Time Flies

We have a new "pet" but he's up for adoption, as we feel we don't have the dedication to care for him. He doesn't eat much, takes little room, doesn't bark and gives you plenty of upper-body exercise. Yes, I have lost the fly-swat.

When I went after said fly with a rolled up paper Zak asked what happened to my Buddhist principles. They are intact. I figure this fly has learned all we can teach him, and vice-versa, and it's time he went on to his next incarnation. Hopefully if he can't manage butterfly or ladybug he'll at least find himself in a dairy barn in Winnipeg or Thunder Bay.

Tony has been home from the local hospital for several days. He was there four (five?) days. The Physiotherapist came by the day before he was scheduled to come home and looked over our truck (high off the ground and accessed with a running-board step) , looked at the beautiful new cedar stairs and landing Ian built while he was here, and looked at our weensy bathroom with it's 14" high threshold. She said we'd never get him in here alone and said they'd bring him home by ambulance. They did, which was much more comfortable for him than the ride home from Penticton in Ian's car.

He's been pretty much immobile since. He has a potty chair in the back, and has busied himself sorting and catching up on paperwork. Zak has been feeding us great meals, mostly grilled, and he's been keeping the laundry done. How cool is that?

I busy myself running for water, water, snacks, this, that and that other thing. This is fine most of the time but I am not a morning person. Like Henry Higgins of My Fair Lady in the morning I want an atmosphere as restful as an undiscovered tomb, and I AIN'T gettin' it!

Until I've had my coffee and my first dose of meds my dragon scales tend to poke out a bit, especially when I've spent the first 45 minutes of my day on potty duty, am contending with a 20 pound cat who is jealous and confused, and am short three hours of sleep. You may read this as "Buddhist gets the grumps". Lesson: Even a good person, taking care of someone they adore, can get grumpy. Don't be so judgmental next time someone is grumpy with me.

But today there was triumph! You think you were happy when little Billy was potty-trained? I am giddy. Tony made two trips to the bathroom in the wheelchair, assisted of course, but still... it's a big step forward. No more potty chair! But enough of that.

On Sunday Zak and I went to Pancho's Country Market, an artfully organized and presented organic farm market up in the hills above town. We bought blueberries and raspberries, some beautiful baby crookneck squash and some divine raspberry vinegar. My neighbour Pat and I sat down one day last week and pitted a bunch of cherries. I dried about five pounds worth. She made jam, and then we shared. I got some jam, and she got half the dried cherries.

Yesterday Zak and I went out to another fruit/vegie stand which was advertising apricots, and bought some, plus fresh corn on the cob, peaches, nectarines and other locally-grown goodies. The peaches were so fantastic that we went back today and bought 10 pounds and I filled the dehydrator this afternoon. They smell divine. Oh, they set me back 40 cents a pound. That's 80 c a kilo for the metrics crowd.

And to fill you in on the neighbours. Emmett and Maud still appear to be childless, but the two couples they pal around with, Burt and Connie, Bob and Jackie, have each brought their youngsters to the feeder this week! They are the cutest little balls of fluff you ever saw! They look just like brown speckled versions of the Easter chicks I used to get every year when I was small. Burt and Connie's three kids appear to be several days older than Bob and Jackie's four teeny babies. They are an inch taller, and quite a bit larger.

It tickles me that the parents are relaxed enough, even with me sitting outside, to let the babies nestle down in the grass and snooze once they have picked up all the seed they can hold. They blend in so well that you could walk right past them and never see them, if they were brave enough to sit still.

That's my week. It's been very warm. Almost 100 degrees the last few days and so far this afternoon our high has been 104.7 F. It hasn't hit the peak heat of the day yet, so we could be in for a good scorching. Salvador got overheated on Thursday night and I took him to the vet on Friday, just to get him checked over. The vet said he's very hairy (Is that supposed to be news to me?) and that he has quite a bit of adipose tissue, which serves as insulation. In other words he's a humongous hairy FAT cat!

Anyone who wants to talk about dieting with his orange Fatness is welcome to try. He takes his claws to me when I say "diet" to him, and cries pitifully if he doesn't get his cookies. It's cute - his fat rolls wobble when he sobs that hard. On the good side he has lost some weight since Christmas, when he weighed in at 23 pounds.

I'm having to water my poor flowers twice a day, and even then they pant like dogs in the hot afternoon sun. I pant just watering them. But they smell divine at sundown. Mmmm.... still living in paradise.