A Time For Everything

 

Let's talk about Rascal...

It was a year in mid-March that I met Rascal (and Rudy)(and Waldo) in person and it'll be year in mid-May that Rascal (and Rudy)(and Waldo) arrived to live in our home.

When I arrived in Oregon, the dogs had the run of the house and, due to her deteriorating health status, Mom was barely caring for them. They were not being let out on a regular basis, and I'll let you infer the status of the carpet from that...

But in I step--making sure all the critters were fed on a regular schedule and forcing the dogs outside despite the cold and wet to do their business. They liked the regular feedings; the going outside--not so much. But we finally wrangled a detente into place where they did their business outside during the day, but potty pads were left in strategic places at night.

Fast forward to Texas...

The dogs were taken outside multiple times a day and kept out until they did their business. At night they were crated. And slowly, slowly, slowly they learned. They still made incorrect choices, but as long as we got them outside within fifteen or twenty minutes of eating, we were usually fine.

Eventually, we left them uncrated with Mom overnight along with a potty pad and they mostly did well.

But there came a time when they were more irritation to Mom than comfort and so the little doggos were crated at night once more...

Fast forward yet again to August and Mom's passing. I really had no intention of keeping either dog. As you know, Rayna wasn't keen on other dogs and I had to keep a vigilant eye on things and we lived in a "gated community." Not fun.

Rudy, thank goodness, quickly found a home. He was very high maintenance.

But there were no takers for Rascal (or Waldo) and here we are nine months later, having accepted the fact that Rascal (and Waldo) will remain ours until they cross over the Rainbow Bridge. Sadly, between major weather disasters, the economy, and the post-covid pet dilemma, there's a glut of pets in the world.

And now, after all that, I can finally get to my point. Which is that Rascal has become a much better version of himself than the one I first met.

Mom was a perfectly fine pet owner. She cared for them properly and took care of vaccinations as needed, but it seems she wasn't one of those "extra" kind of owners. Not as extra as I am. And I'm not as extra as others.

Rascal has flourished under the love and attention he gets. He's also a very good watch dog. He likes to let us know whenever there are people in front of our house: the neighbors, the Amazon delivery driver, the mail carrier... You get the idea.

And Mom would just yell at him to shut the "F" up, which rarely seemed to work. So we started thanking him. After all, he's just trying to his "job," right? And that seems to work for everyone but DH and DD. I guess since they come all the way up to the door and then they come inside...

He doesn't bark at me at all, of course. I'm his person now, the hand that feeds him. But we need to figure out some way to get him to cease and desist or not bark at all once he identifies the two of them.

DH suggested that he and DD offer him a special treat when they arrive home. So I dutifully found some biscuits that only the two of them get to offer him. These treats are nothing like the ones I use to reward him for entering his crate each night for bed. Nor has he received one from my hand.

I'm not sure how it's working at this point. It's been a week and he still barks until they're in the house and handing him the treat. The issue is, I think, he's on the lookout for me and not for them. So when either of them arrive home, it's just someone trying to get into the house. On the other hand, he has seen DD pull up and walk up to the house and to the door, barking his fool head off the whole time. So I really don't know. We might need to keep working on this one. :0)

And that's the story of my dog Rascal.

Also it's Teacher Appreciation Week--so appreciate a teacher!

Have a super week.

 

"Make A Dog’s Day began as a way for Subaru to say thank you to the pets who support us, love us and make our world a better place.” Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing of Subaru of America, Inc.

It's now a national thing apparently.

 

Currently my aim is to make the last days of my own dog's life as good as they can be... As mentioned on Monday, she was diagnosed with cancer. We're holding off on putting her down until the Thanksgiving break so we can grieve unfettered by work and people.

Between now and then, I'll be taking some afternoons off (instead of just working from home) to spend outside with her--or really to let her just be outside while I work on tidying the yard.

But I saw a commercial for "Make A Dog's Day," and I cry every time because they're showing dogs with disabilities and encouraging people to adopt shelter animals rather than get new a new puppy. And I'm all for that, but it's heart-rending when I'm facing the loss of my own dog and trying to re-home my mom's animals...

