My big boy

I see that I have not posted a photo of my big boy since I got him back. He was gone for a year. A year! He came back and it was just like the day after he left. No changes in him and everybody remembered and loved him. And he loved everybody. He carries on with my other three dogs (well, Sable will only tolerate so much). He is the clown and he is the one who gets everybody outside running around.

He is big and beautiful. Once you get past the mug, that is. When I first brought him home in 2009, my daughter said he was the ugliest dog she had ever seen. He really grows on you.

My floor is taking a beating because he won't stop marking his territory at night. I must get a big cage! (Mentally kicking myself).

He was in a fight a couple of weeks ago. We have some renters about three houses away from us. A duplex and both have a boxer. One boxer just came running into our yard one day when I had all the dogs out. He decided that he did not like the looks of Slade and they went at it with lots of (encouragement?) from the other dogs. My neighbors' dog was out as was a friend of his who was visiting - his dog was out.

It was noisy. I was attempting to get my boxer before they confronted each other but I was too late and all I could do was just try to get out of the way. Everything happened in a blur, but I think our little Cheech got the other boxer's attention because all of a sudden he went after Cheech and Cheech ran and started to yelp.

That seemed to end it all. My neighbor got his and his friends dog in their garage. I got my four in the house and the neighbor lady (who drove her car over) tried to retrieve her boxer. She was not having any luck. He had a collar but they did not have a leash. She had left a young boy in charge of the boxer and he (I think it was a he) could not control him. I gave her a leash and she finally got the boxer into her car.

I checked my dogs over. Lots of slobber but not blood and no cuts. She came back to apologize and she said the same of her boxer. No blood. We got lucky.

The next day I drove past their duplex and the boxer was tied outside stretched all the way to the end of his rope with a cat laying about four feet away just swishing his tail taunting him. The boxer was going nuts.

To be fair, a while back when I let my dogs outside one morning to do their business they spotted that boxer in our yard and they chased him all the way home. I had to go get them. That was early morning and I know it must have awoken all the neighbors. I was half asleep at the time. Now, I check carefully before I let the dogs out (spotted deer two mornings ago in the alley) because of other critters and it creates less chaos this way.

Yep. Still a zoo around here. But you know what. I feel as though I am getting too old for this sh!t.

Street Gang

I was out early the other morning - I think about 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. with my dogs outside. I saw them. I had not seen that many in our neighborhood before. They were traveling in a group of five or six. I guess they like the old adage 'power in numbers'.  

As soon as I saw them, I tried to hide. And, I tried to get my dogs back to the side of our house where they couldn't see them. They were quiet, moving eerily through the neighbor's yard. They all wore the same coat, could be some kind of gang thing.

They saw me, but didn't say or do anything. They just silently walked under the street light. I could not tell if there was a leader, or if they just walked along as a group following each other.

A few years ago, when I first moved into this neighborhood, I would have been shocked to see them. I guess. I had never seen them up close before, just from a distance when I would travel to other parts of the county. Were they branching out? Did they need more territory? I don't know. A few years ago, I would have been a bit in awe of them.

I guess I was still in awe. But now there is fear there, too. Especially for my dogs. I understand that I don't own the neighborhood but I didn't like to see them so close to my home. I wanted to yell at them to go back where they belong. Yelling out at that time of the morning may not have been a good idea. I have no idea how they would have reacted to my outburst, anyway.

I went back inside the house and waited about thirty minutes before taking the dogs out again to do their business. I wanted to make sure the gang was gone. One of their kind is the reason I am driving a different car today. I hit one of them with my Civic in December of 2009. He ended up dead alongside the road. My Civic was totaled. I loved that car. You can read about that episode here.

Waiting

Sable says, "I'll just wait here until you are finished taking pictures. Let me know when you are ready to go for a walk." She is content to rest and watch the world go by. Like me, she has mellowed with age. She has been acting very lethargic the past week or so. Me, too. I have been in a lot of pain (mostly my hands) and she seems to be very sore when she tries to get up. I blame it on the weather. Rainy and wet. Brings out the aches and pains.

