HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me

TUESDAY
December 31 2013

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You. KRN woke me up at 7AM this morning to sing me happy birthday. How sweet.

I started hubby's latte & eggs for the dogs.

We watched Twilight Zone until 9:30 then took dogs for walk in park.

After the walk, we drove down to Bayview to feed the ducks (no geese today).

Then we drove home & changed clothes. Took Maggie & Isabelle with us to Rathdrum to get my nails done with Rhonda.

Hubby took me to Jitterz to get a latte before I got nails done.

Rhonda gave me Glittery Nails which are great for the New Year!

Glittery Nails from Rhonda

He ran around to drug store, NAPA to get lightbulbs to replace in Dodge Headlights. Got Pizza Hut pizza for dinner tonight. He got me 2 birthday cards, one from him and one from the dogs (purchased with their "allowance money".)


Got burgers at McDonalds for dogs.

We drove home at 2:30 and had pizza. Watched more Twilight Zone.

Maggie loves her pink toy

Fed burgers to the dogs.

Had birthday cake.

birthday cake with Victorian Lace cream cheese frosting & layered raspberry filling

Everybody decided to take a nap.

Watched more Twilight Zone. Went to bed at 10:30.

NEW YEAR'S EVE EVE

MONDAY
DECEMBER 30 2013

Got up later today, about 8:00. Made omelette for dogs & latte for hubby. He made his own egg sandwich this morning.

We took the dogs for a long walk in the park; downhill to the north towards the logging. Thru the woods. Dogs were really having fun with all the new smells on the logging trails. Difficult walking in the fresh snow because there was hidden ice below. Had to walk very carefully.

Then we went down to Bayview again to feed the ducks. Very hungry ducks & geese. They were going to follow us up to the truck!

hungry ducks & geese

Took dogs back home; changed clothes. Loaded Ben & Bud up with us to take them into town.

Filled Dodge with gasoline at Maverik Gas station.

Got a latte for me at Higher Ground Espresso; the girls there were very excited to see Ben!

We shopped at Franz Bread Store for cheap duck bread 5 loaves for $5.

Then we went to eat lunch at Olive Garden. Very good dinner. Hubby had Blue Moon beer and I had Sam Adams Winter Lager. I had the Tour of Italy and Hubby had Sausage & Peppers Rustica.

Shopped at Walmart. Ran into a girl with a cute Blue Heeler. Talked to her about dogs.

Then we went to Albertson's to get my cake & Cinnamon rolls.

Stopped at Baskin Robbins to get egg nog ice cream to go with my cake. Hubby got a very very strawberry ice cream cone. Ben licked up what was left. Went across the street to Wendy's to get dog burgers. It was raining in town.

On the way home, it started snowing on Government Way & really snowing hard by the time we got onto Hwy 95.

Got mail; unloaded groceries. Fed dogs. Turned up heat in house.

Post Christmas

SUNDAY
December 29 2013

Got up and made breakfast at 6:30; made latte for hubby.

Stopped at Lil Town Market to get bread.

Took the dogs for a LONG walk in the park. Nobody was around so we let Bud & Maggie & Isabelle go wild dog for a while. Then leashed Izzy up again so she would not tire herself.

Our old girl, Isabelle

Went down to Bayview again with lots of bread to feed the ducks & geese.

Came home & put away Xmas decor downstairs. Packed up all the presents into the truck. I put on makeup and changed clothes.

Took Lil Bit with us & left the rest of dogs at home. It started snowing when we left.

We left at 9:30; then had to stop in Rathdrum to get groceries & wine (after listening to a wine show on NPR).

Stopped to get drinks at Red White & Brew Espresso and talked to Kelsy.

Got to Matt & KRN's by 11:00. We exchanged presents, had snacks, ate Enchiladas for dinner, played games. We left at 7:30 and got home about 8:45.

FIRST DAY OF VACATION

SATURDAY
December 28 2013

Got up late and made breakfast & latte for hubby. Dogs got omelettes.

Loaded up dogs in Excursion and took them for a walk in Farragut Park.

Overcast today & cloudy.

Drove down to Bayview and fed the ducks.

LOTS of hungry ducks & geese

 Hubby feeding ducks & geese

Then drove to end of Dump Road to see all the new homes they have built!

Came home and took down all the Xmas decor.

Dark & depressing January, here we come!

Buddy wanted to try on his deer antlers one last time before they were put away.

Smile Buddy!

Hubby came home at 5:00 with mail. It is COLD outside. I closed all the blinds & drapes.

BACK TO WORK

THURSDAY
December 26, 2013

Hubby had to go back to work today. Depressing. No After-Christmas sales for us.

I got up and made him breakfast sandwich & latte. It was cold today. Difficult to get warm. I kept on all the heaters.

Found out from hubby via a text that his brother had sent him that my brother's wife died just before the holiday. Hubby's brother still lives back in our hometown and saw the Obit notice in the newspaper.

Did the dishes & laundry.

I uploaded Despicable Me soundtracks from movies for hubby. He likes the movies & music.

Ate some more of the yummy food.

Vacuumed and cleaned up.

Hubby got home at 5:30; then had to wrap coloring books for Tim's girls. He took the stuff down to the shop & spent 1.5 hours down there.

Hubby made ham & bean soup. He had the beans soaking in water since yesterday. The soup stinks up the house!

When he came home, we watched Dr Who.

Went to bed at 10:00.


FRIDAY
December 27, 2013

Got up and made breakfast sandwich & latte for hubby. He took some ham & bean soup to work today.

Cold today with fog. Only 19 degrees when we woke up.

Did laundry & dishes after he went to work.

I folded plastic bags after learning how to do it online. Cleaned up the bottom drawer pretty good. No more bag mess.

At 11:20, the dogs started barking. Saw a coyote outside in the front not too far from the house. Looking for food. This must be what Ben has been barking at for a while.

MERRY XMAS 2013

WEDNESDAY
CHRISTMAS 2013
December 25 2013

Ben BARKED all night long. At 11:30, I got up and shut the doggie door thinking that would solve the problem. Oh, no. He decided to bark & growl inside all night long. We got NO sleep.

