Oh, all right. Here he is.

I can't stay angry with him for very long.

It even has a name.

I am so traumatized tonight I cannot bring myself to muster up the energy to find a picture to post. Work was so-so. Nothing there. I did have that wonderful check-up after lunch today that women get where they smash your breasts between plates of cold steel. Yep. It could have started then, I suppose.

I come home and again, not much to harp about.

The new boxer was playing with the puppies. The puppies are getting a bit bigger and want to uh...want to err... show the boxer who is the alpha dog, I guess is the best way to describe it. Well, Chong does since he matures a week or two quicker than Cheech. Chong has been going to town since we got the boxer and he is leaving poor Cheech's head alone. Cheech is relieved, I suppose.

The boxer barely gives Chong a second glance while he humps away. He probably adds to the horseplay with flipping him around from time to time.

I scooted Chong off of the poor boxer's leg for the umpteenth time and Chong kept crying. I thought he got stuck between the chair and the fan and he yelped. He kept twisting around trying to lick himself.

I looked closer. "What is the matter with you?" I asked him. He twisted again and yelped. I got a closer look. Oh, good grief. He was uh... it was err... well, it was out there and it wasn't going back in.

I have to admit, I really didn't know what to do for him. Should I blow on it? Oh good grief, Peruby! But really? What do you do? I picked him up and took him to the bathroom and shut the door for some privacy. The other dogs were not helping us.

I ran warm water in the bathroom sink and sat him down in it trying to get him to relax. He seemed to really like this feeling and did not squirm. We sat there until the water got cold. It didn't help. I wrapped him in two big fluffy towels and turned to Google. It even has a name.

Some of the sites said to rub Vaseline on his extrusion. I called my vet. She was gone but the receptionist was there. She asked the other lady and she said to rub Vaseline on it.

Back to the bathroom. I got my old jar of Vaseline out and picked up a good glob. Was thing going to hurt? I looked at Chong. "Sorry" I said. I dabbed some here, some there. Nothing. Oh, how about the base? I applied some to the base. It was all red and looked like it was bleeding. Zip. In it went like a flash. Wow! It works! I was so relieved. Maybe not as much as Chong, but I was relieved. I called the vet back (it took all of 45 seconds) and thanked them and told them it worked.

I wrapped him back up in the warm towels and held him while I sat on the couch. He slipped off into dreamland all warm and snug. After about 15 minutes he wanted his brother, they snuggled, I covered them and they went back to sleep.

Oh, you think that was it? Ha, ha!

My daughter came home. I reminded her it was the last day of August and to get the $2 off per gallon of gasoline from our grocery store points, we needed to go today. She drove her car, I drove mine. Her boyfriend mows our grass and he said we should take both our gas cans and fill them. I thought that was a good idea, so I grabbed our good plastic container and an older one that I had not used in ages. It didn't have a lid, but a long spout.

We filled my daughter's car up. The attendant told me I couldn't fill two cars up. Only one. I didn't mind. I said "Sorry. I didn't know." She was very nice about it. "Can I fill my gas cans up?" She said sure. I filled them. I put them in the back hatch of my car and drove off. The first turn I heard a thump. I immediately pulled over and opened the hatch. Gas was pouring out of that old gas container all over the back of my trunk. I could smell it everywhere. I picked it up and cursed under my breath. Great! Just Great!

I got home and my garage door would not open. I began banging it on my steering wheel, enraged by the gas fumes consuming me. The little insides of the opener slipped out and I didn't notice the garage door open. I put the opener back together and pushed the button. The door began closing. Ack! I screamed. I pushed and pushed, but the stupid door would not open back up. The gasoline fumes were really starting to get to me now! I became livid.

I shut off the car. Got my keys to open the side door to the garage so I could open the door for my car with the opener attached to the wall. It opened. I pulled my car in and opened my door. It crashed against something metal and I didn't care what it was. I began slamming my car door against the metal again and again and again. I was full of rage. I hate this smell!

