Getting Life in Order

Well the Sears appliance repairman just left with a nice fat check from me. Parts are ordered and hopefully will arrive and be installed by the end of the week. Just as I thought, the dryer motor is dying. Yes, I did get laundry done this weekend. Luckily the laundromat is only 6 blocks away and A was right about one thing-she did have enough quarters. :))

All I can say is that things are just "off" in this household. My bad mood/irritation/pissed-off state persisted through Saturday. The thing is, it wasn't really the dryer that set things off. We've both just been "not-right" with each other the last few weeks; you know snappy and moody and intolerant. The thing is when you ask what's wrong, it's not one thing you can really put your finger on. I know for me, A may say something in a completely innocent way and I take it personally. By Sunday we had both calmed down and become reasonable enough to have a real conversation with each other. Bonus, nothing negative between us all day Sunday. 

Between all the crap I can say we did have a pretty nice and productive weekend. After sleeping on Betty's bed during my petsitting gig, I had completely fallen in love with the mattress, so last weekend I took A shopping. We were able to agree on one and it was delivered Friday evening. Can I say absolute heaven!  OMG, I could barely make it out of bed I was so comfy all weekend. I may have to consider moving the computer, TV and appliances in the bedroom so I don't have to get out of bed again. 

We arranged furniture, got our guest room in order, finished up the last of the fall yard work and finally (and with great sadness) put the RV in storage. The cold north wind was blowing and we had snow flurries while driving home. I shouldn't really complain about that though...just be thankful I'm not living on the east coast.

Happy Monday...and Happy Halloween!

This time A pissed me off...and I'm still irritated.

Tonight I walked out of the kitchen into the living room to hear a screeching-grinding-whistling sound coming from the laundry room.  A is just sitting there on the couch. "Do you hear that?" She just kind of nods and still just sits there. Now that irritated me and I muttered something like, "Do you think maybe you could check something like that out?" 

I went into the laundry area and find it's the dryer. It's still running but making a god-awful noise and smelling hot. I turn it off, do a quick check to make sure nothing is stuck inside, turn it back on-it's still making the noise. "Oh great! It's the dryer!" I yell to her. Still nothing from her as I bang around and struggle to pull the machine out so I can check the connection of the exhaust, etc. "Can you help me?" Nothing.

I come back into the living room telling her that the dryer isn't working and expressed how upset I am that I won't be able to get a repairman here at the earliest until Monday and things are so busy at work I'm not in the position to take a 1/2 day off to wait for the repairman, blah, blah, blah...still nothing from her. Now I'm getting irritated by her apathy and tell her well if you want clean clothes, I guess we will have to find time to go to the laundromat this weekend and she says, "I have quarters". 

I admit I flew into a nail-spitting rage. That was the last fucking smart-ass comment I wanted to hear. So I let it fly. I kind of feel bad...no I take that back, I don't feel bad at all. Really I love her, but she pisses me off like no one else can! I'm sure I'll be better in the morning-just needed to vent.

Halloween Fun, More Puppies and A Baptism

I don't know if I've mentioned before that Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. It's no-stress, no family hassles and it is only as much fuss as you want. I just love this time of year and spend as much time as possible watching scary movies and cuddling close to my love. 

Saturday night my friend Kristine and I dragged our spouses off for a fun and fright-filled night at Scream Town. As I sit here tonight typing, my throat is still raw and scratchy from screaming. There were 5 different attractions but by far the scariest was the Circus Asylum. Clowns + pitch blackness + strobe lights = scared shitless!

Several times A said I actually picked her up. We learned Kristine is a sprinter when scared and at one point she practically ripped off my parka. Her husband (a big 6' 5" guy) was plowed over and pushed out the fire exit by 3 freaked out gals...well make that 2 freaked out gals and one gal being dragged/carried along. That time several of the actors actually lost character and burst out laughing themselves. I woke this morning feeling stiff and sore and I swear I dis-located a hip. 


It was a late night and then an early morning when I hobbled my crippled ass out of bed to put on heels and head to church. That's right, I suffered through mass to attend the baptism of the son/grandson of our close friends (and adopted family). Ahh, the things you do for the ones you love! We had a great meal and lots of visiting, laughter and hugs afterward. It was a happy occasion just to have everyone together. 

Even though I was tired it was a great way to end the weekend as I returned home again from a short petsitting/housesitting gig. This time it was a happier occasion since Betty just had a chance for a last minute getaway. She seems to be doing much better and I'm hopeful for her.  Anyway the bonus for me was getting to spend 5 days with these adorable little critters.

3.5 week old Chin puppies. OMG, I was in so much love!

I tried to resist holding them as much as possible since it made their little mama nervous.

