October 18, 2009
Yesterday we attended Taste Of Our Valley, an annual fall event in Keremeos. Local wineries, bakeries, fruit stands, and other businesses set up decorated tables in Victory Hall and offer samples of their products. This year’s Taste Of Our Valley was not quite as good as previous years. But there were some highlights. We sampled a new variety of locally developed and grown apple that was very good. And one of the fruit stands was offering samples of an excellent home made pumpkin soup. I went to their website today to get the recipe for us and a neighbour.
We met quite a few of our Riverside RV Park Resort neighbours at Taste Of Our Valley. And I bumped into a woman that I worked with at Mariposa Orchards. She said that my blog had been discovered and read, and that my blog entry about my week working at Mariposa caused quite a stir there. Well … good ! I’m glad to hear that !
Today was Joanne’s last day of work. She worked hard all summer at a tough job. I want to express my appreciation and admiration for her.
DSK
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
October 15, 2009
October 15, 2009
HA HA HA HA HA ! Bo just had a comical encounter with a big snake. Fortunately, it was just a Gopher Snake, not a Rattlesnake, both of which inhabit our park. I was walking with Bo to the park’s garage, to return a garden tool I had borrowed. Bo stepped off the roadway and lifted his leg on a weed. He peed on the snake under the weed. The snake slithered out from under the weed and over Bo’s foot. HA HA HA … Bo leaped up in surprise, straight up into the air, twisting around in mid-air, like a startled cat. HA HA HA HA HA ! As the snake slithered away, Bo tried to sniff its tail. The closer Bo came to its tail, the faster the snake slithered. I was glad to see that Bo only wanted to sniff the snake’s tail, not grab it by the neck and shake it to death, which is what I would have expected a terrier to do to a snake. Good dog, Bo.
While Sully was apparently not raised living with a dog, he has become very accepting of Bo. We would like him to be comfortable around other dogs as well. Today we introduced him to our neighbour’s dog Spencer. Joanne put Sully on the ground in front of Spencer, and when Spencer leaned forward to sniff Sully, Sully just turned around and walked calmly away. No fleeing in fear, and no lashing out with claws in aggression. Good cat, Sully.
DSK
HA HA HA HA HA ! Bo just had a comical encounter with a big snake. Fortunately, it was just a Gopher Snake, not a Rattlesnake, both of which inhabit our park. I was walking with Bo to the park’s garage, to return a garden tool I had borrowed. Bo stepped off the roadway and lifted his leg on a weed. He peed on the snake under the weed. The snake slithered out from under the weed and over Bo’s foot. HA HA HA … Bo leaped up in surprise, straight up into the air, twisting around in mid-air, like a startled cat. HA HA HA HA HA ! As the snake slithered away, Bo tried to sniff its tail. The closer Bo came to its tail, the faster the snake slithered. I was glad to see that Bo only wanted to sniff the snake’s tail, not grab it by the neck and shake it to death, which is what I would have expected a terrier to do to a snake. Good dog, Bo.
While Sully was apparently not raised living with a dog, he has become very accepting of Bo. We would like him to be comfortable around other dogs as well. Today we introduced him to our neighbour’s dog Spencer. Joanne put Sully on the ground in front of Spencer, and when Spencer leaned forward to sniff Sully, Sully just turned around and walked calmly away. No fleeing in fear, and no lashing out with claws in aggression. Good cat, Sully.
DSK
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October 10 to 13, 2009
October 10, 2009
Happy 55th Birthday to me
Well, after 5½ years of retirement, I have finally reached early retirement age. HA HA HA !
The day didn’t start out very well. Our exterior water hose lines were frozen. DARN ! I hadn’t expected such cold temperatures this early in the year and hadn’t been watching the weather forecast. Last night the temperature dipped well below freezing. And the same is forecast for the next two nights. By mid-morning the hoses had thawed and I discovered that the expensive four way hose connector on our outdoor water spigot had frozen and cracked. DARN ! Last year we had an inexpensive plastic four way connector which froze and cracked, so this spring I bought an expensive metal one. HMPH !
After Joanne left for work this morning I discovered her home made birthday card and some treats for me on the dinette table. How sweet … thank you very much, my dear. She makes a home made card for me every … oh, I don’t know … 10 or 15 years … HA HA HA … and I cherish them.
