Prairiedogs of I-10

My house in review

2012-01-28T15:33:00.000-06:00

I went driving around yesterday, looking for the houses like mine. This first one is on Mill. It's a lawyers office. It looks the closest to mine in style.

This one is on Seguin. Some kind of real estate or rental office. It lacks the balcony roof, has badly designed railings, and they have tackied it up with signs. Those Grecian columns look totally out of place also.

This one is some kind of school affiliated office. There was work being done on it. I really don't care for the balcony trim.

And now my house. I think the rustic wood posts and trims look more in tune with the Hill Country Style. My house was modeled after the previous three and I think it looks the best of the group.

PERRY FOR PRESIDENT

2011-08-13T12:36:00.002-05:00

We are all blessed that Rick Perry has declared he is running for President. He can do more for this country than anyone else running. He has kept Texas strong and he shares our beliefs. Watch though....lies will be told. The left knows he is a serious threat so will work very hard to concoct lies about him. Know this....they are not true. And the media will end up making themselves look like fools. If you hear someone from Texas talking trash about him...realize that they are either not from Texas, or are one of our fruits or nuts that we keep around for entertainment.
RICK PERRY FOR PRESIDENT 2012

I'm melting!!

2011-06-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

um...wow...it's been a while since either of us posted. Both of us have been super busy.

One problem has been the extreme drought going on. All my time is spent watering my plants and trees. The promise of this new place makes it hard not to keep putting in plants. Then I spend my waking hours watering the darned things to keep them alive. Above is my latest aquisition...an Angel Trumpet. I didn't go for the usual yellow ones, no, I picked the one that blooms white, then turns pink around the edges.

The frogs have been happy and prolific. I do enjoy taking pictures of them. Claire kitty and Jack the dog love to try to catch them. Claire has had opportunities to catch them, but instead would rather bat at them and make them jump. The pond is going to be cleaned this month. I am paying good money to have someone do it that knows what they are doing. Sadly, the darned fish are spawning this morning. Wrong time to spawn, guys.

The squirrels are endlessly amusing and frustrating. No birdfeeder is squirrel proof...no matter what they claim. It was so cute to see baby squirrels out this past couple of weeks. They were intensely curious about something under that pot. I noticed an anole lizard on the pot later that day, so they must have been fiddling with the lizard. I like to have not caught my breath after laughing at one of the babies. It was on the edge of the pond, going for a drink, when a frog jumped. The squirrel jumped higher. Then calmly landed and proceeded to act like nothing happened.

I planted my first shade garden this year. It has been a delight to plant caladiums, hostas, ferns, and begonias. I have never had shade to plant in before. Now I have elephant ears up also. This is a picture of the big bed in the front yard.

I present....my first tomato of the season. It was sooooo tasty! Cubedog calls them edible sunshine. She and Bigdog were down last weekend and I got to serve her homegrown tomato. It was a hit, and there was much moaning going on around the table between the tomatoes and the steaks.

This is a Flapjack Kalanchoe that I bought a couple of years ago. It has totally outgrown it's pot. It does love the shade in the front yard. Just enough light to tinge it's leaves, but not enough to bake it to a crisp. I need to find a really pretty pot for it. One that will go with it's style.

I had bought some Oriental Lilies last year. I potted them up, then we moved. I wasn't sure if they would come up now. Much to my delight, they came up and I have been getting blooms like this. I need to find some Stargazer Lilies. I adore them and their heady scent.

This bed is along the front porch. Again, mostly shade. This shot shows Gebera daisies, purple Oxalis, and Scotch moss. The bed is full of these, irish moss, scilla, coleus, ajuga, and a Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant...that I think it got too hot for.

I have a lot of salvia and sage that was here when I moved in. Watering, fertilizing, and mulching have produced some very pretty plants and blooms. This is an Indigo Spires I believe.

There were two big batches of Lamb's Ears also that came with the house. I love them. Most people cut off the flower stems, but I like them. This picture is when they first came out. I love the gray fuzzy with tiny purple flowers.

And this is a white salvia that came with the place. Most of them are in a bed that was built up with rocks. I have to redo it because everytime I water...whether sprinkler or soaker hose....the water runs down into the swale. Not cool....we're in drought...the plants need the water, not the rocks.
Well, that is today's update. I will post more as I remember to in the days ahead. I have been working my tail off in this yard. I got almost an inch of rain a couple of weeks ago and discovered that when I don't have to spend my time watering, I can actually get stuff done in the house. We are praying for a nice soaking tropical storm to break the drought.

Smart alek Addendum

2011-02-07T16:33:00.000-06:00

HEY....JACK!!!

What?

It Snowed!!!

2011-02-07T16:29:00.000-06:00

Last week was astounding. First they said Houston would get snow, and they only got some ice. The weather people really didn't know what was going to happen. Up here in New Braunfels, we got about a quarter of an inch of snow. This snow had an ice base, so that meant that I-10 was closed in San Antonio, and 35 was closed through New Braunfels. We have mainly overpasses here, so they just closed the whole stretch. It was a magical wonderland and a rarity in this part of the woods. Kids got out of school, parents stayed home from work, and everybody robbed the lids off their trashcans and looked for a place to sled.

This stuff was very dry powder. I guess it's great for skiing. Son managed to pack enough of it together to make a wee little snowman on top of his truck hood.

Dog and I took a walk with the camera. This is the view up my road from the gate. I loved how the snow crunched under my shoes.

A view of the backyard from the upstairs bathroom window.

An artistic shot of snow and rocks.

This is from the front balcony down to the front yard. It makes me sigh deeply with contentment.

Another artsy fartsy shot of yucca in the snow. I knew you wanted to see artsy fartsy. You're welcome.

But the pipes from the well froze. Three nights of sub freezing temps did a number on exposed pvc pipes. Have no clue why they put them that way. Once I put an electric blanket on the pipes and covered that with more blankets, it thawed slowly. I ended up with some pretty foul water for a bit. It took a while, but I finally got clear water. Add that to the list of things we have to take care of on top of the addition that FIL lives in. It is not insulated. His window unit barely put out any heat, so I popped two space heaters in there and ran a fan blowing into the house to blow out the cold air. After years of living in crappy houses, I found that if you blow air out of the cold room, warm air will return. I managed to get him toasty warm.
How was your cold weather? Sister in Houston found out that heat pumps are worthless in cold weather.

Fall color

2010-11-23T10:54:00.000-06:00

I am so loving being in a place that actually shows fall color....instead of dead-plant-tan and cedar-green.

I don't know what tree this is, but it is showing a nice gold color at the side of the corral.

Also at the corral is the only Redbud on the place. It will be getting special attention. I love Redbuds!

I have two pecan trees. The one in the backyard is buck nekkid! I am babying it. This one is in the front next to the drive. It is showing very pretty burgundy colors now.

Silver Maple is a trash tree. I didn't plant this...it came with the house. But it sure is a pretty yellow now. I must see if I can grow Japanese Maples in the understories.

This is a huge tree....taller than the 2 story house, and shades the whole side yard and driveway. I love this tree. I figured it was another oak, not a live oak since it is changing colors and shedding leaves. But I picked up a leaf and examined it. I do believe I have an enormous Cedar Elm! I don't think it is a winged one, but will get out my binoculars to check the limbs closer to see. I am absolutely delighted. I planted two Cedar Elms at my old house and they were getting nice and big before I moved.

I have deer. They were caught inside the backyard last week. That will mean trouble for them if they keep doing that. But they look innocent enough in this picture. Don't be fooled.

See their evil lazer eyes? They have meaness on their minds. Don't look....they will entrance you and cause you to put out corn for them. Then they will eat everything you plant in your yard!!!

I miss my turkeys. They were so delightful to watch. This one was strutting in my backyard at the other house. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

ummm.....hello?

2010-11-10T21:25:00.000-06:00

uh, my bad. I have been silent for quite a while now. I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger. We made the move....the day Hermine went over. Lovely, eh? It was so wet that it was 4 days before the movers could come back with our stuff. At least hubby was able to get our mattresses from the van before they drove off. We camped for 4 days. We even went to buy a frig....and it couldn't be delivered until the day the movers were supposed to come back with our stuff.
So we have been here for 2.5 months. I have gotten to the point that I cherish days that I don't HAVE to do anything. I have a yard to plant and trim and learn about. I brought my plants from the other house and am trying to figure out exactly where I want to put them. Then there is the house to put in order. Still haven't gotten it all in, nor put away. The garage is full. I am mourning the loss of my huge studio. I am down to a wee bedroom now until kid finally is able to move out. It also means that the only guest quarters I have is hubby's travel trailer that he was able to bring home. Oh, and I have a pond. A big 8'x18' above ground pond with fish in it. Tomorrow, after much futzing and trying everything else, I am going to vacuum it out. It is full of sludge. I have a koi named Sumo, and a couple dozen goldfish of all size, configuration, and names.
This is the house. Isn't it beautiful? It's called "Hill Country Style", and though it looks old, it's only 22 years old.

Here are two of my new pets.

This is Sumo and Slash. Sumo is the only Koi I have. He is a Yamato Nishik. Slash is a nice sized goldfish that has a white streak across it's nose. I enjoy going out in the late afternoon and sitting at the side of the pool feeding them. Next spring, after I get the pond cleaned up and set up the way I want it, I would like to get Sumo a buddy.

Here is what the pond looked like before we moved in. My son and I got busy one day and cleaned it out. there was an amazing amount of crap in it, and lilies that are way too overgrown.
This weekend I am going to Kid n Ewe in the next town. I love that I can go and it's only half an hour's drive to a fiber festival!!!
Well, that's it for right now. I will check back later. Maybe with shots of the Fiber Festival. Cubedog has been very busy every weekend at the Faire. Things are going very well for her. Hopefully she will have pictures to share when she finally has time to breathe.
Oh, and I will have to share the tale of the moron neighbor at the other house. It is amazing just how stupid people can be.

Its a-camping I will go

2010-09-18T06:46:00.005-05:00

Its that time of year....Faire Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe I'm up at 6 am on a Saturday to basically drive 1.5 hrs to volunteer my time to clean a shop that does not belong to me. But hey, I get first look at all the goodies.
I'll be spending the night in the back of the truck-haven't done that in years.
Hopefully, the CMCU will be ready to roll in two weeks when we have to be there for opening cannon to a new season.
The best and worst part; we are working for 2 different vendors this year and will be clear across the park from each other.
And I'm hoping that I will spend WAY less money by being busy with customers all day. Besides, 4 Quarters (where I'll be) isn't near any of my favorite vendors-THIS is a very good thing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the park before any patrons are allowed in. A faire where only the vendors are wandering around is still 'magic'. Once the patrons arrive-its all business and people watching.
I'm taking the camera, so hopefully I'll have pics to share later.
Auf Wiedersien!

In the catagory of "Isn't that about right"

2010-09-06T06:25:00.000-05:00

This house buying and moving thing has been one thing after another. I am sure there is more to come with only one day left till load up. First, I still have tons of stuff to pack and have run out of boxes. It took me two weeks to come up with the ones I had. It's going to be next to impossible to find more in this town in one day.
But then, to top things off with a cherry....I get up early this morning because too many things are going through my head. Decide to get on the laptop to distract myself and check the weather for tomorrow. What the hell????? Who is this Hermine and where did she come from? Apparently a tropical storm formed at the south tip of Texas last night and is supposed to rain like a mofo on us the day we are loading up!!!!!!!!! Yep, there it is....the big honking cherry on top of everything! Personally I think the devil has enough to do playing with the liberals in gov't.....there is no reason to be picking on me!!!!!!

OMG House Explosion!!!

2010-08-28T23:11:00.003-05:00

This is what my living room looks like tonight. I pulled out a sofa in order to have a place to stack boxes. That contains my bathroom, half of the kitchen and part of the living room. I just packed one bookcase and have the boxes stacked in front of the fireplace.

