Schiplady

As time goes by...........

2012-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

It seems like no one is keeping up with their Blogs anymore. Everyone has entered into the world of Facebook and their thoughts - good,bad and indifferent - are out there for even more to see. I still enjoy the personal aspect of the blog knowing that there are but a handful that read it. And maybe that is a good thing. Everyone doesn't need to know all that goes on in my corner of the universe.

Pet sitting has been moving along fairly steadily and I have bookings for the summer months. I have picked up two new clients, one being fairly steady as he is on several boards and travels. The other is a snowbird and extremely nice. Great little dog also. A breed I have not worked with before.

We have a new addition to the mastiff side of the family. Her name is Georgia and she is a rescue. Came to Steve as a very shy and frightened girl. She has been in the pack for 7 weeks now and is coming around. Another foster that has found her forever home. She had been shuffled around too many times to have it happen yet again. She is a very sweet lady and extremely attached to Jack already. She follows him wherever he goes. Not sure whether he really likes that or not as he does think he is the center of everyone's attention. I have yet to be able to take a good picture of her as she seems to be camera shy. She takes off whenever she seems me with my Iphone or camera in my hand. I'll get a good picture one of these days. She can't outsmart me forever !

The rest of the pups are all well. Phantom is now 17 and still holding on. Hasn't let us know yet that it is time to let him go. My stepdaughter in Michigan is not quite so lucky unfortunately, as she and her husband had to let their elderly shephard cross over. I know how difficult that was and my heart goes out to them.

Not much else happening. Have two friends that just moved back to Florida from California and I really need to go visit them. And another friend and her husband from New Mexico are now here living in Silver Springs. Good visiting time coming up after my next round of pet sitting. I have been spending a little time on Facebook and have connected with people from my high school graduating class. I am hoping for a high school reunion next year. I have not been back to Kentucky since graduation for longer than a week to visit my parents and not at all since they moved to Florida in 1976. I am sure the small town hasn't changed much however. It will be good to go back if the reunion occurs................

Updating.....

2011-08-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

The past few months have gone by quickly and have been fairly eventful - some good, some not so. The end of May we lost a member of our furry family, Bits. I'm not sure of the cause, just thankful she went quickly and hopefully, painlessly. She is missed greatly by us all. She was the ever present greeter of anyone who came to the door.

Pet sitting has been going very well. I have been busy most of the summer and it is carrying through September. November is partly booked and December has filled up also. The house where I am sitting now is in the country with lots of acreage and many deer in the yard. So peaceful. I can understand why someone would want to live out here.

Steve's daughter has been in the states since June and was in Englewood visiting for a few days. Wednesday was a mystery day planned by Steve. It was a lovely day, highlighted for me by a boat ride from the mainland to Palm Island. We had lunch at the island restaurant, followed by a golf cart ride around the island, a visit to the beach for shark teeth and back to the restaurant for ice cream. When we went back to the mainland, we headed to Boca Grande for another walk on the beach. Storm clouds moved in very suddenly and the three of us almost got blown away. Blowing sand is a great way to exfolliate your body !! We topped the day off by having dinner at Nicola's Restaurant in Englewood.

We finally got some rain here, but were spared the hurricane this time. We all have something to be thankful for........

Dreamcatchers

2011-04-01T08:01:00.001-07:00

There is an Native American legend which says: "When a human dies there is a bridge they must cross to enter into Heaven. At the head of that bridge waits every animal that human encountered during their lifetime. The animals, based on what they know of this person, decide which humans may cross the bridge....and which are turned away."

May all of my friends be accepted by these animals..........

Rain finally....

2011-04-01T06:53:00.001-07:00

For those with arthritis, the past few days have been hell on earth. But for the lawns, lakes and forests, the rain has been a good thing. Fortunately, we have not had the terrible winds and driven rain that those further north of us have had; but enough to make things green and to replenish the shrinking ponds. The sun is shining now and it may prove to be a beautiful day...........

It's a jungle out there......

2011-02-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

No, this is not the jungle of Borneo or El Junque Rain Florest in Puerto Rico. Just part of our backyard............and dead bamboo must be cut out at some point. Steve and I spent a good part of the day cutting out dead plants. Steve had control of the chain saw......and those of you that know me well are probably thinking that was a good thing !! We now have a large pile of cut up bamboo for the trash men. I really hate trashing the bamboo, but I couldn't think of anything to use it for.

Steve has been working in the yard with the pups, and they respond fairly well to him while they are on leads. It will be interesting to see how well they do off leash. They love foraging in the "jungle" and they trample the smaller plants. Tripper is a hunter and thinks that all the squirrels are fair game. Unfortunately, the squirrels run under the bird cages and during the pursuit, the birds get scared. If they take off in the cages too quickly, they can fly into the sides of the cages and break their necks. Don't want that to happen. So the pups are in a learning process.............

We went to the beach for the first time over the weekend and I will be sooooooo glad when all those out of state license plates are gone !! It was hard to find a place to park and beach umbrellas blocked the view for a couple of blocks. On the positive side, the water was not as cold as I anticipated for walking in and Steve and I found about 40 sharks teeth. Good day at the beach.........................

Larger home ???

2010-12-04T08:52:00.001-08:00

Our small home has become smaller for the weekend with the visit of Abby, a brindle female mastiff. We are keeping her while her parents are out of town. She is smaller than the Boyz but manages to put them in their place. The schipperkes are not too happy about the arrangement as they have never been socialized and the addition of another dog throws them out of sorts. They all manage to play in the backyard without any conflicts but due to the smallness of the house interior, the schips have to be watched as they will be snippy towards Abby. They can be little devils and do live up to their name, Little Black Devil. Abby is a love and it would be extremely easy to become attached to her quickly. Good thing that her parents won't be away long!! What's one more dog in the mix..............

Continuing..........

2010-10-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 3 months since my last posting. The two new schips have settled in nicely. Everything is a new experience for them, almost like having puppies around only on a larger scale. I have taken them to the bay on a couple of occasions and Trip seems to like to play in the water. Sammi is not so sure. Of course, they also did not stop quite soon enough when running through the yard and they both went off the end of the walkway into the large pond. No harm done, but it is rather funny watching a schipperke try and walk on water lilies.

I have had one more pet sitting job since August which lasted for 5 days. The dogs were great, especially the elder Rhodisian Ridgeback. I was filling in for the regular house/pet sitter who was out of town on vacation. Great place, back in the pine trees.

New happenings............

2010-08-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

My pet sitting marathon comes to a close (with many hoorays from my husband) in two more days. Once again, as you can see from the picture, it has been very stressful. Hardship duty.... Sweet little yorkies that bark when you are in the pool. Doing their protective bit I think.

My son has closed on his new (and first ever owned) home in Englewood. It is a roomy 2 bed/2 bath home with a Florida room at the back of the house. Smallish back yard, but big enough for the pups. Move in should be next week. He is having a refrigerator delivered today and then we will be moving more of the smaller pieces of furniture. It will be great having the whole family closer together. It was becoming a drag driving back and forth to Sarasota to visit, see the pups and do anything with my cousin who shares the home with Ed.

We have adopted two schipperkes from rescue that are living with us at the Englewood home. I have also snagged the elder schipperke female from the Sarasota house and she is with us also. So now the animal family is complete with the mastiff Boyz (Dodger and Jack) and the schips, Bits the elder, Sammi the young female and her male companion Trip. The newbies were spayed and neutered on Monday and should be ready to be set loose with the pack by next week. Trip's hormones are still raging so we are keeping him separated from Sammi until they calm down.

Now, if the rain would just stop so we can go back to the beach it would be great..................

Pet Sitting...........

