GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE

I walked into my office yesterday morning to find one of the girls in tears. She had been on the phone with a representative of our greedy government, trying her best to help a client who is in dire straits, and the agent was not only patronizing, but also quite insulting. Someone else would just shrug it off. It isn’t our company after all, but we take our clients’ problems to heart. It seems that our heads of state are labouring diligently for their bonuses, which means they have to empty the pockets of the small businesses and ordinary citizens. They are very adept at using scare tactics and wasting enormous amounts of time by sending form after form to be completed and returned within 30 days…or else…they go into your bank account! Even more frustrating is that much of the information they demand is already in one of their departments…but not the same one… and we have no choice but to comply, over and over again. The client is billed for the hours required to respond to the government’s BS, of course, and most accounting firms rejoice; it’s more money in their pockets too. Our office employees have not yet learned to be mercenaries.

I contacted a consultant about the problem, and guess what? His advice boiled down to screwing the government, legally…or at least in a way that you may have to put up with being hassled, but would not have to give up any money. It seems many of the huge companies have the method down to an art – but they also have the funds to bribe officials or to pay sharp lawyers to fight back if ever they are caught. There is nothing new in the idea; it has been going on for years. Now, however, because of the economic crunch, it hits home harder. When you have 2 dollars, and have to give up one of them, it can be endured. But when you only have one, and still have to give it up, you take notice. Complaints do no good. Action is needed, but how does one start?

I went to sleep last night with the problem and frustration milling in my mind, and woke this morning to find it still there. Ugh! I don’t want to spend the weekend thinking about it, so will attempt to change the subject.

When my mind is too busy, physical activity helps to clear it, which means that my house should be spick and span by the end of the day; my Christmas trees should be decorated; my baking done; my car washed; wood to last the week carried up; and all the books invading my home office dusted and stacked alphabetically…then I’ll write a thank you note to the government for having given me the initiative. Right. It’s not going to happen.

Back to changing the subject.

If the Weather Network is to be believed, my Dunany Demons are going to be busy for the next few days. It isn’t falling yet, but we are to get snow until Tuesday night. Skiers and snowboarders will be ecstatic, the plough guys will be grumbling, and yours truly will spend some time today making sure the generator is in good shape, and that there is enough gas to use it. Storms in this area usually lead to the power going off; it is wise to be prepared.

You know what? Talking about the weather isn’t working either, so it’s time to put on some loud music and dance around with the dust mop and the doggies. Just that thought is making me SMILE, and I hope making you SMILE too. Have a good day, folks!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

AND THE RAIN COMETH

I read Kilroy’s blog this morning, and part of his message did not please me. After so many beautiful (although hot) days of sunshine, it is going to rain on the one I picked to drive to Detroit. I checked on The Weather Network Site, and it warns me that there will be similar weather all the way down - the whole 8 to 10 hours. That means I need to get new windshield wipers as soon as my brother and I get back from his appointment at the hospital today. Poor Kilroy is heading east, and he will be seeing the same conditions. Bah! Humbug!

What’s more, the Network predicts rain for my full stay at Suzie’s, with only Tuesday, the day we drive back, being sunny. That doesn’t matter so much, I guess. Suzie’s home is actually in Troy, a nice suburb, with a huge, fenced backyard, lots of parasols, and an open garage. So rain or shine we’ll be sitting outside. I’m not in the money these days, so there won’t be much shopping. I will, of course, drop in at Barnes & Nobles. I can’t drive by that store – my truck turns into its parking lot automatically, LOL! You can practically inhale the scent of thousands of new books before you even open the door. Paradise!

I arrived home late from the office last night. Traffic was heavy. It was so nice to finally relax on the quiet of my gallery. A beautiful evening, stars galore, and the only noise was that of the doggies scrambling off now and then to see whatever had caught their attention in the bush. My brother and his friend, Fran, will be house & doggie sitting while I’m away, and I know Bird really enjoys being outside here. He tells me that the air is different, fresher, and he finds it much easier to breathe. He and Fran will stay over tonight so that I can show them where things are, the doggies’ routine, Bud’s medication, etc.

