Battiness!

As you can see the lighting was problematic, but nevertheless this cloisonné flower pot from the Qing Dynasty is worth a gander. The bats aren't the least bit scary — they symbolize good fortune. You know where I took the picture! Enlarge with a click.

On the swim front, in an unlikely series of coincidences … I went out the front door to catch the bus to practice, got halfway down the street, and suddenly couldn’t remember having put my suit in the bag. Back home, I grabbed a suit, stuffed it in the bag went out the front door. Then I had to repeat the scenario for my bus pass. Fast forward to the locker room; I found two suits in my swim bag. Sitting on the deck before practice, a team mate came onto the deck in her street clothes. Coach Duane walked down the line of swimmers pointing at people asking, “Got an extra suit?” In an unlikely scenario I was able to say, “Yup!”, dig it out of my bag, and my teammate got to swim!

Mileage for lane 5 last night was up to 2750 metres:
♦ 800 free
♦ 13 x 75 (50 free strong, 25 choice hard) on 1:45*
♦ 25 easy
♦ 9 x 100 free (3 x 3 on 1:45, 1:40, 2:15)
♦ 50 easy

*I alternated fly, breast, free

Happy Hallowe’en everyone!

Juggling!

These figures are on a funerary pictorial brick dating approximately AD 25 – 220. I think the jugglers are better than I at keeping all the balls in the air! By now, you know where they came from! Click to enlarge.

The Boarder's PR ...

Well, I told The Boarder about Mishele's cat Geronimo who fetches toy mice. This news was greeted with a blank stare. However, he would like you to know that he established a new PR this morning. He played for almost a half hour! Yesterday the game of choice was chasing, throwing, attacking and killing the large twist tie that came with the carrots. Today, however, he showed interest in one of George's old favorites, a rod with a long fleecy ribbon. At the end of the ribbon is a cluster of feathers. (Before his prolonged absence I tried to get him to play with it, but he thought it was terrifying.) I haven't yet sat him down and explained that play is now an essential part of his day to day life. Nor have I mentioned the bit about increasing play and decreasing food intake. He is still pretty much eating like an outdoor cat who is expending all kinds of energy. If he's not careful he's going to become rotund!

Yesterday we were sitting looking out the back door when stuff started falling from the dark gray sky. Yup. Snow. So I got out my little winter booties, and wore a light winter jacket to the pool. It was a good choice. This morning the cars were decorated with frost, and there was a skim of ice on the dish of water I leave out for wayward felines. It's still below freezing now, although it is projected to be sneaker weather this afternoon. And the forecast for Hallowe'en is brilliant!

Fall (Freestyle) Swim Camp

Swimmers reported in at 06:15 for weigh in and BMI fun. I watched. There were also healthy snacks available.

Once on the deck we split into groups for the first set of drills. Each coach followed a basic progression working through floating, streamlining off the wall, sculling, and rotation. Swimmers were also sent one by one to have their underwater video done. The swimmers assigned to me were not rank beginners (one swam the 4K race at Meech this summer in 2:07.55) so were ready to work on some stroke refinements. I added vertical sculling to the front and back drills – ideally in order to give the participants a better feel for the water movement and hand position. There was also a break in this mini-session where swimmers could get a drink, snack, or skip to the loo.

We had started in the deep end, and moved down to the shallow end for the final session – this provided another built-in break. The swimmers were reassigned, and the coaches were instructed to now work on the joys of swimming freestyle. My new group provided another name learning challenge for me! (I fail name learning!) We worked on high elbows, rotation, streamlining, distance off the wall, breathing (in through the mouth out through the nose), reducing stroke count and finishing the bottom of the stroke for acceleration.

The next thing we knew it was 9:00!! The swimmers changed for a lecture; I had a double chocolate muffin, and headed for home.

Just Tidbits ...

A little something for Jane (who has a sore knee): The grater works well, although the conical shape means I shifted the angle of the cheese I was grating fairly often. Almost nothing stuck on the inside of the grater. The join required a little touch from a brush to clean well. All in all, I'm pleased with it. And here, per your request, is this week's pizza (mushroom, sundried tomato, kalamata olives, reduced fat cheese).

Yesterday the lane swim was quiet, so I asked the lifeguard if I could do some block starts. After getting the okay, I did a meet simulation workout, and dunked in the hot tub. The events I'm swimming next Saturday morning in order are: 50 fly, 200 free*, 100 IM. I had thought to swim double arm back, but I think I can struggle through a 25 of regular back.

The banking debaucle is now a thing of the past. They put the money back into my account some time ago, all charges have now been reversed, and a note of apology with a $50 gift certificate came in today's mail. Clearly asking what the bank would do to fix things was a very good question! And I'm thinking perhaps now I can retire some of the towels I take to the pool (that are more than a little worse for the wear!).

Speaking of the pool, there's a 3 hour Fall Camp this morning, so I'm going to make another coffee, have a bath, and maybe even a fried egg sandwich before I go out the door with my coaching hat on!

*Yes, I took momentary leave of my senses!

Swim Bit!