2010-07-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm on the second leg of my marathon pet sitting run and I guess if you have to do a job as tough as this one, it is always good to have great scenery. And, of course, suffer with an inground pool with a temp of 90 degrees!!!! And to think I gave up the graveyard shift of dispatching for this.......!!!!

The big furry loves of my life.......

2010-07-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

I have always had pets in my life - the occasional stray dog or cat when I lived at home with my parents and many too numerous to list ever since. Most of the time the dogs were small to medium in size and at one time I actually considered my springer spaniel to be rather large. That, of course, was before I was introduced to Dodger and Jack......

Dodger is the larger of the two weight wise and is tan and black in color. Slightly overweight ( let's say portly to be nice), he weighs in around 240. Dodger is believed to be between 6 and 7 years old. Jack (short for Jackson) is a little over 2 and still a puppy. He weighs in around 180. Jack's favorite toy, which he plays with in the yard, is his bowling ball. He has become quite adept at picking it up and dropping it on my foot....

In my attempt to find something for Jack to play with in the house, and knowing a bowling ball was out of the question for obvious reasons, I opted for one of the milk bone toys with the knotted rope running through the center and hanging out on both sides lengthwise. My idea was great and Jack caught on right away to the fact that this was a fun thing to play with......however......

These toys are not made for a dog over 20 pounds !! Dodger got in on the action right away with no encouragement and the sound of ripping and tearing material could be heard throughout the house. After picking up handfuls of fiberfill stuffing that came from inside the bone part of the thing, I managed to salvage the rope. Not nearly as much fun I am sure, but much less mess to clean up. Someone out there needs to make a toy that the boys can have fun with in the house while not destroying the toy or the premises.............

Graveyard Shift....

2010-07-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

I strongly believe that if you have worked as a police dispatcher you are destined to never again in your lifetime sleep like a normal person!! This is the second night this week that I have seen 4AM come and go. I am blaming the lack of sleep on my previous life style as I can't come up with any other logical reason. I'm not worried about anything that should be keeping me awake and I can't blame it on the dogs as they are not sleeping with me. I did do something to my back a couple of weeks ago and I have been to see the chiropractor a few times now. My back is feeling much better but we haven't been walking the beach at night nor have we been swimming the past few days as the afternoon showers seem to be starting. I suppose lack of exercise could have something to do with not sleeping also.

I start my marathon pet sitting this coming week. Staring July 7 through the middle of August I am booked solid. Nice for me - not so much for husband. The first 10 days will be in Sarasota so I will be able to have dinner with my son and cousin, and hopefully Steve will drive up for a couple of family meals. After that the job is closer to home so I will see more of Steve. The extra money will be nice but I'm not so sure about being away from home for such an extended period of time. I will miss the mastiff boys and will have to make sure I get down here to the house to see them.

Beach time ..........

2010-05-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Got a late start today, but managed dinner and some beach time. Not a long walk, but enough to relax the body and mind. We missed the sunset but the water was warm and soothing.....There is something to be said for living near the water.........Something very primal.....I know when I am leaving I can almost feel the water pulling me back towards it. I think I have always felt this way. As much as I enjoyed learning about the culture in New Mexico, I always felt something missing....something pulling me back closer to water....I feel a great peace listening to the waves crashing, watching the power of the water pulling the sand from the beach and then tossing it back in again...........

Beach time again........Yah!!!

2010-05-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

While I am doing kitty sitting, Steve and I are having "date nights". As I stay overnight with the kitties, I feed them their dinners and then head to our house in Englewood for a few hours. I either fix dinner there or we go out to eat and then head for the beach. The water is much warmer than our last visit and I had to fight a very strong urge last evening to keep from running into the surf. The sunsets are truly beautiful and being there with Steve makes it all that much better. Some nights we head for Dearborn Street in Olde Englewood and go to the Ice Cream Shoppe. Their mint chocolate chip is super.

On a less positive note: I think I am fighting a losing battle with the house in New Mexico. As much as I don't want to be a "hard nose" about the whole thing, I am really tired of being patient and I am starting to feel slightly used. I feel bad for our buyer as I know what it is like to have your spouse leave and I also know what it is like to lose a job. But I think I have been patient long enough and it is time to move on, both for myself and for the buyer of the house. Maybe it was just not meant for him to own that particular home. At any rate, I see another trip to New Mexico in my near future. Not that I don't want to go again; it's just that it really strains the budget and until the house sells I have no other source of income other than social security and the little I make from pet sitting. I'm tired of playing a "wait and see" game...............

Kitty Sitting.......

2010-05-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am 4 days into my kitty sitting and all is going well. The cats are great! They were all just a little feisty last evening and I did find some chunks of fur on the floor this morning. No one looks the worse for wear and they seem to have gotten it out of their systems. I have tried several times to get all of them in a picture at one time, but it never seems to work. Can't seem to do that at home with the dogs either.

My cousin has arrived and is settling in. She has been alone for many months since her husband passed away and has become accustomed to cooking for one and eating alone. Now she and my son are sharing the house and she will have to relearn cooking for two. Unless, of course, she wants to spend the extra money for Stouffers for two! I am sure she will be back in the swing of things in no time. She ventured out on her own yesterday for the first time to the drugstore and Publix. The dogs think it is great because she is with them all the time. I don't feel quite so much that I have abandoned them now as I will be spending more time with Steve at his home. We still have some work to do there, finishing painting, etc. It will look much brighter when we finish.

I have 4 days between this pet sitting job and the next and I think Steve and I will take a day and go down to Boca Grande and do some shelling. Not too far to travel, but still "out of Dodge" as they say...............

2010-04-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

I am hoping that by now my cousin is on the road and on her way to her new home with us in Florida. I have not heard from her, but she was to leave Delaware yesterday and is riding with a friend who is driving the truck with her belongings and towing her vehicle. I am excited and will be so glad when she arrives. I think I have the house set up so that we will just have to carry in her furniture and set the pieces in the empty spaces.

I haven't been to the beach lately and am hoping for lots of sun today and a walk tonight after dinner. I have several pet sitting assignments coming up so my evenings of beach walking will be limited. On a very positive note, two of my sitting assignments have inground pools in the yard so swimming (exercise!!) will be a plus.

I think the rest of this year is going to be good.................

Flashbacks.....

2010-04-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

I think I must be having a flashback to my dispatching days. Here it is 3 AM and I am still wide awake. I was hoping that once I got the new mattress I would sleep better, but I guess that is not the case. I have a good friend in New Mexico who dispatched for 30+ years, retired in 2006 and is just now starting to sleep normally - most of the time!

I painted the second coat today on the living room wall that we use for accent to make the room look larger. Feels like I accomplished something good. After I scrub the floor behind the sofa, we will push it back where it belongs and I can work on the ceiling. I want to try and get as much of the painting done as I can before the hot weather gets here.

Steve is putting together a bog garden on the screened porch for me. I have never had one before. I have always grown my plants in dirt so this will be a new experience. We may even have a few goldfish in it. There is a small pond in the front courtyard of the house and I found a rather large goldfish in there. It is hard to get a look at it as it hides whenever it sees a shadow. Thinks I am a big bird and it doesn't want to be dinner..........

Latest happenings......

2010-04-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

We, being myself, Steve and our good friend Lea, went to the Venice Shark Tooth Festival on Saturday after getting soaking wet walking Turtle Beach in Sarasota on Friday night. Seems as though we have a good time no matter where we go or what we do. Sorta like the 3 muskateers. I honestly didn't think there could be that many prehistoric shark teeth in the world!! I also think that finding them on the beach while walking is more fun than buying them from someone else...

