A Good Evening with Friends

After several months without getting together, we had a pot luck dinner tonight at my house. It was a great deal of fun. I bought a couple London Broils, marinated one and put a dry rub on the other yesterday, then grilled them this evening. I also grilled some asparagus, one of my favorite things. Late this afternoon, I mixed up some dips, only to realize I didn't have chips, so I cut up some tortillas and made my own.

We also had a big dish of enchiladas, potato salad, shrimp, hummus and crackers, fresh fruit with chocolate dip, Parmesan potatoes. The most fun thing was that our "token" child who is now 16 brought food for the first time! He has a job at KFC and he worked today. This kid has been coming to our put lucks for 2 years, and he is usually the only kid there. It doesn't seem to bother him, as he gets along will with all the adults, has a delightful sense of humor, and doesn't seem to notice that he is any different from us. He called his stepmom and asked if he should bring something, and she said sure, to give him the sense of belonging and contributing. Bless his heart, he brought corn, baked beans, slaw, mac & cheese, and mashed potatoes and gravy!! Hey, Caroline, I have left over mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC in my fridge!! Linda made a coconut pie for dessert, and it was yummy!

We had such a good time. We invited some new folks, and they added to our enjoyment. The evening was pleasantly cool, so we spent most of our time on the deck. As the sun was setting, the clouds in the East were absolutely gorgeous, and everyone hung out at the railing just enjoying the sight. The clouds were various shades of pink and just breathtaking. No, I didn't take a picture. I was absorbed in the sight as was everyone else.

I'm SO proud of my pups! They barked as each person or group arrived, but then they all calmed down and enjoyed being spoiled! Sam was the most reluctant, but even he allowed himself to be petted. Jazi charmed everyone, and Lola flirted her little heart out and made everyone laugh. This is the first time they've been around so many people, and they behaved far better than I expected, and it was a pleasure for me to see. Most of these folks had seen them at other times, and they were impressed with the progress, too.

I'm very tired. I didn't have a lot of work to do today, but having a dozen or so guests in tends to wear me out. I think I'm going to bed. Mañana!!

Another Doggy Thought

.

Last night I realized another sign of progress with my canine family.

When Lola came here, she was a friendly little girl. I guessing, however, that her previous family didn't cuddle with her very much. She didn't seem to be scarred, as some of the others did, but it seemed that she didn't know what to do with physical contact from humans. She would let me pet her or scratch her for only a minute or so at a time. She seemed somehow uncomfortable with it past that brief period. Then she would scramble away, sometimes to play (understandable, as she is still very much a puppy), sometimes it seemed she just needed to put space between us. It was peculiar to me because all my others loved to be fussed over, even during their hardest times, and wiggled to get closest to me to the attention.

I didn't push it. I petted her when she let me. When she scrambled away after 10-15 seconds of petting, I let her go. I certainly didn't want to let petting become a punishment. Then, last night it dawned on me that she is now allowing petting, belly rubs, ear scratches go on for as long as I will indulge her. In fact, she comes in now, runs and plants herself next to me, and even nuzzles my hand to get my attention! She is not only accepting loving attention, but she is actually seeking it out!

Lola has been with us for six months now. Her adjustment has been fairly uncomplicated. Rules to learn, expectations established, and now I'm thinking, a trust established for accepting physical contact. It is very nice to know she has reached a new level of "owning" her home and her place in the family. :)

.

I Can Hardly Wait To See What's Next

.

Obama has made a choice. Do you wanna bet that there will be fall-out?

• It's "non-denominational." Is this a way around declaring his path of faith? Why doesn't he want to be Baptist or Methodist or [fill in the blank]?
• Did he choose non-denominational because he really is Muslim?
• I'll bet he chose that so he can leave DC every week.
• Etc., etc., etc.

Poor guy. Walking his path must be like trying to cross a cesspool without stepping in sh*t.

I can hardly wait to see what develops out of this. Yeah, right.

.

One Year Later

.

Recently I've noticed some changes in my house. I has occurred to me that my adoptees are settling into some different patterns. It is subtle, but it is real. When I thought about it some more, I knew it is mostly the three boys in whom I see change.

After realizing that, I remembered they have been with me for a year. The boys came home to me in June last year. So it makes sense. A few of you might remember that I've "talked" with you about how changes in our lives take a year to gel. Well, guess what? That theory applies to me and my household, too!

