Cold with a Chance of Clouds

On Sunday 24 Jan we took the dogs for a walk by the river over on Dufort Road. There is an abandoned subdivision development that has complete paved roads. Isabelle ran wild while the rest of them were on leashes.

Cleared out another drawer for hubby on Monday 25 Jan as he has too many jammy pants; and he needs a separate drawer just for all the new socks he got at Christmas! There are also those god-awful red VZ shirts that he has to wear. They cannot be washed with anything else as they leak color.

Hubby took Tuesday 26 Jan as a day off so that we could get chores done. Registered the gooseneck trailer in PostFalls - then had lunch at a horrible little Italian place. Gross. Hubby's sandwich was served cold instead of hot. I had a terrible little salad. Took Bit & Bud with us - hubby spent most of the day on the cell phone with shop work. He then picked up a truck on the way home to work on it at the shop.

My teeth have been sore - I should get them pulled but don't want to face another weasly dentist. Cold weather has not helped as they ache out in the adverse conditions.

Today I washed Bit & Harriet in the kitchen sink. They smell much better now. I thought today was Friday; but it is Thursday. Lost a day someplace! Tomorrow Harriet has a follow up appointment with the Vet.

It must be a great feeling being a puppy that lives with me. Sitting with daddy & having "daddy talks" before he goes to work, early morning sleep-ins with mommy, out for potty, playtime, naps, then cookies, play outside in the sun, belly rubs, tug-of-wars with old socks, running wild in the house, more belly rubs, cuddling, naps by the fire, ear rubs, playing with the other puppies, more naps, long walks, greeting daddy when he comes home, going to the shop for "shop dog" time. What a fun life!

PS - The dogs also find the time to shred the toilet paper in the bathroom. Honest, I was only gone 10 minutes!

PSS - My Lancome order came today. I did not know that makeup could be this good. Will never use Merle Norman again.

Eating Less

The propane guy came yesterday to fill our tank. $500. Propane went up! OMG!

Puppies, hubby and I are going up to Sandpoint tonight to fetch some automotive parts, then maybe shop at WallyWorld.

I vacuumed the house today. Ugh.

Still putting together the things in our bedroom closets. What a chore. At least they are neat again. I can find my clothes, re-arranging my shoes & sorting through jewelry.

The less I eat the less I WANT to eat. It is getting very difficult to force myself to eat. Eating healthy means you don't want as much to eat. Which is better than wanting to eat ALL the time. :)

The Most Depressing Day Of The Year

As I sit here blogging today, my puppies surround me on the floor of the library. All six dogs are sleeping contently. Angus, Isabelle, Bud, Zeus, Bit & Harriet. What sweeties. It moves me to tears.

Took Bud into the vet at 3:15 to get his Microchip. Both the vet and I had totally forgotten that he was not chipped yet. And when he ran away with 'Lil Bit the other morning, I had thought to check & verify. So all the dogs are now officially chipped.

Today was brilliantly beautiful. The sun was shining and it was quite warm outside. Even though this morning started out foggy in A-town and there were black clouds to the west, it turned into a wonderful winter day. I can tolerate these winter days!

According to someplace on the net, this is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year! Go figure.

Wet Sunday

Slept in later this morning, both of us tired. I had taken a couple OTC sleeping pills and was out all night. Hubby said he was "tormented" by thoughts of having to go into work today. . . even though it was Sunday!

When we did get up at 9:00AM, we got lattes. Then walked all the puppies. After an initial confusion because Isabelle had to pee every 2 seconds and Bud snapped his leash in two, we finally got going. It was a nice day. Cloudy & dreary but still warm enough in the 40s to make the walk worthwhile.

Here is a very cute pic of Bud. NO, Bud is NOT a Pitbull. He is a Dogue de Bordeaux. A French Mastiff.

Then we dropped all the puppies (except 'Lil Bit) off at the house. Went to the furniture store to check on other metal beds. Hubby wasn't too happy. He is very frustrated at having to change beds again! Oh well.

Came home after hubby wanted to get ham for his bean soup. Hubby cooked for the rest of the afternoon making prep for this week's coming Burritos! After he was done in the kitchen, I got to clean up. Lucky me :(

He helped me organize the closets with all my shoes in boxes, and installed the shelf in the extra room.

Hubster sat on the couch with the laptop while I took a bath. Then we played with the puppies until bedtime.

Birthday Girls!

As we had forgotten Harriet's birthday in December, it was decided that lumping her birthday along with Angus' in January would be a great idea. On Friday night after dropping off a customer's automotive rear-end that hubby had worked on tonight we shopped at Super One Foods in Post Falls to pick up cupcakes. Then on to the $ Store for cheap dog toys. Rounding out our shopping, we picked up Wendy's cheeseburgers to feed the puppies.

Arriving home at 7:30, we sang "Happy Birthday" to the puppies, then gave them their treats. Hopefully, on Sunday we will be able to go on a long walk with them - but it has been raining extensively around here. Flooding across the roads & ice beneath. Tho it has been warm. In the mid 40s!

Next morning, Hubby and I managed to sleep until 7:00AM, but the puppies insisted we get up. Went to get lattes in A-town. It is very pleasant to just share mundane things with Greg. I appreciate the time we have together.

Bud and I visited daddy down at the shop on Saturday while 'Lil Bit escaped the house later & trotted down to the shop so that he could spend the balance of the afternoon with the "guys". When Bud was wandering around the shop, one of the guys - Earl - wanted to know if he was a Pitbull! I laughed and said NO! Bud does not have pitbull in him. He is a natural Dogue de Bordeaux or a French Mastiff. He is the friendliest dog you will ever encounter!

It is boring to eat healthy. Granted- some people have a flair for creating an appetizing meal, but I don't. I am stuck in the boring, same-old, stick-in-the-mud food. Chicken, tuna, eggs, salad, raisins, celery, carrots, walnuts, water. Bland. But I am determined to stick with it. My body really needs to cleanse. And I AM feeling better.

Am still slogging away at updating my iTunes. It is taking forever to get the Playlists back together! Also trying to rearrange the bedrooms upstairs. Not happy about the beds, we will go look at some things at Furniture store tomorrow. I also ordered a new bedspread for Isabelle's queen bed at Overstock.com

I Love A Rainy Night

Thursday - Sewed up some things on the sewing machine; Hubby came home at 6:00 and we had to drive to Spoky-Jo to drop off parts at the "old man's" shop. His name is actually Don and his wife is Lucille. They are a wonderful couple. We refer to Don as "the old man" because he is still doing machine work in his small garage at age 91!

Harriet was playing outside today and tore another toenail on the ice. I have scheduled an appointment at the vet for her to go into at 2:30 on Friday. Isabelle has been so upset with not being able to sleep in her own bed all day long that she has been refusing to drink enough or pee. Going outside just once a day to pee is not enough. I think we have another bladder infection on our hands. So Izzy is going into the doctor too.

Friday - It has been raining for a few days now. The snow has been melting & along with the rain, flooding is everywhere. However, the ground is still too frozen for the water to leech into. So our driveway is an ice pond.

I totally forgot that Bud has not been Micro-Chipped, so he goes into the Vet on Monday. Yesterday morning on the way out to the truck with Bud & Bit, both dogs decided to go out to the highway & run away. I panicked for a while, but found them when I saw some cars braking about a mile away towards the west. Driving the truck quickly over the icy driveway, and then out onto the road, I caught up with them. Came up behind them as they trotted down the road, honked at them, threw on my safety flashers & loaded them up into the truck. Bad puppies. Thank goodness they did not get hit. So from now on they are not to be trusted. It was 'Lil Bit that actually was the instigator. Don't really understand why he wanted to run out into the road.

