MY CRAZY NEIGHBOR AND HIS DOGS!

Working downtown you get to hear some weird nosies and PoD & I play this game of "what can it be?"

One particular noise has been this spine chilling sound that can only be described as "someone beating the hell out of their dog or even worse...puppies"! This noise comes and goes all day long! It even sounds like what you hear on TV when a woman is being killed...it's that gruesome! PoD and I could never figure where it was coming from because it would come and go so quickly that you couldn't follow the noise.

Then PoD got back together with Trebor and staying over at his place she found out what it was!

His neighbor owned 3 purebred huskies [for breeding purposes] and the horrible noise was coming from them! It seems that huskies do not bark like usual dogs! They utter noises like they are trying to talk and when excited it can sound like someone screaming in agony! Now imagine 3 of them doing that!

These dogs are cooped up in a 6' x 6' enclosure all day long and seldom [if ever] get to run about...so the owner claims! Although it turns out he was the one who phoned the newspaper to complain about our towns "rat" problem and the fact that his dogs were bring back dead rats and playing with them. Yup...these are the same dogs that he says never run about?

PoD had a horrible time trying to put up with the noise during the times that she stayed there with Trebor and warned me about it when I moved in! I figured that I could stand anything until I heard these dogs at all hours screaming like they were being killed! I felt sorry for the dogs and their plight with being caged like they were.

I also got to hear how nice the guy was who owned them! The way he screamed at his wife and kids at the slightest thing that they did made me wonder if it was only the dogs that screamed that way! There is no way you can see their yard from my side [thankfully] because of the trees that block any viewing of what's going on.

I put up with the party on one side of me without calling the cops but hearing what was going on on the other side made me realize that something had to be done. With that guys attitude towards his wife and family there was no way I was going to face him personally so I figured I would talk to the town about what could be done and keep it anonymously!

What a mistake that was!

It seems everyone around him has kept quiet and I happened to be the only one who complained because I got to meet him personally, at my door, Friday night!

I can only describe this person as psycho...everything about this guy screams "crazy"! His moods went from nice to angry the whole time during our 10 minute conversation!

It seems the town was just waiting for an excuse to fine him [thanks to the newspaper report of "rats"] and sent him a 100.00 fine for having unregistered dogs! All I wanted was for them to warn him about the excessive dogs noises an to try to keep them quiet as much as possible...instead they made things worse by fining him!

In the newspaper article it stated that he was in dire straights and his wife and him couldn't find any jobs around here. Which is a lie because his wife was given a chance at the mart in town and was fired from it for being drunk on the job [her boss told us that he thought she was a "beaten" wife and he felt sorry for her and gave her a job until he found out that she appeared at work drunk]!

Anyways...he starts telling me that he just got laid off and this fine pushes things over the edge [his words not mine] with him and this town! I reminded him that maybe it was his attitude that kept him from keeping a job...but that only enraged him even more! So he tells me in his parting remarks that "seeing as he OWNS his house he plans on leaving town and will be renting his place out to his "biker" friends and plans on telling them to BURN ME OUT"!

JUST GREAT!!

Do I take this threat seriously or not?

Thankfully my son was there at the time and witnessed every word uttered...but it still scared me a lot! What do I do when he's not home?

I had no alternative but call the cops...which happened to be a useless venture...no one answered and I got to leave a recording! I will be contacting them today and making a report just in case this guy does go nutso!

Meanwhile the whole weekend was spent jumping at every little noise and the occasional firecracker going off made us think we were being shot at!

I traded a chance for fresh air for this???!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!

I am so proud to be Canadian!

I don't always agree with my country's leadership and crab about it like everyone else but I do love the land that I stand on!

I have traveled from one ocean to the other across Canada and loved every beautiful sight of it!

The only place I haven't visited is up north where part of my heritage comes from. My great, great, great, great grandfather came from Laleham, Middlesex, England and arrived on Canadian shores in the early 1800's and settled with an Inuit woman. My relatives are of English/Inuit/Cree origin so I classify myself more Canadian than those of mostly imported genetics. I am very proud of my native blood line!

In the past years we generally celebrated Canada Day on my step-mother's birthday [June 30] and had some family gatherings at that same time. Since her passing in 2003 family get together only happen when someone dies!

We had hoped to get together on my grand daughter's 10th birthday but daily events here changed that. Here's hoping that we can revive the gathering later this month or in August?

Yesterday my niece and her husband came to visit with PoD and her family. They dropped by last night to see my new place. It was great to see them!

Don't know if we will be having any Canada Day celebrations but who knows?

Hopefully someone in town will have fireworks and we will get to see them!

SO HAPPY CANADA DAY TO ALL MY CANADIAN FRIENDS AND HAVE A GREAT SUNNY HOLIDAY!

Meanwhile....back at my place I have this to contend with.......

A crazy neighbor and his dogs........story coming soon!

CAT & DOG FACT:

Read an article lately about flea collars for your pets.

WARNING:

CATS CANNOT WEAR FLEA COLLARS THAT ARE MEANT FOR DOGS!

It seems that one of the ingredients [Permethrin] found in dog collars is not safe for cats! Over a period of time the ingredient will cause convulsions and in some cases even death!

Reading further about flea collars I found that most vet's recommend that you don't use these collars at all for either animal!

The use of these collars are only effective in the small area around the collar and seldom get to the back end. Over a long period of time the chemicals are absorbed into the skin and can cause other organs to fail. They recommend that you keep your animal clean with shampoos only recommended by your vet and none from over-the-counter stores!

And if that isn't enough reasons...the collars are not easily broken and can get caught...causing the animal to hang themselves!

I know every time I put these collars on the animals I would be the one getting sick! I found that I could never pet any of my animals when they wore these things so I eventually stopped using them and let nature take it's course.

I found washing my pets kept the bugs away and me healthier!

WTF...UPDATE

The people in charge of upgrading their main sites must have too-o-o-o-o much time on their hands!

The net browser that I was using decided to upgrade from 7.1 to a 9...this is not good news for those of us who are a bit challenged when it comes to messing with things that already work good enough for what we need!

You aren't even able to decide whether you what the upgrade or not because they make that decision for you! They just go ahead and change it! With all this messing around it made my business lose all it's stored email files and addresses! I tried getting my mail and I even needed to send out estimates but instead I had to wait for PoD to show up to get anywhere!

