Tale of a pound pup

Meet Marley. After 7 wonderful years with our Chinese Crested Hairless dog Scoop we desided it was time to get another dog. We had to put Scoop down because he had gone blind and developed a respratory illness. That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But it was all in an attempt to stop our poor little puppys suffering. After the deed was done I proclaimed that I never wanted a dog again. I never wanted to have to do that again! But it wasn't long before I started to crave the company of a lovable pooch. So after many discussions Shannon and I desided we would check out the Humaine society. Before heading out I checked out their website and there was a story of this little black pomeranian pup who was ready for a good home and i fell in love he was so cute. In true Humaine sociey form when we arrived it turns out that pup was not ready to leave and we would have to find another dog.... So we walked around for a while and Shannon fell in love with this little guy with a bandana around his neck. So we filled out the paperwork and were told to come back on monday because he was a stray and they wanted to give the oeners a few more days to claim him. Shannon was depressed and disapointed. I desided to go back the next day to see if he was still there and sure enough he was gone.

So started the search again. I must have walked around that humaine society for a good hour looking at all the dogs and determined to find the right dog. I wanted to come home with a nice dog for Shannon and one that would fit well into our lifestyle. That is when I came across "No Name" no name was in a cage with unfinished paperwork. He was a stray with no birthdate, name, breed etc.. but he was so cute. When I kneeled down beside his cage he stuck his nose between the bars and licked my hand then he was so happy to see me his tail was wagging so much he was making music on the bars on either side of the cage. I HAD to have him. So I enquired. I have to mention that the day before we delt with this weird guy who gave us nothing but the run around. Guess who I got to deal with again? I took weirdo over to no names cage and said this is the dog I want. Weirdo began giving me all the reasons he thought I could not have this dog and went to talk to someone named Will. Finally after some further run around I left weirdo where he stood and walked directly over to Will. Will seemed to be the only one with answers. He walked with me over to No Name's cage and we began to talk. Will also started telling me that he had only been in the humaine society for a few days etc etc... So I changed the subject to discuss why I thought No Name would be perfect for my family. We are campers and hikers we are always out in nature and this dog would be perfect. After more discussion like this Will seemed to have warmed up to me, saying I seemed like a good candidate for No Name, however because he was a puppy they needed more than one application and had to pick the best candidate. He took my paperwork and once again sent me home empty handed but this time told me to sit by the phone because I MAY (Wink) get a phone call by the end of the day. So off I went back home empty handed. I told Shannon all about little No Name what he looked like, that he licked me through the cage etc... Then it happened the phone rang and it was Will! He said come pick up your dog! OMG We got him! Shannon and I sprinted to the car and I could not drive fast enough for Shannon. When we got there I showed Shannon where our dog was and went over to find Will to complete the adoption process. shannon was in love! She wouldnt leave No Names side.

As I was filling out the rest of the paperwork a young family was trying to get No Name ans Shannon told them he had been adopted, they were not impressed! Will left me and went to get our dog. As we were sitting at the table with our new dog the above mentioned family passed and the dad yelled out to his kids "say goodbye to your dog kids... " How rude. I had payed the adoption fee and driven back and forth 3 times. He was our dog!

No Name is now Marley, and he is a great dog! He is fun and loving, he is great with kids and for a puppy surprisingly patient. He is part black lab and part pointer hound which poses a problem when we take him off his leash because the hound in him likes to follow his nose. But we are working on that. He loves to camp and had a great time hiking. It is nice to come home each day to a wagging tail and licks. There is nothing in the world like the love a dog gives you. And Marley is the perfect match for us.

Scratch That!

Last nights plan to go to the baseball game was scrapped last minute for a spur of the moment desire to share a nice quiet dinner together and retire home with a nice bottle of wine. We desided that fighting traffic for over an hour then scrambling to find parking and a place close to the dome to eat sounded just way to stressful... So we went to Montana's Cookhouse for Strawberry Daquiries and ribs.

