Gone Fishing!

I bought a fishing pole the other day and have figured out how to put the hook and other thingys on and plan on trying it out today. One of my sons is coming by today so if I don't have it rigged up right, he will know. I love to fish but someone else usually puts the pole together for me. I CAN bait my hook and get the fish off of it if I am lucky enough to catch one, so I'm not totally clueless! Wish me luck!!

The view

Well, it seems I got a picture to post. I guess the site was just having trouble the other day. I don't want to make ya'll jealous or anything, but this is the view I see everyday from my window. This is my back yard, the docks and the lake. Are you drooling yet? This picture was taken before we moved in and our grass did get greener, but now since it is getting chillier, it is starting to look like this again. Also, in this picture, the lake was down by about 4 feet and it is now almost back up to normal, thanks to the downpour we had here last week. It's amazing how it can come up 3 1/2 feet with one good 10 inch rain! Yes, 10 inches (in one day)! Here in Texas, we do everything big! Even our rains are huge! We were lucky and didn't get any flooding up here in Lake Conroe, but there was lots downtown in Houston and a couple people even lost their lives trying to drive through the standing water in the roads. Really sad..

I am finished unpacking and now the fun part is here - shopping for new stuff! I plan on going to the mall tomorrow. First on my list is a new comforter set for our bed and new bath towels and mats for all the bathrooms. I have an idea what I want, but it will be hard deciding on a color scheme for each bathroom since I may change the bedding in those bedrooms and I like things to coordinate. I'm just glad the unpacking is finished and the decorating can begin! It is much more fun.

Help!

I have been trying to put a picture on my page and it just will not post. I have put others on, so it's not like I don't know how, so is something wrong?? If anyone can help, please enlighten me!

Getting Settled

Well, it has been a month since my last post. So much has happened since then. We have moved into the new house, we went on vacation and now I am almost finished unpacking. Yeah!! Things are getting unpacked, but not everything has a place yet. I can't believe how much "stuff" I have. About half of it will be going into the attic for storage until I decide what to do with it. I did the same thing when we moved into our last house - put stuff in the attic - and then I never touched it again in the 12 years we lived there, so it got donated or tossed when we moved out. My husband is still going over to the old house on weekends to cut the grass and do some maintenance and touch up paint. The house has been shown several times but no offers yet. I hope it sells fast!

I am enjoying my new house so much. I love looking out at the lake and going down to feed the ducks - there are 26 of them! Boats are going by all the time, water skiers, men fishing, and there is even an old fashioned, New Orleans style paddle wheel boat that goes by on the weekends. Living here feels like I am on vacation every day. What a life!

Our real vacation was too short and NOT without mishaps. It is usually us with the problems on the road, but this time it was another couple that we were traveling with. While traveling down the interstate in Alabama, they lost a wheel off of their 5th wheel trailer. We all pulled over and I saw in the side mirror, the wheel barreling down the interstate coming right for us. It hit the 5th wheel on the side, missing our friend by about 2 feet and then bounced back onto the freeway. Luckily, it didn't cause any accidents, although an 18 wheeler and another car had to swerve to keep from hitting it. It took us about 2 hours to find parts to fix it and then we were back on the road, only to have it happen again within a half hour - same tire! Unbelievable! This time it couldn't be fixed and they would need to replace the whole hub and with it being late on Saturday, we ended up hobbling down the road to a Walmart where we parked overnight. They ended up staying there for two nights and instead of getting it fixed, bought a new 5th wheel on Monday. They had been looking at new ones for some time, so this just made them decide faster. There just happened to be a really nice RV sales place 2 miles down the road. We all finally got to our destination, Pigeon Forge, TN, on Monday night. There were three other couples beside us on this trip and once we all arrived, we had a great time! But, like I said, it was too short.

