No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

It's a damn good thing that hair grows back! I've had more than my fair share of bad haircuts. And now I have yet another one. I knew it was going to be bad from the moment I walked into the place. When I last went for a trim, I mentioned my plan of donating my hair come the fall. That's when I was told the haircut would be free. Well when I asked about it being free, nobody knew what I was talking about and had to ask the manager. I made the mistake of going to one of those chain places where they seem to have a high turnover of employees. So the girl checks with the manager and tells me "someone will do it". I'm thinking what the hell is that supposed to mean? When my name is called, I get stuck with the old immigrant lady who doesn't have a fucking clue. Another girl had to keep coming over to tell her what she was doing wrong. Firstly she was putting my hair into 2 ponytails rather than 1. WTF? It just went downhill from there. She cut it way too short. She didn't understand what I was asking her to do to my hair. And it's a too short in the back, too long on the sides, fucking mess. I asked her straight out if she had ever done this before, and she said yes, in an offended tone. I swear I could have done a better job myself. Piss me off. No good deed goes unpunished.

Before...

During...

After....

The last time this happened to me was 4 years ago. When I went to have it fixed I ended up near bald. It took 4 years to grow it out long enough to donate. I'm going to let it grow out a bit before going to have it fixed this time so I don't end up near bald again. Fuckin stupid bitch. I specifically told her I don't want it straight across the back, like blunt. Looks pretty straight and blunt to me. It was her way or the highway. Either she was just too stupid, just too untalented at cutting hair, or just pissed off because I asked her if she had done this before. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Either way, this is one of the very worst haircuts I've ever had. Don't you just hate when that happens? I know I do. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Edited to add:

You know I was ok with it. There was no point in getting upset, it'll grow back. It's not like it's the first time this has happened to me. I was handling it quite well. But after posting this entry I became very upset.

If I ever find a decent hairstylist I am sticking to them like glue. They will have a happy, paying customer for life. I don't think I'll be going back to the chain places. I'll find one that is owned and operated, hopefully they would be more concerned with pleasing their customers.

I mailed my hair off to Angel Hair For Kids in Mississauga. I'll probably do it again in another 3 or 4 years, depending on how fast my hair grows.

I'm just going to try to not worry too much about it and wait for it to grow and just deal with it. Still no point in getting upset. I'm just disappointed.

The good news is, the Samaritans Purse pre-made shoeboxes are in, and we can pick them up tomorrow. I'm excited to get started on that. It's such fun shopping for this. I would encourage anyone to try it. I feel really good when I do it, knowing I'm giving kids hope and giving them things they may otherwise never have. Simple things. We do 6 boxes. 3 for boys in age groups 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14 and 3 for girls in the same age groups. The website again is, samaritanspurse.ca/occ for anyone who wants to check it out. Giving feels good.

Door Prizes

Ok so Mr. Man got up long enough to let the boys out and have a coffee and a smoke with me, now he's back in bed, poor thing. He didn't take very many pictures. There were lots of people we know there. Sounds like I missed out on a good doo. Mr. Man won a door prize! He got a long sleeve shirt that won't fit him, but will fit me, hehe...



I won't be wearing that to any 4-H events lol. And he won this too...


It's a little piggie with a large appendage lol. I'm gonna hang that on the rearview mirror in the car. He was so happy to have won, he never wins anything. It's too bad the shirt doesn't fit him, he is in need of new shirts. But alas it's only a Large. Not too many places I'll be able to wear it. That picture is of the back it has the same thing, smaller on the front too.

Well, next weekend is Thanksgiving. Man this seems awfully early. It is early. I just confirmed with S.W that they will be coming over for dinner. I'm so looking forward to this. It's been a while since we've had a dinner party at our house. If Mr. Man ever gets up we're going to town shopping for a turkey etc. I think I'll get my hair cut today too. It's more than long enough to donate and it is starting to get on my nerves. It's a real pain to wash. Showers take twice as long because of the hair. I'm ready to part with it.

Ok I'm out of here. Have a great day.

I'm Sick, And Tired, And Old

I am sick, ugh. It started out with a sore throat one day, and then nasal congestion the next day, and today I am still congested and have a headache. I guess it doesn't help that I was up all night and only got about 4 hours of sleep. You see, last night there was a benefit party for a guy who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Mr. Man decided he wanted to go and left me instructions to do his laundry and to be ready to go when he got home from work. Well, being so sick, I wasn't ready for anything but my cozy, warm bed. I did however do his laundry. So he decided to go without me. That's fine, he deserved a night out. But ALL night? He didn't stroll in until 5:30 a.m. Of course I had expected him home hours before that and was unable to sleep until he came home. All kinds of tragedies ran through my head. I'm sure I aged many years last night. All I got out of him before he crashed on the couch was he drove some people back to their hotel after the bash. I made him let the dogs out before I let him crash lol (they don't run away from him, just me.)