Finally, I stopped. I picked up the metal (old bars from one of my daughter's old boyfriend's trampolines) and almost flung it against my car. My senses were beginning to get the better of me and I tossed them off to the side. I grabbed those gas cans and sat them off to the side.

I reached in and tried to pull the carpet away from the back of the hatch but it was all connected. I ran inside and knocked poor Sable over (she is always laying in front of the door). She almost fell down the basement steps. I grabbed a bucket of warm soapy water and some rags. And then I saw it.

Folks, the honeymoon is over.

There between the kitchen and the dining room were shreds of my carpet. Bare wood peeked up from the corner door frame. The rage boiled back up again. "Who did this?!" I screamed. Dogs ran every which way to get away from me. I stomped my foot. "Who did this?!" The smell from the gasoline was making me act like I was on some kind of bad drug trip.

I grabbed the bucket of sudsy water and flew outside to try and wash out the gasoline smell from my car. The fumes were overwhelming. I washed the carpet. I pulled out the chintzy piece of plywood that separates the carpet from the spare donut tire. I washed and I washed, but that gasoline smell consumed me.

I was in such a rage. I threw the rags, I threw the bucket. Soap was everywhere. I left the hatch open so that the car could air out. I turned out all the lights, closed all the garage doors and calmly now, walked back into the house. I had to calm down.

The dogs were excited. They were hungry. The needed to go outside. Somehow I kept it all together. I took them outside. The new boxer did nothing. I brought them all back in. I fed them. I watered them. I cleaned up the shredded carpet. I did not cry. I am not a crier.

I took the boxer out for a second time by himself. I walked him around the block. Twice. I needed the cool evening air to clear my head. My foot was killing me. I was glad it was dark so the neighbors could not see me limping. He still did nothing. We went back inside. I cleaned up the puppy pee pads and put new ones down. I sprayed Febreeze.

My head is swimming. I am drinking cool ice water. I cannot get rid of the gasoline smell to save my life. I put my clothes into the dirty clothes basket and took it down to the basement. I washed my hands and arms about seven times. It remains with me. All the dogs are sleeping. The cats are hiding. There are two cats that I have not seen since the day after we brought the boxer in.

I think I now know why he was abandoned. The separation anxiety can be a killer. I went through it with Sable. I'll get medicine if those nice folks don't want to take him. He will grow out of it I suppose.

Well, my head is still swimming and I think I will call it a day before the headache has a chance to hit me.

Me and My Big Mouth

Here is Cheech about five days after we got the puppies.

They are so much bigger now. Taller. Leaner. And, much faster.

The boxer? I opened my big mouth at a store on Saturday and by evening I had a small family looking at the dog. The lady said she has been thinking of getting her 8 year old son a dog. I said "He has to be strong." The boy looked like a football player. He was very smitten with the dog.

The Mother and Grandmother came also. They agreed he was a beautiful dog.

I said I wanted to wait another week just in case the owners were on vacation or something. Still nothing. No phone calls.

I guess by labor day I'll give him away to this family if they still want him. There are a few annoying things he is showing us, but the pros still outnumber the cons. But, they are MY pros and cons. Not the boxer's pros and cons.

I have to do what is right for the boxer. He needs more attention and exercise than we are prepared to give to him.

The boys even have Sable wrestling with them. The house is rocking with the horseplay.

I will be very sad to part with this boxer, but I have to be realistic. Maybe.

Roller boy

My hair is always limp and tangles easily. I used to wear a long perm, but have not had the money or the inclination to keep that old fashioned style. It is outdated. But, I loved it. It suited me and my stringy hair. To keep my bangs feathered back, I use one roller when the humidity is high or when I am in a hurry or travelling. This is one of the rollers that I use.

This little boy belongs to the girlfriend of my nephew. He was quite shy at first but warmed up to the rest of us over the evening that we camped out at the fair. It didn't take him long. We played ball with him. He has quite an arm. That is my cosmetic mirror that he is holding. After I put the roller in his hair he gave me a dubious look and then looked over at his mother. A plea for help?

