Helene's Haystack

Joyce and I went yesterday and got our H1N1 shots at Leo Hayes High. Talk about being organized-we got sat down at 10 to 2 and at 2:30 we'd had our shots and waited the 15 minutes before heading home. Went to Kings Landing for turkey supper and my neighbor Mary took Buddy for his last session of puppy training.
Mary, Shiela and I went to the Soup Kitchen for our volunteer time. Mary enjoyed it and says she'll be back next Monday. When we got home, took our dogs for a walk and then I went over to Barb's (next door) for tea. I've been on the computor ever since. Think it's time for bed. BTW, my arm kept getting more and more sore last night but was hardly sore this morning.

Spent the last two days sorting donated books for the SPCA Book sale. So I stopped today after 4 pm to see how the sale is going and it's going very well. More books to come in but the sale is on Saturday and Sunday too if anyone is interested. 11:30 am to 5 pm both days.

Trips
I attended a Red Hat Hoot in PEI Oct 23, 24 and 25. Took Ricky and June Ball with me in my vehicle. June is 81 years old and very much like my mother was in her last years.Oh well, a good weekend in all.

On Wed., Nov. 4th,I drove to Dartmouth, NS with my friend Sylvie to see my son, Steve who was in Dartmouth on the job. It was great seeing him. We stayed at the Days Inn (Thanks Rob) and stopped and shopped all the way back. Got back in time to pick up my dogs from Gwen and then go to Guild.

This morning I made an appointment to have Buddy neutered. Apparently, he discovered (at Gwen's) that he is a boy. Tonite Padre Chris Hill is bringing his Jack Russel here for us to meet and possibly have her stay here when he has to go away. Supposed to be a nice dog.

Buddy and dog obedience
I took Buddy to his first obedience class tonite. Owners went to the first class two weeks ago without dogs. There were 6 pups and their owners Buddy being the smallest pup but not the youngest. There were two bulldog pups who were two weeks younger;I don't know about the others yet.
Buddy did well with some of the clicker training and not so well with others but the trainer said they all did as expected and not to expect too much as they were easily distracted by the other pups. One of the bulldogs pups mistress declared Buddy to be THE cutest pup she'd ever seen. I was pleased with his trying tonight. Now I have a week to work with him before next Sunday. I'm going to try some of the commands with Teika as well since she has been observing everything for the last two weeks.
Comparing Teika's reaction to bigger pups when she went to obedience class with Buddy is a laugh! Buddy is afraid of no one or nothing. If a bigger pup knocked him down, he just got up and tried to play with the pup. He's gutsy if nothing else!

Update
Over the summer Steve and family moved to Winnipeg (I miss them soooo much!!!), Angela and Steve learned they have a half-sister, Angela has met half-sister (they are very happy) and Buddy is now 9 pounds 5 ounces. He is tearing around in the living-room/hallway plus he learned to go up and down the stairs which is great fun. So much for the lovely wooden gate I bought in New Hampshire to keep dogs downstairs. He and I are starting clicker training this Sunday nite-I've started some clicker training and he caught right on.

I have joined a Red Hatters group and so far it's been very positive. On Mondays I have been volunteering at the Soup Kitchen in Fredericton. Mostly rewarding; sometimes unsettling. I always walk out to my vehicle with another woman.

Thrift Shop has started again. Also every Thursday a group of us go to the Anglican Church Hall for homemade soup. Freewill offering. Good gathering place.

That's all for now.

Greyhounds
I'm off to PEI for a PEI Humane Society Pet Expo where the Greyhounds Pets of Atlantic Canada have been invited to attend. Staying at the Blue Spruces Cottages at Hampton beach. Expo is at the Actiplex in Crapaud. Back Sunday. Teika and Buddy are with Gwen and Jamie Young;Clyde and Leslie Riles and daughter Jennifer are tending to Ramona (she's staying her) and Mary (across the street) will keep an eye on my place.

Buddy
On August 22, my friend Lori and I drove to Moncton and brought Buddy home to live with Teika and I. Teika had been mourning the loss of Muffin by laying down on the carpet where his kennel had been and crying heart-wrenching cries. Not whines but crying. And so Buddy.

His daddy was a shih tzu and his mommy was a deep red short-haired dachshund. He has been here 8 days and his eyebrows are growing longer and his coat may be getting slightly redder. He will be a very interesting dog to watch as he grows.

