My First House

I am foregoing the topic for today, which is honeymoon houses. I didn't own a house until I was in my late thirties and it certainly wasn't a honeymoon house. My daughter and I moved there when she was 17.

We had been living in an apartment building on the 4th floor and I detested it. I wanted to have a place where I could have a garden and a dog...two things that were near and dear to my heart. So, in the spring of 1987, we started looking for a house.

We found the perfect one - a little cottage. Everything was on one floor and that meant I didn't have to climb the stairs four flights up to an apartment. Yes, there was an elevator, but more often than not, it was out of order and you risked getting stuck in it if you decided to use it. I even carried groceries up all four flights.

The house we found was beside a church and on the other side was a power transforming station. Both were small and we had that side of the street entirely to ourselves. There were no close neighbors and there were only two houses on the opposite side of the street. A single man lived in one and a single mother and daughter in the other. It was quiet and serene, except for Sunday morning when the street was lined with cars and we could hear the church services going on next door. I tell you, friends, that church rocked on Sunday morning.

The house had a small yard, but it was all that we needed...a place to have a flower garden and if we chose, a vegetable garden. I drove taxi fourteen hours a day at that time and so the vegetable garden never came to be, but we had flowers of all kinds in the front and side of the yard.

The kitchen was huge. The living and dining room were divided by an old fashioned archway and the bedrooms were quite small, but it provided all we needed. I loved that little house. It was while we lived there that we bought Snowball, an American Eskimo dog. He was supposed to be a spitz, but kept growing and before we knew it we had a medium sized dog. He was handsome and a little yappy but he was a lot of fun.

It seemed like life was going great until January 1988, when I became ill and was unable to work for over a month. We got behind on the mortgage and had to put a For Sale sign on the little cottage. It sold within 24 hours and we made a nice amount on it, which we used to put a down payment on another little house.

I don't have any photos of that house to show you, but it was a wartime cottage and so not very fancy, but it was home.

If you would like to join the I Remember When meme, please visit Speaking from the Heart. It's a lot of fun stepping back in time through our memories. ~Blessings, Mary~

Farewell, my Loyal Friend

In my previous post, I told my friends and readers that Meeko had collapsed this morning. When hubby took him to the vet, the news wasn't good. Hubby called me and told me that we had two options. Spend money on a series of tests that would be painful for Meeko or euthanize him.

I didn't go with hubby and Meeko to the vet, as I didn't, in my wildest dreams, think that anything this dire would happen. My car isn't running and when hubby phoned me from the vet, I really wanted to go to be with Meeko when he was euthanized. The frigid temperatures killed the battery, so I phoned my neighbour, Marianne to see if I could borrow her car, but she had gone out with a friend to pick up a few things. So, poor hubby had to say goodbye to Meeko on his own...a very hard thing for him to do.

I did talk to the vet and he told me that Meeko's gums were perfectly white, which means he had internal bleeding. He said that Meeko was bleeding into his spleen and that he could do some tests that would be expensive. I asked him if they would cause Meeko a great deal of pain and he said that they would cause pain and discomfort. He could send Meeko home with steroids for the weekend, but he suspected Meeko would pass before Monday. Meeko had gained 7.9 lbs. since he seen him December 1st, and that weight was probably due to a tumor. He had incurable cancer.

When our previous dog passed eight years ago, I told the boys that he had been a loyal companion for 13 years and that it was our duty to ensure he didn't suffer any more than he already had. I thought back to that day when the vet was telling me all of this.

So hubby and I opted to have Meeko euthanized instead of having him go through a great deal of pain. In hindsight, I can see the subtle signs that something was wrong, but nothing to indicate that cancer was raging within his body. Just some whining, a few drops of blood in his stool (diagnosed at the time as colitis) and that was about it, except Meeko continued shedding really bad into the frigid winter. I suspect now that there was no blood getting to the hair folicles and that it wasn't shedding at all, but that his fur was actually falling out. Since his coat was thick, it just seemed like he was still shedding.

I have already left the computer to go and see what he was doing, then realized that he wasn't here. I will truly miss him and hubby is heartbroken.
The above photo was taken of Meeko in December. It's one of the last ones I have of him. He was a beauty, so intelligent. He knew every word we said and we talked to him constantly. He was my handsome prince and though the boys named him Meeko, I often thought he had the regal look of royalty.

Relaxing in the sun in the summer of 2008!This is Meeko on the lawn in the spring of 2008. He loved to be outside and enjoyed laying in the snow. Yesterday he spent a lot of time outside. Today it was frigidly cold and I kept him in most of the day. He did get a last walk with hubby, but it was a slow one and he didn't go nearly as far as usual.

Meeko and I on the trail beside the canal in spring 2008. This was where he loved to go when we took a walk. I will also miss him, as we often walked at night under the stars with the moonbeams reflecting off the snow. I wouldn't walk alone in the park without Meeko, but I knew he would protect me with his life. I always felt safe when he was nearby. Goodbye my loyal friend and companion. You will live forever in my heart. ~Blessings, Mary~

A Bit of News and a Pay it Forward

On Thursday night, I had finished my post (below) and tried to publish it. Blogger was not cooperating, so I kept trying. Then I realized that I was offline. I had no Internet. Mmm! This was the second time in three days and I found it a bit frustrating. I went to the phone to call tech support and lo and behold, I had no phone. The line was dead!

We hadn't had the storm that had been expected, so I saw no reason for this. I used hubby's cellphone and called Mom and asked her to call me back. Nothing! I phoned her and she told me that the call went straight to voice mail.

I then called my neighbour, Marianne, and asked her to report it to Bell Canada. I knew they would take forever because first you have to talk to Emily (recorded) and do all the things she wants you to do. You give Emily your phone number etc., and she puts you through to a tech. Emily is often uncooperative and I dislike her intensely. Once you have talked to her, you are put on hold and then have to explain everything to the representative who finally answers.

