Boys and their toys

Nothing better than ridin' on your John Deere. The "V" in the trees is our small view of the ocean. A bit better view from the deck and our bedroom.

These are pictures I took on our Family Walk the other night. The bottom picture is taken from the park which is directly beside us and the other two are from the beach that runs in front of our house.

This is the Enchanted Garden in the front of our house. I'm going to string some lights through some of the trees one of these days so we can sit out there in the evening and listen to the crickets.

Someone had a serious case of ED last night....and it wasn't me.

Yesterday was a day for Ev and I to absorb our news about Ernie. I woke up with a start, and thought the whole thing had just been a bad dream but quickly came to the realization that it was not.

The movers arrived with our Northern belongings early in the morning and spent a couple of hours unloading. As usual a bit of a glitch. We are down one box and gained someone else's box. Go figure. Now the game begins....what was inside the damn thing. The packer's description on the inventory - CARTON! That helps a lot. So damn frustrating, but to me, it just didn't seem quite as important.

Spent some time unpacking while Ev drove into town to pick up Ernie's meds and did a few errands.

Around dinner time, we went for a drive. First we sat in awe at the ocean for a while. The sun was just starting to set so the light was spectacular. Just sitting there, I said to Ev that I feel like we hit the jackpot. We've discovered a bit of heaven that no one seems to know about.

On our way to a neighbourhood park, we passed a pumpkin stand. I don't know if I've mentioned that the farmers in PEI will leave their wares at stands at the end of their driveway, or in this case, in the middle of a fork in the road. Nobody mans them. You help yourself and leave the money in a container. In this case, a plastic Folgers coffee container. Where else? You know anywhere else, someone would help themselves to that money.

At the park, we walked the two baseball diamonds. The grass was slightly wet from the showers we had earlier in the day and it was quite thick so Ernie was bounding through it like a deer in a field. Every few feet or so, he'd spot a blossom from a clover and he rip the head off of it and chew it. He loves, loves, loves to eat flowers? Always has.

While he plowed the field, Rookie proceeded to roll in the grass...and roll...and roll. We finally got tired of waiting for him so we started walking away. About 100 ft later we stopped to wait for him. He did his signature Bambi on ice imitation getting up, shook off the grass and then looked for us. Again, we are in directly line of sight, 100 ft away! He can't see us. The panic sets in. Head turns to the left. Head turns to the right. Nothing. Ev is clapping his hands together as hard and loud as he can. Nothing. Rookie starts to run. Thank goodness it's in the approximate direction, but he still doesn't see or hear us. The panic is growing. We are both standing in the field bellowing at him, jumping up and down, waving our arms and he's still heading for us, sort of. Finally Ev starts to walk toward him and he's now only about 30 ft away and he finally recognizes his Dad. I tell ya, if a dog could smile...

Driving back home we drove past a bald eagle perched high in a tree and then stopped to watch a field of sheep & lamb grazing. Ernie, who thought they were cows...and he loves cows....gave each one of them their own special bark.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening and gave us yet another beautiful memory of time spent with our boys.

The memory I didn't need arrived at 4:00 this morning. I heard Ernie rustling around in his crate which is at the foot of our bed. I thought he was just remaking his bed and then - that dreaded sound - projectile liquid. I couldn't immediately tell if it was pee, puke or what but as I stumbled to his cage, the odour overwhelmed me. I carried him and his crate into my bathroom telling him the whole way to stay still. As I turned on the light, Holy Crap, literally. ED! EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA everywhere. It was on his bedding, it was on the crate floor, on the left side and the right side. It was on the roof. It was dripping down the outside of the peekholes. It was even on my foot!

I don't know if it was the medication or the clover but holy freakin' cow. He was like the exorcist only it came out the other end. Needless to say, he's been a bit under the weather today. No more clover for that little cow. Lesson learned. Cute does not equal smart.

ps. T....thanks for the ED acronym.

Looks like I am going to need to change the name of my blog:(

My heart is broken today.

I didn't sleep much last night, in part, because my Dad was to receive some long awaited information with respect to his health. This darned time difference East to West is really throwing me for a loop. By the time he was to get home from his appointment yesterday, we would have already been in bed so we had to wait until today.

Meanwhile, we had to take Ernie back in to the vets today for a urine test and an ultrasound. They wanted to catch his morning pee so we had to attempt to get him downtown with a full bladder. Not as easy as it sounds given the weakness of his bladder. We carried him from the house to the car and from the car to the clinic. As we passed the grassy patch outside of the hospital, I wondered - when a dog looks at grass is it the same thing as a human listening to running water? Does the sight of green grass make their bladder twitch?

We were to be there by 8:30 and we got home at 4:00. That should give you an indication of how it went. We have been blindsided with the worst possible news and are both having a difficult time absorbing that our devoted little friend may not have much time left with us, or us with him. It seems Ernie is in kidney failure. He has a growth in his bladder that has already caused one kidney to shut down irreversibly and the other kidney is showing some abnormal signs. Since he just had bladder surgery in May, it appears this growth has come on rather fast and without further diagnostic testing, they can't determine whether it is a benign or malignant growth. Either way, his prognosis isn't good and our hearts are truly aching tonight.

In usual Ernie fashion, he won over the hearts of the staff at the clinic which made it difficult for us to privately absorb our situation. Not knowing our dire news, the front desk staff all wanted to fawn over his adorability (and who wouldn't?) while we were desperately trying to hold it together. While I have tears running down my cheeks they all want to say hello and I sure can't blame them for that. He was all wig-waggy, saying hello to the peoples, running up to a Golden Retriever who he thought was Rookie, making friends with two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and then attempting to to encourage a kitty in a cage to play. The kitty, by the way, was not impressed and certainly let Ernie know.

As for my dear old Dad, the news was far more encouraging and he has been given the green light to head South for the winter on the condition he return a month earlier than usual. Despite both his condition and Ernie's, it appears we have both received exceptional care - a perfect balance of superior medical care combined with a well-needed dose of humanity, that I know, we are all grateful for and has gone a long way to helping us all cope just a little bit easier tonight.

Hug, just a little bit longer tonight, those you love most - whether they have two legs or four, furry or not.

Look who came hunting for Ernie!

This little fella was on our lawn this weekend! Best keep Ernie close.

