aug 31,2016

and so it begins--  you can never replace a dog-  but to try and find another of bailey's type is gonna be a long haul...  somehow---  compared to bailey,--- i am surrounded by a bunch of  boneheads who can't even work the yuppy puppy.....

the details???  bentley-- totally devoted to me- but just ask him to move his rear end sideways and you wouold think i asked him to jump the moon.  it is a silly thing, but so critical in the picture taking business- "move the dog to the left an inch"  is a normal request  .. with bailey not a problem-- but bentley-- and everyone else here it is a major violation of their personal space... and then there is their mouths....danes like food in their mouths  nothing else...  except maybe  gnawing on the odd sofa....  but  pick up and carry?? no dice..... retrieve?  forget it.

yesterday, i bought a 1" wooden dowel, and cut it into 12" pieces... in preparation for getting a dog to pick it up...

i do not expect immediate success...  i may not even get them to hold it, let alone going to pick it up-- i even put ends on it so it would not lie flat on the floor...

maybe i am wrong... but lets see how long it takes me to have another dog go get the mail basket.

*****

i can not thank you all enough for selling out that chicken brick wall--- having that sold out  is a great weight off my shoulders -- i count on those bricks  to meet the payroll  at a time when people covered in concrete dust are standing around waiting for $2500 checks...

*****

it was a huge undertaking to decide to put up this isolation building--  but we should manage...  i have visions of people at dog fest running around  wheeling  blocks of concrete..  several of you are watching the details i know....

the foundation walls are up today-- they will remove the forms and jeff said he would  backfill-- so the puppy hill camera can see what is going on better...

after that is  to set teh 5 floor drains and pour the floor--- slightly tipped so we can hose it down...  it does not take much slant to have water run--- but it is critical to get it running where you want  it to go.  i say water... but you all know... i mean fluids....

after that --- it is the omni block walls---   the roof etc is a piece of cake--  couple hammers and nails  and we all can do that  easily... those blocks are a new thing to me.  i think the up and down is more critical than i am used to....

we don't need the "leaning tower of omni blocks..." ---- with wood you can kind of shove it into the vertical..

***********************

HI CARLENE,

FROM THE AUGUST 26TH DD, I'VE BEEN DOING A VERSION OF THE "COOKIE OFF" SINCE MY HARLEY WAS A YEAR OLD.  I FOUND 4 OR 5 MEDIUM SIZE MILKBONES AT BEDTIME STOPPED HER FROM THROWING UP BILE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.  SHE JUST NEEDED THAT LITTLE EXTRA TO HOLD HER THROUGH THE NIGHT.    S.  THIS ALSO HELPS HER WHEN SHE HAS TO STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE OVERNIGHT.  BISCUITS MEAN BEDTIME  

MEL STOFFEL

************

DEAR CARLENE, THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR ALLOWING ME AND MY HUSBAND TO CRASH AT THE GUESTHOUSE AND HELP OUT FOR A FEW DAYS. I WORKED HARD AND ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE. THE GUESTHOUSE IS QUITE COMFY. THE DOGS WERE SO QUIET. WEDNESDAY NIGHT NO BARKING FROM 8 PM TIL 7AM.THURSDAYNIGHT KENNEL 9 BARKED FOR 15 MINUTES AROUND9PM.FRIDAY NIGHT SOMEONE PULLED IN AND GOT EVERYONE EXCITED AND BARKING FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES.  THE OWL WAS VERY TALKATIVE EVERY NIGHT!

THE VOLUNTEERS WERE SO FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL. PLAN TO RETURN IN THE FUTURE. GLAD I GOT TO BE GRACE'S SHADOW.

SINCERELY,  KATHY CABLE.  CP. KCABLE

*************

A report on August Cake Day in Columbia County, New York.

We have a lovely waterfall behind out house - overrun in the summertime by kids who jump off the rocks, tie ropes high up in trees and swing like Tarzan,  Seems kids have posted video on the internet of the falls and people are coming from miles away -parking by the RR tracks

The Deputy who came up with one of his sidekicks was very smart and resourceful.   So they have been giving them parking tickets - and if they see them walk out across the RR tracks they are getting tickets for that - and it's a federal offense, not some petty ante local violation.  Big improvement!  They've caught kids with liquor, drugs and weapons also.

So I took a cake to the Sheriff's office.  Of course, all the deputies that work our end of the county were out doing their thing - but we left the cake and a card and a copy of your flier. No photos unfortunately.

And last Tuesday we came home to find a lovely message from the head Sheriff - David Bartlett:

"I just wanted to call and thank you so much for sending the cake down for my deputies.  That was very thoughtful.  You know, in this day and age, you don't see too many good things coming around.  Its always the negative stuff.  So I can't thank you enough.  The guys and girls were so happy to see the cake and get the little card.  If there's ever anything I can do for you, please give me a call."

A little thoughtfulness goes a very long way.  So glad you started this program!

Anita

***************

AUG 30 2016

THE PASSING OF AN ERA 

THANK YOU ALL FOR REMINDING ME... YOU GIVE THEM A HAPPY LIFE AND WHEN IT IS OVER, IT IS OVER. 

BAILEY FINALLY SAID TO ME "I HAVE HAD IT, I REALLY NEED TO SLEEP NOW."  SO SHE HAS GONE TO THE RAINBOW BRIDGE ALONG WITH OTHER GREAT ANIMALS WITH WHOM  I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SHARING MY LIFE.  IT MUST BE GETTING CROWDED UP THERE....  

SHE IS OUT NEXT TO THE POND WITH TIFFANY..ANOTHER GREAT...

SO  MANY MEMORIES- BUT THE ONE THAT STICKS OUT WAS BAILEY' S  LAST TRIP WITH THE BASKET..SHE COULD BARELY WALK, BUT HER SENSE OF HUMOR CAME THRU  WITH "LOOK EVERYBODY  I CAN STILL GIVE HER THE DANM BASKET" AS SHE TOSSED IT AT MY FEET.

I NEVER WANTED TO TRY AND GET ANY OTHER DOG TO CARRY THE BASKET WHEN SHE WAS AROUND, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT WOULD HURT HER FEELINGS...

BUT I CAN START IT NOW.  AND I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO WORK WITH...BENTLEY?  IF YOU CAN'T EAT IT OR MAKE PUPPIES , HE ISN'T MUCH INTERESTED...  TUMBLER IS EVEN TERRIFIED OF THE YUPPY PUPPY- SO IT IS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE..  BAILEY TRUSTED ME--  LONG AGO SHE LEARNED TO LEARN......I CAN'T SAY ANY OF THE CURRENT BUNCH  ARE LIKE THAT...  THEY ALL HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA --- SO I WILL CONTINUE TO SEARCH THE BUNCH...

LEARNING TO LEARN IS THE HARD PART. 

BUT THE SEARCH BEGINS...

aug 29 2016

so many discoveries to share.

firstly ... if that weatherman tells me one more time how lucky i am that the next 10 days have no rain in store, i will just have to figure out how to tweet him !!!  we really need 10 days of an inch an hour  .. well ...nearly...

and------ living in the forest sruuounded by 80' tall trees is loosing it's charm...

i remember......when we first moved in.. the neighborhood kids were shooting arrows up into treess with some kind of fire attached... and they got a small fire going  way high in  "A"  pasture... so we ran down  with buckets and stood in the stream with the buckets--looking up... totally helpless.. and feeling  foolish....  luckily it went out before the fire dept got here...  but it was an education--- a fire 80 feet in the air is gonna do whatever it wants to do...

makes you rethink having some kind of lawn  around the house...

i say lawn, but i mean something that keeps the forest from invaiding the place-

which makes me think....  dogfest....  and chores...

i think i will find our collection of pliers type tools and set guests on a devining job... of just snipping the bottom of all these %^&%$$#$ vines that are invading the fence lines and trees...  one snip-- don't bother unwinding- mommy nature will take care of that -- mommy nature solves alot of problems that way.... cut off the source of nurishment and  problem goes away..... my mother had her own version of that--- we had to go to college over 200 miles from home so we didn't come home with dirty laundry.

************

 then there is my life with uber...

my first encounter with uber, i never even noitced... richard arrived in a uber  and it was totally unremarkable.. he got here.  but then when he went to go, he simply poked  3:00 in his cell phone  and at 2:45 a clean and tidy car arrived and parked in the driveway.  at 3:01 he got in and they drove away. i was impressed..

 an instant car that you didn't have to buy, insure,or worry about parking it where pigeons were overhead.

------sooooooo.... one day sitting here waiting for an actual person to answer the phone nd answer a question about building a building..... i  "went" to the uber website and figured i would just get my name in the system in case i ever needed a car  at a tiem when for whatever reason i coulj not drive my own...  my hands sometimes act on their own with a minor shake.... i must have hit the wrong button somewhere  becaues uber is now convinced i meant to apply to be a driver--  they must need drivers big time ... because .. daily  i get a notice abot finishong my application to join teh ranks of uber drivers  who make so much money they can even rent a car and make a profit for the day. 

 maybe there is a way for 2  college kids to rent a car over a big travel week and drive it 24 hours a day between the 2..-- i don't know...

 but that isn't me..  and i can't convince uber otherwise.

