This weekend, my parents came to visit. Of course they did, there were (e:peep) happenings....

I decided, earlier in the week, since it had been getting colder, i would make some cabbage rolls for them.

They would be bringing Ralphie the dog (their dog sitter is getting old and not well, and the dog himself is getting old and not well as i mentioned in a previous post, (e:LeeTee,40897)), so i knew that my dad would not want to arrive and leave "poor Ralphie" alone in a strange house so we could go eat out.

I have made cabbage rolls once in the past before (e:LeeTee,25631) and i tried to remember all the lessons i learned from that time, even though it was over a year ago. I think have the seasonings better and the fake meat i used was a better blend. But, during the process, i ran out of cabbage. Too much filling, not enough cabbage.

So, i put my shoes on to walk to Guercio's. Forgetting that i had taken the string out of my yoga pants to try to makeshift leash the beagle i sorta rescued the other day, (e:LeeTee,41203), the fast pace i was walking made my pants fall down. OK, now, our 'hood of Grant and Bird isn't the best, but i reckon i might get mistaken for one of the many tradeswomen if i kept that up. So, i had to hold my pants up... which, in a very odd way, made me fit in a tiny bit better with a certain segment of the population here. Either that or i looked like some crazy lady wannabe.

The end result of my second attempt at cabbage rolls (oh, please, do not ask me to spell the polish word i know how to say that translates to pigs in a blanket!) was good. No one complained or got sick. My dad loved them, my mom even liked them, the meat eater that she is. Of course, one could never mistake my version for one with meat, but it has it's own charms.

The rest of our weekend with them was nice... low key. I helped my parents give Ralphie his Subcutaneous injection for his kidney disease. My dad claims things are more calm when i jab him with the needle. Once again, being a former i.v. drug user finally comes in handy.

The biggest surprise... no, shock, of the weekend is that i am now in possession of my late maternal grandmother's wedding and engagement rings.

I have always loved these rings. I have no idea of their monetary value. I just think now, as have i always, that they are pretty.

When my grandmother died, my grandfather gave them to my mother.

Before (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i got married, i asked my mom if i could have grandma's rings. She said no.. grandpa might be offended if he saw that i was wearing them and not her.

My mom rarely wears them, not being a fan of them. When she does, as when my grandmother wore them, i would try and take them off and put them on my finger.

While sitting on our front porch this weekend, i did that very same thing. I reached over to my mom's hand, and took off the rings and put them on my finger.

She said, "You can have them" to which i replied, "Yeah, i know, when you kick it, i will get them" and she said, "No, now, you can have them. You love them. You keep them."

Shock and tears came next... grandma's rings. I have grandma's rings. Even now, thinking that they are on my finger as i type this, makes me well up a bit.

Turns out my mom had been thinking of giving them to me recently. When she was visiting her brother and sister in law over labour day weekend, she was wearing them and mentioned to my Aunt Pat that she might give them to me. Soon... before she died. That she would like to see me happy to have them, not wait until she died to have them.

The stipulation of me having these rings, as writen in my mom's will, is that since i cannot have children of my own, is that i pass them onto my neice, my brother's daughter. I promise.

Wow... grandma's rings...

So, yesterday one of the reasons i went with (e:Uncutsaniflush) to Lockport is that i needed a distraction.

Sure, i could have occupied myself around the house, but i had already done most of the tasks that would take up the time i had.

Mostly, it was because i was a bit nervous.

See, i got myself a real job. Sure, i could have kept on with the occasional odd jobs i have been getting, but it doesn't fit in with my grand plan.

Today, i worked 4 hours. Next week, i also work 4 hours. The following week, i will work the amount of hours i was hired to work -- 20. A nice way to ease back into working, after over 7 years being a housewife.

Plus, the manager was supercool about me needing time off (yeah, already!) next month when (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i will be heading to Knoxville to visit his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death.

So far, all i have really done is fill out papers and start training... watching dvd's, reading manuals and answering questions in a work book. So no sore feet on the first day... woo hoo.

I think i will like this job. So far, i can't see why i wouldn't... but like all jobs, ya never know until you get in there and get dirty.

I saved a 13" beagle bitch from getting run over today.

She was wandering along the sidewalk, in downtown Lockport on the sidewalk of N Transit in front of Walgreens. Almost as soon as i notice her, she plops herself onto the road in front of an oncoming pickup truck. I dropped my bag and ran into the street, waving my arms, hoping the truck would stop. It squealed to a stop, and the driver began cursing at me. I picked up the dog and showed him. He looked shocked, then started to give me a huge lecture about putting my dog on a leash. I told him it wasn't my dog, she was just wandering... but he was already driving away.