Okay so back to the boys....Ernie went through his exam first. A bundle of nervous energy as always. He is to undergo a cystoscopy on Wednesday and when the vet advised that he would have to be slightly sedated, I said that's fine, as long as it's not the same sedative Michael Jackson was using. That stuff can be deadly.

They tried to get a urine sample from him but he pee'd too quick. It's a long way to bend down with a little cup and made more difficult by the fact that he likes to travel while peeing.

Rookie endured his physical like a trooper. For the first half he did it while lying on the floor asleep. There is something to be said for an aging dog. Apparently he doesn't sweat the small stuff anymore. Used to be a day where he was just as nervous as Ernie. Today, not so much. Three of us ended up sitting on the floor with him because, well, it was just easier that way. I'm sure she had to double-check for a heartbeat. Then we had to convince him to sit up so she could check his temperature...in his nether region. Once again...a trooper! When she was done, Rookie turned around and gave her this huge bellowing bark and she looked at us for a translation. Apparently he figured a treat was in order for having to go through the indignity of having his temp taking out of his arse. Wouldn't you? The whole visit was rather comical.

We ended up leaving them there for a bit so they could run further tests. Rookie has gotten quite lumpy over the last couple of years, mostly fatty lumps, but she was a bit concerned about a lump he has growing within his abdomen.

Ev & I are both in agreement that when it comes to Rookie, there isn't too, too much time left for his future but whatever there is we are going to do our darndest to make it as comfortable as possible. There will be no intrusive surgeries in his future. At 14, he's beyond his life expectancy and he is doing exactly what we have promised him for the past 3 years. Hold on, old buddy, and you can pass your days lounging on the deck watching life go by. It's a blessing to us both that he lived up to his end of the bargain, now it's our turn to happily return the favour.

Okay...I'm back to work. Enough lolligagging.

I'm back!

Who would have thought the day would come when one goes through withdrawal from not being able to use a computer. Seriously? I think I know now why I don't get as much done these days. I obviously spend an awful lot of time on my computer on a daily basis. Although...it has been slow going around here. I have seriously not been able to get my rear in gear and the arranging is not going as quickly as it should.

Ev assembled his new...Arr...Arr...Arr...GRILL yesterday while I did MORE laundry. After having linens in boxes for 3 years, everything needs to be washed. Add to that that we have purchased new towels, dishclothes, etc. which also need to be washed otherwise they leave the dreaded white fluff on everything...including on peoples.

While Ev did that, I bathed Ernie because the boys had a trip to the vets yesterday. There is a veterinary university here and a teaching hospital so it does take a bit longer but we never expected it would take 5 hours from start to finish, not that we had anything better to do. We met with the student (8 months left to go until she has completed her 8 year education) who happens to be named Jennifer MacLean (which happens to be my niece's name for those who don't know her except ours is a Mc not a Mac). And once we had completed that, she then briefs the vet and they come in together to discuss what to do next.

Ernie has been having ongoing bladder issues since July. In May he had an operation to remove monsterous bladder stones and then put on a prescription dog food, which took us a couple of months to get him switched over to but he's doing well on it now. Unfortunately in July, new bladder issues started to arise - I won't get into the details.

Rookie hasn't been to see a vet, other than the two ear surgeries he was flown out for while in the North which were Ernie's fault. Over the course of the past three years Rookie has lost about 90% of his hearing which wasn't too bad as he still followed hand signals. We thought we were losing our minds, but it appears he is losing his as he might be suffering a bit of dementia. The vet says that more and more that they are becoming aware of older dogs suffering the same fate as our elders. I ask, does that mean I can send him away to the same old folks home I'm gonna send my parents too? I've found them a beautiful (my parents, that is) one here nearby...even sent them a brochure but they aren't biting...LOL!!! Rookie is becoming quite lame in the hips and knees apparently. Turns out he has the same ailment with his knee that Ernie has. He has mainly been relagated to life on the main floor and can only attempt stairs with the assistance of his mom and dad. Combine these three issues with the fact that Rookie is now losing his vision and we are only now having a communication problem.

Example 1 - Bad dogs beg and their behaviour gets or should be corrected. Dogs suffering dementia, deafness & blindness...they unabashedly beg, without excuses; you tell them no, they continue to beg because, guess what Rookie says, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"; you give them a hand signal to lie down, they think you are signaling them to come get their treat!

Example 2 - Old dogs with bad hips cannot attempt to climb the stairs on their own. How sad is it that our TV is in the basement? Who in their right mind would leave their dear old furry companion upstairs by himself? So we escort him down. Fine. But come time to head back upstairs and only one parent is doing the escorting of an afflicted old guy and the second anxiety ridden, attached at the hip, pain in the arse other fella. I start to carry the little one to the top of the stairs and while nearing the top hear Rookie getting antsy. I turn and give him the hand signal to stay. He thinks I'm telling him to come and he does his little tap dance at the bottom of the stairs. (Last year he had an episode of Geriatric Vestibular Sydrome which has given him double vision and thrown his balance off so he has a difficult time getting started up the stairs. As a visual, picture one of those show horses that high steps, prances and paws and that's what he looks like). I place Ernie at the top of the stairs and run down to help Rookie. Ernie follows me. I tell him to go back up. He doesn't. I chase him back up and I hear Rookie attempting a second ascending. I run downstairs. Ernie runs downstairs. I pick Ernie up and attempt to bring them up at the same time but Rookie is fearful and I don't have enough hands to hold his collar and tuck a hand under his rear to add support. I run Ernie upstairs and run downstairs. He runs part way down the stairs. I get Rookie up the stairs to that point and he freezes again. I finally get frustrated and yell for Ev who just laughs at me for being the idiot and allowing the dogs to walk all over me...ONCE AGAIN!

Example #3 - Rookie is now banished to sleeping on the main level of the house. Our room is on the third level but we can't take the chance that he gets up in the middle of the night and attempt the stairs on his own. Because he's so old and groany, he tends to do a lot of rearranging positions and moving positions throughout the night which in all honesty, has affected our sleep while in the North. He ain't quiet about it! It's a moan as he gets up and a huge grunting, groan getting back down. So now he has a bed on the main level. First night, we get him settled and head upstairs. Minutes later, we hear the clickety clack of his nails on the hardwood which continues for five minutes as he paces back and forth between the bottom of the stairs and his bed. Ev heads downstairs, gets him settled and comes back up. Repeat! Finally Ev turns on a light for him and he settles. Next night....same performance. Today....Ev goes to the hardware store to buy Rookie his very own nightlight just like his Grandpa uses for making unexpected trips - hmmm...or expected I guess, if you have a night light? - to the bathroom during the night.

