The boxer in the snow

I've not shown pics of the pets lately. Here is the boxer. He is still active as all get out. He is still goofy. He nearly brings the house down when somebody comes home or knocks on the door. All hell breaks loose as he slips and slides his big self across my wooden floor.

He is like a bull in a china shop. Not that I have any china. He knocks over chairs, crashes into furniture. We just yell at him. "Slade!"

He is a nut.

When somebody knocks on your door, does it make you jump? I can't seem to explain why I have this fear or anxiety when somebody knocks on my door. I don't mean it to sound funny because of the dog (dogs). I have had this feeling  all my life. Even when I did  not have pets in the house.

Anybody remember the song "Who Can it Be, Now?" from Men at Work.

Oh, wait. After examining the pictures above - take a closer look at the second one. Now, does anybody remember the song "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow?"  - that was Frank Zappa? Huh. I never knew that.

Summer stuff

Found the charger to my Nook and I have been reading, reading, reading. Since my washing machine leaks, I have had to babysit the appliance during the rinse cycle and after consuming a box of books my sister gave me for Christmas, my nook is my companion in the basement washroom, now.

Currently reading Theroux. My nook is full of about a hundred books and I have so much to pick from and I keep downloading more.

If I am not reading, I am working on my filter training. I have a class Monday morning (why oh why did they pick Monday?) for 16 people. I know the filter very well so I am not too stressed. There will be the occasional question that I won't know the answer to, but after working with a few on the telephone over the past few weeks I can see that I am miles ahead of them. I am not bragging, this is how it is supposed to be. They are very busy with a million other things, while my main focus is the filter. I have had so much more time to learn this and it is a passion with me.

I love sharing my knowledge with them. A lot of times I get the call that says "My district cannot access such and such." It is my job to help them figure out why and fix it. I love a puzzle.

So, not much here at blogdom these days. Not much else going on in my life. Animals are itchy and should probably be treated for their summer allergy/flea/dry skin condition.  I need to buck up and get them in for all their shot updates, too. Kennel cough (bordetella)  is the big one. I think they are due for a distemper booster, too. Some other vaccines are on a 3  year cycle and I believe I caught those up last year. The vet sends me a postcard reminding me.

In fact, I am going to sign off of here and call the vet right now to make an appointment.

My favorite part of the festival

As you would know...my favorite time at the festival was when I got kisses from this adorable canine. And she would not stop. She was smaller than my cats. I wanted to take her home with me. Sigh.

I finally slept in this morning. I did not wake up with any pain but sometimes it comes after I move around a bit. I want to do so many things. I managed to get more flowers planted  yesterday and some shrubs cut back. I want to pull more weeds and thistles today but am also trying to balance it with rest.

This is not a bad pain. It is just annoying. Bending over is the worst. Clanging dishes brings in a close second. Dogs barking (when they hear something outside) comes in third. I know better than to clean with any harsh chemicals (smells). I will try to clean up but that means bending over.

I did not have to take any Treximet yesterday. I am taking prednisone for five days. It tastes awful! I am still swallowing my Advil. At this point my headache could be rebounds from this medication. Need to ween off of it.

One good note. I have washed everything in the house. Rugs, sheets, clothes, towels and pillows. I am caught up on that. My dishes are all caught up. If I can manage to stay home today and tomorrow I should feel much better by Monday. Right? Right!

The relish tray

My niece and her fiance's version of the "relish tray" at Christmas.  Funny!

The movie "A Better Life" made me cry. It may help if you know some Spanish (Of course I took French in high school). The movie did not sub-title the conversations in Spanish.

Things around here have been quiet. Not as quiet as when I lived alone for six months. My daughter is twenty. She should be active and moving around and coming and going. That is what you do at twenty. The dogs are pushing me, but I figure they need an adjustment period, too.

I have lots of work to do to keep me busy. I am supposed to be going through totes and sorting/pitching and organizing "stuff".  A friend had two computer issues. One I resolved already the other one I have waiting on the piano bench. 

