I intended to have a super lazy weekend… staying in PJ’s, no house cleaning, no worries… just a lazy weekend doing whatever or nothing. Usually my weekends are filled with shopping for the household and visiting at my mom’s, and I just felt like I needed a calm and quiet weekend at home and spend time with hubby.

Saturday pretty much turned that way, it was a good lazy day, the best I’d had in a while. It was enough of a rest day to feel energized on Sunday. I got a call from my step-dad on Sunday morning asking me if I wanted to hitch a ride with him after he’d pick up some cigarettes and a few things in town so that I could come visit for the afternoon. I was still sleeping when he called though, which was about 11:30am, and he said he’d be over in about half an hour, and then my mom made him give me an hour to get ready. I was happy when he then changed his ETA to 12:30 because I wondered just how quickly I could get my ass in gear to get dressed and eat breakfast – I don’t like to be rushed, especially on a Sunday, but an hour, I could handle.

When I got there, my mom wasn’t dressed yet, and I wasn’t feeling well for the first hour or so of being there. I had horrible back “ovary” pain, and had to lie down on the couch until my 2nd dose of Ibuprofen would finally take effect. My mom got dressed and about an hour later, I finally started feeling better. We’d planned to take a walk in the woods, but we both didn’t feel well enough to go out and do that yet but wanted to take in some fresh air, so we took out a couple blankets and pillows and sat outside on the picnic table and just enjoyed the winter sunshine. My step-dad and I took a few pictures too.

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The wind was cold so my mom and I went in the house to warm up for a bit and find something better for her to wear. And then we went out for a little walk around their neighbourhood by starting off through a ski-doo trail in the woods at the back of their yard, and then walked a loop back to the house on the neighbourhood road instead of back on the trail. We took it slow, and stopped a couple times to catch our breath and just enjoy.

We felt really good when we got back to the house and finished our walk and felt proud that we’d taken the opportunity to do so even though neither of us were feeling the best to begin with. We felt empowered. Even though it wasn’t much, the point is, we did it.

Finally, we had an early dinner and just hung out and she brought be back home before it was totally dark around around 6 or so, and I still had the rest of the evening to spend with hubby and the puppy.

It was a pretty good weekend all and all, and I think just what I needed to feed my soul.

It had been some time since Peter had been asking about getting a dog, but I always thought it would be best to wait until we had less cats in the house. With Hennah Penny, one of my MIL’s cats passing early in the spring, I thought it was still too early since we still have 4 cats in the house (Booty, Sinny, Buffy & Sammy). Peter kept finding posts about dogs and puppies being given away on a local online trading post website. He asked all summer, but I kept saying ‘not right now’. And with the end of summer fast approaching, and Autumn and Winter on the way, I thought we’d best get a dog early next Spring if he was still adamant about getting one. This was mostly for training and walking purposes. I know I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to potty train a puppy and fight with a puppy to go walking in the cold.

On Sunday, September 13th, Peter found another ad/post about a 1 yr old male dog being given away. The info and the lady said that he was a Beagle/Bulldog mix. We called her to get some info and to see when we could come see him and we set an appointment with her for Monday in the evening after Peter finished work. Until then, we googled the mix breed so we could sort of expect what we were getting into. Cute and small I thought. Just the right size.

Come Monday evening (9/14), Peter picks me up at home so we can go see the puppy. We get to the lady’s address, all the lights are on, the front door is unlocked, and there’s a dog in the back yard barking like we’re going to raid the place or come to fight with him. – Is that him? Is that the dog we’re possibly adopting? He seems sort of big for a Beagle/Bulldog! – We walked about, tried to befriend the dog as he barked his head off at us from the well-fenced backyard, we sat in the car waiting for the lady to come back home. We assumed she wouldn’t be gone long and hadn’t been that long since she had left either. But after at least half an hour passing, we give up and head back home, and Peter gives her a call to let her know we were just at her place. She says she had to do a quick errand in the city, and would be right there if we were still interested. At the same time, I had him ask her what the dog’s name was… and both our faces lightened up when we heard the name "Stitch”!

So back on the road we went and back to her house. She was there waiting for us when we got there. We went to the backyard and Stitch was happy to see his “mommy”, but also threatened that new people were coming around his territory. He was so excited to see her, but didn’t know what to do about us, so he was acting very peculiar. He was tied up in the backyard, so we knew he couldn’t really hurt us if he felt that threatened, but we were unable to befriend and calm him until the lady’s friend/family member brought him out from the yard to the sidewalk away from the yard. He was a completely different dog once he had some distance from his territory. His excitement rose and rose from all the attention and again, his “mom” being home.

