Gusts and mayhem

Mother Nature must be feeling mighty frisky today because she sure is giving out a helluva blowjob... I won't be surprised if our house loses a few shingles in the process!

**leave post to tend to dogs, back four hours later**

We really shot ourselves in the foot for this weekend... Taking on two guests (a hyper husky and a non-housebroken needy puppy) during bad weather and then having visitors bring their dog for a boarding prospect - WHAT were we THINKING?

Poor Vegas will be glad to escape to the office Monday morning to get some rest... Maybe I'll fold myself up really small and climb into his pocket.

Lesson learned, we can't handle more than one guest at a time - that still makes four dogs in the house, not an easy thing to manage even if they all get along super well. Imagine the mess when the snow and ice-cold temperatures hit? Right now our floors look like Katrina hit, two of our carpets are full of smelly dog pee (yay thank you un-housebroken pet shop puppy!) and our nerves are frayed from constant whining from both guests.

And we're cold stone sober.

Everyone is sleeping now, thank dog, I just hope it lasts for the next 12 hours?

Please?

At least we're not getting bothered by trick-or-treaters, anyways who would walk way up here in the dark since there are no decorations and the porch light is out? Yeah, we didn't want to scare any kids with five barking dogs clawing at the door. I'm nice to society.

I guess that means all the candy's for me. What? I bought a box... or two... it was half-price today so it was perfectly justified. Mini Hershey bars of all kinds, reeeeeerrrr! Vegas' training program means he's so busy stuffing himself with protein shakes and bars and creatine and other manly things that his cookie and chockit taste buds don't work anymore. Yep. It's a fact :-D

Enjoy all your leftover candy, you!

/end of I Am A Costume post/

It really feels nice

Hug someone your appreciation.
~Violet Gartenlicht

Three-sixty vision

Things that I see right now if I take a look around me...

• A floppy, snoring puppy stretched out on his bed. I can smell him, too.
• Vegas on the couch at my right, playing his beloved Fifa10 xbox game.
• A bowl of fruit on the kitchen island, containing only bananas, apples and oranges because we're both so fussy with fruit and nothing's in season right now anyways.
• A stack of dishes drying near the sink.
• A stack of dirty dishes on the other side of the sink.
• A vase of fresh flowers on the table, bright yellow and orange and green and pretty.
• Bits of leaves and dirt on the floor and carpet near the sliding deck door.
• An empty glass of milk on my left, resting on the little armoire that serves as a side table.
• Bottle of lotion next to the glass.
• My two dry, cold hands on the keyboard.
• Various dog toys peppered around the dining room.

I love our home :)

What I don't love is the worry gnawing at me, what if Antoinette (one of my sweet red hens) doesn't shake this cold, what if she's really sick and dies? Am I failing at being a flock mom? Gaaaah! Pets bring you much love and joy but when they get sick it's just hell. It's not "just a bird" when you care so much.

We're looking at a very busy weekend...

Tomorrow night we get a new guest for nine days, and another one for Saturday (one night, repeat guest) and then Sunday a prospect client is coming for a visit and they are bringing their dog... Yep, we are preparing for mayhem and hopefully lots of fun in the process.

Doggie cookies baked? Check.
Sleeping arrangements planned? Check.
Supply of coffee and rhum in the cupboard? Check.

Just wish there was no rain in the forecast for Saturday, the day we have five active dogs in the house from morning till night... Sigh.

Hope you all have more relaxing weekend plans than I do?

/end of Why Hello Mister Pill! post/

The cutest present

Look what I found outside in the coop run late this afternoon, nestled in a corner among the shredded autumn leaves:

A tiny white egg! It's official, my silkie hen Blossom is finally laying! w00t!

What a surprise and delight, even if the egg is so tiny we have no idea what to do with it - LOL! All other girls lay big brown eggs (the photo is of today's offerings) thank goodness... Blossom is a fluffy white cutie so it's OK if her eggs make us laugh.

Her eggs will apparently get a little bigger over time, I'll keep you posted :)

Project status: 45% completed!

Blogland has taken a back burner the past few days due to a project I'm working on, I haven't disappeared or lost any marbles - just been really busy.

No mystery, I'm setting up my photography business and it's a LOT of work... The website is looking good but I'm far from ready to launch it as I need to bulk up my portfolio first as well as get some lighting equipment (headcracker, that one).

Any volunteers for free photo sessions?

*pauses to gape at clock*

Jeebusflip it's late - I woke up at 8:45am from a deep sleep with really fun yet awful dreams (I was on a trip somewhere with an ex-best friend, we were at a party dancing with these two guys and dancing s'more and there was a huge tree full of pussywillows (go ahead, laugh) in the middle of the room which I wanted to photograph, then the party was over and this one guy wanted to make out with me but he was dripping with sweat - gross - and I didn't fancy him so I said no even if he was hot, plus I was flying out two days after and he kept trying to make plans and then I woke up so freaking GLAD that shit ain't real).

