We Have an Egg!

We have an egg!  This pic courtesy of Bubbles (the in camera editing is hers – black & white with pretty border) shows Pearl staring at her egg.  She truly doesn’t know what to do with it.  Neither do we, but all that we have read says to leave it alone or she will continue to lay more.  We have not encouraged nesting behavior, but nature being what it is…

Earl seems to think the egg is his.  He moves it from corner to corner, rolls it and occasionally sits on it.  He also shreds newspaper like crazy, but never seems to do anything with it (like build a nest).

Lily is Back, Sonny is Gone, Rufus is Leaving and the Puppies Peed (Again)

Lily came home in a bag today.  A whole white pig stuffed into a little, itty, bitty drawstring bag imprinted with the words “Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge”.  I went to get her after church.  Tom has been bugging me to “find” her since the day they said her remains would be back.

Truth is, I couldn’t bring myself to call them and ask.  Couldn’t choke out the words.  But now as the days are ticking down for Rufus, I realized that I needed closure on one dead dog before I could deal with another one.  I told Tom if he got me the receipt for the cremation with the phone number on it, I would call.  They are only open nights and weekends, so I don’t think of it during the right times.

Finally, in the parking lot at church, he gave me the number, I called and asked.  “George” had the somber voice of an undertaker.  He said “we left a message on your machine on the 29th”.  Um, Nope, you didn’t.  He became a little indignant as he read me the number, “we left the message at 545-5749″.  Oh, well, that explains it George, our number is 545-5149.  Oopsy.  He sounded puzzled, “she must have thought that one was a seven.”   Ya think?

So I called Tom back and said that I would pick up the ashes on my way home.  And he actually said this:  (I am not making this up)  “Do you want to come get Rufus and drop him off when you go?  It would save gas and making an extra trip…”  Did I not say that I needed closure on one dog before dealing with another???

So, to continue with the parallel construction needed for this post as outlined by the title, Sonny is gone again.  We saw him enter the highway on ramp (without benefit of a turn signal) right before the cruisers arrived at his mom’s house.  Haven’t seen him since.  His truck was towed back a few days ago.  Hope he is resting comfortably somewhere taking meds.

Rufus needs to go to the Rainbow Bridge.   He will be happy there.  His wounds are open, draining, yucky and there is nothing that can really be done.  There is a new one on the end of his nose.  It is time.  Now that Lily has returned, I can deal with him.  It was 10 years ago that I knelt with Jennie in the vet’s office for her to go to sleep.  It was peaceful and I know she was grateful.  Even the kids are all on board with this.  Except that will leave us with “zero dogs” as Bubbles says.

We now have 3 demon dog puppies (Anne, Allison and Ari) whose breed apparently stemmed from a mix up between cattle dogs, Corgi’s, and wild dingos.  They are all teeth, like brown, ambulatory pirranhas, and full of pee.  And the pee comes out.  In puddles.  Wherever we just have cleaned.  They actually tell us when the want to go out, it’s just that in the 2 or 3 nanoseconds it takes us to respond, the pee comes out.

They are really, really cute, and have a sweetness that is the only thing that keeps us from bringing them right back to the shelter.  But they are herding dogs who need to be outside on a farm herding things that need to be herded, not old dying dogs.  This morning, as I noticed a forming puddle of pee, I hopped into the kitchen to clean it up. All 3 pounced on my slippers with a ferociousness that scared me.  I looked and noticed a poop pile as I turned, and they jumped and ripped off my eyeglass holder.  Beads went everywhere.  I tried to get the poop, the pee, save my slippers and grab the beads out of their little mouths all at the same time.  It was a fiasco.

Bubbles is sick.  She is not very bubbly.  Her temp has climbed all day.  Last check it was up to 103.8.  I gave her medicine, took away the comforter, put a cloth on her head and let her go back to sleep.  I will wake her in a minute and check the temp again.  I hate it when the kids are sick.

The Whole Picture

This was the view from the front. If you can get past the crumbling steps you can see the full effect. He T. P.’d the railing and the little pumpkin. Left cops scratching their heads too. They sent 3 cruisers to check it out. Hmmm….

Inside the Box and Sonny is Back

Open it up and…”Bon Apetete”. I found a taped up empty potato chip bag, some grass (the kind that grows in my yard), a Barbie leg, a piece of banana peel, a convenience pack with napkin, plastic silverware and salt packet, a candy wrapper, and most disturbingly, a AA battery with a string taped to one terminal and the other end taped to the box (just under the “p”).

So…was this supposed to be a joke? Or did Sonny think “hmm, wonder why the bomb didn’t go off?” He swore up and down to the police that he didn’t have anything to do with it. They took it for “evidence” and 2 days later they took him. But he is back now, still doing strange things, but he must have some kind of medicine in him because he isn’t standing out front ranting.

The Box – What Would You Think?

The Box

This was the box I found on my front porch on October 21. (See post from that day here).

I Bought Two Cars Today

Not really. It just felt like I bought two cars because I paid more than I would have for two cars.  One, was really a new roof and attic insulation.  (12k).  The other was a balance transfer from a credit card to my checking account “for your convenience”.  (10k).  These are big ouches.  I was in shock, felt the usual wave of nausea that comes for me with large sticker items, and no sense of relief when the deed was done.

True, we needed a new roof.  We have 2 leaks and the oil in our basement is converted to heat (via an aging furnace) which escapes through the roof at a rapid pace.  In theory, the new roof and insulation will cure the leaks and stem the escape of energy all for one convenient monthly payment of $236.00 give or take a few dimes.  We got to choose a color, planned to have them cut a hole in the new roof because we really need to vent a bathroom, which means that we need to have someone come and do that too.  One project begets another project.  The good news is that it is no pay/no interest for one year.  The bad news is that it will still need to be paid.

Now the 10k, well that is also a good deal, no interest at all on the transfer until 9/08, but then it goes up to 10.99%, not a bad rate, but we need to do away with all debt.  The danger of having this money sit in my account for too long is that it is Christmas time, we have other repairs, etc.  This is like a double dog dare to spend, spend, spend and spend right now so that we can double the debt that we already don’t need anyway!

We are having Grace’s birthday party tomorrow.  Her birthday was months ago.  Oops.  She is having a “Seventies” theme which means smiley faces, bold colors, peace signs and hippy clothes.   Tom has agreed to take the other kids to the Bee movie tomorrow for the duration, survival of the fittest.

Ursula’s Pumpkin

Ursula’s Pumpkin

Originally uploaded by Heartlove

This is the masterpiece! Ursula was in another world as she did this. Transfixed almost. The detail was exquisite and she was most pleased!

Bubbles’ Pumpkin

Bubbles’ Pumpkin

Originally uploaded by Heartlove

She copied the cat pattern on the shell and I finished with a Dremel. It wasn’t carved all of the way through, the light shone through the pulp. Cool!

Freddy’s Pumpkin

Freddy’s Pumpkin

Originally uploaded by Heartlove

This was his first all-by-himself-really-cool-carving-that-mom-didn’t-have-to-finish!