I wrote my Water Treatment certification exam in Saint John today. I remember now how much I hate writing exams. How much I hate the self-doubt, the mild sense of panic. Wondering if I will have studied the right stuff or not.
I think I did fine. There was a whole whack of questions I hadn't studied becuase I didn't realize such specific info would be on the exam but since I had encountered the topic in a previous life, I knew a lot of it. Then there was the stuff I wasn't expecting at all. Crikey.
There were about 19 questions I wasn't sure of, out of 100. I need 70% to pass. I figure I probably got somewhere in the 80's for a grade. I hope so.
If I failed, I will never live it done. Please have let me pass...
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Enveloping darkness
This is the time of year when I start to feel like I never get to see much of the daylight because when I leave for work it's dark and when I walk out of City Hall at the end of the day, it's getting dark. And by the time I've been fed and we are ready for a doggy walk, it's dark. Really dark.
Last night BF came over around 7 PM for a walk. It was funny because it was the first time that Honey leaped to the floor off the couch and ran to the door when the doorbell rang. Normally she doesn't respond to the doorbell until I give her a cue. And of course, she gives BF the full happy dog treatment. At one point he was crouched down with her in front of him, paws on his knees and giving him kisses while I was draped over the back of him, encouraging her to give him wet willies. It was too funny. We do love him.
We went for a walk in the darkness. And it is so dark up where we live, few streetlights and not many houses. We went up to the back field and it isn't far off the road that you can't see anything at your feet. And when we got to the top of the hill, we looked back at the twinkling lights and stars, a billion stars, bright and crispy cold. I think stars prefer the winter because they can really twinkle more effectively in the cold air.
We then walked down to the River. And it was once again an exercise in trust. Trust that the road would be just where you expected it to be, trust that you wouldn't stumble in the darkness. Because it is really dark along the trail at night. I suppose some people might be freaked out but somehow it's okay when I've got my boyfriend and my dog with me. I felt safe with the darkness all around me, the crisp air and the crunching of what is that classic crunchy winter frozen ground and leaves underfoot. The smell of woodsmoke drifts in and out of the walk, a gentle reminder that there will be warmth when you get home.
I have a wonderful new coat supplied by work. My very own Carhartt coat. I don't know why but I've wanted one for a while now. It's such a "construction man" sort of coat. But it's toasty warm and fits like a dream. And I am so proud to be a part of this team that is my career.
As we walked in the cold of a November night, I felt my legs and bum getting chilled. It is another classic winter thing isn't it? That sensation on your legs as you walk - it feels cold and it kind of hurts and it tingles. I don't know what else it is like, except what it is.
We spoke of many things as we walked. Of fitting our schedules together as the weekends fill with Christmas parties and planning. Of the challenges I face as a single parent fitting my schedule with my ex's and keeping the Boy's life happy. Hockey games. Work and life. Parents. Christmas.
We met another dog as we walked. Honey doesn't like him for some reason. She wouldn't even come over when I was patting him. She snarled and growled at him. He's a nice dog too. He must swear at her through the window when she is outside - he is a neighbour. Dogs can be so funny.
We arrived back home and cuddled on the couch. We drank green tea and ate stolen Halloween candy. We giggled over silly bits on the TV. Then we found time for one more bit of enveloping darkness together in a much warmer place. And after he had gone and Honey and I were drifting off in the final darkness of another day, I was thankful to God for all the gifts I've been given.
And I surrendered to the last bit of enveloping darkness of my day.
Last night BF came over around 7 PM for a walk. It was funny because it was the first time that Honey leaped to the floor off the couch and ran to the door when the doorbell rang. Normally she doesn't respond to the doorbell until I give her a cue. And of course, she gives BF the full happy dog treatment. At one point he was crouched down with her in front of him, paws on his knees and giving him kisses while I was draped over the back of him, encouraging her to give him wet willies. It was too funny. We do love him.
We went for a walk in the darkness. And it is so dark up where we live, few streetlights and not many houses. We went up to the back field and it isn't far off the road that you can't see anything at your feet. And when we got to the top of the hill, we looked back at the twinkling lights and stars, a billion stars, bright and crispy cold. I think stars prefer the winter because they can really twinkle more effectively in the cold air.
