That's better!!

The weather outside is barely tipping 80. Inside is a cooler 76. There is a light breeze blowing in off the water. I much much easier to be around. For the very first time in over a week I have only one dog lightly panting at my feet. If things continue to be cooler they may get a day without the hose cool-down before dinner. It is hot and bright out on the pool deck, so I have avoiding it for now. I think my youngest child is coming over for the day, but not positive. His brother said he would drop him off at the ferry. Time will tell.

The doctor told me a few other things that I hadn't thought about, so I need to thanks those who ragged on me; you know who you are. While I knew about the rib, his biggest concern was a ruptured spleen. I was given the warning signs and offered pain meds, which a vehemently declined. If I am supposed to watch for these signs, and those of punctured lung, then wouldn't pain meds mask it? I remember a time when I thought I should hoards meds "just in case." I figure if "just in case" comes along I probably ought to get it checked out...ya think?? I'm sore, but I'll stick with ibuprofen for now.

In the short time that I have sat and written this the cloud cover has lifted and the heat is coming. I would be shocked if it were back in triple digits, but I'm thinking it will easily hit the upper 80s. MSN has us hit 69...yeah right. It was over that when I went out to feed the horse. Sometimes a thermometer is a blessing, sometimes a curse.

While I am on the subject of "curses," I need to let it be known that I will NEVER, EVER, believe that I have won a thing when the subject line in the email reads: "Your the winner." I find it hard to believe that scammers can really lure someone in with the line. That makes no sense at all. If you cannot figure out what I am talking about, then you don't know me very well. 'Nuff said. All I can do is shake my head and wonder how the heck I got on these idiots' mailing lists. sigh.

G2

If you take a bath in tomato juice isn't that supposed to help? You should always have a few cans hidden away...you know, just in case...

Thank heavens it cooled down. On my side it's in the low 80's. Things have improved so much I changed the speed on all the fans to 'low'.

Do you need help with anything? I have Saturday free, excepting Ramona's request for a trip to the mall. Speaking of Ramona, she called me from work today and the conversation went like this:
Ramona: "Mom, I have a hole in my pants"
Me: "Where is it?"
Ramona, with a long suffering sigh "Mom, it's right HERE".

Silly me, forgot to put on the super duper see-anything-through-a-phoneline glasses. Fortunately her boss happened along and was able to tell me that it was small and tape-able. Ever since the time she called with the same comment, I let it go until after work and one whole leg was almost torn off at the crotch, I am extremely careful about this.

S2

I'm fine. The youngest is here right now. Sore, but trying to be careful. O2 sats were at 92, but think that is all because it hurts to take a deep breath. This too shall pass. stupid, stupid, stupid. Lots of ripe tomatoes will be going home with him...
G2

Oh how I wish...

We could have gotten even down to the 70s! Perhaps my fridge would be a place to put the thermometer!! We hit a record high of 104 yesterday. People and dogs were in and out of the pool all day. All available fans and a/c were running full speed all night. This morning I was delighted to find that my room was 72 degrees. I had shut the door to the master bath, the closet, and the hallway. The a/c was set at 68, so it must've run full speed the entire night. My last dip in the pool was around midnight in hopes of cooling off enough to get some sleep. (At that point it felt about the same temperature outside as in.) The dogs lay on their backs, tummies in air, about five feet from the a/c. When I got up around 2am and went into the bathroom I felt like I had stepped into a sauna. This morning I am thinking I will tarp the skylights. I have two. One in my bathroom and one in the kitchen. I think a lot of heat comes from them. I have three weather sites bookmarked and each says something different for the day. I wish I could pick one and let it be true. The NOAA site has us at 90 today. MSN has us at 87...I know, it is only three degrees, but at this point I can actually feel three degrees! What is interesting is that the two have night time temperatures a few degrees different as well, but the NOAA site has us at three degrees cooler than the MSN...at least for right now. I guess it shows that weather forecasting is still an art rather than a science. Personally, I wouldn't mind going back to the cartooning weathermen of my youth. They seemed about as adept at predicting as the "first alert doppler" of today.


The climb to the roof will wait until after the doctor appointment. (OK, Linda?) My ribs are feeling worse and just the pressure from the water at nine feet down was incredibly painful. Besides, I am on little sleep as it is hard to get comfortable. My daughter called this morning on her way to work. I am usually up at 6am, so it is no big deal. This morning however, I was so sound asleep that I remember trying to turn off the alarm clock when she called. I couldn't figure out why I had set it. The funny thing was that it stopped when I tried turning off "alarm 2." It wasn't until I got settled back in bed that I realized the music playing was "my brown eyed girl" which is my baby girl's ring tone. I am hoping she will tell me that she is coming over after work. I think she would benefit from some pool time. Wouldn't we all??


With that I am off to the clinic, after I close down the house in hopes of keeping it in the 80s today. I think when it finally does rain I will be out standing in it, as will Windy. This has gotten old. Very, very old. (The stagnant air HAS made for some stunning sunsets, I must say!)


G2

Wither the Weather?

I came across a great website from which you can track the intricacies of your own local weather. This is it and it should be set to display Kingston weather:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Kingston,%20WA&wuSelect=WEATHER
Enjoy! It was odd indeed at one point today. I was sitting and watching the temperature rise about a degree every two minutes. At a few minutes after 12pm we hit 100degrees for the first time today. At about 12:20 I see that the direction of the wind has changed. the wind today came from the east much of the time, and it was dragging along quite the heated mass. When the wind changed go coming from a more northwesterly direction, the temperature dropped quickly to the mid nineties. Alas, several more times, allowing plenty of time for the hot stuff to flow down upon us. At 5:30 it was measured as 104.9. Who would have thunk it? Suddenly relocating my "A Guide to the Sky" poster seems neccessary so I've propped it in place. Tomorrow, perchance, to hang. I've taken my bedtime meds for one thing, and for another, my fine motor seems ready to go to sleep. Aside from that, I've got quite the case of hiccups, which you really don't want when you are trying to hammer something quite carefully.