So now this morning, I snuck out to the car, with my sinus headache, to fetch the camera he took with him. There's only a few pictures from last night. Several of the bands I missed. And he is happily snoozing on the couch, bastard.

So here's a pic of S & D, not to be confused with S.W & D.W...



And here's M.J and his new girlfriend whose name escapes me this morning...



And here's Mr. Man and S...

I can't wait to hear all about it whenever Mr. Man rises. I sure do feel old this morning.

Little R also went to a party last night. It was a double birthday party for 2 of her friends, held at the bowling alley. She was home on time at least.

That's about it for this morning. Have a great day.

The Best Laid Plans

One day last week Little R came in from school asking me who left a bag of apples by the front door. I had no idea. After asking around, I found out they were from D.W who had stopped by but got no answer at the door. That evening when Mr. Man came in from work he said someone had dumped a pile of dog poo in the driveway, right beside the drivers door of the car. Hmmmm. A few days later Little R came home with a bag of pears from one of our neighbours. Do we look hungry or what? I don't know what I'm going to do with all this fruit. I don't know how to bake a pie. Maybe it's time to learn.

So the 4-H show last Saturday...it was a long day. The show started around 10:30 a.m but the demolition derby didn't start until 4 p.m. Little R had to be at the farm to wash her calf at 7:30 a.m. So the day started early and there was a bit of running around. Fortunately we got into the fair for free, otherwise we would have had to pay $6 each. That's one good thing about being in the 4-H. Sometimes they make the parents pay, sometimes they don't. Little R came in ninth place for Showmanship and she came in second in the Conformation round. Good job. After the show, Mr. Man and I headed over to the beer tent and Little R hit the midway rides. We watched lawn tractor races for the first time, it was funny, while we waited for the demolition derby to start. We stayed for most of the demolition derby. Well what we could see of it from the beer tent. They had the registration tent set up right in front of the beer tent, blocking the view. Last year we went and sat in the bleachers to see everything. This year, even though I wasn't in much of a drinking mood, Mr. Man was, so we stayed put in the beer tent and watched what we could see. I don't know if they do that on purpose or if it's just poor planning, but it was the same last year with the registration tent being in the way. Besides, that way, staying in the beer tent, Little R knew where to find us. It was a weird day weather-wise. When the sun was shining it was warm, but it was windy, and the wind was quite chilly. I think I got a wind burn on my face that day. S.W and D.W didn't drink with us, they went to sit in the bleachers, because they had been out drinking the night before and couldn't handle it two days in a row. So it was just me and Mr. Man. We did run into some folks we know. I just really wasn't in the mood. We were all glad to get home.

Though I'm still depressed, it seems to have eased up a bit this week. Hopefully this will continue and eventually I'll feel better again. Good things are starting to happen again. Things are looking up again. Finances are looking up again. Mr. Man was hired permanently and signed up for benefits at the new job. As soon as we get the package in the mail we can start using the benefits. That means I can go get the rest of my teeth pulled and get my dentures finally. It also means we won't have to put out the money for all our medications. Mr. Man's alone is like $600 a month. So that's a bit of weight off our shoulders. Yup, things are looking up.

There isn't another 4-H show until Thanksgiving weekend. That isn't so far away, less than two weeks. For once my birthday doesn't fall on the same weekend. My birthday is the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. I've invited the W clan over for Thanksgiving dinner. That always happens to me. I have one day where I feel good so I go ahead and make plans and extend invitations. But it should be ok. I believe the 4-H show is on the Saturday and the dinner on Sunday. That leaves Monday for chilling and relaxing. I'm going to try making the dessert that Big R made last year, Pumpkin Delight. At least that's the plan. I don't like pumpkin pie, but I loved this dessert. I guess that's what I'll be doing Saturday night after the show, as it needs to be prepared in advance. It'll be a good time, we always have a good time with S & D.W. We've never really had them over for dinner before though. Hopefully everything will just go as planned.

Here's a photo of Mr. Man and Little R sitting in the wind at the last 4-H show, waiting for the show to begin. Then Mr. Man with a Mickey Mouse head on. I think it suits him! And then the real Mickey and Mini. An acquaintance of ours, John, plays Mickey in the parade every year.

Well I'm off to do laundry. It never ends. Have a great day.