We started with these things.. I cant remember what they are called but they are very good with a little bit of a kick. We shared these and some good conversation until our meal arrived. It is nice to get out every now and then just the two of us. To have a meal without a dogs nose in your face begging, or the telephone ringing, or distractions like TV. For two adults to just sit and talk over dinner was really nice.

The Ribs at Montana's are excellent! And filling. Wow, I nearly had to roll out of there I was so full. I am a picky rib eater If they are tough I wont eat them but these ones were just right, they were tender and they had a nice sauce on them.. Yummm..

We spent most of the evening talking about a little girl we met on the weekend. This child is in a bad place. You know it is one of those situations that make you feel so helpless. She was abandoned by her birth parents and left to be raised by her maternal grandmother and aunt. The grandmother has since passed on and she is now the sole responsibility of her aunt. The concern with this is that her aunt is a fall down, black out drunk. She starts first thing in the morning and continues straight through the day and into the night. Unfortunately we were witness to this behaviour on the weekend. The little girl is 12 years old and well aware of the ways most people behave, she is extreamly reserved and was quite obviously embarrased by her caregivers behaviour. She barely spoke the whole day except to contradict some of the things her aunt was talking about. This young girl was behind in her cognative development and we fear has seen just too much of the nastiness that is possible on this earth. It was a cold night and we were all huddled around a campfire . At one point in the evening this little girl offered to let someone in the group borrow her blanket saying she was warm. The aunt freaked out! I mean freaked out. yelling at the kid. Saying that her mother had given her that blanket and that she had given it to the little girl and she was not to be giving it away. Woa hold your horses there drunkie! The kid was mearly offering to SHARE it. She was not giving it away. Amazing how a case of beer will cloud your perseption. Anywho, what are we to do?? We dont know where they live or what their full names are and they are gone back to NB. We would like nothing more than to see this child being raised by someone responsible and caring but it seems out of our hands. Hmmm...

At the end of the night drunkie got up and desided that she was pickled enough so it was time for her to hit the hay. As she was making her rounds of hugs and kisses (for people she had just met that evening) she stopped at our friends mother ( a nice quiet Cathlic lady in her late 50's) and gave her what I thought was a little too long of a hug for someone she didnt know. When our friends mother sat down she looked horrified, and leaned over to me saying "get her the fuck out of here!!" When I had her ushered off the property and headed towards her bed I returned and asked what happened... Apparently drunkie started wispering something in mothers ear then bit her ear... LMFAO.. That was it I cracked up. Who bites a strange older womans ear??? The look that went with the story was pricelss. I havent laughed so hard in ages. Poor Momma!

Fun and Games

Tonight for the first time in my almost young life I am going to a baseball game. Well at least my first professional baseball game. Funny for a girl who played baseball for years and years. The players strike happened right around the time I was old enough to go to the games (without parents) and I lost interest while they were striking. To be completely honest I still am not that interested, I got free tickets from work and thought... Well they are free and it gives me something to do Tuesday evening besides watching tv or playing on the computer, so why the hell not?
So this is the plan so far... I get off work at 4 the game is at 7 so I will go home and change then Shannon and I will be heading downtown.. We havent desided yet if we will drive (lots of traffic) or take the TTC... When we get there we are going to go to dinner somewhere close the the dome. Then grab a cold beer and hit the stands. The seats are not that bad so we sould be able to see well. Toronto is playing Oakland.. Hmmm who to cheer for??? Seeing as I am not a fan of either team I guess I can cheer for whomever is winning...LOL.. Some Toronto fans would have my head for that one, but really does it really matter who wins?? I mean do I have to cheer for Toronto because that is the city I live in?? I prefer the Yankies to be honest.. Well heres to hoping that the evening is worth the trip downtown.. Pray for a good game! Whoever wins!

Vacation Picutres and comentary

Above is the trail map of the Highlands Backpacking trail in Algonquin park, Ontario. It begins on the highway 60 coridor, where you park your car and begin the trek into the woods. On this trail you have the option to do the 2 day first loop or the 3 day second loop. We chose the 3 day second loop that takes you around both loops.