*********

the other richard idea worth sharing  is..  he does not travel with luggage... he ships a big box UPS  and does not have to deal with whatever the airlines are currently doing about luggavge.( p.s.  we are looking forward to his  arrival after dogfest...  i will know for sure whan a great big box arrives boldly labeled   RICHARD's ---DO NOT OPEN AT MAIL CALL  ! )

*********

now... it bothers me .. i said 80 foot tall trees.... they coudl be 300 feet tall, i don't know... so how do i figure out how tall they are?  i know if i look out the front tof the house .. there is a big, steep  down hill  i am told the area is full of glacier eskers.. and this could be one of them....at any rate-- if i look out  a pipe set  level on a trash  can , cojld i aproximate the  height of the trees.??  anotehr dogfest  challange???  i know there is at least one math typoe coming.....

AUG 28 2016

one week to go  ⅓  BRICKS  SOLD  AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH.

THE BRICK GUY GAVE ME A SPREADSHEET OF ALL THE DONORS SINCE JAN 2016-- VERY INTERESTING--ONE SPECTACULAR THING IS NO ONE BOUGHT A BRICK ON THE 10 DAYS BEFORE 4/15..( INCOME TAX DAY)  ALL THOSE $10 ARE SO CRITICAL... SO FOR THOSE WHO CAN SPARE IT... DON'T FORGET IT... IT IS KEEPING US ALIVE !!!

**********

AND TOMORROW THEY POUR CONCRETE.. SO I AM  TOLD...

**********

YESTERDAY----. 2 THANK YOUS...... WE HAD A NICE LETTER FROM A  LOCAL POLICE STATION- THEY WERE SO PLEASED TO GET THE LIFE SAVERS A VOLUNTEER  HAD GIVEN THEM-- AND AT MAIL CALL A CP INCLUDED  A LETTER SHE HAD REDCIEVED FROM HER POLICE DEPARTMENT.

SCREWY IDEA-- BUT LIFE SAVERS ARE NOT EXPENSIVE... AND EASY TO CARRY IN YOUR CAR TO STICK OUT THE WINDOW AND GIVE  TO SOME POLICE PERSON STANDING ON SOME STREET CORNER..

BRAVE THE STORM -- BUY A FEW ROLLS AND KEEP THEM READY--

LIKE THE CAKE TO FIRE DEPRTMENTS ON THE 19TH... WHY NOT???

I SUPPOSE I SHOULD DO SOMETHING FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT MAN AROUND SDP... THAT IS THE TRASH COLLECTOR--  WELL MAYBE HE IS TE 2ND MOST IMPORTANT-- I WOULD HAVE TO PUT THE PERSON WHO MAKES SURE OUR WATER RUNS IS TEH MOST CRITICAL...  BUT TRASH IS SECOND !!

WATER-- ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED

EXCEPT FOR THOSE IN FLINT MICH....

I AM TOLD IPSWICH HAS 20 DAYS OF WATER LEFT- THEY DON'T SAY WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT... AND NO SIGNIFICANT RAIN IS DUE FOR MONTHS... I GUESS WE DRAW WATER FROM BOSTON SOURCES..

NOT LOOKING GOOD.  WE USE AN AWFUL LOT OF WATER, I HOPE THEY DON'T THREATEN TO SHUT US OFF...  BUT IT MIGHT COME TO THAT... YOU CAN'T MAKE THE STUFF.  WE ARE DOING LESS LAUNDRY AND GIVING KENNELS JUST A QUICK SPRAY OFF-- I WAS ABOUT TO SAY   "THAT IS THE BEST WE CAN DO"   BUT IT CLEARLY IS NOT.  THE BEST WOULD BE TO HANG ALL DIRTY LAUNDRY OUT AND LET THE BREEZES  HELP.. WE WOULDN'T SMELL AS GOOD....

THE BIG FARM UP THE STREET  HAS A HUGE WATERING /FIRE POND  WHICH IS NEARLY DOWN TO MUD ONLY.-- WE MAY NOT HAVE ANY CORN ON  THE COB THIS YEAR...

 AND WE ARE ABOUT TO SHUT OFF OUR FOUNTAINS BECAUSE THEY MAY BE DRAWING MUD SOON...

I WAS SHOCKED TO HEAR BOSTON'S  CHARLES RIVER IS CLEAN ENOUGH FOR SWIMMING  -- I HAD HEARD OF A GROUP OF   "CLEAN UP THE CHARLES"  BUT I ASSUMED THEY WOULDN'T GET ANYTHING DONE.. BUT APPARENTLY THEY HAD CLOUT SOMEWHERE. I CAN REMEMBER 70 YEARS AGO MY MOTHER WAS TRYING TO CLEAN UP THE HUDSON... 

*************

ANNIE WAS HERE ALL YESTERDAY ... LOOKING AND ACTING BETTER ALL THE TIME...

******

NOT SLEEPING  MUCH I GOT TO WATCHING TEH 1980'S ON CNN- AND IT DID MAKE ME WONDER.. HOW MANY OF THE PRESIDENTS WERE LEFT HANDED....?

A DULL NIGHT... 

aug 27 2016

n.b. the beef jerky  which was went last week has been moved off my desk.... could have been a nasty accident-  it was  not for steve, but rather bentley.. . *********** i have decided i know what is hurting american society-- it is the permissive method of child rearing..too many parents were given books on how to raise a child... if you had time to read a book like that ,, you had a real problem in the first place.. i can not count the number of times a total stranger will come up and say " i  wish my kids ( GRANDKIDS) BEHAVED AS WELL AS YOUR DOG" ---- IT IS BEYOND BEING FUNNY.... i watch kids and parents... most any kid with  a normal IQ has found out that  there exists a system that can be manipulated to their liking.   .i see so many kids manipulating thier parents-- and hear horror stories of problems teachers have  in school trying to discipline a bunch of hoodlums who can threaten to sue their parents....i bet to this day my kids knew that if they came home with a note about not behaving in class  they would have some real problems-- 50 years ago i did not have to worry about whether my kids were abused because i made them get up at 7am every day to care for a bunch of horses... and furthermore, my kids would never have thought of going to school and compalining how abused they were because i made them get up even sat and sunday  at 7 am.. i have got old eniough  to see the results of   a few kids who were allowed to be "in charge"...instinctly they land on some welfare/workmans comp/ disability  still looking for what they had as a child.. a free ride.  we have a whole society of these people. we also have too many people..  ********* i can remember-- maybe 10 years ago  -  janine and my grandson - colby-  were living here in the guest house while she sold/bought a house... colby's other grandparents learned that i had strung an electric wire aqcross the door to the guest house  and reported teh danger to DSS.. up the driveway came a man and woman to investigate this "dangerous environment" for the child...only to be confrunted by a 12" high very annoyed white bird "rufus" who was attacking their hubcaps and 750 pound donkey "mary"  with her head in the  car window trying to open their glove compartment... poor things... they were city folk and there  was nothing in their manual to  tell them what to do...  it took a while to  get them to see the necessity of the wire across the door.. it was an electric fence wire  to keep mary  from going in a rummagining around the cereal boxes leavign a mess of cardboard and sugary cereal in the kitchen.  they finally decided altho it was unusual, there was nothing basically wrong.  ' i would be willing to bet that 10 years later they would report it differently because they would fear some  liability. 99% of our laws are made by lawyers, rather than people of logical  scientific training... **************  three people hae sent me this-- and i smile every time i red it... so i share...... ***** AN OLD WOMAN WALKED UP AND TIED HER OLD MULE TO THE HITCHING POST. AS SHE STOOD THERE, BRUSHING SOME OF THE DUST FROM HER FACE AND CLOTHES, A YOUNG GUNSLINGER STEPPED OUT OF THE SALOON WITH A GUN IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY IN THE OTHER. THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER LOOKED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND LAUGHED, "HEY OLD WOMAN, HAVE YOU EVER DANCED?" THE OLD WOMAN LOOKED UP AT THE GUNSLINGER AND SAID, "NO,... I NEVER DID DANCE... NEVER REALLY WANTED TO." A CROWD HAD GATHERED AS THE GUNSLINGER GRINNED AND SAID "WELL, YOU OLD BAG, YOU'RE GONNA DANCE NOW," AND STARTED SHOOTING AT THE OLD WOMAN'S FEET. THE OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR -- NOT WANTING TO GET HER TOE BLOWN OFF --STARTED HOPPING AROUND. EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING. WHEN HIS LAST BULLET HAD BEEN FIRED, THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER, STILL LAUGHING, HOLSTERED HIS GUN AND TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK INTO THE SALOON. THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO HER PACK MULE, PULLED OUT A DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOTGUN, AND COCKED BOTH HAMMERS. THE LOUD CLICKS CARRIED CLEARLY THROUGH THE DESERT AIR, AND THE CROWD STOPPED LAUGHING IMMEDIATELY. THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER HEARD THE SOUNDS, TOO, AND HE TURNED AROUND VERY SLOWLY. THE SILENCE WAS ALMOST DEAFENING. THE CROWD WATCHED AS THE YOUNG GUNMAN STARED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND THE LARGE GAPING HOLES OF THOSE TWIN BARRELS. THE BARRELS OF THE SHOTGUN NEVER WAVERED IN THE OLD WOMAN'S HANDS, AS SHE QUIETLY SAID, "SON, HAVE YOU EVER KISSED A MULE'S ASS?" THE GUNSLINGER SWALLOWED HARD AND SAID, "NO M'AM... BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO. THERE ARE FIVE LESSONS HERE FOR ALL OF US: 1 - Never be arrogant. 2 - Don't waste ammunition. 3 - Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are. 4 - Always make sure you know who has the power. 5 - Don't mess with old people; they didn't get old by being stupid.

aug 26 2016

i forgot to ask steve to do a "cookie off" at 7pm when he left, and the dogs were up earlier again..  with horses, there is often a  stable routine of "watering off" at 9pm..  we need to have the last person out at 7pm run thru witha handfull of cookies per dog  so they go another hour  in the morning...before they are all starving...

***

report of the eye surgery-- really no problem  --- with whatever they gave  me i was awake  but i just didn't care what they did.. now with one eye fixed, the difference in colors as a cp mentioned, is alarming..out of my undone eye the blankets were tan colored.. but withthe fixed eye, the same were bright white...

this morning with using both eyes my brain is making the adjustment so the difference in color is no longer quite so 

distinctive.

since i was quite young i wondered if what i see as green, passed thru another persons eyes and brain , i might see as red.  it is a very hard concept to describe, and my question usually got tossed ..leaving me to wonder how perfectly sane and sober "intellectuals" could make very strange statements about whether a dog is color blind.

.... i  once sat and listened to a person give a "scientific study" on how her dog could read.... when i saw all kinds of loopholes in the thought process.  dogs can do alot of things far better than humans- reading is not one of them.  she would hold up  signs that said "bark"   and "down" but  even i could tell from her body language what she wanted the dog to do.  you can design all sorts of tests that seem logical to humans, but you are forgettingsome basic problems... like   , ??how can we tell that the signs don't smell differently? the dog could be thinking ' that cardboard  with ink on it....came from a box that held parmesian cheese and when they  hold it up i am to bark.

carrying that one further... i have never been convinced that if i say "down"  and another person  days "down" that the many subtle differences in tone and pitch the words might not sound anything the same to  a dog.  they don't know the word is spelled the same...it doesn't sound the same....so when handled by a different person an adjustment has to be made...  .. the first sd i put out  in 2004  "annie"  went with a person  who is profoundly deaf.. and does not speak... after she had the dog for a  week  she made a slight noise of air blowing thru her teeth and annie  went down, just as she did when i said "down."

now apply that concept to all the people who tell me they have a german shephard from germany and they  have to use only german words.....   i have trouble  with that....  and  some are serious...

when either megan or i  pick up a whiffle bat and  say "knock it off"  any dog has no doubt about what eiterh of us mean..... it is all body language...the  choice of expletives before or after do not matter.

this may be desk moving day...-- hopefully getting dogs in one end and linda and shipping dept in the other end...  so prepare for that...

when i watch  people sweep the floor behind me- i think of dog fest, and the details that have to be swept in a pile...

my basic responsibilities are done   clambake and portapotties  ordered..

i am told linda as notw ordered teh shirts-- and we will have a few extra-- not many--- mostly  to accomodate  any errors in our screwy accounting/ordering methods...

and the posters... we have a new toy to play with... i bought 1000 foot roll of plaxtic tubing and a sealer--mostly for the posters, but we could bag keychains just to play with it.--

actually , i think this is what mark has to make bubble wrap with the big bubbles he uses shipping his dart boards...

i worry about that idea   ---  thinking if  the stuff shipped from china was sealed in plastic,  , then that  is chinese polution we are breathing when we open it...

and so it goes...

aug 25 2016

i am up and dressed in my best nurses scrubbs...and minus any coffeeeeeeee... NPO AFTER MIDNIGHT  usually the sign is on the dogs kennels  for thier pre surgery... now it is on my. door i am due at the hospital at 6:30 so donna is coming here at 6..  for just my left eye----  they both need it but i didn't want to risk both eyes at once... i have a PHD  in  murphy's law you know.... ********* short doggie... shannon 47(trainer)  made a very astute observation about  yesterdays dog  training comments...... "If I were about to swing a shovel at someone's head, would he learn most from hearing "Duck!" before, during, or after I swung the shovel? Obviously, before... SPOT. ON. regarding the timing of "no" THEN the foot stomp! I hope other trainers read that too, that is such critical information. "NO" and foot stomp at the same time is not as effective at all, and foot stomp followed by "NO" is a waste of a good "no". --shannon she is good.....execellent comment  to get across a training lesson.... and  darn it, she and her husband have bought a house in denver---moving in october.. %$^&*()_+ big discussion yesterday with ann  about the fact that soooo mnay people who know one little piece about us, don.t realize the rest.... like....   THE cameras.. the comments under the cameras the daily doggie and heaven forbid  MAILCALL !! so we talked about pulling a list off the chicken brick list and  send them a  brief 'just in case you didn't know......"    yesterdays dd was sort of generic-- i.e. didn't require much previous knowledge if you wipe out the building  paragraph...so ann is writing an introduction to dd.... and we plan to send it out to teh brickers....memsaoic will sort the initial   duplicates and   the constant contact will sort out duplicates with those who alsready get it... so i am told... so be prepared for strange things in the next week... and there is an unsubscribe note.. which once you have unsubscribed, i can not put you back on -- per constant contact...... we have a very constant readership with those who get it in their  mail-- it is right around 904 individual openings every day..  ann says it is quite addictive-- and goes well with a cuppa coffee  in the morning.-- then shared with over 1700.. +  add in the ones who read it off the web page...another 3-400 it is frighteining.....especially when my head is filled with dribble.. ***** a cp sent 3 rolls of lifesavers -- i will put them to good use...by putting them in somebody's car...we had such a good laugh over handing them out the window to a stonefaced policeman who was totally bored directing traffic around   construction-- he laughed when he saw the lifesavers we had handed him... how do we get that  concept on the national news? have at it-- good project for the day.... ********** AND I HAVE HAD NO COFFEEEEEEEEE there was another comment yesterday  worth a chuckle.. george myers had an extra water cooler he said we could have--- i said i would go to his house and pick it up from his porch... his comment...."good, i will put your name on it  just in case you get here and can't remember what  you were here to pick up "    he is no spring chicken either.

aug 24 2016

this building department  has caused  is the most  absurd waste of money i have ever been a part of..... they are having to dig up all thouse huge tree stumps we burried in 1978... all the time being worried that the "insoector" will not approve of what type soil is where....  we dug a hole and burried stumps--we are lucky it is only stumps they are digging up... useless fact of the day... a 1000 pound horse down 6 feet does not 100%  go away in 10 years. this mamouth "foundation"   they are preping for is down only 4 feet... let us pray...

i can only think of auntie mame brush with the restrictions of a gated community   ,..."i'm  going to offer this place as  a home for homeless pregnant  unwed mothers" .......and ... "exclusive of what and restricted to whom?"

that broadway show  was back when the words pregnant and unwed just did not go together  at all.

*********

puppy lesson of the day..

the 4 were chewing on each othr in the kitchen-- problem = bored.. so we let them out  behind me for new areas to explore.. and they are being good... sort of... but they went toward the sunroom door and the overnighter tried pushing them away one after another and as quickly as she pushed another took his place..  wrong concept...

i asked her to stamp her feet... hard... and the 2 pups looked at those feet and decided to go somewhere else.

case closed... do not use your muscles to physically move our dogs around... let them figure it out for themselves...  eventually they will be too big anyway...  if she  could add an emphatic "no" to the routine  she would be training .... now get the timing right of "no" a split second before the foot stamp, and you have become a dog trainer big time-- that will last thru their careers..  cause them to think..... shoving them backwards is a lost cause...that  just  makes them think,  "i should have pushed harder"---  and since they will weigh over 150 pounds, that is  going to label them as uncontrolled hopeless dog.

it is not too young-- that is an excuse i find appalling  -- i have heard people with much smaller dogs tell me in great authority "he's only  a year old, you can't expect him to behave perfectly" BS...

i hate to see what that person's kids are like .

***********

people offer me their children -- or more often-- their grand children  with comic regularity.

there was a time  when i told one of my children not to touch the electric  fence wire...  that is in janine's  book....

then as they got older, there was a time when, if i wanted someone to touch the wire to see if  it was working, i had to pay them 25 cents.

( now that they are 50 or more, i am in trouble... inflation being what it has been.) 

*******

we had a lovely time driving to EBSCO yesterday... we came to a road block  with a policeman at either end...  i had  in my car the  carton of life savers a CP had given us...-- so i smiled and handed one to each of the policemen  they laughed and thanked me.. everyone in my car giggled and we all had a lovely time..  all for the passing of 2 rolls of life savers...

that is one good part of aging... you get to be a nutty old person who has possibly abandoned all "normal" sense.

we all laughed at that one.   