I carried her to the grassy area in front of the store and looked for a collar or tags. Nothing. She had big dangly nipples, so i assume she had puppies recently. She was sweet and licked my face. She wasn't interested in the Cool Ranch Doritos that were my lunch, but she did drink the majority of the bottle of water i had in my purse/backpack.

I took the string from my yoga pants out as a make shift collar and leash, but she was having none of it. Seems she thought it was a game.. she dodged it and licked my face when i got close enough. Then, all of a sudden, she decided she had enough of me, and ran away, across W Genessee (thank godness no cars were coming!) and into some bushes.

I hope she made it home ok. And i hope her humans won't let her escape again... she doesn't have a lot of road smarts.

Now, why i was wandering the streets of downtown Lockport by myself is another story.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) was asked, at the very last minute, to help with an inventory of the Hallmark cards at the Walgreens. His boss told him it would only take 2 hours, and promised if i let him go do the inventory, a couple of boxes of Boca Burgers would head my way. I told him to make them Morningstar Frams Grillers and he had a deal.

So, i went with, thinking i could kill 2 hours in Lockport then (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i would continue on with the plans we had for the afternoon.

The 2 hours turned into nearly 5.... so, at 6pm, we thought it wouldn't be wise to head into Niagara Falls. We both have to work in the morning.

Instead, we had dinner and went to Walmart... i don't really *need* the new clothes for work, but now i don't have to make do.

As i have mentioned before, (e:LeeTee,25699) i make my mom a specialized calendar every year for xmas.

I used to do it all by hand -- measuring every calendar grid, writing in every number.

Then, i did it partially by hand, doing the calendar grid with a word processor, copying them out and then drawing in every day.

Then, i began to do it all with CorelDraw. I did that for many many years. I am so familiar with the program. Plus, i just alter the previous year. Which means i did all the hard stuff a long time ago, and the rest is just creative fun. We've had a dual boot thingmaggie (linux and windows) so i can have my CorelDraw to do my the boss mom calendar.

Well, for so many years, i say i need to start early so i can redo it from scratch on something open source, since we don't really use Windows anymore (except for the dual boot so i can use CorelDraw).

So, tonight, i have been trying. And trying and trying and trying. Shit, i am frustrated. None of the 3 programs we have right now has everything i need. Is it so hard to have something that will make a table or grid that is more than a word processor?

Open Office Draw seems to have a lot of things i could use... but... once i started, it doesn't. Or maybe i'm just to focused on the way i know things to be able to find them. I'm stupid, in other words.

I could not get a table from it, unless i draw every line and/or box by hand. And it doesn't have PMS colours or any way to ensure i am always selecting the same colour for different objects (i think it would be wise to always have, say, the exact same colour of blue on every number in the same calendar month). I can't seem to edit objects to a path.

• sigh* I think starting in September might have been too late...

For those of you with dogs and wheels that don't know yet, the dog park in Lasalle Park rocks. Kirsten and i went there last night with her 3 pug brood (yep, not just Ava and Nolan, she kept one of their puppies and named him Taj).

It was so cool to watch the dogs zipping around the place. And extra cool to watch Ava try to keep up with an Italian Greyhound. Sure, he was smaller than the standard Greyhound, but... well... he's a Greyhound.

Although i went with her and her dogs, i felt like a bit of a dog stalker... a wannabe dog person.

No, (e:Uncutsaniflush), it's not a hint... ok... maybe it is, just a little.

To the person that stole the horn on my bike, i give you a big raspberry. It was locked up at the Co-op this morning and you separated the bulb from the tube of the horn and left the metal bit that connects it to the handles. You must really need a horn. But i still raspberry you.

So..... pppppppppppffffffffffffffffffffffttttttttttttttttt

Thanks to some leg work today, i have a job interview Monday afternoon.

Unlike the application process with Petsmart, (e:LeeTee,40592) i didn't have to answer if i agree, strong agree, disagree or strongly disagree (aka lie) about personality questions such as "people are annoying".

As i mentioned in my previous post, (e:LeeTee,40815) my parent's old dog, Ralphie, now has kidney disease. The vet said he should be kept at the animal hospital for a week, but both of my parent's thought it would be too stressful for the spoiled pooch. Personally, i think it was too much for the puppy parents, since they don't treat him like a dog.

So, they brought him home, to have subcutaneous fluid i.v. every twelve hours. My mom continued with her regularly scheduled annual Labour Day weekend trip to Michigan and left my dad with the bulk of the work. Well, with my offer to come help, since i have done this before... with a cat, but i know the drill.

