Saturday, October 31, 2020

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone has a safe Halloween.  Our Provincial Health Officer told us trick and treating for children will go ahead, with restrictions.  Dr. Bonnie Henry said, no parties or large gatherings.  Keep away from malls and inside venues.  Go outside, wearing masks and keeping to your "safe six" bubble.  Candy is to be given out, outside.   We've been told no more than six guests "in your bubble", in your home.  This can be changed by region.  

The weather is going to be awesome!  No rain and it's going to be warm.  There will also be a Blue Moon so it should be a gorgeous night.

Fireworks are banned in Surrey, but that doesn't stop them from being set off.  This is the last year Vancouver will allow them.  I'm hoping banning them in Vancouver will stop them from being set off in Surrey.  Animals are terrified when they are set off.

Speaking of animals, check out this video:


Friday, October 30, 2020

RIP Snowstorm

 February 28, 2002 - October 28, 2020
Cheryl got Snowstorm from the cat veterinarian in Richmond.  He was the runt of the litter.  He was an inside cat and extremely loveable.  For the first ten years of his life, he lived under the bed.  He liked to hide.  Then Cheryl adopted Roxy from the SPCA, a crazy two year old female who loved to bolt outside and hated Snowstorm.  Roxy brought Snowstorm out of his shell.  They snarled if they ever passed each other in the house.  

The black mark in his right ear is a tattoo.  Not that he ever went outside but it's a good thing to do.

We've watched him slow down, lose a lot of weight, lost his hearing and had trouble climbing the stairs.  On Monday, he stopped eating.  Cheryl said he wasn't in pain, but had to make the hard decision.  

He's being cremated and they bought an urn with his name on it.

I spoke with Cheryl last night.  She said Roxy is elated she's getting all the attention.  There won't be another cat at this time.  She feels Roxy would not be happy by bringing in another cat.  Lexie has a different opinion.  She wants another white cat and has already named him/her Snowcone!   

Snowball 1982 - 1994

Snowflake 1994 - 2006 Cheryl begged us to get this cat.  "I will feed him and look after him".  She got married and guess where he stayed!  

Snowstorm 2001 - 2020

Snowcone ????

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Yesterday was a great day!

Yesterday, I had a specialist appointment.  Nothing to worry about but I found a specialist that had an office one block from here.  When the doctor called, he said, "you will have to come to my downtown office"!  It was across the street from St. Paul's hospital.  

The weather report said "rain" and I don't like driving downtown.  I know the building he's in as I've been there before.  So, I checked the balance on my compass card, reloaded it and for the first time since COVID, we took the bus and Skytrain to town.

I loaded up my bag with disposable masks, Lysol wipes, Kleenex, and umbrellas!  We parked at the South Surrey Park and Ride.  Since September, Translink replaced the regular buses with double deckers!  There were very few passengers and the front seats were not being used.  No wonder, the legroom is lousy but the view was amazing.  

I'm not a good videographer, but I think the change in light made it go fuzzy.

Entering the Massey Tunnel

The weatherman was wrong, it didn't rain!  It was 12C/54F cloudy but a nice day.  We had a wonderful walk from Yaletown/Roundhouse station to Burrard Street.  After the appointment, we had a delicious lunch at the Cactus Club!  Usually in the summer we will take the bus and Skytrain and have lunch downtown.  This year because of COVID we never went on transit.  

Everyone we saw on transit was wearing a mask.  People were standing instead of sitting beside a stranger!  The bus and Skytrain were not busy and I must say we felt very safe.  Most people walking downtown were wearing masks outside except the smokers and others that had a Starbucks coffee cup in hand.

On our way home, I took a picture of a cranberry field.  The fields are flooded but no cranberries are floating yet.  When they do, it's an awesome site.

Cranberry field off Hwy 99 south of Ladner Trunk Road

This was a day I wasn't looking forward to, but it ended up an awesome day!  

Here's a cute song:

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Safety First

 This South African cop probably missed a few training days 

 

Irony overload

Timber!

Garden or no garden, we must have a trampoline

I'll wear it, but only because I have to!

Easy to walk forwards, not so easy to get back...

This man's got his priorities straight

If they pull this off they're engineering geniuses

I like teamwork, but this...?

Keep on believing! Nothing can go wrong

What's the one part of your body you'd trust to 
a galloping giant?

Oh yeah, like that's gonna help?

Can't find your helmet? No problem - use a 
bucket.

Ok, friend, I've got a job for you. It's a tough one...

An opened window does not a balcony make

Thisguy likes his odds.

Do you think he's a professional window cleaner?

Monday, October 26, 2020

Would you dare to question who you really are?

I had my DNA analyzed a few years ago and really found it interesting.  It was even better when I loaded it into Ancestry's database and came up with many relatives.  Some I knew, others I didn't.  With many emails going back and forth, I identified our common ancestor.  It's a very interesting hobby!

I thought this was an excellent presentation with a wonderful message:




Sunday, October 25, 2020

How to give your cat a pill

Our cat, Snowflake, needed a pill every day.  Snowflake was a big male cat.  We had quite a time figuring out how to get him to accept a pill.  Cec is strong and he managed to get it down the cat's throat every morning.  He basically did a strong hold, like holding a baby in one arm.  One hand opened the jaw and the other hand flicked the pill down his throat.  It wasn't a pretty sight, but it worked for us.  This was written by someone who didn't have the same luck as we did and I found it really funny:

1) Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.  Our cat would spit it out.  Flick down the throat gets it down.

2) Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3) Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4) Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5) Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6) Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7) Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8) Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill inside end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9) Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10) Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11) Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12) Call fire brigade to retrieve the f------ cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

13) Tie the little b**tard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14) Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15) Arrange for SPCA to collect "mutant cat from hell" and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL:

1) Wrap it in cheese.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Parenting in the wilderness......

 

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Junior Achievement - Lindsay Duthie

My best friend  growing up was  Carol Smith.  She was a member of Junior Achievement.  She really enjoyed it and it made a huge impact on he...