* SIGH * 

And I don't want any more dogs. Despite having had dogs for two plus decades, I am not a dog person. 

So if you have any sort of pet, not just a dog--make its day on Saturday.

Take care.

In a push to help Rayna's allergy situation and just because she needed new beds, she is now the proud(?) owner of three raised mesh/canvas beds. Now all the dander, dog hair, dirt, and / or bugs will fall to the floor rather than live and fester in the bedding. I can easily sweep / mop under her beds and throw the blankets I bought specifically for her in the wash.



She also got some good meds and medicated shampoo from the vet last Saturday and has been a much less itchy / scratchy canine. I'm not thrilled about bathing her three times a week, but it's doing what it's meant to, so I'll keep it up for another week before tapering off.

Anyway...it's Friday again. Another three-day weekend sure would be nice, wouldn't it?

Hope you enjoy the two days we're getting. Take care!!

I have a dog, but I have to confess... I am a CAT person.

I prefer the soft fur and purring to coarse hair and barking.

I feel bad for my dog sometimes because there's a cat in the house and she tends to get more attention than my sweet doggy. I have nothing against Rayna or dogs in general, but I grew up with cats. I like cats. I love cats.

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

Rayna has only been a part of our lives for fourteen months, but she's become a full-fledged member. But when we agreed to give her a home, it was with the caveat that she was DD's dog in name if not in deed--mostly I cared for her. But the deal was when DD moved out, the dog went with her.

Well, she moved out in November but her living arrangements being what they were at the time, DH and I agreed to keep her until DD and her roommate were able to move into a two-bedroom apartment. Moving weekend has finally arrived, but Rayna was in for a surprise--instead of going to live with DD, she gets to live back with her daddy, the young man from whom we originally took her.

They were both quite excited, and I'm pleased as punch for the both of them, if not a little sad for myself.

These pictures are from a previous post about Rayna...





It was a little quiet that first morning, not having the tick, tick, tick of her nails on the flooring or the jingle of the bells hanging from the back door knob when she wanted to go out.

Several people have said I can finally get a cat, and while that's true, I still want to wait a bit. In the mean time, I guess I ought to get started on cleaning my floors!

After losing our two dogs within six month of each other, I was relieved to be pet free for a while. I'd lived with fur all over my house for well over twenty years and looked forward to clean corners and baseboards, as well as a poop-free yard.

And I enjoyed that for almost eight months. Then Rayna came into our lives at the beginning of this year. That story is here. I wasn't really in the market for another dog. After being sans cat for close to a decade I had a hankerin' for some feline companionship. But I also wanted to wait until I was working from home or the kids were gone. Or both. Or who knows. But Rayna needed a home.

Fast forward seven months and I'd like to say how grateful I am to have had her around. We all know the emotional benefits of having a pet, and I have to say I've benefited much from her presence in our family. I won't go into all the sordid details, but my life has been enriched.

So without further ado, some recent pictures of Puppy Face...

She loves to play and we step outside several times in the course of a day to throw her ball. Though not the one pictured. Her preferred ball is a football shaped tennis ball, at the moment.

 Here she is in the office with me. The kids probably aren't home otherwise she'd be next to one of them.

 Rayna's favorite place to be...Sonshine's bed, preferably with Sonshine.

And outside enjoying the sunshine. I'd do that more if I could...

Do you have or have had a beloved pet that you couldn't imagine your life without?

Thank goodness it's Friday.

It's been a tough week and a tough month. Next month will be just as busy.

Am I ready? No.

Do I have a choice? No.

February, here I come...

New family member, Rayna, is settling in quite nicely. I thought she would miss her dad more, and if she saw him, she'd probably go crazy. I think the upgrade in her living conditions has made a difference in how she's handled the transition--she's not boxed up or sleeping 18 to 20 hours of the day. Yep... she was in her box when her dad was at work and since he works overnight, he'd sleep during the day, so Rayna was sleeping with him.