Thank Goodness It's Friday

Greetings.
It's been a week, and I"m still stuck with all the crap I posted on Freecycle. It's easy enough to go pick up other peoples junk, but another story getting rid of my stuff. It's so frustrating. Maybe we'll make another trip to the thrift store this weekend to drop off another load. I don't feel up to the task of having a yard sale. I just don't think it's the right time of year. Gotta do it in the spring when people have been deprived all winter and are eager for it. Every time I use that site I get a little more frustrated with it.

Last night was the 4-H meeting here. Mr. Man had the day off work for a doctor appointment so he helped me clean up, he even cut the grass. He knew I wasn't going to do it. The meeting went well, glad it's over with. I couldn't have had the house ready without the help of Mr. Man.

It's just about that time of year again for the Samaritans Purse, Operation Christmas Child. I have a bit of stuff left over from last year. This year I'm going to get the pre-made boxes from the drop off church. It was a hassle getting enough shoe boxes together and then covering them in wrapping paper. I was a little over-zealous last year, bought too much stuff and tried to cram too much into the boxes. I have a better idea of what I want to send this time, hopefully. Upon checking out the website I notice there are some changes. Like now they are saying don't send toothpaste. I sent toothpaste last year. It was okay last year. I wonder if it has anything to do with the counterfeit toothpaste that was being sold in discount stores and making people sick? At any rate, I look forward to shopping for this again, it's fun.

Thank goodness it's Friday. Tomorrow is another 4-H show. At least this one is at a good fair. This is the one with a beer tent and a demolition derby. That makes the sitting around and waiting a little easier to handle. Have a great weekend.

A Nice Weekend To Ourselves

The weekend was good. I guess Little R was a little burnt out from her camping trip and so she didn't want to go to the 4-H show on Saturday. It was nice to have the weekend to ourselves. This time of year most Saturdays are spent at 4-H shows and that involves a lot of sitting around and waiting. So we tried to exchange that belt again and the guy wasn't there again. I have a feeling we're going to be stuck with the belt.

We took a bunch of stuff to the thrift store. Pretty much all of the left overs from the community garage sale back in April. That cleared up a little patch in the garage. Apparently they had had a busy day of donations and wouldn't take it all. They did take most of it. Then we went to another store a couple of doors down and they took some too. Of course I'm still stuck with a couple of boxes, but thats ok, I'll get rid of it, it's mostly stuff that can be recycled, I'll just put it out to the curb. I still have a ton of stuff for a yard sale. But I think its too late now to do it this year, I'll have to wait for spring. Meanwhile the spare bedroom is just crammed with crap. It was funny, we stopped at a yard sale (some people are still having them) and it was all crap, we didn't buy anything, and then when we were at the thrift store dropping our stuff off so was the lady who had the yard sale. Well it was a step in the right direction. We did manage to get rid of a lot of junk.

Saturday night Mr. Man and I played some darts. Haven't done that in a while. We only played 3 games, he kicked my ass every time. I really felt it in my arm. In fact on Sunday I felt achey all over. I think I did more in one day than I've done in months.

Big R is now living in PEI. She drove down. She left Thursday morning and arrived Friday night. Safe and sound. The minute I realized she's really there and she's there to stay, I just bawled my heart out. I'm glad she made it safe and sound. I know she'll be happy there. But it just breaks my heart that she's gone. I can't just see her whenever I want to now. I have one less reason to go to the city. I miss her terribly already. I know I'll really miss her come the holidays. She is very close to my 92 year old father and I am just hoping this doesn't have a negative effect on his health. He must miss her terribly too. He saw more of her than I did. They are very close.

This week will be spent seriously cleaning the house. We are hosting the monthly 4-H meeting this month, which is this week. That's what I should be doing right now. But I'm procrastinating instead. It's the first time it's been at our house. The meetings rotate between all the members homes.

I got a good score from Freecycle this weekend. I got one of those 3 tiered serving dishes. I've always wanted one, but never seen one I liked, or could afford. I think they are great for desserts and treats. I keep picturing it full of my Christmas treats. It's a nice one, not at all the tacky thing I was expecting. The problem now is, it doesn't fit anywhere. Its too tall for any of my cupboards or cabinets. So now I have to find it a home. I also posted a few things on Freecycle this weekend. And its back to dealing with flakey people. Its all done by email. I had even offered to deliver an item, twice, because we were on our way to town anyways and I just want it out of my house. Of course being done by email she never got my messages in time. And now she's saying her hubby is too busy to come pick it up. So I'm still stuck with the item. This is what kept me away from Freecycle for quite a while, just tired of dealing with people. Its a simple concept, but some people can't just do it. They have to be difficult.