Hubby got up at 5AM because he could not sleep, either. He set up the presents around the tree & sat down on the couch next to Bud. Bud got up and sniffed all the dog toys, then laid down beside hubby again. Smart dog.

At 7:30, I got up and made egg omelette for dogs. Egg sandwich & latte for hubby.

Unwrapped our presents.

 Presents

Izzy is a Present!

 Hubby got a Go Pro for King Of The Hammers

Dogs loved their toys.

Maggie with favorite Pink toy

Afterwards, hubby went out in the garage to get the bones that were in a cooler there. The dogs enjoyed the bones for the next 4 hours.

 Bones

Bit & Bone

Maggie & Bone

Hubby cracked King crab & Dungeness Crab yum. Gave pieces of baked ham to the dogs. Hubby cheaped out and got the inferior ham. Should have got the expensive ham that had almost no fat.

Crab

KRN & Matt "Facetimed" us on our cellphones.

Time for naps...

We watched Despicable Me 2 on tv; Totally missed the new Dr Who, but I had recorded it and we can watch it at a different time.

XMAS Eve 2013

TUESDAY
December 24 2013
Christmas Eve

Hubby was up at 5:30AM so that he could get into work early & get done early. Their supervisor said that as soon as they got their assigned jobs done, they could leave for the day.

 I refused to get up that early to make breakfast or latte. Hubby went down to shop to leave $ for Toothless. Then had to drive back to the house because he forgot his cellphone! The dogs got up and barked at him. Then I had to get up (I was so tired because I only got 1 hour of sleep last night. Up all night thinking about bad thoughts.)

Today, I did dishes, did laundry, cleaned dog bed, cleaned the fridge, fed fish & birds. Watered Xmas tree, vacuumed, cleaned dog food bowls, made bacon stuffing roll ups, put the ham & hamburger out to thaw.

The UPS drivers came and I gave them their final presents... another $10 each and candy bars that I had purchase from candy drive at the Dog Groomer's.

Then I wrapped hubby's presents while watching a Dr Who marathon and listening to Xmas music.

After that was done, I started wrapping KRN's & Matt's presents.

Xmas eve tree lighted

~Lil Bit looks festive~

Dog Toys for tomorrow!

Hubby was home by 3:30. He had also stopped at Costco for a shrimp ring & Albertsons to get crab & lobster.

After hubby got home, he helped me feed deer. It was VERY slippery outside. It has not gotten above 32 degrees all day, so everything is icy.

bacon stuffing roll-ups

We baked the bacon stuffing roll ups so we can do the ham tomorrow in the oven. Hubby cut up cheese & put out crackers he had purchased.

Hubby wrapped my presents while I was told to sit in the living room & not turn around.

We watched A Christmas Story. Went to bed. Santa will be here tonight!

Went to bed at 9:30 because hubby fell asleep on the couch.


MONDAY
December 23, 2013

Hubby went to work after I had made him a latte & breakfast sandwich.

It was cold today.

I did dishes & laundry. Vacuumed.

Re-arranged the cabinets for the spices & cleaned them out.

Ben watched me vacuum

spices are alphabetical

Cleaned the floors.

Hubby came home and went down to the shop for a while.

We watched tv for a while & went to bed.

CHRISTMAS AT THE BING

SATURDAY
December 21 2013

Only 4 days til Xmas! So excited. When I woke up at 8:00, hubby was sitting downstairs snoring on the couch. He had been up 4 times with Isabelle to go out to potty.

I made breakfast sandwich, latte & omelette for dogs.

We took dogs for walk in Farragut Park. Down the area that is reserved for Frisbee Golf. New snow showed us all the footprints from animals that had been down that way. Deer, coyote, and bunny.

Hubby dropped us off at home and went down to shop to get guys working.

Then he came back an hour later and we drove to Post Falls with Bud & Izzy. Delivered parts to be welded at Welding Shop. Gave presents to guys at CN Diesel. Hubby bought Boy Scout popcorn from a little kid that came to CN Diesel.

On the way home, we stopped for dog burgers at McDonalds. Picked up Pizza at Pizza Hut.

Hubby dropped me off at home and went down to work at shop until 4PM.

We are going to Christmas At The Bing tonight. Have to leave early because roads still covered in snow.

Hubby ran into CDA at 3:30; got back at 5:00 and changed clothes. We drove the Dodge over on Trent. Found parking near the Bing Crosby Theater. Only had to pay $5. Hubby tipped the attendant $5. Attendant was quite surprised.

Got popcorn & bottled water at the Bing. Sat upstairs in the balcony. We got there at 7:00 and concert started promptly at 7:30PM. Was very good concert. Singers with piano accompaniment.

View from the Bing Balcony

Left after concert was finished at 9:30. On the way home, we stopped at McDonalds in Rathdrum and got burgers for dogs.

Hubby said  he is tired of driving. This was the last of our Xmas 2013 celebrations.

Went to bed when we got home after feeding burgers to dogs.


SUNDAY
December 22, 2013

Got up late. Made breakfast sandwich & latte for hubby. Sat around until 10:00; then took dogs for walk in Farragut park. Back by the horse arena. Let Buddy run without a leash. He loved it. Then put Buddy on a leash after we saw deer across the field. Let Maggie run around without a leash. She has been limping for the past couple days. Must have strained her leg.

Drove down to the dock; saw 6 eagles in trees down by the water. They were beautiful.

Went to Spirit Lake to get groceries. Had to get a couple things for the Pasta Pie that I made.

Pasta Pie

Came home and hubby watched TV for a while. I made Peanut Brittle and the Pasta Pie. It smelled great in the house.

Hubby took the garbage out.

We watched Xmas movies most of the day. 

The Best Little Xmas Pageant Ever

FRIDAY
December 19

KRN woke us up this morning by texting. We had slept late until 7:30AM. Hubby was already downstairs sleeping on the couch with Bud next to him. Bud is SO soft, hubby says as I walk down the stairs.

I made breakfast & omelette. Fried up the sausage log & bacon for hubby's sandwich.

