2014-07-28

If you are watching this on your cell phone, you need to click on the date that appears.  The picture does not always work like you think.


I did not realize that I made this video 6 years ago.  This is the stations of the cross in San Luis.  The dog in the picture joined me at the bottom of the walk and stayed with me all the way up and all the way down.  Two years ago I met my son in Taos, New Mexico.  When I came back, I drove the back way and came out in San Luis.  I stopped on the edge of town to take a picture of the chapel up on the hill.  When I stepped out of the car, I was greeted by a big dog which stood by me while I took pictures.  I can not help but wonder if the dog was the embodiment of some one I had known before.

Maybe when my friend, Irene comes this year, her and I can go visit this.  Her mom lived in this area and I think the one shot I have of the field down the side is where Annie grew up.  Small world, huh?

This was a while back!

It has been probably 5 or 6 years since I ventured to this place with a friend.  I think I would like to go again. 

The day we went here I was accompanied by a big brown dog that net me at the starting point and  went all the way to the top with me and then led me back down.  He was very friendly and wagged his tail and left when we got back down. A few years later I had gone to Taos and returned home through San Luis so I could take pictures.  The same dog greeted me when I stepped out of the car on the edge of town!  At least it seemed like the same dog and I petted him without getting bit.

My first (and only) visit to the little church on the top was a hurried trip since my companion seemed to be a little hung over and did not seem to be enjoying himself much.  I have come to the conclusion that I need to pick friends who are more apt to not need a drink.  Just sayin.'

So, my dear little Irene, just click on the blue words and Can you guess where we are?

The dog, the cat and the little old lady.

OK.  You win!  I suddenly came to the realization that I have become a little old lady who talks to her dog.  Not only do I talk to the dog, but I speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences.  And that is not the worst part.  What suddenly caught my attention was when I found myself waiting for the dog to answer.  Now I have always talked to the cat, but the cat and I have a special relationship.  The dog is a different matter.

You see, cat's are people oriented  and can in reality go crazy if they are closed up with no human contact.  They appear to be very aloof and not in need of human companionship, but they are phonies to the max.  My cat sleeps with me.  All night in the bed, just she and I.  In the morning I give her a treat for being such a good cat ant we then set down at the computer to write or check ebay or what ever.  She sets on the keyboard.  She is very independent, but clingy at the same time.  It is hard to type when she is stretched out on the keyboard, but it can be done.  I know if I try to move her I am going to get bit.  That is just a given.  It is best to let her get tired of laying on the keyboard and wander off to some other time and place.

The dog is another story.  He is currently at my feet and wide awake.  When I peer down at him he cocks his little head.  Sometimes I move my lips and he thinks I am talking and he can't hear me.  I always feel a little guilty when I do that because he is such a devoted little cuss and he does not want to miss a word.  (God grant me the ability to say something intelligent from time to time so the dog does not lose faith in me.)

Now, I know I have a lot of friends out there so I am going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer.  Do you talk to your animals?  If so, what do you talk about?  Do you think your animals understand what you are saying?  I have noticed that when I talk to the cat, I have a more moderate and mellow voice and I discuss mostly political stuff or church stuff or things that really don't matter.

It is different with the dog.  I become more animated and the dog gets more excited.  I can actually get him to jump around by changing the inflections in my voice.  If I speak in a monotone, the dog just looks at me, but if I appear excited, he starts to jump around.

From all of this I have drawn one conclusion...I really need to get a life.  Maybe I need a boyfriend.  Now I am rethinking the boyfriend.  I am a little old for that.  Man friend.  But not to old.  And he is sure going to have to like dogs and cats.  Oh, yeah and geese.  And the neighbors goats.  And I hope he can cook and carry on a two sided conversation. Or at least beat me at Jeopardy! occasionally.  Or at least be a gracious loser.

It has been a really long day.

Learning to let go is not going to be that easy.

I have been active all my life so letting go is not going to be easy.  I live in a 2400 square foot house, and trust me, every inch of it is in use.  Most of it is used for "stuff" setting around full of more "stuff" or with stuff on top of it.  I am contemplating moving into a smaller place, but that means I have to leave some of the "stuff" behind, or give it away, or burn it, or sell it.  Now some of my "stuff" is good stuff.

