Kip loves going to visit my parents. So much so, that when we turn onto their road (from either direction), he'll sit up in the car, and start yodeling/whining/howling, because he knows where we are going! Once we arrive, he will sit in the car, screaming to be let out. (Of course, I ignore him until he stops). Once I let him out of the car, he runs back in forth between me and the front door, barking his head off - "come on Mom, hurry it up!!!".
He started doing this the second time we were there - which was 2 months after the first time, and when he was less than a year old. It amazed me that he remembered at the time, but he has managed to amaze me even more this past week.
My parents went on vacation, so Kip and I stayed there for a week to look after the cat and the house. We arrived before my parents left, and Kip did his usual routine in the car as we turned onto the street. We got there, my parents left, and all was fine.
The next day, I came back here to get the mail, check the house, etc., and brought Kip along. I drive back to my parents house, turn onto their street, and Kip does... nothing. We pull into the driveway, and Kip does... nothing. I let him out of the car, and he does a very nice off-leash heel with me all the way to the door.
The entire week, this is how Kip acted while arriving at my parents house. He knew they weren't there.
My parents are home again. We went over for supper last night. I turned onto their street, and the old Kip came back. He knows. Smart dogs - gotta love them!
Aw, that's snow fun!
Here's Kip having fun in the snow - the silly boy leaps like a gazelle when it's too deep for him!
Which reminds me of another snow story.
Kip will be two in February, so this is really only his second winter. Last winter we got a bit of snow (and lots of really cold weather), but Saskatoon never gets the snowfall we do here. So this is really Kip's first winter dealing with a lot of snow.
A couple of weeks ago, it snowed. And Mr. Potato Brain decided the snow was too deep in the backyard for potty time, so I took him for a walk. It was around 8 pm, still snowing, and the roads were terrible - thus there were no cars around. Being the responsible pet owner that I am, I let Kip off leash while walking down the unplowed side street. After a few steps, I realized Kip had stopped, and was whining at me.
I am a hard-hearted woman.
I ignored him, and kept walking.
After a few more steps, I looked again.
The wee genius decided to dog my footsteps - he was stttrreeettcchhiinnggg out, placing his feet into my footsteps, all so he wouldn't have to plow through the snow himself, silly boy.
Did I mention I was hard-hearted?
As I continued walking, I meandered from one side of the street to the other, just to see if Kip would continue to follow - and he did.
I love smart dogs!
Which reminds me of another snow story.
Kip will be two in February, so this is really only his second winter. Last winter we got a bit of snow (and lots of really cold weather), but Saskatoon never gets the snowfall we do here. So this is really Kip's first winter dealing with a lot of snow.
A couple of weeks ago, it snowed. And Mr. Potato Brain decided the snow was too deep in the backyard for potty time, so I took him for a walk. It was around 8 pm, still snowing, and the roads were terrible - thus there were no cars around. Being the responsible pet owner that I am, I let Kip off leash while walking down the unplowed side street. After a few steps, I realized Kip had stopped, and was whining at me.
I am a hard-hearted woman.
I ignored him, and kept walking.
After a few more steps, I looked again.
The wee genius decided to dog my footsteps - he was stttrreeettcchhiinnggg out, placing his feet into my footsteps, all so he wouldn't have to plow through the snow himself, silly boy.
Did I mention I was hard-hearted?
As I continued walking, I meandered from one side of the street to the other, just to see if Kip would continue to follow - and he did.
I love smart dogs!
I resolve
I generally do not make New Year's Resolutions, since my resolve lasts as long as the snow here. I also find a lot of resolutions too vague or too unattainable.
But this year, I think I have a resolution that is doable - and good for the environment.
I resolve to shop with reusable shopping bags all year.
I already have a lot of reusable shopping bags, that generally live in the trunk of my car. I tend to remember I have them once I'm already in the store, and I'm too lazy to go back to the car to get them. So, really, all this resolution requires of me is to remember to take the bags with me.
Easy? Yep. Simple? Yep. Will it change the world? Nope - but it will change me and my world, and that's what counts.
Of course, I also resolve to loose weight, get in shape, keep the house neater, cure cancer, stop all wars, discover the lost city of Atlantis and be a better person. But this way, I have at least one resolution that I might actually be able to keep.