Last night The Boarder had a brilliant idea. He would sneak up on the "crinkle ball" I bought him and use all his attack cat tactics on it! This would include overrunning the ball, stopping dead in his tracks, all fours splayed, trying desperately to look like he meant to do that! Note to self: buy more of those balls at your earliest convenience. So his concept of play, his energy levels, and of course, his paw are all improving. wOOt! Naturally, I joined in and started to throw and kick the ball to help him to hone his playing skills.

I, too, had a brilliant plan. A couple of ibuprofen and a muscle relaxant one hour before leaving for practice. Yes, I know, it's a slippery slope. But it worked! And my orthopaedist did once ask if I'd consider it. I decided that I would go fairly easy, not lead and see what happened. And after about 40 minutes of practice, I felt better. Which was awfully good timing. Because the IM based set was around the corner.

♦ 4 x 200 free descend 1 - 4
♦ 7 x 200 free (150 strong, 50 fast) on 3:45 repeating 3:20's
♦ 5 x (2 x 50 :10 RI, 1st 50 fly/back*, 2nd 50 breast/free) repeating :51 - :53
♦ 50 easy swim

* I did double arm back. I'm thinking I'm not taking a deep enough breath at the fly/back turn. When I do a front flip pushing off on my back I can underwater kick 7 metres and come up breathing fine. Last night I was getting 5 metres and coming up needing air! I'll try to figure that one out this afternoon if the pool is suitably quiet.

Tomorrow is "Fall Swim Camp", a 3 hour session at Ottawa U starting at 6:15. I'll have my coaching hat on, and hopefully enough caffeine in my system to be coherent! In fact, there will be twelve coaches on deck assisting Coach Duane, for 30 swimmers. How's that for a coach:swimmer ratio?? And in honour of swim camp, I bring you this lively fish (and five bats) on a Ming Dynasty Cizhou Jar (1368 - 1644). The five bats represent five kinds of happiness (and are a pun on the Chinese word for good fortune): long life, wealth, well-being, good health, and the longevity of one's parents. The fish is a symbol of abundance. I don't need to tell you where it's from.

P.S. Apologies for the word verification. A couple of my posts are getting repeatedly spammed, so for awhile at least that feature is turned on.

Outings!

Yesterday (although on off day with respect to training) was jam packed full! Lise and I went to find The Boarder a scratching device. We came away with some good for him kibbles (Science Diet adult, hopefully he’ll tuck in with gusto), a Cosmic Catnip “scratching post” which he is more inclined to rub up against or roll on than scratch, and a soft ball with crinkle. Initially he thought the ball was stupid, but we did manage to get about 10 minutes of activity in with it later in the afternoon – so I guess it was worth the $1.99.

Then it was off to the Rideau Centre to admire estate sparkly things at Birks’ Vintage Sale (on till the 28th at that location). That easily soaked up a couple of hours.

We’d decided to have lunch at May’s Garden, so parked at my place. On our walk over we ran into my neighbour D, so she came and joined us!

Home for a bit, and then, out to eat again! This time to be regaled with tales of Zion, as my pal Les and a Technosport teammate of mine had gone hiking and biking in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, followed by a pit stop in Vegas where among other things they saw O and Love. Needless to say they had a tremendous time. Les and I tried the (relatively) new Heart and Crown Pub on Preston Street. Neither of us brought cameras, but she had the steak & frites while I chose the planked salmon. I tasted her dessert – (the pub only offers two dessert choices) Bailey’s tiramisu. And on our highly technical scale of rating restaurants (would go again/would not go again), it ranked a would!

Swim Bit

Two days ago it was in the mid-twenties here, this morning it is is 3°C! It has been an odd fall thus far, that's for sure.

I did a little extra walking last night, as I got to the bus stop on my way to practice only to realize my swim suit was still at home. My luck held though; I got back to the stop just in time to catch the bus.

Practice was challenging. I'm still fighting a with what is becoming known in my addled little brain as Evil Gastrocnemius!!! As it is my left side, and has been lurking for weeks, I don't think we can blame it all on the drill set. Much as I'd like to. I led lane 5 (but for the last hundred as Evil Gastrocnemius was cramping, so I just swam easy). By holding up when it starts acting up, I can at least prevent a major issue. For those of you following along at home, gastrocnemius' nerve path is the tibial nerve from the sciatic (S1 & S2 — the root, if you will, of many problems for me).

Here's lane 5's 2600 metre workout:
♦ 4 x 200 free descend
♦ 12 x 50 front skull & flutter kick up, freestyle back (3rd person touches 1st goes)
♦ 11 x 100 free on 1:50
♦ 50 fly up breast back
♦ 50 easy swim

This was followed by a half hour of coaching (in and out of the water) beginner breaststroke. There was only one swimmer with me, and she has chosen breaststroke each night of skills and drills. Her progress has been quite impressive — her pull is now measured and orders of magnitude more powerful, her feet quiet off the wall, and she manages a few solid whip kicks before the ingrained scissors take over. In short, she's well on her way!

The Boarder, for the first time last night, as I was climbing the stairs to collapse into bed, sprinted past me! That paw must be improving apace! He was also intrigued enough with something in the afternoon to do just a little play. Naturally the movement that caught his attention was the shaking of the wirework necklace I was making at the time.

For the Oenophile ...

Today's tidbit found at the Treasures from China show is one of the earliest bronzes ever found in that country — a jue (wine drinking vessel) dated 2100 - 1600 BC. Click to enlarge.