So some one told me I should hold an item in my hands for 20 seconds and if it does not make me happy, throw it out.  I guess I will try that.  First I am going to pick up those 2 little toys on the computer desk and then go put them in the Jiraiya toy box because I know he is happy having them there.  My biggest problem seems to be in just deciding where to begin.  I could start on this desk, but that is not going to work because this is all important stuff.  Most important is that damned cat laying in the middle of everything.  But you must understand, she loves me and wants to be a part of everything I do.  She also likes to go way up high and bat stuff off onto the floor.

I could go start at the front door.  First we have a bag of clothes for Sister Nancy.  Then a small table that holds 6 egg cartons for Penny, mail I will probably never read and a bag of crochet that I carry when I go sit with someone.  Next is 4 milk crates of books that belong to PFLAG which will go to thier new home soon.  Very soon.  I have a card table, and a drafting table and 2 sewing machines in the corner.......

The point is, it is not just a matter of holding it for 20 seconds.  It is a matter of which part of my life is that item going to be used as a vital part later on today.  I should go down stairs and start digging there.  I have a box of basket weaving stuff that I absolutely had to have and then never touched after I bought it.  I want to give that to Erica, but first I have to find it.  I have giant gourds that I have had for most of my adult life that I am going to do something with any minute.  And if I can just find that box containing every Workbasket magazine ever published, I can put it on ebay and retire on the profits.  

I am sorry.  The 20 second second  rule is just not going to work for me.  I have a second plan that will no doubt be more condusive to my way of life.  I am going to get old and die.  The kids can come in here and do the 20 second thing and I am sure they are not connected to this shit like I am.  But then again, there is the possibility that they may actually see a use for all this stuff and they can take it home.  Course I am not sure any of them have room for 2 floor looms, 4 sergers, 5 sewing machines, a 6 needle embroidery machine, 7,000 bolts of fabric and 11, 426 spools of thread.  But I could be wrong.  

So here is the plan.  I am going to publish this blog and if I have anything you are interested in, give me a call.  Otherwise, I will be setting right in the middle of the whole mess wondering just where my things took possession of me rather than me possessing them.  

So having once more foiled myself in my desire to empty out this house and move into an efficiency  apartment in town, I will go have a Happy Valentine's Day coffee at Starbucks with my friend Nancy and buy 3 bags of goose food for the 8 geese out back that would never fit in the kitchen in town.  Oh, and the dog and cat seem to be at home here.  

But maybe some day.  Just not going to happen today.

Rest in Peace

RIP

My Little Elvira

Unknown-1/18/2018

Life is not always as it appears, or I am the eternal optimist!

A couple days ago I was working in my little kitchen.  My home is a split level so the office is 4 feet higher then the main level.  I heard something  crash into the office window so I sprinted up the stairs to investigate.  I looked out the window and down at the ground and saw a dark bird standing there.  He appeared to be immobile but in no pain.  A closer look and I saw that he was standing on another bird.  Well, that was strange.  I watched for a little bit and the dark bird moved around and positioned himself on top of bird #2 and began to make jumping movements.
My first impression, being the optimist I am, was that bird #1 was giving artificial respiration to bird #2 and trying to revive it.  It was probably his wife.  As I stood at my window watching I realized I was seeing a miracle that few people would ever witness and I silently prayed for success and waited with bated breath for the gray bird to show signs of life.  Then the realist in me took over.  The bird flat on it's back with wings outstretched was a dove.  The dark bird perched on it's chest was darker, had stripes on it's tail feathers and a hooked beak which was now ripping the throat out of the bird it it's clutches.  It was a chicken hawk!  At that moment I realized what a damn fool I was.
The chicken hawk had chased the dove into my window with such force that the dove had fallen to the ground and became easy prey for Mr. Chicken Hawk.  Closer examination of said window proved this was not the first time this had happened.  The doves tend to hang out in the cherry tree outside the window and the predator birds know this.  When the hawk chases a dove it flies into my window and falls to the ground.  I now have the curtains closed on all my big windows.  I do not like having my windows closed as I feel trapped inside, but that is how it is for now.
And of course, I understand nature enough to know that while the doves eat seeds and such hawks are meat eaters.  I am a meat eater, but I can go to the store and buy my food.  Nature does not work like that.  It is called survival of the fittest.  The hawk outsmarted the dove.  That is how it is.  And isn't life much like that?  Somebody holds the mortgage on my house.  If I do not pay, they take my house.  My car needs gas to run, if I do not fill it up, it does not move.  On a daily basis I am outsmarted by the dogs and geese.  And the cat.  They expect food in their bowl and like a silly fool, I take my money and buy them what they need.  Elvira goes to the beauty shop, but I braid my hair.  How many of you out there are slaves to the same Gods?  (Did you ever notice that GODS and DOGS have the same letters?)  Our reward for the attention we give them is they will sometimes let us pat them on the head.  Not the geese though.  The only thing I get from them is the privilege of cleaning out the goose house 3-4 times a year and carrying water to them in the winter.  All they do for me is poop where I need to walk.
So I will keep the curtains closed for a while.  When the doves migrate away I will open them back up and delude myself into believing that all is well with the world and no one is eating anyone else.  I am an optimist and I shall stay an optimist because to not look for a brighter tomorrow is doom myself to a life of darkness.
So fly away, my little doves!  There is a brighter world some where!

