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Thursday, July 17th, 2008
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7:05 am - Not much time
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This is Meirion (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) emjaybaxter helping out at the Donnybrook, our local mega-auction that recycles (tons and tons of) stuff donated by Nanookville residents. The proceeds go to local charities. It's a fun event held every July; everybody goes. I've covered it here several times before, so only a couple of pictures this time.
I've been very, very busy lately, mostly because the house is close to being finished and decisions on final touches, etc. have taken up a lot of our time. Bill the builder hopes to be 95% finished by tomorrow, although there are some timing issues that will see minor things drag on for another week or two. But he will move on to another job now, coming back as required. to finish things. The counter tops, for instance, aren't in, and will take a little time to be finished, the appliances wont arrive 'til next week, so the plumbing will need to be hooked up then too and there a few other bits and pieces. Still, its looking pretty complete now, with the kitchen cabinets installed, tiling done, hardwood floor on its way to being fully laid (big job) and lighting fixtures in place now.
And they've even seeded the mudscape.
I've been looking in to getting wildflower seeds in bulk to scatter in with the grass seed; we are more interested in looking out on to meadow than lawn. I'm shocked at the price though; it would cost a couple of thousand dollars to seed flwers at the recommended density. Who'd have thunk! So I think we'll have clumps of wildflowers amongst the grass rather than a sea of them, until nature takes over.
If I sound a little obsessed with all this house stuff, I am. It's actually been an effective way to take our minds off the Baxter business a little.
Going out with good friends tonight for Indian. My favourite thing to do!
The auction crowd looks excited too!
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| Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
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4:54 pm - Follow up on rant
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Thanks for all the support on the issue of the US ban on HIV-positive visitors.
The good folks at the Human Rights Campaign are organizing a write-in protest to ensure that those who want this ban upheld are defeated in the senate. You can petition your senator here. It's easy. Go ahead and do it. But hurry - as it's up for discussion this week.
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hivtravelban
Thank you!
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7:27 am - The State of the Union
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(click on through to YouTube and choose to view in high quality)
Before the rant, the nice. This is the garden of the cottage we're currently renting. It's a beauty that's often been featured on local garden tours. We share this compound with our landlord, the owner of the house which is its main dwelling (a renovated church). Our dogs have a fenced in area you don't see here. I hate to think what they would do to this garden.
Now the rant; I am not happy with the grand old U. S of A Not the people, of course - you folks in particular are wonderful - but the country's crummy government, its crummy policies, and its crummy flake of a president. Now I know folks don't always take kindly to their country being criticized by outsiders, but I hope you folks will allow me to anyway.
Here's the thing. Some Canadians don't want to even set food in the US until they get a new president. Meirion is one. I have sat on the fence on this, but now I'm sharing his take on it. But for me that stance is kind of academic because I'm not even allowed to visit.
Why? Simply because I'm HIV-positive, and there is a long standing ban on HIV-positive visitors to the US. We are a threat to public health and national security, say Bush and co. But as US-based POZ magazine points out this month* "it is more common for foreigners to contract HIV in the US than it is for them to import the disease." The administration knows this. Using Bush's ignorance-laced logic, all US HIV-positive residents should in fact be banned from leaving their own country, because of course they are vectors of disease. But he cares not if they infect the world. POZ magazine says this: "it seems terribly hypocritical to impose a (perceived) danger on others we would not face ourselves." POZ is being polite. The US administration's ethics stink.
An International AIDS Conference has been held everywhere but the US, because the global HIV-positive community would not be able to attend a US conference. That position has made the US an object of derision and an an international laughing stock, as if there weren't already enough reason to make it so.
So I'm done with being nice and ignoring the horrible table manners of our neighbours to the south. My flight to Mexico City later this month for the International AIDS Conference there has me jumping through hoops to get there without using a connecting flight that lands in the US. None of the large Canadian HIV delegation is in fact touching down in the US on its way to Mexico, because of the danger of being turned back while on US soil.
Retaliation is, of course, the American way. If Canada wasn't so steeped in the kind of decency that's lacking in the US administration, we would as a country fight back by banning visits here by US HIV-positive citizens. I'm awfully glad we don't stoop that low.
/rant
*Full text of the article is here.:
http://www.poz.com/articles/editors_letter_2201_14784.shtml
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| Monday, July 14th, 2008
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6:54 am - Construction update
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When I last reported here, our new house looked something like this. The drywall had just been installed and taped. So we had real rooms!
Progress continues unabated. Bill, our builder, thinks he will be finished in two weeks and the house will be ready for us to move in then. That estimate looks about right. However, that closing date coincides exactly with when I will be going to Mexico City, so we'll likely not move in until mid-August. That will give us time to get all the finishing touches done.