**********

tomoorow  i have eye surgery-- so i may not get to a DD ----  tho i don't know why not...

that is another facet of aging... rushing to the " why make the effort" too quickly..  and inertia sets in...big time.

i am guilty.

aug 23 2016.

big doings... mostly because i am told there is a big tractor by the tipi--so my to do list would be very long if i could remember everything all at once..    my head goes something like this...

tractor--= dig =extra dirt=?parking area= hole=concrete =floor drains=  ?cranney= electrical=inspections =potential trouble...

"they" ( building inspectore) insisted i have a surveyer "Pin" the corners of the building for considerable cost...- and i am sure if this was new york city , every quarter of an inch makes a difference- but this is 12 acres with this building well away from any property line.....

i submit for town reference my money would have been much better spent  by having me stand out there with jeff and pointing  HERE. whata crock !!

in case you are new and don't know about my life with building inspectors-- look over the past 20 years of the daily doggies.

actually-- my history goes back even further....  about 1970   when i lived in lynnfield  --- again small house- big barn kind of life   style.......i had 2 problems--- one was the magazine that i worked for was growing to the point that  the number of books delivered weekly was outgrowing  the space in the barn.... and ..  rather than involve the spca on a case of animal abuse with a pony tied to a fence in hot weather with no water for 2 days, i simply bought the pony who was skin and bones-- i was afraid to put it in the barn with the other 14  kids 4h horses-so i decided- very quickly to put up a one car size building right on the driveway--  

you won't believe this--- but i went to the town to get a permit !!!  and they asked who was going to build it..  i said  "i was"  and got the usual  "ever built anything like this before?".... no... so that SOB   said "well if you are building it it won't stand up long enough to need a permit"  

janine went  to  "the old place" yesterday and reports that  one car shed is still standing and looks good.  if my math is correct-- that is 46 years later.-- it was the beginning of a great career in building...  then... . i sat in the dirt with a stick and tried to figure out  how "pointy to make th eroof... and how to keep those rafters from pushing sidewasy .. and designed  the A type support--  with zero knowledge... thus proving dumb luck will prove building inspectors have no use on a farm...--.

i  rethought that pony many times .  the kids named him  "bones"  and because he was in a small pasture where the public could see him, they reported to the spca that i had not taken care of him... so teh "inspectors" came and looked over the rest of the fat and healthy beasts we already had...and i realized... that if he was not healthy he would have been dead--so i probably did not have to build that building anyway.

*****

so today....

we have to take the 4 pups and a few other dogs to ebsco-- a company in ipswich  who has been very kind in donating all their extra conference food to us for a few months...--

the job smacks of all my  old animal episodes jobs.. which got planned by establishing a DD (down the driveway)  time and working toward that.   apparently an ourside lunch area where we can turn the pups loose and let people enjoy them with out fencing them in-- we will take smiley with us with the run-able legs  - tho i don't expect them to wander at all... most people with a bunch of pups would take fencing... lets see how we do... i am willing stick my neck out and say tapping the can for the "megan march" routine will keep them going the same direction..... let us pray...  bentley- as teh trained dog will get told to lie down and stay somewhere...  and megan and  xxxxx will have 2 dogs in  training...-- 

it is a very delicate maneuver between trying to get on the front page... and staying off it...

*****

i had a lovely nap in the tipi yesterday there are only a couple chairs and a fan there-- so it is without all the modern tech, thus reducing life to its basics. i had an aunt who used to  say "blessed be nothing" -   she is the one who did the needlepoint in the guest house   " happy to share with you such as we've go.. the leaks in the roof, the soup in the pot".....bright lady...

*** 

so at 2am when i wqs  watching  "how it is made"  they showed a ghillie kettle--   bless the british-- it looks so well thought out   that i had to come to ebay and immediatey bought one...

it is a way of boiling water using only minimal fuel.. like a couple sheets of newsprint.. similar in theory to the charchol brick starter .... so the british could have  their cuppa tea anywhere, anytime.   it shoulde arrive  in a week...  the whole concept makes the keurig coffee maker look like an unnecessary evil contraption to fill  land fills with little plastic tubs.... 

it is worth a  google search...

AUG 22 2016

AH.. THE SIMPLE JOYS OF LIFE...

LIKE MY BIG.SCRAPBASKET MADE OF A PURINA  DOG FOOD BAG..... ONE OF THE ANNOYING THINGS I HAVE GOT RID OF IS MY  NORMAL SCRAPBASKET. ----A CUTE LITTLE THING  OF A DEVIOUS NATURE...FIRSTLY IT WAS SHORTER THAN MY DESK-- GRAVITY BEING WHAT IT IS, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I HAD TO RUMMAGE THRU THE NASTY THING LOOKING FOR AN OBJECT GRAVITY HAD SNATCHED FROM MY DESKTOP--"THE BAG"  IS TALLER THAN MY DESK...SO UNLESS GOLDIE GETS IN THE LEVITATION ACT, I HAVE ELIMINATED AN ANNOYING FACET OF SDP.... A SHORT SNEAKY  SCRAPBASKET.

IT DOES NARROW THE PASSAGE FROM SUN ROOM TO FRONT DOOR...WHICH  TODAY MUST BE  IMPROVED UPON.

FIRSTLY WE HAVE HAD NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS  "YOU COULD DO BETTER"  FROM THE PRUDENCE COMMITTEE-NAMELY  BAILEY.

SHE REALLY DOES NEED A FEW MOFRE STRIPS OF  THAT WONDERFUL FLOORING STUFF SENT BY BARBARA HIESS FROM PIG INDUSTRIES????? BOY I HOPE I HAVE THAT RIGHT...ANYWAY SHE SENT A 40 POUND  ROLL OF STICK DOWN STUFF  MAYBE ⅛  INCH THICK...I AM NOT SURE WHAT INDUSTRY DOES WITHT IT, BUT AT CRAZY ACRES, IT IMPROVES TRACTION FOR THE OLD WOMEN IN THE  CROWD  NAMELY BAILEY AND ME.  THE EDGES STAY STUCK DOWN AMID HOURLY SWEEPINGS AND DAILY WASHINGS FOR A MONTH-- THE STUFF STAYS ON THE FLOOR !  WHEN SHE SENT IT TO US  SHE ASKED US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ELSE  WAS GOOD OR BAD..

WELLLLLLL.... I BET SHE NEVER EXPEDCTED THIS... BUT -- THE DOGS DO NOT SEEM TO LIKE TO PEE PR POOP ON IT.... PREFERRING THE NAKED FLOOR.

QUICKLY REMIND YOURSELF   WHY  DO YOU READ THIS THING????

MOVING ON....BAILEY STOPS AT THE DOORWAY -- VERY CLEARLY REQUESTING ANOTHER STRIP OR TWO SO SHE CAN MAKE  IT TO THE FRONT DOOR -  BEING JOSTLED BY OTHER RUDE YOUNGSTERS IS VERY HARD ON THE OLD LADY....  WHO OTHERWISE IS DOING WELL AT 13+ YEARS OLD..

I DON'T THINK SHE COULD SUPPORT ANY MORE SKIN APPENDAGES THAN SHE ALREADY HAS...  BUT THEY ALL SEEM HEALTHY POLYP SORT OF THINGS----  JUST DO NOT ASSUME ANY ARE TICKS,  THEY CAN'T BE PULLED OFF.

OTHER THAN THAT , AND A BIG BOX OF BABY WIPES TO TIDY UP AFTER A WALK AROUND HER LIFE SEEMS STILL A VERY HAPPY ONE OF CHASING BENTLEY OR CHAOS OFF ONE SOFA OR ANOTHER AS SHE STANDS AND STARES TIL ONE OF US  CHASES THE OFFENDING  DOG OFF WHATEVER SOFA IS IN QUESTION. LUCKILY WITH ENOUGH VOLUNETTERS AND CP'S   THERE IS HELP AROUND...

WELL THAT AND A SLING ON HER REAR FOR THE 2 STEPS UP TO THE PORCH JUST TO STEADY HER IN CASE.. SHE DOES SEEMM TO NAVAGATE THEM BUT IS IN FEAR OF FALLING... SO WITH THE SLING IN PLACE SHE WILL TROT RIGHT UP THE STEPS.  THE MANUEVER TAKES TWO PEOPLE-- ONE ON THE GROUND  TO "PASS THE TORCH" TO  ANOTHER ON THE POORCH.  SHE WILL WAIT FOR ALL TO BE IN PLACE...