This is my helper and this is why I can not get anything done!

This is Icarus and Icarus helps me with everything I do.  Here you see that I am working on a mat for the homeless, but she thinks she can do a better job, so she just plants herself on the work and tells me to go do something else.

Now if you are wondering if Icarus is a boy or girl, she is a girl  When I got her I was dating a guy and he said "Let's name her Icarus!  That is a very good name."  I explained to him that Icarus was a boys name and I reminded him that he was the boy with wax wings that flew to close to the sun and his wings melted and he fell to earth.  He patiently pointed out to me that no one remembered that stuff and Icarus was a good name, so Icarus she became and while he is no longer with me, Icarus is.

And her she is thinking she might be able to grab that shuttle, but will have no idea what to do with it when she gets it.  She just wants to get it away from me!

Here she has a different perscpective from the other side of the loom.  She would like to be able to crawl across the harnesses, but she is pretty sure I move them with my feet and she can not control my hands and feet at the same time.

Well, there you go!  I am completely shut down at this point!  You do realize that this also occurs when I am on the computer, don't you?  Naps are out of the question because she like to set on my head when I kick back in the recliner.  And if I protest too much, she has been known to bite.  Where did I get the idea that I wanted a cat?  Oh, I remember, it was so keep the dogs company.  So here I set with an cat that thinks it is a dog, and dogs that tolerate her because she is a bitch.  

I do not know where she is right now and it is scaring me!  Usually when this happens I end up chasing a mouse around the kitchen.  Crap!  Better go find her.  Better go take care of my remaing geese.  Probably ought to just go to bed and call it a day.

Good morning world!

I woke up this morning with my brother on my mind   Sometimes that just happens.  So I went into Picasa because I was wanting to find a picture of him, but then I got side tracked and that is never a good thing.  I found this picture from a year or so ago.

That made me afraid to go downstairs because I know that one came from under the deck.  So I kept looking for Jake's picture.  And I found this.  This one just made me miss my Rowdy bird.

And my sister.

And the other sister.

And Cleo

And finally I found Jake. It is sad that this is the best picture I have of him.  Well, to be honest this and one taken when he was 9 years old are the only pictures I have at all.  So, I miss him, but life goes on and the road winds over hills and down in valleys and life is just pretty much is what it is.  We miss those who are not here, but we also miss those who are.

Today is not a day I want to spend missing anyone.  I got up at 4:30 with hopes of actually getting the garden planted today, yet here I set.  Had a friend tell me the other day that the way he does it is carries a timer.  He decides he will spend 1 hour on yard work and when the timer goes off he moves on to something else.  So I am going to try that one.  First I will go spend one hour in the garden and then 20 minutes in the shower and then off to do a chore in Belmont......

The road to hell is paved with good intentions!!!

What a way to spend a Sunday!

Here is the goose house when I opened it this morning.  It is beginning to look pretty nasty.  I would not want to sleep in there, would you?  My 13 little geese are certainly more deserving of something better.  Oh, look what I have in the back seat of my car!  I think I know what to do.

The man at the feed store looked at me like I had lost my marbles when I ordered a bale of straw and handed him the big black bag.  He thought I was nuts when I told him to slip that right down over that bale.  I had to help him because I do not think he had done this before.  Then when I told him to just toss it in the back seat he told me it would not go.  But this was not my first rodeo and I knew it would.  So I told him just put it through the door and slide it across the seat and close the door.  How simple it was then.  The real trick is not actually getting it in the car, the trick is getting it out without the bag breaking and leaving straw all over the seat.  That was my job.