Am off and running today. A birthday party. Not really my crowd but sister 1956 is having the party for her son. He turned 32. They drink and play guitar. It looks like rain. I am fixing some food. Cheese ball/tray, buffalo chicken dip (my first time), and my famous macaroni salad. I say famous because it is fast becoming one of the most requested food items that I bring to a get together now (used to be cheese ball, then calico beans).

I put bread & butter pickles in mine along with the juice. I also add sliced green olives to mine. Hey, I like it and other folks like it. I also discovered that I like to use generic salad dressing instead of Miracle Whip or Hellmann's mayonnaise. The generic salad dressing has the right consistency and flavor to make it work.

Daughter's new boyfriend has left for Va Beach with family and she is going through withdrawal. She does have a job interview today. He text messages her every five minutes (I swear!). He is 20 and she is 19. He works full time, goes to school (although he said he hates it) - one more thing they have in common. It is a different set up than the boyfriend before who is 18 and will be starting his 11th year at high school. (Home schooling can really mess some kids up if they or their parents are not disciplined.) They had been dating (with two major breaks) since June of 2005.

Prior boyfriend was a vegetarian and always had his male buddies around and was constantly going off and riding bikes or mud riding with friends leaving daughter behind. Current boyfriend hunts and has deer head hanging on the walls of his home (oh, goody! - that's sarcasm, folks). Two strikes. They actually eat the deer meat and he smokes. Daughter said he has quit smoking before so perhaps he can quit again. I have nothing against folks who eat deer meat, it just is not our cup of tea. Current beau attempts to spend every waking minute with daughter. Older Mom understands that is the nature of the beast when relationships are in their honeymoon phase. Daughter hates Mom's cynicism.

Relationships end and relationships change. We are moving on. Me? I'm just trying to keep up with all my critters, pay the bills and mowing the grass on a regular basis. I am exhausted most of the time. The nice thing about my job is during the summer we cut back a bit on our hours. That helps.

Not welcome here

About a month or so ago outside the kitchen window of sister 54's home.

She said it was eating her bushes. I would have chased it away. I didn't use to feel this way about deer. Anymore I am like "Get out of here! Go away! You are not welcome here!"

Maybe I'll return to a person who loves to watch them and is in awe of them, but for now - no thanks.

I have some company in the house last night and today. I've taken the morning off from work. I have a nephew moving in with me for a while. Problems at home. That is okay. It will be nice to have a big strong guy around for a while.

I felt a bit sorry for him at first though. The dogs are relentless. Even my big black cat Casper was trying to get into his lap.

Tortilla wrap/pinwheels

The above wraps are made with pepperoni and my mix of cream cheese/Kraft Old English cheese and a few banana peppers in the mix. They were okay. The next batch I made, I nixed the Kraft OE Cheese and in half of the pinwheels I used salami instead of pepperoni. I also used a lot more cream cheese per wrap.

I met some friends last evening for a birthday get together. I hit another deer on the way home. I can't believe it! I saw her coming and I'm saying "No, no! Don't do it! Stop!" while I was inching my car left of center and stopping. I nipped her left buttock and she kept on going. So did I. When I got home I checked for damage. Not even a hair on my car. I didn't like the idea of that deer running around hurt, but there wasn't much I could do. It was eleven p.m. and on a dark two lane highway with no place to pull over. What would I have done anyway? Chased the deer into the river?

I am going to try to stop driving at night. I guess. For a while at least. What else can I do? It isn't like I can stick to the Interstate. That's where I hit my first deer.

The baby shower was a blast. I had a migraine earlier in the morning. I took my medicine. I looked washed out and wan, but I did okay hosting the games. I had fun. I hope everybody else did, too.

Winding down

Slade in the good ole' summertime

I still have a hard time imagining who would let this magnificent canine go. It "appears" as if he were just let loose or dropped off. He is pure muscle. Although I can't afford the really "good" stuff right now, the cheaper food has not affected him (or the others) much at all. Side note - his ribs do not show at all, now. This picture must have been taken shortly after he was returned to us. You should see him in the snow! And, you will - if I ever find my battery charger. Time to get my daughter's camera out again. Sigh. Same old, same old.