Steve and I have started doing some work around the "Lake House". We bought some paint last week and have started painting the ceiling in the living room. Picked up a color called "Jute" to do one wall in the living room as an accent. We have also been picking up small pieces of wicker/rattan furniture and hope to find either a small brown/green leather sofa or love seat or a wicker/rattan one to replace the sleeper sofa that is there now. Leather cleans so much easier when you have mastiffs that are always trying to be of help. And the cushions on a rattan sofa would be easy to wash. The boys help in other ways also, such as putting their favorite toy, a bowling ball, in the lake behind the house so that Steve has to go swimming to retrieve it!!

We went to Wal-Mart and picked up some hibiscus for the yard to add a little color. The pink one is planted in a pot that I won a few months ago in a drawing at a local consignment shop. I don't usually have that kind of good luck. I was very surprised and pleased. The pot is in one of the landscaped areas of the yard. We have another pot sitting on the deck outside the screen room with a beautiful orange hibiscus growing in it. Thank goodness things are greening up after the awful winter that south Florida had. It is so much more beautiful with the flowers blooming and everything green.........

Beach walking and Pet Sitting

2010-04-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Our beach walking each evening has been put on hold for a few days as I have had two concurrent pet sitting jobs. Festus is the head honcho in this household and has two smaller companions. One is a long haired chihuahua who greatly resembles a pappilion and the second is a lovely kitty named Chloe. I have spent the better part of the last 4 days in the home of these guys.

The other two dogs, both schipperkes, are our home with my son and our 3 schips. They are all getting along well together. I was rather concerned about our youngest male schip as he had not been socialized, but he has taken to the two guests and has even been playing with Sammi the male. Lakota always steals toys from Tala, our female, but backed down from Bitsi when she had a toy in her mouth. Love that pack order......

2010-03-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day for the beach people. Steve and I went to Venice beach today and walked from the public beach almost to Venice pier where Sharkey's restaurant is. Got some sun and found a few nice shells. Only one shark tooth. The beach replenishment seems to have depleted the supply of teeth that use to be so abundant. We went into Venice for some frozen yogurt and then back to the house. Life is treating us well.
I finally finished the sweater that I have been working on since last July. I have a scarf to finish for my daughter in-law Kim and then I hope to start on a project for myself. My cousin should be here soon. We are anxiously awaiting her arrival. Even the dogs are looking forward to her being with us again................

2010-03-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Walking on the beach is just as lovely in the evening after dinner even when the day has been rainy. Cleared up enough for the walk and exercise to be great............Just wish the water was a little warmer.

2010-03-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

I think I understand now what this retirement deal is all about. You can walk the beach as long and late as you want (or the law allows) and not have to worry about getting up to go to work the next day. The screaming kids are usually "put away" for the night and one can enjoy the beach as it was meant to be. I hope to be able to make this at least a twice a week part of my new no-work schedule.

2010-03-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is not one of my favorite pics of myself, but this was a fantastic day. After doing the Arts and Craft Show on Holmes Beach, Steve, myself and my friend Lea Baker went to Rotten Ralph's Marina on the north end of Anna Maria Island and had lunch. It was a windy day but the sun was warm and the company was great. For those of you who aren't familiar with the area, I am attaching a picture of the waterway. I am looking forward to more good times like this throughout the spring and summer.

2010-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention recently that a great deal of time has passed since I last posted to my blog. For a change I have happy news that doesn't involve packing up our house and moving yet again. The charming gentleman that I mentioned in my last post is now my husband as of March 16. His name is Steve Shaw and he has become the light of my life. He makes me laugh and smile constantly. I can't believe how much we have in common and how well we are suited to each other. Since we both have homes and neither is large enough for the extended family that I live with, we are dividing our time between the two houses. My cousin will be moving into the Sarasota house shortly and I will then be spending more time at the house in Englewood. We haven't combined the animals in our households yet and I am inclined to leave them separated - not that I have any doubt that the mastiff boys would accept the schips with no problem. The schips, however, are not the most hospitable critters when it comes to a breed that isn't the same size and color as themselves. My cousin is great with the schips and they are very fond of her so once she arrives they will be spoiled rotten and I won't feel so guilty about being gone for a few days at a time without seeing them.

The Englewood house seems like a quiet retreat from the city noise. The yard reminds me of a tropical setting from Better Homes and Gardens or a scene taken from Sarasota Jungle Gardens. There are two ponds with a waterfall and beyond the property is a small lake. The yard is set with tropical and semi-tropical plants. Native birds put in an appearance on a daily basis. Even though the house is in a residential area with neighbors all around, the property is landscaped and fenced so that it is very private and seems secluded. I truly enjoy the time I spend there and look forward to being there more often. I love the mastiff boys and they seem to be very fond of me. If you can imagine a 200 pound dog galloping towards the door to greet you - that would be the scene at the house when I open the front door.

I also just returned from a week in New Mexico. I felt I needed the trip back to make sure there were no lingering ghosts and that I had closed all the doors behind me. I had a very good visit and left with high spirits and hopes of being able to return soon for another visit. I didn't get to the Santa Fe area, but I made several trips to Ruidoso Downs where I had worked as a dispatcher. It was great seeing everyone that I had worked with. I had missed saying my goodbyes to some of them when I left last year. I really hope to go back with Steve and show him all the places I have seen and introduce him to my friends and former co-workers.

Moving on..........

2010-01-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

I have met a most charming gentleman who is slowly but surely stealing my heart. We have much in common including dog rescue. There is, however, a slight difference in the size of our rescues - he works with mastiffs while I am still working with schipperkes. His dogs are truly amazing - gentle giants who seem to love everyone. Their toy of choice is a bowling ball. Such sweet boys........

My good friend and veterinarian, Lea Baker, Steve and myself have been going to antique stores and shows and most recently went to a Native American Pow-Wow in Webster. Freezing cold the Sunday we were there. Having lived in New Mexico for 4 1/2 years, I am amazed at the difference in the Native cultures. I have been to both Intertribal Ceremonials and Pueblo Feasts and both the participation and attendance was far greater for all of them than any I have been to in Florida. There is another Pow-Wow in Sarasota the end of this month and I am looking forward to going.

Packing seems to be going well and much easier this time. My cousin will be moving in with us within the next 3 months and I am not yet sure how much she is bringing furniture wise. This house does have a family room, so there will be an extra room to fill. Should work out just fine. I am anxious to see how the dogs like the big fenced in yard. We are picking up the key tomorrow and taking the first loads of belongings..................

Moving Day - Again

2010-01-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

It would seem that once again that old fickle finger of fate has pointed in our direction. Our Florida house that seemed so perfect in July when I rented it has turned out to be another of those going back to the bank. Rather than be turned out into the street on short notice, we have opted to find another home to move to. This one is further north, located in Sarasota. Older home, established neighborhood near Doctors Hospital. As my son has been pulling most of his security jobs in the Manatee County area the new house will be much more convenient for him for travel time and wear and tear on his Jeep. I will still be close to my friends, Sharon and Mike, who live in North Port and closer to those in Bradenton/Palmetto/Ellenton. Moving should also be some easier this time, as we have lightened the load possession wise. And I have someone lined up to move the few heavy pieces that we have. I am looking on this as another one of life's little challenges - although I am getting rather tired of them !! The yard is completely fenced at the new home, which will be good for the dogs. They have only had a small x-pen to roam in at this house, so a fully fenced backyard will be a treat for them I am sure. The move is going to happen suddenly so the next posting should be from the new home. Pictures to follow...............

Another family member gone................

2009-11-09T04:35:00.001-08:00

It would seem that all the good things that surround me are leaving way too soon. My baby girl, my rescue from the horrors of a puppy mill, has crossed the bridge. She lost the battle with the nasal cancer and I let her go quietly. Even with the 3 other schips in the house her absence is greatly felt. Rest in peace my special girl.........

Back home...............

