Dog fArt

Here I am again!  I do get over here every once in a while.

Especially when I have a Rant...

I have a dog, a Cocker Spaniel.  We acquired him accidentally.  He has issues, I call him my Broken Dog.

He came to us flea-ridden and unhousebroken, after three years, it's still a work in progress.

Earlier this week he began acting weirder than usual.  Hiding behind my legs while I sat in my chair.  Hiding under the bed, skittering wildly around the house like he was being chased by demons.

It didn't take long to sniff out the problem.  

On one of these mad dashes, he left behind some lovely designs.  Poo art, of the runny kind.  That's also when we discovered what demon was harassing him.

The ejection of runny poo paint requires air.  Or in more common terms, farts.

The dog is afraid of his own farts.  

The dog was running from his own rear end.

It didn't matter where he hid,  the demon found him.

He was certain the invisible assailant was blowing raspberries up his butt.

Now, we did realize at this point that the dog was not well and made a vet appointment, we are not heartless.  Mostly.  Except for laughing at the fart assaulted dog.

I paid for that, the vet is not cheap.  I get to make bland food for him for a week.   I barely cook for the husband and me.  Now, I'm boiling hamburger and rice for the dog.  

At least the fArt Show is over, I can put the mop bucket away...

Quarterly Update?

Yes, yes.  I know it's been four months since I bothered to write here.  It's just that I never seem to have anything much to say.  At least in real life.  Now go visit the "sister blog", Elsetime & Otherwhen, and you'll see where I'm wasting spending my time.  And words. (I write weirdo stuff, just so you know)

So, now a trek into the last few months of my Real Life:

I lost one of my key employees at the restaurant, so I've been on 7 days a week since late August.  That is hopefully about to change.  I've got a plan, should have a day off every week starting a week from now.  Fingers crossed.

In December my third grandchild was born.  Another granddaughter.  She was born a toddler, 10 lbs, 15 oz.
And she is, of course, beautiful.  Just like her mother and siblings.

I'm not one for resolutions, so I didn't make any.

I have, though, promised myself to work harder on my creative writing.  So far, so good.  That means the "sister blog" has been getting a workout the past week.  Here's hoping I can keep it up!

Let's see....

Oh Yeah!  For those that follow my tweets or my Facebook feed, you all know I'm a Christmas tree lover.  I managed to do 14 trees.  I've threatened to let my friends and followers help me with color combos next Christmas.  We'll see if I can remember that for a whole year.

That's been about all the excitement around here.  Hope to be back here sooner. <3

I've Been Busy

It has been a hectic few weeks.


I finished my fundraising stint for Muscular Dystrophy.  My friends and family helped me raise $505.00 for the MDA.  Thanks again to all who contributed cash and moral support. (this is the worst pic ever!)

The derecho that blew through on June 29th left a big mess in the yard.  We're still cleaning up.  We were one of the lucky households, we never lost power.

I played with my other blog, Elsetime & Otherwhen, a little.  Added some new pages to try and organize some of the related stories.  Actually wrote something too!                                            

Finally got almost all my profile pictures changed out since the haircut.

And been busy with work as usual, restaurants are demanding creatures. 

Oh, and spoiling grandchildren.  OHOHOH!  Grandchild number 3 is on the way!  Due in November.

That's it.  For now....



I've Got Coffee!

I'm excited to share on Whatcha Got Wednesday with Brandi at Go Team Duncan!  I usually link on the  Duncan's StoryDam site from by other blog, Elsetime & Otherwhen, (that button to the right with the glowy kitty eyes).

But for this, I'm back at my original blogsite.  So, what've I got?

I.  Got.  COFFEE!

For those not subjected to my twitter feed, I received a Keurig Platinum Coffee Brewer for Christmas.  I have coffee on demand thanks to my wonderful, extra loving, daughter.  (It is awesome!) (So is she!)

However, I have limited counter space in my kitchen.  And I already have a percolator, and an espresso maker.  The Keurig is rather space hoggy.  What to do?

Well, in the junk extra bedroom was shoved my mother's old computer cart.  When we moved into this house with my Mom, that room was our personal living room.  After she passed away a year and a half ago, it became a catch-all room.  We were trying to clean it up for the grandkids as a playroom.  The computer cart was destined for the trash.

Until I stared at it for a while.  As it begged not to evicted to the junk pile.

I had a vision!  Re-purposing.  An annoying yet handy catch word in a throw away world.

So I rolled it to the kitchen....and....

                                             
Voila!  My very own coffee kiosk.  The Keurig is the big monster in the center.  My little old espresso maker to the left, and the old percolator peeking from behind.  The baskets hold assorted K-cups, I have my mug tree, and even a space for my travel mug.

I am caffeinated!

http://goteamduncan.com/2012/02/whatcha-got-wednesdays-link-up/

I'm Easily Amused

Things that tickled me this past week:

This piece posted on the Red Dress Club by @MamaTrack, here Too funny!

The grandson playing with the extra plastic drain lines that didn't get used for the basement project. He had a riot with his "tunnels".
Hardware store toys are much cheaper than toy store toys.

And of course it's the best revenge when the grandkid is an angel until his mother comes to get him. Then he becomes an accomplished button pusher.
I remember those times.

Watching the granddaughter twist Grampa right around her tiny finger. She must be held by him almost the entire visit.

Making checks on the yard as it gets a bit warmer. I love seeing the buds peeking out.

Finally seeing roots start on the pussy willow cuttings a customer brought me. Probably going to plant them this week.

Watching the tomato seedlings get stronger. Need to get bigger peat pots now.

Visiting with my twitter friends.

What tickled you lately?

Frozen in Time

This was written for The Red Dress Club ,the prompt was write a piece - 600 word limit - about finding a forgotten item of clothing in the back of a drawer or closet. Let us know how the item was found, what it is, and why it's so meaningful to you or your character.

In the back of the closet. Covered by a dry cleaner's bag. My father's Navy pea coat.

I found it as I was emptying the two rooms my husband and I were getting ready to paint and clean up. One room was mine as a teenager. The other had been my parent's room. After we all moved away, it was Daddy's room until his death in 2004.

Daddy was in the Navy in 1951.  He was discharged in 1952 at the request of his father. Daddy's mother passed away on February 20th, 1952.  She died of cancer.  I wasn't born until 1956. I never knew her. And now I live in the house she had moved to just three years before her death.

My grandparents moved a lot. Living in Ohio, Chicago, Buffalo, somewhere in California. And places between.  I had the feeling there were a lot of rented rooms during that time. My father was in high school when they bought this house.  She had her own home for three years.

Daddy's pea coat is still here. Because the death of his mother stopped time in this house. And even though Daddy brought his wife and infant daughter to live here in 1956, and had four more children, some things never changed. The steamer trunks full of his mother's clothes, letters and trinkets. The box grater and flour sifter in the kitchen. The pretty glass pieces in the built in china cabinet.

They are all still here. Like Daddy's pea coat.  Sixty years. Locked in time.

Waiting to be rediscovered. And released.