We took dogs for walk in park. It is cold out this morning 20F. So we waited until 9AM to go walk. We went on a different way in the horse area (some people tried parking beside us but fortunately saw us) There was an area to walk over a cliff & see garbage they had thrown there back in the 1950s. All of us walked down it. Hubby had on slippery boots so had to be very careful.

Then we drove to Bayview to feed about 6-7 ducks. They were VERY hungry. Walked to the end of the dock while the dogs waited in the Excursion.

Snowing.

Came back & unloaded dogs. Hubby had to take shop garbage to dump. He loaded it with Ben & Bud while I started baking Fruit Cake. He came to get me and we went to dump. Took along bones & knife gifts for Earl; Earl was not home. Leroy was gone, too.

Drove over to Chad's to give knife gift & bone to Angus. Angus was on the porch. She was sleeping with a kitty on a dog bed. She recognized us. Bounding over to us. Gave her the bone. She was happy. Left coloring books for kids.

Came home and I put Fruit Cake in oven. Hubby went to shop for a while.

KRN called and said they cannot get together with us for Xmas because Matt works Sunday.

I went down to shop to ask him to come home. He always works in the shop on his days off.

We put up L.E.D. lights outside. REALLY SNOWING HARD NOW. Got about 4 inches so far.

Got dressed & left by 6:00. I just wore jeans with my huge faux fur coat. I wanted to be comfortable. Since we were early arriving in Post Falls, we shopped for a few things at Super One. Hubby bought yogurt so he could snack on something. He was obsessed about getting water to drink.

We drove over to the JACC Center for the play The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever. We both pottied before going in, hubby got a drink of water in the lobby.

Seats were cheap plastic & uncomfortable. The play turned out to be acted very poorly by over 20 kids & a few adults. It was AWFUL. No music. Kids were screechy and could not act. It was similar to going to a elementary school play...but at least there you would be going because you had a child you knew in the play. This was agony. There was no music, the play was pointless, the acting horrendous. Many things could have been done differently. We were both outraged that they even CHARGED for this.

We left mid-way thru the play. I did not want to sit for it any longer. Quite a few other people left, also.

Stopped to get burgers for dogs at Wendy's. Then we drove home slowly in the snow. No snowplows had been out at all.

Watched a little tv, then went to bed.

Dog Baths & Xmas Shopping

Thurday
December 19 2013

Hubby had today as a vacation day from work. So we got up late and made breakfast.

Benjamin's foot problem is back, so he needs to be back on antibiotic pills again. He & Maggie also have eye infections which is causing a green gunk in their eyes. So I got out the Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ophthalmic Suspension for them. We put eyedrops in their eyes.

At 8:15, we got ready & drove into Athol. Dropped off payment for Victory Auto. I dropped off egg boxes at Robin's Hair Salon.

Then we kept driving into CDA to drop dogs off at Apryl's Dog Grooming. Maggie, Izzy, Bud & Ben were there to get baths. Ben jumped out of the room over the 1/2 door. We had to put him in the kennel. He ended up with a bleeding torn nail. 

Also left their round dog bed there so Izzy could sleep on something.

We left and drove with Lil Bit to get the Excursion washed over on Ramsey Car Wash. A couple cars tried cutting in front of us in line. 

After that, we went to Big Lots. Got some L.E.D. Xmas lights. Then we drove over to Costco to go shopping. Saw Little Joe there & hugged him. He helped hubby look at cameras for me while I wandered away. Lots of rude people at Costco today. Several people hit me with their carts. There was food being handed out as samples so hubby got some cheeses & ham. Yum.

Also got dog toys at Costco. We tried to find something "healthy" to get for our Vet's office for Xmas, but there was nothing there for a reasonable amount.

While hubby checked out alone, I went outside to walk Lil Bit until hubby came out.


Then we drove to Big R and got dog food, bird seed, and deer food. Walked Lil Bit in the big field for a while. He peed on everything.

We drove over to Fred Meyer's and shopped there. A nice girl named Katy helped me find lipgloss. We also found a vegetable platter with some candy to give to the Vets. That way everybody there can share. 

A Salvation Army guy was singing Xmas hymns in the entryway of the Fred Meyer.

Drove to the mall to do shopping at JoAnne's. They did not have the scrapbook paper I needed, so we decided to walk in the mall. Lots of stores closed or gone. Hubby ate Oriental food in the Food Court. 

oriental food for hubby's lunch

We had to go downtown CDA to get parts for hubby, then it was about 3:00 to pick up the dogs. Got the dogs loaded in the truck. I talked to Apryl and said Merry Xmas, sorry about the dogs. (Bud had torn our dog bed apart in the back room - separation anxiety). Gave her a big tip!

Maggie clean

Ben clean

 Bud clean & happy

Then we drove home. Unloaded groceries & Xmas goodies. Hubby had to run back into town with the Excursion & the trailer to pick up a vehicle that Toothless was supposed to work on tonight.

I got the chicken crockpot dog grog going again. Put away all the groceries. Started laundry. Filled dog food & dog water several times. 

Dogs are super clean & smell good.

Put more eye drops into Ben & Maggie's eyes.

Hubby came home and we watched Xmas movies on TV. White Christmas, Last Holiday, A Christmas Carol (vintage 1951), A Charlie Brown Christmas.

...My sister-in-law, Karen passed away today. Condolences to the family; husband Monte. Children Kathy, Heather, & Matt.

MANITOU LIGHTS

WEDNESDAY
December 18 2013

This is hubby's "Friday" his last day of the work week because he has Thurs & Fri for vacation.

I got up and made breakfast & latte for hubby. Dogs got their omelette & pills. Hubby took some dog grog chicken for lunch. He also took the bag of treats for CN Diesel.

After he was gone, I did dishes, did laundry, cleaned dog water, fed the fish. It was cold this morning. Only 29F degrees when we got up, so I turned up the heat.

Hubby rushed home after work by 4:30 and got changed. We headed over to Spokane to see the lights at Manitou Gardens with the kids. They were to meet us there.

On the way, KRN texted and said they had not brought the keys for the espresso stand. So we had to find a place on the South Hill that sold lattes for hubby. We ended up paying $5 for a 20 ounce drink. Hubby tipped the girl $10.