My bedroom. It is cleared out and into boxes except for Clueless One's half of the closet. I left his boxes of undies and socks unsealed so he can get into them when he is home. I have a container larger than a shoebox that holds my undies for the week and a few clothes still in the closet to wear.
All my stuff packed up and sitting around and all the stuff yet to be boxed up is driving me nuts. The chaos is enormous! I had to take a painkiller this morning and again this evening. The work is really wearing on me now. Monday we sign papers and get the keys to the house, then eight days later we will be loading up and moving to the new house. I am so excited...that is what keeps me going. The excitement of going to a happier place to live.
You should see the pile of trash!!! OMG....have got to get on the ball next week and hire a dumpster for a couple of days. I also have a large pile of stuff to give to a friend of mine.
Oh, and I am allergic to dust. Unearthing things that haven't been unearthed in a while has got my sinus's stuffed up and giving me a sore throat. I just got through sneezing a couple of times. I have got to remember to buy more tissues tomorrow.
I also have freaked out pets. Jack is taking things in stride, but the cats don't know what in the world is going on! The two oldest are getting clingy, and the youngest is terrified because her world is changing, just as she was getting used to things. When the kid moves this week, he will be taking her with him. That will give her time to herself for a week to get used to the new place before the bullies move in. There is no pet door at the new house. That is one of the first things we are going to have to figure out...where to put one. These guys are spoiled to going in and out when they need to. And I have gotten spoiled from not having to play doorman constantly.
CUBEDOG: And it is this reality, that my house will someday look like that, that motivates me to put stuff in the trash or the donation box. I stop and think, "Would I want to pack that?" But more importantly, "Would I want to UNPACK that?" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Otter: yes, I have a big pile to give to a friend of mine, and a huge pile of trash. That is what happens when you live where you have no trash pick up for 20 years. You hang on to things you would otherwise toss. I have been surprised at some of the things I have found squirreled away.

Otter addendum: Just to show you why I call my hubby "the Clueless One".....I sent him the above pictures, showing him how much I had done. This is what he emailed back....
You still have a week before the movers come. We are only signing papers tomorrow. Or are you loading the animals up and moving tomorrow.
After my maniacal laugh, I came thisclose to sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, with my thumb in my mouth. I am sure you understand.

The neverending Saga of Housebuying

2010-08-19T20:01:00.000-05:00

Well, here we sit, a little over a week from closing day. I have my end tied up on a pretty bow. Picked a Home Warranty company, got my letter of credit because the mail can't manage to get a letter 20 miles to me, change of address forms printed out and ready to turn in, pets shots updated and new address logged into their files, more boxes, and things at the bank are almost ready for signatures. Even talked Clueless One down from a tizzy over temporary interest rates.
So what could happen now? Well, a bit of background.....we made a bid on the house, the seller came back and wanted 12,500 more. Okay, he indicated it would put him in the hole otherwise. We get his appraisal from April and shows it was worth 33,000 more than our first bid. We are fine with that. Then today we get our appraisal that the bank ordered for the loan. Yeah, guess what.....it appraised at only 1,000 more than our original bid. The whole purchase is up in the air now. My Real Estate Agent sent him the appraisal and will discuss it with him. Either we accept the over priced house purchase, dump the house purchase, or the seller has to accept the lower price for the house. What is in our favor on this is the fact that the seller has already moved out and is anticipating not having to make a mortgage payment next month. That is why they are selling the house....got in over their heads.
I am deflated. I just had to hand the whole thing over to God. Maybe God only wanted us to pay the amount of our original bid, and this is his way of getting us there after all. I don't know. All I know is that it isn't anything I can do anything about.....so it's up to Him.

It's always something

2010-08-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

I just got through filling out and printing off 3 change of address forms to turn in to the post office. Family, business, and father in law. Gonna have son fill his out so I don't screw it up. I have things set to start going to the new house on the 3rd of Sept. Son should be there by then....trying to get him ready to move on closing date to be there for anything we have to have done before we move...cable, phone, etc.
But there is always something that will screw up. I have a dear friend that is going to go to Saudi for a year to teach English with a mission group. She is set to leave next month. She has an account set up with an Arab mission group that we can support her with. So I waited till the house was finalized, then sent off a check with the new address listed. She was in tears sunday because the group she was registered with is disbanding and her account is going to be with another company.....so the first one is sending everyone's checks back! You know what that means? My return will be sent to the new house and I haven't even gotten the keys yet!!!! Grrrrrrrr!
Also, The Clueless One has changed his days off. Instead of coming home next week to pack, he will be coming home the week of the move. That means I had to email him the electric company application to sign and send back to me so I can fill it out and send it off. But first, I have to call my electric company today to see what the hold up is with our letter of recommendation to be sent with the application. It has been over a week and nothing has come in the mail yet. Geesh, they are only 20 miles away. It's not like it has to go around the world first. Or does it?
I also have to call about Home Warranty Insurance. ugh. You know, in all honesty, Clueless One is in charge of millions of dollars of equipment and men on the jobs he does, so is very busy and trying to complete jobs without having to spend more millions......but having to do the whole move thing by myself is driving me nuts!

Since I double posted pictures......

2010-08-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

How about a different set of pictures? I can show you more of the inside of the house. Will I be forgiven for totally losing my mind?

This is the front porch....you can sit on the swing and catch a breeze, but come on in.

Right in the door is the staircase. To the left is the office and the guest bathroom. Lets go upstairs.

This is the only spare bedroom I will have for a while. Family will want me to make it the guest bedroom, but it is the only option I have for a studio right now. From the door to the left.....

And from the door to the right. I am sure I will stuff the closet full, it's an decent size anyway. That is Clueless One opening the closet. And yes, that is how he dresses to ride the Harley.

This is the room that I covet for my studio. But kid has claimed it. I am sure it will be painted soon. That is the view to the left with his closet.

And the view to the right. Not a big room, but see that door there?

The room has a small room off of it. You step down into this cute little windowed room. covetcovetcovet When kid finally is able to move out....I am moving my studio in here!!

The room for myself and Clueless One is the biggest...except for FIL's suite. The pink walls will be pained pronto!

But take a look at the small pan in the ceiling! Tricked out in decorative wood! way cool.

Our bathroom...meh. It has a tub/shower to the right of the toilet. And to the far right out of camera shot is a small alcove with storage. I am not too worried about having only one sink. Right now we have two and he never uses his...always uses mine.

The very dark upper hallway. Looking from the front of the house to the back. To the left is kid's room and across the hallway is his bathroom. Between them is a storage closet with a bookcase in the wall. To the right is the door to my room. To the left out of camera shot is the extra room/studio. And behind me when I took the picture is the multipaned door to the upper balcony. At least you don't have to go through anyone's room to get to the balcony.

The upper balcony. Nice view and should be able to catch a nice breeze up there. I can hardly wait to move.

Changing Locations

2010-08-14T08:49:00.002-05:00

Sorry folks, I guess in my excitement, I posted the same pictures. Just ignore those, I am losing my mind.
uh oh.....the whole flavor of the blog is going to change. I just realized yesterday that I am cutting the distance between us in half.....and moving off of I-10. I will be closer to 35. What to do, what to do?
Anticipating the move has driven me up the walls. First there was the decision....made easier by the Clueless One being home to witness the latest crap by one neighbor. Then, after he left, the other neighbor pulled a childish foolish prank. When Clueless One was home, I experienced such fury at the jackass neighbors that we are forced to drive through their place to get to ours, that I did something I have never done before. I had to break something. I grabbed my heavy work gloves, hunted down a 4x4 wood post, and proceeded to whack an iron pipe post with it until it broke into three pieces about a foot each. Of course, being me, the first post I hit contained a nest of red wasps. They were not appreciative in the least of my disturbing them. I got to suffer through about 4 days of a swollen arm.
So we found a house.... a big one on a lake, at a great price. I was nuts about that house. But Clueless One balked and by the time he decided to buy it, there was another bid on it. We still had a chance.....until the bank decided to take their sweet time putting together a simple prequalifying letter for us. We lost that house. I was absolutely furious and hurt. And I was mad at God for that and a few other things that happened this year. A friend of mine tried to get me to still thank God for things, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything.
It was on a wednesday that I was driving to the city to pick up my new glasses and do some shopping. I really hate that hour drive. I do a lot of thinking then...some not so pleasant. This time I realized that I had something to be thankful for....the finances to buy a house away from this horrible place. So I did thank Him.
The next day, my real estate agent sent me an email with about 5 listings on it. Clueless One and I went through them and found a couple in our price range to look at. After we set things up with the agent, I went back to look closer at the other ones she sent. I had bypassed one house because of the price. When I went back to look, I discovered I had looked at the wrong price...it was lower that the original price and in our range. Looking closely at it, it was perfection. Something we never even dreamed we could have. I called the agent back and set up to see that house. Clueless One had found that his days off had been shortened (no surprise there) and had to go back to work the next morning...friday. So we set up to see that house at 9am, and another one just down the road from it.
Friday morning we got up at 5am to hit the road by 6 in order to see the house at 9. We were dazzled when we drove up, but the selling point was that the spot for Clueless One's dad was exactly what we were looking for. The house has an added on Master Suite, at the other end of the house for privacy, outside access, and a room that is set up to be a perfect kitchenette! Dad will be able to live on his own as in an apartment, and still be very close to the family.
I won't go into details about the nerve wracking back and forth on the bidding....at one point wanting to kill Clueless One, but we finally have a house. Clueless One works only about 2 hours away instead of the 5 now. Our close date is the 30th, and I have movers arranged to load us up on the 7th of September. I am a wreck over the whole thing and wish it was over with. Clueless One will be home for maybe a week just before closing....in other words, he will help pack up that one week, then the next time he has days off, he will go to a new home. Yep, the whole circus is totally on me. That is why I am a wreck. I am in charge of moving two households and decades of living in one place, plus get everything switched to the new house. The power is awaiting his signature and our co-op referral letter, and the cable tv/internet/phone has been set up to be turned on the first. Living in one place for 20 years means it's challenging to get everything switched to another place in a county 3 hours away. My guts are in an uproar, I have lost weight, and don't sleep for very long at a time before my mind goes into a panic and wakes me up.
So, now that I have set things up, here are pictures of our dream come true.

On Pleasant Lane in Pleasant Valley. The style is called Hill Country. It's perfect.

The back of the house from the garage. There are nice decks, lily pond full of frogs, fenced in garden, and chicken pen.

The view out the back door. I predict many hours spent in that gazebo, starting with coffee in the morning.

ohhhhh.....a hot tub! then a picnic table, then a swing. The swing overlooks the pond and a rock swale that goes across the yard and under the deck.

Inside the front door to the right is the living room, dining room, and kitchen...all open to each other. No more secluded kitchen. Notice the trim work and the ceiling beams.

A lovely dining area. Love the ceiling clad in wood. In front of where that clock is, will be my china cabinet.

And a most excellent kitchen!! My red and blue things will fit very well in there. I can hardly wait!
One really nice part about the house....cable internet. I just spent about 2 hours trying to get all of this uploaded. My satellite internet has been totally off for over a month now.
I will post more pictures later. I am worn out from trying to get this post up all morning.
I just noticed that blogger isn't posting the whole picture. I changed the size of them, so maybe it will now.

Quick post

2010-08-11T10:20:00.001-05:00

The day is about to start full speed again, so thought I would knock out a quick post of what it going on. 16 days to closing now. We had an inspection and now have to hammer out problems with the seller. I have to get my house packed up, line up a mover, and iron out the tons of things that have to be taken care of when you move 3 hours away after living in one area for 20 years. Oh, and I am doing this house buying detail all by myself. There is a lot on my plate because hubby is about 5 hours away working. I think if there is just one more glitch, I will start tearing my hair out. The immature jackass neighbor's are a mere laugh now.
So, a few little peaks at the house.

Pleasant Lane....so charming!
Cubedog: that front fence is DIEING for your vintage roses!

