It takes almost an hour to get to Mum’s house from the homestead.  The transport of the “Hello Kitty” cake to the birthday celebration was without incident.  My niece gave her squeal of approval with a very loud “Aunt-Aunt made me a Hello Kitty cake!”

Visual inspection successful!

This weekend, one of my nieces celebrates her 6th birthday.  Tradition in our family is that Mum prepares a dinner of choice.  My job is to provide a sweet treat.  The usual request is for white cake.  My niece has requested a white cake.  Specifically, she requested “kitty cat cake”.

Oh boy.

Yesterday was puppy school day.

After the major frustrations suffered in class last week, I emailed the instructor hoping for words of wisdom that would whisk us past the bumps in the road and get us back on track.

I love getting packages.

Even when I have ordered something myself, I am like a kid at Christmas waiting for the postman or delivery driver to come bearing a fat envelope or cardboard box with my name on it.  Given I had to order parts for Dixie from a variety of vendors, it was quite a treat waiting for everything to arrive!

Lists surround me.

I have a list on my calendar of what I intend to do today, and another with a plan for the week.  I have a list of things to do at the gym.  I have a grocery list.  I have a list of projects that need attention.  I have lists for Dixie that include work to be done, parts that need explored, and parts to be ordered.  I have a list of projects for other people.   To complicate matters, I have lists running through my head that have not yet made it to paper.

This weekend was a whirl of activity on the homestead.  The weather was perfect for outside chores. 

We finally got to work on Dixie! 

Who is Dixie?

For many years I have wanted an old truck.  I love the big, boxy look of trucks built back in “the day”.  Yes, the cars of that era are sweet as well.  For me, there is just something about a truck. 

I woke up this morning to sunshine and bird song.  As summer fast approaches, the days have been full of glorious light and dry, warm air.  Days like this keep me busy with more on my list than time usually allows.  My brain runs in high gear and it is often difficult to slow it down.

Today is one of those days.

I am a nurse.  I am proud to be a nurse.  I have been a nurse for 29 years.  For those who may not know, as a nurse, even when you are no longer working a “real job”, you are still a nurse.  My career was a remarkable journey and I am grateful for every job I had along the way.

This week I had class number two of the second round of dog training with Jaxon. 

Jaxon, our now six-month old boxer, passed puppy school and did very well despite being easily distracted.  VERY easily distracted.  This week we had class number two of the second round of dog training.  The objective is to build on his puppy skills.  Week one he was a model student.  He even acted as model to some of the younger dogs in the class.  What a proud moment for a dog-mom when the instructor picks him to demonstrate a skill!

Yesterday was not a “gym day”, but that does not mean I took a day off from training.  Given the weather was a bit unpredictable, I decided against a riding my bike as I did not feel like getting caught in the rain far from home.  I settled for a “run around the block”.  As we live in the country, my run around the block is a dirt road loop of just over three miles.  I jogged the first mile without a break, did the second mile with two “walk breaks”, and the third was a series of intervals of 30 seconds run, 30 seconds walk.  It was a not a great run, but it served to provide an adequate cardio workout for the day.