I spoke by telephone to both my sons last night. My eldest was upset. Yesterday morning he awoke to find that thieves had broken into his car, which was parked in the driveway of his new house, and had stolen his GPS, his Cell phone, his Fed Ex badge, his new sunglasses. To add insult to injury, they left both doors open, so his battery was dead too. He hasn’t been living in that area very long, and complained that such a thing never happened when he was living downtown Montreal. Poor guy was NOT having a good day.

I’m taking my laptop with me for my trip, but I am not sure how much time I’ll have to use it, other than for a couple of hours work. This will probably be my last post until I get back next week.

Have good trip, my friend, Kilroy, and to all of you I wish a great long weekend. I’ll post my adventures when I return – if I remember them. Suzie is sitting waiting on me with a bottle of tequila in hand, LOL!

SMILES for you folks!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

A VIRUS?

The day before yesterday, Line, the only other girl left at the office, was not feeling up to par. I caught her looking at my futon with longing, LOL! Yesterday she called in and I could tell she was sick. Line is a bouncy person – yesterday she was dragging her heels. I told her to stay in bed. Last night, by the time I got back home, my heels were in the same state. It was not late, and I was already struggling to keep my eyes open. I gave in and went to bed, sure that I would wake up within a couple of hours, then be unable to sleep for the rest of the night. How wrong I was! I vaguely remember Grump-puppy disturbing me at 3 AM, wanting to go out, and me telling him to go away, lie down! He finally succeeded in getting me out of bed at 5:30 this morning, and I’m still not 100%. I’m not complaining – I’ll take any hours of sleep I can get – it’s the feeling that I could use more shut-eye that is bothering me. I feel slightly dizzy too. Is this a new virus going around? There seems to be a new one popping up every other day – unless it’s just the media using scare tactics (in cahoots with the pharmaceutical companies, probably). I guess we’ll see as we go along.

As I was crawling into bed, my associate called. His mood was hopeful – his business ventures viewed with a little more optimism. I know he’s working his butt off to make things right, and I’m sending him all the positive vibes I can muster. We should know more by tonight. This is really the ‘make or break’ week, and if he ever tries something like this again, I’m gonna kill him! I’ll probably have to stand in line, LOL!

We have another beautiful, sunny day, and it’s not the heavy humidity we been experiencing lately. Great for those on the last week of the annual construction holiday here in Quebec. I expect Kilroy will be eyeballing his vélo, planning a bit of cycling. Yours truly will shortly be hopping into her truck and heading for the city office. Another day and, hopefully, another dollar!

Have a good day, folks! Sending you a SMILE!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

GRANDCHILDREN'S HUGS

What a beautiful day! Now that’s the kind of summer weather we think about when shovelling snow! Not too hot, breezy, blue sky with fluffy white clouds…perfect!!

I was up at 6 AM, then it wasn’t long until I got into the cleaning mode. With the satellite tuned to classic rock music, and the doggies outside looking in, the house (main floor, at least) was dusted, vacuumed, floors washed and kitchen waxed, washing done…and I took breaks drinking long glasses of cold water, admiring the scenery from my swing on the gallery. It was completed by 2:20 PM – nice!

My granddaughter and a friend dropped in for a few minutes, although she wouldn’t get out of the car. She’s wary of the doggies who, of course, were showing off, prancing around me as I stood outside and chatted.

A little later I ran up to say goodbye to Suzie, who is heading back to Detroit. While I was there, my son, Jo, drove by, saw my car, and he and his two oldest boys stopped to say hello to M’mère. I got my hugs and kisses in, but I’m greedy. When I was on my way back home I decided that I hadn’t seen his new baby either for a couple of weeks, so arrived at his home to get…more hugs & kisses!! There’s nothing quite as nice as a grandchild’s chubby arms hanging onto your neck. Bali had just finished his supper, and his hands were a little sticky – LOL – and like that bothers me?? Nope!