I think a night of sleep, coupled with some daylight will also benefit this project.

I see that at the same exact time that they say it is 78.1 in Shoreline (seems low from how I am feeling it), it also says that in Kingston it is 67.3 over there. Quite a jump! And oh, it is 12:38 am as I am messing around with this stuff.

Talk at ya later, mon ami.
S2

It's too friggin' hot

Seriously. Record heat. Record overnight temperatures. This heat could melt records. In fact I am having to turn off the computer because it gets too hot. At night I get into the pool and then go to bed. I then wake up about 3am and close everything down and turn on the a/c in my room. It is the only way to keep from waking with the ugly heat headache.

Yesterday morning would've been funny had it not hurt so much. Once again I awoke and realized I had left the water on into the pool. I quickly (add a "too") jumped out of bed and took off for the outdoors when I found the leg wasn't completely on. This time when I went down the foot board of the bed caught me on the last rib on the left side. I went down hard. I laid there assessing my condition. The wind was knocked out of me and perhaps that rib is cracked. While it hurts to take a deep breath, the lung seems fine. The bruise is pretty impressive, I might add. I got back up, scolding myself. Really, an extra minute or so would not have made a huge difference in the amount of water in the pool with my water pressure. I turned off the water, on the pump, and went for a swim. It hurts to lay down. stupid, stupid, stupid...

I have closed up the house in hopes of keeping it below 80 degrees for a while. Someone from Ohio was complaining about the rain and cold weather they are getting. I told her that somehow her weather ended up here, and that if she will come get it and take it back I will give her all of my tomatoes. People on CraigsList are selling old a/c units for over retail prices. I am going to try to pick up a portable unit in the fall. It would be nice not to have to be sequestered in my bedroom to stay cool. I sure wish the folks that had this house had put in a heat pump way back when...

I see few motorcyclists these days, and the few I see are usually riding in tank tops and shorts. It is like driving in southern California in the summer with no a/c. I remember the trips as a kid. The breeze blowing in the windows was like sticking your arm in an oven. There were many days on a trip south, that Mom vetoed car camping and we went to the nearest Travelodge for the a/c and pool. I completely get it, Mom. However, I don't get riding with no protection. Road rash is too painful, and in my case could turn deadly. The bike is cooking nicely in the garage.

Stay cool. I'm out for a dip in the pool.

G2

Having no AC at all, we'll be checking into a motel for a few days. I know I know! I could live through this, but I'm not sure Ramona could, what with her heart and the air quality. She already has a cough today. I found rooms for tomorrow through Saturday, but can't find anything anywhere for tonight. Am on the waiting list.

I cracked people up yesterday. I was on my way in from picking up the car (the AC only needed to be recharged), made a left turn while walking in, walked right down the pool steps and right back out again. Made all the difference. The pool here is our saving grace.

Wheezily yours
S2

Yep, my saving grace as well. I haven't been dressed in "real" clothes for three days now. When I need to go out I throw a Tshirt and shorts over the swimming suit. I put the dogs in the pool at least once a day as well. I am heading out now to hose down the horse. I was going to wash the patio tables and the water in the hose was so hot it almost burned my hand. Hopefully something will open up for you for tonight. If not a cool shower before bed has worked for Kira. The corgi picnic scheduled for Saturday has been postponed due to the heat. Craziness!!
G2

Well, Ramona is starting to sound ill. Of course, the Access van that was supposed to pick up Ramona an hour+ ago is still not there. She's in the office waiting but it's kinda warm in there. Every time I call Access and ask what's up, I am told it will be another 5 or 10 minutes, and the cab company that is picking her up instead of a van has changed twice. I should have followed my impulse an hour and a half ago and gotten her myself.

When she does get home we're going on a nice drive in the AC, then we'll eat out somewhere, then go to the movies, and that ought to take us to late enough to survive the rest of the day. then tomorrow we'll have a room. (which I'm going to have her pay for I think. She needs to spend down anyhow and the room is for her health, otherwise I'd just stick it out).

Me, I just have all the fans going, and I'm trading out the icy bags from the freezer from time to time. It's hot in here, though.

S2

I'm guessing Seafair has a lot of the rooms pre-booked as well. There is no good timing for this heat, but I suspect the ER will be full of sunburn/heat stroke cases by the time the races are over.

Western Reserve?

Gateway to the West? MidWest? Why is it that when I read any of those terms I think of "west coast?" I'd be wrong. By several thousand miles. The Gateway to the West is used to describe Missouri. Midwest would be Illinois. The Western Reserve is a big dog show. I was pretty excited when I heard that a friend's dog would be showing. I, wrongly, assumed it would be California. Perhaps Nevada. I scrambled to see if I could scrape funds together as I so wanted to check it all out...until I did a bit of checking around. Ohio. Yes, OHIO!! I remember as a kid traveling across the US and ending on the east coast. The locals we talked to thought that the west coast (north, above the Hollywood movie sets) was open prairie where the deer and bison, and antelope, still roam. That was in the 70s. The way I see it is that if Missouri is the Gateway to the west, then the west takes a huge majority of the country. Why are we then ruled by the minute east coasters? Interesting, very interesting. The good thing is that I cannot afford to go any where any way with the recent purchase of the camper, so I am no longer tempted to try and find a way.

It is hot. I fell asleep sometime after 3am, right S2? When I woke this morning at six, I had the "heat" headache and the hall thermostat said it was 79 degrees. After enough time for the four ibuprofens to kick in I went out and started the pool pump and vacuumed the pool. At 10:33am I am about to take the first dip of a projected record amount for today.

