Great Holiday Advice!

TEN TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a
holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas
spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately.  Go next door, where they're serving rum
balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like
fine single-malt scotch, it's  rare. In fact, it's
even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it
any other time  of year but now. So drink up!  Who
cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip?  It's
not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic
or something. It's a treat.  Enjoy it. Have one for
me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's
Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it.  That's the
whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone.
Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes.  Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano.
Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made
with skim milk or whole milk.  If it's skim, pass. Why
bother?  It's like buying a sports car with an
automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an
effort to control your eating.  The whole point of
going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's
food for free.  Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between
now and New Year's. You can do that in January when
you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long
naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet
table while carrying a 10-pound plate of  food and
that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a
buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the
shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them
and don't budge.  Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention.  They're like a
beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,
you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a
slice of each. Or, if you don't  like mincemeat, have
two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.  When
else do  you get to have more than one dessert? Labor
Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded
with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it
at all cost.  I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you
leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't
been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but
hurry, January is just around the corner.

Have a great Holiday!

A Face Only a Mother....

Yes.  Her Mommy loves her!
I see a cartoon everytime I look at her.  She spent Thanksgiving day with her nose to the hardwood floor, making little pig sounds, looking for anything that had been dropped from above; like turkey!

November 24, 2010

Wilson is doing GREAT!  I can't believe that he can actually sit AND STAY!  He finally decided that he would go along with the down as well, and as a reward, he got to run free with a bunch of other dogs in a 4 acre fenced yard!  The trainer said he had a blast!  Before the training, he would never run with the other dogs in the dog park; he was scared.  Perhaps being away from Shasta, the enforcer, he will learn confidence.

Next it's our turn to get trained how to be the boss.  Hehehe.  We'll probably have several of those lessons.  :)  We may even be making this dog training place a commercial.  That would ease some of the cost of the training.  That would be good.  If we end up doing it, I'll post the commercial.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we'll be spending it with family & friends.  Probably our last big gathering for quite some time.  I'm wishing all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, a peaceful, laughter-filled day.

Watchin' the Storm

Yeah, we knew we were going to get it!  And we did.  A downpour!  Lightening!  Thunder!  Did I mention before that the slides leak in this building on wheels?  Not just on ours.  I understand that most motorhomes with slides have a problem that way.  So we're drying every towel we have in advance of the next storm that is due in today. 
Meanwhile, nextdoor:
Note to self:
Don't park under trees!  It took a long time for this branch to finally break off.  It was weird.  We had time, from the first little crack sound, to look at each other, slide the window shade up, look at each other again and ask what that noise was, and look out the window again to see the limb fall.  It was weird.
Willy Update:
He's fine.  He's heeling reallly well, and most of the time will walk with a loose leash.  He is practicing "wait", "stay", and "down."  The down is very difficult for him.  I remember Shasta never liked that one either.  It's a very submissive position, and neither one of them like that!

Pampas Grass

Being in an RV park, you see people come and go all the time.  When you connect with someone, albeit like ships passing in the night, it can be a little sad to see them go.  But who knows, you may end up seeing each other again, down the road, in a totally different place.

We were in this park two years ago, and at that time we met Rainey and his wife, Sue.  When we came back this time, it was very comfortable to start a conversation like we had talked everyday.

Walking Shasta in the "tent area" of this RV park the other day, two little boys came charging towards me with raised pampas grass blooms high in the air. 
The Smaller Of The Two Brothers:  HI!!!!
Me: Hi!
TSOTTB: GUESS WHAT I HAVE!
Me: A sword?
TSOTTB: NO! THIS IS FROM OUR SECRET HIDING PLACE!
Me: A secret place?
TSOTTB: YEAH! LET ME SHOW YOU WHERE IT IS!
Me: Okay.
While walking over to the secret place...
TSOTTB: CAN I PET YOUR DOG?
Me: Sure.
TSOTTB: WHAT'S YOUR DOG'S NAME?
Me: Shasta.
TSOTTB:  OH!  I SAW A MOVIE WHERE THE DOG'S NAME IS SHASTA!
Brother:  No.  The dog's owner's name was Shasta.
TSOTTB: NO!  THE DOG'S NAME!
Brother: goes on to explain the movie and states everyone's name, including the dog, in the movie...
TSOTTB: OH!
Me: Do you know what that plant is called?
TSOTTB: YEAH! IT'S OUR SECRET HIDING PLACE!
Me: That plant is called Pampas Grass.  Be careful that you don't get cut on the long green leaves, okay?  They're pretty sharp.
Boys get involved in something else, and Shasta and I go on our way back towards the building on wheels.
TSOTTB:  HEY!  LOOK WHAT I HAVE NOW!  IT'S REALLY BIG!
Me: Wow!  You have a really long piece!
TSOTTB:  I KNOW!  I COULD DO ANYTHING WITH THIS!
Mom: Boys!  Time to go!
TSOTTB:  OKAY!  dropping his sword.  BYE!
And that was the last time I saw him.  I feel a little sad about that.  He was so full of joy and enthusiasm.  Made me laugh out loud.  I NEED MORE TIMES LIKE THAT!!!!

The New Baby

How fun is this???  Remember, we have an advertising business that requires that we stay on top of the latest technology.  We also pay for our clients' media bills with our credit card; thus, wracking (sp) up lots of "points" from those purchases.  Our points paid for most of the cost of this camera!  Yeah!

Boy, do we ever have some reading to do!  You know...RTFM?  Neither of us are very good about that, but because this is so new, we'll be doing exactly that!