Sully’s constipation problem persists. He has defecated only twice in the 9 days we’ve had him. We’re frustrated and worried. We’ll be taking him to the veterinarian on Tuesday. I’ve been administering a liquid laxative to him by syringe daily, but to no avail apparently. And he’s eating extremely little. Cause and effect, I guess ! However, he seems quite healthy. The constipation and lack of eating don’t seem to be affecting him much. He has inherited Teddy’s heater blankie, and is quite enamoured with sleeping on it, stubbornly refusing to budge an inch when Bo tries to share it with him. He just lies on the blanket, twitching his tail, and glaring at Bo, but refusing to relinquish his warm spot.
This evening Joanne took me out for my birthday dinner to The Branding Iron Steak House, a local upscale restaurant owned by a German family, and specializing in schnitzels. Earlier this summer we took care of a neighbour’s kitten for about a week. In appreciation they gave us a gift certificate for The Branding Iron, which paid for tonight’s dinner. Joanne had even pre-arranged with the restaurant for a piece of birthday cheesecake with a candle on it to be brought to me after dinner. Joanne and the waitress sang Happy Birthday to me. When they were finished, the table of diners beside us sang it to me again. Thank you, Joanne, for a lovely and memorable birthday.
October 11, 2009
Another unseasonably cold day. But sunny, at least. I don’t really mind cold, as long as I have sunshine. This morning was our regularly scheduled bi-weekly K9 Agility & Pack Walk session. Because Betty was busy preparing turkeys for this afternoon’s communal Thanksgiving dinner at Riverside RV Park Resort, Bo’s regular agility and pack walk buddy Spencer did not attend. So Bo and I did agility and went for a walk by ourselves. No sooner had we finished than a neighbour’s visiting son-in-law and two granddaughters with their little black Toy Poodle Sparky showed up late for the agility and pack walk session. Sparky’s first time ! So Bo and I went outside again and did agility and a pack walk with Sparky. Whew … that Sparky sure is a bundle of nervous energy. Next to Sparky, Bo seems mellow. HA HA HA … well, not really ! Sparky is young and a bit unruly, so a pack walk was a good calming and socializing exercise for him. During agility Sparky became a bit agitated, and “attacked” Bo, snarling and snapping in his face. Bo just stared at him. “What’s your problem, you little pipsqueak ?” HA HA HA ! I’m glad to see that Bo doesn’t retaliate against such a little dog. Good dog, Bo !
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at our RV park’s clubhouse, known in our park as “The Lodge”. Betty cooked three turkeys, and everybody brought appropriate side dishes and / or desserts. It was well attended, and was a wonderful meal. After dinner some us stayed to socialize, although there were a lot of “eat and run” attendees, a malady afflicting some RV parks that we find difficult to understand.
October 12, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving & Happy 35th Anniversary to us !
This morning Joanne went off to work and I went to the clubhouse for our park’s regular Monday morning coffee get together. We thought that today would be Joanne’s last day of work, but it’s not. She works for a family that owns two fruit stands, one in Keremeos, and one in Cawston. They will close the Keremeos fruit stand within the next couple of days, but have asked Joanne to work another week or so at the Cawston location. The park’s Monday morning coffee get together morphed into a Thanksgiving luncheon with all of yesterday’s leftovers. And there was plenty ! On the way back to the trailer after lunch I found a small snake in the middle of the road. The snakes are migrating to our rock wall to hibernate for the winter, and like to stop on the road to get warmed up on the asphalt. But, of course, many of them spend too long “sunbathing” on the warm road and get squished. I “herded” the little snake off the road. Sounds easier than it actually was. Snakes are not inclined to travel in a straight line.
Joanne and I spent a quiet evening at home, cuddled up on the couch with Bo and Sully, finishing the bottle of Tickled Pink wine that we opened at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.
October 13, 2009
We spent a long day of running errands in Penticton. With Sully ! And he was wonderful !