I found a new store. Well the store isn't new, I've just never went into it before. It is the Bulk Barn. They sell all kinds of things, food stuff, in bulk. What drew me in was the Halloween candy. They had lots of different candy. We spent a little over $50 on Halloween candy. I always like to make up the little bags of candy for Halloween. I figure it probably equalled out to what I would normally spend in all the other stores. But I was most delighted to see the other stuff they had. Like, sprinkles for cakes, cupcakes and cookies. They even had the little silver candy balls! They had them in gold too! They had decorating kits as well. They had premade flowers for putting on cakes! All kinds of cool stuff. I'm glad we decided to pop in and check it out.

So it was nice to spend the weekend together puttering around the house and making steps towards cleaning it up. Discovering new stores. We enjoyed our first fireplace fire of the season as well. It was a nice relaxing, slightly productive weekend.

Depression Hurts Everyone

This morning the boys both went for a walk with Mr. Man and did their business. Now, an hour later, they are bugging the hell out of me to go back out. It drives me crazy. I'm not dressed yet. Its cold outside. Its cold inside. I just want to relax with my coffee and get warm. I don't want to take them out just yet. But they won't stop bugging. They tag team me. They take turns, if it isn't one it's the other. Grrrrrrr.

Little R left for a school camping trip this morning. I sure don't recall going on school camping trips when I was a kid. This is like, what, the third one in the last year? Anyways, like yay, it's freezing outside, what fun to be camping. They were even told to pack swimming suits! Hopefully she won't come home sick. They'll be back Friday.

All day yesterday it was in the back of my mind that I hope nothing happens. I felt a little nervous all day. I'm glad there wasn't too much reliving it on TV, at least not that I saw. September 11 will never be forgotten. The feelings of fear and panic will never be forgotten. Hard to believe it was 6 years ago.

So much for my new appreciation. I'm miserable. I can perk up a little on weekends. I think that's because Mr. Man is here with me. And we go out and do things which takes my mind off of sitting here alone. I just don't know what it is. I can't for the life of me force myself to do anything. There is plenty to do for sure. My mind never stops thinking about all I have to do. But to actually get up and do something, impossible. I don't understand it. Mr. Man is being so patient with me too. He doesn't bitch at me about the state of the house, or not cooking or anything. He understands that I'm in some kind of deep depression. I'm just like in those commercials, "depression hurts". I don't answer the phone or the door. I don't want to take the dogs out. I'm sad. I have no interest in anything. Hell, I don't even want to get dressed. I'd rather sit in my jammies all day. I'm neglecting my entire life. But what really freaks me out is I'm AWARE of it and still can't do anything about it. And rather than easing up, it just keeps getting worse. How much worse can it get? I'm at a loss. I suppose I should tell my doctor. Obviously that new medication isn't doing the same thing it did at first. I take it every day, twice a day. I did mention my depression last time I was at the doctor and he said the Lorazepam can cause depression. I disagree. They help me feel a little better. They calm me and my brain down. Of course the first thing he suggested was anti-depressants. I cannot stand those. I've tried them all over the years. Not one of them helped me. All they did was make me feel sick and jittery. I do not want to go there again. But I can't imagine not having the Lorazepams either. Panic attacks, a racing heart and a racing brain, insomnia are not fun. But what I really notice lately is that the dogs are really getting on my nerves. This got a lot worse after the fight last week. I love them. I used to enjoy having them around. I used to enjoy going for walks. Now I wish they would just leave me alone. The last thing in the world I want to do is go out with them and they are still bugging the hell out of me. Depression hurts everyone.

Have a good day.

What A Life

Since the dog fight I haven't been taking them out. Mr. Man has been taking them for a little walk in the morning before going to work. This morning Bear didn't want to go on the walk. But of course as soon as Mr. Man left, then he wanted out. I let him out the back to do his business. He almost immediately started heading towards the open side of the yard to take off. When I opened the door to call him back, Eddie snuck out. They both took off together. I am so sick of this shit, I just said to hell with them. If they get picked up by the dog catcher, so be it. If they get shot, so be it. If they get run over, so be it. I am not racing around to get dressed and going out chasing them around town. About an hour later there was a knock on the door. I knew it was someone bringing the dogs home. I dreaded answering it. Sure enough thats what it was. Bear was on a leash and Eddie was in a cage. I didn't even recognize S.W at first and was waiting to get yelled at. So apparently they were over by her place and headed up the line. Sure enough they'll get shot going up that way. So it seems I absolutely cannot let Bear out back on his own any more. Clearly he will run from me every time. For whatever reason he won't do it with Mr. Man. And that set the tone for my day. It was a shit day. I slept as long as I could, just to pass the day away. What a life.