Tweak went to live with the girls at the Latte Stand. They have been talking about getting a Schipperke for a while, and they fell in love with him when I brought him along. They have re-named him Waylon. Such a happy little, panting dude. He smiles all the time. Thank goodness he had a happy ending from away from the drug home! Chyna takes him into the latte stand with her and inbetween smiling at customers, he sleeps in the kennel she has in the corner for him!

While cruising the websites, on Yahoo Groups I found the Dog Rescue Railroad - a group of people that volunteer to Drive dogs to and fro. There was a group on there that was desperately seeking sweaters for Chihuahuas and Pits. So I will go through all my dog apparel & send them some.

Disappointed

Thursday - After waiting paitiently for the carpet installer to get over his "sickness", he finally scheduled to come on Thursday. However, I thought that the 8:00 appointment was still standing and he instead arrived at 11:00 - well - he SAID he was coming at 11:00. He showed up at 10:30 and I had to panic getting the dogs put away.

He had problems carrying the carpet up the circular staircase and should have hired an assistant to help knowing the layout of our home - he actually DROPPED one of the carpet rolls on our leather couch & then wanted me to help him carry it upstairs.

After he worked for quite a bit, he finally finished. I had to make an appointment at the Vet because when I checked on the dogs outside, I discovered that Bud had ripped a toenail off his right hind leg while playing on the ice. So I quickly inspected the carpet, but the installer had not brought his vacuum to finish cleaning up the carpet. There were tiny pieces EVERYWHERE. I was pissed. This guy was not very professional at all. Then at 3:30 I signed off on the paper indicating he had finished the work and hurried to take Bud to the Vet.

Bud was OK. The doctor had me leave him there so that he could put him under anesthesia to cut back his toenail. It had been bleeding profusely for quite a while. Poor dog. When I returned at 4:30 to pick him up, I took Isabelle along for a quick toenail trim for her, also!

I vacuumed for over 2 hours to get the carpet in a shape wherein we could bring the furniture back into the loft. When I discovered the DOUBLE cut seam - I was livid! The seam puckers horribly and instead of one cut, he did TWO cuts; a 3.5 foot piece directly in the middle of the loft. It looks horrible. All puckered. We will be complaining.

I am disappointed that we have yet to find anybody in North Idaho that can do a professional job on anything!

Friday - I kept on vacuuming to get all the pieces up. It was absolutely gross. All the carpet pieces & fluff & dust had fallen onto the main level. There is carpet dust in the air.

Hubby helped me set up the metal frames again. Our old bed frame was transferred into Isabelle's room while we unwrapped the new one to put into our room.

Saturday - Hubby worked at the shop. When he came home, he helped me move the bed frames into the rooms. Isabelle & Harriet still look ragged. They have not been getting any sleep at all because of the carpet install. No beds for them to sleep upon. Poor puppies. Hubby & I are exhausted. The room downstairs is quiet, but different. Difficult to get comfortable.

Sunday - We packed up the trailer & instead of trading our bed for the kids king, we decided to purchase a whole new queen bed for them. Nothing was open until 10AM, so we got lattes at Starbucks & then went to Furniture Row (Denver Mattress) to pick up their queen size bed that was fortunately on sale that weekend! Now the kids get a 10 year warranty & no dog smell on the bed!

We had taken Bud & Bit with us on the ride - at the furniture warehouse loading dock, they both jumped out of the truck. Bit was ready to go into the warehouse - barking all the while! Bud just wanted to get out for a while & walk around. I had already given them a real long walk to potty while we were waiting for the bed to be brought out!

Drove to the kids' house finally arrived at 12:00. Bravo was happy to see us. I had to pee badly. MN was studying at the table.

KN made us brunch after the guys had brought the beds in and made the exchange. Bit had a poop problem in their house & hubby walked him. I was very proud of myself for not eating the pancakes that KN made (even tho she used her griddle for the first time & they looked awesome!) I have not had bad stuff since the first of the year. Finally eating healthy. Even if it kills me! We finally left their house late. Went to Costco to pick up basics & gasoline. At Costco we saw not one, but Two girls that had gone shopping in pyjamas with their mother! Ugh. Even sleep slippers that were absolutely filthy! They were kinda slobby fat - these were not attractive girls. Hair was unwashed & one of them had blue tint in her black hair. Who goes out in the middle of 30 degree weather wearing clothes like that? Not even coats! These people kept following us all through the store; getting in our way. Almost ran me over as they were walking 3 abreast. Wouldn't even move! Stupid cows. Went over to Safeway for yogurt; hubby had to get oriental at the deli & we sat to eat it at the Starbucks tables. Also saw this family at Safeway, too. Fortunately hubby finished eating & we got out of there before we had to see (or smell) them again! Finally got home late at 6:15. Unpacked everything. Set the beds up.

M&K's bed is a regular King size while the stupid bed frame is a Calif King. So it doesn't fit. The box springs are not supported correctly and hubby is whining that they will break without the proper support. However, hubby already tossed the boxes so we cannot return it. The metal frame also looks stupid in our bedroom.

Isabelle is already happy with her new bed; she looks like a little princess on it when she gets up. I sure wish I could have ordered the same metal bed frame for our king size, but they discontinued it and that style can only be ordered in a queen.

We still need to find something unusual in side tables to live with. Hubby doesn't like what I like and I vetoed his suggestion of some sort of automotive part with a glass table on top of it!

Looked all day Monday on line to try to find a new metal bed - but there is not a lot out there. What can be ordered in a Queen size that I like is not available in King. Blah.

Sleep is OK on the new bed. The carpet is soft & thick on my toes; but Isabelle already vomitted on the carpet. Dumb dog. She is SUCH a barfer. And 'Lil Bit already got upstairs & pooped one morning. So we now have the dog gate up 24/7. I don't want them messing it up too soon.

Still Waiting

Here we are. . . still waiting for our carpet to be installed. I absolutely detest sleeping in the basement.

Adam finally called me at 8:40 and said that he would be out between 11:00 and 12:00. Whoop. Hope he doesn't manage to poop everywhere. When he rescheduled on Monday, I asked (politely) if he was OK, which got me a 15 minute rant of how he was constipated because he quit smoking. TMI~!

Even after getting the carpet installed, we still have to put everything stored in the basement back into the loft; purchase a new bed for Isabelle; exchange our queen size bed for the Kid's king size bed this weekend, put together the new bed frame, and then buy a king size memory foam at Costco this weekend! Too much to do!

Took Tweak *the newest Schipperke* into the Vet Wednesday. He weighs 10.6 pounds. Doesn't really feel that heavy! Got all his shots & dewormer. Scheduled him to get neutered, chipped, & baby teeth removed on Feb 2.

Hubby and I picked up groceries in Rathdump Wednesday night. Just a few necessities to get us through. Also got lots of fruit & vegetables to eat healthier this year. So far, I have not had any flour, sugar, or bad products. Even gave up caffeine!

This morning when we got up, we had received a text message from Tom DeLorbe that Tim Weber's mother Catherine had passed away. So sad.

Here is the pet portrait of Isabelle.

Samson's Portrait

Long, long ago. . . we had Rottweilers. Love them. Our original was Shadrach. She was a great dog. Dumb. But great. Once we moved to our acreage, she developed a penchant for hunting porcupine. Bad dog.

But after Shadrach there was Brutus, Ferdinand, Zeus, Puppy and Scout. The best of all the Rotties was Samson. To commemorate his life, I had an artist do a portrait of him from some very old pictures. This is what Samson looked like when he was in his prime.

Eventually, I would like to have Lindsay do portraits of all our dogs for the "dog wall."