A gazebo out the back door, there's a mug next to the coffeepot, grab a cup and join me.
Cubedog: wisteria-'nuff said.

The living room, looking into the dining area. Not crazy about the green walls, but easily fixed.
Cubedog: you need Grandma's big cast iron kettle on that stove.

Very lovely dining area....and real wood cladding on the ceiling. The door just out of sight on the left leads to the gazebo.

Do a half turn from the previous picture and there is a nice sized kitchen. That door at the end leads to the very large butlers pantry, then turn right in there to the laundry room. At the other end of the laundry room is the entrance to the Master suite that will house my father in law. Private, with it's own kitchenette.

At the end of the day, it will be wonderful to soothe my aches and nerves by spending time in the hot tub, listening to the frogs living in the little pond that is in front of the swing. Ahhhhhhh
Cubedog: you might want a screen on the house side of that hottub. Its kinda in your FIL's front yard.

2010-07-28T15:38:00.004-05:00

Today at 3:25 p.m., we bid good-by to Sheila (WhiteDog), our deaf Australian Shephard. It is suspected that she had pancreatic cancer.
We found her at the Human Society. An adorable white fuzzball. She and BigDog bonded instantly and when we went up to the desk to sign adoption papers, the clerk asked, "You do know she's deaf, right?" And BigDog answered, "So?"
Once I got her home, they were inseparable. She would alert me whenever he was on his way home. And she even nipped me a few times for getting to close to him.
She learned many hand signs quickly and was stubborn as a mule. When she didn't want to do what you were signing, she would simply turn her head away as if to say, "I can't hear you."
We had her longer than our marriage, so she has been an integral part of our little family from day zero. The world will be a little less bright for us now that she has gone to join Buddy and Mz.Kitty.
She was a joy and a trial and she will be missed. It is gonna hurt like hell to watch Ripley look for her.
R.I.P. my precious puppy
Otter: I had decided to just lay down and rest my frazzled nerves from the past two days, and woke up over two hours later. Bubba had lots of messages for me....and text from you. As soon as he said that I rushed to my phone cuz I knew. And appropriately, as I texted you and BD, and tears were falling, it started to rain. She was one very special "niece". It was fun trying to remember signs when she came so I could communicate with her. And it was so hilarious to see her turn her head when she didn't want to see what you wanted her to do. Your bed will be very lonely now. I have been through this before and yes, it is heartbreaking to watch the others look for the one missing. Give Miss Rip extra attention right now, you both need it.
And invoking the name of Buddy can still make me cry.
A couple of memories right off the top of my head....the time Tigger met "the big dogs". I could swear that cat's next step was to claw through the ceiling! Also, the only sound Sheila ever heard was the squeaking bark of Mouse....the Shrew.
The sweet girl had a very long and happy life that she would have normally not gotten to live. There will be small blue stones on your crowns to match her striking eyes.
My deepest love and sympathies for you both. I shall miss her.

It's genetic

2010-05-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

Did I tell you that the oldest kid and his family went to Destin Florida for a week's vacation? From the pictures, it looks like they met her mom and stepdad there. They had a wonderful time....but family history will always win out.
First, they drove there from Oklahoma.....leaving Yazoo City, MS about a half an hour before it was nearly wiped off the map by a tornado. While in Florida, they stayed at a condo on the beach. They both managed to get their winter white skin burned to a crisp. Then they spotted this from the balcony.

Can you see it? Son said it was a good 9 foot. They did NOT tell the short one, knowing she would not even want to go down to the beach again, much less stick a toe in the water.
Then on the way home the next weekend, they hit all the tornadic storms in Arkansas....even believe they saw one. I am soooo happy they got home safely. I just got my soda bottle of beach sand from kid. He sent enough that I can make a nice small bottle of it with label to go with the others....and still have enough to stick my toe into beach sand. aaahhhhh.
Sadly, kid and family are now moving to Virginia. Oh well, on the bright side, I can do genealogical research there when I visit. I may even get to visit the Atlantic Ocean....never seen that one.

Oh, and ps.....who are all those people, why are they here, and how did they find us!!!! I'm gonna go hide in the cactus patches so they can't find me. ;-)

Love, da Otter

To Ava

2010-05-12T21:32:00.002-05:00

I just got to the comment notification from Ava. Ava, this blog is just what it says under the title. The prairiedogs are 2 grown sisters, living on opposite ends of I-10 in Texas. If you aren't familiar with the geography, we are approximately 6 hours apart and worlds away. Otter lives in a small town out in the middle of a semi-arid nowhere; Cubedog lives in a BIG city on the tropical coast. Our worlds are so different, we thought it be fun to compare definitions-like what makes a 'crime-wave' or a long commute, even something as mundane as grocery shopping can become an adventure in contrasts. Otter drives to another town to do all shopping in one day and it takes all day and she only goes once a week or so. Cubedog passes at least 20 grocery stores everyday driving to and from work and can pick from anything from African to Indo-Pak food stores, as well as your more mundane grocers.
So, that's what we're about.
We don't have any phenomenal connections to get anyone a job or scholarship. We aren't especially witty or 'insightful'. We are both creative, but not pattern creators or great artists.
We can't get you a recording contract.
I peeked at your blog, God bless your efforts with the bracelets. You sound like a very motivated young woman and God knows we need more motivated young people.
Thanks for asking, Ava. I hope this clears things up for you and anyone else who drops by.

Dazed and Confused

2010-05-12T10:58:00.001-05:00

Hello,
Sis and I haven't exactly been active the past few months. Sorry about that, readers. Life seems to be getting in the way. I noticed though, that we are getting hits from around the world. India, Sweden, Jakarta, Russia, Canada...etc. Can anyone leave us a comment and tell us why? Intensely curious.
I suppose these two prairiedogs should get back to telling you our life stories, huh.
Cubedog:
Agreed, we really should get back. I was just thinking that this morning as I passed a new bit of landscaping along my route. I will get a pic first, then watch out-the blog monster will return!
On a related note; BigDog is STILL unemployed. After 9 months, his cooking is getting better and the house is actually starting to look clean. The lawn is mowed regularly and Whitedog and Blackdog are thoroughly convinced that they were born for sleeping on the couch all day...in the a/c. Whitedog is going downhill fast and now sleeps about 36 hours straight. When she does get up, she gets stuck behind doors and in corners. Bigdog is actually starting to treat Blackdog like she deserves (she's such a good dog).
Well, tata for now.
We'll be back.....

Mobil Command Unit-Nomore Primitive Camping

2010-01-25T20:11:00.006-06:00

say hello to our little friend. No more sleeping in a tent, sweltering in the Texas summers and freezing in the winter and dry. Now we can get up and turn on the coffee pot and sit on the sofa to sip some java....sit on.the.sofa! This was a total God thing. We close tomorrow; that's 5 days from loan qualification to close-unbelievable. CMCU had been on the lot only 1 week!
BigDog will be living in it til at least April. We will be camping in style!
I like to refer to it as "Mobile Yarn Storage"

Yes, thatis a gorilla.

From bedroom to front

Kitchen
Livingroom and cab area

Floorplan

Kid N' Ewe (& Llama Too) Fiber Festival

2009-10-30T10:41:00.001-05:00

http://www.kidnewe.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1
great class listing this year

Lawn Ranger

2009-09-01T16:27:00.007-05:00

Last Month, BigDog went to the Fall Classic Hunting Show at the local convention center. While there, he bought raffle tickets and signed up for any and all prize drawings. We were both kinda hoping for that $21000 hunt trip, but no......this is what he won:

This is a Hustler Fast-Trac, zero-turn radius, 54" cutting deck, 21HP engine LAWN MOWER..with a custom camoflage paint job.

Needless to say..the boy is stoked:

He was giggling the whole way around the parking lot.

And of course, there had to be the "Happy Couple of Rednecks" photo op:

I have found my next home

2009-08-14T15:45:00.004-05:00

Now for that pesky little thing called "Winning the Lotto"

Otter: OMG...perfection!!!

@BECKY.....I Know!

@Susan.....I'll be opening it up for tours shortly after closing! (heh,heh)

@Otter....And the best part is that it was built within the last 5 or so years.

Rains over the Gulf

2009-07-20T15:40:00.002-05:00

The rains have finally come to the Gulf.
The trees danced with joy in the outflow
Then bent their backs to the onslot of moisture.
Bullfrogs, freshly emerged from deep, damp soil
Sit stoicly under the cool drops.

Summer heat

2009-07-05T09:49:00.010-05:00

So, I couldn't stand it-I had to have a pool. Who cares if it takes over the whole patio! Bigdog strung up a triangular tarp for protection/shade (damned doves). So with the big old oak tree, the house, and the tarp, there's no way to get a sunburn-just floating and relaxing.

First: the pool:filling

next:I couldn't stand it any longer

Bigdog and Whitedog-sharing a moment

Blackdog hiding from the "Big Bath"

Next: the 17hour brisket

Lastly: How I spent my summer vacation

Let Freedom ring

Yard Happenings

2009-06-25T10:31:00.006-05:00

Life has been going at a fast clip since I got home from the wedding. I am trying to organize pictures to post later of the fun on the lake.

One thing I have been doing is digging out the area to put the pool on. I didn't last year and the pool could never be completely filled because a barely perceptable slant. I got my son to dig a part of it, but the rest is up to me. Nobody will help.

Yesterday I dug for about an hour, with frequent breaks because it is hotter than Hades out there. I did it in the morning when it was cooler. Sunglasses, do-rag, wipe rag, gloves (after rubbing a blister on the palm of my hand). To my delight, this morning I weighed 2 pounds lighter.....so went back at it. Being a 20ft square, it doesn't seem that I have gone far when I get a shovel and half width dug. The dirt is loose.....and am thinking it would have been a great place for a veggie garden (rats), but the hard part is the gagillion fist sized rocks.

This is the area to be dug...not all in the picture, but 20 ft x20 ft.

And this shows how much I got done yesterday. This morning it is a shovel and half wider. Great exercise.....wrangle the shovel as far down as possible by wriggling it between rocks, turn the dirt, bend down, lift rocks, toss aside....rinse, repeat. You can see the pile of rocks growing along the fenceline. I think this evening I will get out the level and see how much I have to go yet. May not be a whole lot as it slopes from the fence to the truck farm..that being the lowest part. I need to pick up some landscape cloth to put over the area before I set up the pool.

Ahhh....the pool. Looking at pictures of it makes me want to dig till I drop in order to get it up. This is where I want to be right now......

Cubedog: Me too. The advanced weather prediction is for a heat index of 126 on July 1. Man is my elec. bill gonna suck.....

Lost Worlds

2009-05-24T20:49:00.004-05:00

Today we found a lost world. A complete eco-system:

All inside the bowl of the tree on the north side of the yard. All within a about 1 cubic foot.

SQUEEEEEEEEE

2009-05-13T21:36:00.003-05:00

Just got out of the new Star Trek.
SQUEEEEEEEEEE!
SO worth seeing at the theater.
4 thumbs up (BigDog and I). Highly recommended.

Losing my buddy

2009-05-10T11:07:00.003-05:00

This is Missy. She is 16 years old. I took this picture this summer when she was losing weight, but otherwise doing okay. Today is Mother's Day and I am keeping vigil. She is losing the battle for life and we have no idea what is killing her. The vet did tests and they came back fine a couple of months ago. I gave her a steroid pill this morning and she ate about a teaspoon of salmon and drank about a tablespoon of chicken broth. If she is still alive tomorrow, then I will take her in to the vet. It is time and I am finally able to let her go. I have been waiting for her to give me a sign that she is through. I think today she is coming through loud and clear. All the other pets know it too. Lucy was up on the cushion in the window with her for a while. Jack just came in to check on her. Tigger is staying outside.

Cubedog: I hope you know just how intently I am sharing your pain. Momma Kitty is trying like hell to take up Mz.Kitty's space, but just falls short. I love her for trying tho.

