bittersweet night part II

almost two months later, i'm facing another bittersweet night. tomorrow night is elmo's last night with us before he goes on trial adoption for the second time.

knowing how hard it was the first time, i know it's going to be even harder this time. especially since elmo has lived with us for 3 months now.

sadly, with most of our efforts invested in trying to train elmo, duke has taken a back seat and regressed. we're having more howling bouts and he's become sensitive to dogs on the street again.

and although it is so fun to watch them play fetch and howl their hearts out, walking with two scent hounds can be quite the challenge! my eagle eyes can't always spot the mouldy pieces of rye bread or discarded chicken bones.... or dismembered bird wings.

elmo deserves a family that can give 100% effort into training him, not only for his separation anxiety but also for all the small day to day things as well.

this time, i think we've found the right family.

happy howlidays!

happy howlidays and a happy new year!

why don't we just push that sad post down a bit.

these are the best truffles i have tasted in my whole entire life. the packaging matches the product perfectly!

thank you ms. bee :)

what's wrong with me?

i don't know what my problem is these days. i'm just feeling super blue, unproductive, disorganized and on top of all that short tempered. and i hate the fact that i'm feeling this way!

• my christmas cards are just going out
• my online portfolio is sorely out of date
• i still have some christmas shopping to do
• i haven't started on my marketing project that i want to send out in january
• i get mad at my poor dogs when they start pulling and 'hunting' on our walks
• i'm annoyed with my messy, messy desk and cluttered living room but don't do anything about it
• all the news about the economy pisses me off

perhaps the renovations, dust, banging and drilling is getting to me. or maybe it's the holidays...or maybe i just need a vacation! whatever it is, i just want these gross feelings to stop.

photo: bougainvillea from andre, trying to cheer me up

the suzuki diaries

just wanted to share a link to a great mini-site for a nature of things episode of a trip to europe that david suzuki and his daughter sarika made this summer: the suzuki diaries.

it has a great travelogue of their trip written by sarika, videos of the episode and suggestions on how we can incorporate some of the wonderful environmentally sustainable things that people in denmark, germany (the most environmentally friendly country in the world), france and spain are doing.

a recap of things i found inspiring:

• germany has already met their sustainable energy targets for 2010, harvesting energy from the sun and wind


• germany's sustainable energy sector is the fastest growing industry in the country, employing more than 200,000 (300,000?) people


• 36% of copenhagen commuters ride to work (the city wants to increase that to 50%). watch the online video, the images of all the cyclists in the city is truly amazing (and very chic).


• new buildings in spain must have photovoltaic technology and solar hot water heating systems

canadians really need to step up and start changing the way we live. we are seeing the effects of global warming right here, in our own country yet we aren't making any drastic changes stop it.

and this includes me too. one of my new year's resolutions has to include some type of environmental action item.

on a walk with elmo

this walk seems like a memory from a long time ago now. this weekend we had the 2nd snow fall of this season, which was beautiful, but the windchill just made it too cold!! today we experienced -20 with the windchill. sometimes the gusts of wind were so cold that it would quite literally take our breath away.

in house project news, the basement looks fab with new laminate that andre installed last weekend. we picked up our tiles for the basement bathroom and main floor kitchen . and while andre demolished the kitchen floor tiles, i painted the wall and bits of the ceiling of the basement. photos coming soon!

is this cool or what?

... or am i just a nerd?

an online symphony! i would totally try out, if i had a piano here!