This photo is not one that i took however if I had brought my camera I would have taken one similar at this point on the trail. There were more than a few places on the trail I wished i would have brought my camera instead of the disposables we chose to bring, however my camera would have added just enough weight to my already too heavy pack to make me collapse.

The above picture I named optimism, due to the fact that this beautiful scene was located a little over a km into the trail, we were fresh, we had only had one good incline to climb and we had not yet reolized how dang heavy our packs were yet. At this point on the trail we were feeling good, we still smelled half descent and we were thrilled to come across such beauty so soon in our hike. We tied the dog to a tree and retreated to the water for a dip and stop for some trail mix. Nievely thinking we had this little piece of paradise all to ourselves. Which we did for about 7 minutes before two families with their dogs and bikes showed up to join in. Needless to say we desided to leave this spot and continue on our hike into the QUIET wilderness.

The rest of the first day proved more dificult a hike than we had antisipated. It didnt take long for our shoulders and backs to start bitching about how heavy our packs were. There were more and more inclines as the day went. I spent the latter part of the days hike considering throwing half of our supplies into the bush. We each drank 3 leters of water that day and neither had to stop at any point along the way or at the camp site to relieve our bladders. This is how much fluid we were perspiring during the days hike. The above image is the view of the lake that we had from the tip of the paninsula that we were camped on for the night. The Site is on Faya Lake and is the first available campsite on the second loop. It is stunning, the site is a few minutes walk from the main trail and at least 4 km from any other campsite. The lake is all yours. There is no boat traffic or foot traffic, we were free to parade around in our birthday suits for the evening. Which was refreshing considering how hot and sweaty we were by the time we got there.

One problem with Faya Lake is finding a place to put your tent. Our little hiking pup tent depends entirely on your ability to peg it out! the whole structure is held up by a few ropes that require you peg them out to support the tent. Faya Lakes camp site is almost entirely Canadian Shield. I had to retreat the tent to the top of the hill and put it as close to the bush as possible to get the pegs in the ground, even then they didnt go in the whole way. Never the less it was a beautiful camp site which we throughly enjoyed!

The second day of hiking was a little bit easier. There were not quite as many inclines however the distance we had to travel was further than day 1. Our second stop was at Harness Lake, again we were tired and sweaty when we arived here as well. Harness lake is also very beautiful but does not offer the same kind of privacy as Faya Lake. Harness lake is home to quite a few camp sites both hiking and canoeing sites. I do have to comment on how respectful everyone was though, for the most part the surrounding campers were quiet and possibly just as tired as we were.

I have to comment on how rewarding it is to finish a 12km hike and retire to a lake front paradise to listen to loons calling, waves crashing and wind blowing the leaves on the trees. ( I will omit the sound of my dog barking at every little noise that did come out of the woods, He is a good dog.. Protecting his mommy's from the threat of bears coming to snack on their limbs)

Turn your head to the right... a little more.. does the picture look like it is standing in the right direction? Ya? Good I like this picture but forgot to rotate it before I posted it so its a little challenge for you to see it in its true beauty. This is one of those shots that Algonquin park is famous for. It is an early morning shot with the fog just lifting off the surface of the lake, the wather has yet to be disturbed by canoes and swimmers. It is still as glass and reflecting the sky and trees beautifully and right where the shadows cross the trees is that moring mist that makes waking up at the crack of dawn for a pee worth the trip out of the tent. This is the one place I dont mind waking up early, Algonquin has a different type of beauty for every time of the day, every season and every weather condition.

This is still on Harness Lake in the morning the people on the other side of the lake (right in the bunch of trees to the right of the screen.. See them? Nope well they are there trust me) were getting ready to put their canoe back in the water I needed to get one last shot of the still water before any human form could make an impact on it. This lake was also the last semi descent tasting water we had to drink for the rest of the trip. Every other water fill up on our journey will consist of bog water, which is safe if you boil it (we used water purification tabs) but doesnt mean it tases good. Bog water is heavy and tastes a little musty. (Thank god for tang!)