So I jumped up bright and early this morning and traipsed out to the goose house with my shovel, broom, heavy coat and gloves.  Lyn did not know I was going to do this today so I did not have to get the sermon about wearing a mask and all that.  I did have to stop about half way through because my little fingers were very cold and I feared frostbit.  But with peraverance, in just a little over an hour it looked like this:

And then I filled the feeder .

And to make thier day complete, I ran them a big pond on water because the stock tank is frozen and I think it will remain that way until the spring thaw.

 

And Icarus checked it all out and pronounced it finished!  I headed for the shower!

 

So tonight I will sleep good knowing the geese are warm and dry tonight with new straw.  And let me tell you this is one chore I am glad is done for a few months.  A friend of mine called earlier and asked what I did today since they did not come and do my floors.  I told him I cleaned the goose house and he said, " I told you I would do that!  At least I meant to tell you I would do it."  I told him, "Oh, I misunderstood.  I thought you said 'Pass the cookies'. "  MEN! 

 

Janet Anslovar and her many talents

See the lady in the center?  That is Janet Anslovar, a very nice lady.  She has been with the guild like forever (which means longer than me!)  Seems that every thing she touches turns to a work of art.  In the center she is giving a weaving demonstration on the Baby Wolf loom that is owned by the guild.  I was her little helper and we had a very good time.  Would have had a better time if I could have stayed setting and left the cookies alone!

Janet has won many awards for her dolls and other works of sheer genius that flow from her fingers.  Today I am going in and buy one of the dolls.  My favorite was a fellow she had a couple years ago named "Harley"  and just try to guess what he was setting on!

The sale is going to end this Saturday at 3:00 PM so if you have not been there yet you better get to hopping.

This little guy came in yesterday from Colorado Springs PAWS which trains animals to be service animals.  Cool huh?  I forget his name.

Just never know what you might happen upon when you get a bunch of weavers together!

 

Cleo finds a home!

This is Cleo.  I introduced her to you a few days ago and you she needed a good home.  Well, when the British Motorcycle Association of Colorado found out her plight, the president sent a letter to all the members.  This is a tight group of Lord only knows how many riders, but there was quick response.  By the next day it was apparent that she would have a home with one of the bikers, and today she trotted out with Todd Wallace and Dana Robbins and did not look back.  She is going North to live with Todd and his wife.  Dana was the point man in this and my job was to tell her goodbye and report back to Sherman.  Job accomplished!

Here comes the man wanting a new dog.  Right up the sidewalk to the front door and inside.

 Kind of got him in the shadows here and not smart enough to know how to remedy that.  And bringing up the rear is Dana, himself.

 Well, Cleo, are you ready to go with me?

So, for all of you who wondered, yes, Cleo has found a new home.  I will miss walking her, and I will miss her running to meet me, but I know she will be happy with Todd.  I think this is the first dog Sherman or I have had to give away.  Usually we get a dog and it is till death us do part.   But sometimes life gets topsy turvy.

I want to thank all the members of the BMAC for stepping up to the plate when it was called for to help one of their own.

Namaste!

Pedestrian Access to the Kayak Course off fourth street

I have a friend who is doing the whole cancer and radiation thing and is not a well puppy.  So I do what I can and one of the things is walk his dog.  He lives on the bluff of the stretch of the river that runs through Pueblo between Fourth Street and Union Avenue.  That is also where the Kayak Course is located.  They have done a lot of work down there to include a very nice wide side walk, benches, trash cans, bags to pick up doggie do and also landscaped and planted the steep edges with wild grass and such.  To hold that in place they covered it with net.  Now comes the tricky part. 
That net is doing what it is supposed to do, it is rotting and going back to mother nature.  Well, kind of doing that, but not quite.  The plot thickens.  Click on my little slide show and be sure to read the captions.

The first shot is Pearl and Chapa.  That is right off of Fourth Street.  The fishing sign is 2 blocks away and is right behind my friends house.  So I go out the door, turn left and pass two houses, another left and across a vacant lot and there I am at the big wide side walk.   As you can see it is very nice.  Well, yeah, until it ends!  There I am left with the choice to either slip and slide down down the dirt incline which is rutted and full of rocks and no place a 70 year old woman out to be skittering down!  Or I can angle off across where you see those 3 young'uns walking down.  See that is steep, too.  So if I go at an angle I come to a gentle slope and then I reach the wide, safe sidewalk.  Unless, of course, I catch my shoe in the netting and then I face plant.  Last time I went that way I was so careful and I reached the sidewalk and had one foot in the air on the way down to the sidewalk and the other in the netting and face down on the cool concrete, my fall broken only by my poor old, mistreated knees.  There were two girls there with there dogs who were kind enough to offer to help me up, but the dog I walk is very protective of me, so that did not happen.

