No Phone

I have embarked on a new adventure.  One of a different kind.  One that I'm contemplating creating a new blog just to chronicle.  You see, I am somewhat (somewhat of an understatement) of a hermit.  I'm pretty happy with my life and tend to putter through life.  Every once in a while I'll stop, think and say "Holy crap!  It's been a while since I've been on a date."  Time is flying past and I thought that I should maybe, just maybe do something about this.  The only problem being my options are limited.  I work with children in a female dominated field.  For my hobbies I enjoy spending time with happily (thank goodness) married men.  (Whose wives I think are amazing...)  I don't go to bars, and even if I did I don't have anyone to go with.  My friends are composed of married peoples - many with children.  So what's a girl to do?

Well, I broke out my handy dandy MacBook and began testing the waters.  Literally.  I have begun swimming in the pool of online dating.  I won't lie.  This is does provide me with feelings of alarm.  It also has provided myself and my friends some serious entertainment.

Case in point.

Years ago, I dated a lovely steer wrestler.  He was a professional cowboy and as such slightly flaky.  We had dated for close to 6 months when suddenly I never heard from him again.  He literally disappeared from my life.  We still lived in the same community but he never called me again.  At this point in time I coined the phrase "The No Phone Call Dump".  This is where rather than say, "Gee, I'm just not that into you anymore"  they cease all forms of communication.  No phone calls, texts or calls returned.

Flash forward to this week.

Last Saturday I had my first "real" meet of a "virtual" meet.  We spent a couple hours chatting, seemed to have some stuff in common.  That night I sent him a text, thanking him.  His response was it would be up to me whether we would continue to get to know each other.  I responded that I'd like that.  And from that point on the dome of silence was lowered.  Seriously?  WTF?  I have no issues with saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."  I really do expect the same courtesy.  A friend had suggested that perhaps I wasn't clear in expressing my interest.  Another text sent.  And the ringing of silence returned.  So me being me, I tossed this one into the garbage.

But I really don't get it.

And this my friends was one of my more tame "normal" experiences with my new adventure.  The saga continues...

I Didn't Need That Anyway

It's all the dogs fault...  There I was rushing around like a chicken with it's head cut off  (Seriously, google that.)  I had just arrived home from class - flush after a big presentation.  I had one bull stick left.  Two dogs.  I did what any sane individual would.  I grabbed my Henkle and began sawing away.  That bull stick was tough and resisted my best efforts.   Persevering I kept sawing away.  And then it happened.

With no warning the bull stick bucked the knife off, slamming it into my unsuspecting finger.  Eyes bulging with horror I stared down.  Rushing into the bathroom I start running the cold water over it.  YeeeOuch!  That smarted so I changed my mind.  I grab some Kleenex and wrap it.  Holding it tightly to try and slow the bleeding.  Until it looked like I was going to redecorate the floor...  Calling my mom I ask if she'd mind swinging by with some bandages and gauze.  With her help I get the finger wrapped tightly.

Should I have gone to the doctor?  Nah.  I'm pretty sure I didn't need stitches...  but it is going to leave a hunk missing.  Poor finger... I really didn't need that part anyway...

And The Plate Rattles...

Saturday was a lovely day.  It was warm and sunny.  The dogs had a tremendous amount of pent up energy.  I had had class Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  This meant very little exercise for the fur babies.  Normally my dogs have pretty good house manners.  For some unknown reason Ryder seems to be forgetting this.  I had barbecued steak for supper.  Not liking fat, I trimmed the fat off the edges.  This was sitting on a plate on my kitchen counter.  While in the washroom I heard a rattle and clang.  After hollering their names only Diva came.  No Ryder.  This did not bode well.  Going into the kitchen there sat Ryder licking his chops.  Looking at the counter the plate was mysteriously empty. 

Fantastic.

Ryder horked down the fat trimmings.  Gasping I looked at Ryder.  He gave me his most pathetic face and ran and hid under the bed.  Poor me.  You see, Ryder has a delicate tummy.  I knew this would not end well.  Trying to prevent the inevitable I gave him a shot of PeptoBismal and hoped this would not come back to haunt me. 

That night Ryder remained under the bed.  Ryder clearly had an upset tummy.  How do I know?  Well, let's just say he was sending off some bad odors.  Pulling the covers over my head I hoped that would be the worst. 

The next day, I took them to the park.  I really hoped that any remains of his unexpected meal would be left behind.  And boy, did he ever unload.  Poor dog.  I hope he learned his lesson.

Recharging

I've had a rough last couple of weeks.  On the 10th, while at work I found out that one of the teachers I used to team teach with had lost her battle with cancer and it was her funeral.  I knew she was sick, I just didn't realize she was death bed sick.  On the 13th a friend's baby was admitted through emergency to the hospital.  (Ended up being diagnosed with two holes in her heart.)  On the 14th was the funeral of the next door neighbor (childhood) who had died of cancer.  And on the 16th I found out another person I used to work with had also died of cancer.  It was too much.

