Oh oh.....

I think I've mentioned before that I live in a heavily wooded area. Today when I let my dog out, my neighbor was at the fence motioning at me. She told me she wanted to give me a heads up and proceeded to tell me that she had seen 3 hawks in my yard early this morning. She said she saw them circling the area above our houses the past few days.

Now there are three of us whose yards meet, separated by fences. We all have dogs.....small dogs. I have a rat terrier, she has a toy poodle and the other neighbor has a yorkie that's about as big as a minute. The neighbors on the other side of me have a really big dog, so they have nothing to worry about.

I've never seen these birds in this area before and I've lived here for 36 years. Maybe they've figured out that we have an abundance of squirrels here. As long as its squirrel on their menu and not dog, I won't worry.....but I am of the mind that a hungry hawk wouldn't stop to think about it, he'd just swoop, grab and fly. Like a fast-food drive-through. Makes me shutter to think of it......ewww

Does anyone know anything about hawks? My dog and her dog weigh about the same....16 lbs....but the yorkie is just a tiny little thing. I wonder if there is something I can put in my yard to frighten them? If anyone has any ideas, please share. Boy oh boy.....its always something, isn't it? As it is I have to make sure she's not outside for any length of time after dark because of the raccoons.

Here I sit.....

listening to fireworks from the festival that's going on at the lake about 3 blocks from me right now. The grand finale will be at 11 p.m. and its LOUD and constant for almost a full two minutes when it happens. It used to get my other dog so upset she was beside herself so I had to tranquilize her on the day of the festival.

Its been sprinkling for the last several hours but not enough to stop this celebration. Seems like every year they get bigger and louder. Sigh - I guess I'm showing my age. I don't bother fighting the crowd to go down there and see them any more. Actually I can see a lot of them from my deck. Some of them are so powerful that it vibrates the pictures on my walls. Personally I think its really over done....I say this silently every year and have sort of labeled myself a 'grumpy old woman'.....I don't voice this opinion to very many people because of that. I thought maybe this year it would be a bit more subdued because of the economy but the Association that puts it on are all members who live in lakefront homes and money is the least of their worries.

When I was a kid, I looked forward to seeing the fireworks because it was a rarity. They only had them one weekend, the one closest to the fourth as possible....and that was IT. You enjoy something so much more when you have to wait a whole year to see it again. I've been listening to fireworks since the last week of June and past experience tells me that I will continue to hear them up until the end of August. Some people just don't know when to stop.

My daughter is down there with my granddaughter who hasn't seen too many fireworks displays at her young age. To her, this is really special and I'm glad she's able to watch them.

I haven't had much to write about and I'm glad really. Its sort of nice to have life slow down for a while. My computer is running so s-l-o-w, it is maddening. I have purchased the things needed for my new one and my computer guy picked them up today. He will assemble it during this week and next weekend pick up this one and begin the transfer process. I am apprehensive....afraid I will have to do a lot of things over. You know, you have everything set up just like you like it and then if you have to reinstall, then you're back to square one again. I know my photos are safe as I have them backed up on an external hard drive. Well, actually my whole hard drive is backed up, but its no guarantee that the programs will work once the transfer is finished as I'm upgrading to XP. I'm using Win2000 right now. So, I'm kinda stressed out over that. I have paid all the bills that are due up to August 8....so hopefully I'll be back in business way before then.

One good thing did happen. My daughter received notice that she WON her disability case. I can't begin to tell you what a relief this is to us. Things have been so difficult since she lost her job because she was unable to do the work any longer. We've waited for 2 years and 5 months. All that time with no money coming in and fighting to get what she's entitled to. Now we wait another 30-60 days before she finds out the rest of the particulars from her local social security office.

Keep smilin'

A relaxing day.....

This morning I awoke to the sound of thunder rumbling..... not crashing, just rumbling. It was such a peaceful feeling to lay there and listen to it and then hear the raindrops lightly tapping at the window. We've had so many bright sunny days in a row, this came as a very welcome respite. The flowers were spreading their petals and drinking in the life giving moisture. They seemed to double the intensity of their vibrant hues, everything has turned greener, more fragrant. How I love summer!!