Being away on vacation did me good. It gave me a nice break between packing and unpacking. I will be glad to finally get all the unpacking finished so that I can start on the fun part - buying new stuff! haha

I hate Packing

After just completing two whole days of solid packing, (from about 10am till about 7 pm) I can honestly say that I hate it! It is a back breaking job and mine is killing me. I am beginning to hate the smell of cardboard. Thankfully, I am almost done. Good thing since I only have Thursday night and Friday to finish up. Tomorrow and Wednesday I have to be at the new house all day while some installers do their thing. I am actually glad for the break and excited to be able to spend the day at the new house and gaze out at the lake while I (maybe) line some shelves.

One thing that I feel bad about is my pets. I have totally been neglecting them lately and they are letting me know. They have been following me around from room to room watching me pack and they bring me a toy occasionally with a look of hopefulness on their face. Awwww... After we get moved in I will have to make it up to them. My parrot screamed a lot today and tonight I finally realized why - he was out of food and was trying to get my attention so I would notice and feed him! Gees, I felt so bad. Moving is an all consuming job!

Well, I have to be up and ready to leave by 9am in the morning and as you know, if you have read any of my other entries, I am not a morning person, but one who likes to procrastinate all morning with my coffee and newspaper, etc. So, I better get to bed early - or earlier than my normal 2am.

A Stolen Day

I played hooky yesterday and didn't pack one thing! I started off by having a few errands to run but then I just kept finding more things to do and places to go, till before I knew it, it was 8 p.m. and realized my dogs and cats haven't been fed yet. I rushed home and they were all over me, wagging their tails and licking my face. What a greeting pets give you. It doesn't matter if you have been gone 5 minutes or 5 hours, the greeting is the same! People with no pets don't know what they are missing!

To make up for yesterday, I have to put in a whole day of packing today. My husband is in Saudi Arabia on business, so I don't need to stop for dinner and can work on through the evening. Of course I WILL eat, just not at a scheduled time. I have been procrastinating all morning and it is already past lunch time. I am not a morning person, so it takes me awhile to get going, unless I have to be somewhere at a certain time. I like just lingering over my coffee, reading the paper, making phone calls to family and friends, catching up on a magazine or two and then finally deciding to hop in the shower and get my "real day" started!

So, I guess I better get going. Moving day is next Saturday, but I don't have the full week to pack. I have to be at the new house Tuesday and Wednesday for a couple of installers - cable and home theater. And Thursday, my youngest son is arriving from Orlando to help with the move and help me finish up some packing. So, today through Monday will be solid packing days. I only have the den, kitchen and master bedroom left to do, but I guess they are the hardest, especially the kitchen. Oops, I forgot the office. That is a huge mess of stuff in bookcases. Ugh!! I have more than I thought... I better get busy!

Progress

Well the house is now ours! The closing was quick, painless and exciting. Afterwards, we went over to the house to meet with a home theater guy to discuss putting in all the sound system and speakers throughout the house. Some exciting stuff. I also met with a blind guy (actually a man who does window treatments) and he measured all my windows and we discussed window treatments for most of the house. They are now ordered and will be in by the time we move. I spent most of the rest of the day putting in shelf liner. I didn't get much of that done, since I kept getting distracted by other stuff.

Here at this house, I have continued with repair people. There is still so much to do in getting this house ready for sale. I didn't realize this place was in such disarray. They came and took pictures today. I worried how it would look since a lot of stuff is packed and boxes are strewn about and shelves are empty, but she said not to worry. Tomorrow, the carpenters are starting on the eaves of the roof replacing some rotted wood and Home Depot will be delivering and installing two hot water heaters. Also, the Salvation Army will be here to pick up half a garage full of stuff from our attic that we are donating. Hopefully, in the middle of all this, I will be able to get some packing done. It worries me that our move in date is fast approaching and I still have so much to do.

Well, we lost our first football game of the season. Does anyone else besides me think that David Carr stinks? Getting sacked 5 times is ridiculous! I wish they had used our draft this year to get a new quarterback! Oh well, it looks like we are off to another crappy season. Let's hope I'm wrong!

My prayers go out to all those who lost loved ones at the WTC on this 5 year anniversary!

A day out!

I got to leave the house today for the first time in a week. It felt so good to just be in my car driving down the road. It didn't matter where I was going, I was out of the house! Woo Hoo!