Fun week so far

2009-05-06T12:14:00.002-05:00

The fever I ran monday, accompanied by joint aches, had me a little nervous. But I recovered without oinking by evening, so all is well. I think it was just a reaction from the allergy meds getting out of my system.

Yesterday afternoon I took a short nap and was sitting outside drinking some coffee and having a smoke, never knowing until I went in to cool off, that the power was out. The humidity has been in the 80% range the past week, so temps in the upper 80's has been very uncomfortable. I don't know how you get the "feels like" temp from that. The power was out for over half an hour and with a breeze blowing, it was nicer outside. They said a breaker had thrown and didn't know why. For us, that means this will keep on happening until the breaker breaks. That day will probably be on the hottest day of the year and will take a couple of hours to get it going. I think on that day I will just get dressed and go somewhere....shopping in the city or something.

For Bev.....my camera will not capture the intense blue of bluebonnets. I have rarely seen a photograph taken of them that actually captures the color. It is something that can only be painted or seen in person. And the smell....whoa....like lilacs in the air.

Today's picture is of one batch of iris that are blooming. I will have to post a pic of the yellow ones later. They don't stay with the plant long. I snip the stalks and bring them in the house to enjoy. I love it when a dark purple one and a yellow one are blooming at the same time. So pretty together in a vase.

I fold

2009-05-03T19:09:00.002-05:00

Okay, you got rain, I got rain......so you had to have more rain and shut down half of Houston. haha. I fold. You win.
Of course, it has been so muggy here since the rain that I could have come to visit you and not noticed a difference in weather. The A/C came on the day it was 82 degrees in the house with 84% humidity. That was enough. But hey, I am proud to have almost made it to May before turning it on for the rest of the year.
The bluebonnets have loved the rain. They started blooming long ago, but have gone amuck since the rain. The burr clover has gone amuck also. I have got to drag myself out there and pull some of it up or I will have pet fur full of that stuff that they will pull off in the house....mostly in my bed.
Today a sweet breeze is blowing. It is nice and cool and blowing the humidity away. That's why it's sweet.
Have a good week!

Flood on the west end today

2009-04-27T18:24:00.005-05:00

Looks like we are going to flood from one end of I-10 to the other. This is what we got this morning....3 inches in a few short hours. I prefer that over the length of a day...gives it time to sink into the soil, not run off it. This is looking out across father-in-law's drive to the pasture. That light color in the background is the dry draw that runs across the pasture. It was up and flowing nicely for a while. Kid and I need to trapse out there tomorrow and check the fences to make sure the water gaps are still up. Probably have to do some debris clearing.

And this is my road. I think I will dub it River Road. Hubs and I were discussing hauling up some giant sized flat rocks to put into the big holes that have developed over the years. Sure wish we had a ditch digger to cut some drainage ditches around here.
And this is the view from my front porch, across my yard (the part we call the lane), and across FIL's back yard. Water, water, everywhere. At least the pecan tree is getting a good drink. Maybe it will flower and produce nuts like crazy after this.

I hope your tornado watches and warnings are as unproductive as mine were.

Flash Flood

2009-04-18T14:06:00.007-05:00

fire in the midst of flooding>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In answer to Otter:

In the spirit of Adam Savage: I reject your guilt-trip and substitute my own.

Forget Waterboarding-Give the terrorists this pattern

2009-04-16T14:24:00.003-05:00

I faced a daunting task this morning. I had to frog back from row 90-something to row 27...again. This is the 5th time I have had to frog this sweater right front. There I was, heading into the home stretch and this morning (of all mornings) I held WIP front against FO front. OH S#*&! Decision time. At 6 am my brain is not completely up to speed and I couldn't figure out where I had gone wrong or how to fix it.
So I sat there with the finished and not-so-finished pieces laid across my lap, coffee in hand trying to decide whether I should frog the FOs and find another pattern. Yep, I was seriously contemplating frogging 2 years worth of work.
With the liberal application of caffeine to sleep/stress/frustration befuddled mind, I finally figured out where I went astray. Exactly what I had done wrong on the first half...again...but in a different way.
Have I said how much I now HATE this pattern.
Now it is a matter of pride. There is no way in Hades that I am going to admit defeat to some damned Limey pattern.

Otter: Okay, I just cannot believe you did it again. By now you should be able to do this pattern...correctly...in your sleep. Do NOT let that pattern win!!

Texas TEA Party

2009-04-16T12:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went to my first protest. I didn't do things like that as a teenager when it was wildly popular. This was one of thousands held all across the US to protest the indescriminate taxing that the government is doing.
The one I went to was held in Tom Green County. A large county with a city of around 100,000 that I don't think they count AF base people. It draws from a couple dozen surrounding communities. Being a smaller city, I was astounded to find that over 1200 people were on the courthouse lawn. It was a wonderful time of prayer, anthem singing, pledging to the Texas flag, and rousing speeches. I think we did exceptionally well. I had to leave a bit early as it takes me an hour to get home and Lost was coming on tv at 8pm.
The first picture is of when they had the sign holders go up front to the steps. This is only a small section of them.

Again, a small section of the crowd that was there. I took a movie or two to try to show just how many people were there, but my computer is being cranky and doesn't want to open them. Maybe I can upload one of them to Youtube....gotta learn how first.

Today I am so sore I can hardly move. I had spent the day shopping before hitting the protest. My legs are screaming at me, and my back is backing them up.

A promise of rain tonight.....WooHoo!!!

The Witch is Gone!

2009-04-14T12:46:00.003-05:00

Ding dong, the witch is gone,
The Witch moved on,
The Witch is gone.
Ding Dong the Wicked Witch moved on!

There is a large moving van up at the neighbor's house. YeeHaw! It's official! I was so afraid that since they haven't been able to sell the place, that they would change their minds and stay.

I get crap in town about how nice she is. I tell those people that none...NONE.. of her neighbor's like them at all.
Gone is the voice that cuts through the air like fingernails on chalkboard. Gone is the brats that are perfect. Gone is the town gossip. Gone is the woman who thought she should raise everyone else's kids. Only thing is that no one has found out what lawyer they used to keep the perfect brats out of jail. But at least there will be no more animals tortured to death. Isn't that what they say serial killers begin at a young age?
And the pesky steers that they starved all the time are gone also! WooHoo!!
Got to go into town to do some banking and grocery shopping. It is going to be wonderful to drive by their house and see the van loading things. God is good.

New Shawl

2009-04-13T11:41:00.002-05:00

Remember friday when I called you about both of us being blind? I told you I had a vision of what to do with some yarn I had. That evening I found the pattern I wanted to use and cast on. I worked on it all saturday and part of sunday. I am about the halfway mark now. I used the 5 skeins of Plymouth Confusion that I got at Yarntopia and 5 skeins of Trendsetter Madison that I picked up for $4 a piece at Tuesday Morning. I am loving this thing!! I can't put it down because I want to see what yarn is next in the Confusion. It is a simple garter back and forth, increasing at the beginning of the odd rows...which ends up being just one side where you also change yarns. I am trying to keep the different yarns used at equal amounts at a time. After 6 rows, you knit one, yarn over, across the row, then the next row you knit the knit stitches and drop the yarn overs. Lots of room for screw-ups....believe me! I have discovered that I don't like doing drop stitches with eyelash yarn...ugh. I am saving just enough of the Confusion to add more fringe than the new yarn beginnings have. Self-fringing, ya know.
Now I am thinking of a drop stitch shawl I saw in Knit n Style that would look fantastic in the skeins of Kollage Serenity I have. I am wondering if I have enough....or if I have something in my stash that would go with it well. This Confusion yarn has my mind doing flip-flops over the possibilities. I just wish I could weave yarn together like they did in the yarn changes in Confusion.

On an Easter Sunday afternoon.....

2009-04-12T15:24:00.005-05:00

You would think you could crawl into bed with your dog and cat and get a nice sunday afternoon nap. You would think. If you don't have an asshat for a neighbor.

He dug two holes, put crap in them, covered them up, shuffled dirt from here to there, and restacked a huge pile of garbage. Asshat.
CUBEDOG: Ok, I will no longer complain about my suburban neighbors with their early morning lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and circular saws.

More retreat pics

2009-04-12T09:27:00.003-05:00

This is a view of the meeting room from the back. Neither I nor Cubedog are in any of the pictures. We were scurrying around together taking the pictures.

I will post pictures of the B&B this afternoon.

2009 Retreat

2009-04-11T15:40:00.002-05:00

Having finally recovered from the LYS retreat in Comfort, I have gotten around to down loading pics and getting blogs updated.

A good time was had by all, and though I haven't photographed the "booty" (not sure I want that debauchery chronicled) I do have pics of the most wonderful stitch n bitch -evah!

Sheryl explaining the breadth of magnificence of something she'd seen.

The room was huge and wall to wall stitchery. The view was best from outside, but I failed to get a pic of it. Otter?

I have pics of the retreat center...just haven't got them uploaded to Flickr yet (sllllooooowwww connection this morning), but if you're ever in Texas, driving I-10 and need a place to stay west of San Antonio, I can heartily recommend the Meyer B&B in Comfort, Tx. Oh, and plan to spend a day in town-wow, great shops!

Ode to April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T08:25:00.003-05:00

I will not call
I will not write
No matter the bait
I will not bite

I will not tease
I will not joke
I will not torment family folk

With April first
I am done
When it come to jokes
My Sister won.

Otter: Thank you very much. I'll be here all week. Please don't forget to tip your waitress.

A Retreat Tip

2009-03-31T19:52:00.002-05:00

You might want to make sure all the hothouse flowers know that it gets nippy in the hill country at night. And with a mild cold front going through, it will be in the 40's one night. Sweater weather! Pack appropriately.
See ya there thursday afternoon!!!

I'm an evil, vile, hate-filled person and I can prove it

2009-03-31T14:20:00.002-05:00

You know the hibiscus scrubs that ring my yard. Scraggly though they have been this year, all it took was a little rain and they have burst forth in a riot of scarlet blooms. Each bloom is probably 6 to 8 inches across.
Last night, I pulled into the drive and as I was getting stuff out of the car, I noticed a car pull up at the corner, stop, and put on its flashers.
You can imagine I was curious. I continued to watch covertly and a young man jumped out. He took off his ball-cap (which he was wearing “doofus” style) and started heading my way.
You can’t believe the number of thoughts that raced through my mind in a split-second. But the most prominent one concerned a certain license that has yet to arrive.
He called out to me: “Ma’am? Ma’am, may I pick a flower?”
WTF?
“Sure, help yourself.”
I’m soooo vile I actually let a young man pick one of my sterling hibiscuses to give to his girl.
Then this morning, GEEEEZZZZZ. The NERVE of some people!

Otter: I am blown away that you were actually asked for the flower!! At least one kid in that city is being raised right.

I was driving to work, pull around an Expedition that was driving too slowly for my schedule. Continue on to the next light and said Expedition pulls up beside me; slowly.
He has the opportunity to pull ahead of me, but instead, pulls right along side.
I look up to see a man staring at me. Lets just say, as big as the Expedition is, he fit it to a “T”. He signals for me to roll down my window. Oh, this is good…in this city…..
Damn where IS my license….
Now, in the time I’ve lived hear I’ve come to distinguish many different accents. I can even tell a Brazilian from a “Valley” accent. I can tell an Eastern European from a German accent. But I still have problems distinguishing Caribbean Islands from African.
So whether this man was African or Islander, I can’t say. I can say, however, he wasn’t well versed on American history. I will call him FN (foreign national).
He wanted to inquire about my new bumper sticker. You know, the white one on the back of my black SUV: God & Guns Since 1776.
FN: Ma’am, what means “God & Guns Since 1776?” What is the meaning?
ME: Its to of the basic principles of our Freedom for over 200 years.
FN: But why GUNS & God?
ME: Because we had to fight for our Freedom.
FN: I understand the “God”, but not the “Guns”.
At this point I simply smiled at him and went back to my knitting.
I’m so vile and hate-filled; I didn’t tell him to read a damned history book about how America became free. I was nice, and tried to explain in the time allowed at a red-light. There just wasn’t enough time to tell him about the 2nd Amendment and how it protects us from Tyrants and Bullies both foreign and domestic.