When I opened up the door to the deck to let the dog out the temperature felt tropical....very warm and humid. It was a nice change. The kind of day that's perfect to sit out on a screened in porch with a favorite beverage and enjoy a book or just sit and listen to the peaceful sounds of nature. My dog doesn't appreciate rain and I have to get her all excited to go outside by telling her to "watch those squirrels". She'll then charge out of the door and be halfway into the yard before she realizes that its raining....to her dismay. Since she's out there, she will do her business and then immediately demand re-entry into the house, giving me that look that says "yeah, you did it again...fooled me....you won't get away with it next time". But I always do, unless its absolutely pouring....then she wants no part of it and will not go outside until it stops. At that point the squirrels could cart the house away and she could care less, as long as she stays dry. Dogs can be so funny. She's a constant source of amusement for me.

Nothing much new has happened in my little corner of the world and you know what.....that's good! It gives me a break from the drama and trauma that can sometimes knock on my door. My grandson has a girlfriend and it seems serious. We rarely see him anymore and my daughter is feeling the empty nest blues. I told her to remember back when she was his age; that he's happy and she's a nice girl and her family loves him and she should be proud that she's done such a good job with him that his girlfriend's parents even approve. All their lives we nurture and train our children to be independent and when they start to spread their wings, we feel like jerking them back because we don't think they're ready. I told her to be happy for him....better he be like this than an anti-social recluse with lots of issues. She felt better at the end of our conversation (that's what moms are for, you know). I'm not one to sugar coat things....I tell it like it is and it usually works. She has another one to raise....her little girl. I'm sure she will do just as good of a job raising her but it will be twice as hard to let go of a daughter so she can spread her wings and fly when it comes time. I know it was for me. I'm not gonna tell her that just yet.

So I am enjoying this peaceful day while it lasts. Tonight the rain is supposed to move on and we will back to hot and sunny for a few more days....and that's all right too. Enjoy your weekend.

I'm baaack.....

My computer guy showed up tonight and fixed my computer. He said it had 'lost its network settings'...which means nothing to me other than it no longer worked! He did his magic and got me up and running but I told him to start building me another one. He's the one who built this one for me almost seven years ago and its been a good system....but two power outages a day apart was a little much. Its been running pretty slow and my hard drive is nearly full. So....its time. I remember when I first got this one....I thought my hard drive was so big that I'd never fill it up.

Anyway, maybe within a couple weeks or so I will have an upgraded system but I'm NOT getting Vista ....too many problems with it he says. So I will gladly take XP.

I sure did miss not having a computer. I was without it since July 3. I did realize something though. I certainly did get a lot done around here since I didn't have a computer up and running. I guess that sort of tells me that perhaps I may be spending just a wee too much time on it....you think? Nahhhh.

I have a lot of blogs to visit and a lot of posts to catch up on. See you all soon.

Sometimes you just step in it.....

I wanted to get my grandson a little surprise something for a graduation gift. I knew that he had been talking about wanting a bigger hard drive for his Xbox. So I decided to check out ebay. Oh yes....I found them on there all right....LOTS of them. Well, first of all I had to decide how big I wanted to go...I figure, the bigger the better. So I go with 120gb. Then I have to read all the fine print. Some are coming from overseas. Nope, can't have that. Seems as though there is supposed to be a data transfer kit that comes in the package. Hmmm....some sellers have taken that out and you're only getting the hard drive. So you have to be alert...on your toes. Its a jungle out there in auction land.

I find one that looks acceptable. I make my bid and go about my business. I come back a couple days later to find out that I have been outbid. Not only outbid but sniped! Not nice. That person placed their bid only 9 seconds before the end of the auction. Good thing I didn't want to go any higher on that item.....I would have never had the time. So I found another one. There are lots of them. I place my bid on that one. This time I'm outbid...not sniped but just plain outbid. So I lose that one too. The third and final try was quite hilarious.

