the boy is home
23 Wednesday Apr 2008
Posted daily life
in23 Wednesday Apr 2008
Posted daily life
in23 Wednesday Apr 2008
Posted my life
inthe neighborhood garage sale is not until the 24th, so its farther off than i thought. so if we are ready, we may have one in two weeks anyway, and then have one during the neighborhood sale too. personally, i like opening about 6am, beating the heat and catching all the retired people and guys who get out early to beat the crowds. when ever we have had early sales we have sold the most. and then we can close earlier and do other things.
in other news, the grass i planted behind the shed and along the fence is long enough to include in the next yard mowing. it isnt quite think enough yet to mow, but its growing fast. im going to seed again this weekend, along the other side of the yard where there are bare spots, and to strengthen the main area. the little trees in pots are getting leaves too. the roses and the azaleas have bloomed. the couple who sold us this house put in all pink flowers, to match the roses maybe. im definitely going to get some other colors and add my own signature to the beds. i pulled out the pink impatiens. it was just too much pink. although i like pink. i want to get some silver,
black,
and maybe red
to offset the pink.
you get the idea.
i would have picked white azaleas myself. in the back i have even more room to play around with plants. i love having a yard to play in. 🙂
22 Tuesday Apr 2008
Posted my life
inim going to busy for a while. my entire neighborhood is going to have a community garage sale the weekend of may 2nd. every one who participates will have their own sale at their own house, but it will be advertised by our neighborhood committee, and draw a lot of people here. we have a lot of stuff we want to get rid of, and have been planning a garage sale since we moved. most of the stuff is in the garage attic now, and we just need to get it priced and we will be ready. plus we were given a nice computer desk just last weekend, so we were able to get the huge folding table out of the office. we can use it for the sale 🙂
20 Sunday Apr 2008
Posted my life
incats have much more to them than people often think. at least mine do. let me introduce you to the furrier members of my family.
gizmo – favorite pastimes are bugging us in the bathroom, eating ice cream, and chewing on plastic.
this is the little prince of the house. he is going on 10yrs now, he came to us right after our little 8yr old siamese died of heart failure. we were in shock from it, and werent planning to get another cat, but the vet where we were inquiring about her sudden death had this little drop off in her arms. he was about 2 months old, and suffered from malnutrition. he was fearless, quite the jumper, and had these enormous ears. she handed him to me, and he captured my heart. he had a voracious appetite, and soon was looking sleek and healthy. but he was really demanding of attention, and his way. he doesnt comprehend the word ‘no’. he thinks it means ‘now’. we call him sassy, and saucy boy (among other names) because of his attitude. he really thinks he’s a prince.
maggie pie – favorite pastimes are stalking nozomi, insisting i pet her now, and competing for ice cream.
we found this one while on a walk one day down by the river. there among the river stones was a rock with copper eyes. then it meowed. and it was fluffy. that was about 8 years ago. she let us pet her, and obviously wanted loving, but was skittish too. we tricked her, and caught her, and brought her home. i gave her the only bath i ever have given her, which she took surprisingly well. her eyes are copper in the sun, but emerald in the house. she lives in a world of her own. we call her crazy maggie, because she can be so, uh, nuts. she often comes up to me and meows in this clearly inquisitive tone, asking to be petted. but if i pick her up, her voice instantly changes to a clearly perturbed complaint of ‘nooo!’ and she has a whole dictionary of syllables she says. sometimes she will come into the bathroom when im in there, lay down and flip over, and then get up and walk back out.
thor – favorite pastimes are stealing warm spots just vacated, cuddling with nozi, and being a tease.
we brought thor home from the plant where the beau works before his eyes were open. he and his littermates were about 3 weeks old, and their mother had been killed. he found homes for the rest, but this one was really vocal. he said he liked that about him. we weaned him, and maggie helped raise him – or maybe just enjoyed playing with him. he was tough to feed from a bottle, because he was feral enough by birth, and just got all frantic. he has always been full of energy, and used to jump 5-6 straight up during play time. he still likes to play, and loves the laser pointer best. he runs from me when he thinks i want him for something, but will come up to on his own to be petted. he doesnt like to be held. he’s a beefy 10lbs + with a sissy little ‘mee?’ voice. he loves all the other cats, and the dog. he thinks he is a tiger.
