Well, it looks like the last entry was in April. Lots of things have happened. Many that have taken more time than anything else to get me through.
Thank you to everyone who checked on me. I'm sorry I haven't been much on WU, a comment here or there when I had a moment to check the weather and a picture caught my eye. But never the peace to sit down and write another blog entry.
Let's start with April: I did finish the degree, got the entry in the graduation listing, although I ended up not walking. Will do that next April as I want my Mom to be there. Yes, she's been my greatest cheerleader in getting through this ordeal of the writing and the degree. Just a few days ago I got an email that my 350+ page opus has been processed by the company that usually sells these (no, in this case the author gets practically nothing in case you wondered).
May did not go so well... The beagle passed away after some up and downs. She seemed to rally, then went down, came back and I had hoped she'd make it, but then she crashed and went downhill fast. I was very upset over some circumstances past the actual loss (part of why I wasn't around much was the extreme care that her condition required for the time she was still here).
Since the rules at work had changed, I am now also back in school. Just finishing the first two classes (and the first semester back) this week. The recent rule change stated that the degree must be position related. Well, the current position and the field I got my degree in are not the same. So, back to the bench (virtually speaking) and sitting through classes. Thankfully they are online, so it's not SOOOO bad. But the reading is pretty intense at times. And it DOES take time away from my "fun time".
After asking a not-so-friend anymore to move some of the stored stuff out the house, I finally got to cleaning and sorting and emptying boxes. Still a LOOOOONG ways to got, but it's getting somewhere.
Plus, lots of outside work that has been neglected for way too long.
On 02 June, I completely and utterly unexpectedly lost Miss Sharpy. It is still hard for me to type this as she was a very special girl. Although she had only been with me for about 18 months, she was very special and we had a unique bond. That morning she went out, didn't come in as I called her, but eventually did mosey in and went to her crate. She didn't seem in anyway in any trouble, but was wagging her tail and gave me a kiss. I went out to mow some way overgrown grass. By the time I returned back in, she didn't look quite right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Having been dehydrated, I washed my face and got some water. No more than 10 minutes later, she was in the beginning stage of leaving this world. Even though my vet said, he was actually surprised she made it that long, it did take me by total surprise as she had been perfectly fine the day before. Jumping, running, having fun. And less than 24 hours later... gone!
Admittedly, I was very distraught. Some people at work said, "it's a dawg, get another." Well, most of the regular readers here know, that's not how I see things. But, apparently both the beagle and Miss Sharpy felt that I needed some "distraction."
So, I was home one day and doing some school stuff, when out of the blue all remaining dogs were barking their heads off. In unison. They hadn't vocalized since Miss Sharpy had left the pack.
So I look outside and see a truck in the driveway, two guys coming from the pasture area. I storm out, ready to tell 'em to get lost (yes, I'm so far in the boonies, you're on the premise, you're trespassing big times!). One guys says "you need another dawg? We found this one down by the creek and he is full o' fleas." Great... just what I needed... a male pup when I already have two 3 yo boys who would do nothing more but try to kill each other if given a chance.
Long story short, he turned out to be of course a SHE and she is now about 15 weeks old. A brindle boxer (mix?). The Rott'n ones are very laid back at that age, but this one is HYPER and hard-headed (both boxer traits I've been told).
So, between work, catching up with chores around here, classes and the new pup, I've been totally occupied. It's been hard for me to type the notes about the loss, and I admit, I've been in parts avoiding to write the entry.
TS Debby and subsequent rain storms have also left a mark. Debby dumped 12+ inches, but the horses have since been doused by another 25 or so inches in the last month. 7" last weekend (one of the t-storms killed the NWS down the road - not sure when it'll be up again), another 2" in 4 different downpours yesterday and another 1/4" today.
Horses are thankfully all well, though the big goofy TB either had his front feet trimmed too short or was sporting an abscess. He had been lame (and unrideable) for 2 weeks. Sigh. At least I got lots of stuff done, nevertheless.
Oh yea, chickies are fine too. The new batch is still not laying but hoping they will soon... gone past the 3,000 mark and coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the first flock's first egg :)
Well, I hope to be back here more often, though I can't promise with the extra classes. Two more in the fall, then four more semesters. And I hopefully get the pay raise then. Sigh. At least I'm pretty marketable at some point should I ever need to change jobs. LOL.
