S L O W L Y

Grump...not a happy doggie

Finally! The laptop is returned to its box and ‘for emergency only’ status, and there is a decent, new-used desk top computer flexing its muscles in my home office. The turbulent weather is screwing up the satellite, and keeping the machine from showing its full potential, but I have full confidence that we shall get along just fine! AND it has speakers now too – so let the music play!! And let this lady remember to do backups…just in case.

Today, at 5:00 PM, the bank deposited the money in my account. I will take the necessary steps tomorrow to transfer it to my Company, and it will be with great pleasure that I distribute delayed pay cheques to the employees…. myself included! A couple of my clients also showed up at the office and paid their invoices, so things are looking up!

More good news – Grump is beginning to eat again. I’ve been practically force feeding him since Bud’s passing; he was that depressed. The long walks at night help too, I’m sure….and the extra cuddles.

You see, Grump was more my friend’s dog than mine. He was already having some difficulty in accepting the disappearance of his master; he seemed to be still looking for him with every car that drove nearby. It’s no wonder that the second loss knocked him for a loop, poor thing. We’ve had to console each other now, and I think he has come to realize that I need him as much as he needs me. We have grown much closer in the past 2 weeks and, because Bud is not there to steal the show, I am beginning to discover qualities in this younger pit that I had never noticed…or maybe I was just not paying so much attention. Bud filled such a huge chunk of my heart, and Grump was forever the obedient follower. I have begun to appreciate his solid but unassuming character and his sense of play. As Pat_B commented, we are s l o w l y getting back to normal.

It looks like my Demons have returned – snow is falling and falling and I’m delighted! If we are going to have winter, let it be a real winter!! It was beautiful walking outside last night. I couldn’t resist pulling out my toboggan and going for a scoot down my driveway hill. Grump got a little excited in his chasing, and we ended up head-over-tea-kettle when we reached the bottom, LOL! I won’t dare mention it to my kids, but both of us were limping slightly as we gasped our way back up to the house. Nothing the Jacuzzi couldn’t fix for me, and Grump was no worse for wear within the hour, so all is well.

We are entering tax season, and hopefully it will be so busy that I’ll be complaining by the end of April. I intend to do my best to write at least a short post each day, no matter how many hours I work, but we all know how that can turn out! I do promise (and this especially for Karen) that I’ll do my best to come in and make a little noise, no matter what my mood. At least now that my windows are safe. My laptop came SOOO close to being hurled through them on more than one occasion!

Wishing you all sweet dreams, folks, and hoping the huge SMILE I am cyber-spacing out to you will help them along!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec

JUST A NOTE

Grump and I are coping. I don’t need the Dog Whisperer to tell me that Grump is feeling Bud’s absence as keenly as I do; I’ve seen it happen before. Yesterday was the first day in his life that he was completely alone in the house, and I was expecting some evidence of displeasure on my return home, but all I found was a doggie VERY happy to see me. My grandson arrived late last night and will be around off and on for the next few days while I am at the office, so that should help.

I have not yet received news from the evaluator, or the bank, and we are on tenterhooks at the office, wondering if it the amount allowed will be high enough to carry us over into the tax rush...or until we can manage to get back on our feet. My co-workers are fantastic. They continue working in spite of not being able to take a pay for the last two weeks. It has been more than a month since I touched a cheque too; we’ve been taking care of strict necessities only, being helped along by our savings, loans from our children or, in one case, the spouse. If things don’t get back on track, it certainly won’t be for lack of effort and sacrifice.

Although ours is more serious because of the events with the ex-associate, I know we are not the only company feeling a crunch. Those of our clients who are having difficulty paying us are not lying – we are in the perfect position to know it. Even the bill collectors are willing to negotiate...for a while....which tells us we are not the only ones with financial woes.

Speaking of which, it’s time to head into the city. We are finally getting some snow, so the drive is bound to be longer.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU for sharing my feelings about Bud. It is still too soon to talk about it much, but your comments and support warmed my heart.
Sending you out wishes for a great day, with lots of love and caring and, of course, SMILES.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

DOGS & THINGS.

Grump-puppy woke me at 3:45 this morning. He came running into my bedroom, then did the back-and-forth thing between it and the kitchen, whining loudly, until I sleepily crawled out of bed and opened the door to let him outside. I attempted a return to the arms of Murphy, but it was no go. I lay there wondering why he wanted out so badly; it’s not a usual thing that early. Picturing an encounter with a skunk, or porcupine, or maybe an intruder who was not aware there are two pit-bulls allowed to run free in my yard, I finally got up. The little bugger was at the door 15 minutes later, and I still don’t have a clue what enticed him to risk the wrath of his mistress by waking her in the middle of the night. Thankfully he wasn’t sporting quills or the choking odour of our black and white-striped varmints. He slunk back to his pillow, settled down beside Bud, and had no problem at all falling back to sleep…GRRRR!

This morning I need to get to the SAQ and renew the plates for the Backhoe. The season for excavation has arrived. We picked up a contract, and the client wants to begin today. After that is done, I’ll run up to the office for a couple of hours, then come back early to pick up Bud for the appointment with the vet. His ears are itching again, and I’ve noticed a growth between two toes, This is going to be an expensive day.

The follow-up on my decision to buy a treadmill? After looking at the price of those things, I finally ended up buying a Gazelle for nearly $400 less. Maybe you have seen the advertisement on TV? The claim on the box (and from the sales-person) is that your whole body gets toned, not just your heart and legs. On a closer inspection last night, I realized one also needs to have co-ordinated balance to use it. Humm…I foresee hours of pleasure just getting used to that! There is some assembly required, of course...another thing I’m very good at (Not!) so I will attempt to set it up when we get back from the vet. To be continued.

Tonight is the third game between my HABS and Pittsburgh. I guess I don’t need to tell you where I’ll be at that time. My enthusiasm has sparked friendly competition and bets in the office. The employees, not ordinarily into hockey, are watching the games now and there are lively discussions about the plays. Well, to be honest, a couple of the girls know next to nothing about the sport, so their idea of a player’s value tends to be directly related to how cute he is…LOL!

I had my first coffee out on the gallery, watching the sun peep over my mountain, but now the sky is dark and it is pouring rain out there. How did that happen? The Weather Network is saying sunny and warm for our area…no rain expected. Long live the accuracy of weather predictions! Now I’m wondering if we’ll be starting that excavation contract today or not….

I have much to do when I recover from my constant need to sleep; it happens every year after the hassle of tax season. There are friends to visit or meet for lunch, spring cleaning to get done, a pile of books waiting to be read, not counting a multitude of posts on my Blogit writers’ site to catch up on. At least it is all fun things, and I’m looking forward to it, except maybe the spring cleaning, although I enjoy the feeling once it’s done.

Have a good day, people, whether rain or shine wherever you are. It’s the merry month of May, trees and flowers are budding, birds are singing, and there’s a ‘fresh start’ atmosphere. It makes me SMILE – and I’m sending it your way!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.