nozomi – favorite pastimes are eating and being held.
nozi is our special needs kitty. her DNA was a bit scrambled when her mother ingested some antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy, and she has a hair lip and isnt real bright. she has one syllable that she says … a lot. she really likes to be held, and likes thor. the other two have been less than civil to her, so she is defensive to them. she can hold her own, and bit gizmo on the tail giving him an abscess. he doesnt pick fights with her anymore. maggie likes to stalk her about once a week, and then they scream at each other. its an unearthly sound. then its over. i can delay it when i see maggie gearing up, but she will follow thru eventually. i figure they are discussing princess status. we call her our chupacabra.
cinnamon – favorite pastimes are eating, playing, and sleeping on her bed.
cinnamon is all about playing and eating. she’s silly and she knows it. i think. when we are having dinner, she is either begging for a scrap or guarding our meal from the cats. she guards the grocery bags while im putting stuff away too. she likes being outside, but only when its nice out. fair weather dog. her first home was a lot with a small bare doghouse with a 6 foot chain holding her to it. she has a nice dry bed now. she’s all dog, but is happy to be part of a pack made up of cats and people.
thats the main body of our household. its never dull here.
18 Friday Apr 2008
Posted my own blue star
inThe old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We’ll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior’s heart,
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We’ll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior’s heart,
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
12 Saturday Apr 2008
Posted cats
incats have much more to them than people often think. at least mine do. let me introduce you to the furrier members of my family.
gizmo – favorite pastimes are bugging us in the bathroom, eating ice cream, and chewing on plastic.
this is the little prince of the house. he is going on 10yrs now, he came to us right after our little 8yr old siamese died of heart failure. we were in shock from it, and werent planning to get another cat, but the vet where we were inquiring about her sudden death had this little drop off in her arms. he was about 2 months old, and suffered from malnutrition. he was fearless, quite the jumper, and had these enormous ears. she handed him to me, and he captured my heart. he had a voracious appetite, and soon was looking sleek and healthy. but he was really demanding of attention, and his way. he doesnt comprehend the word ‘no’. he thinks it means ‘now’. we call him sassy, and saucy boy (among other names) because of his attitude. he really thinks he’s a prince.
maggie pie – favorite pastimes are stalking nozomi, insisting i pet her now, and competing for ice cream.
we found this one while on a walk one day down by the river. there among the river stones was a rock with copper eyes. then it meowed. and it was fluffy. that was about 8 years ago. she let us pet her, and obviously wanted loving, but was skittish too. we tricked her, and caught her, and brought her home. i gave her the only bath i ever have given her, which she took surprisingly well. her eyes are copper in the sun, but emerald in the house. she lives in a world of her own. we call her crazy maggie, because she can be so, uh, nuts. she often comes up to me and meows in this clearly inquisitive tone, asking to be petted. but if i pick her up, her voice instantly changes to a clearly perturbed complaint of ‘nooo!’ and she has a whole dictionary of syllables she says. sometimes she will come into the bathroom when im in there, lay down and flip over, and then get up and walk back out.
thor – favorite pastimes are stealing warm spots just vacated, cuddling with nozi, and being a tease.
we brought thor home from the plant where the beau works before his eyes were open. he and his littermates were about 3 weeks old, and their mother had been killed. he found homes for the rest, but this one was really vocal. he said he liked that about him. we weaned him, and maggie helped raise him – or maybe just enjoyed playing with him. he was tough to feed from a bottle, because he was feral enough by birth, and just got all frantic. he has always been full of energy, and used to jump 5-6 straight up during play time. he still likes to play, and loves the laser pointer best. he runs from me when he thinks i want him for something, but will come up to on his own to be petted. he doesnt like to be held. he’s a beefy 10lbs + with a sissy little ‘mee?’ voice. he loves all the other cats, and the dog. he thinks he is a tiger.