This year has brought a car (new to her) for my daughter. She started college. She worked her first "real" job. Even though it was only seasonal and probably cost me more to buy her the red and black clothes necessary for working there than she made the entire time she was there. [grin].

It brought our household two new (cutest ever) puppies that grew into little black monsters, Cheech and Chong. The boxer entered our lives, left and re-entered - now looks to be a permanent fixture. That's okay. Cat population remained the same. The fish? I don't know - you get one, you lose one. I'll let my daughter keep track of them.

I got a new (used) car. My Civic is in auto heaven probably tormenting the deer that took it out.

No new babies or marriages in the family this year, but we will have a new one in the spring for Nephew (May) 1978 and his wife. This one will make them 3 sons. YAY! Nephew 1985 did acquire an "insta-family" when he began dating a woman with 3 children. So the family did grow a bit. She never had the closeness in a family that we enjoy, so she is making the most of it by coming to every get together that she can and bringing as many of her children as she can, all of which I think are adorable. (Even the one that everyone says is a little monster - I think he is a doll. But then I only see him for an hour here and there).

Everyone became a year older, but perhaps not wiser. Sister 1954 is now in a rehab program and out of prison. We expect her release in either April or June. Fingers and toes crossed that this is her very last lock up. Big sigh. Life is passing by, let's hope she gets to live it with us and not in some reformatory.

We had our first annual (father's side) family reunion in WV. Turned out to be a huge success and we cannot wait to begin planning next year's event.

Nephew (June) 1978 started a new job that he found on the Internet. Nephew 1987 is home for the holidays from his schooling in Dominica. (Not Dominican Republic, they are separate I have come to find out).

All in all a rather quiet year for our family. Not bad at all. Marching on to see what 2010 will bring with our back straight, our chin up, eyes looking forward and one foot firmly on the ground.

Gathering it all in

A friend's tree from 2006

I like to be alone a lot more than most people. I also like to socialize (not nearly as much as most people). I am quite content to be by myself. As the year ends and I am gathering all my thoughts and memories I contemplate how to spend the last hours.

I had planned to do nothing. If family stops in, I'll entertain and fix food, but if they don't I am just as content.

I've had two invitations for New Year's eve and I am not sure of what to do. I don't want to drive after dark anymore. For one, the deer incident still has me spooked and for two, my night vision ain't what it used to be.

I don't worry about drinking, because I don't have that insane need or desire to do THAT anymore. Will I regret not going anywhere come January? Will I just kick myself and say "Would it have hurt to go out and visit with friends and family just one more night?"

Aw, heck. I don't know. The one invite is to the friend's house from the photo above. I've not seen her in about four to six months. She is almost an invalid. She will have about five people with her so she won't be lonely.

I don't want to leave my dogs for that many hours. I also don't want to drive home after midnight and place myself on the highway wondering if a) the weather will be bad or b) are any of the other drivers drunk? That does not make for an enjoyable 60 mile drive home.

Can I go earlier in the evening and leave earlier? I suppose so. I'd have to miss the other friends and family that are coming later and the games that they have lined up. I love to play games.

It is kind of a melancholy holiday anyway. I just received word from sister 1944 that sister 1949 is having serious problems with her children. Not health issues. Behavior issues. They are 30 and 25 years old. There is always some kind of fly in the ointment.

I think I'll go and visit my friend during the daylight on New Years eve. We'll see if I can get away before I have to drive too late in the evening. That way I can visit, but also I can make sure that I have taken measures to be safe, also.

The other issue is, if I visit with my friend, I'll have to visit with some family, too. They are only five miles from her house. If they hear I was there and did not stop in, well, that would just be rude! Can I do it? Can I visit two (maybe 3) households that day?

I certainly don't mean to sound like an ingrate, either. Like "Oh, my! The poor dear! She has invitations but does not know which one to pick! How sad! Poor girl!" No, I don't mean to sound like that at all. I break down and choose visit with family/friends 90% of the time. I just have to realize that I don't need to do it all anymore. I can stay home once in a while and relax and take care of myself and my household. Sigh.

There, I've said it. I don't have to feel guilty about not going, right? Right! But then, it wouldn't hurt to go for a couple of hours....