I had brought sausage roll-ups along with us. KRN ate those, she was hungry. She had not brought the vegetable soup she promised as she could not find anything to put it in.

Lots of people (several drunks & people reeking of cigarette smoke) were there. Several rude families that brought screeching nasty little kids. We are NOT going to Manitou next year.

Two cars with drivers that were too LAZY to even pull into the parking lot were blocking the driveway. Stupid people abound during the holidays.

We talked to the kids briefly in the parking lot, then left to go back home. We picked up burgers on the way home for the dogs. They were happy to see us again.

ColderToday

TUESDAY
december 17 2013

supposed to start snowing tonight & tomorrow? it is cold today. only 28 when we woke up.

hubby got up late. i made him breakfast & latte.

afterwards, i did dishes, did laundry, fed deer, fed fish.

dogs are tired from all the bone crack from last night.

today is my baking day...

and because we did not get groceries last night, i had to load up Maggie, Ben, Bud, & Lil Bit to go over & shop at Spirit Lake Miller's. Izzy did not come because i cannot lift her into the FMF.

nice checkout woman LeaAnne made conversation & then another customer behind me in line asked about dog bones. explained that we had mastiffs.

stopped to get mail at the box, but there was none there yet!

unloaded all the groceries when we got home.

i have already made:

Apple Brown Betty

Puppy Chow (aka Muddy Buddies)

No Bake Cookies

Peanut Brittle

Marshmallow Rice Krispy Treats

Peppermint Almond Bark

Sausage Cream Cheese Roll ups

 Puppy Chow

Sugar Candy Popcorn

 Sausage Cream Cheese Roll ups

in between baking, i walked all the dogs down to the mailbox to get mail. got a card from Don & Lucille and KRN & Matt.

ordered new forklift seat for hubby from ebay.

made dog grog in crockpot. chicken, chicken noodle stock, & stuffing.

when hubby came home, he had some of the dog grog that i had made in the crockpot. he thought it was delicious!

hubby put up the fucking deer. i put up the deer family in the yard. moved the yard stick light star to the end of the garage. too much white in the yard now. no color!

fucking deer

when we came back inside, we were both chilled. i took a hot bath, hubby cranked the heat.

then he helped me make Fudge. i need his strength for stirring. the mixture came out perfectly this time. it really was the inferior chocolate chips that was making it bad before. need to stick to nestle chocolate chips.

hubby made up bags to give to his friends at CN Diesel. The rest of the candy will be given to #3 at the shop.

gave dog grog to dogs.

went to bed at 11:00; i was exhausted.

CLARION BRASS at the KROC

monday
december 16 2013

had a horrible nightmare last night. we were in a strange house dusting out spiderwebs with sticks. maggie was sitting in front of a big web that had a snake in it. i woke up, frozen and could not move. took me several minutes to finally get up and go potty at 3:30am.

ben was in the bed when i got back, his little tail frantically thumping against the pillows.

i told him to "get down" and pointed.

when we got up in the morning, i made breakfast & latte. hubby went to work. the temp was already 35F. almost a heatwave.

however, i could not get warm all day. had all the heaters & the fireplace going and still not warm enough. caught a chill!

i was very, very tired. but i did dishes and put away laundry. vacuumed the house. cleaned off the bird seed from the deck. brought the snowman up on the deck so i could fix his lights.

there was a fly on the floor near the aloe vera plant, so i scooped it up and fed it to our bathroom spider. he attacked it right away. i wonder if we should get crickets at Petco to feed him?

made bacon. cut up salami we bought at super one the other night. made sausage/cream cheese roll ups.

made more sausage.

i need to wash my hair before the concert tonight at 7:30PM.

we will leave bones with the dogs tonight to give them something to do.

i got dressed. casual. jeans & sweater. hubby got home at 5:00 and came up the deck & knocked on the door. dogs did not even hear him. they were passed out sleeping.

hubby got changed and sat on the couch a while eating sausage cream cheese pinwheels for snack. then we left around 6:00. went into town (we were both exhausted so did not talk much) washed the truck at the car wash on ramsey. then parked and went into the Kroc. we sat around for 15 minutes. then walked over the concert hall.

we both had to go potty again. so used the restrooms before the concert.

music started right at 7:30. it was a good concert. brass band; french horns, tubs, trumpets, trombones, drums. there was a "Grinch" song and the tuba player came out in a Grinch outfit. that was cute. excellent renditions of traditional Xmas song with a brass sound twist. very good.

however, during intermission the elderly crowd decided to go outside & SMOKE. it was awful stink after they resumed the concert. hubby & i were both ready to vomit. hubby went out to get gum & came back with mints instead.

also after intermission, it seemed like someone had left a door open because i started to feel a cold breeze blowing under the seats. i put on my gloves and as i was just wearing a sweater instead of my warm winter coat, i started to get very cold. tried huddling closer to hubby but that did not make it better. i was freezing the 2nd half of the concert.

afterwards, we were both too tired to go grocery shopping so instead just went to Wendy's to get burgers for dogs & then drove home.

i fed dogs burgers, they were SO happy to see us again. found that Maggie had taken hubby's RMOR winter hat outside to cuddle with it? play with it?

hubby watched 30 rock and i went to bed.

GINGERBREAD & TRADITIONS OF CHRISTMAS

sunday 
december 15 2013

got up at 7:30 and made breakfast. it was very warm outside. 35 degrees! the fireplace did not even start up once last night. i had set it on 65 degrees and slept wonderfully!

prepared the dogs for their walk. put collars on them and loaded them in excursion. drove to farragut park and unloaded them at the horse arena. there were 5 deer that watched us as we unloaded dogs. they were not scared of us at all!

nice walk thru the woods where the park has cut down lots of trees for a wide path. nice smell of evergreen.

then we drove back home. unloaded dogs. changed clothes. took fudge, box for KRN's employees, along with us.

we stopped at Macy's. they did not have items i wanted. honey store was closed. hubby will get KRN honey tomorrow (monday). stopped at banks to deposit checks. stopped at dollar store to get coloring books. stopped at safeway to get gift cards & change for the jar.

drove over to spokane to park in the davenport parking ramp on level 4;

took picture of floor we parked on so we could remember!

hubby kept me waiting while he piddled around in the excursion. rearranging things, adjusting his pants, locking doors. i had to pee really bad. we finally got to the hotel and found the bathroom. lots of women standing in the way of the sinks.

we sat down & waited for kids to come. SO many people you could not even move. 

hubby sitting

saw an employee make a drink out of dirty water and unattended drinks bar. will complain to davenport about that.

 main floor of davenport

when kids came, they brought latte for hubby. then we went upstairs to see gingerbread houses. very disappointing. not very good quality and only 5 entries. we took pictures by the xmas tree. KRN was mad about pictures. said i made them blurry & ruined them (i am old and my hands shake. i take a lot of pictures, so ONE will come out...)

