Well Janine and Vedran have taken the little doggies home.  Pat and I had them around (here and at Meagan’s) for a month and I hate to say it, but I sort of got used to them.  Preparing supper tonight and it felt weird not having to step around dogs, and when I dropped something while chopping I actually had to bend over and retrieve it.  Got used to having two hoovers policing the floor when I prepared meals. 

Will not miss the cleaning up the poop and the licking of my ear and face.  I will try to get Pat to sit on my lap tonight as we watch TV but I do not think that will happen.

We still have a lot of cleaning to get finished.  Vacuuming up all the hair will take a week. 

Still I will miss two creatures that stared at me with adoration.  It has been many years since Pat or my children gave me those looks, but granted that was only when I was working in the kitchen so I may have mistaken their intention.

Janine and Vedran made it home after a long day and the dogs will be getting used to being alone.  I will have to get used to not leaving the house with little bags in my pocket.

Janine and Vedran are staying here and booked us into a couple of nights at a lodge in Tofino.  Now I had always heard that November was a popular month to visit Tofino and now realize why.  For the storms. 

The afternoon we arrived there was a typical November storm going through but this did not stop us from walking on the beach by the resort where we got drenched.  By luck the next two mornings were clear and bright so we could spend lots of times at other beaches.  Because of the storms the waves continued very high (at least 4 meters in some cases) and the scenes of the them crashing onto the shore and rocks were nothing short of spectacular.  You could spend hours just watching them and we did. 

The dogs (and Vedran)  got lots of opportunity to run on the beach and get chased by waves coming in.  You cannot outrun a wave so they got drenched again. 

Attached are just a couple of pictures I took and they do not do justice to the actual sights.  One shows Vedran way out on a rock with waves crashing around him.

We also were introduced to a new experience of having lunch at the Tacofino which is considered one of the top 10 truck food stalls in North America.   Janine and Vedran had heard about it from an article on the Food Network in the US so we had to try it.  Apparently high end food sold out of a truck (sort of like the kind of vans that sell ice cream on the streets) is a big fad in the US and the only one in Canada to make the top 10 list is Tacofino in Tofino.  Best Taco I ever ate by a mile.

We have now had our precious grand dogs living with us for 2 weeks and the house is filling with white doggie hair.  Continuous vacuuming barely manages to keep us from having to wade through it. 

Last month I watched an article on TV about the industry for Eider Down feathers for pillows and how the Chinese are faking it with chicken feathers and foam and DOG HAIR.  I now realize that this is possible.  I figure our two westies could fill a pillow in a couple of weeks.  If the hair did not itch so much I might start gathering it to sell to the Chinese.

Fall has come upon us with the cooler weather.  The annuals have finally dried up and the leaves have fallen from the few trees that actually shed.  However because of the few showers, everything is green and lush.  The Golf Course behind us and our lawn is luxurious. Fortunately I think I will not have to mow the lawn again. 

With the cooler weather I decided to again make my famous meat loaf based on the recipe plan from the Fine Dining magazine.  I have blogged on this before.  It is an 8 step process where you pick 2 of 6 from column A, 2 of 8 from column B etc.  It is not cooked in a loaf pan but rather on a cookie sheet on parchment paper so it ends up looking like a loaf of bread. 

Unfortunately in one of the steps I added tablespoons of hot pepper flakes instead of teaspoons.  Honest mistake with little doggies running around my legs as I was working. 

Wonderful meatloaf, but a bit spicy for Pat (and to be truthful for me as well)  So instead of leftovers for us to share later in the week, I will have slices of meatloaf for sandwiches.  The chef should pay for the mistakes.  They will make great sandwiches so no bid deal.

We had a long skype with Janine tonight from China.  She and Vedran are so looking forward to coming back home.  I have warned them that the dogs may not want to return to USA with them as they have a wonderful life with us, but she and Vedran are up to the challenge to win them back.

Jorg has asked the family to support him on his Movember mustache growing in support of research on Prostate Cancer, a noble cause. 

I had heard of Movember before but last year was the first that I saw the results when I played golf with Ryan and saw his feeble attempt at a mustache.  He definitely has the Ellis gene that makes a blond mustache look like something a normal 17 year old would possess. A genetic feature that changes after you are over 40. 

So Jorg wants to grow a mustache.  I thought that the hairy, itchy thing was in my past life, but I contacted Jorg and challenged him to who can grow the best Mustache in the month.

Jorg has the advantage of a black beard and youth but I have the advantage of age.  As Blaine would confirm, I could grow a beard out of my nostrils now that I am a senior.  But the disadvantage is my mustache is blond/white and may not show up as well in pictures.

So we are depending on the family to judge based on pictures taken of Jorg’s and my mustache on December 1.  Winner takes all, and I am not depending on my authority position over my children and other blog readers to influence the vote.

I am two days in and it is already itchy, not sure how I will make it through the month. 

More to come

I realize that my many blog readers have been disappointed by my lack of reports for the last month.  The telegrams were piled up at our front door when we arrived home all saying “are you still alive?”

I am alive and we are finally home from a month of adventure.  We have two dogs now living with us and frankly they are the same as having two 4 year old children.  I say 4 year olds because, while they are not in diapers, they still require special toilet time. (more than special because at least a 4 year old could be trained to do it in a pot)

When I take Jackes (the male Westie) for walks or let him outside he can pee a pint, but only in tablespoon amounts.  He can turn it off and on in squirts to make a man proud of his prostate (or whatever is the valve)  I certainly could not do it.  Jackes has to do it on every bush and post we walk by to mark a territory so to empty his bladder takes some time. 

The dogs are actually better than I had hoped.  They require a lot of attention and hugging but are othewise Ok.  Granted cooking in the kitchen is awkward with two Westies continuously roaming around my feet looking for dropped food particles looking at me with forlorn eyes like starving ophans.  Even after we feed them they look like Oliver saying “please Sir I want some more”  Takes a firm position to deny them even as I cook huge meals for Pat and I but we are under instruction from their parents.

Last night was Halloween so Pat locked herself in the den with the mutts because everytime the doorbell rings they go crazy.  Protecting the property.  We have not been home for Halloween for 2 years so did not know what would happen.  We bought 100 pieces of chocolate bars, just in case.  We had 10 kids.  I think I ate more candy sitting around waiting than I gave out. 

In any event the weather is mild, I have had time to work in the garden trimming the plants and clearing all the annuals into recycle bags. 

Not exciting times but that is what you want in Paradise.