Okay....I seriously have to get on with the day so I'll finish the update later....

Calmer minds prevail....

So after sleeping on it and actually being away from the house my rage has subsided slightly. Not sure how I'll feel once I get there and of course, once the boxes, many of them crushed, are unpacked but I'm going to try and control myself. Ten deep breaths, right?

So this will be my last post until possibly Monday peoples. I'll do some offline over the weekend and post them when we get our new equipment. Hope you all have a great weekend and talk to you soon.

Hugs....xoxo....Kim

Codeword - Percy!

Our stuff arrived from long term storage today! That's the good news.

The funny news is, and if I talked about this when we were on our househunting trip, please excuse me. The last time Ev & I bought a house was a bit stressful. It seems that no matter how much you discuss your "want list" when it actually comes to picking a house, you can still be at polar ends of the spectrum. Since nobody likes couples bickering in front of them, we decided this time we would have a code word that we would utter to notify each other that they were nearing a line they shouldn't cross. My code word for Ev was Percy. (His isn't very nice and contains profanity which defeats the purpose, I think.)

Last night we were anticipating today being difficult and who should have to play the heavy if the movers gave us a hard time. We had to have that conversation that most men just truly don't grasp. If it's the woman who tries to straighten out the movers we are The "B" and we are either complaining, making life difficult, or worse. If it's the man, it's constructive criticism and they are generally respected. The mood does not alter for the balance of the day as it would if the female commented. Ev won the responsibility. We reaffirmed our codewords and did a team cheer before we headed off to battle.

Here's where the issue becomes somewhat muddled. What do you do if the mover happens to be named PERCY? No word of a lie. PERCY from New Brunswick with Summer Teeth....Sum 'er there, sum 'er not. What the heck was I going to use as a code word now and how was I going to convey it to Ev? As soon as he said his name, we just gave each other a knowing look and a bit of a giggle.

So that's where the good news ends because the beginning of the unload was disastrous. The mover that brought our stuff from Kelowna did not like the manner in which the company that collected it from our house in Grand Forks and stored it in Kelowna completed there inventory. So he decided to re-do it. So let's count here. The first move had one set of numbers on it. Then Ev and I added 10 items to it when we were there in the Spring so that's two sets. This mover started a third set and realized, a little too late, that he didn't have enough numbers on the roll of labels he used (that makes three) so he had to use another series which had a different lot number but had the same inventory numbers just to confuse me even more. That makes 4 sets of labels.

Since most moving companies seem think we are all somewhat ignorant to the rules we sign under our contract, some will attempt to pull any number of fast ones on you. Today's was that we shouldn't complete our "bingo" sheet crossing off the boxes that were inventoried because it was just going to be too confusing given the mess that had been made of the inventory, Wrong...and unfortunately that set the tone. After a couple of items were brought in that were missing numbers (1, 2, 3, or 4) or a combination of 1, 2 & 3), things got a bit hot for a few minutes until we all came to a mutual agreement on how we would handle the situation. Then after another ten minutes, in came the top off of a sturdy pine table we own...except it no longer resembled itself. It was green and grey and black. Then came the, "Oh Yeah....there was a flood in the storage locker and your table and sofa are badly water damaged."

OH YEAH! Our two couches that were basically brand new before we put them into storage and were in pristine condition because no one ever sat on them. They were in our "formal" living room. Then came the top mattress from our king sized bed that we spent a small fortune on. It was black, and basically bent in half and squished around the middle, kinda like a sausage.....and I can go on and on and on. Let's put it this way. Anything that was truly important to us or that we indulged in when we purchased it, is damaged. Our hutch that Ev & I painstakingly hand crafted...damaged. Soft table, damaged. Wheels and feet missing off of things. How does this happen? How can someone come to your house, pick up your stuff, drive it directly to a storage facility and off load it and then 3 years later load it up on a truck and deliver it to your door...how does so much damage occur? And how does anything get lost when your stuff is the ONLY stuff on the truck?

I seriously want to take the most valuable possession that anyone that ever worked on our move(s) and drop it off a 10 story building and see how it makes them feel. Where is people's pride in there workmanship? And seriously, why do they all point fingers at one another and in the end, no one assumes appropriate responsibility for the physical and emotional damage that's occurred? Why do they all tell horror stories about other movers and never admit that they have made their share of bad decisions when it cames to someone else's treasures? I mean, if they are all innocent, how is it that the damage occurs?

What's worse is that the boxes aren't going to be unpacked until tomorrow so we have no idea what horrors lie within. AND, we still have our final shipment of possessions from the North to arrive.

We are trying to take pleasure in rediscovering things we had long forgotten we owned, but it's a little difficult when you know the worst is yet to come. We now have to do battle for compensation for damage they inflicted. It's a good thing my record keeping is meticulous but it's only going to help if the boxes with all of our financial records arrive.

Whew....I suddenly feel a bit better having gotten that rant off my chest. Hopefully tomorrow runs more smoothly.

Oh yeah, btw, after tomorrow morning we are without internet until a replacement modem arrives from the internet supplier. Seems somewhere along the line they lost our order for a WIRELESS modem and sent us a hardwire one. Doesn't make much sense having a wireless laptop if you have to be tied to an ethernet cable and telephone jack?

I think it's time to go to bed;)

A Better Day?

I'm trying to sound optomistic here people but I'm really draggin' my arse.

On our new phone, you can assign specific ring tones to the important people in your life, so I associated my mom's ring with the sound of the Schwann's ice cream truck coming into their community in Lake Tamarisk, California. Actually the truck doesn't have music playing like the old school ice cream trucks, he just goes down the road honking his horn, but the music is a great reminder of our time there, and of course, eating my parent's stash of Schwann bars while we were there.

So yes, when my mom called, the ice cream truck jingle started playing. I vented to my poor Mum the woes of my daily grind wearing me down and quite frankly draining me of every ounce of energy I have. I'm find that I wake up fine, but by the time we start driving over there my energy level drops and by the time we arrive, I am in serious need of a nap. That feeling continues until we leave.