Saturday Afternoon

Another batch of cranberry-nut bread. My first attempt to make it less crumbly was by adding some small sliced apples to the mix. When I sliced the bread all was perfect until the very last edge and then it crumbled again. Not bad. For some reason this batch seemed a bit more sour. I used cranberries from another grocery store. Maybe? Or could be I mis-judged on the sugar. I doubled the batch and I was distracted several times, so it is possible that I did not add enough sugar. (Sorry, blogspot - www.dictionary.com says that "mis-judged" IS spelled correctly).

My Great (Grand) niece came up to stay with me yesterday. This is the reason I was distracted in my measuring of ingredients in the bread. After watching a movie she crashed. (My nephew said I should refrain from the word "crash" for at least a year because of my deer incident - LOL!).

She was not the only one who napped the afternoon away. Here is my baby Slade (above). I have nick-named him Eeyore because of his common dejected demeanor.

This one (above) is my big baby Casper. Our first pet (after the bird).

And, this is Jasper (above). Curled up and dreaming of sugarplums and catnip I suppose.

On a side note, to make all of you out in blogdom feel better; I had a horrible problem with my computer Friday. It got hijacked or something. Well, maybe it wasn't that bad. I could not do anything! I got frustrated. I was able to fix it Saturday morning. You must have a ton of patience and calmly WAIT, WAIT for the system to respond and run your anti-malware programs. I recommend the following:

malwarebytes from www.malwarebytes.org

ad-aware from www.lavasoftusa.com (do not confuse this with the adware malware)

spybot search & destroy from http://www.safer-networking.org

I am sure there are other good programs, but the above three usually take care of my woes. I don't purchase any of the above. I use the free programs. I do pay for anti-virus software.

It isn't funny!

The damn cards were bought BEFORE I hit the deer! This is why I don't have my Christmas cards sent out yet. It is just too ironic. Stop laughing!

Putting on the brakes

The hood of my car after the accident. Poor deer. I did not want him for a hood ornament.

Anyway. I am putting on the brakes today. Well, I am going to try. I was so sick of looking at, researching, talking about, hearing about, and plain old thinking about cars last night that I wanted to scream. In fact, I think I did.

Today I plan on getting Christmas decorations out. Dogs be damned! If they chew them up at least they are leaving my lamps alone. I won't get out any sentimental decorations. It will be all the store bought stuff and either it will be very old or very tacky, so I won't care what they do with it. Well, maybe.

If you are a serious pet lover, don't continue to read this.

If, by chance any of my decorations happens to strangle, poison or just makes any of my dogs ill - that will just make my day.

Kidding! I am kidding! Really. I don't want to clean up vomit or any other mess that might come out the other end.

A side note on the boxer. He has decided that our longer walks to the field beside the horse barn are no longer necessary now that the temps have dipped into the lower 20's and the windchill factor has even made it colder. Nope. He is content with doing his business in the corner of our front yard, thank you very much. Of course it isn't where the puppies go, that would be... well just gauche. He must be proper and separate himself from the heathens.

This does however, cut down on my much needed exercise. Oh well. I guess I have to make sacrifices, too.

The windshield

I can remember the deer hitting the windshield, now. I think I can put the pieces of the puzzle in the correct order, now.

First glimpse I saw the deer over the hood of my car (as if he were a flying reindeer). I can remember thinking to myself "That's not right."

The next flash was the body of the deer hitting my windshield. I think this one I blocked out for about a week until it came back to me Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

The air bags must have deployed and at the same time the deer bounced off the hood of my car and was thrown onto my windshield. I remember seeing his back smacking up against the windshield.

The next flash would have been the bags deflating and that powder everywhere in my car.

But, the smell. My God, the smell. It was just the worst.

In a flash, my brain realized that I had an accident and had hit a deer.

My first instinct was to get the car safely to the side of the road and were there any cars behind me or in my passing lane?

My brain told me there were no cars (most of the time we know if there is a car coming up behind us, etc...)

The next flash of an instant, I felt under the airbag for the flashers.

I do not recall pressing the brakes, that would have been reflex and I didn't have to think about it.

I pulled the car to the side of the road and put it in park.

I fumbled for my cell phone which was in the charger.