Then Vegas came up from the basement dripping with sweat from his "P90X" training and it was hard not to laugh, cuz him I'd jump anytime anywhere no matter what :-D

Yeah, I loves my husband.

Gotta run, the flock is waiting for their breakfast and then I have a bunch of stuff to do, none which involve making out strangers thankfully.

/end of Happy Hump Day Peeps! post/

Thought of the day

You must have long-range goals
to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures.
~Charles C. Noble

Looking for my bootstraps

It's one of those groggy mornings thanks to drug-induced deep sleep, can't shake the fuzz out of my head - aggravating! Specially since it's a bright sunny day and life is excellent, except for faceassbook that is so buggered up I had to shut down the app before turning green and shredding my clothes.

Puppy is snoring, curled up on his bed in the sun, and I envy him.

There is no way I am allowing myself a nap in the middle of the day, that would be to admit defeat and shove me in the lazy housewife category, which is close to death.

So the laundry's in the wash and I'm on my way out to rake some leaves, haul fence posts to the barn and tend to the flock as they make me happy. Then it's time to walk the dogs, do more laundry, make bread and some sort of soup for dinner with fresh chicken broth.

None of this generates any income but I will try to ignore that bit and not feel like my life is a failure.

I do have a client next week for nine days, and another one for a week over Christmas and a good potential for a week in February (she's coming to visit next Sunday), so I can't say the dog boarding business isn't working - if I put my heart into marketing it to death we'd get a lot more clients but then with that comes the stressure of too many dogs in the house and neither Vegas nor I want that quality of life.

So yeah, that's about it for now...

Um.

/end of Abrupt Post Ending post/

Well of course!

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
~Steven Wright

Brain sludge

Blogging is mostly therapeutic and fun but sometimes, just sometimes, the blank page stares back at me mocking my lack of words and frankly that just ticks me off.

Cuz lordy I can talk your head off if you let me.

Sometimes.

Life's been... normal the past few days. You do chores, you run errands, you feed and clean up after the family, you muck around on the innernets, you sleep and get dressed and brush your teeth and the days just sort of melt into each other like snap - did a week just pass by?

Anyways. Focus, focus, must focus.

Like the lens of my camera, that infuriating little machine that refuses to be tamed just because I said so. Making me read user manuals, gaaah!

I dropped an egg in the coop this morning :(

Had six in the nests, was putting them in my pockets, fumbled and splat - what a waste. It kinda set the tone for the day (no, false: the blasting migraine that woke me up set the tone) - pouring rain, rain and more rain sogging everything up into a giant slop. Got another egg in the afternoon and was very careful carrying it inside!

Poor hens need extra TLC these days.

We're boarding a sweet little puppy next week for nine days, the owner came by to have tea and meet the gang this afternoon and she is absolutely charming, we had a lovely time - so happy to have met her.

Which brings me to nature of happenstance: do you believe things happen for a reason?

Or is everything in life a big fat game of chance and it is what it is?

Connecting the dots... That's what we all are in the end, aren't we? Dots on the planet, dust in the wind, atoms and eaves.

I'm so bleddy tired, grateful for the sweet soft clean bed that awaits me, grateful for everything and everyone that has gotten me here so far. Am enjoying the ride immensely even if I sometimes have flat tires - that's when I gotta lean on my own two feet and keep going.

/end of Melancholic Ramblings post/

or pizza or chowder or chili or...

There is nothing better on a cold wintry day
than a properly made pot pie.
~Craig Claiborne

Friday funny

Every Friday deserves its bad joke...

A housewife is at home when she hears a knock on the door. When she answers a man asks "Do you have a vagina?" The woman slams the door shut in shock and disbelief!

The same thing happens for three consecutive days and the woman decides to tells her husband.

The husband says "Tomorrow I'll stay home and when the man asks if you have a vagina say 'yes' and I will be hiding behind the door."

The next day the same man comes again and when the woman opens the door he asks, "Do you have vagina?" "The woman says, "Yes." "The man then responds, "Good! Then please tell your husband to stop screwing my wife!"

OK it's not that funny...

I'm feeling too blue to write today so will spare you the blahs (they're contagious sometimes), I'm off to walk in the cold woods with the dogs to find some mojo. I just want to curl up in ball and not do anything, I feel useless and have to fight it.

Vegas came home last night (he played a trick on me and arrived early, it was awesome!), he also spoiled me with amazing luxurious body creams - best husband evar!

So you see, I have to get myself out of this funk as he deserves better.

Off I go.

/end of Scrapping It post/

Off with the aprons

I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want.
If that makes me a bitch, okay.
~Madonna Ciccone

In every home, there are...

