indoor outdoor cat

I like watching my cats in their new surroundings. It really emphasizes the differences in the two of them.
We went outside today and I left them off the leashed to let them explore a bit. Seven, who has been outside lots before, was so interested in all the new sounds and smells. She would hear something and try and see where it was coming from. Then stop, sniff a bit, and then hear something else and be off again. She loves it out there! I think she imagines herself as a big cat exploring the forest looking for prey. Queen of the jungle.
Then, there is Stupe. We got her form a pet store, so she has never lived outdoors and it shows. She comes outside because she is curious, but alas, not curageous. She saw Seven out there and thought that maybe she could do it too. So, she went all the way to the field where Seven had been "hunting", but it didn't take long before something scared her and she made a bee-line back to the deck! She did, however, decide to roll in the dirt to prove to everyone that she had been outside (lucky me, I had to wipe her clean before she came in).
I think we all go back and forth between those to states. One day we are truly curageous. We push our limits and explore the jungle to become the hunter. Confident and comfortable.
The next day, we really want to be curageous so we venture out. We cover ourselves up so no one knows our fears, but ultimately something freaks us out and we bolt back to our comfort zone!
In the end, hopefully we all end up happy warm and in someones arms (or lap if you really are a cat) regardless of the adventure we might have had that day.


Puuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Our new home!

This is our new house! We now live in White City, which is a suburb of Regina. It is a brand new home that has never been lived in before us.

This is the back. As you can see, it backs prairie. It is so peaceful out here!

The living room has cathedral style 20ft ceilings! There are built in shelves adjacent to the fireplace and tv in which to store our many finds!

Both Seven and Stupe have been enjoying sunning themselves in the many windows. Doesn't she look happy?!

home

Since leaving home at the tender age of 17 I have never lived in a house. Apartment, condos, even townhouses, but not a house. Well, now is the time. It is Easter Weekend and we are moving into our very first house with a yard, and everything.
The little bungalow-style condo that we live in now was fine for when Jurgen lived here by himself. Occaisionally, I would stay for a month and bring the cats. No problem. We each had our own space. However, after living here for 6 months I soon realized we needed something more. So, the search began.
We looked for only about 4 months. At one point we were planning to put an offer on a house (the one we ended up buying, in fact), but I got cold feet. It just didn't seem right. In the end, it boiled down to the house of our dreams versus a house in the city. The house that we bought it actually in a suburb of the city about a 10 minute drive from where we are now.
Now, every time I am out there I feel a bit more happy, a bit more excited, and even a bit more relaxed. I can see how one could easily slip into small town life out there. Less traffic. Less noise. Less hassle. The only real hassle is the drive back into the city, and that is not a big deal. Afterall, we did just buy a BMW this year.
So, as much as I hate moving, it is good. The packer came yesturday to pack everything up. Today, being Good Friday, nothing happened and we are living in a house full of boxes. Tomorrow, the movers come. Yes, tomorrow will be stressful with moving and unpacking, but in the end it will be worth it.
I am so excited to have a yard, to landscape, and have what I would call a true HOME.

life too short

I find that whenever I am faced with someone's death, even if they aren't that close to me, I am shaken. I guess it forces me to have a look at my own life and my own mortality. Whatever I believe about what happens after, this life is only once, and very short.
My husband's grandmother passed away last night. She was surrounded by family when it happened and in a very lovely setting. There were no needles, monitors, or tubes. She was not in a hospital, but died peacefully in her longterm care home. We were there for part of her journey to the end, but I never felt as if I really new her, and so thought I would not be touched. I have dealt with people dying since I began my career path. Despite all of this, I am always touched.
I mourned today. For her, for her family. Mostly, though, I mourned for mortality and the loss of life. It makes me think, again, about what is important. In the end, who remembers you? What do you leave behind? If you have no family, the answer seems obvious. Unless you are some uber smart and talented person who luckily gets something named after them, in 100 years no one will remember you. However, if you have kids at least your legacy lives on. One small piece of you will remain.
Death is never easy. Maybe it is one of the reasons I do what I do. I try to help people stave off death for a little longer than they might not have been able to. I bring them comfort instead of pain. Sometimes I even get to be involved in bringing new life into the worlds.
I am comforted by the fact that she was not in any pain. I am comforted by the fact that some of her family was there. Still, I sent out a prayer that she might be happy in her existence, and that her family's pain would be eased by this.

Anaheim

This is us on the Universal Studios tour. Some of the same stuff as when I was five was there! Do people even know who Jaws is anymore?

Los Angeles was really cool, but drving in 6 lanes of traffic to get there was crazy!



Everything at DisneyLand seemed so much smaller than when I was five!

San Diego

We were recently in San Diego for a conference. It was a Transesophageal Echocardiography conference. I learned a lot, but it got a bit boring near the end. Nonetheless, I managed to make some friends, do some shopping, and see some sites:

At the conference we had a "wet lab" in which we dissected a pig heart.

These were some of the friends we met there. Tim works in Regina with us, and Francois and his wife we met there.

After the conference was over we did some site seeing in San Diego.

An old aircraft carrier, the Midway, was turned into a museum. We spent almost 2 hours wandering around it and looking at the planes on it.

In Balboa park, there are a ton of museums. One of which was the museum of man. The outside looks like a church!

Suffering in San Deigo

We are in San Diego right now. We have been here for a week, 6 days of which we have been at a very intense conference (the other was arriving here). The first few days were really good. We learned a lot. I thought to myself, "OK, I can do this". I can learn this stuff and do echo, and continue to do Cardiac Anesthesia. The next few days were alright, but not as good. It was repetitive, and I started to not understand everything, but I perservered, I continued. I learned even more. Some of our friends also joined us for those days, and that helped a lot. We could go out for dinner, and joke about some of the things we were supposed to be learning. Then came the "Advanced Course". Not so interesting. Much less understanding. And, finally, I have reached the end. No, not the end of the conference (there is still over 7 hours of lectures left). The end of my patience, the end of caring, the end of wanting to be here anymore. I even said to my hubby that maybe we should think about coming home early.
Alas, all is not lost. Soon we will be on vacation. We can sleep in, go shopping, see some sights, do what we want, and not learn for a little while. I think San Diego might have some fun things to offer (although I don't know that yet), as will Anaheim and DisneyLand. I just have to hold on a little longer.
How did I ever do this for 14 years straight? OK, I guess the last 6 years were more like work with small bouts of lectures thrown in. However, now I really understand how once people get out into the work force they really don't want to go back to school. You just get out of practice.
At least it is cloudy today. It makes it much easier to be in a dark boring room all day. And, we took some time off, and hung out in the hot tub for a bit. That really helped. Now, I feel a little more refreshed and like I could listen to someone blather on about echo for a bit more. It can be sunny on Saturday. Then we can enjoy it.
Just a little more....