Actually, I had to do a bunch of errands. First up was a visit to the bank. I had to get the cashiers check for the closing on the new house tomorrow. Next I stopped at Target to get some cosmetic sponges that I like but they were out of them. I did manage to get some spot lights we needed and a new letter holder for the new house. Then I was off to the carpet store to order replacement carpet for our dining and living rooms. The dogs did some damage to the carpets in those rooms that was beyond repair. Next, it was Bed Bath and Beyond to get shelf liner. I have tons of new shelves I'll be lining when I get some time. Then I hit Petsmart for pet food. It seems I was almost out of everything for my pets. As a treat, I got them all a new toy. I know, I'm just a push over! Every pet should have an owner like me! My pets have their own toy box!

I also stopped in a jewelry store looking for something for my daughter-in-law for her birthday, but didn't see anything that I thought suited her. I ambled into Bombay to look around and another gift shop all in this same little strip shopping center. I also hit a drug store and a place for some lunch. Can you tell I haven't been out in awhile? I think I was gone most of the day but I enjoyed every minute of it!

I'll be getting up early tomorrow. We have the closing on the house and then will be meeting some installers at the house afterwards. A busy busy day, but one that will be fun and exciting!

Repair people!

So far this week,I seem to be bogged down with repairmen, and phone calls to set up repairmen. Does anyone answer their phone these days? I get nothing but answer machines/voice mail at almost every number I call. That is so frustrating because then my whole day is shot waiting for a call back. I guess I could forward my calls to my cell phone and leave, but I have all the paperwork and information I need to convey to each person here. It seems we have a few things that we need to do to this house to get it ready for sale. Most of the things have been this way for awhile and we should have had it repaired, but you know how it is, you just keep putting it off.

Today, Julie and Robin are here repairing a crack in the marble of one of our sinks. They are also going to fix a knick in one of our bathtubs and as a bonus, are fixing 3 cracks in our Corian countertops in the kitchen. The Corian people wanted an outrageous amount for this work and we didn't want to pay that amount when the new buyers may just want to rip it out and put in granite. What a waste of money to just make something look nicer for a sale. But Julie and Robin are doing it at a much more reasonable price and they are fun to watch and talk to. They are a married couple who have their own business - kind of like a "mom and pop" business. I love that. I would rather pay them to do work rather than some big corporate outfit and probably am getting better quality work.

The air conditioner guy is on the way to inspect our heat and air and also our hot water heaters and give us a certificate that they are all in good working order. Hopefully they are and won't need any repairs. The realtor says prospective buyers will want to see that things like that are in good working order. Makes sense in an older house.

All this has kind of put a halt to my packing, but I guess I will get it all done in time. It's nice to have a reprieve though!

Ouch!

I tripped over my vacuum cleaner today and hurt my knee. I mean I fell on all fours and it almost knocked the wind out of me. How stupid is that? I thought I was fine but it has started to really hurt tonight each time I move after being in one position for any length of time.

I wouldn't have been vacuuming except for the fact that my husband scheduled a meeting with a realtor first thing tomorrow morning at 9am. Like I don't have enough to do with packing up this house, now I have to get it presentable for a realtor who is going to look at it with a critical eye. I am not a happy camper. I thought all that was going to wait till we moved out since everything on the new house was happening so fast and we haven't had time to do any of the maintenance that we need to do on this one. But he has it scheduled and the house had to get presentable, so that is why I was vacuuming. Ugh! All this is happening so fast!

I will also be making potato salad, macaroni salad and deviled eggs in the morning to take to my son's house for a BBQ at 2pm. So, I have a relaxing afternoon to look forward to with NO PACKING! Yeah!!! I hope the realtor isn't here too long so that I can get that stuff done. Somehow though, I think she will be.

Happy Labor Day!

Progress report

My husband took off Friday and we spent the whole afternoon out at the new house. We were to meet the builders supervisor and have a walk thru of the house where he would explain what everything was and how it worked. Afterwards, we stayed and went through the house with a "fine toothed comb" (as my husband likes to call it) making a 'punch list' for the builder. For those of you who don't know, a punch list is a list of things that you note down that needs fixing or touched up in the house you are about to buy. You give this to the builder and he fixes each of these things before the closing of the sale. You have a final walk through the morning of the closing, or maybe the day before, to check that all these things have been completed to your satisfaction. Anyway, mostly just minor touch up paint and caulking to be done-nothing major, thank goodness.

