5C's Que Pasa

Canada conducts a census every five years.  Per Wikipedia…..A national census in Canada is conducted every five years by Statistics Canada. The census provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public services including health care, education, and transportation, determine federal transfer payments,^[1] and determine the number of Members of Parliament for each province and territory. At a sub-national level, two provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and two territories (Nunavut and Yukon) have legislation that allows local governments to conduct their own municipal censuses.^[2]

As per this declaration it is the law to participate.

Apparently today May 10th is the completion date of the census.  We have not received ours.  I actually was able to speak to our mail delivery lady yesterday as she put mail into the 500 or so post office boxes here where we live.  I asked about our census.  She told me that everyone on her mail route had had a census delivered to them and that we here at Holiday Park Resort were the only ones who did not get them.

So I called Statistics Canada and over and over and I only got the voice message that the lines were busy and to please call again.  This morning I was successful in getting an open line where I could punch a few buttons and finally be told to please hold.  So I held for over 32 minutes.  Thank goodness we have a speaker phone option so I could continue to work at my desk as I waited.

Finally I was connected to a young, very young, male voice who told me not to worry as he was certain that it would appear in the mail box today.  I insisted that he check my address in his mass of data.  Turns out that we, as in the entire 500 homes here, are to be visited door to door to take our information.  I explained to him that we were a community of 500 and that that was a huge job to do in a day, he said don’t worry, they will come.  Well we have walked the dogs today and seen no one.  It it now 6:30PM and no one is about doing this job.  He said to call back tomorrow if no one came along to take our census information 😯

Meanwhile I spoke with some of my neighbors and no one has received their census either.  I had been concerned that perhaps we had been out when they came.  Some have wondered why they didn’t get a census but I seem to have gone the extra step by actually calling in.  What to do?  The thing is how many other large areas of the entire Canadian population have been missed?  How accurate are these census statistics?

What a long day it has been for us, I am worn out.  But first a quick update on Caeli.

She had her ultrasound and it was not just the bladder area but her entire abdominal area and everything appeared fine except that her pancreas seemed mottled what ever that means.  No stones nor tumors were found.  They suggested doing an xray to see it there might be a tiny stone in her urethra but that it was unlikely.  They also wanted to do an entire blood panel on her just in case.  She had one done six months ago and it was normal.  We declined and said that we would wait until Friday when her urine culture comes back.  That should give us an idea of what type of infection she has and if the antibiotics are not working and we need to try different ones.  Meanwhile she continues on antibiotics and pain meds as needed.  She is doing really well and sleeps a lot.  Apparently she just lay quietly on her back for the procedure and barely needed to be held in place.  She sure was happy to see us once it was all over.

With the $1139.00 we spent on teeth cleaning last week and the $500.00 incurred to date over Caeli’s bladder infection we need to take things a bit slower right now.   Our next steps will be determined on Friday when the lab results come in.

I also had a busy day my my doctor.  I was turned into a pin cushion.  Yes it was painful but that’s it for this year.  I do go back in July for a free touch up on each leg.

Time for a well deserved glass or two or more of wine 😉

Just found out today that my nephew has been working the Fort McMurray fire since the beginning.  In fact he has been working on Alberta forest fires since the end of February and has had only 2 days off.  He works in one of the helicopters that drops water on the fires.  Thanks for all your hard work Nathan.

Along with the usual weekend errands and to do list we spent the time just enjoying the girls.  Tomorrow morning I have my last vein treatment and then at 1PM we bring Caeli in for her ultrasound.  We have decided to leave Carmeh home alone as she just goes loco at the vets as she did last Saturday.  Better the two of us just concentrate on Caeli and what is being done to her and the results.

Caeli out in the yard yesterday on one of her many pee stops, poor thing.

There is the same amount of kibble in each bowl, 1/4 cup which is what they get in the morning and again at suppertime.  The bowl on the right absorbed a lot of chicken broth overnight making it look like a much larger serving than the bowl on the left.  The vet wanted us to get extra fluids into Caeli but since we have done this and given her a bit of broth to drink here and there she is no longer drinking water which she used to do.  Not sure this is such a great thing.  In my opinion she is now being trained to only drink chicken broth.  Oh well, we will have a better idea of what is ahead tomorrow afternoon.

Love our girls.

Caeli is sleeping a lot these past few days. She looks so innocent and precious.

Oh course I am glued to the computer checking on the Fort McMurray updates.  So wonderful to see the Red Cross donations rising.  It is never too late to donate.  I have been watching a live feed from CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ) http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/breaking/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-may5/

These are a few snippets from today…..

I also saw requests for diapers and so much more.

Folks in Los Angeles California are looking to donate items, sports teams are donating money, a comedy club in Manhattan is donating proceeds from their performance tomorrow and now Russia is offering to help.

It is wonderful to see so many coming together to help in what is the worst natural disaster that Canada has faced.

Caeli had Colin up several times throughout the night, somehow I managed to keep sleeping.  Her bladder infection is back.  Colin left at 5:15AM for some early morning shots.  I tried to doze but Caeli had me up shortly thereafter as she had to pee.  You can just picture me  outside in my long nightie wearing my hat as the sun was up running behind Caeli with a long handled spoon trying to catch her urine.  I finally did and sadly it was brightly tinged with blood.  No one told me to get the sample but long time experience told me what had to be done.