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So much to digest...I'm sorry to hear about Sharpy's passing. Not much to say except that at least she left quickly, and that she knew that she was loved.
Does the pup have a name? Sounds like you have a handful with her, but boxers are a great breed!
Can't have enough education, eh? :) At least you don't have to deal with a wacked-out prof! Hopefully THIS time there's a raise in it for you! :)
I know that the ground in your area drains pretty well(I think), but that's just TOO much rain! No wonder the TB is suffering!
Even though I'm averaging 70 hours a week here so far this year, you have me beat by a mile!
Take care, OK?
Although the vet thought she was about 8 weeks when I presented her on the 9th of June, I think she was more like 6 weeks. Definitely not really weaned. No idea what her story is. But she is just now shedding her teeth. The first two top incisors are finally breaking through (adult set), so when she's done, she's about 16 - 18 weeks old.
I uploaded 2 pictures of her taken the day after she got here. Still have to get more off the camera, but with the rain, it's not been a good time to get shots outdoors (and she's too hyper indoors to take any pictures - usually I get at best a tail in the frame lol).
As for the TB: it started the day after the farrier was out (I don't have to be home, so I don't know what happened), which makes me think, he might have trimmed him a tad too short. But of course, the wet is not helping at all. I'm rarely clocking more than one ride between lessons (those are still a must though lol... gotta have some balance w/ all the work lol).
So glad you're back! Was worried but afraid to ask, didn't want to intrude.
So sorry about your two babies. I lost another one recently also. Down to just one now, my little Tinsel.
Congrats on the degree and good luck on the new classes. Hang in there, I know you can do it. Daughter is hopefully going into her last semester. Already started her internship at the parole board office last week for one of her classes. Classes start at the end of the month.
Send some of that rain this way! Finally got a little bit last night. May have to actually mow grass this week. Haven't mowed since end of June, just trim the occasional weeds that pop up even with all of this heat and no rain.
Give Angel & others hugs & kisses for me.
Lois
Lois, gentle virtual hugs to you. It's hard to lose them. And some losses are harder than others.
Wishing your daughter all the best with the final semester AND the internship. We're almost done for the semester - one more week (and one more assignment to go, and it's done). What part of the country is she going to school? I presume she's a CJ major?
Terry, I hope you feel better soon if not already. Lots of healing vibes coming your way. Thank you for posting even though you're not commenting too often. Please DO let us know how you're doing.
Ahh.. the nice fun of the summer... looks like something in the AC unit has gone bust (most likely blower motor since it's sounding the same on either fan or AC settings). GRRR.
Still waiting on the approvers to let the two pictures through that I uploaded. If they're not up by morning, I will have to resubmit later in the week, I s'pose.
Angel is ADORABLE!! I think she will be a little rascal, but a real joy.
Congrats on another degree, do you ever sleep? Lol!!!
Take care Rotty, check in when you can. I am looking forward to watching Angel grow up.
Yes, Angel is not quite living up to her name just yet lol. Because she's been such a brat, I had he outings in the yard on leash. Her response? Doing business on THAT thing. Don't even think. Did I say she was bratty? :)
Surprisingly, she's only had one "big" accident in the crate all this time (and that was this past Thursday). She does have lots of stuff to soak up the "little" stuff as I can't ask her to be in there all day (while I'm at work) and hold it. Too small for that. But she's getting better on that front. Now, teething should be over in a few weeks. Maybe we can work on growing a brain? LOL.
I know I should have tried to post something, but as I said, I never could really find the time to collect enough thoughts (and admittedly, I had a hard time facing the loss -- usually doesn't hit THAT hard, but Miss Sharpy did tear a huge hole in my heart. Bigger than I wanted to admit).
Got a new batch of chickies and started on a new adventure...WABBITS!!! Back on the learning curve!!
Good luck with the new classes!!
Sorry about your lost, never easy at all. They are part of our family, our kids so to speak. And unless your an animal person, most don't understand.
