It seems to be coming together

Except for about a three minute period where the Canucks decided to be silly, they worked very hard and deserved a little better than a SO win. However, since the Caps aren't going to be an issue fighting for a playoff spot it these are the ones to give a single point to.

It seems that they are finally starting to get it together. The defense looks solid. Luongo must be getting bored with less than 45 shots per game. The forwards are starting to also look good together. The line of Bulis, Naslund and Morrison looked dangerous and would have been even more dangerous had Naslund not been having an off night. Sedin/Sedin and Pyatt also looked quite good, but the twins would look good in a phone booth. Anson who? Right. The guy who only has one point so far. Glad he mentored the twins. *koff*

Everyone has been raving about Ollie the Goalie but the goals he did let in didn't look that great and a lot of the 40+ shots were relatively easy ones for an experienced goaltender. Kolzig only had about half a dozen to ten really difficult saves but he did look good when he needed to. Unfortunately for the Caps and nice for the Canucks was the Morrison shootout goal which ended up being the winner. Save the really hard ones and let stinkers like that in.

It's nice when puck luck works in the Canuck's favor. Bout time.

Nice hardworking game. What a difference a summer and a coach makes.

I like this new coach and how he employs the concept of a shortened bench. Welcome to Vancouver, Mr. Vigneault. Please stay for awhile.

NEXT GAME: October 31, 2006 versus Nashville at the Garage.

Day late and a dollar short.....

as my grandmother used to say. Can't remember anything specific about the Oilers game on the 16th except to say that the Canucks won and there were no fights. It was an entertaining game, though, and the defense looks like it is starting to get it together. Let's hope the offense starts doing this soon.

I'm not going to comment much on away games because my attention span is short and when it is on teevee there seems to be hundreds of other things to distract, namely Husband, rats and cat. Chances are I will miss something important. Going to the game is a whole different thing as where we sit we can see the entire rink (no blind spots) and we can watch plays unfold. On teevee we are at the mercy of the broadcasting crew as to what we should see. The new goalie didn't look too bad once he got over being shellshocked.

Have to make a general complaint though. Linden sitting? Huh? Of all the people to be crapping on? Why not some of the people making more money and expected to score and don't have a point yet. How about those that are minuses? I don't know about this coach. He sits Linden, doesn't play Luongo against a division rival in what is a 4 pt game and then does something so cool like pulling the goaltender near the end of the game. Odd. The jury is still out, but I am tipping towards the nay side. Then again, he isn't Crawford.

Righteous weekend for sports fans - back to back hockey with the Canucks and then FOOTBALL! on Sunday.

Next home game: Friday, October 27 when Ovechkin and some other guys from Washington come to town.

Home Game One: San Jose at Vancouver

San Jose 6 Vancouver 4

Thoughts from the game: New thingiemabob circling the area. Yay. New ways to advertise. Does this mean the ticket prices are going down? It did look rather snazzy though. Don't like the removal of the out of town scoreboards, shot counter, penalty counter and time. Too hard to see the numbers of what they do offer between adverts.

I think this was the first time that they hauled all the players on the ice for the home opener. Nice to get a look at all the players, but when did we pick up Kevin Linden?

Goaltending: Luongo had a tough night. Shit happens and sometimes a God will look human. He'll be fine.

Defense: Ohlund's starting to look a little more like Ohlund. Maybe in a couple of games he'll get back to normal. Mitchell is probably worth his money, but haven't seen that yet. Having said that, haven't really seen that in many of the players yet. A few of the boards have been ragging on Fitzpatrick. Being a minus three will give that sort of attention. It is too early for me to give the thumbs down yet. Krajicek didn't leave any impression on me which can be a good thing as I tend to notice either really good plays or really idiotic ones. Poor Luc. Looks terrified to make a mistake yet the one time he decides to pinch the puck ends up in the back of the net. See you next game, Luc. What I don't understand is that you have this rookie that makes rookie mistakes and he gets punished for it? Uh, okay. Last but not least - Bieksa. I was really impressed with him last year and was hoping that he would make the team this year. Some really smart plays and a goal with two assists. Nice.

Offence: The Sedins. They are going to be a treat to watch this year. I am not quite sure what to think of a linemate for them. There have been arguments for and against Naslund staying with them, but they really need someone who will crash the net and have a little finish. Naslund probably should be anchoring his own line. One line that I saw in preseason that looked good was the Kesler/Cooke/Burrows line and really haven't seen it again. I wonder why? Bulis was brought in obstentiously for the twins yet he isn't really playing with them.
Bulis and Pyatt showed a little skill but not able to finish. Hope that changes. Hope a lot of things change from last night's game. Can't really say anything about any of the other forwards as they didn't really exist. They skated and no one got hurt but.....