Another Town, Another Fair, Another 4-H Show

We headed out to the 4-H show around 10:30. It was cool outside and Mr. Man told me it was going to be a cool day. So I wore pants rather than shorts. By the time we were sitting in the stands of the outdoor ring in the noonday sun, I thought I was going to die from the heat. I don't know how the judges or the kids in the ring can stand it. So I had to keep walking away in search of shade. There was an ocassional breeze which was heavenly. At least this time we remembered to bring chairs. One of them got trashed, wasn't there when it happened so don't know what happened other than it got ripped. Could have been when Mr. Man sat in it. Those chairs aren't made for people of weight. Anyhow, it just seemed like an endless show. Last year there was only the two girls in it and they were always in the ring together. This year S.Ws son is in it too. Plus their calves are all different ages so they are all in at different times. That's something we finally figured out this year, that we didn't understand last year. For the Showmanship round it goes by the age of the kids and for the Conformation round it goes by the age of the calf. So the girls are in the ring together for Showmanship, we only have to sit through two rounds of that. But they all go in seperately for Conformation which means three rounds. Some judges are quick about it, some are not. Every show has a different judge. It also depends on how many kids are in the ring, the more there are the longer it takes. So Little R came in fifth for Showmanship and fifth again for Conformation. Way to go. She got a ribbon and $30 a pop. D.W came in first in her Conformation for which she got like $75. Way to go. It's about time they started winning. They won a lot last year. Last year the weather wasn't so good. It was cold and rainy for a lot of the outdoor shows. I didn't like it then, but now I think it's better than the sun beating down on us. Ah well, next weekend another town another fair another show. Yeehaw.

Here's some pictures...

J.W showing his fiesty Jersey calf.

Little R showing her Holstien, Lia. She shared a laugh with the judge, something about cow snot.

And D.W showing her very pushy Jersey.

And here's me sitting in the shade of the makeshift barn wishing it would all be over soon. I think I see the beginnings of the rip in the chair.

Glad It's Over With

Here I am up at 4 a.m again. Don't know what woke me up, Mr. Man snoring and hogging the blankets maybe. There is a 4-H show today. Little R has to be at the farm at 6:30 a.m and the show is at 12:30. But we don't have to take her to the show, just over to the farm, so we don't have to go til later. That will give us the chance to go to the Farmers Market and exchange that belt. She found it.

It turns out the lady with the other dog called the police. She wanted us charged for having a vicious dog. After speaking to Mr. Man the police decided there would be no charges and they were going to speak to her again, also conveying our apologies. Apparently she was most upset because I didn't seem to care about the dog fight. Well nothing could be further from the truth. I've been distraught all week because of it. I feel terrible about it. I feel like a total retard for letting him get away from me in the first place. It also turns out it was her own dog that gouged her arm, thus needing stitches. Not sure how that happened if it was wearing a muzzle. I'm just relieved to know it wasn't Bear who hurt her. I'm also very thankful that Big R was there with me and able to think and act. It didn't take a lot for her to pull Bear away and then he walked away calmly. So I don't know what provoked it, it was a freak incident. I'm glad its over. I'm relieved to know no one will be showing up to take him away. He really isn't mean or vicious. Again he gets a bad rap because of his breed. People assume he's mean and vicious. So they freak out, thus provoking him, maybe. I don't know.

It was great to spend some time with Big R. That was one of the best visits we've had, too bad it was slightly marred by the dog fight. I miss her already and she hasn't even left yet. I wish we had spent more time together when we had the chance. I'm feeling a little better about her leaving, I'm accepting it. It helps to hear from her that she will be coming back for visits and we can visit her any time.

Little R survived her first week of high school. Now I must go wake her up to get ready to go to the farm. Have a great day.

Not A Good Day

There is a new feature on Blogger allowing to upload video. I have tried several times to use it and been unsuccessful. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, if anything. Things to learn and figure out.


The story on the dog fight is the other dog was wearing a muzzle, I didn't notice. And the lady with the other dog ended up needing stitches. Apparently she's very pissed off that I didn't do anything. It's true, I didn't. I was still under the influence of the Lorazepams and just kind of stood there stunned, not knowing what to do. That's also how Bear was able to pull the leash from my hand so easily. I don't know what made him attack, I thought it was the two women freaking out. I know nothing good is going to come of this. I know we haven't heard the end of it. I think if I ever take him for a walk again I'll put his muzzle on. That's if I get the chance, if he doesn't get taken away. If he gets taken away, I'll be heartbroken. I'm hoping it won't come to that, but I don't know what will happen. There's been so many complaints about him. I swear its all because of his breed. People are such assholes. He's a beautiful dog. And he is well behaved. This was a freakish incident. I'm distraught. I imagine so is the lady with stitches.