In a nutshell, for those of you who haven't heard my "theory," it goes like this: When there is a major change in your life (new job, new family member [marriage, birth, etc.], a move to a new home/area, retirement, loss of a family member, etc.), it shakes our lives, changes them, and it takes about a year to "own" the situation once again. During the first three months, we are learning the mechanics, the rules, the way it is done. You begin to feel as if you can handle it with what you know know. Once that is accomplished, the following three months is often difficult because we know what is supposed to happen; but knowing it and being able to make it work that way aren't always the same. The mind knows, but the hands have trouble doing as told, so to speak, and it drives us nuts as we try to fit everything together and make sense of it. Sometimes the frustration is that the others around us aren't doing what we know or think they should do. We often don't feel respected or worse yet, we doubt our own competence. The burden of doing it right or making it right weighs heavily. Eventually, you begin to relax a little, learning to be flexible, to roll with the punches. Finally, the second half of the year is when things begin to fall into place, to make sense, to be more or less as we expect they should be. We often don't notice this time; it just "happens." However, many people I've talked to say that around a year into whatever it is, they realize they actually know what they are doing, it is finally "right," it is working. This is what I call "owning" the job, the way of life, and feeling like a reasonably competent parent, knowing how to live with (or without) another person doesn't seem like such a struggle any more.



And there it is. I spent the first three months doing major adjustments in their lives .... and mine. I was house training them, teaching them the rules of the house, adjusting them to new food, new routine, lavishing love on their empty little selves. I thought I would go crazy. I've trained lots of dogs before, but all but a couple (who were already trained) from puppyhood, where I was training them, not re-training and breaking old, bad habits. They didn't retrain quite like I expected. Every time I got the handle on something in the routine, another "something" would pop up. And above all was the work of getting Sammy over his terror of everything in the world. That was a full time job in itself, but it gradually came.

As we eased into the second period, I felt as if things were smoothing out. But I was often faced with three boys that were basically in line, but the weren't responding like I expected. Or two were compliant, but one had a major set back, and I wasn't always sure which was which. By three months new little puppies have usually figured out the rules of when and where to go potty, understand what is generally expected of them. The "can't teach new tricks to old dogs" thing comes into play, and it is so frustrating that I know they (should) know, but they take "shortcuts," probably influenced by their previous lives and habits. This time frame led to quite a few tears on my part and sad, sad looks from little guys who, I realize, just didn't quite get it yet.

These last six months have been the settling in of things finally working, making sense for all of us. We still have some work to do; it isn't all resolved, but we are finally finding a balance most of the time. Here's an example: For months, all three of them followed me everywhere. E.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. If I went to the deck, they followed me. If I went to the back yard, that's where they went. If I was in the kitchen, they would have to check out what I was doing there. If I took five or six steps, the got up to follow, even if I was coming back. If I went to the bathroom, all three of them followed me, if not into the bathroom, then at least to the door where they sat and stared for the full 60 seconds it takes to pee. Now I realize in the last few weeks that the boys are not following me all over the place. Well, not quite! Yes, they still follow me, but it isn't obsessive like it used to be. I can actually go to the bathroom without six eyes staring at me! Sometimes.

As I said, we are still working on some things. These boys were pretty damaged. I figure we still have a couple years of adjustments, but wow, is it ever better now! Almost daily I find an encouraging sign that the worst is over, that we are a family.







The girls .... Jazi is actually a pretty well adjusted little girl. She came with a pretty good aura, was housetrained already, and her adjustment has been less traumatic. She and I aren't quite to the year, but it seems that we have accelorated our adjustment. And Lola, who has just turned one year old, is in her own cycle of adjustment, too. She came housetrained, too, and this first six months with her in the house has been more like a normal adjustment and training of a puppy such as I've had in the past. She, too, while she is still learning, seems to be finding her way to a fit in the family.












I wonder how it will all look a year from now?

.

Raining!! Really, really Raining!

This is unbelievable! The weather forecast was for "scattered thunderstorms" all day long, something like 20% chance. Well, three hours ago, it began raining, and I'm guessing that the 20% is parked right over my house! It has let up a few times to a drizzle, but it hasn't quit. Thankfully, most of it is a good soaking rain, so it is very beneficial. I haven't seen any runoff. whew. The rain gauge has about .3 inch. 3/10 of an inch rain ÷ 3 hours = soaking all my plants. Yesssssssssssssss.

The best things is that it isn't thundering any more. When it first began, jazi, who is afraid of thunder was a quivering mess. Now that it is merely raining, she is fine. Poor girl.

Now the weather report says we are going to be at 40% to 65% chance of rain and storms from now, all through the night. I hope I don't float away!

New Steps!

.

Whew. I finished the re-do of my steps. The steps were reinforced a few months back when some friends put new stringers under the steps. At the time, the friend who was masterminding the project thought we could flip the steps over, putting the unweathered side up, thus saving me the cost of lumber for new steps. Unfortunately, a couple of the boards split in the process. Since I had no replacements, we secured them with the idea that I could later replace the bad boards.

