Today is the day that I have been waiting for for almost 3 years. Finally....Finally! The 25 year old rusted basketball goal was pulled down by my faithful brother and his Bobcat. It has gone to a better place: The Scrap Metal Pile. This pile serves as place for all pieces of old metal to go to be cut up and then hauled to the person who will pay us for it by the pound. It's better this way.
This is also the day that the Peacock Coop & the Guinea Fowl coop were torn down and put into the dumpster. They have well served their purpose as storage for things that my dad didn't want to deal with and before that, they served well in their intended purpose. Considering that there hasn't been a Pea or Guinea Hen near them in 12 years, it was time to let them go.
Soon, very soon, the rest of the fencing and the grapevine that has overtaken everything will also have passed into the great beyond.
Anyone have a dump truck they would let me borrow for a few days?
18 July 2008
14 June 2008
This makes me mad
Tim Russert's recent death has me simmering (not quite up to boiling). He was 58 years old and dropped dead from a heart attack with his wife and college-aged son surviving him. What makes me so mad is the fact that heart attacks are preventable and the potential for a person having them are detectable. I guess it just hits a nerve with me. My mom died of a heart attack when she was 65 and that was too young, my brother has has one and he's 57 and a cousin had 90% blockage and he's 49! When the hell are we going to wake up and realize that the crap we do to ourselves is fatal? Genetics has some to do with it, but there are so many things we can do to keep this from happening.
Why is is that we are a country in denial? "Oh, that won't happen to me. I know that I'm 50 lbs overweight, have high cholesterol, have too much stress in my life and eat nothing but brown foods. But there's no way I will keel over from a heart attack." It just infuriates me! Cancer, automobile accidents, the stupidity of other people....these things we can't help. But we can help what we consume and how much exercise we get.
ARGH!
Why is is that we are a country in denial? "Oh, that won't happen to me. I know that I'm 50 lbs overweight, have high cholesterol, have too much stress in my life and eat nothing but brown foods. But there's no way I will keel over from a heart attack." It just infuriates me! Cancer, automobile accidents, the stupidity of other people....these things we can't help. But we can help what we consume and how much exercise we get.
ARGH!
02 June 2008
01 June 2008
26 May 2008
My Second Favorite Bugs Bunny Cartoon
My favorite is
What's Opera Doc. But Hillbilly Hare is a very close second. ENJOY:
23 May 2008
WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!!
That's how I feel this week. Too many of my notions about myself are being challenged. And, while I understand how those notions are holding me back, it's very scary for me to let them go. If I'm not (fill in the blank), then who am I? I have spent over 40 years deciding who I am and what I believe and now I realize that I'm different from what I believed myself to be. The good news is that I get to really figure out what I want and who I AM and go out and create that person. And, Damn it! That's just what I'll do!
21 May 2008
2008 Darwin Award Nominee
Not a Shred of Sense
2008 Darwin Award Nominee
Unconfirmed by Darwin
The ambulance responded to a frantic call concerning a neighbor's trip through an industrial tree shredder. It seems the individual had decided to prune his own trees, rather than hire a professional. Why not? After all, the local shop rented shredders that could make quick work of yard debris, including tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter.
To save time (those fateful words) the neighbor had placed the shredder at the base of a great oak tree, where he could drop branches directly into the hopper. He intended to cut off the top third of the oak, since it had been killed by lightning.
With the shredder running wide open, the neighbor climbed his ladder to the first tree branch, stepped off the ladder, slipped, and fell. The paramedics found him very dead, half in and half out of the shredder's hopper, one leg shredded to the hip.
Not married, no kids, removed self from the gene pool.
2008 Darwin Award Nominee
Unconfirmed by Darwin
The ambulance responded to a frantic call concerning a neighbor's trip through an industrial tree shredder. It seems the individual had decided to prune his own trees, rather than hire a professional. Why not? After all, the local shop rented shredders that could make quick work of yard debris, including tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter.
To save time (those fateful words) the neighbor had placed the shredder at the base of a great oak tree, where he could drop branches directly into the hopper. He intended to cut off the top third of the oak, since it had been killed by lightning.
With the shredder running wide open, the neighbor climbed his ladder to the first tree branch, stepped off the ladder, slipped, and fell. The paramedics found him very dead, half in and half out of the shredder's hopper, one leg shredded to the hip.
Not married, no kids, removed self from the gene pool.
20 May 2008
It's been a while
I think of so many things to post, but I haven't made the time to sit down & type them....then the moment is gone.