I had my doubts to bring Stitch home with us because of his larger size than we had originally thought but I prayed for the best & that it would work out for both us & Stitch, but of course, especially Stitch! So we put our long 8 foot leash on him, the lady gave us his chain and the dog food, and she asked Stitch if he wanted go to for a car ride, and away he walked in excitement with Peter and jumped into the car like he’d done it a million times before!

Well, it’s been 2 weeks since, and he’s such a wonderful joy and great addition to the family! We’re all happy to have him!

He brings fun, playfulness, & positivity to us all. He’s already like a big baby that we’re all taking part in loving and taking care of. I’ve also noticed how much more time we spend outdoors because of him… whether it’s walking him, in the backyard, or even just sitting on the deck with him. He would much rather someone come out with him than be there on his own… so we go out with him a lot because we know he needs the fresh air, and when it comes down to it, so do we!

The cats, and I only speak about Booty & Sinny since they are the only 2 that run around the house – they are getting comfortable around him. Stitch runs after them a few times a day, but the cats don’t seem to get upset about it. They still continue to prowl around the house like they own it. They’ll allow him to get close, but if he gets close enough to sniff them, that’s a little too close for comfort… but I hope that they will continue to grow and get used to him.

This past weekend, Peter was working full shifts, so I took the opportunity to go to my mom’s on Saturday and continue my Birthday celebrations from Thursday. I left Stitch at home with my MIL/grandma since Muffin, my mom’s dog, doesn’t like Stitch at all – but then again, she very jealous and dislikes any dogs that come close to her mom & dad. Had a good day or just shooting the shit, relaxing & enjoying the last nice day before Autumn bit us in the butt. At the end of the afternoon, Peter picked me up from my mom’s to go home, got home to make dinner, and after dinner, we slipped in a movie, “Night at the Museum 2”. Both Stitch and I laid down and cuddled on the couch, and about half way through the movie, I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I tried several times to keep my eyes open and start watching again, but soon to have them just keep closing. I was pretty mellow and sleepy to say the least… it took me over and I started snoring on the couch. But I wasn’t alone… I had company in my own comfort… as Stitch was at the other end of the couch, sleeping and snoring too!!

What a sight that must have been!!

He’s so funny… he also thinks he’s people! Sits himself in the backseat of the car like a person!

WE OUR PUPPY!!

Happy Tuesday to all!! *reminder, get better smileys again!* It is gorgeous outside!! Clear blue skies, and it’s currently 20C/68F and climbing to 24C/75F degrees today! Woohoo! Too bad I’ve slept half the day away though!

I have had a pretty calm weekend. It was very humid Friday and Saturday! The moms and I went grocery shopping on Saturday. It was surprising how very little people were at the stores… even at Wal-Mart! We’re assuming that a lot of people must be gone camping, travelling and gone to the cottage… better and easier for us! LOL Less irritation and bitchiness on my end! Thank goodness, because people together with the humidity wouldn’t have been a good idea!

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I’m feeling great this morning so far. Still a bit sore in the legs, but good! Yesterday, my mom, step-dad and I went blueberry picking. We left here it was just a tad after 11am. As I was getting ready, my MIL came down to use the bathroom, we said our good mornings, and she went back upstairs and back to bed. I couldn’t help but enjoy the peace as I got showered and dressed and also to pack what I needed for the outing. I had written a note, and by the time my mom and step-dad arrived with the truck to pick me up, the MIL still wasn’t up yet. I had no intention of verbally letting her know any details of where we were going because I just wasn’t in the mood to play 20+ questions, so I just left her a note saying I was gone blueberry picking with them and that I’d probably be back in the late afternoon.

We went on some back roads where my mom used to live. It’s amazing how one dirt road will take you to another, and that will take you to another choice, etc… I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but I consider it one of the joys of living in Canada. It was nice to get away and kind of have a feeling of being lost. We must have gotten out approx 45 mins from home with all the twists and turns in the dirt roads. There are so many trails, it’s really interesting to see all the sandy nooks and crannies that people will get into with the vehicles or 4 wheelers, etc.

We were part of the many who were blueberry picking yesterday, but where we were, it was quiet. We had joined with friends of my mom’s and step-dad’s who had been blueberry picking at a spot for 2 weeks straight and had picked up some 50 some baskets of blueberries in those 2 weeks alone. They had been getting orders for them so they were going nuts. They showed us their spot and we had a great picking day too!

My step-dad picked up 2 tomato baskets full, and I picked up about 1 and a half… my mom must have picked up about 3/4 to a full basket. Her back was getting sore so she didn’t stick to it much the 2nd time we went back out on the other side of the road where it was flatter. For me, it went better the 2nd time because I had found a real good spot where I could pick tons and it wasn’t far from the road, so I brought the cooler with me to sit on… so I wasn’t over stretching and wasn’t hurting my back and legs in the process. It helped a lot, because I picked up a whole basket during picking around one tree, it went really well!