I loved spending the day there. The lake distracted me from the job at hand, but that was okay. It's a beautiful lake and I can't wait to be there all the time. It's so peaceful and beautiful there!

I packed several more boxes today. The living room, dining room and all the linen closets are now packed. Tomorrow I think I will start on the gameroom and bedrooms upstairs since no one uses those rooms and they can be packed up without inconveniencing anyone. Then I will still have the master bedroom and closet, the den, office and kitchen to do. I think I am leaving the hardest rooms till last- but then I am still using all those rooms, so they have to be last. My husband will tackle the garage and I'm glad that he will be doing that and not me!

I did have to stop a couple of times today and play with the dogs. They were feeling neglected! The cats got some play time in also.

Hidden Treasures

The packing is going strong. I am already out of some of the supplies that I just bought the other day. I am having trouble staying focused on one place or room though. I tend to wander into other places and grab things to top off a box. What that is going to do is cause me to have trouble finding "like" things that should be in the same box when unpacking.

I came across some old CD's that I thought I had lost forever. I haven't heard or seen them in years. I was excited to find them. The trouble is, now I would like to upload them to my computer and then put them on my IPod, but I packed them away with the rest of the "music" before I thought of doing that. It will now have to wait till I unpack to enjoy those tunes again. I guess I can wait, except that I have been playing music while I pack and I could use some new/old songs to listen to. I like to sing along or even dance a little while I work - makes it go faster and definitely more fun!

I have found some other things I haven't seen in years also. I came across a bunch of cross stitch kits that I had stored away and forgot about. I used to cross stitch all the time, but it got replaced by another craft or two through the years. The thing about crafts is, you get tired of them for awhile, but usually end up going back to them sooner or later. I used to crochet, but only liked to do it during the winter months. I haven't done that in years either. All it will take is news of a grandchild on the way and I will be crocheting away! For now though, all those supplies are packed away.

I can't wait to see what other little forgotten treasure or memory I come across next! Packing up a house isn't all that bad! It's like a walk down memory lane..

The packing has started!

I packed 3 whole boxes today and that was just from my linen closets! Plus, I have 2 bags of linens to donate. I had a call today saying they would have a truck on my street next week and did I have anything? How convenient is that? Of course they call me every month or so and I let them keep me on their list. You never know when you might need to get rid of some things.

Tomorrow I need to go to Office Depot or somewhere to get more boxes (lots) and other supplies.

My cats are having fun playing in the boxes and the dogs are staying close by me, sensing something is up! I think they are hoping that I am getting ready to take them in the RV down to the beach! Little do they know that they are going to be in a beach-like place all the time! They are going to love it in the new house with the lake. I know I am!

Slow Weekend

I didn't do much over the weekend. My husband was out of town and I mostly just watched movies and called old friends and family. This was my last "free time" for a while since now I will need to get busy packing up this house! How do you pack up 36 years of 'stuff?'

I have become a sort of pack rat over the years and I have a lot of stuff that should be thrown out. I hope that I will have the courage to do just that, instead of packing it in yet another box to be stored in the attic. I have things in this attic that I brought from our last house and haven't touched in 12 years - the whole time we have lived in this house. And it's not heirloom stuff, just things that I didn't have a place for or want to use in this house. I didn't throw any of it away because I still liked the items and thought that "someday" I would be able to use them again. Well, I don't think that time is ever going to get here, so instead of throwing it away, maybe I should try donating it. Maybe someone else will have a use for it. As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another's treasure!"

I have some furniture that my son in Florida could use and we are trying to figure a way for him to get it home. I think he might fly over to help us move and then rent a truck and take some stuff home that way. It sounds like a good plan.

A busy couple of weeks

I have been so busy lately, but it has been a fun kind of busy. We had out of town company for a couple days and we have been looking at lake front property to buy - a place to retire to in a few years.