Here, while she is alone for many hours during the day, she's not boxed up and can roam the house. She's well behaved and doesn't tear stuff up and she has toys. She's allowed on Sonshine's bed as far as furniture goes, and there are a couple of dog beds for her use. Our yard is about three times the size of her previous yard, so she can run and play and chase away all my wildlife. And when we're home we pay attention to her, talk to her, and play with her.

But she's technically, DD's dog. DD was told that if we agreed to give Rayna a new home, she would go with DD when she moves out. DD agreed. So Rayna is really just a temporary house guest. But it's nice to have a critter in the house again.

Well, she's knee deep in writing group business. The beginning of the year means the changing of the guard--out with the previous board members, in with the newly elected. Sometimes it's just a shuffle from one position to the next. We lose one or two, gain one or two and everyone else just trades hats.

I love serving my writing group, I really do. I love going to meetings and hanging out with my writer peeps. Writing group day is my one day when I let all my other cares go. I'm gone the whole day, first to meeting, then to hang out with critique partners and other invited friends. I ride with a friend so we have extra time to visit.

This past Saturday was the changing of the guard meeting. My friend, chapter mate, and faithful blog reader Lara was kind enough to open her home to us gaggle of women to get our group on the road to 2014 success. (Thanks, Lara!)

In other news, the yard is frozen. It hasn't had any work done to it in a good month and it needs a pick-me-up pretty bad. On the other hand, it's not the worst it's ever been, so I'm not fretting it too much. There's just been something going on for the last several weeks and when there wasn't, it was just too dang cold to go out.

I spent a couple of weeks on hubby alert. He got a bad case of that flu going around and was laid up at home for a few days. Then, from all the coughing, he ended up with a level three tear in his abdominal wall. If it had been any worse, he'd have had to have surgery to re-attach stuff. Yikes. Until this past Friday, he hasn't driven since when he has to cough, he likes to hunch over to cause the least amount of tug on his belly muscles.

My schedule's been wonky because of DH being sick, and on top of that, the water pump on DD's truck bit the big one, so we were out a vehicle for two weeks. It took a bit longer because we had DD's friend fix it rather than pay a dealership the thousand dollars they quotes us. Instead, we shelled out about $150 in parts and adopted a dog.

This is Rayna...




Her daddy (the friend that fixed DD's truck) lives at home with his parents, as does his sister who has a toddler and a new baby. His parents have been after him to get rid of her because they're worried that she might hurt one or the other of the little ones--not out of aggression, but because she's protective. So we agreed to take her. We babysat her last week and it's going to be a tough adjustment for her. She loves her daddy. I'm thinking she's gonna have to bond with Sonshine. Also, I think I'm going to have to take her to work with me. I don't know that leaving her in a strange house by herself right off the bat is a good idea either. I'll keep you posted.

And last but not least is my continued lack of weight loss. I'm back up around 140lbs, though I haven't gone over but a blip and only once. All the sickies and injuries and crazy schedules and just stuff have conspired to keep me off kilter and seeking comfort in not-so-great food choices. Okay, they're not super bad, it's just that I think I'm eating more that I should be and not drinking enough water. That's gonna end very soon. DH is ready to make healthier choices too.

Well, I think I've gabbed your ear (or eyes?) off enough for today, so I'll sign off.

Hope things are cruising along much better in your neighborhood.

We lost Sammy Friday evening after several days of her acting very unusual. I had an appointment with the vet for Saturday morning, but we didn't make it. She died somewhere around 6pm, and five months to the day after we put our other dog down. Very odd, since she never really seemed to grieve.

Hopefully, she's found her sister, Honey, and they're roaming the heavenly neighborhoods together on puppy adventures.


To remember our sweet doggies, we bought some flowers, Double Spider Shasta Daisies. So I spent the better part of Sunday tilling up the corner of the yard where they liked to lay and creating a flower bed.



Are you a pet lover? What's your preference? Dog, cat, bird, reptiles?

Today, I'm just going to dump a bunch of random stuff -- I haven't done that for a while, because there's been one thing or another needing posting, so, in no particular order...

