It's later and this grandma is tired!

Well it's just before six and I'm finally home and trying to catch up with myself. I should have been happy that I didn't step in doggie doo this morning...should have gotten down on my knees and thanked the Almighty for such a good start to a day from down under (and I don't mean Australia!)

I won't go into it in detail other than to say my work day was extended due to being short staffed due to illness...remember the sleeping twenty somethings from this mornings post? There was a wedding this weekend and they spread the love...I mean their germs...we live in a small town! My coworker sat at their table at the wedding reception. She is now ill. I blamed them. They laughed and then they did the dishes I left all over the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom!

I finally made it home, avoiding dog pooh as I retrieved the mail and trash receptacles down on the road. I'm tired! I'd like to retreat into a hot tub and have a drink...we have two hot tubs here...one leaks and the other isn't hooked up...so that isn't an option this evening. Instead I hauled firewood and finished the laundry I started this morning (three loads/it's only the two of us!)

I did have good moments today...friends stopped by to see me on their way back over the mountain...good friends, a couple, the very first people I met when I came to live in this little town. We were neighbors and shared our garden spot and pig pen. It was so good to see them even if it was for a very short while. I miss them in my everyday life.

It's getting dark here. Time for me to tend the fire and get the laundry put away. (Really, I smell pop corn and I am a popcorn pig-must hurry before they eat it all!)

Thursday morning, Garbage Day, and Dog Pooh!

I so hate Thursday mornings! And I so love Thursday mornings! Like most days, my mornings start with the fused light from the bathroom (fused my ASK!), then comes the man who sits on my side of the bed, sighs deeply and continues on with his morning chantra of "I'm leaving now, good luck with your day...and remember you said to tell you that you had a Staff meeting today"...Staff Meeting! You remembered! I have a Staff Meeting?! Oh dear! It's also garbage day! And Story Time at the library...after the Staff Meeting! OMG! Feet hit the floor running! Mind you it's 5 AM! Laundry! I need clean pants! We have a new dress code to go with the new library (actually the dress code and the library are nearly two years old! Time does fly!)

In between the laundry and the trash gathering, I made some coffee...gotta have something that mocks true energy...may as well be coffee! (Morman I'm not! No offense to those who are.) GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I'm starting to feel a little grumpy! None of that! Put on your smile and continue...I tend to talk to myself...out loud! In this case, at a whisper, the "twenty somethings" are sleeping upstairs...I keep them around to add humor to my life and haul the wheel barrow of firewood up on the porch! Add humor to my life? HA! They have completely opposite schedules and I hardly ever see them. I still leave notes and look for signs of their being here when I am sleeping. (Why is it we can't sleep until we hear the click of the door and know they've made it home safely?) I seriously thought that would end when they grew up! It's not happening! It hasn't happened!

Talk about rambling! I lost my train of thought! Ah yes! Thursday mornings...trash, laundry, I need pants! Coffee in hand I start to collect the trash. Stupid, I know. With coffee slopping out of my cup and trailing up the stairs I enter the upstairs bath to find the counter filled with empty glasses...dirty empty glasses...oh, I wish MY camera was working! (Picture in your mind a weeks worth of dirty glasses on the counter). I'd go get the dear husbands out if I had the time.

It has started to get light outside by then which is what I had hoped for (you can't see the dog pooh in the light). I don't have a dog...I think about it from time to time...see my previous post on that topic...I'm busy rambling here!

Dog Pooh! Change your shoes you idiot, you know it's down there and you're going to step in it! Be prepared! Accept the fact. Put on a smile and greet your life...stepping in doggy doo on a Thursday morning is part of it, deal with it!

MORE LATER...The buzzer on the dryer just sounded and I HAVE A STAFF MEETING, REMEMBER?!

Here is the painting my class completed...I put the mat on it to make it "pop"
Once again, I am not really happy with the end result...I know, I know, I'm way too critical of my work.

No One Knows!

What in Heaven's name is wrong with me?! No one I actually know, knows I have this blog. Oh, I did tell one incredibly intelligent Vietnam Helicopter Pilot. Not my hubby, not my best friend, not anyone knows that this exits (I think). I did google myself and it does come up, but that doesn't mean anyone else has found it. Am I silly? Do others tell their friends, coworkers, etc.?

World Best Friend Week!

My bestest and oldest friend sent this to me and I'm passing it on to all of you!

Think about this for a minute...
If I happened to show up on your door step crying,
Would you Care?
If I called you and asked you to pick me up because something Happened,
Would you come?
If I had one day left, to live my life;
Would you be part of That last day?
If I needed a shoulder to cry on,
Would you give me Yours?
This is a test to see who your real friends are or
If you are just some one to talk to you when they are bored . . .
Send this to Everybody on your list including the person who sent it to you.
I just Did.....because you are my friend.
Do you know what the relationship is between your two eyes?
They blink together, they move together, they cry together,
They see things together and they sleep together,
BUT THEY NEVER SEE EACH OTHER... that's what friendship is.
Your aspiration is your motivation, your motivation is your belief,
Your belief is your peace, your peace is your target,
Your target is heaven, and life is like hell without FRIENDS.
It's 'world best friends week'.
Who is your best friend?
Send this to all Your good friends.
Even me, if I am one of them.
See how many you get back.
If u get more than 3 then you really are a lovable person...


Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate!!!!

Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth...AMEN..!!

I believe people are put into our lives for a purpose. I also believe that we aren't always aware of what that purpose is. There have been many people who have entered my life lately...thank you for doing so...welcome to my world!

Such a Gorgeous Day!

These two characters are my Russian Torts. I kind of "rescued" them from a daughter of a friend. They live in a childs wading pool in my living room next to the wood stove...they did live in a ten gallon tank but that seemed way too confined in my opinion.

It's an odd sight when you walk into someone's living room and there's a pool next to the wood stove...a pool with these little guys in it. They have a hot rock to keep them warm at night. That's what they're on in the picture. They eat dark greens. They love dandelion greens...we have plenty of those in our yard! They are pretty basic creatures!

I call them Frick and Frack. My youngest daughter calls them Sigfreid and Roy. My middle granddaughter calls them Tater and Tot. It doesn't seem to confuse them at all. As I said, they are pretty basic creatures. Perfect for us "empty nesters".


They don't need a drink but once a month or so. They do eat on a fairly regular basis, but can survive without fresh food for a few days. I only clean the poop out every week or so. I scoop it out with an old slotted spoon. Compared to cleaning out a barn on a daily basis this is a piece of cake!

Today is an absolutely drop dead gorgeous day here in Oregon (it was 65.3 when I checked last)...it's the first day this year I was able to open the door and let the fresh air in and the stale out. I must remember to mark the calendar!

I no sooner opened the door than the torts started stirring. The fresh air woke them up. They are busy now trying to find a way out of the pool. It's truly amazing that they react in this manner! If I were to take them out of the pool, they would scurry (yes, they do scurry!) towards the open door and outside.

Every August we have a huge party to celebrate life and friendship. They escaped two years ago and nearly got crushed by a very large friend on the front porch (they had a smaller container prior to the pool-one of those under the bed Rubbermaid things). They can push my screen or open. I've actually watched them do this over and over again. If I let them wander I always lock the screen door if it's nice outside.

Sometimes I take them out for a walk. They are like children then...they both run in opposite directions! Frick almost always heads towards the greenhouse and the wood shed and Frack goes over and burrows in the lawn clippings that we mulch the Deodora with, or for the front flower bed.

So far they haven't managed to escape from the wading pool. I think it's because the sides kind of slope. Also because they haven't grown enough to get over the sides.

I hear them scrapping the sides of the pool with their talons...I should go out and see if the ground is dry enough for them to be outside. The test is to go barefoot and not get damp. If their shells get wet they can rot.

Bet you didn't think you were going to learn about torts today, did you?!

Sunday

(I actually wanted to post this yesterday but our dsl was slower than dial up ever was so I got it typed and ready to go.)

I managed to walk today, both with my hubby on his cardio-health conscious walk and then again down to the creek. I just got back. I love walking down to the creek, it's through old and second growth forest. The mahonia and salal look lovely this time of year (about the only time of year in my opinion).

I had to stop and turn around before I actually came out of the forest to the beach at the creek because it was too muddy and I was starting to slip as I climbed over fallen trees and tromped over the moss covered rocks in my way. I hadn't told anyone where I was headed and was last seen on the front porch laying on the couch in the sun like a fat cat. I figured no one would miss me until dark and if I fell I had no way to call for help. I'm not sure how far a walk it is...tomorrow, weather permitting, I will do it again and take the gps with me and track myself.

These are the times I miss having a dog. I almost want to go to the local feed store and see what puppies are available for free. I don't dare. One lick on my face, one whiff of puppy breath and I'd be a goner! We agreed that unless we decide together and schedule a vacation around getting another dog we won't do it.

When we first got together we had old dogs. His died first. Mine hung on until she was nineteen! The dog that refused to die. She had a stroke in the driveway the morning of my grandfathers funeral. I had a pinched nerve and couldn't sit still long enough to make the three hour drive. My brother got me a blanket and lawn chair and helped me put the dog on the blanket and me in the chair where I sat until my sick daughter decided to wake up. She then helped me get the dog in the house and call the vet. We waited all day for the vet to arrive and sat and loved on this semi conscious dog. When the vet finally did call it was to say she wouldn't be able to make it there had been one emergency after the other all day long. Well, I couldn't drive at the time due to the pinched nerve (my arms were literally numb!) My daughter was unable to drive a stick shift, the only vehicle available at the time. So we sat and loved on this dog hour after hour after hour.

Three days later she finally gave up and died. By the time the vet called to say she was finally free to come up and put down the dog, the dog had died an hour earlier.

I miss having a dog. I miss the companionship. I miss having that loyal protection. There are times, like today, when I walked to the creek alone that I feel vulnerable and get scared.

I must remember that in order to have dogs that are loyal and protective I have to put in many hours of training and being with the animal. Neither of us are willing to make that sacrifice at this time. When the right dog and time come we will know it.

Until then I shall stay away from the inside of pet shops and feed stores!