The company was my husband's brother-in-law and his niece. They drove down from Delaware, stopped in here, and then she was heading on to Austin and UT. She is working on her Masters degree as a music major. We don't get to see family very often since everyone lives either up north or in Florida, so it was fun having them here.

We found our dream home and actually made a deal with the builder and signed a contract on the house today! I absolutely love the house. It is brand new and right on the lake! We even have two boat slips. Now we need a boat and a couple of jet skis! We could move in a matter of weeks. Whew, there is a lot of work ahead - packing, moving, getting our current house ready for selling, etc. But I am up to the challenge and so excited about it all.

My youngest son is kind of sad about the move since he considers this house his home, even though he grew up mostly in Baton Rouge. He now lives in Florida and says he will come help us move so that he can say good bye to the house and neighborhood that he loves. Awww.. I told him that he will love the new house. All it will take is for him to visit one time after getting the jet skis or boat and he goes for a ride! What fun! I had such an exciting day today!!

Gadget fix

The end of another week. The weeks seem to be flying by and not much is going on.

Today I went to Best Buy and had my "gadget fix." I am a gadget freak and love learning all about the newest and latest electronic stuff and Best Buy is where I go to do that. I pick the brains of all the salesmen and learn so much. Today I learned that they have a combo DVD and VHS recorder at a reasonable price. I have had a combo DVD/VHS player for a few years now, but thought the 'recorders' were expensive and not really perfected yet. I have quite a large library of family home movies going back 20 years and would love to transfer them all to DVD for better and easier safekeeping and storage. I know that photo places will do that for you, but they charge a lot and I have so many. I learned today that I can now do it at home and don't need the camera it was recorded on to connect it to the recorder, OR another VHS player to hook up to the recorder. Needless to say, I am thrilled about this and plan on getting one as soon as possible. They may have been out and reasonable for awhile, but I just now came across it. I just haven't looked into it since it seemed such a daunting job, but now it may be a little easier.

I also learned a lot about digital movie cameras today. I was shopping for one for my sister for her birthday and she wanted something that was simple to use and easy to view on TV and then make copies from. Even though they told me the cameras in the DVD format weren't the greatest, they were the easiest to use for someone technically challenged. They only give you about 30 minutes of recording time, but hey, anything more than that at one time or of one event gets really boring! I know because I have many tapes of my kids school events or soccer games or just stuff around the house and they can get boring after a little while. I think 30 minutes will make you think more about what you are recording and it might make it more interesting. And, if you use the mini DVD-RW (rather than -R) disks, you can re-record till it is the way you want it, much like the digital tape ones. With these cameras, every time you start and stop, it makes a new chapter so later when viewing the disk, you can find any clip on it that you like! I like that idea, even though they said that it makes it harder to edit because it is already cut up into all these chapters if you start and stop a lot. She won't be editing anyway so that was a moot disadvantage. I don't know for sure, but with that type of thing going on with recording, wouldn't it be easy to upload just one small clip or recording session to your computer and then e-mail it? I will have to get her to try that since now that she will have a digital movie camera to film her two precious granddaughters with, I may not get as many photos e-mailed to me! I just hope that making copies isn't too difficult for her, since I know that one of the things she will want to do is pass all those great moments around!

I also checked out the laptops. I need a new desktop AND laptop, and don't know if I will be able to wait till the new Vista operating system comes out. What is taking so long? I wish I had the nerve to just get an Apple computer. My laptop keeps acting up, doing strange things, and then it just clears back up and behaves. Very frustrating, but now my desktop is starting to really slow down and even freeze up on me and it never used to do that. I did all the regular maintenance stuff to keep it clean and uncluttered, but it is still acting up. I have had it (the desktop) longer than any other I have had - 4 years. I usually upgrade after 3 years, but this one has been really good and technology sort of stalled as far as speed goes, so I didn't feel a need to "keep up." But now, I need to get something new and don't want to have Windows XP when the new Vista comes out and don't want to have to install the upgrade myself, soooooo.. I'm trying to hang on a little longer.
So, that's it for my exciting day at my favorite store!

