System Administrator Appreciation Day

Don't you just love it when somebody takes the time to thank you for what you do? Tell you that you're doing a good job, that you're appreciated and that you're not just another cog in the wheel? I got the sweetest email today from a coworker:


This is the day that all System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work.

I'm afraid this is the best I can do in terms of cash. Thanks for all you do for all of us!!!



I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'm not a system administrator.

Impulsive

I like to shop. I like to buy things. I especially like to shop while travelling, and to buy mementos of my trip. However, if I'm not careful, I impulse shop and buy the wrong thing.


This would be a perfect example.

In case you can't tell, this shirt it made out scads and scads of crinkly, elasticised netting; three layers thick. Each lovely layer is edged with a row of shiny Christmas ribbon, to ensure the maximum level of tourist tackiness.

It's supposed to be a Mexican peasant blouse. I bought it in Old Mexico, San Diego, on my first day of my trip with my cousin Katie a few years ago. I was excited about finally going on a trip again. I got caught up in the atmosphere. I lost my mind.

Beyond that, I have no idea what I was thinking.



WHAT KIND OF SELF RESPECTING CANADIAN BUYS A PEASANT SHIRT?!?



I need to go now. I need to email my cousin Katie and tell her that she failed me as my retail voice of reason. If she doesn't step it up and talk some sense into me if/when I ever try to make a purchase like this again, I'm not going to stop her from getting cornrows when we go to Jamaica.

Brazen

My sister is one of the lucky ones. She managed to take what she loved, and make a career out of it. She's a dog trainer. Specifically, she teaches agility and judges agility tournaments. So, it follows that she'd need dogs who are good at agility. The two dogs that she started off with are getting old, and while they are still a big part of her family, aren't actively competing. So, last year she got a new dog.

Meet Brazen.



In her 18 months, Brazen has become quite the accomplished dog. She's got a boatload of tricks that she can do, and she's happy to show some of them off.




Perching on the stool was one of the first tricks she learned. Granted, it was easier when she was smaller; but she's still game to play whenever asked. She'll perch up on that stool and stay as long as you want. She stands on that stool too, with her feet all together like a circus dog on a ball.

Once, my sister had a plumber in to do some work. He went down to the basement, and my sister left him alone to work. The dogs are typically pretty quiet, so she didn't think anything of it when they weren't in the room with her. After a while, she heard the plumber start to laugh, and went to check it out. It seems that Brazen had decided to watch him work. She'd tiptoed down the stairs and perched herself on top of his tool box (cross-wise, so she was sitting on it like a bird on a wire.) The plumber thought it was a great trick, except that she was blocking his access to his tools.

Our Weekend Adventure

This weekend, I had the very important job of taking my nephews to see the latest Harry Potter movie. We live about two hours apart, and I don't get to see the boys nearly enough... maybe once every couple of months. At least once a year or so, I try to go up to their house for an overnight visit so that we can really catch up. That's what I did yesterday.

We talked, they showed me all their latest and greatest toys. We stayed up until midnight, and hung out in our pj's in the back yard. This morning we went to their local farmer's market - which is THE best farmer's market I've ever been to - and then this afternoon we went to the movie before they humoured me and let me wander around a local flower/gift shop.

For what it's worth, they tell me that they enjoyed the movie, but I think it was probably a little too scary for them. There were sudden bathroom breaks which coincidental occurred right around the scarier scenes. Fortunately for me, I got to play the Auntie card... it was their mom who escorted them to the loo 3 times while I stayed behind to watch the movie. Even better, I still get the credit for taking them.

Excellent visit.... wish I could see them more. Wish I'd have brought a camera with a fully charged battery. I generally take my camera everywhere I go with the boys, and snap all kinds of pictures. The pictures turned out pretty dark last night, beause I didn't have enough juice for the flash.






Normally, I bring the dogs with me on these visits. Cotton stayed with my parents this time (the 2 hour drive would have driven him over the edge), but Tallulah came along. She thinks the boys are the bomb, and I'm pretty sure that the feeling is mutual. Plus, she got to try out a whole bunch of things that she'd never get to do with just stuffy old me...

For example, I don't have a trampoline filled with beach balls.



Nor do I have the imagination to put a donut on her head.


She wore that over her eyes for quite a while, and she didn't seem to mind. Tallulah's always had a rose coloured view of the world, so I guess I'm not surprised.

