Itty Bitty

I'm sure there is something that we are supposed to do tomorrow, but I can't remember what it is.

Oh, well. I'm sure it will come back to me sometime! LOL!

The wind was blowing too hard for me to try to bike today. It was gale force. Not really, but it sure felt like it.

Hubby decided to try to salvage the motor in the swamp cooler & took it in for repair today. If that doesn't work, we will certainly have to purchase another as it is too hot to endure without some form of air conditioning.

Scheduled a service call for the Plumber (Mr. Rooter) to come out to install a new faucet in my footed tub. If I get all the service calls done before I call the carpet cleaners, it will work out perfectly! Don't want dirty feet traipsing all over.

Lawn Mower guy finally made it out again today after two weeks. Since it has been raining, he missed our regular day for 2 weeks in a row. Then he even forgot to mow out in a certain area that he usually does. Hmmmm.

Will take Angus down to the Vet at 3:00PM for a post-op check-up.

The wind died down after we came back from the vet so I went for a ride - but only got about 8 miles before sustaining a flat tire. Had hubby come pick me up as he was over at Joe's using the plasma cutter. (told hubby to get his OWN plasma cutter, but he NEVER listens to me!)

Sonic Hedgehog

We picked up a dog toy for the kids when we were at Super One Foods the other day. The stuffed animal lasted all of 1 hour before its innards were ripped out & spread across the lawn. When Bravo strutted back into the house, he was carrying the dead remains in his mouth like a prize. What disembodied creature was left appeared to be totally soaking wet, juiced. Just like the gophers they catch around here. Juiced.

On Sunday, we stayed around home & did yard work. Cut down a couple trees in the dog play yard; hubby trimmed up branches on other trees; fixed the watering system to adapt to the new plants; hubby replaced the fireplace glass; put up the birdhouse that fell down; placed new rocks in the pond & stream.

Water Lettuce, Lily Pads, Snails, Anarcharis, Water Hyacinth, Parrot Feathers, Mosquito Fish, Water Lilys. These are things that are recommended to be placed in ponds. I want to stop in Spoky-Jo on Wednesday to pick them up.

Forgoing a full circuit, I only biked 15 miles today - Monday. Whew! Hubby was talking to a biker with a "real bike" and he convinced the hubster that the only way to go is with a high-dollar professional bike. Much easier to ride, better shifting capabilities. Maybe I can work on him, too.

I think I got heatstroke after my ride-had an intense headache then tired. Biking later in the day most of the shade is gone. So will have to do it earlier from now on.

When hubby came home tonight, the swamp cooler quit working. Will have to buy a new one. What crap luck.

LB

It's a beautiful Saturday here so far. After all the rain, the area needs to dry out a little.

Biked 18 miles. Which is pretty good for not having biked in so long. It is great getting back into things. Passed lots of empty homes; homes for sale; abandoned homes. Pretty depressing. However, the camels are still there; the llamas and the alpacas; also saw the donquixotes! A farm that I pass on Weir Road has about 20 donkeys. They are so precious.

Am going to mow lawn now; maybe walk dogs later.

Angus is getting better. She actually ate, drank & had a piece of cheese this morning along with all the other dogs. She hasn't thrown up again. Just hope her tummy heals up well.

Trouble

There's nothing but trouble with so many dogs. Good trouble. In other words, there is never a dull minute.

Went to appointment in CDA on THURSDAY; stopped at Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics. Ate at Taco Bell in Post Falls. Also stopped for groceries at Super One in Rathdrum. They had sale on eggs. 48 cents-first one only.

Dark clouds in sky when we returned.

Greg worked in the shop til 10PM with Nick and Bud the dog. Bud is a fantastic dog. Very responsive to his owner; very intelligent. Nick said that he worked with him a lot & the dog is smarter than his Boxers. Bud is a Blue Heeler.

The dogs barked at deer again. We have daily Antler Animal visitors now. Hubby also said that a moose walked through the back of the property & that was what Bravo was barking at later. . .

FRIDAY – We took Angus down to Farragut Park for a walk before dropping her off for surgery. Instead of leaving on time, Greg was chafing to go, so we left early and had over an hour before the poor dog needed to be checked into the doctor. Picked up lattes at our regular joint. Dropped off garbage at dump. Took Angus to vet for her spaying at 8:05. The day was fantastic & the views were awesome at the park. I love living here. When it doesn't rain.

