This Pretty Much Sums It Up

To Honor Our Veterans

Turkey Talk

I am finding that I can either keep up with Facebook posts or people's blogs. I may have to make a choice...

As God Is My Witness

I am going to close down my Yahoo e-mail account in January. Yahoo is continually erasing messages as I'm in the midst of composing them (the draft feature doesn't work properly) The past few days I've had trouble signing in and get some little "Oops, our technicians are working on this problem" message. Today I can't open my e-mails and am getting another message that for some reason it is taking too long to open and to try again (with no luck, I might add)

It is a daunting task to notify my friends and businesses of an e-mail change, even worse than changing credit card information, but this is a resolution that I must keep.

(I almost got sidetracked from my little rant here as I had a spam comment on my last entry. Yay!)

The Eternal Optimist

Personally, I'm still waiting...

Ralph

Interesting Point

Lewiston Idaho Veternarian's Letter to the Editor re: Ebola, Nails it!
The present Ebola crisis in the world is frightening. I have submitted the following letter to the editor of the Lewiston Morning Tribune:

Editor, Lewiston Morning Tribune:

If I wish to import a horse into the United States from Liberia or any African country other than Morocco, the horse needs to undergo a 60 day quarantine period at a USDA approved quarantine facility prior to mingling with the general population of horses in this country. Africa has a disease called African Horse Sickness that does not exist in the US; this is the way we have kept it out of this country. African Horse Sickness does not cause disease in people, only horses; our government has determined that it would be devastating to the US horse industry if it were to come here.

The United States (and virtually all other countries) require a myriad of tests and often quarantine prior to bringing in a foreign animal.

I can’t legally cross state lines in the United States with a horse or cow without a health certificate signed by a USDA accredited veterinarian stating that the animal has been inspected and found free of infectious disease. In most cases blood tests are also required. In fact I can’t legally cross the Snake River and ride my horse in Idaho without a health certificate and a negative blood test for Equine Infectious Anemia.

I’m not complaining; the United States of America, the States of Idaho and Washington as well as the other 48 states take the health of our livestock very seriously, and we have a very good record at keeping foreign animal diseases out of our country. I am happy to do my part to maintain biosecurity in our animal population.

If I am a resident of Liberia incubating Ebola, to enter the United States all I need to do is present a valid visa, and lie when asked if I have been exposed to Ebola. Within hours (no quarantine required) I can be walking the streets of any city in the United States.

I feel very fortunate to live in a country that values our animals so highly.

David A. Rustebakke, DVM

How I Spent My Summer by Ms Martyr

Unpacking boxes. Donating stuff. Barely riding. Going to physical therapy. Trying acupuncture. Having outpatient surgery on my back (ongoing/more this week) Dealing with more deaths and bad news about other's illnesses than anyone should have to.

My back has been causing so much pain that I've given up riding for the time being. Doctor seems to think my facet joints may be causing nerve pain. Insurance company requires two diagnostic tests where they numb the joints temporarily to see if that helps. If it does, then they can laser the little suckers to death for permanent relief. I had a steroid injection a while back that didn't seem to make any kind of difference.

Sister's moving in with me is having its ups and downs. I think it will all work out once everything is unpacked and put in its proper place. Right now the house is pretty much in chaos which irritates me no end, to the point that I snap over the slightest little thing. There have been so many changes that some days I don't even feel like it's my home any more. I'm just set in my ways and have to adjust. Probably living alone for almost a year didn't help my adaptability. I'm a minimalist. The only time I decorate is at Christmas. My sister, on the other hand, loves "stuff." Right now I'm looking at five Hummel figurines on the fireplace mantel. There are others scattered throughout the house - one has even made it into my bedroom. We could open up a video rental store with all the VHS and DVDs she has. I intend to alphabetize them and then discard any duplicates that we may have between us. Right now I don't have enough storage for all of them.

I could go on and on with my bitchiness about changes but I'm just going to put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

One of my very good girlfriends has been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Reading about it on the Net makes my breast cancer look like a walk in the park.

There have been two deaths recently of family members. I think the count is up to five now for October which qualifies it as the suckiest month of the year.

Let's see if I can be positive for a moment. I've set up a couple of aquariums which are kind of fun. My sister's dog integrated with my two without a hitch so now I have a pack of three running amuck. I've been forced to de-clutter, something I've been putting off since I moved here two years ago. The house should look really nice once everything is put in order. Attended a lot of horse shows this summer and went to the State Fair three times.

So, nothing too thrilling but just keeping busy which does not make for good blog fodder. I'm going to try to catch up with some of my favorites; even my reading time has been lessened.

