One Puppy Gone

Well, the first of the batch has left. Unfortunately Wookie is going OCD and keeps counting her puppies, and moaning about the missing one. Poor thing.

Smokey

Last night I filled the woodstove up and retired for the night. It had been a bit of an odd night. First off, I heard screaming downstairs. I was cleaning my room. I rushed down and there was a lady in my living room asking my kids where a certain person lived. (I forgot to lock the door). Tibbles was freaking, Gibbles was stunned. She had visited the wrong address. They thought it was Button Boy. Then, I went back upstairs to organize, and I heard screaming again. The kids thought that there was a ghost. In the corner of the room towards the ceiling, they saw flashes of green light. There was also a bad smell. . .unfortunately it was not a ghost but my dryer had kicked the bucket and there was an electrical outburst. So after sending the kids up to bed, I decided to go to sleep. At around one in the morning I smelled chimney. I figured it was just the wind. A bit later, I really smelled a bad odour coming from the wood stove. I went downstairs only to discover back draft, oodles of smoke had been flooding my living room. For some reason neither the smoke detectors, nor the carbon monoxide detector had alerted me to the smoke. Thank goodness for nostrils. Since the wind was so gusty outside (upwards of 90 km's an hour), I figured I needed to add more wood to create a hotter fire which would in turn keep the gusts out of my house. (Thinking that the positive outflow of heat would counteract the negative down draft). I added two pieces of hardwood, and the fire caught quite well. Things seemed fine for a few minutes when suddenly wind gusts blew more smoke inside the house. Now, my chimney runs through the house, it is clay lined block. It does have the clearance needed on the roof. So, since my clearance is good, I knew that this was a fluke. I decided to bring in the metal trash can, and remove the wood that I had put in. I capped of the can, put it in the tool shed (which is a concrete shed), and still, watched hopelessly as smoke filled the house. I opened the window next to the fireplace, then went upstairs to open the windows on my side of the house. After watching the fire dwindle down to a few coals, I decided since it had been a couple of hours, that it was safe to go back to sleep. This morning, the same thing was happening, and although it seemed to happen coincidentally with the wind gusts, I decided to make my way down to the chimney clean out in the basement. It looked empty, but when I shoved my hand up in it, a load of coal like stuff and ashes came tumbling out. After sticking various things up into the base of the chimney (auger, old shower head and tubing, a curtain rod, plastic aquarium tubing), the result was about a garbage bag and a half of crap. What a pain in the ass. It just goes to show you, your chimney may be clean, but your clean out might not be. Always shove your hand up there just in case, and don't rely on a visual check. After trying to remove the contents of the chimney, I stunk terribly, I had a bath, and it was like "Smudge the Chimney Sweep" out of a Richard Scary book. The bathwater was black. Between being burned three times this week, and now this, I look like I work in a fish factory. I never can keep a manicure pristine. So, in essence what happened was, when Addled swept the chimney, he pushed all the crap down. We thought, because we had cleaned it in the spring, that the chimney was still clean. All the crap had built up at the base of the chimney (well a little higher), and kept building up. So, it actually started covering where the woodstove ties into the masonry chimney, and was not allowing the smoke to escape correctly, but was allowing the wind to blow down. Update. I think the clog is a bit further up. I can't get to it without detaching the woodstove from the masonry chimney. Adam wanted to sweep it from the roof. I said that insurance wouldn't cover stupidity in 90 click winds. The only way he is allowed to go is if he wore a helmet. So he is not going out there. Figures, on one of the coldest days of the year, I would have chimney problems.

Social Distortion - Bad Luck

I can never get enough of these guys. . .even though I was only a toddler when they came out.

King OF Fools

Nothing better than Social Distortion!!! Yeeehawwww!

Corky (Chris Burke) And His Band

Amazing.

Life Goes On ---Corky Behind The Wheel -----

Did you know that he is in a musical group now? Wow, YaY Corky!

Please

Can someone come over and bring me lunch? Really, it's one of those days where I just cannot bring myself to make anything at home. Last night I made a huge dinner, and I am not big in the kitchen department. Nothing with visible eggs though. I hate eggs.

