Category: sevenstail
the times they are a-changin’

the times they are a-changin’

By | | Comments 0 Comment

It’s been awhile. I have been unable to continue the journey cos every time I look at pictures to refresh what happened over the years I get overwhelmed with sadness because I am no longer there, in Mexico. It was a beautiful time of my life, I felt that I had found my space. I know I should cherish those times, which I do but I cannot stop thinking of what might have been if I had stayed. I will never know. That said this post is covering my thoughts of why I am actually here writing into the unknown. Perhaps after writing I may accept the changes and get on with it. So here goes. By the way, puppies are fine and crazy as ever.

Going back to the mid 90’s while I was bartending at a popular haunt for the employees of Toronto City TV, one of my favourite customers was Bob Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace. A fascinating man with whom I had many conversations with about his past and why he did what he did and what his future held. There is one sentence that sticks with me and I often wonder what he would think now with the every increasing presence of social media. Remember his comment as you continue to read.

“Once it hits the news, it is already too late“

Social, connecting with like minded individuals. Media, the main means of mass communication. About 12 years later after Bob said for me that profound statement I joined Facebook in August 2007, 17 years ago now, some four years after it was launched. It was fun, sharing pictures, silly stuff with friends who were miles and miles away. It was a wonderful way of staying in touch.

Now during that time there were people organizing to get the three remaining elephants, Thika, Toka and Iringa moved from the Toronto Zoo to PAWS sanctuary in California. They, Zoocheck, who are an amazing organzation succeeded after many ups and downs and the elephants were finally moved in October 2013. My mum, bless her was one of thousands who felt that this was the right move and many of her letters were posted in the Toronto Star. Mum at that time did not have a computer so she hand wrote her letters and sent them through snail mail. Remember those day when one actually wrote hand written letters? Those times are gone really, which is sad. It was something that I did not know about Mum as she really kept her feelings and thoughts to herself.

That got me started. I began to dive into the internet to find out more about other causes that were focusing on captive animals and how I could possibly help. Now I wonder if I should thank my mum or give her shit! It can take you to a very dark place. The atrocities that man inflicts on animals is horrendous. I literally had no idea of the extent of the horror. One day I came across an article about captive breed lions in South Africa and it literally broke my heart. The ‘king of the jungle’ reduced to a commodity for breeding so some asshole can kill it for a trophy. If you are unaware of this right now then you are living in a cave. If there is only one documentary that you watch, watch this one from Bloodlions and you will understand my passion to end this. The fight continues.

Facebook became a great tool. It connected me with other like minded individual fighting the same cause trying to get the message out to the masses. I have ‘met’ some incredible people but only personally met a few of those contacts. Many, now that I consider good friends.

Social media also creates monsters. One in particular was Eduardo Serio of Black Jaguar White Tiger in Mexico. At his height of popularity on social media he kept over 200 big cats in deplorable conditions. I will not go into the details of these conditions. Myself and a few friends began to expose him on the forum that made him popular. Thankfully after years of research and hard work, the authorities finally closed him down. The animals were moved to other facilities in Mexico. Eduardo went into hiding with his cartel friends and as far as I know has not been formally charged with animal abuse. Bastard. Without social media that would never have happened.

Over the years Facebook has changed and I think most people who have an account will agree with me, it has changed for the worse not better. Living in Canada I am also restricted because of an ongoing battle between the Canadian government and Meta. Over damn Money. I cannot share news articles. I cannot read news articles that are posted by friends from around the globe. So how can I continue to share, continue to see what is going on from small pockets of this world? Sure I can read articles if I search a particular story from a journalist in a news article on the internet but what if I want to share this to the many groups I am now in? I cannot. It has become increasingly frustrating. Facebook is now full of meaningless ads and the algorithms suck. The interaction is not the same. I personally feel, we are no longer having the impact we once did being what is termed as a keyboard advocate. Not all of us have the ways and means to be boots on the ground but damn it we can help spread the word. If we can. Clicking on a emoji is not the same. It acknowledges that you agree or disagree but does little to help what ever cause you support. Guess it makes you feel a little better. I need to read articles, I need to research that source. But I cannot see the damn article. SIGH. I will still use FB to connect with the friends that I have and try to share the news in a cut and paste format (ugh)but also looking into another platform that does not have the restrictions that I am faced with here in Canada. Starting afresh is a task in itself!