In Boarder news, he seems to be settling in comfortably. He's limping less, there are times when he thoroughly enjoys the lap cat experience. On his terms, of course. Hopefully tomorrow we will find a piece of scratching gear that will meet with his approval. It's not that he's been making mincemeat of the furniture or anything. In fact, I haven't seen him scratch once. But I'd like him to feel he can ...

What an Old Battle Axe!!

And although I could be, I'm not referring to the elderly gal at the pool last night. Really I said not a word to her, but I might have mentioned that having my gear hung on the hook next to hers does not warrant a huff, a dirty look, and moving stuff from four, count 'em four hooks, to four other hooks over in the corner. Now, I confess I did disturb her breast exam (or self-stimulatory activity, I'm not quite sure which) in the shower. I might also have suggested that if your locker is two to the right of mine, it is not necessary to spread your stuff over 6 feet of bench, three to your right and three to my left, and give me a dirty look every time you have to walk around me. But I didn't. I just quietly got dressed! Really, I'm talking about this:



You can still see it in person at the Museum of Civilization's Treasures from China show. It is from the Shang Dynasty, 1600 - 1046 BC, excavated in 1956 from a tomb at Yidu. Used in hand to hand combat, it was also a ritual object symbolizing wealth and military power. Click to enlarge.

In other notes, Mark Sutcliffe's Runner Up column in yesterday's Ottawa Citizen is truly worth a read, especially for you triathletes out there. Husband and wife Len and Heather Ireland both completed Ironman Hawaii just over a week ago (Len in 11:52.41, 1154th, 60/80 in mens 50-54; Heather in 12:37.48, finisher 1315, 31/53 in women's 45-49). You can find it here. It is a lovely look at Heather's journey to the finish line.

Tins & Pans!

Yesterday my pal Norris and I had planned to head over to The Glebe Emporium for the Paderno sale. We did. We just did a few other things too.

First we stopped to get The Boarder's overlooked eye ointment. Then to the Emporium, where I got this kickin' new grater (the holder on the top is actually one of the ergonomic plastics with some give) and a 7" stick-resistant stainless steel fry pan. It has a textured stainless surface -- no teflon or chemical coating used. It'll be fun to see how that performs. I may try an egg momentarily! Oh, and a new 2 litre saucepan that conveniently fits the top of the small double boiler I already own, too.

Then we stopped at the grocery store there and bought them out of fancy grilled chicken cat food to hide antibiotics in.

On our way to find coffee and a snack we ran into former neighbours, so that was good for a visit. Then a nip into the bead store (but they didn't have what I wanted so, wait for it, I bought nothing)!

A pit stop at the money spit machine was followed by an interlude at Starbucks. It turned into a jam packed couple of hours, didn't it?

Of Fishes & Felines ...

This is a very old fish. Neolithic in fact (dated at 5,000 – 3,000 BC and excavated in 1955). It comes from a bowl; a coffin urn for the funeral of a child. It is believed the images painted on the inside were used by a shaman to communicate with the netherworld and to protect the soul of the child. From the Treasures from China exhibit.

Speaking of fishes, France is working on becoming one! Our Friday afternoon swims are bordering on idyllic right now. Once again yesterday we had a lane to ourselves, freeing us to do some real instruction. For the very first time, France pushed off the wall, dolphin kicked, came up and swam four full strokes of butterfly, arms clearing the water on each one!!! And to be sure it wasn’t a one off, she accomplished this on repeated attempts. Way to go France!

On the topic of felines, The Boarder is clearly feeling more relaxed. Yesterday he went upstairs and had a nap, no longer feeling he had to be in close proximity to me at all times. You get better quality sleep if you are not trying to supervise someone at the same time. At bedtime he came upstairs and joined me in my bed for about four hours before going elsewhere. Oh, and his antibiotics are going down well crushed and mixed in with the special Fancy Feast grilled chicken food.

However, before bedtime I had a phone call from THS about “the kitty [I] adopted yesterday”. Apparently when I checked him out they forgot to give me the meds for his conjunctivitis (which don’t show anywhere on the documentation, the printed summary for his veterinary records, and which they never mentioned to me in all the conversations I had with vet techs). So guess where I’ll be going again today??

For or Against?

The Boarder is For Sleeping. He is For Cuddling. He is most definitely Against Pilling! He has decided that Pill Pockets are Vile (or at best a Dirty Trick), and has had More Than Enough of people attempting to do Unacceptable Things. Given that his prescription is for twice a day, this may present a Profound Problem. (However, an email with attached medical records sent to Wonder Vet Daren has given us the go ahead to change his prescription to daily Baytril at my discretion!) Other than that Onyx is pretty amenable to anything I suggest. He is For Expressing his Undying Affection and Gratitude (unless you are holding a pill, in which case all bets are off). He is also For Visitors (he had a lovely visit with our neighbour D last evening).

If I didn't know better I would say he slept all night in my chair. He was in the same place when I got up as he was when I went to bed. But the two small deposits left in The Box say different. As do the kitty prints on my toilet seat. Because bum paw or not, that water's much apparently better than the stuff in the bowl!

