Monday, November 21, 2016

A Tiny Visitor Pops Over!

Finn Man and his handlers came for a quick visit on the 11 November long weekend.

Janet and I went for a big walk that took us around the front of the Oak Bay Cenotaph.  There were a ton of people and puppy dogs there.
Now that Finley is more than three years old, Janet says he is super helpful.

He grocery shops:
He scans the groceries at the self check out.
Phil and Finley went to the grocery store by themselves one morning and Phil was shocked that Finely knew how to scan the groceries.  He asked Meg, but she said she had never shown him.
He gives me cookies.  I really, really wish I could get him alone in the kitchen without any troublesome adults around.  I know he wouldn't limit me to one cookie!  Phil thinks I should be slim and trim, but I'm OK with what Briana calls the dump truck look.
He even washes lettuce!
All these chores were tuckering out a little guy, so we had some down time as well.

Meg likes the slide as she knows that unlike the Bouncy Castle, it won't collapse!
They also went for a hair cut.  Phil says this is a pretty cool place as they have a "Treat Wall"!  Finley is a little dodgy on the "first" of anything.  For instance, you could say "Finely, would you like...."  Answer is "No", even though he doesn't know what you are offering.  It could be a bag of candy, could be a large plate of broccoli.  The first offer of the "Treat Wall" was also greeted with a resounding no, but second time around, he didn't hesitate.
He is thinking "does this cut suit the shape of my face?"

Oh, yeah!  It works.  Bring on the Treat Wall!
As Janet and Phil are going to Spain in December, they felt it prudent to do some research and went to Chorizo for tapas on Friday night.
Shrimp, Potatoes and Broccoli with Ham and Chorizo sausage with honey.

The star of the meal - Clams with White Beans and Slow Cooked Pork.  Gone in a heartbeat!
I'm getting a little worried as I heard the "P" word mentioned yesterday.  Could this mean something adorable, cute, fluffy and troublesome will be coming to our house?  They better not be passing this off as a gesture of kindness by acquiring a companion for me.  I, for sure, will give any newcomers the cold shoulder.  Until I crack and break down to be nice.

Nestling up with a hard plastic dump truck does not have the same cachet as my teddy bear.
That's better.  Good night and thanks for stopping by.







Monday, November 14, 2016

Eve of Hallows

Every year, assuming there is enough rain to prevent a fire hazard (which is to say, every year!) there is a huge bonfire at Fireman's Fireperson's Park.  Back in the day, when Janet and Phil's children were small they would go to the Bonfire, eat hotdogs and listen to live accordion music (it's true!).

Bonfire 101:  Start with sand on the grass and stack it high with pallets.

Phil purchased a huge amount of Halloween candy in the USA, so they were delighted that at least 83 little bodies came by!  Our super neighbours were all dressed up and even Bean decided she had to be in on the action!
Whilst Bean couldn't express her true feelings, she might have been a reluctant participant!

Janet made enough Fried Noodles to feed a small army, but it turned out OK in the end because Phil was going to Lethbridge, so took the leftovers with him.
What happens when Phil goes to Lethbridge?  Janet is despondent and lonely, but it speaks to the strength of her personality that she turns a sad situation in to a positive and has the time of her life!  Yes!  A staycation!  Livin' the dream!  Whoops...too much enthusiasm?  A huge highlight, in Janet's eyes is the dishwasher will remain fingerprint free for the duration of his absence.  We won't even touch on the frig, which Phil insists is a "poor design".  This is how little Janet has going on in her "life"!

As will the microwave.
A tale of two trees.  The first one started out as a $19.99 Banana Tree from Costco that Jeremy planted in front of his house 4 or 5 years ago.  It is now bordering on turning into a plantation and actually had some small bananas on it.
This poor guy was along Beach Drive and was unfortunately uprooted.
It's open!
New in Victoria and does the unimaginable....makes Sobeys look cheap!
This photo doesn't have any bearing on anything current, but Janet loves it.
Sweet little Watty Man when he was just a pup.
Good night!
By golly, is that Janet's finger on the top right hand corner of the photo??






Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Trip Snippets!

The peeps wound up their trip and are now so broke after 4 days in Iceland, they may take all meals at Janet's volunteer job!

The end result of their last week in the U.K.  70 miles walking!  Janet was delighted, but her feet were dead!  Now she has fancy pants "hiking" boots.  She likes to put quotation marks around hiking because all of Janet's hiking criteria cannot involve cliffs, heights, sheer drop offs or anything scary.  "Rambling" through the British countryside is perfect - now that she can walk as one with the cows!
After cycling in Spain, next up is a walking tour in the Scottish Lowlands.  Walk, eat at a pub, walk some more, sleep at a pub.  Repeat for 7 days!

Some last shots of beautiful Iceland.  Good thing the views are free!
Part of the famed Golden Circle.

So much of the lava is covered with moss.


This geyser erupts about every 8-10 minutes.
Who wouldn't want to tour Iceland in this bad ass bus?
Their tours are super expensive.  However, Janet says now that she has "hiking" boots, perhaps she could be a participant.
We had to pack up and leave PDX to head home.  Watty Man and I are pretty good buds now.  Janet couldn't decide if she should leave me there or toss Watty Man in the back of our car and take him home.

He did seem pretty interested in helping with the packing up.

Can I come with you?
Please, Phil?  I promise to be a good boy!
Janet had to say no because she knew Bronwyn would be super sad if Watson had gone to Canada.  OK, bye bye little buddy!
Bye, Janet.  Bye, Phil.  Bye, Pashy.
I am a pretty good doggie, so I get to go on the people deck on the Coho Ferry.  I really like to move out from under the table and into the aisle so that people are forced to stop and say hello to me.

And, I like to whip out the needy card.
Are we almost home, Janet?  I'm exhausted from our hotel stay in Port Angeles - much against Janet's better judgement, Phil lets me run loose along the waterfront in the evening.
Back to the real world - they are making about 600 pieces of Naan Bread at Janet's volunteer job.