Social Media is quickly taking over MSM, main stream media for news. X is claiming to be the winner. Is either one the truth? Social media is immediate. MSM never really reports all the facts and is more than often bias. Real journalism on the most part is dying profession. Remember picking up a rag magazine while waiting in line at the grocery store? Crazy stories of alien abduction, celebrities caught doing lewd things, all oddities under the sun. It was entertaining. No-one really believed them. Now it is eyes down to your cell phone checking out the latest posts on social media. The internet, social media, MSM are now the same as those rag magazines. You cannot believe everything you see or read. As always, you need to do your research. People though are generally lazy and will not make the effort to research, to read both sides or find the facts. Another SIGH.

Which brings me back to – once it hits the news, it’s too late. But not anymore. We have the means, mostly, to read news as it happens in real time. We see videos from people with boots on the ground. And we have the means to act on that to do good. Let’s keep it that way. Let’s keep things moving for the good. It’s a jungle out there. Let’s use social media which ever forum you are in as a tool for the good.

2020, year of change and a sad goodbye

2020, year of change and a sad goodbye

By | | Comments 0 Comment

2020. The year when the world changed.

Ready or not here i come

Living in Tepoztlan, Mexico gave me a rather unique view of what was unraveling around the world. Tucked in a valley only 2 hours south of Mexico City reading and watching what was transpiring because of COVID seemed surreal. Countries were in lock down. Flights were cancelled. Masks became mandatory. Vaccinations were recommended by health authorities. Businesses were forced to close. Life would never be the same. We seemed relatively untouched by this pandemic that the world now faced. It should be noted that Mexico never closed it’s border to visitors, the doors were always open if you could find a way here due to cancellations by the airlines. Slowly the number of deaths associated with the virus were on the rise in Mexico. Do not misunderstand me here, I am sad for many people who lost their loved ones but the forced restrictions which forever changed many people lives should never have happened.

I was due to depart from Mexico in March as my 180 day visa would expire but was unable due to absolutely zero flights to Canada. And even crazier entry rules into Canada which were INSANE. I had to be vaccinated even before considering booking any flight when they became available. One needs to ask if all the restrictions, the collapsing of day to day life had any real affect on stopping the virus. For example: the 3-foot rule – stand at least 3 feet from any person in public. Well that’s great. Line up to get on your flight with your mask on. Then you are loaded into a metal tube and are seated beside a complete stranger. One must keep a mask on during flight BUT you can remove it to eat or drink?! In hindsight, I would say no it did not. Yes the vaccinations prevented many people from succumbing to the virus but it also as reports are now being written did more harm than good to many people. If I could turn the clock back, I would not have taken the vaccine. I would hunker down, brave the storm and perhaps live forever in Mexico. Both my roommate and I became sick – a 24/48 really bad flu. Was it COVID? Yes we think it was although we were never tested. BUT, I cannot turn the clock back, so I had to do what was demanded so I could travel.

Life continued in Tepoztlan. Because of the climate in Mexico, many restaurants are outside with less restrictions so it made it easier to meet up with friends for a weekly catch-up. Never while facing this pandemic did I feel threatened. Some friends were more cautious than others but we never stopped livin’ the dream. One cannot live in fear but many did. Literally a total fuck-up.

view having breakfast
breakfast
enjoying the garden

That said for the next nine months until I could fly again, I became engrossed in my garden. I wanted to cover as much as possible with local plants that have proven to survive the climate here. My roommate was amazed at the transformation and gladly brought home all sorts of succulents for me to plant. Teaching the dogs to stay out of the newly planted garden though was a challenge. Seven knew better as he had a few years with me in Ontario and learned not to touch mum’s garden. The others knew it was a big no-no to dig but they just could not help themselves. One would think with almost an acre of land there would be plenty of places to dig but no, they had to help mum. With perseverance and determination though my garden started to take shape. Stella did have her favourite place to lay and I could not stop that. Perhaps she was making sure no critters would get beyond her ever watchful eye and enter the house!