Thankfully PoD was able to find me a new way to do my emailing that's supposed to never get lost again...but I will believe that when I see it!!!

You can't teach this old cat to do new tricks!!! Why learn...when they're only going to change them!

My thoughts...."What's next"????

WTF

I leave my computer alone for the weekend and come back to find that my Internet server needs to re-registered? It seems that an "All-New Netscape Navigator 9.0" is now available and that might be what the problem is...will need PoD's expertise on that one [it's all Greek to me]! Hopefully I haven't lost all my emails as I need it for customers who place their orders on-line.

Right now I am using PoD's computer that just happens to be sitting right next to it! She brought it here because she very rarely uses it at home and I need it so I can blog[blog errors on mine]....which happens to be very important to me!

Hopefully she can fix it and it's not more trouble to add to the long line of problems that have been testing my will power lately!!!!

Jill Tip - The Mover

My wonderful "moving tool" invention is the best helper in the world!

It's called "The Skateboard"!



Being of limited strength, I found it very difficult to move any heavy objects around the shop [I redecorate fairly often] and asking someone [or waiting for] to help me, grates on my "Jill" abilities!



I solved my dilemma by using BillyRoo's abandoned skateboard.



All I had to do was lift up one end of the heavy object and push the skateboard under the center of it, then keep it balanced while I moved said object to where I wanted it. This works really well on all surfaces except for very heavy plush carpeting and loose dirt. If the object is small enough and the curved ends protrude you can pivot the item just like a skateboarder would pivot themselves. As for how much weight it can hold...just imagine a kid/adult leaping off of ramps onto the board and the amount of weight this item takes when they do that.



I have moved 4' x 8' sheets of aluminum & wood to areas where I need them, just by balancing the sheet and using my foot to pivot it. The only strength needed was lifting one end.

It also was a great help in moving my boxes while I was moving out and into my new place. We also used the board in conjunction with the moving dolly when we moved the fridge. We could go forward with the dolly and sideways with the skateboard, it worked great in tight hallways/doorways and we never had to removed the dolly to replace it.



Being a Halloween nut I have also used the skateboard for moving creatures for scare tactics. My big white spider was a hit in my last Haunted Courthouse adventure. I had painted my skateboard all black so it couldn't be seen.

I now have two skateboards! I picked up my other one at a garage sale. You have to keep in mind what kind of system it has for the wheels. My second one has wheels that enables the skater to lean sideways because of the joining of the wheels to the base. My preference is wheels that are rigid...it hold the item better without the side wobble. I still use the other when the object it wide and using two helps to balance it better.


So now you have many uses for that object when you confiscate it from your offending children!

THE PARTY

My first night in my new place was Saturday night. I was looking forward to cleaner air, no emptying of buckets and generally peace & quiet.

Well.....I got the clean air!

The rain showed me that my new place had two leaks! One in the kitchen and just off the kitchen, the doorway to my bedroom...more buckets to empty! The leaks weren't too bad so Trebor was able to fix them...while the rain was pouring down on him!

As for the peace and quiet...the neighbors [young adults...although I use that term loosely] decided that it was party night!

Probably to see how far they could push the "old lady' next door?

Well push they did!

They had "drum solos" outside...yeah...a friggin' band outdoors!!!! They even sang...again I use that term loosely! All in all...they sucked! And the rain didn't deter them in the least!!!

All during the night more and more kids showed up...they were inside the house, some sat up on the porch roof, others outside filling the yard and more crammed into the garage! They had a bonfire going that could probably be seen for miles!

My heart stopped a couple of times when I thought I heard sounds like gun shots...turned out to be fireworks!

Rain stopped nothing!

Where were the cops you ask?

What cops?

Kids in this town know that there is NO PATROL on the weekends!

Trying to be not so negative and figuring that I would give them that night I phoned in NO complaint!

I SHOULD HAVE!

The next morning, as the darlings slept, results of the party could be seen everywhere! Their yard was completely covered in glass liquor bottles [some broken], broken beer bottles, beer cans, furniture [from inside of the house], garbage bags broken open...strewn everywhere and there was no spot that wasn't covered in filth! All of this crap spilled into the streets. One of the party goer's vehicle was covered in grass cuttings from bags that were slated for the dump!

All over the street and into the empty lot next door were empty beer cases...broken glass littered the street and sidewalk.

Oh....and yes my place got hit also!

The chair that we used to prop the front door open was sitting on the roof, the side next to their place was littered with broken glass and beer cans!

That blew my lid!

These guys rent their place...so I notified their landlord of possibility of house/yard damage and my displeasure at the garbage on my side!

It didn't take too long before the glass was removed from my place and the debris from their yard!

I know kids will be kids but some also have to know when things go too far!

I WILL BE CALLING THE COPS NEXT TIME!!!

And as for the NO PATROL on weekends maybe there should be a letter of complaint to the town!!!!

REMEMBER....don't piss-off the old lady next door!!!

Friday After work -

IT'S TIME TO PACK FOR THE BIG MOVE

I have been slowly packing stuff to move out of this place.

PoD and I had finalized what we wanted to paint/clean and all was ready for the big move!

I still had stuff left to pack and figured that I was ready enough to get going.

Finished up at 12:30 that night....still have more to do in the morning....

Saturday Morning/Afternoon - MOVING DAY

Finally its time to move!

I was up early [4:30am] had my coffee and started moving stuff downstairs [16 steps] that wasn't too heavy. I had managed 15 bags before Pod and the kids arrived at 8:30.

We used my son's van for the first few loads before HairGirl showed up to help.

I'm sure glad I downsize what I had before but it still seemed endless...which by the way isn't fully completed.

We rushed to get as much done as possible because surprise, surprise...fore cast was for rain!

We decided we were done for the day after "JD's Incident"

But.....

Later that night when Trebor got home he decided that we had to move the stuff that couldn't get damaged by the rain and we continued to bring in more!

We finished that night with both PoD and My muscles sreaming in agony!!!!

I don't know how I am going to managed to do more on Sunday????

Saturday Evening - The Cat's New Home

It was now time to move the cats!

Suki was okay and were were able to transport her to the house without any trouble. She was a little curious about what was going on but handled it quite well and the kids were able to be in the vehicle. The problem one was going to be Thumber!