I slogged through the day, only to stop by my Principal's office at the end of the day to touch base with her.  It was there that when I tried to express how I was struggling, I cried.  Poor Deb.  She sat there patting my back.  She offered to give me the following day off.  I went home, crawled into bed and snuggled with my dogs.  After a nap, I loaded my very patient pups and drove to the grazing reserve.  It was there that I walked.  I watched the dogs race so joyously across the fields, splashing in the water, zooming and zipping.  Hearing the birds, the panting of the dogs, I could feel the stress and sorrow drain from my body.  I thought about these people who were gone and said my goodbyes.

On the drive home with my soggy, stinky dogs, I knew I would be okay.  That I would shake this off.

There is something about reconnecting with nature that recharges my batteries.

Incredible Dog

The most amazing story reached me today.  Blaine, who now owns Reba, sent me a text saying that Reba had saved their house from burning down.  He told me she kept running from the garage to him, jumping up on him with her front two feet and running back to the garage.  After doing this repeatedly he got curious and went and looked.  The garage was on fire.  There was a large flame that just happened to be beside a gas canister.  While unsure how it started he was able to get the fire out.

You hear of stories like this on media all the time.  I kinda always took them with a grain of salt.  But it appears Reba is officially a super dog!  What an amazing story.  I knew she would work for him, and I knew she would bond with him, but I didn't know she would also work at keeping her family safe!

What a heartwarming story!  It really cements that I made 100% the right decision there.

Cute N Clean

Here are my fur babies after a thorough shampoo'n.

Ryder with one of his favorite "house" toys, and Diva in her standard hiding spot.

Yes Diva, I will steal your soul with this picture.

Yesterday when I cleaned I pulled the covers off the couches and conditioned the leather.  In an effort to keep the dogs off, I kept the seat cushions up.  Worked well, didn't it?

And then Ryder did this!  So of course I asked him to do it over and over again.  (Sorry for the blur, it was challenging to get the camera to focus.)

Diva sensing fun had to get in on the action.

Waiting to jump out.  Waiting... waiting...

And I missed the shot.  But Ryder listens better so here's a neat one of him jumping out.  The line is from the sun and the front window. 

I love my dogs and am so grateful they're okay.

(And yes, buying the rest of my living room furniture is on this month's list of "To Do"  just haven't got around to it yet.)

Shaky

I have got to slow down.  To stop and think.  I cannot keep up with this level of distraction.  Something or someone is going to get hurt.  I've been on cleaning mode.  Keep in mind I should be writing papers.  Today my brother (who's moving to Nova Scotia a week Monday) stopped in.  He helped me do a few things, I fed him and then we took off into town to see The Hunger Games.  (Side note: it was pretty good.)  When I left I took him out my front door.  You know the one I rarely use.  Making sure he was following me in his car I left.

Flash forward almost four hours later.

I parked my truck in the drive.  Not the garage.  I wasn't up to corralling Diva who is back in testing mode.  Yanking off my boots, I meander through my freshly cleaned house to the garage.  I opened the door.  No dogs.  Not completely unusual.  I unhook the X-pen and call their names.  No dogs.  I call a few more times.  No dogs.  Thinking I hear scratching at the outside of the garage, I giggle and open the man door.

Where I promptly freeze in terror.

The gate to the dog run is wide open.

I belly yell their names.  No dogs.

But I hear what sounds like scratching on the garage door.  Running, I hit the automatic opener and a Diva and Ryder rush in.  I started to cry.  I don't think I've ever been quite that scared in a very, very long time.  My yard is not completely fenced.  On the east border of my property is a busy secondary highway.    Less than 1/2 mile away is another very busy road.  Only Diva has a collar on.

Both dogs were covered in mud.  Worrying about Guinness I grabbed a flashlight and ran out to check him.  He was okay.  I don't know if the dogs decided to tag team and chase him or if they found a slough somewhere to play.

Grabbing the hose I hosed them off in the garage (has a drain).  Neither are clean by any stretch of the imagination but both are safely laying at my feet drying off.  They'll be banished to the office tonight (the last room in the house that isn't organized).  Tomorrow I'll run out to the farm and give them proper baths.

As my heart slows I am vowing to slow down.  This isn't the first time I've done something like this (unlocked doors, left open garage door).  It will be the last.  We were lucky.  There could have been a completely different outcome.  And Diva - Diva will be leash bound until her recall is 100% so I'm not going in one door to coerce her to come in another.  No more mistakes.

Mantracker

Up here, we have a TV show called Mantracker.  The premise of the show is of a mounted "tracker" finding two prey.  The only guide he has is a flare signal at the start of the race.  The prey then need to race to an undisclosed finish line.  I freak'n love this show!  It's fun and I'll admit that I have a bit of a crush on "Mantracker".

Here's a link to the website:  http://www.mantracker.ca/indexb.html

If you enjoy horses and nature you just might enjoy this show.  I know it's a Canadian show and am not sure about the US viewing of it...

Dirty Hair Ball