I decided to replace them all. Having a couple new, white boards would have looked odd. The steps were previously painted that odd green, like the rest of the deck. I am working on removing it from all the flat, walked-on surfaces and will finish them natural, then paint all the uprights a rich adobe red. That would have meant that the replaced steps would always look different, thus my decision to simply replace them all.

Then I looked at the steps to be removed, and I noticed that one of the helpers had stripped many of the head of the screws while putting them in. I know who, because he commented several time. I didn't think much about it at the time, and I certainly appreciate his volunteered labor. The problem is that now with me trying to remove those stripped screws, I was going to be frustrated. So I asked my friend if I could simply put the new steps on top of the old or would that make too much weight. He said it would not hurt, and in fact, he liked the idea for sturdiness.


Yesterday I was able to get all but the bottom step done. If you look at the photo, the bottom step where the drill is sitting is the only one not finished yesterday. I was frustrated because my batteries were all exhausted halfway through cutting the final board! But I rested overnight and got after it again today.










Also, I had to fix the concrete step. I have no idea why someone did it this way, but that step is just eight inches deep (front to back). Now measure your foot .... it doesn't, or just barely fits, right? And trust me, in the winter with snow and ice, it is risky. I've wanted to make it deeper to match the others at eleven inches.










This angle shows the odd size of the step.

I charged the batteries overnight and got with it early this morning.










So I wanted to extend that bad step, but I couldn't figure out how to attach an extension to the concrete. I finally figured out how to do it. A combination of screws and Liquid Nails. Good stuff! I love the new step! It will be so much safer, and boy, does it look better, too.










This is the "new view" from the top.

















And the "new view" from the bottom!






I feel pretty much like a genius at this moment!

.

Epiphany

.

I wrote this last night, but I was having trouble uploading pictures. I have no idea what was wrong, but this morning was no better. I finally reduced the photos to the smallest possible setting and they loaded. I have no idea what the deal is. I've been uploading full size, full quality pictures for 3 years now. grrr.

Anyway .....



OMG. I just realized .... wait, let me fill in some blanks.

For about 18 years I worked with emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children and their families. Often those kids were "lookin' for a fight." We used to have to keep the kids directed closely to avoid clashes. The ones who had learned to follow directions on the big things, the obvious hitting or name calling, now were more subtle .... whispering insults or, the most refined of the obnoxious skills, looking at another kid, usually one who wasn't as good at covering, until that kid loses his cool and lashes out. You know what happens in those situations, don't you? If you have kids or spend much time around them, you do. The less sophisticated kid does something that gets himself in trouble because what he does is observed and gets caught, even though the other kid "egged" him into it.

In my house, Max is the one I have to watch. Don't get me wrong .... he is sweet, lovable, loves to cuddle with me. He also loves to play with his siblings, especially Lola and Sammy. But he is SOOOOO jealous of the others. If one gets too close to me, especially Sam, Max will growl. Then Sam will growl back. Then Max will growl and posture. Then Sam circles. And, as Yul Brenner, as the king of Siam, said in "The King & I," "etCETera, etCETera, etCETera!" If I'm not paying attention, this is when the trouble starts. However, Max is the kid that hasn't learned to be subtle; I almost always hear him and I call him on it. Sam, on the other hand, has learned to (1) growl very softly so I don't hear him and (2) to posture and circle around Max, something that pulls Max right into the behaviors that get him into trouble. Soooooo. I have to watch carefully to be sure who is the instigator.

Just a few minutes ago Max was beside me on the couch, snoozing, minding his own business. Sam came in and took a complicated path .... jumped onto one arm of the couch, walked across the back of the couch till he was at my shoulder, slid down my shoulder and arm .... into my lap. He was facing Max, and Max raises his head to look at Sam. I was about to say something to Max because I could see him tensing up, when I realized that Sammy was staring him down! I could almost hear a teeny voice saying, "Nahner, nahner, nahner!" OMG! Sam is the silent instigator!! He has perfected the taunting stare-down!!!




Little behavior disordered dog! Cute, sweet, smart, devious little dog!!

Yeah, like looking this coy and cute is gonna help!

.

I Can't Believe I Missed this!

.

Wow. This video completely blows my mind. This occurred in 1980; I was an adult, mid 30s, working in the public, watching news on TV, reading the newspaper, and I remember n.o.t.h.i.n.g of this! Perhaps because there were no human fatalities, the news just didn't make it two states away to Missouri where I lived at the time.