Samson would bark at rocks. . . as he rolled them down the drive. He sat in the corner of the shop when he was bad. Samson made rocks into snow boulders. He rolled around his favorite bowling ball on the property. He leaned against your leg. He growled when you hugged him. He was all typical boy. He went to sleep at night on the loveseat in the basement with his favorite Christmas blankie. In the fall, he looked embarrassed when he would wake up in the mornings after sleeping all the night with the kittens & cats in the hay bales. We almost lost him once and paid $1200 for surgery to remove rocks from his stomach. He loved Shadrach. They had lots of puppies. We loved that damned dog so much. But our life was in such a discombobulation at the time we could not afford a fence. Not that we needed a fence. Samson stayed within our property, never straying out towards the road. Until the night 2 neighbor Dalmatians stole his steak we had fed him outside. He ran after them & accidentally ran into the road. We buried him at the corner of the house with his favorite Christmas blanket carefully wrapped around him. He had not suffered any outside injuries. He looked like he had fallen asleep. But it was probably a good way for him to go. He was already crippled with arthritis every morning and it was a struggle for him to get up every day. At least this way, he went romping & claiming his territory!

It took us a long time to be able to get another Rottie, and it just did not feel "right". One of them we tried for a while, then a friend of ours said they wanted a Rottweiler. We graciously gave the dog to them. Instead, we got Isabelle - our Mastiff. She has been the best dog ever since.

On Saturday, hubby went down to work at the shop while I continued to clean upstairs and played with the puppies. Also worked on updating my iTunes and putting away more Christmas decor. It is a never ending project.

Still not sleeping well in the basement. The bed is too uncomfortable and we are in a "strange" sleeping environment. Odd.

Sunday I slept until 8:30. After letting all the puppies out at 5AM. It was difficult to find a comfortable spot to fall back to sleep within. Made French Toast for hubby's breakfast, then we got bundled up (it was icy & cold out; but no rain!) to take the puppies out for their Sunday walk. They were all so excited. Stopped to pick up lattes - nice warmth on our throats! Once we got to the walking area, we determined that along with Bravo, 8 dogs was too many to walk. Plus, Tweak decided that he would "sit" down on the ground instead of walk!

Took the 2 black dogs, Harriet & Isabelle for a walk first. Then came back to get the 2 Saints & Bud for the second walk.

When we returned, the kids came to pick up Bravo. They related how their Anniversary weekend went at Silver Mountain Resort with the indoor WaterPark & Luxury Romance GetAway! Though with the rain they were unable to snowboard as they wanted.

After the kids left, hubby did some honey-dos. Then we decided that we were too tired to go into town & it could be put off until tomorrow.

Rested for the remainder of the day. I finished filing all my iTunes again. Just need to do the Playlists over again.

Happy Birthday To Me! Happy New Year

On Thursday, December 31, hubby awoke early and got me the traditional cupcake with candle. He also let the dogs out to potty, thereby waking me up and spoiling the surprise. But that was OK. I had to pee, anyway! LOL

#3 and Tim came over at noon to get everything moved out of the bedrooms in the loft, then tear up the carpet. It looks like a hurricane has hit our house as there is dust everywhere! They stored everything in the basement and a few leftover yard sale items in the garage. Total chaos. Had to keep the dogs out most of the day. At least it didn't rain or snow. Puppies were very tired when they came inside for the night! The guys finished at 3PM and I vacuumed/swept up the last of the mess on the loft floor. It looks very deserted up there now.

In the afternoon, hubby had flowers delivered to me for my birthday. So sweet.

Hubby texted me to be ready to go out to dinner with the KIDS for my birthday to Outback Steakhouse in the Valley. I took a quick shower & dressed. Hubster arrived home at the exact time I was ready. Since I had already started the truck and had it warmed up, we were ready to go!

Drove to Outback in the Spoky-Jo Valley. Everything went well. We gave the kids their portrait of Bravo that I had ordered for their Christmas present. It is just beautiful. The 3-D overall effect is astonishing!

Hubby's dinner steak came out raw, which grossed him out so much that he couldn't eat anymore. We felt slightly rushed because of the New Year's Eve crowd. The waiter did not have much time to spend with us at all.

The waiter did bring out a "Chocolate Thunder From Down Under" which sounds kinda disgusting. But the staff were kind enough to add a candle. I did forget now what I wished for my birthday wish. Hmmm. Do I get a do-over?

K asked if I wanted my birthday present now or later. To which I replied, "Now AND later!". However, everybody got so caught up in the moment that we forgot about it!

Made the "prisoner exchange" which was more of like a prisoner taking than exchange. Bravo jumped into the truck after a short potty run with mommy. We were babysitting B for the weekend as M was going to surprise K with an Anniversary special overnight!

On the way home, hubby decided we HAD to get Krispy Kreme donuts. Even though I vowed to eat better in the New Year, I did follow him in to the store while he picked them out. We had thought Bravo was A-OK in the truck alone as there was no lattes or coffee he could drink! But we had totally forgotten about the box of leftovers in the backseat. By the time we returned to the truck 5 minutes later, ALL the leftover filet mignon, bbq ribs & bread was gone! Bee-Bo growled at us if we touched him!

I was disappointed when we drove to Starbucks, and they had closed 5 minutes before we got there! They let their employees off early for the New Year's Eve.

Also stopped at Wendy's before they closed to pick up cheeseburgers for the dogs as Bravo had eaten all the leftovers we meant to feed to them. The young man at the drive-thru window could not accept tips, but did welcome a freshly warm Krispy Kreme donut instead!

Slushy roads were NOT a delight to drive home upon. I watched a couple Twilight Zone episodes. Stayed up past midnight. Then we retired to the basement. After half the night of tossing & turning we both realized we had not put down our 6 inch memory foam. Wondering why our backs & joints were hurting so much, at 5AM we stagged into the other room to root around looking for our memory foam. Finally got it on the bed and enjoyed a 2 hour nap.

New Year's Day Friday we sat around and rested. Hubby looked at car parts on eBay all day while I worked on my iTunes. Played with the dogs for a while. Mostly vegetated. Relaxed.

1 Day to New Year's

Tuesday night we took the Shaggy dogs to Elk, WA to meet Cheryl. She took foster management of them after that. It was very interesting to meet her.

Thru Wednesday, the last few days have been spent cleaning up the Christmas tree and getting things ready to move out of the loft bedrooms. I think I have enough stuff for another garage sale with the Kid this summer. Tim & #3 are coming tomorrow to move everything to the basement, tear out the carpet, & repair the flooring. Hubby & I will be sleeping in the basement for the next week or so.

Greg brought home another flu. So I was quarantined yesterday (in addition to having a flat tire on the truck which the hubby refuses to fix!) and I refuse to work anymore on iTunes. I am so very frustrated at doing that right now.

We watched 28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later on TV. Quite the unusual SyFy Flicks.

Got all the candies, cookies & holiday food out of the house. Yuck. I feel overfed.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Can't wait. :(

Shaggy Dogs

Because hubby had not worked in the shop on Saturday his usual day, he decided to spend a couple hours working there on Sunday to finish up a couple projects.

Temperatures on Saturday night dipped down to 11 degrees F. It was COLD! After getting lattes in the morning, hubby & I parted ways. He put on his Under Armor long underwear he had gotten for Christmas so that he could work in comfort down at the shop while at home I cleaned out the refrigerator, took care of the new shaggy dogs & started taking down Christmas items. It was depressing.

I sure hope that Cheryl, the rescue rep from Washington comes to take the puppies tomorrow because I feel so sorry for them. They are living out in the garage in a kennel when they really need to be around people. Hazel & Frank are very sweet, loving dogs. Love attention & petting. However. They stink of old barn. They have not been washed or combed in AGES! Poor dogs. Both of them are extensively overweight. Especially Hazel. It looks painful when she walks (waddles). A high protein diet is needed, along with some basic grooming.

Hubby came home at 3PM after putting up my new address sign on the mailbox. One of his honey-dos.

