Patience Is A Virtue...I Hear :-/

Hey hi everyone,



Hope you all are enjoying a little extra time off this week. Things are going good for us as usual. I am still waiting for some paperwork that is plugging (plodding) along so it looks like we will be here until the end of January. That is okay though, as classes start on January 4th and I am working at getting lesson plans made and talking to students beforehand. I have included a short video of Harvey doing his belly drag down the grass...and soon will include one of Pearl prostrated in front of her bag of Happy Hips crying. I don't know what the manufacturers put in those things but she is truly addicted. Him and Pearl are having such a good time at the dog park these days too and it has made such a difference in Pearl as her fear of other dogs has disappeared now.



This month now I am getting all the final things done on the unit - replacing tires, and had a backup camera installed, mostly because I don't have another person who can back me up into rv spaces at the parks and I only have two eyeballs, not the eight that would have been handy to been born with for backing up an RV, so the backup camera will help immensely. One inside addition to the unit is that I put in a "fire"place. It really heats up the place quickly, and it is pretty to watch the log burn. :-) I once read an article that said if you are a fulltime RVer that you have to put things into it that make it unique for you, so that is what I have gradually done - like a heated mattress because when I am lazy and tired it so wonderful to crawl into a warm bed (the problem is getting Harvey and Pearl OUT of the warm bed in the morning though :-)), and when dad visited he took out the factory taps and put in high arm taps in both the kitchen and bathroom. Thank goodness he is the handy sort as I have other projects coming up too. :-) Maybe next year I will think about solar panels, but so far the best 'trade-out' has been taking all the carpet out and replacing with oak laminate. After years of borrowing dad's tools I invested in a nice electric drill/screwdriver set from Home Depot and now just do the jobs myself when I can. But Dad such a nice job on the big ones that it is worth to wait for his visits.


Well I better run, as I am sitting here listening to Elvis Presley wail. It has been a long time since I have done that but a man that stops his car on the road and talks to me always has Elvis music in the background. ...As I was writing that I realized how funny it must sound, but when you walk your dogs two hours a day you meet A LOT of people...dog walkers...exercisers...people that drive the same route and wave everyday...so this is a man that drives, waves and talks...and plays Elvis loud. :-) So his music inspired me today. Anyways, to top things off, I have just experienced a miracle and need to investigate it further. My old laptop which I had been keeping under my desk here due to being dead just resurrected itself. I thought for old times sake I should just plug it in, and walah it lit up and booted with a beautiful screen. ;-/ Now is that strange or what??? Anyway, I am going to look to see if there is a loose wire now or something.


Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, d :-)

There is no time to run.

Hey hi everyone,

A man I met walking my dogs a while ago, told me that once you have been through a bad dog attack you are never the same - because you are always on hyper alert - always planning an escape route if anything ever happens again. And I have found this year that he is right. No matter where I walk with the dogs I have always been looking to see what is around me, thinking "well I could climb that fence or that tree, or throw H and P over and do this.." but today showed me that most scenarios and plans are just not possible. There is a large estate down the road that I walk by everyday with Harvey and Pearl and the two large guard dogs always lunge at the fence and salivate wildly as we scurry by. However, this morning as we were approaching the area the owners were entering the estate in a car, and as they opened the gate the two guard dogs ran out. They looked both ways, spotted Harvey, Pearl and me about 150 feet down the road and started charging at full attack throttle. The owners jumped out of the vehicle and started screaming and running, and I of course started screaming. The good thing was that Harvey and Pearl did what I was hoping and ran behind my legs, and realizing there was absolutely NO time to run or jump or whatever just withdrew my stun baton and stood there. It is AMAZING how fast a large dog can move and how much area they can cover when running that fast. All I could think was of how I was going to handle two of them - one was bad enough last year - and also one other thing...thank goodness I wrapped such a big scarf around my neck this morning. So as I said, I just took the stun baton out and waited for impact. Anyhow, with the owners screeching and running after the dogs they came to a realization that they were being yelled at about 12 feet from contact. Suddenly their ears just clued in. BUT IT WAS SCARY. The owners were shaken, but not half as much as me. When it was all over I was just trembling all over, and thankful that there was about 150 feet for those dogs to listen to their owners before getting to us.

Anyway, hope all of you are having a less adrenaline filled day.

Love to everyone,

d :-)

*ps. I thought this pic was funny. Someone has obviously blended their face with their dogs.

Oodles of Mud

Hey hi everyone,

We had a rainy few days last week and I wanted you to see the results. Yes, the Desert is usually gorgeous and sunny but this is what happens when the rain comes. The ground is so dry the water just runs and pushes things along the top. When I took Harvey and Pearl out for their walk I just sat and watched the groundskeepers at the golf course start their mud sweeping with BIG brooms. It seems like it will be an endless chore for them.

The group visiting have all headed down to Mexico for the winter. I am still waiting on my paperwork to be processed and then we are off and moving too. I thought it would be done by now, but I guess it is important to be patient.

Here is a picture of someone's lawn cat. It is blurry but that is kind of how many of my pictures are, so I included it regardless. The cat is one of those cement things. The guy who carved it though should get some award though - maybe like a "Michaelango award" because everytime Harvey and Pearl walk past it they go nuts like it is a REAL cat. Pearl starts to whine and cry and Harvey wants to eat it...and all it does is sit there facing straight ahead. They honestly think this thing is alive. So totally odd. :-/

Wasn't that a great study article yesterday? Our conductor stopped and really went over paragraph 10, because it seems to be one of biggest weaknesses of us all - judging people negatively without knowing all the true facts of a situation...even when we think we do...key as brought out: give people the benefit of the doubt. I really thought it was a good reminder. Very good articles being covered these days.