                                         me & hubby                                                           matt & krn


we left & matt had to go shopping while KRN rode with us to red lobstser. i had to pay for parking ticket when hubby came down from the ramp. had to use credit card for $3.26 payment. boo.

drove to red lobster and got to wait 15 minutes for table. matt finally joined us after a while. KRN was in bad mood.

everybody ordered food while i only had water & black coffee. hubby said later that food was the worse he had ever had. lobster was raw. not very busy at the restaurant, but not enough staff on duty. will have to complain about this, too.

we left with matt while KRN paid. had to give matt fudge (for his buddies at work) and the box for employees. then we left. drove quickly to CDA for the TRADITIONS OF CHRISTMAS special at the Kroc Center. we were only 15 minutes late. nice older lady seated us with a flashlight in the dark. show was absolutely fabulous! we also bought $10 in raffle tickets for a 50/50 raffle. we did not win. boo.

after the concert was over at 5PM, we went to wendy's for six burgers for the dogs. then to hardware store where we got dog toys & l.e.d. lights. then went to shop at Super One for dog bones. also got milk & egg nog.

saw a disgusting lady lick her fingers & stick her uncovered hand into the donut case. she licked her fingers & pulled out more donuts. her hand dragged across ALL the donuts. then she walked away. hubby and i were disgusted.

when we saw the lady later, she just walked out of the grocery store. she had no donuts in her hand, so we think she either ate them in the store, stole them in her purse or dropped the bag somewhere in the store. it was disgusting!

we came home, gave burgers to dogs. i made fudge. then hubby watched automotive shows.

i ordered a Fossil purse (Erin small top zip) for myself for Xmas (hubby said it was ok, so he can give it to me for Xmas) that i had seen at Macy's earlier today when we were there. it was $98 at Macy's. however, thru ebates & retailmenot & online Fossil discount, i got the purse; a heart shaped keychain, free shipping & tax which came to LESS than $98. why buy at the stores anymore???

Erin small top zip purse

FOGGY & WARM

saturday
december 14 2013

woke up to rain & fog this morning. i made breakfast & latte for hubby. made omelettes for dogs. maggie left a huge wet spot on the rug. she is losing control of her bladder; but otherwise in great shape!

hubby had told me about a deer getting hit near our driveway. we saw it as we drove to the park with the dogs. a dog was eating it. gross.

we had to take the dodge with all the dogs packed in the back because the excursion is still at the shop with the trailer attached.

stopped at the post office in town to get postcard stamps so we could mail our xmas cards. forgot to bring along the candies we got for the post office people.

walked the dogs in the new area of a campground. lots of animal footprints everywhere. very wet with fog & sporadic rain & snow.

i left some of our left-overs in the snow for animals to eat.

we drove home and hubby met a guy at the shop to pick up a truck.

i drove down to the house and got my purse. i drove to the post office to mail our postcards; but the inside was already closed at 11:04. could not leave our candies.

on the way home, i saw a mailman leaving mail in town. i pulled over and gave him the box, explaining that the post office was closed!

went home and did dishes & laundry. ordered some more xmas presents.

finally FRIDAY

FRIDAY
december 13 2013

It snowed last night. About an inch on the deck.

This has been an awfully long week. Hubby woke me up late and I had barely a few minutes to make breakfast & latte. He took in the treats that I made yesterday. The candy popcorn & puppy chow.

Isabelle had gone out to potty when hubby left. She was still outside when the bus came to pick up the kid across the street. She barked at the bus & cars when they stopped.

I napped on the couch until at least 9:30. Got up and did laundry & dishes.

Took the dogs for a walk in the woods & down to get the mail. The KEC guys were out working on the frontage.

I brought the dogs back home & then went out to fill the deer pans.



THURSDAY
december 12 2013

got up and made breakfast for hubby.

i slept on the couch until 9:30 again.

then got up and did dishes. vacuumed the floor. did the laundry.

made sugar candy popcorn. made puppy chow.

puppy chow

 sugar candy popcorn

cleaned up kitchen.

hubby came home at 8PM after doing Xmas shopping. he brought home a hot-n-ready pizza for the dogs. pepperoni & cheese.

watched grey's anatomy & went to bed.

CRUISE TO THE LIGHTS

wednesday
12.11.2013

hubby fell out of bed at 6:00 and went down to load parts onto the trailer. i stayed in bed until 6:30 and then got up to make breakfast & latte.

when hubby got back around 6:35, he sat down to watch tv until the eggs were done. dogs got their omelette and pills.

after he was gone, i did dishes & laundry. tried to decorate the pathetic looking xmas tree. yuck.

then i washed my hair. the ups men came again and i gave them the candy box. they thanked me again for the xmas $ gift.

i wore my new black & white sweater along with my black pants. put on new boots. but they were uncomfortable. nobody got dressed up. i should have just worn jeans.

hubby rushes home & got here by 5:00. he hurriedly put on a nice sweater and we took off. drove the back roads all the way down to the CDA resort. parked in the parking ramp. can't walk thru the hotel anymore to get to the docks. had to walk all the way around the hotel to get to our cruise. stupid parents & kids were coming up the dock ramp & not getting over for us. i let hubby walk in front so they would run into him.

we finally found the boat after an employee directed us. we boarded & found seats.

the "grinch" (in costume) waved us off as the boat maneuvered from the docks.