I ran into town at 9:30; waited until 11:00 to get my nails done as they were already backed up; Finished at 12:00 - then picked up bacon cheeseburgers for the dogs at Wendys.

Greg worked in the shop all day. Picked Angus up at 3PM; she had already thrown up once after surgery. She threw up two more times at home. Very listless.

I mowed the dog area; put vinegar on all my weeds to kill them (I'm going green-see http://www.vinegartips.com/) and got Angus' info stored on the internet for her Microchip. Then had to wash everything she had thrown up on. All of the dogs are now legal with rabies vaccination, shots, County tags, spaying/neutering & microchipping! Yippee!

Got the AKC & CKC paperwork for the dogs in the mail today- all properly named & filed.

Around 9:15PM our deer friend came ambling by - Bravo was barking at it the entire time. We watched as he was walking like he was severely depressed-all by himself. I told the hubby that when I returned from getting my nails done in town this morning, I had driven past the remains of a very bloody deer crash about 2 miles from our home. Not thinking that it was OUR deer, but it must have been. How very sad.

Diablo

On Tuesday, after cleaning up poop & watering all the plants, I took the dogs for walks. They really enjoy the separate time that I spend with each one. We don't go far, but it really gets them out for exercise. Bravo will really like it when his new daddy takes him running. A boy bonding thing.

It rained later. And rained. Dark clouds. Yuck. Hubby came home after stopping for laundry detergent and a watermelon at the Spirit Lake grocery. He then worked in the shop until 9:30PM.

The Schipperke is called the "little black devil for his rascally antics". Bravo decided that he was going to bark this early Wednesday morning. And bark. And bark. Then for a change of pace, he barked some more. There were deer ambling through the yard and Bravo was "brave" enough to bark at them!

All the gang decided to go nuts when the UPS delivery driver came to the door. Harriet ran sliding into the hallway & almost wiped out. . . Bravo was barking at the top of his lungs.

Then somebody else knocked at the door, looking for hubby. This guy wanted auto parts - I keep telling the hubster to TELL everybody to come at night when he is home. But people don't listen.

This deer was almost at arm's length from me. They are getting very daring & brave. Even with all the noisy dog barking the animal stopped to look at me.

After hubby was done working in the shop, we drove down to Farragut Park with Harriet to walk around the Willow Day Use area. She had lots of fun chasing marmots. We saw several deer on the way home.

It rained tonight starting around 10PM; Isabelle ran downstairs to the extra bedroom to hide.

'Lil Bit

Bravo has been a lot more loving lately. Also clingy. He sits on the couch, watching out the window. I believe that he is watching for his mommy to return home. Sensing something in the air, he ascertains that maybe life will be changing for him soon. He oftens sits on the edge of the deck, just surveying the scenery. Maybe he is saying "goodbye" to everything here.

Angus is growing by leaps & bounds. Seeming to double in size each month. She is now the size of Isabelle. Just not as heavy.

On Sunday, Father's Day - I got a chance to call my dad & talk for a while in the afternoon. Greg also called his dad & talked for a long time. Hubby had already gotten a Father's day card in the mail from the kids previously in the week -and I gave him my card today. His gift had been the Package that we picked up at the Airport on Friday so he wasn't getting anything else!

We planted lilacs (president poincare) at the front of the house, hung up the suet for the birds, planted more plants (juniper/chamaecyparis pisifera) in the rock garden at the side of the house. Hubby also fixed the dog fence that Harriet had gotten through!

Hubby took a LONG nap from 4-7PM with all the dogs surrounding him. He seemed quite happy.

Went to bed late after taking all the puppies for a walk in the pouring rain. It had started getting cold & rainy late in the afternoon.

*Ironman was in CDA today*

I was up at 4AM on Monday morning to let the dogs out, then briefly went back to bed. Hubby got lattes for us, then went off to work. Debbie has finally returned to our old regular Latte stand and has it open after 5 months of renovation. The drinks are even better than ever!

The kids called and I talked to them for some time. They apologized for not being able to call on Father's Day, but said that our phone line was busy. There are only 8 more days before they return to the US.

