Ok Ok...I'll try to do better

I've gotten so wrapped up in Facebook over the past couple of months that I almost forgot how to blog!

The past couple of months have been eventful...Dad and Barb came to visit. The photos in the gadget to the right are pics he took at the Sandcastle Classic at the Neptune Festival this year. Great time - good weather - entirely too many people.

Oh, and this little thing called my 50th Birthday kinda of got in the way.

We took a trip while Dad was here to Hobbsville, North Carolina. I know - you wish you could have come along. Maybe next time. My older sibling moved to Hobbsville in the early fall with his wife and the 2 dogs. Lot of open fields and cotton down there.

Life at work has been trying with preparation of a two year budget that doesn't start until next July...and having to implement major cuts. The city is looking at a huge deficit this year and I think everyone will feel the pain somehow. And I'm busy with trying to implement a new inventory automation project. Very time consuming. But we'll get through.

The pond has survived. The final four are happy the net is finally over them. Not for protection to them, but to keep the leaves out for me! We got the net on just before that November Nor'easter hit...what a trip that was! It was right up there with TS Bonnie (1997) as far as winds and fear factor. I have since then gone out and bought golashes. Best $20 I've spent all year. I'm ready for the next one!

Zippy is fine and as entertaining as always. Some things just don't change. Like missing my little girl Schatze. We think of her often.

Tomorrow is a few errands then into the kitchen I go to prep for Thursday. The annual day of eating entirely too much food and wondering why we all feel so tired and sleepy. Like I said, some things never change.

New Beginnings

Spring is in the air! You can almost smell the flowers blooming and the fresh cut grass. The warmer days remind me that I'm way behind in getting ready for Spring. All that prep work in the yard, cleaning out beds, getting fresh mulch, pruning and planning. I still haven't decided what to do in the front yard since we leveled it last year - so for now, good ol' green turf will do just fine. But I'd love a shade tree of some sort because our house faces west and the front of it just cooks in the summer afternoon sun.

The pond is doing well. However, I await pollen season with mixed emotions. Love that everything is coming back to life but hate the green coating on everything - and it always wreaks havoc with my pond. Last year it turned so dark and black that I couldn't see fish or anything. I have started the maintenance treatment a little early this year in hopes that we don't have the same problem. Fishes are doing fine - growing nicely. The two larger koi have about doubled in size since last July when I introduced them to the water. The comets and shubunkins are doing nicely too. I can't wait for the spring pond plants to come in at Animal Jungle....the pond looks so bare right now.

Zippy is finally adjusting to being the only one in the house (at least of the four-legged variety). He's not quite as clingy as he was the first two weeks and seems to be settling down a bit. We are too for that matter.

Time Heals All Wounds

Or so they say....

It's been one week since we lost our precious little girl Schatze. The first 3 days were absolutely horrible beyond words. Especially that first Monday going back to work and trying to maintain a normal routine. We have her at home with us once again and right now are trying to help one another through this as well as Zippy. He figured out after about 3 days that something wasn't the same. He's been very "clingy" and wanting tons of attention. Which is ok. He deserves it.

I promise not to rant on for weeks on end about the loss of Schatze. But sometimes putting things on "paper" helps too. We just miss her so much.

Our beloved Schatze

Back on a cold day in early 1994, my sister in law and I went "shopping" for a dog at SPCA and animal control. Michael and I weren't able to have children of our own, so I decided I wanted a dog. He said "no" - I said "you're crazy." And I had always told my Mom that I was wasn't going to have kids - I wanted puppies. Well, my wish came true. I found this darling little "who done it" puppy (just 10 weeks old) at animal control. One wouldn't think to find such a young pup at animal control - but through a mistake in the waiting list for this little beauty, I got the phone call and rushed to pick her up. Back at home, I pulled in the garage to see my husband standing at the door and all I could say was "Congratulations - it's a girl!"

Schatze become the love of our lives. She became my best little four legged friend yet learned very quick to listen and obey "Alpha" Mike. "Mom" was always her playmate and best friend. She quickly wrapped herself around both of our little fingers and we all became inseparable. She was such a beloved member of our family and so very good natured - open to any new friends (including cats, rabbits, opossum - oh, and humans too). Funny little thing she was though, she could never learn to play "fetch." She would soon accompany us on countless camping trips to Hatteras although she hated the water. She would try and follow Mike into the water when he took to his surfboard...only to find out that it's pretty wet (and deep) out there! She just loved being with us regardless of the heat, the sand, the water, or having to sleep in a tent on the floor (except during thunderstorms - then she got the air mattress).

