Travel, cows & pups galore

I'm in Texas. I had an uneventful drive, although I saw one thing that tickled me on the way. I wish I'd thought to take a picture, but I didn't. Three black cows were walking along near the highway, each with a calf following her. What made it funny is that the calves were all white! So the succession was black cow, white calf, black cow, white calf, black cow, white calf!

I visited with my sister all afternoon, then got some dinner and came to my nephew's house. He and his wife are on a camping trip at Grand Canyon, so I'm sleeping at their house. When I came in, there was quite a greeting. They have two Chihuahuas, Sam and Max! Really!! Sam is older and very afraid of strangers, so he barked at me and ran to hide. but Max (Maximus!) is just a baby, 2-3 months old, and he is just the opposite. He loves people and hasn't let me alone for a moment! For the first hour or so, he climbed all over me and my bags, walked on the computer (he's only about a pound or 1.5), crawled into my purse, and tried to chew on every cord he could find. Now he is worn out and is sleeping beside me. I finally found Sam, just to know he is OK. I'll leave him alone. My niece-in-law has been checking on the boys. They are fine.

Look at this:


He's barely bigger than my hand!












He is too cute, isn't he? Sam looks much like him.











A little snuggley picture.













And this is bad because I didn't have the flash on, but if you click on it, you'll see why I had to take it. He was playing tug-o-war with the camera strap!













How sweet is this?







If you enlarge the pictures, you'll see that the tips of his ears curl back, the left more than the right. Isn't that cute? I sent my nephew a text saying "I didn't break his ears, they were like that when I came in. Honest!!"

I have a couple shopping errands to do tomorrow, and I'm going to take my sister. She doesn't get out as much as she would like, so it will do her good, I think. She seems to be doing pretty well. That first year after losing someone is difficult and very unpredictable. I remember feeling just fine and being in tears the next moment. At any rate, she was happy to see me, and vice versa.

I'm tired. The drive isn't bad, just about 4.5 hours, but still, it is a drive. And I felt so bad when I left. Jazi was begging to come with me. She doesn't usually do that. Yes, she is eager to go,but she doesn't usually beg like that. I've wondered .... Linda and I were talking last night about whether I might take Jazi with me. There are going to be thunderstorms on Friday, and since she is so afraid of thunder, I considered bringing her so she could be with me. Since the forecast was for isolated storms, I decided to leave her.

When I was leaving this morning, she was doing serious, big time begging. She loves to go in the car, but she isn't usually like that. When I went down the steps and got in the car, she watched me until I shut the door. Then she sprawled on the floor and looked at me so dejectedly, chin on the floor! It broke my heart! I just talked to Linda and she said Jaz is pretty mopey. Now tell me, can a dog possibly have understood the human conversation about that? I'm glad the weather forecast has changed, thank goodness. No more thunderstorms, just a slight possibility of snow showers on Friday morning. She will be OK.

Pardon me!

Hey, folks, something is screwy with Blogger. Sometimes I'm being informed via email that there is a new comment, but the comment isn't showing up here. Suzie Q, I saw your comments. I'm not ignoring you, but blogger isn't posting them here! Argh. I hope this gets resolved! It's making me crazy!

TA-DAH!!!!

Jazmyn did not seem to be overly impressed. Or perhaps she was just plain annoyed!

Apparently I think small ....

I'm off to the hardware store. I got started on the new gates for the deck, and about the time I was completing the final step of the first one I realized I had bought just half what I needed of one piece of hardware. Then I discovered that the deck screws I am using on them are too long for certain parts. So I need to make a run, and then I think I can probably finish today.

Soooooooooo .... I'll be back later with news and hopefully pictures!

Woohoooo!!

Busy day

I've been gone just about all day, and I'm tired. In fact, I'm freakin' tired!

First of all, I woke this morning at around 4:00. Well actually, it was about the 5th time I'd wakened in the night. All night long I was waking from being too hot, throwing the covers back, and falling back to sleep. Then I'd be chilly, wake and tug the blanket and sheet back up, only to repeat in again in 45 minutes or an hour. At 4:00, I finally woke enough to realize something was wrong. The house was too warm. I keep the thermostat at 58° at night, and it was too warm.

I got up and checked the thermostat. Apparently the electrical outage yesterday canceled out the programming. It was on 68°, my daytime temp. I manually bumped it down for a couple hours and returned to bed. But the deed was done .... I was too awake to go back to sleep. After an hour of trying, I gave up and turned on the TV.

Around 6:00 I made coffee and crawled back in bed till it was ready, then had two cups while in bed. Finally, around 6:45 I heard Linda stirring, and I got up for the day. My fibromyalgia has been active the last few days, and losing sleep really aggravates it. This particular time, I'm having a lot of tactile sensitivity and discomfort, specifically the skin on my thighs. So clothes touching my legs is uncomfortable, regardless of the softness. I really hate losing sleep when I'm having increased problems with fibro.

