i'm back

Going to try and revive this blog. Too many things going on in the last year that made me sad to write about. I have to accept and remember that people don't live forever, but their memories do. And we have such good memories of the friends and family who have passed.

Now for a picture of how things are at home these days. The dogs have almost completely taken over.

Surprise

Look what a friend found in her barn.

They were all healthy and were banded by this group;

http://barnowlprojectsofva.web.officelive.com/barnowlintervention.aspx

It's About Time

We have DISH satellite. Have had it for the 7 years we’ve been here and we’ve been happy with the service. The last year or so though, we’ve been getting flyers in the mail advertising free upgrades to HD DVR for NEW customers. I called a couple of times to see if that offer extended to existing customers and of course it didn't. Oh of course I could upgrade and pay $300+ for the new boxes and dish and installation. Ugh.

Well low and behold, last week we got a flyer from them saying that they want to reward their loyal customers (ha – they want to keep us!) by offering free HD DVR upgrade, Free HBO and Showtime for 3 months (they automatically cancel after the 3 months), $10 credit for 12 months etc. etc. etc. I called on Monday to see if there was a catch. NONE….other than committing to them for 24 months, otherwise we’d get charged $15/mo for any months left on the 24 month agreement. AND she noticed that we had Autopay and that made us eligible for Cinemax for a year for $.01. I signed up for it (installing this Friday!) and they’ve already added the premium movie channels. We watched Burn After Reading last night – a strange but funny Coen brothers movie.

I shouldn’t be so excited about this, but I’m looking forward to recording shows. And fast forwarding through commercials (I think we can do that?)

If you get this offer in the mail, there really isn’t a catch to it. Just need to commit to 24 months. I kept asking the lady on the phone!

Now we need to find something to replace our HughesNet internet service.

doofus mcdoofy

What is wrong with me? I seem to be doing some really stupid things. Sometimes I think I’m just not as sharp as I used to be (shut up everyone!) and maybe I’m just getting old. I don’t think getting older necessarily means you’re going to do stupid things, but in my case……
I’m looking forward to my “mature” years (retirement in 10 years!!), but I’m afraid I might be one of those people who forget about the oven being on and then burn down my house. Some evidence to present to you;
1) Last week when Andre was gone I put some frozen veggies in the pressure cooker. It takes awhile for the jiggler to start jiggling so I guess I forgot about it and went outside to water my garden. THANK GOODNESS I came in about 10 minutes later and heard the sound of the pressure cooker going full blast. The veggies were very well done, but I was lucky I didn’t get side tracked by something else.
2) I got to work one day and realized my pants were on backwards. They were pull on with stretch waist so that’s an easy mistake…..right? Everyone got a good laugh at my expense.
3) I constantly spill things on my clothes. My coworkers can tell if I’ve already been to lunch by looking at my shirt.
4) Speaking of that, last week I stopped at Starbucks on my way to work and got a Grande Soy Mocha. Walking into the door I switched hands to show my badge to the guard and of course spilled my coffee on my shirt. I got a lot of it out in the ladies room at work, but someone told me to use a Tide Pen and I remembered buying that at Costco last year. I got home, got the stain pen out and rubbed it all over the stains on my shirt. Got the shirt out of the wash and saw lots of WHITE BLEACHED SPOTS all over the shirt. It wasn’t till the next day when I was telling people about this that I looked it up online and realized what I had was actually the CLOROX BLEACH PEN – for use on grout and caulking. Then I remembered I had actually bought it for the bathroom grout. STUPID!
5) This morning I got out a bandage for a blister on my toe. Went to put it on and it looked really strange. Then I realized it was a nasal strip. OKAY, the box looks the same.

So maybe I just need glasses, and I really have been kind of dorky and clumsy and absent minded (it’s from thinking about too many things at once, right?) all my life. Age is really about how you feel. Just wish I didn’t feel so dorky and clumsy and old.

What Dog Are You

http://www.dogster.com/quizzes/what_dog_breed_are_you/

Took the What Dog Are You quiz and got this result;

Wow, You're a Labrador Retriever!

Labrador Retriever
The Caretaker

Your family is what makes you tick, and you never "flea" from an opportunity to hang out with the whole gang. A family picnic complete with hot dogs, deviled eggs and a refreshing swim in the lake is hard for you to stray from. Your sparky temperament and dogged intelligence mean you are not only a blast to hang out with, but great to work with as well. Your close pals appreciate your patience and forgiveness, knowing you'd rather let sleeping dogs lie than dwell on the mishaps of the past. Your dashing good looks may one day lead to a modelling career, if only you can tame the unfortunate clumsiness that sometimes causes you to go flailing from the catwalk. Learn more »

FAMOUS LABRADOR RETRIEVERS: Bill Cosby, Jackie Onassis, Dr. Phil, David Beckham

LIKELY PROFESSIONS: Doctor, Sales Executive, Teacher

Cukes galore

This is a great cucumber recipe. We have way more cucumbers than we can eat, so I made this and brought it to some friends this weekend for a side dish. They loved it too. Now I’m looking for a recipe for cucumber soup…..

Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe #116236
This is the best way to use up garden cucumbers. Cook time is the chill time.
by *Parsley*
1¼ hours | 15 min prep
SERVES 6
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together sour cream, sugar, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, toss together cucumbers and onions.
3. Pour sour cream mixture over top and mix together.
4. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

Sheep May Safely Graze....

...unless they touch the electronet.

We put them in the backyard to mow. You can see where I moved it back a bit today to give them some greener grass.


Excuse me ma'am, your clothes are falling off.
This is Monkey - a hair sheep cross - shedding her coat.
We wormed everyone today and all I had to mark them (so you don't re-worm someone by accident) was BluKote. You can see it on their foreheads where it is supposed to be, but it also smeared all over them and us. ugh.


Mom and SON? Isn't Spot a big boy? He is a 3 month old BLxSuffolk and is going to a home where he will be their terminal sire. Lucky boy!