It doesn't sound like he REALLY understands english. Not enough to grasp an abstract concept like "fighting" for freedom.
There’s never enough time…..
But I guess I’m just an intolerant, bigoted gun & God clinging red-neck a$$hole, Southern white Cracker.

Last Fall

2009-03-28T17:45:00.003-05:00

Last november, cubedog and I went to Boerne, Texas for the Kid n Ewe & Llama too Festival. We met some great people, spent a wad on yarn, fiber, drop spindles, and a triangle loom, and a Buffalo hide. We spent two days in town having a wonderful time. Including the time spent in the motel room with yarn spread out on our beds....oh'ing, ah'ing, and trading. Okay, there may have been some yarn wallowing also.
Somewhere I know I have to have a picture of cubedog with the llama's pictured here, but I can't find it. Yeah, yeah....I need to organize my pics. Anyway, while cubedog was making nice with the long necked critters, one got a little too friendly.....he tried to nip her boob! Having gotten a little more intimate with the boy than she expected, she was compelled to buy some of his fleece.
This is the culprit....Masquarade.

This is his buddy Cinnamon.

I have a feeling that if we can do it, we will make the festival again this year.

CUBEDOG:http://www.kidnewe.com/

Saturday Evening

2009-03-27T18:04:00.003-05:00

Have you fallen for the media hype? Do you follow Al Gore's every word despite his gigantic carbon footprint? Then this isn't the place for you.
But....if you have kept your wits about you and realize serious scientists aren't jumping on the global warming bandwagon......then turn all your house and yard lights on saturday night at 8:30pm for an hour. Heck, turn on all the tv's and radios too. Your children have been brainwashed at school, so you may have to explain to them how they have been lied to. Personally, I am sick of hearing about how horrible humankind is. All the save the earth propaganda is started by people who want to wipe mankind off the earth. That blows me away. God gave the earth to man, not animals.
Okay, rant over.

San Juan Sonora?

2009-03-24T10:58:00.003-05:00

The buzzards have returned. There are 4 of them at my place, soaring like eagles in the heavy winds. It is always fascinating to watch them when there is wind turbulence, such as a thunderstorm brewing. They take to the skies and glide fearlessly higher and higher. I love seeing them revel in their flying and gliding abilities.

Hello Spring

2009-03-20T09:52:00.003-05:00

I have bluebonnets blooming in my yard! The first harbinger of spring in Texas. Well, besides for the buzzards returning....like the swallows of Capistrano. Sorry for the poor focus. The dog wouldn't get out of the picture, so the camera focused on his neck hair and t he rocks.
Welcome spring....sure wish you lasted longer than a couple of weeks around here.

ps....just made a run into town and discovered that the mesquite trees are leafing out. That is the definative sign down here. They only get caught in a freeze about once every 50 years or so and that happened last year.

Veritas/Aequitas Duex

2009-03-18T11:22:00.002-05:00

dis·crim·i·na·tion
Pronunciation:
\dis-ˌkri-mə-ˈnā-shən\
Function:
noun
Date:
1648
1 a: the act of discriminating b: the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently2: the quality or power of finely distinguishing3 a: the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b: prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment

mi·nor·i·ty
Pronunciation:
\mə-ˈnȯr-ə-tē, mī-, -ˈnär-\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural mi·nor·i·ties
Usage:
often attributive
Date:
15th century
1 a: the period before attainment of majority b: the state of being a legal minor 2: the smaller in number of two groups constituting a whole ; specifically : a group having less than the number of votes necessary for control 3 a: a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment b: a member of a minority group

Veritas/Aequitas

2009-03-16T11:59:00.003-05:00

Truth & Justice

And Shepherds we shall be.
For Thee, My Lord, for Thee.
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand,
That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.
In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Santi.

More later

Vanity, thy name is Tom

2009-03-16T10:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning I was sitting outside drinking my coffee. I kept hearing a sound of something hitting heavy metal. It took me a while to find what was making the noise. Two turkey toms had discovered the bumper of hubby's pickup. They were enchanted with the toms looking back at them, or they were trying to intimidate them. They never gobbled or made any other noise...just pecking at the turkey in the bumper. I ran inside to show hubby and get my camera. Just as I got the camera on and ready, one of the toms shot off a display at the bumper. The flocks of turkey that practically live at my house are an endless source of amusement.

Dear Friends

2009-03-15T08:42:00.002-05:00

As I lay trying to sleep last night, a couple of phrases kept running through my head; draconian measures and scorched earth. But I'm not particularly eloquent and I was merely a follower, reader, backup singer to this whole debacle. One of the front line insiders can say it so much better. So I direct you to her blog:
http://elliejaneknit.blogspot.com
Judge for yourself.

Goodby My Friends

2009-03-14T13:50:00.004-05:00

"join Ravelry-its fun" they said
"You just have to join Ravelry" they said
Well, today dear friends, Otter and I were banned from Ravelry.
Why?
Did we engage in flame wars? Did we engage in horrible attacks on the owners? Did we troll other boards trying to make trouble?
No, no, and no.
We associated with the wrong people. that was it-guilt by association.
Can someone tell me when it became banning offense to have friends that disagree with someone?
Oh well, so much for my block-a-month CAL. Guess I'll just have to finish that one on my own.
As for keeping track of my LYS events? Back to the old fashioned way of a actually talking to people. I will miss my far-flung friends. It was nice to meet y'all.
Shewhomeasures-I hope everything works out for you.

Your account has been suspended until further notice. Please direct inquiries to Craig at legal@ravelry.com.
Nice huh?

Otter: gee...I didn't even get an addy to email. Just Forbidden!
I truly believe that monday morning there is going to be an Oops posted for a large portion of us. This is a warning to lockstep with the libtards. Any joining of groups not approved by the trolls will result in permanent ban. The new terms of service was not something I agreed to when I joined and now they deny me access to my personal information...such as the link to this blog. That is not legal, as well as the property (patterns) of others who were locked out. Thus, the oops will be put up late sunday or sometime monday.
Ravelry was a time sucker. I spent too much of it there. I made some wonderful friends, but not much else that I can't get elsewhere. I had been spending less time there lately anyway.

A Quote For Today

2009-03-04T10:59:00.001-06:00

A family is a unit composed not only of children, but of men, women, an occasional animal,
and the common cold.

Ogden Nash

Dammit-not again

2009-01-16T17:14:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I really wonder how I lived this long.
Last night I went out to feed Bandit kitty. Not like climbing Everest or anything. No, not especially Daredevil worthy. Simply take bag of cruchies out across patio, up on deck, shake out approx. 1/4 cup of said crunchies in dog inaccessible spot, return to house. Nope, nothing particularly dangerous there.
O wait, it IS me doing this and of course, being me, I had to turn it into another Olympic sport.
I'll call it "Sidewalk Skeleton".
I was in socks and the first manuoever involved catching the ball of left foot on the edge of the sidewalk about 3 feet from the backdoor. Next came a Michael Phelps worthy face plant to the sidewalk followed by the skelton slide diagonally across the sidewalk, ending with a "Hail Mary" body block to the fence. The trick is to loose no skin to the face, nor grip on pack of smokes in one hand and bag of cat crunchies in the other.
As I write this, it sounds way more graceful than it felt at the time, or than it feels now.
Wish I could get 'collision coverage' on my body.
BigDog bought me a massage for Valentines Day...he gave me the card early, cuz "You might be needing this."
Ya'think?

Otter: I can't believe....no wait.....I believe, but am astounded you took such an easy route this time. Not using stairs or a roof.....taking it down to simple....a sidewalk. I applaud your creativity on such a simple act.

Ahhhh-city traffic

2009-01-12T06:01:00.004-06:00

From the land of neverending traffic and the people that gave us:
Car-B-Que: car fire
Gawker Block: traffic slowing down to stare at a wreck (Ooooo-pretty lights)
I bring you......
Highway Snot: traffic congestion
and new in.......
Trickle down Wreckanomics: accident starts with one or 2 cars and escalates to multiples
Its kinda sad when something is so prevalent that it rates its own Sniglets.

Otter: I will quietly whisper about being in town the other day and having to sit at an intersection for a whole minute while about a dozen cars went by before I could turn onto the road home. oops.
Every time that happens, I talk to myself about how rough the traffic was in Houston and if I could drive there, I can handle Podunk at rush minute.

Season's Greetings

2008-12-21T09:18:00.004-06:00

Ah the joy of Christmas! Time to gather with family and friends. Well, maybe not so much.

I am doing mental gymnastics in order to stay 'up' this season. I'm actually better this year than in previous ears, but the season is still young. I think what will help the most is sharing Christmas day with friends that are also alone for the holiday. The worst is sharing Christmas with friends that have family gathered around them and children.

And as long as I stay focused on traditional carols, I'm ok. Those sappy contemporary songs on the radio depress the hell out of me.

On a bright note, I bought my present yesterday. 1485 yds of Plymouth Mulberry Merino in bright beautiful red. If you haven't petted this yarn you are soooo missing out. I'll post later on hw it works up. Haven't decided whether to knit or crochet it yet. I may just use it for the CAL at Yarntopia next month. It would make a gorgeous Stepping Stones Cardigan.

On a sour note, I didn't go to church today, though I promised myself I would and I was looking forward to it. I'm just in so much damned pain it hard for me to be nice to the pups, much less strangers. And concentration is a hit or miss right now. Think I'd better call the dentist tomorrow and see what can be done to alleviate this pain. Even toothless would be preferable right now.

Well, that's my bitch for the day. Currently listening to Christmas Carols like Silent Night played on the Oud and sung in Arabic...now THAT'S different and quite beautiful!

I'll leave y'all with this:

SnoW

2008-12-10T18:30:00.002-06:00

I drove home in the snow/sleet today. That is freaking unusual for this part of the country. But the white stuff was flying as I left the building. Not even the middle of December. I think I'll go get me some snow boots-might have need of them this year.

Can I start singing now?

2008-12-10T06:13:00.003-06:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it....What?
Yep, snow, sleet...winter stuff. Right down here on the coast.
I learned a new meteorlogical tidbit yesterday. The last time we got significant snowfall down here was in the early 80s, the year this area got hit by a significant hurricane. It has something to do with the hurricane cooling the Gulf waters.
Well, guess what happened this year. See previous weather posts....
Now today..before the middle of December, they are predicting sleet and snow. The area just north of us is already seeing frozen stuff.
I just don't even want to get out and get on the road with the other commuters (not to mention the icy blast of air).
OMG....the weather map on the morning news is showing slow less than an hour west of me!
crap, I gotta go get bundled up and go play in the street.
Otter: You what???!!!! Let me get this right.....You live on the tropical side of the state, I live in a more temperate region of the same state......it snows west, north and east of me....I got maybe 2 tenths of an inch of desperately needed rain (if you discount the bee that was rehydrated in the rain gauge), and 24 degree temps......and you get snow on the tropical coast????!!! There is absolutely no justice whatsoever!

My First Meme

2008-11-29T22:22:00.002-06:00

My SaYH friend, Kim, tagged me for a meme, so I decided to go for it. I've never done one before....be gentle with me. And pardon me for not tagging anyone else. I think everyone I know has already been tagged. Okay, here we go.......seven things I love.
1. The biggest thing around here.....hubby, aka The Clueless One. We met when we were 19 and were married within 6 months. It was love at first sight for me.....lust at first sight for him but he came around eventually. No one loves me more, frustrates me more, hurts me more, or makes me feel safer than him. After growing up together, I can't imagine a life without him. In fact, we have argued about who will die first because neither one of us wants to face life without the other. Sappy, eh?