I bailed on practice last night, and opted for pulleys instead. This met with Approval, as for the first five or six hours back here the appropriate distance from me was approximately three feet. Six feet from the pulleys was deemed an acceptable compromise. I'll hit the pool with France this afternoon, though!

The Boarder is IN The Building!

And boy is Onyx (yes, it's him!!) some happy to be here!!!! He cried once in the carrier, didn't say boo in the car, and wobbled out of the carrier purring up a storm!!! He hobbles as he can't really weight bear on that right front paw, but his ability to chow down on tins of the chicken flavored stuff is unimpaired (one and a half tins in pretty short order).

It took almost an hour to bail him out (and Lise will bear me out that organization isn't their strong suit down there!). The gal who chipped him, put his collar on, and then put him in the carrier said, "He's so nice and cuddly!!! He just let me put my face up to his and we snuggled!" How's that for an aggressive cat?

P.S. His eyes are now back to that familiar light green. Besides a wicked front paw abscess, he had conjunctivitis.

More Treasures from China!

Yesterday morning I took Lise (as part of her belated birthday gift) to the Treasures from China exhibition at the Museum of Civilization. Just as I enjoyed my previous visit, so too, did we enjoy this one. We followed it up with a lunch around the corner from here at May’s Garden, where for the princely sum of $7.99 one can have a lunch like a bowl of hot and sour soup and a good sized plate of General Tao’s chicken on a bed of rice. Not that I would be stuck on ordering precisely that, or anything.


Lacquer bowl, Qianlong Period (1736-1795, Qing dynasty), carving said to have taken 6 months to complete. Click to enlarge.

News on the feline front: our white toed fellow was indeed fixed yesterday, his abscess flushed, and I am to call this morning to check all is on track for springing him early this afternoon! Lise has kindly agreed to help with transport.

Shelter policies of euthanizing stray cats not adapting to kennel environments after the required three day hold period have hit the national news media in the past 24 hours. A Mississauga family’s micro chipped and collared cat was put down while they were on holidays in Europe (you can read more about it here). This cat, like the one coming to live with me, was branded “aggressive”. As you might imagine I have strong feelings in this regard. Recent personal experience suggests that at least some of these animals are not aggressive, they are defensive in circumstances that warrant that reaction. How many is anybody’s guess.

Swim Bit!

Ideally here at WWHQ things will slip back into some semblance of normalcy soon!

As I sat on the edge of the deck getting ready to slip in for last night's practice, in typical Coach Duane fashion he looked me straight in the eye and just pointed at lane five. "Well, if you're sure ..." I said somewhat tentatively. "Oh, I'm sure!" was his reply.

When the main set up was up on the board the fellow next to me looked over with horror and said, "That's 400 metres of fly!!!". Then he promptly moved down a lane. Thankfully it wasn't straight fly! Our lane did the 16 x 50 fly up free back on 1:15. My triceps, though, are telling me today that they are unused to that kind of treatment. Then people started looking at me funny. One even aimed a finger in my direction. So I asked, "Why are you pointing at me?" She said, "Fly. You're leading." As usual, I struck a bargain. "I'll lead for four and we'll see how it goes." It went fine. I didn't go all out, that's for sure, and the last two fifties my arms were just a little less cooperative than they were in the beginning, but I was extremely pleased with my consistency! An interesting side note is that the chop was such that several of us decided bilateral breathing was no fun on the return leg, and much of our freestyle we spent breathing on the "wrong" side.

Then I put my coaching hat on for the Skills & Drills session. I feel a pattern coming on here, as Duane gave me the breaststroke assignment. I had the two novice ladies from the previous week (who are making great strides!) and a fellow from the fast lane whose weak stroke is breaststroke. Now, the big boys go faster and farther on quicker repeats than the rest of us — and he freely admitted he was tired after the workout. That makes working on breast significantly harder, because it is a power stroke. But I think we were also able to work on some refinements that will help him along, too.

One of the other coaches last night was a contemporary of mine from age group days. As it happened, we were both doing work in and out of the water with the swimmers. By the time we hit the showers we both had goosebumps, so long hot showers and some chatting was in order!

Off Tenterhooks!!!

Well, I called THS and they called back. The conversation went something like this.

“He’s a stray cat you’ve been feeding?”

“Yes.”

"And you want to adopt him?"

"Yes."

“How much do you want him?”

“Desperately.” One might have expected my offer to pay for sedation, my filling out of the adoption form, and the daily phone calls with attempts to discuss his medical condition to be an indicator.

“He’s not adapting to the kennel environment.” Oh, surprise!!!! “He’s very hissy. He’s obviously a feral cat.”

“Right.” That’d be different from the stray cat I’ve been feeding how?

“He’s got an abscess.” Oh, surprise!!!! “So you really want him?”

“Yes.”

“Here’s what I can offer. You can have him as a “rescue adoption”. That means we’ll fix him here, try to flush his abscess, and any further medical expenses are yours.”

So I snapped that one up … they’ll fix him today or tomorrow (likely tomorrow), and then the guy will at least have a chance at a reasonable life!

On Tenterhooks ...

If I had been channeling Bold yesterday my summary statement would definitely have been: I. Hate. Everyone. Which, of course, is a slight exaggeration. My thought process was more specific than that! In response to my every day but Sunday message at the Humane Society I had the most upsetting return phone call just as I was going out the door, and left to teach extraordinarily rattled. So much so that when my neighbour and former Houdini sitter saw me scooting out as fast as my little legs would carry me to catch my bus she said I had a little dark cloud over my head.