She was our best friend and our first and only child, if you will. In August, 2007 our little girl underwent an emergency surgery to remove a very invasive, cancerous tumor from her ribs. We didn't know at that time if she'd even make it through the surgery. After all, she was almost 14 years old! Pretty good for a "big dog" at 50 plus pounds - so experience tells us. We brought her home to let her tell us when it was time - when she was too tired to go on. Our little girl was a trooper and gave us many, many more months of companionship, love and happiness.

She turned 15 in January and we could tell by the look in her eye that she was tired, unhappy and uncomfortable. She had trouble negotiating the stairs in and out of the house, couldn't see or hear well, had little quality of life and wasn't eating very much. So we did the last final thing we could do for her - and let her go.

And we miss her very much.

POND ering Spring

OK - we got a real big tease today from Mother Nature. After we had howling winds and snow flurries last week, we got a dose of 75+ degrees today. Enough to open the windows, air the house out and get in the yard and pull some weeds. Ok, not my "ideal" day off, but at least I was outside! Tomorrow is supposed to be just as wonderful if not a tad warmer...I think the gang is meeting at the beach in the morning for a couple of rounds of Bocce Ball....I hope I remember how to play!

Schatze continues to amaze us and is hanging in there but we can tell she's not a happy camper anymore. She just looks uncomfortable all of the time. Our days together are numbered I am afraid. Zippy is well, just Zippy...some things never change. The groomer came last Thursday and he was not a happy camper at the time. But he quickly gets over it.

The new fish I put in the pond last summer have about tripled in size. Water temp is just at 50 but they aren't quite ready to eat yet. They're waiting on plants for places to hide. They feel very exposed right now. Songbirds galore today - you name it, we had it. Wrens, Chickadees, Cardinals, Robins, Sparrows, Titmice, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays and of course, our resident Grackles.

Ahhh...the joys of spring (well, almost spring).

Babies in the Yard

What a beautiful night to end the week - asbolutely great weather to sit outside on the deck, feed the Blue Jays peanuts and the Robins grapes. While sitting and enjoying the cool temps on the deck with Schatze and Zip, I look over and walking along the rocks is this baby possum. Actually, I guess they call them opposum. I took Schatze in so she wouldn't go after it - that is , if she could see the thing! I then approached it to see if it was sick or something and it looked fine - just scared to death with this huge human monster hovering over it. So I followed it into the corner where the ivy is and took this picture. Cute little thing, isn't it? Then I scared the poor thing even more and it "froze" in place. So I left it and came back later. When I finally caught up with it a tad later - it was making its way toward my shed. Lo' and behold - it disappeared under the shed. They had chewed a hole in the chicken wire we have around the bottom. We don't know if momma is around, if this little guy was left behind - or what. But this isn't the first time they've moved in under the shed so we'll have to make sure they're gone and re-do the wire fencing.

Fish are doing well - as soon as they get big enough (and start coming to the surface) to take a pic of, I'll be sure to post. I found out tonight that they're hanging out underneath the box holding the pump. I guess there is just enough room for them to get under that box since they are still rather small. But the water is clearing and things are looking better. Keep your fingers crossed.

Happy Weekend to All!

Ciao.

Rainy days...

Another rainy weekend day - just like I like 'em. But didn't get to relax too much today - it was rather busy around the ol' homestead. We had the carpets cleaned this morning at the same time the groomer showed up for Zip and we decided to give Schatz a bath too. A tad chaotic, but we got through it. But before anyone showed up, it was up early at 6am and moving all of the "small" furniture out of the way. Then there was the vaccuming and when the carpets were done it was mopping the wood floors, cleaning house, dusting, etc. Just entirely too busy for a Saturday. So tomorrow, I'm gonna relax. We're having brunch with a few friends and then we're gonna come home and chill out and watch the Nascar race. Going to relax on my Sunday.

Whoo Hoo - a NCIS marathon today on USA Network. Just gotta love it!

It's only 9pm, but I'm feeling tired. Must be my age showing.

Weekend Eve

Well, it IS my weekend as I have taken tomorrow off. Sometimes we just need a "me" day to do whatever we want to do - or not. It's supposed to rain and I love rainy days so I may just lay on the couch and sleep all day with my four legged friends.

Tonight I'm having some friends over for dinner. This is a wonderful group of ladies that I formed a very special bond with. We get together every month for our own little hen party, some adult beverages and a lot of laughter! We usually meet at one of our favorite watering holes but we recently started rotating amongst our homes. I host tonight and they're gonna love it. I made a bit crock pot of Chicken Merlot and we're going to have some wonderful crusty bread from La Bella Italia paired with a plate of yummy EVOO and freshly grated romano cheese. I guess we'll have salad so we can say we ate healthy. And a good glass of nice chilled Pinot Grigio. They'll be here in two hours and I can hardly wait. The smell in the house from the chicken cooking all day is starting to get to me!