Play with the dogs was somewhat difficult as it RAINED all day. It was bitterly cold, too. Hubby came home & nodded off to sleep on the couch again. He said he wasn't feeling too well. Didn't have the ambition to go to work in his shop.

Both of us went to bed with intense stomach pains-maybe food poisoning?

The Package

We left home early in order to pick up lattes on Friday morning; then drove over to Spoky-Jo. The Shea kids (Trace & Taylor) were here early in the A.M. to start mowing the rough area between our property line & the road. Highway road crews do not mow around here, so it falls upon the homeowner to take care of the "no-man's land" between. It makes it better by eliminating potential mosquitoe & bug breeding ground.

Took Harriet with us to acclimatise her to riding in the truck by herself. She was not too happy about the whole situation. Upon realizing that we were over 1 hour early, hubby stopped at Brown Bearing for parts on the way; then we drove out to the Wally-World in Airway Heights. Picked up some groceries & then proceeded to drive over the airport.

*Please note that this is the first time in over a MONTH that we went to Wally-World. Contrary to other peoples' belief that we go there ALL the time!*

The flight was to have arrived at 10:26 and was on time. We parked on the fourth level of the parking ramp. Both of us were apprehensive about the ramp "pancaking" down on us, LOL -so we hustled to the elevator quickly. Talked to a nice father with his kids picking up their mother at the airport as we walked over the pedestrian bridge. Unable to find the NW Airlines cargo receiving, we asked an 80 year old customer service agent at the info desk who didn't seem to know where anything was located. So we meandered (fighting the crowds along the way) to the NW Check-In desk and talked to a young girl that knew even less than the Info Desk attendant. We were told that NW shares a cargo receiving area with SW, we went back to the luggage area; only to be told that we needed to be OUTSIDE the airport area, near the UPS depot.

When we finally got back in the truck, paid the parking fare, and exited the ramp - we found the correct area where the package would be unloaded.

The nice young man at the desk said that NW always unloads slowly. So we began to wait. And wait. And wait. Talked to a mother & her teenage daughter for over an hour as they were waiting for a package, also. Finally getting our package safely delivered, we drove back home thru Spoky-Jo again.

Stopped at Starbucks to get more lattes, then a quick stop at Harbor Freight for hubby to return some broken tools, we forgo the opportunity to pick up burritos at TacoDelMar. The last burritos we purchased there were not the Mondo size we have been accustomed to receiving. They kept the price; but decreased the size of the offered burrito. Sad.

After a major rain storm - (is that ALL it does here anymore? where is summer?) we got home and unloaded all the groceries; then played with the dogs for a while.

Hubby went to the shop to work for a while. Chachi came over to work at the shop for a while, then Joanie showed up after her shopping adventure.

Went to bed late.

Slept in late on Saturday morning - sun was shining but the dark clouds are on the way. The Shea kids came to pick up the lawnmower - then hubby went down to work in the shop. Bruce L(hubby's bro) called early in the morning to chat. Isabelle dug up a 3x3 trench in order to get a gopher!

NOTE-When we were at the airport, waiting at the baggage claim area, a young man picked up his small duffel bag and SMELLED IT. Hubby and I looked at each other at the same time and just started laughing out loud. That's the FIRST thing I always do when I claim my luggage is to SMELL IT! -Not. Gross!

Countdown

We keep hyping Baby B; telling him that Mommy&Daddy are coming home soon. That he will be able to see Mommy again - and meet his new Daddy.

Bravo has an appointment on July 1 at the Doggie Beauty Parlor for "THE WORKS" so he will be especially handsome to greet his parents. Maybe a red bow in his hair? Maybe not.

After hubby came home on WEDNESDAY afternoon, we ran up to Sandpoint to pick up our riding lawnmower. When Greg unloaded it from the trailer, he took off mowing for a while. However, the black skies moved in, and the heavens let loose. He drove the mower up to the garage & yelled for me to open the door. After putting said mower away, he ran inside, drenched to the bone and rested on the couch for the balance of the night - unable to work as it was raining & lightning so hard!

This early THURSDAY morning, Angus & I went for a walk. She was panting & hot by the end of it, but she did make almost 2 miles. I was very proud of her. Angus - the Saint Bernard - ("she's going to be a big dog") does VERY well on the leash by herself (without the other dogs).