We already had a 10AM appointment with the vet to check her lip stitch which turns out to be just fine.  Our 15 minute appointment ran to a full hour before we were done.  The urine we brought in showed that it was full of bacteria and possibly struvites ( stone material ).  The urine sample I had brought in on Thursday morning was clear of bacteria but did have extra white  blood cells in it.  Partway through our appointment Caeli started to moan and whimper.  I asked for pain medication which they agreed with but at my third request they realized that I wanted it now.  Then the vet wanted to to inject a needle to get a sterile sample of urine, I said no.  Enough was enough.  Eventually we compromised and cleaned her ‘parts’ and took her out to pee.  That sample will be cultured to see if she is resistant to certain antibiotics and which would be best for her.  Meanwhile we have resumed the same antibiotic that she was on last week as is did help her within 24 hours.

Much discussion about what is causing this problem.  It could be as simple as stones or as severe as cancer.  Caeli is booked for an ultrasound at 1PM Monday, hopefully we will get some important information once it is completed.  She has the symptoms for it all.   The vet wanted me to hydrate her with lots of fluids and only feed her wet food.  She also wanted me to feed her chicken broth so she would drink a lot.  So while Colin went into the liquor store which just happened to be next to the vet office to buy me wine I trotted off to the nearby grocer.  Once home I knew what to do with the wine but not the chicken breasts.  We don’t eat meat nor fowl.  Google told me what to do.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 hours.  Okay, wine in the fridge and chicken breasts on the simmer.

Then the window guy arrived 24 hours late.  Somehow 2 hours went past before I entered the kitchen.  Dang 😥   The pot was 50% empty.  So I just added more water and simmered for another hour.  Hopefully I hadn’t lost all the flavor.  Once it cooled Caeli ( and Cameh of course ) lapped up quite a bit.

The windows look fabulous and the price is the same that I have been paying since we moved here, certainly worth hiring someone to do the job.  Colin spent the time trying to sort out a problem with a lens. I spent those two hours reading Suzanne’s fascinating blog posts from 2012 and 2013.  If you want to travel somewhere just check out her blog as she has likely been there and has some great info and photos on the place.

So the window cleaner left, Colin took Carmeh for her first walk of the day at 4:40PM while I threw together an early dinner.  I had also given the girls some broth to lap up which they loved.  Poor Caeli, I think that she was on liquid overload as she was incontinent just a wee bit.  Later after Colin left for work, I went to tuck Caeli in with a small dog blanket and realized that it was very wet.  Now I know why she slept during the entire time the window cleaner was here.  My poor sweet baby.

So Colin just called and had to abort his shoot.  The clouds are coming over the mountains, he requires perfect conditions for three nights in a row to get the shots he needs.  The clouds were forecast for  midnight.  It is only 7:10PM.  We are well aware that our business many be severely affected by the forest fires so we are doing the best to get the jobs done.

The good news, my scabs are all gone so now I can start to use the wonder creme I posted about a while back, the kitchen is clean and dishes either washed by hand or are in the dishwasher, I have a bottle of Painted Turtle Pinot Grigio open and at my elbow, the girls are asleep, my blog is almost complete leaving me 10 minutes to read before Colin gets home.  Oh and Monday is my last vein injection day 😀

Oops, Colin just pulled in……..

Caeli is clear of her infection but there are still some inflammatory cells hanging around that concerns the vet.  She suggests that we do an ultrasound of her bladder as she is concerned as to what is the cause or we could just monitor Caeli closely.  We are thinking about it.  Meanwhile an hour ago I noticed that the single stitch re her cyst removal is sticking out at an odd angle.  It may have slipped the knot.  We go in at 10AM tomorrow to check it out.

I could have taken her in this afternoon ( Colin is working ) but I spent my time waiting for my window cleaner.  I booked him last October for 8:30AM this morning and last week he changed it to 2PM today due to another large job.  I finally called him 30 minutes ago @ 4:10PM and he is still not done but will ‘pop by’ after he does his booked 2 homes in the AM, perhaps about 1 – 2 PM 😥   I planned my entire day around him and now again tomorrow but he does a great job inside and out and the windows last a long time due to his 100% pure water cleaning technology.  To think that he is so busy thanks to all the promotion we gave him way back in 2012 when he was starting out.

The Fort McMurray fire remains an extreme fire event.  It is currently at 101,000 hectares and they say it can double within the next 24 hours.  88,000 people have been evacuated.  25,000 of those had gone north to the oil patch camps but now those are being evacuated at the fire has turned north.  8,000 were flown out yesterday and they hope to do the same today.  Meanwhile a convoy of 1500 vehicles started the trek south at dawn this morning.  Yesterday fuel trucks came to fill the vehicle tanks so they could leave.  Another community was evacuated because of the fire and it has also had homes burn.  The situation is dire and the officials say that the only thing that will put this monster file out is rain.  Meanwhile firefighters and equipment from across Canada having been pouring into Alberta all day.  Who knows when these people will get back and most won’t have a home to return to.  The Canadian Government will match any personal donations made to the Red Cross until the end of May.  Now is a good time to make a donation and double the value.  People are opening their homes, their wallets and their hearts in Alberta.  Pope Francis sent a letter saying how saddened he is by all the destruction and distress,  that he is praying for the residents of Fort Mac.

The area is dry and there is speculation that it might take months to burn itself out.  The fire is so severe that is is spawning its own weather including lightening.  It can’t be put out by man but requires a lot of rain to be extinguished.

Meanwhile a few folks were out enjoying the lake yesterday afternoon.

Most of my scabs have fallen off.  It will take 2 -4 months and possibly longer for the pink to return to a natural skin color.

Meanwhile I will stay out of the sun with sunscreen on.  Oh well, I can still have fun.  I realized the other day that I need a hat that I could keep on my head in the event of wind, especially if I want to get out kayaking and canoeing this summer so I ordered one today 😀

Love the color and it should fit perfectly and if not I can easily return it.