A Trip to the Vet...

Since I am no longer working in Lethbridge,  I've been having some down time.  I am a woman of leisure, again.  Which is fine and dandy and all, however it doesn't pay well.  Money is such a pesky thing at times.  The good news is that I will start working again in March.  The job is in Airdrie and I am actually really excited for it.  It also means I have to move, but that is a story for another time.  

Anyways since I am a woman of leisure, I helped my mother take the two cats and the dog to the vet.  They were all overdue for their shots.  That was quite the adventure.  So we put Penny the dog in the back of the truck.  That was not a problem, she loves going places.  The cats however, were a different story.  We were able to put them in their carrier cases, but the the whole way there and back they wouldn't stop crying.  It was a kitty chorus.  If you have ever heard the Jingle Cats, it was something like that.  Wilma was so upset that she, well I won't go into it.  Once we get to the vet it wasn't that bad.  Penny was a little upset in the waiting room.  (It probably brought back bad memories of when she was spayed.)  But they didn't feel the shots at all.  They didn't make a peep.  Penny is a big baby, (if you look at her the wrong way she will cry) so if it had hurt her we would have known.   I guess vets just have the magic touch.

Once we got home, if was time for the worm medicine.  If we had known what an ordeal it was going to be, we probably would have just let the vet do it.  Giving it to Penny was no problem.  We just rolled it processed cheese and that was it.  Wilma and Sophie was a little trickier. We wrapped them up in towels so we wouldn't get scratched, but it still took the two of us to hold them down.  Sophie needed 2 pills because she is so fat.  A whopping 14 pounds!  While Wilma just needed one and a half.  (These pills were actually pretty big.)  The first pill seemed to go down all right, but the second was a lot trickier.  Wilma kept spitting it out every chance she got.  She simply refused to swallow.  I think eventually it just dissolved in her mouth.  Sophie chewed it all up, and that couldn't have tasted good.   I remember when I was a little girl and had a hard time swallowing pills, I would chew them up.  Yuck!  I still remember what tylenol tastes like and it isn't pleasant.  Sophie and Wilma were in a bad mood for the rest of the day.  They couldn't understand why we had done that to them.     Next time I will consult my vet tech friends.  They probably have a better way of doing this.  

Penny at Waterton

Sophie in her lighter days

Wilma

Afternoon at the Opera

Yesterday Janine and I went to the Opera.  Well kind of.  The Metropolitan Opera in New York broadcasts some of their shows live to movie theaters across the world.  Well north america at least.  So Janine and I headed to Galaxy Theaters and saw La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini.  It was my idea.  I love Puccini.  I think his arias are simply to die for.  In fact he is by far my favourite operatic composer.  The most famous aria from La Rondine (and one of my personal favourites) is "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta." Opera is definitely an acquired taste.  Maybe that is why it seemed that Janine and I were the only non-senior citizens there.  It's a shame really.  I was actually thinking they should have the child ticket price for those 30 and under to encourage younger people to go.   Even with the ticket price, I was happy to be infused with culture.  I haven't had too many opportunities lately, and it was Janine's first time seeing an opera.  And she enjoyed it.  So that made me happy.  

A Blumell Christmas Tradition

It seems that for the past few Christmas breaks, us Blumell kids have watched all 3 Lord of the Rings movies.  It has sort of become a tradition.  We watch the extended versions of course!  They are a lot better.  I especially like the extended version of The Two Towers.  You get to see a lot more of Boromir.  (I have always loved Sean Bean.)  Of course we don't do it marathon style, we're not that die hard.  It takes us a period of a several days or more with a few breaks in between.  I think it started because the movies came out around Christmas time and so the Christmases after that it didn't seem right not to watch them.  I can still remember going to the theatre and watching The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 and just being in awe.  Wow times flies, that was 7 years ago.  

While looking on the internet for a picture of LOTR to post,  I happened upon a quiz to see what LOTR character you are.  Supposedly I am Elrond.  I don't know if he really suits me, but hey it would be cool to be an elf.  Janine (Miss Bean)  is Gandalf. (Janine says it would be cooler to be an wizard than an elf, but I beg to differ... ) 

Music makes the World go round...

Canada has finally come out of the dark ages.  You can finally watch your favourite TV shows on the Internet.  Well I know for sure you can on Global and CTV.  I am not sure about CBC, but I assume you can there as well.  Before if you were in Canada and went the ABC, NBC, or other network sites they would say sorry only available to viewers in the US.  While I was living in the US, it was so convenient to watch shows on the Internet that I was horrified to learn that it wasn't available in Canada until recently.  Although my parents have satellite, they do not have PVR, DVR, TiVo, or whatever you want to call it.  So if I missed a show I was out of luck.  My only options were itunes (episodes are now $2.99) or by some illegal method.  So it may sound like I am a TV junkie, but that is actually far from the truth.  The only shows I have been watching are The Office and Eli Stone.  I just don't like to miss episodes!  (Lost and 24 start up again in January and I am way stoked about that.)  The Office needs no explanation.  Eli Stone, although far from being one of my all-time favourite shows, is a quirky drama which I must say I do enjoy watching it.  (ABC started it after Lost last year and what can I say it worked.)  

                         

It is about a San Francisco lawyer who starts having visions after being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.  Usually these visions involve some sort of case he is supposed to take, and some of them involve singing and dancing.  That really peaked my interest.  Haven't we all fantasized at some point or another about how different situations would be if there were singing and dancing were involved?  Like for example, if a boring professor just suddenly burst into song?  I asked some of my friends this, and apparently that is not the case.  Perhaps I've watched too many musicals as a child.  Needless to say having revelations brought forth through song, although not an original idea, I find is quite entertaining.  Maybe that is why I loved the Buffy musical episode so much.

Is it no wonder that every civilization has some form of music?  (Rare exception is the demon world of Pylea from the TV show Angel, but

 ironically they do have dancing...)  I often remarked to my roommate during my BYU days that there is a song for every situation.  Upset that your boyfriend/girlfriend broke up with you?  Well there are about a billion songs about that.  Worried that Bigfoot is going to eat your children?  There is even a song just for you.  I love that music (with and without lyrics) can speak to everyone and in different ways.    Music is a part of my soul.

Jumping on the Blogging Bandwagon

I've been thinking about starting a blog for awhile.  It seems everyone is doing it nowadays.  So I thought, why not me?  It is one way to share your interests, ideas etc.  I don't really care about how many people actually read it. (I already have one confirmed reader, so what if she is my sister.)  I just thought this would be a good way to express some of my thoughts, and whoever wants to read it is more than welcome to.  

For those who want an quick update on my life, here it is.  Right now I am living in Magrath with my folks,  (yes I know).  I just started working as an associate dentist for an established dentist in Lethbridge.  For those who don't know, Magrath is a small town (pop approx 2000)in southern Alberta about 20 minutes outside of Lethbridge a small city of about 80,000.  I graduated from dental school last June from Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.  I had a nice break before I started working and was able to go on some fabulous trips with some good friends which I haven't really had the chance to do before and don't know when I will again.  Working life is definitely different from the life of a student.  Mostly things are better (like not having to study all the time and actually getting paid), but I do miss Ohio and all my friends there.   I like being home with my family.  I have been away for eight years so it is a little different, but nice at the same time.  At least I don't have to fly home for Christmas this year.  So yeah just basically I am trying to adapt to all the changes in my life.  It has been a pretty big change for me.  (I seem to do that every four years.)   But change is good, it keeps you from falling in a rut.  So I am excited to see what the future has in store.