2009-10-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we are back in Florida and settled in our house - minus one. The return home did not turn out quite as we had planned and my husband of almost 18 years never got the chance to see the new home. I think it is safe to say he is greatly missed by all who knew him as he was a super person. He was the calming side of my rather turbulent personality and watched over me much as Tuff did when we worked together. He would have enjoyed the house we are in as the neighbors are practically non-existant (he liked his privacy unless you were a good friend) and the garage is huge. Would have been a great workshop for him. We raised a glass of water and ate bowls of won-ton soup in his honor at his favorite Chinese restaurant. I miss you babe - you left us way too soon...............

Florida Bound

2009-07-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

We are getting down to the wire with our moving plans. Since I have retired, there doesn't really seem to be any reason for my son and I to stay our here when we could be setting up housekeeping back home in Florida. Our realtor is looking into rental/lease to buy options for us and my good friend Tuffenuff is also doing some checking. I will start doing some packing in earnest this week - maybe even methodically this time. It's a bummer finding underwear mixed in with pots and pans!! That always happens when things get left to the last minute. We also don't have nearly as much to pack this time as the load has been lightened significantly since our last move. I listed our 1989 Jeep Cherokee on CraigsList yesterday and have had 2 email inquiries and one phone call already. My 2001 Ford Ranger has been sold to one of the officers I worked with. That just leaves the 2007 Honda Ridgeline which will be coming with us.

My son Ed and I had a good time in upstate NY at his brother Michael's wedding. Michael married a girl that he proposed to when she was 14 and he was 16. He then went into the Navy and didn't see her again for 20+ years. They reconnected when he went to NY 2 years ago for his aunt's funeral.

The wedding was held in a restored historical mansion in Canandaigua NY near Canandaigua Lake. The reception was held in a restored barn on property owned by the brides mother and boyfriend, who just happens to be a builder. Since our side of the family is very limited, Ed and I and the boys' father were the only relatives there for Michael.

The weather was the worse that Rochester has had in July for several years. It was cool and rained most of the time we were there. Ed and I had planned at visit to Niagara Falls but changed our minds due to all the rain. We did manage a trip to Mendon Ponds Park, where we use to go in the summer to swim. The pond is still there and looks lovely, but it has been closed to swimming for several years due to a high bacterial level. We saw many deer in the park and since it was raining, we had the place to ourselves. I look forward to having Michael and Kim visit when we are back in Florida................

2009-06-29T19:12:00.001-07:00

Hola Everyone!! This is me being excited. That magical day finally arrived and I have RETIRED !!!! And I will probably end up like my buddy Tuffenuff and never have enough time to finish anything. My mind is going 20 miles an hour thinking of all the things that I can do and plan now that I don't have to work around days off from a job. My eldest son and I are flying out of Albuquerque to Rochester NY on Wednesday for the youngest son's wedding. I haven't been back there for 20 years so this should be interesting to say the least. It will be good to see everyone there that I know.

We are still hoping to be out of New Mexico and headed back to Florida by the first of September. The packing and loading will keep me occupied for awhile and then there will be the unloading and unpacking when we reach the new destination. We are going to try and find a house to rent for a year, possibly with option to buy. We are leaning towards 3/4 bedrooms with a den. Whenever we have anyone come to visit, they end up sleeping on the sofa in the middle of the livingroom. Lots of privacy there!! I would love to have a pool also, even an above the ground one would be good. The water is one of the things that I have missed the most since we moved out here. My skin has also become as dry as an old winter leaf. Didn't think I would ever miss humidity.......

I am still doing a lot of knitting and some crocheting, but in the future I will confine my yarns to cotton blends. Not a lot of call for wool sweaters in South Florida. I am taking a 3 month hiatus from my online course for medical transcription. Our internet access at the house we are renting now is through HughesNet satellite. If you know someone you truly hate/loath/detest, suggest that they order HughesNet for their ISP. It is only slightly fastest than dial-up. And it is super expensive. I have tried doing my online course here at home, but I become too frustrated just waiting for the pages to download. I am nearing the part of the course now where I will actually be starting to do transcribing and the internet here would be a hinderance. I will start back up with it when we get back to Florida.

Our critters are doing okay. The newest guy (has been with us 11 months now) has settled in well, although still doesn't like or trust outsiders. Can't fault him for that. Don't take much to outsiders myself. The two oldsters are holding their own. Hope I can find someplace on the Gulf coast where dogs are still allowed to swim. I want to see how Lakota and Tala like the water.

I have been invited to Facebook (as has the rest of the world apparently) and I do have an account there. But I really don't understand how it works and most of the time I don't want the whole world to see what I am writing. Emails and my blog work for me.

Suitcases that have to be packed are calling me..................

2009-03-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

It has been unseasonably warm here and I am loving it. The dogs are enjoying it also, although they don't seem to mind the cold as long as they aren't left out in it for to long. We have an area fenced just out the back door that runs across the whole length of the back of the house. When the weather is warm we leave the door open and the guys can go in and out as they please. The flies haven't discovered just how warm it is yet but I am sure we will be putting up a screen door with a doggie door on the bottom when they do. I miss our friends in Tularosa and Alamogordo and have been making more trips down there ( 4 hour drive ) lately. My husband just came back today from a visit and brought two wooden bookcases that one of our friends made for us. He was a carpenter before he retired and does super work. My husband brings the furniture back au naturel and stains and varnishes it at our house. We are gradually replacing some of our old second hand tables and bookcases with nice wooden ones that will be going back to Florida with us. We still have a balloon closing date of Sept. '09 and hopefully everything will go according to plan. I really miss the green plants and grass and especially the water. I guess when you grow up on the East coast and spend your summers at the beach it is difficult to adjust to mountains and brown dust all the time. At least it is for me. Everyone keep those fingers crossed...................

The continuing story.......

2009-01-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Since my last posting we have once again moved. The old adobe and the repair work it needed became more than we could stand. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was the need to remove the roof from over the garage, master bedroom and bathroom. For those of you that don't know anything about adobe dwellings, this entails tar paper, gravel and tar and the removal of the old. Our landlord, his son and a friend removed the old roof which left nothing but the vega beams over the garage and a lot of daylight. The bedroom and bath were not quite as wide open, but they used a leaf blower to clean all the small debris off the roof and of course, it all fell down into the rooms below. And of course, most of the debris was left in the yard behind the house and not cleaned up until we moved and he had to find new tenants. The help that our landlord hired (which I am sure got paid dirt cheaply as they didn't speak a word of English and the landlord is very cheap) did not do too bad of a job replacing the roof, but they were very messy and tar leaked down the walls, into the bathtub and all over the comforter on my husband's bed. By the time it was finished, it was either find another place to live or do grievous bodily harm to the landlord. We were also finding the electric bills to be extremely high and didn't even want to find out what a full month of gas for heating would cost! Someone told us to check on Craig's list for houses for rent and we lucked out. The rent is cheaper and the heating bills are normal. The electric is still high, but that seems to be the norm around here.

The new house is smaller, brighter and much easier to keep warm.
The living room holds most of the furniture that was in the other house but is still not used. We each have computers and TV's in our rooms so conversation is done over the kitchen table at dinner time. There is one major complaint that I have about rental properties in New Mexico for anyone out there who may consider moving here and renting. Unless you rent from a large complex you will find that the places are generally not clean when you move in. I have shampooed the carpeting 6 times now in the 3 months we have lived here and still can't get the stains out. The house is well built and it is unfortunate that the original owners went into foreclosure and never got to finish what they started. We were going to do some finishing work in here and then thought better of it. I am really tired of doing work to a home that doesn't belong to us.
I am eagerly awaiting the day of the final closing on the house in Tularosa. Once we have the rest of the money from the sale of the house we can make our plans for travel. The people in our house have until Sept. 1 to refinance and close. I am hoping that it is sooner so that we can head back "home". The warm weather and salt water are calling me................