See? Again, I will do anything to get out of "house" work like the sorting of "stuff" I should be doing. Heh. Grocery store today. I need almost everything. Since I was by myself for six months not much got used up. This holiday tore through that. (Flour, sugar, detergents etc...). Dog food. Always dog food. You know, I gotta keep them dogs pooping. I have cut their food down a good bit and am thinking about cutting down more. They are all very plump. But,  you should see them play when I take them outside. Now I am back to thinking fence. Sigh. Money, money, money.

Charge!

I'd like to say my life has been too busy to post. Maybe it has. I don't know. Too busy to think about it. While charging ordering gifts on-line I went ahead and ordered myself a new charger for my big camera. The battery is inside the camera, so the charger and spare battery are floating around this earth somewhere. Hopefully in my house.

So,  I will charge ahead into the holidays as each gift arrives on my doorstep. What fun to open gifts up twice, though my act is not actually opening them. :)

Finger is healing ever so slowly, work is steady and daughter moves back the end of the week. Get ready for stories about Cheech and Chong again!

I hit ten yesterday, briefly

When I escaped to my TV chair, I was hovering between 4 and 6. I napped, when I awoke I was a full blown 8. I decided to get the Vicodin filled. This had nothing to do with my finger surgery. That sucker was still numb!

It was my shoulder. Do you know how many times people bump into your shoulder when you are in a store? OMG! I wanted to scream at them. I was still an angry 8. Waiting on the script to fill, I tried everything I knew to ease the pain. Breathing they teach you in Lamaze classes, distraction, counting backwards, relaxation breathing in and out exercises. I purchased a heating pad and an ice pack.

I finally got out of there. It was in the car that I hit the 10. Starting the key was impossible with my left hand and that huge bandage around my index finger. When I leaned over to fasten my seat belt it hit me. The dam broke. I only allow myself spurts of tears when I am in view of others. I got a grip and drove home. The moment had passed.

I slammed down a pill, cranked the heating pad up to high, stuffed pillows and blankets around me. I had water, remote controls and cell phone within reach. It took an hour but I was in dream land. The heat on my arm was heavenly. My head was in a fog and I was even nice to the animals. They all came running over to me and cuddling around me and I did not mind one bit. 

That was how I spent the rest of my afternoon and evening. I cut back to half a vicodin every 2 hours (all I needed) and a little Advil for the headaches. The RN told me I could take both - just not Tylenol with the vicodin.

This is not the movie I watched last night, but if you ever want to watch screwball comedy, I recommend "Fly Paper".  I enjoyed it so much I played it for family when they came in to stay overnight last week-end. They loved it. We laughed. It was a surprise to me, as I had no idea what it was about. Not a fan of Patrick Dempsey. Ashley Judd is okay. It was really the other characters that made the movie great anyway.

My Alien

Well, what did you expect? I've adopted just about every other creature known to man. How about a new species? Here he is hovering behind the chair that my cats are sleeping on.  I love how  perfectly formed his little hand is. It is a "he" isn't it?

A murky day

I stopped at one of the lakes in my region, but the day was so murky - my best photos turned out to be of the above daisy.

Here are five stories. Each one is true (and all happened this week) except for one was a dream. Can you guess which one?

1. I grabbed a load of dirty towels and began the walk downstairs to the basement. I smell gas. Well, I smelled that odor they add to natural gas. Ack! I stopped and went back up the stairs, dumped the towels on a chair and wondered what to do. I checked the carbon monoxide detector. Zero. Nothing. Big sigh. I waited a while and slowly descended the stairs. Nothing. Was it my imagination? I returned upstairs, grabbed the towels. I made it almost to the bottom step and the smell hit me - hard. Oh, no! I returned back up stairs, dropped the towels again and just stewed for about an hour. I did not want to embarrass myself again with the fire department. After a long time, I swallowed hard and back down the steps I went. Nothing. WTF? Oh! I figured it out! It was some odor coming from the towels. Idiot! Stupid animals that cause the smell!

2. I was driving to work and I turned to go up the hill by my house. I had my window down on the drivers side because I am ALWAYS hot. The sun burst over the hill and my windshield filled with instant fog. Between that and the bright sunshine, I could not see a thing! I was blind! There were like 20 cars coming in the other direction and one right on my rear end. I kept stopping. It is not a long hill. I kept sticking my head out my window to try to see where I was. I kept seeing that double yellow line and thinking to myself "I have to get over, I have to get over!"

