself and shook his hand. I think he was a little surprised (he seemed braced for another hug) but was cool with that. After a while, we deserted the "grown ups" and went down to the basement to play a game on the computer.
I'm not sure if this is your experience or not but I kind of like how, even at the ripe old age of 41, I can still hang at the kids table.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
shower ladies
Over the weekend, I travelled to Smiths Falls with my folks for a bridal shower. The shower was for my cousin Tim's partner, Sarah. They are getting all hitched up in September and this shower was held by our arm of the family.
It was a much smaller shower than the last one I'd been to and that was okay with me. Games were kept to a minimum, the food was tasty and everyone was very friendly and sweet. Just like you'd expect from us!! Interestingly, it was my cousin Pat's daughter first time at an "all-girl party." She's about 4 I think and seemed to be enjoying herself and was super well behaved for someone so young.
Of course, going out of town on Saturday sort of threw a hole into the weekend and a lot of stuff I try to get out of the way early in the weekend had to be postponed until Sunday. We still managed to get Sam out to the park a few times (in between errands and rain showers) and got a shitload of stuff accomplished around the house. I'm constantly amused at how much more stuff you can get done when you're forced to do it in a shorter period of time.
So for now, at least, the yard looks good. We're on vacation next week and I suspect that we'll be back out there puttering some more but in the meantime, I'm trying to get my desk cleaned off and to not look at the clock too much.
It was a much smaller shower than the last one I'd been to and that was okay with me. Games were kept to a minimum, the food was tasty and everyone was very friendly and sweet. Just like you'd expect from us!! Interestingly, it was my cousin Pat's daughter first time at an "all-girl party." She's about 4 I think and seemed to be enjoying herself and was super well behaved for someone so young.
Of course, going out of town on Saturday sort of threw a hole into the weekend and a lot of stuff I try to get out of the way early in the weekend had to be postponed until Sunday. We still managed to get Sam out to the park a few times (in between errands and rain showers) and got a shitload of stuff accomplished around the house. I'm constantly amused at how much more stuff you can get done when you're forced to do it in a shorter period of time.
So for now, at least, the yard looks good. We're on vacation next week and I suspect that we'll be back out there puttering some more but in the meantime, I'm trying to get my desk cleaned off and to not look at the clock too much.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
cart in the rain
The upside of having a really rainy summer is that everything is lovely and lush and green in our town.
The downside is that it seems to rain when we're home and it's clear when we're working. This means that our lawn goes uncut and the weeds are literally (I'm so not joking) taking over the lawn. Mostly they have taken over the front (flowerless) flower bed and have filled that tiny crack which exists between the house and the driveway. It's quite white trash looking actually. It sort of gives our house the illusion of being run down (it's not) and I'm sure detracts any ne'er do wells from breaking in and stealing our stuff (tv).
Last night, as soon as we got home, the heavens opened up and it poured like nobody's business. This sort of washed out our plans to go back to the dog park. Fortunately, about 45 minutes before the park closed (yeah, it closes at 6 pm - handy huh?) the rain stopped and we practically ran to the park. It was awesome. The ball diamonds were flooded so the muddy water squished up through the gravel when you stepped on it. Giant puddles were everywhere. Sam loved it. Water, mud, a giant hole in the ground, puddles. Doggie heaven!
Mark and I tossed a Frisbee back and forth in an effort to engage Sam in some sort of game. He's a funny dude, if you throw a ball, he'll chase it and find it and grab it with his mouth. Once he has the ball, one of two things will happen: 1. He’ll drop it back where it landed and run back to you or 2. He'll sit down and play with the ball. In either case, returning the ball to us is not yet in his bag of tricks.
A very cool dog, Cooper, arrived at the park at the same time we did. Cooper's owner threw a ball and Cooper would fetch it. Sam started running back and forth with Cooper but wouldn't try to get the ball (which was probably good). It's just so strange, he loves running around but we can't get him to fetch.
No matter what though, he loves the park. It's good for him to get out there and run around and it's good for us too. Inevitably we end running around with him so it’s like family fun cardio time. The rain has now finally stopped here. Hopefully this means we’ll be able to go to the park tonight and not have to deal with lotsa mud!
The downside is that it seems to rain when we're home and it's clear when we're working. This means that our lawn goes uncut and the weeds are literally (I'm so not joking) taking over the lawn. Mostly they have taken over the front (flowerless) flower bed and have filled that tiny crack which exists between the house and the driveway. It's quite white trash looking actually. It sort of gives our house the illusion of being run down (it's not) and I'm sure detracts any ne'er do wells from breaking in and stealing our stuff (tv).
Last night, as soon as we got home, the heavens opened up and it poured like nobody's business. This sort of washed out our plans to go back to the dog park. Fortunately, about 45 minutes before the park closed (yeah, it closes at 6 pm - handy huh?) the rain stopped and we practically ran to the park. It was awesome. The ball diamonds were flooded so the muddy water squished up through the gravel when you stepped on it. Giant puddles were everywhere. Sam loved it. Water, mud, a giant hole in the ground, puddles. Doggie heaven!
