This week I joined Pangaea‘s Ultimate team for the 2004 Victoria Corporate Games. It had been a couple years since I have played. I had forgotten just how much fun the game is. I am thinking abou trying to find some pickup games. Sue mentioned one she heard about that happens on Monday evenings. Something for me to look into. Ulti would coincide very nicely with me wantinng to get back into shape too!
This poor little guy had a run in with the window of our dining room. I was sitting on the couch when I heard the distinctive noise of bird meeting glass. When I looked up all I saw was a couple feather fluttering about.
I went outside to check up on the poor bird, and he was certainly stunned. I ushered him onto a mat, then put that up high for when he was ready to fly away. When I checked up on him 10 minutes later he was gone. I hope he was alright, as he was on the railing his eyes were half closed, and he was breathing through an open beak.
In honor of Yoshi’s birthday I bought him a new smokey bone, and gave it to him at lunch time. I then left and went back to work.
When I got home, all I found was the above shards. Ack, smokey bones are not supposed to shatter. Suede and I were quite worried. A large percentage of the bone was missing! We quickly called the vet, and scoured the house for the missing parts. The vet suggested that we just needed to watch him closely. Yoshi would either pass the pieces up, down, or they would get lodged. Not good news.
We have been watching him all weekend, and nothing about him seems different, so we are hoping we made it through this one. Scary though. Some of the pieces were very sharp, and I am still concerned that he may have cut something on the inside. One positive is that when Yoshi eats his food he does chew it thoroughly, so maybe the pieces he consumed were small enough to not pose a harm. Keep you fingers crossed.
Today was training day for me at work. The company I work for had bought a large piece of software that I am integrating into the product. It is a large, and very configurable stack, and not easy to figure out on its own. There are thousands of pages of documentation, but slowly it is starting to make sense. With todays training session, and tomorrows, I am have the feeling that I will start making more progress on the integration. I have had a few AHA moments with this software, and I love that feeling when I suddenly get it, and it makes sense (or more sense as the case may be). I hope that the training helps me solidify everything. I have been growing more and more frustrated as the days have dragged on. I can see a light though, and that makes me happy.
Another fun walk with Yoshi at Macaulay Point Park today. The sun was shining, the sailboats were out in full force, and there were lots of other dogs at the park. We were there for close to an hour I think, and Yoshi had a fun walk, followed by some retrieving in the water. Good times, good times.
At one point I came across a sign that someone had been using for target practice. Not cool. There are houses behind it. What is the point behind such willful destruction?
Along the way home we passed this oak tree whose leaves are starting to turn. I thought it was interesting that they look like they are starting to burn.
Saturday night Suede and I joined K and JJ for dinner at Spinnakers, then headed over to the Trackside Art Gallery (TAG) for the unveiling of a bunch more paintings.
The unveiling was quite a big event, withh food, music, firedancing, and the big reveal to top it off. Although we missed most of the festivities, we did catch the important part. It was a very fun evening. The Rock Solid foundation has a very positive effect on the community, and has the backing of a lot of high profile businesses in the area.
The paintings revealed were from people of many age groups, and experience. It was quite impressive to see the paintings of a young child right next to a painting by Robert Bateman.
After all the new paintings were revealed, the four of use headed back to Spinnakers for dessert and another drink. Yum.
I got changed, grabbed the dog stuff, and the dog, and met up with Coreman, Justine, and OTP. We headed out to Matheson Lake. I had never been there before, so it was a real treat. The trail itself was great, and the views stunning. As the trail makes its way around the lake, it intersects the Galloping Goose a couple times. There are some rather steep sections to tackle, that were simple for the pups, but required a little effort on my part.
Speaking of the pups, OTP and Yoshi got along famously. Yoshi was full of beans, and ran around lots. OTP kept up to him as much as he could. Usually Yoshi will run ahead a bit, then run back to check up. Yesterday he was further ahead than normal, and would stop and wait for us to catch up to him! Silly pup.
