We have a brand new car. Brand new. 231 kms. We leased a 2008 Nissan Rogue. There is no worry of repair and large expenses. It has more safety features than you can shake a stick at. And a list of technological tricks that we may never notice but will be very grateful for (including headrests that will respond to breaking to help prevent whiplash).
We are pretty excited. There are no pictures right now as we picked up the car, drove to Auntie Shelley and Uncle Gord's for supper and then drove Matt to the airport and now home to bed (I work at 7am).
More to follow.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Charlie - Super Dog?
Charlie hardly ever barks. He makes monkey type noises when he plays, he arfs at passing dogs, but hardly ever full on barks. Last night Wiggins and Charlie were running around with pieces of the raw-hide bones they were chewing on. They were in the kitchen, out of sight, when Charlie started barking. He continued barking as they ran by us and up the stairs. Charlie returned to the landing and marked at me. After checking on the dogs we figured out that Wiggins had swallowed his bone piece whole and was having problems with it being stuck in his windpipe. Charlie was trying to save his new friend.
So now we feel that Charlie is a gifted little Lassie. However, as we were all getting ready for bed upstairs Logan and Charlie came down to lock everything up for the night. As Logan was about to head back upstairs Charlie jumped onto the love seat, faced the front door and barked. Logan felt that he was looking at the door and looking back at Logan and barking as though he was saying "Fix it. What is it? Don't you see it?" Weird.
Those two puppies had a good week. Charlie especially. He wanted to play with Wiggins every waking second. Wiggins was not so interested. But there were moments.
While we were at Ikea Janet bought each of the pooches a new stuffed toy. Wiggins got a size appropriate mouse and Charlie a cat.
It has been a good week of company. Mom and Dad Thursday to Sunday and Lorne and Janet from Sunday to today. But it is not over yet. Matt (my not so little brother) flies in today for a week.
So now we feel that Charlie is a gifted little Lassie. However, as we were all getting ready for bed upstairs Logan and Charlie came down to lock everything up for the night. As Logan was about to head back upstairs Charlie jumped onto the love seat, faced the front door and barked. Logan felt that he was looking at the door and looking back at Logan and barking as though he was saying "Fix it. What is it? Don't you see it?" Weird.
Those two puppies had a good week. Charlie especially. He wanted to play with Wiggins every waking second. Wiggins was not so interested. But there were moments.
While we were at Ikea Janet bought each of the pooches a new stuffed toy. Wiggins got a size appropriate mouse and Charlie a cat.
It has been a good week of company. Mom and Dad Thursday to Sunday and Lorne and Janet from Sunday to today. But it is not over yet. Matt (my not so little brother) flies in today for a week.
Little things
Just in case you haven't checked Amanda's blog lately - she has had the baby. Jolie Grace Very cute.
Back in Calgary, we went to Ikea today. I left with $80 of little things today and am disappointed in the selection of several items. Namely bathroom towel bars and the like. There were three very commercial/industrial options of $20. I can get them for $20-$30 anywhere. And they had nothing large enough to keep Charlie's dog food in.
Speaking of Charlie's dog food there is a little hole in his bag of food. Mouse adventure number 2. I was up for breakfast yesterday morning at 5:30 (I worked at 7am, and had to ride my bike). As I was sitting on the couch I saw a shadow move under the TV stand. I sat up and had a terrible sense of deja vu. Adventure #1: I was sitting on the couch watching TV in the evening and saw a fuzz/lint ball roll down the stair. I sat up and watched a mouse run back up the stairs. This time he ran out from behind the speaker, around the pony wall and into the kitchen. I paused for a second and ran up the stairs to wake Logan. I opened he door, "you may not want to know this right now but there is a mouse in the kitchen". He didn't move so I slowly closed the door. He was up very quickly investigating. In adventure #1 we put out a trap and had him dead within the hour and half when he checked the trap again. Yesterday, they checked all day and it still wasn't caught when I came home from work. Over night we changed the bait and were successful with peanut butter. Another crisis averted.
(We hope that the common thread between these two mice was the back door being left open. Both times we had the screen door propped open during the day for extended periods of time. And these are the only times we have done that, and both times have gotten a mouse. Logan has also put steel wool in two places he thinks they may be getting in from the outside. But both times there has been very little poop found. And last time we couldn't find anything that he had gotten into. This time he chewed a hole in Charlie's dog food.)
Back in Calgary, we went to Ikea today. I left with $80 of little things today and am disappointed in the selection of several items. Namely bathroom towel bars and the like. There were three very commercial/industrial options of $20. I can get them for $20-$30 anywhere. And they had nothing large enough to keep Charlie's dog food in.
