Hanging out with the Wookie & the Brunette giving blondes a bad rap...

The Wookie

Wow... it's been a few weeks! I got to spend some time with the Wookster... I missed him and he sure hasn't changed much. Just a big dopey dog... and such a baby!

Then it was just so fast! All of a sudden hunting season had started, Thanksgiving has come and gone... sheesh! How can it possibly be almost the end of November and we've yet to see snow here in The-Not-So-Great-White-North? Spooky.

I spent the holiday alone with my friend's chocolate lab. It's also fairly easy to tell her mother was a blond. Sometimes ya' just have to shake your head and just think, "How does this dog make it through the day alive?"

She's sleeping and the doorbell rings on TV, she barks her head off. There's a knock or loud noise or something that sounds like it might be a doorbell or a knock... she barks. And growls then does that little "chuffing" non-barking thing. It got to the point where I was making bets with myself as to how she would react to something on TV. (The crap is all repeats, so I know where the doorbells etc. are going to be... I won a lot!) But she's just doing what chocolate labs do. Giving yellow labs a bad name! HA!

I'd love to post the picture I took of her but I haven't the foggiest idea of how to get the picture from my cell phone to my computer. I imagine it's rather easy, but the cell phone's new and I'm only halfway through the manual. I did take a cool picture of my bare feet and figured out how to use it as wallpaper though! (And you know as soon as I figure out the transfer thing, it'll be posted here! HA!!)

Life has been neither good, bad or indifferent. It's just been. I got a new cell phone (a real one, no more Tracfone for me!) As you can tell, I'm having some fun with it. I now belong to "Chad" (think about it....) and can't wait for my first bill so I can connect my "10" Boy, that's going to save some big bucks on long distance charges.

Tomorrow is a Dad day, lots to do there.... then I have my own stuff to do on Wednesday, then... oh hell, I'll blink and it'll be the weekend!

A friend of mine just suffered through her birthday. I won't say how old... for two reasons. A) It would be rude. B) I'm older than her and as such, I don't remember for sure! Hahahahahahahaha!

She had a hard time with it and other things... I felt bad for her. Just remember dearheart... The blues come unannounced and sometimes they're played in C-minor. But they will slip away like the last remnants of the day soon enough, and life becomes less melancholy, once again. Call me, ok? And smile, eh?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This was in my Yahoo News Watch today! It's not the entire article but it gave me enough information to live by! See... and you guys don't believe me when I tell ya' something!!!

"Sleeping your way to 100 means power naps. Power naps: 10, 20, 30 minutes a day really rejuvenate and refresh your body. Read on to discover how they factor into your longevity plans.

Power Up with a Power Nap. A long-time tradition in Latin countries, a siesta is a great way to jumpstart the second half of your day. Famous nap enthusiasts have included some of the best minds in history, such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Thomas Edison.

What they knew was that a midday snooze - while seeming to be an unproductive use of time - could actually increase their effectiveness.

Some of the reviving benefits of naps include enhanced cognitive function, better reaction time, more patience, stress relief, and better overall health."

Well... off to nap!

I made it through the weekend! Yay!

So I survived the Happy Dog and had a good time with her. I actually miss her now because coming home to an empty house is still strange to me.

I was thrilled to discover that the Happy Dog thought going back to bed after getting up at the crack of dawn wasn't a problem. Especially when she knew she could be on the bed with me. Right tight... "gees-o-Pete-dog!" up against me.

It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic.

Today is a lower form of one of my "Mental-Health-Days"... it's more of a, I'm-too-lazy-to-get-dressed-and-besides-I-don't-feel-like-doing-anything-except-maybe-a-nap-soon, day.

Yes... a nap is definitely in my future. Except I drank two pots of coffee this morning. So it'll probably be a, Get-out-of-bed-every-20-minutes-to-pee nap.

Whatever works.

What have I done?

So... the Happy Dog greets me at the door and I don't even get knocked down!

This is great and I'm very happy about that! One of the best things about her being two years older is that... she's two years older! So she relaxes a lot faster than when she was just a puppy.

We get all our lovin' in and she's finally ready to go outside to do her thing, I let her back in... we play for awhile, then she lays down with her big, fuzzy head in my lap so I can absentmindedly pet the underside of her chin while I read my book.

Later on she's sort of bugging me and I think, "Oh yeah... getting close to her supper time." So I check the note of instructions of how much to feed her.