Mark and I tossed a Frisbee back and forth in an effort to engage Sam in some sort of game. He's a funny dude, if you throw a ball, he'll chase it and find it and grab it with his mouth. Once he has the ball, one of two things will happen: 1. He’ll drop it back where it landed and run back to you or 2. He'll sit down and play with the ball. In either case, returning the ball to us is not yet in his bag of tricks.
A very cool dog, Cooper, arrived at the park at the same time we did. Cooper's owner threw a ball and Cooper would fetch it. Sam started running back and forth with Cooper but wouldn't try to get the ball (which was probably good). It's just so strange, he loves running around but we can't get him to fetch.
No matter what though, he loves the park. It's good for him to get out there and run around and it's good for us too. Inevitably we end running around with him so it’s like family fun cardio time. The rain has now finally stopped here. Hopefully this means we’ll be able to go to the park tonight and not have to deal with lotsa mud!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
running sam
Since the weekend, we've been taking Sam to a park every day. On Monday night, we went back to the Off-Leash Park at Lake Ontario Park but were driven away by a couple of things.
Because it was so humid and rainy on Monday the mosquitoes were terrible. After the rain, the breeze disappeared. We were trying to keep Sam in the shady part of the fenced off area and the bugs were thick under the trees. Mark and I endured being chewed alive for a while but when this big bitch named Mia started going nuts on Sam and on us, we decided to leave. It was odd actually, around the time when Mia arrived with her humans, I asked Mark, "Can you smell alcohol?" There was a very very strong smell of it, like it smells when it's coming from a person's pores (I know that's sort of gross but that's what it was). There was an older gentleman (probably in his 70's and a young woman (looked like late 20's to me) with this dog and I got a sense that the smell was coming from him.
They let their dog off the leash and she was chasing some other dogs who were closer to her in size. At first I thought, "how cool, they are really running hard." It didn't take me long to realize though, that she was chasing them in an "assertive" fashion. Sam had been off playing with some smaller dogs and had made his way over to me. For whatever reason, Mia got tired of chasing these other dogs and come toward Mark and I. Now, while this was going on, a very cool dog named Cassie was sharing Sam's water with him. Mia made a move toward us and Sam barked at her, just a little "hey back away from my human" sort of thing. Mia really didn't like this because she got very vicious and wouldn't move away, kept barking at Sam. She was actually so loud (of course by this time Sam starts barking) that a guy in the condo across street hollared at them to shut up.
Mia's owner was all "hey it's alright" to us and "you be good or we're going home" to Mia. Really, he should have put the leash on her and left. He didn't though so we did. After that episode, I think we'll wait until at least the ground dries up before we return the park. It was quite the doggie drama.
Last night, we went back to the dog park near our house. It's pretty open and doesn't have any shade but last night, it didn't have any other dogs either. Part of what is good about Lake Ontario Park is that Sam can hang out with other dogs. He doesn't really run as much when they are there though, he plays but doesn't run like he does at the M Centre. Last night, he ran his little guts out.
It's very interesting, all of this dog park stuff. I just hope that they give the go-ahead to the pilot project so that things can get settled and be permanent. It's a little embarassing that a city the size of Kingston doesn't actually have a permanent leash-off area yet.
Because it was so humid and rainy on Monday the mosquitoes were terrible. After the rain, the breeze disappeared. We were trying to keep Sam in the shady part of the fenced off area and the bugs were thick under the trees. Mark and I endured being chewed alive for a while but when this big bitch named Mia started going nuts on Sam and on us, we decided to leave. It was odd actually, around the time when Mia arrived with her humans, I asked Mark, "Can you smell alcohol?" There was a very very strong smell of it, like it smells when it's coming from a person's pores (I know that's sort of gross but that's what it was). There was an older gentleman (probably in his 70's and a young woman (looked like late 20's to me) with this dog and I got a sense that the smell was coming from him.
They let their dog off the leash and she was chasing some other dogs who were closer to her in size. At first I thought, "how cool, they are really running hard." It didn't take me long to realize though, that she was chasing them in an "assertive" fashion. Sam had been off playing with some smaller dogs and had made his way over to me. For whatever reason, Mia got tired of chasing these other dogs and come toward Mark and I. Now, while this was going on, a very cool dog named Cassie was sharing Sam's water with him. Mia made a move toward us and Sam barked at her, just a little "hey back away from my human" sort of thing. Mia really didn't like this because she got very vicious and wouldn't move away, kept barking at Sam. She was actually so loud (of course by this time Sam starts barking) that a guy in the condo across street hollared at them to shut up.
Mia's owner was all "hey it's alright" to us and "you be good or we're going home" to Mia. Really, he should have put the leash on her and left. He didn't though so we did. After that episode, I think we'll wait until at least the ground dries up before we return the park. It was quite the doggie drama.
Last night, we went back to the dog park near our house. It's pretty open and doesn't have any shade but last night, it didn't have any other dogs either. Part of what is good about Lake Ontario Park is that Sam can hang out with other dogs. He doesn't really run as much when they are there though, he plays but doesn't run like he does at the M Centre. Last night, he ran his little guts out.
It's very interesting, all of this dog park stuff. I just hope that they give the go-ahead to the pilot project so that things can get settled and be permanent. It's a little embarassing that a city the size of Kingston doesn't actually have a permanent leash-off area yet.
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