Puppy Power

This is the rush of puppies when I let them in the house from outside. They bulldoze their way through the door, and usually end up in the kitchen. Then it is a scramble to try and retrieve them to put them back in their indoor kennel. I had been concerned about the interaction between Wookie and her pups. She seemed rough. I called the vets a while ago, and they said, unless you notice scratches, don't worry about it. So, I do let them frolic outside a few times a day without Wookie, then a few times a day with Wookie. When Wookie is out with them, she tries to play with them and grabs their legs, pins them down and most of them end up huddling in a corner. They do not appreciate the discipline, but they do need it, otherwise, they will not become socialized correctly. I have to remember, she knows what she is doing.

Wiarton Willy on SBP

Over on the South Bruce Peninsular site, they have a link to the live webcam of Wiarton Willy the prognosticator of Spring. Here's the link: http://www.wiartonwilliecam.com/# SBP is a good site it's on the left of my page. Interesting stuff for people who vacation or live there.

I got all glammed up today. . .I drove the van down to the corner garage to see what was up with the van. It helps to not look like a crack head when you visit the local mechanics. Of late, I have not even had time to slap on lipgloss, my hair has been removed by the puppies, and I smell like puppy poo. It permeates everything, even though I am keeping things Spic and Span. In doing so, I wondered if it was a gas vent that was dragging on the ground, if I was going to blow up. The boys let me look under the van and showed me that it was a rear air conditioning line, I told them I was relieved, because I thought if I drove it down highway 4, I would turn into a fireball. They also showed me where the gasket on the muffler line was fudged, and some small perforations in the muffler itself. I asked if they could epoxy the small perforations and they said yes. I told them Addled was pretending he was a street racer when he was driving the van because of the noise factor. . .it had become very muscular sounding for such a family van. So, it is not a gargantuan fix. Thank God. I also liked that I was able to look under the van myself and they showed me what the problems were. It wasn't like a secret society of mechanics. It will also be fixed for later today or tomorrow which is even better because I am really getting itchy with being at home. Not that I have many places to go, but it is always solace to know that there is a working vehicle for me just in case. Especially with the puppy factor. I can't leave but I want my truck back.

Beava

There are so many uses for Canadian Beaver. . . the article below shows how beaver can be used to warm a groin and be used as a pillow if needed in a survival situation. Beavers, are by nature quite vicious, with large yellow teeth. This man was able to use a bit of beaver as a "windbreak" from the cold. There is nothing more utilitarian than a furry beaver. "Nice beaver" "Thank you, I just had it stuffed this morning" ~~~Naked Gun. I should add that I am anti-trapping. I was being naughty. Really, though, it is a testament to survival. I would also like to add, that even though I am anti trapping, this could be a dad, brother, or whatever, and thank goodness he did have the tenacity to survive. I do not think that animals are on the same sentient level as humans and would much rather see a rodent be killed than a human. http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_9521.php

Thriller

Oh my, the package. . .

Rambles

Honestly, raising puppies is the hardest thing to do. This morning I took them all outside by myself into the outdoor kennel, it was a bit rainy out, but I figured, they need as much different stimuli as possible. It was mayhem. Chaos. It tired the plump little ones out though, and gave me a good laugh. The neighbours came over to watch them frolic. Then I had to figure out how to get them to come inside, I had taken them out two by two, but they all wanted in at once, so I just opened the door. After drying them off, and wiping up the mud on my floor, all seven puppies are peacefully sleeping. Tibbles fell down the stairs this morning, I heard bum thumps down the twelve or so stairs, and a big howl. Poor kid. My first thought. . .her arm. She was okay though, her bum and back will have a few bruises, but I put some frozen vegetables on her and then watched both Gibbles and Tibbles trudge to school. Tibbles was walking like an old man. Thank goodness she is young though, if it was anyone over the age of thirty, it would have been a terrible accident. Today is supposed to be a mixed bag of precipitation. . .rain, freezing rain and snow. I am glad I don't have to travel anywhere. I do have to clean the house and try to cover up a blemish that appeared during the night.

