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.

THE BACKHOE

I never did make it to the office yesterday.

I was right about the backhoe tire venture. It wasn’t just the tube, but the tire itself, so it needed to be replaced. It took forever for the garage dude’s second truck to show up when this was determined, and we sat there waiting…waiting. When he finally did arrive and unloaded the replacement, it was not at all the same as those already on the machine, except for the size. This, of course, gave us two choices: leave the backhoe sitting there on the road wearing one tire until we could phone around and find the exact match, or have this one installed and purchase the second one to complete the pair. Because of the time already involved, and realizing that eventually the other one would have to be replaced anyway due to its age, I took the second option. It was well past 3 PM by the time the men finished, and then….the machine wouldn’t start! Fortunately one of my neighbours was able to bring his big truck to give it a boost, and by 4:30 PM we were back at the house, backhoe and all. Too late to head to the city office. Then, not upset enough about falling behind in my work, and the forced purchase depleting my bank account, I discovered that some idiot had decided to televise my hockey game at 2 in the afternoon instead of its usual Saturday night spot. Yep, missed that too. GRRR!

Not getting to the office yesterday means I need to go today, instead of working from home as had been planned. I’ll be heading there in a few minutes. At least there is no rush hour to endure – just the regular Sunday drivers.

An update on one of my former blogs – remember the e-mail pen pal from New Year’s Day? The one who asked us to pray for her husband after his open heart surgery? I received a message from her this morning. He is doing well, and the pacemaker is functioning as hoped. Did our prayers and positive waves help? No doubt. I am happy for them both, and extend a sincere thank you to all the readers who answered the call.

Gotta go, folks. There is no sun here today, so it’s easier for me to turn my back on this winter wonderland and shut myself away with columns & columns of numbers, LOL!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend – am sending you all a SMILE as my contribution!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WEEKEND EVENTS

This morning you can look out of any one of the many windows in my house and get stuck there, admiring the view. I know it’s very cold (was -36 last night), but the sun is shining, and doing the most wonderful things to the snow-covered mountain, the long winding lane, the trees…a postcard picture no matter which direction holds your gaze. With such a feast for the eyes, it’s hard to imagine why anyone could complain about our Canadian winters. Note that I am standing inside, where the fires’ warmth allows me to admire the beauty while still garbed in my pyjamas. If I was standing outside dressed in similar attire, feeling the bone-chilling temperature, my words would probably wax less poetic, LOL.

I will be working all weekend. It’s annoying, but expected in my chosen line of work at this time of year. I should be in the office by now, in fact, but more than one event has delayed my departure.

The first is that Murphy held me in his arms later than planned; it was such a deep sleep, and thoroughly appreciated by this insomniac. Granted, I had not been in bed that long. Karen, my long-time friend who lives in Saskatoon, called last night and, as is usual when we get gabbing, time just whizzed by. Was it five or six hours before we reluctantly said goodbye and hung up the phone? I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a rare occasion when we get the chance to chat together, and our conversations never seem to last long enough.

The second reason is job-related. We received a request from a hospital yesterday - the services of two nurses are needed, beginning next Monday. My co-worker found the candidates, which is a feat in itself. Nurses are at a premium in this area. My colleague is meeting one of the ladies for her C.V. and copies of diplomas, and I am to pick the documents up, then fax the information from my office to the hospital this afternoon. When the administrator arrives on Monday morning, everything will be ready. We enjoy being able to provide good and rapid results.

The third reason is not so pleasing. My backhoe is stuck on a side road with a busted tire. Heinz is out there now waiting on the garage dude to arrive. It is one of the huge, back wheels, and they do not come cheap. I foresee another loaded credit card. Ugh!

Now it’s time to go. Hope you are all enjoying the first day of the weekend. Sending you my SMILE!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.