Note to self (and anyone who will listen): If you fill out a Lost Animal Report for a stray that's been visiting you, call the animal yours so you can just go and fetch it should they call to say it has been found.

I had such a pleasant talk with the vet tech on Saturday and came away with such a good feeling about Onyx/Twin's prospects, but yesterday's conversation (with a different person) was the absolute antithesis. Saturday I was told that he had become aggressive with the vet when an examination of the injured paw was attempted, and was assured that it was because he was hurt. By contrast, yesterday the statement made plain and simple was, "He attacked the vet." (Now, it did come out that a second examination had not yet been attempted, so these appear to be accounts of the same event.)

According to the person who called yesterday it is contrary to their policy to allow an animal to leave the premises without being neutered, "so if he can't be fixed ..." and then the statement was left hanging in an ominous way. (The policy as stated on their adoption page is somewhat different: However, the occasional animal is not suitable for the surgery prior to adoption. Therefore, it will be the responsibility of the new owner to have the animal sterilized within six months of the adoption, by a veterinarian of the adopter's choice. When the sterilization is complete, the refund voucher [found on the adoption contract] and proof of sterilization can be brought to the OHS for an $80 refund.)

I was so concerned I called again later in the afternoon and left a message saying that I'd pay for sedation if that were required to examine him. Not that they'd let me. But honestly, I didn't know what else to do.

Today is his last day "on hold", so a decision is forthcoming. But right now, since I don't do well on tenterhooks, it is possible that am teetering on the brink of Hating. Everyone. Because the every day but Sunday call is looming ... and I'd actually rather throw up than dial that number.

Reorg & Rediscovery!

Clearly the place to buy at least an Interim Kettle is not the department store but the grocery store! For the princely sum of $8.97 (plus tax) I am now the proud owner of a white 1.2 litre kettle with a clear viewing window for water level. It doesn’t have an auto shutoff, but it has a boil dry protection feature. It may even lose the interim qualifier in the next week or so …

This, however, prompted a minor kitchen reorg yesterday (and happy semi-retirement of the water boiling saucepan), because there is still the issue of the stove plug, which was always used to supply power to the kettle. As furnaces have been turning on all over the city the past few days, hot beverages are once again in season, and the kettle is going to be well broken in very shortly!

I’m still chasing Andra Sue’s bus, but I think we’re both gaining on it! Yesterday I bailed on the pool to get back in the swing of dryland training (yes, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!!), which has been hit and miss of late.

One of the joys of living as someone who is pegged as “high functioning head injured” is rediscovery. Granted, it is usually rediscovery of things you would have known otherwise, but revelations are revelations. (Occasionally they come with "I should have known that" recriminations, but I am really trying to take a pass on those.) This week’s revelation: it is nigh on impossible in the colder months for me to drag my butt out to the pool from 8:30 – 9:30 on Wednesday nights. So Wednesdays will either be off days on the training schedule this season, or dryland days! (Some things are just not worth fighting ...) That, and Nathan Fillion notwithstanding, nothing says boring like Desperate Housewives (and Heaven forfend (!) I've just discovered there's a Which Housewife Are You? quiz on the ABC site).

On Doubt & Resolution ...

Given that it’s absolutely the wrong time for me to get a cat, I have resolved to (probably and if at all possible) do pretty much that. Inasmuch as one can, actually, get a cat.

Throughout his life, I always disavowed any ownership of George. In fact, I never got him. He chose me. He got to know me, and one day he just moved in. He was never my cat. He was always his own cat. Nor did I go along with it when people referred to me as his “mother”. I was his pair bond, his tenant (at least as long as I kept opening the doors and the tins I was allowed to stay), his friend, but certainly not his mother. When, in later years, he required special dietitic food, I would call the v-e-t's office saying, "It's Wendy Buckner calling on behalf of my ole pal George. He would like to know how your supply of I/D tins is before he sends me out hunting and gathering."

You see there’s been a niggling doubt percolating in the back of my mind … what if the fellow down at the pound isn’t really Onyx? The incarcerated feline is right age, came from the exact neighbourhood, has the same colour and if not the same markings then extraordinarily similar ones, the same broad face, and is in possession of all the accoutrements of his masculinity – the difference appearing to be eye colour. So I have come to the logical conclusion that if it is not truly him, it must be his (twin) brother.

I am not a superstitious person. Nor am I one who believes in destiny. I'm much more about what you choose to do with the cards you are dealt. But if I were one to believe in Signs from Above, this would be one I’d take note of. Really, I think things are more coincidental than anything else. But sometimes circumstances present that lead me to use the phrase, “It must be meant to be.” Usually it has to do with finding something I’ve wanted, tried on, kept my eye on then found on sale marked down more than once. This time, it may be something much more important.

The truth of it is, I really am a happier person when I am sharing my life with at least one animal. I am interested in critters and their antics, their logic, and their views of the world. I find borrowing other people’s animals to be very well and good, but not really all that satisfying.