Which brings me to the subject of pools. Kid pools. Those hard plastic blue fish printed things that hold a decent amount of water. Here they are called dog pools. I had four of them before I started letting the "small" dogs into the see-ment pond. One now lives in the neighbor's dog run. Another is out in the pasture as the horse enjoys it as well as the dogs. The others are in the yards and runs. They last me a few years; usually the pasture one goes first as the horse, on occasion does like to climb in. I have found that I can extend the time of that pool by setting out the sprinkler on hot days. Windy stands in it and lets the cool water wash up and down her little horsey body. Any way, I think the development of those hard plastic pools is the equivalent of sticky notes. I remember having those blow up pools for my kids. They'd last a few days. Around here now they would not even last an hour. Not only do I have dog and horse toes to puncture them, but blackberry thorns as well. Now I get a replacement pool about every two years. The ones that have a hole are wonderful for many things. Whelping "boxes" for the new litter of pups. Sand boxes for the younger two legged set. Critter enclosures for the turtles. Bobbing for hotdog ponds. Endless possibilities. I tend to buy in the fall when they are super cheap. Yes, they need to be stored, but they make great "hats" for the rototiller, garden boxes, etc.

So I am off to chill myself down in the pool. I will then begin the day with the ongoing land clearing. I suspect I will have a few visitors this week as the mercury climbs into the record books. Stay cool, y'all, in whatever way works for you. (I'm thinking skinny frap; can you say "brain freeze?)

G2

6:20am on a Sunday morning

It is beautious. Seriously. That is the word I would pick to call the morning. We had thunder, lightning, and torrential downpours last night. It was still in the 80s; OK maybe high 70s; it was warm, and it was muggy. I was out doing some last minute running around as I will be gone again today. Everyone I saw said the same things: "At least I won't need to water" which was preceded by "weird weather." This morning I see the results of that weird weather. Everything is cleaner. Everything seems a teeny, tiny, bit greener. The birds are singing like crazy and the woodpecker in the woods sounds his slow rhythmic drumming. The osprey clutch has hatched. Again I hear the sound of the city coming from the nest. You know those "walk" signals that chirp? I think they must have recorded the osprey nest then decided to play a cruel joke on us former city dwellers. I never hear those signals and think "osprey." I hear osprey and think "walk signal." There was an eagle out. She was flying overhead followed by the obligatory crow. Just one this time. Unfortunately for the crow she had nothing in her talons when he began to torment her. Then, she hit. It was a thing of beauty, and one that has puzzled me for years...I know, that sentence makes no sense, but it is 6:30 on an Sunday! Cut me some slack!! The eagle had enough of the crow and she grabbed him.Interestingly enough she then dropped him. Whether she didn't want her family eating crow, or didn't wanted the crow's extended family exerting their wrath, I know not. I couldn't keep myself from yelling "ALL RIGHT!!" Eagle:1 Crow:zero I suspect when I get home the neighbor dog will have found the crow and will leave it by my door. She loves me. Not unlike a cat, she leaves me gifts. This gift, however, will make me chuckle.

Yesterday I was in Sequim for the first of two dog shows. It was in the 90s. It was outside. The grass was no longer green, or alive. It literally jumped on Kate as soon as she entered the ring. All of my meticulous grooming and she was suddenly covered in dead grass. Perhaps it is the fact that she is a dwarf dog and she kicked it up on herself when she walks. I know not how it got there, but noticed that the nice judge also had it all over him. So it goes for outdoor shows in the summer. Kate looked great. She wouldn't move out, however. In class she drug me. In the ring I drug her. Perhaps it will be a bit cooler today and she will be more animated. It was strange. It was really a lot cooler in the shade. I was blessed to have a seasoned show man in the ring with me. He just informed the judge, in the form of a question, that we were not going to be setting our dogs up in the sun. I have officially arrived into the inner sanctum of the dog show people. For whatever reason it took a while. Perhaps it is the class I took. Perhaps it was the grooming time. Perhaps it is that there were only three of us. It was nice, whatever the reason. With that I need to go prepare my dog for another day. I think I really AM that crazy dog lady that my oldest offspring uses to describe me...I give myself an hour to groom her, and five minutes for myself. That, and I just let out a blood curdling yell as I waited quietly for her to do her duty, or doody. There are more critters who enjoy the damp grass...there are slugs, and dear Kate found one. sigh. Does anyone know if I can use salt to melt slug slime off my dog's face??

The next topic will be a discussion of the term "Western Reserve."

Carry on.

G2

It's all about black, or maybe white...

This is the only "before" picture that I have. The project involved dealing with the rust on the metal legs that raise and lower the camper so that it can be put onto the truck. Both the legs and the brackets were rusty, and living so close to the salt water means my best bet for keeping them a goodly amount of time is to seal them.

It was time to go do some painting. As soon as I step out the door I can see that my truck has already been christened. Black? or white? I'm thinking black (crow) rather than white (sea gull). Who ever it was came into the carport to christen my doggie motel's chariot. I gather the "supervisor", mask the areas that I don't want painted, and begin work. Suddenly I realize that my "rolling stock" really has been increasing, and I am in need of a bigger carport, or another tent, or I need to "chill out" about leaving things to the weather; which is way too much work as it would require constantly waxing the trailer and camper due to the weather in these here parts. At any rate I am quite pleased with the decision to go gloss white on the jack legs.
I turn back and find our little friend checking out the ladder to the roof. If I liked to eat tomatoes, at this point I would be eating this thing...

Perhaps black would be better, if I were trying to accent a tomato.
While the paint was drying I was running to the nursery for salad greens. All of mine bolted in the hot weather. Sadly, I was only able to get some romaine. I will say right here that the straw bales were amazing for a veggie garden. I have never had an easier time. The height was perfect. There were few weeds. Everything grew, and is growing, like crazy. This is big. Really big. Bigger, by far, than upside down tomato plants! Mark my words.
G2

Glad your rosy orbs have been put to work :)
How about a picture of growing like crazy hay bales? I wanna see!

