Daily observations of my simple life.

Day at the Daughters

Can't have a holiday with out the feasty meal, so I went to my daughters.  We had ham and yams, vegi's, mashed potatoes and gravy and sat and watched Shrek and Ice Age. My son-in-law loves the animated movies and they were fun. They also have a household full of happy cats. When they moved here they had two beautiful but old cats and they are both now buried  by a planted tree , a pile of rocks with a cat statue.

After the sadness of loosing their two beauties my daughter brought home a wee kitten. This kitten was so small it could crawl under the crack in the bedroom door. As she grew they would comment on what a crazy cat she was, climbing walls, curtains, terrorizing the household. They named her Stupid because they thought she had a mental problem. Stupid has had three litters of kittens in the closet which have all turned into beautiful cats and for the most part normal. My daughter is not a cat woman with a smelly house, it's clean and these creatures drape themselves everywhere that looks comfy. In the computer room my daughter keeps the saddles on stands with saddles blankets draped over them. There you'll find these lovely creatures curled up in saddles. The population has grown to 9. 

Early this morning two of them went to the vet to get altered. Hopper and Princess, but yesterday they thought the carry case was a new toy. How fun to crawl in and out, smell and explore. Hopper is a gorgeous wild looking creature. Wild eyes, exotic colors, and loveable. I asked my daughter why Stupid wasn't going to the vet. She grinned and said, "Well, she's an outdoor cat, now."  I said , "Yes, but she'll come in to have her kittens in the closet, and you'll fall in love with them.  You'll have to build a spare room for them all."  She just grins.

I wished I had brought my camera to take some shots of these photgraphic creatures. Sleepy and full I drove the 5 miles home to feed my menagerie.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 21:01 | link | comments (3)

Cold and Steely Grey:

It's a cold and steely grey morning. I woke late due to the lack of sunrise. Cheriki and Sage stand in the corral braced against the cold. Across the valley dustings of snow are painting the hills white. It feels like ice. I wish I could bring all the animals in the  house like they say on the news. " Cold Warnings, cover your plants and bring in your pets."   Brrrrrr.

Manna's curled up on her pillow in the corner and I'm eating hot oatmeal. The phone just rang and brought me some very good news. Manna's tumor was benign. I hugged her as she wagged her tail and said, "Well, guess you're stuck with this old grouch for awhile."  What a relief.

Yesterday the truck went into the shop. Not such good news, a seal on the back axle is leaking and causing a fluid leak that is creating brake lock. I had talked to my son the night before and he said. " Oh I forget to tell you, when you drove down the driveway, I could see that your back brakes were locking."   Axle has to come off , bearings repacked, seals, etc. $600. $600 for the operation, $600 for new tires, $ 600 for repairs. That's a pretty big week. My daughter says, things come in threes so I should be done or is it a $600. conspiracy?  Still I could be out on the street in the cold so I am grateful. Does seem like life is like an exercise bike, you keep peddling and never get anywhere.

Ah quit complaining.  Far more to be happy about, than sad. 

Posted by: cactusandquail at 17:47 | link | comments (4)

Absorbing:

Seems like the last few days have been just too much. Yesterday, my neighbors were over  to help me with my driveway and truck. The neighbor was kind enough to bring me a pipe for the dip in the driveway where water runs and washes it out. So I got a load of what they call AB to cover the pipe.  At the same time I was having problems with my truck. Don't know what's wrong. It's jumping when I put it in gear. Sigh, big expenses this month, Manna's operation, new tires, driveway and now I'm fearful it might be something to do with the transmission.

On top of that a friend and I got into a misunderstanding about a business deal so I'm dealing with you said, I said, type of situation. Unfortunately I didn't follow my ususal rule of get everything in writing .

Yesterday , I just curled up in the evening and cried. Something I seldom allow myself but I needed it.

Manna's doing well but we still don't know the verdict of what's happening with her. Yes, she did try to sneak a bit of scratching of the wound last night. Fortunately because of the collar I can hear her when she is trying to scratch or chew.  We had some words during the night as I kept saying, " Manna, no chewing." 

Today is chilly but clear and I've been trying to keep busy. Not too much self absorbtion. Better to think of what needs doing and staying on track. 