We had breakfast, showered and headed into Ruidoso. Both of us had several errands in common areas. We had fun, including a stop at a consignment shop where I found a couple nice outfits for next to nothing. We had lunch at a new restaurant which was very good. We lingered there, and I needed it for energy restoration. After one long stop for Linda, we realized it was after 4:00 and we were due at a gallery show at 5:00. We buzzed home and dropped our perishables, changed clothes and took off in the other direction for the gallery in Carrizozo.

I had a lot of fun at the gallery. I saw more people I knew than usual, and it was not overly crowded, so there was time to really visit while viewing the artist's works. We left around 7:00 to come home, talked to a friend on the phone for a while, and now, I'm so ready for bed! I hope I can sleep in a little tomorrow. I'll take a muscle relaxer to decrease the fibro aches, and that might help me get solid rest. At any rate, I'm probably not doing a lot tomorrow.

Later in the week I'm headed to the Lubbock area to spend a short time with my sister. She will soon be moving to another home. The facility she is in was chosen to meet the needs of her husband, and now that he has died, she will be moving to one that has more active residents and a better schedule of activities. She needs that. While she has some physical limitations, they are minor, and she will enjoy being with people like herself who can do more. I will be helping her to begin packing for the move while we visit for a few days. It will help her in several ways, I hope. Then next month I will return to TX to bring here here to stay with me for a few days. The Iris Farm will be in full bloom around Mother's Day, and I think we will both enjoy a trip there, as well as to the Lavender Farm. And around June, I hope to take her with me to visit our brother in Colorado. He has Parkinson's and isn't traveling much. It will be good for all three of us to be together a few days, I think.

yawwwwwnnnnn. OK, that's it! I'm off to bed!

I'm so addicted to technology

I lost power for five hours today! FIVE HOURS!!! No computer, no TV, no washer, no vacuum, no nuttin'!! I mean that's a serious situation. I even had to light the gas stove with a match because it has an electric igniter!

There were a couple problems leading to the outage. We are having incredible winds today. I mean in the neighborhood of 60-70 MPH. The winds knocked down some poles and lines. Then one of the substations caught fire. I assume it was from a power line down, too. It all resulted in there being outages for the entire county and some other areas, too.

It ended up that I laid on the couch and read all afternoon. Then I fixed dinner early while there was still light because I didn't want to cook in the dark. I'd planned to do burgers on the grill, but the wind made that impossible. So Linda and I sat down to eat, and poof! The power came back on! Oh, well. If I'd waited, the power would have stayed off, and I would have regretted it.

I spent some time getting the electrical clocks reset, the modem back on line, all that stuff. You don't realize how many "things" there are till something like this happens. Its a mess.

Now I'll have to catch up on the house work tomorrow. blech. And it is unbelievable how many emails came in in that five hours.

Wah, wah, wah. My life is so rough, isn't it? ISN'T IT?!?!?!?!

Am I a genius, or what?

Oh boy, oh boy oh boy!!! I bought the lumber and hardware to build the gates for the deck!

Does anyone want to come show me how to hold a hammer? LOL! No of course, I can do that much. I'll let ya know how this project goes, as long as it isn't TOO embarrassing!

I'm actually pretty psyched about it! After I talked to my adviser, I drew up the plans myself, figured all the footage of lumber well enough to know I needed two 12 foot 2x4s, not three 8 foot ones. I decided about hardware to do what I want it to do, and I'm convinced I'm just dang nearly a genius! I'll let ya know later if that is right!

BTW, if you have an opinion different from the subject line, keep it to yourself, OK? ;D

Clean dogs, happy dogs

The dogs love it when they get baths. I got three more trimmed and bathed today, Joey, Sammy, and Lola. I was working on the deck )no way am I gonna do this in the house!!), when it started raining, and there was a little wind, and it was too cold to stay out. So Jazi got bathed, and I'll have to trim her down in a few days. And they were all spirited today.

Lola and Max played their usual noisy play......
(these are just a few seconds long)




And Sam didn't seem to want to play, not that it deters Lola!




And then Lola chased Sammy who jumped on top the window seat to escape and irritated Jazmyn. Poor Sam, has Jaz after him while he tried to escape the monster known as Lola!



Yeah, they are all feeling good. And they smell 3000 time nicer now!

Max, the after pictures

Well! Max feels better! I just spent almost four hours attempting to get the sticks, grass, pine needles and godknowswhatelse out of his fur. After about an hour I had managed to clean an area less than four square inches. I decided to give up on salvaging the fur. I spent the rest of the time cutting and shaving him. I found several spots that the knots of fur and "stuff" was so close to the skin that I had to take manicure scissors to get under it and cut it loose. Several places he has no fur at all. I had to cut that close. And a few places I simply slipped and got close. Poor guy. One tangle of hair had a pine needle that was digging into his skin, so he has a raw spot. I'm glad I did it before it got worse.

Then he got a bath.

And he feels sooo good now!!

I'm going to have to even everything up, but I'll give him a couple weeks to grow out so I can make him look "more gooder." Right now, he and I are happier, and that's what counts.

I need a glass of wine.

Eloping dogs and thanks to all of you

A couple notes.