Scooter
Sold the scooter-it was too big for me to manage and I couln't put my feet down when stopped. Just didn't feel safe on it.

Muffin
On Thursday when I got Teika and Muffin out of their crates (where they sleep), Muffin walked out and had a very big drink of water, then walked out onto the back deck where he peed. I picked him up and brought him in and put him on a little dog bed. Normally Muffin bounces out of his crate and bunny-hops to the back deck, gets tied and goes down on the grass to pee 3 or 4 times so I knew something was wrong.
My neighbor, Mary went with me to the vet's and stayed right with me as we went into the exam room. The vet showed me his eyes where they were yellow and said his liver was failing. She wanted to do blood work, put him on an IV (he was dehydrated), etc., etc. And probably cut back on his pills and so he would probably start having seizures again. I know when the liver is failing the end of the road is near so the vet worked up an estimate on cost. She said she didn't know what my finances were. The bill for the above would have been over $700.00 so I made the very difficult decision to let him go before he suffered. I know he wasn't feeling good at the time and he'd been through enough in his little life.

Teika and I are feeling very lonely right now but we have wonderful neighbors. And Muffin is at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for us.

I'm looking after a friend's shih shu dog while they vacation in PEI. His name is Jack and he is a lot of fun-goes to bed with me at night and he and Ramona (upstairs cat) get along as long as he doesn't pester too much. I think he has springs in his short legs. He bounces all over the bed but I just sleep and let him play until he gets tired and snuggles to sleep. He has found two cat toys that he loves to throw up in the air and play with.

On another note, on Monday Rickki and I went to a Red Hatters meeting and the group is all about fun. We should have a lot of laughs with them. On the way home, I stopped at a "New furniture yard sale" in the Industrial Park and bought a big bureau without the mirror. It has 6 good-sized drawers in it so I'll have more storage room for my slacks and bedding.

Scooter
Scooter was dropped off at ten o'clock on Friday nite so didn't get a chance to try it out. Plus he forgot the licence plate and registration. Saturday I was very busy all day (besides it rained hard at times) and by the time I got home I was bushed.
Sunday went to church in the Sante Fe (wouldn't the military police loved to see me driving my scooter without the licence plate and registration) and then took Teika and Muffin to a friend's house where they got haircuts, brought them home and went back for supper.
Monday I babysat and yesterday Cheryl and Reg came and we got nuts and bolts at Cdn Tire so Reg could put the plate on. It was in my mailbox on Monday when I came home. Then Reg took the scooter for a short drive-couldn't figure where to put his feet for a brief moment. He drives a motorbike.
THEN the big moment, I drove my scooter around the court!!! Cheryl and Reg said go around again so I did and it was really fun!
So today I went out with the intention of driving around the block (I'm being very cautious about driving this scooter). I drove around the court and then was going to go around the block but I gave it too much gas and then braked too suddenly and off I went onto the neighbor's lawn. So Barb (next door neighbor) suggested that I practice in the court until I get some lessons and I did the same thing again only this time I landed on Mary's lawn. I need someone to run alongside me yelling "The brake! The brake".
I hope to get lessons this weekend.

Dropped off some jigsaw puzzles and books to Sylvie (Chapel) for some guys who are confined to barracks and very, very bored. What happened to scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush? Inhumane, I suppose.
Picked Judy up at 10 am, went straight to her bank and waited in the vehicle for her. I Fell Asleep-she took soooo long. It was one minute to 11 when she came out. Anyway I took her to the Co-Op for groceries. I wish her grocery list wasn't so mixed up. Makes it harder to find out just what she has on it. At 20 to 1, we left for her place. I went in and individually bagged each piece of meat so she has enough for a month AND put it in her freezer of her fridge. I also started stew meat simmering on the stove for her and wrote down the directions to finish it for supper.
When I came home, I phoned Greg to let him know I'm home so my new scooter can be delivered. The delivery man had just left but he said he would get my scooter to me today. Weather looks like it's clearing so I'm anxious to try it out. BIG savings on gas.