Thumber has always been afraid of the kids and Pod...nothing that they have done to her. She's just a nervous cat and doesn't like people.

In order to get her there, PoD was going to have to drive and not say a word, while I was going to have to contend with a cat that might freak out!

There was no way I was going to be able to hold on to her if she decided she wanted not to be there...she's big and strong...and has too many claws! My solution was to get a cat harness on her so I would have something to hold on to if she decided to bolt! That meant tricking her with "treats" to get her to stay still long enough to accomplish this.

It worked but she wasn't to happy and you could feel her tensing up as I got closer to the door to outside. I was able to get her out and into the car but the further we drove the worse she was getting. Thankfully she doesn't bite [me] and I managed to get her in the new place and the harness off before total panic set in!

She was gone in a flash!

I wasn't even sure where she went in the house! It took her a long time to reappear!

Meanwhile...

HairGirl had taken the kids while we were messing with the cats. She had come in with AJ [8yrs old]to see how we did and find out how Thumber took it. She left JD in her boyfriends truck and had left it running with explicit warnings on NOT TOUCHING ANYTHING while she was gone.

All of a sudden she could no longer hear his noisy truck anymore and wondered why? At that moment in comes JD with this scared look on his white face!

All hell breaks loose!

We all go running out with HairGirl in the lead...to see the boyfriend's truck down the street sitting perpendicular to the curb!

It seems JD figured he could fool around in the truck...seeing as no one was there to see him doing it!

His messing around with the stick shift caused him to go out of "park" and he rolled backwards down the hill. He must have cranked the wheels because the trucks path served into an empty lot...hitting nothing...and came to rest when the front tires hit the curb. Figuring he could drive it back he got it into drive and onto the road, into the traffic area, before it stalled!

Thankfully he didn't try to jump out while it was moving!

Lessons learned were:

NEVER ASSUME A CHILD WON'T TOUCH ANYTHING WHEN YOU TELL THEM NOT TO!

NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE IN A VEHICLE WHILE IT IS STILL RUNNING OR HAS KEYS IN IT!

Hopefully JD has learned something from this?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY....TREBOR

This poor guy was a slave for me!

I thank him with all my heart for the bigness of his heart!

This guy goes out of his way to help anyone who asks and refuses to think badly of others...we should all be like him! I only wish that others would treat him better...because he deserves it!

Have a Happy Father's Day Trebor and thank you for being my grand kids Daddy!

Sunday Evening at "Dodge Falls"

As usual when it rains I have to dump pails...something I shouldn't be doing...but how can I not!

It was bad enough that Trebor, Pod and the kids had to spend their day with their dad/husband with me and had to help me move. Not much of a fun time for them! So I wasn't about to call them back to help dump the "Falls"...even though Trebor wasn't happy that I didn't.

I was sure glad I got there when I did because all pails and such were full to overflowing!

Dumping them took me 1 hour! In the photos the orange ring is a kiddy pool...it's to help catch all of the drips! The big pails are in the area that leaks the most so they can hold more without overflowing too bad...they have to be scooped out with an ice cream pail into manageable pails for emptying. This is in the doorway of my old bedroom and blocks the hallway to the bathroom!

Nice huh!

I'm only glad that nothing dripped down stairs! Thankfully PoD and I had covered the computers with plastic sheeting before leaving earlier that day!

The walk over to my work place was done in the torrential rain and I was glad to get back to a dry place as Trebor had come and fixed the 2 holes in the roof.

NO LEAKS FOR AWHILE PLEASE!!!!!

Sunday Night - THE HORRENDOUS STORM

It was the end of the weekend and of course was raining AGAIN!

PoD called me on her cell phone and informed me that BillyRoo [my son/her brother] called her and told her that he was watching the weather channel and our area was reporting that there was a warning out for tornadoes!

Wouldn't you know it...me in my new place and already there was a threat that I might not be staying long if it hits me! I'm pretty sure there is a factor out there that's wondering how far it can push me?

Anyways Trebor decided not to drive back to where he works that night and chance going through a hail storm again. He and BillyRoo got surprised by one a couple of years ago and their vehicles had quite a bit of damage caused by baseball size hail.

PoD has a fear of tornadoes so she kept the kids downstairs with them during the night to sleep. As Pod & Trebor were listening for the storm and trying to sleep they were startled by a crashing sound near the house. They looked but couldn't see anything...but the next morning they found that the wild wind had broken a large branch off one of their trees and it just missed hitting the shed next to the house. It was so big that it will have to be cut up to be removed!

At my place things were also very exciting as I kept going from window to window to try and see if I could see anything, but the rain made visibility very poor! Inside you could hear the rain hitting the windows really hard and louder sounds that were small branches hitting them...luckily none broke!

Thumber finally made her appearance from under the couch and headed straight for the litter box...I guess she couldn't hold it any longer! Right after the bathroom break she immediately up-chucked....no hairball...just bile! Poor kitty...her nerves were really shot from the move and noises, probably made her stomach churn! So was still a little scared and ran around all spooked like! Finally she settled down and came to me for some reassurance. The only problem Suki has had is her annoyance at not being able to look outside. My other place had a lot of windows. I like to call their window watching a form of their TV!

Monday morning found us all well and no tornado hit the town. The terrific wind did it's damage on the trees and flowers. Branches, big and small, were everywhere! The abandoned hotel by my place had some of it's metal flashing partially rip from it's building and was bang in the cold breeze. You could see signs of rushing water places with the sand and silt piled in spots. The flowers that the "Communities in Bloom" had put in their planter looked like someone had taken a weed whacker to them...and the had been so pretty earlier!

Surprisingly the water level in my work place wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...I had figured they to be overflowing from all of the rain that had come down!

So I should get to work now that I have given you my weekend saga....

IT'S PARTY TIME

Hope your deathcold doesn't get in the way of BERRY time!

Wishing you many, many more years of health!

CAT FACTS:....FUR FACTS [facts taken from various vet sites]

- Cats with white fur and skin on their ears are very prone to sunburn. Frequent sunburns can lead to skin cancer. Many white cats need surgery to remove all or part of a cancerous ear. Preventive measures include sunscreen, or better, keeping the cat indoors on sunny days.

- A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with only one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye. White cats with orange eyes do not have this disability.

- Cats have true fur, in that they both have an undercoat and an outer coat. They feel the heat more than a dog would.