Love the doggie motel...has Rosy Orb been inside yet?

S2

Rosy O...I like it. Heck no, she hasn't been inside. She has paint on her feet! Perhaps I should take some paint thinner to her, eh?

G2

MUCH better

It is a cooler and overcast day. Yesterday started the same way and got pretty warm after about noon, but I can get a lot done between the time I climb out of bed and noon. The lawn mower is still embedded in dust and blackberries in the back forty. The machete is propped beside it as much needs to be hacked down prior to shoving the lawn mower into the mess. Prior to the machete the loppers are used, and they hang precariously on the fence wire. I am sure in the next ten minutes Windy will have taken them down, as she is always the "helper." Two of the jacks on the dog motel are painted a white gloss. They look much better and I think my brain was suffering heat stroke when I bought gloss black. The camper is white, the truck is white...why on earth would I want the jacks to stand out?? So the next job before I head to the feed store and Costco will be the first coat on the other two jacks and the second coat on the two I painted yesterday. Amazingly enough the back jack that I did yesterday didn't bubble up even though the pipe was hot to the touch. Yep, black primed steel pipe in the direct sunlight of a 90 degree day gets pretty hot...it must've been another brain fart. Or perhaps it was the brain injury that occurred when I stood up too quickly as I was still under the overhang of the camper. Doh!!

All the training I have done has given me very strong legs. The upper body? Not so much. All the land clearing has me pretty darn stiff. I have found, however, that the more I work the less "targeted" the stiffness is. Stretching in the pool may be the ticket as well. As stated in an earlier post, I cannot sit still for very long. There is so much to do, and it feels great to push myself physically. At this point all my little projects are pushed aside in favor of the very physical ones. My neighbors to the north just smile and don't offer to help any more. Every once in a while an obligatory offer comes in, followed by "I know, I know, but I just wanted to be sure." These are folks that I would not think twice about asking. Mostly because I never do...I take that back. They helped me get the piano in the sliding glass door a few years ago. No amount of finagling would have seen that in here without help. Have I mentioned lately how much I adore the neighbors to the north? (Yes, all you crazy Canuckians...I love you too.)

With all that said I am off to do a bit of painting. The dogs are down for their morning nap (yea, sure; like I really have any control over that, and like I really put them "down for a nap." I couldn't even do that with my human kids) and the tomatoes are ripe for the picking. I guess I should grab the camera as I go out...more to follow...BWA HA HA HA....

G2

You know, I have wondered what the tomatoes are up to...

S2

Slowly roasting

The temperature is already beginning to climb and it supposed to be in the 90s this weekend. I think I messed up on entering the show this weekend and am trying to decide if I will just forfeit the entry fees. I found out yesterday that there are a grand total of 3 Cardigan Welsh Corgis entered. Kate is the only one entered in the regular classes and there are two "specials." (They have their Champion titles already.) I can suck it up and go for the experience, I suppose. It also is an outdoor show, and is at a place that is warmer than it will be here. Black dog, outside, grumpy handler. The good, or perhaps bad, news is that on Saturday we have a later ring time: 12:45. Sunday it is at 9:45. What to do, what to do. I'm thinking the camper can use a couple more ribbons...Since my son is calling me the "crazy dog lady", I figure I might as well decorate the "dog motel" with the ribbons we have earned.

I got quite a bit done yesterday. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate S***s? First, I have the C******** line trimmer on wheels. It does a great job on the road to the house and on the back area. In my days of growing up, the S**** line was the best available, and they stood by their tools. This thing has spent as much time at the repair shop as it does working. And after the last use it quit again. So I cranked up the regular weed whacker. I hate it for many reasons. First of all I end up with nettle juice from head to toe. It, sadly, was also of the same brand. And this time I had bought it new as it was on sale. (Picture me beating my head against a brick wall). This one has to be run on full choke. Any touch of the trigger will kill it. But, it ran. So I did too. Down the road and up the other side. I was covered with weed and nettle juice and my arms were beginning to welt up. From my knees down, my jeans were green. My glasses were speckled with shredded vegetation. My son called as I finished. Check for the in line filter on the wheeled model. You likely just need to change that. Out came the ratchet set and I began to disassemble the mower. There is no in line fuel filter...of course not!! By now I am feeling my upper body beginning to stiffen. I knew that I could not stop or I would be done for the day. So I crank up the lawn mower (NOT a S***s!). I quickly mowed all that needed mowing. It felt great, but I needed to keep going as whenever I stopped, no matter how much stretching I did, I would feel my muscles tightening. I re hydrated myself and then my gardens. I cleaned the pasture, the buckets and the dog/kid/horse pool. I then turned on the water and filled the water buckets and stuck it into their pool. Then it was on to MY pool and time for the towel exchange. Temperature in the pool is a nice 80 degrees. At that point it was time to clean up a bit and run to Silverdale to pick up the microwave for the camper.


So today begins another day. The body is a bit stiff and sore, but nothing as I was afraid it would be. Gee, the pasture seems wet. Oops. I left the water on yet again. The clearing behind the pasture hasn't been mowed since the wheeled trimmer went out. The weeds are now about four feet tall. I bring out the taken apart and put back together trimmer and try to start it. Again, as soon as the primer gas is gone it dies. Not to be denied I grab the lawn mower. After two hours I have a swatch mowed through. Dogs are in the field with the horse, who did not do a good job babysitting. I see Henry, but no Kate. Sigh. The neighbor delivered her to me and I am taking a hydration/typing break and will head back out in ten minutes. After that is done I will slip into my 80+ degree pool and cool down. The inside the house thermometer is now at 79. I think the rest of my projects for the day will be sitting until tomorrow morning. This one will likely take another three or four hours to complete. By then I will be in the hottest part of the day.