Would like to put up more pictures but it seems motime only allows you a certain amount of space for photo's a month. Or am I wrong? 

Posted by: cactusandquail at 19:15 | link | comments (3)

Sunsets:  In the foreground  is my new pergala that is built off the back porch. I have planted a grape there hoping it will take off and cover the pergala. The best sunsets are when we have some cloud cover. This was taken last week. .

A Difficult Day:

Just before Thanksgiving I took a trip to California.  Before leaving I gave my dog Manna a bath, that's when I discovered a growth just below her rectum.  It actually looked like she was growing balls. Last week I took her to the vet and made the appointment to have it removed. Yesterday  was surgery day. The growth had doubled in size. I dropped her off at 7:30 a.m. being told they would call me about 10:30 after surgery to let me know how things went. At about 11 a.m. I began to feel anxious thinking I should be hearing by now. At 11:30 the doc called and said her first surgery had gone longer than expected and they were just taking her in.  I said I would come in so I spent the day in town.

After surgery I could hear her whimpering and waited patiently until the doctor could come for the post surgery instructions. I was told it was not a fatty tumor and so we would have to wait until the histiology to learn the results. After the instructions we loaded her up and I took her home. It was not a pleasant evening. The collor they put on her was so long that there was no way she could even drink water. That was the first order of the day to trim about 2" off the collar. She whined and looked at me like I was a betrayer.  I petted and spoke softly to her.

This morning she is in much better humor and actually wagged her tail at me a couple of times.

I adopted Manna 6 or 7 years ago. She must have been about 2-3 at least as she was a mature dog. She is a border collie, almost completely white with a black mask. She is voice trained so she seldom has to have a leash. She will walk with me and not even look at another dog unless they come too close to me than she snarls. I was told by the foster mother that they had had a hard time finding her a home because she kept running away. Well she stuck to me like glue and has never wanted to leave. We have been close companions. When I visited a friend in Texas who has issues with dogs I was a little nervous and concerned.  When we arrived she made a comment about the fact that I had a dog in a very defensive way. Within the hour she said. " I love your dog!"  That is because Manna is so well behaved. This morning with the collar shorter she wanted to check out her wounds. I said "NO" and she smiled, wagged her tail and stopped immediately. The collar is to keep her from picking at the wound. Even with it shorter we will have to figure out how she can eat. I may have to spoon feed her. Giving her pills last night went well, so I'm hoping this morning it will too. 

Manna loves her evening runs out in the wash. Out in the wilderness she always stretches out and runs, smells everything, and explores in full freedom.  Oh, how I hope I don't lose her. She has been such a wonderful companion. 

Posted by: cactusandquail at 16:06 | link | comments (3)

Cheriki: She's a small mustang but  a gentle spirit. She loves standing in the corner of the pasture and watching the mountains or open desert. I often wonder if she is thinking of times in the past when she was running free with the herd. She came from Nevada around Caliente.  She was 3 when she was captured and I have had her two years in September. She may have been a mother, actually probably was, as by that age most wild mares have given birth. I love to see her pick up and race around the pasture. When she kicks her heels up she throws them high almost over her head.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 17:36 | link | comments (2)

Sage. Straight at ya. See her apricot linings around her ears and eyes? Behind her you can see my garage and house.. My little motorhome sits behind a fence so the whole world doesn't have to look at my parked vehicles. I also have my clothes line back there and I've planted a couple orange and gratefruit trees so they are protected from the wind. So far they are doing just fine. I saw a little picture of a way to decorate the back side of your fence.. Put up picture frames and old windows with planters full of plants. That comes next.

I'm figuring it out. Soon to come on my blog more pictures. 

Posted by: cactusandquail at 20:57 | link | comments (4)

Simple?

Perhaps my problem is that I'm simple minded but I find it quit a hassle to learn some of the new technologies. I've been wanting to post pictures for quit some time but through several camera's I've only been sucessful in downloading a few pictures and then something didn't work. Oh, how frustrating. So, not too long ago I purchased a Kodak Easyshare when it was on sale. That should be easy , right?  It does a fairly good job of taking pictures and downloading. I actually have some pictures on my computer that I took on my trip to California and some pictures of my place here.