Got the Anxiety & Stress tablets for Harriet - the Boxer. Found a calming collar for canines that releases pheromones - it is reputed to work by many customers. Also contacted our vet and he recommended it. She tried to bite hubby the other day - Harriet is getting worse. We can't take her out in public as she is so nervous. If she is on the leash, alone with us - then she is OK. But if we introduce anybody or anything else to her, she goes spastic.

When visitors come by the house, she goes nuclear and almost foams at the mouth. It is horrible. She didn't used to react this way only 2 months ago.

I got the new bird feeders installed, watered some plants, picked up doggie-poo, vacuumed the truck (again), and made blueberry muffins for hubby. Altogether, a good day.

Hubby had to pick up the kid and his mowing equipment. The kid is going to be mowing all our extraneous area beyond the house & shop. So it won't look so shaggy. With all the rain, it appears that we are living in the Northwest Rainforest!

Humpty Dumpty

Took a great fall yesterday. After climbing up on my 2 foot step ladder TUESDAY afternoon, I attempted to nail up the patriotic stars to the garage. But while looking up at the robin's nest to make sure that I would not disturb it, I lost my balance (due to dizziness from my BPPV) and fell. Kaboom! Hit my left elbow & hand; the step ladder glanced off my right armpit. Also landed quite heavily on my left knee. So I am out of commission-sitting there dazzed-and unable to get up. All the while, the driveway rocks are cutting into my legs. Owie.

I was resting when Greg came home later that afternoon, conked out on the chair with drool falling off my lower lip & then passed out for about 4 hours. Embarrassed when I got up - to have slept so long; the dogs' barking awoke me.

Hubby came home early to make sure the guys were still insulating at the shop. What was only supposed to be a ONE day job has now turned into FIVE days of torture. It was to be started Friday morning & completed Friday night. They were to bring their own man-lift to install the insulation in the ceiling. Hubby was forced to take 1/2 of the day Friday trying to rent a man-lift for them as they did not bring one. It finally arrived on Monday; but instead of the 4 guys that were working Friday, there were only 2. And I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how many smoke breaks, and breaks, and lunches and standing around bull-shitting was done. So hubby blew his lid to the guy that had hired these bozos-because it was all supposed to be a trade for getting this guy's truck done.

We will have to wait until Tim returns for the sheeting to be installed over the insulation. And maybe my FAVORITE SON IN THE WHOLE WORLD will help his father tidy up & organize his shop along with the surrounding area. As there has not been enough time to do it. Now, Greg will have to work extra hard to catch up on his schedule in the shop. Poor guy. He has wasted enough vacation time already on something that was supposed to fall into place!

When I woke up today - WEDNESDAY, I was hurting all over. Poor me. Did a little gardening, dog pooh pick up, and laundry. Then a little quick vacuuming. Angus really sheds.

In good news to report, my Hens & Chicks are spreading like crazy; the Tulips have already bloomed & gone; there are flowers on my crawling red plants (don't know what they are) and the Delphinium, Sweet Peas, and Larkspur are growing like mad!

Have to be at the airport on Friday to pick up a package that is coming in for us.

What I Did On My Spring Vacation

Burrito Day

This morning, Sunday dawned rainy & humid just like Saturday morning. Forecasters predict rain through Wednesday. Got some honey-dos done. Planted new plants; fixed watering system; relocated hammock; repaired dog agility equipment; made more burritos. Got watermelon & more eggs at Spirit Lake grocery store; made deposit at bank.

Saturday was entirely boring. Played with the dogs; cleaned out the refrigerator.

Landscape Dave came by in the AM after hubby was done with his Chiropractor appt. I had forgotten to lock the dog gate & all of the puppies got out of the backyard. Harriet menaced Dave until we got her locked back up. I really need to get this dog on doggie-downers. Found some herbal calming pills for dogs that might help. If not, we will have to talk to the vet to find something else as she is too hyper. Maybe that is why she is not putting on weight.

