Making Connections

Does anyone within my local readership have the book, “Make the Connection” by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey? I would love to borrow it, if it’s available.

Who has read this book? Was it helpful? I’ve seen the video and it was good, but not quite enough to make a connection for me. (I want to dig in a little deeper)

If you have it, please let me know if you’re willing to give it up for a little while.

If you’ve read it, please tell me your thoughts.

I’ve got four books waiting for me to read them – and quite the array; Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing - so if everyone thinks Make the Connection is utter crap, I’d rather just move on and forget about it.

Thanks guys!

Short for Tornado

He came along at a time when I really needed a distraction and some unconditional love. Little Toro, the runt of the litter, born with a harelip.

The breeder’s husband and vet both thought Toro should be put down. They thought he’d never survive. But Jane, the breeder, must have seen Toro’s spunk early on. He managed to find a way to eat and drink, despite the harelip. He held his own at playtime too. The first time I held him he just snuggled into my arms and took a nap. He was so sweet. When I brought him home he weighed barely 2 lbs. and fit into the palm of my hand. He was my baby. I even took time off work to stay at home with him while he got used to being in a new place. I carried him around a lot because he was so small I was afraid he would get stepped on. He still loves to be carried around. Mister, the family Schnauzer, taught Toro how to bark, and did he ever teach him well. Mister also taught him how to howl, a surprising trait in a Shih-tzu.

Toro has put up with a lot of ridicule over the years, mostly due to his harelip. It makes me sad when I have to defend him on this. He’s a quirky little guy, but that’s what makes him extra-special. Jane taught him to drink from a water bottle, the kind rabbits and guinea pigs use – it keeps their furry little faces dry! He attacks his bowl of food like it’s waiting to be killed, growling at it, slamming it against the wall, and pushing out all of the food onto the floor. I think he’s artistic. He picks up a piece of food, walks away and places it down, just there. Then he gets another piece and carefully places it in the vicinity of the first one and this continues for several more pieces. Sometimes he’ll pick one of the pieces up and move it just slightly. He does it so deliberately; I swear he’s creating art. He goes crazy over his squeaky toys. You should have seen his reaction to the new toy he got from Auntie Krista last Christmas! WOW! Look out! He loves to play fetch. He sleeps on pillows, whether it’s his head, his whole body, or just one rear paw, there’s almost always a pillow involved. Toro loves fruits and veggies and popcorn, and waits so quietly and patiently for a piece of Sunday roast beef to fall his way. Toro knows I’m boss, and still follows me around like a puppy. Sometimes (if I’m lucky), I just have to give him a look to get him to behave. But other times nothing works.

He was my only child for 8 years, until Miles came along. Toro has done so well with two little boys taking over the house. He’s a little freaked out when Jonah follows him around, but you can see that he wants to play with the boys – he already drops his toys in front of them hoping they will throw it for him to fetch. I’m proud of him for having patience.

I hesitate to even put this into words, but I really hope he stays with us long enough for Miles to grow up a bit more and become Toro’s boy, and best friend too.

Dogs and Babies

There is some kind of bond going on here that I didn't even see coming.

Tonight, I was sitting on the couch, watching TV when my dog, Toro, started barking.

"Toro, no!" "Toro, no barking!" "Toro, quit it!" "Toro, that's
enough!" "Toro, SHUT IT!!!"

It gets quiet for a moment, then I hear it....Miles is crying. I run up the stairs telling Toro to keep it quiet, and tend to Miles. A bit of a tummy problem tonight it seems. I return to the couch and TV. Glenn and Sherri soon join me on the couch. I tell them about how Toro told me that Miles was crying. Before I even finished telling the story, Toro starts barking again. This time I get up and turn on the baby monitor. Sure enough, Miles is crying again! This time I climb the stairs thanking Toro for letting me know.

Now I know that dogs and children can be the best of friends, but I honestly didn't believe that Toro had it in him. Nor have I seen him show any kind of concern when Miles is crying. He's really been quite good with both the boys so far. It's got to be tough on an old pooch when the youngsters start chasing him around the house, poking around his food, and trying to play with his toys! We keep a pretty close eye on Toro when he's around the boys, because even though he's smaller than both of them, and has crappy teeth (there will be a post dedicated entirely to Toro in the near future), he is an animal and a potential threat. Albeit a compassionate one - he always shows up at my side when I'm crying! I'll stop there and save the rest for Toro's post.

I know there are thousands upon thousands of amazing pets out there. What has yours surprised you with? (and I'm not talking about puppy or kitty "treats" left on the front door mat...)

The Great Downfall

Taken from Environment Canada:

SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...

CLUSTERS OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GODERICH AND KITCHENER AREAS HAVE ALREADY DUMPED LOCALLY NEAR 50 MILLIMETRES OF RAIN TODAY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS AND OTHERS WHICH ARE EXPECTED TO FORM ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE DISTRICT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING LOCALLY VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS FROM TIME TO TIME THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. AS A RESULT RAINFALL AMOUNTS LOCALLY WILL REACH 50 TO 100 MILLIMETRES BY THIS EVENING. IN ADDITION FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 KM/H ARE ALSO QUITE POSSIBLE.



