Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A new year on the way....a reason to blog!

After a year on hiatus from blogging, I have decided it was high time I got back to writing about my adventures here in Canada.

A year ago we purchased our first house, my daughter was 2 1/2, I was suffering from depression, overwhelmed with grief at the loss of my stepdad, and the list goes on and on. Winter was much too long, and I suffered greatly for not having had access to more than one tv channel, and a whole whack load of children's dvds which I can quote from memory. This fall we got a satellite, and just purchased a Wii Sport, and Wii Fit expansion, so winter blues can go to hell!

The year was a busy one for us, being that we we not able to do much outside until the snow melted late April, early May. We had a summer vegetable garden which would have been more enjoyable had I not been suffering from depression, and having a child that would not be corralled for any length of time. In May we got a 4 1/2 month old Black Lab/Shepard mix that is enormous! She also has a bit of Bull Mastiff thrown in for good measure, so we were told at the SPCA. We also spent a lot of time getting ready for the W word....lots of firewood to prepare, and yard maintenance, which included building a nice fenced in play area for Molly. By the time we got our dog, the ground was way too hard to manually dig holes to build her a run, but we ended up stringing a cable run until this coming Spring. We are going to have a run, or I will lose my mind! She hates being tied up, and since she is the neighborhood wanderer, we have got to get a hold on her misbehaving. She actually bolted on me 4 different times with me today, and the 5th she got out of her collar, and that was that. She will soon learn the hardship of being a yard dog only.

The year also brought about that our immediate neighbors were going to be a problem, which is actually what sparked this blog post today!

Our immediate neighbors are the poster children for low class ignorance, and all around "trailer trash" I really don't like using that term considering I am from Alabama, and I really don't know what else to call these people. I never lived in a trailer, and I had many friends that do or did, but there is a class of people that just don't fit in anywhere else. Whether it be by poor upbringing, or whatever these people are ignorant, and most unpleasant. It is a woman, her husband, and two young sons. Her father lives in a trailer off the grid off to the back of the property. He seems nice enough, but "she" is a total bitch. I really can't say too much for the kids, and the husband, because I really don't have a problem with them per se... I really rather feel sorry for them. This woman is deplorable, and she is offensive, a loud mouthed harpy, and just all around unpleasant person.

The problem started after the weather started to get warmer, and we were outside more. Since we moved in Winter, we never really heard anything out of these people. Well, let us just say that it was an utter screamfest over there most days, with the f-word flying at all directions, and all other obscenities...it was really the only word we could make out. In fact it was so bad, that most days I had to go back in the house because I didn't want my daughter subjected to such crap.

This went on off and on for weeks, and there was some late night partying going on as well. Greg finally had enough when he heard her threaten to punch her child in the f-ing face if they didn't clean up their room. We didn't call immediately, but the night before our daughter's 3rd birthday all hell broke lose over there, and during the night I heard some very weird screaming and carrying on. Alcohol is probably a major contributor. Greg called child services because no child should have to endure that kind of environment. They in turn did not have a record of this family, but according to our other neighbors they were known to police. So child services called the RCMP, and they immediately sent over 3 cruisers. They were there for about half an hour. We were in the middle of setting up for a birthday party, and I was dreading the outcome of this. You know you want to do the right thing, but then you feel strange, and worry about repercussions. We do have to live next door to these people. After the RCMP left, the woman yelled out the window...saying "Thank you very much" in her harpy voice.

Well, things got a lot quieter over there now that child services was in the know. Occasionally , I will hear her screaming about something, carrying on, or unfortunately singing as loudly as she can to Janis Joplin in some drunken karaoke stupor. I could not tell you what this woman looks like, I have actually never seen her. I know what her husband, and kids look like. I know that voice though.

Well, like I had said we have had issues with Tera taking off, and she does spend some time over at this trailer, since they do have dogs. The boys tend to keep her occupied when they are outside playing, and she will not come if I call her. Not to mention, I worry about this woman doing something mean to Tera. Well, I was just back from retrieving Tera from down the road, and this woman yells to me from the window that Tera has been pooping and peeing in her garden, and she was sick to death of it. I simply replied " I am very sorry". I then turned and got in my car because Tera took off while I had to briefly respond to this woman.

First of all there is at least 8 inches of snow on the ground, and what garden was she speaking of?? Another thing that I really wanted to say is well, that is what you get for polluting our ears with your foul loud mouth. I could have said so many things, but I refrained. I understand that she doesn't want Tera over there, I don't want Tera over there. We will be installing an electric fencing system this spring, and until then Tera is leash, and cable run bound . She blew all freedom privileges out the window today.


I am really feeling sorry for those kids, having to grow up in this kind of environment, because unfortunately if things don't change you can just about guess their futures word for word. :(
Wow, do I feel a bit better for getting that load off.

Hopefully my next posting won't be a total rant. :)
Cheers!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Beautiful and Deadly

Isn't it strange how the mind works? I would have never thought that taking a picture of a perfect little gift of nature such as a snowflake to cause my mind to overflow with thoughts.

I often wondered as a child how adults knew what snowflakes looked like in real life, because one, I lived in the Southern U.S., and two, it is wet snow, and messy when we do get it. Living in the North Central Province of BC, Canada I have experienced Winter in a whole different perspective. Extremely cold temperatures, and more times than not, dry snow. Perfect powder. On a rare occasion such as today, you can actually see individual perfect little snowflakes, and wonder how? How is this perfect little wonder created?

Now, this flooded my mind with all kinds of thoughts about snow. Some words I find to describe snow: beautiful,serene, perfect, peaceful, romantic,angelic,delicate,treacherous, vicious, unforgiving, and even deadly. Vicious, unforgiving...deadly? Wow, what happened to beautiful? Well, as with most things in the natural world with beauty also comes the potential for circumstances beyond our control. Events that change something beautiful, and in a blink of an eye can turn that beauty against you, and put you in harm's way, even causing death.

I know that it is impossible for a single snowflake to inflict harm on anything bigger than itself. Lots of snowflakes can however, as with anything in overabundance. Wind, rain, bodies of water, trees,mountains, sand, earth,snow, ice... the list can go on and on. All these things are pleasing to the eyes, and people flock to enjoy their beauty. But these wonders of nature can turn vicious and unforgiving, and quickly hurt, or take a life without hesitation, without guilt, without remorse.

That is why it is so important that we respect our earth, and it's beauty. Know her boundaries,her strengths,her weaknesses, and respect, care, and love her for in return we will reap the benefits for years to come.

It is funny how the mind works, and this whole blog entry started with a single snowflake....