First of all, I want you all to know that I have read all comments here on the blog, although I didn't respond to many of them during the last couple or three weeks. I also read all your personal notes to me, especially about Max. I really appreciate all the kind words and thoughts during the rough days when he was on elopement. What is comical about this is the fact that while I wasn't commenting, I also wasn't deleting the notifications of your comments on the blog from my mailbox. I did it today, and I now have .... 205 less messages there!! To make it even more notable, I have two mailboxes, the one linked to this blog and another where I receive most of my personal email and is tied to my Facebook. In that email box, I had over 150 messages! It was insane!!

Second .... I had another escapee today!!!! I'm not kidding!! Jazi doesn't like thunderstorms, and she seems to think that it sounds similar when the snow slides off the roof and thuds to the ground. When she hears these noises, she has to be either in my lap, shaking uncontrollably, or she will try to find a place as far from the source of the noise as possible, often outside on the deck. So she was curled up, shivering beside me, and she got up, walking toward the front door. OK, no worry. The weather was nice and the temperature pleasant. But about 20 minutes later, my neighbor showed up with Jazi in her arms! She said she found Jaz trotting up her road!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

I looked around the deck and found no escape holes. My neighbor, Mary, mentioned that she might have climbed over the gate I have at the steps. I doubted it, only because Jaz is so small, and she has never shown an interest in it. So I went on a trek to find the escape hole. There was nothing on the deck that I could see that was even possible. I have chicken wire lining the whole deck to avoid that and also to keep toys from falling off the deck.

I found a small place where she might, but not likely, have squeezed out of the back fence. So I went to place some large rocks on that area to stop that possibility. And while I was doing that, I glanced at the front deck and ......  ZIP!!!! Jaz went right over the gate!!!

Well!  Tomorrow I will be buying a wider (taller) piece of lattice work to make a new gate. As you see, I had already wrapped a bungee cord around this gate to avoid her escape from long ago. She learned to put her nose in and pop the gate open by separating the magnets that hold it shut. So not only do I need a taller gate, but I need to devise a more efficient closure. Currently, most of my guests simply step over the gate. We won't be able to do that soon.  Good grief, what am I going to do??

Anybody want some dogs?

Sunny Sunday

Yesterday .... actually the night before .... it snowed about three inches. It was bitterly cold yesterday with the high reaching only 26°. The sun came out, and the afternoon was gorgeous, in spite of the cold, and most of the snow melted off, even at that temperature.

Today, the sun is bright and the sky is beautifully blue. Icicles are melting, loosening, and literally crashing down. The temperature is headed for mid 50s. It's not there yet, but in a couple hours, I hope to be able to get outside and stretch my legs with the dogs. That will be good for all of us. Lolita has become a little butterball over the winter, although I can't figure out quite how. She is very active, and while I guess she does overeat, I don't think it is much. Maybe she has a stash hidden away somewhere??? Obviously it's not enough of one and too much of the other. I'm a butterball, too, but I know why. And I also need more and less!

I went out a few minutes ago to loosen my flag from the gutter. It blows up there some times, and it gets caught on a rough spot of the gutter or perhaps a small nail. I began to flip it loose, and it took more than a flip as usual. If you take a peek at the photo on the right, you see why it was hard to get out .... that dirty white bar of ice was completely frozen in the gutter! I wonder how long it will take to melt that big bugger!

I just watched Blood Diamond. Why in the world does Leonardo DiCaprio always have to die?! sniff. He's such a cutie, even if he is younger than my baby! Does that make me a dirty old lady? Probably.

My ick from yesterday is gone. It took all day, lots of tummy medicine and resting, but it is gone. After the nausea was gone I had the most horrible acid I've had in a long, long time. Everything I ate turned to acid, even though I avoided foods that tend to be acidic. Finally, with the help of a handful of Tums and a bowl of homemade chicken soup, I was able to go to bed and had a good night's sleep.

On top of all that, my fibromyalgia kicked up in the afternoon. I have not had a significant bout of that in a long time, a couple years, I think. I'm surely hoping that it is short lived. Getting exercise will help me, so going out walking will be good for the dogs, my weight, and the fibromyalgia. Three bagger!

All that aside, nothing can be too bad when the sky is as beautiful as it is today. Nothing!

ugh.

I'm feeling puky today. gah. I was supposed to be in Texas this morning for my brother-in-law's memorial service. But first of all, it snowed again last night. Yes, you read that correctly, IT SNOWED!!  A.G.A.I.N....... 

Then, I woke this morning with my stomach lurching and rumbling. I haven't thrown up, but it was a fine line early. After a half tube of saltine crackers and a double cup of tea, the stomach settled a little.

I haven't been able to get much down. I'm not nauseated now, but I still feel icky. I guess I'll just stay on the couch and lick my wounds. sniff, sniff

Later.

Me

I don't know. Most of it fits, but a few things just don't seem quite right. Do you know me? Do you think you know me? Well, then, what do you think?

"I am happy and open to new things"

Adventurers are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.

How to Get Along with Me
• Give me companionship, affection, and freedom.
• Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter.
• Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories.
• Don't try to change my style. Accept me the way I am.
• Be responsible for youself. I dislike clingy or needy people.
• Don't tell me what to do.