Today I'm thinking about communication....it seems that I'm not necessarily as good at communicating as I thought I was. Or, rather, I'm really good at NOT communicating. I actually hide behind words and fill up space with meaningless details so that I can avoid real connection. It came as quite a blow.
And with that, I'll shut up.
Today I'm thinking about communication....it seems that I'm not necessarily as good at communicating as I thought I was. Or, rather, I'm really good at NOT communicating. I actually hide behind words and fill up space with meaningless details so that I can avoid real connection. It came as quite a blow.
And with that, I'll shut up.
18 April 2008
Connection
One of the miracles of working with RBD (Remarkable Body Development) is that, through coaching, I am learning to stretch out of my comfort zone and create lots of things in my life that I didn't even know I was lacking. One of those things is connection. I have hidden, in one way or another, from people in my life and, as a result, don't often make real, solid relationships. Connecting is really scary for me. I've never really had it (even with family) and, at 42 years old, have decided that I don't want to live my life without it anymore.
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a colleague and put myself out there and asked him if the next time he went hiking would he give me a call. I needed a hiking buddy. I had realized that I was choosing to not do something I wanted to do (Hiking) because I made up the story that no one would want to spend time with me. I know it sounds silly but it was a difficult thing, really, and because it was difficult, I felt stupid & foolish. But it was because I felt stupid & foolish at just the thought of asking for a hiking buddy that I knew I had to do it anyway, regardless of the outcome. And the outcome is that, once our schedules mesh, we will go out hiking.
yay me
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a colleague and put myself out there and asked him if the next time he went hiking would he give me a call. I needed a hiking buddy. I had realized that I was choosing to not do something I wanted to do (Hiking) because I made up the story that no one would want to spend time with me. I know it sounds silly but it was a difficult thing, really, and because it was difficult, I felt stupid & foolish. But it was because I felt stupid & foolish at just the thought of asking for a hiking buddy that I knew I had to do it anyway, regardless of the outcome. And the outcome is that, once our schedules mesh, we will go out hiking.
yay me
24 March 2008
22 March 2008
Real Words
Overheard at a playground while walking Sash yesterday:
"And I told her, if she falls, just leave her!"
Of course it loses something in the translation since there is no way to accurately depict the accent of the person who uttered those words, suffice it to say that she was a good ol' Mountain Woman.
It brought to mind the times my mother would find me in the top of a tree or in the highest loft of the barn and would say to me, "I'll beat the living daylights out of you if you fall!"
I never fell
"And I told her, if she falls, just leave her!"
Of course it loses something in the translation since there is no way to accurately depict the accent of the person who uttered those words, suffice it to say that she was a good ol' Mountain Woman.
It brought to mind the times my mother would find me in the top of a tree or in the highest loft of the barn and would say to me, "I'll beat the living daylights out of you if you fall!"
I never fell
10 March 2008
When it Rains it Pours
Sash is doing better, but I am 90% positive that she has injured her cruciate ligament. That means surgery. Yikes! And I just looked up a pet insurance policy that, had I taken out insurance on her, I would have saved about $200. But, I feel better because the surgery she will need isn't covered. Kind of a backward positive there, huh?
I can't seem to catch a break this week. First the car maintenance was more than I thought it would be, then Sash gets hurt. Okay, I can deal with those things. Then I'm at wort at the Box Office and my co-worker has to go away for a doctor's appointment. It's fairly slow and, of course I'll be okay by myself. Well, no sooner did he leave than I had 12 people lined up to purchase tickets and 4 lines lit up mostly with older people who don't know if they want to come to the show and could I tell them more about it.....
"What are the seats like on Sunday? Thursday? I can't hear you there's something noisy in the background."
"Yes, Sir. that's the screaming kid that REALLY wants to go to the Health Adventure, but I can't sell his mom a ticket because you have to repeat everything I say to your wife and you still don't trust me that the best seats I have are on Saturday at 2:00."
Then I get to the parking lot only to find that my car has been towed. I forgot to put the parking tag back in my car after it was in the shop. &40 later....but it was better than the $150 that it could have been.
I'm at the show and things are going well...I'm glad about that, but my head starts to fall off....suddenly, my sinuses started to ache and I was getting sick again. YUCK!
I fight off the Ick as best I can and feel good enough to clean up my kitchen this morning....as I'm letting out the water in the sink, I hear this strange "CLUNK"
Hmmmm I wonder what that noise was?
