And What Do We Do on a Sunny, Snowy Day....

.....in the North Country? Well....we SKI!!

We were out walking, and every step i took, i sunk down about a foot. It was great exercise, but I was getting exhausted, and realized that SKIING would make me smile. So, ran back to the house, strapped on the skis, and off we went. It is super icy, so the downhill part really felt like alpine skiing...not an easy feat with nordic skis! Good times though...gorgeous gorgeous, and the dogs were happy to run run run. Hmm, maybe later i will strap on the alpine skis and brush up on my mad skills? The neighbors will think i have GONE MAD though...oh well. Fun times.

Good Dog, Bad Dog

....or, My Dog and My Cat, or....My dog, and the Husbands Dog. Can you spot the good dog in this picture??? He is the well behaved one, sitting on the FLOOR! The other one, well....you cannot say he is not ALL Vizsla. This is what they do. Really, you just have to learn to laugh at it, and accept that they are what they are. cats.

Snow snow, lots of snow. We are telling ourselves that we LURVES us some snow. It is pretty, and cold is a GOOD thing, and we love love love it. We can ski and snowshoe...and all is right in the world. And the plow guy came, so at any minute, we can load the car and head for Shelley's condo in Florida. And believe me, we have the route ALL PLANNED OUT.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, i am thankful for WONDERFUL neighbors, who have invited me to Thanksgiving dinner over at their house. I am even MORE thankful that i do not need to DRIVE to get there, because if i did, i would NOT be going!!! I could not leave my house if i wanted to right now..there is about two feet of snow in my driveway, with about three to four at the end of the driveway, courtesy of the state snow plows. Awesome! I think i have an appointment with my snow shovel. I hope my back can take it, it just about reached it's limit shoveling off the pack porch for the dogs. The houndies MUST be able to reach the toilet, aka the backyard, without having to climb over mountains of snow.

I am also very thankful that the neighbor dogs that i am dog-sitting for across the street decided to come home last night. Their stupid electric fence failed (ask me how much i am against electric fences another time) and they took off for the day yesterday. I called my neighbor, and she did not really even care. She was mad at "the stupid dogs". Um...no comment. The dogs did come back last night, and will be spending the remainder of the weekend in the toasty warm house. If they wreck anything...not my problem!!! I will feed them, and play with them, and let them out to pee. They are sweet sweet dogs, and deserve better owners.

My own dogs are all snugged in right now, under wool blankies on the couch. We are watching TV, and thinking about going out for a ski.

I am thankful for my awesome, wonderful Husband. I love you, babe. Oh...the Seahawks are playing the Cowboys today. Go 'hawks!

Warmies!!

I have a new furnace, and it is the prettiest thing i have ever seen! I will post pics in a bit for the man, but too lazy to go upstairs and download them.
snowy snowy out right now...was going to go to a friends for Thanksgiving, but i feel no need to be on the road right now, so will go across the street to the neighbors house. good to have good neighbors!

yesterday laughing, today...not so much

Today i hit the wall and the tears and massive frustration came. The husband, bless his heart, was bound and determined to get our crappy home buyers insurance (that shitty little insurance you can buy that covers repairs to EVERYTHING for one year?) to cover the cost of the furnace replacement. He called them from Iraq, and after an incredibly massive headache, and many many phone calls on my end, their end, and his end...it got pushed through. Everything was going to be GRAND. Yeah right. They just called me back to say ...nope...SORRY!
I knew that they would be a headache, and i KNEW that they would not cover this. Bless the man's heart for trying, but i knew that he was wasting his time. He was.
Note to anyone ever buying a house....do NOT buy that shitty insurance that is supposed to cover everything that could ever possibly go wrong in your house during that first year. They do not cover a FREAKING thing, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get an emergency call pushed through, and you will just be throwing your money and sanity away. Save the $500 and put it towards medicinal marijuana, and wine. and a good hammer. and a xanax or ten.
Today i am going to get my haircut. I will be putting the dogs in their sweaters, and bringing them along with me, because i do not feel secure leaving them in the house with a malfunctioning heating system.

My heating guy....

....gets a gold freaking star.
He was going to install my furnace next Tuesday, but had to change it to this friday. he just now called me back to let me know that he will be here this Weds to install. He knows i am very freaked about this whole ordeal, and he does not want me going through Thanksgiving with any more stress. Pretty nice, huh? he and his dad (who is the husband of my realtor) completely rearranged their schedule so that they could do this. They kind of know that i will not be sleeping well while this whole ordeal is looming over me.
honestly, i just am so thankful for this family. They have been nothing but THERE for the husband and i on this entire home adventure. SO, i am giving thanks to them this year.