On the one hour drive from home to Penticton this morning, he was calm and relaxed, spending most of the trip sitting on Joanne’s lap, watching the scenery go by with interest and curiosity. First stop was Lindsey Veterinary Hospital, for Sully’s free health check, a part of every adoption from the BC SPCA. Sully was a bit worried about being at the veterinarian’s. Perhaps he feared that we were abandoning him to an animal shelter … again ! But he tolerated a thorough examination without complaint. His health is good. There were no surprises. He’s as healthy as can be expected for an old animal. His constipation / infrequent defecation is simply a result of his low food consumption. And his lack of eating is likely partly stress related, and partly related to periodontal disease. Not unusual for an animal of his advanced age, he needs a dental cleaning. The Penticton veterinarian’s estimate for a dental cleaning, including blood work and anaesthetic, was well over $600. Well … that’s a lot of money ! I think Sully will have to wait for a couple of months. I think the cost of the same work at the veterinarian we use in Yuma, Arizona is likely to be less than half of that. The veterinarian also recommended a course of antibiotic therapy to possibly reduce gum inflammation, and infection, if any. Well, good idea, but … again I think we’ll wait just awhile. Perhaps a couple of weeks. We’re still experimenting with different brands of cat foods, and I would like to have him settled on one particular food before we experiment with antibiotics. Once he is settled on one food, and more adapted to living with us, perhaps it won’t seem necessary.
For the rest of the day, as we ran errands around Penticton, Sully remained calm and relaxed in the truck, snoozing whenever we left him in the truck while we were shopping. Of course it helped that we had previously Teddy’s and now Sully’s 12 volt heater blankie plugged in and on the back seat of the truck. Good boy, Sully, well done ! What a great traveller, especially for a 13 year old cat who probably has had little travelling experience !
DSK
Happy 55th Birthday to me
Well, after 5½ years of retirement, I have finally reached early retirement age. HA HA HA !
The day didn’t start out very well. Our exterior water hose lines were frozen. DARN ! I hadn’t expected such cold temperatures this early in the year and hadn’t been watching the weather forecast. Last night the temperature dipped well below freezing. And the same is forecast for the next two nights. By mid-morning the hoses had thawed and I discovered that the expensive four way hose connector on our outdoor water spigot had frozen and cracked. DARN ! Last year we had an inexpensive plastic four way connector which froze and cracked, so this spring I bought an expensive metal one. HMPH !
After Joanne left for work this morning I discovered her home made birthday card and some treats for me on the dinette table. How sweet … thank you very much, my dear. She makes a home made card for me every … oh, I don’t know … 10 or 15 years … HA HA HA … and I cherish them.
Sully’s constipation problem persists. He has defecated only twice in the 9 days we’ve had him. We’re frustrated and worried. We’ll be taking him to the veterinarian on Tuesday. I’ve been administering a liquid laxative to him by syringe daily, but to no avail apparently. And he’s eating extremely little. Cause and effect, I guess ! However, he seems quite healthy. The constipation and lack of eating don’t seem to be affecting him much. He has inherited Teddy’s heater blankie, and is quite enamoured with sleeping on it, stubbornly refusing to budge an inch when Bo tries to share it with him. He just lies on the blanket, twitching his tail, and glaring at Bo, but refusing to relinquish his warm spot.
This evening Joanne took me out for my birthday dinner to The Branding Iron Steak House, a local upscale restaurant owned by a German family, and specializing in schnitzels. Earlier this summer we took care of a neighbour’s kitten for about a week. In appreciation they gave us a gift certificate for The Branding Iron, which paid for tonight’s dinner. Joanne had even pre-arranged with the restaurant for a piece of birthday cheesecake with a candle on it to be brought to me after dinner. Joanne and the waitress sang Happy Birthday to me. When they were finished, the table of diners beside us sang it to me again. Thank you, Joanne, for a lovely and memorable birthday.
October 11, 2009
Another unseasonably cold day. But sunny, at least. I don’t really mind cold, as long as I have sunshine. This morning was our regularly scheduled bi-weekly K9 Agility & Pack Walk session. Because Betty was busy preparing turkeys for this afternoon’s communal Thanksgiving dinner at Riverside RV Park Resort, Bo’s regular agility and pack walk buddy Spencer did not attend. So Bo and I did agility and went for a walk by ourselves. No sooner had we finished than a neighbour’s visiting son-in-law and two granddaughters with their little black Toy Poodle Sparky showed up late for the agility and pack walk session. Sparky’s first time ! So Bo and I went outside again and did agility and a pack walk with Sparky. Whew … that Sparky sure is a bundle of nervous energy. Next to Sparky, Bo seems mellow. HA HA HA … well, not really ! Sparky is young and a bit unruly, so a pack walk was a good calming and socializing exercise for him. During agility Sparky became a bit agitated, and “attacked” Bo, snarling and snapping in his face. Bo just stared at him. “What’s your problem, you little pipsqueak ?” HA HA HA ! I’m glad to see that Bo doesn’t retaliate against such a little dog. Good dog, Bo !