So out I go, cursing S****/K****. I vow to never step foot in that store again.

Stay cool, y'all.

G2

Yeah babee (who has watched too many episodes of the Deadliest Catch?). It was 90 on the deck today, and guess what, I had to take Ramona to the doc late this afternoon...the AC in the purty 'new' car broke, so yes, we did suffer. Thank heavens I still know how to roll down a window.

At softball practice time, it was still almost 90, but they decided to go forward anyway. We were late because of the medical visit, and really, UTI+heart condition+heat wave=better to go home and have dinner with lots of fluids.

'they' say it will go down to around 80 tomorrow. Crossing fingers...

S2
PS Richard is home and doing well.

Questioning the existance of the "norm"

Yes, indeedy, I am in search of the "norm." Each morning I awake at the ungodly hour of 6am, take a deep breath, and say to myself "today should be a normal day." Well, in reality it is more like "PLEASE let this be a normal day!" To be honest I really am not sure what "normal" even means to me...but I am going to guess that it would be a day where I could get a couple of things done that are on the long list of to dos. However, no matter what I might get done there are three more things that have jumped aboard the to do train, so whatever is done is quickly overshadowed by what needs to be done. I have so many projects that have begun but are not yet complete. I am hoping that one day I will get all, or most, completed and then feel as if I have truly done something. At this point the lawn, or weeds, need to be mowed. The driveway nettles are reaching out to bite me as I ride the bike down. The pump still has not been taken apart for new gaskets (it's been hot and I haven't wanted to risk more than a day without the pool). The lifts on the camper have had the rust sanded down and three have been primer painted with rust-o-leum, but need to be finish coated. And, of course, because of the heat and dust, my house needs a dusting and vacuuming. Of course I will be gone this weekend to dog shows, so Kate takes precedence over everything; but she always does anyway. So with all this on my plate, and of course a gazillion others, is this now "the norm?" If it is I am wondering why I keep hoping for a normal day. I know I am not hoping for a day of just sitting around...that makes me crazy. I spent so many years of my life in bed (a SICK bed, you sickos) that I have trouble just sitting in front of the computer for a couple of hours. I think I have HDD, but not the ADD in front of it. Perhaps a day of methodically working through the list would be just the ticket. I feel that it is only best to wait until after 9am to start the lawn mower. However, last night at around 11pm the neighbor guy was out whistling and yelling, so perhaps I can amend that to 7am...He lives alone with "Punky" the cat. He wasn't calling the cat; I think he heard me talking to the dogs on their last trip out for the night. His tendency is to whistle or make a lot of noise after which I yell "hello" and he crashes through the woods. Needless to say the dogs and I made a quick trip back into the house, quickly slamming the front door shut and turning off all visible lights. Can you say "creepy?" Can you now say "NOT normal?"

With that it is time to go start up the lawn mower and get my day in order. It could be interesting to see what "in order" means today.

G2

Happy Birthday, Morgan (7/15)

Where has the time gone? It cannot have been 26 years ago that I was preparing to meet you. It seems like yesterday. I needed you so badly, and wanted you even more. You brought sunshine and color back in to my world. My only regret was that my Mom would never meet you. I knew almost immediately that you were different than your brother and sister. Indeed. You, my dear, are that incredible artist. Every thing you have made was a thing of beauty. From your early prehistoric drawings, to your later dragons. From your glass work to your metal work. Paint, airbrush, music.

Your heart. You have the passion of all the great artists. All animals are attracted to you. They feel your heart.

Your joy is contagious. Remember the time the magazine with this article came out? (You were not pleased to be back in the spotlight.)

I'm proud of you. I love you. I look forward to watching your future unfold.

Your loving Mom,

G2

Rolling thunder

(It seems to be something in the air, S2...check out other titles.)

Saturday saw temperatures in the 90s. I had a date to finish the truck project, which went quite well, but uncovered the pool before I left as I knew I would want to get into it as soon as I could. You know those dark blue bubble covers that float on top of swimming pools? I had one for a few years. In fact I had two, and when it was time to replace it again I did my homework and decided to spring for the bigger buck cover, which was clear so heated the pool water faster. Sounds good, doesn't it? Unfortunately I learned something about the clear cover. It does indeed heat faster, but it also does NOT inhibit algae growth. Next time I will go back to dark blue. sigh. Whatever, says I, I will swim anyway, as the algae growth is just beginning, and only in the deep end. Sometimes just sitting on the bottom in the shallow end takes care of the heat level.

Off I go to do the truck and run a few errands. Along the way I get a dinner invite and have some computer work to do. It generally can be done in twenty minutes or less, but I decide I had best get to it. A few days ago I got a message to update my security on Windows. There is also a bad virus that is going around so I decide I had better get to it. Stupid thing to do. You see it also updated my Office 2007. I have used the program once too often, or so it seems. It locked me out of my master template. Needless to say, even after downloading a new, and free, Word Processor, I was stuck at the computer for about four hours completely rebuilding my master. The temperature rose in the house, and in my brain. By the time I finished I needed to leave for my dinner date. It was quite nice to leave the 88 degrees of my house for the nice cool woodsy retreat where I had dinner. A great time was had by all, but by 8pm I was ready to get home, do chores, and get into my pool. Twenty minutes later I was home, and the thunder was amazing. It was still in the 80s, but the thunder really did not stop or even take a breath. I never had heard "rolling thunder" until last night. Even as it rumbled I could see the sky lighting up over the Olympics. The horse was not pleased as this came a bit to close for the 4th of July. So went my plans for a dip in the pool. Perhaps a flag pole poolside...a very tall, metal, pole would be nice. I made my way back into the house that was still in the high 80s after darkness fell. Well, darkness with bursts of light thrown in here and there. Then the rains came. It pounded on the pool and the sky lights. The dogs thought someone was wanting in, or breaking in, or something. It was truly a wild evening. If it hadn't have been so hot I might have enjoyed it.