RVing in Port Aransas

Here it is the end of July already. Where are the months going? I had a good time this month. We have an RV and we bought a lot down in Port Aransas at an RV Park right on the beach. It is a really nice park where you can either rent a spot or own your own and have your lot rented out when you aren't using it. We bought our lot about 3 years ago now. Ours is the closest to the beach access, a corner lot, and beautiful. We have friends who also own a lot there and try to plan our trips there together. But, the last couple of times we have been there, they weren't able to come down. They were busy moving into a new house, selling their old one, etc.

We went down for July 4th and I stayed the following week. My husband had to get home and back to work, but came back the next weekend. That whole week it rained and when you are down at the beach and it is raining, it can be quite boring. But I found things to keep me busy. For one, I found this site and started my blog. I also found YouTube and made a couple short video clips and posted them on there. That was a lot of fun. My clips were just taken with my digital still camera and not my video camera as I didn't have it down there with me. Still, my still camera took pretty good footage and it was fun making the videos! I plan on making more but with my video camera next time.

Because it rained the whole week, I decided to stay on a second week. After all, I didn't have anything I needed to get home for. My dogs and cats were with me and my husband could feed the birds when he was there during the week. The second week was sunny and hot and we enjoyed our time on the beach. The only problem was, because of all the rain we had the week before, the mosquito's were really bad. You could barely go outside without them attacking you. I would swat at one on me and be left with a quarter sized spot of blood on me from it! Gees.. They were sucking me dry! It made it a little annoying, but I survived with the help of some bug spray, although I hate to use that, especially after showering. It just makes you feel all yucky again. The poor dogs were being bitten by them too. All the dogs love going onto the beach for walks and they go into the water to cool off when they get too hot. They are funny to watch. So, just about every morning we would go for a mile or so walk on the beach. It was much needed exercise for all of us! Later, I would go back up with my beach chair, magazine or book and IPod to read, swim and watch the birds diving for fish. What a life! LOL

Here is one of the videos that I posted on YouTube. See what you think!

My Birds

We have two birds in our household that adds to our small zoo. Actually, we have had them the longest. Max, is a Blue Front Amazon parrot and he is 18 years old. They say they live to be about 70 years or so, so I guess he will outlive me if he stays healthy. Charlie is a Cockatiel and he is the same age. I raised him from a baby. I had a pair of cockatiels and they had (in total) 3 clutches of eggs. I raised most of the babies and gave them away when they were old enough. They were all trained to talk when I gave them away and I hope their new owners appreciated that. I eventually gave the parent birds away and just kept one of the babies and that is Charlie. Both my birds talk and are very entertaining at times. They, especially Max, can be very loud at times, especially when he wants something and you ignore him. Max says things at the appropriate time. For instance, if I am eating something and he can see me, he says "ummm, good!" He says it over and over till I give him a bite. If I don't, he then starts making screaming noises and it is easier to just give in and give him some than have to listen to the ear piercing sounds. He also says "time for bed, night baby," when I turn the lights out in the evening. Charlie talks and whistles and loves his mirrors. He is constantly in front of one and positions them to his liking all day long. It is funny to watch. If you knock one down, he will go over and pick it up and reposition it so he can see himself just right. It is really funny to watch. They used to be out of their cages all the time. They didn't fly around, but stayed on top of their cages and went in and out at will. But, once I got a cat, that all changed and they are now confined to their cages. To compensate for that, I got them both nice new Huge cages for them to live in and they have plenty of room to move around and keep busy and content. Still, I know they miss being out and I let them out whenever I can when I know it will be safe.

My Cats

This is Mikey and Molly. He is the one with the tan face, ears and tail and she has the gray face, ears and tail. They are brother and sister and are just under a year old They are very lovable and playful. Mikey loves to be held and will jump onto my chest and then lay his head on my shoulder as I scratch and pet him. It is the sweetest thing. He follows me around most of the day and thinks he is one of the dogs. He has a gallop that he does when he comes running to join in with the dogs. It is really funny!



