Cat strollers

I must be out of my ever loving mind to be even considering this contraption. Have you seen those strollers for cats? 
Before having cats I saw them at a pet store in Edmonton and thought it was a great idea and very functional for getting your cat out of doors for fresh air while keeping them safe at the same time but could never imagine pushing one through the street. 
Maybe I'm getting a tad senile but I think I want one for Tabatha and Gilbert. You see, Rianne loves pushing the cats in the stroller. I unpacked her Quinny Zapp stroller a couple of weeks ago in order to transport the little man I was babysitting and she was zooming around the house with either one cat or the other so she may very well enjoy taking them outside for walks in a stroller of their very own.
Here's where it gets questionable ... people will think it's adorable that a child is pushing her kittens in a special stroller. I have visions however of her giving up on the chore half way through the walk, leaving ME to push the cats back home and the town folk will think I'm a complete nut. 
It's funny how things are just darling when a child does them but as soon as you reach adulthood that same task seems ridiculous and straight jacket worthy. Life would be way more fun if we could just throw caution to the wind and keep living as carefree and a child.

If you have one of these cat strollers ... have you been reported to the mental hospital as a possible candidate yet? or .. if you have seen such a site in your town .. have YOU been the one to call the authorities to report a possible escapee?

Friends, family and festivities

Rianne and I are heading to CBI in a couple of weeks and I'm sitting here wondering how many street parades I can cram into our time there. She loves watching parades and frankly it's free entertainment so why not take in what you can since the price is right. 
Mabou Ceilidh days end just prior to Inverness Gathering days so there's 2 parades right there. I haven't been to a Mabou parade since I was a kid. The month of July is packed full of festivals from one end of the County to the other so it should be a good time. 
Friends, family and festivities ... what could possibly make a Summer any better? 

Adventures in Westville

Yes .. we had adventures or what I like to call adventures because frankly, just getting out of the house is an adventure lately and since we are trapped in Westville we have to make the best of it. 

Yesterday we went to the playground and then to Foodland. After supper I put Rianne in the tub while I folded clothes. When I went to get her out of the tub .. lawwwwdyyyyyyy there was water everywhere .. even out in the hallway. I gave her a big lecture and then she told me it was Tabatha's fault. I didn't believe her ... until .... I saw the wet paw prints leading to my bedroom. Yes, my 4 year old told the truth and the only thing yet to be determined is if Tabatha fell in or if she was pulled into the tub against her will. I had to tell Rianne to towel herself off while I caught Tabatha in a towel and dried her. What a fiasco!

Today we went to the local thrift store where I discovered it was sale day and we filled a grocery bag for $5 and Rianne got a little Disney Princess suitcase that she pulled all the way home. We stopped at the post office where the only mail was junk but she insisted I put the stuff in her suitcase so she could take it home. Too cute to argue with her so we brought the junk mail home and it now sits in the recycle pile. 
We stopped in Lawton's Drugs and she was still pulling her suitcase telling everyone she was taking the mail home. We walked by the display of Kinder eggs by the cash register and I told her she could get ONE egg and she responded "no thank you mommy. Chocolate makes me crazy" ... SAY WHAT??? I thought the cashier was going to fall over laughing.I was rather stunned to say the least. We left the store and she didn't have a chocolate egg. Shocking!
We walked home and dropped off our "loot" and then we went to the playground for a bit before walking to Foodland for some fresh fruit and a few other things. On our way home we stopped at the corner store where Rianne got a slush. It looked sooo cool and refreshing but I restrained from buying one for myself. I cooked supper and after we ate I mowed the yard, worked up a good sweat and burned approximately 488 calories in the process. Yay me! Now if my arthritic ankle stops aching I could be more active and burn even more calories in order to keep up with the weight loss. 

Soooo now Rianne is in bed and I'm sitting here watching television, relaxing. Busy day today .. we should both sleep good tonight. There's a little kiddie parade in town tomorrow evening at 6 PM so we will have an early supper in order to get out and watch it.

Here's the little diva as she looked this morning .. adorable in her braids:

Busy Summer

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Okay ... Summer is officially here according to the calendar. Mother Nature didn't get that memo but in spite of that we are going to make the best of it.
On Saturday the 26th there's a childrens parade at 6 PM so we will watch. We may possibly participate next year if Rianne wants to but for right now she prefers to watch parades. There is something going on on the 27th but it's only a fashion show and the Little Miss pageant and I'm pretty sure she that wouldn't interest her. ON the 28th there's a classic antique car show and cruise night on the main street. We may wake a walk over town to see the old cars for a bit. The 29th of this month there is one of those traveling carnivals in town for a few days. I know Rianne will have ZERO interest in going on the rides but we will probably take a walk up the street to have a look at the excitement and possibly buy a candy apple or two :) .. That leads up to Canada Day celebrations on the 30th with entertainment before the big street parade on July 1st. I am looking forward to that event because it's supposed to be the largest Canada Day parade in the Province. Pretty impressive for a small town! 
So that kicks off the month of July and it will come in with a bang ... literally ... with a fireworks display that night. I think Rianne and I will head to Cape Breton on the 4th for a couple of weeks. If the weather permits, we will go to the beach and enjoy the sun, sea and salt air. Old Home Week in my hometown is from the 17th - 24th so we will probably stay for that and then come home. Yes, we will be taking the cats with us which should prove interesting since my mom has an old cat. I can predict some hissing happening.
That will pretty much bring us into August and there's never anything going on that month other than our wedding anniversary. This year it will be 12 years!! Nothing planned at all as Jon will be still in Alberta until the Fall. 
So if everything goes as planned it should be a fun and eventful Summer. I will have to take pictures of everything and document it for Jon. He will me home next year for everything and that will mean more quality family time.
 

