A New Addition

Logan joined us when my boys were 9 and 10. I don't remember his early days that well anymore. He was a fluffy little thing and as you can well imagine he was an instant hit and was loved by the boys. Logan was the object of someone else's affection though.

My niece Tali was born about 2 weeks before Logan. Tali lives in Montreal and Logan lives in Ottawa, close enough that she could see Logan from time to time but far enough that it was infrequently. Tali's older brother and sister were mildly interested in Logan, but it was Tali who would wrap her arms around Logan like a teddy bear and smother him with kisses each time she saw him.

Tali loves animals in general and at four years old she decided she would grow up to be a veterinarian. It was about that time she also decided she HAD to have a dog of her own. She cried and whined and stomped her feet. My brother and sister-in-law told her she COULD have a dog but only when she was old enough to care for one properly. She cried "when, When, WHEN??". She was told "When you're ten years old!" "That's SO-O-O long", she whimpered.

Meanwhile Tali called my house every couple of weeks to speak to Logan. She would say hi to me but would quickly ask to speak to Logan. I told her I would get him and then I would bark into the phone while she would say, "Hi Logey, I love you, I love you, I LOVE you. I love you SO much that I ADORE you". Then she would blow kisses into the phone. I would get back on the line and ask Tali what she said to Logan because his tail is wagging and he had a big smile. She would then repeat her whole conversation to me.

That went on for a few years. Eventually she "suspected" that I was the voice of Logan, but it was okay, she still enjoyed the charade. She kept asking her parents for a dog and her parents still held firm and told her she had to wait until she was ten. Tali put pictures of Logan all around her room. She read books about dogs and studied the different breeds. Time dragged on!

Tali still loves Logan and still wants to veterinarian. Last week she made a special phone call to wish Logie a Happy Tenth Birthday!

Yesterday Logan and I came to Montreal to meet the newest addition to the family. Here's Tali with her new dog Molly!

Does Anyone Really Care Where I Buy my Oatmeal?

The other night CG (Cookie Girl) and I discovered our newest most favourite health food store, Rainbow Foods on Richmond Road near Lincoln Fields.

Here's how it happened:

CG and I sometimes fall asleep in an embrace. One Saturday morning about a month ago we woke up in the same embrace we fell asleep in the night before. My shoulder and neck were KILLING me. I thought it would get better on its own after a day or two. Well it didn't.

Day 2: neck/shoulder massage given by CG;

Day 7: neck/shoulder massage given by Shannon at LiveWell on Centrepointe;

Day 11: read Jo Stockton's blog post about Shawn the Accupuncturist and thought that would be my next step if relief didn't come.

Day 20: saw Dr. Shawn... he stuck some needles in my upper back and the pain subsided a bit. He recommended the use of Traumeel a "magic ointment" and that I should apply ice for 20 minutes at a time. All those things "sort of" did the trick... The pain is 90% gone.

Day 27: saw Dr. Shawn again, this time to discuss natural solutions for some of my age-related stuff. I take medication for diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. These are all borderline conditions (but just over the border) and the meds help keep it all under control but if I alter my diet slightly, and walk Logan more often that may be all I need*.

Anyways, long story short, Dr. Shawn gave me a diet to follow (which included oatmeal!) and suggested a couple of supplements. One supplement was only available at NutriChem Pharmacy on Richmond Road. While looking for the pharmacy I found Rainbow Foods and went in to check it out. Didn't have much time to explore because I had to get back to work but noted that THIS would be a cool store for me 'n CG to visit.

So we did ...just the other night and as expected CG loved it and we bought lots of stuff.

These are some of the things I picked up:

1. a tin of John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal;
2. a jar of pure Smooth Cashew Butter;
3. a box of Ginger Yogi Tea.

They also make great homemade soup vegetarian soup for lunch.

*NOTE: I haven't discontinued my meds, but I'd like to eventually if I can retake control of my blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure through diet and exercise.

Does Anyone Really Care What I Eat for Breakfast?

Here's how I made my oatmeal this morning:

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal
2-1/4 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 inch cube of fresh peeled ginger
2 cloves
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Put all the above into a pot, bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while.

While that was happening, I did the following:

1. fed Logan (1 cup dry Eukenuba for large seniors with 5 squirts of Omega-3);
   
   
2. let Logan in the yard to greet the kids walking to meet their school bus;
   
3. emptied the dishwasher;
4. made a strong capucinno (using 3 shots of espresso);
   
5. prepared my bowl (more of a small casserole dish) to receive the oatmeal:
   • handful of fresh raspberries
   • handful of fresh blueberries
   • kiwi peeled and cut into cubes
     
   • handful raisins
   • handful of chopped unsalted cashews
   • 1/2 teaspoon of each cinnamon, ginger powder
   • 1 teaspoon brown sugar;
6. put the oatmeal in the dish and top with leftover steamed milk from step 4;
   
7. put a little oatmeal (2 tbsp) in Logan's food bowl;
8. let Logan in.
9. WE EAT!
   

I'm a Balanced, Secure and Realistic Guy

When my partner and I visit art exhibits or galleries, we sometimes play a little game. If a number of paintings or other pieces of art are in close proximity, we each choose the work of art we prefer and then see if we agree. Most of the time we do agree but occasionally we don't. Art, after all is subjective and people have different tastes. But did you know that you can determine your personality type from the type of art you like. Today at Haphazard Life, Jazz linked to an art test that makes that claim and this is what it said about me (I'm not sure I like it):

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

6 Impressionist, 1 Islamic, 3 Ukiyo-e, -11 Cubist, -9 Abstract and -2 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Obama-349, McCain-162, Undetermined-26

This week colouring night was brought to you by the voting American population with special thanks to A&J for providing the link to an electoral colouring map.

unReal Estate in the Neighbourhood

The real estate agent:
The current owners:
Logan thinks the whole thing is funny.

Thanksgiving 2008

Dancing in the Pumpkin Patch:
Taking a break at Bruce Pit: