| What is the point of BETA? |
| 08.30.04 (6:29 am) |
I don't understand the new posting engine. It doesn't have any of the advantages of the old one. Since other people are raving about it I'm thinking that I don't get all the features because I'm a Mac person using Netscape. Here's what I see on the page.
A Subject Line
A Body box to type in the text
Emoticons on the side
A topic pull down menu
Publish button
Is there supposed to be more?
On the old engine I could add pictures and vary the style of the text.
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| druids |
| 08.30.04 (6:21 am) |
For the past few days I've been researching druidry. I became interested through a fictional book. THE EAGLE'S BROOD by Jack Whyte has a subplot involving a debate between Christian theologies. The theology that I closely identified with was influenced heavily by the druids. Hence, the anger of the church and the debate in the book. So, just out of curiousity I looked up what modern druids believe. These are from the ADF site http://www.adf.org/about/beli...
THOU ART GOD/DESS
We believe that divinity is both immanent (internal) and transcendent (external), with immanence being far more important for us to pay attention to at this crucial phase of human history.
GODDESSES AND GODS
We believe that divinity is as likely to manifest in a female form as it is in a male form, and that the word "Goddess" makes just as much sense as "God." Women and men are spiritually equal, and "masculine" and "feminine" attitudes, values, and roles are of equal importance.
POLYTHEISM
We believe in a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, as well as lesser beings, many of Whom are worthy of respect, love and worship. We have a wide variety of nonexclusive concepts as to the nature of these entities. While some of us believe in a "Supreme Being," Neopagan Druidism is emphatically polytheistic. We have no figure of ultimate Evil.
NATURE WORSHIP
We believe that it is necessary to have respect and love for Nature as divine in Her own right, and to accept ourselves as part of Nature and not Her "rulers." Many of us accept what has come to be known as "the Gaia hypothesis," that the biosphere of our planet is a living being, Who is due all the love and support that we, Her children, can give Her. We consider ecological awareness and activism to be sacred duties.
CAUTIOUS TECHNOPHILIA
We believe in accepting the positive aspects of Western science and technology, but in maintaining an attitude of wariness towards the supposed ethical neutrality of that science and technology. We also consider it important that scientists (like everyone else) pay as much attention to their means as they do to their goals.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
We believe that healthy religions should have a minimum amount of dogma and a maximum amount of eclecticism and flexibility.
POSITIVE ETHICS
We believe that ethics and morality should be based upon joy, love, self-esteem, mutual respect, the avoidance of actual harm to ourselves and others, and the increase of public benefit. We try to balance people's needs for personal autonomy and growth with the necessity of paying attention to the impact of each individual's actions on the lives and welfare of others.
RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
We believe that it's difficult for ordinary humans to commit offenses against the Gods and Goddesses, short of major crimes such as ecocide or genocide. Our deities are perfectly capable of defending Their own honor without any need for us to punish people for "blasphemy" or "heresy."
THE GOOD LIFE
We believe that human beings were meant to lead lives filled with joy, love, pleasure, beauty and humor. Most Neopagans are fond of food, drink, music, sex, and bad puns, and consider all of these (except possibly the puns) to be of spiritual value. However, we do not approve of addictive or compulsive behavior and we support people with dysfunctional histories who have entered appropriate recovery programs.
MAGIC AND MYSTERY
We believe that with proper training, art, discipline and intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing most of the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need. Magical/miraculous acts are done through the use of what most of us perceive as natural (some say "divinely granted") psychic talents.
LITURGICAL ART AND SCIENCE
We believe that there is an art and a science to creating, preparing and performing worship rituals. Our worship celebrations are continually evolving as we search for the most intellectually satisfying, artistically beautiful, spiritually powerful, and magically effective rites possible.
CONNECTING TO THE COSMOS
We believe in the importance of celebrating the solar, lunar and other cycles of our lives. We consciously observe the solstices, equinoxes and the points in between, as well as the phases of the moon. Such "rites of intensification" are human universals, as are the various ceremonies known as "rites of passage" -- celebrations of birth, puberty, personal dedication to a given deity or group, marriage, ordination, death, etc.
BORN AGAIN PAGANISM
Many of us believe in some sort of afterlife, usually involving rest and recovery in the Otherworld before reincarnating. We have no concept of "eternal" punishment, refusing to worship deities who could be that cruel.
HOPE AND ACTION
We believe that people have the ability to solve their current problems, both personal and public, and to create a better world. Our utopian vision, tempered with common sense, leads us to a strong commitment to personal and global growth, evolution and balance.
MYSTIC VISION
We believe that people can progress far towards achieving personal growth, evolution and balance through the carefully planned alteration of their "normal" states of consciousness. We use both ancient and modern methods of concentration, meditation, reprogramming and ecstasy.
COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY
We believe that human interdependence implies community service. Some of us are active in political, social, ecological and charitable organizations, while others prefer to work for the public good primarily through spiritual means (and many insist on doing both).
AUTHENTICITY
We believe that if we are to achieve any of our goals, we must practice what we preach. Neopagan Druidism, like any other religion, should be a way of life, not merely a weekly or monthly social function. So we must always strive to make our lives consistent with our proclaimed beliefs.
COOPERATION AND DEFENSE
We believe in cooperation and ecumenical activities with those members of other faiths who share all or most of these beliefs. We also believe in resisting efforts by members of dysfunctional religions who seek to persecute us or suppress our human rights.
Sounds interesting. I think I'll investigate more.
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| the alien theory |
| 08.29.04 (5:43 am) |
I heard a lady on the radio tell her theory that aliens are humans from the future who have learned how to time travel. They are coming back to study us. I told my husband this because I knew it would amuse him. He decided that they may be actually changing what we do in the past and then running up to the future to see if it had the intended result. I wondered what would happen if one of the changes meant that time travel wasn't discovered but that hurt my brain to think of all the repercussions of that.
My husband has a whole alien mythology of his very own.
1. Aliens have planted an implant behind his left ear. This was confirmed by watching a show on Discovery about a guy who had a bump in the same place behind his ear. When he went to get it removed the doctor couldn't get ahold of it because it kept moving. (The surgeon in me responds with a huge "Yeah, right.")
2. Any time there is a huge technological advance that changes the way humans live, e.g. computers, internet, microwaves, etc., it comes about because aliens have given the technology to selected humans. That's why he's such a technical genius. They are giving him ideas through the implant.
3. God is an alien. He just seems mysterious because people can't yet understand his technology.
The funny thing is that my husband doesn't even believe in aliens. I think he just enjoys creating his own unified theory of other people's weirdness. Now he's going to have to work in the whole alien/time-travel dimension.
I thought of this while reading Librarianguish's blog about the alien abduction site. Here's my favorite quote from that site:
I made a device which may help people abducted by aliens as reported by the above investigators. The device works by blocking alien telepathy and mind control, I call my device a "thought screen helmet." My device consists of a leather helmet lined with layers of special conductive plastic, the same material used to prevent static electricity damage to printed circuit boards. When worn over the head, I believe the device may insulate an abductee from alien telepathic control. Its function is not proven, I realize, but a shield for blocking alien telepathic control is worth trying. To date I have one abductee trying my device. He has not had any memorable alien contact for three months so the device may work. I am still working with this person and hope to confirm its operation. I am trying to get other abductees to try the device to confirm its operation.
Is anyone else reminded of Joaquin Phoenix wearing a cone of tin foil on his head in SIGNS?
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| new bed |
| 08.29.04 (5:19 am) |
My new mattress was delivered this week. Now I have to drain my waterbed. That is such a hassle. Of course it is a weekend so none of the rental places where you can get a pump is open. I have the manual drainer that came with the bed but the last time I tried to use it was a disaster. I could wait until next week and get a pump but my husband is anxious to get the new mattress set up.
It was his birthday present. It is a Select Comfort bed. You can change the firmness of each side of the bed to suit your liking. My husband has hated that waterbed for years. I love it. I probably would have gotten a different bed sooner but we have very different sleeping patterns. He stays up really late and then falls asleep on the couch. So he hardly ever sleeps in the bedroom. My logic was if he hardly ever sleeps in the bedroom anyway why get rid of the bed I love? But, I think the new bed is comfy. I'm wondering if it will keep him on his side of the bed. If his side is really firm and mine is soft it may mean that I get my fair share of the bed. Usually I get pushed to a small sliver of the bed.
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| just say no to trail riding |
| 08.28.04 (11:37 am) |
I am so sore right now I can't even begin to describe it. Thursday a friend and I went down to the ride site to see what the trails are like. Here's what I learned about myself. I am not now, nor do I have any desire to be, a serious trail rider. We used her good trail horses and that's about all that got me through it. The first night we did a short trail. The first thing you have to do is cross a stream and go right up a steep bank. I'm a wimp. This is only the third time I've been on a horse this summer after getting hurt on Prize. The other two times were on an old western pleasure horse that I have to keep kicking to get to trot around the arena. Jumping up a bank was pretty nerve racking for a first thing out of camp.
The next day was even worse. I was told there was an area on the trail that "flatlanders call the gorge. But it's just a little down-and-up." Ok, I've judged some scary stuff. I figured that nothing here could be that bad. It's a flat state, right? Oh My God. I was in the lead when it suddenly looked like the trail ended. It didn't end. It just went over a cliff. Ok, it wasn't exactly a cliff but I would never have described it as a little down and up. It had been raining and the horses slid down the hill. I don't mind going up as much as going down so that wasn't too bad. We did at least 25 miles yesterday. I am hurting so bad I can hardly move. She wanted to ride again today but I think that mounting a horse would be a physical impossibility. We wanted to go back and ride it again several times before the ride. She said I have 11 months to get my horse ready to go out and mark and time trails. Yeah, right. I have 11 months to find other suckers who like trail riding to go with her to mark and time trails.
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| Bill |
| 08.23.04 (2:17 pm) |
I went to my parents' for the weekend. We had two family reunions. My mom's side of the family was on Saturday. She has two cousins that I don't think I've seen for about 25 years. They came up with all their decendants. Most of them were multiply pierced and tatooed. My mom and her brother and sister are all very straight-laced. It was interesting to see them interact. Everyone got along fine even though I have no idea who all the offspring were.
On Sunday my dad's side of the family came over. I know them a lot better. One strange thing though was that my uncle called and wanted to know if my dad had already picked up their one brother. Bill doesn't drive so one of them has to pick him up. He had arranged for Gary to get him but wasn't home when Gary got there. He doesn't do things like that recently. (He is schizophrenic and a former heavy alcohol and drug user so you never truly rule out something strange with him.) There was also a street festival near his apartment so they thought he might have forgotten that he arranged to come to the party and went out to the festival. They kept trying to call him all day but he never answered. I left at 7:00 last night. By the time I got home my mom was on the answering machine crying and telling me to call as soon as I got in. Gary had found an emergency number for Bill's apartment and had them open the apartment. Bill was lying on the bed. They think he died in his sleep Friday night.
When Gary called that morning and said that he couldn't find Bill my first thought was that someone should break down the door. But I tend to have a very twisted mind so I didn't say anything. But now I hear that a lot of people had that same thought. When Gary left the party I heard him tell my dad that if he got a hold of Bill to call him (Gary) and tell him so he could go over there and kill him (for making him worry). Bill had attempted suicide several times through the years but was doing a lot better now. He was doing well enough that he was out of group housing and allowed to live on his own. The cause of death hasn't been determined but it doesn't seem to be suicide. He was in his early 50's and may have just abused his body so much over the years that it gave out. The last time he tried suicide as soon as he was stable Gary told him that he was going to wait until he was better and then he was going to kill him for doing something so stupid. Brotherly love is a wonderful thing. He was always very apologetic after each suicide attempt for causing people so much trouble. That's actually why the last one didn't work. He slit his wrists and sat in the bathtub because he didn't want people to have to clean up the floor. Then he realized that he was making a mess in the tub so he wrapped his wrists and went and got his roomate to call 911.
My family hasn't always had a good relationship with him. He was in the worst part of his mental illness and addictions when I was growing up. I remember hiding downstairs in my house with my mom and brother to pretend we weren't home. I guess he was going to ask to use the car and my dad was out of town. My parents were afraid he'd get violent if my mom said no so we hid out to avoid him. He stole a lot to support his habit and went to jail for that. Then he would try to turn his life around. He was a great bread baker and loved kids. No one would hire him to work with kids because of his record though. My brother and one cousin are a few years younger than me and they adored him because he was more stable. I remember my parents being very wary about him being with them though. As a contrast I remember him calling me to come outside with him when I was pretty little. He then showed me the working scale model of the electric chair that he had built. It was blue.
He even tried to go to college once but had some kind of breakdown and started setting fires in the dorms. So it was back to jail for arson. My dad started trying to develop a better relationship with him after my grandparents died. Bill was doing well and Dad would visit him once a week. He had been really stable for about 4-5 years now. It's a pretty sad story. He was a smart guy. Once he faked a brain tumor in order to get prescription drugs. He didn't just say his head hurt. He actually had scans that showed a tumor and fake medical records that he would take to specialists to get prescriptions. This went on for a while before he got caught.
The funeral is Wednesday so I'll head back up there after work tomorrow. It's going to be a family only affair. He didn't have close friends so it will just be us. It's a pretty big family though so it will be a good send-off.
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| flashes of brilliance |
| 08.20.04 (3:26 pm) |
I was scheduled to go see Prize at school today. This morning my trainer called and said that he was really sick but if I came over his assistant would ride her. She had only been on her once so it was interesting to see how Prize would behave for someone new.
When they were getting her ready she decided to pull her stupid routine. Between the cleaning of her left hind foot and her right hind she "forgot" how to lift her feet on command. I watched for a little bit to see how they handled it. They don't know her well enough to know when she's faking. After a bit I walked up to her head and shook her halter a little to get her attention. (She was pointedly not looking at me. She knows I'm on to her.) I told her to "knock it off." The groom tried to make excuses for her but surprise, surprise she picked her foot right up. She moved to the front foot, I said "lift" and Prize picked it right up. What a little brat.
Prize did pretty well for the new trainer. She kept apologizing for not knowing exactly what the other trainer had been working on with her. They haven't made her headset a priority yet. If she holds her head way too high then they make her keep it up until she realizes that it would be easier to carry it lower. They never force her to put it down. She's getting the point. There were a few times today when she would put her head in the perfect position that is wanted for horse shows. It only lasted a few strides but it was amazing. It was the first time that I could really see what she is going to look and move like when she is all trained. It was like seeing little flashes of brilliance. Then it would fall apart just to remind me of how far she has to go. But it was encouraging.
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| too perky |
| 08.20.04 (5:48 am) |
I've been making a scrapbook of pictures from my vacation. I have two family reunions this weekend and have relatives that actually like to look at other people's vacation photos. I figured if I don't do it right now it will never get done.
I've never made any of those fancy scrapbook pages. I went to the store and was looking at books for ideas. I found out that I am not perky enough to be a parent or a scrapbooker. Those pages were annoying! I think the people who made them are raising a whole generation of mass murderers. It made me want to smack someone just to look at them and I'm not the featured child.
The worst one was Taylor's First Nightmare. It was all about this poor kid's first nightmare. Like he'll want to relive that someday. Apparently it was about dinosaurs because his considerate mother put pictures of the object of his terror all over the page. The thing that really clinched this as the worst page though as at the bottom. There was a sign that said "24 Months." Sorry, when you are 24 months you are 2. You are out of the whole age by months thing. If it said 25 months I might be more forgiving - not much but a little. But 24 months is 2 years any way you look at it.
I like my scrapbook though. It is decidedly unperky.
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| certifiably mad |
| 08.20.04 (5:36 am) |
I've lost my mind. I've decided to try to run a competitive trail ride here next year.
Pros:
1. I like organizing horse events and I'm getting sick of the whining at horse shows.
2. There are no rides in this area for the organization that I belong to. There is only one ride north of TN in the eastern half of the U.S.
3. Because the rides are in the south they are in the spring or fall before it gets too hot. We will have our ride in July.
Cons:
1. A lot of work
A few months ago I was looking at maps of state parks around here. In the back of my mind I've been looking for a place to run a ride ever since I got involved. I saw a map for Blue Rock State Park that was perfect. You need at least 25 miles of trail. Open riders need to do a minimum of 50 miles over 2 days. You need to be able to get the judges around to several spots on the trail for observations. This trail has several parking areas spread around the course. It is almost like someone designed it for a CTR. But, there are no camping facilities. So I said to myself that it couldn't be done and sort of put it out of my mind. A few days ago I found a campground that advertised itself as having access to the trails. I went down there yesterday. They are enthusiastic about the ride. They are willing to help in all kinds of ways. I was worried about getting people to cook and to ride safety (people who go hunting down lost riders). They said that they could provide that. From what I could see from the trails they are well marked and well groomed. They don't seem to be that challenging. This is a flat state and even though it's hilly for us it is fairly flat in comparison to the rides in the mountains.
Next week a friend of mine is coming down with her horses and we will go ride it a few times. That will let us know if it is way too easy. I think that is our only hope of getting out of running this ride. We both want to do it but know how much work it involves. She ran one last year in PA that I helped with and judged. We lost the campground that we had so we couldn't do it this year. She's been looking for a new place there but with this set up we may just move down here. I'm more comfortable with organizing events than she is. Last year I kept telling to relax, that it wasn't that hard to do, it will be fun, etc. I should have known that would come back to haunt me someday.
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| Bravo! |
| 08.16.04 (7:11 am) |
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God Bless Bravo! I usually spend the Olympics waiting for a glimpse of a horse and then complaining about the lack of equestrian coverage. If you see anything you see the falls on the cross country course. But this year is totally different. I'm sitting her watching the second day of dressage competition for the eventers live. They have been showing every ride for two hours. I'm way beyond thrilled. I'm not going to get anything done for two weeks if there is this much horse activity on TV. Too bad I have to work tomorrow during the cross country. May have to tape it.
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| vacation report |
| 08.16.04 (5:42 am) |
I'm back from vacation and I didn't throw my husband overboard so I guess it was a success.
The first night we drove to Cleveland and stayed overnight. We flew from Cleveland to NYC the next morning. We caught a shuttle there to the pier. That was nice because it was a general use shuttle. We were dropped off last so we got a nice tour of the city while dropping off other people. We went to Central Park and midtown Manhattan. We were on the Carnival Victory.
Monday at 5:00 pm we sailed out of NY harbor. We were on the side that got the close up view of the Statue of Liberty.
Tuesday was a sailing day. I was a good girl and walked on the track for two miles. Then we laid out for a while but didn't get much sun. I coat myself with sunblock because I don't tan - I just burn. My husband uses a lower SPF because he wanted some sun but that didn't work well either. They were pretty skimpy with the food in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. I had the smallest omelette I've ever seen. It must have been made with only one egg. From then on we went to the breakfast and lunch buffet. They made real omelettes. The dinners were good though. They always had at least one vegetarian entree. We had to sit with another couple which I usually hate but they were very nice. She was a vegetarian too. Our waiter caught on to that quickly so we hardly had to order after a while. He just told us what we were having. The best thing I had the whole time was a chilled mango cream soup. It was incredible.
Tuesday we were in St. John, New Brunswick. We went on the Moosehead Brewery tour. That was disappointing. Basically you got to see a movie of the brewery. Then we were sent to a bar with some vouchers for beer. I don't even drink so it was extra boring. But it did include a guided tour of the city. We went to the reversing falls. The Bay of Fundy has the biggest tides in the world. When the St. John River is higher than the Bay the water runs out to sea. When the Bay is higher the water runs back into the river for 60 miles. At the reversing falls there are underwater cataracts that cause rapids when the tides are at extremes. We visited right at slack tide. That means the water is level in the bay and the river so there is absolutely nothing to see. St. John was settled by British loyalists that were kicked out of the US after the revolution. They have a mural celebrating Benedict Arnold. After the tour I went for a walk around the city. I found a museum and also went in a church. The church has a huge stained class window. The supporting frame is 700 years old. It was made by the company that made the windows for Westminster Abbey and was shipped to St. John in a vat of molasses. We were on the death and destruction tour of Canada. We learned how St. John had a huge fire that wiped out the whole downtown. Not to be outdone, the Moosehead Brewery burned four times and exploded once.
Wednesday we went to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In St. John it was foggy and cold. The husband was starting to chicken out about kayaking in Halifax. But Wednesday was beautiful. It was in the low 80s and sunny. Halifax has a harborfront boardwalk for several miles. There were lots of shops, ships, and a museum. I didn't have much time so I just walked around. There was a Busker Festival going on. I'm not sure what a Busker is but it's obviously worth celebrating. At noon we were driven out of the city to go sea kayaking. We decided to try a double kayak. We were changing positions in the boat and the husband pulled a muscle in his neck. Conveniently, then he couldn't kayak. I went in a single and had a great time. We went out in an inlet and kayaked for about an hour. I'm glad I was in the single. I was pretty unsteady at first. I can't imagine trying to learn to balance two uncoordinated people at once. There was also a fair amount of fighting going on in some of the doubles. Go this way! No, left! Left! That kind of thing. While I was gone my husband charmed the female tour guides into giving him massages and rubbing him with suntan lotion. He considered it well worth the kayaking fee. The ones I saw all looked like someone's grandma but he swears there were others that left before I got back. We learned about the role of Halifax in rescuing survivors and bodies from the Titanic and about a collision of munition boats in the harbor that killed thousands of people. It is the largest non-nuclear explosion ever. See, the death and destruction tour of Canada. I went to a supermarket in Halifax that seemed really close to the ship. But you have to walk around a Westin Hotel and a rail station to get to it. If I ever go back to Halifax I want to stay at the Westin. It was very nice and very large. I saw every inch of it as I tried to find a way around it.
Friday was a sailing day. I attended art auctions every chance I got on board. They had great art including a Chagall and several Dali illustrations. I didn't have $50,000 to bid on the Chagall. But I learned a lot about several other artists that I had never heard of before this trip. I decided that I'm going to be an art collector when I grow up. I also got a facial. I dehydrated so much on this trip. I had huge bags under my eyes. Water, water everywhere....... The facial helped. They then prepared a list of potions that they used on me and gave me a price list. They wanted to know if they could start me out with one of each. I just laughed. That would have been over $400 worth of stuff.
We got back to NYC on Saturday and then flew home. I don't think I'm really the cruising type. I got pretty bored on the ship. There wasn't much time to see things in port. We only got from 8-4 in St. John and 9-6 in Halifax. I'd much rather fly to a place and spend more time exploring. But it was much better than working all week at the fair whichis what I was trying to avoid.
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| riding lesson |
| 08.07.04 (7:22 am) |
I had my first riding lesson yesterday. I didn't ride my horse. I rode one of the trainer's lesson horses. She's a good girl but very different from mine. I have problems keeping mine under control. I had problems keeping this horse going. But it was a good lesson. Very confidence building. I didn't fall on my head. That's always a plus. I'm a hunt seat rider on a western horse so that was different too. I've never done so much sitting trot in my life.
I'll be on vacation for the next week. Yeah!
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| barn damage |
| 08.05.04 (3:44 pm) |
Here's a picture from the inside of the arena that shows someof the damage.
[image]spirit97_920719560 .jpg[/image]
The doors should slide along the front of the barn. The one on the left is perpendicular to where it should be. The one on the right is totally gone.
My insurance company isn't calling me back. I leave the country in 3 days. I'd like to get something started before I leave. I'm also wondering how I am going to get a 16 x 12 foot door out of my pasture. Once I figure that out what am I supposed to do with it?
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| cats are home |
| 08.04.04 (5:18 pm) |
The cats have come out of hiding. I just went out to the garage and Groucho was sitting there ready to come in for the night. He's acting perfectly normal.
I'm charging the digital camera up so I can get pictures of the damage in the morning.
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| wind damage |
| 08.04.04 (4:43 pm) |
Apparently we had a wind storm today. I had a shocking sight when I came home from work today. My barn has quite a bit of damage. The skylights on the east side are all broken. On the south side of the arena there are two 16 foot high by 12 foot wide doors. One is fine and one was torn off the hinges and sent out to the pasture. On the north side of the barn there are two 12 foot by 12 foot doors in the arena. One was ripped off the hinges and is also in the pasture. That's about 180 feet from where it started. The other is now hanging perpendicular to where it should be hanging. In between these two doors is all my hay. That includes a large pile of loose hay leaning up against the door that was pulled off the hinges. The hay did not move at all. The loose hay pile is still flat where it was leaning against the door. How is that possible?
There was no damage in the stall area. The only thing out of place is the wheelbarrow which was knocked over. The horse is fine although a bit pissed off. He's none too brave usually so I'm surprised he didn't have a heart attack. He's mad that he can't go out in the pasture. Explaining that the arena doors are in pieces out there had no effect on him.
I've called my insurance company. They are supposed to get back to me tomorrow. I'm going on a cruise in a few days. I guess this is better than having it happen while I was gone though.
So far I haven't seen any of my cats. Usually they either hang out in the barn in the hay or in my garage. Hopefully they are just freaked out and hiding somewhere. I'm telling myself that all of them don't hang out together. They couldn't all have been hurt. I hope they show up soon.
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| cat fight |
| 08.03.04 (2:06 pm) |
I have two cats in the house who hate each other. Groucho is my indoor/outdoor cat. He's overly friendly. When my mother in law moved in she brought Cocoa, a very standoffish cat. Groucho tried to make friends but Cocoa wasn't having it. He finally decided to sit on her food until she was nice to him. I don't understand that fully but apparently he thought it would work. It didn't. In fact my mother in law wanted him banned from the house because he was harrassing her cat. I say that he was here first and if Cocoa doesn't like it that's just too bad. But the mother in law and I don't agree on most things.
Anyway, today Groucho was upstairs and I heard a box rattling. I went up and he was in the Christmas tree box. I knew this because the box was moving seemingly on its own. When I looked inside I saw an eye. I dug him out from under the tree and took him downstairs. About 10 minutes later I hear cats fighting. They were both upstairs this time screaming at each other about who got to be in the Christmas tree box.
I've seen the studies that say that having pets lowers blood pressure. Does that still apply if you find yourself standing between two cats yelling, "That's it! No one plays with the Christmas tree!"
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| one tired puppy |
| 08.02.04 (11:41 am) |
After 2 years in this town I went for a walk on the local bike path for the first time today. I went there a few days ago to read all the rules. Specifically I wanted to know if I could bring my dog. Where we lived before there were lots of trails but only one that the dog was allowed to go on. It was unpaved - basically just two mowed loops in some fields but it was nice. The only problem was that it didn't dry out fast after it rained. So, I would think it was dry out and take my long-haired, short-legged, white fluffy dog for a walk on what turned out to be a very muddy trail. At the end she would be brown. Even her face would be streaked with mud from the splatter of walking behind me. She thought it was great.
This trail is a Rails-to-Trail path that is paved. But the main rules on the sign that applied to me are 1) no horses and 2) dogs must walk on the dirt to the side of the trail - not on the trail surface.
Ok, try to explain that to a dog. I tried walking in the dirt with her (which is better for my shin splints anyway) but she would walk on the paved trail and look at me like I was stupid for not figuring out that it was easier to walk on the trail. It reminded me of a trail ride I judged once where we had what we thought would be a simple obstacle for the novice riders. We asked them to steer their horses off the trail and to ride for about 20 feet down a ditch on the side of the trail. Every horse walked into the ditch for a few steps, looked back at the nice dry trail that they had just left, calculated that the trail and ditch ran parallel to each other, and then stepped back onto the trail. Not a one of them cared what their riders thought. Just goes to show that animals are usually just humoring us when they obey.
So, we set off down the trail in a great burst of enthusiasm. I walk really fast but I know that I need to stroll in order for the short-legged dog to keep up. She also hadn't been on a formal walk for 2 years. The trail is wooded and she was thrilled with all the smells. We weaved from one side of the trail to the other (yes, across the forbidden pavement) to smell everything on both sides. She also had to pee everywhere any dog had peed since the beginning of time. She did great until we were about 1/2 mile out. Then she started to drag. I think she was probably dehydrated at this point from all the peeing too. I carried her off and on on the way back. She's only 7 pounds so that's not so hard. I once put my golden retriever on a walking program. The first day he laid down 1/4 mile out. When a 100 lb dog decides he needs a break there's not much you are going to do about it.
She kept her head in the air conditioner the whole ride home. She then had to eat to regain her strength. Now she's sound asleep behind me. She seemed to have fun though. I can't say that it really counts as exercise for me when I walk with her. There's a lot of stopping and smelling and a very slow pace. Maybe I'll take her once a week or so and go by myself more often for real exercise. In an ideal dream world my husband would take her. He needs the exercise more than she does. He would probably think she walks too fast. He thinks walking is a form of torture. Maybe I should suggest this in a few weeks. He's gone this week and next week we go on vacation. He'll be nice and rested up to take her for a walk after that.
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| quiz confusion |
| 08.02.04 (9:34 am) |
I hate Dachshunds! Little buggers would rather bite you than look at you. If I have a choice of dogs to vaccinate I'd take the pitbull/rottweiler/akita mix anyday over a dachshund. I've taken this test twice several weeks apart and came up a dachshund both times.
You are a dachshund.You love to party and have fun.
Sometimes you can be annoyin but mostly your
fun to hang with.
What breed of dog are you?
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Here's the real mystery. The answer to What Kind of Fictional Character are you is:
Weee! Your a fairy!! you care most about your
environment, and you like everyone happy. even
though your real small, most of the time you
have a big big heart. You can be quite selfish
at times though, and are saddened easy. You
like being the center of attention too.
What Kind Of fictional creature are you
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Ok, but then in the What Kind of Fairy Are You? test I came up with this.
NOT A FAIRY!!!
what fairy are you
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Apparently, I have some type of mythological creature split personality. It's amazing what you can learn on the internet.
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| clothes |
| 08.02.04 (6:45 am) |
I sort of depressed myself yesterday. I pulled a pair of old shorts out of the closet and put them on. I knew they were a size 14 but they were pretty tight through the waist. I've been slacking on my diet. When I was being good I was starting to be able to fit into 12s so this was sad news. I could wear them though and they fit everywhere else except the waist. When I took them off I thought that maybe I was confused and these were really 12s. That would make me feel better.
So, without getting my hopes up very high I looked at the tag. I actually screamed "Holy Shit!" really loud in my bedroom. My husband was a few feet away and there was a pause before he very calmly said, "What?" (This confirms a sneaking suspicion I've always had about him that a person could be murdered while standing next to him and he wouldn't notice for a little bit.)
Drumroll ........
The shorts were a size 10! Don't ask me why I own a pair of size 10 shorts. I haven't been a size 10 since I was in college. They must have been a bit big for a 10 because I know I've worn those since then. I was convinced they were 14s. That's the only reasons they survived the last purge of my closet. But still at least I can say I've gone from a 16 to fitting into a 10 since April. I know that the last time I wore a 10 I weighed a lot less though. That's the weirdest thing about this diet. I've lost weight but I've lost a lot more inches. I've always been heavy for my size (muscular, I guess) but this is wild. When I got married I was a 12/14 and weighed 170. Now I'm 185 and can fit in a 10?
My husband kept laughing at me for being so excited over a label. He said he's going to start randomly changing the labels in all my clothes now just to mess with my mind. I told him that I'm planning on throwing him overboard next week so he better be nice to me so I might change my mind.
I went shopping yesterday for some dress clothes for the cruise. Right before I started my diet I splurged and bought some nice dressy clothes for myself. Now nothing fits. Yesterday I bought a nice fitted linen jacket. It also ties in the back so you can pull the waist tighter. That's nice because I lost a lot in the waist but not in my chest. Everything that fits around my chest just drops straight from there and makes me look like I'm built like a square. I also got a shirt that is fitted. It's sort of conservative slutty. It looks like a full button collared shirt until you notice that the first button is at chest level and there is a slight gather in the seams that run over the chest. It's like wearing flashing neon arrows and a sign that says, "Look at my boobs!" I was trying to figure out what I'd wear it with but then decided that it probably didn't matter because the chest was so prominent that no one would notice if I was wearing pants at all.
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| sleeping plan |
| 08.01.04 (5:08 pm) |
I figured out a plan for sleeping on the cruise ship. My husband snores. It's worst in hotel rooms for some reason. I usually end up sleeping in the bathroom with the fan on to drown out the noise. In hotel rooms even ear plugs don't help. When we went to Jamaica I slept on a chaise on the balcony.
I have been threatening my husband. If I suffer from sleep deprevation on this cruise I will toss him off the balcony. I'm sure the bathroom will be too small to sleep in and the balcony will probably be pretty small too.
But yesterday I loaded up my iPod with a CD of Mozart, a CD of Brahms, and the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack. I can't hear with the earphones in and the music will drown out every little bit of sound that drifts in past the earphones.
We are going to have fun on this vacation if it kills us both!
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