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at our RV park’s clubhouse, known in our park as “The Lodge”. Betty cooked three turkeys, and everybody brought appropriate side dishes and / or desserts. It was well attended, and was a wonderful meal. After dinner some us stayed to socialize, although there were a lot of “eat and run” attendees, a malady afflicting some RV parks that we find difficult to understand.
October 12, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving & Happy 35th Anniversary to us !
This morning Joanne went off to work and I went to the clubhouse for our park’s regular Monday morning coffee get together. We thought that today would be Joanne’s last day of work, but it’s not. She works for a family that owns two fruit stands, one in Keremeos, and one in Cawston. They will close the Keremeos fruit stand within the next couple of days, but have asked Joanne to work another week or so at the Cawston location. The park’s Monday morning coffee get together morphed into a Thanksgiving luncheon with all of yesterday’s leftovers. And there was plenty ! On the way back to the trailer after lunch I found a small snake in the middle of the road. The snakes are migrating to our rock wall to hibernate for the winter, and like to stop on the road to get warmed up on the asphalt. But, of course, many of them spend too long “sunbathing” on the warm road and get squished. I “herded” the little snake off the road. Sounds easier than it actually was. Snakes are not inclined to travel in a straight line.
Joanne and I spent a quiet evening at home, cuddled up on the couch with Bo and Sully, finishing the bottle of Tickled Pink wine that we opened at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.
October 13, 2009
We spent a long day of running errands in Penticton. With Sully ! And he was wonderful !
On the one hour drive from home to Penticton this morning, he was calm and relaxed, spending most of the trip sitting on Joanne’s lap, watching the scenery go by with interest and curiosity. First stop was Lindsey Veterinary Hospital, for Sully’s free health check, a part of every adoption from the BC SPCA. Sully was a bit worried about being at the veterinarian’s. Perhaps he feared that we were abandoning him to an animal shelter … again ! But he tolerated a thorough examination without complaint. His health is good. There were no surprises. He’s as healthy as can be expected for an old animal. His constipation / infrequent defecation is simply a result of his low food consumption. And his lack of eating is likely partly stress related, and partly related to periodontal disease. Not unusual for an animal of his advanced age, he needs a dental cleaning. The Penticton veterinarian’s estimate for a dental cleaning, including blood work and anaesthetic, was well over $600. Well … that’s a lot of money ! I think Sully will have to wait for a couple of months. I think the cost of the same work at the veterinarian we use in Yuma, Arizona is likely to be less than half of that. The veterinarian also recommended a course of antibiotic therapy to possibly reduce gum inflammation, and infection, if any. Well, good idea, but … again I think we’ll wait just awhile. Perhaps a couple of weeks. We’re still experimenting with different brands of cat foods, and I would like to have him settled on one particular food before we experiment with antibiotics. Once he is settled on one food, and more adapted to living with us, perhaps it won’t seem necessary.
For the rest of the day, as we ran errands around Penticton, Sully remained calm and relaxed in the truck, snoozing whenever we left him in the truck while we were shopping. Of course it helped that we had previously Teddy’s and now Sully’s 12 volt heater blankie plugged in and on the back seat of the truck. Good boy, Sully, well done ! What a great traveller, especially for a 13 year old cat who probably has had little travelling experience !
DSK
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October 3 & 4, 2009
( sigh ) Well ... I am typing this on Sunday evening on a laptop computer borrowed from a neighbour. Thanks to Sully, yesterday I destroyed my laptop computer.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
This morning I was emptying a Damp Rid container. Damp Rid is a moisture absorbent dehumidifying system. We use it, as do many RV'ers, to reduce condensation in the trailer, particularly at this time of the year. It is a slotted tub of moisture absorbing crystals nestled within a slightly larger tub. The crystals suck moisture out of the air, and the moisture drips through the slotted inner container into the slightly larger outer container.
I was walking with a Damp Rid container from the bedroom to the door, to go outside and empty the collected liquid. The collected liquid is water and the dissolved crystals, whatever chemicals they are. The liquid is greasy. As I reached for the door handle, Sully began to retch loudly in the bathroom hallway. I rushed to assist him, pushing him lightly away from the hallway carpet that he was standing on, and pulling the carpet away from him. He retched and vomited. Poor Sully. He's been having some intestinal problems since we got him a few days ago. He's been constipated, and seems to be also suffering from a hairball problem. I guess he didn't get the level of care in the shelter that he was used to, or needs. Anyway, I comforted him until he was finished retching and puking, then ( sigh ) cleaned up the mess.
