Quick post

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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