Happy New Year to all!
But this year, I think I have a resolution that is doable - and good for the environment.
I resolve to shop with reusable shopping bags all year.
I already have a lot of reusable shopping bags, that generally live in the trunk of my car. I tend to remember I have them once I'm already in the store, and I'm too lazy to go back to the car to get them. So, really, all this resolution requires of me is to remember to take the bags with me.
Easy? Yep. Simple? Yep. Will it change the world? Nope - but it will change me and my world, and that's what counts.
Of course, I also resolve to loose weight, get in shape, keep the house neater, cure cancer, stop all wars, discover the lost city of Atlantis and be a better person. But this way, I have at least one resolution that I might actually be able to keep.
Happy New Year to all!
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
"Lake effect snows occur when a mass of sufficiently cold air moves over a body of warmer water, creating an unstable temperature profile in the atmosphere."
In other words, we've got snow. Lots of snow. This is what yesterday looked like - all day.
And this is today. Yes, that snow is almost over Kip's head. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for neighbours with snow blowers - I was only out for an hour shoveling, instead of 2!
Kip learned he can walk on water though - as long as the water is frozen, and only 3 paws are down at any one time.
I however, cannot walk on water, frozen or not. Yes, that is my knee.
The good news? The days are now officially getting longer, which is good - gives me more time to shovel...
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In other words, we've got snow. Lots of snow. This is what yesterday looked like - all day.
And this is today. Yes, that snow is almost over Kip's head. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for neighbours with snow blowers - I was only out for an hour shoveling, instead of 2!
Kip learned he can walk on water though - as long as the water is frozen, and only 3 paws are down at any one time.
I however, cannot walk on water, frozen or not. Yes, that is my knee.
The good news? The days are now officially getting longer, which is good - gives me more time to shovel...
.
New Christmas traditions...
Once upon a time, a couple got married. One present they got was a wall clock, such as never has been seen before. It was heart-shaped shiny gold-coloured plastic, with a mirrored background. In one "lobe" of the heart, there was the actual clock. In the other "lobe", was a peacock. The best part - around the rim were mini-lights, just like the ones you use to decorate at Christmas. Multi-coloured Christmas lights. Why the fact that they were multi-coloured makes this clock even better, in a "OMG-that's-tacky" sort of way, I don't know. But to me, the multi-coloured lights were the straw that broke the peacock's tail.
Being a couple with good taste and an even better sense of humour, they didn't put the clock up on the wall. Instead, it was passed to each family member who subsequently got married. In this manner, the clock passed down to friends of mine, where it provided many moments of laughter and incredulousness (you mean there is really a factory where they make these?? Really?? And a store that sells them? And people who buy them????), until the day came for them to pass it along to the next lucky couple.
In that spirit, another friend bought a Christmas ornament for me last year. This shall be passed between the group of us, hopefully providing years of laughter and shared memories, and really, in my opinion, showing what the Spirit of Christmas is all about - friendship, joy, and tacky consumer goods.
Being a couple with good taste and an even better sense of humour, they didn't put the clock up on the wall. Instead, it was passed to each family member who subsequently got married. In this manner, the clock passed down to friends of mine, where it provided many moments of laughter and incredulousness (you mean there is really a factory where they make these?? Really?? And a store that sells them? And people who buy them????), until the day came for them to pass it along to the next lucky couple.
In that spirit, another friend bought a Christmas ornament for me last year. This shall be passed between the group of us, hopefully providing years of laughter and shared memories, and really, in my opinion, showing what the Spirit of Christmas is all about - friendship, joy, and tacky consumer goods.
Memories...
Memory is a funny thing. We generally think our childhood memories are set in stone, but then evidence comes up and bites one in the arse.
Case in point. I watched a movie as a child, called "Where the Red Fern Grows". It is a very touching movie, about the love of a boy for his dogs, two Irish Setters. The dogs die prematurely, and a rare red fern grows on their grave.
I loved this movie. It was right up there with "Black Beauty", and "The Incredible Journey", and "Watership Down" - books that I read over and over again, and, in fact, still own.