In 1991 or 92 I was on a fabulous tour of Louisana which took us to Avery Island (where Tabasco Sauce is made) and New Iberia, both in the area, as well as Jefferson Island. I don't remember anyone saying word one about this! Holy cow! Watch this video and then tell me .... wouldn't you think I should have heard about this?

Where was I?????? Did anyone else hear about this?

.

Well, Finally!

It is raining! Really raining, not just a teasing sprinkle, but a good rain. It teased all morning, then an hour or so ago, it began raining lightly, slowly, the good soaking rain that everyone needs. It picked up a while ago and is raining good now, not pounding, but a nice steady rain. Ohhh, this feels so good.

I drove into Ruidoso this morning to buy a sprinkler hose for the back yard. I have soaker hoses for the flowers and bushes, and that works well for those. I've been struggling with the backyard lawn because I couldn't seem to get the sprinkler set right. The sprinkler hose will give it a gentle watering without so much problem. I felt silly buying a sprinkler hose when it was raining outside!

Before I left, the TV went wonky. During the president's speech, all the "local" stations out of Albuquerque went off the air, apparently. They had a huge rain with flooding in Albuquerque, and I'm guessing that had something to do with it. We didn't get the local stations back till about 2:00, and I don't know if it was a service/satellite problem or something in Albuquerque. I'll watch the 4:00 news in a few minutes and see what happened.

Since it was sprinkling enough when I got home to keep me from working outside, I decided it was a good day to watch a movie. One had arrived from Blockbuster, so I watched "The Secret Life of Bees." Wow! What an excellent movie! I watched "Australia" a few nights ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd heard some less-than-glowing comments on it, but I liked it. "Milk" is my next one to watch, and "Last Chance Harvey" should be arriving by tomorrow. I make sure to have a constant flow of movies in the summer when TV is full of reruns.

A new funny story about Lola. As I've told you, the dogs run through the house from the deck to the back yard all day long. Lola, with her puppy-curiosity, never misses a pass, because whatever is going on somewhere else has gotta be exciting, right? Before I go on to the story itself, I have to tell you another fact about her. She is a barker. Not like standing and barking all the time, but she has a tendency to bark more than the others. She barks for attention, she barks in play, she barks to order the other dogs around. I think it is because she is part Terrier. I've had terriers, and they are more "barky" than Shih Tzu, generally speaking. I've been working with her to decrease the barking, and it is going pretty well.

For the last month or so, I've noticed this happening. Lola will be in the back yard and see or hear something out front, and she runs through the house toward the deck. As she runs, it seems she has caught on that she isn't supposed to be barking, but being the cute little goon she is, she can't totally stop herself. So as she runs, with about every other step, a little "woof" slips out. As she move from front to back or vice versa, there is a little "woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof"!! It just cracks me up! The girl is who she is, and that isn't going to change! I was talking this morning with Allan about how much company these dogs are, as well as the total delight of their individual personalities, and how much they make me laugh!

I cleaned the carpets last weekend, but I'm not happy with the result. I'm seeing some shadowing, even in areas that I pretreated. I rented from a different source, one closer and more convenient, and it was a different brand of cleaner (Rus Doctor). I'm thinking it just didn't do as deep and thorough a cleaning as the other. I think I'm going to go in the next couple weeks to rent the ones I've used before and re-do it. All that work for nothing. Grrrrrr.

The next couple weeks will be busy anyway. I'm having a pot luck dinner here next Monday night. And the following week my daughter and her two children are coming for almost a week. I'm excited! I have several things planned for us while they are here. Part of it includes visiting some of the Billy the Kid historical places. I sent the kids a book about Billy, the Lincoln County War and the Buffalo Soldiers, all of which tie together in the history. I thought if they'd actually read some of it, the visits would make more sense and be interesting to them, and would certainly be more fun.

I guess I'd better get off my duff and do something productive!

Another

.

Ed McMahon died. That's like losing another father. He was that kind of figure. :'(

.

Tuesday Trivia

.

I got this in an email, and I thought I substitute it for the usual trivia. Pretty interesting stuff here!

factoids that no one, but no one gives a crapola about. but... there are some of us who pride ourselves on being factoidians. you know who you are. so read with interest.

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made with a dense orange clay called "pygg". When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as "pygg banks." When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

Q: Did you ever wonder why dimes, quarters and half dollars have notches, while pennies and nickels do not?

A: The US Mint began putting notches on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals Dimes, quarters and half dollars are notched because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren't notched because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave.

Q: Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?

A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. And that's where women's buttons have remained since.

Q: Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?

A: In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called "passing the buck"?

A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility, he would "pass the buck" to the next player.

Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?

A: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would then just touch or clink the host's glass with his own.

Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be "in the limelight"?