3. My niece recently split with her husband of 8 years. Her husband was coming to pick some stuff up from the house one day and she called her brothers to be there with her. She has two very protective brothers. They stood talking outside the house. My nephews stayed on the other side of the street for most of the conversation. Some words were said and it got kind of ugly in front of her house. One of my nephew's busted out the window to her husband's vehicle with a ball bat. There was glass all over the road. Fortunately my niece's husband drove away without any more incident.

4. I was outside in the dark with the boxer. For some bizarre reason I did not have his harness and leash on him. We walked around the house. Nothing. I turned to tell him "Let's go back in" when a car zipped up the alley. I thought it might be my daughter, but it was my neighbor returning home. The boxer ran over to greet the car. My neighbor was backing into his yard and fast. I couldn't believe what was happening. I yelled "WAIT! WAIT!" I didn't know if I was yelling at the dog or my neighbor - I guess both. I don't remember hearing the words come out of my mouth. The boxer kept jumping all around the car as he backed in. It was so scary! And dark! I could not see. It was very frustrating.

5. While out walking the dogs one windy night, I saw something strange on the side of a building. The alley is very, very dark and I could see a strange movement. Almost like shadow puppets. This building was at the far end of the alley and I was not certain where the light was coming from. The shadow puppets kept dancing and bowing. What IS that?! I'd never seen anything like it. If there were anything strange and suspect, the dogs would growl or bark, right? RIGHT!?

Well...

Remember the TV show Bewitched, where Samantha would do something and Darrin would look at her and she would just say "Well...?" It was one of those moments.

It all started when I forgot to call my pharmacy prescription in. Really! I usually phone them in or send them in via the web page. I forgot. So I dropped it off and had to wait for it.

I said to myself "I'm going over to the electrical department and am going to learn me something!" Well, I learned something alright - but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Or should I say, I RE-learned me something. Heh, heh.

I am extremely fortunate that the outlet (and the plug) were the only things damaged. And, my err... ego. A bit.

I read the back of the package. We have been using the outlet adapters for a few years, but I always said to myself 'One day, I am going to ground those suckers.'

Well...

I figure you just have to unscrew the middle screw and re-screw it back in over the little loop on the adapter plug. I said to myself 'Okay, I can do this!' Famous last words, huh?

Me sitting cross legged directly in front of an outlet with a screwdriver. An outlet that had not had the faceplate removed in seven years when the walls were last painted. A screw that would not line up for me and I tilted it.

I remember sparks. They looked like fireworks. I remember a popping sound. I don't remember seeing any smoke. I remember I threw the screw driver. I remember some funny sound came out of my mouth. I DID NOT cuss. I do know the dogs ran and peeked around the corner for a long time before they came back out.

Now, I usually know better than to play with electricity. I've said this before in my blog, especially when I am at work. It scares the bejesus out of me. Sigh. I really thought I could do this little thing. I usually don't mess with it.

Hmm... on second thought (actually eleventh and twelfth thought) maybe you don't remove the faceplate. Oh, dear.

Anyway.... does anybody know the name of a good electrician? Ha, ha! I had one guy in here when I first moved to the house, the previous owner had recommended him. Then in another conversation she said "I hope he got away from those drugs." That was all for that electrician.

I thought something was up when he came to my house and he pulled his van up halfway down the alley. I was waiting for him so I went out to talk to him and he quickly rolled his window down and said "I'm just finishing my sandwich!" I thought to myself "No, you are finishing a joint!"

I've been associated and around enough party smokers to know one when I see one.

So, I won't be calling him back. I don't think he is in business anymore. Surprise! In all fairness, he did a good job, though.

Now, for the movie department. By all means skip "After.Life". Good grief! I really like L Neeson, but this was horrible! Unless you are a guy and like to watch C Ricci writhe around naked on a cold autopsy table. Yuck! Not my cup of tea. But, I did kind of like the bobble-head doll. Freak that I am. LOL!