I didn't leave it there long. My daughter is constantly saying she hates kids. That is because she has not been around them. If she were around them all the time she would REALLY hate kids. Actually she doesn't know what to do for them or with them. This boy always takes a shine to her when she is around. His mother has jet black hair and my daughter is blond, so I don't know why he is attracted to her. He will not let her be. By Sunday she was holding him most of the time. Her arm hurt for two days after the fair. I laughed. I got pictures of the girl who "hates kids" holding him.

We've named the boxer. Slade. It doesn't roll off my tongue easily, though. When I yell quickly at him - heaven only knows what comes out of my mouth. Sl-l-loane! S-s-suh-lade! Until my brain registers and I get the name right.

A very nice veterinarian (not mine) offered to scan him for a microchip. I called all the vet offices in the neighborhood. I have called our county dog pound, our humane shelter (new this year), the sheriff's office, the police station, two radio stations and four vet's offices. She scanned. No microchip. I thanked her for trying. Everybody wants to hear the story. They can't believe that somebody would abandon this beauty of a dog. The vet guessed his age at 1 year or 2. That is what I guessed.

He and the pups are sleeping quietly at my feet right now. They rough house a bit and then crash. The pups yelp when Slade gets too rough, but they come right back for more, so unless I see them cowering and trying to hide from him, I pretty much let them work it out amongst themselves. He gets rough and pounces at them sometimes stepping on them with his giant paws.

We needed new harnesses for the pups (they outgrew the little ones we got them last month) and figured we would get one for Slade also. The choker chain chaffed his neck and made it bleed so I needed another way to contain him while walking him.

My daughter and I went to college orientation yesterday. Coming home, I was not even thinking. I opened the back door and yelled "Outside!" without putting a leash on Slade. He came bounding out. My daughter yelled , he took one look back at me and off he ran. I was crushed. I was kicking myself and in shock. I grabbed the little leash we had been using and scooted in the direction he ran. I was mortified. All I could think of was "What is going to happen to him now?" I felt that I had failed miserably. I had let him down. Finally he ran around a house and I crouched down and pleaded with him to come to me. He acted all shy and coy and he threw his front paws out and kept ducking his head in a playful manner like "Aw, shucks!" All I could think of was "Hey! Don't be so shy, we slept together for Chrissakes!" He came to me, I got the leash on and I doubt that I will let that happen again.

Anyway, now I have the harness and a sturdy leash. The pups have their new harnesses for when we walk them. Poor Sable. I think I saw her pack her bags and head north to my sister's house. I called her and said to expect her. LOL! Not really. I do have to find some time and give her some extra special lovin' this week-end. She is being very, very good.

Well, it's time for a fresh cup of java. I dread it because when I move, they move. Then they are awake and back at it. Sigh. But I will tell you this. Our house is full of laughter. Some boisterous yelling, but laughter none the less. We are having a ball with all these critters. I'll cry with the vet bills, but until then - let's just romp and knock things over. Run and hide and then peek out and romp some more.

Another challenge

As if my life isn't hard enough right now, I took in a stray. Temporarily, I say! Temporarily. Right? Right!

I left work yesterday. It is very difficult pulling out onto the major highway near my office. I turn left onto a two lane street and the cars are nonstop. As I waited and mumbled under my breath for a break in traffic (preferably both lanes at the same time) I was very angry because to my right all traffic seemed to be stopped.

What is the problem?! Then I saw him. A beautiful reddish boxer leaping out of the highway into a yard and running behind a house. I used to live over there. I thought "People! Do you know that your dog is running loose?!"

The traffic continued. I figured I was already going to be late. I had company coming to see the pups, but I couldn't help but worry about the boxer.

Since I used to live around the area where he ran, I decided to drive the alley ways. There he was just nosing around a bag of garbage. I thought maybe that is where he lived. Nobody was around. I stopped my car and the sweetest dog I have ever encountered ran up to me, dropped on the ground and started rolling around on his back in a playful manner.

I crouched down to cautiously pet him and rub his tummy. "Where do you belong?" I asked him in a soothing voice. He was so happy to see me. I got up and looked around. Nobody. I opened my car door and he jumped right up into the back seat. I drove around asking everyone who happened to be standing outside if they knew where he lived. Nothing.

