D-DOG & ROCK DOG

POST #384

D-DOG

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of taking care of Dee Dee, aka D-dog, and I guess that I must have done a good job, because her owner's have invited me back for round two.  Lucky me, and I would like to think, lucky D-dog as well.  As you can see, D-dog is a very mellow bonehead.

I arrived a couple of days ago, and we've now settled in to a comfortable routine, which includes multiple walks around the area, including some beach walks. On one of those beach walks we came across this rock, which if you look closely, sort of resembles a dog's head.

ROCK DOG

It can only be viewed at low tide, because once the tide is in, a significant portion of the rock is then submerged, and the image of the dog disappears.  As in life, timing is everything.

The remainder of this week is looking like it's going to be sunny, but on the chilly side of things.  I do love this late autumn weather, and D-dog and I will make sure to get out there as often as possible to enjoy it.  With such clear skies, the final walk of the day is my favourite one of all.  This location has a minimal amount of lights, so the night sky is in full view.  While D-dog does her thing, sniffing along the way, I spend the majority of my time looking up, and marvelling at the stars above.  D-dog brings my eyes back to ground level, when she has her evening poop.  That's when I know what my REAL purpose is, in the universe. I'm just a poop scooper.

maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

And a PS: Today's entry wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the significance of the date.  It was the date my dad was born, way back in the year 1916, and it is also the date, forty years ago in 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 to Antarctica, crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all on board.  It's memorable to me, as I was on the same flight exactly one year and one week prior, on November 21st, 1978.  I can still remember standing in a youth hostel in Singapore on the day after the accident, staring at the newspaper article that described the event, and feeling stunned, saddened, and lucky all at the same time. All of those 257 people would  never have thought that November 28th, 1979 was going to be their final day.  Here is a link to a short video regarding the crash.
https://www.watchme.co.nz/news/erebus-flight-901-litany-of-lies/the-chippendale-report/?ref=WatchMeSlider1

I GET TO WALK and SO LONG TO SHADOW

POST #383

 A LOVELY CABIN IN THE WOODS

Walking is something that I like to do, but more importantly, it's something that I still GET to do.  After my misadventure of tumbling down a mountain back on March 4th, 2012 which resulted in a severely broken right leg, there were many times, as I lay in my hospital bed, when I wondered if I would ever walk again. Considering that the first words out of the surgeon's mouth were, and I quote, "you have a very serious injury here, and if it gets infected, we will have to amputate your foot", I think that I was very lucky indeed. And since that date, anytime that I may have an ache or pain somewhere in my body, all I have to do is remind myself of how things might have turned out, and it becomes very easy to count my blessings.

The years continue to pass by, and the older one becomes, the faster the years go.  Thankfully, with each passing year, my leg has continued to get stronger, primarily because I try to make a daily effort of getting out for a walk.  It is truly a luxury, in my opinion, and I am reminded of this on occasion, when I pass by someone who is in a wheelchair, or maybe someone else who has one or both legs missing.  I can be moved to tears on occasion, when I think about their misfortune, compared with my continued good fortune.

On a recent walk, I came across the little cabin featured above.  What a beautifully constructed abode that I would be happy to live in for a while, but unfortunately this one isn't available.

Continuing on my walk, I took a moment to watch the sun's rays shine through the forest which surrounded me, and later on, marvel at the sunlight on a weeping willow tree.  These are more examples of views that I probably would have taken for granted, years ago.  But no more.  I try to be as present as I possibly can be nowadays.

One of the ways in which I try to stay focused on the present when I am out walking, is to concentrate on each step, and focus on my breathing.  It sounds simple, but try it sometime.  I've found that it is not as easy as it sounds.   I find it a worthwhile exercise.

Enough about walking.  Time to move on to the furball in residence, Mr. Shadow.  This has been my second visit this year with him, and I have to say, that Shadow is one very mellow dude. Don't take my word for it.  Just have a look at these photos.  

SHADOW'S SHADOW

There is no need for an alarm clock, because Shadow is always there each morning to assist the house sitter in waking up, so that I can feed him his first meal of the day.  

All in all, it's been a very pleasant time here, but later today I will say so long to Shadow for 2019, with the expectation that I will see him again in 2020.  As long as we're both still kicking, it should come about.

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

OLD AND "NEW"

POST #382

I have so much to be thankful for, when I think about my dear mom, Madonna.  In addition to all of the love that I received from her, she also helped me to form  an appreciation for shopping at thrift stores.  Mom, along with two of her sisters, volunteered every week at a thrift store.  Not only did our family get bargains on second hand clothing, mom also got a staff discount.  A discount on discounted items.  What a great deal.

Yesterday, I was reminded of this, because of a visit to a thrift store a few blocks from where I am currently house sitting.  This is the same store that I visited many years ago, and where I found my wonderfully comfortable hiking boots, a photo of which is featured in post #378.  If memory serves, I think that I paid only $16 for them.  No staff discount mind you, but a far sight cheaper than buying the same boots brand new.  It seemed like a good time to go there again, and just browse and see what was on offer.  It's not a big store, so it didn't take too long to have a look around, and finding nothing of interest, I headed for the exit.  And it was there, that I found an item that I had been contemplating buying recently, so when I saw it, I couldn't believe my luck.  After all, I was only moments away from walking out the door, but something made me turn, and look down and see it.

Here it is.

