Hot Diggity Dog

  As soon as we took the last switchback turn coming out of the mountain Mr. BoJangles was so excited. He knew we were going home. When we turned on the main road going up the mountainside to our house, Toni was just ecstatic. Eddie just snuggled closer to me. As long as he has me, he doesn't care where we are. Dora is happy back in her tank with her heat lamp. She gets sloshed around a lot. The kittens look a lot bigger, and Gray Lady is looking pretty rounded in the belly area. Geez, I hope she doesn't have another belly full of kittens. She was delighted to see me and ran to me. I gave her a turkey carcass to pick the meat off. She refused to share with Lucy, and I had to scrounge up another bone for her. Okay, what you are waiting to hear ....... the fate of the deer feeder. It is still in place ..... and full of food. It did not work! All the food is still inside, none dispensed. So, am I right? Probably not exactly. They did not know there was food in it and did not attac...

  Pleasant fatigue here. We said goodbye to our youngest child and headed north. Just checked in at our very familiar campsite in Perry and waiting to be picked up by my sister-in-law. More food is being prepared for our dining pleasure. To be honest I would just as soon skip some meals! We have some leftover restaurant meals in the fridge that would be just fine for tonight. Have to have family time, though! Cat Whisperer neglected to put a camera in the carport. The man loves to watch our place while we are gone. One would think the cat dwelling would be on camera. Anyway, we could see a part of the carport from the camera on the front door. I am not happy to report that I could see that the apparatus is still standing. Too blurry to see the cardboard funnel, so I may only be half right. Still, I think my theory is correct. It will be fun to see how much food is left. Non-stop to home tomorrow. I am ready! There is no place like home and no bed as comfortable as the one there. Ch...

  Thanksgiving was a long day, too much food and laughing so hard too many times. Fun doesn't begin to describe it. I will be leaving here with the two turkey carcasses and a ham! I made apple and pecan pies, 2 of each and one of each remain untouched! There were two pistachio pies from Carolyn, my daughter's bestie. No one left hungry! The temperature dropped last night, and I am thankful I tossed a jacket in the RV for "just in case". We went to my grandson's house this morning, then out to lunch, and now I am resting. Eddie doesn't want me out of his sight or touch. He smells the Frenchies on me. I doubt that bothers him as much as smelling Max, the older dog my daughter has, He knows I love Max. Max is always happy to see me, though gone are the days he would leap up into my arms. We are both too old. Bowie was in the midst of all the people yesterday. Watchful for someone to drop a morsel here and there. I saw him occasionally look at his bed in his kenne...

  The first leg of our trip was uneventful. Well, except for carsickness. Me, not Bo! As soon as we began the trip through the mountains, I was hit. Bo looked on smugly as I fought nausea while we twisted and turned. I suppose he considers himself a seasoned traveler now. I found a car seat for Toni on marketplace for a mere $25. Big enough for two dogs and looked barely used. Since she has decided she has to be in the front seat near her master, I thought it would be a welcome addition and a lot better than the pillow on the passenger seat that kept slipping off with her on it. It did seem to faze her when she found herself in the floor, she just climbed back up into the seat. We installed the new seat, and I thought she would really appreciate the comfort of not falling to the floor. She hates it. She refuses to sit in it and was so disturbed she became disoriented and upset that she tried to climb into her master's lap. This was not a good idea. Toni is somewhat gangly. Not a bi...

  As I sip coffee in calm of the morning, I am trying to remember a dream I had. It evades me, but I sort of remember the gist of it.  I was only 15 the first time I married in 1969. I had always considered myself to be rather plain and fat. Looking back, after perusing photos of myself, I realize I was neither. Hindsight, you know. My mother, whether intentionally or not, reinforced this feeling. For whatever reason, it made me feel anxious about my future. I was always in a hurry to be settled into my life as an adult. With that attitude I was relieved to be sought after for a date. As insecure as I was, it comes as no surprise that I was easily manipulated and when asked to marry, I was eager to do so. I was a month shy of 16 when I donned a white satin dress and walked down the aisle on my Daddy's arm. My mother ruled supreme in our house and Daddy did her bidding. She was all for the wedding. I guess Daddy had some reservations, as we started down that long aisle that wou...

Grocery shopping today was insane. I should know better than to shop on Saturday, but I wanted to get all my shopping done so I can get the RV loaded tomorrow. It was supposed to rain all day today. Here it is approaching dusk and nary a drop has fallen. 74 degrees in town, a bit cooler here on the mountainside. I could have played outside in the dirt today! It will probably rain all day tomorrow while I am hauling clothes and necessities to the RV. Just my luck. I have duplicates of most everyday needs already in the RV. Toothbrushes, toiletries and such. But it is time to trade out the clothes for another season. We tried a new restaurant last night in the town square. The Happy Dragon. I was excited to find something close by. With the time change, we end up driving home in the dark. I have noticed lately that driving in the dark is not something either of us should be doing! I have always had night blindness, but lately my chauffeur has been scaring me when driving in the dark. Tim...

