It has been a week full of stories I could tell about animals. Two in particular.
First of all, there is Geo-Dog...not er real name, but that is the title she has earned because she comes along as we geocache, sometimes. She is a smart critter. We went geocaching this past week, along a walking trail in the middle of nowhere, pretty much. Searching for one particular cache, we went tromping through long grass and short shrubs, scratching up our legs pretty well. Son was not a happy camper when we got ground zero, and we never did find this cache. We were dreading the traipse back, and as we started out, I noticed that Geo-Dog seemed to know where she was going. I figured things couldn't get much worse, so I let her have her head and followed along at the end of her leash. Wouldn't you know my silly, soppy, half-crazed Black lab/shepherd/greyhound cross picked up the scent of other cachers? She led us along a nearly invisible trail....MUCH easier on the legs than our entry trail...and got us back to the path, goiung in a different direction from where we had come from? Pretty impressive. Now if only she could have left the ticks behind. We are STILL finding them!
The second story is about a little frog named Hopper. We had a lot of puddles in the ditches near our house, and could hear the frogs SCREAMING out their ribbits....so I thought it might be kind of cool to go frog hunting with Son and Daughter. So we went, annd we looked, and listened, and looked....and couldn't find anything because we were looking for frogs to match the loudness of the ribbits. I will never know how a sound that loud could come from a frog that small, but we finally found one, about an inch long. The kids were thrilled and set him up in a huge jar with a rock and water and such....and declared we would keep it forever. How to feed a frog? So I was out in the backyard daily, after some internet research, catching ants and beetles and anything I could find that moved. No luck. Hopper would not eat. One day, just out of desperation, I caught a housefly and got it into the jar. The fly was about 3/4 the size of the frog. Well....Hopper ate the fly....and died. My suspicion, based on the size of the fly was that Hopper either choked to death, or his tummy exploded.
I now have a tiny grave in my flower bed, with a rock saying "Hopper" on it, loving;y dug and created by my children. Silly frog.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Oh, yes, THAT makes it all better!
Ever had somebody say something to you that had the absolute opposite of the desired effect? That would be today. That would be me.
I went to one of our local hospitals, to visit a friend. She was signed in on Monday to have a baby. She had asked me to come visit sometime this week, if I could, in an e-mail she sent a few days before she was admitted. So I finally had a spare moment or three today. I dropped Son off at preschool (kids other than relatives are not allowed on the baby ward), and high tailed it to the hospital. Arrived shortly after one, to find that Baby/Mom quiet time was from 1-2PM daily. So I sat in the hospital hallway and read for an hour. I went in, and asked for my friend. The nurse checked her chart, then checked again. "Are you sure she isn't under another last name?" Nope. They asked when she had been signed in, I said Monday. She thought maybe my friend had been discharged, checked, STILL no sign of my friend. Another nurse walks in, so she asks HER. The nurse's response is "Oh,yes, we have her here...family is room 9, remember?" Oh, yes, says the other nurse. Are you family? No...just a friend. I get a strange look from the nurse who had known where my friend was, and she says "I'm sorry, you'll have to talk to her family...I DON'T WANT TO ALARM YOU, but I can't give out information....I'm sorry, but you'll have to call her husband to get information..."
And that was it. I was supposed to leave.
Um...I don't want to alarm you? Excuse me? That, right there, has me alarmed. Very. Because, you see, I still have no idea what that was all about. I don't know if my friend is in danger. I don't know if her baby is in danger. And because they live on a farm about 2 1/2 hours from me, and so her husband is fairly likely to stay in town until she is discharged, I have no clue how I would contact him short of stalking the hospital corridors until I catch a glimpse of him!!!!! And even if it WAS a simple task to contact him, just the looks, the demeanour, and the words "I don't want to alarm you" are enough to have me really, really afraid for my friend and nearly frantic in wanting to know what is going on.
Maybe if Hubby can watch Son, I can go back tomorrow and leave a message for him at the desk or something. Either way, it's going to be a long, worrisome night.
I went to one of our local hospitals, to visit a friend. She was signed in on Monday to have a baby. She had asked me to come visit sometime this week, if I could, in an e-mail she sent a few days before she was admitted. So I finally had a spare moment or three today. I dropped Son off at preschool (kids other than relatives are not allowed on the baby ward), and high tailed it to the hospital. Arrived shortly after one, to find that Baby/Mom quiet time was from 1-2PM daily. So I sat in the hospital hallway and read for an hour. I went in, and asked for my friend. The nurse checked her chart, then checked again. "Are you sure she isn't under another last name?" Nope. They asked when she had been signed in, I said Monday. She thought maybe my friend had been discharged, checked, STILL no sign of my friend. Another nurse walks in, so she asks HER. The nurse's response is "Oh,yes, we have her here...family is room 9, remember?" Oh, yes, says the other nurse. Are you family? No...just a friend. I get a strange look from the nurse who had known where my friend was, and she says "I'm sorry, you'll have to talk to her family...I DON'T WANT TO ALARM YOU, but I can't give out information....I'm sorry, but you'll have to call her husband to get information..."
And that was it. I was supposed to leave.