So this morning when I awoke, I found I had resolved to try to get a particular cat, whether it be The Boarder or His Twin. I then bought some special cat food at the grocery store. In case he needs to be rewarded for taking his meds. I bought a new litter scoop (the one previously owned by George had cracked one day while cleaning The Boarder’s deposits). Just in case I find myself paying money to live in a cat’s house.

Celebratory Pizza??

Friday evenings around here are pizza nights. I used to make my own dough, and still do on occasion, but with The Home of Fresh Pasta right around the corner, I now usually buy freshly made dough that I know is made with quality ingredients for the princely sum of $1.75. I still make my own sauce (although in a pinch I could buy sauce there which is also made on the premises), use fat reduced cheese, toppings of my choice, and enjoy pizza that doesn’t disagree with me later! Last night’s offering was sun dried tomatoes and black olives.

It may, and I stress the word may, in fact have been a sort of celebratory pizza. But I didn't put candles on it or anything. Late yesterday morning The Humane Society (aka The Pound) called me. Was I the person who had filled in a report and come looking for a stray cat? My yes had some trepidation attached. An animal who matched The Boarder’s description had been brought in injured. Sigh of relief. Not DOA. Not Euthanized Before Time. I told them I’d be in that afternoon to see if it was indeed Onyx. Although I couldn't let myself believe that it might be.

So when France picked me up for our easy swim, I asked her if she might go with me when we were done. The pool was remarkably empty, so we had the opportunity to work on stroke instruction and some new drills. Double arm back with dolphin kick. Single arm back with dolphin kick. And on the flip side, dolphin kick, underwater butterfly pull sneaking arms back under water. How could we get away with this? We were by ourselves in a lane!!!!

Then it was off to see if Matching Description = Boarder. It was France’s first time to The Humane Society, and she said on the way home that it was eye opening. There was a couple there bringing in two cats for a family member. It was painfully obvious that these animals were being brought in because their owner just didn’t want them anymore. There were folks looking through the DOA and Lost Cats books. A police officer brought in a beautiful young shepherd mix with arresting blue eyes (the staff looked at him and said, "You've been here before!!").

Only one person is allowed to go with one staff person to the Recovery area. Huddled in the back of one of the cages, awake, was someone who looked vaguely familiar with eyes like saucers staring back at me (although those eyes looked more amber than the familiar light green, the room was lit with extremely bright flourescents and uveitis can change iris colour). The ID trick with Mr. Onyx is his two white toes. When the staffer reached in to pat him, he cried, clearly in pain. However he let me pat him, and she moved his tail to reveal … two white toes!!! I confess I'm still not 100% certain it is him, although I can't imagine it being anyone else. He's an intact male, with two white toes, a broad tom cat face, and was brought in from one street over. I continued to pat him, and he got up and had some kibbles while I continued to prattle on to him, and pat him. Of course I wasn’t allowed to stay and visit, nor get close enough to see his other side or his true body shape. They had wet food out for him, but he wasn’t having any of that! I’ll bet it wasn’t chicken flavoured!

Then the paperwork. I filled out the adoption request for him specifically. I got the paperwork so that I can call and check on him today, Monday, and Tuesday. We must now hope that (a) the vet determines he can recover from his injuries (b) nobody claims him in the 3 day hold period (c) he passes their (unpublished) temperament testing (d) they will deem me suitable to adopt him. We can expect him, I think, to get past (b). I don’t think anyone else reported him missing, at least. As he was able to get up and eat, the likelihood he can get past (a) is also good. Those last two are a bit of a crap shoot.

So … everyone cross your fingers that The Boarder will soon be back at 123 looking more like this!!!



Update: My "every day but Sunday" phone call was just returned. The fellow is accepting petting, but becomes aggressive (because it hurts) when the vet tries to look at his right front paw. So they gave him some pain meds, will continue to do that, and try again on Monday. The tech who called assured me he was only being aggressive when his paw is involved, so that at least bodes well for the mysterious temperament testing process.

Dribs & Drabs

The up side of the now resolved (!) banking debaucle is that I was able to catch up with AD two days in a row! And she kindly presented me with a dark chocolate reward for prevailing.

Lane 5 was tremendously busy last night, so I led lane 4. Much better choice. I certainly could have made the repeat times in lane 5, but my body has a tendency to revolt in the autumn, and the cooler weather this week has precipitated that. Or the raininess has. Hard to tell which exactly.

This season is often the most interesting with respect to people's choice in apparel. One thing I enjoy about going to practice is people watching on the walk across campus. Yesterday I saw one pair of crocs, one pair of shorts, several pairs of mukluks (!), slouchy boots, sandals, peep toes, runners, stilettos and Oxfords (!). Also many students unprepared for rain (although it has been rainy all week).

In other news, apparently the reward for electing a the Liberal government to a second majority term in Ontario is a new statutory holiday the third Monday in February called Family Day. February. It just keeps getting better and better ...

At Least There's a Bonus Involved!

The banking debaucle continues ... although halting progress is being made. Although I am not overstating anything when I say that what at least one person at the bank agrees is their error is taking a considerable amount of my time and energy (and determination) to get sorted!