You see when I bid on things I just put in what I want to pay and then forget about it. More inexperienced bidders just bid $5 at a time or so. Makes no sense to me....but I'm thinking they are confusing this with a live auction in which whatever you bid is what you pay if no one outbids you. Anyway, the item has a couple days before close and as I'm checking other things I happen to notice that the bid has changed. Its still mine, but now its for more. As I'm watching it, a bidder is having a nervous breakdown over taking the bid away from me....$5 at a time. I keep watching and laughing. It takes this person 10 bids to finally outbid me and by this time I'm sure that he has bid more than he ever really intended to pay. I've lost the item but do not want to pay more for it than what I originally bid, so I decide heck with it and start looking for it at retail stores. I find it for only $8 more than what I had bid....of course I have to pay $7 for shipping but all in all....its worth it. The item was ordered and shipped and it sits on my daughter's kitchen table right now awaiting my grandson's delightful possession. The auction, by the way, still hasn't closed. It will be over in a couple hours or so.

Speaking of shopping, the last couple times I've ordered from a particular store this has happened to me....and if it happens ONE more time, I'm never shopping there again. I will get an email, advising me of a nice sale going on at such and such store. I go there and find some things I need at a pretty good price. I usually don't shop online unless I can take advantage of free shipping but they don't have any promo codes for free shipping this time. The sale is worth it, so I break down and pay the $7 or so for shipping. As soon as my order has been processed....maybe an hour or so later....I will receive an email from THIS SAME COMPANY advising that they have this sale going on and because I'm such a good customer, I can get........you guessed it.....FREE SHIPPING. So I don't know what their deal is....but if it happens again....I'm history as far as they are concerned.

Also, along this same line of thinking.....some of the purchases I make for stuff that I need on a regular basis seem to go on sale right after I buy them. Now....I seem to remember that if you take the sales slip back to the store and complain about that, they will give you the difference in price back. Does anyone know if stores are still doing this? Even though it ticks me off at the time, somehow it just doesn't seem worth it to use extra gas to drive back to the store, wait in line at the customer service desk and complain about 75 cents. Now if it was for $5 that would be different. I was thinking......wouldn't it really be a nice customer service for a business to have their computer system set up so when you purchase something it would note that its going on sale within 24 hours and you're getting the sale price. How happy that would make customers! Talk about incentive to come back! Personally I think it would be a great idea and it would make us think that somebody out there cared about us consumers in this age of banks raising interest rates purely for greed and a noticeable price increase on groceries from one week to the next.....not to mention gasoline going up and down on a whim.

Tis a sad day in squirreltown.....

Tragedy has hit my back yard once again....and not only once, but TWICE this weekend. You can see two dead as a doornail squirrels in this picture...one is at the left of the silver colored pole and could be mistaken for some leaves. This has been happening at regular intervals for the past.....oh, thirty years or so. I have REPEATEDLY asked our power company to PLEASE install squirrel guards on the transformer that is situated at the top of this pictured pole. So far my requests have fallen on deaf ears. I don't want the guard because I'm a lover of squirrels, mind you....but because of the inconvenience it causes when they create a power failure, preceded by an earth shaking boom that sounds like someone has pulled the trigger on a shotgun right next to you. This is the sound a transformer makes when it goes. Unfortunately, I have one located in the extreme corner of my yard.

When I first moved here I thought squirrels were really cute and I fed them....I even tamed a few. But after so many years of them destroying things.....they have actually become pests and I'm not so fond of them anymore. However I hate to see this sort of thing happen. I am, after all, an animal lover and they could have babies in a nest somewhere. Although I'm more apt to believe that they were males headed home after a long night out with the boys and were attempting to sneak in before the little woman noticed how late it was. Both of these deaths occurred very early in the day....between 6 and 8 a.m. I'm sure they will be sorely missed by their families.

