I’ve received the following invitation:

Mr. L. Jacques Ménard, O.C., Leaders’ Circle President

is pleased to invite you to a cocktail in honour of your contribution to the success of Centraide of Greater Montreal’s Campaign 2009 and in recognition of your title of Leaders’ Circle Partner.

This event will also be an opportunity for you to meet with volunteers responsible for allocating funds to agencies.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
BMO Financial Group, Bank of Montreal
___ St-Jacques Street, Montreal

And here’s the best part:

Invitation valid for two people.

Let me know if you want to be my date. If you’re interested in how charity works, as a donor or most especially as a recipient or interested bystander, this is an opportunity to watch the benevolent wealthy schmooze and to talk to the people who take their money. It’s also an opportunity to drink free wine. Both donors and volunteers will be dressed like donors (i.e. like rich people) and last time I went there were also representatives of agencies who were dressed like funding recipients (i.e. like grad students).

I’m not rich, but I donate because I’m not an artist or a parent or activist or even a particularly good friend — any of the many ways that people normally contribute to their communities. I try to go to as many Centraide events as I can because I’m curious about this whole charity/philanthropy thing that I participate in while philosophically objecting to.

If you’re curious too, please come with!

Came back from Toronto at midnight last night and discovered an e-mail from Plume’s rescue organization saying that it would be a while before their local vet could spay her, so would we mind very much taking Plume right away and getting her spayed later by one of their vets closer to us?

Hee! We’re going to pick her up tomorrow morning. She still has a cough and she hasn’t been dewormed, so we’ll have to keep her somewhat separate from Poupoune for a week or so. I called our vet and confirmed that Poupoune’s bordetella vaccine is up to date, and scheduled Plume for a general physical and deworming on Monday.

I haven’t had to live with a bouncy young animal in about twelve years. Back then it was Poupoune, who was a quarter of the size of Plume. It’s going to be disruptive.

Good.

We went on a four-hour shopping trip to le fin fond de nulle part this morning. I think we got a dog.

We saw her on petfinder.com yesterday, filled out the form online and got an appointment this morning. We took her for a walk, she’s a real sweetheart. (And a puller.) Trouble is she has kennel cough, and she needs to be spayed before they can let her go, and the vet doesn’t want to spay her until she’s over her cough. So the rescue is going to keep her another couple of weeks until they can tidy everything up to their satisfaction.

Now we’re trying to figure out what to call her. So far we are considering “Online” (because that’s where we found her, and because that’s where we are about to be spending much less time), “Plume” (because she has feathery ears), “G7″ (because yesterday they pledged to cancel Haiti’s debt) and “Paysanne” (because she’s a country girl).

ADDENDUM:
Plume it is. (Thank you Martine! Your enthusiastic vote assured us it wouldn’t be kétaine, like, say, Princesse.) We’ve contacted the rescue and they have started to call her Plume already, in anticipation.

Conversation with my mother:

Me: I have the thermostat set at 15°, and I took a shower this morning so my hair is wet, so I’m wearing a hat and fall jacket and fingerless gloves inside the house.
Vivian: Is that for budgetary considerations, or… ?
Me: Preparation for the apocalypse.
Vivian: Oh, like those russian revolutionaries who poured hot oil in their ears to prepare for being tortured.
Me: Exactly. Except that I’m actually quite comfy.

The other night a former veterinary technician described to me all the silliness people subject their animals to. Apparently they had clients bring in dogs with hairpieces.

Immediately my feverish little mind set itself to inventing a context for this to make sense, and succeeded. I pointed out that the usual way of making dogs look human is through breeding for brachycephaly (round foreheads and bulgy eyes), squashed faces and floppy ears that look like long human hair. Putting a hairpiece on your dog has a similar effect, but at least the hairpiece doesn’t obstruct breathing or cause ear infections.

“Yes,” said my companion. “Or make their eyes fall out when you whack them on the head!” Apparently boston terriers have very shallow orbits, and being very active are always getting whacked on the head. And then their eyes fall out. She says it’s very gross.

See also: kitty wigs.

UPDATE: rented!

*** *** ***

A day late and a dollar short, but the apartment will be ready for occupancy December 15th. Pass it on.

4 1/2 metro Beaubien
available December 15

Google Map of the neighbourhood.

• One double bedroom and an open living room & kitchen. About 55 m2/600 sqft
• Very bright 3rd floor of a triplex.
• Balcony in front and back.
• Very spiffy new kitchen and bathroom with lots of storage.
• New front-loading washer and dryer.
• Stove and fridge.
• Newly varnished hardwood floors and lots of original 1929 details.
• Quiet street with big trees and non-metred parking
• Six minutes on foot from Metro Beaubien and 3 minutes from Parc Marquette.
• Grocery stores, pharmacy and a bakery with good bread around the corner.

Please, no smokers.

kitchen - yes, those are solid wood cabinet doors

to make room for more storage, we replaced the tub with a glass shower

that's a full cabinet over the sink; more hardwood doors

original 1929 china cabinet in the corner of the salon

might be the bedroom

might be the office

new front-loading washer and dryer