What I Like About Being a SEVEN
• being optimistic and not letting life's troubles get me down
• being spontaneous and free-spirited
• being outspoken and outrageous. It's part of the fun.
• being generous and trying to make the world a better place
• having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures
• having such varied interests and abilities

What's hard about being a SEVEN
• not having enough time to do all the things I want
• not completing things I start
• not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career
• having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies
• feeling confined when I'm in a one-to-one relationship

SEVENs as Children Often
• are action oriented and adventuresome
• drum up excitement
• prefer being with other children to being alone
• finesse their way around adults
• dream of the freedom they'll have when they grow up

SEVENs as Parents
• are often enthusiastic and generous
• want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life
• may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive
Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele, The Enneagram Made Easy. Discover the 9 Types of People.
Harper: San Francisco, 1994, 161 pages

Lock down

Ya see, when mom is outta town and you go on an unauthorized adventure, trekking all over the neighborhood for days, there is a price to pay. Here is what you get for the galavanting. You are stuck with napping and musing near the open window.










 "Sighhh. I remember when ....."
Lock down sucks.

But it's certainly safer.

No place like home.....

We are home!! It was a very long day, and we are both exhausted. Linda is already in bed, and I'm on mine, too, but writing this note before I conk out for the night.

The dogs were sooo excited to see me! It was a love-fest in the middle of my living room floor for about 45 minutes before they could settle down! Now we are all tucked in and ready to relax.

Max is being very bossy with his siblings! I guess his adventure made him even bolder and more determined to be the boss of the pack. However, he seems to be somewhat less aggressive, just vocal. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.  I tried to scold him for running away (just kidding!), but he couldn't hear me because he was so busy licking me, my hands, arms, feet, legs, anything he could get to. I think he is glad we are both home! Goofy dog.

More tomorrow. Adieu, mes amis!

One more day ahead of us

Thank goodness this motel has wireless internet!!  The one we stayed at on the trip out was funky, and did not have wireless. There were so many things wrong with it, but we were to tired to move on. Thank goodness, we got in here early and found the perfect place. To make things even better, this little town, Columbus, Tx, about half-way between Houston and Sn Antonio, has a Mexican restaurant worthy of writing home about, too! And the accompanying margarita was bliss!!

Now we are tucked into our room. Linda is watching American Idol, and when I finish here, I'm going to read the Kindle till I fall to sleep. I have a feeling it isn't going to be very long. I'm weary.

Today was a good day on the drive, but going through Houston any time other than Sunday night, as we did last time, is never, EVER a fun thing. We couldn't time it to avoid rush hour, so  it was long and sometimes slow. I'm not complaining .... we had not accidents or other problems.

Linda and I had great visits with out respective families. It was a very good trip, munus Max's escapades! And tomorrow morning, we will head out on the final leg. Tomorrow night .... sleeping in my own bed!! Woohoo!! Getting away is good; getting back home is even better.

Right now, I need to unwind. Y'all hang in there, and I'll be back with you soon.

Homeward bound

Tomorrow is the day I start home. I'm ready. And I'm so not ready! I've enjoyed my visit, if we can just exclude the memory of two days of depressing, bleak, grey clouds, and pouring rain. I was in good company, or I wouldn't have made it!

It has been a wonderful visit. Today was a lazy day for me. Kirk is rebuilding a pop-up camp trailer they bought for a steal, and he was focused on that today. They are going to The Keys in a couple weeks, and he has to get it in order before then. Terri, the kids and I did some minor shopping, mostly focused on taking Philip to the book store for birthday books, then across the street of the mall for Cold Stone Creamery. My book-buying for Lexi's birthday in July will be easier .... an Amazon gift card for Kindle books for her! Her trip to Cold Stone Creamery will have to wait till we see each other again, so perhaps getting some today will help. Then back at home Terri finished up her lesson plans for the coming week. Now Kirk has started the grill for dinner .... steaks, grilled asparagus, and a baked potato. Yummmmm!

I've packed the suitcase, and it will go to the car tonight. Tomorrow morning, Terri and the kids will leave for school, and I will head out to Pensacola to spend the night again at Linda's parents' home. Then two hard days of driving, and we will be home again. I'll miss this family, but it will be wonderful to get home to "my own family." And boy, is Max gonna get it!!!

So .... I don't know about internet connections on the say back. I'll just say for now .... hasta la vista, baby!!!

Max, Lex, & Pizza

The homecoming was pretty unspectacular, actually, except for the fact that a trap I designed and Garrett set up worked perfectly. Worked spectacularly, if I do say so myself! When Garrett came home from work last night around 8:00, Max was there. Here is how it happened.

I have two dog doors at my house, one to the backyard, and one to the front deck which is fully secured. The dogs can run through the house, in and out, front and back, at will. Since we were leaving the gate on the front deck open for Max, we needed to keep the other four guys from going to the deck and going on their own adventure, so Garrett and I brainstormed about how to keep four dogs at home while allowing Max to come in the front. I wanted Max to come in the house, even if we weren't catching him. I wanted him to know, to remember where "home" is.

