Just to let you know

That we have moved, and I am not keeping this blog up any more. Please feel free to look through the archives, and if you like come see us at www.countdowntomexico.com

Pileateds were here

Photo courtesy Wild Lands League

I saw two Pileated Woodpeckers in our woods this week. They were screaming their calls and flying back and forth between a couple of dead trees.

I haven't seen them in a couple of days but I am still hoping that they'll nest nearby.

Excellent Easter

Owen Erica

It was a great weekend with Phil and the kids and Adam and Martha. When we are in Mexico it's not going to be as easy to have this kind of get together so I am really grateful for every time we are able to pull it off! Here are a few pictures...more are on the Pictures page.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Wow, another birthday! Can it be possible that I am 53?

My best friend Jeannie called yesterday and we were remarking about how we have been best friends now for more than 40 years. We met in junior high school, while walking home from school in the same direction. Our friendship has endured so long not just because of shared interests such as books but for many other reasons. The craziness of SF in the sixties, of the loss of a parent, of becoming adults. I love her like crazy.

This morning I'm also thinking about how few people are still around who remember when I was born! Sister Wendy, cousin Chuck, Aunt Jean, Aunt Dolly, and a few others.

We never have figured out why I have two birthdays, either. My whole life up to age 26 I had an April 4 birthday. I loved it, too....4/4/54. But then I sent away for an official copy of my birth certificate and it said April 3. I asked Dad and he couldn't understand why. So the next time I was at Garnie's I asked her. She went and got her birthday book and the strange thing was that she had written my birthday on April 3 and then erased it and wrote it in on April 4. She didn't remember why. So, the mystery continues, and about half the people I know remember my birthday as the 4th and some as the 3rd. Strange, isn't it?

So what am I going to do today? Go to Home Depot, paint, spackle, caulk, work in the garden and later go to dinner at Brix 25.

It's cold this morning but sunny, and I am happy.

We all have routines, right?

Last night Paul and I had a laugh at my little "habits."

I have a lot of routines, such as swishing the sink out with the sprayer every time I wash anything or always cleaning out the espresso handle after each use. I think most of us have habits like that. Most of them have to do with order and cleanliness I think.

But my night time habits are kind of funny.

Back when I was a little kid my mother repeated this phrase to us when she sent us upstairs to get ready for bed..."wash your face, brush your teeth, go to the toilet, and get in bed."

So here I am, fifty years later unable to skip even one item on that list. I promise you I have to get up and use the toilet even if I don't have to go in order to settle in and go to sleep. And even if I had taken a shower an hour before, I still have to wash my face. It's amazing to me how ingrained those habits are.

Then, last night I realized I can't go to sleep unless the covers are just right! What is just right? Well, the sheet needs to be pulled up and folded over the comforter. Doesn't everyone do that?

So, now you know. I think I had better go wash my hands. Again. And again. (just kidding)

It's really worse than it looks

This is a picture of our basement room, chock full of stuff for my upcoming garage sale. I didn't even take a picture of the garage or the farmy stuff that is sitting outside! I even have a dove cote available for sale that's left over from my chicken ark selling days!

All this stuff is just thrown every which way...I can't stage it yet since the garage is kind of damp and we don't want things damaged in the meantime...

Hopefully a lot of stuff will sell, and we can get on with the real business of fixing this place up for when it goes on the market!

Huh? I thought she was back?!?

We are back from vacation, but basically the crunch is on! I am pretty much working non-stop trying to get ready for putting our house on the market this spring, and moving to Mexico in the fall.

There is a lot to do - but I haven't forgotten the good things in life, like our property, our animals, and pancakes on Sunday morning! (They were great)

I am in a garage sale crunch so you can probably forgive my lack of posts. After all, this blog is basically a diary for myself that I let others read!

I am also posting on our Countdown to Mexico blog so if you're wondering what I'm up to you could head over there and check it out.

We're Back!

What a wonderful vacation.

And a momentous one, at that. We have decided that we're going to start our lives in Mexico in the town of Mazatlan.

I've written about it extensively over at Countdown to Mexico, so please check it out if you'd like to know more about our decision making process.

Just know that we are really excited about Mazatlan. We plan on buying a house close in to the historic Centro. It's a great city for walking and biking.

Our plan is to put our house on the market this spring and hopefully head down to Mazatlan in the late summer or fall.

I'll write more when I come down out of the clouds. That would be warm and fluffy clouds floating over a blue ocean, you know!

It's Break Time!

Mexico beckons.