In other news, I am currently boiling water in a saucepan because the kettle and the oven outlet had a disagreement yesterday, and cancelled each other out. I tried to buy a suitable replacement kettle yesterday afternoon, but found only kettles in the $50 price range, most of stainless steel and with a bigger capacity than I want. On the up side, at least it is Clinique bonus time at Holt Renfrew. So AD & I took the time to go carefully go over the accessories cases while we picked up the items on our lists (no splurges) and the most excellent bonus. N.B. Although we were both wearing Holt's breast cancer cashmeres, I was wearing 2005's short sleeved high v-neck, AD 2006's sort sleeved turtleneck.

The event order for the November 3rd short course metres sprint meet is as follows:

♦ 100 Free
♦ 100 Back
♦ 50 Fly
♦ 100 Breast
♦ 50 Back
♦ 200 Free
♦ 50 Breast
♦ 50 Free
♦ 100 I.M.
♦ 200 Free Relay

Now, what to swim??? There is a certain appeal to the 200 free (really, I have no idea why that is), but I may enlist the coach's opinion. Especially as he knows not to pick backstroke!

Swim Bit ...

Last night when I got home from the pool I said to Jenny “lactic acid will not be my friend tomorrow!”, but much to my surprise I’m not as stiff as I thought I’d be. It’s not that we covered more distance at practice than usual, it’s more about how we covered it. As soon as the warm-up was written on the board, there was a little bit of creep by the feeling of impending doom.

♦ 500 free
♦ 300 kick (this would be the impending doom part!)
♦ 12 x 50 (25 free bilateral breathing, flip turn, push off on back going as long off the wall as possible, 25 back) on 1:15 – I did double arm, repeating a very consistent :55 and was 5 - 6 metres off the wall every time
♦ 7 x 100 (75 free “long and strong” bilateral breathing, 25 fly) on 2:30, repeating 1:38 – 1:40 except number 6 at a whopping 1:43 (this set would be ever so much easier starting with the 25 fly)
♦ 2 x 200 free last person touches first person goes

Oh. And the inevitable happened. Come the 200’s Coach Duane uttered the fateful words, “You’re too fast for your lane. Move over.” The only difference between the sets of lane 4 & 5 last night was lane 5 did eight one hundreds on 2:15. Let's hope the same kind of similarity happens tomorrow night, please!

There’s a new optional program on Tuesday nights after practice called Skills and Drills. Participants choose the stroke they’d like to work on, and are assigned a coach. Last night there were 4 coaches, including myself. Duane gave me the breaststroke bunch: 3 gals of varying ability but all relatively new to breaststroke. I chose to get into the water with them, watch what was going on from an underwater vantage, and be able to physically help two of them move away from scissors kick.

In other news, I had a similar experience to Nancy this weekend, and am currently trying to resolve it. I have now worn my 2007 Holts breast cancer hoodie, and have decided I may well live in it, as the weather has finally turned autumnal. Grey and damp, although not yet frosty.

Giving Thanks!

Today, north of the 49th, it's Thanksgiving. It's easy to get caught up in the stresses of day to day life and not consider the multitude of things we ought to be grateful for. Sometimes just a little shift in viewpoint can make such a difference. So Happy Thanksgiving all!!! Images enlarge with a click.

Zoom!

I did not shoot much at wide angle Thursday, as I was looking for shots without plane bits in them. I love the patterns of the water in the river in this shot taken at a focal length of 6mm:



Here's what things looked like a few moments later (camera's zoom now at 15mm focal length):

Reality Check ...

Just as you were subjected to many IM Moo pictures, it is likely that you will find a plethora of flight photos posted here in the immediate and near future. I said to Ken over lunch on Thursday that the rule has always been shoot a lot to get a few – but I have found few in the two hundred I took that were throwaways.

I had optimistically thought I might get to practice this morning. But reality struck. Coach Duane’s rule is that if my back isn’t close to as good as it gets, I don’t get to go to practice. As he knows me pretty well, this strategy is in place to make sure I don’t end up pushing too hard and end up on forced recovery out of the water. I woke up thinking, “Well, I could go to practice if I took my forearm crutches instead of my stick …” Of course if/when Duane saw that I wouldn’t be allowed in the pool!

Now the rule doesn’t mean I can’t swim, it should just be easy and relaxed and short. And really, I shouldn't be that disappointed, as I do have 8,550 and one pulley workout in this week.

I don’t discuss it much, but although I adore fall my body is generally not in favour of the change of seasons. Autumn tends to bring its share of unhappy back days and what I call “exploding face syndrome” (facial nerve pain). So today will be lazier and quieter than I had originally anticipated. And the up side to that: I am listening to what my body has to say keeping the longer term plan in mind. Except when I first wake up!

Flying!

View Larger Map

Extra bonus points to AD, for guessing up in the air and Gatineau Park. Those who know the local area like she and Deb did have an advantage, though. Shirley wasn't far off either. In fact, it was an extraordinary October day to go flying with my friend Ken in his Piper Cub (yes folks, the wings are fabric!) from Constance Lake up the river to Quyon, and then up the Gatineau River to the Lac Lapeche area and back, following the water below (on the very remote chance one has to land quickly, it's best to have a landing strip handy). Imagine being 1500 - 2000 feet up with the windows down in October in this neck of the woods! What a treat. The high yesterday was 24°C or about 75°F. Plus having the windows open makes for better pictures. I probably don't need to mention how pleased I am with the camera. Here's a little recap for your viewing pleasure. Those of us who live around here know how lucky we are to have such natural beauty just a stone's throw from the city. Click for better views!





