it was buffet style and it had not mentioned this online. we thought we would be served. then the seats were WAY too close together. no room to maneuver.

lights at the cda resort

 me & hubby on the cruise boat

we were last in line to get our food. everybody else just cut in front of us. we found coffee & tea finally. then hubby got us drinks from the bar. we got to talking to the nice 3 ladies next to us. they live in bayview! so we had lots in common. talked to the one about her vacation to germany in october.

lights were pretty, but at the "north pole" they were not turned on very long.

the boat seemed to grind gears & have a lot of turbulence out on the water. also, we were not shown where the life vests were stored. i finally found them after opening a cupboard under the coffee urns.

we got our dessert early so that we would not have to get up again. coconut/peppermint cake & pumpkin cake. i was not in the mood for cake. half way thru the meal, hubby got sick and could not eat. of course, the crew told us they had no doggy bags. finally hubby felt a little better and ate.

when we left, masses of people were getting off the children's light boats. so we had to fight thru the crowds. got to the parking ramp to our dodge & the dodge doors would not unlock with the key. i had to crawl thru the back and thru the window after hubby moved all his stupid tires & wheels he had stored back there!

we got burgers at wendy's for the dogs on the way home.

dogs were overly excited to see us when we got home!

watched tv & went to bed.

Nails

TUESDAY
December 10 2013

Hubby got up really early this morning. He got the trailer hooked up to the Excursion so that he could pick up parts after work.

He also took my FMF down to the shop to add air to the tire that seems to be slowly leaking.

I got up at 6:45 because Isabelle was whining so much. I let her out and then started breakfast.

Got hubby's sandwich & latte done. He came in and fed omelettes & pills to the dogs.

Hubby left at 7:00AM.

It was already warmer this morning. Almost 17 degrees! Hope our cold is gone for good now.

I got the breakfast stuff cleaned up. Then I took a 1 hour nap on the couch. Still not feeling well.

Got up at 10:00AM and got dressed, put on makeup. Cleaned out all the dog food bowls. Put away dishes.

Took Bud, Ben & Lil Bit with me to get my nails done at 12:45. I stopped to get a drink at Jitterz. Gave the barista a $13.00 tip. Told her "Happy Holidays". She started crying.

Then took the toasted marshmallow special to Rhonda to cheer her up for the holidays. Got my nails done in red & silver sparkle. Very pretty for the holidays.

red & silver sparkle

Got burgers at McDonalds for the dogs. Another car in line at the drive-thru remarked about Lil Bit being a Schipperke. She also complimented the other dogs. Then a few boys walking across the parking lot from school also noticed the dogs & smiled at them. Then drove home listening to Xmas music.

I need to work on getting Xmas postcards addressed tomorrow. Maybe make treats for hubby's work associates.

Gave burgers to the dogs when I got home.

Hubby came home late, around 6:30 because he had to stop to drop off parts in Post Falls. We watched TV for a while. Then he put up the tree. Tree trunk is too small and keeps falling over. 

ugly xmas tree

LIGHTLY SNOWING

MONDAY 
DECEMBER 9 2013

Hubby got up early then came back to bed. Lil Bit had jumped down during the night & was sleeping downstairs on the couch.

I persuaded Ben to get into bed & sleep between us around 4AM when I went to pee.

We got up early and I started breakfast.

It was snowing softly and had accumulated a little snow on the decks. 

After hubby left, I put up the Xmas garlands, decorated some more, and made a Xmas mailing list on Microsoft Word.

I did dishes & laundry. Vacuumed carpets.

Around 5PM, I started feeling really bad. Vomited several times. Sore throat. Exhausted. By the time hubby came home, I could barely move. Sat on the couch waiting for HIMYM which turned out be a re-run. Ugh. Then I went to bed. Hubby was up all night by himself. He brought me up a small glass of milk around 10:30, then came to bed. I was dry and my throat hurt.

Xmas Decorating

SUNDAY
December 8, 2013

Hubby was up with Isabelle last night. Ben jumped into bed with me & slept for a while around 4AM. Woke up at 8AM to get breakfast started. Made breakfast sandwich & latte for hubby.

Only 2 degrees. Too cold to go for dog walk.

Got dressed around 9AM. Some guy walked up the driveway and wanted to get into hubby's shop to get his tires & wheels. Hubby was really irritated to be bothered on a Sunday.

When hubby got back about 10 minutes later, I had Xmas music on Satellite TV and was starting to decorate. We went downstairs to basement and cleaned up back room. Then went thru all the Xmas decorations in the TOTES to get out what we needed to put out.

We hauled everything upstairs & started decorating.

Hubby started making dog grog. We made pea salad & boiled eggs. Hubby said he had no pickle relish & needed to get some.

While we were decorating, Lil Bit peed on the drapes by the door! Even though his doggy door was open! He was a bad dog! We had to wash the drapes.

I ordered Abercrombie sweaters. I uploaded Xmas music to iTunes.

Around 2:00, we got changed and went into town. Took Bud & Maggie with us. Ben was VERY MAD that he got left behind.

Listened to new Xmas music on the way into town.

We drove to Latte stand on Ramsey&Prairie to get lattes & Xmas tree. Hubby was upset that they charged $45 for a 5 foot tree! We looked at a 6 foot tree, but it was too expensive at $55. Said if we get a live tree ever again, that we have to go to Camden Ranch. The tree sales place had no burn barrel, no Xmas music playing, no free hot chocolate or cider. What a rip off!

Then we drove over to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get KRN a Xmas present.

After that, we went to Walgreens. I had to poo there. Bad tummy. Did not find 1/2 the stuff on my list. Hubby was mad that it cost so much for the stuff we did get!

We went over to Wal-Mart to get the rest of the stuff on our list.

Not enough checkout cashier's and the lines were BACKED UP! Hubby was upset again. We got in the 20 item or less aisle and a nice kid named Stuart checked us out. He was polite.

Then we drove home.

Hubby warmed up dog grog for dogs. We put away groceries from WalMart. Then collapsed on the couch. Watched stupid shows on tv, then went to bed. 9 degrees at 8:30. Brrr. Hubby got a chill and sat on the couch covered up with the heating blanket.