So yesterday was spent brooding about this and other crap. I accomplished zero. It was a terrible day. But Little R came home from school on time. It turns out she had taken the wrong bus home. The bus does not stop at the old school, it comes straight through. She now knows what bus to take so there shouldn't be any more confusion.

I can tell today is going to be another crappy day. Its dreary and cool outside. I feel like hell. I'm so upset about the dog situation I can't think straight. I'm dreading someone coming to the door to take my Bear away. I'm afraid to take him outside. I feel like my whole life is out of control. Nothing is going the way it's supposed to be. Not a good day. I'm going to bed. I'm reading a really lame book about John Candy, it'll put me to sleep in minutes.

Hopefully it's a better day for you.

A Mixed Bag Day

Its thundering outside so Bear woke me up. Its 4 a.m. This is getting ridiculous. I'm getting large bags under my eyes.

So yesterday, there was much confusion getting Little R off to school. We thought she was getting a ride with S.W but as the bus time drew closer and we got no answer on the phone and she wasn't showing up, Mr. Man drove Little R down to the bus stop. Then she didn't get home til an hour and a half after I expected her home. We still don't know what the bus schedule is. Little R says everyone who was waiting at the bus stop ended up getting a ride, the bus never came. And supposedly they get dropped off at the old school down the road and get on another bus there which then takes them to the high school. Coming home they got dropped off there, and walked from there, making stops at the store and other kids homes on the way, which is what took her an hour and a half.

In the morning I went for my biopsy. I must be getting used to it because it all seemed to be a lot quicker than I remembered. The doctor said everything looked normal and if the results are normal I won't be hearing from him again. I am to continue with regular PAP tests with my regular doctor. I was happy about that.

I had taken 2 Lorazepams so I would be calm and relaxed for the procedure. When I got home I just wanted to sleep. I was tucked in bed before Mr. Man was leaving to go back to work. I hardly remember him leaving. I woke up an hour or so later to Big R. I knew she was coming up and had asked Mr. Man to leave the door unlocked for her. She woke me up gently at least. Once I was awake I remembered she was bringing her dog and was surprised I couldn't even tell the dog was here. I expected Eddie to attack her. Nothing. They all got along fine. So Big R and I had a nice afternoon together. She drove me to town and we got a coffee and drove around. Then we came back and waited for Little R. We walked all the dogs down to the bus stop. After waiting a few minutes and thinking we saw them walking, we decided to head back home. Thats when all hell broke loose. There was another dog, on a leash waiting at the bus stop for the little kids. I crossed the street to avoid it, because Bear started pulling as soon as he saw it. I lost control of him, he ripped the leash from my hand. He went over to the other dog just sniffing. But the lady holding the other dog was freaking and I think thats what started the whole thing. If she had just stayed calm none of it would have happened. They started fighting. This lady and her friend did nothing but stand there screaming. They were very rude and obnoxious. I had Eddie so there wasn't much I could do. Big R handed Penelopes leash to me and she went and pulled Bear off. Me and Big R stayed quite calm, the other two were hysterical. Of course Bear came out on top. I hope the other dog wasn't hurt. But I'm sure we're going to hear about it via a letter from the township. The other dog was carrying on too, barking and whatnot. But the lady just stood there, made no move to distract her dog, or to break up the ensuing fight. So I came home feeling guilty and pissed off. Of all the dogs on this street, Bear and Eddie are the only ones who get regular walks. Everyone else just keeps them in their fenced backyards. Except to take them to go sit at the bus stop. No thats not quite true. There are a couple of little dogs who moved in this summer who get regular walks also. Anyhow it was traumatic.

Finally Little R got home and Big R took her to town. They got some more school supplies and a couple of belts. Yay, I can have my belt back now. So this was our last visit before she leaves for PEI. I couldn't help crying when she left. As soon as she left Mr. Man took Little R over to the farm to wash Lia. I guess they didn't do it after the show which they are supposed to. Mr. Man got home from work at the same time the girls got back from town. It was another early to bed night. But this getting up at 3 and 4 a.m has got to stop.