*****

GOING BACK TO NARROWING THE PASSAGEWAY, A HUGE FACTORF IS THE YUPPY PUPPY- CAUSING ME  NEARLY EXTREME  AGRIVATION... HISTORICALLTY- BEFORE WE  WENT THRU ALL THIS BUSINESS "STUFF "  AND GOT  ACCREDITED, ALL MY PUPS COUODL USE THE THING. NOW WITH ALL THE PAPERWORK IN PLACE  ONLY A VERY FEW DOGS KNOW HOW TO USE IT-- YET IT HAS A PLACE OF HONOR- RIGHT BEHIND ME CONSTANTLY REMINDING ME THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF INSISTING ALL SLIPS OF PAPER BE FILED IN A BUSINESSLIKE MANNER... AND "THE DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST"

 WELL THERE ARE ONLY 4 PUPS IN THIS LITTER  AND I T BOTHERS ME I HAVE NOT SHOWWN ENOUGH POEOP LE HOW TO TRAIN A PUP TO USE IT

WHICH BRINGS UP--- I CAN SHOW POEPLE HOW TO TRAIN PUPS, BUT IF YOU  DON;T HAVE THE CONCENTRATION AND  SPLIT SECOND TIMEING, YOU  WILL DO MORE UN-TRAINING THAN TRAINING 

THE BIG  TRAINING LESSON OF THE DAY-- EVERYTIME YOU ARE HANDLING A DOG HERE, YOU ARE TRAINING IT.  LOOK AT THE HEAD OF THE DOG YOU ARE TRAINING/HANDLING  ...   A  BIG-- NO HUGE--- HUGE ANNOYANCE IS FOR ME TO SEE SOMEONE  STOP TO TALK TO ANOTHER PERSON AND BE MORE CONCERNED WITH MAKING POLITE  EYE CONTACT RWITH THE PERSON  THAN WITH THE WITH A DOG ON A LEASH.-- ESPECIALLY WHEN THE LEASH IS ANYTHING LIKE TIGHT... I REALLY BOIL INSIDE...   THAT INCLUES WHEN I RIDE BY ON MY GOLF CART -- YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I LOOK LIKE-- DON'T LOOK AT ME--- PAY ATTENTION TO THE DOG  YOU HAVE ON A LEASH.... IT JUST GIVES ME GREAT ANGER.. 

 YOU CAN TALK WITHOUT EYE CONTACT !!!

AND HEAVEN FORBID--- DO NOT RUN THESE 4 PUPS DOWN THE DRIBEWAY  AND LOOK AT ANYTHING EXCEPT YOUR FEET IN RELATION TO THOSE PUPS.... THEY DART AND RUN IN FRONT SO QUICKELY, YOU COULD DO TERRIBLE DAMAGE-- ALL SO YOU COULD MAKE EYE CONTACT AND TALK TO SOMEONE???/ FORGET THAT... 

WHEN IT IS THE WORST?  "SMILE FOR THE CAMERA?" THE PERSON DOES AND SNATCHES UP ON THE LEASH TO POSITION THE DOG....THEN FOR POSTERITY WE HAVE A DOCUMENTATION OF NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DOG... BUT SMILING  !  

THUS ENDETH THE LESSON FOR THE DAY.  

aug 21 2016

 a  gem i feel i must pass along  

  tarps plus.com  any kind/color and cost...plus the ones on the right side  of teh web page... include the closeouts at huge savings..----a long time ago -- we had a really leaky hay loft roof, and i could not afford to re-roof-- i could n't even afford teh materials to re-roof it myself( with relatives etc...) so i found this closeout section of heavy tarps  50  x 80 for $240 and a neighbor -- john and his son-- put it on the barn-- giving me 3 more  years to get money together for a new roof..

there are not alot of people who i could call on to  slip and slide around that roof while wrestling that huge tarp... but they did it..  -- john is now reitred sort of--- and he was the one  driving that senior citizens van that came in the yard to watch teh dogs an donkeys for a while.. talented guy ( and his wife cuts my hair in the yard-- on camera)

****

i did get a "wee" phone   phone - text and camera only...alot less monthly too. but even that i am leaving in the car. until it learns to behave properly.. i am never too far from my golf cart  so the office 0666 portable is carried there.

i was told.. begrudgingly- that it was possible to have both cell  phones on one line--- but he didn't know the details... like heck he didn't know... but there is a way.... - at any rate my old phone will apparently play music in my car  if i work with it  and get it over it's ava maria phase...

/*********

dog fest---only a few weeks away-- we must get shirts ordered the first of the week... last night's mail call brought up all the thing s we coudl sell in the  doggie bag-- both the real  "booth" at dogfest and the one online...i want to be sure there are "traditional" goodies-- like vials puppy breath- and poker chip key chains-  then there were a bunch who wanted to have the silver jewelery monkey fists and logo...  so to accomodate that bunch--and now that we have donkey cameras....  i think i will have more replicas made of that old family heirloom  the pewter donkey/ toothpick holder --- that was always on our  dining room  table as a child..-- it is also a perfect hearing aid holder- which is what i now use it for...  i doubt you would find anything like it in the real world...

after my parents died and my sisters and i had to break up their house, that donkey was  the first thing i chose in the round robin of claiming things.--there again   owning a horse trailer had it's virtues with one sister in dc and the other in texas--anything large was naturally mine without "wasting a bid"-- but i first took that donkey.

*****

back to festing the dogs.....the g- tent looks terriffic and is very useable... 3 big tables and the queen size dog bed on the wagon...   mostly for   chaos.... we need a sign that says  "let sleeping dogs lie"  because she is a bit fussy if you wake her  up..-- once awake she has been tolerant of people   but you don't want ot push oyour luck..  she nas never drawn blood-- but she can sure scare  anyone with her big mouth...

no further comment needed there.

.***

Newburgh- does have one gem i pass along---route 84 crosses tehe hudson at newburgh and  the immediate exit on teh newburgh side is a diner-- i don't even know the name of it...  but it is a darn good diner-( beef strogonoff on fridays even) so many of our camera people come and go over that rt 84 bridge-- and i tell them to stop at that diner--- and they do.-- somehow i would love to pull that owner into knowing about SDP- and recognising all the people that  mention SDP to whoever is at the cash register-- (( this huge crowd is probably one a week- )) but  the next bunch will be crossing on tuesday and are going to try and get them to put a calendar bwhind the register..

Steve #1.lives right up the road from that diner -- and  i think he reads this  nonsense --    do you know the guy? and could you make contact with him?     i heard  there is some other  camera person  who has a relative who plays poker with him weekly---   seems like we should pull it full circle

****

***************

Good Morning - Getting a flip-phone will not solve the problem. I have one and occasionally take a picture

send it to my daughter who then sends it to my homecomputer. Lately when I have tried this it says that

the picture is too big - go figure - if I could take it and look at it on my phone maybe there is a problem. 

Also my phone said picture file is full - have not been taking pictures. Went to USCellular with the problem

and come to find out I have about 3,000 pictures of the inside of my pocket because of a very, very small

button on the side that when the phone is on and you touch it - it takes a picture. Solution from USC is get

another phone (or tablet) to take pictures and keep the flip phone - spending alot of money for pictures is

not something I want to do. Good luck with getting another one. AARP advertises a flip-phone in a lot of

magazines and cal be bought at Target or Sears. 

Mary - Lempster NH

*****************

DEAR CARLENE,

AFTER DOING CAKE DAYS FOR THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT, I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO DO CAKE DAY FOR THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT. THIS IS A VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A SMALL TOWN, SO MEETING WITH A GROUP OF THEM IS NOT EASY. HOWEVER, I WAS DETERMINED, SO I CALLED CHIEF TOM A FEW TIMES TO COORDINATE AND HE ARRANGED FOR SEVERAL OF THEM TO BE THERE. 

MY HUSBAND AND I MET THE CURRENT CHIEF, 2 FORMER CHIEFS, AND SEVERAL OTHERS. THEY WERE PROUD TO TELL US THAT THEY ARE THE OLDEST VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT IN NEW YORK (CHARTERED IN 1803). 

THEY WERE ALSO INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT SERVICE DOG PROJECT AND TRAINING THE DANES FOR MOBILITY. CHIEF TOM COMMENTED, "I DIDN'T KNOW THE DOGS COULD DO THAT. I THINK OF THEM AS HELPING BLIND PEOPLE." AND ANOTHER COMMENTED, "THAT MAKES SENSE, SINCE GREAT DANES ARE GENTLE GIANTS."

WE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME AND THEY INVITED US BACK -- I THINK THIS IS NOT ONLY BECAUSE I MADE A TASTY CHEESECAKE, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT WAS NICE TO GET TOGETHER -- WE ALL HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION & LEARNED FROM EACH OTHER. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT MY HUSBAND HAS DONE CAKE DAY AND HE SAID HE REALLY WANTS TO DO THIS AGAIN. 

THANK YOU FOR CAKE DAY & ENCOURAGING A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS -- I WENT TO SLEEP HAPPY THAT I HAD DONE SOME GOOD. 

AMY YOUNG

***********

the reason i started with  the fire department and the cakes... is  they are a bunch of  nice people just hanging around wiating to be needed-- so  they have time on their hands, for someone like a cp to show up with a cake., they usually have time to appreciate it.... and have a little fun with the concept..  as many -- like amy  find out every 19th....