COLD SATURDAY

SATURDAY
December 7, 2013

It started out at 2 degrees this morning. I sincerely hope that everybody brings in their dogs & cats in this weather. There is NO WAY that animals would possible be content in outside weather.

Lil Bit was nice and comfortable between us all night. He makes it much warmer in our bed.

Hubby got up early and went downstairs to sit on the couch with Bud. Ben crawled into bed beside me. At 7AM, the Propane Delivery finally came. Noisy and all the dogs started barking at him.

Hubby came back up to bed with me for another 30 minutes, then we got up. I started breakfast. Made breakfast sandwich & latte for hubby. Omelette for dogs. Dogs got their pills.

Watched Blues Brothers movie with hubby. It is sincerely SAD to see all the people that have died since this movie came out. Depressing.

Hubby finally went down to the shop at 11:30. I had made him a grilled cheese sandwich to lunch on before he left. He took Bud with him to be shop dog today!

I downloaded a bunch of Xmas music online.

Talked to Deb on the phone and made appointments for the 4 Big Dogs to get groomed on the 19th.

I washed my hair and then decided that Lil Bit needed a bath.Washed him for about 18 minutes and really massaged him. Then dried him with a blow dryer for over an hour. He has a LOT of hair!

When I was done with Bit, hubby came home with Bud. I got dressed & hubby got changed. We loaded up Bud, Ben & Lil Bit to go with us in the Dodge to Post Falls to deliver parts. Then we went to CDA to the new gas station by the school to get gasoline for $2.88 and get lottery tickets.

Then we stopped at Wendy's for dog burgers. Hubby was hungry RIGHT NOW, and we had to get Taco Bell for him. We drove to the park in Hayden to eat. Then we drove around Hayden looking at Xmas lights.

Drove home. -10 degrees on the way home. Brrrrr.

Gave dog burgers to everybody at home. Maggie & Izzy were happy to see us home again. Maggie had eaten the bread that I left on the counter for the birds tomorrow on our dog walk.

Watched Graham Norton show. I blogged & went to bed.

Late & Cold

FRIDAY
December 6 2013

When we got up this morning, the temp was only 6 degrees. Brrrrr.

Hubby slept late. He was actually sleeping on top of his alarm clock and did not hear it ring. He woke up 30 minutes late. I had to hurry and got his breakfast sandwich & latte done in 15 minutes! A record time. Short order cook!

After he left, I did dishes and laundry. All the dogs took their mid-morning nap. Maggie was so relaxed that she let out an ENORMOUS FART! All the dogs heard it and looked at her. She looked at her butt! It was hilarious.

I made Grands Biscuits for hubby's dinner when he got home. He took a guy home to Spirit Lake after dropping off a truck. When he came home, the soup & biscuits were ready for him. Then I made him mini apple pies with the rest of the biscuits. Yum.

We watched A Fiddler's Holiday on Idaho Public Television. Listened to Christmas Music.

Snowing & Cold Cold Cold

THURSDAY
December 5, 2013

I had to get up at 3AM to clean up Ben's poo. He was whining and I did not make it downstairs in time to open the doggy door. All 3 boys went outside when I did open the door. Bud, Ben & Lil Bit.

When I got back into bed, I remember hearing a police siren & seeing lights reflected in our bedroom of a cruiser going by Hwy 54 at high speed. They picked up a felon that was being chased from Spirit Lake. He crashed the stolen SUV he was driving at the traffic circle at Farragut. School started 2 hours late because they were searching for him.

Got up and made latte along with breakfast sandwich for hubby at 6:30. Hubby forgot his drink and came back at 7:20 to get it.

I did dishes & laundry. Fed deer & squirrels & birds. It was VERY cold outside even tho it was 20 degrees. Light snow falling most of today.

Little heavier snow for about an hour around 3pm, then it quit snowing.

Still really cold.

Propane was supposed to be filled today, but they never came.

Hubby got home at 5:30 with groceries.

I made Oreo Cookies & Cream Bark for the guys at hubby's work. He can take it in tomorrow.

Oreo Cookies & Cream Bark

Hubby made stink Cheese & Broccoli soup that KRN had given him. It was frozen for over a year. Hope he doesn't get sick from it.

Then hubby went down to the shop to work until 10:00.

1 Degree

WEDNESDAY
December 4, 2013

Got up this morning and it was 1 degree! Brrr. Cold.

Hubby said that he called the new Propane people to come out. They should be here by Thursday. Hope we don't run out.

I forgot that we have to go get new gas cans for hubby at the Army/Navy Surplus store. Whoops. Holiday gift.

Started getting ready to go out around 3pm. Got dressed & put on makeup.

Hubby came home at 5:00 and went down to shop for a few minutes.

He came back and got dressed. We took the Dodge into town. Kids met us at the parking ramp with hot lattes from Red White & Brew. We drank the lattes before being seated in theater. We gathered around a table in the lobby of the Kroc Center. There was a big fire & a huge Xmas tree. We took pictures around the tree.

Then went into the Symphony Concert. Quite crowded. Lots of old people.

Creepy violin soloist chose BORING 25 minutes of song at beginning of show. I was very disappointed. I thought it was going to be ALL Xmas music. After brief intermission the 2nd half of show was Xmas music finally.

After show, we said goodbye to kids and drove home. Picked up Wendy's burgers on way home for the dogs.

At home, about 9:45 fed dogs. Watched tv and went to bed.

DARK & depressing

TUESDAY
DECEMBER 3

I was in pain from endometriosis from 2-5 this morning. Hot bath, lots of painkillers, and slept on the couch. Hubby started snoring at 3am until 5am. I just wanted to go up and smother him with a pillow! How is it possible that anybody can make THAT much noise and not wake themselves up?

Hubby left for work at 7am after shoveling off the deck. Ben crawled into bed with Lil Bit and me. We slept until 9:30.

I got up and cut up the rest of the fudge I had already made. Put it into bags.

Did laundry & dishes.

Ordered Xmas present for Matt online at Twigs. Buy $100 get $20 free.

The rest of the incorrect Xmas cards from Minted came today. If I had really ordered these, I would have had to send them back as they were printed incorrectly!!!