Speaking of Charlie's dog food there is a little hole in his bag of food. Mouse adventure number 2. I was up for breakfast yesterday morning at 5:30 (I worked at 7am, and had to ride my bike). As I was sitting on the couch I saw a shadow move under the TV stand. I sat up and had a terrible sense of deja vu. Adventure #1: I was sitting on the couch watching TV in the evening and saw a fuzz/lint ball roll down the stair. I sat up and watched a mouse run back up the stairs. This time he ran out from behind the speaker, around the pony wall and into the kitchen. I paused for a second and ran up the stairs to wake Logan. I opened he door, "you may not want to know this right now but there is a mouse in the kitchen". He didn't move so I slowly closed the door. He was up very quickly investigating. In adventure #1 we put out a trap and had him dead within the hour and half when he checked the trap again. Yesterday, they checked all day and it still wasn't caught when I came home from work. Over night we changed the bait and were successful with peanut butter. Another crisis averted.
(We hope that the common thread between these two mice was the back door being left open. Both times we had the screen door propped open during the day for extended periods of time. And these are the only times we have done that, and both times have gotten a mouse. Logan has also put steel wool in two places he thinks they may be getting in from the outside. But both times there has been very little poop found. And last time we couldn't find anything that he had gotten into. This time he chewed a hole in Charlie's dog food.)
Monday, September 15, 2008
The one, the only
My parents drove into town on Thursday night with concert tickets. Tickets for 4 to Elton John. Mom, Stef, Auntie Shelley and I we to see the diva at the Saddledome on Friday.
It was great fun. I am pretty sure that Stef and I were bringing down the average age of the audience - if you don't count the front three rows of young gay men.
The show was great. There were a couple of song off the top that I didn't know. But the rest of the songs were loved classics, Rocketman, Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
It was just him at the grand piano, a keyboard players, drummer, percussion, bass and guitar players. The stage values were small (if you count at least 50 intelligent lights small), but it is Elton John. Somehow I expect more extravagance.
He wore a jacket with tails and blue embroidery on the arms that went onto a huge, abstract face of a woman with beautiful hair (which is what the rest design over the arms was). With that an electric blue dress shirt with matching cravat. When I searched Elton John I was hoping to find an image of him in the outfit he wore. This one is very close - if not the same. Including the blue tinted sunglasses.
It was great fun. I am pretty sure that Stef and I were bringing down the average age of the audience - if you don't count the front three rows of young gay men.
The show was great. There were a couple of song off the top that I didn't know. But the rest of the songs were loved classics, Rocketman, Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
It was just him at the grand piano, a keyboard players, drummer, percussion, bass and guitar players. The stage values were small (if you count at least 50 intelligent lights small), but it is Elton John. Somehow I expect more extravagance.
He wore a jacket with tails and blue embroidery on the arms that went onto a huge, abstract face of a woman with beautiful hair (which is what the rest design over the arms was). With that an electric blue dress shirt with matching cravat. When I searched Elton John I was hoping to find an image of him in the outfit he wore. This one is very close - if not the same. Including the blue tinted sunglasses.
I was able to find many images of him in similar but different coats and looks.
There was no opening act, just two and a half hours of Elton singing. There was hardly any talking besides short introductions between a handful of songs.
When he left the stage before the first and only encore Stef and I expected a wardrobe change. He did not deliver. Oh well, the music was stupendous. (though I was not impressed with the sound mix - Elton was muffled and his voice was often competing with his piano playing). It was a great show - thanks for the ticket mom.
Preserves
Previously I had mentioned my garden and my garden update. About a month ago already (my how time flies when you work at a crappy job) we returned from Regina to find that the heat had cooked our peas and that our carrots were ready for eating. 
So we picked a couple carrots from each row which were different seeds, and all of the peas. I made a pea salad but the peas were woody and past their prime. I think that because the weather was so crappy for the first month they were in the ground it pushed back their prime time. But the carrots were delicious.
On the weekend of the 1st of September I spent the rainy Saturday in the kitchen making Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam. The strawberries were a purchase but the rhubarb I had harvested in June, chopped and froze.
On the Sunday, Stef and I made a dozen jars of pickles, a few more than a dozen jars of pickled carrots and two ziplock bags of fresh parsley (pulsed into usable pieces by the food processor) for the freezer. It turned the kitchen upside down, stopped being fun after awhile - but was successful.