The birds are starting to show up in force (grackles and starlings) which means Spring can't be far behind. I know when my bird feeders get raped of all their food in one day, that the black birds are back. But I'm getting some Red Wing Blackbirds which are very pretty in flight. It's really cool to see a whole flock of them take off and the big ribbon of red that follows. I've noticed male Red Bellied Woodpeckers who are in full mating color and the cardinals are as red as ever. We'll have little fledglings before we know it.

The pond for some reason is holding water now. Of course it would - just to torque us a bit. As soon as the weather breaks, we'll drain it completely, trouble shoot the leak situation and get it ready for some new fish. My neighbor says the fish are happy in her pond so I doubt I'll get them back.

OK. I'm off to stir the chicken and get the rest of dinner ready. Bon Apetito!

The Dog Days of February

Now, that doesn't sound right does it? Oh well. It's been a very long week at work, it's been raining all day and my feeble little brain has had enough. Gosh, and it's just hump day.

You will be happy to know that the bedroom is spic and span with a shiny (well, not really, I chose a flat finish) new coat (or two) of paint - ceiling too! Don't get too excited - I went with very natural, neutral colors for now. I did paint one wall as an accent but it's very subtle. But the wall is an easy one to get to and move a few things out of the way, so I can "bump it up a notch" later when the mood hits me to get wild and put a real color on the wall. I'm just too afraid of taking a risk with too much color - and have to repaint it again and again. Chicken little I am I am.

Zippy didn't get any paint on him but he kept coming into the room and walking around - I think he like the sound of the tarps squishing under his feet. Either that, or he's just a little weird. Ok, I think we know the real answer here.

Schatze could have cared less. Mr. Wonderful too for that matter! Although he was a great help getting the room put back together, the ceiling fan blades on, dressers moved into place, etc. I couldn't have done it without him. I think I'll keep him (and no Diane - he doesn't hire out!). And sorry, but I forgot the before and after pics - I do hope no one looses sleep over that.

So, the writers stike is over! Yipee! How long before a new NCIS comes on? Bummer though that we have to wait until '09 for a new season of 24....my new favorite show (after Mr. Harmon, of course). I'm sure we'll benefit from this strike in some form or fashion - like, maybe they will keep any new reality shows to a minimum...ugh! So over those.

OK, I've rambled enough. Until next time - Ciao!

February Already?

Wow - where does all this precious time go? Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day already. What's the little guy gonna do this year? Sunday is Super Bowl. We have Valentine's Day this month as well as President's Day - it's a happen' month!

It has been a hectic couple of weeks. I promised myself that when the Learning 2.0 thing was over with, that I'd spend more time investigating some of those wonderful tools that I learned about. NOT! I just don't know what happens to my time. I always thought I was pretty organized and detailed, but some days I have my doubts. But my "to do" list at works never really seems to shrink (just the opposite), and the ATP list at home hasn't gone anywhere in a couple of months and I still have pond issue to deal with.

Speaking of the pond. We've filled it once again (sans the milk) and turned the pump off to see how much water we loose. It's just been one week and so far, ok. It's a complete mystery to us. All good things come to those who wait. And wait, and wait...

Hmm...what else is going on? Now that I have my Mom's den painted, I think I'm going to tackle my bedroom next weekend. No time like the present, right? Why put it off. Like working on the backyard this weekend. Sunday is supposed to be "warm" for this time of year (mid-50's) so I think I can get out there and clean out the bird pit, clean up the lower deck, trim some perennials and clean up the potted plants. After all, it will be Easter before I know it and time to put new stuff out. Schatze will enjoy a day outdoors as well.

My poor little Schatz....we both feel like it won't be long for her. She seems like she's on her last legs which actually give out on her going up and down the 3 steps from the garage to the house. She's had a wonderful life (I always said that if I'm reincarnated, I want to come back as my dog!) so we can't get but too upset. Then there's Zippy - he's, just, well, he's a cat. What else can I say?

Be good - or be good at it! Ciao.

Odds and Ends

I thought it was time to put something new on this here 'ol blog of mine. I think I already mentioned that our Learning 2.0 is basically complete - we just have to blog about the whole experience. I'll do that at a later date. Here's a picture of an asparagus fern on my deck trying to hang on a few more weeks. And I posted a new pic of Zippy at his new favorite spot - right in front of the sink by the dishwasher. Will add more later - when life slows down a hair...yea, right!