Nothing really changed this year in the construction of the MacIsaac ODR. Renovations were however taking place inside the house in early fall that would add a bathroom to the basement and one other feature that was high on the request list: outdoor spigot would bypass the water softener. No more would I have to worry about the kids' snowsuits being covered with this salty-white powder as they slid along the ice for fun. I obviously saw a decrease in water softener salt usage after this change throughout the winter months.
The one note that I do have about this year is that we had enough snow to level and pack it on December 12th. Boards (still pallettes) were secured and braced on December 13th and it was cold enough to flood on December 14th at -16'C. I was apparently diligent enough to keep at it because we skated on December 19th that year - a new record! First year ever skating in December for my backyard rink. Unfortunately, we hit a warm spell and didn't skate again until January 2nd of 2008. According to the rink journal we managed to get a couple of skates in on the 4th and 5th before a warm spell hit.
This is when the year went from back to awful... I'll remember this like it was yesterday. January 8th and it had been raining all night and all morning. I'm at work - 35 minutes from home - and my father-in-law, the good man that he is, was concerned that our basement might flood. We have a sump pump hole but no pump; we never really had an issue with water in the past but we should monitor it with all the rain that we have been getting. My dog, a 11 year old collie-husky mix just loves being outside and loves laying in the sun on the driveway. Well, of all days, she picks today to lay directly in front of my F-I-L's truck. And well, doesn't something go wrong with the pump that he is using. Instead of going to my garage where I have a plethora of tools and hardware, he heads home to his garage where he knows exactly where everything is. He gets in his truck and bump bump, next thing I know I am getting a frantic call from my wife because Dad drove over Bailey and she isn't moving. Insert my forever-best-friend who lives 10 minutes away.
"Dude, I need the biggest favor ever. Dad just ran over Bailey, she's laying in the driveway not moving and the girls are getting off the bus in half an hour." His response, "I'm on it." - no hesitation whatsoever and he took his brand new truck, scooped my fatally injured dog into the cab, YES THE CAB, of the truck and drove her to our friend's farm for her final resting place.
I'll insert here my favourite pic of Bailey and my girls which we took upon returning from vacation a couple years previous:
And that is why I will forever be indebted to my best friend who helped me out when I was too far away.
This story does have an upside because less than a month later we 'adopted' this creature:
who became the newest member of Team MacIsaac on February 13, 2008. As I write this 7 years later, I can't imagine never having Chino in my life. A somewhat seamless integration into the family fold.
It should also be noted that this was the season of the heaviest snowfall that I remember since moving into the house. It got to the point where I ran out of room to put the snow from the rink. I had to shovel the snow bank in order to shovel the rink:
However, the heavy snowfall did allow me to bond with my new pooch:
For those curious, we have a patio behind the garage and I had been shoveling the snow off the roof. The dog and I were able to climb from the snowpile onto the roof. Later that week, I came home from work to find my dog on the main roof of the house watching me pull into the driveway. And yes, in the spring when all the snow melted I found dog poop on the main roof of the house.
Last notes of this season are a skate on St. Patrick's Day and again on March 21st. No records after this so we'll call it a year.