New Furnace Coming.....

....have you ever seen Strange Brew? That part where they are giving "Hosehead" the dog a donut, and they say "jelly donut coming" to appease him in the meantime. Anyways....i wish i only had to pay for a jelly donut...but no...i get to buy a new furnace. ugh. oh well...at least in the meantime i still have heat. And all the shit i have been through for the past few months has just made me laugh at all of this. had i not been through all the other shit, i would be curled up on the ground in the fetal position. But seriously...what ELSE can you do, when in the past year you have had to:
Put a new roof on your house
Re-route and re-fit the majority of your plumbing
Replace your heating oil tank
Install a new sump pump
Buy a new washing machine (that it turns out you really did not need to do because the one that you thought broke in the move turned out to be not-all-that-broken after all.
There is more, i know there is more...but i cannot think of it right now.
Anywhoot.....like i said, all you can do is laugh at this point.
Oh...i know the other one....send your beloved off to war!

It is JUST heating!!!

Oh for crying out loud....now the furnace is acting up. If i did not wake up to a temp of SEVEN degrees the other day, i would not be so concerned, but winter in this region is no freaking joke, so the furnace MUST function properly. i did go out and buy a portable heater in case i need it though. I also have two wall mounted space heaters that are in the main bathroom, and a fireplace, so i likely will not freeze to death in my house, but....whatever. I could use a few positive thoughts and white light sent my way folks..if you can spare it, please send it!!!
Has anyone noticed the overwhelming amount of SHIT that has gone wrong with my house in the last few months? I have not even posted the health issues that i have been having. Nothing life threatening, just you know...expensive and annoying. of course all this shit happens while the man is off fighting the war. next year everything will be peachy, and the house will run smoove. cuz the man will be home. and he will think that i made all this crap up!
So...for all this crap i am having to deal with, i am going to be making a few demands. number one, i AM getting a cat. number two...we are GOING to Seattle next summer.
The cat is a major necessity. we live on a farm, and there is a critter who has taken up residence INSIDE my walls. He, and his possible herd of friends woke me up the other night. I swear if i opened up the walls i might find a cardboard mat on the ground, because i am pretty sure they were breakdancing in there. Also, it snowed the other day, and in the morning i woke up and saw a herds worth of critter footprints all over the snow. Like ALL OVER the snow. Luckily today, i saw cat footprints from one of the neighbor cats, so at least they are over here helping me out. Anyways, i was going to wait for the green light from the husband on this...but you know what? He is taking his sweet time on giving it, so I am putting word out to the neighbors to keep an ear open for anyone with a litter of farm cats. Fred and Henry will be THRILLED! Well, Henry will be, Fred will be intrigued as all get-out.
As for the trip to Seattle...another major necessity. I have not been home in two years, and it is time my friends. I have to see the city i love, and the people that i love that reside within it. i do not ask for much, and really, i am not even asking for this...this is going to happen.
So, G...expect to see me next summer! not sure when, that depends on when the man has block leave....but we will be there, and we will have the hounds with us.

Dogs in Need

We have been busy this morning making dog quilts to donate to our local SPCA. Our local shelter is the only non-kill shelter in the county, and the only one that takes cats. It is very very cold here right now, and it is just too much for me to bear to think of these poor animals having no warm bed to lay on. So...thanks to my pal Gaylen, for posting a challenge to all her doggy friends to make beds for the dogs in dire need. I bought this fleece a bit ago, with intentions of making new blankies for my own dogs, but really...my dogs need another blanket like i need another hole in my head. They are more than happy to donate to other dogs though! The SPCA website stated that they are in constant need of laundry detergent, and dryer sheets/fabric softener, and luckily I had just bought a bottle of detergent that has not been opened yet, and i have an almost full bottle of fabric softener that i just do not use.

Everyone seems to be feeling the pinch this time of year, and THIS year in particular. Now is that time for all of us to dig a little deeper, and give just a little more. My local Urban Mission is at a critical low right now with their food pantry, as more and more families are unable to feed themselves. This is just unacceptable in our land of PLENTY, with our shamefully overfed citizens! Give up a meal, give up some fleece and laundry detergent, and GIVE!!! It'll make you feel better!!