I have a couple baby gates that I use to to keep The Kids in and area or out of an area when necessary. I had Garret set it up so the pups would be staying in my bedroom and the laundry room with access to the back yard. This allowed them to move around, have comfort and have access to the outside without being able to go out the front. Then we could leave the front dog door and the deck gate open for Max.

To be sure they wouldn't knock the baby gate down and escape, I had Garrett move a large, heavy bag of dog food against the gate so it couldn't be pulled down or knocked down by The Kids. Then on the other side of the baby gate, I had Garrett put a small, single-step stool. The idea for this was my trickery .... I hoped that Max would come in, get on the stool and jump over to the other side to visit his canine family, Then he would be unable to go back over and be trapped. And, voilà!!!!  That's exactly what happened!

Garrett walked in from work, and Max was blocked behind the baby gate with his buddies!

Garrett called me last night as soon as he got the front gate secured. Unfortunately, it was 8:15 in New Mexico and 10:15 here, just the time I was washing my face and brushing my teeth for bed. I went to bed and slept through the night without knowing it!! I dreamed last night about being home with Max and the others. I wonder if I knew at some level. Anyway, early this morning, about 6:00 here, I woke and reached for my phone to see the time. To my surprise, there was a voice mail waiting for me!  My phone is set up to do reminder beeps every 15 minutes when a message is left, but it is not doing that, obviously!

Since I didn't want to wake poor Garrett at 4:00, I had to wait a few hours, than I got the story around 10:00, and we enjoyed a smug moment over our cleverness! We outsmarted Mr. Smartypants Max!

Other news on the good side today .... Lexi's team won their game 3-0. They looked very good, and I was impressed. Four years ago she was 8, and when she had to play goalie, she hated it and pouted. If you aren't familiar with soccer, being goalie is very important, but it is also a boring position at times, because if the rest of the team is playing well, you have very little to do and you are isolated from the others. She played that position for the first half, and her team did an excellent job of keeping the other team out of their end of the field. She made a few good blocks when she had the chance. The second half she played a different position. Now that she has gained in knowledge and expertise, she likes playing goalie. It's still boring, but understands the importance.

This is how goalies look when their teammates are playing well .... bored!

Water break! Lexi is holding the big blue water jug in front of her.

And here she comes, ready to send it flying!

Getting control .....

Winding up ......


















Layin' the foot in ....


















And lettin' 'her rip!


















The girls played well, obviously. I'm so proud of her.

While we girls went to the soccer game, Philip and his daddy played golf. I wish I were here longer so I could see him play, too, but not this time.

OK, gotta go. Pizza's ready, fresh off the grill, wood smoked. Do I have a keeper of a son-in-law, or what?

Hip Hip Hurrah!

MAX

IS

HOME !!!!!

Details to follow

Good times with my special people

Rain, rain, go away! Don't come back till I'm home to stay!!!



Gah! But tomorrow it is supposed to be mostly sunny tomorrow and windy. I'll take windy, as long as I can have sunshine! Lexie has a soccer game tomorrow at Orlando, and it will be good to have warm sunshine while watching the game.  I haven't seen Lexie play since about 4 years ago, so I really look forward to it. She is very good, plays goalie, to her parents' pride and fear! If you have a soccer kid, you'll understand that. She is in a school that prepares kids for college, and if they plan well, they can graduate form high school with an associates degree. This is her first year at the school, and she is making straight A's.  My, she has become a beauty! Not that she hasn't always been, but seeing her as such a mature young lady takes my breath away.  She's also such a sweet girl. She really is a delightful child to be around, and at 12.5 years, that's saying something. I'm really proud of her.



I went this morning to Grandparents' Day at Philip's school. It is also the school where Terri teaches and where Lexie went until last year. It was very enjoyable. Philip and I worked on a craft project together, which was really cute. His teacher had taken pictures of the kids at an earlier time and had them developed. I drew a picture of myself to be glued in the photo with him, then he put the frame together and decorated it. I think we look good together, don't you?
I love that he has his arm around my shoulders! He also did a "grandparent interview" with me, too. He was impressed that one of my favorite things to do as a child his age (9 yr old) was jump on my pogo stick.

 
Yesterday was Terri's birthday. She is .... shhhh ....40 years old! For her birthday, her dear hub bought her a beautiful violin. She played for many years and has been expressing her wish to play again. You should have seen her face when she opened the huge box it was in. Oh, wait, you can!!  I took pictures!! First she grinned and squealed her delight and then immediately teared up! Here is when the tears began to well up in her eyes.What a sweetheart he is!

And speaking of that sweetheart .... He's the chief cook around here, and boy! He does a good job!



Life is good!

Max, Max, Max!

OK, the saga continues.

Boy Wonder, AKA Garrett, had left the house for about 1.5 hours to go help his father with something. When I called, he was still there, but was done and headed back to my house. He spent about an hour looking for Max in the area that the man who called me was in. He finally went to the man's house and the gentleman came out to show Garrett where he had followed Max for a while. Garrett tried following the tracks, and he had the same luck .... none of it was good. He simply couldn't pick up the tracks on the other side of the snowless spot. (BTW, it snowed about 4 inches last night!) It seemed that Max had just simply disappeared!