It also lists the times to feed her.... Dear God in heaven! Does that really read 6:00 A.M.!?!?!

Man... just kill me now.

It's "Happy Dog" time!

This is the "Happy Dog" I'll be spending the weekend with!

This picture is also two years old. The "Happy Dog" in question now weighs about 80 pounds and has a wonderful, slide into you full body wag technique to greet you with. If you're not careful, the Happy Dog will kill you.

Just kidding.

So, after getting ready for my upcoming fun fest, I checked to make sure I have my muscle relaxers packed. Sometimes the Happy Dog is too affectionate. Of course that has never meant boo to me because there's nothing more soothing than a Happy Dog that makes you smile and be happy.

The drawback is the one rule I always break when I take care of Happy Dogs. Her people are conscious before, oh... let's say noon. Thank God they drink coffee! I've had Happy Dogs almost maim me because of the lack of caffeine. Usually because I walk headfirst into walls or doorways, but there is the occasional almost going headfirst down the stairs.

So far, so good... but I wish at least one of the bedrooms was on a lower level!

More news later on how I fare with the happiest of the Happy Dogs.

Wish me luck and here's to sturdy stair bannister's!

Okay.... NOW it's fall... well, winter even.

Results of heavy snow showers that didn't stick around long.

My dear girl from Alaska made a quick foray back home, so "Gramps" & I visited with her yesterday. We saw a day full of biting winds, sunny skies, gale force wind gusts, hail, rain, sleet and wind driven snow.

Basically your typical, "Not-So-Great-White-North" fall day.

I can hardly wait to see how long it takes before the snow sticks for real. One cool thing is that the ground is cool enough to plant my Alaskan seeds. What sucks is that it's cold out and I don't want to go outside. Who knew?

FINALLY!!!

I've triumphed!

Dare I say it? Yes, yes I will... the fruit flies have now all been dispatched to realms unknown. This makes me unbelievably happy. I'm just lucky that fruit flies don't have the life spans of your average house fly because I would have had to use a bazooka to handle that.

Happy "Who's bright idea was it to change when we fall back?!" Day... Night... whatever!

Locks of love are tarnished?

Feel the Love...

Some of you know, and others may not... but since I went into remission, I grow my hair long, cut it and send 12 to 18 inch long ponytails to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is an incredible outfit that accepts donated human hair and fashion custom made hairpieces for children undergoing chemotherapy or radiation.

These are done by making a mold of the child's head and are so professionally made that for the most part, no one but the kids and their families know they're bald.

It is something wonderful to do if you've been thinking of cutting your long hair.

This will be my fourth ponytail and it measures just under 20 inches from the nape of my neck.

Oh... and the "tarnished" part of my title? Getting ready for bed tonight while brushing my hair, I saw something sparkly in the brush. It was a silver hair. Being a masochist, I measured it. I had a 25" long silver hair in my brush tonight.

Cripes.

Questioning my sanity... or how I got confused about Daylight Savings Time.

I couldn't resist... he's too handsome not to publish!

Okay, questioning my sanity, well... I do that a lot anyway but past few weeks have been so fricking bizarre! I'm taking a giant step into the past for this one! When I was a kid Halloween meant two things, first; Our costumes were made by my Mom; some specifically, (say... a princess) some, "Go look in the basement for those antlers if you want to be a deer."

But one thing was done, without fail... our costumes were made to be worn over winter coats and/or snowmobile suits. That's because here in The-Not-So-Great-White-North the sidewalks had usually been shoveled at least once before Halloween.

Yesterday was Halloween... our high was fricking 68 DEGREES!!

There were kids wandering around in the skimpy store-bought nylon costumes!

I must confess that it is beyond frightening for me to realize that I have reached that stage of my life where I can say, "When I was a kid...." (Yeah... that one still makes my temples throb!) But seriously! This was kinda scary... the weather patterns are so screwed up.

I find it interesting that it's been "Green Week" where everyone has been touting their environmental efforts. (On TV and advertisements) Gee... guess someone shoulda' been doing this about 10 or 15 years ago, eh?!

At least today there was some small measure of change... the high today was only 54 degrees. Get the long johns out!

Life has just gotten so strange... especially with Congress deciding to change when Daylights Savings Time changes back. They can't figure out how to get prescription drug coverage to the elderly but they can vote to change "falling back".

Sad... just really fricking sad.