A: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and stage lighting by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, performers on stage "in the limelight" were seen by the audience to be the center of attention.

Q: Why do ships and aircraft in trouble use "mayday" as their call for help?

A: This comes from the French word m'aidez -meaning "help me" -- and is pronounced "mayday."

Q: Why is someone who is feeling great "on cloud nine"?

A: Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud, so if someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.

Q: Why are zero scores in tennis called "love"?

A: In France, where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on scoreboard looked like an egg and was called "l'oeuf," which is French for "egg." When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans pronounced it "love."

Q: In golf, where did the term "Caddie" come from?

A. When Mary, later Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl (for education & survival), Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scot game "golf." So he had the first golf course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it into "caddie."

NOW YOU KNOW!

.

Happy Father's Day

.

"It doesn't matter who my father was;
it matters who I remember he was."
~~By Anne Sexton (1928-1974) U.S. poet.~~

I have good memories of my dad. He is the one who taught me many life skills along the way, and some of those lessons have been valuable since living alone the last few years. When I begin a task around the house or yard, I often hear his voice reminding me how to do it, or I have a memory of his guidance while learning it many, many years ago. He taught me to change a tire and change the oil in the car; how to repair dents or holes in a wall and how to paint a wall; how to drive, to parallel park, to drive a stick shift. So many things that I sometimes "just know," are because he told me and showed me at one time.

He wasn't perfect. He wasn't always right (although I think he usually thought he was). But he tried to be as nearly so as he could for our benefit. We argued, my dad and I. I was as stubborn and hardheaded as he was, so it was inevitable. But we loved each other. And we both loved my mom.

Despite his imperfections, my memories are good. Who he was was imperfect, but who I remember was a good man, an honest man, a man that was bigger than life. The man who I remember taught me to be who I am and to be happy with that.

I miss my dad. I had him for 56 years, and that isn't nearly enough. It is never enough when we lose a parent.

~ ~ ~ ~


QUOTES ABOUT FATHERS

"The most important thing a father can do
for his children is to love their mother."
~~Author Unknown

"To her the name of father was another name for love."
~~By Fanny Fern.~~

"They didn't believe their father had ever been young;
surely even in the cradle he had been a very,
very small man in a gray suit,
with a little dark mustache and flat, incurious eyes."
~~By Richard Shattuck.~~

"Fathers, like mothers, are not born.
Men grow into fathers-
and fathering is
a very important stage in their development."
~~By David M. Gottesman.~~

"I cannot think of any need in childhood
as strong as the need for a father's protection."
~~By Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)~~

"A Man's children and his garden both reflect the
amount of weeding done during the growing season."
~~Author Unknown.~~

"The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God, and I call him Dad!"
~~Author Unknown.


~ ~ ~ ~



What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad

Author Unknown


~ ~ ~ ~


Happy Father's Day to everyone,
especially to
my son, Scott,
and my son-in-law, Kirk,
both of whom I am so proud and thankful for being the men they are.

.

I donno ....

.

.... I just donno. I create more problems for myself than anyone else possibly could.

It started out rather simply. I was planning to clean the carpet in the living room tonight. I was moving furniture and vacuuming, almost ready to start the shampooing. I was trying to shove the couch into the dining room. When I aim it just right, it will slide under the table and gives me just enough room to get to all the carpet. I gave it the last nudge .... and it wasn't quite right, so it jarred the table pretty hard. And something fell off. I pulled the couch back to I could see what fell, and I felt immediately sick.

A can of paint had fallen off the the lid popped off. White paint was running all over my blush colored ceramic tile! And not just white paint, but white .... marine paint! If you don't know, marine paint is what is used on the hulls of boats or inside swimming pools. It is intended to be waterproof. This is not something you clean up with soap and water as you do latex.

I'd bought the paint to finish the tub area in my guest bathroom. I was planning to paint it in the next two to three weeks, but I had some preparation to do before I could paint, and I had other supplies to buy, such as mineral spirits, which is needed for clean up. I was in a panic, not sure what to do. Fortunately, my first response was to get all the dogs into the bedroom so they wouldn't get into the paint and make my task even more difficult. Then I grabbed paper towels and a plastic trash bag and began picking up as much as I could. I also grabbed a spatula to help pick up more paint at a time.

Fortunately, most of it came up, but I was left with a white haze on several tiles. I still felt sick. I hadn't the foggiest idea what would get that last bit of the paint up. And if I left it much longer, it would be dry and there would be nothing I could do. I grabbed the phone and dialed my son. There is a distinct advantage to having a Chemical Engineer in the family. I think I woke him, but I didn't ask, nor did I apologize. I explained my dilemma and asked if he could think of anything that might work. With a few cautions about it, Scott told me that if I have some gasoline to try it. He said that kerosene is similar to mineral spirits, and of course, kerosene and gasoline are close.

