An Update and "The Dog Hoarder's Convention"

Around here life is settling back into normal routine. After spending 3.5 weeks at home, A returned to work Monday. It was nice to have her home, especially since we had extra furry house-guests for a couple weeks. I guess I've just been feeling quiet and last week I was swamped getting the silent auction together for our rescue's annual get-together (also called the Dog Hoarder's Convention by A's sister). This is the third year I've been in charge but got a late start so I was just happy to pull things together in time.

Saturday morning we woke to a cool, windy day. A had spent Friday getting the RV ready and packed for our trip. The plan was to drive it to the rescue event and then camp along the Redwood river that night. We were running late...as usual...and after getting all the dogs loaded in to RV it wouldn't start. Seriously?! After working on it for over an hour, we just had to load the essential stuff and the dogs into two cars to go. We were both in pissed off moods but after we got there, it was hard to stay mad with all this cuteness running around...120 cute little dogs in attendance to be exact!

 Tawny

 The old man Gizzy looks down on the commoners from his stroller.

 How can you tell which one is yours?

 Love the teeth!

 Suki

 Buddy had the best seat in the house.

This is what happens when you try to give one dog a treat.

We ate too much food, visited and spent all my money at the silent auction. Since I run it and bid for others who can't attend, I don't bid for myself. The last two years A has bid for me and I've come home with a load of stuff and an empty purse.

This is the first year we decided to pose for a group photo. Obviously, this isn't every volunteer in our group but there are people here from Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and even one person who planned their trip north from New Mexico to coincide with this event. 

This year my offer to the silent auction was a custom pet portrait by fellow blogger Rocket. I had her do one of our dog Gizzy to use as an example and the winner could then submit a photo of their own pet for a portrait. It was a big hit at the auction and I'm ecstatic it raised quite a bit of cash. I just LOVE this picture and she completely captured the Old Man. 

I have it framed and proudly displayed in my living room. THANK YOU ROCKET!

A and I had a lot of things planned for this fall but haven't accomplished much. Mostly I've just wanted to stay close to home and be with her. We were disappointed to not be able to camp this past weekend, but now the RV is up and running again (a bad battery is an easy fix) and we still have a weekend trip planned mid-October near the Mississippi river/Wisconsin before putting it away for the winter. We've had time to re-connect with each other and re-prioritize our lives. A seems to be in a better state if mind about her job and has decided to go back to school (online) to expand her degree. I'm so happy she has finally made that decision and I'm hoping it all works out. This coming weekend, I'm excited that my brother is bringing my nephews for a visit. I haven't seen them in over a year already!

This Life is All Just an Adventure (And A Long Post)

I woke up this morning to thunder and lightening and hail. For one brief moment I thought I should get up and check things out...but then I rolled over and my muscles groaned and I decided I wasn't going anywhere. I looked at the kitty sleeping on my pillow and moaned, "Can't I have just one more day at home?" A few hours later I got my wish; work called to tell me my schedule had fallen apart. Yeah, I get to stay home.

My weekend started at 5pm Friday on a gloomy note. I left work and as I turned toward home I could see a huge storm cloud in the distance. All I could think was great, finally a beautiful day stuck indoors and just as I get to go home, here comes the rain again. Fuck!!
Luckily is was just a quick moving rain cloud and I just missed the sun-shower as I drove up to a lake just 5 miles from my house. Instead I was treated with a view of this beautiful rainbow.

At home A had the same idea and took a picture from our backyard. 

It ended up being a lovely evening and we spent it at home.

Saturday I woke early to a beautiful sunny day. It was a little cool, only in the 50s but perfect weather for  walking/running. It was especially nice for me who had not been out training for over 2+ weeks because of the cold rain/snow.  We actually made it out the door and to the 5K early (because I'm usually running late) and we got to see the 1/2 marathon runners start. 

Before the 5K, the 5 of us posed for one last photo just in case someone dropped over beside the road.  I have to admit that some of us (mainly me) were kind of lazy 5Kers. We walked up hills and jogged down. We just wanted to finish before time was up. I did get a little stressed at one point. We came around a corner and the Boy Scouts were set up handing out water. Someone asked how far to the finish and I swore she said we were 1 mile in. At this point I'm starting to panic, "OMG A, did she say we've only went a mile! That can't be right! We still have 2 miles! I can't go another 2 miles!!" Picture that I'm panting and wanting to die. A just tried to reassure me that only a mile left, "Just keep thinking Blood Mary, Bloody Mary".  I told her I don't like Bloody Marys that damn much! 

All my life I've heard of the mythical "Runners High". What a fucking joke! Afterward I had that damn lactic acid burn in my legs and the girls told me that was supposed to be a great feeling. I told them that feeling is only great if induced by wild, mind-blowing sex. Otherwise, it's a waste!

