JODY WANTS ME TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO COME HERE TO DO A WINTER STINT OF VOLUNTEERING- BELIEVE ME IT IS A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE- NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE MEEK AT HEART.- HEAVEN KNOWS WE HAVE PLENTY OF JACKETS... AND A FEW SNOW SUITS FOR THE RUN BETWEEN HEATED BUILDINGS.
HEAT... THRU THE AGES....
I REMEMBER WHEN....... I HAD ONLY ONE BUILDING /HEAT SYSTEM TO WORRY ABOUT-- THE HOUSE...ALL DOGS (3 OR 4) LIVED IN THIS HOUSE- AND THE BARN WAS FULL OF EQUINES - THE HOUSE WAS BUILT WITH ELECT BASEBOARDS WHICH WAS TOO EXPENSIVE TO RUN WITH CATHEDREAL CIELINGS..... SO WE JUST WORKED THE FIREPLACE... AND FROZE... ALOT...- THEN AT A COUNTRY FAIR, I FOUND OUT ABOUT KEROSENE FURNACES-- NO CHIMNEY-- VENTED THRU A WALL- MY IDEA OF HEAVEN... IT BLEW HOT AIR- SO SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT TO THAW OUT WAS MY STYLE.-- DAUGHTER GWEN AND HUSBAND RON WERE LIVING IN TH GUEST HOUSE- WHICH WAS UNHEATED- THEY SURVIVED BY ADDING A $19 "MILKHOUSE HEATER" TO THE SMALL BATHROOM... THAT IS WHY THERE IS BIG HOOK IN THE SHOWER IN THE GUEST HOUSE... THEY HUNG THE TV THERE, HE HAD A PIECE OF PLYWOOD OVER THE SINK FOR DESK/PAPERWORK AND THE SECOND PERSON SAT SIDEWAYS ON THE W/C AND WATCHED TV... AND THE PIPES DID NOT FREEZE.. THOSE MILKHOUSE HEATERS 1500W WERE WONDERFUL- SO WHEN I ADDED TEH 6'X8' DEAGLE DOG HOUSE I PUT ONE IN THERE.ONE PER CIRCUIT DID NOT BLOW FUSES.... TWO DID... BY ADDING THE DEAGLE ANNEX- WITH A PASS THRU WINDOW WE FORCED THE HEATED AIR BETWEEN SECTIONS WITH A TINY COMPUTER FAN-- WE WERE ALSO FORCED TO STUDY AMPS--- OR JUST HOW MANY OF THESE AMP THINGS WE COULD PUT ON WHAT WIRE... THE FUSES WERE EITHER 15 OR 20-- AND IF YOU BLEW TEH 15 AMP FUSES, YOU DID NOT JUST SWAP IT FOR A 20 AMP.. I KEPT ADDING THOSE MILKHOUSE HEATERS EVERYWHERE THAT NEEDED A BOOST... PUTTIN ONE INSIDE A WIRE DOG CRATE TO KEEP PUPS AWAY WAS A FAVORITE IN THE ANNEX...TIL I OWNED A DOZEN...
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE FYI TOPICS.... BECAUSE ANY INSPECTOR...OR FIRE INSPECTOR AFTER YOUR HOUSE BURNS DOWN--- CAN SIMPLY LOOK AT THE FUZE BOX AND CAN TELL FROM THE WIRES ATTACHED, WHAT SIZE FUSE THEY SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO.
STARTING WITH THE HOUSE--GUEST HOUSE.. THEN DOUBLE DEAGLE HOUSE-THEN CAME THE START OF THE LAUNDRY BUILDING...-- ON HONEYMOON HILL AREA...ORIGIONAL DESIGN 12X8 -- THAT WAS 2 SHEETS OF PLYWOOD X 3 SHEETS- MY BUILDING SKILLS HAD ADVANCED TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL BUILDINGS MUST BE BUILT WITH A 4 X 8 SHEET OF PLYWOOD IN MIND- ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO NOT OWN A "T-SQUARE" OR GOOD SAW. THAT WAS "THE MAGAZINE SHED" FOR " WANT AD" WEEKLY DELIVERIES( 16 PEOPLE WOULD COME BY WEEKLY TO PICK UP THEIR SUPPLY AND DROP OFF A PAPER BAG WITH THE CASH AND CHARGE SLIPS FROM THE PREVIOUS WEEK...AND... FOR HEAT.... THERI HUNDREDS OF MAGZINE RETURNS)--- THESE WANT ADS WERE OF NEWSPAPER STOCK - SO POT BELLIED STOVES WERE PUT IN ALL THE BUILDINGS AS BACK UP-- WONDEREFUL HEAT- WHICH WOULD LAST ALL NIGHT BECAUSE THE "WOOD STOVES" I BOUGHT WERE FOR "WOOD AND COAL " SO EVEN THE ONE INTHE DEAGLE HOUSE WOULD GO ALL NIGHT IF YOU GOT A GOOD FIRE GOING AND ADDED THE CHUNKS OF COAL-- WHICH CAN BE FOUND IN SOME INCOME AREAS.
THE WANT AD SALES WERE GOOD-- AND I NEEDED A BIGGER SHED... HENCE THE LAUNDRY BUILDING-- WHERE THE BACK "ROOM" HAS BEEN ---IN IT'S LIFETIME,--- A BIGGER MAG DEPOSITORY, JANINE'S BEDROOM , PARVO ISOLATION ROOM, AND FINALLY NOW, PAM'S 3 DOGS. BY THEN WE WERE ON TO ALL KEROSCENE FURNACES-- 5 OF THEM WITH THE 5 WOOD/COAL STOVES AS BACK UP....
