Evening stroll along the Victoria Promenade...

We live in an apartment in Edmonton, Alberta Canada that has a security door and buzzer that rings to your cell phone to let you know someone is there and wants to come up to your apartment.

Problem is our two cell phones have California area codes and the cell phone plans that are in Canada are pathetic so my boys keep their California phones and plans because it is just a much better deal and honestly we never even use them that much.

We really have not given it much thought either because we moved to a city where no one knows us and we didn't know anyone but quite honestly it did not take me long to start making some wonderful friends.

My first friend is a lovely woman named Cindy who has an adorable little dog who is super people friendly named Sade. She looks like a miniature Laz so when we go out strolling together they get quite a lot of attention because everyone wants to know about and pet Laz but he is not really mad into people so it is little Sade that is jumping up at them and even startling them when she jumps right into their lap.

I just love Cindy...

I don't have very many female friends. I really love men. I love everything about men and if I had to be stranded on a desert island for the rest of my live I would know God either hated me or didn't exist if he stranded me with a bunch of women with not a man in sight.

My dog is male. Actually all 5 of my dogs I have had in my 53 years on this earth were all male. I actually find it much easier to be in the company of men and to hang out with my 3 sons. I get along amazing with my 3 daughters but I just don't get down for the "girlie girl stuff" I mean a mall to me is worse than being sent to GitMO to be perfectly honest.

But Cindy...she is just great and she doesn't even get offended when for some reason my brain wants to call her Linda even though we have been friends for nearly 6 months. She also doesn't look horrified when she spots me in the street and knows I am always up for a good long chat.

She even comes to my door to get me for a walk like she just did tonight. But how did she get into my secure building when the buzzer rings to a phone that says "long distance required"...well she remembered that I just absolutely love the neighbours who moved in right above us, the beautiful Samara who actually grew up in the exact same area I did in Toronto even though I am like 20 years older than her and was long gone from Canada while she was in my old stomping ground.

Samara is married Juan Carlos, the very handsome and charming Cuban and has the darling daughter Delilah...who by the way is only five and says I am her best friend.

So Cindy must obviously listen when I am talking to her, my mother says people must tune out after 5 minutes the way I go "on and on and don't get to the point" but Cindy remembered my friends in the apartment above and buzzed them and they very nicely let her buzz into our building and come knocking at my door.

Quite a shock I might say because NOBODY comes knocking at our door and Laz went insane barking absolutely sure that terrorists or murderers were on the other side and he had to scare them off with his bark before the big wuss would probably hide behind my legs and let me deal with any threatening intruders.

So Laz is going insane with barking and I open the door and in walks little Sade like she owns the place. Just love this dog and I am so excited I actually get to "pet sit" her this weekend and we are going to have so much fun and post pictures of everything we are doing while her mom has to work. Kinda mean I guess but at least Cindy will know her baby girl is being loved and out having a blast.

So Cindy and I head off, braving the heavy smoke in the air from the huge fires in British Columbia and Laz who honestly never really pays much attention to people, he is just not really mad into them but suddenly he bee lines to these two beautiful women sitting on the bench and Fatima who is from Lebanon by the way is just DELIGHTED that he came over to her because she said when she saw him she thought in her head "I hope that beautiful dog comes over to me so I can pet him".

Now I was out with Cindy and had a witness that this TRULY happened and so with Sade nearly giving the poor woman a heart attack when she suddenly jumped into her lap we had a right good natter and found out they were not exactly in the happiest of moods while they were sitting there but seeing and petting our dogs made them both extremely happy.

Fatima has been in Canada for ten years and she said her whole childhood she can just remember being utterly terrified of dogs because in Lebanon they are mostly street dogs and they would attack anyone that came by. It has taken her years to lose her tremendous fear but she just adored both our dogs and was really just so unbelievably happy that Laz came over to her when she wanted him to.

Cindy even told her he does NOT do that and mostly stays pretty aloof from most people but there are just the random few that he suddenly takes an interest in. I am now completely convinced that not only can my dog understand human speech but he is clearly psychic as well.

I am not making this up...Cindy was there as well and agreed.

Also with Fatima was Sanah who is from Brazil and only recently moved to Canada, like literally just 6 months ago so she doesn't feel like a Canadian yet but Fatima says when she goes "home" to Lebanon she doesn't feel at all Lebanese because she has spent so long in Canada. This is always reassuring to me as a Canadian who feels completely "un Canadian like" when I am actually in Canada.

It is always good to know in some areas I am not completely crazy. The jury is still out on other areas but that is another day another story.

And besides once we strolled on from Fatima and Sanah we met a lovely gentleman Emmanuel and chatted with him for a bit then I saw my "buddy" Ron with only one leg from my friend Rober's pharmacy and I know he is so lonely and always perks up when he gets some love and attention so I gave him a big hug and Cindy and I talked to him for a little while and hopefully he felt better and at least a little loved.

Honestly Cindy showed up and my door and asked me to go for a walk...she signed up for this and I am so grateful because she is a wonderful friend and an awful lot of fun to go out with and talk to. And our dogs look utterly adorable together and squabble and fight like an old married couple, which we just laugh at but people looking at them are appalled thinking they are in some mad awful dog fight together.

It always sounds and looks worse than it is...but then life is usually like that too isn't it.