This piece of travel luggage was exactly what I had been looking for, and there it was, just waiting to be purchased.  What I had been looking for was a piece of luggage that I could either wear as a backpack, carry like a suitcase, or roll along the ground.  This piece has all three options.   Some recent browsing online in order to get an idea of what was available and at what cost, helped me to work out what would be the best model of luggage to look for.   After a closer inspection to verify that all of the zippers were functional, I strolled over to the young man at the check-out counter with my upcoming purchase.  I suppose it pays, to be served by a young cashier, because when I returned home, I took a look at the receipt, and lo and behold, he'd given me a senior's discount.  It certainly wasn't something that I had asked for, but I guess there must be some advantages to having a greying beard.  Madonna would certainly have approved of my bargain purchase.

My old Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) pack, shown below alongside my "new" pack, is no longer of any use to me.  It has served me well since purchasing it way back in 1987, when I was preparing to ride my bicycle down the west coast from Vancouver to Los Angeles. This same pack has accompanied me to Australia on numerous occasions, been once around the entire world in 1996, and it has even been all the way across the Indian Ocean on a sailboat, from Durban, South Africa to Freemantle, Australia.

But now it's time to say goodbye, and donate it to someone who needs it more than I do. Oddly enough, this house-sit where I am currently residing, is the same place over the past few years, in which I donated my last two bicycles.  When I say donate, it was just a matter of intentionally leaving them outside and unlocked, and poof, they seem to disappear in a hurry.  Perhaps leaving the pack unattended will have the same effect.  Either that, or I will find someone who needs it, and hand it to them in person, before I depart this location. It might provide a small amount of joy to a stranger.  I am reminded of the joy on a young boy's face in Kashmir, when I gave him my harmonica as a gift.  Somewhere I still have a photo of the event, and the look on his face is something to behold.  That was 39 years ago.

Like some other posts of recent times, I had a totally different subject which I was going to write about, and then my new piece of luggage came along.  I thought that it was worth a few words, and so now they are written down.  Perhaps next week I'll write about what I was going to write about today.  We'll see.


maximizing my moments,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

This just in. I have no idea why I happened to look at the Yukon News, newspaper this evening, but having done so, I came across this article.  I had the "pleasure" of receiving my own Sourtoe Cocktail certificate when I lived in the Yukon, so I can totally relate to this article.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/captain-dick-stevenson-sourtoe-obituary-1.5359630

CROSSING THE CONTINENT AND BACK IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK

POST # 381

And so begins round number two for 2019 with Shadow.  He's barely had a chance to forget about me, and now I'm back.  I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of very relaxing time with my furry little friend, and I can only assume that he feels the same.  As much as I enjoy my four-legged bonehead friends, they do require a little more work than your average furball, so the next couple of weeks will be a breeze by comparison.

I said so long to Shadow  on October 13th, and there has been plenty of wandering taking place in the meantime.  What hasn't been covered is my most recent journey of crossing the continent and back,  so let's get to it shall we?

I departed Vancouver Island on October 30th, and following the ferry journey to the mainland, I was expecting a long wait at the Vancouver airport, however that was not what ended up happening.  One of my two upcoming flights was unexpectedly cancelled.  This resulted in me having to make a quick on the spot decision, and catch the red-eye flight en route to Toronto.  Thankfully, there was just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, and wash it down with an expensive airport beer.  With that pleasant task completed, I hurried to the gate, and moments later I was on my way to Toronto.

A couple of hours after landing it was time to go through the boarding process one more time, as well as clear U.S. Customs and security before finally boarding my second and final flight for the day, en-route to LaGuardia airport in New York city, arriving just after 11a.m. local time. The air portion of my eastward journey was now complete.

I'd been here twice before, so I had a pretty good idea of how to proceed.  The purchase of a Met ticket, allowed me to board the M60 bus which dropped me off a while later at the Harlem/125th street train station, for my journey north to Pleasantville.

 Upon arrival at the station, the rain began to fall, and I ducked into a pizza place for a yummy slice of pizza, for just one dollar.  This made up for the expensive meal the previous night at the airport.

Next stop, 36 Hobby street, Pleasantville, the current home of my dear friends, Guy and Pauline.  I arrived about ten hours ahead of schedule. I punched in the door code and walked in, which caused a chorus of barking from the resident Yorkies, aka, baby boneheads. This commotion alerted Guy, who was upstairs, but he soon joined us. He was surprised to see me, as he wasn't expecting me until after 11pm.  And just like that, the first part of my journey had come to its conclusion.

The following day, November 1st had been designated, "Milkshakes in Manhattan Day." I joined Guy and Pauline for a journey back into Manhattan, where we met up with a variety of people that they know, and after some sight-seeing, we ended up at the Hudson and Charles Dinette.  Milkshakes turned into a long lunch, and it seems that everyone had a very pleasant time, indeed.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE MILKSHAKES???

That same evening, we enjoyed a pot-luck dinner back at Guy and Pauline's place, and somehow we didn't get to bed until 2am,  if my ageing memory is at all accurate.

The time spent in New York went by in the blink of an eye, and early on November 4th, I was on my way to JFK airport, accompanied by Guy, to continue on my journey.  Guy was off to Portland Oregon to visit a friend, and I was headed to Seattle, and eventually Shelter Bay, to join my dear friend Mary, and of course, adorable Dora-dog.

It's been a whirlwind of a week, and there were moments along the way, where I was as tuckered out as Dora-dog appears in the photo above.

But once again, I have Shadow to help keep me company, and it appears the time ahead should be quite relaxing.

DORA-DOG GIVES SHADOW A LESSON IN HOW TO RELAX

(AS IF HE NEEDS A LESSON)

maximizing my moments,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer