Sunday, January 16, 2011

Stormy Sunday

It is snowing - big fat Hollywood flakes - just like last Sunday. And again, I don't care as I don't have anywhere to go. Today I'm going to catch-up. Catch-up on my blogging, catch-up on my phone calls to friends, catch-up on my writing, my meditating and a wee bit of house-cleaning.

Yesterday was a lovely FAT Saturday. The wondrous step-dot came with me to the old and new market. We ate way too much, talked our heads off and did a bit of shopping. Thing is with the CSA (community shared agriculture) box coming every Tuesday and the organic beef we bought from Rupert, we don't have a lot of market needs. I got beeswax candles from the candle lady, coffee from the coffee people, hot Italian sausages from Sweet William, one Cornish pasty from the heavenly Cornish pasty woman, and um....I think that's it. Mostly I had fun with the girl as we mosied about. Then we had to pick up Felix at his concert to open the building for the Canada Games and on the way, as we were early, we went to the pet store. The pet store is a guilty pleasure. I worry about where they get their puppies but I can't resist them. And I'd seen earlier in the week that they had a couple of sharpei mixed breeds for $1,800.00!!!!! Hoagy is a shar-lab and these ones looked a fair bit like him. They weren't in their sad little glassed in boxes when we went though. I asked a woman and she told me they had one left and it was out back. I got her to get it for me as if I were going to buy it. Then Sarah and I took turns holding the gorgeous warm lump of black velvet. He was quite a character - the woman (girl really) told me he was 'quite dominant' and would need 'a firm hand' to get him to be OK. He was aggressive and did I know that shar-peis were fighting dogs. Hmmm...guess she loved him and didn't want me to get him. I told her I had a shar-pei/lab cross and found him to be quite easy to train although head-strong because he was so smart and driven by love! We talked to lots of parrots and I warned one couple away from the conures - don't ask just trust me on this one! We checked out the lizards and the snakes but not the fish. We both thought the ferrets might be fun but fell out about the hamsters versus the rats.
Later on in the day, after hours of reading library books and the Globe & Mail and having a lovely smoked-char chowder done a treat by Mr. Man, we took Felix to a benefit where he was playing the piano and the man and I went to see True Grit. What a wonderful movie! Those Cohen brothers are so smart and this was done perfectly. I couldn't stop thinking about it all night. I kept pestering Ron as he tried to sleep with crazy thoughts about why they'd done things the way they did. The young woman was astoundingly good. Man,  I hate adjectives - they fail so. Or perhaps I fail them? The thing is, I would've watched her as that character forever -the time just flew and I hated the movie to be over.
Tonight we have neighborhood friends coming for dinner. Ron is making a curry. He will probably do the birds in too. I told him I'd help because I need to stop being a whuss about it.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Later, dear readers.
a bit later...I just had a good chat with my sis, Jude, and then Marion. I told Marion about the imminent death of the birds and we commiserated. Marion is so kind - one of the kindest people I know and I also know it is hard for her that we are killing the birds. When I hung up, I went into the kitchen. There on the counter was what I thought was a defrosting chicken. I touched it through the bag. It was warm. It was our lovely rooster - processed as the liars call it. Kilt dead as we would say. Ron doesn't want me to help him. He says it is hard enough. So I won't.
But tomorrow I'll clean the chicken coop - every bit of it. I'll take out all the poopy shavings in the wheelbarrow and pile them on one end of the garden to cook down a bit. I'll clean all the boards and the nest-boxes. I'll rake over the chicken yard a bit unless the snow is too thick.
Poor dear things.

3 comments:

Hart Johnson said...

What a great day at the markets. I like your version of shopping much better than my daughter's. When they were little, we used to do the pet store thing all the time... kitties, bunnies... and occasional ferret... I adore the critters, even if I too, am concerned about where and how pet stores come by and care for them (we always adopt from the Humane Society).

Sorry about the birds... I know you knew it was coming, but there is some sadness to it being over, yes?

Anonymous said...

Ahh..

a chicken funeral?

So will you be cooking the rooster?

I hope all the yuppies who fantasise about moving out into the country and having chickens read your blog.

Oh, and I hear shar pei's have some kind of genetic thing , if it's in their genes they get really really yukky ulcerating sores etc..

glad Hoagy is free from them.

Jan Morrison said...

Hi you all -
no, no funerals. And we don't eat the ones we name. They all went to folks who will happily tuck into them after LONG cooking times.
Yes, shar peis were bred to be wrinkly so that they could fight and other dogs couldn't get at their throats for all the skin. Too bad they were also prone to very stiff hairs so that they irritate themselves to a terrible skin condition. Hoagy has a nice softish lab coat. no problem.