Many thanks to Ken for what was a truly magnificent day!

Where's Wendy?

Well, okay, she's back now. With some photo editing to do. Any guesses where she was?? Click to enlarge.

Back on The Bus!

Although it wasn’t what I would call an intense practice last night, after not being there for a week and a half (early in the season or no), I may have breathed a sigh of relief when Coach Duane assigned me to lane 4 instead of lane 5!

After 600 metres of warm-up, the main set was 15 x 100, trying to swim the “exact same time” for each one. Yeah, that’s not going to happen, ever. My pacing is not horrific, but sure isn’t that good! The big boys went on 1:30, we in lane 4 on 2:00. So when I asked the 6 other folks, “Who would like to lead?”, they chorused “You would.” Not so much, really. Meant counting all the way up to 15! I bargained with them. “I’ll lead for the first five, and then we’ll see.” I chose to try to repeat 1:37, but ranged from 1:35 to almost 1:40. I don’t think I was swimming that much slower for the 1:39’s, but it was definite open water swim simulation. You may remember there is no lane line between lanes 4 & 5, so sometimes when I was coming back there were 12 people going up. At least that is my story and I’m sticking to it. And in fact, they chose correctly, because I was the only one in the lane who stayed pretty much on pace. After about 7 or 8 repeats, the makeup of lanes started to change as people were unable to make the repeats and Duane shuffled them around. His instruction at one point: "L, move to lane 4. Go second. Wendy, look after him!" Total distance: 2550. Next week practices bump up to 1.5 hours. More mileage!

In other news, after getting my hair cut (woo hoo!), for the first time yesterday I voted someone’s proxy! (My neighbour is off in Spain walking El Camino de Santiago de Compostela.) It took significantly longer than I expected, but I cast ballots for him and for myself. So now my civic duty for the month is exercised. I missed the bus home, so took a few minutes to pop into Sassy Bead, where I did not see the findings I was looking for, but picked up a couple of things anyway. Because it's a bead store, after all, and I missed out on the gem show ... When my sorry butt arrived home, to my delight I found in my mailbox the new Seal Mask and suit I had ordered last week. So that put a little spring in my step heading back out to the bus stop for practice. And I did have enough energy on the way home to poke my head into HMV to see if I could find a birthday present for Dad.

Of Pools & Purses ...

Well, it was absolutely stupid busy at the pool last night. As I slipped into the water I was the seventh in the lane. And to boot the water was hot. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of bodies was contributing to the water temperature. Sure. It would be that way. Especially since, like Andra Sue, I said flat out this was the week I’d get back on the bus!

Uncharacteristically, I actually: (a) cut a length in warm-up due to the clot of people standing blocking the wall in the shallow end (b) suggested to someone that it would be helpful if she stood somewhere other than directly in front of the cross hatch so people could turn (c) almost swore at someone who pushed off right in front of me and popped up immediately doing a breaststroke that took up the entire lane (d) all of the above.

This may cause me to rethink the tentative fall swim schedule I worked out yesterday.

Monday night easy swim 7:30 – 8:30
Tuesday club practice 6:00 – 7:00 + 7:00 – 7:30 skills & drills *
Wednesday swim at Plant or off + dryland
Thursday club practice 6:00 – 7:00 + 7:00 – 7:30 video/extra practice time *
Friday early afternoon swim with France + dryland
Saturday long course club practice 7:00 – 8:00 *
Sunday swim 5:00 – 6:00 Plant

* Skills & drills, video & extra time, Saturday morning 6:30 - 8:00 start mid-month

Next week I will substitute dryland for a swim Monday, as it is our Thanksgiving holiday. If Monday nights prove too busy, I may switch to the 4:00 – 5:00 swim, and just put in an easy 1,000 metres directly after teaching. There is no assigned off day as yet, the possibilities being Wednesday or Sunday. I’ve usually had Saturday as my off day, and loved it, but it is our only long course practice. Sigh. Nothing is ever simple or easy.

But, to end on a high note, I bring to you (but in particular to Di) the unbelievably gorgeous handbag of my dreams. You wouldn't believe that patent leather could be so soft! Suitable for casual wear with the shoulder strap, or more formal occasions using the handles. And if you happen to have $2675 to spare, you can pick it up here at Rafaello Network. I will settle for having touched it last week, I think!

Blog On!

Until a year ago I was a reader, a lurker and an occasional commenter. Within a day of each other, my brother and I had independently and without consultation selected the same Blogger templates and leapt into the blogosphere with both feet.

Through comments and emails, by phone and by post, live and in person, this blog has given me the opportunity to meet some of best, most supportive and interesting people gracing the planet. People I would otherwise never have had the opportunity to meet. So thanks, all!

In today’s Monday miscellany, I bring you something I usually only pass along to TriBoomer, Brent, and Jenny. Mark Sutcliffe writes a weekly tri/running column for The Ottawa Citizen. This week’s is a plea we’ve made and heard before – to share the road. Simon Whitfield has a post up that talks about his "training break". And over at Timed Finals, there is a wonderful piece praising swimmers.

Blog on!!