But seriously, who can resist this face and they fit just perfectly in one of my hands. This little guy will never be a show dog since his markings aren't "breed standard" but his little mustache is so unique. I don't know if Betty has named them yet, but I called him Groucho Marx all week.

Happy Monday!

Final Camping Trip 2011: Whitewater State Park

One last chilly weekend camping trip for us and our crew. We left Friday afternoon and made a short drive to the bluffs of southeast MN. 

Our final camping of the summer was supposed to be the peak of the fall color.

This was all that was left of fall color...just a scatter here and there. Most of the trees were already bare.

I was surprised at just how many campers there were out this past weekend. I suppose they were out looking for color too since the people who are supposed to know these things had forecasted it. Looks like they are about a reliable as the weatherman.

The weather cooperated as best as we can expect this time of year. The sun was warm and it was in the 60s during the day but that damn north wind was plaguing us. It never lets us forget that winter is around the corner. 

Perfect weather though to build a big fire and sit around chatting...or not.

We had the crew outside with us as much as possible until their little feet started to chill from the cold damp ground.

The chilly nights in the 40s made me thankful for that little gas furnace in the RV. Add my down comforter and 7 furry little bodies snuggled in around me, and I was toasty warm. Too bad I woke so stiff and sore from not moving most of the night. 

This state park has miles of hiking trails through the river valley and up into the surrounding bluffs. Saturday we decided to take the trail up into the bluffs to Chimney Rock. The trail starts out pretty level along the river and leads to a beach/picnic area.  

There were several of these little waterfalls.

A being the mountain goat she always is just couldn't resist leaving the trail and climbing the sandstone cliffs. From the look of it, a lot of others like to climb up there too and carve their name or initials in the soft walls.

I should keep reminding her that she's not 20 anymore and breakable, but I doubt it would have much effect. 

Most of the trail to Chimney Rock was just a narrow dirt path long the edge of steep drops. Some of the steeper places had wooden stairs like these.

But I preferred the beautiful stone stairs that wound upward overlooking the Whitewater river. 

With all that cardio we did stop for a break on these perfectly placed benches.

We finally made it to the top and A stood out there to survey the world.

It's crazy to me that I can jump out of an airplane, but standing on the edge of that cliff makes me feel woozy. I had to lay down to look over the edge. A just couldn't resist climbing down a little further to freak me out and take this picture.

We were starving when we finally made our way back to camp but A had put meatball stew on in the crock pot that morning so we didn't have to wait long to eat.

Then it was nap-time but it's hard to get much rest when the crew all wants to nap with you.

I cut my not-really-a-nap short because A wanted to check out the Wildlife Center.

Nice wolfie...

...and a giant beaver...

...and A stalking a turkey. She does whatever she can to keep me entertained. 

As usual we had curious visitors to our campsite. Most people are friendly enough, but the asshole camping across from us pissed me off immediately. We had no longer unloaded the dogs (and they had not made a single noise) and he came over to ask us if we were going to be able to keep them quiet all weekend. Grrrrrr! Seriously, IF they are making noise you can complain, but don't come up to me and start complaining before anything has happened! 

We laughed at the idiot every morning as he did his wannabe Chuck Norris workout with bungee strap on the tree and picnic table. Click to see a close up. What a jackass!

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!

My Remembrance

Last night A built a fire in the backyard and as we sat there looking into the flames we did what so often happens when sitting around a fire...we reminisced.

We talked about 10 years ago when I was on my way to my 8am class that I had no idea as I parked my car and rushed across campus that a plane was hitting the first tower in New York. In 2001, no one had internet on their cell phones. We all sat through our 8am classes without a clue.

At 9am I walked into one of the common areas on campus and people were crowded around every TV. That is when I realized something had happened. I called A who had worked the night shift and was just getting ready to go to bed and told her to turn on the TV. All classes were cancelled and I drove as fast a possible the 1 hour to A's place listening to the radio as the towers fell.

September 11th is also our anniversary. That year on our second one, I remember we had plans but for the life of me, I don't have a clue what they were now. We, like everyone else, sat parked in front of the TV watching and wondering...what next?

In the last 10 years I have not agreed with all the politics and policies that were the outcome of this event. Today I've been saddened to read all the online comments by people who choose to bash the memorial events because of their anger with the government or their hatred of others' religious beliefs.

Today I choose to remember that everyone who died that day loved and was loved by someone else. They were all someone's husband, wife, sister, brother, mother, father, son, daughter or friend. They got up that morning and went through their normal routine just like any other day and in the matter of a few hours they were lost.

Now I'm going to turn off the TV/internet, hug the person I love, be grateful that I still have the ability to do that, and enjoy this beautiful fall day.

"Honey, I'm Home!"

And I informed A I'm not leaving again. I don't like the single life.