My sister owns a cottage near the shore of Georgian Bay in a tiny little town called, wait for it, 'Tiny". I know, so original.
In 2013, my sister and brother-in-law tore down the 1940s original cottage that was there and rebuilt what resembles more of a house. I've not been up to see it. I was supposed to go this summer with my daughter, but then the whole house sale BS happened, which stressed out my vacation, and we didn't go.
Last night, we loaded up the car with food, bedding and other crap that people cart up to the cottage, and headed out after rush hour. We didn't even make it past Whitby before we were pulled over by another driver who was adamant to talk with us. At first we didn't know why this driver was high-beaming us, honking his horn and signaling with his hazards. If we changed lanes, he'd change lanes, and he kept waving his hand and pointing in a motion to pull over. I told my husband there must be something wrong with the car. And there was.
Our entire rear lighting system had failed. The car was completely dark at the back and being an all-black car, this made it even more dangerous and a hazard. We pulled off the highway at Brock Street with the other driver following us, and when it was safe to get out, he told us what was wrong.
Long story short, my husband was able to put in a spare fuse only to have it blow and concluded the electrical line had a short. So off to the dealer in the morning it had to go. We went home with the annoying ticking sound of the hazard lights mocking us, unloaded the car (which was a drag), put the food away (even more of a drag) and I drank a whole bottle of gwertz. Ah yes, a perfect night indeed.
Today we have a rented VW Golf, which for a 6 foot 2 guy like my husband is akin to folding one's self into a suitcase, but being March Break, the selection was limited, and the Chevy Spark was a "Oh, hells no" ... we haven't yet decided if we are still getting the hell out of Dodge.
Instead, we're going to look at cats. Yes, cats.
22 comments:
I'm sorry to hear about your automobile woes. As for the cats, is "going to look at cats" feline lingo for "acquiring another one"? Please pardon my ignorance; I own a dog.
Cats? As in possibly bringing a purralegal into the mix? Fun!
oooo... I love looking at cats. For cats. Really, anything cat related. Actually, it is so bad, I am looking into fostering cats.
Anyhoodles, thank goodness for the random stranger who let you know about the car issue. Things could have turned out really bad. And it should still be under warranty! It is just the hassle of it all.
Warranty covers this for sure!.
Looking at cats means I'd like another one but after spending time with one in particular at Durham Humane Society, I realized I'm not over the loss of Howe. :(
Small world. My parents live in Tiny!
I know what you mean. Some pain takes a long time to subside. Our Beamer passed away two years ago today.
I remember you texting me about Beamer. That was a sad night.
You probably wouldn't have found the town anyway because it's so tiny. Worked out well all around
You don't have to be over the loss of Howe to bring another cat into the mix. You are not replacing Howe, that can never ever happen. You are just building new memories.
I am a rescuer. All my babies are from shelters, rescues, or in one case straight from the street (with a hefty price tag to boot). I firmly believe that my furbabies would want me to give the beds, the food, the warmth, the time, the love to another cat/dog who may have never experienced such love in its life.
Allow that furbaby to help your heart heal. It has been a long time.
Thanks April. You're right. As much as I feel like I am replacing him, I know that isn't true
@April
Question for you: with your rescues are they in a forever home or are they a temporary, foster situation?
I am looking into fostering, as I am not ready to give a forever home to a fuzzy moron just yet. For some reason, I have started grieving my cat I put to sleep 4 years ago. I think the one that was put to sleep in October triggered some memories.
I think the foster would be a good compromise, give them a place to lounge until they have a forever home, but am having a hard time finding foster families to get their opinion on it.
Squiggles, I have fostered and adopted cats and dogs from rescue organizations for years. My current rescue is Emma, at 14 years old still nimble and as inquisitive as ever as befitting a Jack Russell Terrier. No more cats though as my daughter has developed an allergy towards them.
We had tons of fun with all of our fosters and had to resist adopting all of them. It was a happy and sad event giving them up and not once did we ever get a return.
Once Emma has departed us (after living the first 5 years of her life in an unheated barn and a crate) we'll in all likelihood adopt or foster another one. Emma is a one-dog-in-the-family type of dog. Emma had zero manners and training when we got her, now she is the most loving people-oriented dog ever. Intense training and positive reinforcement went a long way in reforming her to be a member of the household. She can roll over, used to be able to back flip and still sings for her supper. She still refuses to fetch though. She just catches and runs off with her toy when you throw it.
Try a foster, you'll not regret it.
Too bad I can't post a picture of her. :(
CJ, I lost Kirby, my nearly 20 year old all-black friend, confidante and baby, almost 5 years ago. A couple of weeks later my husband unexpectedly came upon two barn kittens who needed a home. He knew my remaining cat, my son & I were still groeving but he asked anyway. They're now almost5 and the bbest thing I could have done was to add them to our family, all the more so after our Sabrina joined Kirby 2 years later. I like to imagine that Kirby put those two kittens in my path to pick up where he left off. My condolences and best wishes.
I grew up in Tiny Township...between the 12th and 13th conc. off of Tiny Beaches Rd. Nicest beaches.
My sister is right in town, one block north of the beach!
It is a small world!
So funny. My parents are on Albion Lane.
Thank you George. What you wrote actually helped me deal with the second thoughts. The application is going in today!
Don't you hate it when the "Heavens" are obviously "not smiling on you"?
You just know these situations MUST be curses ...malicious acts of subversive divinity.
I lost Tiger Jan. 23 and about three weeks later I was shocked to find myself yearning for another cat and perusing the Oakville Humane Society's website. Alas - a new cat would be all over the house with their fur (unlike Tiger who was almost 18 and preferred to live upstairs only after years of living in apartments with me alone). My son has asthma and cat allergies can trigger it (never noticed an issue with Tiger but at other homes we did see his eyes puff etc.) so no cats for me until he moves out. He is 6 and a half. sigh. cry.
Squiggles, here's a photo our our Emma, the queen of the house and all the property contained within.
Jack Russells can be very challenging but we made her into a family dog and if I may brag a bit, she has won about 45 ribbons and awards from the JRT national competitions for barn hunting, go to ground, lure coursing and a few other events. She has the second fastest of all time in the barn hunt where they pout a live rat into a PVC tube and hide it in hay bales. It took her four seconds to find the rat and it took me and the wife to pry her off the tube. Their instinct is to kill rodents and hers was in overdrive. Year before last she managed to kill 11 mice that got onto our property for some reason. Take that you lazy felines....
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg135/gmanontario/EmmaDesktop-2.jpg
Gorgeous puppy!
I sent in the application yesterday afternoon. And now have been obsessively checking my email since then.
@squiggles, sorry for the delayed response, I just saw this. My rescues are all mine forever and ever and ever. I can't foster, I am not strong enough. After we lost both of my dogs very, very close together last summer I considered fostering because I wasn't really sure I wanted another dog but I was very sure that I was terribly lonely. The end result was that I knew I wouldn't be able to lose another one - even if it was to a good home because I was fostering.
But fostering is a great thing to do. You save a life and give an animal a chance. So many animals react poorly to shelter life; getting them out of those shelters so thier personalities can shine is often the best hope they have for adoption.
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