Okay, everyone have a wonderful week.

Lots of love,

d :-)

A True Gem Here in Palm Springs...

For anyone traveling to Palm Springs, I completely and totally have to recommend attending the Palm Springs Central congregation - Tuesday meetings are exceptionally good. Yes, it is tiny, with only about 70 brothers and sisters, but the warmth and learning that goes on within it is outstanding. They really are a wonderful group - the type of people you just can't help but hug when you walk through the door. I have belonged to many good congregations through the years but I really have to say I really have a high regard for this particular one. Our Congregation Book Study is just excellent every week. It has become my absolute favourite meeting to attend. Lots of participation and insight, and then tonight for the Bible Highlights I don't think it could have got any better - Brother Cunningham just did a super job of highlighting the importance of doing things EXACTLY as told. I could go on and on, but I really can't imagine wanting to spend my time anywhere else on a Tuesday night rather than the meeting. Anyways, I hope all of you enjoy your meeting this week as well too.

Love to all,
d :-)

The Perils of Being Tall...

Hey hi everyone, :-)

Let's hope that Jehovah God brings the new system before I age too much, because I guarantee you all that if he doesn't I will be the oldest, weirdest, demented person you know, from hitting my head so many times in life. Yes, there are great things about being tall - like not needing a step-ladder often, or going to a party or meeting and being able to spot friends across the room. However, much of the world is built for short people I find. Such as today...a lady was walking by my RV and stopped to talk and was telling me she is limited in her funds these days and is worried about taking care of her little dog, SO it just so happens that I recently bought a new bag of dog food but as usual Harvey is allergic to it...which worked out perfect because I decided to run it across to her place and give it to her for her dog. The only thing is there was a air conditioner mounted low hanging out a window rather than on the upper window, so when I said my good-byes and turned and hopped, skipped and jumped off her back porch, I did a forehead plant into the air conditioner. She of course felt terrible and was asking me if I was okay as I lay on the ground grasping my head, but in actuality I felt like I had crushed my brain and separated all the nerve endings from my frontal lobe. :-( If I get old enough I know I will pay for this...such when I am 97 in an old age home I will be blogging to you all still, as I carry around Harvey and Pearl under my arms...stuffed, or share stories of how they are harassing people in the cafeteria, or found by the staff licking peoples' dentures during the night...the line of fantasy and reality for sure will blur due to the knock'n on the nogg'n now. :-)

Anyway, in conclusion, I nursed my jiggled brain by going to a movie this afternoon - Julie & Julia. The story of Julia Child and a young woman that tries to cook all her recipes. It was absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it, especially to all people that like to cook. :-)

Love to everyone,

d :-)

Family has arrived.

Hey hi everyone, :-)

It has been a year since I have seen my parents and most my other family. A group of them arrived in the desert this week. They are passing through on their way to Mexico for a couple months. Of course the kids are the ones that change the most, and this time I actually found my little bag of gifts to share with them. Next time I post I will put some pics up of them. I will decide tomorrow if I will go part way down with them. It may be a nice drive for Harvey, Pearl and me and I could check out a bit of Hermosillo.

Teaching and life this week is going good. Last night I attended a dance class. I actually took my nephew but it got me thinking that I would love to take a course over at the studio myself. Just an excellent teacher, and obviously it would be a great workout too. :-) Anyway, I will find out more this coming week. I don't know if I have enough time but I would love to work it in.

Here is a pic of Pearl waking up in the morning. I get up to prepare for work and she insists on snuggling into my housecoat for an hour before breakfast.

Well I better run - the little girls are coming over to walk Harvey and Pearl with me, and make a stop at the goat farm to watch them all being fed. So have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

d :-)

Swiffer nearly "did in" the skinny white dog...

I have many times warned Harvey and Pearl that they are not even allowed to think about dying until they are at least 30...human years old. :-) I have told them that if they even TRY to do it before then, I will hang them upside down like a human baby and slap their butt or rush them to the vet and let him stick probes up them, and down them, in attempts to prolong their lives. Well as usual Pearl decided to test my seriousness on this issue. For 32 hours her life hovered precariously. After two trips to the emergency vet hospital we figured out it was the Swiffer than almost did her in. She had an Acute Respiratory Allergic Reaction to Chemicals. The good part is that because I am in an RV I knew almost immediately what I had brought into it that was different than before. So I put them in the truck and scrubbed the floor with soap and rinsed it with vinegar and no problems since. Afterwards, I went on the internet to do a little research to see if anyone else had this problem and there were tons of stories of peoples' pets that had died or had convulsions after walking on a floor that had been swept with a swiffer or washed with the swiffer mop. It just never occured to me that the chemicals would be that strong. Some animals can handle it, like Harvey the hearty one, but others like Pearl the "I'm ready to die at a moments notice" type can't. Apparently the chemicals cause severe liver damage in dogs and cats. The good part about all this is, that the squirrelly-butt is healing now and should be back to her old naughty self soon. I am exhausted for not sleeping for 32 hours but will catch up today. Oh yes, this is my moment to remind everyone with pets to get pet insurance before traveling. I use PETSBEST.COM. Otherwise at this moment I would have big tears rolling into the coffee cup. :-/

Anyways, the weather is looking good these days. Quite cold though. Meetings and service have been great. A little excitement there too - Tracey had to save a brother outside the Kingdom Hall on Sunday. She has her Red Cross certification and a brother appeared to be having a stroke with his young son with him. Anyways, she was able to do what was necessary. I told her other than the obvious benefits of her taking her six munchkins to the meetings every week, that brother will probably be extra thankful she goes to all the effort.

Okay, have a wonderful week! Love ya, d :-)