2. The two handsome men that I get to call my sons. They are as different as night and day but each are a delight. The oldest gave me three beautiful little girls that call me "Momo". I know the youngest will get on board with the grandkid thing one of these days. I would prefer he find the woman he is meant to be with first.

3. Plants....especially the ones that flower. I am passionate about trying to make the pitiful land I live on bloom with beauty. I have got to have trees, and bushes that screen me from neighbors. It is the most frustrating thing in my life. I live on a rock shelf held together with a thin layer of clay glue. Nothing delights me more than seeing something I have grown, bloom. Thank God my water is the best in the world!

4.My animals. I am a sucker for animals. I have a problem with empathy. I can feel things from animals. It's kind of weird, hard to explain, and harder to live with. I want to take home every animal I see and make them a good life. That said....my current favorites are Missy, Lucy, Tigger, and Jack. My little buddies, spoiled brats, and comforts.

5. My church. I love the fact that they don't subscribe to any man derived religion. I am free to discover all the facets of God without having to put him in a denominational box. It is so very sad the way man has invented religious do's and don't's to wrestle people into conforming to their ideals by trying to make God into a bad guy. He really isn't. He is pure love, and I love the way my church is free to express that. Oh, and God didn't invent religion. Look it up.

6. My sister. My best friend in the whole world. The one person who has walked the same road I have in life. We have walked it together. Sometimes veering off, but always back on it helping the other to make it back. She shares the same life experiences though through different eyes. I love spending time with her.

7.Weather. I am one of those people that would watch nothing but the weather channel if it weren't for the global warming loonies that appear regularly. When it is yet another hot, dry day here, I turn on the weather channel to watch it rain somewhere. When it is another dry warm winter, I turn to the tv to watch it snow somewhere. I can't sleep if it is storming because I am too wired and want to watch it. I can't tell how many times I have woken in the middle of the night, not knowing why, until I look out a window and discover that snow is falling. I should have been a meteorologist, or a storm chaser.

That's it. I will probably think of a dozen other things that I should have listed, but I guess this will have to do.....let it go to fly freely.

Black Thursday

2008-11-20T13:06:00.004-06:00

There was a family reunion in heaven today. At approximately 11 a.m., Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Son, and Dad held out their arms to recieve the next boy. Elva Sylvanus Scott, Jr. was a great man who lived an extraordinary life. Dedicated to his wife, his church, and his kids, he left them all behind this morning to embrace his parents and siblings.
Go with God, Scotty, go with God.

Otter: You forgot Uncle Jack. Very good announcement, thanks. I will dig up some special pictures later to share.

Cubedog: Um, no I didn't, just not sure he was there....maybe, ok, benefit of the doubt.

Why

2008-11-13T09:31:00.007-06:00

I get an incredible amount of shit over my fascination with skulls.
I've been called everything from satanist, to 'evil', to 'weird.
So once and for all I am compiling some things here, so I can direct folks to come to the blog and leave me alone.
I found this explanation online and I love it...so I stole it:

(Oh, in art, the skull is called 'momento mori')
“memento mori” is a latin phrase that when translated, states “remember that you are mortal”.
the term became widely used in the 15th century and became synonymous with the term “carpe diem”
or “seize the day”. these sayings and icons became visual reminders that life on earth is fleeting
and one should live every day to its fullest potential.
Very good explanation.
So now for some illustration;
First from St. Peter's Basilica, tomb of Alexander (some #), bronze and marble:

Franz Hals:

and one I never knew about before today....Vincent VanGogh

There are many other examples in classical art...Google it.

The image has been bastardized by the Neo-Goth movement, bikers, etc. Not my problem. Oh, and just remember this...most classical skeleton sculptures an memento mori were executed (no pun intended) in service to the church.

So, get off my arse!

ps: I am adding the 'definition' to my Rav profile

TRF-Part Dos

2008-11-02T19:54:00.006-06:00

Well it was nice to open the garage door and be enthusiastically greeted after my "getting home misadventure".

I told you the story of my day when we were on the phone, but I thought I'd give you a peek at Bob's day:

First Bob was cranky. We got to the Fair 2 hours early, cuz I forgot about Daylight Savings Time.Shopping for a new mug
Hungry and ready for feast. I had to eat the fruit and chesse, Bob just wanted beef. He had to wait 3 courses.
Tired, ready to go home.Its been a tiring weekend, I can't believe I'm doing this again in 4 days, but the bigger question is: Why does my kitchen smell like funnel cakes?

Tx Ren Fest. Part One

2008-11-01T16:31:00.009-05:00

I'm back at the hotel now; trying to cool off. This was not the year for leather. I think I'll go for Tex-Mex tonight cuz I just sweated off more than a few pounds. Y'know, I like coming out here cuz I always see something that makes me say, "Thank you God." This year it was a woman in size (probably)8-10 jeans and a belly built for a size 14-16. I thought, "Thank you God, for giving me the good sense to know what DOESN"T FREAKING FIT ME!"

Of course there's always the white hippos in nothing but chainmail. That's a given and you just have to pity to poor little classless peice of crap.

On the the good stuff. Bobble Bob went to TRF this year, enjoy:

Bob wanted to have his pic taken with the Spirit of the Bells, but he was mobbed after the concert; maybe tomorrow Bob.

This one was just for me. My favorite live band: Tartanic. Fab music, pretty, talented men in skirts-what could be finer.

Halloween

2008-10-31T18:38:00.004-05:00

Happy Anniversary to me.
I am in beautiful downtown Magnolia,Tx. Yeah, the place is jumpin'!
There is no where to buy computer parts and the hotel doesn't have wireless. There's also no coffee shop in town. I really am in the boonies. Heck, I think even the Tx Ren. Fest. has wireless hotspots.
I'm still trying to get my new LT set-up to my liking. So, I'm sitting here in the quiet listening to the dulcid hum of the a/c and eating dark chocolate covered cashews. Yeah, they are as decadent as they sound.
Never did get in to vote today. I knew I shoulda got up and gone first thing this morning, but it was just too damned tempting to sit around and languidly drink my morning coffee.
Well, I will go now and continue with set-up. I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

Otter: Happy Anniversary!!!! Did BD make it there? Is he going to be able to?
I have nothing important to do this evening but sit on Rav and watch the Halloween Ghosthunters. How cheesy....they had a voice....that was obviously an electronic plant. So, last year was a snooze fest, so this year they are going to spice it up? Geesh.
I have got to download some pictures to post. I had a big machine go through my pasture today and chop down cedars. They cleared off the area over the pipeline. I told hubby that I want one of those machines. I told the operator...a neighbor....that it would have been nice if he could have gone through the rest of the pasture with that thing.
Cubedog: Nope, here alone. BD called this morning to wish me H.A. and to let me know the company is busier than the proverbial one-legged man. And they are running 5 crews and they have exactly 5 supervisors,so there will be no rotation for him. I'm gonna try and either get my money back for his feast ticket or give the damned thing away to some other lonely person. Its a dangerous situation going to TRF alone without my external money conscience. I'm gonna have to be careful. And then there's the issue of the missing lace veil.....argh!

Otter Has left the Building

2008-10-26T17:31:00.002-05:00

Well, after a whirlwind tour Otter is on her way home.
I have to say Sis, I enjoyed the weekend emmensely.
But.......the late nights, early mornings and socializing simply wiped me out. I went upstairs a took a quick nap. I know you will probably be down for days.
Thanks for a great visit. See ya in a couple weeks.

Otter in the City

2008-10-24T13:19:00.002-05:00

Yep, Otter's come to town. She actually was able to negotiate city traffic and meet me for lunch. At least she got to see what my morning consists of; minus the other cars (mostly). I'm pretty proud of her hutzpah. She even deviated from the pre-ordained route enough to stop a stimulate the local economy.

another first hand photo of Ike's leaving

2008-10-17T16:17:00.002-05:00

Just recieved this from the coast. astounding.

Hurricane Ike Damage

2008-10-17T11:29:00.002-05:00

Recieved this pic this morning from BigDog:

This is what a Hurricane can do to your gas supply:

And this is what a happy Diver looks like:

2nd recipient

2008-10-13T22:25:00.004-05:00

Ok-I'll post the pic later but here's the story. (Done as promised)
Local news cast has a segment on local criminals-in conjunction with Crimestoppers. They feature a crime/criminal each night.
Last month they showed a guy's pic from a surveillance camera.
The dumbass was so stoked about being featured, he bragged about it. Well, someone is $1000 richer and someone is in jail. Can you guess who?
Yep, the "DDD".

Sorting Hat Says

2008-10-11T09:33:00.001-05:00

The sorting hat says that I belong in Slytherinr!

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those whose ancestry is purest."

Slytherin students are typically cunning and hungry for power. Important members include Draco Malfoy (Harry's nemesis), Professor Severus Snape (head of Slytherin), and Lord Voldemort.

Take the most scientific Harry Potter Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Ain't that just a kick in the Ass

Rest in Peace

2008-10-10T10:39:00.007-05:00

Today will always suck.

Today I said good-by to my dearest BFF, closest companion, and most trusted confidant of the last 15 yrs. She purred her way across the Rainbow Bridge and into our father's waiting arms. Dad loved Mz.Kitty and was fastinated that she loved to have her belly rubbed.

15 years ago a tiny black and white kitten fell out of a pine tree and came to my front door. She knocked once and walked in to my apartment and my heart.

Mz. Kitty was my morning routine companion-always curled up in the bathroom sink. Until 3 days ago she was still jumping up on the vanity and demanding I turn on the water for her.

She had a special way of snuggling up for the night and I will always miss that. She would skutch her butt up as close to me as she could, then slide down my body to a sleeping position-like she wanted inside my skin.

Through multiple moves, one in the middle of summer with no a/c, traumatic life changes, new house companions coming and sometimes going, she remained. Mz. Kitty was the Grand Dame of Casagibbons and her departure will leave a large, tuxedo kitty shaped hole.

Run free my baby. I told Dad to give you a good belly-rub and a "wog". Make sure they turn on the bathroom faucet for you.

I miss you. And I'm sorry.

Mz. Kitty does leave a legacy though. A legacy the other cats are gonna hate. They are going to start getting regular exams, cuz I just can't do this again any time soon.

Auntie Otter: I knew I had a pretty picture of our girl, so went digging. There it was. So I put it at the top of the pictures. I know you won't mind.

A Special Time Of Year

2008-10-09T12:36:00.003-05:00

This is a special week each year. Yesterday, the 8th, was the Otter's anniversary to the Clueless One. This marks 32 years. Unbelievable.
Today is Cubedog's birthday. I won't embarrass her with the number of years this makes but will just say.....she hasn't hit the half century mark....yet.
Say a prayer for her. She and I have old kitties. Mine is 15, getting thin, and having pain problems. I dread this winter. Hers is 14, getting thin, and is having bloody urine. It's not good, friends. Please keep them in your hearts and prayers. It's not a day to have a very ill buddy. I know what it is like to lose a good friend on your birthday. Mine was human, but the pain isn't any less.
You know I would have it be different today if it was in my power, sweet sister. But happy birthday anyway. I love you.
Cubedog: Oh great, I've already had to make one flying run for the Ladies Room to get a crying jag under control......
I will have more to say about this day later...or maybe tomorrow.