The first one occurred early Saturday morning and we were without power for about 5 hours. I considered myself lucky it was for only that long since we had had a very strong storm a couple nights before that took down many wires and trees north of us. I'm sure the power company had more than enough to do with that mess. So before I could get my grandson to pick up the first squirrel and appropriately get rid of it, we had another one occur about the same time on Sunday morning! This waking up to no power is getting old. I need my coffee in the morning. Let me put more emphasis on NEED....I mean I REALLY need my coffee in the morning!! This time it took about 7 hours before it was restored. CHA CHING. Overtime galore.

So I am going to obtain the name of someone who has some importance in their job description at the power company and I'm sending them this photo. I am going to, once again, plead with them to please put up a squirrel guard or some sort of deterrent to keep this from constantly happening. It certainly would be a lot cheaper than paying overtime for their workers to come out on a Sunday to get our power back, not to mention all of the neighborhood being inconvenienced. We average between one and two occurrences a year and we've had two already and the summer is just starting. The squirrels here have no natural predators other than vehicles and their population has really gotten out of control. Unfortunately Mollie, even though I'm sure she's still a legend, is just too old to help out anymore.

On a brighter note....we had family movie night on Saturday night. My family stayed the night as it was HOT and they do not have central AC. So after supper we settled in and watched Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood. Wow, its sad to see that such a superhero of the past (Dirty Harry) has aged.....but then, so have we all. It was a good movie....Depending on where you live, its true to the ways of our society now. Lots of racial slurs but without them, the movie would not have been realistic. It shows firsthand what a horrible violent society we live in and that most people just run from it (relocate). Only problem with that is that someday we will run out of places to relocate to. Eastwood's character doesn't want to move and he's a bitter old man with a family that doesn't understand him and doesn't really want to be bothered with him unless they need something. Thank goodness for the small bits of comedy here and there to lighten things up a bit. It was a good movie, the ending is very thought-provoking. Would I want to buy it and keep it? No. Would I have been mad to have paid $8. to see it at the show? No. Do I feel like I'm a better person for having watched it? No. It was a good movie....but definitely not for all audiences. It did deliver a message and I wish it could help the way things are in today's society, but it won't.....and that part is sad.

Happy Father's Day.....

This handsome man is my father. Believe it or not, he's 72 in this picture. To say I miss him is a huge understatement. He was such a good man and I was so very lucky to have him for my father. You can't really tell here but his eyes were intensely blue and my grandson has those same blue eyes.

He was a hard worker and a veteran of WWII. He supported his widowed mother for 35 years, up until her death. He and my mother had a wonderful marriage and after she died, he looked at me one day and said something I'll never forget. He said that he felt like a bird with a broken wing. How romantic and deep is that!

So, Daddy.....even though I haven't been able to hug you for 20 years, you know that today I'm thinking of you stronger than usual and I know that you knew you were loved. Thank you for everything you did for me and for your sage words. I live by those words to this day. Thank God for men like you.

Summer came in with a light show.....

Wow, summer certainly did come in with a bang. It was humid all day but then after 8 p.m. the thunder started up. I was so tired last night by 10 pm that I ended up going to bed with the constant noise of thunder outside my windows. The dog and I were comfy and I was thankful that I was dry as I heard the rain coming down in torrents. I fell asleep in no time and slept very well. There was a time that I was so frightened of storms that I could not sleep through them. Something has happened to change that....probably age. Now high winds are about the only thing that really does frighten me. We didn't seem to have anything like that last night so I guess thats why I slept so soundly.