The good news is that tomorrow our stuff arrives from long term storage. The rest of it from Ulukhaktok, we aren't too sure about its ETA. It'll be nice to have some furniture to actually sit on. Right now I sit on the stairs when I want to take a break, that or lie on the floor in our bedroom.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of our new JOHN DEERE ride-on mower! I got to break it in and mowed the back forty!

Other accomplishments of the day....finally got the keys to our community mailbox but realized I might have used the wrong postal code? I think there is a postal code for the physical house and a postal code for the mailbox so I'm just not too sure which one we are supposed to use. Anyone? In our mail...a card from my Ravioli friend Christine ;) - our modem for our wireless internet and our first utility bill! How exciting! We haven't even lived in the house yet and we already have a bill and made our first mortgage payment.

Oh, and speaking of better days....Rookie's tummy seems to have settled and now Ernie has the trots. His tummy was grumbling all day long and when the end of the day "Family Walks" aka "FWs" came time, he was pure liquid. Poor sweetums. We even took him with us when we went out for dinner because we were afraid he'd have an accident in the hotel room. Hopefully today is a better day for all of us.

Oh Sh*t!

Have you ever thought about the phrase, "Oh Shit!"

It can be used to describe GUILT, for example, when you're husband walks in and finds you sorting wool he didn't know you'd bought....or perhaps when he caught you munching away on chocolate truffles when you are supposed to be watching what you are eating.

It can be used to describe SHOCK, for example, when you get up in the morning to go pee in your northern home, where the windows are blacked out because of the 24 hours of sunlight and you can't see 2 feet in front of your face and walk right into your husband, who you thought had left for work hours ago but he's quietly trying to pull socks from his drawer without waking you.

It can be used to describe REGRET, for example, when you are new to a province and you take a wrong turn onto a one way street.

It can be used to describe DISBELIEF..."Oh Sh*t. Where has the day gone? It's 5:00 and we've got nothing done."

Or....it can be used to describe just that....Sh#t. Like when you bust your butt all day and decide to treat yourself on the way back to the hotel with a stop at the kitchen gadget outlet shop and when your feet are aching so badly you cut the trip short and walk back to your vehcile. Your perturbed husband points out that your sweet little dog has made it from the back of the vehicle to the front. As he opens the door, I'm not sure what hits first, him saying "Oh Sh*t" or the overwhelming stench or the vision of a massive pile of gelatinous dog crap - ROOKIE'S, I might add - with his huge paw print in the middle of it. So a bit of a double entendre here....is it, "Oh Sh&t?" or is it "Oh, Shit!"

All I can say is Rookie is lucky that he had a blanket in the back of our brand new vehicle although I couldn't stop laughing. We've been so busy dealing with Ernie's residual bladder issues that it was laughable that Rookie would be the one to pull a stunt like that. It's no wonder Ernie hightailed it to the front. The poor thing was trying to get some fresh air! And you all thought he was dumb.

Day Whatever.....I need the Grand Forks cleaning fairy to come visit!

Our day was busy, busy again. Ev went to his office while I got ready. When he got back, he called the movers he advised our stuff from storage in Kelowna is in Moncton already and that it will be delivered on Thursday. Once we got going, we went to Home Depot to pick up Ev's new baby.....a sparkly new BBQ and to Staples to look for a new wireless printer (no success). Then we headed to the house and started cleaning. I don't know what the heck has been washed in the washing machine there but it can't be laundry? It's spewing out dirt. I scrubbed the entire tub and drum out and as soon as I finished a load, it was all full of crap again. Looks like I'm getting a new set!

Our phone also got hooked up but it appears they took the liberty of adding voicemail to our phone and I had no idea how to work it. And of course, I couldn't make any outgoing calls until I cleared the voicemails from the phone. It took me about 45 minutes to figure out...thank goodness I brought the phonebook from our hotel because it had the codes to access the function.

I am happy to report that Ev contacted the dreaded satelite company to set up our new receiver and had NO ISSUES! That'll be done on Wednesday.

Somewhere in there, we also went out and ordered a new dining room set, went back to Home Depot to buy a step stool so we could get up to the tops of our cupboards to clean and stopped in at another furniture place to attempt to find a little bistro table for our nook. We found an adorable set but the table was too wide;(

Did I mention I need a visit from the cleaning fairy? When Ev & I moved to Grand Forks, my parents came the weekend we took possession of the house and my mom and I cleaned out all of the cupboards. Not only did it take less time, it was a lot of fun! Ev took care of the kitchen today, while I did the bathrooms and bedrooms but he had his ipod and headphones on. Not too much conversation going on. Meanwhile, Rookie was out on his porch "stoopin'" and Ernie slept on a pile of dirty laundry.

I told my mom I had $100 to put toward cleaning costs. I gave her the option....I could give her the money toward her flight OR buy her flight with points and pay her $100. She wasn't biting! I don't think I would either. Soon enough we hope they'll be out for a visit.

ps....We are wondering why dogs don't qualify for a per diem. Every day we are stopping to buy them something to add to their one meal a day. If children get one, why don't our furry babies?

I don't know what day it is????

THE BOYS GUARDING THEIR NEW HOUSE!

So we've received a few emails from people wondering where the heck we are....where's the latest blog posting? Well, we actually arrived in PEI yesterday instead of today. I had suggested to Ev the night before that we push through instead of stopping in Moncton. Secretly, the grind was really getting to me. He didn't think much of my idea at the time but as we started driving yesterday morning, it suddenly made sense to him.

The drive was pretty foggy for the first bit of the day but burnt off shortly. New Brunswick is amazingly beautiful. Rolling hills, forests, and the occassional tree turning red. We have discovered that we are a bit early for fall colours although the further East we got, the more Fall-like the trees were. I think Ev & I both agree that New Brunswick was one of our favourite parts of the drive....although we didn't get to see any moose?

We drove over the Confederation Bridge into PEI which is just awesome. I couldn't imagine being on that bridge when the wind is blowing. For those who don't know, the bridge is 12.9 km long (8 miles). Spectacular. And as we drove through the communities on PEI, we were like two giddy school kids giggling the whole way. Wouldn't you know it. The whole trip we didn't have any troubles getting into hotels with the dogs. PEI...not so lucky. The hotel we stayed in earlier didn't have any pet rooms left so we stayed at an alternate downtown. Checked in, used the bathroom and drove to our new house! It was just as adorable as we remember and now the wait begins for our household effects to arrive.