Happy fall y'all!

PSA

Stop organized crime.
Re-elect no one.

My Reality

And for a different outlook...

The Beatles Were Wrong

WTF?

I bought an aquarium and stand off of Craigslist for $40.00 (you might say I stole it)

The seller is now advertising the same items (exact same picture) for $150.00. It's probably worth that but it's in my possession, not hers.

I'm confused...

Did I Flunk Geography?

I ordered some items the other day and today, for grins, I checked the tracking. USPS is notorious in this household for not posting tracking information until after you've received your package. UPS is generally better at keeping you informed. Here is what I saw this morning:

Louisville, KY, United States 07/10/2014 12:13 P.M. Arrival Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 07/10/2014 5:32 A.M. Departure Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 07/08/2014 11:46 P.M. Arrival Scan
Cerritos, CA, United States 07/08/2014 10:53 P.M. Departure Scan
07/08/2014 2:47 P.M. Arrival Scan
Phoenix, AZ, United States 07/08/2014 5:15 A.M. Departure Scan
07/08/2014 12:24 A.M. Origin Scan
United States 07/07/2014 9:23 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Isn't California closer to Alaska than Kentucky? Why would they send my package there? Is it the same thing as those stupid hubs the airlines have? It seems like you have to "touch" the hub for your flight to count or something.

I'm not in a hurry for this stuff but just find it curious.

Wish me luck. I'm seeing an acupuncturist for the first time today. I am expecting miracles.

Reality Check

Only in America

Number 10) Only in America... could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 per plate campaign fund-raising event.

Number 9) Only in America... could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans - 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!

Number 8) Only in America... could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheatswho are in favor of higher taxes.

Number 7) Only in America... can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

Number 6) Only in America... would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens (probably should be number one).

Number 5) Only in America... could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

Number 4) Only in America... could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote!

Number 3) Only in America... could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company(Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

Number 2) Only in America... could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

And Number 1) Only in America... could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. (George Orwell)

Words To Live By

Truism?

Glad I'm Not the Only One

Happy Mother's Day

I'm not a mother unless you count the four legged, feathered and finned "kids" I have. I salute all of you who are mothers to the two legged variety as I feel your job is much harder, albeit probably more rewarding, than mine.

I am rather disgusted with Amazon today. They are offering digital books, music and movies for Mother's Day. All of the books are romances. Blech! Don't they think women read anything else? They are at the bottom of my reading choices.

My landscaping is done. The owner came by and collected all the heavy equipment yesterday and I paid him the balance of what I owed. Some of the crew will be by tomorrow to pick up the rest of the materials and do a final clean up.



I put up a mosquito zapper yesterday. Apparently it is too close to the house because Bart awakened me having a panic attack in the middle of the night. There is something about the zzzt sound that scares him to death. I ended up locking him out of the bedroom so I could go back to sleep. I'll relocate the zapper today to the far side of the yard. Big weenie.

I weeded three flower beds yesterday. I think the flowers I bought last week should just about be ready to leave outside at night. I wonder what it would be like to actually have a planting plan. I just buy plants haphazardly and throw them together. The only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to put nasturtiums in the hanging pots by the side door. Last year I used wave petunias there and wanted something different. I wore a tank top yesterday to try to obliterate the farmer's tan I've already got going this year. Of course my next door neighbor came over to chat. I generally try not to expose my flabby arms but darn it, I was in my own yard.

More weeding today and I think I'll go to a home improvement store to buy another shepherd's hook on which to hang the bug zapper. A few plants may fall into my cart while I'm there...

Bacon and Eggs

A day's work for the chicken. A lifetime commitment for the pig.

What Happened to April?

Time is just rushing by, it seems. Spring has definitely arrived and along with it, the mosquitos. I was eaten alive while riding outside a couple of weeks ago. The bugs were so bad that I couldn't concentrate on what my trainer was saying because I was so busy swatting the mosquitos off me and the horse. It was awful. The last few rides haven't been so bad because I've doused myself with repellant plus there's been a breeze that blows the little suckers away. I've also ridden inside a couple of times because the horse is on a new supplement that makes him very "up." My trainer is especially cautious with me since I don't bounce as well as the kids if I fall off. The horse is calmer when ridden in the indoor arena so I am sometimes banished there.