Construction, though, has continued to be a fascinating and enjoyable process throughout. We've enjoyed the shopping aspect too, with design choices we made months ago now seeing the light of day - and mostly turning out well. Only one faux pas really - the kitchen back-splash we chose looked yucky against the kitchen cabinets, so we had to look for a new material. (Slate tiles, as it happens, rather than pressed tin.) But overall we and Bill (he's been a collaborator all the way on the design, and thank god that for a straight guy, he's a got a good eye) have done good. I'm thinking the kitchen and bathroom in particular are going to look really.nice.
Yesterday we spent big bucks on a 46" HD TV with a top-of-the-line Bose sound system. We have become strangely immune to fretting about spending big chunks of cash lately.
Anyway, enough of the chat, there are many pictures behind the cut. Including of course, a few hunky contractors, although I'm sure nobody is interested in those. Clicky anyway?
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| Friday, July 11th, 2008
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7:06 am - Mucho macho
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The rodeo comes to Nanookville every July and I was there this past weekend to breathe it all in (coz I likes the rodeo). Not to mention sampling the peculiar brand of macho that hangs over these events. These guys clearly take their manliness seriously, even if half of them are just young bucks. Their studied bravado seems almost silly and overdone at times, until you realize it really does take a huge dose of courage to ride an angry bull, even if only for eight very tense seconds. Most of them don't in fact last that long before they hit the ground hard - and perhaps even get trampled on. There are always folks hurt in these shows; it's par for the course. So yep, that kind of raw courage is kind of hot.
I used my press pass to gain access to the backstage area again this year, although in truth it's relatively easy, just with a bit of chutzpah, to cross the barrier and mingle with the cowboys preparing to go on. It's fascinating. Behind the cut you'll see some of those behind-the-scenes shots, as well as a short video I took, which proves that crotch grabbing, in this crowd at least, didn't go out with Michael Jackson. Clicky?
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| Thursday, July 10th, 2008
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7:41 am - Lovely Allen
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I'm delaying doing the construction update post for a few more days. The progress since I last reported has been subtle, but the painters are in right now (four pretty females) and by the end of this week, it will be akin to a transformation, so let's wait until then. In the meantime, above is the view from the porch right now. Can't wait to set up my rocking chair there and just breathe it all in.
Yesterday I described the colour of the paint we were using for the interior as being an odd orange-green colour. muddster queried how such a colour could be; it certainly is the case that some colours are mighty difficult to describe in words. So here's what it looked like yesterday, right out of the can. (Coincidentally it occupies the same tonal palette as the field in the picture above.) The painters did just the laundry room in this to start with; I think they wanted to give us a chance to back out. But while it's odd, I think it will look fine with white trim, classic even, and we'll go ahead with the rest of the house in this colour, and be damned.
In entirely unrelated news, I am giving up on Canadian Idol. While the show assembled an impressive roster of talent this season which might otherwise give AI a run for its money, the show is moronic in every other way imaginable. Meirion, who has sat through it for several seasons, is giving it up too now. Life is too short . .
I mentioned muddster earlier in this post and now I have to give him credit also for turning my ears and eyes towards Holy Fuck. I'm not sure that name thrills me as much as it is intended to, (although I smiked hearing the band's name used without blinking on CBC radio this week) but this album, cleverly called LP, definitely does. It's instrumental and very strong throughout. Here's the hugely upbeat Lovely Allen from that 2007 release, that just might make you feel good all over.
Failing that, have some chocolate.
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| Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
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8:15 am - By way of distraction, two slightly wacky portraits . .
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Local artist Milt Jewell at his show opening last Friday night in Nanookville
I've been consciously keeping busy since we lost Baxter. It's a strategy which works well in staving of the waves of sadness that otherwise sweep over you. But it's odd to come home and not have him greet you at the door with that unbridled enthusiasm of his. It will be a long time before we get used to that. And I'm not even sure I want to.
Anyway, busy is the word. I vacuumed, I ironed. I spent a big chunk of time on LJ of course, too, dealing with a ton of comments (thank you folks, for your support), a task which was complicated by my keyboard seizing up half way through. Freddie, our cat, doubtless thinking she was not getting enough attention these days, knocked a can of Sprite over said keyboard, whereupon it stopped working. But it took me Meirion a bit of time to diagnose the problem and a trip to Cobourg to buy a new keyboard to solve it. And of course while there I bought a couple of shirts on sale. Never, ever underestimate the power of retail therapy, my friends.
In a very packed day, we also visited the house at noon, where our builder had just fallen off a ladder. That aside, everything is coming along very well; perhaps only two more weeks and it will be done. Right now they have just installed all interior doors and the trim, and will start painting tomorrow (when we get to see whether that very odd shade of orange-green(?) we've chosen will work). The kitchen goes in at the end of the week, the hardwood too perhaps. I'm behind in my posts on this topic but will rectify this in a day or two.