We shared dinner of turkey sandwiches & some play-time with all the dogs inside. Around 7PM, we took Hazel & Frank for a walk around the property. The dogs loved being outside!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Christmas Day-Opened presents, played games, snacked all day. It was very restful & relaxing.

M had to make a hurried trip to Base to reprimand a subordinate. He came back an hour later & took a nap with Isabelle on the couch!

On December 26, hubby puttered around putting things together. Installed our new fireplace blower. Then he worked down at the shop for about an hour, M went to lunch with his mother while K played with her new computer! I cleaned up the house & did dishes.

Later tonight, picked up two new additions to the Saint Bernard Rescue. Frank & Hazel will be staying in the kennel outside until Cheryl can pick them up on Monday. Both of the dogs are very sweet and love attention. Very shaggy, tho. They desperately need grooming. The dogs traveled via friendly transport by Maureen from Missoula, Montana.

Merry Christmas 2009

Picked up lattes & said Merry Christmas to JenBunny, then went to Rathdrum to pick up last-minute groceries and hubby's Tramadol prescription.

Came home to early presents around the tree that the kids had brought by and a wonderful vase full of Christmas flowers & deco. Also Starbucks lattes.

Hubby made a wonderful dog grog for the puppies. Including Bravo. His mommy & daddy had dropped him off before they left to spend Christmas Eve with M's parents.

Wrapped the kids' presents together; then hubby wrapped mine as I sequestered myself in the library on the computer; then I went upstairs to wrap hubby's presents.

Right now, all the dogs are napping. Hubby is also sleeping on the couch.

When M&K return late tonight, we will watch our annual traditional "Muppet's Christmas Carol" and then retire to wait for Santa to arrive!

Nails, Pedicures & Oil Changes

Monday morning found us stopping at the latte stand to discuss marketing with Chyna. Hubby gave her a lot of good ideas. She thanked me profusely for the Tannenbaum Basket that was delivered on Saturday.

We rushed home as I was supposed to pick the Kid up at 11:00 from the Post Falls Jeep dealer. While the service department worked on changing oil & inspecting her broken windshield, we went to get our nails done. Well, I got my nails done. The kid received "The Works" Pedicure. Trying to return some things to Target, we almost got plowed into by some maniac driver who gave us the finger. Honestly, people suck at driving during this time of year!

Decided not to attempt to enter the Target parking lot. It was overflowing with cars. Instead I took the Kid back to her car & went home.

Puppies were overjoyed to see me. Including Tweak. Tweak is the latest in the dog department. Got him on Saturday night. He does bark a little too much. But maybe he is just settling in. Happy little dog. Stymie (hubby's name for him) stank of meth the first night we picked him up. When I bathed him, he seemed overwhelmingly happy to be clean for the first time in the 5 months of his life.

On Tuesday in the early AM, it snowed about 3 inches. Had hubby take me to pick up the kid at Post Falls Jeep dealership for the 2nd time this week. She had her windshield replaced. It was going to take about 5 hours, so she would spend some time with us at home. However, after eating lunch at The Great Harvest Bread Company and stopping at Les Schwab to look for tires for the new MegaMatt it was time to drop me off while Hubby & the Kid went Christmas shopping for me!

Hubby got home at 8PM and we watched a few South Park Christmas specials before going to bed.

Decorating & Baking

Thursday & Friday were spent decorating, cleaning & baking. Also, hours spent slaving over a hot computer trying to upload my entire library of iTunes.

The kids brought over Mega Matt for us to view after their whirlwind trip to North Dakota. They were very tired and refused to even take a nap. Too much excitement! They stayed the night & on Saturday came up with us to Sandpoint to pick up Gaylord/Duke/Spaz/Stymie/Tweak. (more about him later)

We ate at Panhandler Pies - which was NOTHING like we remembered it. The service was fair, but the food was extremely poor.

The kids returned home on Sunday - after hubby & I took the big dogs for an abbreviated walk in the park - too much ice. The park is now official closed for winter.

On Monday, I met the Kid at the Jeep dealer in Post Falls so that they could look at her broken windshield & change her oil. While the dealership worked on her vehicle, we ran to CDA to get our nails done. Found a very nice shop that was playing some cool techno Christmas songs. I liked a couple of them, but the girl did not know the names of the songs or who sang them.

I was exhausted by the time I returned home at 2:30P. Hubby came up early from the shop by 6:30 and we rested in front of the TV for a while.

Really Nice Looking Family

When I was looking at the picture of everybody at the Christmas tree farm, I realized that I have quite a nice looking family.

Either the kids infected us with something or hubby brought a disease home again with him. We were both feeling like crap on Tuesday. The weather brought a winter storm warning and dumped 8 inches on us. I used my new snow blower as the snow was soft & light - it worked quite well. But I had to blow the decks & walkway off several times. In between, I rested on the couch - still feeling like poopy-ka-ka.

During the night, it started to rain. So all the snow on the roof slid off which started the dogs barking frantically all night. Not fun. No sleep again.

I have such weird dogs. Observe Harriet's ear. It is just sticking up.

And Angus on her back. It CAN'T be comfortable to sleep like that. Odd dogs.

On Wednesday there was a 2 foot berm just outside the side door that the dogs had to climb over. I knew that it would have to be removed before it started to freeze, so I shoveled for over 3 hours - - - trying to get rid of it. Then shoveled the front deck, also. Made more peanut brittle for hubby. Cleaned & washed & dried his boots out from yesterday. He walked in muck and snow all day.

We are going over to Cheney, WA to see the lights at the kids' neighborhood, then go to Lenny's for Italian food. Yum. Can't wait.

Hubby rushed in the door at 5:30, after changing and securing the house, we bolted out the door at 5:41. Took 'Lil Bit & Bud with us. They slept most of the way. Listened to holiday tunes on our iPod.

Arrived at M&K's - piled into their car & drove to Cheney to eat at Lenny's Italian Restaurant. Yummy. They had the Bruschetta "special" again. K also ordered a nice red wine to go along with the meal! Then M took us around their neighborhood to see Christmas Lights. Very nice night with the kids!

It takes us exactly one hour each way if we don't stop for lattes, vehicle parts, etc. Home at 10:30. Opened some more Christmas cards. People must be sending holiday greetings late this year. Thank goodness I got it out of the way!

Tree Hunters

On Sunday morning, we arose early to scope out trees for holiday festivities. Made eggnog french toast for the family. Told the husband not to feed the dogs any leftovers, but he never listens to me!

We decided to take the kids' Jeep as it was snowing - might need the 4WD. Listened to our usual Christmas music fare on the way. . .Carol Of The Bells by August Burns Red, Carol Of The Bartenders by Bob Rivers, Baby, It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin, The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al Yankovic. Stopped to pick up lattes in Spirit Lake by the old Hog-n-Jog.

On the drive there, saw lots of wild turkeys. Wooly sheep. At Camden Ranch we rode the hayrack ride, wandered for a while, picked out the perfect tree, hacked it down, carried it to the barn. Visited the gift shop, got K's annual snowflake, drank hot apple cider. Returned to the car & had the assistants pack up the tree.

Drove home & K decorated the tree. M cleaned up dog vomit in the basement. Looks like maybe Bravo had a sick tummy while we were gone. He laid around instead of playing with the dogs. M&G ran to Spirit Lake to pick up steaks & fixings for dinner. They returned & K did her Xmas cards online while M grilled.

Afterwards, the kids returned home while hubby and I cleaned. We fell into bed exhausted later.

On Monday, I was so tired after getting up at 3AM and 5AM with the dogs that I pretty much did nothing all day. Didn't help. Still feel exhausted.

Hubby wants to run over to Spoky-Jo to drop off parts at the "old man's house".