Um...I don't want to alarm you? Excuse me? That, right there, has me alarmed. Very. Because, you see, I still have no idea what that was all about. I don't know if my friend is in danger. I don't know if her baby is in danger. And because they live on a farm about 2 1/2 hours from me, and so her husband is fairly likely to stay in town until she is discharged, I have no clue how I would contact him short of stalking the hospital corridors until I catch a glimpse of him!!!!! And even if it WAS a simple task to contact him, just the looks, the demeanour, and the words "I don't want to alarm you" are enough to have me really, really afraid for my friend and nearly frantic in wanting to know what is going on.
Maybe if Hubby can watch Son, I can go back tomorrow and leave a message for him at the desk or something. Either way, it's going to be a long, worrisome night.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Stove, The Run, and The Rest
I seem to have this annoying habit of only writing once a month while consistently reminding myself at least a few times a week that I really want to write about this, that, or the other thing, so those of you who have decided to bear with me....thanks. :) I always seem to have a lot to write about when I actually sit down and DO it, and i invariably forget at least a dozen really good anecdotes along the way.
So...the last I wrote would have been what? May 11. There you go. Nearly a month ago.
Since then, as you see in the title, there has been a development on the stove. Namely, the thing decided to explode again. Same element. So we unplugged it and hucked it into the front yard, where some nice guys hauled it off to the dump for $35. And for $250 plus the $60 (?) delivery fee, I now have myself a nice, shiny, white, 9 year old ceramic top stove. YESSSSSSSSS! I love it! The thing MUST have been absolute top of the line when the people bought it new, they took amazingly good care of it, so it looks nearly new, and it is SO much easier to keep clean! No more having to take the burners out and scrub the metal plate thingies underneath because you spilled something, no more residue causing clouds of smoke if you forgot there was something under the burner.
On May 24, Daughter and I ran a 5km fun run. She did amazingly, running most of the way, and we finished in 46 minutes on the nose. Son was near the finish line and so grabbed my hand and ran through with us. I even have pictures! Next year we hope to improve on that time, but for her first run, that was AMAZING!
It was a lot of fun....and probably one of the only times when I have been fed a hamburger at 9:50AM (that's what all the runners got....a burger or hot dog, and a glass of juice, when they were done)
Other than that, not a whole lot has happened...had a farewell party for a beloved preschool teacher who just happens to be leaving the job after our youngest "graduates" from preschool in a few weeks. I have created sock monkeys for her and the other teacher there, to remind them of my little monkey (son). :)
I just came back this evening from a 24 hour retreat at an amazing place about an hour from here...it's called a "House of Prayer", and is run by a priest and some nuns....basically a place to go for peace and quiet, reflection, stuff like that. They feed you, give you a place to sleep, and basically stay out of your way. It was beautiful. Last year,there were deer just outside the window. This year was birds....bright yellow finches, blue jays, stuff like that. We went to plan our next steps for Chorus, but it was a nice restful place, too....if you discount having to share a double bed with one of my team when I am used to a king sized with Hubby.
Oh yes! And I gave Son a mohawk hairdo. No pics yet, but I'm sure I will get some eventually for you all to see. It actually looks really good on him, which even Hubby had to admit when we surprised him with it on his return from a 2-day trip to Kingston.
So...the last I wrote would have been what? May 11. There you go. Nearly a month ago.
Since then, as you see in the title, there has been a development on the stove. Namely, the thing decided to explode again. Same element. So we unplugged it and hucked it into the front yard, where some nice guys hauled it off to the dump for $35. And for $250 plus the $60 (?) delivery fee, I now have myself a nice, shiny, white, 9 year old ceramic top stove. YESSSSSSSSS! I love it! The thing MUST have been absolute top of the line when the people bought it new, they took amazingly good care of it, so it looks nearly new, and it is SO much easier to keep clean! No more having to take the burners out and scrub the metal plate thingies underneath because you spilled something, no more residue causing clouds of smoke if you forgot there was something under the burner.
On May 24, Daughter and I ran a 5km fun run. She did amazingly, running most of the way, and we finished in 46 minutes on the nose. Son was near the finish line and so grabbed my hand and ran through with us. I even have pictures! Next year we hope to improve on that time, but for her first run, that was AMAZING!
It was a lot of fun....and probably one of the only times when I have been fed a hamburger at 9:50AM (that's what all the runners got....a burger or hot dog, and a glass of juice, when they were done)
Other than that, not a whole lot has happened...had a farewell party for a beloved preschool teacher who just happens to be leaving the job after our youngest "graduates" from preschool in a few weeks. I have created sock monkeys for her and the other teacher there, to remind them of my little monkey (son). :)
I just came back this evening from a 24 hour retreat at an amazing place about an hour from here...it's called a "House of Prayer", and is run by a priest and some nuns....basically a place to go for peace and quiet, reflection, stuff like that. They feed you, give you a place to sleep, and basically stay out of your way. It was beautiful. Last year,there were deer just outside the window. This year was birds....bright yellow finches, blue jays, stuff like that. We went to plan our next steps for Chorus, but it was a nice restful place, too....if you discount having to share a double bed with one of my team when I am used to a king sized with Hubby.
Oh yes! And I gave Son a mohawk hairdo. No pics yet, but I'm sure I will get some eventually for you all to see. It actually looks really good on him, which even Hubby had to admit when we surprised him with it on his return from a 2-day trip to Kingston.
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