The baby, Tao, has put on weight. He was sleeping away in his little chair, in spite of Bali’s excited yelling beside him – a sign of a good baby – and looks more and more like his big bro, Nalou. I mentioned it, and Nalou smiled; I could tell he was pleased as punch that this is so.

After a short hop to see my brother, Bird, I came home to my clean house and my hungry doggies. They were fed, and I dined on old fashioned English ‘fish ‘n chips’ while listening to the highlights of the World Cup Soccer game; Germany won, as I had thought they would. My foot was too swollen to take the usual walk with the doggies. It’s getting better, but is still sore when I use it as much as I did today.

I was nodding off by 10 PM, but woke 4 hours later – and it seems Murphy sneaked out the back door. Instead of tossing & turning, I got up and here I am, posting on my blog at 2:30 AM. I’ll try some reading to entice Murphy to join me again. The meeting with my associates didn’t happen today, and I want to make sure I’m awake enough tomorrow to catch up to them.

All in all, an uneventful but fine Saturday for me! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, people. Just the weather alone has to make you SMILE!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

THE BUD SAGA - PART 11

Another beautiful day! I’ve been trying to keep my mind on the work I have to do, and I’m not having much success. My eyes keep straying to the window. From sticking my head outside when opening the door for the doggies, I know for a fact that it isn’t even cold. A great day for a walk, ski, drive – anything to do as long as it’s not inside. I am also aware that the work I brought home has to be finished…damn!

For some reason, I can’t comment on Google blogs. It’s been happening for a few days now, and I have had no answer from Google support. I guess the keepers of the site studied at the same school as our government officials – they only answer if they think you owe them money. I’m not sure if this problem is just from my home computer…it works sometimes, other times it doesn’t. Nothing can frustrate me more than things that won’t function as they should, especially if it has anything to do with computers. Because I am such an electronic whiz (NOT!!), I realize my hands are tied. I have to depend on others to resolve the problem. Bah. Humbug!

My duties wait, so I’ll get on with the Bud Saga. At least I can still cut & paste!

YOU WANT ME TO BABY-SIT WHAT??? – the fight

The dogs and I were outside on Saturday morning when a car drove into the lane. It was my comrade, stopping to see how I was faring with the cage. The dogs rushed forward barking, with Bud, still intense, nipping and jumping on the labs, striving to bully his way ahead. Beef, normally passive, suddenly turned to retaliate, and the fight was on. Although Beef was much larger, the pit did not back down.

Anyone who has ever heard or seen a dogfight knows how horrific it is. Heart pounding, I ran into the house and grabbed the water pails, then came racing out to douse them, one pail after the other. Startled, they hesitated just long enough for my comrade to grab and hang onto Beef’s collar, and I leapt to take hold of the pit’s choker. He ducked back, and I missed but, thankfully, he did move away.

Keeping them apart, we assessed the damage. There was blood everywhere! Beef was cut on his face, his shoulder and chest. Only his thick fur had kept it from being too serious. Bud, on the other hand, was limping, lifting one of his front legs, yelping in pain. He shied away when we approached him, so neither of us dared to inspect it thoroughly. I kept an attentive eye on him for the next hour. The bleeding had stopped, and he looked okay, just slightly favouring his leg, so a visit to the vet didn’t seem warranted.

I was attending a party in the city that night. Even though the pit was abnormally quiet after the fight and the day outdoors, I opted against leaving him loose. The Cheeto’s trick got him into the cage, though I noted that this time he looked up to watch me leave before he had finished eating the treat.

It was great to be with my friends again, and for a couple of hours I caught up on their doings and, in turn, told them some ‘Bud’ stories. Yet, as much as I had been anticipating this outing, I found I wasn’t really into it. I was worried about the dogs. I felt especially guilty about shutting the pit in the cage again. The necessity of having to go to work was a valid reason; the luxury of social ventures didn’t appear so acceptable. When the feeling got too onerous, I said my goodbyes and headed back to the bush.