According to the TV version of The Weather Network, there was also a possibility of tornadoes. Actually, I was told one was spotted near Cambridge. We're in a nice little pocket of a valley and don't usually get the really severe weather. But the rain this afternoon was quite impressive. Enough so that I had to pull my camera out and take some pictures to prove it.

When I started seeing lightning that seemed really close, I turned off the TV and went upstairs to turn off computers. After that I watched the rain out my bedroom window. That's when I saw it. The rain was coming down the hill so hard and so fast, it was spouting out of the manhole cover in the middle of the street! I've never seen it do this before. I had a heck of a time trying to get a picture of it, and when I did, it came out so dark that you couldn't see anything. Luckily, I was able to lighten it up. See the area that I circled? That's the water spouting out of the manhole cover. I managed to get a video clip of it that is much easier to see, but I can't figure out how to pull a single frame out of the clip.

They're continuing to forcast rain right up until Wednesday now. I guess we'll have to settle for indoor activities until then. Hey, at least we're not living through hurricane after hurricane! I'll take thunderstorms any day of the week.

Table Etiquette

In our family we follow some basic rules while at the table.

However, we'd probably still be considered complete heathens by some.

Let's look at one of our more formal meals - The Sunday Roast Beef Dinner complete with silverware, fine china, and guests.

1. Complete places are set for every meal. Everyone gets a knife, spoon and fork whether there is a need to use every utensil or not.
2. We wait until everyone is seated at the table before we make a move. The food is not touched at this point.
3. Grace is said.
4. We start helping ourselves to the food placed before us, then pass to the left. That's right, the left, not the right. Got it?
5. If a dish lands in front of you that you are not interested in, you continue to pass it to the left. You do not leave said dish stranded in front of you.
6. You only stop passing once you ensure that everyone at the table has partaken of the particular dish you are holding.
7. You can start eating at any time, but continue to pass dishes as requested (and salt and pepper are always passed together, not separately. Right Grandma?)
8. Nothing is cleared from the table until everyone has finished eating...unless Grandma is on her own agenda. :)
9. Dessert is served, guests first. We do not start our desserts until the server, usually Grandma, has returned to their seat and started their own dessert.
10. All dishes are washed, whether they were used or not.

From here on out there aren't any fast rules that we follow for this type of meal.

Now then, there's the regular, every day family meal. Let's say supper on a Tuesday night. Let's see if things change.

1. How the table is set depends on who sets it. Grandpa and I usually lay a full setting. Sherri will skip spoons, for example, if she knows neither she nor Glenn will use one at this meal. Sometimes serviettes are forgotten (that's napkins for any American readers), at least until Grandma gets home and puts them out.
2. We wait until everyone is seated before lifting any food, but we do make exceptions from time to time.
3. Grace is said.
4. We help ourselves to the nearest dish then pass to the left, unless say, Sherri or I are having trouble with one of the boys, in which case the others may take their food first and we'll get ours when we're ready. (this can happen during a Sunday Roast Beef Dinner as well).
5. Pass food even if you aren't interested in it. Sometimes a dish gets stranded, but some hungry person will eventually ask for it.
6. Stop passing once you ensure everyone's had a helping, or when you're overcome with hunger and HAVE to dig in immediately.
7. You can start eating at any time, but continue to pass dishes as requested (S&P together, same diff).
8. The table starts getting cleared when somebody feels like doing it.
9. If there is dessert to be had (usually left over from Sunday Roast Beef Dinner), we usually wait until everyone is served before eating it. Sometimes Grandpa will bring dessert out to the table and start eating it even before everyone has finished their supper! Say it isn't so!
10. All dishes are washed, whether they were used or not (unless they can be snuck back away into their respective cupboard or drawer without Grandma seeing).

• Burping and farting happens. Sorry to have to tell you that.
• I personally like to cut into anything I can with my fork. Why? I'm too lazy to use a knife unless I have to. I believe there are those who would find that incredibly disgusting.
• There is often lots of hollering and crying by the youngest members of the family.
• There is lots of getting up from the table and returning throughout a meal.
• Phones are often answered during meals, but not always.
• There is often too much barking by my dog, who gets yelled at until somebody sprays him with some water, or lets him out.
• We all try to help clean up whenever we can and as much as we can.
• Us kids are very thankful that Grandpa makes most of our suppers for us, and Grandma does the bulk of the cleaning up. Are we fortunate or what?

Unlike many families in this day and age, we are often able to spend 3 meals a day together around the table, and we wouldn't have it any different. Incredible. I think most of these "rules" came from my paternal grandmother, and to me, they're all about being considerate. It is so important to be considerate of others when you live with 6 other people, and when there are so many people in the world that we need to interact with each and every day.

I'd love to hear about your family meals. Do you have any rules while at the table?