I haven't been on here much either. No more internet at work and my home computer is so old and slow WU doesn't always come up, I was lucky today.
Life always throws things our way to keep us busy. I know what your talking about. I don't have time for anything and my one girlfriend called me a hermit. She has been retired for 20 or more years. Hermit? I don't have time to even to that. One of these days I hope.
Love to you and the rest of your family there. She's cute but boxers are well boxers, test you every way they can.
It has been raining a lot here on the N TX Gulf Coast also. We've had about 39 inches so far this year. I imagine you have had even more.
I hope you got to watch the Mars landing.
Take care and best of luck to you in your ventures !!!
Again Rotty, welcome back. So sorry for your loses. Hugs from here! MJ
So sorry to hear about the beagle also. I lost a mom poodle and her daughter all within several months about 2 years ago. Mom was 16, daughter was 14. It was so hard as daughter was born into my hands. Anyway I can appreciate your grief.
Busy, busy, busy summer here also with the house on the market and the purchase of a home in FL. Going through years of "stuff" in anticipation of the move is not only time consuming but also emotionally difficult.
My PC came up with the dreaded black screen of death yesterday so I am on the laptop and going to take the tower to a repair place later. Damn computers!
Hoping to get Miss Katie down to you in a few weeks. We are getting desperate now as the move is getting closer.
Glad to see you back on WU and look forward to your posts.
Anyway, 4th of July weekend was her choice of times to leave earth. She sure did enjoy her short time in the PNW! And we loved her dearly...even the dog.
So you are back in school after so much time and grief, jeez...when are they going to give you a break?
Well, I guess it is life's way of keeping you honest...HA! Good luck with Angel...she's a cutie.
Can't wait to see more pictures of Angel. She's got the sweetest little face.
Hate this laptop I'm having to use. Can't wait to get a desktop back.
Hi, Rotty!
Well, I close on the FL house on the 31st of this month and so far no offers on the SC house. Think we may have to rent it out. That would make me a first time landlord. I'm researching that position online to make sure I have no glitches. Not what I had planned but the rent will pay my mortgage and hopefully in a few years the economy will perk up and I can try selling again.
Ylee- I do have a mouse on the laptop. Still don't like it. I guess it is what you get used to. My desktop has a 23" screen. That makes a huge difference for me.
See you soon Rotty.
Dix, I can see why you didn't like the lappy; with the smaller screen, things are a lot harder to see!(And I suspect the new Gateway is a lot faster, too!)
Personally, I rather stay in the NW quadrant, but it looks (from the past motions) as though it's moving more toward a western path. In which case, we'll be on the NE quadrant. NOT the place to be. The prediction for Tuesday is 5 or more inches in a day.
That on top of the 40+ inches that have fallen since Debby started to dump. SCREAM!!!!!
Sorry... couldn't help that outburst of frustration. Currently looking like it wants to rain again (dropped about 1/4 inch earlier today). GRRR... Yea.. I'm complaining by now.
Anyone know a good rain dance to do for the central and western part of the country? If so, PLEASE, ummm... just do it! Divert that wet stuff from here. PLEASE!
Dix, glad you got a new (to you) machine... and the monitor certainly is a lot nicer, I'm sure. Although I don't have issues w/ my 15.6" laptop screen, I prefer the larger desktop ones. And of course, dual monitors at work are even NICER :-D
Hoping it'll be a mild event here and wishing all the fellow WU-lers in the region lots of safety (esp. trauma and code...).
What this region needs is rain like a hole in the head. But.. it is what it is...
My concern is not so much about my own safety of that of the canines and felines, but that of the outside critters (chickies and equines). It's also going to be the first big storm for the Dom-E-Cile. We'll pass with flying colors, I'm sure. :) Hopefully the outside critters fare equally well (minus the extreme wet, sigh).
As long as the criiters has shelter, they should be OK, yes?
I'm just glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been. As I type, it's beautiful sunny out there.
My heart goes out to those who got impacted much worse, but as Trauma said, North FL really didn't need any extra wet. We're all tired of 2 months of non-stop rain and have wondered when North FL moved into the rain forest lands.