My oldest daughter, aka the Brown Eyed Girl, moved out a week or so ago into her own apartment. That was the week that threw me a few curves. It was stressful as hubby was/is really worried about her ability to pull it off. Her biggest challenge is that she doesn't have a car. I hadn't posted before now partly because I hadn't talked to my mom about it and I didn't want her to hear it here first.

Anyway, the Brown Eyed Girl came home for a visit on Tuesday and brought Kitty with her too. It was good to see them both.(Kitty's grown.) And BEG wanted mashed potatoes. She bought me some flowers when her and DD went to the store for said potatoes. So now I have a pot of beautiful pink Gerber daisies in my writing room. She said she bought them because I always buy flowers or a plant when I go to people's houses. Nice!

Speaking of the writing room... because BEG moved out, I got it back. I don't have the big screen, high def TV since that's down at the fireworks store, but I'm not missing it too much. It's been so nice to have a place to go and close the door to work and not be bothered or distracted. Since the loss of my writing room, I've only had my bedroom to work in, except when DH is home. Then he comes in and wants to watch TV and snack and chuckle and move around and talk to me. Can't you see me working here?? I can concentrate better in the living room while Sonshine is playing Xbox. Argh. And, sure,there's the garage, but until recently it's been too cold to be out there and soon, it'll be too hot.

Spring is pretty much here in north Texas, but last year's drought took its toll. I'm seeing A LOT of dead trees. Surprisingly, the three trees in my back yard are still alive though a bit worse for wear. I thought for sure the one farthest back near the shed was a goner, but it's sporting some greenage on the lowest limbs. They all need some serious trimming too.

I don't remember if I mentioned our most recent trip to the vet and Sammy's diagnosis of some sort of spinal/neuro degeneration--basically not all the messages are getting from her brain to her legs. And because I'm such an awful dog owner and wasn't walking the poor thing hardly ever, her muscles have begun to atrophy. So the vet prescribed some mild pain meds even though she didn't really think Sammy'd reached the pain stage yet. She thinks she was probably just uncomfortable more than in any pain. The vet also suggested some carpet runners for the house along the dog's usual pathways since we have flooring and no carpet. I also asked about walking her and was told absolutely.

So Sammy and I started walking. First just up one half the block (we live dead center) and then up and down both ends. This week, we graduated to actually going around the block. Between that and the carpet runners, Sammy's doing so much better, so I'm very relieved. So far, we've walked every day for probably two and a half weeks. Another week and it should officially be a habit. :)

I haven't talked about Sonshine too much of late, so let me just say he cracks me up. The other night he had a sweet tooth and I told him to get a bowl of cereal. And he said 'damn skippy' as an affirmative response. It's a funny little phrase and he likes to say it and I like to listen to him and watch him when he does 'cause he gets such a kick out of it.

So that's me playing catch up...

So my dog, Sammy, likes to bark in the middle of the night. Not just straight-up bark-bark-bark-bark. But a single fairly non-starting low-level woof.

That's what I heard this morning at about 4:50am. Ugh.

But now I'm awake. But I'm cozy and it's chilly beyond the covers, so I ignore it and hope like heck she doesn't do it again.

Does it ever work? Rarely.

Upon the second bark, I haul myself out of bed and to the living room and find her still laying on her dog bed, facing the vertical blinds on the front window. But she's heard me and looks up. I admonish her to hush and shuffle back to my room, chug some water because my stomach has woken up too and sneak back under the covers.

I get comfy and warm, and just as I think I've dodged a bullet. Bark.


Ugh. So I drag myself out of bed yet again but detour to the bathroom. But I'm on the far side of the house and her hearing's going, so when I'm done, I decide to try for more sleep. But just as I lift the covers...another bark.

Well, there's no ignoring her because I'd rather get up than risk a puddle or worse. Plus, I really was hungry. And at least it was five am rather than one or two or three. Up again, and this time she's sitting in the middle of the room, but she's stuck because her back leg is acting up and it doesn't always work properly. I help her to her feet and we head for the back door and I start cooking.

Are there pet behaviors you can't ignore even though the chances are good it means nothing but the alternatives are enough to spur you into action every time?

