New Levels of Insanity and a Tacky RV Make-Over

Meet my 2 newest house guests.

 Leeza

Chantelle

Let me stress that they are only guests and will be heading to their own homes in less than 2 weeks. They are sweet and polite but there are entirely too many dogs in this house. Leeza and Chantelle's addition brings us to the insane number of 10. Yes, that's right I said TEN!!      When I sighed and muttered those words this morning, A practically dropped to her knees rejoicing that I realize that fact. 

When A and I finalized our trip to Ohio, we couldn't very well leave without at least offering to transport any dogs that needed to head east. We have foster homes along the route and with gas prices, well transports are becoming more limited. Early last week it appeared that we weren't going to have any extras along but by the middle of the week, two adopters had contacted us about meeting along our route to pick up their newest addition. By Friday, I had it all planned out and Saturday I picked them up while doing my previously planned transport. I can't help but be amazed by the dedication and efficiency of the people I work with on a regular basis; four people came from four directions and dogs were swapped, 3 headed for adoptive homes and another 6 headed for the first time into a foster home. It was a good day.

Between all the seemingly non-stop rain we have managed to get the RV road ready. The all important engine maintenance and wheel and tire conversion was completed a few weeks ago. Then we decided to start a little make-over on the interior. We plan to paint but don't have time to get into that yet so we started easy by covering the retro sea-foam green 1987 interior and replacing the curtains with bright colors and now we're kind of hippie-ish. 

Before

A said she wanted bright colors and I aim to please. In the rear there are two more windows with turquoise, purple and pink curtains and I covered the rear bench with a bright polka dot sheet. Now I can't wait to start painting.
For the driver and passenger seats we chose blue Hawaiian seat covers. Once A got a look at those, she decided she wouldn't be satisfied without a dashboard hula girl to complete the look. Meet "Sweet Leilani". I found her and several others on Ebay. A made her choice and I had her shipped to us from Hawaii even though I'm sure her point of origin is China. Looks like she is more traveled than us already.

What can I say except that when we decide to go tacky and cliche, we go all the way. 

My favorite part of this picture is A's lumbar support pillow in the driver's seat. :)

Before placing Leilani on the dashboard for our hula-ing pleasure, A just couldn't resist finding out what she had on under that skirt. For the record, she has a yellow bikini. 

Here in Minnesota, spring has finally arrived in some way, shape or form. It's been extremely rainy and cooler than normal but that doesn't stop life from struggling forward. The farmers may not be able to get into the fields but the plants have managed to push through the soil. The leaves appeared on the trees overnight and my hostas shot up like magic. The rosebushes are filling out and the ants are already working on the peony buds. A planted her salsa garden; herbs, tomato and pepper plants yesterday between scattered thunderstorms. We just can't keep waiting for mother-nature to get her ass in gear.

Monday Sucks!

I can't be more happy to say goodbye to this Monday. My car took a crap on me this morning. I went out to start it and it was not well. It did the exact same thing last winter and it was my ignition coil. Poor car was studdering along on 2 of its 4 cylinders. I have to say it is likely the same thing. I still have warranty on it for another 4000 miles so if it wants to die, do it now. I had to call work, then a tow truck and wait. The young man driving the tow truck was a friendly and interesting fellow. We had about a 30 minute drive and he told me tales of working as a repo man in Minneapolis; his physical altercations with some of the people he's repossessed from and how he's on a first name basis with many of the Minneapolis police. He probably weighs 120 pounds but he sure thinks he's a big man. I just smiled and listened. I finally dropped off my car at the mechanic, picked up a rental and then headed to work. I would rather have just went home!

Tonight I came home to A talking about the roof. We just had a new one put on this past spring and with the heavy snowfall we've developed some major ice-dams along the edges of the roof. On the west side of the house there is ice over a foot thick. We haven't had any leaking yet but the risk is high. A contacted a company and they are coming to remove the ice-dams on Wedensday at a substantial hourly rate. Damn, I think I'm going to change my profession. Too bad I have to work though, I would love to be out there watching. I guess they go up on the roof with high heat steam wands and basically cut the ice off the roof. Oh, the joys of home-ownership. Fuck this weather...it's time to head south!

I'm going to bed now and when I wake up it will be a new day, I'll have a new state of mind and less money in the bank.

A Comedy of Errors and I'm a Jackass!!

Today A and I decided to go shopping at Ikea. We've been talking since summer about purchasing some new furniture items for the living room. It's become a Christmas tradition that we both contribute to buy a larger item(s) for the house or plan a vacation then just buy each other a few smaller things to open on Christmas day.