- The gene in cats causes the orange coat color is sexed linked, and is on the X sex chromosome. This gene may display orange or black. Thus, as female cat with two X chromosome may have orange and black colors in its coat. A male, with only one X chromosome, can have only orange or black, not both.

- If a male cat is both orange and black it is [besides being extremely rare] sterile. To have both the orange and the black coat colors, the male cat must have all or part of both female X chromosomes. Thus this unusual sex chromosome combination will render the male sterile. So for every 3,000 tortoiseshell or calico cats born, only one will be male.

- Siamese coat color and crossed eyes may be caused by the same gene.

- The color points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker.

- A cat's whiskers are actually sensory organs that provide feedback on how near objects are.

- Most cats have no eyelashes.

- Brushing your cat daily will cut down on hairballs. A little vegetable oil daily will help to prevent fur-balls and bring a shine to your cat's coat.

MORE MISERIES UPDATE...

Sorry about the delay in blogging things have been pretty busy around here.

This weekend was supposed to have been a fun time for us in Edmonchuck with family...instead PoD and her family had to move her husband's/kids stuff out of his house so I could have a roof over my head that didn't leak!

Due to the nature of my emergency to having to move out, I decided to close the shop on Friday to get a jump on the weekend...most leave early for the weekend so it's usual slow on that day. PoD's husband [Trebor] also had taken the day off to be with his family and instead had to help me move instead of having fun on the originally planned weekend! My son couldn't make it because his work booked him for 3 weeks at a new site in Alta.

While Trebor moved his/kids stuff PoD and I spent time washing walls in preparation for painting. We used the new "Swiffer" method of cleaning and I ended up with sinus problems from it and all of the dust.

Damn allergies!!! They get worse ever day!

I was supposed to have helped PoD to steam clean the rugs on Saturday but ended up being ill instead [how convenient on my part]! I have got to admit she did extremely well without me but ended up wearing herself out so Sunday ended up being a day of rest.

Also Saturday is one of the two days that the dump is open so what ever had to go had to be done then. My ex needed the trailer for his garbage so he lent Trebor a hand in unloading the "Garage Sale" unwantables.

After the town-wide garage sale we had loaded up the trailer and left it out front of PoD's place. It was full to overflowing but by the time we needed to unload it the pile had dwindled considerably. What was there was FREE to anyone who wanted or needed it. Kids and adults had a ball picking through the stuff! Even my Ex! What a better way than having to fill the dump with usable stuff or trying to get it to a place that would take it! The New & Used place in our town didn't want what was left. Also the Sally Ann in the town near us was too full and didn't want it either so our solution was happily received.

Meanwhile, I had recovered enough on Sunday to continue to pack up my stuff so we would have everything ready for the big move.

On Monday we woke up to RAIN!!! As usual another torrential down pour which meant emptying buckets AGAIN!!

This also meant us walking to my new place in the rain [white elephant jeep] is still not working so we had to use my new grocery cart [thank you to garage sale] to carry the heavy stuff. We were soaked by the time we got there!

I have ever mentioned that I hate painting walls....I get more on me than what's was put on the wall! I REALLY throw myself into my work!

After a couple of hours we took a break and had our coffee outside in the SUNSHINE!

Yep...it stopped raining after we got there! I guess Mother Nature had decided to test our resolve in whether we would go or not?

Thankfully I didn't have to rush back to my place to empty pails!

We finally finished in time for PoD to go and pick up the kids from school...I must say the new coat of paint raised my spirits quite a bit!

Last night I went back on my own and washed the walls and ceiling in the dining room so that we could paint them after work today. I can hardly wait to see the new color on those walls!

Well that's all for now....it's time to get back to work before PoD gets here.....

MY MISERIES...UPDATE

Seems the inner waterfall has eroded my ceiling because as I was working yesterday, crashing noises came from upstairs...scaring the hell out of me!

I ran up [as fast as these old tired legs will take me] the stairs to the sight of part of my hallway ceiling laying on the floor and checking further part the ceiling in the dinning room had decided to join it!

Can we say...condemn the building!

My kids had checked out the roof before the rain and found it to be spongy around the chimney so who knows how long it's going to last?

So now all I can do is sell the business but they have to move it somewhere else as I don't think this building is salvageable!

WHAT'S NEXT?????

TIME FOR ME TO MOVE OUT before the whole thing falls down around my ears!

Today the sun is shining...for how long...who knows!

TIRED OF ALL MY MISERIES!!!

Up again at another early hour [3:20am] with breathing problems and the sound of my waterfall [leaking roof saga] working overtime! The weather was doing it's thing again...raining! Time once again to empty the buckets!

My breathing problems lately is from the moldy roof/walls caused by the roof leaks. The roof has been leaking for so long that the water coming from it runs clean...this is an old building so it should be running dirty...but not anymore! Time to cut my losses on this place before I get much worse and hopefully haven't already created too much to correct...ie Bronchial damage!

I am even tired with my business and need to break from it!

Anyone out there that wants to buy a sign business?

We had planned to spend my gran daughter's 10th birthday in Edmonchuk this weekend [with family] but due to PoD's vehicle ["white elephant" jeep] not working [starter problems] and the weather being fore casted as cruddy all weekend put and end to that! What a disappointment to her and to us as we were all looking forward to going there! We will be scheduling a later date and hopefully families can still get together as we rarely ever see each other!

Oh well...sorry for bending your ear but that's what I use my blog for...better out than in!

Will wish you all to have a nice day as I am going to!

The farmers can keep their DAMN rain...CAUSE I'M SICK OF IT!

It's that time again and I better go and empty buckets....

CAT PROPERTY LAWS...author unknown

1. If I like it...it's mine!

2. If I saw it first...it's mine!

3. If it's in my paws...it's mine!

4. If I had it a little while ago...it's mine!

5. If it looks like mine...it's mine!

6. If I can take it away from you...it's mine!

7. If there's more than one...ALL of them are mine!

8. If you have something and you put it down...it automatically becomes mine!

9. If it's mine...it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way!

10. If it's boring or doesn't taste good...IT'S YOURS!

QUOTES:

SEX IS LIKE AIR

...it only becomes really important when you aren't getting any.