There was no traffic, but the drive had never seemed so long. Finally I was in the lane. I hurried to open the door and the labs greeted me fondly. Bud watched as I unlatched the cage, but there was no leap out this time. He was limping badly, whining whenever his wounded foot touched the floor. On his second attempt, he managed to crawl up onto the couch, and lay there motionless. I hadn’t yet removed my coat and the gloves, so decided to risk taking a closer look at his paw. He didn’t resist as I peered over him for a better view. Damn! It had swollen to nearly double its size. It was too late for the vet that night, but first thing in the morning I would have to get him attention. In the meantime…I’m not good with pain myself, so I took two extra-strong aspirin from the medicine cabinet, wrapped them in cheese, and carefully placed it on the couch in front of the pit's nose. When he ate it I felt a sense of relief. That should kill some of the pain for a few hours, fellow.

It took forty minutes, nearly half of the Cheeto’s bag, and a little shove on the rump to coax the pit into the back seat of my car the next morning. He was quiet during the drive to the vet’s office. I parked as close as I could to the entrance, then went for help. One of the group came out and carried Bud inside, deposited him on a stainless steel table in a small room, then left, telling me someone would be with us shortly. I studied the pit. He was looking around with curiosity, but drooling copiously and panting loudly between whimpers. When the female vet walked into the room, he attempted to stand up on the table. I shook my head to her query about his being wicked, (I wasn’t sure about that, but cowardly figured she might leave again if I said so) and she put her hand on his back to hold him down, crooning to him softly.

“A beautiful specimen of the pit-bull breed," she told me as she inspected his paw. I guess my “yeh” wasn’t too enthusiastic, because she looked at me, speculation in her eyes before asking, “What happened?”

I explained about the fight as she continued her examination. “We’ll need x-rays.”

When she signalled that I join her again in the room, Bud was sporting a huge band-aid wrapped around his paw and front leg, and a cone surrounding his neck to keep him from tearing it off. The darned mutt seemed to have completely bounced back...highly alert and no longer whining.

“I’ll give you a prescription for antibiotics,” the vet told me. “You’ll have to keep him quiet for a few days, then come back so we can see him.”

Quiet? Bud?

“You can pick up the medication at the counter,” she continued.

“Prozac?” I joked.

“Prozac?” she frowned. “For the dog?” She wasn’t amused. Or maybe my tone had sounded too hopeful.

“We could share.” I gave it another attempt. “Me and the pit.” The vet pursed her lips in disapproval.

“Before getting a pit-bull, potential owners should realize that they are very high-energy dogs. It’s not fair to the animal if the owner is not prepared to deal with that.” she stated.

“I’m not the owner. I’m just babysitting ‘till the owner gets back...and THAT better happen soon!"

She raised an eyebrow. It was clear that she didn’t think my babysitting up to par. Miffed by her censure, I snapped the leash onto Bud’s collar and followed her to the reception counter. She was still standing beside me writing on a chart as I made arrangements for payment through my friend’s bill. Then on a whim...”How much to get a dog put down by euthanasia?” I asked the receptionist.

“It depends on the weight, “she answered. I could feel the vet watching me as I looked down at the pit with deliberate contemplation.

“Eighty pounds or so.” And how’s that grab ya, Miss high and mighty?

When she heard the vet gasp, the receptionist hesitated. “Never mind, I’ll get back to you on that,” I said, and gave them both a cheery wave as I went out the door, pulling Bud along beside me. He was moving pretty fast too, considering it was only on three legs.

We were nearly back to the house when the stink wafted up to the front seat. “Oh, no! You didn’t!” Trying to watch where I was going as I twisted around to look in the back was no easy feat. He had!