We then walked down to the River. And it was once again an exercise in trust. Trust that the road would be just where you expected it to be, trust that you wouldn't stumble in the darkness. Because it is really dark along the trail at night. I suppose some people might be freaked out but somehow it's okay when I've got my boyfriend and my dog with me. I felt safe with the darkness all around me, the crisp air and the crunching of what is that classic crunchy winter frozen ground and leaves underfoot. The smell of woodsmoke drifts in and out of the walk, a gentle reminder that there will be warmth when you get home.
I have a wonderful new coat supplied by work. My very own Carhartt coat. I don't know why but I've wanted one for a while now. It's such a "construction man" sort of coat. But it's toasty warm and fits like a dream. And I am so proud to be a part of this team that is my career.
As we walked in the cold of a November night, I felt my legs and bum getting chilled. It is another classic winter thing isn't it? That sensation on your legs as you walk - it feels cold and it kind of hurts and it tingles. I don't know what else it is like, except what it is.
We spoke of many things as we walked. Of fitting our schedules together as the weekends fill with Christmas parties and planning. Of the challenges I face as a single parent fitting my schedule with my ex's and keeping the Boy's life happy. Hockey games. Work and life. Parents. Christmas.
We met another dog as we walked. Honey doesn't like him for some reason. She wouldn't even come over when I was patting him. She snarled and growled at him. He's a nice dog too. He must swear at her through the window when she is outside - he is a neighbour. Dogs can be so funny.
We arrived back home and cuddled on the couch. We drank green tea and ate stolen Halloween candy. We giggled over silly bits on the TV. Then we found time for one more bit of enveloping darkness together in a much warmer place. And after he had gone and Honey and I were drifting off in the final darkness of another day, I was thankful to God for all the gifts I've been given.
And I surrendered to the last bit of enveloping darkness of my day.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Honey's Future Grandson's Half Sister
Well since it's pretty much official and public knowledge, I have to brag Since there is no way on anyone's green Earth I am ever having another child, we've decided to have a puppy.
Lily, Honey's daughter, has a planned breeding in the spring with Chief (see below).
So we are getting a little boy puppy to round out the asylum.
My friend just sent me a picture of the proposed puppy's half-sister...how cute is she? Three weeks old and just opening her eyes. Awwww.
Monday, November 20, 2006
dogs & bikes & music & friends & food
We wish weekends were three days long, that you could get more sleep and still do so much more fun stuff. That cuddles on couches were longer than doing mundane things that somehow fill our lives.
Friday night was warm and wet and the boyfriend & I went to Asia Beef Noodle for a yummy supper before a concert. I've eaten there many times now but he hadn't so I wanted it to be perfect. And it was! He really liked the food and the service was good. We had spring rolls and rice paper rolls and then the Special Thai Curry served in half a pineapple. It was all so good. And we want to go back for their famous trough o' soup.
The concert was a surprise of sorts. BF's parents gave us the tickets as they had to be out of town. The artist was J.P Cormier and he was really awesome. He plays stringed instruments like nothing I've ever seen. I'm not an admitted fan of bluegrass but I really enjoyed the concert. It was nice. When it was over, we trotted back to my place and BF took Honeydog for a walk. We watched a little tube, football and then some of Showcase's "Friday Without Borders." Resulting then in awkward moment followed by decision to go to bed. :)
Saturday AM dawned clear and cooler. And the planned bike ride was a go. Yikes - November 18 and I'm going to do *what*? I pulled on my warmest biking clothes, pumped up my tires, lubed my chain and took a quick side trip to Radical Edge to get Brian to fix my temperamental rear brakes.
48 km of fun. No really! It was a nice ride, a little chilly but invigorating. There were 6 of us riding too. And I now have 1909 km for the season - I sort of feel like someone should make a bigger deal of this than has been made. I'm pretty impressed that I rode that much in my first season!
We went to Sunshine Diner for breakfast after to counteract any positive effect all that exercise may have had!