I went behind the alley ways at work. Nothing. I had no choice but to take him home. He had no collar. He was panting as if he had run a great distance.

My daughter said "He is ugly!" when she first saw him. I didn't think so. My sister came with her grandson. We were very careful. Of course the grandson paid no attention to the pups or Sable (the coffee table) and wanted only the new dog. I was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.

There were no incidents. The boxer could not have been friendlier. He does have a shrill bark to him and he developed a rash on his neck where Sable's choker chain rubbed it, but he is very sweet. And very slobbery. We have another leash for him that does not irritate. I am afraid to take him out without a leash, but he runs right back inside the house with the rest of my clan.

I was going to post at all our local radio stations and stores but my daughter told me to wait and let someone report him or just post "Found Boxer." She said let them tell the details of what he looks like because someone will say he is theirs and then turn around and sell him and the real owner will never get him back.

Huh. I thought. How does she know this stuff? She watched a dog show where handlers warned of this happening. Slimy, filthy dirt bags who would do this.

He has been very well taken care of. He is clean. He is well-fed (not over fed). He had his tail docked (my daughter said recently). He is house broken and very mannerly. He does not bark in the house. He was playing with the pups until he became irritated with them and tried to get away from them. He wants to play with the cats but he is very cautious of them. I was so glad he didn't chase them or torment them. He and Sable could care less about one another. He is probably the most mild mannered pet I have seen in a long time.

He didn't seem to know what toys were or rawhide chews. Once he figured out the rawhide chew he was in heaven. He walked on a leash very well. He did pull me a little while trying to investigate our yard. He did not devour his food. He is very noisy when he drinks water, we laugh.

Oh, and sleeping arrangements? Of course I was worried about him. My daughter took the pups into her room with her. I couldn't leave him out with the cats. Sable was no help. I put a rug on the floor of my bedroom. Did he stay there? Nope. He is a big bed hog and he snores.

I will be sorry to see him go. Maybe.

Dressage

No, I know that (dressage) isn't the correct term for this class of horse show, I was referring to the gentleman at the lead. He was quite the looker, most of the others were dressed in Western flash, you know rhinestones and neon silk shirts. If I remember correctly, this duo (trio?) pulled a second place in this event.

The fair (and it's greasy food) is a distant memory. I am catching up on my sleep (one night I think I slept nine hours - almost a record for me). My feet are still hurting. As soon as I get paid this Friday I am off to buy new shoes for work, play and walking. They have to tie on the top is what the doctor says. Wear a shoe that does not let the foot separate from the shoe bottom when you walk (flip flops are horrible!). I despise flip flops. In a couple of weeks I will take my new shoes and have the doctor slip the insert into them and cut it to fit my shoe I will wear the most. I guess that would be my work shoe.

After that is taken care of I have a few more medical procedures. I am hoping that the main one does not require a hospital stay. It is just minor and will hopefully make my life easier. I keep telling folks by Halloween I should be feeling much better. Maybe I'll even be able to do more yard work by then. I hated letting that go this summer. When I have the pups outside, I'll pull weeds and trim some around my Hosta. My moon flowers are doing so well in front of the patio, I am going to keep the big set of them there and let them take over as much as they want. The smell in the air at night is heavenly. It covers up what the pups are doing. Ha Ha!

The pups had their second set of boosters yesterday. They are 8 and 8.5 lbs, now. (When we first took them in mid-July they were 2.25 and 2.50 lbs). They are getting taller, leaner and can run like little rockets. We may have over-watered them.

Work is going well. Schools are starting back up and techs are anxious to get their networks started out on the right foot. The filter is a big part of that and I am busy making up "how to" documentation. I really enjoy doing that. Step by step instructions with pictures.

I talked to an old friend this evening. I've not seen her since the spring. She has 14 cats, only 2 inside. She thinks some dog is getting the baby kittens. I could not let that happen. For starters I'd be getting a slew of them fixed. The ones I couldn't get fixed, I'd be taking to a shelter. But, she was raised different out in the country.