Gerd Girls

The winds we are having are unbelievable. I felt like I was being pushed into some cosmic vortex on the way to Goderich this morning. It turns out that Tibbles has GERD and coincidentally, her best friend also has GERD. Supposedly, if your child grows a lot, sometimes their innards do not grow at the same rate, thus shortening the esophagus and GERD can be a problem in up to 40 percent of kids. That what the doctor said. So, if your kid is barfing at night, or in the morning for no apparent reason, think GERD. I gave the hermit crabs cauliflower and I think they have gas. Last night they were really noisy.

Stump - Buffalo

Well, I don't like this one as much, but I can't help myself.

Stump (with the irresistable force) - Charlton Heston

This is an old favourite :)

Gibbles took these gems of the puppies. . .big thumbs up Gibbles! Yay!

The hermit crabs have made a journey to my desk on the main floor. . .they have been in Tibble's room. I hate them. They scare me and they chirp. My concern, although they do not harbour any communicable diseases, they are in a warm and moist environment. I would rather that they are in a more open area, and not in her small compact room. It was one of my thoughts about her malaise. She has always been a problem at restaurants, at the Kings Buffet, she ate a copious amount, and then was ill, prior to paying the bill. At East Side Mario's she ate a burger, and the same thing happened. She was born lactose intolerant, but has since grown out of it to a point. We allow it in moderation, and she seems fine with it. This does not seem to be a lactose problem, I can't even correlate it with a lactose problem. So we shall see what transpires tomorrow. After seeing the worms and stuff on Oprah, I think I want some blood tests done on her. Not to say that she has worms, but she has frequented farms, and although I tell her to wash her hands, you just never know what kind of a bug you can pick up.

Water Water Everywhere

Uggh. . . the nastiest thing to encounter before the three coffee quota is a basement full of water because the sump pump did not click on in the middle of the night. Right now, I would guesstimate two inches are in the basement. Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck. I just went down and balanced on a few buckets and used a shop broom to push water towards the pump. I think the floater needs to be adjusted lower so more water will make it's way out. Hopefully I do not lose a lot of things in this. I am worried about a few items which are protected in plastic containers, but you just never know. Our snow is melting like crazy in this unseasonably warm weather, and it is ending up in my basement, which normally would not be a problem because the sump pump takes care of it. This year is the worst for water, because of the snow load we had and the rain. We have never had this much of a problem. I have to make a doctors appointment for my youngest daughter today. She has a weak stomach, if she smells a bad smell she throws up, and since a class potluck she has been waking me up in the middle of the night to barf. I do not understand it, supposedly, Addled's sister had the same thing, nothing was found, but better to be on the safe than sorry side. Another funny thing. Every morning, well every few hours, I change the papers and the blankets in the whelping box and crate. The puppies are paper trained at this point. The mornings are the worst for poo though. So, I get all my clean materials, my enzymatic spray, cloth, etc. and start removing the old papers, and the puppies start to try and take me down. I was completely swarmed by them, it was an undulating hive of cuteness activity. They were trying to get up my pants, down the back of my pants, in my shirt, EVERYWHERE. So I yelled "Wookie, HELP", she ran, placed her sagging breasts over top of the barrier board, and diverted the pups from me to her nipples. What a good dog Wookie is.

?

I am really lazy. . .not the kind of summer, hang in the hammock with a glass of wine, lazy, but winter doldrum lazy. Yes, we are having a thaw, but it is so foggy out, that you cannot enjoy the weather. Addled did a little trimming of his facial hair. I had to cover my face with a pillow so I did not totally show that I was cracking up. Honestly, if the man would just shave it and let me know, like with a red alert warning system, things would go smoothly, but when he pops his newly shorn face suddenly from behind a door, I want to collapse in laughter. I dunno, I have a thing with facial hair, a man's upper lip area, and if I can see their socks. Something bad must have happened to me as a child, because I do not think these reactions are normal. If I see a man's socks and he happens to have slim ankles, I just about pass out. Wool socks, are not as provoking, I can even control myself if the man is wearing shorts, but if I see a little white sock hanging out of a pair of pants, and exposing a slim area of twig leg, it is all over for me. I feel like I could cry and laugh. It makes me feel that the guy is very vulnerable when I see white socks.