So two Mondays ago, we put Honey to sleep. Sammy seemed to be doing well enough and wasn't acting overly distraught. This past Friday she went outside first thing when I got up as she always does, but didn't come back in straight away. Occasionally, she'll stay out and enjoy the cool, so I didn't think much of it, only checking to make sure the gate hadn't been left open.

A sort time later, the Brown-Eyed Girl went out there to find Sam in a state of almost paralysis. We first thought she'd stepped on something or had hurt one of her legs or paws. But she wasn't yelping or wincing or even pulling away as we felt around for a wound. We decided to wait and see.

She acted lethargic for the rest of the day, not eating or drinking, acting dizzy when she did get up to take care of business. We then thought maybe she'd gotten stung or bitten or had possibly ingested something. DD did a little online research and it's also possible she suffered a mild stroke.

I'm glad to report she's mostly fine, eating and drinking, no longer dizzy, and moving around, not just laying in one spot. She wags her tail when spoken to, etc. But I do think she's now exhibiting signs of missing Honey. She's just not herself. Getting over that loss will just take time.

It may be coming for us sooner rather than later. Our dog, Honey, is 17 years old. She's been suffering with arthritis as well as just plain old age for some time and seemed to have taken a turn for the worse the last couple of days. I took her to the vet this morning (which is why this post is later than usual) to get some guidance.

After Dr. Duncan looked at her and reviewed her records, we discussed options: medication to see how it would help or putting her down. Both the Brown Eyed Girl and DD were with me. Before he left for school, Sonshine thought she should be put out of her misery. He also said some other rather dispassionate things, which I'm not sure don't cover up his emotions. Anyway, BEG thought we should put her down, but DD said she didn't know, which DH and I interpreted as not being ready to let go just yet. I'm not really either, despite my big words. So we opted to go for some NSAIDs and pain meds to see how she fares.

This is her last week:


She looks fine, but her legs are so stiff and she can hardly get up without help anymore.

On a more pleasant note, DH was able to fix the dishwasher last night.

Hope your week is going better than mine. :)

Yeah, yeah, I know it's Wednesday. I'm running a little behind today because I decided to loll around in bed for thirty extra minutes or so. But here I am...

I dropped $500 at the vet's yesterday in an attempt to finally get my dogs well. One is incontinent and needed a blood/urine test before the vet would continue to fill the prescription. So that's done. Plus she's got a mild allergy to flea bites. The other has all kinds of things wrong with her on top of the fact that she's probably 17 years old. Yes, that's right. My golden retriever mix is at least 17 years old. We've had her since DD was 7. DD is now 22. That's 15. She was at least a year when we got her, but probably two. So...17.  Yeah. I know, right???

Serious revisions on my contest entry begin today. I revised it once based on judge comments. Then I sent to two writer friends who were very kind and generous with their thoughts and comments. (Thanks Kary & Angi.) And now I'll take their suggestions and comments into consideration and get started. The revised version is due Saturday.

And that is that. It's the first of the month and I have work to do.

Do you have pets? If so, what kind/how many?

Yes, it's July all over, but here in Texas that usually means sunny and hot for extended periods of time.

Except, we've been cooling off on a regular basis with mild thunderstorms and light rain that have no tornado producing elements in them what-so-ever. I'm not complaining because it's been lovely to enjoy relative coolness in the evenings. Now that I'm walking the dogs each night.

In an effort to get the dogs to sleep until *I* want to get up (rather than 3am) I have starting walking them each evening. One at a time because Honey walks so slow these days. Honey walks to one end of the street and back (we live in the middle of the block), but Sammy, who's a little more spry and excited, gets to go to one end and then to the other. For the most part it's been working thank goodness and I get to sleep until *I'm* ready to get up.

So I've been trying and trying and trying to finish revisions on one of my manuscripts. But I've been struggling. I set myself a deadline only to postpone it. Twice.

Yesterday, I took a step back and determined why I had been having such a hard time with the story.

Sure, I figured it out, but now it mean MORE revisions. Ugh. I'm ready to be done with this story. But finish it I shall. Eventually. Just not right now.