Summer into Fall

2008-08-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

It has been a month today since Murphy left us, but seems like just yesterday he was the trouble making pup that he is in this picture. Time passed too quickly. It is good that we have the other guys to keep us busy. This must be the time of year for them to blow their old coats and ready themselves for the coming winter. I have black fur balls the size of tumbleweed blowing through the house. With what they have lost and all I have brushed out I would think they should be bald by now !!

Our foster guy, Lakota, is fitting in well and is extremely smart. He has learned to sit for treats, food and occasionally just when you ask him to. There was never a problem with house training as he already knew to use the doggie door. However, he is a master of escape so the doggie door is locked down for the time being until he feels fully secure with us and does not have the need to try and escape. We have also reinforced the fencing in the yard. I don't know who he belonged to originally or where he escaped from, but someone has lost a really good dog. I cringe at the thought that someone just dropped him off and let him fend for himself although I am well aware that happens all too often. He was in serious need of grooming and had not been neutered when Bob picked him up from the shelter lady. Both needs have been taken care of. He goes this Tuesday for his heart worm test and I have my fingers crossed that he is negative.

For any of you that read this that have older dogs with the onset of cataracts or nuclear sclerosis, I have just ordered some eye drops from Revival that are supposed to help alleviate both of these problems. They say you can see results in as little as 35 days. I am sceptical but willing to try anything that might help Phantom see just a little. I will keep you all updated.

Cool weather and rain are upon us. I think winter is just around the corner and I am not looking forward to it..............

3 Day Vacation.....and newest house disaster !!

2008-08-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

We started our jaunt in Aztec NM where we walked the ruins of an Aztec village. There are still parts of several buildings standing. The kiva or meeting house has been rebuilt and is used today. Our next stop was in Shiprock NM and wasn't actually a stop. More like a drive through and quick look. I think the drawing factor here is the large rock formation which is off limits to everyone. We stayed in Farmington NM on Friday evening and had dinner at a very quaint restaurant/bookshop that has live music on Friday night. If you are ever in Farmington make sure you make a stop at Andrea Kristinas. It is well worth the visit. There was a four piece guitar group playing the evening that we were there and the lead singer sounded very much like Eric Clapton. Combine that with a good sandwich and soup and you will have a very enjoyable 2 hour visit.

Saturday morning we did a little shopping in an antique store in Farmington and then moved on to Gallup for the 87th Intertribal Ceremonial. We grabbed a bite to eat when we arrived in Gallup at a great Hispanic restaurant called Virgie's. We had eaten there two years ago and it is just as good now. I did not take any pictures at the Ceremonial as they don't turn out well from the distance at which we were sitting. The dancing lasted for almost 4 hours with tribes from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Mexico. The Buffalo Dancers from Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo) are one of my favorites and they are just down the road from our pueblo. I had seen them on two previous occasions but had made no association as we were still living in Tularosa and did not know the pueblos in this area.

Sunday morning we slept in a bit as we were out late Saturday. We had breakfast in Gallup in a restaurant called Earls, which is also a must for anyone going to Gallup. The Native Americans come around to your table while you are eating to show you their handicrafts in the hope that you will have money left from the ceremonial and be able to buy something. Their work is lovely and it is hard to resist buying something from each one of them. We left Gallup after breakfast and headed out on the scenic back roads to the Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave. I find it hard to believe that northern New Mexico has 29 inactive volcanos. You can see 15 of them from the top of Bandera. The photo below is one of the areas where the lava flow was 10,000 years ago. Also below is a picture of the ice lake that has formed inside of one of one of the caves formed by the molten lava. The temperature is a constant 31 degrees inside the cave area and the water is frozen to a depth of 20 feet. The really odd part is that you aren't down below ground level very far even though you are on the side of a mountain. The temperature drops rather suddenly on the way down the steps to the cave. It is really something to see. I went to Mammouth Cave in Kentucky when I was in my 20's and don't remember seeing anything like this. No one had to rock either of us to sleep that night. The next day we took Lea to the airport for the flight back to Florida and then went to a feast with dancing in the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Later that same evening while we were at home eating dinner we experienced yet another "pleasure" of living in a 100+ year old adobe. We lost part of the electric in the house. Not all lights on one circuit, but just those that drew a lot of power. Lasted about 30 minutes and then everything went back to normal (if there is such a thing). Around 11:30 the electricity went off again and this time stayed off. Our landlord and the electric company showed up this morning and found that one of the 110 leads going into the house had burned out. So wiring had to be replaced and finally at 2:30 this afternoon we had power again. This may be the last straw. I don't even want to think about what will go wrong this winter. Oh - I almost forgot - when I was working at the kitchen sink yesterday afternoon a centipede fell out of the vigas ceiling on to my kitchen counter and ran behind the microwave. My husband the bug killer dispatched it to a higher plain............What's next ??

2008-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have greatly broadened my knowledge of the Southwest and of the Native American people since our move to Santa Fe. My perception of Native Americans - which is probably the same as a lot of other Easterners - is that they sit around all day in front of their houses, don't work and drink all day. This is quite possibly the case with some of the truly poor reservations like those in the Dakotas and I believe Oklahoma but that does not appear to be the case with the pueblos in our area of New Mexico. My husband and I had the opportunity to go to a "feast" at the Cochiti Pueblo a few weeks ago. We witnessed the residents of the pueblo doing the Corn Dance, which lasts throughout the day. There were vendors selling handmade pottery and jewelry and others selling food. We were invited by one of the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) officers that I dispatch to the home of his girlfriend to take part in the feast. It is a great honor to be invited into the home and one not to be turned down. When you have had your fill of the food provided, you thank the host and leave the residence.

Besides going to the Cochiti Pueblo, we have also visited the Taos Pueblo, which is pictured above and below. This pueblo is 5 stories high and still has some families living in it. It has no electricity running to it and the families that live there use propane and wood for heating and cooking. Several of the rooms on the bottom level have shops in them displaying the beautiful Taos pottery and the jewelry. The pueblo is divided in half by a stream running through it. This is a really beautiful setting. A large part of the drive from Santa Fe to Taos follows the Rio Grande River which offers white water rafting.

The feasts for the Nambe Pueblo (we live on the Nambe reservation) and for the Pojoaque Pueblo (which is where I work) will be held later this year. There can be more that one feast for each pueblo and these two are heading towards the holidays.

My veterinarian (and seriously good friend) is due in here tomorrow from Florida. We will be heading out to the Shiprock New Mexico area on Friday for some sightseeing before going to Gallup on Saturday for the 87th Intertribal Ceremonial. Lea and I have been twice before and enjoyed it very much. As this will probably be my last year living out here, I really wanted to go
this time. Bob and I are doing as many day trips as we can also so that we don't leave here wishing that we had gone to see more places. Made that mistake when we lived in Florida the first time. We will try to correct that mistake when we get back there...............

Loss of a friend.....

2008-08-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

It is very difficult to do this posting as it concerns the loss of my friend for the past 16 years. We had taken Murphy to the doctor for one last attempt to pull him up and give him a little longer, but that was not to be. His immune system was shutting down and he was becoming unaware of his surroundings. He had comforted me in bad times and accepted me no matter what my mood. In good conscience I could not let him suffer even slightly. He already had an IV going so his transition to the Bridge was an easy one. He will long be remembered by our family for truly living up to the name Murphy. I have wooden knitting needles still bearing his teeth marks and jeans that have had buttons resewn. He traveled with us several times to Michigan and made the long trip from Florida to New Mexico. Fate determined that only his memory, spirit and ashes would make the final trip back to Florida with us. Be at peace my friend........

Catching Up......