I got home around 1:30 and Vince's mum had called & left a message asking us to go to the woodlot and play. Of course we said yes but first I had to bathe. It was a fabulous day for walking too. The pups had a blast. Vince is just the cutest guy-dog - he so wants Honey to play with him. And you can't help but laugh when the two of them get doing the whole tug o'war thing with the Kong. It's so nice to have friends to do stuff with too. I don't think there is anything better for the soul than walking in the woods with your pups talking about stuff and just enjoying life.
After we dropped Vince & his mum off, Honey & I went to visit BF. He gave her a big bowl of water for which she was grateful and made me a cup of tea. We vegged for a while, watching football and just chatting. BF, darling that he is, then offered to make supper for me, one of his divine stir fries. Of course I said yes. I lay on the couch while he was in the kitchen chopping. I provided a play-by-play of the Ohio-Michigan game but then discovered that it is very difficult to follow a football game with your eyes closed! All that fresh air and exercise caught up with me! I was so tired I didn't even finish my supper (this is highly unusual!).
BF plays hockey Saturday nights so Honey & I went home and cuddled on the couch and watched the rest of the football game before going to bed.
Sunday was my first official singing in the choir. I was so tickled to be invited back by Willis and I felt so pleased to be able to worship that way again. It's a busy season for being in a choir though and the music is challenging. I am so psyched!
Sunday afternoon was that lovely combination of lazy and efficient. I went to Scoop & Save, Superstore & Sobey's for groceries and stuff. Then BF, Honey & I went to the Woodlot for a walk. Then back to my place where BF & I made Pad Thai. And amazingly, we are still together! :) Tricky dish and loads of work involved. But we were a great team. We'll have to make it again for sure, maybe even have friends over. It was totally yummy. I also bought ingredients for a Thai curry dish - I'm looking forward to that as well.
Well blabbitty blah blah blah! Loads of words. Happy little babble from my little corner of humanity and the dog park.
Friday night was warm and wet and the boyfriend & I went to Asia Beef Noodle for a yummy supper before a concert. I've eaten there many times now but he hadn't so I wanted it to be perfect. And it was! He really liked the food and the service was good. We had spring rolls and rice paper rolls and then the Special Thai Curry served in half a pineapple. It was all so good. And we want to go back for their famous trough o' soup.
The concert was a surprise of sorts. BF's parents gave us the tickets as they had to be out of town. The artist was J.P Cormier and he was really awesome. He plays stringed instruments like nothing I've ever seen. I'm not an admitted fan of bluegrass but I really enjoyed the concert. It was nice. When it was over, we trotted back to my place and BF took Honeydog for a walk. We watched a little tube, football and then some of Showcase's "Friday Without Borders." Resulting then in awkward moment followed by decision to go to bed. :)
Saturday AM dawned clear and cooler. And the planned bike ride was a go. Yikes - November 18 and I'm going to do *what*? I pulled on my warmest biking clothes, pumped up my tires, lubed my chain and took a quick side trip to Radical Edge to get Brian to fix my temperamental rear brakes.
48 km of fun. No really! It was a nice ride, a little chilly but invigorating. There were 6 of us riding too. And I now have 1909 km for the season - I sort of feel like someone should make a bigger deal of this than has been made. I'm pretty impressed that I rode that much in my first season!
We went to Sunshine Diner for breakfast after to counteract any positive effect all that exercise may have had!
I got home around 1:30 and Vince's mum had called & left a message asking us to go to the woodlot and play. Of course we said yes but first I had to bathe. It was a fabulous day for walking too. The pups had a blast. Vince is just the cutest guy-dog - he so wants Honey to play with him. And you can't help but laugh when the two of them get doing the whole tug o'war thing with the Kong. It's so nice to have friends to do stuff with too. I don't think there is anything better for the soul than walking in the woods with your pups talking about stuff and just enjoying life.
After we dropped Vince & his mum off, Honey & I went to visit BF. He gave her a big bowl of water for which she was grateful and made me a cup of tea. We vegged for a while, watching football and just chatting. BF, darling that he is, then offered to make supper for me, one of his divine stir fries. Of course I said yes. I lay on the couch while he was in the kitchen chopping. I provided a play-by-play of the Ohio-Michigan game but then discovered that it is very difficult to follow a football game with your eyes closed! All that fresh air and exercise caught up with me! I was so tired I didn't even finish my supper (this is highly unusual!).
