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I need to keep my guard up when walking my puppy

January 16, 2008 by Tricia

Yesterday when I was walking our puppy a man crossed the street to come over and pet her.

I had a strange feeling about the man as he approached. He was very short and looked like some of the patients I’ve cared for many times in the ER. I have no proof but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d just come out of our drug rehab or possibly the psych ward. Remember I live only three blocks from the hospital so there are patients that are currently being treated for a disorder walking around at times as well as those that have been recently discharged.

The man turned out to be nice. He said he really loved Labs and that they always loved him. Judging from my pups reaction what he’d said was true as she greeted him as enthusiastically as she would anyone else.

Still … the whole encounter got me thinking about safety. Walking up to someone with a small or young dog could be a good way to get close to someone when you have bad intentions. I mean, most people that have approached me when I’ve been walking my dog are very friendly and I’m sure they are just dog lovers who want to meet my puppy, but it would be a good way for someone that wanted to mug you or perhaps even steal the dog to get close.

I think I’ll keep my guard up a bit more when I’m walking Midnight – well at least until she’s fully grown and hopefully a bit more protective (or at least might intimidate a would be robber). I know labs aren’t known for being guard dogs but I’d hope someone with bad intentions would think twice before approaching someone with a mature lab.

I walk the puppy at all hours and for the most part I feel very safe walking around. This was the first time that I felt really uncomfortable when we’ve met someone that wanted to pet her. I guess that was a little wake up call.

New Holiday – Family Day

January 16, 2008 by Tricia

Time seems to be flying by so fast lately. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been so busy with family and our little puppy over the last few months?

I can’t believe that the holidays are already over! Well … last years holidays are over, this years are just beginning. Valentines is coming up in less than a month. I guess I’ll have to start thinking about what kind of valentines day gifts to get Chris this year.

I’ll probably get Chris something guitar related since he’s been looking at new equiptment lately.

I’m not sure if this is happening in the US, but here in Ontario, Canada we’re getting a new statutory holiday this year. It’s called Family Day and I believe it falls on February 18th. I know there’s been a lot of petitions in the last several years for a holiday during the long winter months and it looks like we finally got one. That means we’ve got a government recognized holiday in almost every month of the year now.

Snow and ice covered branches

January 13, 2008 by Tricia

Join

We don’t have any snow right now, but two weeks ago after a big snow storm I went outside with my camera and took some photos of my snow and ice covered plants.

This is a photo of my rose, Therese Bugnet. It’s branches are red in the winter and as you can see it’s lovely branches were covered with a delicate layer of crystallized snow. It looked so much prettier in person than it does in this photo.

Actually it was quite beautiful outside after the snow. All of the trees were covered in snow and as it melted icicles formed.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Raise your activity level and lose some pounds

January 13, 2008 by Tricia

I was saying on my other blog that I’ve lost some weight in the last two months. Ever since we got our puppy in November my activity level has gone way up and that’s resulted in me losing a few extra pounds.

Since I hadn’t been all that active prior to getting the puppy I’d gained some weight. Also, being on steroids didn’t help either! That’s the trouble with having a chronic illness, Crohns, you can’t do much when you feel lousy! But when you have a puppy you have to go out no matter how bad you feel.

I’ve never been a big eater. In fact, in the last year I generally only finish half or less of my meal when we go out to a restaurant and obviously my portions at home have gotten a lot smaller. So food was never the problem. Lack of activity was! I can’t eat that much because of the Crohn’s either. Rice, boiled or broiled chicken, baked fish, some steamed veggies and nutritional supplements tend to make up 90% or more of my regular diet.

I’d say another month of going on several daily walks with my puppy and I’ll be back to my normal weight or better.

Have you set any goals to become more active or get in better shape this year? If so, what are you doing to achieve your goal?

I think it’s time to get a new car

January 12, 2008 by Tricia

I think that sometime in the Spring my husband and I might start looking for a new car. We’ve got a 1996 Ford Contour that we bought used in 1999. I guess our car is getting kind of old huh? It still looks good and runs fairly well though. I am however tired of the doors sticking together in the winter due to moisture and the power window motors failing!

Before the car starts having major problems due to it’s age we might as well start figuring out what kind of car we want to replace it with right?

I’m kind of partial to Smart Cars and the Prius. Anything that’s economical to drive, conserves energy and is good for the environment. Chris likes both of those cars too. In fact, if we got a smart car it would fit perfectly in our tiny tiny driveway too! We’d never ever get an SUV. It’s just the two of us and we have no need for a big gas guzzler like that. I see way too many people driving big vehicles and they’re all by themselves in the car. What a waste.

If we could each have the car of our dreams I’d get a Porche and my husband would either get a Ferrari or a Corvette. He’s actually been admiring some of the new Corvettes lately. He even visited a page with Corvette history for the years of 1997 up to 2007. The site has all the information about the last decade of Corvettes that you’d ever want to know from the color of the paint used each year to the VIN numbers. I looked at the site to see how the Corvette has changed over the years. Don’t tell my husband but I kind of like Corvettes as well. I’m not sure they’re that practical for a home that doesn’t have a garage to keep the car in, in the winter though!

Maybe if we come into some money we’ll get the cars of our dreams, but for now I think we just need to replace our current car with something practical. I’ve no idea what kind of car we’ll end up buying but I’m certain we’ll have a new car by summer.

Any suggestions?