After the walk the three of us refuled at My Chosen Café while the pups rested in the truck.
Great wallk. Very enjoyable, and a good kickstart to my day.
Last Monday Suede and I headed out for our second annual trip to the Saanich Fair. Last year we had a great time, so we had high expectations for this year. Checking the schedule, there were a few things we wanted to see, so me made plans, and headed out there.
Turns out the fair is pretty much the same from year to year (many of the same exhibits in the same locations). 🙁 We caught the BMX stunt show, which was interesting, but a little slow! We wandered ’round, checked out the animals, and I took a few pictures. We just weren’t feeling into this year, so we ended up leaving before seeing everything we had originally planned on. Too bad.
Things have been a little quiet here at muddylaces, and mainly that has been because Suede and I were on vacation last week. We were up on Hornby Island celebrating the wedding of Bill and Anna. The wedding was on Wednesday, but we ended up going for a whole week. We had an excellent time relaxing there. Hornby holds a special place in my heart from road trips gone by, but this trip was also very special.
We did lots while there, and this included walking the dogs on the beach every day. The cabin we stayed in was right on the ocean, which made for a spectacular sunsets. We also walked Yoshi at Big Tribune bay, Whaling Station Bay, Helliwel Park, and Little Tribune bay. All were very different, but very beautiful beaches. All of them had huge reddy brown colored jelly fish washed up on the sand too.
The ceremony was very nice, and since it was a civil ceremony, it didn’t have many references to God or religious intonations. Bill and Anna each wrote their own vows, and the wedding itself was held at Anna’s mom’s house, where Anna was born. The grounds are a nursery, so there were nice flower beds all over, and everything was lush and green. The reception afterwards was really fun as well. The dinner was very yummy, and featured many locally produced foods. The band that played was from Denman Island, just a short boat ride away. In all it was a vey perfect West Coast wedding, that included a small rain shower right at the end of the ceremony.
The next morning there was a pancake breakfast for everyone. They were the most amazing pancakes I have ever had in mylife. I don’t really consider yself a pancake connosiuer, but these were the perfect thickness, were very light and fluffy, spaked up the butter and syrop splendidly, were the right size, and were cooked just right (in butter I think since the edges had a slight crispiness to them). These were buttermilk pancakes with a twist. I learned the secret ingredient was vanilla. Even thinking about them now makes my mouth water. Also, they had numerous toppings for them. Butter, maple syrop, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and yoghurt were all available. Mmmm mmmm good!
I also got to go mountain biking while I was there. Twice actually. Biking was the reason I ever went to Hornby in the first place. The trails there are just about perfection when it comes to XC riding. There are longish uphills, but the trails are so smooth, fast, twisty and fun they need to be seen to be believed. The only downfall was Graeme. He came on the second ride with Sue and I, and on the last trail (No Horses), just a few turns from the truck, he took a fall and wrenched his knee. It was sore for a couple days, but by the time he was getting ready to go home, he was able to walk on it gingerly. Hopefully it wasn’t anything serious.
Yoshi was such an amazing dog the whole weekend. He had to spend an inordinate amount of time in the truck due to various circumstances. He adapted very well, and wasn’t too much of a bother (until he rolled in something stinky that he found near a log). What did he get for his troubles? Fleas. Poor guy. We stopped at the vet on the way home and picked up some Advantage to clear him up.
The only other bad note for the weekend was that our cabin had the most stinky water I have ever experienced. I learned that the water had a high sulfur content due to a very low water table. Eeew. Showering in it was very disgusting.
In all everything went smoothly for our trip, and Suede, Yoshi and I all had a great time. Yoshi got so much exercise last week that he is still tired from it all today!
More cuteness from today! Yoshi was sprawled out on the floor in the sun while Aphro was on the bed. She then decided to join Yoshi on the floor. When she saw I had taken her picture she slunk off.