I'm going to move on to one of my other WIPs--one that seems closer to being finished and see if I can't make that happen.

No pictures today, but soon. I have an idea for a series of blog posts and I'm rarin' to go with it.

Happy Monday.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I'm definitely ready for my life to return to normal.

The Fourth of July was not as busy as we'd hoped, which also translates into not as profitable. :( Usually the 3rd and the 4th are the *big* selling days and they still were this year, but since they fell on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, they were slow in comparison. And I mean really slow. Two years ago, we had customers pretty much from four pm until midnight. Not so this year.

We also thought the weekend just prior would be busier as well, since many people would probably celebrate then, but it wasn't as busy as we'd hoped or expected either.

We haven't counted the money yet, but when all is said and done, we'll be in the hole. I won't go into a lot of detail, but something's gotta give or we may as well sell the store and go back to just buying and shooting fireworks for our own enjoyment. Even at several thousand dollars a year, it'd be much less hassle and a lot more fun.

A few pics from the store...

We all sleep in the store bedded down on air mattresses:



On the 4th, I caught a catnap on the shelf under the counter:



Had I a blanket, I would have been quite comfy and could have slept much longer. I did get a bit of sleep, though; enough to keep me going through midnight and the 2-hour drive home.

We had someplace we had to be yesterday morning and I ended up taking the day off work. I guess I really needed it. After two weeks of going, going, going, I had worn myself out. After DH and I got home, we both took a nap--and I ended up napping for five hours when all was said and done. It felt so good, let me tell you.

There's no rest for the weary, however. Or very little. Sonshine turns back into Marching Band Boy next Tuesday, so I'll have to don my Band Booster president hat once more.

Speaking of weary, it's going to be a long day. After staying up an hour past my bedtime--which I only did because I'd napped--my dogs woke me up at 2:30ish. I tried to ignore them, hoping (against hope) that they'd settle down eventually, but I finally had enough and rolled out of bed shortly after 3. Yes, AM. This has been ongoing for months now and, let me tell you, I'm wicked weary of it.

I let them both out and then in again, hoping that was all they needed. But no. It turned out one water bowl was empty and the other was in the garage and the door was closed. Once that was rectified, there was still whining and carrying on. And then eventually a big puddle of puke. So after mopping that up, finally, they settled down.

I was hot and awake, so I went back to the book I'd stayed up late to keep reading. It's called Scarlet, written by A.C. Gaughen. It takes the Robin Hood legend and turns Will Scarlett into a girl masquerading as a boy. It's a really well-written, fast-paced read and I'm quite enjoying it.

And now, I've got to get some work done today, though I do think, I'm leaving early to catch another nap and get a start on my weekend chores. I have a feeling it's going to take me longer than usual to get them done.


I hope I didn't come across too whiny, but I am tired. Monday will be better. Have a great weekend and see you then.

Yesterday was Flag Day! By some prophetic twist of fate, I was wearing a pair of my patriotic socks--the ones that most resemble the flag. And to honor Old Glory, here she is:


Just to note, gas prices have dropped to $3.18 around here at the local mega gas station. Others stations are charging anywhere from $.01 to $.20 higher.

Yesterday, when I left for work, Fat Patches was sitting on top of my truck. I lured him down, gave him a quick scratch and took off. I think he was a bit lonely, as his people were gone. But they're back now from wherever they'd gone for the week.

Here's a bit of video of one of my dogs--everyday when I get home, I have to let them out. That's just the routine even if they've recently been out. Anyway, Sammy, our German Shepard, goes out to the same spot of grass and rolls around. It cracks me up, so I thought I'd share. A few months ago, before mowing for the season had taken place and after there'd been some rain, that spot was still flat because she goes out there and rolls around everyday.


The Twelve Days of Jen

I love Sharpies. And for my birthday, I received a brand new batch of them, along with that handy-dandy little tin container to keep them in. Now, Sharpies have all kinds of uses and you never know when you might need one. So I recommend that all women keep a Sharpie in their purse.



And since it's Friday --have a great weekend, y'all.

Trash day in my neighborhood. Will the kids remember to take the trash out? I didn't leave a note.

