Rosie is doing well. We've had an unbelievable stroke of weather lately with no rain in the past three weeks, so she's been out for regular walks almost every day over the last while. And for her this is an exceptionally good thing, because first and foremost in Rosie's mind right now is whether or not she can catch a squirrel. Every time we take her out, she ignores all the other dogs that are walking by and want to say hello, and instead puts her nose to the ground and sniffs out the squirrels. She is 100% in hunting mode. As soon as she spots them she proceeds to chase them up trees and into bushes, all the while baying like a madwoman and sounding, generally, as though someone is beating her to death. We actually had a few people stop us over the weekend because they thought that Rosie was in distress, and they wanted to know if we needed help.
Well, life goes on here without too much in the way of updates. You can probably tell though, seeing as it's over a week since we've updated this page, that Chris continues to keep us busy. At the moment he is thoroughly interested with two new appendages he's found - his feet! They amaze him to no end and he keeps us entertained by laughing at them every time he spots them. It's also pretty special because he's started to have real laughs - real little giggles at things rather than just infantile reactions to stimuli. It also means that for me (it's Bryan writing here) that I get to see Sarah's eyes light up when she sees her little guy developing his own personality and generally enjoying life. And that makes me happy, so the circle that goes around - beginning with Chris - is fairly complete! No complaints I'll say!
Rosie is doing well. We've had an unbelievable stroke of weather lately with no rain in the past three weeks, so she's been out for regular walks almost every day over the last while. And for her this is an exceptionally good thing, because first and foremost in Rosie's mind right now is whether or not she can catch a squirrel. Every time we take her out, she ignores all the other dogs that are walking by and want to say hello, and instead puts her nose to the ground and sniffs out the squirrels. She is 100% in hunting mode. As soon as she spots them she proceeds to chase them up trees and into bushes, all the while baying like a madwoman and sounding, generally, as though someone is beating her to death. We actually had a few people stop us over the weekend because they thought that Rosie was in distress, and they wanted to know if we needed help. This week I'm working at home the entire week prior to my move to Canary Wharf, so that's a nice treat; but then comes my horrible new commute! Oh wish me well on that one. And really ... that's about it. I've missed every single Canucks game to date and didn't get to watch a single shot of the President's Cup, but I'm coping
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Well, it seems that Vancouver is not the only city that can create a, shall we say, reputation for itself. The last three nights have been ones of unrest for the Capital. Riots have created an atmosphere of wartime conflict on the streets of London. Buses, police cars, and buildings have been burned. A 140 year-old business went up in flames last night, with residents leaping from the windows above the store. People have been shot, and one person is dead. Railroad tracks have been melted from the flames. Police have been injured and over 500 people have been arrested; and there is fear that it could all continue tonight. Last night the violence spread to Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, and Bristol. PM David Cameron is home early from holiday, and Parliament was recalled today. No doubt by now you have heard that this has been taking place, but let me start by saying that we are not in the affected neighbourhoods. Some of the activities have taken place nearby, but nowhere near close enough to keep us awake with the sound of sirens, or for fear of fire. It would be the equivalent of living in the area around South Granville (say, Broadway & Granville, for example) when the riots took place downtown after the Stanley Cup Final, so we were a ways away from the activities. Some areas are as far as away as 50 minutes by tube.
These riots started after the demonstration over the shooting of a 29 year-old man, but are in no way related to that. The man's family have condemned the violence, and no one participating in the mobs is doing so because they're upset at this man's misfortune. It's more a case of, shall we say, faecal rodents thinking that it's a good way to spend an evening looting and causing property damnage, and believing that because everyone's doing it, there's nothing wrong in going along with the crowd. What a bunch of idiots. There was talk today of calling in the army to keep the peace on the streets. I think that's not a bad idea. These punks want to take on the authorities and burn their vehicles? Let's see what they do when they're up against an armoured vehicle or even a tank! I'd like to see their faces if the tactics used in quelling the violence involved taking prisoners and asking questions later. The authorities have instead decided to bolster the streets with a police force of 16,000 - I think this is a similar number to entire force that policed Vancouver & Whistler during the Olympics. Everyone is hoping that these riots stop tonight and order is restored. On another note of unrest, Doug & Debby have gone home and Sarah and I are now on our own to play defence against Christopher. We're still not sleeping for long periods overnight, and I feel bad for Sarah because I can only do so much before waking her up so Chris can eat, but we're managing. Chris really is a joy and we thoroughly enjoy the fact that he's smiling at us a lot more frequently and showing off his dimples, but it's also just one of those things about newborns that they can only communicate by crying. So we are learning to interpret his wails more quickly and respond to what he's asking for and calm him down better. Ah, parenting. I went back to work on Monday, and so far so good for me. My work mates did a great job of managing my countries while I was gone and I returned to a very manageable workload. Sarah seems to be managing the home front alone quite well, and I'm looking forward to being able to help her out when I can, when I work from home. It's nice to at least be at home and able to see the two of them while my attention is on work, rather than being in the office. Rosie has also asked me to pass along her thanks for everyone's comments and well wishes in response to her post. She is feeling a bit better these days and has a bit more spring in her step. I'd like to believe it's because she's been out playing with a lot of other dogs in the park lately, but