Spot moved to Helen’s house in late January. Poor Helen. Helen is a cat lady although she loved her dog who recently passed, it had been awhile since she had a puppy so this was a whole new game for her. Spot was happy. Helen’s cats not so much. She gave it her best, but Spot did come back to the roost, more on that later.

spot – where am i now?

Zero and Six were easily settling into the routine at Ixcatapec. Stella loved the fact she had dogs her size to play with and play they did. Border collies traditionally and normally do not “play” with other dogs. They will tolerate their existence but they really are loners. My beautiful Delphi & Devon grew up together and enjoyed each other but never played together like you see a lot of dogs do. Seven is no different. He is tolerant with all the dogs but never plays with them, except when Stella first arrived. He had his own thing going, his frisbee. That did not stop Six trying though. They have their moments and all the dogs know that if Seven speaks, he means business. He hardly ever barks but when he does, all of us are on high alert.

Seven watching
let us in
I’ll keep trying
waiting for a mouse
whatcha got
not us mum
always guilty
six meets his sister tuti
sleep time

Eight was never really happy about the puppies. In fact I would say she disliked them immensely. Eight was a Belgian Shepherd and a beautiful one with a wonderful personality. Sadly we started to see a decline in Eight’s health. She was eating just fine but her weight loss was very concerning. There was a mass on her head that appeared to be getting larger. Fabian called the vet, it was time. Jose came to the house to examine her (I love my Mexican vets) and the last thing he wanted to do was to euthanize her. But upon seeing her, it was the only choice. Fabian was distraught. He had saved her from an awful situation and now had to face her passing. Eight fought hard and clung to life as long as she could but finally her body was in no more pain. All the dogs after she passed came to say good bye. Here is the video of their good-bye. Now you tell me that dogs don’t have emotions? I say you are a liar and have no idea. We buried her in the garden with enough for her to present herself to the gods. Eight you were a beauty and I am glad that I was able to spend time with you while you were here. Run free now forever.

beautiful eight
saying good bye to eight
too many exits

too many exits

By | | Comments 0 Comment

This is about the leaving and coming back home to Mexico.

The visitors/tourist visa for Mexico is vague. One is not automatically given a visa stamp of 180 days (6 months) but it is relatively normal. As you may have read I did have a rather crazy experience which you can read here. Basically you get a visa for 180 days and then you must leave. There is not a set number of days you must be out of Mexico for re-entry but most expats who do this leave for a few days, a week or two and then get another 180 days upon return. It is a likely a person of my age be questioned and possibly not allowed to enter? Unlikely. But it has happened. So consequently every time I have to leave Mexico, I am stressed. It is now June 2019 and I am leaving my piece of paradise again. Now wait a bloody minute. It is only necessary to exit once every 6 months. This trip in june 2019 is my FOURTH since september 2018. No wonder I am stressed. And I leave again in october. That will make it FIVE exits in one year. Don’t get me wrong, it is lovely to see my friends and family but I did not sign up for this!

I will combine my two exits now. And hopefully this will go back to how it is manageable, once every 180 days. One can dream, right?