Almost saw a really great wreck while in Spoky-Jo. Some dumb blonde nearly wiped out when she tried to pass a car in town, she sped up fishtailed for nearly 800 feet, then passed in front of the car she tried to pass narrowly missing hitting them by inches, finally ending up bounding into a narrow lot at the side of the road. She also missed a steel utility pole by mere feet & also missed a 4 foot drop concrete retaining wall. Damn. Wish she would have wiped out. Maybe she would have learned something. However, she drove out of the vacant lot and sped away down a side road. Probably drunk. Idiots.

More Baking

Saturday - Arose early with hubby to get lattes, also went with him to the dump as our garage was overflowing!

When I got back, there were dog poo frozen sculptures to pick up; dishes to put away; laundry to put away; and the basement to decorate for the kids. Don't want it to look too dingy & dark for the holiday season.

Plugged all the lights in around inside the house, then turned on the Christmas holiday music via the TV XM radio. Started baking again. Made Rum Balls, Puppy Chow & No Bake Cookies.

By 3:00, I was tired and decided to set everything aside for the day. Still need to vacuum a little bit.

Disappointed that with only 13 days till Christmas that we have 2 cards hanging over the fireplace.

Kids came over to spend the night so that we can go pick up our Christmas tree at Camden Ranch tomorrow.

Christmas Baking

Tuesday/Wednesday - Have been spending time the last week trying to keep from freezing. The heat has run non-stop. Dogs have been sleeping a lot inside the house-maybe hibernating? They only go out to pee for a few minutes. Zeus' eyes are looking lots better! The Vet shaved underneat so he looks very odd. Both Zeus & Bud are on antibiotics.

Last night - Thursday - when hubby got home, we drove to Rathdrum to pick up groceries at the Super One 24 hour sale. We also drove through the streets to see the different lighted houses. Very pretty. Had our iPod plugged in so that we could listen to Christmas music. So fun. Quite the holiday tradition.

Super One did not have all the baking goods, so we had to run into CDA to pick up more stuff at Albertson's. Very disappointing. It used to be the ONLY store we shopped at, but we have not been there in over a year. No decorations like they used to put up in the store - the clerk blamed it on "the economy", but that is such a cop-out because I believe if the goods are there, people will buy. I always used to buy a stuffed Christmas bear with the year on it for my mother. But can't find any of those lately!

Drove through several neighborhoods in Hayden looking at the pretty lights.

We got home at 9:30; got everything put away by 10:30. Fell into bed - so tired!

On Friday, got lots of items in the mail that I had ordered. Just have to wrap them as presents. When the Mail guy brought the post up to the house today, he was carrying them from the tip of his nose to the bottom of his thighs. The stack was THAT big!

Once I finished making the bed, picking up dog poo sculptures, washing dishes & putting them away, doing laundry & putting it all away, I decided to get down to baking at 2:00PM!

All the dogs were taking a nap, so I thought it would be very easy for me to do everything - obviously not! They all got up and decided to help me out in the kitchen!

14 days til Christmas!

Anyway, on my Christmas baking list are:

Italian Sugar Cookies
Christmas Bark
Fudge
Peanut Brittle
No Bake Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Rum Balls
Frosted Molasses Cookies
Chex Mix
Chocolate Snowballs
Haystacks
Rice Krispy Bars
Frosted Cocoa Cookies
Puppy Chow
Sugar Candy Popcorn
Popcorn Balls

Only got 3 of those done today - Christmas Bark, Peanut Brittle & Haystacks.

'Lil Bit Is Back!

On Sunday, we actually slept in until 8:30. Woot!

Made Greg an omelette for breakfast. We brought the fish in from outside as it was supposed to get freezingly cold tonight. Installed them in the basement in a plastic barrel. The white goldfish is now over 8 INCHES long! The gold one is not too far behind him.

Went into town by 11:00 to get gas at Costco and meet kids at Lowe's so that we could use the 10% military discount to order our carpet for the loft. After we finally stood for over an hour getting the paperwork done, K suggested we eat at Mongolian Buffet. It was very good at the new place. We had not been there in years!

We took Bravo with us as the KIDS were going to visit the in-laws. Zeus welcomed a little friend to visit with in the truck! Hubby & I stopped to drop off car parts for the hubby, then mailed our Christmas cards. Paid the electric bill on the way home.

Got home seconds before the trainer pulled in the driveway at 3:00 with 'Lil Bit. Did some practice training in the garage - we pulled the cars out temporarily - because it was just so darn cold & windy out. 18 degrees when we got home. It got down to 4 degrees overnight with a wind chill factor of -16! Brrrrrr.

The kids came over late & stayed for a while. Matt liked "Clown Town" - all the lights were sparkling.

#3 and his friends were down at the shop when we got home at 3:00. They continued working down there on their trucks until 8:00.

While hubby watched some television, I uploaded some music for #3 to add to his iPod.

'Lil Bit was very happy to be home. We were glad to see him back. He did dancing bear for us which was so cute. He slept with us tonight along with Harriet.

Monday was still cold. Nothing wanted to work; the truck was very slow to warm when I went to get a latte. The key would not turn in the tumbler outside when I tried to lock the door. The decks creaked & groaned when walked upon. The door to the garage would barely open. Too cold!

Ordered more Christmas presents online today. Washed clothes. Wrote to my father-in-law. Balanced the checkbooks.

At 4:00pm, took Zeus down for his checkup post-surgery. 10 degrees cold~!

Christmas Music & Bills

After picking up lattes in A-town on Friday morning, hubby decided that he needed to get some parts & assign more vehicle titles. He had taken the last two days off in anticipation that he & the KID would be driving to NoDak.

So we ventured up to Priest River to do the titles, then off to Sandpoint to have lunch at Slates & over to Home Depot to pick up wine barrels for my tulip planting (a little late-all the dirt is frozen!) then off home again.

Saw a bus driver speeding on the highway back home so we took note of the bus number & license plate number in order to report them. In a 55 mph zone; the driver was driving in excess of 70 mph! Not a way I would like to see kids treated.

When we returned home, the mailbox was packed so full by the mailwoman that she had closed the door with a rubber band! The KID's American Eagle order arrived along with a few Christmas presents that I had ordered.

On Saturday hubby came with me to pick up lattes; and he went to work at the shop while I cleaned house, paid bills & worked on mailing out Christmas cards, listening to XM HOLLY music, and purchasing more Christmas music online.

I only purchased Norah Jones' album The Fall because of the beautiful Saint Bernard on the album cover. Saw it as the featured CD at Starbucks the last time we got a latte.

Zeus & Surgery Again

The KID came out to stay with us on Wednesday night. She thought she might be going with her father to pick up the truck in ND, but it fell through. No truck yet. Hubby was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch; Bravo, Harriet & Zeus piled on the couch with the KID while we watched TV; they love her.

KRL & I went to bed early. I was exhausted as I had only gotten 1 hour's sleep the night before-took aspirin & drugs which kept me solidly awake all night. Couldn't sleep at all.

Made Eggnog French Toast for breakfast along with bacon the next morning.

Our problem child had surgery again. Took Zeus into the vet at 8:30AM Thursday morning to have eye entrophy surgery. I cleaned up around the house again. Poop sculptures have now frozen to the ground and it is difficult to pick them up.

The pond has almost frozen over, so I went out & poked at it with a stick. Fish are still doing OK.

Took Bud into the Vet at 3:30PM to look at his cheek - he had torn it while playing the other day. Prescribed antibiotics. Brought Zeus home. He had gotten through his surgery OK.

Susan, the receptionist at our vet is leaving to go work for Dr. Marty Becker of Good Morning America fame at the North Idaho Animal Hospital. I congratulated her & gave her a hug as I will truly miss her.

Lighted clown town up at 4:30. Dinner with the hubby at 8:00 - Chili with cheese & onion topping.

