My friends on Facefart have already seen this but I thought I’d make it an official Nick and Nora Production™. Nora shows best in the enlarged view
Our Nora could give sange froid lessons to Greta Garbo.
The phrase for April 15th is: Sange froid /säNGˈfrwä/: [noun] Composure or coolness, sometimes excessive, as shown in danger or under trying circumstances. Mid 18th century: from French sang-froid, literally ‘cold blood’. And for any of my younger readers Greta Garbo was a famous actress back when I …. sigh! Never mind!
As anyone who owns a dog(s) – and I believe cat(s) – will tell you the little darlings have their own particular routines. You, the owner and master (snigger) obediently settle into them.
Take our Nicky – no this is not a Henny Youngman* joke – as an example. As we come in from our walks he stops half-way up the ramp that gives access to outside door; he looks around to ensure the neighbourhood is safe and all is in order; comes in and circles around me once to make sure I am bringing nothing undesirable into his house; then he places his front paws on the first step and waits to be picked up and carried up the stairs. An office that I dutifully perform.
Our Nora has her own routines, particularly first thing in the morning. She comes out of her kennel and proceeds through a stretching exercise that I can only call Yoga for Dachshunds!
The routine you just witnessed is performed, almost to the letter, every morning. Without fail!
*Anyone who understands the reference is older than dirt and obviously watched Ed Sullivan every Sunday night.
November 30th is Mousse Day – chocolate or natural looking finger tip control it doesn’t say!!!
Nora’s family crest: couchant on a field of human.
You try writing a post with the hunt and peck method using only your left hand!
November 15th is Clean Your Refrigerator Day!!!! Don’t be silly eventually that two year old bottle of Tomato Chutney may come in handy one of these days!
I frequently joke about charging people to take photos of our Nora as we do our daily circuit around Confederation Landing. But today I got a charming surprise gift from a lovely lady from Regina. She spied Nora and came running across the road to fawn, cuddle and be licked within an inch of her life by the Most Beautiful Female Wire-Haired Dachshund on Water Street. We chatted for about 10 minutes about Dachsies – she grew up with them and recognized Nora as a wire-haired immediately. Most people don’t recognize the breed and more than one person has, much to Nora’s indignant horror, asked if she’s a Schnauzer-mix!!!!
Nora doesn’t seem all that impressed by her jar of Saskatoon Berry Jam but chances are if it appears on a small piece of toast at tomorrow’s breakfast it will be much appreciated.
As we said goodbye she said to wait a minute she had a little gift for me and returned from her car with a jar of Saskatoon Berry jam. It was a very warm, friendly gesture and Nora will get to lick a tiny taste with tomorrow morning’s morsel of toast.
*The Saskatoon Berry – Nora’s jam is from the good people at Last Mountain.
While frying eggs or setting off fireworks on July 4th it should all be done to country music as today is also National Country Music Day!
Those windows on the second floor would be nine of the seventeen that will need spring cleaning.
I have been missing in blogging this past week, mostly because of a rawther busy schedule. However the following is a brief update on life above the Dentists’ Office in the old Lennox Nursing Home Building on Water Street.
“How did I get up here? It’s really better that you shouldn’t ask. It will only upset you!”
First things first – Nora! Well we had a bit of a set back more than a week ago when Nora woke up shaking, whimpering and afraid to move. She snuggled against me and wouldn’t stir. A quick call to the Atlantic Vet College Clinic brought the suggestion that she may have overdone it (who our NORA!!! NO! NEVER!) and that we go back to more kennel rest and the pain killers. At a visit to the Vet several days later a week of Medicam, for inflammation, was prescribed. I don’t particularly like Medicam, the dosage has to be very exact based on the dog’s weight and an overdose can do great harm. The vet also wanted to give her a sort of doggie prozac and increase the dosage of pain killers. We nixed that big time as a doggie druggie is not my idea of what my girl should become. She is back to some kennel rest, pain killers twice a day, and attempts, often futile, to stop her running, jumping and tussling with Nicky.
Officially spring began March 20 when the sun reached the equator at sometime around 1748 ADT. In our house our first sign of spring came two or three days later when the first fly came in through the door as I let Nicky out to prove to him that it was too cold to lie on the deck in the sunshine. The fly obviously felt the same as I did!
With the incredible talent that is Tara MacLean during a radio interview for our PEI Symphony Fundraising Gala.
Much of my time the past two or three weeks has been taken up with preparations for our PEI Symphony Orchestra fundraisering Gala: A Night at the Races. That involved going begging bowl in hand to various businesses and individuals asking for donations to our auctions – and I’m please to say that so many came through with a great variety of items. A few that were approached via email and letter just didn’t respond which puzzled me. One did respond with a very polite refusal explaining that they did not feel our demographic was a fit for their products. I can accept that but to not reply at all just seems to be not only rude but incredibly short-sighted of a business in a small community.
I did a short radio interview for a local afternoon show with the incredibly talented Tara MacLean who was our host and headliner at the Gala. She is begining an association with the PEISO that will lead to a full length concert with the orchestra in 2020 – and launch a tour of appearances with orchestras throughout North America.
If you’d like to hear the golden tones of yours faithfully shilling for the event CBC saves this sort of thing for posterity – or a few weeks, which ever is longer. A left click here will take you there.
The gala was a great success – a record number of people, many who took the Races theme to Ascot heights. Sadly I cant’ find any photos of either Laurent (in full Captain Von Trapp drag) or I (vested, watch-fobbed, tuxedoed, and top hatted to the nines) so there is no evidence of our sartorial splendour.
Yes we are feeling guilty about leaving the HFH for a few days – so Mission Accomplished Nicky! And before anyone starts castigating the humans our friend Marie treats them even better than we do – and that’s saying something.
Our Nicky was not a happy camper yesterday morning – he saw the bags being dragged out and went into full panic mode. Even the arrival of Marie to look after the HFH for a few days did not calm him down. Nora was a little less concerned – Marie will cuddle, pet, coo, and deliver the biscuits so what’s the big deal. We decided that a few days in the bright lights and big buildings of Halifax would not go amiss – when did I ever think I’d consider Halifax “the big city”???? So we packed a few things – 10 shirts, four sweaters, 11 changes of underwear, socks etc – for the three days and head out on the drive to the mainland and the waters of the Bedford Basin. The weather promises to be sunny if cold but a change of scenery for Laurent’s birthday, the wind down to the winter projects, and just a change of scenery will do us both good.
The Borden-Carleton side of the Bridge.
The New Brunswick side – 11 kms onward.
The photo on the left is the beginning of the 11 km (7 miles) span of the Confederation Bridge that joins the Mainland to the Island. That’s New Brunswick in the distance across the ice packs of the Northumberland Strait. Ten minutes later we arrive in NB and Halifax is only another two and a half hours away.
March 28 is a day with two possible celebrations that I initially thought were related: Weed Apprication Day and Something On A Stick Day. I thought that second one was “Clip” when I first read it. Turns out they mean “weed” like in dandelions not …. never mind.
Jerry and I get around. In 2011, we moved from the USA to Spain. We now live near Málaga. Jerry y yo nos movemos. En 2011, nos mudamos de EEUU a España. Ahora vivimos cerca de Málaga.
Telling the stories of the history of the port of Charlottetown and the marine heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. Winner of the Heritage Award from the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation and a Heritage Preservation Award from the City of Charlottetown
Willy Or Won't He 