Earlier in the evening when I went outside with my dog I heard something that sounded like a jet engine. I was thinking to myself that maybe one of my neighbors was getting some power washing done but I didn't see any activity around me. Then my attention was drawn to my AC. Hmmm, it seemed to be coming from that unit. I went inside and turned it off and sure enough, that's what it was. Fear gripped me.....oh boy, this is JUST what I need. Have my AC go out on FRIDAY night just before a weekend where they've promised hot and humid weather. I called my AC guy anyway....hoping that maybe he'd be available and he was! Thankfully he only lives about 2 miles away so he came right over. Come to find out, it needed a cleaning. We looked back on the records and I hadn't gotten it cleaned last spring (last year) not to mention I hadn't even done it this year yet.....I usually do that in May and it must have slipped my mind. So he cleaned it and now it sounds fine again. $65. Not too bad if you think about the comfort involved. *Sigh*......yes, I'm spoiled. ....but only in a very few small ways. *grin*

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a wonderful long awaited for SUMMER. I've finally finished Pillars of the Earth and have started on the "sort of" sequel, World without End. It's really not a continuation, as this second book takes place about 200 years later but it does involve the descendants of characters from the first book. I'm not very far into it as yet but its starting out just as good as the other one. This book has a little over 1,000 pages. Keep smilin'~

Lunch break and a stretch.....

I told you the squirrels at my place were gutsy and this just proves it without a doubt. I took this through a closed window and screen but I seriously think that even if I had been outside he probably would not have gone far. I went through a huge bag of seed in one week and finally just took the danged bird feeder down.

Hope you got a chuckle out of this. Nothing I've thought of so far can keep them out of the seed intended for the birds.....I even greased the pole on the one in the front yard.

Moving right along to other things happening in my little corner of the world....my granddaughter graduated from kindergarten today. It absolutely flew off the scale on the cuteness meter! All those kids looked so darn cute I could hardly stand it. Now usually girls have always outnumbered the boys, but this year in her class.....it was 17 boys to 6 girls. They all had "diplomas" and their teacher did some creative stuff with a magic wand and *Poof*...they were in first grade! Granddaughter wanted pictures taken with all the teachers and aides and office staff and librarian and janitor and bus drivers and lions and tigers and bears.....oh my. Everybody loves her...she is just such a social butterfly, that one.

Why, why, why.....

Why, on a Friday at 5:30, would any grocery store close down all check-outs except the self-serve and the express?

Why..... do drivers of those really big SUV's pull up next to you and block your vision when you're trying to merge into traffic, knowing full well you cannot see through them or over them if you are in a regular sized vehicle? I've decided....the bigger the vehicle, the smaller the brain.

Why.....do some people, without a handicapped plate or placard, think they can legally park in a handicapped space as long as they stay in the vehicle and wait for their passenger to do the shopping and/or business. This is no different than stealing money out of the register and then leaving an unsigned IOU note.

Why.....do some people throw trash on the ground when there is a marked receptacle within sight only a few yards away? I intensely despise litterers....I'd like to cram every single item they casually toss out for someone else to clean up right down their throats. I'm so sick of picking up fast food cups, wrappers and bags that have been thrown out in front of my house. Some day they need to invent containers and wrappers that will disintegrate and totally disappear after being exposed to the elements for a few hours.....because lord knows we are never going to stop these lowlifes from littering. They just don't get it.

Why.....do some poor excuses for humanity still continue to donate expired food to the needy? I'd love to publicly humiliate every single one of them. They have to remember....life turns on a dime and someday it could be them in need.

Why....is it that whenever a program is put in place to help low to moderate income people, its often those who have plenty of money who will be the first to try to take advantage of it and get all indignant when they're turned down? Isn't GREED one of the Seven Deadly Sins....guess they don't think it applies to them.

Why.....is there NEVER a cop around when that idiot passes you like you're sitting still and you're actually going five over the speed limit?

Why.....do some people practically kill themselves in order to beat you to the ATM, then take 15 minutes filling out their deposit slip and signing checks, holding up the line? I've seen this many times at the bank drive-up window too.

Why.....do some idiots honk their horn the very NANO second the light changes to green? I've often wished their car would stall and not re-start right after that and then people would be honking at THEM. The mere thought of this puts a big smile on my face....am I bad? Nah, just honest.