It will be warm.

It will be friendly.

It will be fun.

I'll write when I can.

Hasta luego!

The Great Wall of Compact Discs

I have FINALLY finished ripping all of our cds to my computer. What a job! The picture shows 348 of them. Here's a resolution....we are never going to buy cds again...If we want music, we will just download it.

My new Zen has 4,788 tracks and 430 albums on it. Oh, and also a bunch of pictures, podcasts, videos, and audio books. Crazy!

The next few days are going to be refreshingly calm without running back into the office every ten minutes or so to change the cd...but it's hard to stay calm when you do the math on 348 cds at approximately $10 each - ouch!

Another Hot Tip

I know, I know...I am full of useless advice - but if you drink diet soda and want to save a little money, this tip is for you.

Koolaid! Remember it? The unsweetened packages cost about ten cents. Splenda is a little pricey but a half cup will make a whole pitcher! And for me, the carbonation is not something I like and I love the fruity flavors.

So there you go.

The Future Is Now

And the future is ALL our music on the Creative Zen 60 GB mp3 player! I have spent every waking moment ripping the music from all of our cds.

Our move to Mexico is one of the things that precipitated this project...as we don't want to haul around boxes of cds. Our plan is to take our little stereo that is currently in the kitchen, which has a line to hook up the Zen. We are so very modern, aren't we?

When Jessica was here I had fun playing with her iPod, but both Paul and I have trouble with the whole iPod frenzy here and this is actually a really great value and gets terrific reviews. Plus it has an FM radio tuner, a voice recorder, and it will do bookmarks - which are essential for marking your place in long books, etc.

I will load on all my Spanish lessons, and have already joined a download club so that I can download movies, tv, and more music.

When I'm all done I think I'm going to donate all the old cds to the Pierce County Library.

We Love Our Family

Jess Jess & Nan

Sigh. What a nice time we had. It was just wonderful to have Jess here visiting for a few days. We talked non-stop, ate and drank too much, but had a perfect time.

Pretty Picture

It is a gorgeous snowy day here...how can it look so pretty and be such an awful pain in the neck? (The picture shows the frozen pond mostly covered with new snow.)

We are totally sick of winter...and it goes without saying that we are really looking forward to our vacation to Mexico next month.

Henry's Story

We have a guest blogger today, Henry the Schnoodle. Henry is very precocious...he wrote this story when he was just a puppy!

(The picture shows Henry checking out the goodies under the parrot cages)

A Different Perspective on the Thanksgiving Holiday

We knew something was going on when she brought in all the groceries and started cooking. First there was a pie, then some stuffing, and finally some sweet potato dish. Oh, I guess I should explain…I am Henry, and I am ten months old. I live with my sister Lucy and my Mom and Dad.

But to explain further, Lucy isn’t really my sister. I was adopted into this pack back in April, and she was already here. My Mom isn’t really my Mom, either, since I remember my real Mom a little, and she was furry, just like me. Other people call my adoptive Mom either Nana or Nanny. She’s nice. My Dad’s name is Paul or Honey. So now you know who we are!

When Mom started cooking we knew either someone was coming over or we were going somewhere. When she didn’t vacuum, Lucy and I started getting excited because it meant we were going to go somewhere in the car! We knew it for sure when she brought the cooler in from the garage.

We still had to wait a while because Dad was still at work. When he came home he helped with the cooking, too.

In the morning we didn’t get to eat breakfast like we normally do. Lucy was mad at me because it’s my fault. I get carsick if I eat before a car ride. Oh, well, a car ride is fun even if you have to miss a meal!

Mom and Dad loaded the car and off we went! I have to ride in my little bed on the floor of the van because of my car sickness problem. Lucy rides on the seat and looks out sometimes. I feel like such a baby!

We rode in the car for a long time. We stopped once and Mom walked us around a very interesting parking lot right by the freeway. There were so many unusual smells! Then we rode some more and after a long time more the car stopped again.

I knew it was a good place because Lucy was so excited, banging her tail against the side of the van and whimpering to get out. When we got out I remembered – and I remembered even more when I saw Erica and Owen. They are my favorite kids in the world!

Wow, I was so happy to see them! I jumped up and licked their faces and wiggled and squirmed. They petted my sister and me a lot and then invited us to join their pack and visit their den. Well, maybe they call it something else, but I call it a den.

It’s very nice there. We had a fine time chasing the ball and playing with the rope toy, but sometimes we had to go to our beds for a while, too. We like that Mom and Dad bring our beds from home.