Wouldn't you believe it, the weather has been spectacular the entire trip. We had a bit of rain when we first left Edmonton and that was it. It was anywhere between 24 & 26 the whole trip. Today we wake up and it's pouring rain and continued to do so pretty much the entire day. It was like being back in Vancouver again. Misty rain that seems to have no direction in mind which means it comes at you from every direction.

We took the boys to their new house and left them there to guard while we drove all over the place buying cleaning supplies and a few toys for the house. We attempted to get Rookie up and down the stairs. The steps on the staircase are quite short and steep so it wasn't an easy feat but he made it and was very proud of himself. Ernie has discovered the cat hole in the door that leads to the basement and was equally boastful. Of course, Rookie saw him going through it and got all curious. I figure we are going to come home one day and all we are going to see is a headless Rookie with his "backyard" wagging.

Jour Neuf - Nepean, ON to Edmunston, NB

La distance a voyagé : 737 kilomètres

Bonjour. Comment allez vous?. Je suis bon. Ev est très, très malheureux. Pourquoi? Puisque nous avons conduit par le Québec aujourd'hui et son Français n'est pas très bon. Le mien n'est pas que bon non plus mais je l'ai pratiqué dans ma tête la voie entière par la province. Ev a essayé de me convaincre que pour entrer dans un magasin pour l'acheter des cigarettes parce qu'il pense mon Français il est meilleur que le sien. Je figure s'il les veut que le mauvais, il doive entrer et demander elles lui-même. Veuillez excuser mon français pauvre. Je fais le meilleur que je peux.

If you want a translation of what I just said you'll have to copy the paragraph and paste it into the translator at this link....

Update...apparently the translator doesn't translate very well so here is what I said....

Hello. How are you? I am good. Ev is very, very miserable. Why? Because we drove across Quebec today and his French is not very good. Mine isn’t that good either but I practiced in my head the whole way across the province. Ev tried to convince me to go into a store to buy him cigarettes because he thinks my French is better than his. I figured if he wanted them so bad, he could go in and get them himself.

Please exuse my poor French. I did the best that I could.

Day Eight - North Bay, ON to Nepean, ON

It was another short trip today, but do you see how close we are to 484 Keppoch Rd?

The routine is becoming a bit of a struggle but we are all still pretty light-hearted. When we got into the car today, Rookie stunk to high heaven from the dip he took last night. We left the windows open for a while which served as a bit of a blowdryer as well.

We started a new game today...making lists. Lists of projects to do when we arrive in PEI. Lists of things we need to buy. Lists of maintenance we need to take care of....who knows what tomorrow's list will be.

We were in Nepean just after lunchtime so once we got settled into the hotel, we decided to have some downtime and take a nap, had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant across from our hotel and then Ev finally found a Starbucks. We are actually staying in the same hotel he stayed in when he was here on some training many years back.

Well that's it for now. The sun is just setting now and we are settling in because tomorrow is going to be a long drive. We are cutting across Quebec and heading for Edmunston, NB.

Day Seven...Sault Ste. Marie to North Bay

Finally we saw some wildlife. We were wondering where all of the animals were hiding out. We have driven past countless signs warning of moose and deer from Manitoba on and yet we haven't seen anything...unless you count the dozens of road pizza raccoons and 2 deceased deer on the roadside.

When we pulled into North Bay, ON, there were two fawns, bigger but still spotted, feeding on the side of the road, right in town.

The other thing we have noticed in our travels...where are all of the rest stops? In BC we have what seem like hundreds of rest stops. There were virtually none driving from Alberta to Sault Ste. Marie. We are starting to see more of them now. I guess it's because BC is such a tourist spot?

What is 35 minutes and 12 seconds?

Before we left Ulukhaktok, Ev & I needed to deal with our satellite service. I had attempted to deal with it on my own, but since Ev’s name was the one on the account, our service provider, who shall remain nameless, would not allow me to make any changes to our account.

The day before the movers arrived, Ev called. Now you would think our request relatively simple but there were definitely a couple of questions that required their expertise. Rather than pack our receivers and two dishes, we opted to sell them to the incoming member. He is not slated to arrive for several months, so the equipment would be awaiting his arrival. This is fairly common practice amongst the members and I suspect it is a fairly common question posed to the satellite company. So, firstly we wanted to enquire how to transfer the equipment over to his name. Secondly, we wanted to know whether we needed to cancel the account in Ulukhaktok and open a new one when we arrived in PEI – the underlying question...is the account tied to the piece of equipment – or could we suspend our service until we had the opportunity to purchase a new device and reinstitute service. All fairly yes or no answers, right? Apparently not.

I stood-by listening to Ev explain, in plain English, what we wanted to do. I stood by and listened while he re-explained for the second time what we wanted to do, this time with a little more frustration. When he corrected the customer service person on how to pronounce McLachlan, I knew things were not headed in a good direction. He re-explained a third time and told the customer service rep he could not understand what she was suggesting. Not so much that there was a language barrier, but because what she was telling him was not making sense. In a fit of fury, he finally told her that he could not understand what the hell she was talking about and advised that before he loses his temper on her, he is going to pass the phone over to me with the hopes that I can determine what it is she is talking about.

I get on the phone. She calls me Mrs. McLawlan. I correct her. I explain what my husband does for a living, that we are being transferred, and that the person replacing him, who will not be here for several months, is purchasing the equipment from us. This should have been simple because the CS rep I spoke with several days earlier advised that all we had to do was leave the replacement member’s name on our account and advise the replacement what name we had on our account under to make the connection. That’s it. This CS rep agreed...and called me Mrs. McLawlan. I corrected her. I also learned from my earlier conversation that you are required to give a full month’s notice when you cancel an account or pay a full month without service. (I digress here, but I was told it was in the contract we signed and when I pulled that out, it referred you back to their website for the terms and conditions which I suspect are updated frequently and without printing a copy off 3 years ago, we didn’t have anything to fall back on.) She said the other option was to suspend our service without penalty (this she stated numerous times) but that accounts had to be suspended for a minimum of 6 weeks. “But Mrs. McLawlan, you cannot suspend an account without an active piece of equipment tied to your account.” I advised that the equipment remaining behind would/could be tied to our account as it was going to be sitting unused for several months. We could remove the old equipment from our account and replace it with the newly purchased equipment and establish service. She repeated that we couldn’t suspend our account without a piece of equipment tied to our account. I repeated myself. Are you getting the picture here? Once she understood what I was saying we started to discuss the suspension again.