Why.....do some people wait until they get up to the fast food drive-through window before getting their money out.....and often they are frantically searching for change? I think they may have a problem with the definition of the word FAST. Oh..and while I'm on the subject of fast food...

Why.....oh why do these drive-up window employees of fast food establishments INSIST on giving you your change back by giving you the bills and then putting the coins on top of them so it slides off and onto the ground? Whenever I come across a very rare employee who does it the RIGHT way.....coin first so it rests in your hand not ON the bills....I praise them highly. There have been times that I've been in just the right mood and instructed them to give me the coin first just as they attempt to hand me the bills. I know they probably don't appreciate it, but its MY money!

Day to day life takes a lot of will power to keep from smacking some sense into somebody. It doesn't get any better the older you get because our patience has worn pretty thin by then and we have to rely on common sense and the law of averages to keep us under control.....knowing that every single one of these idiots, who were apparently napping when G0D handed out common sense, will get paid back sooner or later.

Whew....I feel better now. (putting soap box away for a short time)

Save me.....

If I could only take my eyes out, give them a nice warm bath, then a wonderful cooling massage with healing herbals, treat them to a long and restful nap and put them back in....I think it would feel sooooo good. I have been reading..... reading.... reading. I'm a reading fool. I turn into a snarling bitch when the phone rings or if somebody happens to come over because I want to get back to my BOOK. I am 500 pages into it (a little more than half way) and it draws me back to it as much as an opium den does an addict.

I've done a lot of reading in my time.....and most of them were really very good books. But this one....this one just grabs me. What a writer Ken Follett is. Kudos to him and his wonderful book, Pillars of the Earth. I need someone to come over here and do my laundry for me and also clean up around here as I can't bear to tear myself away long enough to do it myself. If the book wasn't so big, I'd even try and smuggle it into work. I wonder if an author has ever been sued by a reader's family for alienation of attention?

Did you know.....

Did you know.....You can sure learn some off-the-wall stuff from the younger generation....some of it is quite helpful.

Did you know....there is a website you can go to where you can put in your cell phone number, then make up another number that you'd like to have shown as the caller I.D. read-out when you place a call to a third number that you key in. It will call that number from your cell phone and show the fake caller I.D. number you've chosen on the recipient's phone. This is just plain scary and I'm telling you so that you won't be fooled if someone calls you and says they are from a certain business and tries to get info from you. You check the caller I.D. and its their number and so you think the call is legit. Not always so. Use extra caution. Don't give out any personal info unless you call them.

Did you know that you can keep something for 10 years and never use it, but the very day you throw it away, you will find a use for it. I know this is one of Murphy's Laws....but its actually true.....believe it.

Did you know that even paper towels are not what they seem; the cardboard roll itself is bigger around, giving the impression that the roll is the same size as always, but, in reality, there aren't as many towels on the roll as there used to be. First it was toilet paper, now these. I think a lot of marketing people think we are a bunch of airheads that won't notice. We notice....but what can we do? I really hate the deceit part. Check the cereal boxes.....same height, just not as wide.

Did you know you're not supposed to keep an item with rechargeable batteries in it in the charger when not in use? I didn't. Cost of new batteries = $16.50

Did you know that a lot of our good old American foods that have been around for generations are being made in China or Mexico? Don't believe me? Start checking the labels....you'll be shocked.

If you change one burned out lightbulb in a two bulb fixture, the other one will burn out within two days. This happens even if you wait to change the burned out one, hoping the other one will go too and you can change them both at the same time. Even if you put brand new bulbs in a two bulb fixture, they will burn out at different times.....which just fascinates me for some reason. (it doesn't take much to amuse me).

Keep smilin'~

Talk about spoiled.....

I never thought that I would ever be doing something like this. As a kid, we always had cats and dogs plus various other animals on the farm. They were all healthy and lived nice long lives. I have to be honest and say that we didn't do anything special for our cats or dogs. The cats would come inside during the day if they wished, but were put outside for the night. The dog stayed outside all day long but was brought inside for the night. He was given dog food as a supplement but he mostly lived off of table scraps. He was given bones to chew when they were available.
He lived to be 19 years old.