it's also probably due to the fact that she's been encouraged by everyone from home. So thanks again. Well, time to say goodbye for now, but more to come! ~Bryan A quick PS: the test event for beach volleyball is going on now. Check out the venue ... this is the ultimate Olympic venue, and I am desperate to get tickets!! Temperatures here in London this Sunday reached almost 30 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day. It was a perfect day for spending at the Wandsworth Dog Show in Battersea Park. We had received a flyer about the show in the mail just a day after Rosie arrived and we thought "perfect timing." The show has been running for 17 years in the park and this year the money raised from the entry fees (£1.50 per class your dog enters) was given to Armed Forces charities in honour of Armed Forces day here in England. The day included other family activities and demonstrations involving dogs (military and otherwise) for the whole family and the dog show was meant to be just for fun. Bryan and I (and likely several others) couldn't help but notice one woman that must have been lost on her way to the Westminster dog show however... can we say competitive! Clearly the fact that the entry fee was £1.50 and several dogs entered were being handled by very young owners wasn't enough to tip her off to the whole "just for fun" vibe. Oh well, I guess there is one in every crowd. We entered Rosie into two classes. One in the Pedigree group "Best Sporting" and one in the novelty group "dog the judges would most like to take home". Being the biased parents that we are, we figured Rosie would clean up! Little did we know, it turns out that even when the show is "just for fun" the Pedigree class is for more serious competitors. Rosie wasn't such a fan of being put up on a table for inspection by the judge or such a fan of the judge wanting to touch her in general. She did however bring home a 2nd place blue rosette in her second class. The judge was much more friendly in that class. Overall, it was a wonderful reason to meet lots of people (and other dogs) in the park, enjoy the sunshine, ice cream treats for Bryan and I (a liver treat for Rosie) and to support the Armed Forces here in the UK. I sure hope this weather holds up! If you want to read Rosie's take on the show check out our pictures page and click on the images in order. She added her thoughts to each of the captions. Our Rosie has finally arrived safe and sound at home here in London. And she proved that she was a real trooper in making the journey. Not only was there more paperwork to complete for Rosie to enter the UK than for Bryan and I, but on arrival she had to "hang out" at Heathrow clearing customs for 5 hours after she landed! And here I thought that my hour and a half line was rough. After her 9 hour flight from Vancouver was finished she had to be checked out by a vet at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre and have a clearance certificate issued by customs. Bryan and I still don't quite understand how any of that took 5 hours but none the less she is now at home. While she was at the Animal Reception Centre waiting for us to take her home she was let out to run and go to the bathroom, have something to eat, and something to drink. When they finally brought Rosie out to us in the reception area from behind the tinted glass doors she was a little tentative with us. It had been two months since I had last seen her and almost 4 since Bryan had seen her. Once she took a few moments to sniff our hands she gladly went to Bryan and proceeded to kiss his entire face and then mine. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to celebrate her arrival with sunshine, but rather with a torrential downpour. For the three of us, this was made more than mildly irritating by the fact that we now had a 15 minute walk back to Terminal 4 from the Animal Reception Centre in the rain. Top it off with Bryan having to carry a less than feather-light animal crate and our need to bolt through a rather busy traffic round-about to get to the right side of the motorway. Once we made it back inside Terminal 4 we used the "Free Bonus Mat Included" from her crate to try and clean and dry Rosie off before making our way to the Underground. She was still a wet dog but a vast improvement for the rest of our trip. As I suspected, Rosie received lots of attention on the Underground from passengers that wanted to Ooo, and Aww at her and give her a pat. Most notably was a young girl with her dad who came over just before her stop to meet Rosie and say hello and then blow her a kiss good-bye. Rosie didn't seem to mind as the young girl was just Rosie's size and was very gentle. Although Rosie handled the Tube and the short Train ride from Victoria Station to home in stride, I think the escaltor might take her a bit of getting used to... We all enjoyed dinner together at home and then Rosie did some exploring before curling up for a pre-bedtime nap. Her fuzzy green mats from home, that arrived in our boxes two weeks ago, seemed to make her feel comfortable enough to relax a little. So far our first two nights have been a little restless with noises outside waking up Rosie (and then us), and a few checks to make sure Bryan and I are still there in bed where she left us. She has taken to sleeping on her bed on the floor again rather well, despite her attempts (much to Bryan's dismay) on the first night to remind me that we shared a bed for two months at my parents house when Bryan was in London. It was a treat for us (and on occasion a treat for Rosie and her "Nana" and "Granny" I understand) but something that we need to say good-bye to with the baby on the way. I cant help but smile at the image in my mind of the four of us attempting to share a double bed. I can just see Rosie right smack in the middle of the bed, laying on her side, legs outstretched and not a care in the world. Meanwhile, Bryan is clinging to the side trying not to fall off and Baby Imrie and I are laying at the end of the bed up against the footboard just trying to get some sleep between feedings... yep, Rosie belongs on the floor! Things are still very new for our Rosie and the odd smell or sound leaves her a bit skittish but with me home during the day and Bryan in the office only Tuesday through Thursday I hope that she will continue to make the transition well over the next few weeks. She has already made the house feel more like home and like nothing else we packed could have. I think she made a great "Father's Day" present for Bryan, so here's to all the other Fathers that count themselves among our friends and family. May you all have a wonderful day with your kids - be they grandchildren, children of the four legged variety or whatever form they may be. |
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