So Garrett called me. I couldn't believe he was still out there looking. Anyway, he asked if I could call Zoë, my psychic friend who has been helping Max. Great idea! Zoë has already told us several things that were right on the nose. But today she blew my socks off! As we talked, she checked in with Max: Is he OK? Yes.   Is he hungry? No.   Is he having any trouble? No.   Oh, he says he is having fun!   Where is he now? Oh, he is about halfway between the place where you were looking for him and home, actually a little closer to home.   Where has he been today? OK, he says he was home this afternoon, inside the house!

At this point I was almost jumping around! He was back near home again, had been to the house! WooHoo!

I called Garrett and reported the findings. When I got to the part about Max being in the house, it dawned on me that if Max was in the house, the other dogs could be out .... unless Garrett blocked them in the bedroom and the laundry room while he was gone. Did he? NO!!! OMG, they might all be out again! I asked him to go check on the house first, then look for Max.

He called me a few minutes later, and surely enough, Joey, Jazmyn, Sammy, and Lola were gone! Fortunately, they were at a neighbor's home, being secured till Garrett went to get them. And Max was nowhere to be seen.

Garrett made sure the four were behind bars again before going back out to try to locate Max. He never did, but I didn't expect he would.

Lawdy, what a day. The emotional swing was like a pendulum gone wild, and I'm exhausted.

I went to the science fair at the school tonight. Philip was proud to show me his science project, dealing with how weights make toy cars go faster or slower. He's a third grader. TL's class of first graders did something that I never did understand from the sweet little girl that was explaining it. I'm not sure she understood it, to be honest. The kids were dropping drops of water from an eyedropper slowly to see how many they could put on the penny before it ran over. You know, the penny has that little ridge around it that holds the water, and it rises above the penny in a dome shape. Terri says the purpose was to get the children to understand the scientific method.

It was an enjoyable evening. I got to see many of the other parents I've met on previous visits, as well as meet several new-to-me friends of the kids and of Terri and Kirk. It was a nice end to a chaotic day.

So Max is still around, and apparently decided that if Mom gets a vacation, so does he! Stinker. At least he is still close, and when I get home, he will probably come to me. I hope.

Sighting, but not all good news

I'm near tears. I got a phone call a few minutes ago, and Max was sighted. The man tried to follow him, but Max was too fast and when Max got out of the snow, the man lost his tracks. Garrett is out trying to follow the trail.

He is about 1/2 mile from home!! Not good!! and he was heading the wrong way, away from the house!! I'm just sick about all this. Damn, why am I not home for him???????

Worry + UPDATE

Another update note on Max:  Yesterday Boy Wonder said that it appears no food was eaten from the bowl on the deck. That concerns me greatly. I don't know that it means anything awful, but it isn't good. Even if he is OK and has found food elsewhere, it means that he isn't necessarily connected to the house at this point. The worst scenario is that he has been harmed. I pray that is not it.

BW and my neighbor and friend, Joyce, are working together, very diligently. Joyce is going today to try to get her hands on no-harm traps, in hopes of being able to lure Max inside one of them with food. Since he is not showing his face to any humans, this is probably the best chance to catch him.

Nights are cold, 24° to 27°. Not good. There is a service door leading under the house that is open, and we are hoping he has been going there for warmth and protection. BW has put a doggy bed under there in hopes.

Last night I slept terribly. I tossed and turned, thinking about Max, dreaming about him, and saying prayers for his safety. I'm 'talking" to him often, too, trying to encourage him to go home, promising I'm coming. I'm exhausted today. The worry is insurmountable and is taking a toll.

On a positive note, Today is TL's birthday. My baby is 40! She certainly doesn't look it. She could easily pass for under 30. Her sweet hub gave her a violin for a birthday present, something she has wanted for a while. He already has my mother's piano, and I know she would like to have my father's violin, but that will be going to my son's daughter since she is taking violin lessons. She hasn't grown into it yet. As such a petite young woman, she still need a 3/4 size. If she doesn't grow into it, I guess TL will have two violins! Or perhaps she and I can both brush up and play a duet. The violin was given to my dad by my mother. It was a used instrument, but it has a wonderful tone. My dad played it, then I did. It was passed on to my nephew, then to my daughter. My granddaughter will be the 4th generation to play the same one. It has made the rounds in the family!

Tonight we are going to my grandson's school (also where my daughter teaches) for their science fair. Tomorrow I will be at the school again for Grandparent's Day. Over the weekend there will be a soccer game and a traditional trip to Border's with the grandkids. And on Monday, I will begin the trek West again.

Please continue to keep my boy Max in your prayers. I'm desperately worried. I can't tell you how awful it is to be this far away at this time. I truly thought he would come home when Sam did, and thought it was OK to continue with the trip. I'm so sad.

Please keep this little funny face in your mind and heart till his safe return home.



UPDATE: I spoke with BW, and he says that it looks like part of the food was eaten. He also checked the little service door and there are what appear to be fresh footprints, so it looks like my boy is going there for shelter. Whew. I hope it is all as it seems.  I love Maxie and want him to be safe.