......Maharishi Phucknuckel's Guide to Zen

DODGE'S TOWN-WIDE GARAGE SALE

The morning started at 4:20 am for me and at 5:45 am I started up the hill to PoD's place for her "first ever" garge sale. The morning was already warm and the air was full of the scent of lilacs..which was very nice. But half way up the hill my allergies kicked in making breathing very hard...with my nice sweet diabetic breath the mosquitos came out in droves to feast on my sugary blood! Gasping for breath and itching from bites I dragged myself to PoD's place! Thankfully she had two types of inhalers and the weaker of the two helped to open the airways! Coffee was already brewing so it helped also! Going through this makes me very weak and stress works on the sugar levels which in turn helps to make me very crabby!

PoD was also not in a very good mood either as she had only gotten 2 hours of sleep so our day started out on a poor note!

Hairgirl and I had added our stuff also so her sale became a "3 family" sale. With all of the stuff we had...ours was the biggest [everyone else's comment]! We had hairdressing stuff, furniture, collectibles, toys, costumes and even the kitchen sink [actually 2 bathroom sinks].

But first the stuff had to be displayed and priced for the sale! Thankfully most of the stuff left over from my first sale was already priced but the other stuff that I had added [yup...I had more stuff] wasn't! Hairgirl had priced most of hers but needed to do more. So we all spent the next couple of hours rushing to get this ready for the 9:00 am start. We also had help from Hairgirl's mom!

Tables had to be found to display all of our stuff. The night before PoD and Hairgirl had placed out all of their tables and we were still short...so PoD's husband [who by way are back together again for a trial period] got to search for some from his place and mine.

Have I ever mentioned before how rushing makes me stressed out and ups the sugar levels which by the way sky rocketed to 24.4...which is not good! High sugar makes me even more crabby! So poor PoD had to keep an eye out for her mom and contend with her own problems. Thankfully her daughter, AJ, is a wonderful helper and is used to our crabbiness...gotta love that girl...she's the greatest!

I have also learned why people who have garage sales are annoyed at the early birds who just have to be the first to shop...this is REALLY ANNOYING WHEN YOUR TRYING TO GET IT ALL DONE BEFORE THE ACTUAL START TIME! This was a very good lesson for me! I happen to be one of those people! But never again!!!!

If you ever want to test your patience in life...have a GARAGE SALE!

Finally we were as ready as we would ever be and the sale started...early-birds and all!

Sales were not too bad and the people coming and going were pretty steady for the first 4 hours and then it started to drag!

No I wasn't able to resist the garage sale urge, so the son-in-law, grand kids and I stole away to do some "Garage Sailing" of our own!

I did pretty good...I purchased a high-back wicker chair that matches my other high-back wicker chair [for my patio ...when I have one], rolling table [for my rock painting], a fancy ceramic canister set [my old ones were always plastic], and a small casserole dish [for the single person eating] from Hairgirl before the sale even started.

In our "Sailing" I got "son-in-law" a "never used" Chicken Rotisserie for his birthday present [which was on May 29] to use while he's away working...see nothing frivolous there.

The only frivolous thing bought was another cute 'cat" teapot for my tea pot collection which was 5.00.

I totally ignored that "demon on my shoulder" who was screaming loudly "you DEFINITELY MIGHT NEED THAT!!!!

I also ran into Wilma's/J-Rods/Tam & Fritz's sale and managed to avoid her "purse fetish" sale...sorry to say that I couldn't justify buying anything there!

Out of 26 sale places I only managed to see about half of them before the heat/too much sunlight/hunger got the best of me and I parted ways from the others and went back to ours!

I also have to mention that this was the worst managed town-wide sale ever! It was like a "last minute" effort! I had volunteered for last year's event and we ran it smoothly so I feel I have the right to complain about this one!

They always have a Bar-B-Q so there is food/drink for the "Sailers"...this was the "suckiest" part of the event! I don't mind paying a high price [4.00] for a hamburger if a person gets a great hamburger with all the trimmings! Lets say tiny pattie [over cooked/under cooked] slice of cheese [same price without cheese], tiny bun [I guess for tiny pattie], catsup & mustard and not to mention a tiny juice box [1.00]....no onions [raw or cooked] or relish.

All of this was managed by 2 people....cashier had a small table which had on it: cash box, napkins, cheese slices, buns, catsup & mustard. The other person was the cook who handed out the over cooked/burnt/under cooked hamburgers and hotdogs...which was okay if you only had 1 to manage...more meant you had to manage a balancing act! Luckily son-in-law and I managed!

The town rec director managed this event so the town got all of the profits from sale...so where were the other town members that should have been helping these two people...maybe they came later and I am griping for nothing?

Finally 4:00 pm came and we could pack up and go home!

What didn't sell was going to the dump....no more Garage Sales for us! Nothing was coming back to my place....I am now happy for my "Clean Sweep"....

AND NO....I WILL NEVER COLLECT JUNK EVER AGAIN!!!!!!

My collectibles were cut down to Owls and Fancy Teapots.....and even those are going to be very selective!!!

I did make a little money [nowhere near to what I spent originally] and got a sunburn to boot!!!!

TO MY ANIMAL FRIENDS:

I must correct the statement that I hated dogs...its not the dogs that I dislike but their owners who do not correct them...thus making the dog to become not liked!

I know it's a dog's nature to jump up and that's their way to greet you but I have bad allergies [as do a lot of people] to animals including other peoples cats! These greetings do me in and I suffer greatly from their contact. Being forced to pet them makes it worse...dogs and cats sense this but do not understand...including their owners.

I love all animals that have been taught manners!

Dogs can learn not to jump up and well trained ones will wait to be greeted. Cats are a different story...they get close by jumping up and seeing how you react...then they know how to act. I usually signal a cat whether its wanted or not...untrained dogs don't get the hint and push their limits!

Some dogs also have other unwanted traits that irritate me...crotch sniffing and leg humping! These can be also taught not to do...lazy owners think these can be funny...in my books there not! I actually prefer the older dog to a younger dog...they either have learned manners or just don't care anymore.

I really think young dogs are like annoying children/teenagers...if not taught properly they do not belong in society until they are!

Before I was stricken with allergy problems I too was a dog owner and all of our dogs all learned their place in the human world so I know what I am talking about. I miss having a dog as a friend/companion but I know how much work is involved in keeping one and it wouldn't be fair to either of us if I did!

