June, 2014

Looks like a hobbit moved into the giant cottonwood tree in the front yard! So cute! Great job Barry!

I have been here 4 years! Wow, times goes fast… Or does it? I always say that but when I stop and think about it, a lot has happened in those 4 years, it didn’t go that fast! It really hit me when I realized I can dispose of 4 boxes of old papers from work, hahaha. That’s always a fun fire!

How have I changed in the 4 years?
I’ve become Suzie homemaker! I learned how to bake, cook everyday food (as opposed to the restaurant food I only knew), how to have enough stuff in the pantry to feed us for a few weeks without a problem…. All stuff a large percentage of females learn early in life… Not in their 50’s. None the less, I’ve figured it out now.

I went from not leaving the house without a chaperon … Ever… During bear season (I was so scared) to casually remarking… “Oh there’s a bear” when I spotted one thru the trees when we were around the camp fire one afternoon. And following bear tracks on a walk then having him scoot thru the bush next to me and I didn’t run home screaming! (He was pretty far from us but still scared the begeezuz out of me when a branch snapped and I realized it was him). As I write this there is a bear on the highway out front and the dogs are going bananas!

I would barely leave the house during bug season the first year to now working with my office door wide open (Barry has cleared so much growth the bugs are much better I must add). The first year, I swelled up like a balloon, I had a pretty harsh reaction… Now I use my home made balm that I invented on the bites and 10 minutes later, I forget I ever had it.

I am over my addiction to fast food… I enjoy the odd A&W chicken burger but otherwise, I’m pretty much done with it all. However… I do still and probably always will love cake!

Winter was my least favourite season but living here you get a different perspective on it. It has become my second favourite which is fortunate since it lasts so long! I love it…It’s beautiful and cheerful. We have more sunny days than overcast being up in the mountains. I love being cozy in our little home during a huge snow fall. It’s all so romantic and inspiring. In case anyone is keeping score… Fall is first, then summer and spring is last only because of the bugs and bears. It’s beautiful here all year, we are really lucky!

I am a lot more health conscious then ever before. I am feeling healthier then ever before.

My art work has improved, my mind is clearer.

My stress has reduced immensely!

And best for last…

I never had much interest in marriage before but now I am so happy to call Barry my husband and I get chills when he calls me his wife. Can’t wait to actually be married!

The adventures have only begun…. Stay tuned…

Tonight they came and took the camper and an old car away…Barry made the guy a deal, he was allowed to take the car for scrap if he took the camper too. So nice! It was a challenge and it took him almost an hour but he managed to get it. His rig was so cool, when he finally got the edge of the ramp under it he was able to move the entire truck backwards with the outside controls! Never seen that before! So happy to see the old camper go! We would have had to disassemble it to take it ourselves.

The bears have been trying to get inside the studio… Thru the wall! How cheeky! I googled what we should do and got a long list of really good ideas but unfortunately most of them cost a bunch of money or you need power. There were a few that we will set into motion. It’s been warm the last few days so we are hoping they are moving up the mountain soon if not already. There are a lot of them this year! We saw momma with the cutest, tiniest little cubs I’ve ever seen the other day at the top of Devils Canyon! So cute! Hopefully we can get rid of these guys that are becoming a big nuisance!

We better start thinking wood!

We got the washer hooked up in my office and 2 clothes lines… We are in business. Here is Barry hanging out the first load! So nice to have laundry again! We will sort out the dryer before winter.

We have a boot room! Such excitement, I tell ya! It still needs siding and to be insulated and a door installed (Barry’s getting a door for his birthday) but we will do all that before winter. We have shelves at the studio that will be coming over for out there and a dresser so Barry doesn’t have to keep his clothes in a duffle bag in my office anymore… He gets a dresser! La-de-da! Hahaha. Barry also built shelves for the cold storage building so we have a lot more space out there now too. Each trip we take to the studio we return with something so everything is slowly migrating over here. We got the screen door as a gift a few years ago (thanks Uncle Don!) but never hung it. It works great on the boot room door… It has magnets that let go easily and then grab each other after you go thru. It works amazingly well. Lily has figured it out, Mini on the other hand is still afraid of it and needs coaxing. When the magnets join they click and it scares her because it’s right behind her. She will get used to it. We are going to put in a doggy door for them so this is good practise for her. The extra square footage is a huge bonus for us! The freezer is out of the kitchen and all the coats and shoes… It’s awesome! In the top 3 of best ever birthday gifts. Thanks Barry!

Wow, we are still a little bit in shock that our buddy is gone. It all seemed to happen so fast. He went in to see the vet because he was sick, she gave him a shot, put him on pills, said if he didn’t improve to bring him back. He seemed to start getting better right away, his appetite came back and he seemed himself for about 5 days then he had a relapse. I took him back, he got another shot and the vet took some blood tests. This was Friday afternoon. Saturday the vet called to say the tests were showing that he was a sick little dog. He seemed to be feeling okay so she said to just bring her a urine sample and she would do some further testing.

Sunday, June 8th. We woke up and Shooter seemed fine. Around lunch time we could see he had taken a turn. He was not well and we just knew it was near the end. We started to prepare ourselves for when we took him back to the vet Monday morning, he may not ever come home again. Shooter must have heard us talking about this (although we were in my office so he couldn’t hear us) because around 3 he went outside. Did a tour of the yard, went for a drink at the creek and then sat in the sun on the front deck (all with Barry helping him, he was struggling a bit). At around 4 I picked him up off the deck and brought him inside to his bed. Sat with him for only a few minutes, rubbing his back and telling him I loved him. His breathing was laboured, I knew he was near the end. His breathing calmed, he had a couple of very mild convulsions and he was gone. We laid him on the floor on his blanket and tucked him in with another like we did every night. We all sat around him patting him and telling how much we love him. A few hours later Barry took him out to my office.

Today, June 15th, we laid him to rest with his buddy Max at his side. In the photo of inside the casket you can see lil Max is in the little box, his 2 favourite toys and his bowl. The dogs seemed to say good bye, especially Lily, she laid down next to him and sniffed him one last time before we screwed on the lid and then we dumped a couple of scoops of dirt on top. Barry will carve a seat out of the log next to the grave so I can sit and visit with them. We will also have a plaque made and attach it to the “bench”. It was very good for all of us to have the closure. We know they are safe and together, it is comforting.

They are just to the right of the log which spans over the creek. I will post a photo once we have it all finished with the bench carved into the log and plaque. Barry wants to tidy it up, I will plant some wild flowers.

RIP my buddy, I miss you.