Eventually, the donut worked its way down to her neck, and it stayed there even longer. Considering how hot it's been for the last couple of days, I think maybe that she was hoping that there's be a pool in this excellent yard full of fun-loving boys, seven dogs (4 others were visiting unexpectedly), toys, trampolines and agility equipment.


Sadly for her, there is no pool.

What was there, was a new friend for life. Meet my sister's dog, Brazen.



More about her later...

This isn't very nice...

...But I'm going to say it anyway. I think that the stress that he's put me through over the last couple of weeks (months) has earned me a pass. I especially feel entitled to some cattiness since the lil' dude had himself another panic attack tonight. It lasted a good 45 minutes, and could only be soothed by me massaging his ears for what seemed like forever.

So, for what it's worth, here goes: Cotton has lost some weight lately, and that makes his eyes more prominent. Those eyes, those floppy ears... I think that he looks like a white Dobby the House Elf.


Even so, I'd appreciate it if you'd think positive thoughts for the lil' dude for me. He's got 8 more days before the new meds kick in fully. If they don't work soon, I'm going to need some happy pills for myself.

Cosmic Lawn Care Gods, please help

Things have been pretty rough around here lately. Cotton's been having really bad panic attacks, and last night he had a scary reaction to one of the meds that the vet gave him. Today, on day 1 of the other medication (that isn't expected to take full effect for 10 days) he's more deeply worried than terrified. I'm cautiously optimistic that that's a good sign.

As if the stress of a sick dog isn't enough, I've had another loss. My lawn mower bit the dust on Saturday, part way through the weekly mowing. I had no choice but to call in the big guns (my dad) to finish the job. He's not really keen on becoming my permanent lawn boy, though, so I've been inquiring about getting it fixed. It turns out that it's cheaper to buy new.... or new to me.

I've never actually set out to shop for a lawn mower before. The Cosmic Gods of Lawn Care have always stepped in for me when needed; but as long as the lawn is still growing, I don't know if I can wait for them again.

My first lawn mower was a reel mower. My brother donated it to me. This was before Earth Friendly was cool, but I still kind of liked the idea of going retro. Unfortunately, the blades were dull. It'd take 3-4 passes to cut anything, and could get frustrating.

Lucky for me, a former coworker happened to drive past my house while I was out making my multiple passes on the lawn and took pity on me. Or, maybe I should say he found a sucker upon whom he could foist of his old unwanted lawn mower. Apparently he'd tried to sell and/or give it away many times at various garage sales or community swap meets, but there hadn't been any takers. I was happy to take this mower. Sure, it was orange, and rusty, and the wheels kept falling off; but the price was right, the motor ran and you could usually get around the yard a few times before having to screw the wheels back on.

I used this lawn mower for five years. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. Because I'm cheap, I never considered finding a replacement; even if the rust was getting getting so bad that I could stand over top of it and see the blade turning.

Then, right around the time that I was closing the sale of my first house, my dad was in town and decided to mow my lawn. At some point in the process, the rusty handle apparently snapped off on one side. You could only really push it from the one side after that, and anybody who wasn't freakishly strong on their left side would end up going in circles.

My dad, ever resourceful that he is, packed up the old lawnmower and brought it home with him. He strapped two old hockey sticks to either side of it, so that the blades faced each other and met in the middle, and declared the old lawn mower as good as new.

I'm all about reduce, recycle and reuse; but the hockey stick lawn mower was a bit much. My dad was so proud of his handy work - I couldn't bring myself to tell him how horrified I was at the thought of using this contraption. (And in a new neighbourhood, where nobody knew me yet, no less.) I didn't say anything, but I had no intention of using it. Thankfully, the Cosmic Gods of Lawn Care stepped in once again.

I was walking the dogs, and came upon a garage sale. I happened to spy a lawn mower amongst the junk, and stopped to inquire. I know nothing about lawn mowers, but this one started when it was plugged in. Even better, this mower mulched, which gave me an excuse to give my dad for the upgrade. I managed to talk the guy into lowering his $40 price tag down to $30. (I'd have paid a lot more not to have to use the hockey stick mower, so I snapped it up.)

Four years later, that $30 mower has more than paid for itself. I never had a problem with it, until the day it died. I don't begrudge it's decision to move onto the great fairway in the sky... I guess I just wish that it had waited until I could hit the end of season sales. I've got big responsibilities this weekend that I can't get out of (more on that later), but after that I guess I'm going to have to hit the garage sales. In the meantime, I'm going to have to figure out how best to pay homage to the Cosmic Gods of Lawn Care.

Hot air rises

So do cats