Her grandson started 4th grade today and she had to tell me all about it. Her older granddaughter is out west and is in dire straits. Seems she is pregnant with her boyfriend's baby. He happens to be married and is staying with his wife. She (my friend's granddaughter) was staying with his sisters, but they kicked her out. Now she is staying with one of her boyfriend's buddies. Yikes. My friend is so angry and upset with her. She won't listen to reason.

On the movie front, we watched "Identity" last week. It was a thriller. Remember "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie? Or it's other name "Ten Little Indians"? It kind of reminds you of that story. It has John Cusak so it was great in my book.

Fair weather

This little girl is pretty in pink

I went to my home town county fair yesterday and my daughter, myself, 3 sisters, one nephew, one niece and two toddlers stayed over night in one small camper. Today was the "beautiful baby" contest. I am not big on this type of exploitation, but I was happy to take some pictures. My grand niece pulled first place in her birth year, and pulled 3rd place in costume. She played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The girl above is my grand niece's first cousin on the "other" side. Other being "not my family side". Their grandfather on the other side is the fair board president. Yikes.

There is high tension and rivalry in this family already.

I really love that white blond hair.

And the weather was anything but fair. It rained buckets. Fortunately the event was held inside a pavilion where we were all covered.

I am severely sleep-deprived. Not only from the cramped quarters but from laughing so hard because we realized that my sisters and I have not all stayed in the same close quarters in over 40 years. We joked that we were all much smaller back then. My head is pounding.

Lame

Has it really been since Monday that I posted? I have no idea what I have been doing, I have not been all that busy. (Not in the evenings, anyway). The migraine monkey started yesterday afternoon. Well, I didn't realize it was that until I woke up and the headache was STILL there. With the storms coming through, I thought maybe it was just a sinus headache. It kept waking me up through the night with it's sharp pain inside the eyeballs. I chose to ignore it. I should have known. The headache was not responding to OTC medicine.

This morning I thought I was going to be sick. I stumbled around getting the pups outside, feeding the cats. Coffee was the last thought on my list. That is another sign. Not wanting coffee first thing in the morning. I grabbed an Imitrex and quickly swallowed it. I tried to drink a dose of alka-seltzer. I lay back down making the room as dark as possible. It was 5:30 so that wasn't too difficult. The pups settled down beside me and we drifted off for an hour.

I woke up and realized I was not going to make it into work today. I felt like a limp washrag. I am just now able to get some coffee in me. I know that I need to eat something, but it has to be toast. I cannot stomach anything else. I am trying to cut way back on bread, but that is what I crave. It is my comfort food. Growing up it is what I had for breakfast every morning. Hot buttered toast dipped in coffee. I think my Dad gave me coffee with cream and sugar when I was nine or so. I didn't drink it - maybe just that once. I did dip toast in it, though. For years.

I have a busy week-end so I figure I will stay home the remainder of the day and just rest. Rest. Rest. Mmmm. Sounds good.

Coming along

I like how this photo looks like Sable is watching over the pups.

Just a week or so ago I swear she tried to lead them astray and lose them. I caught her and stopped them all. She is even playing with them now. They have stopped irritating her so much (not completely) but they are getting better and she is getting more tolerant.

I am still coping with a lot this summer, but the puppies are a welcome distraction. (I could only think of extraction there for a minute!). They are going through that thieving stage where they will run up (or into your room) and grab something, anything and run away with it. Then the chase is on. They love it. A sock that didn't make it into the clothes basket. A napkin that falls on the floor. It is all fair game to them. If I don't get the napkin it gets shredded into a million little pieces. The sock also gets grabbed quickly, I am not sure what damage they can do to it.

They have a dozen little toys and though they do play with them from time to time, they get tired of them and look for something new to chew. Shoes are a big favorite. I keep mine in the kitchen which is still off limits to the pups. That is where we feed the cats and Sable and these little rat scavengers will eat every last crumb found in the cat's dishes or Sable's. Not their food mind you, they grab at it and then leave it sit. But forbidden fruit, eh?