Cold & A New Truck

On Monday, I started decorating inside the house as far as I can with the dogs. Most things have to be kept up high; no Christmas pillows or blankets draped carelessly over the couches! Bud is the only bad boy that wants to chew up everything. Once he gets going, the rest follow.

Tuesday was very chilly and I really enjoyed picking up dog poo. I got to the backyard before the sun had a chance to warm it up, so I was gathering brown "dog sculptures" instead of the warm, gooey stinky substance. Waxing poetic about dog poo-never thought it would come to this! Rented the stupid movie - The Proposal on pay-per-view. Dumb. Thought it would be better. Got hit with endometriosis pains mid-way through the movie. Took too much medication again and drifted in a hazy delusional state up to bed by 10PM.

The cold lasted thru Wednesday and I got to pick up frozen poop again. Matty N had texted & emailed a pic of a truck that he found online that was for sale in NoDak. Hubby called and it was a steal at $18K. He put $500 down on it and said if the kids didn't want it - he did! So it looks like M&K or G alone is going on a roadtrip soon. Matty N should be back on Sat. KRL-N has passed her training at H&R Block - to be a tax specialist in 2010! 2008 Dodge MegaCab Laramie.

Puppies played outside for over 2 hours Tuesday & Wednesday. Somehow this cold snap is giving them a lot of energy! House is looking very Christmas-y!

I have started on Christmas cards. Decided not to do the annual family newsletter. Am going to be lazy and just send a card with our names on it. (including dogs)

LG Washer/Dryer

Saturday we got going, but it just seemed to take forever to do anything. K drove her car back home, we were supposed to meet at Costco for gas, but hubby wanted to stop at Sears to get his tools that were on Black Friday sale. So we stopped at Mickey-D's across the street at we were both starved. At Costco, we got gas & I walked over to Starbucks to get drinks. Reminded me of walking everywhere in Europe with a hint of cold on the air.

Hubby picked me up and carried Bud from the back of the truck to the backseat so he could join Isabelle & Bravo while we drove over to Cheney to help the kid put in some things. A dog run in the backyard, hangers in the garage, & her new Christmas tree that she purchased on Black Friday at Home Depot. All the decor in her house looks very homey.

K added her small lighted trees to the front of her house. I took the dogs for walks around the neighborhood for potty time. After looking at the local newspaper ads, we went into Cheney to visit the Ben Franklin but they had nothing we wanted to purchase. Then over to the local Jarms True Value Hardware to pick up keys & bolts to repair K's dinner table chair. This was such a cute small town local store. Great employees & fabulous service. They also made house keys for us that we gave to the kid so she can come & go when she wants at our house. As we were hungry, I asked about the local Italian eatery - Lenny's. The guys both gave it a high recommendation & told us to get the Minestrone soup.

Lenny's was down the street a little with an odd parking lot perched on the side of the hill-our server seated us but we almost thought twice about eating there as an odd old musty smell emanated. However, what you smell is not what you get in this case! The food was wonderful. Bruschetta was mouth-watering. I had Baked Zitti. Yummy.

Dropped the kid off after dinner at her home then we went to the "Old Man's" house in Spokane to pick up the parts he had worked on. He wasn't quite done, so we walked thru the neighborhood looking at lights. Isabelle & Bud were just adorable. They hadn't walked in an older residential neighborhood with sidewalks b4!

Hubby fixed the lights & turned them all on. Need a shorter extension cord from the shop. Too long & the lights are dim at the end of the circuit!

Came home late, exhausted & aching. Took a hot bath & fell into bed by 9:30PM. Hubby decided that he wanted to re-heat his sausage from Lenny's on the stove just b4 bedtime. It stunk up the whole house! Gross. All I wanted to do was sleep.

On Sunday I slept until 7:30 even though hubby got up earlier to let the dogs out! He got our lattes & went to the dump with 3 weeks' worth of garbage (mostly light boxes)! While I picked up dog poo, put away dishes, put away laundry & put up more lights.

When he came back, he put together my lighted dog. I put up more lights around trees & the candy canes on the sidewalk while hubby talked to his dad.

We came inside to warm up; hubby watched his automotive shows while I blogged & tried to order our new LG W/D online. However, HomeDepot site was overloaded & hubby had to call up to the Sandpoint store to get them ordered. They are backordered until March 2010! Oh, well. At least we got the pair for $998.

Saw 3 deer walk thru our backyard as the dogs started barking. SO Very glad to see that nobody has murdered our deer during hunting season.

Fiddled with the lights again as we blew another breaker. Whoops. Clown Town is having problems!

Settled down to cherry pie & tv before bed.

Black Friday

So it's been a while since I blogged. The holiday season is upon us and we are all becoming busy!

Saturday night, Zeus developed a urinary tract infection - he was getting up to pee every two hours. We did not get any sleep at all.

Early Sunday morning we walked the dogs after getting lattes - then went over to KRL-N's house in WA to help her put up lights on her house. We had homemade chicken soup, then ventured out into the snow, slush, ice & sleeting rain. I shoveled the driveway & back deck while K & hubby backed up the truck to put the ladder in the truckbed to install the lights at the peak of the home. Took Bravo (Zeus & Bud) on many walks through the neighborhood to potty. Thank goodness I had taken my winter fur coat. At least I was warm throughout!

After the lighting had been installed, we got warm inside & then ran over to Wal-Mart to get more lights & some Christmas decorations. Dropped K off, then we went home via Spoky-Jo where we dropped off some car parts for the "old man" to fix.

Monday after putting up even more lights outside, I took Zeus into the vet at 4PM - their earliest opportunity to get him checked out. The vet prescribed some pretty potent antibiotics. Zeus already felt better that night. The vet had again checked his eyes & diagnosed entrophy which will require surgery next week. Dec 3.

KRL-N arrived Monday night. On Tuesday morning, while hubby worked in the shop, K and I went Christmas shopping to Shopko, Big Lots, Big 5, Costco (wherein we got the Thanksgiving shrimp ring) and Safeway for miscellaneous Thanksgiving food. I took K over to the Great Harvest Bread Company for lunch as she was starving. Purchased real good Coconut bread & Idaho Potato rolls for Turkey Day.

Met hubster in town so that we could go to Lowes to order carpet. However, we forgot the carpet sample to return for $25 credit and also forgot our 10% off coupon. Will have to come back again. . .

When hubby got home tonight, he discovered electrical overload on our lights at the outlets in the basement. Almost burnt down the house! No more lights :(

I cleaned, vacuumed, and dusted all Wednesday morning. Also ripped my left foot big toenail completely off when I attempted to open the lighted garland in the box that I had purchased at Costco. It really hurt!

Took Angus to town to the groomers at Petco. KRL-N followed me into town as we would take her car & drop off the truck for hubby to drive home. However, after Angus made it difficult going into the store by refusing to come out of the truck - I hurt my left hand. It had been hurting for a while now. . . so K got my purse & chocolates for the groomers while I handled the dog. I had accidentally LOCKED my keys in the truck without realizing it. We found out when we came out of the store. K called my hubby and ran over to get the keys while I waited with the truck for her to return. I didn't want anybody attempting to break into the vehicle & steal it. I sat down on the concrete to wait for her return - but was asked by two different people if I was OK. I must have looked like a homeless, derelict!

K & I shopped at Target (Caramel Brulée Latte at Starbucks - and peeing our pants off when K remarked "Butters" about dressing babies up as teddy bears).

We arrived home and K talked to M to relate our day. While KRL-N talked on the phone to MN, she told him about our looking at dog pictures on the computer - along with a pic of dog vomit. I was in the middle of swallowing a swig of eggnog and it was so funny to me that I spewed eggnog all over the kitchen, in addition to expelling it through my nose. As I giggled hysterically, I found the breathe to moan "I hate you" to KRL-N as she laughed uproariously at my predicament!