So, I have a message for the city of Pueblo.  I notice you have chained the steps that lead up the embankment beside the Chinese Resturant there on Fourth and the bridge heading into the city.  I have no idea what that is about.  How about taking some of those chains down there and draping them across the "Pedestrian Access" behind that big gravel pile in case another little old lady wanders down there and thinks that 3 foot wide sidewalk actually goes some where.  Or here!  Even better would be if you finished that other 30 feet so we could actually get down there safely.  How about that? 
When my son saw my bruises he was in hog heaven imagining the lawsuit we could have against the city.  This is a clear cut case of negligence on your part.  However, I am not a suing person, but you should know there are people out there who are.  I love to walk on that part of the river and that access is wonderful right up to the point that it becomes treacherous.  I am surely not the only one who would like to see that little stretch finished.  It just seems counter productive to do so much work and spend so much money and then not finish the project. 
So, I ask you to either finish it or take down the Pedestrian Access sign and chain that sidewalk, before some one else gets hurt.  I could loan you a padlock if you don't have one.

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The son is here and the doggies are tired!

Well, the son arrived here from California yesterday afternoon.  Well, actually a little before noon.  He had left there at 1:00 PM the previous day to make the 22 hour drive.  By arriving here 23 hours later, I  am thinking he did not spend the night in a motel anywhere.

So let me introduce the dogs who are his family and accompanied him on his journey.  This is Oliver.  Ollie is a West Highland Terrier.  Kind of an oaf of a dog, and is constantly surprised by life in general.  He is learning many things.  One of which is that I have a cat and he does not know what a cat is.  He thinks it might be something to play with, but he is not real sure of that .  He also got introduced to the flock of geese and ducks.  This rather overwhelmed the poor fellow as he had only encountered wild life in a one on one setting.  After much trembling, Sam allowed him back in the sanctuary of the yard.

 This would be the poor little Emma, the very old poodle.  She is exhausted to the point of being unable to move at all.  Her only actual sign of her age is that her hearing is completely gone.  She is the most precious little dog and she loves to be held.  Sam left her with me while he took Oliver to the doggie wash.  Doggie wash is like a car wash only you wash a dog instead of a car!  Never heard of such a thing.   I sat in the recliner and she had a nice nap in my lap.  Surprisingly enough, Daisy and Elvira did not grab her leg and jerk her off my lap.

 And here they are making themselves at home on the couch.  Sam wanted me to know that Emma likes to fluff things up so I might want to keep an eye on her and my leather couch.  Yesterday she was way to tired to care about the fluffing thing.

Ok, there is a short introduction to the doggies. Tomorrow or later tonight we will delve into the actual son part.  Oh, and the girls are coming so there will  be lots going on.

Fun to have with a carrot on a snowy day.

Well, a bag of carrots, a couple Llama's, lot of snow, and a vegetarian dog makes for a fun slide show.  No animals were harmed in the making of this slide show.

I went to Safeway's and got a bag of carrots along with a lot of other stuff and when I got home and opened the carrots I found they had roots and greenery.  Sorry, not my idea of fresh.  I will not buy a bag next time that I can not see through.  So I figured this was my fault.  Since I live in the County it would have taken more gas to return them then they cost.  Once more, one of the lessons I have learned.

So I took my bag of carrots and my trusty camera and went to the side fence and called to the Llama's.  Of course they came.  I stuck the carrots in the fence to free my hands and then we talked.  Yes, they do like carrots and they do not mind that they are not crisp and crunchy.  They were most agreeable to have their pictures taken and I do think they posed for me a little bit.  Now I have heard and actually seen Llama's that spit, but these do not seem to have that habit.  For that I am grateful.

When I turned to come back to the house, the Daisy dog shot past me.  Seems she thought she would like a carrot.  She also knew she was not supposed to have it.  That is why I got very good pictures of the Llama's and Daisy ran from me.  Hope she enjoyed her carrot.  And I hope you enjoy the slide show.