April is the crazy month at work, hence the silence on the blog. But, fear not, I have a huge update and lots of good things to share. So grab a cuppa something nice and sit back.

First, let’s get the obligatory Henry photo out of the way. Here he is sunbathing in the Spring sunshine at the end of March. Such a cutie!

Chico’s cage is in the background and I have since moved it to the other side of the room so he doesn’t get the morning and afternoon sun as directly.

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I was approached a few months ago by CSN Stores about doing a product review. I had noticed the reviews around the blogosphere and was curious to check out the products. A number of book bloggers had selected book cases to review and many had given the products favourable reviews.

I had always considered the prices at CSN Stores a little steep (with the shipping to Canada) compared to what I could find locally. I had recently moved so I thought maybe I should splurge on a good reading chair or some awesome lamp for craftwork. However, when I realized how sore my neck and upper back were from being unsupported when reading, I decided to get a foam reading wedge.

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Did the title make you do a double take? Let me explain.

As you can see in this photo, Henry has his own pillow covered with a lovely fleece blanket right beside my pillow. This is because he used to always sleep beside me and when he got tired of it, he’d move to my pillow.

Recently I got a new memory foam pillow to help my neck. I figured Henry could have my old pillow since he liked it so much.

Not so fast. Turns out, sure he likes sleeping next to me, but what he really likes is sleeping on my head. Or, he just likes the new memory foam pillow even better than the poofy fibre-fill one.

I don’t know, but nowadays it is not uncommon to find him on my pillow in the morning. Then causes my head to slide down the pillow to accommodate my rather large cat, and results in my neck no longer being supported. Thus rendering the new memory foam pillow ineffective.

Not to mention that he also likes to lick my face and “groom” me. *sigh* The things we do to keep our furkids happy, eh?

A recreational tourism company in Whistler, BC is being investigated for animal cruelty. It is so sad and shocking to hear of the mass slaughtering of 100 sled dogs due to a ‘decline in business’ after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Utterly disgusting conduct. Read the full story from The Vancouver Sun.

As awful as this situation is, we should all take the opportunity to increase awareness about abused animals. There is a meme on Facebook right now that says:

In memory of all animals who are living a life in abuse, or have lived lives of abuse, and in memory of the Sled Dogs from Outdoor Adventures: Change you Profile picture to YOUR pet, whether it be DOG, CAT, BIRD, RABBIT. Animals feel pain and they have emotions too.

So I changed my profile photo to this picture of Henry and Chico:

P.S. I very nearly went dog sledding this winter. While I would love the chance to do this at some point in my life, as I began to think about it (and look at the cost for a 2-hour tour) I think it is more the bond between the person and dog team that I am interested in. I would rather work towards doing a longer trip — perhaps an ecological study of some sort — that would involve working with a dog sled team.

As some of you may already know, I moved apartments on Friday. I decided to hire movers because it wasn’t a treat moving the first time (May 2009 out of my parent’s house) and I’ve certainly acquired more stuff since then.

The movers arrived on time, and came recommended, but I felt really bad because their boss, (to whom I’d explained all the details about my current location, amount of stuff, type of furniture, and my future apartment) had gone on vacation and didn’t convey any of this. Poor guys were sprung with the second floor of a walk-up, a giant armoire, 2 bookshelves and boxes upon boxes of books, among other things.

It really made me realize how much stuff I really have. I still had one box from moving back in May 2009 that I hadn’t unpacked. I don’t know what to do about all the stuff — it’s all in my new apartment now and I have so much space to organize that it doesn’t seem like that much anymore. But I know that one person doesn’t need so much stuff; I read something once that said if you didn’t use it within 12 months, you should get rid of it. Yikes!

Anyway, my new place is great — second floor, south-facing, and two small balconies. It’s an older unit which has positives and negatives. I love the original hardwood flooring, and because it’s older the rent isn’t astronomical. But it’s got single-glazed windows and there is no vent/fan above the oven. Don’t get me wrong! All the negatives are mere observations, I wouldn’t have rented the place if I didn’t like it.

I’m almost unpacked (big thanks to mom and dad) and just need to recycle all these boxes. I should have gone the ‘green’ route and done something like FrogBox, but I just didn’t have time to research and I really had no idea how many I would need. Once I get totally settled I’ll show some pictures — right now it just looks like a big mess of empty boxes.

Also, once I get settled, I’ve been approached to do a review for CSN Stores, an online retailer with over 200 stores. I haven’t yet decided what I am planning to review; a number of book bloggers have reviewed bookshelves, but I am considering a lovely reading/knitting chair. Frankly, I’m overwhelmed by all the possibilities; they have entire sites dedicated to counter stools, bean bag chairs, coffee tables, upolstery, and more!

As for the “on the mend” portion of the blog post — that refers to my fluffball Henry. On Sunday last week (November 7) I noticed he was winking at me. Usually he favours his right eye and I have a supplement from the vet to give him when it’s bothering him. This time it was his left eye. In the morning it just looked a little sore, by mid-afternoon it was kinda goopey, and by bedtime it was swollen shut. I left a message for my vet to book an emergency appointment the following day.

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