AS WE CHANGED TEH LEFT SIDE OF THE BARN NTO KENNELS 1 - 8-- AND OUR BRAVE KEROSENE HEATER STRUGGLED TO KICK HEAT FROM THE FEED ROOM DOWN A GALVANIZED STOVEPIPE- IN THE BACK OF THE RAISED SLEEPING LOFTS- SO THE DOGS COUD SNUGGLE UP TO IT TO STAY WARM-- THE AMT OF HEAT THRU KENNELS 1 THRU 8 WAS CONTROLLED BY ADDING 1/4 HOLES DRILLED TO LET HEAT OUT OF THE PIPE RIGHT WHERE THE DOGS FLUFFY WAS.... IT WORKED.. BUT I COULD NOT HAVE A WOOD STOVE THERE......
WHEN TEH EXPLORE CAMERAS CAME IN.. AND ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE WITH YOUR $10 CHICKEN BRICKS I KNEW IT WS TIME... AND THE GAS FURNACE WAS INSTALLED TO PROPERLY HEAT THE ENTIRE 1-10 AND TEH DONKEY SIDE KENNELS TOO..
LOSS OF ELECTRICITY-- WHICH HAPPENS OFTEN-- WOULD SHUT OFF THAT HEAT AND MEAN ALL THOSE DOGS WOULD HAVE TO GET IN CARS WITH HEAT RUNNING OR THE HOUSE HAVE IGN 20 DOG IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE WAS NOT REALLY AN O[TION EITHER... SO SDP PUT IN AN AUTO GENERATOR IN THE BARN WHICH WORKED SO WELL I PUT ONE IN THE HOUSE-- EVEN THOW WHEN THE ELECTRICITY GOES DOWN YOU WILL FIND ME PILING WOOD IN THE FIREPLACE.
NOW WE HAVE ALL THESE WONDERFUL MITSUBISI HEAT EXCHAINGER THINGS... AND ALOT OF WOOD BURNING DEVICES...
THESE DOGS DO NOT DO WELL IN THE COLD....
NEITHER DO I....
*****
i forgot i had these two.
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ON OUR LAST TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY, I WAS ESPECIALLY PROUD OF SEAGRAM. AFTER LIVING IN/NEAR NYC FOR 15 YEARS, I HAD NEVER BEEN TO SEE THE ROCKETTES, SO THIS SEEMED LIKE THE PERFECT OUTING FOR US. SEAGRAM HANDLED THIS CHALLENGE BEAUTIFULLY, WHICH IS NO SMALL FEAT, GIVEN THAT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL SEATS 6000 PEOPLE!! HONESTLY, THE HUSTLE & BUSTLE OF THE AREA AROUND ROCKEFELLER CENTER & RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL HAD MADE IT SEEM UNSAFE WITH THE WALKER/CANE I USED BEFORE, BUT WITH SEAGRAM BY MY SIDE, I FELT CONFIDENT THAT WE COULD WALK ANYWHERE AROUND THERE. WE EVEN SKIPPED THE ELEVATOR & TOOK THE STAIRS TO THE LOWER LEVEL. I WAS SHAKY BUT SHE WAS PATIENT, EVEN WHEN WE HAD TO REST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STAIRS AS PEOPLE PASSED BY. AFTERWARD, ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES WHO HAD BEEN WATCHING US SAID, “THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO SEE,” AND WE STOPPED TO HAVE A PLEASANT CHAT WITH HIM.
SO MANY PEOPLE COMMENTED ON HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE IS (AND WE ALWAYS RESPOND GRACIOUSLY TO TELL THEM ABOUT HOW HELPFUL & WELL-TRAINED SHE IS, SINCE THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE IF THEY ARE WILLING TO LISTEN). THE MOST INTERESTING COMPLEMENT CAME FROM THE MOTHER OF THE 3 PRE-TEEN GIRLS SEATED BEHIND US. AS BRIEF BACKGROUND, BEFORE THE SHOW, THE GIRLS RAN TO THE AISLE TO TAKE A GROUP SELFIE, AND ONE OF THEM SPILLED HER POPCORN ALL OVER IN THE RUSH. THEN DURING THE SHOW, AS USUAL, SEAGRAM ALTERNATED NAPPING WITH AN OCCASIONAL CHECK ON ME. AFTER THE SHOW, THE MOM COMMENTED, “LOOK AT HOW WELL-TRAINED SHE IS — SHE DIDN'T EVEN EAT ANY OF THE POPCORN ON THE FLOOR!!” AND OF COURSE, SEAGRAM WAS BY MY SIDE, ATTENTIVE AND OBSERVANT AS WE NAVIGATED OUR WAY OUT OF RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, AS MANY PEOPLE NOTICED & COMMENTED ABOUT. THIS WENT SO WELL THAT WE ALSO WALKED TO SEE THE CHRISTMAS TREE AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER. WHAT A WONDERFUL OUTING!! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR SUPER SEAGRAM!!
****
My Fiona
She is a beauty
Dark spots on white
A blue eye, one brown
Head held high
She does not chase squirrels
Nor sit when she wants
Even when others “command” her to
And this protects me from falls
She lays next to me at dinner
Or in crowds at a fair
People compliment her behavior
And her attentiveness to me
She walks next to me
My balance is secure
She waits for my needs
To be expressed
She is a SDP girl
Well trained all the way
With love and devotion
She was raised the best way
I love her most dearly
My partner my best friend
Bless the souls who gave her to me
May they know what a gift she is
They baby fed her and trained her
And taught her so much
Stairs and elevators
Working and such
I am so grateful
To all of them
Carlene and her gang
They have blessed me
Thank you with love
And from Fiona too