I was still picking, my step-dad brought his 4-wheeler… so he and my mom a ride one at a time to check out the other trails. By the time my mom came back from her ride, I was done filling my basket and headed back to the truck… basket it one hand, and cooler in the other. LOL It was 2:30pm or so by this time. There was a spot that my step-dad wanted to show us, so he drove the truck, and my mom followed with the 4-wheeler. We stopped in another area and they each went for another 4-wheeler ride in a few other trails, and I tried to pick more blueberries up… there were a lot, but they just weren’t as big as the previous area we had been, and I didn’t much like the area… it was hard to walk in. I was pretty proud of the amount I had picked up by this time anyhow… so whatever I picked up there was just a bonus.

^^ mom ^^

^^ me ^^

^^ Muffin, my mom’s dog ^^

We got caught by the rain for about 5-10 minutes where we had been before, and as we sat and relaxed on the other back road, the sun had peaked through, but storm clouds were quickly covering the sky. We had been expecting rain, but we were very lucky to only experience some for a very short time while we were actually picking… it was great! As we headed back home… it started pouring. We checked out a few other surrounding back roads and lakes… saw many people camping… many very well settled… like these people:

There were campers all around, but they had this base tent where they all hang out… We thought it was a great idea!

By the time we got home, it was around 5:30pm. I came through the door, headed straight to the bathroom, and changed into my pyjamas and vegged on the couch ’til Peter came home from work so we could all eat dinner. LOL I had to pop a couple pills so that I wouldn’t be so sore through the evening. Like I said… I’m still feeling it today, I’m walking in slow motion, but it feels knowing the good exercise I got yesterday, and how much fun we had. It was EXACTLY what I needed!! I loved it!

Can ya tell I don’t get the chance to go out much?

I’m glad I got to do this before summer ends at least! I hope to do it again next year!

I went to bed at 10pm last night, and got up at 8:30am… couldn’t help it… I just had enough sleep! LOL I watched the Olympics today… watched some diving going on. I’m not sure how Canada is holding up… I haven’t been all that fascinated in the Olympics this time… I guess I miss my friends when it comes to that.

I’m off to continue my Sunday vegging out session… hubby is off work today so spending time with him too.

Hope you’ve had a great weekend too!!

I’m glad the end of the week is here. Even though I don’t work right now, there’s always something special about knowing that the weekend has arrived. Even simple things such as less traffic on the street puts a smile to my face and relaxes me. Now that we have an actual back yard to enjoy, the traffic and the surrounding noises can take effect when we spend time out there, so it’s always nice to enjoy it peacefully.

I remember days in my hometown where the month of August made the town seem like a ghost town. Everyone was gone camping, at the cottage, or travelling, etc. It’s pretty much the same thing here, but most people still have to work during the week, but once the weekend hits… it is calm as can be.

We are really missing having a car, though. We are limited to where we can go. For example, there is a strawberry farm about 2 hours away… it would have been nice to go sometime, on one of Peter’s days off. I had tried to make plans with my mom to go, but by the weekend we were interested in going, the strawberry picking season had ended here. Going by her schedule isn’t always easy, and it sucks even more with neither of us can afford the gas. And unfortunately, she is the only one that we can rely on that has a car when we need to get into the city for groceries and such, because busing with groceries would be impossible (too much). If the job I applied for can work out, it would make things easier and we would be able to afford a car again and get done what we need without relying on my mom and her schedule. This is just one of the things that we have planned when I get back to work again.

I’ve had a pretty good Friday, so far. Other than doing some laundry and sweeping, it’s pretty much been a “Me Day”. I read and did a few Sudoku puzzles outside. Booty kept meowing to come out with me and eat some grass, so she came out with me and enjoyed the sunny weather too. I feel much more relaxed today, but stepping out into the sunshine and feeling the breeze did it too, I feel much more at peace at the moment.

Peter is BBQ’ing sausages at the moment… we’re having sausage-dogs for dinner. We have been buying our meat from our next door neighbor who is a butcher. He used to have general store in the old days, but now sells limited variations of meat. There is quite a difference between the meat we have gotten from him, and from regular grocery stores. It tastes so much better, and natural, has less fat… simply pure taste. What meat used to be like, but is no more because of population. Last week, we got porc chops, sausages, hamburger, burger patties, and big skinless boneless chicken breasts which we have yet to taste. It’s good to know that we are eating healthier meat, and actually getting worth out of our buck.

Anyhow… I’m off for an evening of relaxation and to enjoy the cool evening.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!