Trauma: I just spoke to my hayman. Of course, I buy Bahia not Bermuda/Coastal type hay, but he said, he expects to bale by end of September. By then it should be good haying. Thankfully, he will supply me with hay no matter what (unless he drops dead, he can always get some rolls from Roland, his neighbor who has hundreds of acres near you). LMK if you need some contact info. Roland's hay is not always cheap, but it's nice stuff. I've gotten some from him before :) IIRC, he also supplies square bales though I prefer round for my herd. That's what my hayman does (exclusively round).
Once again, having truck troubles. No lesson last week Wednesday b/c truck wouldn't start. Now it's an antifreeze leak. I HOPE that (re-)moving one of the squeeze clamps and putting a screw on type clamp on will do the trick. If not, it'll be off to the radiator shop on Tuesday (the flange on top of the radiator is where it appears to leak, which is why I HOPE it's the hose clamp, not the metal radiator itself... sigh. Too many things needing replacement lately... AC fan blower motor, microwave (OTR, which are not cheap), new tires for the truck (thread separation), one for the car (also thread separation) and now the radiatior... possibly new satellite modem. Will hear more tomorrow morning whether it's the modem or not. Been flaky to say the least). When it rains it pours, right?! Seems about right for now. lol
I'm hoping also that with drier weather in the forecast, I may even get some decent pictures of Angel (who is still not living up to her name). We have now new incisors, still need to change those canines. She's getting a little better, but still very hyper.
One of the older chicks got herself stuck in some wiring in the coop. Ended up having to literally bolt cut her foot / leg out of there. I'm keeping fingers crossed that she will make it.
A microwave for cooking something while in the truck? I guess I don't understand. Hopefully even if your radiator is leaking, it can be taken out and fixed, without having to replace it.
How many acres does it take down there to feed a horse without buying hay? I'm sure land is a premium, even in the panhandle!
We had our SC house all set to rent and the potential renters backed out a few days ago. It was real panic time. I contacted a property manager and miraculously she has found a couple who have just arrived here from NM due to his taking a job at one of the many engineering firms in the area. We are doing extensive background checks but hopefully they will be just whom we are looking for. I would like to leave Monday knowing the house is rented and the feral cat is being cared for.
Weather is nice here finally after a very hot summer. Just in time for me to move south and "enjoy" the heat again- lol
Well, had family visit and w/ being away from work (and much of my "traditional" computer-time wiped out due to non-computer literate company), I barely could keep up with school work and a few other things (not to mention shaky internet connections on and off due to modem/router issues).
Life is good, company made it back home safely and I'm sort of back. Classes kicking tail, but I heard that the one I'm mostly upset over is by far the toughest class in the whole program. So, I'm okay w/ that. :-D It's not that it can't be done, it's that it's a lot of (what I feel being useless) work. Alas, that too shall pass :)
Dix: If you can catch Katie, I would love to give her a job and a new home here. If not, I am still willing to give one of the other gals a home (not sure three females would do okay together, esp. with two knowing each other well, but willing to give both your girls a try--let's talk more privately). Little Miss is definitely lonely and I feel kinda bad as it appears she is missing her Mom. Sigh.
Weather has been nice (with four days of HEAVY rain interspersed, leaving about 4" total, which brings amount since Debby to about 50 inches of rain).
Today, first day back to work, it's BEAUTIFUL outside. Sunny, slight breeze, 28C (82F). Overnight is supposed to hit around 13-15C (around mid-50s F).
It feels like fall here. VERY PRONOUNCED Fall. Not like "normally" where we have just warm but nicely dry weather. Leaves are turning color fast, esp. the maples.
Haven't seen "Fire Weather" warnings in about 3 months (due to the lack of sustained low levels of humidity). Had one for today. Yea! Need it... :)
All animals are doing well, thus far. The equine population has survived the quick-muck, though the pastures are still very wet, but not sinking 2 ft w/out notice.
Chickies from last year's hatch are partly molting. I think one batch did a while back, the other is doing it now. The group of 8 is laying a mere 3-4 eggies, but better than none. :)
The new batch of dirty half dozen is laying nice sized darkish brown eggs. Most days, all are popping an eggie. Yea...
Hope everyone is well, too.
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