Debate

2008-10-03T17:43:00.003-05:00

Interesting. In presidential debates, everyone seems to think you have to have a winner, as in high school.
So...if you tune in to liberal media, they polled themselves and say Biden won. I heard that after the debate, Brian Williams did a lot of blathering until someone rushed him a list of Palin's mistakes. I guarantee you that they didn't fact check Biden.....who hallucinated on over 14 points.
Too bad most people get their "news" (read "opinion") spoonfed to them by far left-wing liberal media. They believe what they are told to believe...period. No independant thought allowed. Sad.
Cubedog: I was listening to the 'post-game' analysis on talk radio the next day and someone was waxing poetic about how Dick Morris handed Allen Combs his ass on a plate. Oh, I do wish I had seen/heard that. I'm sick that the one time that the media commentary AFTER a debate woulda actually been entertaining, I missed it-cuz I just HATE that crap. I recorded the debate because I thought it would be the only way I would get to hear what was said (because after the 1st Prez debate I heard nothing). But I believe I have heard all the clips of the highlights. People had just better watch out in 2012.

woohoo my ass

2008-09-26T08:32:00.002-05:00

I have nothing nice to say about last night's turn of events. Yes, the account is safe. Yes, my mortagage company will still be able to fleece, uh, autodebit me. But folks, Chase sux.

GACK! I think I just threw up a little.

SHHHH- Do you here it?

2008-09-21T08:24:00.002-05:00

That's the sound of an empty house.
I got a call from DC (darling cousin) last night after they got home. They have power and were waiting for the AC to cool the house.
I had been told 2 days ago(inside) to slip her the last of the 'emergency cash'. When they took off yesterday I slipped her eldest an envelope and told her not to give it to DC until they got home (cuz I knew she'd try to give it back). She was crying when she called. She had just got off the phone with a friend and they had prayed for God to fill her financial needs...then her daughter walks up with the envelope. I told her, "See, God had answered before you asked, he was just waiting for you to ask." Now, I have enlisted another prayer warrior .
On the home front, WhiteDog pouted last night and this morning I found her asleepo in the empty bedroom (where she had been bedding down with the kids).
The cats slowly crept in for dinner and then again for breakfast. I can't sit down without having a lap-full-o-cat.
I told BigDog about the tiny evacuee in the backyard. His response was "Oh shit." He said that I COULD NOT let THAT one in the house and he/she would be fine as an outdoor cat. If it IS going to hang, I want to make sure it gets altered (especially if it is female), cuz we don't need anymore.

Getting back to "Normal"

2008-09-19T12:10:00.002-05:00

I was sent this heartwarming story of survival by my friend. This is his story and I asked permission to share it. I know you will enjoy, may it bless your day as it did mine:

"...... Miss Kitty was cool, calm & collected throughout the whole thing, until the aftermath. Once the storm was over with and the humidity levels began to rise, that’s when she started getting restless and anti-social. She’d hide for most of the day, sleeping, and really wanted nothing to do with me pretty-much. She was probably saying “Turn on the damned air already, you idiot. And while you’re at it, how ‘bout some lights ? And what’s up with all these insanely loud noises outside ? Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep here ?” (That noise was work crews and wood-chippers cleaning up the downed trees and fallen limbs in the street and on the complex property).
I had no water pressure either for the weekend, so I was taking “showers” in my bathing suit in the rain on my front patio, bars of soap and shampoo in-hand (hope I didn’t scare anybody with THAT visual). I wasn’t about to drain my emergency water supply in the tub to bathe, and besides, that water was ice-cold anyway. At least the rain was a tolerable temperature.
>
>
The funny thing, though, was just hours before the hurricane hit, I just so happened to replace the litter in Miss Kitty’s box. However, I found I only had about half a litter box worth of new litter to put back in, to my dismay. So as the weekend progressed, with no power, a tub full of water, wet carpeting, wet everything outside, the windows wide open, and absolutely NO wind what-so-ever blowing outside for several hours, the humidity levels inside became almost unbearable. That’s when the “damp musties” started in, making everything start smelling quite “wonderful”. The smell of wet, humid carpet and water soaked grass, mud and wood, etc . . . was getting to be a little much by Sunday morning. So because of the low level of litter in the box, I knew I would have to scoop out her box at least once a day, instead of every 3 days like I normally I do (I keep her box quite full, for just that reason). So late Sunday morning, I went over to clean out her box, and the most wonderful flowery smell filled my nose: the smell of fresh cat litter. It was the best smelling thing in the house. I just sat there for a minute, enjoying the near sensory-overloading smell of modern civilization, cat poop and all. I thought it was pathetically hilarious at the time. I was sitting there next to the litter box thinking how pathetic l had become viewing a soiled toilet as a mild blessing. At the same time I was thinking how funny it was that in the midst of all my insignificant “suffering” (as opposed to those who REALLY had problems at the time), I would find a silver lining underneath a cat turd. Thank you Fresh Step."

Ike-Day 5

2008-09-18T07:37:00.003-05:00

I'm still out of the office. The 12 story glass atrium in the middle DID take some damage. There is also a rumor the bldg management is having problems getting the bldg services to behave.
Boss says the Poobahs are gathering today to assess the situation and make a gameplan for getting back on track.
I'm starting to get upset with HOA. They have had a crew out clearing the debris from the median on our road. I still have a brush line around the yard, so do my neighbors. We;ve been given no instructions on how to dispose of this stuff. What the HELL do we pay these people for?
The local news is reporting that there is rain coming. Grrreeeaaatttt. Bright side? At least if the brush stays wet, its less of a fire hazard.
Good news is-they were reporting last night that they are seeing fewer people in the lines for water, ice, and food.

Otter: I had a feeling that there must have been some damage at the office. These people are too much into opening for business at all costs , to have kept it closed this long.
You know....the members of the HOA ought to get together and send registered letters to the HOA, demanding they clean up the neighborhood or risk a lawsuit. A taste of their own medicine would be sweet, wouldn't it?
Any word about Orange? I think it would be just fantastic if you got some of those days off with peace and privacy. Now I think you understand a bit about kids. Just be thankful you haven't got a houseful of toddlers.
I am almost through cleaning out my car. I scrubbed the dash, Armour-All'd it, vacuumed up pet hair, washed inside glass, and will finish vacuuming it out when my dustbuster recharges. It smells all nice and clean. I am taking a very dear friend up to an Emmaus Walk. I am really excited for her. She has had a very difficult time this year with things going wrong. She will be able to relax, recharge, and be waited on like she is dearly loved. So I will be going to the city this afternoon, saturday evening, and sunday afternoon. Great time for the gas prices to rise, eh?

Ike-Day 4

2008-09-17T07:01:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the linemen (& women), this town is starting to reawaken. This may be my last day off. "Course they are taking it one day at a time and I have to check the website daily. Good news is that 2 out of 3 of my team members have power and one of those never lost it. One of my guys is still out of power and is under boil water orders, he didn't and now has a stomach "thing". My boss does not have power, but surprisingly sounded "not-so-cranky", color me astonished.
Last night I gave the oldest girl some of my art books and good paper from one of my old sketch books. I gave Momma a pile of spiritual self-help books, like "Freedom from the ties that bind" and "Who moved my Cheese?"
My paycheck came in today-hooray. So life IS returning.
The visit to Yarntopia yesterday did me a world of good. Amy says she believes they are the only shop open in this whole city. And sadly, we completely lost one shop south of town....it is 'no more'. They catered to spinners-so somewhere, on some Texas beach, there's gonna be roving, and drop spindles, and wheels washing up. Wanna go beach combing?

Tuesday

2008-09-16T07:57:00.002-05:00

I want to apologize to all who have left comments and have not recieved an answer. In all the confusion, I've forgotten to check my email that recieves those comments. Thank you for your kind words, encouragment and smart-ass comments...they are much appreciated.
Ok, so I've been left alone w/BigDogs cousin and kids. I will not post anything on that for now, but check back for the real scoop at a later date.
While its quiet, I want to just savor the sound (or lack thereof).

What a Difference a Day Makes

2008-09-15T07:11:00.003-05:00

I just woke up. Its 7 freaking 12 and I woke up about 12 minutes ago. No flood, no howling winds, nothing going "snap, crackle, pop" or "MOM!"
Everryone, except BigDog and I are tucked away in their beds.
I'm so grateful, for so many things. Lights, a/c (though it is cool this morning), water, toilets that flush w/o buckets, and my childless condition. 'Course if I had kids, I probably would react completely different to current circumstances.
I watched Little Women a couple of weeks ago-found myself identifying with the old aunt. I totally "got" her.
The office is closed today-I think that area actually has poweer, but we'll have to wait and see....

Otter: Just read that the yarn store is open. Maybe you need to go sit and knit and swap war stories before you kill someone from post traumatic stress relatives.

Good Effing Morning

2008-09-14T10:44:00.003-05:00

Woke up this morning(at 4:30) to a dancing dog. Blackdog needed to go, but it was also storming. Rain coming down in buckets! While I waited for her to do her business, I fed the cats and made coffee. Then I took my coffee upstairs to crochet while not waking up the sleeping army of kids in the living room floor, and take a shower. About 15 min. after I finished my shower and got dressed, just settled down with coffee and yarn, there was a loud noise and a knock on my bedroom door; "Uh, Cubedog? There's water coming in the living room and we're all getting wet."
O crap, I KNEW the roof wasn't our only problem.
Chaos ensued as I grabbed anything that was absorbant, rushed downstairs and tried to stem the flood. We had about 3" of water on the back patio and the water was coming in the weepholes.
I went and woke BigDog up and by 5:30 we were out trenching around the foundation, trying to get ahead of the buckets that were still falling. After about an hour, BD went and pulled the Marine Corp. wake-up call on all the kids and forced them out to help.
He wanted me to marshall the Moms to mop up the floors and fix a hot breakfast for the kids.
I ended up cooking (you can just imagine the comments I would like to make here) and by the time we were ready to feed, there was family drama and half the family left...in a hurry.
We just finished up outside and I'm 3rd or 4th in line for a hot shower....again.
Lunch is on the stove-cooking and I've planned spagetti for dinner.
I hope there's a grocery store open today. We're outta milk, almost out of bread and I need creamer.HEB was open yesterday-guess I'll have to go out and brave the zombie hoards.

Otter: Oh man....you almost made it out unscathed! But did I not say something about the living room? Uh...maybe I said it to mom. Well, you will just have to tell me the details. Also, have you found out anything about the job in the morning?

More Ike developments

2008-09-13T19:33:00.006-05:00

We have 4 evacuees now, we are getting 4 more tonight. D'ya think I can get assistance from Red Cross?

We got out earlier and checked out damage around the 'hood.

This guy came around and scraped the crud outta the gutters so the street was passable.

Next door neighbor's.

We are very blessed-this coulda been us.

Otter: Do you think maybe HOA will be cruising at first light monday....making lists of who needs to be sent a threatening letter about the uprooted tree in their yard......shingles off roof.....yeah, get that done in one week or we will sue you!
Can you imagine your HOA in Galveston. Dear Homeowner, We noticed your house is missing. We strongly suggest you find it and put it back within two weeks or we will be forced to file suit against you for breach of HOA contract.

Yeap-lots of BBQ wood

2008-09-13T12:00:00.004-05:00

This snapped tree is 2 doors down.
Otter: So very glad you only had the one small limb. Have you heard anything about the office yet?
Gotta go feed now....a tigger is giving me head bumps

Le Sigh

2008-09-13T08:43:00.007-05:00

Fuzzy pic of rain sweeping across the neighbors roof and trees swaying. This was aat about 7 am.

This is the view out my front door towards the corner. Those are all limbs from my front oak.

As reported by Otter. Our lights flickered, and power popped on and off at about 6 am, but out of 2 mil. customers without power, we are not them. And this we thank God for. The coffee pot works, the ac works, life is good.

Thank you all for all your prayers and good vibes directed towards us.

It is relatively calm now. The storm is moving north quickly and the storm surge is subsiding.

More as we can get out and assess the full extent.

BTW-the gas refineries were in the full strike zone...expect fallout at the pump.

Otter: I just talked to mom....she heard from brother. He has a couple of leaks in the roof and no power, but otherwise made it through the eye of the storm okay.

And today is baby boy's 25th birthday. I talked to him twice before I remembered and called him the third time.