One large jars of carrots didn't seal so the next day I had to re-process them. All of the cucumbers seemed to have worked. The jam has not set to the consistency I would like - but that is fixable. All in all - a good thing.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday Surprise
We both had Sunday off. That doesn't happen anymore, at all. Sunday is a very different day than any other in the week. As it was Sunday Auntie Shelley and Uncle Gord invited us over for dinner. We headed over shortly before 4:00. We started a drink, chatted a bit and then their phone rang. The caller ID said ADT (I felt that I knew what it was about), Auntie Shelley answered anticipating that they were soliciting. They asked for Gord, Auntie Shelley joked "he is watching the Rider game right now, it might be tough to pull him away." They said okay and that was the end of the call.
Shortly after that Logan's cell phone rang, it was Jason. "Hey, ADT just called, your front door sensor is going off. Where are you? Can you get home?"
We hit every red light - but made it quickly - passing (at high speeds) a cop car parked just outside our circle. He followed us to the house - where the front door was open.
The single cop and Logan checked out the exterior of the house - just the front door was breached. The cop checked out the front door and saw that there was damage - he yelled in to make his presence know and there was no movement inside. We waited outside the house for the Sergeant to arrive so he and the responding officer could clear the house. It was at that moment that I realized that this could be more serious then I thought. The two officers entered our house with guns drawn. They cleared the house and there was no one there and no signs that anyone entered the house.
Poor Charlie. We pen him in the kitchen when we leave the house. From our front yard you can see through the window beside the door to the kitchen. Little puppy was sitting/crouching at the gate with his ears back, shaking.
In the end we have no idea why it happened, nothing was taken. We have had a detective to the house to checks on members events like this. But I think it was just a weird, flukey thing.
(oh, on a side note, ADT performed very poorly. The only thing that happened according to the plan they outlined was that the alarm went off. From that point on every step has something I need complain about. Including that I called to reset the system and told them it was a false alarm. They heard an earful.)
Shortly after that Logan's cell phone rang, it was Jason. "Hey, ADT just called, your front door sensor is going off. Where are you? Can you get home?"
We hit every red light - but made it quickly - passing (at high speeds) a cop car parked just outside our circle. He followed us to the house - where the front door was open.
The single cop and Logan checked out the exterior of the house - just the front door was breached. The cop checked out the front door and saw that there was damage - he yelled in to make his presence know and there was no movement inside. We waited outside the house for the Sergeant to arrive so he and the responding officer could clear the house. It was at that moment that I realized that this could be more serious then I thought. The two officers entered our house with guns drawn. They cleared the house and there was no one there and no signs that anyone entered the house.
Poor Charlie. We pen him in the kitchen when we leave the house. From our front yard you can see through the window beside the door to the kitchen. Little puppy was sitting/crouching at the gate with his ears back, shaking.
In the end we have no idea why it happened, nothing was taken. We have had a detective to the house to checks on members events like this. But I think it was just a weird, flukey thing.
(oh, on a side note, ADT performed very poorly. The only thing that happened according to the plan they outlined was that the alarm went off. From that point on every step has something I need complain about. Including that I called to reset the system and told them it was a false alarm. They heard an earful.)
Nissan
We went out to look at a second car; the Nissan Rogue. We really liked it. We liked it so much we took out two different Rogues. One was an all wheel drive, the second step up - SL. There was also a demo model that they would lease us that had 10,000 km - the SL with the Premium package. The demo with a few more features was $3 more a month than the new one. We told them we would come back when we had sold our car - they wanted to look at a trade in. We knew that they couldn't possibly give us what we still owe on the car - we were right. So we will have to wait a bit, sell our car, and then go back (probably).
We like the look of the side and back - but Logan is not so keen on the front. I have been reading reviews on the vehicle and it seems to be a common complaint.
The interior gets big points. The seats were very comfortable and there was plenty of leg room. And the back seats were also comfortable with lots of leg room.
The SL has heated cloth seats and 16" alloy wheels.
And the back has a cool fold up divider to help keep those couple bags a groceries in place or what have you.
We like the look of the side and back - but Logan is not so keen on the front. I have been reading reviews on the vehicle and it seems to be a common complaint.The interior gets big points. The seats were very comfortable and there was plenty of leg room. And the back seats were also comfortable with lots of leg room.
The SL has heated cloth seats and 16" alloy wheels.
And the back has a cool fold up divider to help keep those couple bags a groceries in place or what have you.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Mitsubishi
As a Police Officer Logan sees things that most of us hope to never have to witness. A growing concern for him is car accidents. He sees many vehicles smashed up and passengers in various states of survival. A very noticeable theme is car vs. any other vehicle. There are so many vehicles on the road that are larger than cars (buses, vans, SUVs, trucks, construction vehicles etc). In all of these scenarios the car is the looser. Because it is lower, the people are lower, the danger level is higher in these loosing situations. This has caused Logan to reconsider our vehicle.