So, all the local landscapers already have enough work for the season and aren't taking any new jobs. I was very lucky and got one hired before the cutoff. I am having paving stones put in the upper tier of my back yard where the dogs have created a quagmire. This should significantly cut down on the muddy footprints that they track into the house. Now I just have to figure out a way to keep Winston from digging holes in the rest of the lawn. I am also having a rock garden created on a fairly steep slope next to my driveway. It was a real pain to keep mowed so my husband let it get overgrown last year. Not a pretty sight.

Exhibit A:



WalMart and I are becoming besties as I keep buying more and more decorative pots for my new paved area and the front deck (not that I can plant anything yet) I saw people purchasing hanging baskets the other day and I sure hope they know to bring them inside at night. It's so tempting to want to start planting stuff but it is still getting down to the high 20's/low 30's at night. It was about 32 degrees at 8:00 this morning but already in the 60's at 10:30.

I saw a physical therapist yesterday and will be going three times a week in addition to doing exercises at home. I sure hope it helps and that I stick with the program if it does. Exercise and I have an on again/off again relationship. I will workout faithfully for years and then quit and do nothing for another span of years.

Oh, I bought a betta fish that I have become totally OCD about. The original bowl heater I bought only brings the water temperature up to about 70 degrees. Bettas prefer 74 to 78 degrees. I bought a different heater to try but it heated the water to above 80 degrees and I was afraid of cooking the fish. So, I've ordered yet a third heater that is supposed to keep the water at a constant 78 degrees. I also ordered a betta hammock and a betta log. I'm already considering moving him to the five gallon tank I bought for the glo fish that I haven't got yet and getting them a ten gallon tank. Meanwhile, the dog's nails need cutting again...

I saw a counselor once about a month ago (he's a very busy man) and have another appointment next Monday. Our first meeting was mostly introductory so hopefully something more interesting will happen next time. You know, like a major breakthrough or something.

Horse show season starts this month so I will be tagging along to observe the competitors. Life is so much busier during the warmer months. Hopefully I'll drop some of the weight I put on this winter.

Classic

You're in America
Learn to spell

swiped from Dooce

Snort

I Love This

Found it last night. Can't remember where or I'd give credit.

Inquiring Minds

Does Sherlock Holmes

know that Dr. John Watson

is moonlighting as a hobbit?

Also, how in the heck did Cinderella get those mice to work for her? All my dogs will do is shed and leave muddy footprints. Where's the love?

It's a Mystery Life

You know how in mystery stories the detectives will enter a crime scene and observe that obviously the victim was interrupted while in the middle of doing something? That's my life. The bed's half made, the dishes half washed, only part of the house is vacuumed or dusted. It's not so much that I get interrupted but that I have developed a really short attention span and am easily distracted. So far I've managed to complete the important stuff like taking care of the animals. I'm going to see a counselor next month and hopefully he'll help me snap out of it.

Lookin' Out My Back Door

Lousy picture and I don't have any kind of apps to fix it. There are two moose if you look real close.

Dumb Ideas

Daylight Savings Time

The Great Alaska Shakeout: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, a special “Great Alaska ShakeOut” earthquake drill will be held at 1:36 p.m. on March 27, 2014*. Register for this historic event today!

Traffic Calming: Local basketball celebrity demonstrates dribbling an imaginary basketball when a car speeds by to remind the driver to slow down.

Nicknaming Anchorage "The City of Lights and Flowers"

The Possibilities Are Endless

Senility is rapidly approaching. Today I stood up with my coffee mug in my hand. Then I was wondering why. Did I want more coffee? Did I want to wash my mug? Did I want to let Winston outside? (who still won't use the dog door) Did I need to use the restroom?

Why was I standing up? I eventually did all of the above and more, but I'm still mystified as to why I found myself standing in the middle of the family room.

Really?

Nicole Richie is a fashion icon with a timeless free-spirited style that has become one of her trademarks. Her clothes are contemporary, with an aesthetic that's also beautifully rooted in the past. Fluid fabrics with boho prints are both elegant and easy to wear. The intricate details within her clothes take you traveling through time and around the world. Now, Nicole brings this sense of ethereal to QVC.

When did Nicole Richie become a fashion icon? I thought she was Paris Hilton's stooge. I vaguely remember rumors of her being bulimic and perhaps hazarding her unborn child's health. I never thought of her as a fashionista.

Whatever. I guess if you're rich enough you can remake yourself at will (cough, Kardashian, cough)

Swiped from Shoeboxblog.com

Gravity Always Wins

Got dumped by a spook yesterday. No injuries to speak of although my neck is a little tender. I always manage to smack my head when I fall. This makes twice for this helmet so I probably should look at replacing it.