I am trying to get a little organized in paperwork this week-end. It is much too warm to work outside. The interesting thing about being a pack rat is I can tell you what my electric bill was years ago. I keep my old check registers. It fascinates me to read over them, but it is also a huge time waster.

I have not finished Q&A yet, and I picked up some books on watercolor painting and digital art. I have not carved out much time to read this week-end. Oh, and the Cloris Leachman biography. I love to read biographies. As do most bloggers.

My daughter is getting excited about going to the University here in town. She wants all new clothes and a new haircut. All those years (between 6 and 15) when she did not care about clothes are long gone. It is Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie, and Lucky's now. I kept telling myself way back then 'remember how cheap this shopping is, because soon enough it will be the other way around' and that is exactly what has happened. Oh, well. She could have wanted the expensive brands all along, so I figure I lucked out.

She tried so hard to find a job. There are times (as any parent knows) when I have to bite my tongue. When she applies for jobs, she kind of reaches for the stars. I have to be careful about what I say because I get the backlash "See?! You want me to find a job, but you knock down every idea I have!!!" Ouch. So, I let her call and ask questions. She calls. She finds out that to be this or that you have to have certain qualifications. It is hard to sit and listen to this, but it is an important (growing) stage in a young adult life.

Recently she tried for work as a maid. Now, this in itself is very comical. I have nagged her to no end to help me clean up around the house. We all know where that gets us with most teens. I had to smile to myself. In a motel? My first instinct was "Do you know how gross that could be?!" But, I bit my tongue. So, let her find out. It didn't pan out. Not yet, anyway. It is a job I would never want to have. She still is adamant about not working around food, but she may be bending a little there.

So, we are marching through August. The dog days of summer. I am still limping (it gets really old), but it takes time to get appointments to get the insert made. I figure maybe by the end of September or at least October I may be feeling much better. That would be okay with me because October has always been one of my favorite months (if not my very favorite). I do like September, though. I love the changing of the leaves. I like a little cooler weather. I have to find my camera battery and take more pictures!

A long August

My niece in San Diego last month

I had the family reunion on the 2nd of this month. Since then this month has not been much fun for me. I have had five doctor appointments, with two more to go this month. I have had two car appointments (my car and my daughter's car), I have had jury duty twice, two college scheduling sessions, and have one dentist appointment and one veterinarian appointment yet this month.

In July, I had four doctor appointments, and two veterinarian appointments.

In September (so far) I am looking at five doctor appointments (one a mammogram, yay!) and a dentist appointment for my daughter.

But, today was the worst. I had a cystoscopy. If you ever had one of these, you would remember it. It is much more painful for men, I suppose. Still, it hurt like the dickens. I am still having pity pains.

I am not seriously ill. Not in any way. One is a procedure I am finally dealing with, the other is my foot and the others are routine. Everything is just falling in this 60 day time span.

Sprinkle in a migraine about once a month and I am very chummy with pain these days. My foot is currently soaking in Epsom salts. The water has long gone cold. Chong tried to drink out of it, I stopped him. Silly pup.

And, they threw in a tetanus shot for good measure! It is swelled up and as sore as a bad bruise. Scientology and their belief of keeping doctors and medicines out of their life might be looking pretty good to me right now. (Just kidding!)

A Personal Choice

I am a member of Neflix. One of the features of this service is that they recommend movies for you based on the movies you have watched and rated. You go through the list periodically at your leisure and rate the movies from the following five choices: "Loved it, Liked it a lot, Liked it, Didn't like it, to Hated it". Then, they give you a list of movies they think you will like.

One that was recommended for me was: Whose Life Is It Anyway? with Richard Dreyfuss. It had me in tears in certain parts of the movie. I read up on it and it was said that Mr. Dreyfuss did not remember any part of making the movie because of his drug addiction. Nothing? A big plus was Christine Lahti. She is one of my favorite actresses.

The movie is about an artist who became a quadriplegic from a vehicle accident and faced with a life of nothing he wants to be released from the hospital to die.