In my younger years [before allergies] we lived with dogs, cats, hamsters, salamanders and budgies. Out of all of these pets, I hated the birds the most...too messy & noisy! Birds belong free! We also lived near the stock yards and got to experience cows/steers and horses. I hate cows/steers but loved the horses and always wish to own one...but never did.

So all in all...I am an animal lover [mostly cats] and have learned to teach my animal family how to live in our world...hopefully so will others!

HOW TO GIVE YOUR CAT A PILL...Author Unknown

1. Grasp cat firmly in your arms. Cradle its head on your elbow, just as if you were giving a baby its bottle. Coo confidently..."That's a nice Kitty"...drop pill into its mouth.

2. Retrieve cat from top of lamp and pill from under sofa.

3. Follow same procedure as in #1, but hold cat's front paws down with left hand and back paws down with elbow of right arm. Poke pill into its mouth with right forefinger.

4. Retrieve cat from under bed. Get new pill from bottle. [Resist impulse to get new cat]

5. Again proceed as in #1, except when you have cat firmly cradled in bottle feeding position, sit down on edge of chair. fold your torso over cat , bring your right hand over your left elbow, open cat's mouth by lifting upper jaw and pop the pill in quickly. Since your head is down by your knees, you won't be able to see what you're doing. That's just as well.

6. Leave cat hanging on drapes. Leave pill in your hair.

7. If you're a woman have a good cry. If you're a man, have a good cry.

8. Now pull yourself together. Who's boss here anyways? Retrieve cat and pill. Assuming position #1. say sternly, "Who's the boss here anyway?" Open cat's mouth, take pill and...Oooops!

9. This isn't working is it? Collasps and think. Aha! These flashing claws are causing the chaos.

10. Crawl to linen closet. Drag back large beach towel. Spread towel on floor.

11. Retrieve cat from kitchen counter and pill from potted plant.

12. Spread cat on towel near one end with its head over long edge.

13. Flatten cat's front and back legs over its stomach. [Resist impulse to flatten cat]

14. Roll cat in towel. Work fast: time and tabbies wait for no man or woman.

15. Resume position #1. Rotate your left hand to cat's head. Press it's mouth at the jaw hinges like opening the petals of a snapdragon.

16. Drop pill into cat's mouth and poke gently. Voila! It's done.

17. Vacuum up loose fur [cat's]. Apply bandages to wounds [yours].

18. Take two aspirins and lie down.

CAT QUOTE:

"Cats are smarter than dogs...
You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow!"

......Jeff Valdez

SEEN ON T-SHIRT....

Men are like fine wine...

They all start out like grapes

and its our job to stomp on them

and keep them in the dark

until they mature into something

you'd like to have dinner with!

QUOTES...

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day,

teach a person to use the internet

and they won't bother you for weeks"!

Author Unknown

ORBS & DEVIL HEADS...

These photos were taken in my first Haunted Courthouse in 2002. The first shot shows lots of orbs and something that looks like a devil's head. I've cropped the area and tried to blow it up to a size that so that you could see what I saw in this photo hopefully it turns out okay. My sister and I went back the next day [in the daylight] to check out these places to see if maybe it could be tape or some kind of dirt spot. NOPE! All were clear! Nothing we could see with the naked eye!

These shots have made many a believer including my brother-in-law who happens to scoff at everything! He was there the night they were taken and he now firmly believes in these things!

The second photo was taken in the room that the person was supposed to have hung himself! The guy that worked that room told me later that he hated being in there and he found himself standing at the doorway a lot...just in case he had to get out of there quickly. This guy is very macho like and having him admit that he was scared made it even more believable! That was also the first year we let anyone stay in the rooms alone and after that episode we made sure that no one ever stayed alone again!

In this photo the shot was in the corner and I blew up a section to shot you what was on the pic! It looks more like a wolf or coyote head but I still think it looks like the devil's face in another form!

Either way both areas made everyone feel creepy and even scared!

Explain that if you can!

RENOVATIONS UPDATE...

Not much renovating going on seeing as I am STILL removing junk from my place.

I am ashamed to admit how much has gone to the dump and I am STILL NOT FINISHED!

THREE loads in a 6' x 8' utility trailer filled to the brim [3'high] has been removed from this place and probably a fourth after the town-wide garage sale being held next weekend! That doesn't even include the removal of renovation materials!

This has only helped me to strengthen my resolve "NEVER TO COLLECT JUNK EVER AGAIN"! Granted I can blame most of it on needing it for my work [which obviously I didn't or it wouldn't have had to be junked] or to use it in theatre set building/decorating. I used to make the table centerpieces for the dinner theatre so that meant keeping 24 of whatever...this added up after awhile and it didn't help having a whole building that I could store it in either!

I have also removed all of my "creature building" materials and forms that I needed for the haunted courthouse...guaranteeing that I will not be doing the haunted courthouse ever again! I will be going through my Halloween decor and cutting it down also keeping only my collectibles!

I've been so busy throwing out junk that the urge to go Garage Sailing hasn't bothered me this weekend and this purging episode will stay strong in my mind for A LONG TIME so any hording of stuff doesn't interest me like it used to!

My next test of will power will come next weekend when the Garage Sale is on! Hopefully I will be stuck for a long time at my own sale and that I am not tempted too much! But if I do check the sales out, hopefully I can resist collecting anything else that can't be used right away!

I still have that little devil sitting on my shoulder whispering...."You never know when you might need that...."!

UP EARLY...

Had a hard time getting to sleep last night and finally dragged myself out of bed at 3:20 am...laying in bed half awake seemed pointless and plus my back was starting to hurt.

Again, what does one do at that time of the day...work of course! I figured why not...I haven't had anything interesting to blog about lately besides my boring life....so I figured I'd save you all from that crap!

I've been kind of bogged down at work lately with a lot of designing to do and estimates to prepare for [hopefully] future work...so why not try to catch up?

Around 5:00, as I was doing this drawing, I noticed a movement in front of my building right across the street from me. Six Mule Deer had wandered into town....2 young Bucks and 4 Does.

It's been awhile since I've seen any wildlife at that hour of the morning and watched as they nibbled on the bushes in front of the building. You could tell they were on guard as they wandering in and one caught sight of me and the herd stopped. They watched me for awhile! I guess they figured that I was no threat they turned and went down the back alley instead of continuing through town. By the time it took to grab my camera they had stopped at the alley junction point and nibbled at the grassy mound behind the Convenience store.