I look down and the floor is covered with water. Evidently, the pipe that connects the second sink to the main drain decided it just had to give up. It had been holding on by a thread for far too long and today was the day it just couldn't take it. A sink full of dirty dishwater dumped into the cabinet underneath and all over everything. I just had to laugh.
It was an easy fix....the ill-fitting pipe just went back to where it was and was tightened.....it's now working the same as it was before. I just have to keep an eye on it.
ARGH!
I can't seem to catch a break this week. First the car maintenance was more than I thought it would be, then Sash gets hurt. Okay, I can deal with those things. Then I'm at wort at the Box Office and my co-worker has to go away for a doctor's appointment. It's fairly slow and, of course I'll be okay by myself. Well, no sooner did he leave than I had 12 people lined up to purchase tickets and 4 lines lit up mostly with older people who don't know if they want to come to the show and could I tell them more about it.....
"What are the seats like on Sunday? Thursday? I can't hear you there's something noisy in the background."
"Yes, Sir. that's the screaming kid that REALLY wants to go to the Health Adventure, but I can't sell his mom a ticket because you have to repeat everything I say to your wife and you still don't trust me that the best seats I have are on Saturday at 2:00."
Then I get to the parking lot only to find that my car has been towed. I forgot to put the parking tag back in my car after it was in the shop. &40 later....but it was better than the $150 that it could have been.
I'm at the show and things are going well...I'm glad about that, but my head starts to fall off....suddenly, my sinuses started to ache and I was getting sick again. YUCK!
I fight off the Ick as best I can and feel good enough to clean up my kitchen this morning....as I'm letting out the water in the sink, I hear this strange "CLUNK"
Hmmmm I wonder what that noise was?
I look down and the floor is covered with water. Evidently, the pipe that connects the second sink to the main drain decided it just had to give up. It had been holding on by a thread for far too long and today was the day it just couldn't take it. A sink full of dirty dishwater dumped into the cabinet underneath and all over everything. I just had to laugh.
It was an easy fix....the ill-fitting pipe just went back to where it was and was tightened.....it's now working the same as it was before. I just have to keep an eye on it.
ARGH!
05 March 2008
Pets & Vets
Well, it happened today. Sash got away from me at home and got hurt. I don't think she was hit by a car, it looks more as if she tangled with something. Three of her legs have puncture wounds, scrapes or cuts and she can't put weight on the fourth. I found her limping up the road. I saw the blood and immediately took her to the vet.
By the way, All Pets Animal Hospital in Woodfin is a great place to take your pet. I didn't even call, I just walked in, told them about her and she was X-rayed, examined, morphined and ready to go home in an hour.
Nothing showed up on the X-ray, so we don't think anything is broken, but if she doesn't start putting weight on the back leg in a couple of days, I have to take her back for more extensive tests.
Right now, she's doped up on Morphine and sleeping in the doorway. She really wanted to go upstairs where she usually sleeps but couldn't climb the stairs. Poor thing. I wasn't going to help her up because that would mean that I would have to help her down. Now, while I'm in pretty good shape, I don't want to make a habit of carrying a 60 pound dog up and down the stairs. So now she has to be content with sleeping downstairs---at least until I go to bed tonight.
I'll keep posting her progress. Send good thoughts.
By the way, All Pets Animal Hospital in Woodfin is a great place to take your pet. I didn't even call, I just walked in, told them about her and she was X-rayed, examined, morphined and ready to go home in an hour.
Nothing showed up on the X-ray, so we don't think anything is broken, but if she doesn't start putting weight on the back leg in a couple of days, I have to take her back for more extensive tests.
Right now, she's doped up on Morphine and sleeping in the doorway. She really wanted to go upstairs where she usually sleeps but couldn't climb the stairs. Poor thing. I wasn't going to help her up because that would mean that I would have to help her down. Now, while I'm in pretty good shape, I don't want to make a habit of carrying a 60 pound dog up and down the stairs. So now she has to be content with sleeping downstairs---at least until I go to bed tonight.
I'll keep posting her progress. Send good thoughts.
22 February 2008
Being Sick Taught me a Lesson
I tell you what, being sick during tech sure does humble a person. I had to actually ask for help and accept I could do only what I could do and it would be good enough. I also learned that allowing myself to be vulnerable was okay and that no one was judging me for letting them know that I was not at 100%. So, even though I was feeling really crappy, we still had what I think was a relatively painless tech process.
11 February 2008
First, there was the 3-way Switch
And now is the remote control.