LOOK OUT! This is a nice little look out.. I was cussing this pretty place the whole way up the hill! (me) "What the hell do people need with these stupid lookouts anyway??""CLIMB up, look around... OHHHH... climb down.. Stupid" Until you get to the top and you are struck by the beautiy in each lookout. Every single one is different, some show you lakes or rivers or simply hills upon hills of trees. Wonderful breesy place to put down your way to heavy backpack and have a break.

The above image is another shot of the morning mist on the lakes in the park. Unfortunately I dropped the camera in a pot of water on the second night which spoiled a few of the shots. This is my explination for why hald is green and the other half looks like.. well water damaged. But you get the point.

Overall I loved the trip. I liked the physical exertion (although at times I just wanted to hang up the pack and be helecopterd off the trail) I loved the secluded sites on the trail, I loved the trees and water and sunshine. I loved the company of my partner and puppy. It is not often that you get to have a few days alone with the one you love, no phones, no work, no computer nothing to distract you. What I love about my relationship with Shannon is that no matter what happens, even if we bitch at eachother the whole day on the trail, even if we are tired and smell worse then a man after playing 3 games of hockey, even if we are hungry and cranky at the end of the day we love eachother and can both sit back by the campfire and have some freeze dryed curry chicken and marvel in the beauty of the days hike and the nice place we are fortunate enough to lay our heads for the day. (okay you can breath now, after my loooong ass run on scentance)

Finally I have a message for all you skinny, fit athletic types that frequent these trails. I hate you! I hate that you can bound up a 1500 foot incline like they are a stroll in the park. ( I know they kind of are) Those that are able to finish this hike in two days and still look and smell pretty fresh. Just joking. I stirve to be able to do just that. I would like for ALL those hills to bearly cause my breathing to change, to not have to stop half way up to get my heart back to an acceptable rythem. To be able to complete the hike without the type of physical effort it takes a larger person to complete it. One thing I will say though it that I am proud. I am proud of me. I am far from fit. In fact in the past 10 years I have allowed myself to gain a lot of weight and am not nearly as active as I once was. But I made the decision to take on this challenge and although there were times that it was difficult I perservered. I completed the hike. And I plan to do it all again. So there!

Shannon

I am sitting here on a Tuesday morning, Tuesday after my first day back from a much needed vacation and wondering what I should post about? I could talk more about my vacation and how bitter sweet vacation really is, but I want to save all of that to go with my pictures from the vacation. So I will go into the valt and pull out some older photos. Lets see where this journey takes us...

I would like to introduce you to my partner of 9 years. Her name is Shannon, she is now 30 years old. We met when I was only 18 and developed a wonderful friendship. At the time she was in a relationship with a nice woman, however the relationship was struggling and Shannon was moving in another direction with her life. At the time I had never really given any thought to my own sexuality. As always in my early life I just did what was expected of me. I steered clear of drugs and alcohol, I didn't smoke or party. Frankly my childhood was pretty dull. My family had put the fear of god in me and I was afraid of intimacy. Then Shannon came around and for a while we were good friends. We talked and laughed together, as time moved on we became inseperable. I found myself wanting to be around her all the time, I would skip school everyday she was off from work, just so I could spend the day with her (much to her displeasure... she wanted me to go to school and do well) All I wanted to do was be around her.

She had broken up with her girlfriend and had expressed an interest in me but I was scared and told her I was not interested. (I was but was too afraid to admit it, both to myself and to her) So our friendship developed further and Shannon got a new girlfriend. This was the turning point, I could no longer pretend that I had no feelings for her because I pained me to see her with someone else. I was jealous. I was sad. I wanted her to have unlimited time for me. So I bit the bullet and told her how I felt. As they say the rest is history. Sometimes in life you have to do what other people may frown on and live your life for you. I am a true believer that you need to live your own trouth regardless of what your family friends and society think about it. I am so glad that I made the choices I did. I have had 9 wonderful years with a person that I love very much. I am happy and live a full life. I couldnt imagine my life any other way!

This is my girlfriend, my life partner and the love of my life. I fell in love with her as a person and will love her for every moment I am on this earth.

Its all over!