I seem to have spent Canada Day pleasing other people. I drove to New Maryland and brought Judy to Oromocto to watch the parade. While we waited for the parade to start (we were sitting with Joyce outside Lanark apts.), I walked over to Steven and Baetta's house to say Hello. They were next-door neighbors when I lived on Lanark and I was very pleased to see a baby bump. They tell me baby is due end of November.
Went to watch the parade and got a Canada flag from Keith Ashfield (gave it to Judy), got a BIG hug from Jody Carr (kept that for myself). After the parade, picked up my two dogs and drove Judy home. Back home for awhile and then picked Joyce up to go the Anglican Church Hall for supper. Joyce had her 50th birthday yesterday. We went to the Green after supper and watched bands in the bandstand until time for fireworks. During the bands I left Joyce there and came home and walked my dogs. Got home from the fireworks about 11:45. Today I feel a cold coming on as I got really sweaty and then was in a draft. My new scooter was supposed to be delivered today but the delivery guy has today off so it should come tomorrow afternoon. This is only a thumbnail sketch of what yesterday was like and my computor is acting up.

Monday I wasted a whole morning with Judy. Took her to the eye doctor at the DECH to have laser surgery done on the other eye and the nurse put drops in her eyes and she wasn't supposed to so we have to go back.

Next week Dr. Plummer wants to see her with the results of her TWO blood tests for diabetes. "I don't even have diabetes" she says. I'll have to go in with her as she won't understand what the doctor says. Fun, fun, fun!

Next Wednesday Hawk and I are going to Moncton to hand him over to his new owner. He's a priest from the Bathurst area. Lorraine has kindly invited me for lunch as well. I'll try my new Garmin GPS that I bought on sale at Walmart Monday (after taking Judy home).

I'm keeping a chesterfield here for a friend and have covered it with comforters. Good thing as Hawk thinks it's a great bed.

Grey Play
Yesterday when I went to church, I left Hawke out of his crate and he didn't go bathroom.
In the afternoon Hawke and I followed Craig and Brenda Snow and their 2 greys to Cambridge Narrows for a "grey play" at Carolyn and Armand's place. They have 2 greys and a big fenced yard so the dogs had a great time chasing each other and running. Carolyn has a child's wading pool also and invited the dogs over to cool off. Hawke ran over, walked into the wading pool and laid down. Thanks Carolyn this is great! Pictures on facebook and I commented on one so hope you can go look.

Greyhounds
BTW, the first greyhound that I fostered,Banjo, was adopted by a very energetic single woman in Truro. And I did not get mad at Hawke for destroying the body beds-he looked too darned pleased with himself but I did make him a new bed.

Yesterday I took Judy to cash her cheque and get groceries. I told her (Again) not to phone Cheryl unless it was REALLY important! So today she phoned me to tell me when she has to go for blood tests again. While she was on the phone she said, I have something to tell Cheryl but you said not to phone her unless it's really important and it is so I don't know what to do. I said, "If you tell me what it is, I'll tell you if it's important enough to phone her."

So (ready for this, Cheryl?) it was about Norm Whitny-he is going out west for two weeks in June and when he comes back, he will rest for all of July and Then, he would like to go out to dinner with Cheryl and Reg and Judy. I told her there was lots of time before she should phone Cheryl so she said, "Maybe the end of July?" "sigh"

I stayed with Lauren until her mom came home at 4 and then came home. Hawke (foster greyhound) was laying in his cage looking very pleased with himself. He was covered with very white quilt batting from his body pillows I had given him to lay on. Looked like a snowstorm. I mad him a much sturdier one today which he seems to enjoy.

Hawk
It's been a long day today. Up at 6 am for a yard sale from 7 to 11 am with a friend. At 10:45, Chrissie dropped Lauren and Jamie off to me so she could get her hair cut.

Thrift Shop this afternoon until I left to pick up Jennifer Riles (adult daughter of a friend) and we drove to Salisbury where I was to get another foster greyhound. They were late arriving but they finally met us with a 3 year old grey named Hawk. He is white with brindle markings and smaller in size than the first one I fostered. He hasn't quite mastered stairs but should do okay tomorrow. He's had a bit of practice tonight.

Trip
I am back from a wonderful, inspiring trip to Arnprior, Ont. to a National Guild Conference. And I post my return here since LJ did something foolish while I was away and I haven't yet figured it out.

Banjo
Had a good day today with Banjo, the greyhound. I didn't keep him kenneled very much this afternoon and evening and he went outside for bathroom. He kept going to the hallway and looking at the front door. I took the hint and took him for a walk-just he and I. It was nice as he walks very well on a short leash-no pulling. Still a little skitterish when a car goes by but getting better.

Advertisement