*****

in breaking up my parents  house... there was one very interesting sideline... my sister fran took the   "tea service" type silver and i took the flatware--

  bad choice---  beautiful  gorham...sterling  ---darn stuff needed polishihng everytime i used it..   fran's silver got stolen from her house in texas--i gave my flatwarer to gwen  who after thinking about it , now uses it for her daily use.. meanwhile  janine and i  use the stuff that looks exactly like it  but is stainless  steel , alot cheaper  and does not need polish--- ever  ---i   feed dogs with it  on ocacasion  -

there is a lesson there  somewhere.

AUG 20 2016

george (dvm george) convinced me to rid myself of annoying things- after thinking for at least 4 seconds - i would like to announcei  to the world   will no longer even carry my &**&^%&* phone .- it is the most useful thing to megan  and the most damaging thing to me..  therefore the most infuriating thing for me to watch her ask her phone something -- and have it perform perfectly... let me just give one example--- word for word it was teh 19th... and i had a lovely costco cake to give to the georgetown fire department - when i got there the big engines were sitting there n the yard.  but ambu gone.....- so i figured  someone must be there... i drove  into  one of the bays and tapped my horn... nothing... so i backed out and decided to call them to come out and pick up the cake... this starts the bad part....i picked up my phone... not wanting to call 911, i dialed 411 for information-- machine asked state and town-- i responded mass and georgetown- then it asked for business or individual- i responded fire department.....after a brief pause .. it started in  "dial one for lawrence - 2 for boston-- 3 for peabody--- 4 for newburyport-  it was still rattling on -- my house could have been burning down  while it went thru all  the towns in mass...when the ambulance returned and i was able to give them the cake... nobody here at sdp has ever had that happen to them-- but that kind of thing happens  to me..all the time... ? over performance is often the basic problem.?   it has to be GOLDIE !!!   GHOST OF THE  LEFTHAND DRAWER !! i just plain quit. back at the office a helpful intern says "let me help you, and show you the easy app"-- and she had one on her phone-- she has absolutely no idea- of the depth of the problem....- i can not even pick up my pnone-- it has a bunch of buttons on the side that do all kinds of things if i even pick it up...if i pick it up front to back, by the time  i turn it around right side up, it has twisted teh image the other way  and is giving me a weather report for fairbanks alaska... - along with my rear end pre programming things in my back pocket. so it is  plugged in my car and it will stay there... where it sometimss answers a phonecall when it is not playing the AVA MARIA  thru the radio. it is very strong willed. i did ask if i cold have an old flip phone - the verizon person  quickly said "you can't"  and then " you probably have a contract  and have to wait to be upgraded"  so i asked if i smashed the damnthing with a hammer if i then could have a flip phone.-- she didn't answer. --- however... to get a flip phone- would not erase all my phone problems-- it would be like banging myhead on a pillow instead of banging on a wall...  still a problem  heck i lived for many  years without  carrying around a black electronic thing to dominate my existance..   i feel the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.  no more where did i leave my phone? where is a charger? is it the right charger -- or the one nearly right...i.e. wrong? has it been fed  lately ( plugged in)? if i turn it on will it tell me  i need a password  and then tell me i am not carlene it does have in it's treacherous mind, a bunch of critical phone numbers...  i am going to ask someone to type them out on paper and put them in my desk drawer.- i bet there si a way to plug it inb to my computer and download them, except i don't want to have that ^&*()*&^% phone telling my computer to forget my name eithre. *******  the g tent looks beautiful-- usefull an d clean...   we ( ryan and bob) cut a hole in the side so you can go from camera mark's grilling area to the tables in the g tent.../ hopefully all next week we can sitthere and watch the building startt... ****  which is the next problem ... how to set one omni block on top  of another  -- along with when do i need to order them from the outfit  in maine-- in a tinme when they coudl deliver  them when masterson is here withthe big tractors to unload them-- ours just couldn't .. ***** one of these snails is a screamer-- big time--- i cannot tell if teh wrong one is the screamer or screameee... one is awful ! **** Carlene - another fun day for Milt and I at the Cottleville Fire Station of Weldon Spring, MO.  CAKE DELIVERED and they were waiting for us!  It always feels so good to be welcomed. I think we have met all the firemen of this station and some from other stations too....and those from other stations have decided they might be asking for a transfer. As we were leaving, Ben said that he saw us coming into the parking lot and told the others, " It's the 19th of the Month, they are here". Ila Steutermann ************* HI CARLENE -  I'VE NEVER SEEN THE SMALL PACKS OF LIFE SAVERS, BUT HALLOWEEN CANDY JUST HIT THE SHELVES IN MY MARKET (NORTHERN NEW JERSEY).  PERHAPS YOUR SHOPPERS CAN LOOK FOR THEM IN THOSE HOLIDAY CANDY DISPLAYS IN YOUR STORES! SILENT JOAN.. ****  have found the small packets of gummie life savers... but i remember thenormal rolls withonly 5  candies..  anybodyseen them latey? ***** two other phone related  details...  the normal house /office phone ..0666 does now ring over most of the property and i am carrying one of those in my golf cart...  as for an emergency in the car, i have a "unit"  supplied by the  "i've fallen and i can't get up" company-- size of t cigarette pack... you pusha button and it calls 911 for you and  tells them wherer  you are..  it is in the sunglass holder behind the rear view mirror... i do live in fear of being stranded in the cold on the highway... i do not do cold well...

AUG 19 2016

19TH OF THE MONTH ----CAKE DAY !!  -- MY HOW TIME FLYS !!   I WONDER IF THE GEORGETOWN FIRE DEPT HAS COME TO EXPECT A CAKE ONTHE 19TH  FROM ME..

ANOTHER THING THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY THE CP'S IN GENERAL, IS A HANDFUL OF LIFE SAVERS FOR THE POLICE DEPT..  THAT IS A GREAT GENERIC CANDY I AM SURE SOMEONE ON THE DEPT WOUOLD ENJOY -- AND IT IS SEALED SO NOT IN QUESTION..-  I TRIED TO FIND THOSE  "SHORT ROLLS" OF ABOUT 6 LIFESAVERS  WHICH PEOPLE GIVE OUT AT HALLOWEEN-- BUT I HAVE NOT FOUND THEM... THEY WOULD BE PERFECT... ? ANYBODY KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM?

MAYBE DUPLICATING/ OR WRITING  THAT 19TH OF THE MONTH POSTER  TO EXPLAIN TEH  RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS-- ? RANDOM ACT OF CALORIES???  WHATEVER..

****

 THAT FEEDING LATER SEEMS TO HAVE SOME EFFECT-- THEY START PROWLING SORTLY AFTER 5AM   NOW.. INSEAD OF 4AM.

HOW GOOD IS TEH SOUND ON  THE PUPPY HILL CAMERA?

I COULD CLEARLY HEAR THE DOG IN #9 WRETCHING-- SEEMS TO BE THE  NON PRODUCTIVE EARLY MORNING . GAG . AS NOTHING CAME OUT.-- I AM WONDERING ... IF WE TRY HARDER... THERE IS A CHANGE OF THE GUARD AT 7PM.... MAYBE HAVE THE 7PM PERSON HAND OUT 2 OF THOSE   BIG MILK BONES ( OR EQUILIVANT) AS TEH LAST THING THEY DO BEFORE THEY LEAVE AT NIGHT.-- 2 BIG BONES OR A HANDFUL OF THE PURINA TREATS--I ORDERED THE BRASS  SNAPS TREAT BUCKETS MYSELF  BECAUSE TEHRE WAS TOO MYCH POSTAGE TO GET THEM ONE AT A TIME..

***

KEEPING IN MIND TEH SOUND IS NOW ON THE DONKEY CAMERA TOO..I CAN HEAR THE BIRDS  WHICH MEANS TH AT IF THE DONKEYS BRAY, IT WILL BE DEAFNING

THE GODS DESIGNED SO THAT BRAY COULD BE HEARD ACROSS THE DESERT AS THEY TOOK ATTENDANCE OF WHO WAS AROUND....I KNOW THE GUYS AT THE GAS STATION COULD HEAR MARY ACROSS THE LAKE-- MUST BE AN  AIR MILE AWAY...

******

I AM SUPPOSED TO WRITE A BLOG FOR EXPLORE WEEKLY-- AND I DID HAVE 2 PHOTOS WHICH I DID YESTERDAY-- BUT I NEED STRANGE PHOTOS, ABOUT WHICH I CAN MAKE SOME EDUCATIONAL CONVERSATION...  I AM UP TO 40  AND LAST I KNEW THER WEER 52 WEEKS A YEAR...

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE  MY YEAR WAS UP LAST MAY-- SO I AM REALLY BEHIND...  TO WSEE THE ONES THEY HAVE CHOSEN  GOTO  EXPLORE.ORG AND THEN DOG BLESS YOU AND  BLOG.. AND YOU WILL SEE THE ONES I HAVE ALREADY DONE... 