Adding a little color

I was able to re-load the anti-virus software back onto my PC. It was a lot easier than I thought. I've done it so many times now, I guess I am getting pretty good at it. No problems at all.

My next step was to add pretty and inspiring wall paper to my desktop. I love finding new pics to add and I have some old faves. The one above is a new one. I center it so that my icons show up. Right now I only have a handful of icons on the desktop. Like moving into a new house, the furniture is sparse and the area is clean and uncluttered. As time goes on my desktop will look like a small hydrogen bomb went off as my house does.

Is that what they call them? Hydrogen bombs? Atom bombs? Nuclear blast? I wiki'd them and they are the same. I like that about Wikipedia. Instead of a URL address (such as www.someplace.com) you can just type in 'wiki atom bomb' (without the quotes) and it takes you to the closest subject in Wikipedia that matches atom bomb. Try it. Then try another like 'wiki daniel boone' or 'wiki chernobyl'. I used to sign out encyclopedias at the library (before the world wide web) and read them. I love small blurbs or stories about people, places and things. I love it!

I just tried an experiment. It works with the quotes, too. Yeah, I could read about stuff all day.

Currently I am reading "Jungle Child" by Sabine Kuegler. It is about a girl raised in West Papua in the 70's. I love the biography section of my library. Gosh I'm just full of love today.

And then I go to work. Where's the love NOW?! I'll be in a little school (no air). I am going to try to get there early enough and get my job done before the heat makes it unbearable. A fan has quit in a router and I must replace it. The unit has three fans. The fan is no bigger than a.... a....bar of motel soap. That's it. I couldn't think of anything that size.

And the pups? Hah! I had another remote control chewed beyond repair this morning. They also found a way into the picnic basket with the plastic utensils. All over the floor this morning. The remote - I can survive without it I suppose. It is to the TV, but the cable remote can control it. Or you know, I can walk up to the set and push the buttons. Horrors!

The basket that held all six remotes (don't ask) will have to be placed high on the book case I guess. I was mistaken when I thought that they were safe in a boxed basket. I am vigilant about putting the remotes inside this box every night before I retire. Little wicked devils. I didn't even mumble to them. I just picked everything up and took the batteries out of the now defunct remote and cleaned up the plastic ware on the carpet. My sweeper will love any little tiny plastic pieces left behind.

Maybe I need to go back to caging them at night. Ugh. They are in their cages while I go to work, I just feel sad putting them in there at night, too.

I watched "The Ghost Writer". The wife is the same lady who played the wife of B Willis in the movie The Sixth Sense. Did I like the movie? Not really. Not a big E McGregor fan. I am a P Brosnan fan. I recognized (barely) K Cattrall. I was like 'Is that her?' 'Yes, it is!' I thought the movie was a little silly in places. I was waiting for the servants to knock somebody off, they were so strangely mysterious and creepy. And they gave them the names of Dep and Duc? What is up with that? Oh, and here is a bit of trivia for you. The young lady who is the Island motel receptionist just happens to be the daughter of R Polanski - the director of the movie.

Yep, yep. Onward to the great unknown. I wonder where my camera is? This is prime picture-taking country where I am headed.

A puppy tale

I was horrified. I read it in the newspaper. Some jackass threw a puppy out of a moving vehicle on a big open road that is known to be travelled often by semi tractor trailers. I cringed. The guy driving behind had to swerve to miss the puppy. He said he thought they had thrown trash out. Another driver stopped. She was a vet from a nearby city.

The driver of the "red van" did not stop. Nobody was able to get the license plate because of all the commotion. The police were looking for the offending driver(naturally).

My first thought was of a neighbor lady who I saw just two days prior. She had a little black lab puppy she was wanting to get rid of. She had broken her foot and could not take care of him. She lived in the only place on my block that rents to the seedier crowd of people. They only stay a few months and move on.

But, I never saw a red van anywhere near that place.

Until Wednesday evening. I was driving out the back alley and there it was. A red van! Oh no!

What would you do?

While walking the dogs later that evening, I walked past the rented house to look for any signs that the pup was still there. Nobody was out and there was no pup. Sigh. What to do, what to do.

