Training Log Archive: Yukon King

AM scoot over to corner groc to p/u weekend paper for lounging purposes. Then afternoon dog-walk in cold but fairytale woods - sun, birdsong, flowers, little bright green leaves everywhere (plus bits of snow from last night!!!), & on the way home torn-up pancakes tossed out under every tree for Gypsy's torment! Met some stranger-dogs, dug a hole, & dragged a truly Manky-Ball up a hill, chased it down the hill, dragged it up, chased it down, stuffed it in a hole, dragged it out. My dog reminds me of Eeyore but more cheerful & active.
Went to the Starlight Casino in New West to look at all the sparkly lights & eat noodles at their new cafe. It was sparkly & fun, I love that hypnotic burble of the slot machines, noodles were OK. James Bond was not there, it wasn't quite that kind of place. Always a teeny bit sad to know there are people who are gambling a bit too much for their own good.

stretchies etc in the hot-tub before swimming. pool was empty, nice...

swimming felt good, R hip is a bit cranky since the last few days actually. sun started coming out just at the end. Tofu & vegies for dinner, in a sort of vaguely thai style - chili jam & a chiffonade of cilantro, basil, & mint. Since I have them...bit of lime juice? Soaking garbanzos to complete the legume suite in freezer.

yow ! surprised myself w all that walking - spring woods walk w dog, really cold out there but at least less violently windy in woods, very pretty. No Dogs, but a Huge Pile of Dirt to get filthy in over by the co-op reno. Then corner groc to buy fruit etc for Sunday Jamaican dinner for dad-in-law - found ginger beer!!!
and a yummy bottle of coca cola for me....

got a call from Shelly's mom to go for a quick walk to the dog-park to let Gypsy chase her mom around to help her w her weight problem, heheh. Back a bit late to start the rice & start hacking madly at veg. It was fun ! I had them take G-dog to see how she responded to not having me with her - she did fine - I snuck out after them & shadowed them over to Taylor - she was so busy playing w Shelly she didnt notice me a bit either way. Very encouraging.
This may have been a bit much. Perhaps a bit of rest tomorrow, we'll see.

AM - over to the woods, down the creek & back up, springtime green but still chilly, then around the block & home. Met Blue, Sugar, Kelli, Sophie & Cobie, plus about 5 other dogs I dont know. Dug a hole, chased a pinecone for hundred of meters, played wrestle w Sophie.
Baked beans & cornbread for dinner. Plus a fridge-cleansing stirfry...

C • Funny how you meet up with ... 2

afternoon walk in bright sun but windy, over to Taylor for a biscuit, & home. Then evening walk, met Mog, then played w Coalie in the lobby til they were both exhausted & covered w dog spit. Nice.

AM walk as D has early thingy at work. Cool & misty morning (says its gonna SNOW this weekend!!!) down the first bit of stairmaster, cut thru the woods, down to hummingbird bower, & up the creekside paths. Met a baby shiba !!! Played w Gingy all the way up, about half an hour at least. I love the morning walks. I also love the afternoon walks...
salmon for dinner, an almost-greek salad, lemon/rosemary/garlic/olive oil baby potatoes, broccoli w oyster sauce.
Start working on friends' taxes, finish poster, maybe yoga?! I need more colors!!

C • flowers? 2

afternoon walk w Keith to Taylor Park, overcast & brisk.

since I was already lying on the livingroom floor, did some RoM & a few bits of yoga...bridge, twists, boat, cobra, locust...anti-jelly arms, situps.

various Green Sheet manoeuvres - cover the dog & thump the wiggling sheet, poke various flailing dog-bits sticking out, tug-of-war w Green Sheet, chase the Green Sheet around & around, collapse in exhaustion, girl - yoga; dog - nap.

train downtown to bank, have tea, file taxes, p/u forms, buy coffee for Alf, buy a chunk of honeymoon for D&D... then a nice walk in the woods, down the creek, up the creek... saw a wren, met Pongo, Tag (?), Tiffie, Kelli, & Dallice.
Off to art gallery DT yet again this evening for dinner & photography exhibit, pretty excited!
Freezing the second contingent of my bean-exercise, & am cooking the third - now I only have garbanzos to go, & I'll be totally set for maximized low-on-the-food-chain convenience.
No rebound yet that I've noticed.

oof! look at all those km today, probably a bit much, albeit optimally spread over the day...downtown to dinner and exhibition at VAG - Steiglitz & them-all - interesting & fun.

Gypsy is the only dog who has two AP logs. I think. Today we went....To The Park!
but by first heading directly away from it over to the ravine path, over the parkway, around the park picking up garbage, sit in sun w biscuit & Walden, then home, very crankily. Very sunny, very windy. Got over crankiness by sitting by gate to visit dogs - Kelli, Marco...
Gypsy is a japanese shiba inu. She looks like a miniature sled dog of some sort, but I am coming to the conclusion that she is actually a primitive pointer - their name means either "red dog" or "bush dog", and their described traditional role relates to the latter translation in that they were supposed to be used to flush out small game such as birds & rabbits from the bush. G certainly has a strong interest in such animals & the bush, and modern accounts of the shiba indicate the breed indeed has such tendencies, loving the bush and game scents to the extent of being unreliable in returning out of the bush until several days later. I've noticed G has a strong natural tendency of staring intently at or "pointing" at interesting sounds/smells along the edge of paths, mostly I think mice or voles, and sometime in her intensity she will even lift one foot, which is the classic pointer pose. Albeit not on mice. So even though we taught her "gee', "haw', "hike", & other sled dog commands cuz of the way she looks, she is probably not a sled dog.
scallop, egg, & tofu fried rice for dinner.

Vancouver Club for Dave & Derek's wedding, very nice! had an early dinner in the (quiet and elegant) club diningroom, a goat cheese salad, then a squash, chanterelle & truffle (oooh) risotto, & a good creme brulee. Now I don't have to eat truffles again - they were OK, but not divine & thus not worth the price they seem to command - kinda earthy & pungent - might be good as a scented oil for cooking? The goat cheese was prepared a bit too long before serving (crusted & finished in butter or some such) so it was cooling off & the crusts were separating a bit. But I still happily wolfed it down!
Wedding was great, gorgeous dignified room, generous & tasty canapes both roaming & stationary, and a pleasant & helpful man serving bar. D & D were also dignified, but cute, & obviously very happy. Music was a bit loud but apparently that is actually useful for parties like this. Oh! The Cake! it was tiers & tiers of.... Cupcake Shop cupcakes !! Absolutely spectacular, innovative (to me at least), cost-effective, & easy to serve. I didn't have one, I wanted to go home & see G-dog before they served them - next week I'll find out what they had & get a couple from the shop for me & D for an extended wedding celebration.

wild guesses, pretty sure a bit underestimated - 0.3 km at Malcolm Knapp Forest O-meet parking lot (No Dogs Allowed in the forest, not even on the logging roads, but G likes the edges of parking lots just fine, she can't tell the difference at all) - saw a rufous hummingbird and the most beautiful moss garden on a log I ever saw in my life - two different mosses & a lichen, all in gorgeous condition, gemmae cups and all. Must remember to bring binoculars (hummingbird) & geologist's loupe (mosses) to enhance 2008's O-experiences...
also a quick walk around the block at friends' house to drain the dog. G was exhausted by her very stimulating day, from normal AM walk w D, parking lots adventures, new house, toddler attacks, cookies, scavenging in a new kitchen for crunchies, etc.