I gasped for air. I rolled down my window (and tried to roll it down again). That I remember.

I thought the car might be on fire and I wanted to get out.

I tried to see if there were any more cars coming, so that I could exit the car safely.

I remember seeing the dashboard all in red, so I reached up and took the keys out of the ignition. I turned my lights off.

I do know that I saw the deer flying perfectly over my car (he was not hurt yet).

I do recall his body hitting my windshield.

Sigh.

I am still looking for a car. I test drove 2 yesterday. The new Accord and the new Civic.

I am (relieved?) that I found out the Accord is way too much car for me. Yet disappointed because it was the only Honda that comes in green. And you can't find many.

I am also upset that they only make the CRV in that pretty glacier blue.

That is my biggest pet peeve about Hondas. The colors.

Now, on to the Civic line. My first one served me well, I can probably expect the same from another one.

I've been driving a rented Jetta. The one I am driving is metal gray or something like that. It is nice enough except it has a horrible blind spot that unnerves me, and a bit sluggish when I press the gas. You really have to give it some gas to shoot forward at quick take offs, etc...

It appears to be in the same price range as the Accord, but the Accord is much, much bigger. I'd say the Jetta is between a Civic and an Accord. Perfect size for me, but that blind spot really bothers me. And, the nearest dealer for a Jetta is 40 minutes away.

My rental goes back on Monday. I have my sister's Cougar to drive. It is also green. Maybe I should have driven that for the past week instead of the Jetta and when I test drove the Accord I would not have been overwhelmed. LOL!

Regardless, my pocketbook will thank me if I stick with the Civic. I am still paying my daughter's car and insurance, so this will be a challenge. I have started to cut back on things. I won't miss them anyway. I'll probably use the money I get from my faithful Civic to pay our vehicle insurance for a year so at least I don't have to worry about that bill. My daughter's job is only seasonal, and I have to prepare for her not working and bringing in any money. That way if she does get another job, or if this store decides to keep her (It is a long drive, so that is not great) then things will go a bit smoother for us.

Yes, (rein) deer DO fly

Not my picture. I swiped it.

This was the closest I could get to what I saw yesterday evening. Framed in my windshield. Yes, folks. It's the end of an era. And in case you were ever wondering, (rein) deer DO fly. The end of an era for my little green civic. I have had that car for 13 years (14 next month). I was the only owner. Now it sits in some junk yard waiting for me.

I'll go to take pictures and to get the very last remnants out of the glove compartment. The tow truck driver said that it will be considered totalled because both airbags deployed and they are very expensive to replace. Sigh. That and the front end is smashed in and the windshield is all cracked up.

Me? Not even whiplash. Not yet. It has only been 14 hours. My forearm hurts (but personally I think that is from carrying gifts/packages through the mall).

The deer is dead. They are obligated to ask the driver that hit the deer if they want it (for meat). I was too far from home for my brother to come and pick it up, so the patrolman had their dispatch call their resident dead deer retriever to come and get it. It would have made a great skit. He came in his beat up pick-up truck with his son, and two young daughters who had not even bothered to put their coats on. They were wrapped in old blankets. Foxworthy would have had a field day with this one. By the way - Santa... the girls want a DS and a Blackberry Storm. Myself, I think they should ask for some winter coats, but that is the adult Mom inside of me.

Now, for the fabulous conundrum that had me going. Just what is in an airbag anyway? Here I was driving under the speed limit for the posted 65 mph. I was travelling at about 60 miles an hour because I had plenty of time, I was listening to a radio station that played oldies and was feeling very good. I had shopped a little and was on my way to meet a sister (1944) in a town about 60 miles form home for a digital scrap booking class.

Minding my own business, it was about 5:15, 5:20 in the late afternoon. No cars were around me because I was puttering along. They had all passed me. It was a 4-lane highway. I can't recall exactly what song was playing but the incident was almost a festive scene. Within that split second I saw a flash of white (air bags deploying), a bunch of snow (dust from the bags) and a flying (rein) deer. Framed perfectly in my windshield in the exact pose shown above. His rack was not as big as that. It was 8 points. Well, he looked as if he was flying.

