The sea of storms has calmed since last I wrote. The weekend brought a bicycle trip to Salmo - about 55km. Far for our first ride... and most of it along the old Burlington Northern rail line that runs through Nelson, Ymir and Salmo. It was a bit bumpy on the bum, but the scenery, the clean air and the peacefulness compared to taking the highway made it a trip to soothe the soul. It was also soothing because we got to Salmo on our own steam and had the option to leave whenever we wanted to. It felt like I was more in control, more powerful in the situation. Equal. I didn't feel like I was a burden, and I felt like we had a say in how things went... it seems weird because things are never forced or nasty out there... but that small sense of being "empowered" did wonders for my psyche.

Yesterday I spent most of the day with an old Basset Hound named Willy. He was trundling down the street at about 8:50 am as I was watering the garden. The middle of the street. With no human friend in sight. I grabbed him, persuaded him up the stairs with cookies and a leash and he turned out to be a real sweetheart. He talked a lot. That groaning, grumpy, huffy, deep-whine of a talk... which was very cute. We posted signs, called the SPCA, the vets... nobody had reported him missing. We were just about to settle down for the night to watch "The Pianist" when I saw someone pull up and tear down the sign we'd put up accross the street. Willy's Mom. They had been away so they hadn't been missing him and our signs had been up since before they got home so the worry on their end was far less than ours. Willy wiggled like crazy when he saw her and sang for us when he got into the car. It was adorable. I should have gotten a picture of him. *sniffle*

Today is the day to clear out the stuff we're sending to the Sally Ann. And the paper recycling. And get this place cleaned up and creative. I have to go talk to our landlady and see if she'll drive us downtown with all the junk. Off I go.