And aspirin a day, keeps the vet away. My dog is old, very old. We've had her since we before we moved to Texas. We've been here 11.5 years. I can't really remember when we got her, but she wasn't a puppy when we did, although she was no more than a year or two. So I'm going to say she's about 14 years old. She's a golden retriever mix. Anyway, she suffers from old dog maladies including arthritis, I'm sure. So a while back I researched dog arthritis on the 'Net and discovered that you can give your dog aspirin--real live people aspirin for pain. But usually you have to crush it up because they don't have the right kind of acids in their stomachs to break down the coating aspirin usually has. Long story short, I wasn't very diligent about it and slacked off. Poor dog became grumpy, surly, grouchy again, snapping at us and her fellow dog, Sam, for no reason. Is this the end? And I thought, hmm... she's been struggling to get to her feet and slow when making her rounds in the yard... Plus a friend of mine mentioned having just taken her dog to the vet and being advised by her vet to use aspirin on a daily basis and save the prescription drugs for when the dog really hurts. Validation. I dug the aspirin back out and started a two-tablet-a-day regimen--crushed and sprinkled on her meals. Wow, what a difference! She's been so pleasant and downright frisky--well as frisky as a 14-year-old dog can be--and she's getting around so much easier. No more slacking for me. :(

If your Internet is slow, it's because AT&T has started a round of updates to their network. Which means, of course, that as their network interconnects with other networks, those other networks mus then also implement some updates. GAH!

Started watching "Grey's Anatomy" recently. Not a bad show, not the greatest. But it's something to watch. And I do love Patrick Dempsey. It's really more of a night time soap opera, which is okay.

I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books. Yes, they are entertaining me that much. At least for now. Just finished the second book (again) the other day and will move on to the third in a day or two.

After my girls writers weekend, I'm going to work on my spare room (probably Sunday). It's been at a standstill for a few weeks and I really feel like I need to make some sort of progress on it. I say I can hardly wait for it to be finished, but I just don't have the energy to make it happen. But soon. Maybe...

My oldest daughter, who's in jail, is not allowed visitors for 20 days starting April 3, so last night was my last visit until April 27. Maybe I'll work on the bedroom those nights in the interim and maybe I can finally get it finished.

Oh, and it appears my boss is going to be gone most if not all day! Woo hoo!

All right, well...need some hot tea and I'd better get started on my day.

I keep thinking it's time to post, but I don't have a pressing topic...

So let's see...kids went back to school--two college co-eds and a middle schooler. ;)

I went back to full-time work, which I'm not real pleased about, but I do have a lot of free time to piddle, I just can't get my housework done. :(

My dogs cost me $700 at the vet because they both had viral infections under the skin. Plus they boarded at the vet while my in-laws painted the living room molding with oil-based paint. :(

My kitchen is finished, to include the four various cabinet doors that had not been installed. YAY!

My living room is 98% finished. We just need to put the vertical blind slats back up and then install the transitions in the doorways between the floorings. YAY!

The publisher I was hoping to submit my YA novel to closed its YA line. :(

There's a lack of readable fanfic for NCIS and the BBC's Robin Hood. :(

I'm getting together with a girlfriend for a brainstorming session tonight. :)

But now the lovely eye-candy that it Jonas Armstrong's Robin Hood is gone...

Well, today, by divine appointment, I was able to find a home for the young dog that adopted us several months ago.

My husband said just this morning that we needed to find her a home. We'd tried (not very hard) to find her rightful owner back when she showed up in our yard back in late winter/early spring.

Since then, she's been living in our back yard, not getting very much attention from us. We already have two large older dogs who do not want to have anything to do with her. And I really don't want anymore pets.

Then today, I was talking to my friend Mary and asked if she knew anyone who wanted a dog. She admitted she'd been thinking about getting another dog to keep her lab, Ollie, company while she's at work. She followed me home from our writing meeting, met Sassy, and decided she would take Sassy on.

Now Mary is a dog lover and spoils her babies, so I know Sassy is in good hands and will have a much better quality of life.

Thank you, Mary!