My first thoughts? Well, I know I said "OH!" because of the thump and the jolt. But, as soon as I saw the deer my mind went "DEER!" and I came to realize rather quickly that I had an accident. I rummaged my right hand quickly under the drivers side airbag (which was quickly deflating) and pushed my flashers (four-way) button. I did not swerve the car into the other lane since I hit the deer head on. I thought the deer had continued on because he looked fine to me (from my windshield point of view). I quickly steered the car to the side of the road.

Once I got the car off the highway my first thought and action was to get out of the car. I knew that I was on a fast moving highway, so I couldn't just open the door and get out. I wanted out of that car because of the smoke. My God, the smoke! Well, I thought it was smoke. It smelled and looked like smoke and it was certainly choking me. Air, air! I need air! I furiously rolled down my drivers side window. I tried again to roll it down when I realized it WAS down all the way and I still could not breath. All I could think of was I gotta get out of here. I can't stand this smell!

An interesting read on airbags can be found here. Since my car was produced in 1996 it is quite possible that the contents in my airbag were more toxic than the newer models have. This article also explained the burning smell I kept smelling. I thought the car was on fire. There were not any cars coming so I exited. I grabbed my purse and cell phone and got out of there.

I stood behind the car against the guard rail to gather myself. I looked for the deer. There he was (just barely off the road) in the grass between the two sets of lanes and he was indeed dead. Aw, nuts. I had no idea who to call. I remember reading that you are supposed to call the state highway patrol. I had no idea what their number was. Who could I call to look the number up for me. (I found out later that yes, I could have called 9-1-1), I just didn't feel that it qualified as an emergency.

I had another sister (1954) that lived relatively close and I called her. It did not help any that this was the exact day that my Mom died from a car accident 9 years ago and she was the one driving at the time. The actual car accident happened on the 2nd of December, but my Mom died on the 3rd. My sister (1954) said that of course she would call the patrolman and she could be there in 30 minutes. It was while talking to her that I thought I should go and look at the damage to my car.

I walked in front of the car (making sure to stay out of the highway as there were many cars and semi trucks zooming by). The entire front end is smashed in. Some thing fell underneath the hood while I was up there and I quickly retreated to the back of the car (I was still thinking fire).

I attempted to reach my other sister (1944) (the one I was meeting for the class) but got no answer. My sister (1954) called me back to say that the patrolman was on his way and so was she. I saw him coming down the hill about 1/2 mile away. He pulled somebody over. Excuse me! I'm waiting here! It was well over 30 minutes before he got around to me. He wanted me to pull the car off of the road more but it wouldn't start and the gear shift would not budge no matter what I did. I was no longer worried about a fire.

It got dark very quickly. My sister (1954) showed up. She was crying because almost anything reminds her of that horrible accident in 2000. I was in the patrolman's car. We did the paperwork thing, the license, the insurance, the report - blah, blah, blah. Sister 1954 got all the stuff out of my car and into hers.

The deer retriever came, the tow truck came. It all took more than an hour. Sister 1954 drove me to the library where the class was. I had reached sister 1944 on the phone to tell her why I wasn't in class. I chatted with her and told her to be careful driving back. Sister 1954 was going to let me use her car. That is what I am driving now.

We stopped to get my favorite pizza. I had sisters and brothers calling me all along (and my daughter). This is exactly (well, almost exactly) what my daughter said when I told her. I said "I totalled my car. I hit a deer." She said "Do you know that Slade won't poop when there are a bunch of deer standing around?" No, of course that is not what she said first. But, that is what I remember. She actually said "No way!" and "Did you get a busted nose from the airbag?" Because I told her that is what happens when the airbag deploys. Well, that is what happened to somebody I knew.

Well, this post is getting entirely too long and I have to call my insurance company now. I'll post pictures of the car once I get some.

Salt Fork Adventure

Curios deer

I decided to skip lunch on Friday and drive through the Salt Fork State Park. I never got out of my car. I snapped about 125 photos from my driver seat. The sky was a beautiful blue, the sun was shining and the deer were out grazing. You can see more photos on the link at the right of the blog. From my personal web page, scroll down to the bottom and click on the Photos button. I also have a Photo Album set up here.