A gasoline can was on the deck so I would remember to get it filled soon. There was just a little left in it. I found an old rag and began wiping. AND IT WORKED!! It even removed it from the grout!

I sent Scott a text message saying that if anyone ever tries to say he's not a genius, just have them call me! And being the pragmatist he is, he sent back a message saying not to light a match!

The living room carpet is clean now. When we are up tomorrow morning, I'll get the dogs out of the bedroom and clean it.

Something that should be so simple, like cleaning the carpet, tends to create one problem after another. It's bad enough to have to move everything, then replace it all after the carpet is dry. You have furniture jammed into tight corners and stacked on top each other, and the house is a total wreck.

Events in my life tend to resemble a line of dominoes. Bad, nasty, mean-spirited dominoes. I'm feeling the tension between my shoulder blades. I'm taking a Tylenol PM and turning in.

The good thing? My life shore ain't boring!

.

Fruits of My Labor .... or is it Flowers of my Toil?

.

Now to begin resting and enjoying the results. This is just a smidgen of what was planted over the last couple weeks.

A couple of my lilies are blooming.

And look what I found .... one of the just-planted Red Hot Pokers is going to bloom!! I do another picture later on when it is fully blooming.

A couple Columbines near a little Yucca.

It all looks pretty bleak right now, but hopefully they'll grow and spread. If not this year, by next year, I think. It will be nice. There are several Lillies, a couple clumps of Daisies, and a Columbine.

A bonus was finding the Prickly Pear that I thought was going to die last year is blooming now!

How 'bout some pretty cloud pictures? I caught these on the way into town a while ago.




The clouds are full of rain. I didn't take pictures of the heavy cloud that have been hanging over my house most of the day. All I've had so far is a couple brief sprinkles, but I'm hoping that they will drop some more this evening and overnight. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

She's So Smart and Terribly Funny!

.

OMG, the funniest thing just happened. I'm on the couch with Max beside me. Jazi is on the bed asleep. The other three are playing. Now, it is a common practice when they play, they horse around on the deck, run in the doggy door, through the house and out the other doggy door to the back yard. Sometimes they play a while in the back yard before reversing the route, and sometimes they come back almost immediately.

So Joey and Sammy came tearing through the house. Lola was following, but was three or four seconds behind them. The boys were already out the back door when she got to the living room. She slowed from a run to a walk, then stopped, looking around for the boys. She didn't hear them, cause they were already outside, and she was confused. She looked at me, and I said, "They went thataway," pointing at the back door. Her ears popped up and she took off like a flash!

She understands English!

LOL!!!!

.

.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT IS DONE!!!!


THEY'RE PLANTED,
THEY'RE WATERED,
I'M SHOWERED,
I HAVE ICE WATER,
AND MY FEET ARE UP!!!!

.

Just Getting Back in the Swing of Life

Okey-dokey, here we go.

I took a breather, as some of you noticed. Nothing was wrong, but I was just out of sync and out of sorts. I didn't feel bad, nor was I depressed, but it just seemed that the world was moving at a different pace thank I was, and I couldn't seem to get in step. I think it might have been that I so completely tired myself with the rock-digging and planting of the previous several days. On Monday, I was so relieved to see the yard waste leave, and I kinda collapsed after that. I did nothing on Monday, and it felt so good that I repeated it on Tuesday! By Wednesday, I was feeling more energy, but that's when I felt the sense of being just a half-step off from the cadence of the rest of the Earth. I did some house cleaning which was badly neglected while planting, and it felt very good to have an almost clean house again. And I listened to a really good audio book while doing that, so it was double pleasure.

Today I've been back out again, digging and planting. I've been smart about it. I took a timer outside and set it for 30 minutes. When it goes off, I quit, come inside and take a breather. I have a glass of water, eat a small amount and stay inside for 30 minutes or so, before going back outside. I got six more things planted, just four more to do, and I don't feel bad at all! I'm going to take an hour or more this time to eat lunch and get a complete rest. Then, if it isn't raining, I will get the last four in the ground. We are expecting some thunderstorms later today, and it would be really nice to have it all done. The next ten days are filled with forecasts of rain, so today might be my last chance for a while to plant without getting muddy.

Alright, I'm off to fix lunch. Later!

Hurrying to Get It Done

I'm back. I'll fill in more later. I gotta get out to plant more of those plants before the rain starts. I want to get this over with! Please remind me to never, NEVER buy this many plants at once again. What was I thinking???