****

BREAKFAST-- SHRIPM SCAMPI LEFT OVER..  THAT IDEA OF MEGAN SHOPPING FOR FOOD AND DONNA COOKING IT IN SOME CASSEROLLE KIND OF THING... IS GOOD  WE EAT TOO MANY PIIZZAS

8.18.2016

 a week ago ..  when i was younger, i thought a monopoly type game of life would be interesting...  now that i have aged.... i think maybe an  INTRODUCTION TO AGING  might be more in line.  we could start .. thusly.....the first hour of the day......

waking up at a normal time... take your eyeglasses and dip them in olive oil and don't wipe off just let it drip in your field of vision.. 

put on your slippers which you have lined with sharp crushed rocks and waddle off to sit in the shower. 

once dry ---you stuff cotton in your ears as  tightly as you can -- obliterating 50% of whatever people might say to you... and  - replace your  "i have fallen and i can't get up " necklace... and go get dressed..

first putting on your daily diaper   before your clothing-- then taking a normal  uncovered,  cup of coffee  ¾ full of coffee and wedge it  into your clothing just below your waistband..    after which you must  be careful to move in a controlled fashion so as not to spill it.--- slip on your shoes which are  no longer lined with sharp edged rocks, but are full of rounded pebbles.

check the piece of paper tha t sits next to the bed reminding you that once dressed you r next job is to  get yourself over to the computer and  hope most the olive oil has dripped off your glasses so you might be able to read  some of the screen where the incomeing emails might give you a clue as to what   you are supposed to do with the rest of the day.

and that is just the start.

i won't yet talk about    "the driving of a car"   -or why people over 75 should wear an "L" plate.--

so what is an "L" plate???  when i was in britain- and it might still be true ---  a person learnign to drive was  supposed to attach a clip on plste with a big red  "L" on it  to let drivers know thiis person had a  Learner permit..

those "L" plates were used alot in british humor-- like  driving erattically because i am "LOST"  or aging people wiht "LESS" of alot of things...

 all the way to  not putting a string of cans behind a newly wed's car-- but an  "L" plate.---   modern customs eliminated the need for that one.

******

THE BUILDING HAS PROGRESSED Tramendously,,,  we had a masterson construction truck parked here for several hours..  there didn't seem to ba a driver  but  that  truck certainly looked wonderful.

***

which brings up the placing of one cement block on top of another... driving around with bentlye in his new harness... looking  spiffy-- i went to the local tech school-- and yes they do have a community project program where the instructor teaches kids how to put one block on anothere....  

we certainly have a perfect project  20 x 30 building without  complications... except insulated concrete blocks...

the builind is without complications  but the  paperwork might be the killer...  because of this olive oil all over my glasses i have not tried to read teh 2 pafes of small print  with words like "district school committee"  but thn i realied-- we have alot of volunteers-- especailly coming for dogfest  -- so  mostly we  need someone who knows aabout putting one block on another- sounds easy but there is a horrizontal rebar in the archtct's plans and i bet there is some offical &^*()&^*() proceedure  that the building inspector demands....  which then made me think... if he is  teh expert to pick out someting wrong,, then why caan't he-- as someone already paid by me with my taxes.. come show ius how to do theis  correctly/

justan idea

...  the instructor at teh school might be better....

****

and then i drove my toyota to toyota central in danvers--  had with me my curiosity magnet  "bentley"  and sure enough i was not in the showroom more than 30 seconds whan the cameras came out and crowd gathered...--i finally got the right person and said blankly "we have a wonderful highlander- it is doing a perfect job for us"  

he asked" so what is the problem?"  i simply said  "we need another."...  and after a slight pause  "donated" 

after a long series of "no's" he went away to look at "something"   and said he would "get  backto me"

we had used words like "physical appearnece"  and "auto auction".

and that is where that rests...

problen is the  smaller van died a  suddon death- so we need a vehicle...

********

now for the most exciting news...

steve #3 (steve #2 = meat cutting steve -- and steve#1 lives in ny)  came up with a brilliant idea.. feeding the dogs  1 hour later might make then less active  so early.

so we fed them at 4:30pm  and the "barking log"  shows the results were  great and the  wake up seemed to be an hour later... 5:45am-  ish  

we used to feed at 4:30pm and because of daylight and things like that   it crept earlier and earlier...    but it looks like steve has teh right idea..

experience is tough to beat...

aug 17 2016

we had a board meeting- and the  biggest decision we discussed....

. i have apparently been discouraging cp's sending treats...

 treats and teh goodie shelf ain't all that goodie...

so.....from the board....

here it is: hungry volunteers, not a good thing. 

We are an army that runs on its (full)stomach.

Better to be faced with the decision of whether to be strong 

or give in to caloric temptation than not having any temptation at all.

 After hard work, maybe you you just want a treat.

****

we did get some dogfest things settled-  basically meals-- i resist the temptation to schedule much-- people seem to like to come here and wander with the dogs-- and that doesn't take any planning..

****

the lack of rain is getting critical -- even here in green new england....--- according to mark the town has 28 more days supply of rain -- i don't know how they decided that  when a part of the town water comes from deep wells-- however-- i know water supply is a bad topic...

as we drove in to the club, it was obvious some people had not turned off thier automatic sprinklers as  there would be a bright green lawn amid all the brown dry burned out ones..-- how could you hide?  mark - who lives there made reference to the water police..he said th golf course has wells to water it...

****

remember--  one of the reasons i bought this place is the deep lake across the street-- and the fact that my deed had a right of way to get my animals to the lake for water.

we do have a 500 foot deep well which has been tested for drinking-- and it is fine, if you chew it first ! ... it is off the charts for every known mineral.. and is a pretty dark brown... but it is drinkable

*********

and then the manure pile got many comments....

*******

I KNEW IT !!    HERE IS AN EXPERT

FROM ANN

Ok, I saw.

More barn info for anyone intersted :  

1) When you open a hay bale, cut near the knot so you have ahold of it when you pull the strings off. Otherwise the knot can get snagged in the hay when it goes around the bale and the whole thing gets pulled apart.

2) ALWAYS remove the strings immediately on cutting them. Otherwise they can get fed out with the hay and swallowed by the animal. Nylon string is by far the leading cause of enteroliths (stones) in horses. 

3) It is a pain for the farmer if string goes out with the manure, because it fouls up the manure spreader.

 4) Anyone dumb enough to think any kind of non-organic trash belongs in the manure pile should be  publicly   shamed and permanently banished.

Here endeth today's lesson. ann

**************

HI CARLENE, 

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE COMMUNICATED WITH YOU, BUT JUST HAD TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I LOVED YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT MANURE PILES IN THE DD THIS MORNING.  I FEEL VINDICATED.  I LOVINGLY TEND MY COMPOST PILE OF FOOD STUFFS (I HAVE NO CHICKENS), YARD WASTE, AND HORSE MANURE.  MY NEIGHBORS THINK I'M DAFFY, BUT I DON'T CARE, I TAKE PRIDE IN HAVING A WELL BALANCED, CLEAN COMPOST. IT NEVER STINKS, AND IT IS SO NICE AND HOT THINGS DECOMPOSE WITHIN A FEW DAYS, SO I ALWAYS HAVE LOVELY COMPOST. 

IT'S A FAVORITE SLEEPING AREA FOR THE GARTER SNAKES THAT EAT THE BOTHERSOME RODENTS, INCLUDING CHIPMUNKS AND GROUND SQUIRRELS. MY COMPOST IS SO BALANCED THAT ANY SNOW THAT LANDS THERE MELTS THROUGHOUT WINTER.

I BECOME VERY UPSET WHEN I FIND NON COMPOSTABLE ITEMS, TIN CAN LIDS AND ALUMINUM FOIL ARE VERBOTEN, AND LORD HELP THE KID THAT SLIPS IN A PLASTIC STRAW FROM THE DAMNED JUICE BOXES. YOUR MOTHER WOULD FIND NO FAULT WITH MY PILE.

I JUST HAD TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE OUT HERE THAT LOVE THEIR COMPOST/MANURE PILES AND TAKE PRIDE IN THEM. (I LOVE BEING THE NEIGHBORHOOD CRAZY LADY).

THANKS FOR THE CHUCKLES THAT START OFF MY DAYS WITH THE DD.

CYNTHIA MAYEAUX

IN THE LITTLE FINGER OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN

*****

I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT DAY. 

JUST AN UPDATE ON CINDY. SHE'S DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB SETTLING INTO HER NEW HOME. 

SHE DID FANTASTIC ON THE DRIVE HOME. WE STOPPED MORE THAN MY NORMAL. SHE HAS HAD 2 ACCIDENTS IN THE HOUSE(PEE ONLY), I COULDN'T GET HER OUT FAST ENOUGH.  SHE IS AN ABSOLUTE LOVE! I TRULY HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH LOVE AND DEVOTION HAS GROWN BETWEEN THE 2 OF US!! THANK YOU AND THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED ARRANGE MY PAIRING WITH A PERFECT PET! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL FOR DOGFEST!!  

Nicole-nb, ca and Cindy

AUG 16 2016

APPARENTLY THE COMMENTS FROM DOGS AND DONKEYS ARE COMPILED   ...   GOOD IDEA !!  I COULDN'T KEEP TRACK OF BOTH.

