Inside Out

Our attention has begun to shift from the inside of the house to the outside as we consider the sculptural mounds of sand and black dirt that surround us.  There are retaining walls to be built, and shrubs and trees to be planted.  Rain barrels need to be purchased.  Oh, and Kanti needs some obedience lessons.  

The water on the swake is higher than it has been in years, and if that continues we might have to relaunch the blog with a new title - Life By The Lake.  Doubt it, but you never know.  The birds are swimming merrily around in all that water as I type, and Greg is outside trying to get a picture as proof.  

Whether it is in the swake, the neighbor's dugout, or our little borrow pit, Kanti has been seizing every opportunity to swim while we run along behind trying to seize Kanti.  She's acting like a teenager, sneaking off, being a bit defiant, and otherwise demonstrating "I think I am smarter than you" tendencies.  Afterward she seems to always be struck by remorse at her brazenness, and it's so hard not to instantly forgive her when she looks at you with her Cleopatra eyes.  But on Tuesday night she had a taste of her first training session with our friend, Jan who has trained police dogs.  Jan's assessment was that she is exceptionally smart.  Of course she is.  She's ours!  He also offered to help train her which was awesome.  So, that was the beginning of Kanti's new world which involves a sterner, more demanding Greg, a shorter leash, and a slightly tougher Joy.  Good news is that she has responded really well to the new regime under the co-dicatatorship of Greg and Joy even though it has probably turned her world inside out. 

We had our first flat tire this week which is kind of amazing if you think about the fact that we were living and driving through a building site for the last eleven months.  One day we noticed that Big Red had developed a little bit of a lean and that one tire was languishing.  Good thing Greg's a handy guy; the nail puncture was easily fixed with a patching kit from Canadian Tire.  Note to self, love Greg lots and keep him around.  I'm not sure that AMA would come out to change the tire on Big Red for me if I called.  I'd better read the fine print on that membership, just in case.
Inside the house we still have to finish some unpacking and the basement needs some TLC.  But I did manage to unpack a few more office boxes this week so more floor space is available.  Greg puttered around in the garage, cleaning and arranging to his heart's content.  Now the bikes are accessible which will allow for a leisurely ride to the mailbox. Slowly but surely we'll get there.  We'll get everything sorted out both inside and out, including Kanti.
 


   

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