2008-07-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted anything for a long time. Hope I remember how. I am coming up on the 3 month mark at my latest job since our move to Santa Fe. Seems like this one is going well. I wasn't sure if I would be accepted by the people I work with as most are Hispanic or Native American. I have been adopted by one of the sergeants and he refers to me as his Hispanic sister. It is sort of like a large extended family with lots of joking and clowning around. The actual dispatching is much the same as when I worked in Ruidoso Downs with the exception of the tribal laws. I am working 11 am to 9 pm which are good hours for me since I can't go to sleep early and hate getting up in the morning.

My oldest schipperke turned 16 last month and is not doing well. He has Cognitive Disorder which is the animal version of Alzheimers and is not eating much these days. He is sleeping a lot more than before and doesn't want any attention as he used to. He doesn't appear to be in any pain, but I watch him closely. I hate the thought of losing him, but I know it is inevitable. I hope he will pass quietly in his sleep which would be so much easier for all of us.

We have done just about all that we are going to do on the inside of the house. The landlord had not finished off a lot of his projects, so Bob has been finishing up for him and we just deduct it from the rent. We have ceiling fans in all the rooms now, with the exception of the kitchen, and that is next. I have painted both of the bathrooms and of course, have put up mini blinds and valances in the bedrooms and bathrooms. I have some touch-up painting to do on the walls and especially the two kivas to cover the smoke marks from the fires. I don't think we will use the kivas much this coming winter as we now have gas heat and the fireplaces are really dirty. I am sure it is not good for Bob to be inhaling the smoke from the fireplaces either. I will try and take a few new pictures and add them to my next posting.

And So It Goes..........

2008-05-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is, 4:00am and sleep is eluding me once again. That must mean it is time for me to post to my blog which has been neglected for sometime. We finally got gas heat the end of the first week in April. The electric bills were sky high because, as we all know, the small ceramic electric heaters make the meter spin and two kivas do not keep the house warm enough. About a week after the heat finally started working, the kitchen sink backed up and since the landlord was on his way to Colorado on business, I had a bucket under the sink for the week he was gone. Seems a tree root had grown through the 40+ year old pipes. The kitchen is part of the original 100 year old house. So along with having the backyard torn up to replace the gas line, the side yard was also backhoed to dig to the kitchen drainage pipes. I have my fingers crossed that nothing else will happen for awhile.

At least the house is starting to look like someone actually lives in it. We purchased ceiling fans for the livingroom and one of the back bedrooms as the ceilings had not been finished as far as putting in light fixtures. And after losing about half of my plants, my hibiscus has come back and has it's first bloom in the new house.

On the job front, things have been bleak. I left the security position after 3 weeks. Being a reformed smoker - but not one that lectures - I found that I couldn't handle the smoke in the casino. Apparently the building had been a school and was converted to a casino without making any improvements to the ventilation system. I never thought that I would be bothered but I guess when you aren't smoking it is a different story. I took a position with an E911 dispatch center in an adjoining county only to find that after being the lone operator at smaller police agencies for the past 12 years I am not fast enough for 911. The center is severely short staffed and instead of having 3 or 4 on a shift, there are only 2 dispatchers working. I could not concentrate on the 3 police agencies, 15 fire depts. and the various EMS units that were dispatched and take calls and type the information into the CAD all at the same time. I hope this doesn't sound like sour grapes, because it is not meant that way. I don't know that I could have handled this position 20 years ago, especially as short handed as they are.

So for the past 2.5 weeks I have been playing domestic goddess, working around the house. I finally got the small bathroom painted and replaced a few tiles that were missing around the bath tub. My next challenge will be to paint the master bathroom which has 12 foot ceilings. The ceilings are the wooden beams (vigas) and don't get painted, but there will be a lot of stretching to do those walls. I don't think there is any other major project for me to do, just the normal cleaning. Spring winds here are really something and blowing dirt is everywhere. Not to mention the amount of dirt that 4 little "pot bellied" pigs (aka schipperkes) bring into the house!!

The Casino

2008-03-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Another week has passed and still no gas hooked up. The plumber was a no-show at the landlords to pick up half of his money and at our house to hook up the new gas line. Something about this scenario reminds me a lot of trying to get things done in Florida !!
I have finished my first week in security at the casino and am enjoying my two days off. It was quite interesting. I am not a gambler and the closest I have ever been to gambling was on the boats that went out of John's Pass near St. Petersburg. I went out on them a couple of times when my son was home on leave from the Navy, but I always took my knitting and sat on the top deck and enjoyed the boat ride and the view. Needless to say, I am getting quite the education. I still have no desire to gamble - lucky as I am I might just as well throw my money down the toilet. The pay is decent and the benefits are good and kick in after 90 days. My son starts sometime this week. He should pick up his Gaming Commission badge and uniforms tomorrow. Hope he enjoys the job as much as I do.....
Here's hoping we get gas hook-up before summer !!

The Everchanging World of - Oh !! Us....

2008-03-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday morning, March 6, this is what we woke to. This was supposed to be a dusting. Now I didn't want to go to work to begin with and this didn't improve my mood any......so I stayed home. Later that day I called and told my supervisor that I decided I didn't want to be a dispatcher for Santa Fe County Communications. I have always dispatched for small agencies where you know everyone by their first name - even when you don't want to. Although we did have a mayor at my last employment in Florida who always thought my name was Phyllis. After awhile you even begin to recognize the voices of the "frequent flyers" who love the police department. Santa Fe Co. Comm. or RECC as it is called, is very large with very unfriendly women working there. I would sit and listen to them talk to the people they were training and think to myself, NO WAY. Speak to me like that once and it will be the last time. So before that had a chance to happen, I left gracefully.

I did have a job waiting in the wings (thankfully, as the checking account is getting thin). My son and I have both been hired by the Pueblo of Pojoaque as security for the Cities of Gold Casino and surrounding stores owned by the Pueblo. The new resort being built is called Buffalo Thunder Resort and will employ 600+ people. I start tomorrow on the 3-11 shift, which has always been my favorite. I am really looking forward to this. Something different from sitting on my butt in front of a radio for 8 to 12 hours.

We still do not have the gas heat working in the house. The ground finally thawed enough for the landlord to dig the trench for the new gas line. The plumber showed up today and is going to do the outside work over the weekend. The interior work will be done on Monday. Hopefully by the end of next week we will have gas heat. As you can see, the kiva has been put to good use keeping the house warm, along with some small electric heaters. I also have a smaller kiva in my room.

So, life marches on. When we have the final closing on the house in Tularosa, I hope to be able to take a few days off after I have been with the Pueblo for 6 months and visit Florida. We will wait and see what happens.......

Home at Last ????

2008-02-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well, today is supposed to be the last day in the motel. The landlord put an electric water heater in yesterday so that we will have hot water, if not gas heat. The ground is still frozen solidly enough so that his trencher can't get through to the old gas line. I am sure if the gas line were at the front of the house it would be easier, but sun doesn't hit the back until late afternoon. He says hopefully it will be thawed enough by the end of the month. So, we won't have a gas bill, but the electric will be high from the ceramic heaters. We also have the vigas that will be burning brightly tonight. We bought a cord of wood last week. Nice wood - pinon. Burns well and smells great.
Bob is leaving Tularosa sometime tomorrow afternoon with the last load of "treasures". There are a few boxes from the house, mostly kitchen things. Most of the load is from the garage. He has some last minute errands to run in Alamogordo before leaving so he probably won't be here until late afternoon or early evening. I actually start work tomorrow at the communications center. I'm not too thrilled about dispatching again, but at this point I need to generate some income. I will keep my eyes and ears open for other opportunities. Tuff - watch the mail for those reference letters and keep those lies flowing..........

Moving...................