Today was cool. While the house was still 81 when I got up this morning, the weather outside must have been in the 60s. At the nearby dog trial people were bundled in blankets trying to stay warm. It was at an old lumber town that sits above the water, so a cool breeze not only kept them comfortable yesterday, but froze them today. Only in the Northwest!!

So the pool is still empty of my body. Empty and uncovered. The pump still leaks, but it is next week's number one project. Tomorrow is supposed to be back in the low seventies. I will be running all day with appointments and all. This nifty leg is not holding up at all with my training. Manufacturing specialists have been called in and I will meet with one tomorrow. At this point I am thinking that this is not going to be the year of the 3 Day for me. If I can't be sure that my leg will remain attached to my body I cannot risk the injury. I will keep up the training and will be on top of it for next year, should I have to bail. It is frustrating and disappointing, but the last thing I need is a relapse of my disease thirty miles in. I will keep at it up until the 10th of September. It is tough to have equipment failure be a deciding factor. I hope there is a solution of some kind tomorrow afternoon. There is nothing worse, or potentially disastrous, than taking a step...and not having a leg to stand on. (Sorry, it had to be said!)

Have a great week, y'all.

G2

The Best Laid Plans

One has to smile when trying to control the future; even if the future is a few days, a few months, or a few years ahead. My Dad was a list maker. He made his own "Honey Do" lists, and carefully carried them in his shirt pocket so that he could retrieve them easily and cross out each item as it was done. That was something that I did NOT inherit! For the most part my never ending list is in my head. At times that can be a good thing, at others it does hinder me. Items are always being shuffled on my list. In the summer, for instance, the pool always takes precedenc ( Well, almost always). I look at my garage, which has been sitting in disarray for over two years now. In the summer it is hot and I think "winter project." In the winter it is too cold, and I think "summer project." Since I have been on the cleaning binge, perhaps it will really happen...after pool and dog stuff, of course!

Right now I am working on a truck project. It is actually becoming almost humorous as little "things" keep happening. Wrong parts ordered, deadlines past; that sort of thing. I have been researching the project on the internet in an effort to break the crazy prices. It can be done, but my brain may be fried before it meets fruition. When I am not chuckling I am screaming inside! I know my blood pressure is a bit up, as my ears are ringing big time. This weekend I hope to have this one crossed off the list. I have a wonderful son-in-law who has offered to help, as has my son. Once again my family comes to the rescue. In this case I need many more brain cells in areas that are way out of my knowledge base. For the "I can do it myself" freak that I am, I must say I am delighted to invite the boys to help.

The pool pump gaskets are here and the other project has set this on the back burner...but the NEAR back burner. Each day I run the pump ten hours or more. Then I shut it down so everything can dry. It is leaking a lot, but I don't want the pool to get back to green as I wait to get back to it. Today is already looking like a hot one, so I will be sopping water pretty much all day. The truck must come first this time around. I wish there was a way to carry the truck on the back of the motorcycle so I didn't have to play the "wait for the ferry game."

I hope to get out with the camera and get some pictures this weekend. We have had eagles, ospreys, and herons galore lately with the extreme low tides. I just never think to stop and take pictures as I drive by the tide flats. My brain cells are too loaded up with plans to be able to stop and enjoy the views. Hopefully that will change by the end of the weekend.

Have a great one. It looks to be quite nice; here, anyway.

G2

Once you have seen something, no matter how hard you try, you can't unsee it. Woof! I love that dog.

S2

Is it Wednesday?

First things first. Star had a beautiful little filly (I got to watch) and her humans could not be happier.

Next, I spent about twenty hours on the house, and boy does it feel good. I still have the bedrooms and bathrooms, but they were nothing like the rest of the house. The amount of dust that one person and two dogs can drag in is truly amazing. I even cleaned the dust off all the surge protectors and cords...and that had to be about the worst, well barely beating out the books, cds, and movies. It took two full days and the more I did, the more I saw. By the end of the week the rest of the house will be done. I am taking it in smaller increments as I have other things to do as well, and like I said, it is no where near as bad. Thank goodness the heat wave has gone for now. I vow to do weekly cleanings, as my mother did. It may not always be on the same day of the week as dog shows may interfere, but it will happen. After fifty years I finally understand what I always thought was Mom's obsession with Saturday house cleaning. It so easily can get nasty, and when the dust bunnies grow to dust hippos it is time to make some changes. This place will never, ever, get as bad as the house I left and I shudder to even consider the comparison. However, it was to the point of not wanting drop in visits, so it was pretty bad. Now I can smile again, and can take a cd from the bookcase without having an allergy attack.

With that I am off to take care of the guest bathroom. Who would have ever thought I would get such joy from cleaning? Certainly not I.

G2

Facebook, myspace, twitter, blogspot

wefoal, marestare

We all have our electronic diversions. It is an interesting phenomenon. I remember thinking "myspace? no way." I have a facebook account, but spend little time there. It is my way of keeping up with my nephews. The grand thing is that I get an email when anything comes up and I can then go to the site and make my comment. The big thing now is "twitter." I have never been on the site, and have enough diversions, so likely will wait at least until winter to check it out. Any one that knows me also knows that I tend to stay away from those "in" things. I think I have only opened an Oprah mag once; and it was not one that I bought, but one that was in a waiting room and I decided I would rather thumb through it than US News and World Report. The lessor of the two evils.