Now my dog just had her yearly checkup at the vet's, much to her dismay. I swear when we get within a quarter mile of that place her whole demeanor changes. She becomes a quivering mess by the time we get into the waiting room. All the dogs in there are the same way. The looks on their faces go from extreme nervousness to pure terror. I think they mentally communicate with each other and they are all convinced that what lies beyond the waiting room door is a fate worse than death. I can't understand why they don't feel the vibes of relief and jubilation coming from all the dogs who are finished and are coming out and will be now going home....tails up in the air wagging furiously instead of tucked between their legs and hugging their bellies. Prancing merrily, instead of having to be dragged. Ever notice how a 15 pound dog can make itself feel like it weighs 198 pounds when it doesn't want to go where you want to go? I especially like the ones who seem to grow an extra pair of legs and place them strategically alongside the doorway so moving them is next to impossible. Some dogs actually hold grudges. I once had a toy manchester terrier who wouldn't even look at me, let alone come to me, for approximately 2 weeks after a visit to the vet. After that I made my daughter take her.

But anyway, my dog, pictured above, is perfectly healthy.....she's had all her shots and her nails clipped and has a shiny new license. However the vet did tell me that she's getting a "little buildup" on her teeth. They try and push teeth cleaning and when I find out the price, my brain shuts down and my head automatically starts shaking no. Well....she asks.....do you give her any bones to chew to help clean her teeth. Yes I reply....I have tried to give her bones....all varieties...flavors, colors and sizes. My dog has.......issues. Maybe it was something her mom said to her at a young age or possibly it was caused by being bullied by the neighbor's cat....I don't know....she just has ISSUES. When I give her a bone....no matter what kind it is....she will happily take it and then her mood immediately changes. She starts to fret and then she starts to whine and cry. She will carry the bone all over the house....going from room to room frantically searching....here, there....everywhere. After about 20 minutes she will reappear, sans bone. She has 'buried' it somewhere. I have found bones in my basket of clean clothes, under the bed, under the couch cushion, in the laundry hamper, under the pillow on my bed and under a throw rug...just to name a few spots. She will never chew the bones....she only HIDES them.

So now I have to brush the dog's teeth. Yep, you heard right. I actually have a tube of doggie toothpaste, which tastes like chicken (and this is not from personal knowledge) and a toothbrush, along with a rubber thingie that goes over my finger if I would rather use that. Fortunately she's been very good about it and actually LOVES to have her teeth brushed. Good lord.... what's next. I suppose I'll be shaving her legs and armpits soon. Bikini wax .... pierced ears.... plumped lips....good grief, this could get totally out of hand.

A good read.....

I saw mention of this book on Rechelle's blog and I decided to check it out. So I went to trusty Amazon.com and looked it up. On their site they let you read a few pages if you'd like. So I did and I was hooked!

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Its set in the Middle Ages but don't let that scare you away. My favorite book of all time, Forever Amber, is set about 500 years after. I have a feeling that Pillars may end up in the same period as Amber before it ends.

If its written well, a novel set in this time period is extremely interesting.....much more than a movie. I don't know why I had never heard of this book before; it was written in 1989. I've also heard that this is one of Oprah's picks....and, if so, she finally nailed one that I am really enjoying. Its only 900 bajillion pages long....thick as a telephone book...but I can't put it down. I started it on Friday when I got it in the mail. I found it in used condition for only $2.85. I am 120 pages into it and already there has been death, birth, murder, an execution, assaults, and thievery. He wrote a sequel in 2007, World Without End, and I have already ordered that one used because I know I'm going to like it.

Just thought I'd pass this along to all of you that love to read. The characters are warm and real and even when you're not reading, you find yourself thinking about them. I can highly recommend this one and I have no idea how its going to end yet. Sigh ~ so now you know what I'm going to be doing with any spare time I have.