You may or may not recall how, about 2 years ago, I replaced a 3-way switch in my kitchen that both my dad and my brother were afraid of. Today, I just fixed the remote control for the ceiling fan/light in my bedroom. It was really easy. All I had to do was take apart the remote, clean the contacts and put it back together. Now I can turn on the light and the the ceiling fan in my bedroom---unfortunately, that is the only switching mechanism, so I had to fix it in order to see at night. Yay me! Now the next electronics project is to change the frequency so that when someone turns on the light with one remote downstairs, it doesn't turn on the light in my room....again, an easy fix that requires some light an a screwdriver.
Some days I'm so proud of myself.
You may or may not recall how, about 2 years ago, I replaced a 3-way switch in my kitchen that both my dad and my brother were afraid of. Today, I just fixed the remote control for the ceiling fan/light in my bedroom. It was really easy. All I had to do was take apart the remote, clean the contacts and put it back together. Now I can turn on the light and the the ceiling fan in my bedroom---unfortunately, that is the only switching mechanism, so I had to fix it in order to see at night. Yay me! Now the next electronics project is to change the frequency so that when someone turns on the light with one remote downstairs, it doesn't turn on the light in my room....again, an easy fix that requires some light an a screwdriver.
Some days I'm so proud of myself.
26 January 2008
23 January 2008
Two drawbacks to having a dog
1. Putting your hand in your coat pocket only to discover that you forgot to throw away the baggie of poo.
2. Toweling off after a shower and suddenly there's a cold, wet nose on your naked bum.
2. Toweling off after a shower and suddenly there's a cold, wet nose on your naked bum.
15 January 2008
Hibernation Mode
Argh! I'm so cold. My day starts with a 45 minute walk with Sash and today the wind chill was 15 degrees. I felt like I was in St. Louis again. I was walking her in snow flurries! I feel my body saying, "Don't do anything. Just curl up in bed and read. Eat fatty & sugary foods." Well, I'm not eating fatty, sugary foods, if only by virtue that there aren't any in the house, but I've managed to walk Sash twice today, take the car to the dealership to look at a factory recall and to read about 100 pages while lounging on the sofa wearing 2 layers and covered up with the blanket. I feel a little guilty, but I'll be so busy starting next week that I think it's okay to lounge around some this week. At least I get SOME exercise.
Is is Spring, yet?
Is is Spring, yet?
14 January 2008
I've Foud It!
My new favorite television station. It's called Ovation and it's what A&E & Bravo used to be before they went so mainstream.
Each night features a different art form.
Tonight is dance. First up was TAP DOGS and now the Joffrey Ballet is performing to the music of Prince. Talk about hot!
Tomorrow night is about writers; the next is about illustrators and so on.
I guess you can only get it with a satellite service...at least in this area, but if you can find it, I would highly recommend you check it out.
http://www.ovationtv.com/
The Adventures of Connie & Sash
Good Lord! When that dog gets a scent and gets away, there's no telling how long it will take to get her back!
Today I was a the dog park by the river. Sash and I had been there for a good 45 minutes and she had been romping around with other dogs. She likes to go to the gate when people (and dogs) are arriving and leaving. The system, or so I thought, is fail safe. You see, there's an ante-pen where you take the leash off your dog and then the main pen where they all run. Both have gates. A pet owner should open one gate, go through, and make sure that the first gate is closed before opening the the second gate. Well, as I found out, the fail safe only works, IF you close the gates. There was a person there with her dog and her daughter. She certainly wasn't paying attention and seemed to care less about her dog or really want to have anything to do with anyone there. As she was leaving, she got her dog and daughter into the ante-pen, leaving the gate to the main pen open. As soon as she opened the 2nd gate, Sash, being the crafty dog she is, took advantage of the situation and made a break for it. I'm pretty pissed off at the other lady...she didn't even seem horrified that she's let my dog out. I was appalled.
But I didn't have time for that. I had to get my dog to come to me....FAT Chance. She was free and had a scent. I was scared to death that she'd get away and I'd never get her back. All sorts of scenarios ran through my head: She gets tangled up and I can't find her, she gets completely away and is hit by a car in a strange neighborhood, how am I supposed to tell the Humane Society that I lost her and to look out for her? Things like that.
I followed her on the trail onto some private property that led to god knows where. Sometimes she would pause long enough for me to catch up with her and then she'd take off again. I wasn't running (I don't run) after her, that would only increase the chances that she would keep running.