My guilty pleasure these past few months is wefoal and marestare. I think I have mentioned these sites before; basically they are sites where horse breeders can put a live feed of their soon to foal mares. They can go about their days and know that the mares are being watched. If something kicks in to high gear the phone number is dialed and the owner alerted. If things go bad the camera is turned off. Luckily that rarely happens. It can be great fun, and things can get done around the house and the live feed left up so I can look and clean. It is much cooler today, so I can handle being in the house. It is filthy and I actually look forward to cleaning. Star is also in early labor. Her tail is going and she is pacing a bit. On occasion she wanders outside, then immediately comes back into camera view. Perhaps by noon she will have a foal at her side. Perhaps by noon I will have the front room clean as well. It is my win-win for the day. That said, I am off to clean as little Star continues her pacing. Sometimes this electronic stuff makes me smile.

G2

Cooling down

It is a cooler 79 degrees in the hallway right now. I am good as I just soaked down in the now blue and clear see-ment pond out my back door. (Alright, it is really fiberglass, but Granny always made me smile; she brought out the redneck in me, what can I say?)

Yesterday was a day of partying...again, what can I say? ;) Two great parties, with the second being next door so I could keep an eye on the critters and the house. By dusk the little horse was a bit worked up. After the big show across the street began I could hear her run with each window shaking blast. I went out to be with her for the duration. Today she is calmer, but upon cleaning the field I can see that she was really worked up, as it appears I have a cow out there rather than a horse. I will need to watch her closely for the next couple of days and make sure she doesn't dehydrate. I will also be giving her Probiotics until her gut returns to normal. I think next year I will be back to locking her up and turning on the music. Nothing can really be done about the big bangs as it is a fact of my life here. I guess I will just plan on July 4 nights in the barn.

I realized that it has been more than a month since I went target shooting, and that is a big no no. When I got my CCP one of the things I vowed was that I would get to the range at least every three weeks. So, guess what I will be doing tomorrow? I rather enjoy it and am looking forward to it. The sad thing about it is that ammo is very expensive now, and a bit hard to find. I have plenty as I listened to what the NRA said prior to the election and stocked up. Sadly, all that they have said has proven to be true. I try hard not to think about it and pick up any I can find whenever I go out. It is weird to have to put it into the budget, but it is now at that point. I guess we must be vigilant in doing our homework or our rights will be down the toilet. Scary times.

In other news: the garter snakes are quite pretty this year. Instead of the yellow stripes, this year's batch have red stripes. I have only seen one yellow striped this season, and believe me I have seen plenty. The corgis leave them alone, which keeps me quite happy. The only thing I hate more than being startled by a big 'un sunning, is having to remove a dead one. I mistakenly thought that the crows would take them away and they don't. However the dogs DO enjoy rolling on/in them. The neighbor dog is an amazing snake hunter, but she doesn't take them away either. So they are best off healthy and very much alive. A stomp of my foot nearby sends them slithering off to a safe place in the bushes.

The rain is supposed to come in on Tuesday. I have mixed feelings about it. Now that the pool is open I would prefer to keep the sunshine, but it is always nice to let Mother Nature do the watering. I think I will be swimming in the rain. Chances are that the temps will not drop off too much.

My forecast is for a nice week, and I wish to extend that to all. Don't let yourselves get so wrapped up in "getting there" that you forget to look around and enjoy the beauty of the ride.

G2

Hot, dry, and fires

It is much drier this summer than it has been for several years. I have been listening to the fire sirens all day. My daughter said that she saw two helicopters carrying water bags to the north and to the south of her place. Yet people still set off fireworks. They also still throw their ciggy butts out the window. Hey dudes and dudettes, the wife/husband/employer knows! Throwing it out the window does NOT erase the evidence. Sheesh.

Anyway. I dislike fireworks with a passion. I didn't like them as a kid. I really didn't like them as a teen when I realized that they mimicked the sounds of war, and we were deep into Vietnam. I hated them when I worked the summer job packing and shipping them out to all the stands. I like them as a screen saver on the computer, and I rather enjoy the big aerial shows. I just think it all should be left to the pyrotechnicians. Yes, I know that even they can have problems and accidents, but they generally know how they can be deployed in the safest way possible. They do not fill their every cell with celebratory alcohol prior to the show. They do not let their toddlers wander while lighting bottle rockets and black cats. When the show is over, that is it. The booms and bangs began here yesterday. I am surrounded by reservation land. I think a trooper or deputy should be on every road out of the reservation. How many "kids" end up in the trauma center each year? How many animals flee never to be found, or found dead on the road? This year it seems safest to leave the horse out of the barn. She is nervous and pacing. But I feel that locking her up could be more dangerous should a bottle rocket torch the woods surrounding the property. Unpatriotic? I think not. You are reading from the person who cries when the National Anthem is played. I just think that parties and explosives do not mix well, and when their has been no rain for weeks it quickly turns an insane and unsafe evening into a recipe for disaster.

With that said I will go to bed and watch a bit of TV. It likely will be a bunch of MJ tributes. I am amazed at the parallels between him and the other "King." At least the way their last few years of life were, anyway. It does amaze me that the general public seems to think that every one who is any one will never die. This poor man/child has been dying for years. It is sad, but it is life. A few short years ago he was trashed by everyone. Now that he is dead all of that is replaced with honor and worship. The human mind can be a very strange beast. I will acknowledge that it has been a tough year for Hollywood. Cancer, age related, "accidents." Did Elvis' doctor ever serve time or lose his license? I cannot remember. If they find Propofol in MJ's tissue samples I suspect we will see the doctor spending some time in the big house with the rest of the high paying executives that are "setting examples." And, while I am on this little rant, what medical person doesn't think to put a person on the floor to do cardiac massage? Come on, dude, the guy only weighed 20 pounds...

Wow, I am on a roll. I think I need to end this on an up. How about a patriotic kitty cat?

Y'all have a safe 4th. Keep the water hose ready and the buckets filled for those sparkler wires. I will have my flag up.

Happy Birthday, America.