2008-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

Tell me again why at a nicely aged 62 - I am moving yet again !! The spirit may be willing, but my body has given up the ghost. The new rental in Santa Fe appears great - except - there is a gas leak between the meter and the house and the temps up there are the coldest in the past 10 years. We are leaving tomorrow morning and will be staying in a motel for at least a week, just unpacking at the house during the day. The 2 kiva fireplaces should keep the cold down to a minimum. Or I can look at the picture of the pellet stove in our house here in Tulie and remember. The landlord has hopes that it won't take longer than a week to fix.

And for those of you who don't have gypsy blood (something MY parents obviously neglected to tell me) I am sure you remember the joys of moving and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Thank goodness there was Palmetto Canvas that made such a nice foam mattress when we lived on the houseboat. It has come in handy several times. Our little caravan is taking off tomorrow morning and hopefully all will go well. I still have to pack up the kitchen and shampoo the livingroom carpet. Oh - and the stove and oven. Joy !! The dogs will all be riding with me along with as many of the larger house plants that can fit into the Jeep Liberty. Keep your fingers crossed for us and speak with the Gods........................

Once upon a time, A long time ago, In a Faraway Place...............

2008-01-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what one finds when packing.......I found a floppy disc holder with about 25 discs in it. We have 4 computers at our house and none of them accept floppies. I have spent the entire day (between dispatch calls) transferring pictures, etc. from the discs to my jump drive. At some point they will be loaded into my lap top and downloaded to a CD. I found pictures I didn't know I had taken and ones that I had completely forgotten about. Old times are the best with friends that we won't soon forget. Tuff - it's time for a visit. You will love Santa Fe and you can park the camper in the yard at the house.......Next excuse !!

Home in Santa Fe

2008-01-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

It appears that we may have found the home we were hoping for when we first moved to New Mexico. This one isn't for sale, but it is a great rental.

It is located about 20 miles north of Santa Fe in a small gated area. I have not seen the house yet, but my husband says it is great and the pictures that he took bear this out. He says the interior is immense and that we don't have enough
furniture to fill the house.

This is the livingroom - hardwood floors - I can picture small black dogs sliding on their butts. The dog in the picture is the landlords poodle. The kitchen and the bathrooms have Saltillo tile on the floors. I love that tile. We had put some of it down in our house in Florida shortly before we moved. The kiva fireplace in the corner of the livingroom is great. There is also one in a bedroom. I have 6 more days of work and then I will be Santa Fe bound. Today is my sons last day at the Wal-Mart here. He will start in Santa Fe on February 4. He and my husband are taking a trailer load of household goods to Santa Fe on Monday. Utilities get switched on Tuesday. When they get back we will finish loading the big truck and hopefully be on our way. My husband will be staying in Tularosa until we close on the house. I just don't have enough hours in the day to finish all that needs to be done...................

2008-01-23T09:41:00.001-08:00

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Homeless in New Mexico
Once again we are faced with a challenge. Our house in Tularosa has sold and we will be closing on Feb. 15. Happily, the couple that wanted it so badly have found financing and will be able to purchase it. However, we are not finding a house in Santa Fe to move into. I am hoping something will appear magically as I do not want to have to rent for 6 months and move furniture again. We found one townhouse that would have been super - on the Cochiti reservation - but unfortunately it is leased property for 99 years and banks do not look kindly on leased land. So we are back to square one.........On an extremely pleasant note - Those of you that know me personally are aware that I have two sons twenty one months apart in age. The eldest, retired from the Navy, came out west with us. The younger was living in Florida and has now moved back to upstate New York near his father. We have been estranged for the past 4 years and have reacquainted ourselves in the past two weeks. Makes me feel much better and I am relatively sure he feels the same way.It isn't good when family members are not close.It looks as though I will be spending my next two days off packing. I will have to keep boxes separated until we know for sure whether they will be going into a house/apartment or into storage. I will try and keep up with my blog so everyone knows what is happening.............
Posted by Schiplady at 6:57 AM

2008-01-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I started this post in the middle of the night, once again unable to sleep and once again having to get up at 0-dark-thirty. I have a lot of things running through my head and they all seem to ram around when I am trying to go to sleep. We still have no offers (or even lookers for that matter) on our house. We have considered the possibility of a house swap for one on the mountain, but I am very fond of this house and I don't get a warm fuzzy feeling about the one up there. We have also looked at an A-frame that is for rent - with the possibility of renting out our house instead of selling. But there again - no renter on the horizon - and what if the renters destroy our home. If we rent it out, it would be with the intent of coming back to it when I no longer work. I am really beginning to think that my son and I should just bite the bullet and drive back and forth and pray to the snow gods to be gentle with us this winter.On a brighter note - one of the firemen that I work with designed some business cards for me and managed to combine both my knitting business and the schipperke rescue. I think that the cards are rather clever and definitely - the name fits! Just ask anyone that has worked with me or that has known me for any length of time.The sweater jacket was knitted for friend that I worked with for a short time at the police department. I did a similar one and donated it to my veterinarian buddy for a silent auction being held to help raise funds for holistic students. Most of the ones I knit are not quite so radical in color. After 35+ years of knitting, I am working on my first pair of socks. First one turned out well and even fits! Lets hope that the second one slightly resembles the first. I did read somewhere that with hand knit socks - no two are exactly the same. Something to fall back on anyway. The afghan is crocheted, as any of you that do needle work can tell, and was done for one of my officers. He has been after me to do another one with camouflage yarn. All projects come with complimentary schipperke fur on them. Most have been tested for sleeping comfort. And all seem to have passed the test..........
Posted by Schiplady at 11:13 PM

2008-01-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Foolishness of my ways
So here I sit at 3:15 AM having just come off a 3-11 shift and having to work a 7-3 shift which requires me to get up in another two hours................Wondering to myself about the error of my ways in my youth. Possibly I should have been a little more frugal with my money, not run those charge cards sky high, not purchased a different vehicle every year and definitely not spent all of my retirement money from the PD in Florida on the move to New Mexico........I could be drawing my social security now and working part time for a little additional income and to cover the cost of private insurance for a couple of years until I qualify for Medicare.......But instead I am working a turn around shift at the end of a six day run and listening to all the BS that gets dished out in a small department. I have a supervisor who is really a nice person, but having been with the department for 25 years, is set in her ways and refuses to work any weekends. She also doesn't cover when someone is out sick or on vacation. This necessitates the changing of our work schedule practically on a weekly basis. I worked the same shift with the same days off for 8 years before moving and could plan appointments weeks in advance. And, no, this isn't sour grapes....just my middle of the night shoulda/coulda/woulda ! I am sure when today is over and I have my two days off things will look brighter........One of my best friends (who also happens to be my holistic veterinarian from Florida) is coming to visit this month. I am really looking forward to this. She is looking for property out here and is checking out the Santa Fe/Taos area on this trip. We are meeting her in Santa Fe and bringing her back to our area for a six day visit. We haven't really planned any side trips for this visit so it should be interesting. She is in Lexington KY over the Labor Day weekend for a dog show that she attends each year. She is the show vet on call. She had a practice in Paris KY before moving to Florida. Great person and super doctor.....No news on the move to the mountain. No one has looked at our house in a couple of weeks and we are striking out finding an affordable place on the mountain. My husband looked at 4 places while I was working yesterday and didn't even bother getting out of the car at 3 of them. One was so overgrown that he couldn't get to it and another would have required a person to have mountain goat blood to get up the driveway. Maybe I'll just buy a lottery ticket this week!!
Posted by Schiplady at 1:50 AM

2008-01-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Monday, August 13, 2007