...drawers/cupboards full of non-matching plastic containers and covers. Some warped, some stained, most useless. Why we don't throw everything away with one giant HRUMPH I'll never know.

...mysterious balls of fluff that accumulate in corners, mostly evident just after hoovering for two hours.

...socks eaten by the laundry machine and/or dryer.

...relic cans and jars of foodstuffs you don't remember buying and would never eat because, well, who eats grey olives and mustard tuna?

...never-erasing fingerprints, noseprints and smudges on mirrors and glass doors.

...happy memories on the walls and tucked away in desk drawers.

I like my home :)

/end of Pondering post/

When you think about it...

My theory is that men are no more liberated than women.
~Indira Gandhi

Naked

Engrossed in folding clothes, and my iPod shuffle threw this one at me - I remember how much strength this song gave me in my darkest hours, when life was one dark puzzle with missing pieces. Now it just makes me want to dance.

Awake aware alone
Lost and far from home
I walk without these walls
So there is less to fall

I am naked
I have nothing left
My bones are picked clean
And riddled with regrets
Nothing can touch me
I've nothing left to take
For I am naked
But I can never break

Bombarded by brutal events
Like the rays of a sun
Knocked to my knees
By the waves that continued to come
Each time I rise to my feet
I am knocked to the ground
But I am an element
Nothing can break me down

I am naked
I have nothing left
My bones are picked clean
And riddled with regrets
Nothing can touch me
I've nothing left to take
For I am naked
But I can never break

Link after link in a chain
Pulling hard at my limbs
The search party's lost now
The outlook is growing dim
Praying for wisdom
There's nobody left to impart
But I am an atom
And nothing can take me apart

I doubt that any of you will listen to the song (I apparently have strange tastes in music, go figure) but perhaps the lyrics will be good enough :)

Happy Hump Day, everyone.

How to lose a day in three easy steps

Step 1:

Get woken up by puppy at 6:15am, get out of bed to let him out and step sock-first in a warm puddle of pee. Subsequently oversleep until 9:15am.

Step 2:

Spend the next four hours running around feeding and cleaning up after everyone, answering emails, tidying up the house and driving around for errands. Didn't take the time to write to hubby in Boston, who is not impressed.

Step 3:

Speak to hubby, eat lunch, more car errands and dog walking, coop & contractor duties, sort the chick situation then disinfect the bathroom they used to be in, answer more emails, read up on photography stuff, realise it's dark out and the dinners need to be sorted out.

Easy stuff, anyone can do it!

Gad.

See, I bought this cool bread machine at Walmart at the end of July for $80 (plus tax). This week while flipping through their flyer I see that the same machine is on sale for $50 - whoa! So I go there with my receipt and ask for a refund in the price difference, which would be easier for them than me returning my used machine (sans box) and getting a new one - I was within my 90 days for merchandise return.

Hah. Their policy is no refund on price difference past 10 days of a sale, so they said to return my old machine and buy a new one.

I really don't understand their system, but whatev.

It cost me an extra trip but it's a short ride, I got my full refund and a brand-new bread machine, LOL! Gotta love policies...

And that's it for today. My brain is spinning with guilt for not spending any quality time on our property, my business or photography skills today. I ache all over and only want a hot shower and my soft bed, tomorrow is another day...

It better not start with my socked foot hitting dog pee.

/end of Better Than Barefoot post/

*looks at watch again*

Love reckons hours for months, and days for years;
and every little absence is an age.
~John Dryden

Pondering the possible

I've been in a career limbo the past year and am struggling to resolve the eternal question: who am I, and what do I want to do with my life?

I know what I never want to go back to soul-sucking office work or, even worse, underpaid retail work that makes each waking hour a misery. I was good at my job as sales coordinator, in fact I was damn good at it. That doesn't mean I enjoyed it...

For years I squirreled my paychecks away, scrimped and saved to one day be able to live the dream and hey! Here I am!

Living the dream.

Only to keep living this dream I need a steady sort of income.

What can I do vs what I really want to be doing.

Vegas has been the most supportive and encouraging partner a woman could dream of, my best friend who believes in me more than I do at times. I wouldn't be here without him.

We've been discussing possible options beyond the occasional client for the dog boarding business (which is going well considering the little publicity I've done). Both of us agree that the lifestyle we want doesn't include being stressed by a house full of dogs that aren't ours so we'll see where this goes. For now it's perfect.

But it's not generating enough to live on, of course.

What's become apparent the past few months is my love of photography, specifically pets and their people as well as places.

I remember a short impromptu session with my little shy sister about 3 years ago, the girl that freezes in front of the camera... I didn't know squat about photos but I just "felt" it and we got some lovely shots out of it:

Why couldn't I do this to supplement my income?

I've checked out what other people offer and frankly, I can do it. I am so ready to do it, and I know I can do it better than most.