Monday Movies

OK, I'm late. I almost wasn't going to post movies today. Then I started cleaning up the desktop on this computer, and found these which have come in recently. I'm bad about watching the videos right away, because I focus on getting through the incoming mail each day, so about once a week I view all the video files I've received. Of course, by the time I read them, I've forgotten where they came from! Anyway, these are worth getting off my lazy caboose and posting them. Or, I guess that should read, "staying on my lazy caboose," shouldn't it? OK, I'm for anything that helps me avoid work.

No comment on this. It stands on its own!





This was entitled, "Cleaning dad's care after a date."



I have nothing that can follow those two! Have a fab week, everyone!

I'm Talking Trash Today

Well, actually, I'm talking debris, yard waste.

Boy! Am I ever glad I spent the time, sweat and grumbling yesterday to get the last of those branches out to be picked up. Just after 9:00 I heard a truck, and the dogs said, "Woooof?? wuf, wuf. W-w-woooof??" I translated that as "What is that? A truck, but stopping, not going past. What's it doing?"

I stepped to the door, and although I couldn't see the truck, I knew the sound. It was the yard waste pickup truck, and it was at one of my driveways picking up the piles there. I got my camera and stepped out onto the deck. Well, actually, I also threw on some clothes, because I was still in my nighty. Then I waited a few minutes while he finished that area and backed around to the other driveway where two more stacks waited.

He is picking up one of the piles here at the second driveway. You can see the last one waiting for be snatched up.












OK, moved into place.










The driver has to get out at each stop, climb onto the control platform and handle the controls for the big claw. The jaws grab the debris ....










.... it swings up and over the bed of the truck ....











.... and releases.































At one point, he looked up and saw me and he gave his usual wave. I think he noticed the camera, cause the next load went up fast and snappy, swinging a bit more than usual and dropping into the bed with a bit of flair! Big show off! No, he's a nice man, and I so appreciate his job which saves me a ton of labor and worry.

The County provides this service. About every six weeks the truck makes its rounds in my neighborhood and hauls away the kind of debris that potentially could feed a wildfire. This helps us, the homeowners, to be able to spend our time clearing, making the whole area safer without the difficulty of disposal. I would have to drive about 25 miles to the dump area, one pickup load at a time. This would have taken me about six trips or 300 miles!

The County gives us a schedule of the week the truck will be in our area, but there is not a specific date because it depends on road conditions. I've missed several pickups in the two previous summers because it had recently rained, and the truck is so heavy that it can get stuck in mud. In previous pickups, he hasn't made it to my house till about Thursday or Friday. As I said at the top, I'm glad I got it out yesterday, because had I put off the end of it, as I was tempted to do, till today, I would have missed him with the final two truck loads I picked up and stacked.

Yes, I was very glad to see him today! And I'm taking a day of rest.

Progress .... even if it doesn't show yet

.

This is what most of my yard looked like before ....















































Now, all that green stuff looks nice and .... well, green. But most of the green is scrub oak, the scurrilous pesky plant that absolutely takes over everything. I'm cutting it out to make room for pretty stuff. The grasses you see are beginning to green up and they will stay.


This is one of four tacks of limbs I've cut out of trees that were already dead on the ground. This one is about four to five feet high, five feet wide and about ten feet long.










This is an area that I've cleared and planted some of the fledgling plants. The one in the right foreground is a Mexican Broom. My "home made" stairs are on the left side.

I'll be glad when the new plants are sufficiently filled out to show up.

I use the rocks I've dug up to make the hole big enough for the plant as a wall to hold the dirt and form a water basin for each plant.




The Mexican Broom.

















A Columbine and a Day Lily.

















Another Day Lily.
















A couple Columbines next to a clump of native grass.
















The steps.















The Ladies in Waiting. Two Mexican Blooms, two Apache Plumes, two Shasta Daisies, two Gauras, and two Day Lilies.

I getting there. Slowly.








I forgot to tell you something that happened today. While I was out doing the last of the chores, I heard a commotion in the house. The main thing I could hear was Lola barking, barking, barking, and the others responding to her. I could have sworn she was saying, "Par-tayyyy!!" and the others were saying, "Git dowwwnnnnn!" I decided I was just going to hope for the best, because I was tired and really wanted to get finished and in to cool off.

So when I came in the house, I got a glass of water and was ready to go sit on the deck with The Kids to let the breeze cook me off. I heard a little sad whimper. I followed the sound, and poor Lola was trapped in the bedroom! All that time, something over an hour, she was barking to get out, and the others were barking back at her. I'm guessing they were saying,"Just climb over the gate like you did that other time!"

She was delighted to be free!

.

Planting New, Cutting Down Old, Tired!