nozomi – favorite pastimes are eating and being held.
nozi is our special needs kitty. her DNA was a bit scrambled when her mother ingested some antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy, and she has a hair lip and isnt real bright. she has one syllable that she says … a lot. she really likes to be held, and likes thor. the other two have been less than civil to her, so she is defensive to them. she can hold her own, and bit gizmo on the tail giving him an abscess. he doesnt pick fights with her anymore. maggie likes to stalk her about once a week, and then they scream at each other. its an unearthly sound. then its over. i can delay it when i see maggie gearing up, but she will follow thru eventually. i figure they are discussing princess status. we call her our chupacabra.
cinnamon – favorite pastimes are eating, playing, and sleeping on her bed.
cinnamon is all about playing and eating. she’s silly and she knows it. i think. when we are having dinner, she is either begging for a scrap or guarding our meal from the cats. she guards the grocery bags while im putting stuff away too. she likes being outside, but only when its nice out. fair weather dog. her first home was a lot with a small bare doghouse with a 6 foot chain holding her to it. she has a nice dry bed now. she’s all dog, but is happy to be part of a pack made up of cats and people.
thats the main body of our household. its never dull here.
12 Saturday Apr 2008
Posted my life
insome of you have asked what a french drain is, so i thought i would tell a little about them.
basically, its a trench filled with gravel that routs water away from your yard. its a simple design, however it can be labor intensive, depending on how long the trench needs to be.
it works by gravity, so the trench has to slope downward away from the point to be drained. that makes sense 🙂 after looking at a number of examples, ive found my drain doesnt have to be in a straight line, so i can tailor it to fit where i put it. im considering a drain leading away from the center of the back wall of the den, and curving around the south side of the house toward the front, since my front yard slopes down to the street. that should effectively drain where the greatest part of the water gathers. the good thing is the water that pools up soaks down into the ground rather quickly, so my drain ought to work well.
we also got five baby trees in the mail yesterday from the arbor foundation. the beau send off for them, and they were free. so this weekend we will be planting trees in buckets, until we decide where we will be placing them permanently. i love trees. i had a wonderful horse chestnut tree when i lived in portland oregon (or’-e-gun) where i went to grade school. it was huge, and came with the house my grandmother bought when we moved there from idaho. i miss that old tree.
the trees we received are
goldenrain tree
sargent crabapple
white dogwood
washington hawthorn
eastern redbud
and a crape myrtle for good measure
its going to be a fun weekend.
10 Thursday Apr 2008
Posted my life
inthis town really doesnt have a good drain system for rain. maybe it doesnt rain hard very often, but in the spring when the storms hit, it comes down hard and fast. and it does this every year. you would think there would be better drainage off the streets. you would think. but hey, this is a town that has no public storm shelters (maybe no one does, im not sure. but most of the houses have no basements either. right here in tornado land.uh huh.) so monday night/tuesday morning we had severe thunderstorms passing over, with torrential rains. the intersection where we turn to drop off the beau for work becomes a lake that can get nearly as high as the doors of the car. that is the only way in or out, so we have to drive through it. our altima has pressurized fuel injection, so we didnt get any water into the lines. just a little on the air filter, i think. still, there should be some kind of drain there, but there isnt.
my back yard became a swamp. so ive decided we’re going to put in a french drain. maybe two. the whole yard is full of water. its raining again this morning, but not as hard. i like steady, light rain, but i dont care much for this.
im supposed to be getting a picture of a computer desk. a drug rep that happens to be a girl who grew up near one of my co workers has the desk in her garage. she is giving it to me for free, and her husband will even deliver it. im eager to get it, so we can get our office more organized. i so hate clutter.
my son was due to get home from iraq yesterday. after eight years in the marines, and two tours in iraq, he will be getting out of the military, and wants to pursue a career in the police force or sheriff’s department. that may be cliché to some, but im very proud of him for it.
well, its off to work. looking forward to the weekend. its supposed to be cool and clear. i will be doing some yard work.