So yeah. I'm letting the dog boarding business ride on as it is and will continue to push it a bit, while building a portfolio for my photography business and keeping the house running as best I can.

This feels more than right: I have butterflies in my tummy.

Jackpot?!

/end of One Shot At Life And It's Aimed For The Stars post/

Blog slackin'

Been too busy the past couple of days to visit blogland much... I've got plenty of time to catch up tonight as Vegas is off this afternoon to Boston for the week (sniff), need to find my company somewhere!

Also have four dogs in the house (my three and a very sweet guest) so that's nice. A quick view of what's going on here (pics click bigger):

There's lots of napping:

And running around in the woods like maniacs:

And frisbee in our dog park:

And eating, oh god all the eating! LOL

The ground's all crunchy with frost this morning. It'll melt by this afternoon and then I can do more leaf raking or maybe I'll be too sore from yesterday's hours of yard work and just sit in the park and watch the doggies play.

Either way, I'm happy as long as I'm outside.

Um, what else... I made a kickass apple crumble and it's almost all gone, the rest of the apples will go to make applesauce (grandma's recipe). On a totally unrelated note, the baby chicks that are in our spare bathroom stink to high heaven but at least they're growing, they must be with all the crap they're producing - ugghh.

Time to get this day on the road.

/end of Happy Sunday! post/

Endless 360

You sometimes see a woman who would have made
a Joan of Arc in another century and climate,
threshing herself to pieces
over all the mean worry of housekeeping.
~Rudyard Kipling

Friday's funny

Read each of the following lines out loud:

This is this cat
This is is cat
This is how cat
This is to cat
This is keep cat
This is an old cat
This is idiot cat
This is busy cat
This is for cat
This is forty cat
This is seconds cat

Now, go back and read the THIRD word in each line, starting at the top.

/end of Happy Friday! post/

Technodoll vs The Machine

Me: You've got the GPS all set up hunny?
Vegas: Not yet, what's the address?

*gives address to hubby*

Vegas: It doesn't exist.
Me: Of course it exists, I went there three months ago. Try again.
The Machine: beep beep beep beep
Vegas: It's not there. Where did you get the address from?
Me: From her website.
Vegas: Well maybe she got it wrong.

*rolls eyes and gets impatient*

Me: Right. This woman has been living there for 30 years and she has her postal code wrong because the machine says it doesn't exist?
Vegas: Yeah, well the machine is always right!

You can see where this conversation is going. Gaaah! I rush inside to get Mapquest printed directions because 7 minutes of useless flubbing around with The Machine is driving me mental, when hubby yells "I found the town! It's OK!"

Good enough, so we set out.

The Machine: Take a right at the end of your driveway.
Me: You're kidding, right?
The Machine: Drive three kilometers to (names next) Road -
Me: Shut that fucking thing OFF, for god's sake!
Vegas: No, I need it for driving.
Me: I know where we're going, I went there before.
Me: I'm better than a stupid machine!
Vegas: I'm not turning it off.
Me: Yes, you will!
Vegas: No, I won't!

*yanks The Machine's plug from the socket thingie, shaddap snotty English beatch!*

*this results in Vegas slamming on the brakes, freaking out the two chickens in boxes in the back of the car - mmm fresh poultry poop*

Vegas: Don't you ever fucking do that again!
Me: I told you to shut that fucking thing off!
Vegas: expletive expletiving expletives
Me: *yells some more*
Me: This is going to be a fucking long drive.
Me: Ass.

All this to say, I wanted to go the way I went before to the farm to exchange our chickens and Vegas wanted to go the way the GPS was telling him to go, since that journey was 30 minutes shorter (1.5 hours vs 2 hours). I said the machine was wrong, it had to be wrong, machines sucked ass!

I won the argument (it wasn't pretty), we went my way. OK the bargain was that we went my way if we returned his way. Deal. $200 said I was right. Hey, I will love spending that money!

Loooooong silent car ride.

I did get some nice drive-by pics out of it though:

Things thawed halfway through even though we were starving and moody and all. Humor prevails and saves the day? Finally found our way to the farm after getting lost (laughed some more at the GPS), gave back Betty the tranny roo and Psycho Ginger, got two new black hens and two baby silkie chicks, found out that if you live on a dirt road the GPS says you don't exist.

Technology. Hah.

Got stuck in highway traffic on the way - dead stop in bumper to bumper crap - I was about to cry when The Machine told us to take this coming exit.

To the middle of nowhere.

Well, not nowhere because it was deep farming land, slow one-land windy roads through fields freshly sprayed with pig manure. I kept gagging while laughing hysterically and Vegas had to join in too, I mean come ON!