I was sad to see Big R leave. But we did talk about it and she assured me we will see her again. She'll be coming back for visits and we can visit her any time. And the best part was when she told me she would miss me too. I do understand her reasons for wanting to go. I do wish her well, but in the back of my mind I hope it doesn't work out and she comes back here to live. But I honestly don't think that will happen. I think she'll do just fine and stay down there.

Heres a picture of Big R and Little R just before she left...

And heres a couple of pictures of Little R showing Lia on Monday...

Thats it. Have a great day. I'm off to do laundry.

Lazy Days

As I said, we were up bright and early on Saturday. We never did go to the Farmers Market. But Mr. Man got an early start on the cigarette run. When he got back we went over to S.W & D.Ws place to a) work on our truck and b) feed their dogs. They are away for the weekend, so we're feeding the dogs. I got to help Mr. Man with the truck, lucky me. I did the masking tape around the windows and whatnot in preperation of painting. It was tricky, can't imagine doing that for a living.

Sunday was a very lazy day. We were both feeling the effects of drinking the night before. The most we did all day was go over to feed the dogs. We went to bed way too early so I'm up way too early this morning. Today is another 4-H show, this time in Mount Forest. We have to be there for 8 a.m. Don't know what time the show is but I imagine there will be lots of waiting around. I guess she'll be wearing my belt again. This year the W kids are showing Jersey calves. Those are the brown ones that I think look more like deer than cows. Little R is showing a Holstein again. We'll have to remember to go feed the dogs before we head up there. The W clan will be going directly from the cottage they're visiting to the fair, we'll meet up with them there.

Hard to believe summer is over. Tomorrow is back to school. There's even leaves turning colour already. It's been cool. Hot when the sun is shining on you but cool when it goes behind a cloud or anything. The nights have been chilly. I am not looking forward to the winter. Also tomorrow I have to go for another biopsy. I'm not looking forward to that either.

Oh well, its time to start getting ready to go. Have a great day.

Edited to add:

As we were leaving the house, S.W pulled up. It turns out they came back late the night before. So we didn't need to go feed the dogs. She was low on gas. We took the route we thought she was taking, but she disappeared. We even backtracked in case she had run out of gas and was stuck somewhere. Nothing. When we got there she was already there.

As expected there was a lot of waiting around. The kids are kept busy with washing and fluffing their calves. There is nothing for us to do but sit around and drink our coffee. Very boring. The day turned out to be very sunny and hot. I'm pretty sure I got too much sun. The ring was outdoors. There was some confusion, the computer crashed or something. So it took even longer than usual to get the show going. At one point Little R was in third place, but then they did another round and she was bumped down, way down. We didn't stick around for the second round. I had too much sun. Those poor kids and calves out in that sun all day. For whatever reason I thought it was going to be a cool, cloudy day, so I wore jeans, duh. We got there just after 8 a.m and it was after 3 p.m when we finally left. We had to get home to let the boys out.

Speaking of the boys. They woke me up at 4 this morning and I've been up ever since. They're both snoozing like babies now, ugh. I'm dreading today. Litte Rs first day of high school. She doesn't want to take the bus, she's getting a ride with S.W. That was a last minute decision last night. Something about getting "nined". I have to be in Palmerston at 9:30 for my biopsy. Fun wow. Then Big R is coming up for a visit and bringing her little dog. Eddie hasn't met Penelope yet. I know he's going to attack her. He's a vicious little shit hyper spaz. It's going to be a hectic day. And I didn't get enough sleep. And the house is a write off. I won't have time to do anything to clean it up.



I tried uploading a little video of Little R in the ring, but I don't think it worked. Have a great day.

Pig Roast

So we were all ready to go to the Farmers Market bright and early to exchange the belt we bought for Little R which was too small and don't you know she can't find it! How does this happen? To be honest I haven't even peeked into her room in ages. It must be quite the quagmire if she can lose a belt in one week. The thing is she needs a belt for showing. Its part of the uniform thing. White pants, white shirt, safety boots and a black belt. Who ever came up with the white thing? They are working with cows. That involves lots of muck and poop. Her whites get pretty dirty every time. So, since she doesn't have a black belt that fits, she's been wearing one of mine. Unfortunately the only one I have that is suitable, also happens to be my all time favourite belt, ever. It can't be replaced. I bought it off a guy who had a few of them, I think they were hot, and it was a one time thing. It's very cool as far as belts go, it has a Harley Davidson buckle and yet is feminine. Its perfect, for a belt. And though the one we got her was a good deal, only $10, it just sucks to have to dish out another $10 or more, just because she can't find the damn thing to exchange. And I want my belt back before she demolishes it. Mr. Man went to the reserve for smokes bright and early.