Molly doesn't like to be held as much but she does demand her time with me. It is usually in the mornings when I am having my coffee and reading the paper. She will come and sit right on my paper and stare at me till I pet her. Other times, she hangs out with Boo Boo under my bed and sleeps the day away. They play well together and are good company for each other. They also both get along with all the dogs. I haven't tried letting the birds out on their cages to see if the cats will leave them alone. I'm not stupid! haha We have a doggie door and they are now indoor/outdoor cats and love going out to explore the yard. They haven't brought me any "presents" other than the occasional lizard. I hope they don't start stalking and capturing birds. They like chasing flying insects and are fun to watch as they jump in the air trying to catch something that flies by! I guess I am fortunate to have all these dogs and cats and that they all get along. It could be a nightmare if they didn't!

Here is Boo Boo

This is Boo Boo. She is a mixed breed and the Alpha dog in our family. She constantly puts the others in their place when they act up. She was originally my oldest son's dog but when he moved to a place where they wouldn't allow pets, she came to live with us. When her and Casey were younger, they were great buddies and played together all the time. Now, she just spends her time under my bed and only comes out to eat and to see what is going on. It seems like a lonely life for her and I try coaxing her out, but she seems content to be where she is. There was never any trauma in her life, so I don't know why she likes to stay secluded like she does, but she is a happy dog when she is out and with us.
She is most happy when my son comes to visit. She gets in his lap and lays her head on his chest, as if giving him a hug. It is so cute. She has been with us for four years, so I can't say that I hope that my son can someday take her back to live with him. We would miss her too much and I don't think getting relocated again would be good for her. She seems to sensitive of a dog. She is smart as can be and she hates baths and heartworm medication. If I even go near the cabinet where I keep those pills, and she sees me, she runs and hides under the bed. The same goes for getting a bath. She can just sense what I am up to.

The beach is one of her favorite places to go. She loves taking walks there and running into the water to play and cool off. You would think that if she loves going for walks on the beach she would like going for walks at home, but no.. It is another thing she runs and hides from. If you just touch her leash, off she goes under the bed. She only likes walks if she can be off the leash! It seems that all my dogs have either strange behaviors or physical shortcomings. Oh well, it is why I love them all!

Meet Scooter!

This is scooter, my little Yorkie! He may be little but he has a huge personality. I rescued him from a flea market type place and feel that if I hadn't bought him, he probably would have died within weeks. They had him in a pen with cedar shavings (a no-no) and the dust from it had gotten into his lungs and he was wheezing. He was about 4 months old at the time and only about 1 pound. I just had to have him. My friend thought he was ugly, but didn't tell me that. He did kind of look like a Gremlin those first several weeks. Then I took him for his first grooming and he was sooooo cute.

When he was 6 months old, he fell off the couch and broke his front right leg. Poor little guy. He had a screw and pin inserted in his leg to help it heal and even though he had his leg wrapped in a cast like thing, he didn't let it keep him down. He got around just fine and played and ran just as hard as ever. He also has another defect or 'shortcoming' and that is, he doesn't have enough skin to cover his little manhood. It is always exposed and I have to check him all the time and put ointment on it to keep it moist. In pictures, I usually have to edit it out, as it seems to always be visable in pictures! Awww.. And,if that isn't enough, he has dislocated kneecaps on both back legs. Again, he doesn't let it keep him down and, even though he walks with his back end a little hunched over to compensate, he runs and plays just fine. I plan on taking him to an orthopedic vet to see if he recommends surgery to correct it or not. My vet seems to think that it will cause arthritis later on, not only in both knees, but in his spine as well, if we don't have the surgery.

Scootie is in no way handicapped! He is a trooper and loves life and makes me laugh every day. He is the happiest and most friendly little dog. He will lick your face off if you aren't careful!

