30 June 2005

June is birthday month - Elba reaches 11

Happy birthday wishes are being fulfilled to Elba [von Hussar AD TT CGC] who turned 11 years old today. She received her very own air-conditioning system which she is allowing me to share. Pris, whose birthdate is unknown as she is a rescue, is guestimated as the 19th should be about 4, Sully turned 2 on the 23rd and Vain turned 8 on the 2nd.

20 June 2005

Say hello to 'Spike,' or I bought a toy...

For the past 4 or 5 vehicles and almost every year, I have been stricken with a severe case of 'Spring Fever' and have gone looking to purchase a new car - or as in recent years - have denied the call of spring that regularly occurs during the month of March.

This year it raised it's ugly head but I ran and hid, teeth gritted and all. I lost the fight this past week. So what? [she says], at least this time I waited till June. Although, to be honest, one of my co-workers said that he knew I was figeting.

But at least this time, I didn't trade anything in - which is a first.

The last two vehicles have been Toyota's. So is this one... I can SAY that I bought it for practical reasons - which I did - but it's also a toy.

It's a 'not shiny and new' but dinged and scraped,'working in the field' 1988 Toyota 4WD pickup longbed with mud wheels. It has some cosmetic issues that I will work on, but I don't really care. It's cute and as of this evening - it's paid for.

Now, you may consider it trite, but 4WD and mud wheels are important. Someone that my sister knows marvels at what they see as Floridians fixation on 4WD. Well, there is a reason.

After the third hurricane, with all the rain that saturated Central Florida, the Green Swamp - aquifer for the middle of the state overflowed. There is a sepage spring, for lack of a better term, on the property to the north and it is influenced - as are the wetlands to the west, by the Green Swamp. To cut to the chase - I had a lake in the back and the swamp to the west was coming in to join the spring in turning my yard to mush. So... mud tires are important.

My car history is interesting at best. Not counting the Corvair that my parents bought for me [they said] but refused to let me drive alone and the loaner from a mother-in-law of a 1969 Mustang Ghia during my first Army school, I have owned: 1973 VW Thing; 1979 Fiat X19; 1982 Audi 4000 sedan [diesel]; 1985 Subaru XT Coupe; 1989 Isuzu Trooper, 1991 Toyota 4Runner and my current 1995 Previa van. Looks like the selection process has finally leveled out - but I would love to have a VW Thing again. Perhaps Spike will cure me of that.

Back to the present and Spike: I got to test drive it in 2WD and play with it in a sand pit in 4WD... inst and amongst the owner's family cattle who laid there thinking 'Now, that's a picture... but what the hell are they doing?'

I brought it home today and then had to go back to work... The first three days of the week are brutal. I will get it titled and tagged on Friday and then take it in to get it checked by my mechanic when I get time. But, the way it ran for me in 2/4WD I have no real concerns. . . but it's the newest baby here so it gets special treatment and the 'elder-by-mileage' gets to take a break a couple of days a week.

Driving it home on a state highway [with no plates, but insurance] was a bit dicey, but it was only a mile away. I waited till the stream cleared and then launched it into the road... It can definately accellerate and cruise.

So, as of this moment, it sits in my front pasture - tonight when I get home I will move it to the front of the house, take off the front tag, clean it out and give it it's new steering wheel cover. It will sit in the front yard till Friday when I get it plated. We will see if it goes to work with me...

18 June 2005

The quintessential test message...

You know how it is. “I wonder if this [e-mail] thing works like they say it will.”



Nice. Interesting possibilities come to mind with the e-mail capability... of course, there were two messages sent. The first one I had forgotten to click publish.

16 June 2005

A long ramble about dogs and containers... [?]

Waiting with bayted breath [well... sort of] for the delievery of my storage container. I have been wandering around the property in the morning with my coffee in hand, throwing rocks [and other available objects] at the black racers [snakes] in my path, looking at available neat nooks to have it dropped and thinking, "Well, that would be a nice place, but what if a tree falls on it?" I have some lovely cedar trees where I would like to put it, but I lost one in 2001 to the residuals of Gabriele and lost another, it's twin, [they grew up side-by-side] last year to Jeanne. Or was it Frances? The time-line and memories of hurricane season 2004 all seem to run together.

Maybe I will take the time and cut that one up with my neat, new, never used chainsaw. I bought it last year in anticipation of having to use it to clear hurricane debris. May I never have to use it for that reason.

So... Chez Container is probably going to go in the one clear area that is also higher than the shaded area. Too bad, really. The little glade would have been cooler.

I might be considered bizarre [not the first time, nor the last] but I want to get several of the containers and build a 'house.' My brother-in-law is also interested, so something might come of it. There are several Web sites about doing just that that we have discovered.

The fun part is that I can just visualize the county building folks trying to come to grips with that: 'No, it's not a house, its nonpermanent structure... I can break that weld...'

Anyway, it will be interesting once it does get here. I'm really at a serious choke point where I can hardly move... the birdbath that I have 3/4 of the way done is sitting in the living room surrounded by stuff that will end up moving out into the container.

So, in preparation for it's arrival on 1 June, this coming weekend I really have to mow [the incredibly rich and very green] grass. It's getting deep enough that if a dog lays down - they are essentially off the radar till they sit up [talking adult Rottweilers here]. It's also difficult to find the doggy land mines at this length, but that is another story.

Speaking of of the 'kids'... the old girl, Elba has been getting shots weekly for the past two weeks to reflow the lubrication in her arthritic leg. She started crying out when she moved and I took her into the vet. We did a muzzle thing because I wanted him to really check her out and he did. She didn't growl at him, even though I know the manipulation must have hurt. So, 200mg of Rimadyl a day [she's down to 100], supplements and Adequan.

Lovely thing, those shots - yes... expensive - but you get what you pay for. The first week she got two of Adequan. Adequan is used to ease arthritis in sport horses [hunter jumpers]. At $40 a shot, it did what it was supposed too, but I asked to go back to Legend - a varient that we used in 2004 when I thought I was going to lose her. Legend is one IV shot a week at $50. She got one today and because the Adequan was in a muscle, I had forgotten about it being IV... and she growled at the vet, she growled at him for the shots last week, too, but after it was all over - went and wagged to him. Now that's my girl - a Rottweiler to be proud of.

She is also went on a doggie weight regime because he wants weight off to ease her leg. Two weeks ago she weighed 98 pounds. They cut her a weight-loss schedule and I have to calculate her food just like I would my own. Do you know that two pieces of bacon is 90 calories? We started with the food - Purina OM [overweight management]. I didn't even get to make a comment about using sawdust, the vet beat me to it, but it's actually peanut hulls.

You may well laugh, but let me tell you... she loves it. 'We don't do the Science variety' been there, done that and ended up throwing it away after we gave it a go years ago... but we absolutely love this.

For the record - Elba says that she also likes the food's coordinated dog cookies. She weighed in at 96 today and the vet was very happy.

Misery loves company. I was so impressed by her inhailing of the food the night that I put her on it, that the next night - Miss Piggy [Pris, the rescue, who weighed in at 105 on her vet visit in May] - got put on the same schedule. Pris agrees with Elba about the tastiness of the food, but especially about the coordinated cookies.

10 June 2005

First on deck - Arlene

It figures... this hurricane season, per Dr. Gray, is supposed to be more intense and start earlier.

Well, Mother Nature decided to play along and just trumped by starting it WAY earlier. Oh well, again, it figures. The first named storm last year was Alex who went to Cat 1 and he rose from the depths on 31 July.

For those that are interested... NOAA just put together a very nice little program called 'Storm Tracker' that can be found on their main Web page [www.NOAA.gov] in the upper left of the page. It opens a small browser window that updates itself and has everything you would rather not see in regards to a named storm. Keeping it open while you surf will save you time bouncing back and refreshing everything or changing page views... Rather nice of them, really. ;)

This girl doesn't seem to be much of a worry to West Central Florida at the moment... but we can't be sure that what used to be normal will continue... that being - the real storms come at the end of summer.

It would be nice if normalcy reigned.

09 June 2005

What a surprise...

You would think after all the years I spent carrying around a Franklin Planner and having a 'more than worthy' Palm Tungsten C and a laptop to keep on top of things that I would have a decent 'time management' system... Doesn't look like it, but... well, I do - for work, and other things of grave importance - but not so [obviously] for everything. I'll admit I'm embarrased.

I can remember to get the dog to the vet for an appointment, I can remember to call the shop and tell them that I won't be able to bring the car in because of the quasi-emergency vet appointment... I can remember when sections need to be completed by... but I completely forgot that the EBSQ show closed voting a day earlier. We all have moments like this [I hope].

That being said... it was VERY nice, and a complete surprise to see that Abby [short for abnormal] pictured in the missive below, tied for second place in the EBSQ sculpture show and was tapped for a Member's Mention award.... Oh yes, a very nice surprise.

03 June 2005

Everything happens for a reason...

Boy, has it been a while since I have had the time to take to write thoughts down!

On the mosaic front I have completed the last of the EBSQ pieces that I had planned at the beginning of the year and the publishing of the show schedule. My newest work, the 3D ‘The Savage [beast]’ and Jessica are entered in EBSQs ‘Tangible’ show which is in voting phase.

Other than that, I am almost finished with the birdbath I said I would make for the kind kennel owner … she has NO IDEA what she is getting. I bought a second base when I bought hers so I can have one for myself someday. I think I can actually get around to going back to work on ‘the elf’ … now that’s a reward.

I have made a major change… several actually, but what is relevant here is that I have decided after last year’s 3X “pickup and scurry” … [read: hurricanes] that I would take a break and go completely mobile. Dragging the tower, its cords, and my monitor in and out was a real pain. There was no such problem with my lovely little Mac iBook – a Firewire clam, but as everything else I do revolves around PCs… I went with a new laptop [keeping the Mac because it has a DVD player and to keep my hand relatively close to MacWorld].

So, what you see is being typed out on my new [to me] refurbished Compac Armada 20 gig laptop that has ALL the muscle that my tower has – or had minus a CD burner. After the major thunderstorm earlier this week [recounted below], said tower has been plagued with problems so the purchase of Mr. BeepBeep was timely.

I will be taking pieces/parts off the tower – programs, files … things of that nature – and then take it and perhaps the monitor [a sweet 15 inch ViewSonic flatscreen] over to the place I got the laptop and use it to pay for enhancements to BeepBeep once I have everything I need off of it. I definitely need a CD burner and to have the RAM maxed out … and other things I am sure I have not thought of yet.

The night after I bought the laptop I was moving programs and files – working on battery and I lost power due to a mother of a thunderstorm, dropped once, then twice in a row … if the tower was having minor problems before – it definitely has them now. Though, nothing that a little “format C colon wouldn’t fix. At least … so far.

Other things have changed. I have finally gotten down to committing to renovate or obliterate my little ’50s era Cracker house… so I have gone to the point of purchasing an onsite steel storage container [40 feet worth] so I can FINALLY get everything that needs to stored – stored. When I first moved down here after retiring… I used the little house as a storage unit for all my household goods. Those got sorted out and then I decided to move in it. THEN I discovered that the son of the owner had used particle board as a floor base. Brilliant. So, I moved out and have been stuck between the house and the mobile home since because I needed storage space so I can clear out everything that I can in both so I can renovate and repair both… If this isn’t a dictionary definition of a ‘vicious circle’ I don’t know what is.

Anyway, the storage container will only be storage for a short while… I plan to make it a studio, especially since on one of my sisters and my travels, we found a 22 inch +/- commercial kiln for sale [$50 for it and all its furniture – how could we loose] so she bought it. She has one already… this one is going to be mine to play with. First thing in it will be shelving units... then everything else.

As I sit here and put this all down, the tower computer is doing everything it can to avoid coming up. Well, no … here it is. No, it locked up again. As it looks right now, the storm toasted the CD burner so I think it’s time to go get at least a 512 USB jump drive.

If you have never tried one of those – called a memory stick to some – USB bulk transfer devices to others – you should really check them out. One of the things that this laptop does not have is a floppy drive. A 256 MB jump drive is equal to 177 [give or take] floppies… Now that is some room to move. Wish I could find mine ...

I remember when that was more memory than my hard drive had ... well, now the CD burner is back on line … Looks like I will have to make moving everything a priority for the next few days.

So that is enough for this point in time … If you are so inclined ... go look at the new piece on EBSQ. Ta.