Merry but a little less bright

Christmas 2018, like other Christmases past, was beautiful in Steveston.

Trees in Steveston Park donned their brilliant robes and shop windows and doors wore garlands of twinkling LED's in seasonal colours. Just walking around the village awakened a sense of anticipation for the upcoming big day and of course, the accompanying urgency and panic to get as much done as possible before its arrival.

But hark, what happened to the banners made of crisscrossing mesh of lights that used to drape over Moncton Street? Why were they so conspicuously absent. I had always loved that sensation of moving through the brilliant tunnel they formed. It raised a local awareness of - and appreciation for - Steveston as a fishing village.

I don't know why they were phased out and hope that the tradition will be rekindled in 2019. After all, you can't get too many Christmas displays and this one was very specific to our village.

Otherwise, Steveston will be just another postcard-pretty place .

Buddy's outing

Not Buddy - to protect Buddy's identity

When my husband agreed to walk our neighbour's dog while they took a vacation, I thought it would be fun to tag along.

After all, who could resist images of Lassie roaming the hills and Rover dashing into the bushes to retrieve a branch or tennis ball.

Huh!

This was what I found out instead-

This dog was:

⦁ Full of nervous energy - totally unchanneled 
⦁ Drawn to every upright structure, from power and phone poles to tree trunks and - of course - fire hydrants; In fact, any random object in its path was worthy of further sniffing and exploration
⦁ Perpetually in need of urinating - at each of the above; marking your territory was one thing, but repeating the whole exercise on the way back - even when there was nothing left in the bladder to empty - was downright obsessive

What was initially estimated to be a brisk 20-minute walk stretched out to a one-hour event.

Which made me wonder, was this behaviour peculiar to this dog or was it characteristic of all dogs?

Regardless of the answer, however, I congratulated myself on having wisely chosen to share my life with a cat instead. With his regal cool demeanor, discrete bathroom behaviour, and fierce sense of independence, he is the very embodiment of a picture-perfect low-maintenance pet.

I mean, there is just no comparison.

Let me know if you agree...