We currently drive a Jetta. It is a 2001, silver, four door great car that we bought in September of 2005. We financed over 5 years - that means we are just at the three year anniversary of our payments. I really like this car. It has served us well and has some great options (heated cloth seats to name the most important). But in the last year and a half we have invested a large chunk of money into it. More money than I expected for a 2001. Just before Logan drove to Regina for Kendra's Wedding he took it in to be serviced - another $700 hit. This past winter we put $1000+ into it (maybe more, we had to take it in 3 times to have it fixed completely), and last spring/summer another $1000. And that is what I can remember off the top of my head. It is running well right now - but for how long.
With safety in mind, and the timing right for the car (I mean it is in working order and repairs are up-to-date) we have started talking about selling the car and leasing a new one.
Ah the Lease vs. Buy debate. After many conversations Logan and I have come to the conclusion that you don't make money on owning a car. After owning it for years you are lucky to break even. Also with older cars you are always wondering when it is going to break down and cost $1000. Not even older cars, ours is 7 years old and costs money every time you turn around. At our age and place in life we are thinking Leasing is the way to go. With a 4 year term we pay the same amount we pay for our loan payment with the protection of a warranty. I think that 4 years is a good time line for us right now too. When the time comes we can decide if the vehicle is still working for us, or if we need to consider something else.
I have done my searching on line (mostly JD Power website).
Today we drove through the auto mall and stopped and Ford to look at the Escape and Edge. And then stopped at Mitsubishi to look at the Outlander. Brochure Image
It was very nice. We really liked it. It has lots of options included, as well as a 10 year warranty, so if we did buy it out at the end it would still be covered. 4 wheel drive, seating for 5 with additional 3rd row seating for two little people (I thought it made sense but the brochure says the 3rd row is not meant for people taller than 160 cm (5') tall or kids in rear or front facing child seats. Don't kids sit in those seats until they are in school. So you have from kindergarten until they reach 5' tall to have people in the back - seems dumb) It was a really neat vehicle and is on the list.
We currently drive a Jetta. It is a 2001, silver, four door great car that we bought in September of 2005. We financed over 5 years - that means we are just at the three year anniversary of our payments. I really like this car. It has served us well and has some great options (heated cloth seats to name the most important). But in the last year and a half we have invested a large chunk of money into it. More money than I expected for a 2001. Just before Logan drove to Regina for Kendra's Wedding he took it in to be serviced - another $700 hit. This past winter we put $1000+ into it (maybe more, we had to take it in 3 times to have it fixed completely), and last spring/summer another $1000. And that is what I can remember off the top of my head. It is running well right now - but for how long.
With safety in mind, and the timing right for the car (I mean it is in working order and repairs are up-to-date) we have started talking about selling the car and leasing a new one.
Ah the Lease vs. Buy debate. After many conversations Logan and I have come to the conclusion that you don't make money on owning a car. After owning it for years you are lucky to break even. Also with older cars you are always wondering when it is going to break down and cost $1000. Not even older cars, ours is 7 years old and costs money every time you turn around. At our age and place in life we are thinking Leasing is the way to go. With a 4 year term we pay the same amount we pay for our loan payment with the protection of a warranty. I think that 4 years is a good time line for us right now too. When the time comes we can decide if the vehicle is still working for us, or if we need to consider something else.
I have done my searching on line (mostly JD Power website).
Today we drove through the auto mall and stopped and Ford to look at the Escape and Edge. And then stopped at Mitsubishi to look at the Outlander. Brochure Image
It was very nice. We really liked it. It has lots of options included, as well as a 10 year warranty, so if we did buy it out at the end it would still be covered. 4 wheel drive, seating for 5 with additional 3rd row seating for two little people (I thought it made sense but the brochure says the 3rd row is not meant for people taller than 160 cm (5') tall or kids in rear or front facing child seats. Don't kids sit in those seats until they are in school. So you have from kindergarten until they reach 5' tall to have people in the back - seems dumb) It was a really neat vehicle and is on the list.
Comfy interior, 6 disc MP3 changer, Blue tooth buttons on the steering wheel.
The seats are really easy fold and tumble flat.
Both the 2nd row (the regular row) and the additional weird 3rd row fold down to create a huge amount of space. The tail gate opens in two places. It opens up in a regular door but the bottom bit sticks up 9"ish. This is meant to protect your bumper if you need to have cargo sticking out the back, it also folds down (you can see the line in the foreground of the photo - which is the inside edge of the bottom bit). The bottom fold down is stable enough to sit on and creates a flat cargo bed.
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