06 Sunday Apr 2008
Posted daily life
inive been spring cleaning. trying to get all the clutter sorted out, and the bin of stuff to file filed. my table is cleared off, except for the stuff i want to work on. we’re going shopping today, to get a new bed for cinnamon, so she wont be a welfare dog sleeping on an old folded up comforter. we’re getting some bathroom throw rugs too, so when gizmo gets the rips he wont be slinging rugs across the floor. maybe thats the fun part. then we’re off to the local home improvement store to get some top soil and more grass seed for the yard, and a ladder to use to get up into the attic. instead of two plastic buckets stacked. uh huh. i dont like it either. i havent been in the attic yet, and i want to see what its like. before it gets hot. and lastly, some pruning shears for the roses. i am going to learn to properly take care of roses. everyone should know how to care for roses, i think. because.
in the quest to file my taxes, i called H&R block. they wanted over $300 to do my taxes if i claimed deductions.
um, thats a little more than i was expecting, ok, thank you *click*.
i opened a new account with turbo tax, and did them again myself. i then called a rep right before i paid, explaining what had happened the previous time, and asked her to stay on the line while i went thru the process, just in case. after asking me several questions, she asked me to hold a moment, did something, and then said ‘ok, go ahead’. i proceeded, and it went well. i followed the next few steps involved in paying and e-filing, and ta-da! success, without a problem. i was most pleased.
i guess i was more stressed over this than i realized. i had been feeling quite scatter brained, and forgetting things. having a rapid fire attention span is normal for me. however, being unable to focus when i want to isnt. nor is leaving my phone at home twice in one week. being emotional is normal for me, but i am still calm most of the time. being easily rattled isnt. i also sleep well, even though i wake up during the night. im always rested in spite of it. being unable to sleep isnt like me.
yesterday, although it was the beau’s saturday to work, i had quite a leisurely day. i so needed it. other than vacuuming the den, i simple enjoyed being home and doing fun things. i pampered myself a bit, tried a new nail polish – which i love – tried a new hair product, and played a video game. i had the windows open, the dog outside for some serious fresh air, and since i had gotten most of the cleaning done the night before, was able to enjoy the day distraction free. thats a rare thing. not once did i feel there was something i needed to be doing other than what i was doing. after the beau came home, went out in the yard and did some doodoo duty, looked for signs of new grass where i planted some seed, checked on the state of the flowers i have so far, and then fed the menagerie.
im looking forward to shopping around today. it will be fun, im sure.
google Tags: taxes, stress, spring cleaning
01 Tuesday Apr 2008
Posted misc
inhere’s a story i received in an email, and i wanted to share it.
Freedom and I have been together 10 years this summer. She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way even after surgery, it was broken in 4 places. She’s my baby.
Jeff
When Freedom came in she could not stand. Both wings were broken, her left wing in 4 places. She was emaciated and covered in lice. We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vet’s office. From then on, I was always around her. We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks.
This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked like death was winning. She was going to be put down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go to the center that Thursday, because I couldn’t bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear. I went immediately back to her dowl cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle. She was ready to live. I was just about in tears by then. That was a very good day.
We knew she could never fly, so the director asked me to glove train her. I got her used to the glove, and then to jesses, and we started doing education programs for schools in western Washington. We wound up in the newspapers, radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.
In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of chemo. Lost the hair – the whole bit. I missed a lot of work. When I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey & take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time & time again.
Fast forward to November 2000, the day after Thanksgiving, I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for the results. I went in Monday and I was told that all the cancer was gone. Yahoo!
So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her up, and we went out front to the top of the hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them pressing in on my back (I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my eyes, and we just stood there like that for I don’t know how long. That was a magic moment. We have been soul mates ever since she came in. This is a very special bird.
On a side note, I have had people who were sick come up to us when we are out, & Freedom has some kind of hold on them. I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us & I let him hold her. His knees just about buckled and he swore he could feel her power coarse through his body. I have so many stories like that. I never forget the honor I have of being so close to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom’s.
Hope you enjoy this.