Denis has been ignoring a growing wasp population outside the pet door, and sure enough, little Ricky was stung above his eye yesterday.  He let out the loudest pain-filled yelp, and shortly after he had a grape-sized lump above his eye.  As it was a Saturday, I was envisioning an expensive emergency vet fee due to an allergic reaction, but the dog was fine.  So, money saved from the vet, off we all went for a nice dinner.

It was the perfect night to go out, as Luke has accepted the lucrative oil field job, and is leaving for Calgary on Monday.  I envision him with a kerchief, filled with his paltry possessions, tied around the end of a pole.  Marching off with the pole on his back, bravely beginning a new life….In reality, however, he’s taking the plane.

Luke and his girlfriend Michelle, Nicky, Denis and I sat outside at one of the local establishments.  We’re actually quite fortunate to have a couple of restaurants within walking distance of our semi-rural home.  However, when I say ‘walking distance’ I don’t mean that we actually walk.  One could walk, should one wish to be so conscientious.

We ordered and then proceeded to eat a rather large amount of food.  When I remarked on the volume, Denis said, “why not, it’s Saturday night” as though we did this on a weekly basis.  After appies of nachos and calamari, we ate main dishes of burgers, wraps and stir fries.  Nicky and I insisted on desserts.  Just because I could, I ordered a Spanish coffee and came home feeling exhausted.

I’m sure the exhaustion is the accumlation of two heady days of baking with Marilyn.  We made over 300 fruitcakes, and now I have to vacuum seal and package them.  Then go to the store for ingredients, get another $500 worth of brandy, and be ready to start baking all over again.  It really is a filthily expensive product and one has to have nerves of steel for the debt it engenders.

Oh well, what’s a line of credit for, anyway, if not to help us purchase those vital items.  One of which is the dear greenhouse, which has produced the first ripe tomato of the season.  Today I had it for lunch on a sandwich, and it was fabulous.  I love going down to my garden with a sharp knife.  I cut heads of broccoli and cauliflower, slice cucumbers from their vines, and pick the outer leaves of my lettuce.

The dogs are intrepid birders and the other day I saw a pair of baby bird feet sticking out of Ricky’s mouth.  He and Mojo have been eating quite a lot of them, so I know my dream of putting a chicken coop down in the garden would be counter productive.  I can only dream of the day when I have the bee hive, chickens, a cow, a miniature horse or two (as pets) and of course the ubiquitous vegies.