Checking in

I noticed the title of my previous post, "Gooooooone"!  How apt that is.    :(

I'm at my daughter's house in Florida, on the east coast. Last night I spent the night at Linda's parents' house in the Pensacola area, and Sunday night was spent at a motel on the east side of Houston. I'm tired and very glad to be spending the next six nights in one place. Our trip has gone well. I wasn't crazy about the motel we ended up with in Houston, but it was OK, clean, but no WiFi and very basic amenities. When you're as tired as we were it doesn't seem to matter as much as other times.

Late in the afternoon of Sunday, I got a call for the sitter. Apparently someone had opened the backyard gate (I hadn't been out it in weeks), and the dogs went for a romp around the neighborhood. Joey, Jazi and Lola came back, but Sam and Max didn't. The whole neighborhood was out helping Boy Wonder, and his parents came up to help, too. The boys were out all night, and I was nearly ready to turn around and go home. After driving for almost 12 hours we were both exhausted, so Linda suggested that we get some sleep and then in the morning, make a decision about continuing or turning around.

Early Monday morning, BW called and said that Sam came home, but not Max. On one hand I was relieved that Same was home, but I was really distraught about Max, feeling that was a terrible sign. Long story short, the sitter and I have spent several hours on the phone over the last 3 days, planning, discussing, comparing thoughts and trying to come up with ways to lure Max home. He is still around the house, but won't come in or show himself. BW is putting food and water out for him, and he is eating. I had him put a throw and a pillow that I use out on the couch on the deck so Max will have my scent. We are doing everything possible to keep him there or encourage him to come in the house so BW can capture him.

The problem is that Max is bonded to me, not the other dogs. Everyone kept saying he would come back to the other dogs, but he is the one that thinks he is the only dog for me. The other dogs are good for his amusement when he wishes it, and that is about it. He tolerates their presence. So he isn't likely to return till I do. He really doesn't trust any other human. Of all the dogs, he takes the longest to warm up to anyone who is in the house, even BW. I think if the Boy Wonder can keep him coming to the house, I'll be able to get him in. I'm concerned, however, that by that time, much of his training and trust will have to be reinstated. This will be a huge setback.

I've talked to a friend who is a psychic, and she is an animal psychic, also. She says he is safe, hanging close to the house, and has found some places to keep warm. She said that he comes to the house during the day, but with no one home, he leaves again. Hopefully he will come while BW is there on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. 

I'm really worried about Max. Please say some prayers for his safe return. He's a survivor, but he's also a small dog in a forest of wild creatures, many of them much bigger than he is. It is still getting below freezing every night. We think he is sleeping under the house, as a small service door is open. He's probably warm enough there, but every day he is out in the elements and amongst the wild animals is a risk. We want him home. We need him home.



What a bad time for this to happen. Damn.

Gooooooone!

OK, everyone. I'm checking out for now. The truck is mostly packed and I'm ready to hit the road early tomorrow. I'll check in when I have a connection. Till then ....


Hasta la vista!!!

Can you believe it?

I mean, seriously???

I just checked the weather forecast for Florida to see about what clothes to pack. It looks like there will be THUNDERSTORMS the first 3 days I'm there!!!!

Gimmee a break!!!!!!

Breathe, breathe, breathe!

I gotta move it, move it! i gotta move it, move it!

I'm getting that familiar panicky feeling that I almost always feel about this time before a trip .... "OMG! I have just two days and I have so much to do!!!!!!!!!!!" "Have I remembered everything????" "Oh, dear, oh dear, I forgot this and that and something else!!!"

So I'm gonna get business done, and I'll be back here later. If I haven't keeled over from stress!!

;)

Good day ahead

I'm trying to get myself revved up for the day. I have errands to run, and many tasks to do in preparation for the trip. But I can't start a day without a cuppa and some 'puter time. I think my condition is terminal.

It's going to be another beautiful, sunny 59° day here again. I could get used to this! It's already beautiful out there and quickly approaching 50°. I'm looking forward to driving around with the windows down. Ahhhhh. I suspect we will have some more cold weather, perhaps even more snow, but I think the winter is on its death march. Thank goodness. I love winter, I love snow, but I'm done for this year, thank you very much!

I have a bit of melancholy today, and I'm not sure why. It's minor, but just touching on my shoulder. It could be that I spoke yesterday with my sister, and we reminisced for a long while about her husband, my brother-in-law, who just passed away. It was a good talk, actually, remembering the good things in his life and some fond memories about our parents and grandmother, too. Even so, reminiscing might have stirred up the bittersweet.

After talking with her, I got a call from another friend who is going through a hard time with health concerns, financial challenges and having to move to a smaller home. He is philosophical about it all, but it is not easy for him. The challenges of any two of those makes the third more difficult, so he is more or less fighting uphill. It's very tough for him now, and my heart goes out to him. There isn't much else I can do, as he is far away, but I'm happy to be there with him in spirit and to lend an ear. Thank goodness, he is an unusually upbeat person, and he doesn't wallow. Still, my heart hurts for his struggle.

