Citizenship

Orange "Pink" toy...now a favorite of Balto's

"I'm watching you boy....don't move a muscle"

"I will not chase the kitty.......I will not chase the kitty......I will not chase........ 

She's Back.....

Although I have lived in Canada for 39 years, I am ashamed to say that I am not a Canadian citizen. I still roam around on my British passport and with a Kenya birth certificate, it can cause delays at the borders, plus, I value Canada so much, I decided it was high time I complete the mountain of paperwork and photocopies and apply to join the country I call home once and for all. I was summoned for my interview and knowledge test, along with 24 other wanna-be Canadians and spent the good part of three hours as the minority white British lady in a room of diversely mixed people from Korea, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Holland, Mexico, India, Somalia and a few I forget. With various levels of English (or French) we all muddled through the one on one interviews and the written test. Many were nervous and I seemed to be the one they directed all their questions to..It was a very long wait and it was great fun finding out where everyone was born. I proudly watched as they practiced their tests and their interviews and smiled at the young Somalian teen in his much too large suit, touched that he felt it important to dress for the occasion. I hope to see them all in our swearing in ceremony assuming we all pass the test.

If you recall from a few months ago, my Girl Child moved into a teeny tiny perfect for her condo back in March, only to have it flooded completely a mere 3 WEEKS later. She was moved first to a hotel, then to temporary accommodations courtesy of the Insurance Company while awaiting her condo to be repaired. With no end in sight, and insurance running out, she was forced to give up her lease and seek alternate housing. She spent every evening for 2 weeks traipsing through rentals and being disappointed when they were snapped up in a very hot rental market. She FINALLY secured one a mere 3 days before she was to be homeless. She does have a few days of NO FIXED ADDRESS and has moved home in the interim with her possessions salvaged in a hurry from the flood. She hasn't seen the contents of her condo in four months, so she is very excited to get into her new little SHOEBOX IN THE SKY on Saturday.

Many of you have asked how the dog BALTO is settling in. He walked in heer like he had lived here all his life and is quiet and content and cuddly. He has been enjoying dining alfresco with us in the evenings and loves his walks, toys and new people and dog friends. He is a COUNTER SURFER which forces us to be neat and tidy in the kitchen and he still get a little worked up over the cat, but she seems to realize that he is not an attack dog and seems quite relaxed around him. I absolutely love him. I do.