I had no recollection of what I had done with the Damp Rid container. I found it where I had evidently placed it ... quickly. It was on the corner of my desk. Tipped over ! Onto my computer ! All the liquid had drained out onto the keyboard, and had already soaked through and was now leaking out the bottom of the computer onto the desk. The lithium battery pack on the underside of the laptop was smoking and sizzling. YIKES ! I unplugged it and ran outside with it, hoping that the lithium battery wouldn't burst into flames while I was carrying it.
My laptop is dead ! Really, really dead !
Today was our neighbour's daughter's wedding. Jerry and Janet have been planning for and preparing all summer for their daughter's wedding, held here at Riverside RV Park Resort. And our grounds and orchard were quite a lovely place to have an outdoor fall wedding. There were about 130 wedding guests. And the wedding was a three day affair. Of course ! Janet is Ukrainian ! HA HA HA ! Every motel room, B & B guest room, and friend's spare bedroom, in Keremeos and Hedley were filled with wedding guests.
Yesterday evening there was a large pre-wedding party at the Gold Dust Pub in Hedley. One of the wedding guests had a single vehicle accident on the highway between Keremeos and Riverside RV Park Resort. No injuries, but a wrecked car !
This morning Janet took three busloads of wedding guests on a winery tour, similar to the one we went on as a group a week or so ago. The wedding ceremony was held in the afternoon in our RV park's orchard beside the river. Very lovely setting, made even more lovely by Janet's decorating. We've been teasing her this week about having leased 100 pumpkins. HA HA HA ! She got 100 pumpkins from a local fruit stand, but made arrangements to return them to the fruit stand after the wedding.
A caterer supplied everything except meat for the informal dinner. Jerry had recruited me to be the "chef" for the barbecue dinner. With assistance from another neighbour, Brett ( thanks for the loan of this computer, Brett ), I barbecued a lot of hamburger patties, wieners, vegi-burgers, and huge Portobello mushrooms. After dinner Joanne washed dishes. A lot of dishes ! Including Joanne and me, about a half dozen residents of Riverside RV Park Resort helped out with the wedding reception. While I waited for Joanne to finish washing dishes, I went home to get a flashlight, and brought Bo back to the wedding reception. Woo-Hoo ... Bo loves parties. Gee ... I never realized what a "chick magnet" Bo is. HA HA HA !
Sunday, October 4, 2009
This morning Jerry & Janet hosted an outdoor pancake breakfast for their daughter's wedding guests. I made balloon animals for the children. After everyone had finished breakfast, I performed a magic show. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm fall day. Unfortunately the good weather was one day late. Yesterday's wedding ceremony took place on a cloudy, cool day with intermittent rain.
This afternoon I spent an hour or so sitting outside on the swing with Sully. He's very sweet, and enjoys "cuddle time". He seems a little intimidated by the outdoors, which is a good thing, from my perspective. We're slowly learning about one another. His health is improving. His intestinal problems are diminishing. He's eating and drinking better. We miss Teddy, but we're certainly pleased to now have Sully in our lives. He and Bo are becoming more comfortable with each another. Sully no longer walks around Bo when he needs to get by him. He just steps over him. HA HA HA !
DSK
Saturday, October 3, 2009
This morning I was emptying a Damp Rid container. Damp Rid is a moisture absorbent dehumidifying system. We use it, as do many RV'ers, to reduce condensation in the trailer, particularly at this time of the year. It is a slotted tub of moisture absorbing crystals nestled within a slightly larger tub. The crystals suck moisture out of the air, and the moisture drips through the slotted inner container into the slightly larger outer container.
I was walking with a Damp Rid container from the bedroom to the door, to go outside and empty the collected liquid. The collected liquid is water and the dissolved crystals, whatever chemicals they are. The liquid is greasy. As I reached for the door handle, Sully began to retch loudly in the bathroom hallway. I rushed to assist him, pushing him lightly away from the hallway carpet that he was standing on, and pulling the carpet away from him. He retched and vomited. Poor Sully. He's been having some intestinal problems since we got him a few days ago. He's been constipated, and seems to be also suffering from a hairball problem. I guess he didn't get the level of care in the shelter that he was used to, or needs. Anyway, I comforted him until he was finished retching and puking, then ( sigh ) cleaned up the mess.
