Today we're doing something that hasn't happened in a while.... we're splitting up for 3 days. Three whole days! Yikes. We've been together daily since March and now it seems weird to think we won't be together for a few days. Leslie has an appointment with an ear, nose, throat specialist to see if we can't get her some better sinus relief and clear what seems to be plugging of her ears. It's been ongoing for a while and is not going away. Fingers crossed they find something. The specialist is in Lloydminster, AB (4 hours away) and then Les will go to Bonnyville (another hour and a half drive) over night and check the house, cut the grass with the small mower, pick up the mail and get an oil change on the Mustang. We have great news for Smoky! Leslie's sister, Lorin, has agreed to add Smoky to her family which is the best news you could get for any cat. Lorin loves cats and has had up to 6 at a time but she is down to only one now, her boy Gizmo. Sadly she recently said good bye to her cat Max, who was 19 years old (we think). We are so happy she will open her heart and her home to our boy.
Last night in Bville at the acreage
Trust me when I say this is heaven for Smoky! He usually hangs out in the garage and only visits inside for short spells. He eats bagged Whiskas cat food and occasionally gets some meat or treats. Other than that he finds his own treats outside (if you know what I mean). He's an acreage cat so he kills mice and birds and beats up on frogs that cross the lawn. That was his life. Times change. He's older now and enjoys pillows and soft blankets. At Lorin's house there are heated pillows on the chairs, he gets pate` and crunchy food and he will get real professional haircuts and massages. Man he's gonna love it! First Les has to drive him there. He HATES being in a vehicle. Even with the highly recommended Zen Licks kitty dope he howled and meowed for the entire 3 hour trip. It was a very long 3 hours.
Meanwhile back at PGR I continued the garage build alone. The last thing we did was get all the trusses up so I am determined to get the roof sheathing up. I chose 1/2 inch OSB for a little extra strength but with that strength come some extra weight. Wasn't counting on being alone for the roof. Oh well, need to think of some better ways to get it up there. On the west side I can use the truck and back in beside the garage so that gives me a platform and a great height advantage. Got the first row on in no time and feeling pretty good about this. Hmm the east side is real close to our neighbour so the truck is out. I strapped a ladder to a tree and propped it up to the roof. One sheet at a time I shoved and pushed and shook those sheets of OSB up there. Phew! First row both sides done then back to the easier side. Well long story shorter but I got them all up there; two rows on both sides and I am beat! I'm sore and tired and definitely want a cold beer. Margaret wants to go for a walk! She's been sitting in the truck most of the day bored. Leslie had been so nice and made a monster salad before she left so all I have to do is barbecue some chicken and bang I have supper. She prepped lunch stuff too. Thanks buddy! Long day but we're good.
Singing "all by myself...." 2 rows done
July 31
Leslie drove Smoky to Edmonton as I mentioned before. It was a terrible trip, he hates vehicles so much. She got to Lorin's about 1 pm and Lorin is off work this week so she was there to greet them. They let Smoky out of his kennel and he basically went upstairs under the bed and stayed there. Oh he did manage to hiss and meow at Gizmo on their first meeting. Not great so far but he was stressed from the trip. Leslie is staying at Lorin's for a couple days to help with the transition. We all think it's necessary and a great idea so Smoky can get used to his new place with his "mom" there. It's a tough deal really. We've had him for 11 years and hate leaving him but it can't get any better than Lorin's house, really.
I continued to sheet the roof but now I have to cut the top row to fit. Cut, push, nail, rinse and repeat until it's done. We're using a ridge vent on the garage which I have never done before. You need to leave a gap along most of the peak for the vent so I had to remember to leave off 3/4" on the top. Once that was done I quit. I had a small slip yesterday where I was leaning over a truss to pound a nail and my tool belt was caught between my ribs and the truss. As I was hammering the belt slipped out and I slipped down only a couple inches but landed right on my small side ribs at the bottom of the rib cage. Didn't hurt much yesterday but today it's way worse. "Only hurts when I breathe" comes to mind, well not that bad of course but certain movements definitely reminded me it hurt. The roof is covered so I am stopping for now and tomorrow I'll go to Lorin's and hang out for a day, see my ol' buddy Smoker :)
August 1
Hi! It's Leslie writing now :) Since Dave was coming in to stay the night we decided to invite the kids over for supper too. Lorin and I spent the day weeding her beautiful back yard and gardens, doing a big Costco run and a few other errands.
By 6 pm Dave and all the kids had arrived.
Lorin and Sam
Ryan and Ashtyn
After a short visit we fired up the BBQ and enjoyed a nice supper. Sam was supposed to be going home early as she had to be up at 2:30 am to go to the airport for a flight to Chicago but we were having a great time so they all stayed a bit late for a "school" night. Sorry Sam! Shortly after all the kids left we brought Smoky down to check out the yard.
Mmmmm... catnip!
Thursday Dave had to drop his truck back at Stony Plain Chrysler for diagnosis of a rear differential issue he had been having so I met him there and we ran some errands and did a bit of shopping while Lorin stayed home to catch up on some emails from work etc. Smoky is still spending most of his time under the bed and Dave's rib is still bugging him so we decided to spend one more night. In the afternoon Dave did a few handyman type projects for Lorin and her and I took care of supper plans. After a great steak and Caesar Salad we settled in to watch a movie. It was a fairly early night. By the next day Smoky seemed far more comfortable although the traffic noise still sketches him out. Gizmo still has his nose out of joint a bit but is coming around slowly.
Smoky relaxing in the sun
Gizmo wondering why Smoky is still here!?!
What magic is this? Catnip, growing live in my new back yard. Happy cat!
Time for us to get back to PGR and the garage build. Thank you, my sister, for all you do for me and especially for welcoming Smoky into your heart and home. There isn't a better place for him anywhere. Love you!
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