Honestly, though, it would have been nice for the Canucks to have won the game and they looked good at times (hello Mr. Sedin and Mr. Sedin) but there was no finish, spotty passing, tentative play, dubious defensive coverage (two breakaways ended up in the net including the sixth back breaking goal) and odd line pairing.

Having said that, the Sharks looked good last year and are pretty much intact while the Canucks have gone through wholesale changes. Not to make excuses, but a little time should sort some of this out. If they are still playing this way on the 20th game then perhaps they have a serious problem.

If I were the coach: I'd start to work those lines a little. Yes, Crawford made me batty with his insane line changes, but in this case with so many new faces there has to be a line combination that works that doesn't include a Sedin. Try them for a whole game. See how they look. Three shifts just won't do it.

Obligatory rant: Some Vancouver fans are idiots. First home game and already hearing garbage about how Luongo a is bum. STFU, have another beer and relax. Then, because of too much beer (or just because they are idiots) there were almost two fights in my section. It's really hard to watch the game with five security guards in front of you. At least this time security didn't have the guy fall on my legs as they were trying to drag him away.

Next game: Edmonton Oilers Monday, October 16 at the Garage

Fun with Medicine

We had noticed a lump on Boggle about three weeks ago and decided to monitor it to see if it got bigger or was just an injury that had happened when they were playing.

Also, we had seen that Houdini was getting a bit thinner and her fur didn't seem to be as nice.

Time to go to the vet's.

Made the appointment to go and take both in; one to confirm that yes, indeed, Boggle had a lump and it needs to be removed and two to see about some medicine for Houdini.

No problem. The vet decides to give Houdini a shot to get her started (a shot being better than oral) and Houdini did not like that at all. She made such a fuss when the vet tried to give her the shot that he had to go and get a different preparation that was more concentrated as she would not sit still for a regular shot.

So comes the time for some of the oral preparation to be given to her - about half an hour before going to work. How hard could it be to give a little rat a bit of banana tasting medicine?

Well, first we tried it in the syringe having read people saying that *their* rats will lick the medicine right from the syringe. Yum! Not our Houdini. So then we try the next step - holding her under the pits with a circular thumb and middle digit. Hell decides at that time to break loose. Wiggle wiggle wiggle scratch scratch scratch. Out comes the gloves for better traction. Full scale escalation. Rat wigs out completely. I give up after said wig out to see that she has managed to rip her toenail off. Husband goes on the web to see what to do about a ripped toenail. The thing is bleeding. Styptic power? No. Cornstarch? No. Flour? YES!

I coat her foot with flour and hold her and wait for the bleeding to stop. Now about 45 min late for work. Put Houdini in the cage and get ready. About five minutes later return to see that she has fussed the wound open and it is bleeding quite a bit. Wonderful.

Get the whole bag of flour, sit on the couch and stick her foot in it. Decide to stay home from work that night and babysit the rat to make sure she doesn't bleed out overnight. Nice boss. Thank you boss. Going to work overnight on a Friday to make it up sucked, though.

So we sit together watching really bad night teevee with her foot in a bag for about an hour. Then the foot is removed and then we sit and watch yet more teevee with my hand periodically removing her head from her foot for another three hours. At about 4:15 in the morning I figure it is fine for her to be left to her own devices.

It actually looks quite good all considering. It hasn't bled since and there appears to be no signs of infection. We tried mixing the medicine with yogurt which didn't work, but it seems chocolate pudding might do the trick.

Husband is way too nice to say the two magical words to me: "low maintenance".

Goodbye Scullybaby

Scully died tonight. We knew it was coming, but it is always a hard thing when it happens. We believe that he had the same thing as his brother as his decline was somewhat similar but not as extreme.

I remember when we first saw Scully and Sly and couldn't believe how ugly they were. I thought what in the world did we get ourselves into. In time, he became a gorgeous Scullybaby, especially with his illness. He was the calm older brother to the crazy females.

As it always is, it was a difficult decision to keep him at home and wait for the bridge to beckon. We debated daily about taking him into the vets as we weren't sure if he was suffering. He still liked his peas, kitty treats and chocolate pudding and continued to eat. We came to the conclusion that it was better to wait it out rather than putting him through the stress of taking him to the vets. He grew this terrible anxiety about being in a small cage/carrier in the last six months and even cage cleaning day became difficult. Finally, he would have to be held while the cage was being cleaned and the others continued the indignity of being temporarily homeless for the duration of the chore. While his life may have been declining, we made the decision not to have his last hour or so of life being one of misery, fear and anxiety. I hope we chose right.

Scully, we were honored to bring you home with Sly and I hope we did you well.

RAINBOW BRIDGE POEM:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Give our love to Sly, Snort and Teeth when you see them, Scullybaby.