I also borrowed the book Q & A from the library. This is the book that Slumdog Millionaire is based on. Between the movie and the book I am running pups out into the wet grass to do their business. It was a long hot afternoon at work sitting in a wiring closet on the 3rd floor of a school with the air conditioner broke. Sweat rolling down my face and neck. I was miserable.

I came home to air conditioning and sat in front of a fan until my brain cooled down enough to be able to comprehend my reading or the movie. It was close to turning into mush in that sweltering closet. I'm talking so sticky that my finger could not move the cursor with the touch pad. I was like "Are you kidding me?"

Needless to say I did only the bare minimum that needed to be done to get this school up and working again. The tech person had many more questions and I could have shown him another 5 neat tricks to help him troubleshoot his network, but I wanted out of there as soon as I could get away. I hate working like that. Especially when I am not used to it.

At my doctor appointment's this morning the doctor told the nurse to add another test to the blood work that was taken this morning. The test? To see if I was menopausal. Yeah. It was a great day!

Playground puddles

The kids at the reunion didn't care if there were puddles of rain at the bottom of the sliding board. They were here to party!

Getting back to normal

Pups at about 11 weeks

Yep. We are thinking rat terrier. This picture shows one that looks just like our little buggers. Still can't comprehend how somebody can drop off 4 pups that look this cute, this sweet and leave them out in the elements with slim chance of survival. What would it have taken to drop them off at a humane society or a shelter? Since I have never dropped off (only picked up) maybe they beat the owners or something. I don't know. I need to shelve these torturous wondering thoughts before I let them ruin my day.

They are doing very well in the potty-training department. My daughter has really worked hard with this. We let a neighbor clip their toenails yesterday and Cheech bled on one. My daughter was very upset (as Cheech is her baby, Chong tends to favor me). Afterwards my daughter said we are getting our own clippers and she is going to clip from now on. It all worked out though, because Chong threw up on the neighbor. She was swinging him on her porch swing. Really though, the neighbor lady felt horrible about Cheech's toenail. She has a small poodle of her own. She loves little dogs.

Cheech and Chong met about 10 new people this week. Today I am headed back to my sister's house for dinner. Some of our luggage was left in her car after the reunion trip and I need to retrieve it. She wants me to bring the pups again so her grandson can see them. The pups will get more socializing done this way. I read online that it is important to get them exposed to at least 100 people while they are little so that they have a healthy social demeanor in their adult life. It isn't very hard to do, as everybody wants to see baby puppies.

Still exhausted and recovering from the reunion. Jury duty is a thing of the past. The lady in the clerk's office said that if I get called again within the next 5 years, just to tell them I served in July 2009 and I won't have to serve until the 5 years is up. Unless, of course, I want to. Don't see that happening, but you never know.

We watched Slumdog Millionaire last night. This movie was hard for me to watch. For starters I get confused as to which boy was which when they were young and growing up. Is that Jamal or his older brother? And, why did the older brother turn so mean and rotten? There is a book (Q & A). I'll try to get the time to read it. I get frustrated by the violence. I know and understand that it is a fact of life, but some of the choices the characters make irritate me to no end. I sigh and tell myself that I do not walk in their shoes.

Even more confusing was the closed-captioning in English to let us know what they were saying in Hindu. It was super tiny and I had a hard time reading it so I was lost a little bit. I followed the story line the best that I could. Why was their Mother killed? Maybe the book will have more detail. The other book Six Suspects does not sound too bad, either.

We missed the Italian festival and a car show in town this week-end. I thought about it, but both my daughter and I are running low on energy. I had a sore throat and an ear ache yesterday (still could be the air conditioner), lower back pain and general malaise. One good thing, my heel didn't hurt as much as the previous weeks. I see the insert office (for my foot) on the 20th, everything takes time. My August is still full of Dr. appointments. I can see a little clearing though beginning in September.

edit: reading the excerpts from this author's books, I can see I am really going to enjoy them. I like his writing style very much.

Let's cut the air conditioner

I dreamt that it snowed. In August! I remember getting my camera and telling my daughter, "Never in my 49 years have I seen snow in August! I wish my Mom were here so I could call her and see if she has seen snow in August!"