I was in no mood to go through all this and Marianne told me she would gladly do it. She did and phoned back and said they would be here between 8am and 6pm. Wow! How wonderful. (If I sound a bit provoked here, I was.)

So, back to the gist of things. Hubby took Meeko out for his walk today and Meeko collapsed. ( I will get to that in a moment.) He saw our phone line had been cut by the neighbor last night when he was using the snowblower on his driveway. (Why was he on my property and really close to my house?) The phone wire was cut right where it enters the house. ???

The phone man finally came about noon and I told him about the wire being cut. He took a look and sure enough... I had to give him the key to the basement, as we have no access from inside the house. Hubby got up to go and give him a hand.

Next thing I knew, someone was kicking and pounding on the basement door. I put on my coat and boots to go and see what was going on. Hubby (instead of coming for lock de-icer) had twisted the key and tried to force it. The key broke off inside the lock. It broke flush with the keyhole and there was no chance of pulling it out with pliers.

Now, the locksmith is on the way. This is going to cost about $50 to get the old key out of the keyhole. The phone man did get the line working but we have to call him back after the locksmith has been here, as the phone line is lying beside the foundation of the house.

The locksmith just knocked on the door and he is taking care of business. Then I have to talk to Emily again and the phone company to schedule another appointment. This is probably going to cost. Do you think I should pay the bill and forget it or ask the neighbor to pay the hefty bill?

About Meeko:

He collapsed when hubby had him out for his morning nap. I did notice that he was restless during the night and at one time he howled but I thought he was dreaming. He drank 6 cups of water during the night and I had to get up twice to give him more. That is not like Meeko. He drinks very little overnight.

So, after the collapse, hubby got him home and tried to get him to rest. Meeko spit out some white crystalized stuff. He is rather unsteady on his feet and not at all himself. He is drinking gallons but not eating a thing. I even tempted him with a tidbit of chicken and he refused it. Very unusual.

I think he's been poisoned and hubby is wondering if he found a mouse that had eaten mouse poison. So Meeko has an appointment at the vet for 3:30pm. I will let you know what happens and how he is doing.

Now for the post that I had originally written for Thursday night:

I was visiting Mama Bear at Bears in Exile, and she has posted a "Pay It Forward" Challenge. This is a great way to bless others with a surprise in their mail--using your time, energy and love.

Here are the rules as posted on her blog:

The first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post saying they'd like to participate, will receive a hand-made item from me.

Those 3 bloggers promise to post this challenge on their blog (meaning they too will ‘pay-it-forward’, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers that leave a comment on their blog!!)

That's a lot of hand-made love being passed around! ; )The gift can be any price range--though I'm thinking that keeping it small will be sufficient--and you have 365 days to make/ship your gift!!So, the person receiving this will be definitely surprised when a surprise shows up unexpectedly in their mailbox!

As you can see, if everyone cooperates and "pays it forward" this spreading of love could go on for a very long time.If you want to participate, just leave a comment telling me so and then repost this on your blog so that you can pay it forward to 3 others, and so on, and so on, and so on.......You can still leave a comment on what you think about this even if you don't want to participate!!I'm anxious to see who the first three will be who want to participate in this venture of spreading our love for another!

Come on one and all. Let's join in the fun and then we'll post photos of the handmade item that we receive. This will be FUN!

Enjoy your weeked. In our area, it's to warm up and I'm hoping to get out and take a few photographs of the area if I can get my camera to cooperate. ~Blessings, Mary~

A Snowy Winter Day

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About midnight on Tueday, it began to snow and it has continued to snow ever since. We have a nice bit of fresh white stuff to cover the dirty snow that fell last week. We have quite a pile on our lawn and it is still snowing. I'm hoping it stops soon.

Michelle called today and she was in a pickle. They had called her into work and she had the TV repairman coming. She wanted to know if I could come and stay until he got there.

I looked out the window and winced. I really didn't want to go and I told her so, but of course I agreed. After all, what is family for, if not to help out when it's needed. So, I got ready and headed out.

The roads were in deplorable shape. I drove only about 40 km per hour, and everyone else was going about the same speed. I saw no speeders, which is an indication of how bad the roads really were. Even the main roads had not been touched by sand or a snow plow. Go figure. I had been snowing for over 12 hours and the city hadn't sent out the trucks. Since they didn't allow enough money in their budget for the 125 centimeters of snow we've received this year, I suppose that had something to do with it. With no money left in the coiffers, they will be going in the red. What were they thinking? We live in Canada and Canada is well known around the world for snow. However, since there was a decade or so that we didn't get a lot of snow, they seem to think we're not going to get any now.

Anyway, instead of the usual seven minutes, it took me 15 minutes to get to Michelle's. She left for work but not before informing me that the boys didn't have their key. She thought she would be home and there was no need for it. I told her I'd stay and make sure they arrived home safely.

She had only been gone a few minutes when the phone rang. It was the TV repair people. Their man was stuck on the 401 Highway and he wasn't going to be able to make it. Could they come Friday?

At that point, I decided to come home. Hubby said that he would go and pick the boys up from school so I could work on my writing. I was thankful, as when I got out onto the roads, they were even more slick than they'd been when I was driving over there.

Hubby picked up the boys and got them safely home. Brandon phoned to let me know that Grandpa was on his way home. Everyone is safe and sound. The boys' Dad got home about 4pm and Michelle got home about 6:30. She said the roads were better when she came home because the snow plows had gone.

If you live in an area that is receiving snow or in one of the states that has received freezing rain, only go out if absolutely necessary. Be sure to have a emergency kit and a flashlight in your car. Stay safe and be warm. ~Blessings, Mary~