Coffee....boo hooo

I went to my local Starbucks yesterday for my monthly bag of Yukon Blend, and got the jolt of my day.....STARBUCKS HAS DISCONTINUED YUKON BLEND!! Seriously? You guys can BITE ME! I have been a good and loyal customer since the get-go! The MINUTE that my first Starbucks opened in my 'hood (1988?) i have been a junkie. And Yukon Blend has been my drug of choice. And now you do this to me? Well, luckily there is a Seattle's Best here in my new town, and their Henry's Blend is calling my name. Now, if only there were a Tully's around here, and i could get my Vitamin T fix. hee hee....get it? Ya gotta be a native to get that one....Tullys is in the old Rainier brewery, and back in the day, that most excellent Rainier beer was referred to as "Vitamin R". The big "R" on the old brewery has now been replaced by a "T". Just a little useless information to get you through the day!

Fun Times ahead!!

I went to the dentist today, and i got some great news....i am getting a crown!! I feel like such a princess!
Oh...not that kind of a crown? Well, whatever.
Apparently, he wants to replace an old filling, but he is quite certain that he will crack my tooth when he removes it, due to some wear and tear on the tooth...so he is going to remove it all, and put in a nice new crown. Should i get a gold one with a diamond in it???? It is in the back, so no one would ever see it. I am actually kind of not a "diamond girl", so will just go with the plain white.
Yippee for me....my first "old lady" dental work. What a joy!

And while i am thinking about Langston Hughes....

there is this one that i first heard in the 9th grade, and still love, and which means THAT MUCH more on this day. Thanks to Ethel Clarke for introducing our young, impressionable minds to Langston Hughes, way back in the day.

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll sit at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,
"Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful
I am
And be ashamed,--
I, too, am
America.

Deferred.....no longer

Good morning Daddy,
Ain't you heard
The boogie-woogie rumble
of a dream deferred?

NO LONGER!!! The dream was fulfilled, and i am just proud and elated that i was alive to witness it, and to be a participant.

Goofy dogs, and an awesome dog trainer

I have not posted in awhile...been super busy with Craft Fair, and lots and lots of studying. Tonite my mom sent me an email, and i thought it would make a nice post....a touching story about the Dog Trainer (who recently died) at Pawsabilities, and then some funnies about my parents German Shepherd Dog Samie. She is such a goob...but god, i love her!
Anyways, enjoy:

We just got back from the Celebration of Larry's Life at Pawsabilities. It was really something. There were literally 100's of people and well over 100 dogs! Samie went but she couldn't even make it inside. She was way too excited (and had to wait in the truck). They had a tribute from the FIDO drill team (First in Dog Opedience) which is sponsored by Pawsibilities. And at the end of their close order drill they did a 1-minute sit & stay in memory of Larry--all the people joined in the minute of silence. Joan was there with several of her friends from the Keeshond dog club. Dana spoke after the tribute, thanking everyone. And she said that Pawsabilities will continue--the new Pawsabilities with their daughter & son-in-law joining with her. That was so good to hear. And your Dad is starting Samie again this Wednesday evening! He knows she really needs it; she really suffers from not meeting with oth er dogs on a regular basis and going through her paces.

It was good to see all those dogs in close-order drill. You know Larry was career military, a Master Sergeant in the Air Force from '68-'88. He did dog training for many years before his retirement and has been teaching here since 1989.

Oh, another thing about Samie. She has now joined Fred's surfing club. She is a great counter surfer. I was telling you about having a great pork roast from Han's Deli--with sauerkraut & noodles? Well, I cut the chops and left them on the counter for Dad--he was watching the football game in the other bedroom. And when he went to get his plate full, he asked wasn't there 3 porkchops? Well, yes, there were--but only 1 small one was left for him. So Samie got a huge one, plus half of the one I had. (And she obviously loved that German food cause she didn't get sick or anything!) Your Dad was sick though; now for leftover of the sauerkraut, it'll just be hot dogs for the meat instead of pork chops. Well at least they are the German weiners.

I was telling Joan this story. She had a better one. Tucker is also a champioin counter surfer. He has helped himself to many a morsel over the years. But the worse was recently when Joan had been to the store and picked up lunch and also got some Copper River salmon fillets to fix for dinner. She left it in the kitchen while she delivered something to a neighbor. Gary was watching something on tv and came to get his salad to start on--and went back to watching his show. When Joan came back, the salmon was gone. And Tucker didn't get sick either. With the price of salmon, that is mighty expensive dog food!

I'm glad your Dad has decided to go back to dog classes. It will be good for both of them. I sure would love to see Samie composed enough to go to events like today and actually be able to join in, in a good way.