Catching Up
I have been shut down from the Internet for a weeks thanks to my problems with Bell Canada and AOL. I pride myself on being laid back and mellow but when it comes to these two companies I easily find myself ranting at them over the phone. Their tech people in India must think I am a crazy person. The only other times I have become a crazy person was when I jumped to the defense of Parker, when he was little. I remember at these two occasion: one facing down a Principal of a school and the other taking a strip off a doctor. Perhaps, more about my latest rant later.
Someone asked me to post a picture of the Lilacs when they are in bloom. Well here is the one on the east side of the verandah which gets the morning sun. It is doing a little better than the one on the other side of the house. They smell so nice this time of year. We also have a small white one which is blooming for the first time.
Here is a sad bit of news. I may cut a nice bouquet of Lilacs and sent them off to Dave in the hospital. My friend, Dave, who shares my house along with his wife, June is in the hospital. He has begun the process of dying. Dave is 87 years old and for a couple of weeks he has slept a lot and stayed in his room. He went off his food and drink and finally when he began to get dehydrated June called the ambulance to take him to the hospital. June finally realized that she was not really able to cope with his conditions. I had been prodding her for a few days to take Dave to see the doctor. Well! his organs are failing. His kidneys don't function any more and his heart is very weak. He is very weak and stays in bed. He also is not always fully aware of everyone. The doctors have told us they will keep him comfortable but do no heroic efforts to interfere with nature taking it's course. June is comfortable with this. So we wait.
Prior to this past week, my pig, Ruby, the one on the right, the Red Duroc pig, (you cannot tell by her colour for the two of them have been lying in a mud hole to keep cool.) went for another walkabout. She was gone for a whole week. It was 4 days before anyone called me to tell me they had seen her. Every time someone called and told me where they saw her I went to look and could not locate her. She was somewhere in the neighbour's hay field on the other side to his pastures with all the electric fencing. I figure Ruby got over there and could not find her way home around the fencing. Being a herd animal I figured she was spending some time near the other animals in the pasture; cows and calves, horses, the donkey and the Llama. I did see a spot along the fence where she had laid so I went over at 4:30 one morning at first light thinking I could locate her. No Ruby! Finally, my neighbour, began to relocate his animals to the other pastures on the other side to me. He stopped and said the pig was coming down the road. He must have let her into the pasture where she could get out onto the road. I jumped into the car to find her just on the other side to the hill . No Ruby! I came home and as I got out of the car I called her in my classic, Arkansas Razorback call, Sooooooo. EEEEEEE! And there she was across the road, she had cut cross the bush side of the hill to get home. She is back in the field with Babe and seems content to stay for now. I hope this wandering is not a monthly quest for boar companionship? My neighbour just may find her a place in his freezer if she shows up there again.
(Click on the photo to enlarge)
Here is a pictute of my sister (two years older than I am) on her last adventure of hiking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trek in Spain. She did not hike it all but did manage to do 190 km. She may go back and hike some more of it another time. In the picture, she is with her youngest son, Donald, who shared in her adventure.
Here is another old photo my son sorted out of my big box of photos. It is one of my class pictures. You may not recognize me for it was taken before I grew a beard. I was a bit of a
towhead back them. We certainly were not the snappiest of dressers back then. A lot of the kids were farm kids and we were all rural and of modest means. I am not sure what grade this is. . . .third grade perhaps. I don't see my best friends, Peter Clancy and Dickie Grebeldinger, in this photo and I think we were in the first and second grade together.
Peter and Dickie and I were fast friends up into high school. Peter went off to the private University of Toronto High School and Dickie and I muddled through the local Port Credit High School.
Sadly, Peter died in a motorcycle accident along with an other friend of ours, Joe Olexy, not far from our house. He was the first of many friends I had die from accidents before I was twenty.
Dickie is still my oldest friend., my American friend. They came from Montana. They were the only people I knew who owned guns. (Go figure!) There are tales to tell. It is a wonder we survived! We do not always see a lot of each other but when we do we just pick up where we left off with no apologies.This is how I know It is a true friendship.
My mother dressed me in beeches back them. We called them breeks. They were woollen and were cut like riding breeches, flared at the thigh and close fitting around the lower calf. There was a laced section to tighten them at the bottom Long socks were pulled up over them. How I hated wearing them! You would at least think if I had to wear jodhpurs, I should have at least been able to have a pony.
I am in the front row, the third from the left.
This posting is getting long so I will pass on my rant about the Bell Telephone Company and AOL. It could get really ugly and long.
posted by Tossing Pebbles in the Stream @ 8:53 p.m.
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15 Comments:
The Lilacs are beautiful! I wish I had some, i can all most smell them.
I am so sorry to hear about Dave. I remember last year when you made him a raised garden and how he seemed to enjoy it. I know you will miss him.
Glad you are back... LOVE the pics of the lilacs, and of course, the one of little Philip!
So sorry about Dave, but when it is time, it is time.
I know you were a good friend to him.
You've changed just a little bit. :)
Sorry about Dave.
Sorry about your friend Dave--he & June have a good friend in you. A bouquet of lilacs would be lovely.
And your roving pig--perhaps you should whisper in her ear, a gentle caution!
I picked you out in your old school pic, and then saw confirmation when you identified your location. Interesting how a face structure does not always change that much.
And finally, oh tech service from somewhere in Asia--yes, we've all been there. I always pray for someone whose accent I will be able to understand. What really bugs me is when I seem to know more that the tech person about computers and such.
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Very sorry to hear about Dave. Hopefully, it will be peaceful for him.
I love the picture of you as a wee lad...and the lilacs are lovely.
I love the picture of you as a wee lad...and the lilacs are lovely.
Very sad news about Dave, I remember you mentioning him many times.... alas I can only see one of your pictures the first one of the beautiful Lilacs.. the problem must be at my end as everyone seems to be OK...
Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my White Dog Rosed... you mentioned the Pink ones... well I have a few pictures of them posted today.
Once again I have sorry for Daves passing I will think about him today and remember sat down near the raised bed.
Tom
Philip,
The lilacs are beautiful. Ours were done a couple of weeks ago.
I'm glad that Ruby finally found her way home. Hopefully she will stick closer from now on and not go wandering off.
Enjoyed the photos and the ones in the previous post.
Hope you had a great weekend.
Blessings,
Mary
Hi Philip
I can now see all the pictures... and it seems I read it wrong as well... I hope your friend Dave as peaceful end to his life and dose not suffer... I will think of him today and wish you all well.
Tom
I wrote a long comment yesterday and blogger wouldn't let me post it!!
I'm sorry to hear about Dave, I hope it's all peaceful for him.
Ruby needs to see which side her bread is buttered or she may end up as bacon before too long! What a naughty girl. I hope she's stayed home now...
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Dave. :( I hope he has an easy crossing.
Great pig photos. My daughter is standing here beside me and likes them a lot.
There is very few things in life that drive me as crazy as tech support in India!
I too was sorry to hear about Dave.
I did however, enjoy catching up on things and looking at you as a young cutie!
I'm still loving those pigs!
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