The skies kept us good company though:

To make a long story short, we were home 1.5 hours later. I had no idea how that happened but it did - whaaaaa? Of course I had to look it up on a map when we got home and LO and BEHOLD, I took us through the long detoury way and The Machine got us through in a straight line.

I stand corrected.

And I owe my husband $200 (a bet's a bet!) and am amazed he didn't gloat more than he did.

I would have had the t-shirt printed.

Of course he doesn't want the money and even if he did I'd make him pay for services rendered (ha. ha. aaah.) - oh boy does humiliation taste like cat breath.

Technodoll: 0
The Machine: 1

I still make a better wife.

/end of Don't Mess With Men's Toys post/

Humor, the strongest skeleton

You see, dear, it is not true that woman was made from man's rib;
she was really made from his funny bone.
~J.M. Barrie, What Every Woman Knows

Laters, innit

My plate's a bit too full right now to sit down and properly blog, but I'll get on that later tonight or tomorrow: yeah, sometimes life is like that!

It would help if I were a morning person, like rise-and-shine-at-six-am but no, that's just not gonna happen. It's pitch black at six-am.

I dreamt I was a gladiator, only in modern office times.

Is this what happens when you don't drink?

Wishing you all a happy hump day, how many of you woke up to thick frost covering everything outside this morning?

/end of Wow Slippery! post/

Here we go

Some happy pics to push away today's godawful weather (same old, same old - we came *this* close to getting snow!).

Luckily Sunday was nice so Vegas and I bundled up for a bike ride on our road:

I hadn't been on two wheels in over 15 years...
Those windy hilly 8kms (about 5 miles) were tough
but I did it and we had a lovely time. It helped to encounter such things as:

You need to click the pic to see the details of this gem...
The pics were taken in that order, which makes it even more funny:

I love peeking into other people's places!

Lots of funky tunnels to ride through:

The mountains! The mountains! The mountains are on fire,
we don't need on water let the motherf... oh, wrong song. Sorry.

And then we pedaled home to some hot tea:

I thought my legs would kill me after that but nope, I'm fine :-D

Even if I tried to tell you how much I love living here, words would never be enough. Every day my heart sings, even if it's cloudy and cold and rainy: it's still home and I love it here. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being so happy and so lucky - and to share it all with the best husband ever? Whoa!

I have a client for 3 days this weekend and just got a call from someone who needs a week for her puppy at the end of the month, that'll be confirmed by Friday. Crossing fingers!

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the coop dramah that led to a day of driving and GPS dramah and a screaming match in the car that ended in giggles. Yeah, life's like that. Hint: the tranny roo and the psychotic Ginger are gone, we have replacement girls PLUS two new babies!

Off to pursue a domestic day... Am making some chicken stock for tonight's stew, will attempt to make a fresh baguette or dinner rolls to go with that while tending to the laundry, paying bills, making cookies and keeping the flock from going nuts as they're stuck inside for the first time ever. Sucky cold wet weather GAAAAH!

/end of Happy Imagination Day Peeps post/

Whatta weekend :)

Just a quick note while dinner finishes up in the oven (gawd I'm starving, it's 7pm and all I've had to eat today is one peanut butter toast, a coffee and some salty cheese!).

We spent yesterday on our bikes and in the autumn colors, and today was for the flock - yes, again. All afternoon on the road to bring two birds back to the breeder and bring four new ones home.

**1.5 hours and a dinner later**

Can't blog, too tired and distracted. Time for cuddles with hubby, some telly and tomorrow I'll spoil you with photos and tales.

Deal? :)

/end of Life's Too Fast post/

I like it wide, hell yeah!

The sky, a smile, the piece of cake... make it wide as long as it's not my butt.

We got lucky for a few hours this afternoon, the heavens parted to let some precious warm(ish) sunshine in and I grabbed the opportunity to snap a few loopy pics with my new wide-angle lens.

Go on, laugh - it's the point!

Feels good to smile, eh?

On the way back from clothes shopping for Vegas (aka nekkid office boy) this afternoon, we drove through splendid mountains beautifully cloaked in an orgy of fall colors - I didn't have my camera with me so tomorrow we're planning to go back on our bikes so I can snap it all up.

I won't be able to walk or sit for days after that but who cares :-D

Hope you're all enjoying a lovely long weekend - anybody eating turkey?

/end of Playing It With All We Got post/

Not barefooted nor preggers, but...

There is no sight on earth more appealing than the sight of a woman
making dinner for someone she loves.
~Thomas Wolfe

Multi-choice, people! LOL

Well my poll is kinda skewed now... It says "multi-choice" so you can tick the boxes of all that apply, not just one - unless that's exactly what you all did? Then that's scarymary :-o

God is in first place.

Lord help meh!

