Suddenly

Suddenly, it's time for a new dog.

After 15 months of dog sitting for others, meanwhile scrolling through pages of pets for adoption on the internet with no real intention to take action, we are both motivated now, for some reason.  Spring around the corner? 

I have contacted agencies about dogs three or four times in the past few days, and for one reason or another those leads haven't panned out.

We are going to meet a dog tonight, we will see if he is the one.  I am hopeful.  Enough said.  Will fill you in with the details later.

Fingers crossed.

Another Friday

Egad!

I haven't even logged in with last weekend's progress report on the shed and here we are, another Friday!

So, last weekend was gorgeous and sunny and we (when I say "we" I really mean Chuckles) slaved away on the shed and got the whole roof on, as well as the drip rail around the bottom of the siding.  After the sun rose in the sky it was T-shirt weather!  I was the go-fer, swept up the inside of the shed and picked up all the debris left outside from the prebious weekend's construction
on Saturday morning first thing.   Then I held the ends of the drip rail while Chuck fastened them on, steadied the ladder for him and kept the meals coming.    Actually we went to the Mexican restaurant on Saturday night - love the Chile Rellenos so much!!

On Sunday I moved the truck around for him as he stood on a platform he built in the truck box.  Faster and easier than building a scaffold!

 

 

 

 

Leo was VERY happy at the country estate.  He could not stop carrying sticks around and he was so busy he forgot to eat until we got back to the city, then he gulped down some dinner.  We went for a walk each morning and then he amused himself outside until dark.  Occasionally Chuckles or I would toss a ball or a stick for him but mostly he just followed his nose.

 



 

 

 



 

In between helping on the shed I started on a little project I have been wanting to do for some time. Filling some wrought iron containers I have had for ages with moss.  Inside the moss I put soil,  and I am going to plant some succulents around the outside and probably primulas in the middle.  I have three of them in total.  Here is where they are at so far.  They will be cute on the deck I think.

 

 

 I also have spread this tarp on part of what will be the veggie garden.  The tarp should kill the grass to make it easier to remove it and then I can till the soil and add some compost.  In the photo, middle left you can see a stack of 4x4 posts which we are going to use to build some raised beds.  I have the fence posts from the horse turnouts we dismantled, so we just need to get some wire to fence this area to keep the bunnies and deer out.  In the background is our camping collection - the Alaskan camper used on hunting trips and our travel trailer wrapped in a tarp beside it.  That riding ring is coming in handy as a parking lot!

 

 

Leo has gone home now.  On Wednesday his "parents" came to pick him up and both of us have missed him.  It's weird how in two short weeks we got so used to him being around!  We both keep thinking things like "after work we'll walk Leo on the Spirit Trail" or looking for him in the shop.  He was great fun!

 



 

 It's a spectacular day today, so I hope this will last for the weekend and we can make some more progress on each of these projects, but mostly the shed! 

 

Soups On

I have been working on a meditation practice.  Just to sit quietly for 15 minutes is hard work, never mind the part about keeping your mind focused inward and pushing away unwanted thoughts.  Most days it feels like the longest 15 minutes of my life, but recently I think I might have felt a glimmer of something.  I think,  I hope?  Who knows, but I'm persisting.

Leo-the-duck-tolling-retriever is still with us, and he has completely embraced the morning meditation practice.  We have established a routine so he now knows that once our walk at the park is over, we go upstairs and meditate.   He charges up the stairs and claims his spot on the floor!  His meditation ends in a long nap. He is deeply stretching and opening one eye to look at me with a “what?  It’s already over?”  look on his face right now. 

The past week has been busy here at work.  It makes the week go by quickly when that's the case, but it's nice to have a quiet day like today has shaped up to be, to catch up on things.   With the filing done and all the books up to date again,  I have started a big pot of red lentil and barley soup in the slow cooker with a huge dollop of Tom Yum soup paste in it for heat and flavor.  It's smelling so good that even though I just finished a tuna wrap, I feel like having a bowl. 

Chuckles has just returned from delivering 10 boxes we are sending to a customer in Norway then picking up more lumber for the storage shed project.  He is going to pre-paint it here at the shop so it's ready to go up on the weekend.

As well as catching my blog up, I have been reading up on a couple that I follow and one of those led me to a new one...you know how it goes in computer-land, each click takes you deeper until hours have passed by.  I am amazed and inspired how many people write daily and make the most mundane of experiences a good read.  It's a combination of their perception and observation skills with a way with words.  Anyway, something to strive for.

 

 

 

 

First Post of 2014

Here we are half way through January and now I get around to saying Happy New Year to you!  Did you make any resolutions for 2014?

I gave up on resolutions several years ago, and surprisingly that is when meaningful changes began happening in my life.  Somehow those resolutions I used to make seemed to set me up for failure - an all or nothing scenario, whereas thoughtful small changes worked at over time have added up to some big differences. 

So, rather than quitting or starting something at the stroke of midnight on Dec 31st, I have been ruminating on some new things for myself for the future and have begun the small shifts.  We shall see in time where they lead!

Progress, albeit slow, has begun on the storage shed at the country estate.  Chuckles suffered with a hand injury through November than prevented him from doing very much, then it was Christmas with all the busyness that brings.  During the last several days of the Christmas break he was able to make a big push on the shed.  Last weekend's stormy weather precluded any more progress except tarping the structure so it didn't become waterlogged.  Fingers crossed that this coming weekend brings better weather.  If only he could go out and work on it mid week, but he has too much work to do in town to take the time for that.

This shed will accommodate all the stuff currently stored in the barn, which then will undergo a transformation from barn to workshop. 

Early in December I made a bit of headway with the built in cabinets in the room that will be our office.  I have removed all the glass, drawers and shelves, removed the tracks that the glass ran on, and sanded everything down.  Now I need to get a piece of wood to fill the groove the track was laid in, and do some filling and more sanding before they are ready for paint. 

 

The lower pic is the full size hutch which we will finish to model after the pic below:

 

 

The corner cabinets will be painted to match, although somewhere down the road I hope to do something like this:

Before

 



 

 After

 

All in good time!

 

 

Meanwhile we are dog sitting for the next two weeks for my cousins who have gone to Mexico.

 

Leo is a Duck Toller, and is very attached to his family.  Here he is just an hour after they left looking out the window for them to return!

 

 

He has settled in now and we are having fun together.  I know the two weeks are going to fly by!