We slept late and A made waffles for breakfast. Then she hurried me to get ready to go; mumbling about the weather and traffic and we had to get things done today. We hopped into the piece of shit truck, A turned the ignition and nothing but a click. The battery was dead. I said, "maybe we should wait and go another day". She insisted the truck did this a couple weeks ago and although the battery needs replaced, after she got it going last time it was fine the rest of the day. It's been sitting in the cold weather for over a week, blah, blah, blah. So I wait patiently while we jump the truck and finally get on the road. We have an uneventful drive and once parked at Ikea I suggest, "maybe we should just keep it running while we go inside". She reaches over and turns off the ignition saying it will be fine, just watch. She turns the key again to show me the piece of shit truck will start and it only clicks. Now I'm pissed! She insists we go get the items we came for and then we will deal with the truck.

We went into that packed store and I was furious! That means that I now have no patience for meandering idiots or unruly children or pain in the ass people in general. We load up two platform trucks with our purchases (with the help of the cutest little gay boys), check out and head to the loading zone. A swears she just knows the truck is going to start. Lucky for me it was a pleasant sunny day because I had to stand on that loading zone for a LONG time! I was right again and the truck would still not start. We had one lucky break when A was just ready to call for a tow truck a nice gentleman from Iowa stopped and offered to give us a jump start.

A pulls up to the loading zone and starts backing up. I'm trying to handle two heavy platform trucks that don't drive worth a damn and look up to see A backing over one of the loading zone signs. I let go of the cart I was driving and started yelling and waving at her to stop. I then directed her forward and to my relief those signs are spring loaded and the damn thing popped back up! I turn around to get my cart and the one I was pulling when A was running over the sign has run off the curb and tipped one of the boxes onto the parking lot. The corner of the box is ripped open and a piece of wood is broken/torn off the product inside. Holy shit!! What else can happen!!!!! A and I load the rest of the boxes and I head back into the store. I had to go wait in the return isle and a nice lady went and got a new box to replace the damaged one. We loaded up and headed home.

Now to share my jackass moment. A and I have been discussing being more open and affectionate in public. She is open to it even though she has said it will take some adjustment for her. We were walking through the store today and she reached over and took my hand. I was so furious at that moment that I pulled my hand away and told her, "I'm so angry at you right now, I don't want to hold your hand!" 10 minutes later I felt like total shit. She took the initiative, stepped out of her comfort zone and I was a complete and total jackass to her.

On the way home I apologized for my bad behavior and she admited she didn't give a shit about running over that sign because she was imagining it to be me. She apologized for not listening when I suggested we leave the truck running. Within a short time we were laughing about all the things that went wrong on our trip and she said the next time I insist we postpone something, she will listen. I can't help but still feel terrible for not holding her hand. So what should my punishment be?

Snow, Stress and Home Improvement

I woke up in a foul mood this morning. Maybe it was the weather; 25 degrees and fucking snow on October 10th or maybe it's all the other things going through my head. All I know is that I'm happy that A was on-call this weekend and got called into the office this morning or I may be divorced by now.

I received a call from a family member 2 weeks ago to inform me they have been diagnosed with cancer. This person and I have not had a relationship for the last several years. I had stepped away from having a relationship with them when I just couldn't deal with their negative behavior anymore. After 30 years of hearing the same complaints, fights, and hurtful behaviors I just said I had enough-and cut off communication. I don't hate them, just couldn't handle it anymore. I know that some would say it is horrible to cut off a family member but I believe that some people are just toxic. Their negativity creeps into your life and they drag you down with them; sometimes that person is a member of your family. Anyway, this person now wants me to handle things for them if they become incapable and be the executor of their will. I feel obligated to do so and know they really have no one else dependable to handle things. So I take on this responsibility because it is my duty...and I feel the weight of this duty heavy on my shoulders.

As much as I hate to admit it I still sometimes fall into old habits of dealing with stress. I have tried to recognize the cycles and rise above the negative coping skills I learned from my parents but it is a constant battle to overcome those self-destructive habits. I am lucky to have a wonderful woman like A in my life. She knows when to just leave me alone and doesn't take everything personally. I doubt the two of us would still be together if we were closer in age (she's 14 years older). She was older and wiser when I was going through the craziness of my early and mid-twenties. She is actually a saint for putting up with me through some of those years. She was my rock, my stability and with her I grew to know myself, recognize my strengths and embrace my weaknesses.

I did manage to focus some of my energy today and painted my front door a beautiful shade of emerald green. We have lived in this house nearly 8 years with the same pale yellow-beige primed steel door; no spark, no curb-appeal, just BORING!! Since we put new siding on last fall and a new roof this spring it really made the entry just dated and drab. I didn't want a red door-too overdone (and my neighbors across the street have a red door), the idea of a blue door was just not right and I finally decided on green. It's taken weeks to find just the right shade and the effort was well worth it. Next spring-new storm door to really showcase my beautiful green door.