Of course they were too far away for me to get a shot so I could let you see too! Took one anyways....hopefully you can just about see them in the photo....honest...their there!

Then a huge truck came barreling through town scaring them away and they ran back from where they came from.

Still it was nice to see and gave me break for a few minutes!

Come to think of it....I haven't seen "Hoppy" the rabbit since Easter? I wonder if he's still alive & kicking?

Oh well...life goes on....got to get back to work.....time for coffee!

It's gonna be A LONG DAY!!!

HAPPY MAY-LONG WEEKEND

I refuse to call it "Victoria Day"...we gave up the monarchy a long time ago and this is one holiday that should have it's name changed...sorry all you British people but that must make sense to even you guys! After all why do they celebrate a past queen's birthday and not the present queen's birthday.....or maybe they do and I missed that day at school?

Anyways.....

Happy weekend to us....

The birds are singing....the sun is shining....people are out doing their gardens/yards....

NOT!!!!

IT'S BEEN FREEZING COLD AND NOW IT'S RAINING!!!!!
Hopefully with no signs of SNOW!

I am sure glad I am not out camping right now! For this the time when the rich people go out to the lake and open their cabins and tidy up their yards...hope they all have good heaters!

It has been happily quiet here in Dodge as this is also the weekend that the High School kids leave town and go terrorise the lake goers! They even get a longer weekend as the school unit decided they needed a longer weekend so they won't be going back to school until Tuesday!

No spinning of tires...no stunting in the streets...like I said...peaceful!!!

I had planned on cutting grass and checking out the leaks in my roof but laziness made me put it off until today and now I can't...woke up to rain...inside and out!

Oh well...there is lots more that can be done inside!

It's also been another hard weekend with my "addiction" still in full force...many a garage sale had to go without my money in their pockets! The urge is still strong...but I'm hanging in there...the more I throw out my junk the more I am determined to not add any more!

BUT...there is still that little demon sitting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear..."think of all the little treasures you might have missed"....

Like I said....it's still a test of wills for me!

Anyways....

Have a Happy "May-Long" weekend...stay warm!

CAT FACTS:

- Contrary to popular belief, the cat IS a social animal. A pet cat will respond and answer to speech and seems to enjoy human companionship.

- Cats beat dogs for the #1 spot as the most popular pet in the USA and Canada.

- In ancient Egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death. Mummies were made of cats and embalmed mice were placed with them in their tombs. In one ancient city, over 300,000 cat mummies were found.

- In the Middle Ages, during the Festival of St. John, cats were burned alive in town square.

- The first cat show was in 1871 at the Crystal Palace in London.

- In England, the government owns thousands of cats. Their job is to help keep the buildings free of rodents.

CAT QUOTE:

" There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life...music and cats"

Albert Schweitzer

ANTICS OF MY FUR KIDS:

Last night I was again entertained by my fur kids.

My cats are always more active when the moon is at its fullest moments...new moon tonight.

Thumber was doing her weird thing again!

She runs around the place chasing something that only she can see. It looks like it must be a fly but her actions show otherwise. Flies kind of dart here and there...erratic looking but the thing she chases flies in a straight line and stops...more like bird movements...my thoughts make it out to be an "orb". She chases it and stops when it does...then she acts like she wants to pounce on it. This is all done with the object being up high where she can't get to it. Thumber doesn't react to the dangling string thing but when the invisible thing starts she looks like she is doing just that!

Last night she was perched on top of the "Queen Anne Chair" and was quite intent on the invisible object that looked like it was just out of her reach. Being on the edge like she was it was quite a balancing act and she was focusing hard on the object looking like her thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour!

Meanwhile Suki had noticed her antics and decided to investigate what was going on! She might have even seen what Thumber saw and wanted some of the action also...who knows? Anyways she went into the stalking mode and snuck up to the chair where Thumber was balancing on. She did her stop and you could she her butt wiggling like she was getting ready to pounce. All of a sudden she pounced...leaping onto the seat of the chair!

This scared the hell out of Thumber!

Thumber leaped 2 feet into the air straight up...flipped herself over...emitting a screech and hissing...landing 2 feet away from the chair! Her whole body was fluffed right down to the tip of her tail! Then she went into attack mode...her hair standing straight up along her spine...arching her back like a halloween cat on her tippy-toes...growling as she did this!

Where's the camera when you need it! It happened all so fast that I wouldn't have been able to take the shot if I did have one there!

Thumbers reaction startled even me and I couldn't stop laughing...it looked so funny! Cats do not like being laughed at and this ticked Thumber off even more! I'm pretty sure Suki was laughing also! We didn't see Thumber again for at least another hour...and she was still looking at the spot that had captured her attention earlier! She was walking very carefully and looking like she was on guard for anything else that might come her way

Like I said...my cats can be quite entertaining!

CAT FACTS:

- Besides smelling with their nose, cats can smell with an additional organ called the Jacobson's Organ, located in the upper surface of the mouth behind the front teeth. Sometimes you will notice that they look like they are sneering or snarling...they are using that organ to check out their present environment.

"Can you imagine someone [stranger or otherwise] coming up to you who has either just bathed or didn't...what they would smell like? I have many allergies and I am bothered by those who are very odorous, pretty smelling or not...so the first thing I try to do is get away from them. If they extend their hand to me to shake [in greeting] I try to avoid it because of the soap smell [or not] or if they are sweaty...so if I was a cat with extra strong smelling abilities...I would hiss and back away"!

-A cat will spend nearly 30 % of their life grooming themselves.

"Can you imagine you just spending hours on grooming yourself...only to have someone come up and ruffle that nice hair-do that took for ever to get it that way...would you enjoy the fact that some weird smelling person just picked you up and spread their smell all over you?"

"Dogs may not care what they smell or look like but most cats have human traits!"

- Cats do not think that they are little people. They think that we are big cats. This influences their behaviour in many ways.

"Don't blame the cat for their attitude...they are only standing up for their rights in whether they want to be handled by you or by strangers!"

"After all...we teach our children not to talk to strangers...don't we?"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Me included...of course!

I still remember my thoughts about not having children before my inner time clock went off!

I swore that after living with too many brothers, sisters, having to babysit their kids and other kids...that "no way was I going to have kids of my own"!