Hubby picked up the dog on the way home. She smelled delicious & was shaved again. No more hairing!

Went to bed early as I was exhausted & hurting. Hubby gave me a couple ibuprofen PM tablets & squirted water into my mouth and all over the pillow while laughing hysterically! NOT funny. I was too tired to get up to clean up & slept in wet all night.

Turkey Day Thursday dawned with grey, drizzly skies. KRL-N cooked while I picked up 6 bags of dog poo in the back yard. Hubby put together more yard deer. We ate a wonderful dinner, with turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, K's homemade cranberries sauce, green bean casserole, yams, stuffing, pumpkin pie & cherry pie. Too much. Belch. Naps later. Zeus tried to steal a turkey leg off the counter!

K talked us into going shopping on Black Friday. We got up B4 the butt-crack of dawn at 5AM to be there at 6:10AM (we were late because we had to have lattes to wake up!) Home Depot - got K's Xmas tree for $49! Also tools for hubby; Ace Hardware - got the vacuums we failed to get at Home Depot; Shopko - got games & DVDs for K; Target got 1TB data storage Hard Drives for $59!; crappy ass food at Rustler's Roost. Best Buy - got K's printer - the last one in the store - for a deal! Hubby & I dropped K off at her car and we went to Rathdrum to pay #3 while she went to our house.

After we got home hubby had to go purchase a "deal of a truck for $800" in Priest Lake. He took Chachi along with him for the ride; then K went to meet her high school chum Amber at Starbucks in town. I adorned the inside of the house with Christmas decorations & lights. Hubby arrived home around 2:30 and we raced to Farragut for a dog walk. K was home when we came back (after another stop at the Latte stand). Packed up the garbage for a dump run tomorrow. Sat around watching TV for the rest of the night.

Boo Boo

On Friday it was cold & windy. I put up quite a few more lights. My stick tree that hubby had brought home last night; and more snowflake lights around the deck. When we were falling asleep on Thursday night, hubby referred to the decorations as "Clown Town" i.e. - it looks like a fair midway - too many blinky, flashing lights! I was quite offended. All my hard work and he thinks it looks garish. I love Christmas & all the pretty decorated homes & lights, pretty presents, trees covered in decor.

Totally finished the kids' Amended Tax Return so that they can get their $8000 for First Home Purchase. This will aid them in getting a new truck for M!

Snapped a pic of the two antagonists - Harriet & Angus that got into a fight the other day - per the trainer, these two should be separated 4-Ever! LOL!

When hubby got home, he dragged me up to Sandpoint to pick up car parts, then we rushed over to get Starbucks (Caramel Brulée Latte for me/Eggnog Latte for hubby) as we were parched. Then up to Bonners Ferry to pick up tires for my new WHIP.

Hubster brought home a 2008 FMF Expedition. MSRP = $51,610.00. Our cost = Considerably LESS!

Besides having to change the red to black on the paint; and cover up the red dash with anything else. . .It will be a nice ride.

Once we returned to Sandpoint after picking up the tires from a wonderfully nice couple, we went to Fiesta Bonita for dinner (reminder-don't ever go there again-intensive diarrhea!) Then to Home Depot before they closed; FAST shopping in 10 minutes. And onto WalMart for Christmas lights (but we forgot windshield wipers & other things we needed - Never go shopping without a List) While reaching for some lights on a tall shelf (i.e.-higher than my 5'4"; I happened to accidentally knock a box down. It landed directly on my forehead, cutting it open. The gash proceeded to bleed. However, it was my own fault as there was a WarninG sign indicating that assistance should be received to obtain articles at that height! Hubby tried to pick up the box & subsequently dropped it. OBVIOUSLY this box did not want to go home with us! At the checkout, we had to wait 15 minutes behind a coupon clipper.

When we returned home, we unpacked stuff & fell into bed by about midnight.

We both arose early on Saturday morning as hubby had to go with Leo & Richie to work out a deal to pick up abandoned cars at a local ex-car dealership and I had to meet the carpet layer to measure our loft for new carpet!

Cold outside with dark cloudy skies. I put up even more lights. Only have 7 boxes of lights & am completely out of extension cords! Time for a trip to the store again.

In addition, I washed clothes, did dishes, fed fish, picked up poo (2 bags), shoveled the front deck where the snow had come off the roof, shoveled in front of the garage where the snow had come off the roof.

Busy Busy Busy

Kid from the shop came and vacuumed the truck. I cleaned out the KRL-N came over Friday Nov 13 night in the snow. Poor kid had to drive in a severe snowstorm the whole way from "the coast". She swore she would never do it again.

On Saturday, we went shopping. Rite Aid, Starbucks (for latte), Target, Michaels, Home Depot, Dead Lobster (detour for lunch) & Shopko. Got lots of lights - and a couple of Christmas presents. Some unfortunate things happened when we left the dogs at home :(

Dear Cutco -

You would not believe what happened to the pair of scissors that I purchased from one of your company representatives so many years ago.

The scissors have been cutting just great, but the other day my 6 dogs decided to get into everything in the house. They opened the oven; played with pizza pans; destroyed 2 bed pillows & 2 quilts; they even started chewing on the dog gate that kept them from getting upstairs; they moved furniture; they tore into my chair; there is stuffing everywhere; they chewed up a pill bottle & pills; they chewed up 2 water bottles!

But the worst thing they did was pull the scissors off the counter - chew them up - and take them out into the yard. I found them in the backyard after 5 days! They are still sharp as ever!

Walked the dogs on Sunday with K & Bravo. Bravo kept pulling at the leash so KRL-N had quite a handful with him! Almost had a dog break-out when we were getting lattes & I had to walk Harriet so that she could poop. She gets so excited that she can't hold it. Zeus & Bud broke out of the back of the truck & KRL-N had to hold Zeus' tail to keep him from running away!

Afterwards we all went shopping to Lowe's wherein KRL-N found the green/red/white lights she wanted for her home. Hubby and I paid down for the house carpet. The installers will come out to measure & we can order it. 5-7 days after we order they can install. We all ate at Applebee's because we wanted potato boats - but they don't have them there. Oh well. We had dropped K's car off at the VZ yard so that she could ride with us. She drove home after shopping.

I put up more lights on Monday, but was feeling sick again with more coughing, sore throat & extremely WEAK!

Hubby had Tuesday as a scheduled day off. We ran into CDA to fetch parts, then dropped off Zeus for shampoo & shave (he got a snowflake bling), then took parts home, paid for propane refill in A-town, then went into Spoky-Jo for more parts, stopped at WalMart, Costco, Harbor Freight, Rathdrum Grocery, got home late. Unpacked all the groceries & fell into bed.

Had Bud scheduled for a Cranberry/Orange Spa day at Petco on Wednesday. Our groomer - Nick had done such a great job on Zeus that I took Bud in at 12:00. Had put up more lights before going into town. I also got my nails done, went to look at Christmas lights at Walmart & Fred Meyer, then it was time to pick up Bud. Everybody raved about him. He is just a beautiful, well-behaved little boy! They loved him. Took a Caramel Brule Latte from Starbucks to Nick in addition to some Christmas chocolates that I had picked up at Fred Meyer. Everybody was excited to get the gifts. Stopped to get Wendy's cheeseburgers for the dogs at home.

#3 came to put up the star on the side of the house. He is a very intelligent, hard-working kid. The lights are just beautiful outside and I still have about 60 more trees to decorate. Took a picture with the cell phone - this is what the star looked like last night.

It is snowing this morning Thursday- big flakes. So maybe can't decorate more trees. I shoveled decks several times already. Gave the dogs bones we had bought from the grocery store the other day. They are happily chewing out in the snow.

*Had a brilliant idea for Saint Bernard Rescue. The ladies at the latte stand had a friend there and she was astonished about our lights. She thanked me profusely for having so many lights decorated on the trees. Maybe get businesses to donate next year for the decorations next year!