I had no recollection of what I had done with the Damp Rid container. I found it where I had evidently placed it ... quickly. It was on the corner of my desk. Tipped over ! Onto my computer ! All the liquid had drained out onto the keyboard, and had already soaked through and was now leaking out the bottom of the computer onto the desk. The lithium battery pack on the underside of the laptop was smoking and sizzling. YIKES ! I unplugged it and ran outside with it, hoping that the lithium battery wouldn't burst into flames while I was carrying it.
My laptop is dead ! Really, really dead !
Today was our neighbour's daughter's wedding. Jerry and Janet have been planning for and preparing all summer for their daughter's wedding, held here at Riverside RV Park Resort. And our grounds and orchard were quite a lovely place to have an outdoor fall wedding. There were about 130 wedding guests. And the wedding was a three day affair. Of course ! Janet is Ukrainian ! HA HA HA ! Every motel room, B & B guest room, and friend's spare bedroom, in Keremeos and Hedley were filled with wedding guests.
Yesterday evening there was a large pre-wedding party at the Gold Dust Pub in Hedley. One of the wedding guests had a single vehicle accident on the highway between Keremeos and Riverside RV Park Resort. No injuries, but a wrecked car !
This morning Janet took three busloads of wedding guests on a winery tour, similar to the one we went on as a group a week or so ago. The wedding ceremony was held in the afternoon in our RV park's orchard beside the river. Very lovely setting, made even more lovely by Janet's decorating. We've been teasing her this week about having leased 100 pumpkins. HA HA HA ! She got 100 pumpkins from a local fruit stand, but made arrangements to return them to the fruit stand after the wedding.
A caterer supplied everything except meat for the informal dinner. Jerry had recruited me to be the "chef" for the barbecue dinner. With assistance from another neighbour, Brett ( thanks for the loan of this computer, Brett ), I barbecued a lot of hamburger patties, wieners, vegi-burgers, and huge Portobello mushrooms. After dinner Joanne washed dishes. A lot of dishes ! Including Joanne and me, about a half dozen residents of Riverside RV Park Resort helped out with the wedding reception. While I waited for Joanne to finish washing dishes, I went home to get a flashlight, and brought Bo back to the wedding reception. Woo-Hoo ... Bo loves parties. Gee ... I never realized what a "chick magnet" Bo is. HA HA HA !
Sunday, October 4, 2009
This morning Jerry & Janet hosted an outdoor pancake breakfast for their daughter's wedding guests. I made balloon animals for the children. After everyone had finished breakfast, I performed a magic show. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm fall day. Unfortunately the good weather was one day late. Yesterday's wedding ceremony took place on a cloudy, cool day with intermittent rain.
This afternoon I spent an hour or so sitting outside on the swing with Sully. He's very sweet, and enjoys "cuddle time". He seems a little intimidated by the outdoors, which is a good thing, from my perspective. We're slowly learning about one another. His health is improving. His intestinal problems are diminishing. He's eating and drinking better. We miss Teddy, but we're certainly pleased to now have Sully in our lives. He and Bo are becoming more comfortable with each another. Sully no longer walks around Bo when he needs to get by him. He just steps over him. HA HA HA !
DSK
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October 1, 2009
October 1, 2009
Yesterday morning we went to Penticton and spent the morning running errands and shopping for groceries and supplies. At lunch time we drove a few miles south back towards Keremeos, stopping in Kaleden for lunch at Frog City Café & Linden Gardens, a botanical gardens and "healthy" restaurant Joanne had been to this summer with her women's luncheon group from Riverside RV Park Resort. We had a lovely lunch.
After lunch we drove back into Penticton to shop for my present for my upcoming 55th birthday. I vowed that we would only shop, but not buy yet. Well ... what can I say ? ! ?
We spent a long afternoon at the South Okanagan / Similkameen BC SPCA animal shelter. Say hello to Sully !
Sully was the oldest cat available for adoption at the shelter. He is a 13 year old Applehead ( body style ) Lilac Point ( colouring ) Siamese. And he is absolutely gorgeous !