Fed the deer what we had left in the bin. Hubby is supposed to bring home deer food tonight.

Yet Another Depressing Day

MONDAY
December 2, 2013

Went back on my juice diet to make myself feel better. Too much food in the last week. Yuck.

I put away dishes. Did more laundry. Piled hubby's up on his chair so he can put them away.

I rested most of the day. Felt horrible. Sweaty & feverish.

It started snowing tonight around 8PM.

Watched HIMYM.

Went to bed at 10:30.

2ND THANKSGIVING

SUNDAY
DECEMBER 1 2013

In the middle of the night, I was crowded out of the bed because of hubby's snoring, Bit's hogging the bed and Ben rolling over on me. So I moved out to the living room to sleep on the couch.

Bud was out there and I slept near him. Then Maggie came out in the early morning and got on the couch with us. I pulled a blanket to cover up because I was freezing. Later, it became horribly warm as the heat kicked on.

Woke up on the couch. M&K let Bravo out of their room and he came to wake me up.

KRN started to yell at me as she came out of her room because I was not supposed to have taken the blanket off the couch. There was now dog hair on the couch. I told her that we would pay for the cleaning bill. She was upset & yelled at me.

While KRN took a shower, hubby and I went to get lattes. Stopped at McDonalds to get sausage biscuits for the dogs' breakfast so they could take their pills. At the RW&B Espresso stand we left a nice tip for the other Kelsi.

Then we drove to Walmart to get pumpkin pie & milk. Also got a few groceries.

Back to the kids' house. The dogs had missed us. KRN yelled at hubby because he had stopped to get sausage biscuits. She forced him to go outside to feed the dogs. Bravo had to stay inside and did NOT get a sausage biscuit.

KRN put the turkey in the oven. They all went outside to decorate with Xmas lights. I decided to stay inside with the dogs. It was cold, rainy, and windy.

Dinner was good. A very nice sage stuffing. Turkeys were good.

We played games after dinner.

Hubby and I left at 6:30. It was raining.

We had an argument on the way home about Xmas. I am depressed that I have to decorate, put up lights, make food, and buy presents all by myself. Hubby really dislikes Xmas. I have put up with this for over 30 years. It is getting depressing.

Got home around 7:15. It was raining really hard at home. The heat was off and the inside temperature was down to 65F. Brr. We turned all the heaters & fireplace on so it would warm up quickly.

Gave the dogs some more turkey. Went to bed after watching Walking Dead.

CDA Light Parade

FRIDAY
November 29, 2013

What a relaxing day. It started out great. Woke up at 8:00. Hubby was downstairs on the couch with Bud sleeping on his lap. Bud was "humming" his contentment.

I made latte for hubby. Made breakfast sandwich for hubby & omelette for puppies. Puppies had their pills. We watched a couple shows on tv. Then took dogs down to the park for a walk along the shoreline. Saw lots and lots and lots of dead Kokanee washed up. Gross.

Got gasoline in the Excursion.

Got gasoline in the Dodge.

 Ben, Bud, Izzy waiting in the truck while getting gasoline

Hubby wanted to light the new Bronco that he bought for me from Chris Howard. He called Jeff (Toothless) to come over and put on the inverter. It started snowing around Noon. Roads got really slippery.

I broke my fingernail on a Christmas tote in the basement while looking for Xmas lights.

Called Rhonda and she said that she could replace it by 2:45 appointment.

Hubby took me, Bud, Ben & Lil Bit in the Dodge to Rathdrum. We got duct tape & Xmas lights at the Hardware store. Then hubby took me to Salon 41 to get my nails done. Lady was just coming out as I went inside. Hubby drove over to Espresso stand to get us lattes. He gave one to Rhonda and gave one to me. Paid Rhonda $10 even tho she said she did not need $ for fixing my nail.

We left and drove home. Unloaded dogs & put Bud in the Excursion that was already sitting down at the shop with the trailer & Bronco loaded. Jeff (Toothless) was just finishing. We drove to CDA and met kids at the Frontier parking lot.

They jumped in the Excursion with us and we drove downtown to the Grocery Parking lot to meet everybody. Saw Joe & Cindy Holman (Megan was there - she is getting married on the 28th of Dec in Las Vegas). Saw Dave & Bonnie Graham. Saw Vince.

We got in Bronco and followed Joe Holman in parade. The inverter was overheating on Bronco and lights kept going out. We did most of parade with no lights. Bud sat up front with me and stuck his head out. Everybody liked it. Bravo was in the back with Matt & KRN.

 Fire Engine with Lights & deer

After the parade, we drove back to get Bronco loaded at the Grocery store. KRN and I went potty in the grocery store.

We drove to Olive Garden (KRN had the cellphone app pick a place to eat) and had dinner. KRN and I went to walk dogs while guys got a table. When we got inside, none of the hostesses seemed to know where the guys were... Chris was our waiter.

Then after dinner, we took kids to their truck and we went home.

Hubby fed turkey dog grog to the puppies. We watched 30 Rock re-run and went to bed.

TUR TUR KEY KEY DAY!

THURSDAY
THANKSGIVING
NOVEMBER 28 2013

Got up at 8AM today. Hubby was sleeping on the couch with Bud downstairs.

Hubby said Bud was "humming" while he slept.

I got the latte & egg sandwich started. Then gave the dogs their omelettes & pills.

We started the turkey & got it in the oven. Then got all the side dishes made.

I started to get drunk on Mimosas. But hubby bought stupid Vodka & champagne. Yuck.

So I started to drink HUCK.

Huck wine

Drunk on Huck in minutes...

We went for dog walk in Farragut Park. Walked along the beach. LOTS of dead fish on the beach.

We dropped off the turkey neck in the park so some coyote could have a nice meal.

Got newspaper for BLACK FRIDAY SALES at Athol Mini Market.

Drove home & turkey done! Had turkey dinner. Stuffed.

Turkey done

Dinner on table

 Thanksgiving pic

So drunk!

Sat on the couch and watched post - Macy's Day parade. Read the newspaper.

Ordered Red 2 and watched it.

Bed.