I also have a photo post from the rodeo last weekend. Some of you folks will like that one, I know.
In the evening it was my show opening. About 30-40 people showed up, and I think they genuinely liked it. Two pieces sold. Silly me left the memory card for my camera at home, though, so there are no photos to record the event for posterity, but the local paper was there and I'll post their story in due course. I can also post photos I took when we were hanging the show, so you can see what it looked like, namely better than I had predicted.
Anyway, being incredibly busy all day gets tiring. Today, I thought I'd try wacky instead.
Un-named canine in the window of a doggie day spa, Cobourg, last Friday afternoon
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| Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
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7:35 am - Baxter
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Baxter left us, very peacefully, at 3.40 pm. yesterday afternoon. He wagged his tail once, and he was gone.
I don't think I've ever told the story of how we got him as a tiny puppy thirteen years ago. We were living in Cabbaggatown then, in downtown Toronto, but had sold our house to move up here. We were planning to get a dog as soon as we arrived in the country, but a lawn sign at a garage sale a few weeks before we were to leave town said "lab puppies for sale". So around the back we went, and all thoughts of waiting the few weeks until we were in the country went right out the window. Six week old black labs will do that to you. We picked the most playful one - or I think he picked us - and then we took him home.
Once we moved, he thrived in the country, running loose much of the time, but always, always returning within hours. Except for the time he was picked up by the pound. He had his share of run-ins with skunks and porcupines too, of course, which caused us much grief in their day, but that's part of country life.
He grew up to be the handsomest, smartest dog you could imagine. He excelled at obedience classes, and was singled out for further training for the St John's Ambulance therapy dog program. He relished going to visit "the old people" for many years. His only hang-up was the other dogs. Baxter never really liked other dogs very much, didn't seem to have the time for them. He liked people better.
Except Bailey. Bailey was more a mutt than a true black lab, although some mistakenly took the two for brothers,. For years they were inseparable. So when Bailey passed away two years ago, also from cancer, we thought Baxter would be devastated. But if he was, he kept it hidden (he was always a stoic dog, as he amply demonstrated these last few weeks) and I think he relished in the attention of being our one and only dog again.
Then came the two mad pups, Dudley and Dougall. They both wanted to be his friend but Dougall was too pushy and they never really bonded. Dudley had a gentler touch and they got on better, without being close.
The photo on this page was one of the last ones I took of Baxter, a week or so ago. Sick or not, he was easily pleased and he loved that afternoon in the garden. But he looks like a tired dog here, and he was.
He spent most of his last day dozing beside me, snapping at the occasional fly. Once he came and rested his head on my knee, something he often did, and he wagged his tail a fair bit. But I sensed he knew it was time,
Poor Baxter.
Behind the cut are a few images of how we'd like to remember him.
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| Monday, July 7th, 2008
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7:19 am - Neither words nor pictures can express . .
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. . but I posted something pleasant to look at anyway. Because it's been rather nice here lately. Except for one giant looming event.
I'm afraid it's Baxter's last day. We are taking him in to the vets this afternoon for the last time.
His condition worsened on the weekend, and the cancer in and on his leg is not only bleeding but clearly bothering him. Having said that, he has remained fairly perky through all this - and still is, eating his food normally and pricking up his ears when you call him, in imitation of a happy dog. It might be easier for us if he wasn't being so brave. But he's not himself and is clearly troubled now - and while we had thought we could wait until he was showing more complete signs of malaise, I really think he's trying to be too brave for his good. Or ours. For he's clearly very sick.
We could eke out a few more days, I'm sure, but those days would be increasingly unhappy for Baxter.
So this will not be a good day.
But tomorrow will be better. For everyone.
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| Friday, July 4th, 2008
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7:28 am - How we celebrate Canada's birthday
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With cupcakes! Carefully arranged, in case you hadn't noticed, in the shape of our maple leaf flag. Proving too that not only is Nanookville ever so patriotic, but that we know a hot trend when we see one. (Although usually the trend has long passed by the time we folks hop on board. We are just discovering Rubik's Cube here right now, after all.)
Still, last I heard, cupcakes were the new black. In my day, they were just cupcakes.
Much ado at the ruralrob residence now that those pesky pride festivities are out of the way. I no longer have to count drag queens to go to sleep. Today I hang my show at the wretched Campbellford library location, ready for Tuesday's opening. Which incidentally promises to be so gala that I actually might change my socks for it. And the new house is looking fabu too. Having slapped the drywall up fast, they are now sloshing paint on the walls as we speak. Meanwhile I am positively enraptured by So You Think You Can Dance I slobber over it twice a week, in a manner akin to Dudley over his morning bowl of wheaties.
So as you can see, this post has absolutely no point. Except for one BIG one. And that's to wish all my LJ friends south of the border - poor things - a very happy Fourth of July.
Now go celebrate. With cupcakes. Or not.
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