The reason for my exit in june was to see my mum obviously, deal with tax shit but mainly to see Vicky, my cousin from the UK who was visiting Toronto with her hubby and daughter. I had not seen her for years and did not want to miss this opportunity. Also combined seeing friends and family. So much to do in such a short time. What was good now though is that I had a roommate who loved the space, my little piece of paradise and loved all the dogs. That said, Fabian too was stressed. He works long hours and now he had 4 dogs, a cat and a house to take care of while I was gone. Welcome to the world of responsibility. Don’t think it was what he signed up for taking a room in my little paradise. But he handled it like a champ and damn was really happy to see me when I returned. As were all the dogs, Seven, Stella, Siete and Eight. I was exhausted when I got home but so happy to be there in my little piece of paradise. I know I keep saying that but seriously it really was.

Mum
Mum
Christine, my bestie
Tanya, my sister
Vickie, my cousin

The next exit in october was a sad one. Mum was getting up there having just turned 96 in march and the time had come for her to no longer live by herself. After almost 40 years of living in this one apartment building, she was packing up and moving to an assisted living space. I have rarely seen my mum cry. That day she did and it broke my heart. She was loosing her independence, something that she had mastered after all that she had been through. It was traumatic for me but nothing like it was for my mum. It is difficult to put on a happy face but damn it I tried as best as I could. Writing this now brings tears. Little did I know it would be a year before I saw her again.

Before I left for Mexico in 2017 I had asked my Mum to move in with me. I had ample room in my house and I was only working part-time. I felt I could be good company for her and she would have the company of my 3 cats and Seven when I was not there. But mum is a city girl and moving to my space in the country was definitely not in her thoughts. She refused. There was no point in trying to persuade her. Her answer was a flat NO. We talked about this when she moved from her home into an assisted living space and of course she now regretted not taking my request seriously. The journey would have been different but it was never to be.

mum and her brother
Mary, Joan and Mum
Mum and grandma
my beautiful mum

Upon my return, Seven, Stella, Siete, Eight, my roommate and of course myself were extremely happy to be home. When I first moved to Mexico, I thought exiting the country to renew my visa would be a piece of cake. 2019 was not like that at all. Now was the time to relax, to live again in my piece of paradise.

siete seven eight and stella
spring 2019

spring 2019

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Springtime. Who doesn’t like it, wherever you are in this world. It’s a time for growth and new beginnings. And a new beginning was unfolding for the 3 S’s (Seven, Stella and I). When I returned home from my brief visit to Canada for mum’s birthday, I was excited to get back into my routine. A routine of doing what I want, when I want, basically livin’ the dream. Which I did. There is always something going on if one wants to participate. I had become selective and even that filled my days. There were special cakes to bake, flowers to plant, dogs to play with, zentangling to do, weekly jaunts to town to catch up on gossip over wine and beer, parties to go to and visits from friends. Life is never dull in Ixcatepec.

What I was not expecting was a proposal from Fabian, the water guy, Siete’s dad. No, not a marriage proposal, read on. As I have said, my house is big and there are three bedrooms, with a big kitchen, dining room and living room sitting on almost an acre of land with just me, Seven and Stella, our little piece of paradise. Fabian asked if he could take one of the bedrooms and all expenses would be split down the middle. Now I have lived by myself with my dogs and cats for the past 25 years and kinda set in my routines, so the thought of having a roommate needed some thought, some serious thought. He works hard, 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week purifying water and delivering the same so he would not be in my way and damn I could even think of saving some money. What a novel idea, saving money, livin’ the dream and perhaps even learn to converse in Spanish other than the basic get by words. It did not take me long to think about it and I suddenly I had new roomies – Fabian, Siete and Tai. Springtime is full of changes.

Seven has always liked his frisbee, loves to play catch and create circles. Stella was catching on that if she returns the toy, it gets thrown again but her favourite thing was to run around like a mad women hoping Seven would play chase. Not his thing. Now Siete, all she wanted to do was grab every toy, take them and guard them. So I had to make a toy box and keep it out of reach of the dogs other wise all the toys would be lost somewhere in the garden. They are not expensive, that was not my concern. It was the lack of availability in Tepoztlan. It’s getting better but still very limited. I did in the past do very little if any shopping online which changed a great deal when I moved to Mexico. Hardly a game breaker having to buy the dogs toys on line but there was no PetSmart round the corner. I could deal with that. Tai, the cat settled upstairs away from the dogs, well mainly Stella because she would chase her and that would start Siete doing the same. Seven, no problem. He had grown up with cats and had learnt how to respect them and give them their space.