Until that "biological clock struck"!

I now sing a different tune!!!

I can't even begin to imagine life without them and in NO WAY do I want to even experience that!!!

I never had the fear that I wasn't going to be a good mother...just the fear that I wouldn't be able to tolerate their behavior! But I surprised myself by finding out that they made ME a better person and that I do have tolerance in me after all!

Having kids also made me a GRANDMOTHER and in my old age I still have the ability for tolerance! I can even smile at other peoples kids....to a point...there still are "BRATS" out there!

I feel for those who cannot have the children that they want but I also understand the ones who choose never to have kids.

In this day and age I would have to say that if I had to do it all over again...I would never raise children to the turmoils that abound in this world...because we have not given them a great world to live in!

If my son chooses never to have kids...that would be okay with me. Do I regret PoD giving me grand kids?....the answer would be NO!
I LOVE MY GRAND KIDS! My sorrow is in "what is their future going to be"!

My sorrow for today is not having a mother who is alive to wish Happy Mother's Day to!

My biological mother died in 1961 and step mother in 2003...so to all of you that still have a great Mom...treat her like there is no tomorrow!!

And to those of you that are Dads...."appreciate" the woman that made you a DAD!

Our kids dad always told me "your not my mother...so why do I have to wish YOU a Happy Mother's Day"?.....this is one of the reasons why we are not together now!!!

So on a better note.....All you Moms out there....have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

My son is working today and gave me his gift beforehand but also remembered to call me at 6:15 am this morning to wish me well and PoD has made reservations for today at the local eatry here for a smorg supper.....

I GIVE THANKS DAILY FOR HAVING GREAT CHILDREN!!!

Color me RAINBOW colors!!!

ADDICTIONS:

Well I managed to get through yesterday...it was a long day! Saturdays being the worst!

My addiction drove me crazy [short trip] but I was able to hang in there... but man-it-was-hard!!!

Quite a few times I almost gave into the urge! The day being perfect for it...warm with a slight breeze...no bugs....

Thankfully not having a car helped for a bit...but there was still the temptation of what was in town...

Making a promise to myself helped and calling PoD at my weak moments worked also...

Still it was a STRAIN...to abstain from...

GARAGE SAILING!!!

Thankfully today is Sunday....NO SALES...except for the ones that only have unsellable items left!!!

My bank account thanks me also!!!

STILL....there's always next weekend....!!!!

PAINTED ROCKS:

PoD and I like to paint rocks. We also like to spend time hunting rocks to paint.

I like to paint my rocks with many colors and use its shape to determine what it will look like.

The first rock I ever painted was an owl rock [2002]..."Mom & Baby" and then added "Daddy" who sits perched on an old stump.

To finish my rocks so they can sit outside [out of the sunlight] I cover them with 3 coats of varnish.

These guys now reside at one of my brother's place.

CAT FACTS:

Here is a chart that will relate your cats age to a human's age in years:

Cats Age: ...............Human Age:
6 mon..............................10 yrs
8 mon..............................13 yrs
10 mon............................14 yrs
1 yr..................................15 yrs
18 mon............................20 yrs
2 yrs................................24 yrs
4 yrs................................32 yrs
6 yrs................................40 yrs
8 yrs................................48 yrs
10 yrs..............................56 yrs
12 yrs..............................64 yrs
14 yrs..............................72 yrs
16 yrs..............................80 yrs
18 yrs..............................88 yrs
20 yrs.............................96 yrs
21 yrs.............................100 yrs

So in human years.....Thumber is 40 yrs old and Suki is 56....the same age as me!

I wonder if she feels as old as I do?

My Fur Kids

I would like you to meet my fur-kids: Thumber [left] and Suki [right].

You can't tell by their pics but both have blue eyes.

Thumber is 6 yrs old and Suki will be 10 in June.

Both decided to give me a nice pose until the orange locator light drove them off... neither one likes to have their photo taken.

ORBS:

Orange Angel Orb....

The first picture was taken immediately after the
the other one. I did not see these images on the camera and only noticed it when I down loaded them. On the psyhic sites this shape is known as the orange angel. I went out later to check to see if was a reflection or not and found it wasn't. Notice how it fills itself in and it moves across the shot. This shot was taken at 6:00 am 2003 [Aug] and it was too calm to work up any dust motes.
Weird huh.....
Any other explanations?

CAT FACTS - Kittens:

- Kittens are born with both eyes and ears closed. When the eyes open, the are always blue at first. They change color over a period of months to the final eye color.

- A healthy kitten has clear, bright eyes and clean ears.

- If you take a kitten away from it's mother before it is 8 weeks old, she may not of had enough time to train it properly to use the litter box.

- The color of the points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker. Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens hair from darkening on the points.

- Hunting is not instinctive for cats. Kittens born to non-hunting mothers may never learn to hunt.

- Most lively, active kittens grow up to be friendly, outgoing cats.

- Only a mother cat should pick up a kitten by the scruff of the neck!

ORBS:

These photos are of our first halloween in 2002
The first shot is of the back bedroom in the Custodial Quarters
of the courthouse in Dodge. This room was supposed to have had someone hang themselves from the pipes in the far left corner. The far right shot was taken first then the left one shortly after. We called this our "Grave Room"....it made everyone uneasy when they were in there! The white area to the right wasn't there when I first looked at the shot. No...it isn't my camera strap as I had it around my wrist [I have a tendancy to drop the camera...so I make sure that it's secured] at the time. On closer inspection it looks like the orbs are moving fast up and down. PoD was also standing right beside me!




Dodge's Haunted Courthouse "Orbs" -outside


They were taken with my digital camera Sept 2002. The evening was perfect for capturing these images. No wind...so they aren't dust particles!



If you look closely at the upper window on the bottom picture...far left...there is a ghostly shape which looks like it's behind the window frame. I checked out the windows before taking the pics and all I could see was the curtains inside. This shape looks like it's someone looking out the window at me!

Stay tuned for more photos as I try to figure out how to post them properly!

CAT FACT:

If you have a cat and want to have another cat, it would be easiest to introduce a female kitten. An elderly cat that is alone, however, should not be bothered with another cat. Let it rest in peace. Bringing a new cat into a household is always very stressful for all the cats concerned!

Cats don't usually crave companionship in quite the same way a dog does!