Swearing, I pulled over to the side of the road. I had been astute enough to cover the back seat with a blanket, and was relieved to see that his pooh had not touched the seat itself. Grabbing tissue from my emergency box beside the console, I yelled at him to stay back, then reached out to pluck up the mess before throwing it outside. He watched me with the same Bud eyes. The smelly business done, I started driving again.

“You little Sh*t!” I grumbled. “I’ll be so glad to be rid of you! In fact, if I never see you ever again, it’ll suit me just fine!”

Ah – but fickle fate was going to make me eat those words. Because of our delay, I had missed the telephone call that was to change both our lives forever.

(To be cont’d)

It’s a bit of a cop-out, isn’t it? My blogs seem longer than ever, but I’m writing less just by sticking Bud’s story in here. Still, reading it back over is bringing back many, many memories. As you can tell if you read it, not all of those were good ones!

I really hope you are having my weather, and that you are out there enjoying it. It would be nice to know that someone is, even if I can’t!

Happy Valentine’s Day to y’all!! Sending you a big, heart-shaped SMILE!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

FIGHTING THE BUG.

What about this weather, eh? In spite of the frequent visits to the bathroom, and the other uncomfortable virus symptoms, I was able to admire the picturesque spread provided by Mère Nature during the weekend. The maple leaves have just a touch of red and gold, their colours a perfect contrast to the evergreens. The same pattern was visible here and there on my mountain, whose majestic reach touched the bluest of blue skies. From my gallery I watched two little chipmunks scurry back and forth from ground to trees, losing them in the bright, yellow mustard weed, then spotting them again…the autumn preparations of gathering and storing before the snow falls. Bud ignores them, his experience telling him the chase is a lost cause, but the youngest pit, Grump-puppy, does his best to be their major pain in the butt. He tries to climb the tree where they have taken refuge. They chatter down at him loudly. Now and then he’ll let out a short bark, drowning out their incessant scolding. I was curled up on my swing, rocking lightly, taking it all in. I pulled my bare feet in under the warm, fuzzy tiger throw and let the medication and the relaxing sounds of a beautiful day outdoors do their thing; push me gently into the arms of Murphy. What a wonderful atmosphere in which to snooze!

By Sunday I was feeling better, although still slightly shaky. I decided to make a huge pot of soup, the renowned cure-all for any illness. Cooking relaxes me, and the creation of soup is one of my favourites. I call it a creation because there is no set recipe – you just throw whatever is on hand into the pot as you go along. This time it was two chunky butcher bones, saved beef stock, strips of round steak, lots of chopped, fresh veggies, a cup of noodles, a bit of barley and rice, some herbs and black pepper…and voilà! Add a couple of pieces of fresh buttered bread, and you have a feast fit for a king! The aroma filled the house, and the doggies made regular stops by the kitchen door, noses in the air, tails wagging hopefully. I treated them to a ladle each poured over their dry food, and the three of us dug in. Mmmm….good!

My brother, Bird, and I will be heading to the Cancer Clinic this morning. Because of the long drive, and the time spent there, I won’t be going into the office. I expect we will stop off at my home on the drive back to fill his water bottles (he prefers well-water to the town stuff), and, of course, a soup care package. Afterwards, I’ll hopefully be able to do the revision of our Healthcare project that I was supposed to this weekend before the virus so rudely interrupted my plans.

Here’s wishing you all a good Monday with nice surprises and warm SMILES, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Ciao!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

AND THE WEATHER IS HOLDING....

Finally – two nice days in a row! I’m sure those presently on vacation, which only comes around ONCE a year for most folks, are enjoying the sun.

I’m waiting on Shan’s okay to pack. We will know by Friday if the sale of her house has definitely gone through. If so, her offer for a smaller place has already been accepted by the other owners, and we’ll get to collecting boxes and filling them up with everything one seems to collect during the years. Moving…it’s a lot of work, but also fun if you look at it as a change for the better.

