Thursday 11 December 2014

What has been keeping me busy?

As my last post mentioned, I have kept quite busy since the summer. September started off with me getting the finishing touches completed on the spare bedroom. There was a massive cleanup that happened, the closet/office was finished with some shelves we made, the empty bed frame finally got a mattress and bedding, curtains were hung and an old dresser I bought from a thrift shop almost 2 years ago was finally refinished and given a proper home! I wish I had some photos to share but didn't get any when the room was all clean and set and since then Buster cat has made a mess of the bed to an extreme - getting fur everywhere wasn't enough, he had to get sick all over the new duvet!

The spare room was completed as we were having visitors from Ireland. In traditional fashion, when you live in Ontario and have guests visiting Canada for the first time, we went up the CN Tower immediately following their arrival. Let me tell you, it is worth going up for dinner. Let's be honest, going up the CN Tower is an expensive elevator ride and depending on the time of day and weather, you never know what kind of view you will have. If you go up the tower for dinner then the elevator ride is free - and the fixed price menu makes it really worth while. The food was fantastic, and what luck did we have?! There was a massive thunderstorm happening during the dinner - we are talking MASSIVE thunderstorm! From the time we sat with our drinks until well after we left for the night, a lightning storm hit the tower - now it would be difficult to plan a trip like that if you wanted to see such a light show, but if you have the chance to be at the top of a giant lightning rod during a storm, take it, its madness! The tower is so solid you couldn't really hear the thunder but the flashes of light were something else! The tower was hit repeatedly while we were there and it was spectacular. The only downside is that the outdoor observation deck is closed in such weather...boo! The following day we packed our bags and car and took our visitors for a week of Canadian cottaging on Georgian Bay. As this all happened the week school started back there was virtually no one in the area staying in the surrounding cottages so it made for a quiet and relaxing time. The weather was good for the first half of the week before we got a good dose of rain and cooler temperatures. We still managed a splash in the lake and a hike in a near by park where I saw my very first porcupine up close and personal! I love porcupines and have always wanted to see one and in the excitement surrounding the sighting I forgot to take photos.




Almost immediately after our visitors set back off for Ireland, the husband followed - for a week long visit for a friends wedding. Left on my own I made the crazy decision to take a part time job when offered a position by a former employer. What was I thinking?! It was not bad at first, getting back into the swing of working outside the home and going back to a job I was very familiar with, but very quickly I remembered some of the reasons I had moved away from that job all those years ago. I stuck with it for a short while but this week is my last and then I'm back to being productive at home in my studio...also...I'm at home taking care of the newest member of our family...meet Betty!


Betty is a Boston Terrier Pug cross and she is super cute but the biggest (little) devil of a puppy. I have been kept running around non-stop since we brought her home (towards the end of October). What a handful a puppy makes and what a mess when this stubborn little ball of energy does not want to get house trained! She is currently sleeping on my lap while I type this...I am enjoying the 15 minutes of peace I will have before she gets up to terrorize me once again! I have been doing my best to train her but she is stubborn and possibly a bit mental (like all puppies). We have been going to puppy school, which was a waste of time and money - we are going to look for a new school after Christmas where we hope to learn more of the basics with her and have a chance to get her better socialized with other pups. She absolutely loves people, a few people in particular she is so crazed over she cries uncontrollably when their visit comes to an end. She has been pretty good with any other dogs she has met but she is just so much smaller than all of the other dogs and puppies she has encountered that she hasn't had a good chance to play with someone her "equal". She does however love terrorizing my mum's dog Millie (a 12 year old miniature dachshund). Betty thinks the world of my mum's house, full of carpet and used dog toys! She also loves driving Millie mad - Millie is good to put up with her but has definitely had to grumble at her and show her teeth to get Betty to settle.




I hope to post a bit more often than I have been lately, especially since I won't be working odd retail hours anymore, so I aim to keep you up to date on the progress Betty (and I) are making with puppy training. I also hope that once this little fur ball gets more trained I will have the freedom to get cracking on some projects in the studio - when that time comes I will update you on what I'm working on.