I went back home. Read the paper. It was all a HOAX! The guy said his wife would never let him keep the puppy so he made up the entire story! Arrgghh! The lady vet must have been part of his story? No explanation was given that I saw about her.

Read the resolved story here.

I am so glad I didn't jump to any sudden accusations. I thought them, but I needed proof first. And then that story. I don't know who I want to slap more. Somebody who would throw a dog out of a moving vehicle or the guy that would make the story up and get all the readers in an uproar. The pup was one in a litter of 10. I don't suppose they are going to have any problems getting that set adopted. Most callers only wanted the "discarded" puppy. They were not interested in adopting any of his litter mates. Huh?

Then, there is the lady that left her kids in the vehicle while it was still running with the windows down. They were left alone long enough for a bystander to see this, call the cops and the cops to get there and cite her. She said she was in the store for five minutes. I don't know about you, but I've never seen any cops respond in under five minutes, but I suppose it could happen.

Still at it

This is what greeted me on my living room floor this morning. They are still at it. They will go for weeks (sometimes a whole month) without touching anything and then "bam". There it is. This remote controls my DVD player. Or, it did. It won't be as easy to replace as the cable remote. I think I have a spare universal one around. I hope I have the directions with how to program it. Sigh. I suppose this is their way of telling me they want a Blu Ray with a High-Def system.

Memories

Here are a couple of links to some past posts of my pet dogs (not pictured above):

http://welcomemyworld.blogspot.com/2006/09/rolling-of-buckeyes-day-one.html

http://welcomemyworld.blogspot.com/2005/04/shes-been-good-dog.html

Hope you enjoy.

Scamp

A shot of Cheech when he was still a wee mischief-maker.

I usually get up at six or six-thirty. Today? The day of my big blow-out party. I slept in until 9 a.m. It figures! (silent scream).

Pics are older because my main computer died. I am using my back-up. I am slowly adding all the extras to it so that I can have sound/back-up/photo card reader and a few other stuff that my monster mammoth system always held for me. I'm not playing taps, yet. When I get the time, I may format the other hard drive and add the OS to see if I can still continue to use my system.

My boxer threw up just as I started typing the post. I'm like, "Oh, goodie! Something else to contend with." The puppy gods are on my side today. Chong cleaned it up for me. Nice puppy! Helping Mommy out. The poor boxer ran to a corner and has not left since. He is sleeping by the back bedroom door where my nephew is sleeping. He likes men so much. I think a guy owned him before I did. People always ask where and how I got him. They still gush over his markings and shape and size. Well, when they aren't amazed at Sable's barrel-shaped frame.

Okay. Enough delay. I have a cake to bake and a couple of cheese balls to whip up. That is for starters. My nephew is doing the outside stuff for me. Yay! That is a good thing because my back is threatening me! I'll take pictures if I can find room in my kitchen to take a decent one without a ton of stuff piled up around the subjects.

Almost a year

It has almost been one year since I brought these two rascals into our lives. If I could go back in time would I make the same choice? I gotta tell you. I am not so sure. As I type, they are rolling on the floor mock fighting with one another just having a grand time. What would have happened to them had I not taken them in? One can only wonder. I don't dwell on it often. In fact I think this is the first I have ever wondered about the "what if".

To me "what's done is done." I save the rue for human relationships.

Acceptance

I have come to realize that I just have to accept the fact that I cannot do it all. Yeah, right. I'll say it but I don't practice it. This is the cord from my sweeper. I'll be purchasing a new sweeper. Have you tried to find a business or person that re-cords sweepers? It's the American way. Don't fix it, throw it out and buy new.

I suppose I can take an electrical course at the technical school in town. But, I have to let some things go. I don't have to feel guilty for not being able to do it all.

There used to be a small sweeper repair guy behind our old apartment. It is still advertised but when I dialed the number, the person on the other end said "No, this number is no longer that business." Sigh.

Well, what will it be? I have remained true to the bagged. Is it time to go bag less? With all this pet hair? There are so many models and designs to choose from. It used to be simpler. I had a brother-in-law that worked at Hoovers. Out of loyalty I kept with that brand. That was before pets, though. Hah! Now, I am thinking I should buy sweepers by the dozen. Ugh.