Initially Joanne stated that she didn't want a Siamese cat. Neither of us is particularly fond of the little wedge shaped face, big eared, skinny bodied, loud mouthed traditional Siamese cat. But until yesterday we weren't aware of the Applehead Siamese. Applehead Siamese have a thicker, slightly chunky, slightly hefty, "robust" body, like a "regular" cat. Sully is cream coloured around the chest, neck, shoulders, and rear haunches. His upper body fades from cream to grey / brown from the shoulders to the tail. His "points" ... ears, face, feet, and tail, are grey. He has, of course, a large, round, apple shaped face with small ears and delicate whiskers. His hair is short, but thick and lush. His eyes, of course, are deep blue. He's beautiful !
Sully came into the animal shelter about a month and a half ago as an "owner surrender". His owner was moving to a place that wouldn't accept cats. We suspect that was a seniors' residence. Sully is a healthy, beautiful, obviously well cared for and loved pet. But he did very poorly at the shelter. He wouldn't eat. He was very depressed. He had to be kept in his own cage within the "open environment" cat adoption wing of the facility. He was very unhappy being within the uncaged "general population" of the cats in the shelter.
We spent a long time at the shelter. We looked primarily at the few "senior" cats available. We also looked a few younger cats that the shelter staff were very motivated to have adopted. A few had been very ill. A few were having a lot of difficulty adapting to and accepting life within the shelter, as Sully did. But Sully and an old female named Julia were the two who most desperately needed a "second chance". The old cats are rarely adopted. Just a day or two earlier the shelter had to euthanize an old fellow named "Papa S" because he just completely gave up on living within the shelter. Sully was nearing that point as well.
We had vowed to shop only, not buy, because we wanted to return to the shelter with Bo to ensure that our choice was dog friendly. But I carried Sully in my arms down the dog adoption wing, and stopped at each kennel door. At each kennel door the dog inside would jump up and bark with enthusiasm ... "take me home, take me home". Sully was not fazed by having large dogs bark in his face through the door glass. We took him outside for a walk on a leash. He was calm and well behaved. I mauled and manhandled him in a way that could be quite irritating or scary to cats. He took it in stride. Our final concern was his ability / willingness to travel. No way to really check that in advance, but based on what we had seen of his demeanour so far ... ! When the shelter's closing time approached, we took a leap of faith, and adopted Sully.
The shelter was so grateful that we were adopting such an old cat, they made us a special offer. Buy Sully, get Julia for free. HA HA HA ... no, thanks. So they reduced Sully's adoption fee by half. Hey, Sully ... you're beyond your "best before" date. HA HA HA HA HA !
We still had more shopping to do. We left Sully in the truck for about half an hour, three times, while we went into stores. He did just fine, snoozing in the truck while he waited for us. On the one hour drive back home, he behaved wonderfully, unrestrained in the truck, mostly sitting on Joanne's lap looking around. WOO-HOO ... Sully is going to be a wonderful traveller ! ! ! Our final concern put to rest. Well ... not quite our final concern. He still hadn't met Bo.
When we arrived home, I took Bo for a walk before he had a chance to see Sully. When we returned to the trailer, Bo was very eager to greet Joanne as we had been gone for the whole day. And ... HEY ... A CAT ! ! ! Bo approached Sully with way too much enthusiasm. And Sully, with the wisdom of age and experience, immediately recognized that this little dog might be annoying, but not threatening. He stood his ground. He didn’t flee, he didn’t lash out with his claws. But yes, Sully does have a big Siamese voice. He loudly howled in Bo's face. Bo recognized this as "BACK OFF", and immediately complied. Whew ... our last fear was put to rest.
Sully sat in a corner, wary for a short time, then began to explore the trailer. Bo followed him around, sniffing at his back end. Sully accepted this with no problem. Soon Sully found what he has evidently been missing a lot. Two pillows to lie between ! He spent much of the evening snoozing between the pillows on our bed, looking very contented. He spent the night sleeping between the pillows, cuddling to our heads and faces.
Welcome to our family, Sully. And Happy Birthday to me !
DSK
Yesterday morning we went to Penticton and spent the morning running errands and shopping for groceries and supplies. At lunch time we drove a few miles south back towards Keremeos, stopping in Kaleden for lunch at Frog City Café & Linden Gardens, a botanical gardens and "healthy" restaurant Joanne had been to this summer with her women's luncheon group from Riverside RV Park Resort. We had a lovely lunch.
After lunch we drove back into Penticton to shop for my present for my upcoming 55th birthday. I vowed that we would only shop, but not buy yet. Well ... what can I say ? ! ?