Sick, Sicker, Sickest

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I mostly napped all day. It is extremely depressing to feel better, just to succumb to flu symptoms yet again. Hubby wants to rush me to the doctor, but they really can't give you anything for the flu. Bed rest, fluids.

I fell asleep on my chair in front of the TV with the fire roaring and the dogs sleeping around me, only to wake up about 2 hours later with a totally different TV show broadcasting. How scary. It felt like I had "lost time".

Thursday morning I took Angus & Zeus - the Saints down to the Vet for surgery. Angus has a calcium knot the size of my fist on her right rear knuckle. Poor dog. Vet diagnosed it from repeatedly sitting down hard on concrete. Probably from the strenuous training that she was forced to endure this past month. I am such a horrible mommy-allowing this to happen to my baby. But I received so many glowing references regarding this trainer. Next time I will listen to K. K had a bad feeling about this trainer.

Harriet was growling at Quail this afternoon. Our little Quail are back! How exciting. Look forward to seeing them every year. I also spotted our pretty little deer. Opened up the back door yesterday and they took off through the woods.

When I picked up the dogs, the Vet advised that Zeus had a SEVERE ear infection and he had cleaned it all out, while applying BNT Ear Ointment. He inspected Zeus' eyes and found that the infection from his ears had traveled to his eyes. The Vet also put ointment in his eyes which we are to continue with administering and Prednisone tablets for the infection. The doctor said that for being in as much pain as he has been, this dog is a great little trooper. Due to the length of the infection & severity- at some time the infection burst his ear drums. Poor little dog can't hear. Damn people. Fucking damn people. I'd just like to shoot them! Forcing a dog to endure this for nothing. That's probably why they turned him over to Saint Rescue - because they didn't want to pay for the surgery to fix him.

Hubby is already wanting to adopt the dog. Kind hearted sweet guy. (the dog & the hubby).

Lights, Flat Tires & Vet Appts

On Sunday, we took the dogs - Zeus, Bud, 'Lil Bit, Isabelle, & Harriet down to the park for a long walk. The sun was partly shining but after we got lattes, it hid behind dark grey clouds. Both of us wished we had brought along our scarves to tie around our necks as the chill, pre-winter air swirled around us.

The dogs quite enjoyed the walk; Zeus was learning not to pull on the leash as hubby was walking with him & 'Lil Bit. Bit seems to "surge" - he pulls to the end of the leash, then lets us catch up!

Afterwards, we drove around to look at vacant houses around the area. The economy has really taken a toll on the empty & repossessed property around here.

We returned home to put up Christmas lights around the trees, and were astonished to find out that quite a few were still working. But I did point out to hubby that we can always "buy more"!

The kids came out around 12:30 and M helped hubby put up more lights. Zeus had barked (in a very DEEP voice as the kids pulled in; he was then introduced to everybody. Bravo raced around like he had never left. Such a little cheerleader!

The trainer brought Angus back around 2:00; but tried to run her through her training in the driveway before he returned her to us - by 3:00 they were still outside as he was using a choke-collar & stun collar on her (which I was quite distressed to find out that he had used) but he finally brought her inside. Whereupon Angus & Harriet got into a fight. Harriet was even frothing at the mouth by the time M pulled her off of Angus.

Hubby was off-put by the training and had serious hesitation about letting the trainer take 'Lil Bit. But by the time they were done talking, 'Lil Bit had left with the trainer & we had Angus in her kennel to calm down. The kids left as they had other errands to do. M is leaving in the morning for deployment to the east coast for training. He will be gone for over a month. K is sad he is leaving over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Monday morning Bud & Zeus played outside running & rambunctious for over an hour! I took Bud & Zeus into the Vet at 11:15 for shots, rabies, heartworm tests, & worming. Got out to the truck to find a flat tire! Had Tim at the shop air it up for me & it stayed up until I returned home.

Got warm lattes; then took dogs in to Vet. Zeus has severe ear infection which will require anesthesia & cleaning because he would not let ANYBODY touch his ears to exam them. The Vet diagnosed ear infection with large amount of black wax & discharge. I made a tentative appointment for Thursday to have him in for anesthesia to fix him up.

Returned home; got mail. Rested. All the dogs took a long nap.

Flu Part Deux

On Tuesday, 3 Nov I received the Andrea Bocelli "My Christmas" album that I had pre-ordered from Amazon. That was exciting. Except I can't listen to it because my stupid computer hard drive is fried again. I need to take it in to get it fixed.

The rest of the week Wednesday thru Thursday, I pretty much laid on the couch & was sick. Flu symptoms overwhelmed me again with a different strain. Started coughing and couldn't stop. No sleep at night even though I would dose myself with enough Ibuprofen, Benadryl, and Nyquil to put an elephant to sleep.

Poor Zeus has had to settle in without me taking him for walks. All the other dogs are missing their daily walks, too. I just wish I had any kind of strength to do anything. It is getting so depressing to not be able to clean the house or do any of the other million things I do daily. Just to take the dishes out of the dishwasher & put them away is an overwhelming herculean task.


I did manage to order a new metal bed for our bedroom. M&K will be trading their old king size bed to us for our queen size. Our old metal bed frame will go into Isabelle's room. She won't be able to jump up on the bed from the bottom as there will be a footboard there. But it will make her room look nicer.

By Friday, 6 Nov, Zeus starts to get off the couch and interact with the other dogs. He plays in the backyard with Harriet and Bud. 'Lil Bit tries to intimidate Zeus; and Zeus does not like a little dog barking in his face-He will back off to avoid a confrontation. I believe he is still very much depressed. But he is getting up to eat his food out of the dog bowls instead of making me bring it to him on the couch.

Finally, on Saturday 7 Nov, I got some of my health back. Even tho I still have the persistent cough, I do have a little strength. Got the Christmas lights out and put some up. Did two loads of dishes & put them away. Washed all the bedding & remade beds. Picked up all the dog poop from the last two days. Tidied up the livingroom, kitchen, and bathroom. Filed receipts in the office. Got a lot accomplished. Now, I am exhausted. Time for a nap.

Zeus

On Saturday hubby spent most of the day working at the shop while I remained sick. K&M's Halloween Party/Open House was scheduled for tonight, but I felt exhausted & after hubby came home, he couldn't move.

We slept in late on Sunday and then took the dogs for a leisurely walk in Farragut Park. It was a beautiful, sunshiny fall day. The air was perfect. Not too cold & not too hot.

After we arrived home and noticing that we were out of milk, we drove to Spirit Lake for a quick grocery run. Came back home, put groceries away, took down Halloween decorations, rolled up hoses for the winter, then without any energy left we both collapsed on the couch.

I received a phone call from Cheryl at Saint Bernard Rescue - she had a foster dog for me to pick up. The dog owner then contacted me by cell and we arranged for them to surrender the dog on Monday night. The owner wanted her kids to be able to have one last day with the dog before they released him.

At 2:30P on Monday, I took Bud into the Vet to get his stitches out. Then shopped at Target. Picked up lattes at Starbucks. Got hubby at 4:30 after he got off work. We then picked up dog food at Aslin Finch and did more shopping at Costco. Met the dog owner in the Costco parking lot. Zues (this is how the owner spelled the name) is a 3 year old male Saint. Very timid, uncertain. Scared. The owner was very vague about Vet, training, etc. There was no paperwork provided and the owner did not even bring any toys with the dog. Poor little boy. He really needs some love.

We got home about 6:30 and introduced the dogs to each other. Zues decided that he would take the couch & stayed there all night. Hopefully he will feel more settled in the days to come. *In future references, I will be spelling the name as Z-E-U-S; which is the Greek mythological king of the gods; the god of thunder & sky.