I don't know how many of you have seen programs on TV about the alien space ship that supposedly crashed near Roswell, NM but it is a pretty big deal out here. This is the 60th anniversary of the crash and Roswell is playing it up. I had Sunday off, which rarely happens, so Bob and I decided to go for a ride and headed to Roswell. And of course if you don't have a plan, you end up at the UFO Museum. It was an inexpensive trip through the museum and the newspaper clippings were very interesting. There is a display with the alien depicting the examination that was done on the body. There are also many paintings showing the solar system and alien landings.
Most of the paintings are rather dark. I forgot the camera and ended up taking pictures with my cellphone, so the clarity isn't great. And of course, I came home with the obligatory T-Shirt and other trashy souvenirs. It's really a pretty ride as it takes you through the Mescalero Apache Reservation, Lincoln National Forest, Hondo valley and high desert.
I had an email yesterday from the woman that was my supervisor when I still worked in Florida. She and I were not the best of friends then as she had a habit of stabbing people in the back. Times have changed, she has been on the receiving end and now is enjoying not being in charge. And we have become friends. For the second year in a row she and another dispatcher from Sarasota are going to Europe for a month. The other woman's mother lives in Germany so they have room and board there. They are going to Russia, Italy and France. I hope she has a great time. She had it pretty tough when she was younger and deserves some good times now.
Things are pretty dull where I work now.

Nothing exciting like this happens on the mountain.........................

2008-01-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Well, I am back to try again, this time maybe with pictures if all turns out well. Things have been very busy at the police department, even though we are small. Yesterday was like "full moon" weekend with a constant barrage of stupid phone calls, walk ins and unfortunately, break ins. Vandalism seems to rise dramatically when the kids are out of school, at least in our little town. We have a great park right across the highway from our PD and we have an outside camera so that we can monitor it even at night. There is a skate park within the park and the kids use it constantly. It is not fenced or monitored as was the one where I worked in Florida. That one was a pain in the butt thanks to the city mayor. This one is wide open for the kids to enjoy and in the 16 months that I have worked there, I have not had to call for an ambulance or send the police over. However, even though the skate boarding part of the park is lit by street lamps when the rest of the park goes dark, our city manager in his infinite wisdom, doesn't want the kids there after 9:00 PM. (And yes, I know, why aren't these kids at home and why aren't the parents supervising! ) So what do they do - they break into empty houses and cause damage. Yesterdays toll was $30 K on a $250 K house vacant and for sale. And they just gave this man a $10K raise just for changing his job title. He is interviewing in another part of the state and we have hopes he will be hired. We also have an 82 year old mayor who surprisingly does find his way home from his office. He only has one more year left in his term. Maybe things will get better........or not !!

Okay, my first picture here is Murphy, our 14 year old male. I bought him from someone that worked in the police department in Florida. He was 6 months old when we got him and had not been treated well. Caged all the time. He also came from a pet store. This was before I learned about pet stores/puppy mills and became a rescuer. Murphy had allergy problems all his life until we moved to NM. It was like someone hit a light switch. No itching, no sores. The most beautiful coat of fur ever. Too bad we didn't move sooner. All those years on and off Prednisone have taken a toll on his overall health although he is in pretty good shape for his age.

The second picture is Sheda, who is my poster girl for rescue. I picked her up in GA at a schip lovers weekend gathering in 2000. She was one of 3 girls rescued from a puppymill auction and so pitiful looking when we got her. She was to go to another family in Tampa, but her arrival didn't fit in with their vacation plans. So - she stayed with us and we have never regretted it. We are unsure of her age as the papers that came with her were not hers. We think she is between 10-12 and due to no early medical treatment, has lost many teeth and has a partially collapsed trachea. She coughs a lot when she gets excited or plays too hard. She has also lost her hearing within the past 3 years. But she is my baby girl and sticks to me like glue. This picture was taken in February of 2006 when I had to go to Santa Fe for 3 weeks to New Mexico's Dispatcher Academy. I stayed in a motel instead of the dormitory and my husband came to visit on the weekends and brought Sheda and Tala to visit. Murphy doesn't enjoy traveling like he once did, primarily due to his age I think. He enjoys sleeping in the A/C and eating. Not much else gets him excited !!

The last picture is of Tala on the left and Phantom on the right. We adopted Tala in September of 2004 while still in Florida. She was 3 at that time. Her owner turned her into schip rescue as she didn't fit into her lifestyle anymore. She was so frightened and even though she had belonged to a woman, she attached herself to my husband and stayed in his room most of the time. She didn't want to socialize with the other dogs. At that time we had a 10 year old female rescue, whose owners had died, and Tala and Lena didn't seem to like each other very much. Unfortunately, we lost Lena very suddenly in October of 2005 to a lung problem that no one knew she had. Tala has now come around and gets along with the rest of the gang, although she is very leary of strangers and will nip at their heels when they walk through the house. She usually ends up locked in my room until company leaves. It is difficult to try and sell your house with a 15 pound fur ball chasing you!! And last, but by no means least, is Phantom. On my husbands' first trip back to Florida to pickup rescues and re-locate them, he met Phantom and it was love at first sight. My husband has never really been attached to dogs as I am, but Phantom is a whole different story. Bob can't leave the room without having his "shadow" and Phantom camps outside the bathroom door and waits for him. He is 13 years old and has lost his eyesight to cataracts since he came to us. It has not changed him in any way, other than just slowing him down a little. He is the sweetest most loving little dog I have ever met. He was left at his vets' office for boarding as his family said he didn't get along with their 2 year old. (I will not comment further here as I am sure many of your prefer children to animals. ) Okay, now you have met the fur family ....... and I must get ready for work.
Posted by Schiplady at 7:01 AM

2008-01-23T09:19:00.001-08:00

Well, my first blog attempt turned out okay except I neglected to finish a sentence - duh!! I meant to say that my knitting projects are for sale at one of our local gift shops. When the weather cools down some I have hopes that the items will sell. In the meantime I will keep myself occupied working on new projects. I like to experiment with the mixing of colors in afghans and sweaters. My work schedule has been very erratic for several weeks with people on vacation. We are still a dispatcher short and I hear there is a hiring freeze on for our department. In New Mexico dispatchers have to attend an academy in Santa Fe so our newest dispatcher will be gone for 3 weeks in September. There goes our schedule again. I have been working a 4 day a week schedule, only not 4 10 hour shifts. The 12 hour day is really rough since I have a 45 minute drive to work and home again. If I make it through today and tomorrow I will have 3 days off to recouperate - and pack boxes. We haven't gotten an offer on our house yet, nor have we put in an offer on a house on the mountain. All things come to those who wait. At least that is what my husband says..........

2008-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Introduction
I am new to the world of blogging although my friend, Tuffenuf, suggested some time ago that I give it a whirl. I am afraid my life isn't as exciting as Tuff's - I am not retired yet and still have to do the old work grind. Like she doesn't work at home! I am in the law enforcement field as she was, but I work from the dispatch desk area. Strange hours, always short-handed and never a lack of "the bad guys" it seems. When I am not driving the 70 miles round trip to work, I am home cooking and cleaning for the other half and my retired Navy son who has chosen to stick close to what little family is left. We are in the midst of packing once again, hoping that our house will sell and we can move closer to work. My son also works on the mountain and of course, we never work the same hours. In addition to all else that is going on, I decided just before the dog food recall that my schips always ate better and were generally healthier when I prepared their food instead of using kibble, albeit very good kibble. So once a week on my days off I spend extra time in the kitchen putting together a weeks worth of food for 4 very eager schips. Most of the ingredients come from the local Wal-Mart (as if we had any other store here in no mans land). The oat bran comes in 50 pound bags from the health food store. The time I spend is well worth the results. I am also an avid knitter and have several sweaters, scarves and even an afghan. And if our temperatures would drop below 100 degrees I might stand a chance of selling something...............
Posted by Schiplady at 3:39 PM