I have a sick dog and a sick boy!
Pride is on his last legs and is not doing well. He is comfortable, sleeping all day and barely able to stand. He has lost his appetite and struggles to drink water. We are hand feeding him and caring as best we can. His organs have high enzyme levels and everything is shutting down. The poor ol’guy.
Steve on the other hand has also been sick for over a month suffering from extreme sore throat, achey joints and spiking temperatures. Guess what? He was diagnosed with MONO yesterday. Picture Link to album.
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Catherine – Just wanted to share with you the news on the street. The Bantam Provincial Hockey Championships are this weekend in Kapescaping. Our local boys “Clarkson Hurricanes” are competing against Coberg, Hamilton, Grimsby, New Liskeard and Kapescaping. Your home town boys are the team to beat and it looks like they are going to go home winning themselves a provincial championship.

The Bako Boys are at the Toronto Blue Jays season opener today. I picked them up from school at 11am and took them to the GO train to take them to the Skydome. They were meeting their father who surprised them with tickets for an early Easter present. They were very excited as this was their first time at the special celebration for the first game of the season. They went early to watch the warm up of course and hoping to talk to some of the players. Nick bought good seats and they will be kicking themselves that they did not take their gloves with them (to catch any stray foul balls). I did not go, so I guess they felt they didn’t need to protect their mother for this game.

This past Saturday we had our gourmet night at Butani’s. We celebrated the country of Belgium. We were greeted at the door with a choice of Stella , Leffe, or Gimay Belgium beer in stemware glasses. I liked the evening so far! I made an entrance wearing my diamond and everyone oohed and awhed. The meal was fabulous..we started off with steamed mussels in a wine/vegetable broth served with the typical Belgium staple of french fries and mustard mayonnaise (all mad from stratch). We followed witha Belgium Endive and fennel cold salad topped with shredded smoked dried ham. The main course was melt in your mouth lamb ragout , riced potatoes, and an array of steamed vegetables. We provided the decadent desserts. Chocolate mousse with whipped cream and a raspberry. Chocolate truffel cake and a tier tray of Belgium cookies and biscuits, and chocolate truffels. Coffee and cogniac in the lounge was the finale. Our next dinner is to be Armenian at Jakobsons on May 1st.

Last Wednesday, the boys played a hockey game. I was not going to have a dinner or celebration for my birthday. Nick surprised me though! We went to “The Pump” the local watering hole for a green beer and gosh and behgoraah… to my amazement found about 25 of our friends having a nightcap in my honour. This was the best way to have a party, no stress, just show up! Stephen even drove me home as my designated driver. ps. Peter even got a goal for me, the team won to advance into the finals. A perfect day!

Our 18yr old cockatiel caught some kind of virus and died last week. She had not been well for about a weekand a half. We knew that she was ill and I warned the boys that she might die when we were away. Peter watched over her and he was the one to find her at the bottom of the cage. He was also the one to telephone us and relay the sad news. He has such a soft spot for animals. We took pictures of her a few days before she died.

Brian was in Ottawa for 4 days participating in the all Ontario High school Nordic Skiing (Cross Country) Championships. He had a blast in the capital city and felt very grown up traveling on the coach bus. He raced in the Jr boys category, witha a field of 140 participants. He crossed the finish line with amazing speed and agility. He placed 61st well above his goal of breaking 100. He is a keener and loves the sport. You can’t imagine the energy and endurance that you need to do this sport. Way to go Bri we are all very proud of you!

For the past two days we have been snowed in. The boys are home for the week as it is exam time at their high school. They are helping me with the snow clearing. The roads in our neighbourhood are terrible and there are cars and big trucks in the ditches. I am staying put until the plough comes along. Nick’s Volvo loves these conditions but my van slides all over the place, even with new all-weather tires on. Martha you keep an eye on the weather forecasts for the weekend. You may want to think about not venturing out on the highway if the winter snow continues. Good News… our house is toasty warm through all this deep freeze.