The girl who had my camera didn't know how to turn it on, so she didn't get a picture of us crossing the finish line. But we finished in 39:22. The first of our group finished in 32:04 and everyone else fell in between. The average finish for the whole 5K was 41:26 so we were all better than average. Bonus, no cramp in my side!

Afterward, Bloody Mary, beer chaser and a huge-ass breakfast that calorie content surpassed what I had just burnt off. I will admit, that after my belly was full, I agreed to do it again next year. I'm a glutton for punishment.

We came home and spent some time outside with the dogs. Last year at our rescue auction I won a dog agility set and wanted to try out the tunnel; some sniffed it, others just avoided it. A thought it would be a good idea to climb in and maybe entice the dogs inside.

Okay, now they're interested.

 Jill even went inside for a minute.

But then she got stuck and the dogs scattered. Notice, I take pictures but don't rush to help her. I wonder what my neighbors think. Even after all this, we had to go grocery shopping plus I had extra stops to make. By the time we came home that night, I could barely walk. Every muscle in the lower 1/2 of my body was screaming and I was asking myself why the hell do I do these things without properly preparing.

Mother's Day went off without a hitch. A and I both invited our mothers out to brunch at a nearby restaurant. It's on the river and they have great outdoor spaces and a lot of feeders and nesting areas to attract birds and other wildlife. It was busy and they didn't accept reservations but the awesome breakfast was worth the wait. 

After the moms went home, A got to work installing a new stereo system in the RV. Sounds simple until you realize the RV is 24 years old and so is the old radio. We knew we needed to install new speakers but when we pulled the old radio out, well things were just wired differently back then. The radios didn't need as much power and there were only 5 wires. A new stereo has more like 15-20 wires and needs additional power from wires that don't exist. This endeavor required removing part of the dash, a Dremel to cut a larger opening and sacrificing the cigarette lighter for extra power. All in all, it worked out well and A gets an A+ for effort on that project.

This one goes to the dogs.

Finally! 
We had a beautiful weekend. There are the faint signs of spring around and even though it was still cool you hardly noticed with all that glorious sunshine. We made it outside to go walking and maybe I'll be ready for the 5K we're doing in 6 weeks. I've fallen behind in my walking/jogging the last few weeks considering both A and I have been under a funk; she had a nasty upper respiratory and I've just been in a blue mood. 


We started the weekend by celebrating Sia's 10th birthday. I know, I know....we baked a cake and added candles for a dog but what the hell, 10 years is a milestone for a little dog. She must be up around 50 in human years. Somewhere I have a conversion chart for dog to human years but I don't feel like finding it right now so I'm just estimating. No matter what, she's my baby girl and she and the others thoroughly enjoyed their cake.  

No frosting but they did get Reddi-Whip. I could apologize for my appearance in these pictures but fuck it! I just came home from an extremely long Friday and was in no mood to try to look presentable.


Friday Gizzy's doggy stroller arrived and we strapped in him for a test drive. With his bad knees he just can't walk as far as he used to. He was a little nervous at first but I think he will enjoy it and A gets to be the one shamed by pushing a dog in a stroller. 

Saturday we had to go do the dreaded grocery shopping. Ugh! There are few things I hate more. A buys me Starbucks and tries to keep me entertained and I appreciate all her efforts. At one point we were in the meat department and I spotted a middle-aged woman with really long hair. You know, the kind that is past their butt, straight and with ragged split ends. Whenever I see hair like that, I have an incredible urge to take the scissors to it. So much so that last year I almost ran a woman down in the Memphis airport to give her $12 and send her to Great Clips. A spotted the hair at the same time and muttered that it "would make a nice nest for 2 kangaroo rats". I immediately started to giggle and the more I did the funnier it got. We received a few odd looks from other shoppers. I mean we are two adults laughing so hard we have tears while standing next to the poultry. I know it was one of those things where you just had to be there and maybe it was all the caffeine and sugar in my vanilla latte but it's those little moments spent with someone you love intensely, who loves you back just the same that are so special. In situations like these, A almost always leans in and tells me how happy she is that at least I find her funny. Yeah, she makes me laugh like no one else.


The grocery store we frequent has a large (and over-priced) floral department and we usually cruise through to check things out. Over the years we've found some cute planters there that we have been able to closely replicate on the cheap. This day I found these beautiful blue orchids at an inflated price. 

I immediately thought of Bethany and how much she would appreciate these. Although I found them stunning, I can just picture one of the dogs running through the house with those blue petals in their mouth. Lets just say it wouldn't end well.


So we have just about 2 months until we go on our first "big" RV trip and Nipples to the Wind is still stuck in storage. It's too wet and muddy to drive it out of the storage shed and we really don't want to get that thing stuck in our friend's yard. Still we're getting anxious because we still need to un-winterize it, change the oil, get new wheels and tires installed and most importantly install a new stereo and speakers. I'm trying to be patient but just don't want to feel rushed/stressed trying to get things done on a deadline. 
Patience....that's what I must keep chanting to myself. Happy Monday.