Scenes from today

My husband had a day off today as he has been working on some weekends lately. The weather was nice so we decided to drive to the beach again to enjoy the sun. We have been very lucky for the last few weeks that this great stretch of weather is still staying with us.

The water was so calm and the place was empty. We had the whole beach to ourselves to explore. A blue heron was in the water trying to catch his afternoon snack. We were all sitting on a log, watching the endless view of the mountains and the water. It was pretty nice.

On our way home, we stopped at the market to pick up some vegetables for dinner. At the entrance, there was something that made me smile. The Laughing Buddha and the bright orange Chinese/Japanese Lantern. They were just so perfect together!

Smart Meter

When I came home yesterday afternoon, I noticed something was hanging at the front door knob. It was a notice from BC Hydro saying "Save Money using a Smart Meter!" Yes, they installed the Smart Meter while I was out, without our permission!

As you may know, there are many groups of people protesting the instillation of the Smart Meters. Their main concern is the wireless radiation from the meter will increase our risks of illness. Secondly it will submit our use of the electricity and personal info to BC Hydro using wireless signals = raises privacy and security concerns....

zzz....zzz...

So, what to do?

There are high levels of radiation exist already wherever we go, even in the house, Wi-Fi, cordless phones, cell phones, etc.. So now we have additional radiation now.

I guess at this point, we just need to protect ourselves. I.E., don't sleep in the room where the Smart Meter was installed, use a ear-phone when we talk on the cell phone, hold the cell phone away from your head/ear, etc... I heard some cactus plants can help absorbing radiation from the computer... ?

I bet some Japanese inventors will have some great ideas. I will research and share it next time.

The other day I met a bear

It was a beautiful day ☀　Snoop and I decided to go for a long walk in the woods. We usually walk 1.5 to 2 hours, so we were both ready for this long one.

As soon as we got to the trail head, I noticed a white piece of paper on the information board. "Bear Sighting. Keep your dog on a leash". People left the date & time when they saw the bear. The last one was... about one hour ago.

...hhhhmmmm....

Snoop looked up and asked, "Hey Mom, what are you doing?". The trail seems so nice with the beautiful green leaves, nice breeze and sun shining through the trees... How can I say no to this?

OK, I will go for a bit. Without carrying a bear bell, I started singing a song loud. The first one that came out was..."The other day I met a bear" in Japanese! .... That's probably not an appropriate one...

BTW, do you know this song "The other day I met a bear"? Any Japanese person knows this as we learn it when we are kids. I remember it was originally in English, so I was curious to check it out. I was so shocked to find the facts... If you don't know the song, here is the song by Barenaked Ladies. (You can skip the advertisement)

It's shockingly different in Japanese... there is no Gun! It's a song for kids, so we don't say Gun. Guns are not popular in Japan. Anyway, in the Japanese version, a girl meets a bear in the woods, he tells the girl to run away (doesn't say why in the lyrics), but the bear keeps running after her because he picked up a pair of white sea-shell earrings that the girl dropped, and they sing and dance together in a happy ending... I was laughing hard when I found out the English lyrics!

Anyway, to go back to my story today, I didn't meet the bear, but when I found a very fresh bear poop with lots of berries, I decided to turn around and go back ... I don't carry a gun!

He might be dreaming about the bear.... zzz....zzz...

SPCA Paws for a Cause

Sunday was a big day for the SPCA throughout BC. It was their biggest fund-raising event of the year were people and dogs walk around their city/town. I was volunteering from the morning to help the set up and registration for the walk. Unfortunately the summer-like weather really ended the day before, and Sunday was a cool & breezy day, but we said it's good weather for our furry friends. There were some generous donations to help the animals, from families, co-workers, friends and singles who just love their dogs. Addition to the walk, there was a "Dog food eating contest", "Owner and Dog look a like contest" and a lot more activities. We all enjoyed the day and raised some money. Happy Animal Day :)

Pic from the Vancouver event SPCA 2011

Last Summer Day (?)

We learned today is our last day of summer... :-(This last stretch of Summer lasted about a week but it is supposed to end today and temperatures will drop to about 20. We decided to go back to the beach to enjoy the last sunny warm day.

Snoop of course came along and enjoyed a variety of different walks...on the beach, in the forest and to the field! You are one lucky dog!

Farewell and Good luck Buster!

My buddy has departed for his new home. Buster, the 8 yr old pit bull who has been at the SPCA for almost half a year finally found his forever home. I had been walking him since this Spring and I was in love with this senior dog ♥

He was surrendered by his former owner as he was aggressive towards other animals and the training was not going well... We, the volunteers and staff at the SPCA, didn't find Buster an aggressive dog at all, in fact, he was such a nice mannered & gentle guy.

Although he was a star in the kennel, he was not popular in the public as he is a pit bull and the fact he was 8 yrs old. No one showed an interest in him for the last 6 months, and yesterday a guy who lives just outside of town gave the SPCA a call. This guy lost his beloved Rottweiler and was looking for a new companion. I heard he is also a senior, so senior to senior will be a good match.

I went to the SPCA this morning and walked Buster for the last time. We had a great time together out in the field and I wished him good luck. I will miss you, but I am very happy for you.

Homemade Dog Food

Snoop usually eats regular dog food, but recently he has been difficult. Some say it's because of the weather, some say it's because he is spoiled! He has not being eating breakfast and he doesn't show an interest in dinner either. Sometimes just before bed, he eats some of the dog food in his bowl but he doesn't seem very excited about it..

Today I decided to make homemade dog food. I know many people feed their dogs raw and homemade food and I wanted to try making some.

The ingredients are minced chicken, brown rice, oats, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I cooked all of them in a pot for a while and made a Homemade Doggie Chicken Stew! I tried it and it actually tastes pretty good!

Did Snoop like it? Yes! He licked the bowl clean and asked for more! I put the rest of it in containers so that I can freeze them in individual portions. Here are 7 days worth of Snoop's meals. Are you happy, Snoop?

Snoopy in the sky!

Our Snoop dog is a super dog, but I don't think he can fly :-(

I just found this news from Japan online about "Snoopy Blimps in the sky of Japan". Apparently Snoopy is a company logo for the Alico Insurance Company and they decided to fly this blimp. I want to see it! (Pictures are from Met Life/Alico Japan)

Snoopy flies over Tokyo

End of summer?

It's still August, but when we woke up this morning our fireplace was on...! The thermostat is set to turn it on when the house goes below 18C... End of summer? It was a bit of a sad morning...

Eggplants in the mail box

We received an unexpected box from Kamloops a few days ago. It was a full of eggplants and peaches!

I have Japanese 'Parents' in Canada living in Kamloops. I met them in 1995, so we have known each other for...17 yrs! They were such a great help when I first came to Canada to study English, and we have been keeping in touch since then.

Their house in Kamloops has a huge back yard with several rows of vegetable gardens. They also have fruit trees, including peaches, apples, plums and apricots. The Mrs. is a great cook and she cans all her fruits and veggies to preserve them. If something happens to the world and you need food, this is the house to go to! I know what their basement storage room looks like. Lots of  home made goodies...

 Anyway, I was very happy to receive a box of Japanese eggplants as my own experiment with them was a failure. The ICHIBAN eggplant I planted late May didn't grow at all and I can't buy any decent eggplants around here!

Japanese eggplants are much smaller, seedless, and their skin is so soft, not like American eggplants.

I made pickles with them and added our own  home grown cucumbers. I also cooked some with chicken in chili sauce over rice. Yum :) I have several more eggplants left... what to eat tomorrow?