.

I planted five more plants this morning, leaving ten to go. I'm getting really tired of this! This morning's planting wasn't so bad, because the sky was overcast most of the morning, and the holes I dug were reasonably easy ones. After that I checked the yard for thistles and found fewer than ten. I'm afraid to say so (I don't want to jinx it!), but I think I may have won the battle!

I cleaned up the miscellaneous branches around the yard and loaded them into the truck, cut some more, loaded them, cut some more, etc. I ended up with two more truck bed loads to pile on the rest from the other day. The yard waste pickup is this coming week, and I am so glad to get as much done. I'd like to get more branches cut up, but I don't think I will push this for a while. I'm really tired, and my arms hurt like a sonagun!

I'll get the remaining plants in the ground in the next week, and hopefully that will be it for a while. I can kick back, water my new green babies, and take a few weeks off from the hard labor. The trees that still need trimmed will be in the same spots for the ensuing weeks. And if, at this point, they get up and walk away, I just might be relieved!

While I was tossing the branches into the truck, I noticed the mosses growing on the branches I'd just cut off of the dead Piñon. These are pretty interesting.
























































I especially like this one with the little blossoms. Click on it to enlarge so you can see the details. I've never noticed moss blossoms before!









OK, I'm cooled off now. I need a shower and to fix some dinner.

Soon!

.

Wha...........???

OooKay. I'm trying to understand this. I agree that D*vid L*tterman's joke was out of line. I'm thinking his writers need to be fired. But what is with Ms. P*lin? She has every right to be mad, but I don't understand why she ripped into M*tt L*uer on the Today show this morning, too. I rewound the DVR to watch it again, and I don't know why she went ballistic on him, too. Did I miss something? Did anyone else see the interview?

Update on the Yard Stuff

.

I just planted a couple of the new plants I brought home and watered the others. I checked the tags of the two I couldn't remember earlier, and I have .....


Snow-in-Summer, Perennial, Cerastium
They went into the big iron kettles to compliment the Geraniums, Chrysanthemums, Cocks-comb and wild flower seeds that are beginning to pup up. The tag says they will cascade over the edge of borders, so I planted them close to the edge of the pots. And isn't that pretty in the rocks? I might have to get more of that, 'cause I have lots of rocks to "pretty up"!!



This is what it looks like in full-bloom. I really like this little plant.















and Gaura
These will go into the yard to add color to the landscape. The flowers are pink, and the foliage is red (or purple).


Both are perennials, both are good for arid conditions.



I also forgot earlier to say I bought two pots of Shasta Daisies. I love, love, love Daisies, and when I learned that they are deer-resistant, I was delighted! I'm picking mostly plants/flowers that are deer-resistant so I don't get frustrated when they come by my yard for a snack! I want to get some Black-Eyed Susans, another kind of Daisy, for contrast, as well.

I'm excited to get all this into the ground. Guess I'd better call the teenager, hadn't I? Especially since I have irritated tendonitis in both arms and an old injury to my right thumb. grrrr. I don't have time for this inconvenience. I've got things to do!!!

.

Ranchero

.

I ran into Ruidoso to pick up my plants. The fountain grass they got for me was not the kind I wanted, but I did get some more Columbines, day lilies in 3 colors, and a couple other plants I never heard of but are perennials and have pretty blossoms/foliage. I also stopped for some supplies for the water softener. Not an exciting trip, but a good one to have out of the way.

On the way home I saw a Ranchero. Do you know what a Ranchero is? I'm betting every guy out there does. It is the Ford response to the Chevy El Camino, a cross between a sedan and a pickup. It was made for about 20 years, before many of you were old enough to remember, as it was last manufactured in 1979. I haven't seen on on the road in quite a long time. I looked at a bunch of pictures of its lines through the years, and decided it was similar to the on in this picture, which is a 1963. That's an oldie! It wasn't in restored condition, but was in good condition. I haven't seen one of these in many years, and it was like a trip to the past. A wee little "Past Blast," if you will.


This is a 1965 El Camino, so roughly a contemporary of the Ranchero above for comparison.





My late hub had an El Camino for many years. It was a beautiful vehicle, also no longer made. The El Camino was far more classy than the Ranchero, IMO. It was a gorgeous thing, two toned burgandy, the darker almost black. This photo is a 1985 El Camino. They quit making them after 1987. I don't remember the year Glenn had, but it was one of the last ones made, so this is similar to what he had.




And as I was researching for those picture, I learned that Chevy is going to make El Camino again in 2010! Here is the new version.....



OK, that's all. I just had that Memory Lane moment and wanted to share it with you. The little quick view of the future is just a bonus for all of us!

.