Gone wild @ the wildlife park!

Yesterday was fantastic!
We went to the local wildlife park and along the way we drove through a town that is exactly half way between the North Pole and the Equator.
It started out as a rainy dull day but the closer we got to the park the rain let up. It stayed overcast but that was optimal because it kept the temperatures cooler. Nothing worse than being all hot and sweaty walking through the woods.
There were peafowl everywhere through the park. On the walking trails, in with the ducks, in with the horses, on top of buildings, jumping over fences .... everywhere!!
I was thrilled to get pictures of one with the tail fanned out. His name is Periwinkle. What a masculine name huh? He's probably embarrassed but the name certainly doesn't take away from his beauty. What I wouldn't do to find one of those feathers laying on the ground.

We saw moose, bears, lynx, bobcats, arctic wolves, grey wolves, bald eagles, owls, emus, horses, ducks, swans, raccoons, porcupine, deer, reindeer and a whole collection of various pheasants.

When we finished up at the wildlife park we went to the picnic/playground area for lunch and then back to the park where we walked through the wetlands before departing for home. I can't wait to return again when Jon gets home from out West.

The case of the missing coins

A few days ago I noticed the coins for Rianne's Fisher Price cash register were missing. I questioned her and she told me she hid the coins so the little guy I've been babysitting this month couldn't play with it. I was NOT happy at all. I have spent days looking everywhere for the coins. This morning when I was getting a diaper out of the package to change little man's diaper I heard a clinking sound, reached my hand into the package and there, at the bottom were the 6 missing coins. It wasn't Rianne's doing at all so I don't know why she said she did it. Then again maybe she DID do it and framed the little man by putting them in his belongings. Very sneaky on her part if that's the case. I told her if she didn't do it, then she shouldn't be taking the blame because that will potentially get her into trouble in later years.
Now, why didn't I find the coins yesterday or the day before since I've been changing diapers?? Maybe I live in a haunted house and the spook is playing mind games, or there are pixies about and they are hiding things, making me crazy .. LOL.
Either way .. the coins have been located and I can cancel the APB I have out on them.

June .. no, you mean January!

What a JUNE!! Cold, rainy, dull .. if I wanted to live in England, I'd move there. Granted, today is a sunny morning so far but it's also the first day we've seen seen sun since last week. Early last week at that!
So, what has June brought thus far? Not much of anything really. Slight flooding in the back yard. Yay for being the same level as the pond back there (*sarcasm*) .. That makes mowing the grass a tad difficult since I have to wait for the lawn to dry up.
It's hard to believe the first week of June is over. I am loving how fast the time is going by because I have many more months to go before Jon gets home but for now Rianne and I are managing solo.
The kittens are growing and will most likely have to be spayed and neutered this Summer. Not looking forward to that. Last time we had cats fixed they sent one of them back home with us while they were still out like a light. The waking up/drunk phase is hard on the nerves!
Rianne is doing great. I was planning on getting her into a preschool in the Fall but I don't think finances are going to allow it. It's crazy expensive even to go part-time (twice a week).

Right now I am looking forward to the big Canada Day parade here in town (July 1st) and then the next thing will be Halloween. I love Halloween and I can't wait to decorate the front porch. Four more months!!

Weight loss is going okay. Could be better if I was more active though. I'm not getting the big weekly numbers that I was getting in the beginning. Right now I'm happy with a 1 lb loss where before I was getting 4 or 5 lb losses. I have to find something to challenge myself with. The Wii Fit isn't doing it for me anymore. The 30 minute free step is the only thing I like but that's because I turn the music channels on and go at my own pace and I get in about 3500 steps in 30 minutes on average. Sometimes I sabotage that number by doing leg lifts during the routine just for an extra calorie burn and a better workout. My goal is to do at least 30 minutes every evening and maybe up to 60 minutes or more depending on Rianne's behaviour. She is sometimes too high spirited and too demanding which interferes but the good thing is the Wii has a pause button that I can engage, deal with her and then get back to it without losing my progress. The obvious thing would be to workout after she goes to bed but she hears the Wii and refuses to settle so I get the workout in after cartoons go off at 6 PM. Lots of time to get in a good calorie burn before she goes to bed between 8:00 and 8:30.
I have a $600 Halifax shopping spree riding on the loss of another 25 lbs (total loss of 50 lbs by October 1st).