When I took Harriet & Bravo to the vet on Friday at 4PM, they pulled the old switcheroo on me by giving me a substitute VET. I have repeatedly told them I would only see Dr. Mike. But his new office staff obviously cannot read or print out a chart correctly. I should have just refused to see this doctor; Bravo was in a high state of agitation right after we entered the office which they explained was brought about by a previous dog letting off alpha pheremones. Bravo must have picked up on it and was NOT happy to be poked or pried over by these two strangers! Grrrr. There is no reason to upset a dog with a mere vet visit. Their diagnosis was that Bravo has pimples on his belly. He is supposed to be washed with plain soap; kept dry (drier) during the summer; and watch his belly. The boy's got ZITS! Gross.

I never even bothered to take Harriet in to see the faux vet as I want her to visit with Dr. Mike and she would have been even MORE upset than B-Bo. Harriet is so high-strung. Poor dogs.

Schipperkes

It has finally hit home that we will be losing Bravo to the kids when they return. With only 2-3 weeks left before they arrive, the grieving already begins.

I don't know what our household will be like without the little "cheerleader". He prompts all the other dogs in the household to start playing, running, & having fun.

Bravo always seems to be smiling. Always in a good mood. Except when he's tired; just like his mommy, he gets grumpy when he is tired.

Waiting for grandpa to go upstairs to go to sleep.

Burrowing under our bed at night; and early in the morning - waking grandpa up by licking his hand, then running over to grandma's side of the bed, waiting for her to "pat" the bed - thereby giving him permission to JUMP onto the bed and sleep a little while longer with his best friend Harriet on top of the bed. He rolls over on his back while grandpa & grandma rub his belly. Half awake and half asleep we rest until it is time to get up.

Waiting for grandma to come downstairs in the morning - usually "herding" me by bumping his nose into my legs!

Things to Remember About Bravo - His funny butt when he has to go poop. His nudging my leg in the library while I'm at the computer. His "tattling" on the other dogs. His bringing my attention to when Isabelle is waiting at the door. His little nails tap-tapping on the wood floor. Growling when I try to kiss him. His food aggression "issues". Chasing his tail. His head (and sometimes his whole body) out the window of the truck while his ears blow back in the wind. Squeaking when somebody accidentally steps on him. Rubbing his belly. Jumping. Jumping while waiting at the door. Jumping while waiting for food. Sitting beside grandpa at night on the couch. Running with us while we go biking. Almost tipping the canoe when he was bounding from side-to-side! Walking beside me all day long. Sitting near me & jumping up if I make a move. Laying down near me while I work out on my elliptical. His single white hair on the top of his back. His brown nose after he has been digging in the dirt. Banging the door open, then coming into the bathroom while I'm taking a bath & kissing me. His love of baths. His eating string. Pulling poop that was dangling out of butt. Baby bird.

Turbo; Mr. B; Bravo; Little B; B-Meister; B-Monster; B-Lizard; Bee-Po; Beebo; Blippo; Bippo; Bingo; Baby B; Weasel; Termite; Big B; Butt-nugget.

Never has a dog had so many names!

Our love for the liveliness of the Schipperke breed has led us on a search for a duplicate. There will never be another 'B', but maybe we can have a little black devil or our own. So on THURSDAY we made a trip of 4 hours each way to Wenatchee, WA to follow up on adopting a rescue Schipperke at the Humane Society. But alas, this poor little guy had no enthusiasm. If he had shown any of the typical Schipperke attitude, we would have snapped him up in a second! But he was too mellow for our tastes. We already have a mellow dog. Her name is Isabelle. She barely stays awake during the day - she is SO mellow.

We need another cheerleader.

It almost broke our hearts to leave him (and his friend Sissy) but it is a no-kill shelter and he will find a good home sooner or later. I told hubby that we can't adopt ALL the dogs in the world. Even though it would be nice.

Found a quote on FLICKR.com
"I met my first Schipperke today - when I asked her owner what kind of dog she was, the woman wittily replied, "She's a cross between a pot-bellied pig and a fruit bat."

Clean Machine

Hubby made amazing in-roads into cleaning his shop WEDNESDAY. I am just so darned proud of him! It looks like it might even be ready for the construction guys to come on Friday to insulate & sheetrock the building! Yippee. It even seems like Greg is getting excited about organizing. Maybe not. He is really in a lot of pain having to lift all the heavy stuff.

It also seems like most of the people that were going to help disappeared. Tim was too busy working on his own rig to assist, so hubby has to do it all by himself. ChaChi did come over today and gave a hand. Which was really nice. The kids hubby hired to do the wood stacking came over late, and I had already loaded 2 cords.