  No caffeine this morning in preparation for my stress test. Hard to get going, but I cooked breakfast (something I seldom do) and got the day started. While my husband went to the dump, I was just sitting here, bemoaning the loss of my morning cup of coffee when my phone rang. The apparatus for the test was still in the hands of the repair people. I have been rescheduled again. December 9th. Should be fixed or replaced by then and it will be back-to-back with the echo cardiogram. One visit will accomplish both. I was okay with that and was already making my coffee before I was off the phone. The dogs were not as happy about it. I had their lick pads at the ready to be smeared with peanut butter before leaving them on their own. They are smart. They watch me all day long and knew what the lick pads were for. Every day we bring the kittens, Marco and Polo inside for a visit. Drew and I pass them back and forth from one recliner to the other. Eddie is okay, but not enthusiastic abou...

  Too tired to do much physically, I have had lots of time to think and listen to books. As I was listening to the current selection, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, a memory long forgotten came to mind. The book is interesting, about a family that was slaughtered, leaving only the youngest girl alive. The oldest child, a boy was convicted and now the sister is investigating so many years later. What made me remember was a passage where she is confronting the girl who accused him of molesting her when she was 11. Having grown up to be a stripper, she is being interviewed at a truck stop frequented by prostitutes. We had a woman and her teen daughter rent a site from us at the RV park. I was hesitant, the camper was not only old but had not been taken care of at all. Needing the money, I agreed to letting them stay on a month-to-month basis and put her ugly camper as far back as I could. I made my misgivings known to my husband and he told me I was "too sensitive". Meaning, I su...

  The alarm went off at 6 am this morning and I dutifully got myself up, took the dogs out and hopped in the shower. Longing for that first hit of hot coffee that I can feel travel down my esophagus and into my stomach. No caffeine for 24 hours prior to the procedure, so no coffee for me. I had coffee yesterday morning at 7:30, but I am scheduled for 8 am. Still, I worried that I may have swallowed caffeine a few minutes after 8. I am a rule follower! The receptionist at the cardiologist is a strange one. I doubt anyone would have ever described her as friendly. Back in the day, the receptionist in a doctor's office seemed to be there to prevent anyone from entering the exam area. You would not see the doctor unless you passed her scrutiny. This woman is younger than me, but she could have fit right in. She checked me in last week. I told her I had an appointment for 11am and she promptly informed me that the appointment was for 10:45am. They always tell you to arrive 15 minutes ea...

  Lacking the energy to do much, I decided to try to download the pictures from my phone .... again. I was not successful. I ended up stressed, so I just stopped. My 6-month check-up with the cardiologist happened last Thursday. The Tuesday before was my husband's 6-month check-up with the same doctor. His was uneventful, other than a slight elevation in his blood pressure. She changed one of his drugs and I am now responsible to check his BP and record it. He is pretty cavalier about his health and his medications, leaving all the details to me. Pretty normal for him. Whenever he goes on My Chart, he will ask me the same questions. Such as, "What is hyperlipidemia?" Not like that, he will sound out the word like it is a foreign language, then spell it when I stare at him. I will then speak as if to a grade school person. Telling him the answer is right there in the word: Hyper referring to "a whole lot, more than is recommended; and lipid referring to fat, in this c...

  Had a very painful weekend. We finally applied heavy plastic in the entire porch, and my plants are loving it. It was quite the chore, and I had to have help. Can't seem to locate the electric stapler. So, we ended up using a manual one and my hands lack the strength to actually make a staple come out. I have to use both hands to push it down and that is too hard to do while holding the plastic in place. The man had to leave his recliner, and it took three days! I was the taper. I applied all the double stick tape and with a lot of shouting and redirection, we finally got it done. I left him to tape and apply plastic to one door. He said he did not need me to help him. I did one of the doors myself and trimmed it up nicely, then picked up all the scraps of plastic and the paper from the tape. I had to make him redo the one he did. It was pretty awful. The cat family is growing nicely. It snowed here Monday. The wind blew hard and I was never so thankful for that plastic. It was s...

  I am happy to report that the two kittens Mama cat decided to take under the shed survived! They showed up two days ago all little and furry with huge blue eyes. Enchanting as they were, the solid gray bit of fluff hissed wildly at any attempt to pick it up. The little thing is so pretty with long fluffy fur and big eyes that sparkle against the color of the fur. They are only 4, maybe 5 weeks old.  Mama cat, who has lost her previous name of Prego, for obvious reasons has become quite friendly. She will come very close and beg for food, even letting her head be patted. So here she was with two little ones now. I gave up on taming the hissing kitten and only had a glimpse of the gray and white kitten. All day long my husband tried to lure the kittens and Mama into the screened porch as the rain beat down. Shortly before bedtime, he came in with the multicolored kitten snuggled to his chest. I immediately took the kitten from him and kissed the tiny head. So soft and sweet. T...