I loved watching TV shows about animals, reading books about animals, watching movies about animals... but "Where the Red Fern Grows" sticks in my memory more than the rest. It was such a sad movie, and it was about dogs, and I remember it so well.
Except one major thing.
Those dogs weren't Irish Setters.
They were Redbone Coonhounds.
So much for my memory. Sigh.
.
Case in point. I watched a movie as a child, called "Where the Red Fern Grows". It is a very touching movie, about the love of a boy for his dogs, two Irish Setters. The dogs die prematurely, and a rare red fern grows on their grave.
I loved this movie. It was right up there with "Black Beauty", and "The Incredible Journey", and "Watership Down" - books that I read over and over again, and, in fact, still own.
I loved watching TV shows about animals, reading books about animals, watching movies about animals... but "Where the Red Fern Grows" sticks in my memory more than the rest. It was such a sad movie, and it was about dogs, and I remember it so well.
Except one major thing.
Those dogs weren't Irish Setters.
They were Redbone Coonhounds.
So much for my memory. Sigh.
.
Christmas memories, part deux
Clowns are scary - Steven King "It" clowns, Poltergeist clowns. Scary.
Almost as scary? My childhood stocking. It's a wonder I like Christmas, growing up with a stocking like this. Really, what were people thinking? Okay, it is from the early 70s, the age of kid's shows like "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein", and other mind boggling, they-actually-made-this-for-children productions, but still...
A close up - see, scary. Really scary.
Here is another freaky elf thing. Remember Ken Jennings from Jeopardy? And Hermey the Elf from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer? Coincidence? I think not! Elves are scary, I tell ya.
.
Almost as scary? My childhood stocking. It's a wonder I like Christmas, growing up with a stocking like this. Really, what were people thinking? Okay, it is from the early 70s, the age of kid's shows like "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein", and other mind boggling, they-actually-made-this-for-children productions, but still...
A close up - see, scary. Really scary.
Here is another freaky elf thing. Remember Ken Jennings from Jeopardy? And Hermey the Elf from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer? Coincidence? I think not! Elves are scary, I tell ya.
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Christmas memories
Every morning while getting ready to go to work, I would listen to the same radio station. Every year at Christmas time, they would do a fund raiser for the food bank by taking pledges for playing a listener's Christmas song request. Nice and cheery, right? Really getting into the Christmas spirit.
Until the Year of the Cat Carol.
Yes, the Cat Carol - the WORST Christmas song ever written. Ever.
Imagine me, standing in the middle of my kitchen, listening to this carol, and bursting into tears. Imagine all the little kiddies (and those not so little) doing the same in homes across the province.
Imagine one year later, at the start of the very same fund-raiser show, the station manager coming on-air to announce he was donating money to the food bank, his only request being that the Cat Carol was NOT played that year.
Worst. Christmas. Carol. EVER!
So, of course, I have to share. Merry Christmas!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZMEXlHUQ0w
Until the Year of the Cat Carol.
Yes, the Cat Carol - the WORST Christmas song ever written. Ever.
Imagine me, standing in the middle of my kitchen, listening to this carol, and bursting into tears. Imagine all the little kiddies (and those not so little) doing the same in homes across the province.
Imagine one year later, at the start of the very same fund-raiser show, the station manager coming on-air to announce he was donating money to the food bank, his only request being that the Cat Carol was NOT played that year.
Worst. Christmas. Carol. EVER!
So, of course, I have to share. Merry Christmas!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZMEXlHUQ0w
And the award for the best non-traditional use of feminine hygine products goes to...
The bedrooms all have ceiling fans. All of which, of course, were not installed correctly - there is a large gap between the ceiling and the fan. So they wobble when the fan is turned on. One enterprising tenant fixed this problem in an unusual way.
By using tampons to shim up the fan.
Fortunately, unused.
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By using tampons to shim up the fan.
Fortunately, unused.
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Snow day
Kip loves the snow, so we went for a walk today, and then came back and shoveled. Kip loves to "help" me shovel - he'll stand there, wagging his stub, until I throw a shovelful of snow at him. He tries to chase the snow, and ends up covered in it. Then he comes back for the next shovelful. Funny boy!
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