The CS rep advised that the minimum for a suspension was 6 weeks but that when we arrived in PEI, all we had to do was call and they would reconnect our service earlier than the 6 weeks. I agreed that sounded like a good plan. She then restated the suspension was an option, without charge, but it was for a minimum of 6 weeks. I repeated what she told me moments before-hand about suspending & it and calling in for an earlier reinstatement. She agreed and then put me on hold for a moment. When she came back on the line, she said, “Mrs. McLawlan....”. I corrected her, “I’m sorry, Mrs. McLachlan. Mrs. McLawlan, there is a fee of $10 or $15 to suspend your account.” “But you said before there was no fee?” “I was mistaken, Mrs. McLawlan.” “Fine.”, says Mrs. McLawlan. “So, Mrs. McLawlan, six weeks from now would be October 14th, shall set that as the end of your suspension?” I questioned her again about the early reinstatement. She repeated herself about the minimum of six weeks. I said, “What about the early reinstatement?” She said, “Call us when you arrive to reinstate your service earlier, but there is a six week minimum, Mrs. McLawlan”. That was the last straw. I vehemently told her that I wanted to speak to a supervisor and that we were moments away from cancelling our service with them altogether. I repeated back to her what she was saying and said that they were two totally different things and wondered if she understood that? She said she did. Finally I got it out of her that they needed to have a date entered into their system for reinstatement which couldn’t be set any earlier than the 6 weeks, but we were welcome to call back when we arrived and have our service reinstated.

Finally! As we were nearing the end of our conversation, she posed the question. “Mrs. McLawlan...”, to which I replied, “MRS. MCLACHLAN!!!” “I’m sorry, Mrs. McLawlan, is there anything else I can do for you today?” To which Everett and I started laughing, SERIOUSLY out loud. And my reply laced with sarcasm, “NO, THANK YOU”.

So what is 35 minutes and 12 seconds? It’s the time we spent on the phone trying to get the answer to a few simple questions. It is 35 minutes and 12 seconds off our lives that we will never get back. And it probably shortened our lifespan by an additional few minutes because of the stress and frustration we were forced to endure.

I think I need to subtract an additional minute once again. Revisiting this story has made me relive the experience all over again.

Day Six - Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie

Distance Travelled: 721 km.

We actually were on the road by 7am today and made it into Sault Ste. Marie around 3:30. Checked into a nicer hotel than we spent last night in, that's for sure. We know that those travelling with pets are put into lesser quality rooms but the minute I walked in, all I could smell was pet urine....even with my less than useful sniffer.

Anyway....we chose to drive the coast of Lake Superior so we could see some sights rather than drive inland. The only problem was that it was foggy until after noon so we couldn't see anything. We could barely see the car in front of us. Once the fog broke, it was a pleasant drive. Still have to say that Saskatchewan was my fave!

We reverted back to "Brownie" days and played the Alphabet game which I quit halfway through but Ev continued to play by himself. Then we played another game from trips to Brownie camp where one person starts a story by telling one sentence and then next person determines the next sentence and so on. All I can remember is that there was a tiger coming out of the forest (KIM's sentence) and saw the old COUGAR, Kim, to which the tiger replied, "Oh, another tiger"(EV's sentence). And the old COUGAR replied, "No, Dumb Ass. I'm a friggin' cougar, not a tiger" (KIM's sentence). That'll teach him for calling me a cougar, yet again. That was also the end of the story because we were laughing so hard I thought I was gonna pee my pants.

I'm off to Dairy Queen to get me a blizzard!!! TTUS people!

Day Five - Dryden to Thunder Bay - Down for Maintenance

Distance Travelled: 349 km

We had a short day today because we are running out of clean laundry. We stopped in Thunder Bay and figured we'd get that done plus wash the car which is disgustingly filthy and perhaps get a little shopping in but apparently the entire town shuts down on a stat holiday. Not like BC where everything is open 7 days a week. Even Wal-Mart was closed. The only thing we got done was the laundry. At least we both got a nap in and the boys got to sleep outside of the car for a bit.

Tomorrow is a long day. We are making a long-haul to Sault Ste. Marie....8.25 hrs driving WITHOUT BREAKS! Needless to say, I'm off to bed.

Day Four - Brandon, MB to Dryden, ON

Here's our route from yesterday.....let Day 5 begin!

Distance Traveled: 560 km

Day Four - Driving Miss Lazy....

Ev & I have had a longstanding running joke about him being my personal chauffeur, Poke, and me being Miss Lazy. Well the ribbing continues and quite frankly, I think the joke is on him. Here are our daily TO DO lists. on this journey.
Ev

1. Get up
2. Take Ernie out. Smoke.
3. Take Rookie out. Smoke.
4. Get Kim`s coffee.
5. Make 3 trips from the hotel to the car carrying 3 suitcases, 2 briefcases, 2 camera bags, 1 action packer, 1 gun case, 1 knitting bag
6. Drive ALL DAY LONG!
7. Smoke, Pee, Eat (in that order)
8. Check into Hotel
9. Repat Step 5.
10. Smoke.
11. Order Food
12. Eat
13. Feed Dogs
14. Smoke
15. Take Rookie out
16. Take Ernie out
17. Sleep
18. Wake up at 1:00am to take Rookie out again
19. Consider beating Miss Lazy...nothing a good divorce won`t handle!