When the brush got so bad that I wouldn't be able to follow, I was heartbroken. She was nowhere in sight, I couldn't hear her at all and it was FREAKIN' COLD! I had just decided to head back and wait for her at least until it got dark when BOOM! Here she comes bounding out of the tall brush just like the last scene of HOMEWARD BOUND. Happy to see me and looking like she was laughing.
I was so relieved. We walked the half-mile back to the park. I let her run around in there for a couple of more minutes--until she discovered she could jump the fence into the ante-pen--then I decided it was time to leave.
Tomorrow we work on "come".
Today I was a the dog park by the river. Sash and I had been there for a good 45 minutes and she had been romping around with other dogs. She likes to go to the gate when people (and dogs) are arriving and leaving. The system, or so I thought, is fail safe. You see, there's an ante-pen where you take the leash off your dog and then the main pen where they all run. Both have gates. A pet owner should open one gate, go through, and make sure that the first gate is closed before opening the the second gate. Well, as I found out, the fail safe only works, IF you close the gates. There was a person there with her dog and her daughter. She certainly wasn't paying attention and seemed to care less about her dog or really want to have anything to do with anyone there. As she was leaving, she got her dog and daughter into the ante-pen, leaving the gate to the main pen open. As soon as she opened the 2nd gate, Sash, being the crafty dog she is, took advantage of the situation and made a break for it. I'm pretty pissed off at the other lady...she didn't even seem horrified that she's let my dog out. I was appalled.
But I didn't have time for that. I had to get my dog to come to me....FAT Chance. She was free and had a scent. I was scared to death that she'd get away and I'd never get her back. All sorts of scenarios ran through my head: She gets tangled up and I can't find her, she gets completely away and is hit by a car in a strange neighborhood, how am I supposed to tell the Humane Society that I lost her and to look out for her? Things like that.
I followed her on the trail onto some private property that led to god knows where. Sometimes she would pause long enough for me to catch up with her and then she'd take off again. I wasn't running (I don't run) after her, that would only increase the chances that she would keep running.
When the brush got so bad that I wouldn't be able to follow, I was heartbroken. She was nowhere in sight, I couldn't hear her at all and it was FREAKIN' COLD! I had just decided to head back and wait for her at least until it got dark when BOOM! Here she comes bounding out of the tall brush just like the last scene of HOMEWARD BOUND. Happy to see me and looking like she was laughing.
I was so relieved. We walked the half-mile back to the park. I let her run around in there for a couple of more minutes--until she discovered she could jump the fence into the ante-pen--then I decided it was time to leave.
Tomorrow we work on "come".
08 January 2008
I don't give a BLEEP
Okay, who are the censors and why would they bleep out the word "damn" when the word "dam" was uttered at least 15 times before the statement "I don't give a damn."? I found it very strange.
Let me clarify. I was watching Orangutan Island and a commercial came on were celebrities were talking about beavers building dams; how industrious they are, how they build dams overnight, how we should send them to Iraq to help rebuild. The final statement was referring to the beavers' attitude: "I'm going to build this dam and I don't give a BLEEP. It's just a word, for goodness' sake! It's a word that has been uttered on TV a bajillion times. Why bleep it and who decides that that particular Damn gets the ax? I just don't get it.
Let me clarify. I was watching Orangutan Island and a commercial came on were celebrities were talking about beavers building dams; how industrious they are, how they build dams overnight, how we should send them to Iraq to help rebuild. The final statement was referring to the beavers' attitude: "I'm going to build this dam and I don't give a BLEEP. It's just a word, for goodness' sake! It's a word that has been uttered on TV a bajillion times. Why bleep it and who decides that that particular Damn gets the ax? I just don't get it.
06 January 2008
Meet Sash
I made up my mind today. After careful consideration, I realized that one of the things that I loved about Carmen was that she was a Cat in a Dog Suit. She didn't require too much attention, she was aloof, she was very sweet, but not what I would call "Friendly". She was one that I could leave alone for 12 hours and she'd be okay with that (I didn't do that often) and I need a dog that will be the same way, but without Carmen's negative traits (I never trusted her around children or people whom she wasn't used to). So here is Sash. She is in my house, I haven't heard a peep out of her and she's upstairs now in here crate of her own volition. Well, I just checked. She's not IN the crate; she's NEAR the crate (That's where she'll sleep and I'll keep her there when I'm gone). I think it will take some time for us to bond, but I have a few days this week, so we can get on a schedule of waking up and feeding and walking. I'm really glad to have her and while it will be an adjustment for both of us, I know that I have the perfect dog for me.
01 January 2008
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