I have mentioned before that Stella is an escape artist supreme and a gypsy at heart. It was only after my return home that Fabian told me the tale of when Stella escaped and he went running like a bat out of hell after her. He feared telling me while I was visiting mum as he knew it would really upset me which of course it would of. The perimeter of the yard had to be checked on a regular basis to see if there were any escape routes. I thought all was secure. Then one morning I heard Stella and her frantic cries for help. She had made it over the wall to the neighbour’s yard where they had 5 german shepherds and a pug who all attacked anyone and anything that came uninvited into their space. She made it out but was hurting and there was no way to get her over the fence Luckily Fabian had not yet left for work and we managed to rescue her. But a trip to the vet was necessary. Poor girl had multiple wounds and had to wear the collar of shame. We found where she escaped and quickly fixed that exit. Now it was necessary to thoroughly check all the time. No other dog but Stella tried to get out and I did not want to loose my Stella.

ouch
cone of shame

Fabian is an animal lover like myself. One night he tells me the tale of this dog who would probably end up in some really bad place, and asked if he could bring her home. I was reluctant but I caved. Why not? There was ample space for another dog. So welcome Eight to our fold. She really is a big beautiful baby. When Seven was little there was one word I used to get him from moving his body so I could sit down – OFF. All the new dogs had to learn that word. When I said OFF to one of the newbies so I could sit down, Seven was right there making sure they obeyed. He would not hurt them but they all knew instinctively, oh shit guess I better get off. I’m sure Seven thought, hey I had to learn it, its your turn now! There was one day in particular I wanted to sit down on the sofa and relax. There was no space for me. OK I said the word rather loudly and all 4 dogs not only got down off the sofa but exited the room. Don’t get me wrong, they are allowed on the couch, on the bed, in my lap but they gotta learn that mama is the boss, well mostly.

eight

There is so much to buy in Tepoztlan as far as art work or little things to brighten up your space. One has to be careful though. Many of the items that are on sale in the market are not from locals or even Mexico – they are from China or India. This piece though is special as it was made by my dear friend Pascal and it found a perfect spot in the house. The flying lion.

the flying lion by pascal
the flying lion by pascal

The climate in Mexico is home to a wide variety of bugs and many will find their way inside your home. I don’t kill them. I find away to move them safely to the garden and as far away from the house as possible, except scorpions. Sorry they just give me the creeps, so if one gets in my path, I show no mercy. Mostly though they disappear out of sight. I learnt to never walk barefoot, check my bed and shake my clothes. It becomes a natural habit after awhile.

Life continues in my little piece of paradise. It is expanding and life is good.

siete seven eight and stella
siete seven eight and stella
march 2019

march 2019

By | | Comments 0 Comment

I sit here now, january ’24 with the wind blowing the arctic freeze on us making it -54c which is as far as I am concerned, unfit for man and beast. Thinking back on spring of 2019 makes me wonder if I was in fact living in a dream but I do have the pictures to prove to myself that it was not a dream. In reality though I was livin’ the dream that so many only dream about. A beautiful home, surrounded by new friends, 2 legged and four. And not a care in the world. How could we, the 3 S’s (Seven, Stella & I) be so lucky? This was our time in paradise.

Sadly dogs are still mistreated all over the world and it is no different in Mexico. One day while shopping in the local village, I noticed this dog who was obviously in distress. I was told the vet had been called and he would be taken care of. Over the next few days I went to the vet office to check and was told that he had eaten poisoned meat and he asked if I could foster him while he recovers and help find a home. How could I refuse? I made arrangements to pick him up and bring him home. He was a little nervous but he, Seven and Stella were having no issues at all. I needed to get more dog food. I was not gone long but when I returned, he had jumped the fence and ran. I was so upset. I never did see him again and can only hope he found someone who would take him in. Many told me that often dogs will return to the house they know if they can find away. I hope that is the case because he was a real beauty.