Kim

1. Get Up
2. Wait for my coffee to be served
3. Write down day`s route
4. Lie on bed waiting while Ev loads the car
5. Enter route into GPS (swear at it a few times)
6. Ponder blog topic of the day. It takes a lot of energy to be creative, you know!
7. Knit, sleep, talk to dogs, control ipod, feed and water hubby.
8. Pee, eat
9. Take Ernie for a pee
10. Walk leisurely into hotel with my 2 dogs and my knitting
11. Discuss meal planning
12. Eat
13. Take Ernie for pee
14. Feed Dogs
15. Blog
16. Send emails, update facebook
17. Plot route for next day.
18. Look at hotel for next days
19. Sleep

Rookie

1. Sleep
2. Pee
3. Eat
4. Drink
5. Stand Up & let the wind flap my jowls
6. Sit Down
7. Lie Down
8. Pee
9. Roll in Grass
10. Eat
11. Sleep
12. Pee
13. Wake Dad up at 1am
14. Pee
15. Sleep

Ernie

1. Sleep
2. Pee
3. Freak out when my mom and dad leave the room for 2o minutes to eat breakfast
4. Sleep
5. Bark at cows
6. Do `rub ups` in my cage
7. Look adorable
8. Stick head out the window and enjoy the breeze on my face
9. Trust in Dad that he won`t drop me 7 feet off the Welcome to Saskatchewan sign
10. Do boogies for my dinner
11. Sleep on the pillows in the hotel
12. Eat
13. Pee
14. Sleep
15. Pee in sleep (well not this trip...fingers crossed)

So you tell me....is the division of duties fair? Me and the boys feel it works for us;)

Day Three - North Battleford, Saskatchewan to Brandon, Manitoba

Distance Travelled: 752 km.

A pretty long day but a beautiful drive. I don't know who decided driving through the prairies was boring. I loved driving through Saskatchewan. The marshlands on the sides of the highway were amazing. We saw thousands of birds and some appeared to be on their way South.

Poor Ev. When we stopped at the border between SK and MB we decided to take a couple of pictures.

Well...see Ernie here! If you can see Ev standing in the background, he's on tippy toes and he was going to place Ernie on top of this sign so he it was just him in the shot. Well just as he was about to let go, he put his fingertips over the edge of the top and discovered it was hollow and that Ernie would have fallen 7 or 8 feet to the concrete. It took Ev an hour to calm himself.

Did I tell ya how much Ernie hates hotels? Not! The story Princess & the Pea comes to mind.

Not much more to say as we are heading out the door. I'll post a picture of Rookie later. Don' worry we haven't forgotten him.

Day Two - 1133 days 9 hrs 5 min

That represents our time spent in the North! We arrived safe and sound in Edmonton.....for the most part. That’s if you don’t count Ev spilling his clamato juice all over his tray, himself and me. Reminds me of my mother on a flight to Hawaii in 1980. She dumped her rum and coke, I think it was her 5th, in my lap and I was wearing these yellowy-orange pants (don’t ask?) which then had a large brown stain in the nether region. If she tries to deny she was drunk, I only have to remind her that she decided to take up smoking on that flight. I had never seen her smoke before or since that day!

There was a fair amount of cloud coming into Edmonton so it was somewhat turbulent. I ended up having an episode with my damn ear. For those of you who have dealt with that before, you know how painful it is. I have had it happen several times, always the same side and I end up not being able to hear much for hours to days. The good news is that it’s the side Ev sits on. I had tears streaming down my face on the plane and when I’d try to plug my nose to pop my ears, the tears would blow up and out of my tear ducts.

When we arrived in Edmonton, Ev took a cab to our storage facility to pick up our vehicle and the boys and I waited outside for him to return. We threw everything in, including the pups, and stopped a short distance ahead to reorganize. I think I might have to make a retraction about being duped. Once he pulled out the stuff we already had stored in there, combined that with the 3 suitcases, action packer, 2 camera bags, 2 briefcases and two dog crates, we are nearing full capacity.

Getting out of Ulukhaktok was a bit of a gong show yesterday. The movers showed up at 9:30 to start loading everything out. We had done a fair amount of cleaning the night before but still had a bit to do. The movers only had their truck until noon and I guess when they showed up at the airport with their first load the CARS operator flipped out on them and wouldn’t let them out on the tarmac because they didn’t have their AVOP which is a certification required to go on the runway. Really? A dinky little town with a dirt runway? And you’re gonna make an issue out of it? Eventually the pilots were kind enough to drive the truck out to the plane for them.
They ended up making 3 trips but we were also trying to get out the door as we needed to be there by just after noon. We ended up basically leaving at the exact same time. Then when we got the airport, the same dolt that yelled at the movers, yelled at me! He told me to get out of the airport with the dogs because it was a public building. And that people had serious allergies. Really? With every second person in the airport wearing fur and you are going to take issue with me while I’m trying to get on the plane with my dogs? Perhaps he should stop them at the door and ask them to remove their coats before entering the building. It was one of those times that I wish I was a little quicker with a reply because I just looked around and was really embarrassed and went out and got Ev & Jason. Both of them said the guy has no authority to say anything about it. He’s not the airport manager. There actually isn’t one. Ev also said there was no policy posted so the guy had no right. So we all went back in and he walks past us again INCLUDING THE DOGS and say,”Hi Jason, Hi, Everett.”, as if nothing had happened and then smiles at me? It was just a great way to end us leaving. Pissed off and annoyed.

When we were in Yellowknife last night, we were supposed to hook up with Jarett, who was posted in Deline with us and Paul, the pilot but we weren’t able to get a hold of them so we did a bit of running around and then went for dinner at our favourite little Chinese food restaurant, Jade Garden. When we got back, Ev was outside smoking and the phone rang. It was Jarett and when I told him Ev was outside smoking, he said he’d be right there. Well seconds later there was a knock at the door and I thought it was him coming back so I quickly opened it to tell him to get go back outside but it was actually our friend Becky. Her and her husband lived in Ulukhaktok and had moved back home to Nova Scotia and then reconsidered their decision and decided to come back. Well I guess Ev ran into them in the parking lot and sent Becky to our room. Once she was gone, we headed to the Black Knight which is an infamous pub in Yellowknife.

By the time we went to bed it was nearing midnight and we were up at 4:30am to catch the early bird flight out. We got smart this time though and it really paid off. Normally it costs us $65 to take Ernie on the plane from Ulukhaktok to Edmonton but Rookie is another matter. Because he and his cage exceed 100 pounds we actually pay cargo rate for him and he actually has to be dropped off at a separate hangar. It generally cost about $900 one way for him to fly from Ulukhaktok to YK. Well Ev was able to make a deal with the agent in Ulu. To charge us only the $65 fee for Rookie. But, he said we would have to check him in at cargo and pay the full fee from YK to Edmonton. But when Ev spoke to the ticket agent on the phone to book our flights she told him to keep his receipts for the dogs that their fares would stand because it wasn’t our fault we had to overnight in YK. So instead of paying the full fare twice for Rookie, we paid $65 for him to get the whole way with only one little white lie – actually black because Ev told it – they only asked us how much he weighed at check in in YK and he told them 95 pounds. Scot free I tell ya! It was like a seat sale for Golden Retrievers today.