We went to the Trike-In. Every Labour Day weekend they have a doo at a campground down the road from us, so we usually attend for an afternoon or evening. This year we were hoping to finally catch the rodeo games. We didn't. For the first time we had to go to the office to get a visitors pass costing $5. We get in there only to find hardly anyone was there and our friends, the people we go there to see, weren't there and weren't expected to be showing up. $5 more down the toilet. And disappointing we didn't get to see our friends.

We bought a 24 of cheapo beer to take to the pig roast nextdoor. We drank the whole damn thing between the two of us, ugh. I'm a little hungover, again. But yeah, we had a blast. It was a very good party. It was actually a 3 household party. They opened the fence between the yards. The pig was roasted nextdoor, then the next house had the corn roast and the bonfire and the next house had all the salads and the karaoke. The food was fabulous. I didn't even bother going into the dessert tent, couldn't eat another bite. Everything was set up perfectly. There were tons of people. It was nice to party with the neighbourhood again. I can't tell you how great it is to see life happening nextdoor. The old neighbours were weirdos. The curtains were always closed, the house was always dark and you hardly saw them out. Now the place has life and light, and open curtains. So Mr. Man sang several songs on the karoke, which is always fun. No amount of alcohol could make me get up there in front of that many people. They had quite the set up, its elaborate, fabulous entertainment. We were actually the lucky recipients of the old karaoke system, which we never use, when they upgraded. Then later it moved to guitar and singing down at the firepit. Mr. Man was right on that too. Eventually we ran out of beer and stamina and staggered on home.

Here's a couple of pictures...

I Had A Happy Day!

Little R was off early in the morning for another 4-H show. I didn't have to look very hard for that elusive photo after all. I went into my archives, the very first post I looked at was the one with the picture. With the date from that entry I looked in my pictures at the same date and there it was! Quite painless. While I was there I read all the entries for that month. It was just after the holidays and we had just got Eddie. I was HAPPY. Reading about how happy I was made me feel happy again. It set a good tone for my day.

Later in the morning Bear started bugging me to go out. When I opened the door for him, Edwad snuck out too. Then they both just bolted. There I was going up and down the street calling them. I knew they were out in the field. A lady at the other end of the street called out to me "they're over here, behind my house" and then she drove away. I thought "omg, she's pissed, I hope she doesn't complain to council on me". When I got down to that end of the street another lady came out and told me they were behind her house and I could cut through her garage and yard to go get them. She was very friendly and nice about it all. These are people on my street who I don't know. So there they were, romping through the field together like best buds. They both came right to me without incident, I picked Eddie up and Bear followed and we went home. They were soaking wet from the heavy dew in the field. Man, we need a fence.

I laid down to read and maybe have a nap. Just to pass the time. Didn't get a wink because they are repaving the main road, making a ton of noise, and I wasn't really sleepy. That killed an hour of my day. Just after I got up S.W came to the door. She was going to the 4-H show and invited me along. Sure! So I had a quick shower and she came back to pick me up and off we went. This one was held in town at the Agricultural Center/Fairgrounds. It was an actual fair, though we didn't see much of it beyond the barns. One thing I did see that I don't think I've ever seen before was an ATM trailer. I took a picture of it. None of the pictures I took of the kids in the ring showing turned out. They're all dark and blurry. Little R didn't win again, niether did S.Ws son and daughter. There was a lot of friskyness with many of the calves. The ring was very crowded for the showmanship round, which makes it difficult, and add to that one very stubborn calf, and a bunch of frisky calves, and it was almost chaos. Eventually D.W showed up with a round of Timmys coffee for us, that was much appreciated. Mr. Man never did make it as the show was held earlier than we thought it was going to be. He called just as we were leaving for home, he was locked out of the house. He can't find his house keys. When we got home he showed us the local paper and there was S.Ws kids on the front page! The picture was taken at the barn at the Agricultural Center Thursday night. I was reminded of the time, last year I think it was, when Little R was on the front page. Our kids are all stars now.

Then Mr. Man, Little R and myself headed back to town to do a little back to school shopping. Came home and crashed. All that fresh air in one day just knocked me out.

This morning, Mr. Man has already left to go get smokes at the reserve. When he gets back we are going to town to the Farmers Market. Then we'll probably head over to the Trike-In hoping to catch the rodeo games which we seem to miss every year. Later we'll be going to a pig roast nextdoor. Have a great day, I will.

Heres the picture of the ATM trailer. Imagine hooking up to that puppy and driving away lol. I'm sure its loaded with security features and GPS though. Just, what will they think of next?

And the front page of the local paper...