NOW FOR ONE SMALL ITEM....   THAT DONKEY PICTURE... THAT THEY HAVE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE ONE OF OURS... THE HAIRY EARS MEAN IT IS AT LEAST PART  POITOU  DONKEY  WHICH IS A VERY HAIRY-- LONG HAIRED ( MESSY LOOKING) DONKEY FROM FRANCE -- I SENT COURTNEY A PICTURE OF POCKETS, BUT IT WAS A VERTICLE PICTURE  SHE NEEDS HORIZONTAL-- SO IT IS BACK TO MARKS THOUSANDS.

****

WE ALSO NEED TO SET UP BETTER POO PICKING FOR THE DONKEY STALL---

 I REMEMBER.....WHEN I WAS A KID, I HELPED OUT A BARN WHICH CONTAINED SOME SIGNIFICANT 3 GAITED HORSES ( SHOW HORSES)  AND THERE WAS A ROUTINE OF PICKING UP A STALL WITH A MINOR PITCHFORK AND BUSHELL BASKET-- QUICK-- EASY-- AND YOU DID NOT ADDRESS THE FLUID PART TIL YOU "DID THE STALLS "  ONCE A DAY..

IT WAS A 7 STALL BARN- AND I DON'T THINK IT TOOK  MORE THAN 5 MINUTES TO CHECK AND "PICK UP" ALL OF THEM ..  BECAUSE IT WAS CONASTANT-- WHENEVER YOU WENT IN THE BARN  IT WAS A QUICK PICKUP..  THIS IS NOT A GRACE JOB, IT IS A JOB FOR ALL THE POO PICKERS AROUND...  WE HAVE TO EXPAND YOUR CAPABILITIES TO INCLUDE DONKEY POO.. WHICH   FRANKLY IS ALOT MORE AGREEABLE TO HANDLE THAN DOGGIE DO..  YOU TRY TO   PICK JUST POO  NO BEDDING/SHAVINGS/STRAW-

THERE ARE SPECIAL NARROW TINED FORKS AND YOU PICK THE PUCKY AND GIVE A SHAKE TO ELIMINATE SOME SHAVINGS AND TIP  JUST THE THE PUCKIES INTHE BASKET..

***

THIS SHOULD ALSO IMPROVE THE CONTENT OF OUR MANURE PILE.. A TOPIC I HAVE DISCUSSED BEFORE..  THE MANURE PILE IS A VALUABLE ASSETT--  NOT A TRASH DUMP

IT IS THE SIGN OF IGNORANCE AND  AN EXTREMELY POORLY RUN BARN TO FIND ANY  ODD ITEMS INTHE MANURE PILE.. LIKE  HAYSTRING- I WOULD DISOLVE IN TEARS IF I FOUND SODA CANS IN THE  PILE...HEADS WOULD HAVE TO ROLL...

SOME PEOPLE ... OFTEN CALLED "NORMAL PEOPLE" WOULD BE HORRIFIED TO HAVE A LAWN 6 INCHES LONG FILLED WITH DANDELIONS-- OR MY MOTHER WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN HORRIFIED TO SEND HER HUSBAND OFF TO WORK WITH ONE BLACK SOCK AND ONE DARN NEAR BLACK SOCK-- WITH ME IT IS TRASH IN THE MANURE PILE.  I CAN JUST HEAR SOME OF MY FRIENDS... LIKE  ANN GETCHELL WHO WOULD BE THE FIRST  TO  CAST  AN UNAPROVING GLANCE AT A PIECE OF TINFOIL- OR GOD FORBID , A CIGARETTE PACK IN OUR MANURE PILE.. I WOULD NEVER LIVE IT DOWN. 

PLUS IT IS ANNOYING TO BE OUT IN THE COMPOSTING AREA CHURINING THE PILE  WITH LIME AND GET A TELL TALE BLUE HAYSTRING CAUGHT ON THE BUCKET... IT DEMANDS I CLIMB DOWN  OFF TEH TRACTOR AND REMOVE IT TO THE CAB-

*****

AND WHLE I AM ON THE TOPIC OF FARM AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY - THOSE HAY STRINGS ARE TO A FARM WHAT DUCT TAPE IS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD... HOWEVER THEY MUST BE PROPERLY PREPARED FOR THEIR ROLE... WHEN CUTTING THEM OFF THE BALE, YOU MUST CUT THEM RIGHT NEXT TO THE KNOT...-- OTHERWISE WHATEVER YOU TRY AND DO WITH THEM... TIE A GATE SHUT-- HOLD UP YOUR TROUSERS-- WHATEVER.. THAT FOOL KNOT WILL BE IN THE WAY.

****

P.S.I AM TOLD.. BY THEM AS KNOWS.. THE ORIGIONAL  HOCKEY PUCK WAS A FLATTENED  PIECE OF HORSE POO.

I THINK I HEARD THAT FROM WAYNE CASHMAN'S ( BRUINS)  WIFE LYN... SHE IS A REAL HORSEPERSON-- YOU WOULD NEVER FIND STRING  IN HER PILE...  !!!

******

I AM ASTOUNDED TO HEAR FROM  AMERICANSTANDARD ( PLUMBING PEOPLE) THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE A CUTAWAY OF THE   WORKINGS OF A TOILET-  -I HAD HOPE  IT WOULD BE TEH EAS WAY OUT INSTEAD OF ALL THIS TUBING I HAVE THAT DOES NOT BEND WELL-- FOR A NUTTY PROFESSOR...  IF I ANM TO START THAT WITH THE SCHOOL YEAR,   I HAVE SOME PREPARATIONS TO MAKE.

**********

Dear Carlene,

Thanks so much for letting us spend time with your precious dogs and puppies. You had gone to cool off and rest when we were leaving so we didn't get to say thank you and goodbye before leaving yesterday. We had a great day despite the extreme heat!

Each of your volunteers were helpful, friendly, knowledgable and gracious. 

Looking forward to coming back and coordinating with Pam. It's such a thrill to be with and around all your lovely dogs. 

See you soon!

Best,

Melanie & Brian

********

aug 15 2016

technology....i "joined" some UPS thing one  day as i sat on "hold" for something else...and it is not bad.....it lets me know when something is shipped, due to arrive in some 4 hour window  , and arrived at exactly what time... couple that with the button one pushes on amazon  for paying with paypal,and tech wins every time...  most of the time it is lovely.... but... twice now someone has had sdp address on file with amazon and sent stuff here in error--and once the error was on a reorder in  six weeks... took us a while to figure out what was happening.  and  repairing paypal and several bank accounts.. one wrong button and it can involve 12 overlapping computer systems

i know the potential for screwups is always in the wings...but apply that to uber's overlapping systems and my phone in a back pocket randomly ordering  cars to go places i have never heard of.

it frightens me.

***********

another age related thing  i never expected-- per my last dr apt.... i should eat slippery things- with a chaser that is far less interesting than  the chaser i used to know.

then there is  food from sunday stew which is now breakfast.. bow tie pasta, chicken cubes, grapes,manderin oranges  pnapple, cellary mixed up with  coleslaw dressing.. very good- and slippery...

********

now it is about the cameras--  mostly sleepiing and dosing while on camera... which is fine-- but as we sleep we are unaware that... clothing gets readjusted

uncovering parts best left covered... leaving camera people  with the dilemma of to call or not to call... that is the question...

we strive for a very modest dress code anyway-- but angles are angles-- so be careful where you sleep...

******

camera mark got some good pictures of the author  pups yesterday of course with the names in"books".. his wife barbara is very clever...

***

i continue to be impressed with the efficiency of moon whoever he is---  with our harness ordering...i remember i was impressed with teh effeciency of the chinese system when i was looking for  rubber balls exactly 30 cm... 

which made me wonder if all this was done on the phone, do the chinese people have  hold buttons?  i would almost bet they don't...  they are consumer oriented big time.

moon's daily "is there anything i can help you with"  is just to the level of helpful reminder and not the annoying kind like the  email i keep getting about how my security system is in need of updating by them. 

************

bailey spent time in the t tent yesterday she explained several things to me...

se wanted an umbrella to shade her.   her paws are tender and she wants to walk only on the grass... and ice cubes on a hot day are fun to play with...

so we need to keep her wagon ready to go so she doesn't have to walk on the hot top...

*******

next idiot thing--- we bought  ice cubes yesterday-- and we have the worlds greatest walkin freezer... can we not get a clean bucket  with water put in there once a day to keep the cooler drinks nice???

**************

Another great night with Wilbur. He was so happy when I came down to the barn to get him and popped right into the back of the car as it was opend and backed up to the barn. he is so good in the car, goes right to sleep.

I am not a light sleeper but in the middle of the night he pushes his lips on my face and I wake up enough to rub his face and tell him to go back to sleep. He minds so well. 

We were up at 5 to ride to the airport and he is more than willing to go. We were gone all day and when we returned I was gone to the market for 20 min and I am told he cried the whole time, going from front to back door, up to the second floor and looking out every window. Wow! what a bad mom.

He is a great dog and the upbringing shows.

judy