In other news I hate the world today (except for you guys). Greatly influenced by this piece of turd:
My poor hens are wet and miserable, the dogs are either bored or wet and muddy, the John Deere is stuck in the garage cuz the door is broken so our long lawn is littered with leaves - looks like a trailer park. Bah we couldn't mow or do yard work anyways since it's facking raining all the facking time!

I don't ever remember seeing snow before Halloween.

Ladies and gents, this planet has reached a new low.

At least we took care of a few things today...

-the notary will get the money from the former owners for the taxes they owe us
-the son was sent an email stating our belongings need to be returned to us this weekend
-burnt floodlight in the bathroom finally replaced after two trips to the hardware store
-got a new puzzle, a cheap one but nonetheless! fun!
-no dog vomit in the house today, hurrah!
-the horse shelter is finally done and boy is it ever beautiful!
-dijon and onion pork roast has been in the slow cooker since 11am, smells so nice...

...and blah blay yaddi blah.

Going to put on the slicker and the wellies and take the kids out for a walk now, I can't stand their sad mopey faces anymore. Let there be wet dog perfume permeating our senses for the rest of the day!

Mmmm wet dog and onions.

Rock on!

/end of I Need A Drink post/

Gone done da puzzlin'

Taah daaaah!

Thanks mom for the lovely birthday gift that I finally opened, it gave us both many, many hours of enjoyment (and the occasional groan of defeat, LOL). Now to find the next challenge...

Self-appropriating jackasses (and their families)

Not a rant post (for a change), just a note to say some people piss me off.

When we bought this place, we included a clause in the purchase agreement that stated all belongings were to be vacated from the premises by the date we signed at the notary, meaning anything left behind belonged to us.

We verbally agreed to let the former owner's son keep two of his wine-making machines in our garage for the summer, until he found space to store them somewhere else (the whole garage and attached barn was overflowing with his crap when we first visited). Well last week he came to collect his stuff, only he took more than just the wine machines with him, he also took the entire stash of valuable metal 9' fence pickets that were way back in the corner of the barn - we found this out two days ago since he did this when we weren't there!

The nerve?!

I called him to get an explanation, and he said that was part if his stuff so he didn't think it was a problem, and I said nooooo that was definitely our stuff that was included in the sale of the house and there had been a misunderstanding - we were using and need those pence posts.

So he called his mom about it (we bought the house from her), she showed up an hour later claiming we had agreed to keep his stuff for a bit and it was his, and again I said nooooo that wasn't at all what we had agreed, and to please have him call so we could work something out.

We're still waiting for the call.

I was going to be nice about it but at the end of the conversation with this woman, I told her about the 10% municipal tax adjustment we had received that was retroactive to January 1st, 2009, and that the city hall told me she was responsible for the first half of the year as she was the owner of the house at the time, and to either ask her for a check or go through our notary.

I thought hey, she will want to save on notary fees right? She'll be agreeable? Fat fucking chance - she said "No, they increased the taxes because you bought the house so it's not my responsibility".

My jaw probably dropped two inches when she said that.

Pardon?

"No, they specifically said they has mis-evaluated the land last year when calculating taxes for 2009, they corrected their files and now back-taxes are owed. Nothing to do with the sale of the house, you would have received the same bill were you still living here. Legally, we don't have to pay for taxes on a property we didn't own for six months."

"Well, then go to your notary."

Yeah, you wanna be a bitch? Then fine. I'll go to the notary, you will get a legal notice to pay up PLUS notary fees, and I'm writing the son an email to tell him to bring ALL the fence pickets back this weekend or he can buy them from us for $150.

It's not the money, it's the damn principle.

Sick of being trampled on.

Wow, this post did end up being a rant, LOL! Ah well I feel much better now that I have a plan of action - I am a woman of action, I tell you. Off to photograph the downstairs playroom and update my business website, I put an ad in the local paper that's coming out next week and I want so be sure to shine!

Just one more booking, one more, and I won't feel like such a loser.

Please jeebus.

/end of Working Hard And Hard At Work post/

Sans purpose

"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown," said Dill. "Yes, sir, a clown....
There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh,
so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off."
"You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them."
"Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown.
I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks."
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 22

Paying to get sort-of answers

It's a day of good news wrapped around questions marks.

Took Maika to the vet to get a skin scraping as she still smells weird and is shedding a ton of fur from the top of her back, but it came out negative for bacteria, yeast or mites. Vet said her skin was healthy, the shedding should stop at some point and the smell was probably just her skin readjusting to a normal balance, it would sort itself out.

That's good, I guess?

Then the exterminator tried to find those bats or even evidence of bats in our attic and came up blank. Nada, nothing, just some left-over residue from a years-old bat colony that was once there. Even one fresh bat dropping anywhere would have been an indication but no cigar.

Is our house haunted?

What is that fluttering, flying beast that appears sporadically in our attic at all hours of the night? And how the hell does it get in and out of there? All vents and openings were checked and nope, nothing.