Distance Travelled Today: 1,440 km

Travel Time: 13 hrs.

Day One....

I'll provide more updates tomorrow, but Day One is officially done. Only 2hrs 46 min to YK from Ulukhaktok covering 930km.

I must get ready for bed though because Day Two begins very early tomorrow...like 430 early! Must sleep!

T minus 6hrs 55min

Day One....let the the games begin...here's our route. Ulukhaktok, NT to Kugluktuk, NU to Yellowknife, NT

Could it truly be here? Is it really the day that we leave the North? Still a bit to accomplish but it’s all gravy from here. The movers are to arrive at 9:30 to start loading all of our belongings. The plane is supposed to be here by 10:30. Complete the last bit of cleaning, turn in our modem, deliver a last minute care package and hopefully have enough time to get around town and say a few good-byes.

Then we have to jam poor old Rookie into his crate, stuff Ernie into his bag and board the plane. So will end our time in Ulukhaktok.

Our current temp: 2 °C
Sunrise: 6:11
Sunset: 21:30

Forecast: Cloudy with sunny periods and 30 percent chance of drizzle early this morning. Clearing this morning. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 9.

We are SUPER BORED!

Policy says that we are to receive a day each for packing, loading & cleaning but the past two moves have not worked out that way. Last time, the movers didn't show up until late afternoon and again, by policy, they aren't supposed to work past 8 pm. The problem was that both the charter to take our belongings, and our own flight, were due the next morning. So, there was no question that the movers had to stay late into the night, but that also meant we had to try and clean - not only after they left that night, but around all of the boxes and furniture.

Next chapter – Our pack date was supposed to be yesterday, load date today and clean tomorrow before our flight. The movers actually showed up on our doorstep 2ish on Monday and we told them to go away because we weren’t ready and they weren’t supposed to be here. They packed yesterday. The plane was supposed to arrive at 3, then we were advised it was broken down and they were sending another one today. The next update was the first plane was repairable and then by close of business yesterday....still broken down. This morning the movers didn’t show. Ev & I decided to go to the hotel for breakfast where the movers are staying and they advised they were just waiting for a part to come in from Calgary – there are easily a dozen flights between Edmonton and YK so it sure shouldn’t take that long to get there. But it’s 4:20 pm and we are still sitting here, bored out of our minds. No updates since 9:30 this morning. Everything is packed in boxes, can’t clean very well because there are boxes everywhere. Two borrowed coffee cups and a borrowed coffee maker, plastic spoons and 2 lazy puppies.

I've been duped!

Do I have a sign on my head that says stupid? Or does it read gullible? Ev kept attempting to convince me that we really needed to buy a utility trailer. He appealed to the gardener in me saying it would be great for picking up dirt, picking up plants and hauling landscaping material. He appealed to the enviromentally conscious side of me - well not as EC as my mother who would drive you all around the bend when it comes to recycling, but she's trying to save the planet for her grandkids, you know! Anyway, it would be great for taking in recycling, he said. Then he appealed to my frugal side...okay, cheap side, convincing me it would be phenomenal for hauling firewood. Um, did I mention we have a propane fireplace? It still wasn't enough to win me over. But then he said, we would need it to make the drive from Edmonton to PEI. With the dogs, their crates, our suitcases, he explained, it would be an absolute necessity. So, I relented. I secretly was itemizing the shopping I was going to do along the way. Visions of boxes and boxes of wool entered my mind. Not to mention, all of the household items we need to replace.

When my parents were in Vancouver this Spring, they were kind enough to pick a brand new one up. Then when we were out for the month of May, Ev & my Dad spent countless hours designing and manufacturing a box for it. After numerous amendments, they completed their labour of love and we towed it back to Edmonton where it is stored. We have been down to see it a couple of times and I swear there is a glint in Ev's eye every time he looks at it.

So we get home and as we are nearing our househunting trip and start excitedly planning our route, Ev takes the opportunity to inform me that not only are we NOT allowed to bring the four suitcases plus 200 extra pounds of weight we are entitled under policy to bring, but that I am ONLY allowed to bring one suitcase! He says it's because he's afraid it will mechanically challenge our vehicle and that our Edge doesn't have the towing capacity to pull too much weight. Needless to say I was quite upset and as time passed it finally dawned on me....I'VE BEEN DUPED! He got me hook, line and sinker! He got what he wanted and I have a virtually empty trailer being towed across the country. The box shall be in pristine condition once it arrives because it will barely be used!

You know that saying, "Be careful what you wish for."

Well, the movers are packing fast and furious and when they left for lunch, Ev & I did a quick scan. They were so efficient that they packed the bedding we need to sleep on for the next 2 nights - bedding that doesn't belong to us!

Two More Sleeps!

Well...it's Tuesday. The movers arrived promptly at 9:38. The cooks at the hotel failed to show up on time to make their breakfast so there was a bit of a chain reaction. Anyway, they made it which is the good news. Bad news...the plane that was supposed to be here this afternoon to pick up our stuff had mechanical problems. Go figure. Good ol' Buffalo.

Yesterday we were up at the crack of dawn and finally went to bed at 11:30. Whoever thinks there isn't anything to do when movers come and pack you is sadly mistaken. Or perhaps it's because we take on to much ourselves. The owner's of the moving company in Kelowna where our stuff is stored sent us an email yesterday saying that we were the best RCMP customers that they have moved in 22 years! I think we really needed to hear that and it inspired us to maintain the momentum with this present move.

Now comes the boring part. Sitting around waiting for them to pack everything and hope they don't pack stuff we asked them to leave behind. It seems you occassionally end up with possessions that belong to quarters, like phones and oddball light fixtures. What would be worse is if they packed our suitcases...or the dog's food? I guess this is as good a time is any to work on Ev's sweater. I should have it done by the time we get to PEI!