Morning Report

2008-09-13T07:16:00.003-05:00

Cubedog and family are okay this morning. She tries to update here but her power will flicker off just as she is ready to post. The eye seems to have gone right oven downtown so she may not have an office to go to. They are in the hurricane right now on the west side of it and have the high winds and rain. She said a few big limbs down, but that is it so far.
On the other hand, we have a brother that lives on the northwest side of downtown and may be experiencing the eye fury right now. We won't know how he is until he checks in with our mother.
Things are pretty bad down there and liable to be horrible by the time the hurricane passes and they can assess damages. Please keep the area in your prayers.
Otter out.

Hi Hos

2008-09-12T20:48:00.003-05:00

The western sky at sunset.

I've acquired the computer long enough to say, everything is fine...so far.

First damage...small limb in the back deck. No rain.

We still have power and BigDog is mixing fruity frozen drinks. I somehow became the caterer...how'd that happen?

Gotta run and give the 'puter back.

More later....I may go sleep for a few hours.

Evening update

2008-09-12T20:36:00.003-05:00

I just talked to Cubedog on the phone. She can't get online as they are using the computer to keep two kids occupied. Everything she does is questioned by the kids. Their mom needs to be drugged.
As of 8:30 pm, they are just starting to feel the winds but have had no rain so far.
This will probably be the last update until she is heard from in the morning.

Just now showing

2008-09-12T13:39:00.005-05:00

Well, the blue skies are gone. When I took this you could feel a slight mist. You can see the wind blowing the umbrella a little. That's Darius, Angie's youngest looking very bored.
This is BigDog comforting the Chi-weenie. Her name is Sasha. Gotta run, BD wants me to go take pics of the house.

Otter: It looks like Sasha found the safe place and person...LOL
It is icky over here in the west part of I-10. I don't know if the heavy clouds over me are the cold front or the outer bands. I do know that the humidity is stiffling, no breeze, and radio signals are all screwed up. I can usually get a strong signal in my car from a couple of out of town stations. That ain't happening now. Static, bleeding......and the only one I can pick up clearly is the local podunk yokel station that I refuse to listen to. It's like fingernails on chalkboard to me.

Good Morning

2008-09-12T09:08:00.006-05:00

I awoke this morning to sun streaming through the blinds.

Go th http://www.khou.com/ , Video/Mobile tab and watch David Paul's video forecast.
I have a guest bedroom full-groceries all over the kitchen cabinets. I don't know when they got in - I crashed at 2:30 pm. Oh, and there is a Chi-wennie on my kitchen table.
Speaking of pets, all the girls are afraid of 'outside'. So am I, it feels creepy out there.
The sun is shining, there is a slight breeze, but the air is THICK and HOT.
Now I understand the description in the novel about the 1900 hurricane. CREEPY. Like the whole world is holding its breath.

This is what the back looks like right now. Peaceful, eh?

Otter: It's 10:20 and I am in the open area between the clouds of the cold front and the first outter cloud bands of Ike. I didn't realize what was causing me pain the past few days until Mom called a bit ago and asked if I was hurting. Caught between two low fronts is not a comfortable place to be.

I strongly suggest your call your mother. She called me right after I checked in here and I told her updates of company but she thinks we talked on the phone. She emailed brother and he feels he will do fine.

I have my puter on, watching here and weather sites.....and my tv tuned to Weather Channel. Mom says Fox is covering it well, so will check there too.

You have a ChiWeenie on your table? That is what Beanie is.....brown weenie body with chihuahua head and legs.

Cubedog: I just took her outside. She looks like Gretchen with long legs. Everyone is still sleep, so I don't know her name yet. I emailed Mom, guess I'll call, too.

Good Evening

2008-09-11T22:29:00.002-05:00

Well, now at 10:30 they are saying that Ike will come in over Galveston and now as a Cat 1. The evac.s have gone smoothly. I-10 is crawling west of us and I-45 is crawling north of us, but the roads are fairly clear in the immediate area. When I got home, I found out thaat BigDog's cousin and her 3 youngun's are evacuating to our house. I have been working for the last 4 hours cleaning and getting ready for them.
BigDog talked to his family's weather witch earlier. WW has never missed on a storm landfall or severity. Today, WW was evacuating and said, "Its gonna be bad." That's good enough for me.
We are preparing for 70-80 mph winds (sustained) coming at us from the NE. I have to get up tomorrow and run to the grocery store and pharmacy. I'm out of sinus meds and I need sugar for baking a "Hurricane" cake.
Gotta run now and go make up the beds and take a shower.
Til tomorrow.

Finally

2008-09-11T15:51:00.001-05:00

Word came down about 1 hour ago. The building is shutting down this evening and not reopening until Monday (if all goes well). That means my company was forced into a decision to close tomorrow. Nice when someone else takes the responsibility.

Otter: Okay, I want to know if you made it home alright. I know you go home toward the western evac route. Hope you check in soon.

A tweek

2008-09-11T15:06:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share that I am sitting outside on my laptop. It is cloudy with a nice cool breeze. I just ran the pump on my pool to clean it up after the rain which makes it green, and thought I might get in for a while and work on my tan.
Just wanted to share. Only thing is....the laptop is getting a bit warm in my lap...ugh.

It has begun

2008-09-11T12:54:00.004-05:00

It has begun

Went out at lunch for food and a pack of smokes. Took 1/2 hour to get the smokes. Everywhere people are crowding the streets, jamming up the gas stations, all these people with fear as their constant motivator.

Got a voice message from BigDog: Come home noooowwwww. The Zombies are everywhere. I need help with the reloading!

Yes, they are zombies, but instead of "Braaiiinnnsss". these are moaning something more like: "Gaaaasssss", "Waaattteeerrr", "Plywooooddddd".

Otter: I find it strangly fascinating that a cold front over me is sucking in the super low of the hurricane toward us. There must be some physics extended, mind sucking explaination for it.

Ya'll laid in plenty of water, pet food, and smokes for the event, didn't you?

Cubedog: I am letting BigDog "batten down the hatches". I figure he knows better than me how that's done.

Blogging Ike

2008-09-11T09:23:00.005-05:00

Looks like we are going to get a 'little' visitor. As of the last report I got at 7 this morning, the most likely landfall will be directly south of the house. The projected path from there, put the eye passing right over the house. They are predicting sustained winds at 80-90 mph with gusts to 110.
I will be home tomorrow posting pics and bloggin as long as the electricity holds out.
Remember, run from the water(storm surge), hide from the wind(shelter in place)-we will be doing the later.
When BigDog and I were discussing evacuation plans last night (in case the house is uninhabitable afterwards) and we were making oflist of 'must packs'. You shoulda seen the look I got when I said, "Yarn, and losts of it." Priceless. Then I reminded him that it was either that or I was gonna be whacked out on Xanax.
It is currently 9:30 am and I'm at the office-there is no word yet as to whether the office will close tomorrow. Even though the mayor, in this morning's news conference, urged all employers to close their offices tomorrow. Its a 'wait and see' attitude around here. I think the HPs(Higher Powers) are betting on this turning into another Rita and missing us all together.

Otter: I will be here with you. I have nothing else plannned, but think maybe a bit of cleaning up in the guest room and studio in case you have to bugger out and park here. We could toss the cats in the studio with a pan and food and make inaccessible anything that they could ruin by peeing on it.
May I suggest you seal all yarn and fabric in plastic bags just in case. It may seem like a lot of trouble now.....but a good thing if your roofers don't happen to have been up to par, or Ike decides to smack you upside the head. Did you get the flooding from the backyard into the living room solved? Can't recall, but sure hope so.
Cubedog: Remember, its YOUR studio my yarn peeing cats would be inhabiting.......maybe YOU should put things in plastic.....

Home Improvement

2008-09-07T08:38:00.011-05:00

When we bought this house, we thought the roof was good. Sadly we didn't know about the big hole forming on the upside of the chimney. After 10 years of holes in the ceiling, waterfalls in the master bedroom, and salmon spawning streams across the living room, it is finally done and the new roof is here. A momentus day that has had unexpected benefits-the house is cooler!

So, without further ado-here it is:

The supplies arrived before 7 am

The work begins (you can see how bad the old one was):

New tar paper, new shingles, new flashing,

no more "Turban" vent:

You can see where they have torn out rotten wood, replace rotten fascia board,

and closed off the rat holes.

What a mess, but they cleaned all of it up:

This pic just makes me smile:

The last piece of the puzzle-the porch roof:

Its a very subtle change. We went back with the same color that was on before, but to us, its a world of change.

OK-so the roof is being destructed, but I like the way this pic makes my house look so nice:

Rain at last

2008-08-12T12:27:00.003-05:00

I remember getting up last night to unplug the computer and satelite because of a thunderstorm. When I got up this morning, my rain gauge showed 9/10th of an inch. If that storm had slowed down just a wee bit, it could have been an inch. I am not complaining....instead I gave my thanks to God for the rain. Maybe if it does it a few more times in the next week...as the weatherman promised....then the wild things can find stuff to eat in the pastures and not browse my yard till my flowers are nubs.
Oh, and here is that sheep you slowed down for me to get a shot of a couple of months ago. I really need to take my camera with me next time I am up there so I can get shots of all the other sheep I find around town.

Cubedog: BigDog said we got rain at the house yesterday. I never saw more than a few sprinkles and the 'afterglow'. Basically, in town, all it did was saturate an already soggy atmosphere and left us with 'thick air' to try and breathe. Today they've issued an "Orange Ozone Alert"...lovely.

Somehow in all this, there is something blooming that has left me with laryngitis. I haven't completely lost my voice, but I'm VERY hoarse and the throat hurts-back on the Allegra-d.

Too funny

2008-08-08T13:32:00.001-05:00

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/08/07/one-nation-under-a-new-obama-salute.html
this is a classic example of state art produced under Mussilini and Franco

I Am 25 today.

2008-08-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

I am 25 today.
I woke up this morning and made the choice just like I did that morning so long ago.
This morning it was not a conscious thought, just a simple dedication by motivation.
In other words, I woke up and got on with my life this morning.
I never thought to get here. That first morning was physically and emotionally painful; even more so later that night. Not so much now.
I am 25 today.
Not 25 days, nor months, but years. 25 years.
I never thought to get here. I assumed I would be dead by now. I looked at the ‘dinosaurs’ with uncomprehending awe. Not that I didn’t believe them. I simply could not grasp the concept. When I first met my sponsor, she had 8 years. I figured she must know God personally, y’know, “lunched” with Him. Now I understand why she felt unequal to the task.
I am 25 today.
Not because I did anything. The only active part I took in this miracle was to trust. I trust that the program works. I trust that things WILL get better…or at least different. I trust that I am not, never was, or ever will be responsible for the world- only my part in it.
I am clean and sober….25 years, one day at a time. Truly, a day at a time, cuz most days I don’t have a conscious thought of being or not being an addict. One day followed another.
Then I woke up this morning…25 years later.
25 years after that night when I walked blindly into a 12 step meeting and mumbled something like;
“Hi, I’m Debra, and I’m an addict.”
Though I tend to remember it more like: “I’m Debra, and I dunno.”

West Hill Country/ 3pm

2008-08-05T15:13:00.001-05:00

We have had puffy clouds for the past couple of hours. Also the temp is down to 98. Waiting anxiously for rain.

TS Eduoard Update-1:10 p.m.

2008-08-05T13:09:00.000-05:00

At the office now. Started raining cats & dogs as soon as I got the call to be in the office by 1 p.m.
Of course, would I expect any less?
Yes, we finally got the rain at the house. They've promised it won't stop until Sunday-we'll see.
The commute in was no worse and in many ways better than most Spring storms.
Oh, I pass the National Guard Armory on the way in. They were at full muster. Cars everywhere, command tent in the parking lot, folks in camo. In the mall parking lot across from there, there was a line of probably 10 ambulances; staged and ready to go. Glad to see emergency help is ready and waiting and so darned close by.
A soggy adios for now. I guess I'd better do SOME work.