Next step for me was to learn how to put these pictures on my blog.  Well first of all the Easy Share software is not that easy. Yes, you can download on your computer but then the fun begins, getting it on the web. Somehow with all those buttons with no explainations I managed to download All the pictures on my computer. That is like all kinds of symbols, every ebay item I ever looked at, quicken, etc, etc. So there I was sorting through all this junk wondering how to get it out of my albums. I actually pulled my hair and screamed I was so frustrated. Agitated with a morning gone wrong, my mouse said all this single deleting is too much work and I refuse to work anymore, glasses that seemed always to steam up, maybe because I was so uptight, and telemarketers calling every so often. I finally gave it up and went to town to find a book and buy a new mouse, plus some CD's to download my pictures and save them.

I sat in the book store and read the three books they had on photo sharing etc. and finally bought the Dummie version. I realized that the sorting, labeling, and other tasks were all part of the photo thing. I wanted something to just say. Go here, do this, and walla there it is right where you want it. I did find some of that in Picasa, it says Blog this after you click on your picture and walla there it is on   your blog that they link with. That's why I have a new blog.

Once back home I started again and did find a way to delete albums after I took the pictures I wanted out of them. I started to make progress but there is a lot to knowing what button to push and I'm hoping in time it will be second nature to me and not such a hassle and crazy making. 

So again, Simple? Not in my book, but I've got a start to learning something new.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 16:55 | link | comments (6)

A Breezy December Day:

It's been clear but chilly today. I spent some time outdoors but most of the day was spent indoors on the computer. I had my hot vegitable soup and I worked trying to figure out how to put up some pictures. I will still post here but I have a new blog. A blog with a picture and more to come. Yea!  Now you will be able to see some of the scenes from here and the animals.  So here is the address:

http://www.simplelvn.blogspot.com

Had a nice walk out in the pasture and petted Sage. Manna was happily running through the wilderness, stretching out with a run. Watered the trees and some of the other plants and now I'm in and back on the computer.  Nice to have a warm house to curl up in. 

Posted by: cactusandquail at 02:05 | link | comments (3)

Thanksgiving Morning in Mcdonalds:

I'm not a Mcdonalds fan per se but I was traveling to California and back. I had stopped in Bakersfield at a Motel 6 for the night and just beside it was McDonalds so I decided to have a quick breakfast before I headed back on the road.

I got my coffee and egg mcmuffin or whatever and sat quietly people watching while I woke to my coffee.

My first sight as I entered into line to get breakfast was this charming little Mexican American boy, all dressed in black felt western hat, western shirt, jeans topped with leather belt and silver buckle. What a handsome lad. Dad was equally handsome and just as decked out. They ordered and sat at a table. Later two lovely ladies and two little girls all dressed just as charming and neat came in and were seated with the men of the house. The 1 year old about girl was all in white, white frilly dress, white stockings, white shoes.  Grandma was in a soft apricot dress and mother looked soft and loving.I could tell that Grandma was a well respected member of the family.  I couldn't help but stare just a bit and wonder if he was a ranch foreman or perhaps a police officer. I felt certain he had a respected job.  

As I looked around an old man sat with old rumpled suit coat and several plastic bags in front of his morning coffee. He looked to be a regular in the neighborhood. Perhaps one of the men who lived across the street in a parking lot in his van. It was obvious these parked vans were lived in in the parking lots. A sickened, sad, crumpled looking street woman walked in and the old man appeared to know her. I watched as she got her coffee and the person at the counter wished her a good day in a cheery voice that didn't seem right for the sad condition of the woman. She seemed cold, confused, like she was wearing off a drunk or drug hit. I felt compassion but my thought of buying her breakfast passed as she raced out the door.

Other faces I observed were tired hard working people who brought the kids in for breakfast. Here in the breadbasket of California there are many hardworking immegrants and you could see it in their faces and postures.

An Indian couple from India type, with their two children smiled back when I smiled at them. They looked to be traveling through.

I thought of Norman Rockwell and his painting but the new painting would be multicultural, multiracial. All good people for the most part, doing their best to live . 

Musings on Thanksgiving morning at McDonalds.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 20:53 | link | comments (3)