THANKS BLANCA

 POST # 632

I always crack up laughing, when I get this look from Blanca each and every morning.  She's waiting for breakfast, and her look makes me wonder if she thinks that she will be getting breakfast or not?  I've never let her down so far, but I still get that same look each and every day.

Prior to arriving here, and considering that it is January, I was expecting rain for the majority of my visit.  How wrong I have been on that prediction.  It has been clear blue sky on each and every day, and I am most grateful for that.  But it looks like that is coming to an end tomorrow, according to the weather forecast.  Ah well, it's been good while it lasted.

The weather has been so nice, that Blanca has even wanted to be out on the back deck to catch a few rays on most days.  Even though the air temperature isn't that warm, she doesn't seem to be bothered by that fact.  When I've been here in the summertime, she practically spends the entire day out there.

But once the sun has gotten too far down on the horizon, there are plenty of beds scattered around the house for Blanca to settle in.  She certainly likes her sleep, and can be quite content spending hours at a time on one of these various beds.

And there is always time in the evening, to relax on the couch with the housesitter.  This has become an evening tradition on this visit.  We are in the room with the fireplace, so it's the ideal location to hang out together.

But our time to hangout is rapidly coming to a close, and by the end of the week, the owners will be returning home, and I will once again be on my way.  It's always a pleasure to spend time with Blanca, and I look forward to doing it again in the future, if the opportunity presents itself.

Thanks Blanca, for sharing some of your precious time with me.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

And a PS:  If you are feeling unhappy, here are some words of wisdom.

A WINTER SIT WITH BLANCA

 POST # 631

Sunset at the ferry terminal

After saying goodbye to Mary and Dora-dog, I headed back to Canada, en route to my current house sit.  It was a long travel day with a couple of unexpected delays along the way, but I eventually made it to the ferry terminal, in time to board the 5 pm departure to Swartz Bay, on Vancouver island.

I was met on the other side by Robert, and Blanca the bonehead.  She seemed happy to see me, and we continued our journey to Robert and Jeanette's house in Cadboro Bay.  We only had time for a short visit, prior to calling it a night.  They would head out very early the next morning on their journey to Mexico, and now it's just me and Blanca for the next couple of weeks.  

We do enjoy regular walks each and every day, and even though the weather has been on the chilly side, at least there has been plenty of sunshine so far. And as I may have mentioned before on this blog, I'll take cooler weather with sunshine, over warmer weather with rain, any day of the week.

Our morning walk is along the beach here at Cadboro Bay, which is only about a five minute walk from the house.  We usually meet other dogs along the way, and Blanca is happy to sniff her way as we proceed.  It's a very enjoyable walk, and I do look forward to it each and every day.

When we arrived at the park which is located along the beach, Blanca decided to hop up on the bench for a while yesterday, and enjoy the sunshine.  Seeing as I had a captive audience, I decided to try out my dog joke on her, and see if I could get a positive reaction.  It looks like I was successful.  

Eventually, it's time to head back home, and spend some indoor time with Blanca, in anticipation of our second walk of the day, which is in the opposite direction towards Telegraph Cove.  

My previous two sits with Blanca have been in the summer,  so this is a chillier option doing a winter sit.  But she is good company whatever the season may be, and if I could read her mind, I think that she would agree that the human company is to her liking as well.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

DORA -DOG'S NEW BED AND A MEMORY FROM LONG AGO

 POST # 630

Since arriving a week ago today, here in Shelter Bay, I've managed to get Dora-dog out for a few walks.  One walk in particular was a rather long one indeed, and by the time we returned home, she was ready for a well deserved rest.

Mind you, walking isn't all of the exercise that she enjoys, and she has plenty of toys to play with when we are inside the house.  This is usually how she begins each day.

And there has been a new addition to the house this past week.  Mary decided to buy Dora-dog a new bed.  She has quite a few, but since this one arrived, it has become number one indeed.  As you can see, she looks pretty relaxed in her new soft bed.  Mary made a very good choice with this purchase, and it has the Dora-dog stamp of approval.

And if walking and chasing toys isn't enough to keep her busy, she can always go to the dog's little library, and leave a stick, and take a new one.  

And now for a completely different topic. Sometime this past week, and for whatever reason, a thought came into my mind from a very long time ago, and I have no idea why.  It was in 1988, and yours truly was working at Expo '88 in Brisbane, Australia.  The photo below shows me dressed in white overalls in front of a concession stand on the site.  The gentleman to my right, was a character known as Uncle Arthur.  There was a TV show in Australia called The Comedy Company, which was a very popular show at that time.  They had plenty of characters on the show, and Uncle Arthur was one of the most popular ones.  Anyhow, I happened to be working, cleaning up an ice cream stain on the ground, and when I looked up, I saw Uncle Arthur.  Being a fan of the show, I recognised him right away, and accompanying him was a film crew.  Uncle Arthur ( Actor Glenn Robbins) asked me if I wanted to be a part of one of his skits, and of course I said yes.  Long story short, it made it onto the show, and when my friends in Melbourne saw it, they got to see their Canadian friend on national TV.  

So when I had this thought the other day, I decided to do a search on the internet to see if I could find  the video of this event.  As luck would have it I did, so if the reader wants to watch it, just go to this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTfDTjx2g-E

It's a long video, but the part that includes this scene begins at the 5:55 mark and goes to the 10:34 mark.  That covers Uncle Arthur's entire trip to Expo, but the part featured below, begins at the 7:13 mark.  Hopefully that all makes sense.  There are plenty of other Uncle Arthur skits on the video, so if you enjoy his humour, sit back, relax and have a few laughs.

 

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

WANDERING THOUGHTFULLY INTO 2025

 POST # 629

As of today, the stoking of the fireplace will once again be in the hands of Howard and Sally, because the Thoughtful Wanderer will be wandering thoughtfully back to the USA for a little while.

There will be a multitude of different types of transport to get me there, starting with a car, then a ferry, a bus, a skytrain, and another train.  Eventually I will be back in Washington to spend some time with Mary and Dora-dog, which I am very much looking forward to.

I had to break the news to Logan first, and I can't quite read the expression on his face.  Mind you, the fact that he is sitting upon my computer makes me think that he doesn't want me to leave so soon.

On the other hand, one look into Caper's eyes tells me that she definitely doesn't want me to go.  My guess is that she has become accustomed to getting more treats than usual, and she doesn't want the gravy train to come to an end.  Sorry Caper, but all good things must come to an end as the old saying goes.

As is almost always the case, when I look back at the time that I have spent here, or for that matter any location, it seems to have gone by faster than expected.  But it has been an enjoyable and relaxing time indeed.  

Perhaps sometime down the road, I'll have yet another opportunity to take care of these two four-legged friends, and if that happens it would be wonderful.

In the meantime, I will continue to wander, thoughtfully of course, onwards to my next destination.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS: I was meant to pick up Howard and Sally in Victoria last night, but their flight was cancelled.  We came up with a plan B, which involved me taking Caper to the doggie daycare nearby, and then dropping off their car at the ferry terminal this morning.  They will pick it up later today, and get Caper on their way home.