It's driving us mad!

One good thing about the cold winter coming soon... It'll freeze whatever it is, or so we hope!

Wow it's almost afternoon and I've managed to keep busy all morning doing nothing. Still feel like crap after another night of tossing and turning, had to get up twice to take pain meds for the headache.

Tonight = magic sleeping tablets, I've had enough!

Yay the sun's out, I'll go finish the autumn weeding and then make some sort of healthy dinner. What does one do with a 10-lbs bag of carrots?! LOL!

Wow, lots of exclamation marks today.

!! yey !!

Tomorrow I shall tell you about the shitty events we're dealing with in regards to the old owner of this place and her idiot son.

Tune in, eh?

/end of Happy Hump Day post/

On fall and on love, and on falling in love (and staying there)

How's that for a blog post title! LOL!

If you're so inclined, please do hop on over to my photo blog to see a pretty cool autumn photo I snapped a few days ago of a neighbor's place. Funny what nature does sometimes.

I shall call her Van Gogh Crazy Broad.

Got up way too early again today after another bad night of sleep, thanks to the "monthly headache" that lasts about four days and is unkillable by pain meds of any sort. Bitch! It's still nice to get a head start to the day since I've got the car this morning to go run some errands. Drive some errands. You know what I mean.

Ode to my best friend and soulmate, Vegas my husband:

You found me in a crowd
Even if I wasn't very loud
And then you woo'ed me

But I was still in a life coma and didn't notice.

Then you opened your heart
It was nothing like a fart
Hooked me line and sinker

With my soul you did tinker!

Today I look at you, sitting at the table
Drinking your coffee and I am able
To say you are the best thing in my life

You constantly amaze me.

Teaching me to let go of my fears and baggage
You even like my soup of cabbage
When we can't afford anything else

You let me be me and feel good about it.

I can't ever put into words what you mean to me
How much I love thee
So this little ode will have to do.

That, and being married for evar!

Isn't he a hottie? :-D

That's about it for now, time to go collect the eggs and visit the sexy people of Walmart. Yay me!

/end of Happy Tuesday, Peeps! post/

On modern times

I am not quite sure what the advantage is in having a few more dollars to spend
if the air is too dirty to breathe, the water too polluted to drink,
the commuters are losing out in the struggle to get in and out of the city,
the streets are filthy, and the schools so bad
that the young perhaps wisely stay away, and the hoodlums roll citizens
for some of the dollars they saved in the tax cut.
~John Kenneth Galbraith

100,000 clicks and tranny roos

I just noticed that my stat counter bumped the 100,000 mark this morning... Wow! That's alot of page views since the birth of this blog - the Diaries will turn 3 years old on January 13th, go me!

All this thanks to a handful of faithful followers and a bunch of lost souls looking for "dick worship", "big sausage pizza" and other wonderful things.

Speaking of dicks and cocks, guess what?

My little Betty Boop, the flock nutcase and punching bag whom we got as a wee baby this summer has been living a lie all this time. Yep.

SHE is a HE! Another tranny roo in the coop!

I just can't win, LOL!

Tranny roos forever!

Sigh. The three boys will have to find a way to get along or momma won't be happy, I can't give them up - they're my sweeties, how could I choose who has to go?! And they are all keeping their faggy names since I can't be bothered to rename them, it wouldn't be as funny that way.

It's Monday, I have a headache and am still looking for direction on duties...

My to-do list is boring and I just don't have any mojo. Am trying to be positive and creative but I just want to sleep, since the facking bats woke me up during the night and then puppy was sick in his crate again at the crack of dawn.

Oh yeah, did I mention we have bats in our attic?

Let the good times roll!

/end of Looking For Bootstraps To Pull Up post/

OMG you have to read this post...

...but only if you are not squeamish!

My dear blogger friend Midwestern Mama made me scream in horror / with hysterical laughter with her latest adventures at work, I dare you to go have a look... but you are warned that the subject matter includes, uh, a birth, a butt and a worm..!

Have fun! LOL

One proud mama!

!!what a weekend!!

We had a lovely visit with my mom and stepdad, ate to the point of overstuffing and chatted nonstop, had a good sleep and the weather was just SO beautiful today we sat on the deck before brunch, basking in the warm sunshine!

Bliss after ten days of freezing rain :-)

Then my bro and his new lady joined us for a lunch of cheese & potato baked fritatta (used a dozen of our eggs!), cold sliced leftover pork roast, fresh baked bread, fresh OJ , sweet grapes and lots of hot lattes - reeeeeeer!

Everybody loved the hens, we free-ranged them and cuddled with the tame ones (you should have seen my mom's face when she held Lacey, my soft silkie roo, so sweet!) and now they don't call me the crazy chicken lady because they've seen how addictive those girls are, LOL!