Picked up dog poop, watered plants, walked the dogs, and played ball with them.

Also got the dog hair vacuumed out of the truck. Again. Because hubby felt sorry for Isabelle and let her ride with us for coffee TUESDAY. it was cold & rainy today; so the dogs really couldn't get out to play much. Izzy also came with us to Spoky-Jo last night when hubby had to pick up car parts he bought on e-Bay from a guy. This guy he met is really into cars; they talked for about 20 minutes. Nice to meet a fellow enthusiast!

We picked up Wendy's cheeseburgers for the other puppies we left home. They were overly excited to see us when we returned.

Weights

Bravo 22.2
Harriet 47.7
Angus 53.3
Isabelle 130

These are how much the dogs weigh right now.

I had to call the Vet to find out because I had to order life vests for Harriet & Bravo. Angus will get her life vest if (and when) she ever comes out with us on the boat. Which is highly unlikely as she will probably be the biggest at 130-150 pounds; that is just too much weight to have to manage.

Angus Eats

We haven't found anything yet that Angus doesn't like to eat. Today it was cherry tomatoes. In the past it has been black cherries, watermelon, peas, beans, & raisins. In addition to the normal meat, potatoes, cheese & eggs which almost every carnivore enjoys.

Along with Harriet, Angus dug a HUGE pit in the back yard. It is enormous and deep. She could barely bring her tired little self inside to plop down on the bean bag bed for a long nap.

I think she can out-eat Bravo.

Today-MONDAY-we got my nails done; then picked up dog food & misc at Costco; exchanged my Swiffer at Wally-World.

Hubby worked on cleaning the shop when he got home. It rained today. Was very cold outside 46F degrees in the morning, rising to a 64F degrees by afternoon.

I tidied up the house again as the dogs brought in dirt & mud from outside. Bad puppies.

Also put away the dog food trial samples that I had ordered which came in the USPS today. Was so excited to see it all - even special doggie treats for joint paint & fresh breath.

Went for a dog run/bicycle with "B" later.

I'm Tired

After getting lattes early this morning, we came back home so that hubby could fix the glass in the fireplace while I cleaned the house from top to bottom. Even moved the refrigerator; washed Bravo & Isabelle. Isabelle really needed it as she was quite dusty.

The dogs enjoyed pig ears & bones in the backyard as I locked them out there while cleaning.

Adjusted Kelsey's old bike so that I could ride it this coming week; then took the canoe up to Cocolalla Lake to boat. The weather was turning dark - clouds in the sky seemed to harken rain; the temperature dropped down to 66F degrees.

So we went out on the edge of the lake a while; looked at some property "for sale" on the lake. Saw a few feral cats which were camped out at an abandoned home, a few fish jumping out of the water, & another Osprey.

Came home to the dogs howling at us because we left. They were very upset.

The hubby complimented me as the house is so very clean - smells clean! I told him that I am calling carpet & window cleaners for this coming week. Then it will be done! Truck Cleaned! House Cleaned! What Next? I told him THE SHOP Cleaned!

Hubster is taking this coming week off to actually get the shop cleaned & organized. He is arranging all his parts on pallets in the storage building; taking EVERYTHING out of the shop & cleaning the building top to bottom! Then he has a crew that is coming to insulate the upper half & install sheetrock & paint it white! It will be great. He will FINALLY be organized.

Also there will be vehicles hauled out of here all week. I can't wait. It will fabulous. No more living in a junk-yard.

Tonight Greg grilled brats. Yum.

Bravo BARKS

Bravo has a very piercing bark. And when he starts barking, the whole neighborhood begins the howling, too!

This is what he was raising a fuss about on THURSDAY, June 4 around 4:00PM. A mother deer along with two little ones walked through the back of our property. . . very near the dog fence! It seemed they had no fear at all as they paused to look at me while I snapped pics of them. We will have to put out another salt lick.

In the afternoon, we took the canoe out to Upper Twin Lakes. Paid $20 annual fee before we docked the boat, then posted the payment receipt in the window. There was even a Kootenai County Lakes & Recreation officer who watched us.