Water. The most important part of everyone’s and everything’s existence. In many parts of the world one should not drink the tap water. Myself, I do not like tap water no matter where I am. The overall smell of chlorine, my nose says nope, no way. Sure I grew up drinking tap water, bottled or filtered water was not an option unless you were part of the elite. My house on the edge of Tepoztlan was lucky enough to have town water and yes I refrained from drinking it but not necessarily for the same reason. After a bout of sickness because of a little bug taking up residency in my gut, I did not want to take the chance of inviting another. The only option then is to have purified water for drinking delivered to your home. Five litres for just over a dollar. A great deal. Walking back from town, I passed the shop and asked for 2 bottles to be delivered.

Upon delivery of the water, I noticed a beautiful dog in the truck. Her name is Siete, spanish for seven. Now there are not too many people who name their dogs by numbers, let alone the same number as my Seven! An immediate connection. After a few deliveries of water, I offered to take Siete for a day, possibly for two, so she can have a break from just sitting in the truck. A little persuasion was needed to convince Fabian that Siete will be fine. Well the first day, Seven was yeah another lady in the house. Siete on the other hand felt at first that she had been betrayed and left alone in this strange house. She went to the far corner of the garden and watched her dad drive away. Poor Siete sat there for hours, bewildered and scared. Finally after some coaxing with treats, she started to come out of her shell thinking well this beats sitting in a truck all day. Her second visit was totally different. She ran up the steps, happy to see me, Seven and Stella waiting for her. Siete was happy, Seven and Stella were happy. I was happy.

Meet Siete

The time had come again to do the dreaded exit and return. Although I had just been back to Canada at christmas, it was not really a necessity but it was mum’s birthday and a another big one. Well let’s be honest any birthday over 90 is a gift and should be celebrated. The task of finding a cheap flight on the dates I wanted and finding someone to look after the dogs and the house was one that I absolutely hated. I’d get anxious. I’d get worried that upon my return I would not be allowed back. And I would be leaving my little piece of paradise. But it had to be done. Tickets are bought. Now who do I ask this huge favour? I had only recently met and had become friends with Fabian, the water guy and the dad of SIete. Would he do this? Could I trust him? I asked him and he says sure but are you sure you want me to do this? Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling., and I said yes I am sure. Trip arranged and I was off once again to Toronto.

Mum’s birthday week was wonderful. She got spoiled and rightly so making it to 96! I can only hope that if and when I do reach those golden years, I am as spry as her. Only time will tell. It was great to see friends and family and the days are just not long enough to squeeze everyone in.

By the time I leave, I am totally talked out, exhausted and really missing Seven and Stella and my little piece of paradise. Even though I have learned to travel light with only carry on, I still bring too much with hardly any room left over to pack away things that I cannot get in Tepoztlan. The main purchase is teabags. Tea is extremely expensive in Mexico. Like some people who need their cup of java in the morning, I need my cuppa of orange pekoe tea. I could buy my favourite 240 tea bags for under $10. In Mexico it would be around $60. Apparently it is a tax, a heavy tax that is put on tea. Who would have thought? Because of the climate and soil, tea would grow well in Mexico and is urged, hence the heavy tax on imported tea. So I needed to pack 500 bags of tea in my backpack. Bring fewer clothes next time I told myself.