Of course the eggs clinched it...

Here's what my mom left with (six are from this morning):

YES that is a pink egg in there! A present from one of the girls, we don't know which one... Probably from one of our two new girls that I picked up Saturday, or maaaybe one of the five virgin girls decided to lay?? I dunno!

Such beautiful things... and tasty, too! I love saying that my pets make me breakfast. Every morning is a new surprise, as you can see we have medium-sized eggs, huge jumbo eggs, speckled ones, dark ones, pale ones, and now pink... Wooo!

Meet Skyla, one of the two girls that joined the flock Saturday. The laying girls are all about 1.5 years old so of course quite bossy around the other younguns, who should start laying before the winter... fingers crossed!

The flock is complete and I'm so happy, I'm about to burst :-)

On the downside, I don't have any clients booked for this week and am bummed out about that... No income, just various lists of things to do to try and get new customers.

I should be getting the wide-angle lens tomorrow or Tuesday, as soon as that comes in (and we have a sunny day for good light) I can update my website with new pics of the guest quarters and playroom... Will that help, I have no idea. Still needs to be done. Lists, lists, lists.

Luckily, my super husband Vegas is being extremely supportive in all of this, I couldn't live the dream without him.

He is my dream.

On that note, I'm off to cuddle.

/end of G'nite Peeps! post/

Poop & puzzles

What a night.

Poor puppy ate something that didn't go down (no idea what though, since his diet was pretty much the same as every other day...) and kept us up most of the night with trips downstairs to the freezing back yard, not to mention the 2am mess in his crate - which is in our bedroom. Had to open the windows and let the arctic air in to dissipate the stench.

Yeah, I have to hose down some blankets today... UGGH.

We're both groggy and puppy, well, he's been out cold since this morning of course. Thank you Immodium (for doggy) and thank you coffee (for us)!

I did get out of my slump yesterday by forcing myself to go outside a dozen times, which involves donning on coat boots hat gloves scarf, so it's more work than it sounds.

Took the three dogs for a long leashed walk around the neighborhood, which was quite the ordeal since puppy Dante hates walking on pavement and tries to haul me to every patch of grass he can, he's not used to being leashed and did I mention I was walking THREE dogs?

Yeah, think leash macrame.

I finally managed to crack open my lovely puzzle around 4pm, worked on it a bit, then Vegas came home and immediately jumped on it too - the evening just flew by! It was so much fun and so frustrating, because just look at this headfcuk of a puzzle:

Beautiful stuff, eh? You'd think it would be easy, only 1,000 pieces and all.

But no!

This is what we were doing again this morning, and look at our "progress":

We definitely need a puzzle mat because now our kitchen table is a mess and we've nowhere to eat or anything. Not sure what to do as we have company for the weekend - woohoo!

My mom and stepdad are coming over for dinner tomorrow and staying for the night, so excited! She's bringing me a bag of clothes, too (she's friends and family with a bunch of fancy rich ladies who like to change wardrobes a lot, it's a great way to get free stuff).

Anyhoo. I'm off to give a kidney pay some taxes to the city, get some groceries and then prepare the guest room and stuff like that.

Bonus: no rain today!

*screams for joy*

/end of Happy To See My Fambly Again WooHoo post/

Obey your heart

But are not this struggle and even the mistakes one may make better,
and do they not develop us more,
than if we kept systematically away from emotions?
~Vincent Van Gogh

Roaring like a freezer

October? You suck!

You are colder, much colder than usual. And wet. And windy.

I have had to turn on the heating in the house as of last night in order not to lose body parts from frost bite. OCTOBER! Quit trying to be December! FACK!

So. Not. Ready. For. Freezing.

Am preparing some warm oatmeal for the hens and hope they're ok, I feel so bad for them in their cold coop... If at least it was sunny, you know? Sigh. I'm on PMS so this is shit. Will have to start taking my daily dose of Vitamin D to ward off the winter yuckies.

Oh, and I've run out of things to say.

Yep, it finally happened.

Vegas comes home at night and I tell him, "please do the talking and I'll listen, because I have nothing to talk about besides dogs, cooking and cleaning and I'm about to shoot myself".

Then he tells me to quit whinging, it's the life I wanted so deal with it.

I just can't win!

Out of defiance, I feel like doing the following, in no particular order:

-a giant puzzle that my mom gave me as a bday gift a while ago, still haven't opened the box. Yey procrastination!
-painting, since I have the paints and brushes and I might have a canvas lying around somewhere.
-finish reading those three books I started
-get off my ass, layer up with winter coat and gloves and go work on the coop so the hens are warmer. I need special flathead nails though and have no car to run errands.
-sleep for most of the day

I'll probably end up doing laundry and other shitty things like that instead.

Happy Thursday, blogging peeps!

/end of Misery Shared Is Misery Doubled post/