BF plays hockey Saturday nights so Honey & I went home and cuddled on the couch and watched the rest of the football game before going to bed.
Sunday was my first official singing in the choir. I was so tickled to be invited back by Willis and I felt so pleased to be able to worship that way again. It's a busy season for being in a choir though and the music is challenging. I am so psyched!
Sunday afternoon was that lovely combination of lazy and efficient. I went to Scoop & Save, Superstore & Sobey's for groceries and stuff. Then BF, Honey & I went to the Woodlot for a walk. Then back to my place where BF & I made Pad Thai. And amazingly, we are still together! :) Tricky dish and loads of work involved. But we were a great team. We'll have to make it again for sure, maybe even have friends over. It was totally yummy. I also bought ingredients for a Thai curry dish - I'm looking forward to that as well.
Well blabbitty blah blah blah! Loads of words. Happy little babble from my little corner of humanity and the dog park.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The UNB Woodlot ROCKS!!
Last weekend Honey's boyfriend Vince and his people introduced us to the wonders of the UNB woodlot. It's fabulous - loads and loads of roads winding through the woods with little or no motorized vehicle traffic, no hunters and lots of cool, well-trained dogs to meet.
Honey just goes and goes - just like the Energizer Bunny. There's a couple of open water bits good for swimming too. She has so much fun with Vincey - the two of them really seem to enjoy it. And it's great exercise for all of us.
Hopefully Vincey will post some of his pictures from this past Saturday on his dog-blog.
Yesterday afternoon we returned sans Vince (and it simply wasn't the same) but with the human boyfriend and the boy. We had a nice walk albeit a little damp. Honey was beat by the time we got home. She's so cute when she curls up in a little ball like this and goes to sleep. In the top photo I think she looks sort of like a BushBaby too. :)
Honey just goes and goes - just like the Energizer Bunny. There's a couple of open water bits good for swimming too. She has so much fun with Vincey - the two of them really seem to enjoy it. And it's great exercise for all of us.
Hopefully Vincey will post some of his pictures from this past Saturday on his dog-blog.
Yesterday afternoon we returned sans Vince (and it simply wasn't the same) but with the human boyfriend and the boy. We had a nice walk albeit a little damp. Honey was beat by the time we got home. She's so cute when she curls up in a little ball like this and goes to sleep. In the top photo I think she looks sort of like a BushBaby too. :)
Monday, November 06, 2006
Red, red wine you make me feel so fine...
Friday night I had a most enjoyable time with our friends A & J, and their faithful companion, Honey's boydog Vince. We consumed some great wines, somewhat appropriately named...well look at the pictures above and see the labels - doncha just love it!
Unfortunately the boyfriend was not in a very sporting mood resulting in a contretemps that did not get resolved until Sunday afternoon. The picture below that says it all...
Thank goodness I love him or I'd have to pummel him senseless. He's stubborn and will remain so. I've asked him not to leave mad again because I can love him when he's stubborn but it's harder when he's angry.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
I WANT A PUPPY!!!
Oh damn. I'm having serious puppy cravings. It's all the boyfriend's fault really - he gave me a card telling me I was cuter than a basketful of Golden Retriever puppies. (see photo in blog below) And a friend just got a Nova Scotia Duck Toller puppy.
And Honey's daughter will be having a litter next year! I can reserve one and get a good price.
I WANT A PUPPY!!! :)
And Honey's daughter will be having a litter next year! I can reserve one and get a good price.
I WANT A PUPPY!!! :)
Trick or Treating - Pirate or Rasta?
Which suits our Honey-dog more? She's such a good sport about this stuff.
Has it really been a year?
Halloween was sort of an anniversary for our boyfriend making a longterm appearance in our lives. Last year our first real date was a Halloween party. This year we planned a celebration of our own - something quiet and romantic. He's so wonderful. :-)
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