Yep. Time to cut back on the air conditioning.

My crew

My crew filling up water balloons at the reunion. My daughter is on the left. My niece (who lived with us for 5 years and my nephew - both I consider mine at heart). This was when the weather was still cloudy and the rain had not moved completely out of the area. It became very humid and warm and the water balloons were put to great use.

I am still extremely tired and still in some foot pain. The orthopedic surgeon has decided it IS plantar fasciitis and I will have a custom-made insert made that will cover the entire foot and I will have one for the right side for balance. The plantar fasciitis has created a spur to form on the bottom of my heel.

No sympathy for this devil

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Success!

I circled my head in red. We had 125 show up for our first annual reunion. Not all are pictured because some just would not co-operate. The day started out pouring down the rain in torrents. It ended up humid and muggy and hot!

We ran behind in time. We skipped the adult games altogether. Folks were more interested in the auction and the 50/50 drawing.

I discovered that I was pretty good at auctioning items. I have a big mouth and can be very friendly after working the crowd for a couple of hours. We did a silent auction, but the few last items I actually auctioned off. Much more money can be made this way because I can really milk it.

On a more serious note, I had a very disturbing close call at jury duty today.

The case was dismissed. The defendant chose to take 40 years in prison w/out parole. The stories listed here do not tell of his dastardly deeds, but as the judge was telling us the story he almost began to cry. The girls were 7 and 8 years of age. They were sisters and they were raped. He didn't go into detail. He said to just be thankful that we didn't have to sit through this trial and I am. So very, very thankful.

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A bitten dorsal fin

This is another shot from my nephew's collection. I am not posting my own because I am on a new computer. Well, new to the household. I am setting up a spare PC to use in case mine fails. It was purchased in 2003 and Dell will not issue a warranty for it anymore. Yes, I purchase the extended warranty on my computers. Yes, I work on computers. I know what can happen and I know that I don't want that much down time when the hardware fails.

So, on this new computer I have Internet access, but no personal pictures. But, check out the dorsal fins on that shark. I asked my nephew about it and he said he hadn't noticed. Since he posted 92 photos from Sea World, he was probably just clicking and uploading. He said he would look at the photo and get back to me.

At the reunion motel we will have plenty of devices with Internet access. Most of the younger crew's cell phones are equipped with all the bells and whistles. Service may be tricky in the hills, though. My daughter is taking her new laptop. She gets bored easily at these gatherings. Still, it is great because I am the type of person who has to know "right now!" and she looks stuff up for me in a flash.

When somebody is talking about a movie and they say "Who was that guy who played so-and-so?" I run and look it up. The other day my sister sent me an e-mail asking me "What was the name of that movie where the skinny girl dies in the end?" What?! I laughed and replied exactly that: "What?!" I mean, can she give me a little more information? I guess we were talking about a certain movie one day, but I'll be darned if I can think of what she means. This morning I woke up and thought "Passengers" with Jane Hathaway. Maybe that is the one she is thinking of. If you have not seen it yet, I don't want to spoil it - but she does NOT die at the "end" of the movie.

I'll be seeing her today and riding in the car with her to WV so I can find out if that is the one she is thinking of. Speaking of movies, I watched "The Life of David Gale" from my Netflix choices. Not my favorite movie, but it was a mystery.

I have to go and roll my cheese balls into the chopped walnuts, now. About everything else is done and ready to roll. Ah, I need to put my name on my lawn chairs. We were laughing because we told folks not to put just "insert our last name here" on their stuff because ALL of us just about have the same last name! LOL!

Update on the pooches: they are growing like a weed. Their legs are double the length as when we first brought them home. No more pot bellies, especially Chong. He is getting lean and lank. I have to remember to take my camera outside to take a small video of him running. Cheech still does the little hop and run (he is a bit bow legged) but Chong runs full tilt. His ears are flat back against his head and he is off and running like a rocket. We are pretty sure they are rat terriers, now. Check out the picture at this site of the 5-week old pup. Ours look(ed) exactly like that shortly after we obtained them. Adorable.