We spent a long afternoon at the South Okanagan / Similkameen BC SPCA animal shelter. Say hello to Sully !
Sully was the oldest cat available for adoption at the shelter. He is a 13 year old Applehead ( body style ) Lilac Point ( colouring ) Siamese. And he is absolutely gorgeous !
Initially Joanne stated that she didn't want a Siamese cat. Neither of us is particularly fond of the little wedge shaped face, big eared, skinny bodied, loud mouthed traditional Siamese cat. But until yesterday we weren't aware of the Applehead Siamese. Applehead Siamese have a thicker, slightly chunky, slightly hefty, "robust" body, like a "regular" cat. Sully is cream coloured around the chest, neck, shoulders, and rear haunches. His upper body fades from cream to grey / brown from the shoulders to the tail. His "points" ... ears, face, feet, and tail, are grey. He has, of course, a large, round, apple shaped face with small ears and delicate whiskers. His hair is short, but thick and lush. His eyes, of course, are deep blue. He's beautiful !
Sully came into the animal shelter about a month and a half ago as an "owner surrender". His owner was moving to a place that wouldn't accept cats. We suspect that was a seniors' residence. Sully is a healthy, beautiful, obviously well cared for and loved pet. But he did very poorly at the shelter. He wouldn't eat. He was very depressed. He had to be kept in his own cage within the "open environment" cat adoption wing of the facility. He was very unhappy being within the uncaged "general population" of the cats in the shelter.
We spent a long time at the shelter. We looked primarily at the few "senior" cats available. We also looked a few younger cats that the shelter staff were very motivated to have adopted. A few had been very ill. A few were having a lot of difficulty adapting to and accepting life within the shelter, as Sully did. But Sully and an old female named Julia were the two who most desperately needed a "second chance". The old cats are rarely adopted. Just a day or two earlier the shelter had to euthanize an old fellow named "Papa S" because he just completely gave up on living within the shelter. Sully was nearing that point as well.
We had vowed to shop only, not buy, because we wanted to return to the shelter with Bo to ensure that our choice was dog friendly. But I carried Sully in my arms down the dog adoption wing, and stopped at each kennel door. At each kennel door the dog inside would jump up and bark with enthusiasm ... "take me home, take me home". Sully was not fazed by having large dogs bark in his face through the door glass. We took him outside for a walk on a leash. He was calm and well behaved. I mauled and manhandled him in a way that could be quite irritating or scary to cats. He took it in stride. Our final concern was his ability / willingness to travel. No way to really check that in advance, but based on what we had seen of his demeanour so far ... ! When the shelter's closing time approached, we took a leap of faith, and adopted Sully.
The shelter was so grateful that we were adopting such an old cat, they made us a special offer. Buy Sully, get Julia for free. HA HA HA ... no, thanks. So they reduced Sully's adoption fee by half. Hey, Sully ... you're beyond your "best before" date. HA HA HA HA HA !
We still had more shopping to do. We left Sully in the truck for about half an hour, three times, while we went into stores. He did just fine, snoozing in the truck while he waited for us. On the one hour drive back home, he behaved wonderfully, unrestrained in the truck, mostly sitting on Joanne's lap looking around. WOO-HOO ... Sully is going to be a wonderful traveller ! ! ! Our final concern put to rest. Well ... not quite our final concern. He still hadn't met Bo.
When we arrived home, I took Bo for a walk before he had a chance to see Sully. When we returned to the trailer, Bo was very eager to greet Joanne as we had been gone for the whole day. And ... HEY ... A CAT ! ! ! Bo approached Sully with way too much enthusiasm. And Sully, with the wisdom of age and experience, immediately recognized that this little dog might be annoying, but not threatening. He stood his ground. He didn’t flee, he didn’t lash out with his claws. But yes, Sully does have a big Siamese voice. He loudly howled in Bo's face. Bo recognized this as "BACK OFF", and immediately complied. Whew ... our last fear was put to rest.
Sully sat in a corner, wary for a short time, then began to explore the trailer. Bo followed him around, sniffing at his back end. Sully accepted this with no problem. Soon Sully found what he has evidently been missing a lot. Two pillows to lie between ! He spent much of the evening snoozing between the pillows on our bed, looking very contented. He spent the night sleeping between the pillows, cuddling to our heads and faces.
Welcome to our family, Sully. And Happy Birthday to me !
DSK
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