Fortunately for me, the sun is out. I know that once I get out and soak it in, I will feel lighter. It has warmed up another 5° while I wrote this. Life has hard knocks, but it can keep me down only if I allow it. And I won't!

So .... I gotta get movin'! "I got to move it, move it!!" Later, y'all!!



PS - I just saw this beautiful picture on my deck, and had to come back and share it ......



Yep, a good day.

Where does it all come from???

OK, those days on the couch are collecting their due now! On the days I "called in" and decided to spend the day on the couch reading, I knew there was a layer of dust on most things in my house that was, uhmm, discernible. Readily discernible. An inch thick discernible! Sooooo...... I've been dusting over the last couple hours (no, there wasn't so much that it took 2 hours, but doing that and other related cleaning tasks as I went along), and now I'm coughing. Yes, I've stirred up enough dust that I've inhaled it into my throat and I'm coughing! I'm trying, really hard, to convince myself that if I had dusted a few days ago, it would not have made a difference. I'm not listening well to my own argument!

I'm taking a break, drinking water, than I'll vacuum, dust again, and vacuum one last time. Gah. I'm not kidding, it is bad!!!

OK, here's the deal .... I dusted before Terri came for my surgery! Why am I having to dust again already? Ohhhh, wait a minute. It has been six weeks since the surgery. Oops! My bad.

Damn. Back to work.

More about avid laziness. And not.

It's a good thing that I practiced avid laziness most of the weekend, because yesterday I was anything but lazy. It was my final medical checkup. That was first thing in the morning. Well, at 10:30, but that is "first thing" because we left here at 7:30 to get there on time.

"We" is myself, Linda, and our friend Pearl. After my appointment (which was fast and ended with a stamp of approval!), it was "Let the fun begin!" And the fun began with lunch. We decided to take Pearl to Yanni's, the Greek restaurant Linda and I have come to love after Enid recommended it. And Pearl loved it, too! My nephew had planned to join us, also, but wasn't able to make it away from the job.

When you go out with Pearl to eat, forget about the American way of sucking the food down and being out of the restaurant in 20-30 minutes! Pearl is English-born and she e.n.j.o.y.s her meal! So we "dined," rather than "lunched." We relaxed, savored the food, and best of all, talked and laughed. And I do mean laughed, out loud! I wondered once about whether we might be disturbing other patrons, but every time we burst out, people at other tables smiled! Laughter is, indeed, infectious!

Then we set off on our shopping and covered a lot of Albuquerque territory. At Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, Linda and I got some snacking goodies for our trip to Florida. It is hard to believe we are leaving early Sunday morning! Wow!

At TJ's, I was looking at English muffins and saw crumpets right next to them. Pearl was nearby, and I asked her, "I've never tried crumpets. What's the difference in crumpets and English muffins?" Remember, Pearl is English by birth, although she took citizenship here about three years ago. She looked at me and said in the wonderful accent, "I really cahn't say, Lyn. We didn't hahve English muffins in England." I said, "What is it about we Americans that we name things as we do? English muffins aren't from England. French fries aren't from France." And Pearl, without skipping a beat, said, "I dooon't knooow. I hahven't beeen American long enough to knoooow." We both collapsed in laughter.

Anyway, our last stop was to pick up a rug Pearl and her husband had had cleaned. We started home around 5:00, stopping south of Albuquerque, at .... you know, don't you? Cold Stone Creamery! Pearl had not experienced CCS. She likes it. When Linda and I are finished with her, she will make a solid American yet!! (And oh, what Linda and I are learning about England and the English!!)

Around 7:00 we were about half way home, and I had noticed it was very, very dark. It seemed to me that it was much later than it actually was because of the darkness. It seemed unusually dark with no moon out. We talked about why there was no moon, as we all thought it was time for a full moon. I'd noticed a few days earlier a very bright, almost full moon.

We drove another half hour or so, and the moon began to rise over the horizon ahead of us. First we saw the glow which grew brighter while the moon was still hidden behind the mountains, and the for the next 20 or more minutes we watched the moon itself. Initially, it was a sliver of bright rich orange, and it grew bigger and brighter until it finally cleared the horizon and simultaneously began to grow more pale and appeared smaller. What is it about the rising of the moon that is such an optical illusion? It appears so huge and colorful at first, then shrinks and fades to a soft yellow-white as it moves upward. Breath-taking spectacular, for sure. It was hard for me to keep my eyes on the road.

I wasn't home till after 8:30, and I was exhausted. I poked the few refrigerated items in the fridge and fell on the couch with the dogs long enough to watch "Big Bang Theory," which was recorded, and shortly thereafter, I was in bed. While I was on the couch, I unwrapped a few new, hopefully indestructible dog toys I brought home for The Kids. It looks, good; over 12 hours later, and Lola hasn't been able to ruin a single one! Woo hoo!

I wish I could afford to have another day of "avid laziness" today. I really can't. I have SO much to do to be ready to leave on Sunday. I gotta get busy. No, really I do. Honest, I need to get up and get with it! I will.

Later.

Hopefully.