Puppy Pictures ~~Just Over Four Weeks Old

Here are a lot of first times. . .first time with puppy mush, (milk replacer, water and kibble smooshed up in a gluey concoction), first time outside on a warm 14 Celcius, but foggy day and the first time I ever had black eyed peas on New Years Day. This is the New Years Day black eyed pea salad I made, with salmon and a really lovely dressing.

I am not amused

The worst movies that I have seen this year are. . . .Knocked Up (it sucked, how incredibly boring and mundane), and Superbad (same comment). What is it with this new type of humour? Really, from certain reviews, I was expecting the side splitting, gut wrenching, pee yourself on the couch reaction that I had (and still have) to movies like Better Off Dead, or a bunch of other ones that I forget the titles of. I think the same guy did Anchorman, which, in my opinion was fantastic. Please correct me if I am wrong, I haven't done any research into it. Honestly though, those movies were so lame assed and were really a waste of an hour and a half. I could have been shaving my legs, giving my husband a wedgie, at least doing something remotely meaningful. I just don't get it. Have the masses lost their brains? Is it all the Big Macs, the same burgers that cause muffin tops? Have I.Q. levels dropped like dead cicadas off a branch in late summer? WTF? Am I the only hip (in my mind at least) person who just thinks that the quality of what is funny has become diluted and fucking retarded?

Rambles

This morning, we braved the frigid elements and drove swiftly to Goderich. Looking over the sparkling terrain, even with the tinted windows, I could feel snow blindness coming on. It seems like this is the first day in a long time that the sun has shone and we might get a little natural vitamin D. There was even a fisherman in the Maitland River, close to the lake, as the river has not frozen yet. He was wearing the hip waders and a jacket, but the current of the river and the chunks of ice looked ominous. I honestly do not know how he was holding himself upright. Mad skill, I suppose. As I dismounted from our van, a lady came up to me and said "Your chest is exposed, you should cover it, or you will get sick". I almost fell over with the sheer hilarity of the situation, as I was in mid button. It was something my Nana would say. Memories of Whooping Cough rushed through my head, and I recalled all of the undershirts I had to wear as a kid in the summer. We were going to "The Bean" a wonderful cafe in Goderich, which has a really yummy salad dressing, their "house blend". Adam and I sat and had a coffee, they actually had soy milk, which I added to my cuppa. I had the most delicious muffin, with dried cranberries and orange. Adam is back to work this evening, and although I miss him, I can get back to some normality. He is a distraction, a lovable one, but a distraction nonetheless. While the kids are off school, because we are housebound with puppies, I hope to get their rooms reamed out, and put all the stuff that they don't need up on Freecycle. Last night, I used black eyed peas for good luck and made a salad with a light vinaigrette with salmon, romaine lettuce and the peas. It was pretty good, although probably not customary, the peas were included, and as an added bonus I used my 1880's Milk Bowl that is ironstone. It is not often that I pull that sucker out, but I love it, and the fluted edges make me happy. More to say, and pictures to post, but later gator.

Truscott

This bothers me. A man, wrongly convicted, does not deserve compensation? The sadness that the Harper family feels would be indescribable, but to try to deny Truscott of compensation for the hell that was imposed upon him, just does not seem ethical. New Development In Truscott Compensation Case The family of a 12-year-old girl slain a half-century ago near Clinton has until Tuesday to lodge its claim that Steven Truscott shouldn't get compensation for being wrongly convicted of her murder. The Globe and Mail reports Lynne Harper's father and brother will submit details to a retired appeal court judge on how their lives were marred in the wake of her death. The then-14-year-old Truscott was convicted of her murder in 1959, sent to prison for 10 years, and paroled. The conviction was overturned by the Ontario Appeal Court last summer. The judge will now decide whether Truscott will get compensation. The Harpers feel he doesn't deserve a cent from the government, since the court didn't declare him ``factually innocent.'' Ontario's attorney general previously acknowledged Truscott should be compensated for what the appeal court said was a miscarriage of justice. http://www.am920.ca/news.php?artID=23145

Gnarls Barkley Vs. Beastie Boys