One fun thing we did was listen to Erica play the viola. She’s good! I could never play that well! We also had fun when they were testing Owen on his addition and subtraction. He is one smart cookie, if you ask me!

After a while everyone except Lucy and I sat down to a special dinner at the table. The dinner smelled so good! Lucy and I were very happy that they put a piece of turkey on top of our dinner that night, too.

Another special thing was that we got to stay overnight! Mom and Dad took us with them when they went to bed, and we got to sleep right next to their bed. In the morning I woke up first and took a quick trip upstairs to see if I could find Erica and Owen’s dens. I went from room to room licking the faces of the entire pack!

We got to go on lots of walks, and play in the backyard, and other fun things, but before long it was time to go. We were sad to say goodbye but excited about another car ride.

On the way home Mom and Dad were talking about Thanksgiving Day and how it is important to be aware of the good things we have in our lives and the holiday is about taking a moment to appreciate them.

So, I thought I should end this essay by saying that I am thankful that I have such a nice pack and that I’m glad we went to Erica and Owen’s for Thanksgiving!

Winter Wonderland

We had a bit of snow yesterday, and more last night. It is supposed to get into the teens tonight. I hate it when it gets that cold - it is a struggle to keep the house warm.

I guess I shouldn't complain, though, since the ducks stay on the pond in every kind of weather!

The glass balls were a Christmas gift from Suki and Pete and the girls. Don't they just add some cool style to the pond? They are from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.

Free Inventions

I'm always thinking!

One day we were watching a design show about some people and their dog who lived in a tiny apartment in New York City. Of course we had to get up in the middle of the show to let the dogs out & then back in...wiping their feet on re-entry. What a chore!

So I came up with an invention. You can use it if you want! For free!

The invention is a bathroom for dogs. Maybe cats, too. Why not?

So you put a little room off your mud room. There's a toilet drain in the floor covered by a grid kind of lid that is controlled by a handle high up. There's a hand held shower that has enough length to wash off the whole room.

You teach your dogs where to go outside, why not teach them this? You'd still need to go in there and open the drain cover and wash it down but that's not nearly as awful as picking it up bit by bit from your yard or on your walks.

There are still a few bugs to be worked out such as making sure they have a walk-off mat in case their feet get wet, but I think it has potential. It could also be used as a dog washing area.

My next invention I knew would be a hit, and Paul came up with a name for it..."Cat Scratch Fever." Can you hear the music for the commercial? It is an adaptation of what we did for the goats - two scrub brushes zip tied to the corner of the fence. They would scratch themselves on it all the time - no muss, no fuss critter brush.

My invention would make two scrub brushes with velcro on the back. Velcro them to the wall, and your cats would be grateful.

There are a few other inventions I am still working on, but these two are yours, for free!

Finding Reading Material

I love to read. I love to read books the normal way...but I also love audio books and almost always have one of each going.

I use audio books in the car, in my cd player on walks and on my mp3 player.

I have several strategies for finding new books to read, but I am constantly trolling for new authors and ideas. I thought I'd outline them in case they'd help someone else....and if anyone has suggestions, please comment with them!

• I search my library's website. They have a search function for "on order books" which can be a great way to get new books when they first come out. I put them on hold, and don't worry if I'm number 53 out of 100....it will come to me eventually.
  
  
• I go on Amazon and go to some of the books I really love. Then I look to see if anyone has made any lists that are associated with the book. I have found a lot of great books that way.
  
  
• Some of my most read blogs have book posts that offer up suggestions or links that I follow. There are a couple of links on my links list. I make notes about everything!
  
  
• Newspapers and magazines are the traditional sources. Write them down!
  
  
• Good friends who read are a great source. Jeannie and I never close a conversation without asking "what are you reading now?"

I mostly get my books from the library since we are not buying anything unless it is something that will go with us to Mexico.

I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Right now I am reading two books - Return to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico by Nigel Davis. Very different kinds of books. Return to Big Stone Gap is light reading (I am listening on CD) but the main character is a very thoughtful person and I am enjoying the book. The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico is very interesting - I am only about forty pages in, but I am loving it.

Pretty Cute!

We took a new photo of ourselves yesterday...I think we look pretty cool.

What's Up Around Here

The last couple of days have been full of changes for the Black Dog Blog. But I have been doing a few other things, too!

One thing I'm proud of is the semi-redesign I did for the Key Peninsula News home page this month. I really like the way it's all laid out in a table with a small picture for each story. Take a look!