Post from the Past: A Time to Cry and a Time to Laugh

This post was originally published in October 2011, but it demonstrates a skill of which I am reasonably proud. Also, it's useful. Read on. 

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I cry fairly readily. And sometimes, it's just not the thing. Fortunately for me, Steve taught me that you can sing Amazing Grace to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song. Seriously! And the really cool thing about THAT is that you can use it to stop crying.

Doggy Gut-Rot

Afternoon nap

Kane has been sick for the past two weeks, with diarrhea that just won't seem to get better. He's been to the vet twice, is on antibiotics, probiotics, and de-worming medicine. He's on a rice diet with boiled chicken added once a day for a little extra protein. (We had put him back on his regular food for 48 hours, but the diarrhea came back.)

Experimenting with Quinoa

Yup, that's actually steam rising from the fresh, hot loaf.

I bought some quinoa because it seemed like a good idea. Then I didn't know what the heck to do with it. I thought that, like hemp hearts, you could just toss it on or into anything. It's a seed, right?

So that's what I did. I splashed a handful of them - raw, untoasted, unsoaked - into a batch of cookies I was making.

Thirty Thoughts for Thirty Years

All dressed up for the fancy date!

April 28, 2014 marked thirty years since Stephen and I said, "I do" and joined our lives together before man and god. Best choice I ever made. Here, in no particular order, are my reflections on those thirty years.

Fiction Friday: Maneater

I couldn't sleep that night. All I could think was: what have I gotten myself into?

After tossing and turning for twenty minutes or so, I turned on my bedside light and grabbed my book. I always have a book on the go. In fact, most nights, it's a struggle for me to close the book and go to sleep. I've been known to read all night, even on work nights.

Pain in the A$%

One of the reasons I quit my job last fall was joint pain. In my hands, feet, hip, shoulder . . . it sort of migrated from one week to the next. I had hoped that the more relaxed lifestyle since then -- especially the daily long walks with Kane -- would alleviate much of that joint pain. Alas, I was wrong.

Rainy-day Magic

Look: you can see the drips coming from the downspout.

It's April, so rain is not unexpected. And here, when a day starts with rain, it is pretty much guaranteed to end that way. Unlike in Colorado, where it might presage balmy sunshine or snowfall. In the next five minutes.

Life Lessons from Painting

After one coat.

Emily and I spent last week painting our main bathroom. It desperately needed it -- the room is terribly humid and the paint had begun to crack and peel all over. As we were working on the room, I thought of some tips I could share with you.

And then, because there is lots of time for quiet contemplation while painting, I also thought of how those tips could also apply to real life. (Some may be a stretch, so bear with me.) Here they are.

Oops

North American Black Duck

As Bugs Bunny might say, I think we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Kane and I went for a beautiful, long walk on Easter Sunday and somehow ended up in the no-dogs zone.

Beet Red

Get ready: I'm doing two food posts this week. (It's been a good foodie week at the Sibbald house!) This one is from a Pinterest pin from Joyous Health, but has my own twist and more pictures. That makes it better, right?

What a difference a month (or so) makes!

April 15, 2014

Do you recognize that park bench? No? You've seen it before. Here:

March 5, 2014

Sleep (Again)

"Sleepy" is my favourite dwarf. If you've been reading this blog long enough, then you already knew that. In fact, I've written 11 posts with the label "sleep." The problem is: I have a tendency to be nocturnal -- or, at least, so I thought until I retired.

Nom nom, chicken-broccoli braid!

Are you hungry yet? 

The first time I attempted that delicious dish, it turned out like this:

[Insert sad trombone sound effect.]

I even wrote a post about it. I was so disappointed because my niece Diane's braid looked just stunning, and I was trying to show off. But I forgot about it until yesterday, when my niece posted it again on Facebook, along with a link to the recipe on her blog.

Things are heating up.

New (used) range

We've been living without a proper oven for the past three and a half months, since the electronic controls died in December.

Fiction Friday: Tapestry

Even with music playing, we could hear gentle snores from Michael in the back seat.

I was itching to ask Bettany more questions about her situation. Not because it would make any difference, but because I'm curious. I'm always trying to imagine people's stories, and here was one that had just landed in my lap. Besides, I might be able to help. Who could tell?

Pronging Wrong

You've probably seen that horrific picture on Facebook. It is cringe-worthy and shameful. Whoever did that to their "pet" should be suitably punished. But the fault is not with the tool; it is with the owner. We use a prong collar with Kane -- and have done for about two months -- and there is absolutely no way that picture represents normal, humane use of a prong collar.

Conundrum

Have I mentioned the website that we've created in memory of my friend K.B. who died in January 2014? Actually, it was her husband who got it rolling. He started it as a way of encouraging the sort of generosity that typified K.B.'s life.

But we've run into a bit of a conundrum: how to gather stories about random acts of kindness from people who are too modest to "boast."

Family Connections

L-R: Me, my cousin Marcia, my brother Doug

This past weekend, I hopped on a train and went to Toronto to visit family. I've been wanting to head down since before Christmas, but haven't had an excuse until my cousin Marcia had a speaking engagement in Toronto.

Post from the past: Thinking Errors

This is a re-post of something I originally shared in 2011. Still something I catch myself on.

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Have you ever heard of "thinking errors"? It's a therapy term that captures the many and varied ways our ingrained thinking patterns lead us astray. This blog has a good synopsis of ten of them (I'm sure there are many more).

Travel Togs

I'm travelling to Toronto today, to meet up with my adorable cousin, Marcia. (Seriously, she is adorable, and was once described aptly as being like a puppy. Still applies, even though she is now 50-ish years old. She also happens to be a groundbreaking researcher and medical doctor without coming off as the least bit pedantic or condescending.) We're going to have a slumber party!

But I digress.

I know better.

This is a picture of Kane being a Good Dog: he is staying where I told him to sit. You can tell that he is interested in something, but he is not moving. Good dog!

That was at the beginning of our walk. Wait till you see what happened later.

Doggy Hijinks

Kane's "pot of gold."
(By the way, I did not Photoshop that rainbow. I happened to be shooting toward the light.)

A few weeks ago, I posted the story of Kane's hide-and-go-seek game with his rawhide bone. The game continues.