When we returned from our 1 hour trip around the lake, we found that a ticket had been placed on the truck. In talking with a couple other gentlemen, they indicated that this officer had also ticketed somebody in the same manner. Payment inserted in the box, and receipt prominently displayed on the dash as instructed. So we made a little note on the fine stating that we would not pay this fine, and that we had already submitted our annual fee. The officer should have looked in the box to verify that payments were received before issuing any tickets. Are some people just plain STUPID to see the obvious?

Other than that, it was a nice relaxing day on the lake; the ticket didn't really upset us that much; and Bravo had quite a fun swim (after sinking like a bowling ball to the bottom before he popped back up like a cork).

After a brief time at work on Friday morning, hubby took me to Sandpoint to enjoy the day. Very warm, but not hot. We stopped at Wally-World; they have almost gotten the whole thing redesigned. . . and then over to wash Isabelle's comforter at the local laundry shoppe. Afterwards we dropped my bike off at the bike doc-Michael. He will have a new shifting mechanism installed by next Friday. Might have to ride Kelsey's old bike that she left here until mine is finished.

We drove to Dover and docked the canoe on the Pend Oreille River. Very calm. Canoed for about an hour. Saw ducks; osprey; and a marmot. It is totally FREE to dock boats here.

Almost got killed on the way home as Greg narrowly missed rear-ending somebody because he was talking on the cell phone. I immediately secured his phone & forbade any more phone calls while I was riding with him!

Puppies were very glad to see us return home. No more riding in the truck for them as I got it totally cleaned out & detailed. I refuse to work that hard ever again - we are trying to find a topper for the truck.

Gone

Mr.Cheesers passed away sometime late Wednesday afternoon. Hubby & I had taken the canoe out to Lake Pend Oreille with Bravo, so we were gone when it happened. I will forever regret leaving her alone. No animal should be alone to die. She was OK early in the morning feed at 4:30AM and seemed to drink forever. I had gotten up with her to feed her. But by mid-morning, she was not eating and just wanted to sleep. Thinking that there was nothing the Vet could do for her, I decided not to call. Her outward appearance seemed good. She was not losing weight or dehydrating. I thought it was a growth-spurt where she needed lots of rest.

After we were done boating, we drove to an abandoned multi-millionaire dollar house. It seems it had become a part of the whole recession problem. A whole subdivision with all utilities & roads; built overlooking Farragut Park - and only 2 homes built. Both of which seemed abandoned. We walked through the huge home which only had burns & rodents living in it now. What a waste.

Put the baby kitten in a small box along with her favorite towel & her stuffed momma-cow that she slept upon; we buried her out with all the others animals that have deceased. A special area out by where we used to keep our daughter's trampoline.

This is so difficult to understand. We BOTH really thought that she would survive. Growing in leaps & bounds, she was gaining weight. Had perfectly good fur & normal color.

Hubby decided not to work in the shop last night as he was too upset.
I sometimes still hear MrCheesers crying or purring.

While we buried her, a couple kids (hubby is working on their truck) walked down from the shop. Harriet (and all the other dogs) were on the deck - barking at the kids as they got closer. THEN. . . Harriet jumped OFF the deck!

We were totally shocked. She landed on her head & shoulder. Checked her over to make sure she was OK. The dog is amazing. No injuries. What a jumper.

It is a beautiful morning on this THURSDAY. So decided to do my 15 mile bike ride - get the routine started again. However, half way into the ride I lost my shifting capability. Will have to have the bike doc in Sandpoint look at it. Maybe get new tires & new shifting mechanism. Darn. I was doing SO well.

Dead To The World

Took my meds MONDAY. And I was out of it for the rest of the day. Bad idea. Very bad idea. If I had not gone up to bed when I did, I would have passed out on the floor. I don't remember calling hubby to come home & take care of me, I don't remember talking to hubby for the rest of the night, I don't remember sleeping until 11pm, getting up, watching tv, then returning to bed for the rest of the night.

I still retain a lot of fuzziness even today. The drug has not found its way out of my body yet.

Mr. Cheesers still has not opened his eyes. I despair.

On TUESDAY, I just slobbed around feeling weak & lethargic. The drugs did NOT fix my vertigo.

Tim (our newest slave) came up to install the dog fence gate. He also installed the gates by the drive. Now he can install the Mule & the gate remote. Our work slave will be trading odd jobs around here for hubby to work on making his truck bigger & better.