By the time I got home, happy to be there, happy to see Seven and Stella and happy to see that my house was still in one piece. My gut feeling was correct! Now I needed a few days of doing nothing except play with the dogs, drink my tea and relax in my little paradise. It was good to be home.

five years to go

five years to go

By | | Comments 0 Comment

When we(Seven & I) started the journey, the writing came easy and I added new entries often. A simple documentation of our journey together, the ups and the downs, the laughter, the tears. Then I got lazy and let life flow on it’s own and basically stopped writing. I could fast forward 5 years and start afresh but so much has happened in those years. And five years is a long time in a dog’s life, like 35 of our years, so it is said. A lot then has happened for my best friend, Seven who will be 10 on January 11th. I have half his life to write about because this is about our journey together not just me.

Gardening, zentangling, weekly jaunts to town to chat with friends and catch up on gossip, the demanding exit of Mexico every six months left little time to sit in front of my laptop and write. The last five years has gone by in almost a blink of an eye and now I wish I had not been so damn lazy! Going back five years to write about what was going on in our lives, I use the pictures I have, because let’s face it most of us cannot remember what we did last week at any given time, let alone five years ago. Scrolling through the pictures of years gone by, flood my mind with memories and decisions that were made, good and bad. It sure has been a roller coaster ride.

I love being outside. My house in Tepoztlan was magic as I have previously said with almost an acre to make a garden. Heaven. Plants grow fast in Tepoz, incredibly fast and I had so many plants to choose from that I could only have inside in Canada. The dogs loved helping and did on the most part stay out of my freshly planted garden. Let’s give them a chance to take root – NO digging please! Now I find myself inside because it is winter in Saskatchewan, Canada with plenty of time on my hands as I will not be digging for a few more months! If you look closely you can see Seven waiting for his favourite toy in the world – his frisbee. The frisbee has to accompany us on daily walks, he will not come unless it is in my hand.

So with that in mind, please bear with me while I scroll through memory lane and share our journey. And seriously, hopefully by the time spring rolls around and we can start digging again, we will catch up on those miles, on the hopes and the dreams yet to come.

Early months of 2019

Early months of 2019

By | | Comments 0 Comment

So much has happened. So many changes. Seven and I are both asking what the hell is going on. Over the next few months I promise to continue our journey of change by sharing to anyone who may care to listen. Looking back it brings up memories and many emotions. We cannot change the past but we can hopefully learn from it. Yes there is a lot of catching up to do, a lot of laughs, a lot of tears, a lot of change and a lot of future. I will start from where I stopped.

New year, new hopes, new dreams. In a lot of ways it did feel like a dream most days. I was more relaxed than I had been for years. The 3S’s (Seven, Stella and I) were really getting into what felt an awesome good rhythm of life and living. Many people, family, mainly my dear Mum were under the impression that I was on a very long holiday. Nope. Just doing what I can to survive in this crazy world. I had found a little piece of paradise and I wanted to keep it that way. It is difficult to put in words what I was doing and how I felt no matter how hard I tried.

It was great to see my family over xmas last month as it was very special for my mum. My son always says, gifts come from the heart and can be given anytime of the year, I really don’t need another pair of socks. At the same time it was wonderful to get home again and continue to explore.

More visitors. More cakes. More walking. More friends. More discoveries. More art. More dogs.

Just behind my house is a temple that was found while excavating to widen the highway. Thankfully it is not known to many and I liked it like that. On the path, past the temple is this wonderful amate tree (from the fig family). One can see where people gather whether it be to pray to their gods or enjoy the ambience and peace of the forest. It really is beautiful. And the magnificent views after the climb makes it all worth it – Tepoztlan, Ixcatepec, volcano Popo and so much more.

Baking cakes is becoming quite the ritual and a lot of fun – before and after! Great way to get together with friends and pass away a beautiful day. Continuing to expand my ‘art’ and generally enjoy life. Seven and Stella amuse me daily and remind me how lucky I am to have them. Also enjoying the white grapefruit from my garden – sure has a punch first thing in the morning!

