Plugging away and Easter Weekend

So in Dec 1980, I was enrolled in the Canadian Forces and I traveled to Chilliwack BC in early January 1981 to attend Basic Officer Training, some days that seems so long ago but on other days my memory of my arrival at Vancouver airport is so clear that it could have been yesterday.  I left the military in August 2007 to take a job in the Defence Department as a civilian; we call that a Public Servant here in Canada. That means that in Dec 2015, I reached one of the milestones that the government recognizes with a long service award, 35 years of service.  Man, that seems like a long time but it has gone by relatively quickly.

The official presentation was last week. We get a certificate, a pin and we also get to chose a gift from a selection. Everything from luggage, to art, to jewelry, and electronics; I chose a gold garnet ring.

 Now if the Pay Centre would just recognize that I have 35 years completed. We can only receive a maximum of a 70% pension (35 x 2%); so at 35 years they are supposed to reduce my pension contributions to 1% of my salary just to cover for inflation.  My pension contributions still haven't been reduced even though I submitted the request in early February.

In any case even though I've fully paid into my pension, I can't retire without penalty until age 60 so I'm going to keep plugging away at least until then before I really retire.

It was lucky they did the presentation when they did as that evening I had a sinus headache and chills and called in sick the next day. What a time to get sick right before the Easter weekend. I spent most of Thursday and Good Friday in my pajamas, napping on and off during the day.

Saturday, we had an agility competition. It was a Starter/Advanced trial that was the practical exam for an aspiring judge. He passed with flying colours. Since it was only Starters and Advanced, only Keltic could run and we didn't have to go to the trial venue until early afternoon since all the Starter events were in the morning.  Keltic had three runs, two Standards and one Gamble. There was no joy in our Standards, in the first one I made him do the dog walk over when he leaped off the side of the down ramp. In his second Standard he was better, he only got 15 faults, he missed the dog walk contact, popped of the table and refused a jump but he did get his weave entry and really did try to stay in the weaves. But he did Q in the Gamble, so that means Keltic only needs one more Advanced Gamble for his Advanced Games title and he will be in Masters in all the Games events.

Keltic had a nice opening with 28 points. We basically did the outside of the ring; tire, spread jump, double jump, tunnel, tunnel to the weaves but when he wouldn't do them we just went and did the 4 point jump twice then over the frame and got the frame twice. The buzzer still hadn't sounded so we did the teeter too. Then the buzzer went and I calmed myself down walked to the line for the first jump. Keltic did the first three without hesitation but he curled in toward me before the last jump; I called him to me and sent him out, amazingly he went straight out and did the last jump. Mini dogs had 20 seconds to complete this gamble as you can see Keltic and I took just under 14 seconds. (You have 40 seconds in the opening to gain your points and if you get the Gamble those points are doubled.) So as I always say any trial where you Q is a good trial, and I went home happy. It was pretty late when we got home so it was supper and off to bed.

On Easter Sunday, my sister was hosting dinner and I was making a pasta salad for my contribution for the supper and hard boiled egg mice as an appetizer. The egg mice seemed so easy when I suggested it but let me tell you getting peppercorns to stay in wasn't easy.

I think they were at hit, although my niece took the eyes out to eat them so she ws eating blind mice. She might have even had three.

Dinner was just lovely, we had ham, scalloped potatoes, turnip, carrots and salads.  As usual there was a lot of food but it always makes for nice leftovers. Dessert was a dirt chocolate cake with carrots. The dirt was Oreo cookie crumbs and the carrots were strawberries with orange candy coating. Wine and specialty coffees rounded out the dinner.

Unfortunately, I think Saturday and Sunday were too much by the time I got home I was all stuffed up again. I went to bed and again on Easter Monday I stayed in my pajamas all day. Fortunately, it rained all day so it was one of those days where curling up, watching TV and napping was really all you wanted to do anyway.   The rain has really cleaned up a lot of the snow so yard work will start pretty soon.

This weekend we have an agility trial on both days so I've taken Monday off. Hopefully it will be a nice day and we can do some yard clean up, you know doggie doo.