Well vacation has come and gone in a heartbeat! Or should I say heart pounding breathlessness coupled with exhaustion, fatigue and pain. But it was all worth it! We backpacked through the wilderness and learned some valuable lessions in ultra light weight backpacking. About two km's into the hike it became apparent that we packed too much and our backpacks were way too heavy! Its funny because everything we desided to take with us was desided upon because "this is pretty light" funny when you add all those pretty light objects into a backpack and throw it all on your back how heavy it suddenly is all together!
Photos of the trip? Well I will try to have them up by the end of the week. Who knows if they will be any good I desided not to take my camera ( thank god on one hand and damn on the other) My camera would have been too heavy to add to my already 50lb pack so I desided to leave it at home and take a disposible, which I dropped in a pot of water on the second night so cross your fingers that the shots still turn out!
I am back at work this morning and cant believe how fast a week passes when you are having fun and not dealing with LMS! One hour until I see her wonderful smiling face again and begin the dance for another undisclosed amount of time until I have the opportunity to escape again!

YAY Vacation!!

Where do you vacation? Do you board a plane and head to a tropical paradise? Do you rent an RV and tour the country? Do you spend the time fan tanning in the backyard? For me a vacation is any time more than 3 days that I don't have to deal with any customers and little miss ray of sunshine! Who is little miss ray of sunshine you ask? Little miss ray of sunshine is one of my employees, she is the daily thorn in my side, the 40+ year old lady I have to babysit. She reminds me daily how much I hate 40+ year old baby's. Honestly my 6 year old niece needs less supervision. Need an example of what I mean? Okay you asked for it. (Well no you didn't but I'll tell you anyway) Little miss sunshine was scheduled 9am to 5:30pm yesterday, Little miss sunshine believes that if you are working until 5:30 that means at 5:30pm you should be on your bus on the way home. Now I may be wrong about this however as I understand it when you work until a certain time that means that you sign out and leave at that time... Not 30 minutes early so you can be outside leaving the neighbourhood when your shift ends. So yesterday I get a phone call from little miss sunshine at 5:05pm, it goes something like this: Ring.. ring.. (me) Hi little miss sunshine (I already know it is her) ( LMS)Jennifer I have a customer that has a return.. (me)Okay what do you need me for? (LMS) I dont have time to do a return.. I have to get ready to go... (me) LMS it is five after five you are scheduled until 5:30, it only takes a minute to do a return.. please just help the customer and then you can sign off.. your replacement isnt ready to relieve you yet... (LMS) But...well...oh alright.. Click.. Now if you are like me you are thinking good god woman just help the customer and do your job.... So now I am thinking I can't believe I have to convince my staff in front of customers to provide my customers with some kind od decient customer service. Imagine you are this customer and the cashiere in front of you is complaining on the phone to her boss that YOUR return is going to take too long! ... Ring..ring.. (me) What LMS? (LMS) this lady has lots of returns to do.. whine.. I NEED you to come here... I donnooooo..... (me) LMS you haven't done this return yet... you know if you just stopped complaining and do it you would be done by now...(LMS)Jennnnnnn... (another whine) I donnooooo... (Me) Oh jesus LMS I'll be right there (click) Now all I care about is this customer leaving my store happy and I will deal with LMS later... So I go out appoligise to the customer for her wait and am done the return in a matter of minutes.. Meanwhile LMS is signing off her register and going to count her till... I just picture an office worker whining to her boss saying something like can you finish this call I have to go catch my bus, and getting on the elevator 5 minutes before the actual end of her shift.

Do you now understand why I need a vacation? This year my vacation will consist of my partner myself and our puppy will be backpacking in Algonquin park. The trip will take 4 days and span 35+ km. Nothing but us and nature.. Ahhhh sounds wonderful to me! After the backpacking trip we will be heading to Grand Bend to spend the rest of the week on the beach. Lake huron is beautiful, it is as close as Canada gets to the tropical ocean.

Pray that we dont get eaten by any bears on ourtrip and know if any do well we died on vacation and at least it wasnt at work...LOL... LMS wouldnt know what to do if I was injurded at work or god forbid if I hurt myself too close to her time to go home...