G2

'Twas an interesting day

It is hot. Way too hot for me. The pool is almost there. I am thinking tomorrow I will officially get back into it. If it were available I am sure I would be in better spirits. As it is, let's just say I am been making a few silly faux pas here and there, and I choose to blame it on the heat.

A friend is in town...well, not this town, but in the county anyway. She went through some tough things and moved to Missouri. I felt a tad frantic when she left. You see, she is the only person that I can feel totally comfortable with when it comes to scissors and hair. I was a freak-out kid when Mom tried to drag me into a salon. I was the "rebel" of the family, and really gave them a run for their money. Perhaps my older brother had a bit of the rebel as well, but he at least played the game and hid it well. Not I. I am, and always have been, an emotional person. It goes for all emotions. My poor mother. I am sure she did as I have done: quietly smiled as the first child was born. You know that smile; that smile that says "just you wait, my dear..." So, I was the rebel kid. I admit I was just past the hair ironing thing; a few years older and it would have happened. I liked Janis Joplin and Carole King. I laughed at my Dad when he was listening to KIXI in the morning and "Scarborough Fair" came on. It was, of course played by 164,000 strings, but was a Simon and Garfunkle tune, and I told him so. He, of course, let me know that he would NEVER listen to music by any group whose name he couldn't pronounce. OK Dad. If only computers were around then, as I had a heckuva time proving my point on that one. So to get back to where I started, this friend is back in town and offered a friend's house if any of us former customers wanted a hair cut. I had been lamenting the fact that I needed to call one of the places that she recommended when she moved, but the idea struck fear in me. Such silliness; and I cannot get to the bottom of it. I think it is one of those "back to the childhood" things, and hardly worth paying a counselor a big fee to get worked out. So, about the time I was trying to get the nerve to call I got the email that she was in town for a wedding. YES!!! An appointment was made for Tuesday at 11:15 in a small town about 45 minutes from here. I plugged the address into smooth Aussie talking GPS, Lee, and eagerly awaited Tuesday. Then...dum, dum, dum, the oldest ends up in the ER with the still to be "birthed" kidney stone. His Father in law is in the hospital getting his hip replaced, and my two grand kids need some attention. So I pick up the cell phone and call the friend to beg for a different appointment. You see, I ended up leaving the two wheeler at son's house and driving daughter in law's car home with kids. (Funny thing: two car seats just don't fit on the back of the motor-sickle.) Next morning I would drop kids at school at nine, drive to son's and exchange car for motorcycle. Back on the ferry and to appointment at 11:10? It was just not going to fly. She answers the phone and I whine my predicament to her. "Sure", says she, "how about Thursday at 1?" Thanking her I hang up the phone. Yesterday I realized that I never told her who was calling. Caller ID works fine if I was on the house phone. My cell will just show up as a Seattle cellular phone. She had a booming business when she was here, so chances are she had no idea who had just changed appointments until I missed on Tuesday. I was the phantom woman with bushy hair who had a son with a kidney stone and grandkids. Wow. So today I get in the truck and head out. I plug trusty Lee into the cigarette lighter. I know, they are no longer called that, but I haven't a clue what they are called. Do you know they don't even come with the plug thing that gets hot and will actually brand your little brother if quickly placed on his arm as he sleeps? (You must do it while the end is still glowing orange.) I make it to the appointment and we catch up on life, loves, and Chastity (now Chaz) Bono. I am heading home when Lee tells me his battery is low. I wiggle the plug and continue driving. Lee is also my bluetooth hands free phone speaker, receiver. He suddenly goes off. Luckily I can find my way home just fine without him, but have to wonder what is up. I pull the plug and then notice that it is an empty hollow plastic tube. No guts. It is obvious that some part has come unscrewed. I can see the threads molded into the plastic. Perhaps it is in the saddlebags of the bike. Nope. Sigh. I call daughter in law. She says "wow, there was some weird stuff on the front seat, including a glass tube. I wonder if that is what you are looking for..." I jump online and indeed, there is a fuse and a spring as the guts to this thing. So I look for the charger that plugs into the wall, or the cord to patch it to the computer. No luck. None. All I can think about is the box of miscellaneous computer parts and wires that I dumped on Goodwill. Arghh!! So poor Lee sits here on the desk. Silent. No place to go. The ear bud is charging should I need to drive somewhere. I hate it, but so it goes. I find the Garmin service number and find I am an hour late calling. I suspect they will replace the thing; it will just take a few, no, make that several, days to get it here. It is hot. I am grumpy. One good thing came of the search for the cords: I found a monster sized "digital storage solution" card. It doesn't fit any of my cameras, but I suspect it will fit S2's. I haven't a clue when it was left here. I haven't looked to see if it is empty. As wacky as S2 can be it could be a tomato plant pollinating, or something equally as embarrassing. B'sides, I never look at photos without permission. Seriously. Another one of those weird childhood things I guess.

So, now my house has been turned upside down and it is too hot to even think about cleaning. The thermostat in the much cooler hallway says 82. I think I will take the dogs out to see their horse, and then will get into the shower. I am hoping that I will be able to see the bottom of the pool tomorrow...

G2

I hate fundraising

With Drum and Bugle Corps and band I did so much that I am still burned out forty years later. But, I need to get over it if I am going to walk in the 3 Day. Yep, I have to come up with a lot of dinero in order to torture this poor body for 3 days and 60 miles.

Darling daughter has lots of ideas, but her pregnant belly is draining the stamina and will to "get 'er done." So I need to pick up the reins and see that we have the funding to do the walk. She has come up with a ton of wonderful ideas. We, or I, need to get on the band, or bugle, wagon and take her ideas and run, or gimp, with them.

So, dear readers, friends, enemies, confidants...any ideas on coming up with a quick 5K would be greatly appreciated...sigh

G2