The thunder and lightning has stopped. Time to jump into the shower and get ready for work. Yee haw!

I found a pen, pencil, x-acto knife, magnifying glass and old flash drive chewed and on the floor this morning. Somehow they got up on the table and knocked off a cup that was holding the items.

Peonies are coming along

With a little help from their ant friends.

I am so "sleepy" tired. Maybe it's the rain. I don't know. I think I slept all night. I remember a horrible dream, but that was early this morning. I was recovering from somebody cutting my right side with a saw. Hey, I just dream 'em, I don't try to figure them out. Well, yes I do, really. What does it mean? I have no idea with this one.

So, what did I accomplish this week-end? Before the rain? Not one page of a book! Not one sentence. Housework. Just clothes, kitchen and bathroom. So, what got done? Outside work! How could I forget I had a ton of outside work to do? And the weather was nice. My grass was so long, I had to use the grass catcher. That was a real hoot. The mulcher flap had not been lifted in years and I thought it needed a lever or something. Finally my daughter just gave it a good yank and it lifted up. Whew. I don't recall how many times I had to empty the bagger, but let's just say I waited too long on a couple of trips.

Then it hit me. While mowing I knew I was doing it. But, I kept going. Mowing is one of those things that if you stop you are afraid you won't get going again. It was hot out. It was sunny. Yep. I am sensitive to the sun. I am getting thin on top. (Not getting thin anywhere else, oh no!) But my hair is getting thin. This leaves my head exposed. I had my headphones on, but the wicked sun got me anyway.

The headache started Sunday night. I went to bed hoping I could sleep it off. Silly me! What a night that was. I made it to work on Monday (barely). The migraine meds helped a lot. After work I returned to the scene of the crime. Blankets were twisted up everywhere. There were wash cloths and towels strewn about.

During the night (Sunday) during a migraine, I get a wash cloth as cold as I can and put it against my forehead. To keep my pillow from getting soaked I lay a couple of towels on it. The wash cloth heats up faster than you can imagine. I had the fan blowing on me directly. I was at the foot of the bed, in the middle of the bed. Yep. It was a long night.

Anyway, I hope to have some pretty pictures of poppies and peonies here soon. The rain is coming down in buckets this morning. I have to take the dogs out in this, I don't feel like bringing a camera out, too.

Their favorite new treat

The pups have a favorite new treat. Ice cubes. This photo makes me kind of sad. As I walked closer to get a better shot, Cheech looks at me very nervously as if I am going to take the ice cube away from him.

They love ice cubes. Poor Slade (the boxer). His mouth/teeth cannot pick up or handle ice cubes very well. He is usually left wondering what to do with it or gets his stolen by those crafty, sly, sneaky, thieving pups.

The party Saturday night was a huge hit. I managed to post 270 pictures and a great video of the birthday gal dancing a solo number. That takes guts but she can pull it off. (Nothing indecent!) I'll get some of the photos posted here in the next week or so.

I spent Mother's Day with a huge headache that got worse as the day went on. I ended up being physically sick by evening. My daughter was here and she did everything for me. Taking care of me here and there. Little did I know that she herself was getting very sick. She had a horrible night Sunday night and by Monday (since I was feeling much better) I was off to the store to get her the Popsicles, Italian ice, ginger ale, jell-o, Tylenol and applesauce. I spoke to her last night, she is still sick. My two questions are "Are you comfortable and out of pain?" She said she was and I told her to give me an update in the morning.

It has started to rain this morning. I did not get the grass mowed as I wanted to. I just did not have the energy last night. I felt wiped out. If I can trust the weather channel I may be able to get to the grass this week-end. Looks like we have rain predicted every day this week. Sigh.

I am enjoying my job right now. I have some wonderful activities that are keeping me occupied and happy. What does the future hold with the new arrangement? Time will tell.

Green or black?

Are you a green olive person or a black olive person?

I like (and eat) both, but I prefer the green ones. I love salt! I put the black ones on all Mexican dishes that I make. I am making a seven-layer taco dip for a birthday party today.