Life was good. We, the 3 S’s had found our home.

new friends, digging and lots more

new friends, digging and lots more

By | | Comments 0 Comment

it’s been awhile but as smart as i am, i am unable to master the keyboard to tell you updates, so i have to trust my mum to do this for me. this is what it would be if i was typing. ,lvgfrknjdmkhbv bhn mn  v bfvghjnbgjnbhhbnh as you can see it makes no sense. yes, mum made me do this.

my mum has been doing that work thing a lot but that’s ok because then she has more money to buy me things. she takes me to my food store and the other day we brought home a new toy. not that i need it really but i won’t say no! this one is called pinky because it is pink and it squeaks. i am very good at bringing the right toy to my mum when she asks, pretty smart just like a border collie should be.
the other day when mum was at work, a friend of my mum’s came to let me out. well i would not move from my crate because i did not like him. i don’t know why but i just wouldn’t move. i think i was a little scared and i nipped him. i am sorry, really i am. but then another friend came to let me go outside for pee time and all was good. i’m glad my mum has lots of friends! and then this really nice lady came the next day with sam her labrador. we went for a really big walk. i showed them where to go, it was so much fun and apparently she will be coming over lots.
i have been for lots of car rides visiting all the people i know trying to be a good boy. but i had a little poop accident in my friend’s house. you see they don’t have the bell on the door to ring. it’s ok though they will have me back, i think! speaking of the bell, i have mastered that one. and i think mum is wishing she never taught me because i go to the door and ring the bell, she lets me out and then of course i want to come right back in again. then i ring it again. it’s my little game, wonder how long mum will leave the bell on the door?
and mum has started to dig in the dirt. i really like this but don’t understand why she doesn’t like it when i start to dig. again, humans are strange but i am getting better at understandiing them. one walk i do like is the one first thing in the morning, it’s the best!
early morning run
bells, poop and cars

bells, poop and cars

By | | Comments 0 Comment

the bell thing is working but i still forget to ring it sometimes. my mum makes me ring it even though we are at the door all ready to go outside. i don’t enderstand why becasue she knows we are going outside. so i humour her and ring the bell. wonder if i will ever understand humans?

today my mum is busy and she left the gate open. well i went to find the cats because they always hide out in the bedroom or on top of my crate. all was good, i was very quiet and i found the cats and wouldn’t let them leave the room. and then i pooped and peed in the bedroom. mum was really mad at me i think and i hung my head in shame. i was being so good too about going outside for pee time and poop time. i don’t know what came over me. i promise not to do it again, well i will try not to do it again.

mum has this little stool that is on wheels. it’s so much fun to pull across the room but it keeps loosing one of it’s wheels. what’s really fun is running up and jumping on it and then glide across the room. and then there are the car rides. love those because i never know where we might be going. sometimes just the store but sometimes we visit friends. doesn’t matter, i like them. and if anyone comes up to the car i am a big brave border collie and protect my mum. she tells me it’s ok but i keep my eye on the person who is there and what they are doing, cos my mum is my best friend and i have to be there for her. that’s what border collies do.

where we going?

chuck update

chuck update

By | | Comments 0 Comment

remember chuck? i do. he’s my brother that stayed with his mum and dad and his human mum and dad. 

well my first human mum sent my human mum an update on chuck. he’s getting really big just like me and i bet he’s getting into all sorts of mischief just like me. we are both doing the border collie thing of learning really quickly and doing our best to make everyone happy.  chuck lives on a small farm and is out with his mum and dad a lot getting dirty just like we all like to do. i’m kind of jealous, well i know my mum is! but that’s ok because i really love my mum. i know i make her laugh and make her really happy. i know she would like to be with me all the time but she has to do that work thing so that is out of the question! one thing that chuck has mastered that i have not is this puppy training. help me out here chuck, how did you pass the test? i heard my first mum’s voice the other night and couldn’t understand how her voice was on top of the table. it was very confusing, mum says it was a video of me before i moved to my forever home. can’t wait to see her again in the summer though, that is going to be so much fun. and chuck you have big feet just like me!
chuck my borther

My Facebook

My Facebook

Meta

The Journey via Email

Enter your email address to follow the Journey