This was a slow motion spook in that I almost managed to sit it out. I fell off on the left side of the horse and my right stirrup ended up completely across the saddle. So glad my foot came out. Can you imagine having your right foot hung up on the left side of the horse while the rest of you is hitting the ground? He stood stock still and my trainer said his eyes were as big as saucers as he realized what he had done. She actually had to push him away from me as he didn't want to budge from my side.

We were getting close to the end of the lesson but she had me get back on him so he wouldn't think he got rewarded and put away when he dumped someone. I did a bunch of leg yields and called it good.

I self-medicated with a couple of glasses of wine after I got home. Gotta keep those muscles relaxed...

My Dogs Are Morons

I had a dog door installed today. The door itself was not inexpensive and I additionally paid to have two men install it. My two idiots are afraid of it. The instruction sheet suggests using food or a favorite toy and holding the flap up and out of the way as the dog gets used to going through the opening. Um, nope. They don't even want to go in or out the doorway in the regular fashion because that darn flap is so terrifying. I foresee a long struggle ahead for us. I shall persevere.

The End of the World As We Know It

Alternatively Titled, "The Times They Are a-Changin'"

I just saw Bob Dylan doing a car commercial.

Help Me, I'm Melting

We've had over a week of unseasonably warm temperatures. It is not supposed to be 40 degrees in Alaska in January. Spring in Alaska is referred to as "break up." I think that is due to the ice breaking up on the rivers and lakes. I drove by Lake Wasilla yesterday and there is standing water on top of it. It could be melted all the way through for all I know. As one woman at the barn said, it wouldn't be so bad if we knew spring was really on the way but we know it's going to get cold again and we're going to have to suffer through this more than once. Oh well, enough about the weather.

I think I'm going to finally manage to get in three rides this week. Two weeks ago I had to skip Friday because I had to attend a wedding and last Friday the side roads were just too icy for me to want to leave the house unnecessarily. There are some new horses being boarded that I'm getting acquainted with. One is a Clydesdale who, strangely enough, doesn't like carrots but scarfed up the apple I brought him Tuesday. He's the first horse I've personally met who has a mustache like the horse in this picture.

Picture swiped from Horse Nation, as is the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFkdsPKARgE

Is that bizarre or what?

Ta and Da

Two more trips to Home Depot as the first set of toggle bolts I purchased had screw heads that were too big to fit in the curtain hardware openings. (P.S., toggle bolts don't work for me the way they're supposed to. The darn things wouldn't open up and I eventually took a screwdriver and a hammer to them) It took me most of yesterday and I lost count of how many times I had to re-install the hardware as it kept falling off the wall the minute I put the curtains on the rod. I was in a really bad mood by the time I was finished. I won't be surprised if they come crashing down as I did a real number on the sheetrock. I'm almost afraid to open/close them as I don't want to put any stress on the hardware. No more home improvement projects for me. From now on I'm hiring out.

Adventures in Home Maintenance

I've had no window coverings for my living room since living in this house. My husband said, "Who needs drapes? We're out in the middle of nowhere." Now that I'm alone, I need drapes. I'm out in the middle of nowhere.

So I ordered some bamboo drapes that I thought went well with my hardwood floors and furniture. I purchased four panels since two wouldn't be wide enough and three just seemed odd. My sister and I planned to install them while she was here but it didn't happen, mostly because the Christmas tree was in the way.

Monday was the big day. Long story short, the damn curtains pulled the hangers out of the drywall (and I did use drywall anchors) So I turned to the Internet and it looks like I need molly bolts. I should just get a job at Home Depot for the amount of time I spend there. Next to the grocery store it is my most frequented shopping spot.

Back on Track (More or Less)

My sister flew home yesterday so I no longer have any excuses for not eating right, exercising and organizing the house. Somehow sitting here at the computer doesn't fit into this plan so obviously I'm off to a bad start.

I have paid for three riding lessons a week in January. Of course, I'm already screwed this week as I have a wedding to attend at 4:00 Friday. Who gets married then? What about the people who have to work until 5:00? I think it had something to do with the church's availability, but personally I would have just picked another day.

I am a terrible slacker and can procrastinate doing almost anything until the absolute last minute. I think I'm going to try making a schedule of daily tasks. If you're familiar with FlyLady, number one should be getting dressed first thing as opposed to sitting around in your pajamas half the day. That's a toughie for me as I really don't function until I've been awake for a couple of hours and had several cups of coffee. Even when I worked I'd get up at least two hours before I needed to leave the house so I'd have lounging time.

Okay, I think I've inspired myself enough to do the grocery shopping and put away some more Christmas decorations. Gosh how I hate acting responsible...