I have promised myself that I will write at least once a day – even if only for 15 minutes. One of the authors in my writing Blog has told me that you need to force yourself for 10 hours per week, for 10 years. Apparently it becomes like melting butter after that period. Hmmm…10 years? That will make me…..ah, never mind how old! Only Heaven knows what kind of stuff I’ll be spouting off by then, LOL!

Bow has put the pictures of the Birthday party up on Facebook – there are some really nice ones, then also the ones where my boys pull their monkey faces. Dawna sent me a couple of good ones too…one destined especially to Karen. Fortunately it was taken before we opened the 8th bottle of red wine, LOL!

Wicked Wendy has started her own Blog. I read it yesterday, and we seem to have another aspiring writer in the family. Kool!

Even with most places being closed, or nearly so, for the vacation period, we managed to find jobs for 2 people yesterday. It’s a great feeling when you can call someone to offer them a position. It cheers our gang at the office as much as it does the candidate on the receiving end.

That’s it for now, folks. I’m off to face the traffic which, surprisingly, has not seemed to lessen all that much in spite of so many people not working. It still took me over an hour to get home last night. Bah! Humbug!

Have a good day, y’all. The sun has put your SMILES on, I’m sure. Maybe if we smile at it nicely it will stick around for awhile!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

THE NEW BLOG

I was up early, looking forward to getting back into my morning routine. All went well until I attempted to blog on Blog.com. Nothing. Nada. I decided to try it from the office, thinking that maybe my satellite connection was to blame (my apologies to hughes.net). The office ultra high-speed didn't bring up the page either. Two days later I made the decision to move my Blog to Google. So here we are. I'll send out the new address to those I know read it regularly, and maybe post it on Facebook for those who read, but of whom I am not aware.

Today I'm posting here what I was trying to put in my usual spot on Blog.com. Things are looking up, and I should be back to regular posting from now on. Sorry about the time-lapse!

Et le voici!

I knew I was missing my home, but didn’t realise how much until I stood on the gallery this morning. The sun made the view of my mountain so perfect. I gazed at it, absorbing the beauty, one hand fondling Bud’s ears, the other holding the inevitable cup of steaming, sweet, black coffee. Isn’t it weird how joy can bring on tears? You’d think we would have enough of that when bad events are happening. Joy should make us smile. Contrary things, us humans.

This weekend is our birthday party. My son Bow & I always celebrate together. Our b-days are within two days of each other. He was my gift 36 years ago. The party will be held at Shan’s place, and my youngest, Jo, who has canteen service, is making food for the gang. His chili is terrific! Bow’s childhood friends, who spent A LOT of time at my house as they were growing up, usually all attend. It is so much fun to see them each year – keep tabs on what is happening in their lives, meet the newest offspring…The evening ends with us sitting around rehashing old times. I learn about events that had happened under my nose without me being aware…teen pranks. It’s a great deal of fun, and our bellies hurt from laughing by the time we straggle to our beds. A perfect way to mark another 365 days of maturity (note the word I used, lol!).

Yoshiko is back from Japan (until September, when she will go again – with Bow this time), and Line has returned from Paris. Now it is the partners’ turns. They are leaving this weekend for 2 weeks vacation. It should be quiet enough at the office though, seeing that most of the province is doing the same thing for the construction holiday. It is already apparent during the morning rush hour – even with ongoing road repairs, traffic isn’t so dense.

Speaking of which – it’s time for me to leave for the city. Hope you all have a great day and, LOOK!! The sun is out there! You can’t help but SMILE when you see that.

It isn't hard to guess that the above was previously written, 'cause there is no sun out there this morning! It has been a wet summer so far, hasn't it? Personally, I don't mind it all that much - but I'm working inside all day, so what do I know, right? We'll keep our fingers crossed that the Dunany Demons be nice for the next two weeks when a lot of folks will be on vacation.

In spite of the wet weather, have a great day, folks! Don't forget to give someone the gift of your SMILE today! It could be more important than you think.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.