Casey

Casey was a Christmas present in 2000. I had told my husband I didn't want anymore dogs but did he listen? No! Then he got me a type dog that I had never heard of, a Bichon Frise. I didn't want the dog and told him so. I could see how crushed he was. He said we could cancel with the breeder, even though he had put a deposit on him and that I should think about it and let him know. (He was going on a ski trip with our sons) We wouldn't be able to pick him up till New Years and while he was away, I thought long and hard about it. I felt like I was handed a 15 year prision sentence since a puppy was a lot of work and would keep me from being able to come and go as I wanted. But, I could see how much Tom wanted the puppy, so I decided to go ahead and accept him and to show Tom my decision, I got him all the things we would need for a puppy for his birthday, which was a few days after Christmas.

As you might guess, I fell in love with this little bundle of fur the minute I saw him. He is such a sweetie pie and so loyal. He doesn't let me out of his site and is my constant companion. I started taking him to a goomer when he was 4 months old and the first couple of times, just had him bathed and trimmed. I can't take him anymore and have to groom him myself which is a lot of work. I think they hurt him too much when his hair was long and must have been matted. Anyway, I got him shaved down one time and what a difference! His personality blossomed and he became a different dog. I think he knew how cute he looked and he was glad to get that long hair off. Living in Texas, it is so hot and humid and that long hair was just too hot for him. When he was little, he fell in our pool one day and I think he liked it, because now, whenever he gets hot, he jumps in the pool and goes for a swim. It's the only way he knows of to cool off! Too funny!

Introduction

I guess before getting started I need to introduce myself, my husband and pets so that you will know more than what you read in my profile. As I said in that, I have a husband of 36 years, 3 dogs, 2 cats and 2 birds. I also have 3 sons who are now grown and living on their own. My husband and I met at a place we both worked during our senior year of high school. That was in 1967 and we got married January 28th, 1970. We have had many ups and downs but have managed to work out and on all our differences, which I might add, are many. We are total opposites which I guess is what makes it work so well. There is never a boring moment!

We have 3 sons. My middle son, Steve, just got married on April 29th, and his wife Kim, is a great addition to our family. My oldest son, Mike, is unattached at the moment but I'm hoping he will meet the right one someday. My youngest, Brian, is the only one who lives out of state and I miss him terribly, but we talk and e-mail all the time. He has been with the same girl for about 2 years now, but there doesn't seem to be any marriage plans yet. Maybe someday.

My pets, well, at one point I only had the birds, which will probably outlive me. Then one Christmas about 5 years ago, Tom surprised me with a puppy. I was NOT happy, but got over it and fell in love with Casey from the day we picked him up. He is a Bichon Frise and is the most loyal dog I have ever had. He follows me everywhere and always has his eye on me. I could never feel lonely with him in my life. Then we ended up keeping my oldest son's dog, Boo Boo- a mixed breed, when he moved into a new place that wouldn't allow pets. She bonded with us and was happy in our household and has become the Alpha dog. She is the only female, like me, and rules the roost - like me! Once I had two dogs, I figured, "what is one more?" and decided to get the size and breed that I have always wanted. That is when Scooter (Scootie) entered our lives. He is a tiny Yorkshire Terrier and such a cutie! He weighs all of 6 pounds, but the vet says he is overweight for his size. Guess he should only weigh about 3 pounds. Oh well, its all those biscuits and treats that I just can't help giving them. I also have two cats. They are just under a year old and brother and sister. The boy, Mikey, thinks he is a dog and, like Casey, follows me around and tries to do what the dogs do. He comes running (actually galloping) when he hears me ask if the dogs want to go outside. I have a doggie door, and they all use it, but in the mornings, the routine is, I let them out the patio doors. Molly, the female joins in with this routine also. She, like Boo Boo, seems aloof and tends to be the bossy one. What is it with females? They are too funny! I have had the birds for about 17 years. I have a Blue Front Amazon, Max, and a Cockatiel, Charlie. They both talk up a storm and make their presence known.

Because we have all these pets, I hated boarding them after having a bad experience the first time I did that. So, we ended up getting an RV and now when we travel we take them with us. We only take the birds when we will be gone more than a long weekend since they are pretty self sufficient. I love traveling in the RV and recommend it to anyone who likes to travel and sleeping in their own bed! Well, that should introduce you to me and my family and pets. I hope to post often and let you know all about our "everyday stuff."