Friday, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i went to Hamilton's West Mountain to hang out with my dad and help him with the i.v. My dad was a basket case at first. Then, while Ralphie was on my dad's lap, we quickly and quietly, almost stealthily (hell, the dog IS old) poked the needle in while my dad was holding/petting him. It went smooth as silk. My dad looked 10 years younger after that; he was so worried and stressed.

Saturday morning, however, Ralph was wise and wouldn't let us jab him with that needle. Which, of course, shook our confidence that we could accomplish what we needed to... i guess all my talk of having calm assertive energy went out the window.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) had to leave, since he had to work at 4pm, and with the way bridge traffic has been, he left by about 10am, so he could rest up, eat and shower before heading into work.

My dad and i went on with the day... trying to think of another method of injecting the fluids into Ralphie without giving my dad a heart attack. We talked a lot. My dad is the emotional one and my mom is the logical one. My dad got the chance to talk out his feelings more than he can with my mom. I thought it was good for him. And very much a bonding experience for my dad and i. The whole day was, really.

We went to visit his mom, my Nana, in the nursing home. Sadly, she is not doing very well. But i have a feeling a lot of what she is feeling is emotional. She has no emotional or mental health support there, which i find disappointing. We even went to the cemetery to visit his dad, my Papa, his sister, my Aunt Val and his brother, my Uncle Tony, something my dad rarely, if ever, does.

While visiting Nana, my dad thought that some tough love was needed. Forget the soft shoe approach, we needed to be more assertive with Ralphie. Somehow, all the talking and releasing of emotions, my dad was able to find his bravery. He found the courage to do what he thought he couldn't do.

That evening, he took Ralphie by the scruff of the neck and held him down, gentle but forcefully, so he was still enough and not turning around to bite me while i poked him in the fleshy part of the shoulder to get the fluids underneath his skin. We had success. Success and a method made easier Sunday morning.

This afternoon, my dad drove me home and stayed for a short visit before heading back out on the road home.

I am proud of my dad. He let go of his selfishness once his emotions were all out and found the courage to do something that scared him so much. I know some of you may think that Ralph is just a dog. And there is part of me that shares the sentiment. He is a dog... and my parents spoil him too much and don't treat him enough like a dog. But my dad loves Ralphie... and never wanted to do something he thought would hurt him physically. Knowing it was best for both of them to do what is right and not what is easy, he stepped up to the plate and got the dead done.

Even though the reason for visit was unpleasant, i am glad i got the time to bond with my dad... in ways i never have before.

Sorry i missed the party. I meant to come. I appreciate the personal invite i got from (e:Paul) and (e:Terry) when i saw you guys at the Elmwood Art Fest. Looks like everyone had a good time. Happy belated birthdays, (e:Terry) and (e:Mike)!

Oh, and a shoutout to (e:Jill) who we (myself, my dad, Ralphie and (e:Uncutsaniflush)) saw walking down Elmwood by Bidwell.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) and i, thanks to the generosity of my parents, are going on a cruise in February. It will be a birthday and xmas gift from them to both of us.

My cousin, Rob, and his bride to be, Karin, decided to forgo the usual rubbery chicken and bad d.j. to get married on a cruise ship, before it leaves on a cruise in the Caribbean. Most of the family is in Canada and are all flying out of Toronto to Miami, but we so do not want to cross the border just to have to go through customs again just to be on the same flight as my parents. Besides, i hate flying and it and to be fraught with hassles these days, particularly in the colder weather.

Today, (e:Uncutsaniflush) had what i think is a brilliant idea. The train! It would take longer than flying. We would travel from Buffalo to New York (8.5 hours) and from New York to Miami (27 hours).

We thought, with such a long trip, that it would be good to get a room... or, as we found out we could get, a Roomette. Small, but at least it would be private. And what better, someone named Leette making reservations for a roomette! tee hee hee.

So, has anyone here ever taken a long train ride and might have any insight, good, bad or indifferent?

And now, the bad news.

My mom emailed us late this afternoon. Their dog, Ralphie, has gone into kidney failure. Poor spoiled puppie... old puppie, but to me, all dogs are puppies. He has to be kept at the vet with an i.v. drip for a while... not sure how long. I think my dad is falling apart over this. I hope he does well, and they can take him home soon. Poor thing has always had anything and everything he has ever wanted, so he is probably stressed out right now... he's never been alone for more than an hour or 2. I hope, too, that my dad can handle having to give him a needle every day... or Subcutaneous Fluid Administration like i did with my friend Mark's cat, Emo.