I've probably posted the recipe before.

I use a pan or dish with a lip on it because the sheer weight of the ingredients pushes the bottom layers down so that they ooze out.

First layer is (1) refried beans.

I mix (2) sour cream and (3) small curd cottage cheese together and spread that over the beans.

Next is (4) salsa. (I use mild or medium).

Then (5) shredded lettuce.

Then finely (6) shredded mild cheddar cheese.

Then (7) sliced black olives.

We dip tortilla chips into the mixture and eat it up.

You guys are probably SO tired of hearing about my headaches. I had one yesterday. I even had to take a second pill. AND my coffee pot died on me! I had to drive to Mickey D's to get a cup. It was awful! Just awful. The taste of their coffee has really deteriorated. I am drinking hot tea this morning to get my caffeine fix. Funny how I only like creamer in my coffee (no sugar, blah!) but for my hot tea it is no cream and two teaspoons of sugar. Weird.

What really irks me is that we had a beautiful day yesterday and I could do nothing. NOTHING! I slept most of the day. Bending over to put the harness on the dogs was pure torture. Everything makes too much noise. The tea kettle this morning pierced my head like a high powered cross bow shooting an arrow into my skull. A dog bark will send me into a raging fit of anger.

Sigh. It has abated today. I am still taking the OTC meds like generic ibuprofen and generic acetaminophen. Huh. I guess I AM on meds! That lady at the G Corral last month guessed right.

Talking to my nephew last night he said that when he looked at the weather, it said that the indices were high for aches and pains like migraine, arthritis and sinus sufferers. Well, then.

With any luck I will be able to get through today on the generic OTC alone. I hope I can find a good cup of coffee. And, I suppose I will leave early for the party so I can shop for a new coffee pot.

One very nice thing happened yesterday. I had our old faithful dog Sable and the ever so rambunctious boxer out in the front yard. No leashes or harness on either, though I was carrying the boxer's harness and leash in my hand. The lady across the street was mowing and had sat down to take a break. We waved at one another. She hollered "Is that one of those puppies?" That was all the boxer needed. He bounded across the street and right up to her. I was following close behind telling her that he was friendly.

Thank God no cars were passing. I mentally kick myself. Dogs are so unpredictable.

She fussed over him a bit (he is a big marshmallow) and I told her that the two pups were inside and I had also found this dog. She said "You have four dogs?" I said "Yeah, just shoot me now." My standard response when somebody asks or points that out.

She and I proceeded to talk for about half an hour. I had the harness and the leash on the boxer by that time and dear Sable just plopped down in some grass and waited. We talked of the economy, we talked of movies, we talked of what I do for work. We told each other our names for the umpteenth time and laughed how neither one of us could remember. I think we will now.

She is a great lady and I have always admired how she gets out there with her electric lawn mower and mows away. She looks to have ten years or more on me. She has health problems (pain in her legs) but does her best.

It was a very nice visit and I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I went back home and she returned to her mowing.

My work history:

Cook (summer of 74 and 75)
waitress (summer of 76)
Ice cream parlor (summer of 77)
animal cage care (fall/winter of 77)
office secretary (78 - 81)
data entry operator(83 - 85)
office manager (85 - 88)
data entry operator (88 - 91)
PC Specialist (91 - 95)
network technician (95 - present)

I have three jobs lined up that I am going to apply for this week. Big breath. With this economy and there are still reports of hundreds of applicants for one job, we'll see if I get any calls.

Sigh. I'm either nuts or very, very desperate. You will probably notice the gap between 81 and 83. I spent the summer of 82 in El Paso caring for my nephew while my sister was in the army and then I spent a year writing poetry and floating and finding myself. I became a semi-recluse.

Well, the ham is in the oven. It was so funny. When I unwrapped it and was putting it into it's baking pan I looked behind me. The three (newer) dogs were sitting in the kitchen lined up as if to say "What are you COOKING? And, can we have some?"

Sable? She knows better. She was lying in her usual place by the back door, acting oblivious to everything. But if I give one little treat to any of the pets, she knows it. She isn't all that oblivious to what is going on around her. She knows.