No news about Willy.  :(  We've left two messages for the trainer, and nothing.  Has she run off with our dog???

Plans!

We keep talking about making plans.  "We should sit down and make some plans."  "We need a plan."  How can we leave without a plan? 

Fall is really the best time of year on the central coast of Californina.  No fog, fairly warm weather, and no stopped traffic trying to get down to the beach.  We've really enjoyed being here, being able to see family & friends often, and taking the time to have things settle down in our lives. 

Having said that, we've also been trying to come up with a plan to start our journey.  This weekend we've allowed those plans to gel.  We'll be leaving Santa Cruz earlier than originally thought.  We'll be here for Thanksgiving with family (I'm so very thankful for my family), then going "over the hill" to Morgan Hill Thousand Trails for a couple of weeks.  I love that park!  That's the one with all of the wild turkeys!  Still an opportunity to meet family over there in more of a camping environment.  We all met there two years ago and had a blast!

December will also find us in Fresno for a few days to see friends and talk about Hubby's book, then off to San Diego for Christmas.  We found what looks to be a great RV park on the coast, Mission Bay Park.  From there we head to Verde Valley Thousand Trails, which I also love, for a month. 

I know we're kind of back tracking, but considering the time of year, we have to go back through that way before we can winter and spring in some new places. 

Anyhoo, I'm feeling hopeful today with our new plan; looking forward, moving on.

Plain & Simply,..Hooked

Yes, I'm hooked!  This is my second slouchy hat, but this one is made from a wool blend.  I really love this yarn!  The bobble stitches just happened to come up when the yarn was changing color.  I didn't plan it.  Serendipity!  Love when that happens.
I'm on the lookout for more hats to make.  I know.  I can only wear one at a time, but it's just so theraputic for me right now.  Its like it's soothing my frayed psyche.  Not sure how long this obsession will last, but you may all be seeing slouchy hats in your future!  LOL!
Just a little Willy update: HE'S HEELING!  WooHoo!

First Day of School

Wilson's going to school today!  For a month!  It will take every single one of those days to make him the scholar we know he can be.
We've racked our brains trying to remember the name of the trainer that trained Shasta and Joe, our English Shepherd.  Joe, by the way, not only went to elementary school, but had to go to high school AND summer school!  A bit high strung, he was. 
Kate Davern, is a wonderful dog trainer, and has been training search and rescue dogs since we last talked to her.  I'm so happy that we found her, and that she has room to take Willy on.  He seems to have discovered his strength lately.  He's big.  He's strong.  And has no manners whatsoever.  Since he discovered the bizillion squirrels around this RV park, his delight at trying to catch them is boundless.  He is absolutely gleeful and so very focused that it's all I can do to hang on to the leash. 
So it's off to school for Willy.  I think we'll ALL be happier when he comes home.

Must be the Weather

This is the top of my new slouchy hat.  Yeah, we'll see how slouchy, and how much of a hat it turns out to be.  LOL! 
I've had the incredible urge to get my hands on yarn these days.  Kind of like that nesting urge to make soup when the weather finds a nip of coolness in the air.  It's been years since I've really knitted or crocheted anything, but I've become rather obsessed of late.  On a quest for yarn in a city that evidently is not so into yarn is a challenge.  I found one place in Santa Cruz, a dedicated yarn shop, but when I walked in, the place was hot and there were a bunch of women eating food and trying to talk to me with their mouths full.  I'm sorry.  I have to go now.  :)  Perhaps I'll try that shop another day, when it's not lunchtime.
Yesterday we drove "over the hill" to Los Gatos to a shop called Yarndogs.  So cute.  I wish I had taken pictures of it.  At the front door there's a welcome mat with two dogs on it and a water bowl.  And yes, inside was a customer with a dog.  Obviously, that was okay with me (unlike the food fest). 
Oh my!  What a shop!  What a glorious cloud of yarn!  I probably looked at, and felt, every twisted loop in there.  I browsed through pattern books and pictured myself tucked away in the house on wheels, totally consumed in my sweater making.  And then...YIKES!  $21 a skein!  $14 a skein! I just don't remember yarn being that expensive.   Let's do the math here...hmmmm...say it takes 15 skeins of yarn for a sweater, at $15 a skein...uh, yeah.  Could be a fairly expensive sweater, right?  And for someone that only knows the basics of knitting and crocheting, it could prove to be quite a challenge in many respects. 
So I settled, for the time being, for a couple of small balls of yarn and happily consumed my evening making knots with my little hook.

Saturday, the family

When we left the motorhome Saturday morning, it had been raining all night and morning.  "Oh well," we all said, "what's a little rain."
By the time we got our first glimpse of the ocean we saw that the sun was clearly shining in the middle of the bay.  Hope! 
When we all met up in Monterey the clouds could only be seen on the horizon.  What breeze there was, was warm and gentle. 
I think the last time my family was all together was when my father died back in 1989.  We met then, on a boat, but in the San Francisco Bay, about 75 miles to the north.  I know we have all had the thought that perhaps this will be the last time we're all together.  But maybe not.  Maybe we can be better about making that happen.
Once we motored out, offshore of Lover's Point, the captain turned the boat into the wind and we shared in the scattering of ashes.  We tossed out ginger cookies (her favorite) and flowers, and as the boat circled the ashes & flowers, we saw a school of jellyfish bobbing in the water.  Within the circle there were two harbor seals that leaped out of the water, the sun glistening on their wet bodies.  It was just magical!
It was like she was telling me that this was right.  Perfect, in fact.  Thank you.