The day started with walking the dogs

After walking the dogs, I took a plastic pail and went out in the back pasture to find out why the cows were bellering (bawling).  It turns out that one heifer had been rounded up and sold on Saturday ... and two of them were calling to see if she was lost and would be coming back.  They both came and looked at me up close, twice, but I had no answers for them.

I picked the blackberries and arrived back home in time for breakfast.  The trashcan needed to go out this morning ... even if it was a holiday.  It didn't happen.  We rushed off to to help Pam move.  Made a couple of trips back and forth.  And then she asked us to take a chest over to her mother's place ... two towns over.  We got it there and then had to chat with Pam's mom for awhile.  Stopped for a burger on the way back.  Arrived home to find that the other trashcans had already been emptied and ours was still full sitting at the house.  Darn.

Had to adjust the length of one of the tank support angle-irons to get it to fit on top of the tab ... which is why it had originally been bolted to the bottom (unlike the other 3 which were on top).  Got it to fit.  Put the tanks back in and adjusted them.  It was 2:00 p.m. and I was exhausted from the heat.  Went and stayed in the house for awhile.  Them took the stuff I needed to work on the steps up to the shop and spent the rest of the afternoon watching Orange County Choppers (O.C.C. out of NY)

Blackberry Breakfast

 

My neighbor said to watch out for the cows and the rattlesnakes.

Saw plenty of cows, but the big black bull stayed under his tree.

Didn't see any rattlesnakes out in the briar patch ...

Lot's of stickers on the canes snatching at my skin 

as I reached in to pick berries. 

Yummy! 

Sunday Tasking

It's Sunday ... I had to substitute for the substitute for the Gospel Doctrine Instructor.  The substitute was out in Texas seeing her grandson.  It was my job to make sure the lesson didn't finish in 15 minutes or less ... because I didn't have enough paper and crayons to keep everybody busy until the end of class.  Sometime during the process, I remembered to not stay pinned behind the podium ... to walk around and interact more with the class.  I actually had 2 pictures from the library to put up, and chalk that I used to write on the board.  I tried to remember to wait and write more after people finished answering the question.  Rather than while they were talking.  I think the lesson turned out pretty good.

 

The puppies are getting bigger and more active.

We took a lovely 2 hour nap after lunch.

Now my wife is doing more indexing while I am pouring out very few of my thoughts and emotions on the web.   :)

Puppy Pile & Tank-echtomy

There they are ... taking up a lot more space in the box.

Notice eyes open and maneuvering on all fours.  

They climb in and out of the kennel.

Going to have to raise the height of the box walls.

Had to remove the tanks and supporting rails so that I could

sand and paint the frame.

The supporting rails had never been painted and need LOTS 

of sanding and paint.

My Putty Knife BROKE !

 

I obtained this putty knife when I worked at Sierra H.S. as a custodian.   I used it to scrape gum and other things off the floors.  Over the years, I have mostly used it to scrape with.  I have seldom had to "putty" anything.  Some 30 - 40 years later I was busy scraping a tar-tape off of the aluminum siding from the trailer ... when the blade went "Snap!" and broke off clean at the end of the handle. Darn.  

And I wasn't even done scraping yet.  

So, I eventually went to Lowe's and looked at all the different "putty knives" in the paint department.  There was even one with a skewed end ... like a lathe chisel.  I picked up all the flat-end ones, looked down and found stuff stuck to the concrete floor, and tried out each of the different putty knives at scraping the gunk up off the floor.  The one that worked best for me (happened to also be the most expensive) ... is the one I bought.  Now I can happily go back to scraping for many more years (I hope).  And this putty knife should out-live me.  

Note to children, do not fight over this ... it was only $7.

A Little More Black

Okay ... so I am lazy ... been doing my regular job work and generating reports ... It's a weekly concern if I want to put food on the table.  So this morning I fired up the drill with the wire brush and worked my way further back on the trailer.  I think it is about time to take the wheels off ... to work on that section of frame.

5-across

They are too big and fat to fit 7-across anymore. 

With a bit of angling we have 5-1/2.

These 3 are on the right in the above foto.

Most of them got the big Pug head.

(two got the smaller Boston Terrier head)

They are now 8-1/2" to 9" long (not counting the tail)

FOUND: Backpack on a School Bus

Today I was a substitute bus driver all day.  This afternoon as I was getting to the far end of the run, dropping off kids after school ... I asked this brother & sister if there were any more kids on the bus -- I didn't see any ... and they didn't know of any still on the bus.  So, I dropped them off at their house (the last stop on the run), then stopped the school bus to close windows because it was starting to rain.  Partway back in the bus, I noticed a backpack that someone must have left on the bus.  Then I realized that there was a kid totally asleep under the backpack.  He didn't respond to voice queries. So I tapped him on the shoulder, woke him up, found out where he lived (it wasn't very far - he was the next-to-the-last stop), and dropped him off on my way back to the school where I picked up the bus.

Good thing I closed windows before getting all the way back to the school.  :-))

Prolific Weed

 

This is a prolific weed that grows in this area ... 

 

it's called Mimosa  

Monday the 9th

Monday morning we got up early ... 

I took the dogs for a mile walk.

Took out the trashcan for the truck.

We each ate a banana for breakfast.

Climb into my car (it gets better gas mileage) with wife and our pug.

Drove 2 hours to the V.A. hospital so they could take x-rays of her hip.

Received a couple of wishful text messages from 2 daughters.

Went back to Hardees and got breakfast biscuits.

Wife was being wheeled to ER when I handed her a 

Texas Toast bacon, egg & cheese.

After x-rays, Doc told her what she has now is bursitis ... 

and offered to jam a great big horse needle of cortisone in there.

The wife declined and said she'd take aspirin instead.

Pit-stop at World Market and so wife could get a couple flavored syrups.

A couple McDoubles and a side salad for lunch.

Drove 2 hours back home.

Printed out some paperwork.

Drove an hour to deliver last week's reports.

Then tracked down a new kid to do intake paperwork.

Just as I was getting home, a mother called and asked me to check on her boys and talk to them.  Close to 8 p.m. when I arrived home.

Checked email and FB.

Snacked on left-overs for supper.

Did the nightly dog walk.

Off to bed about 10:00 p.m.

CPR and ... The Line-Up

Medicaid has decided that we all need to be CPR certified.  So I spent 3 hours in a CPR class today to get my certificate/card.

Here's the puppy line-up.  

The two brownish brindles were the first two born.

Since they look a bit like chipmunks, we are calling them Chip & Dale.

We are waiting to see what they are like when they get their eyes open.

RHUBARB !!

We walked into a local store the other day and found red stalks of rhubarb.  It won't grow here ... so we have to import it from colder climes.  Just had to grab 5 or 6 of the biggest stalks.  My wife cut it into pieces and stewed it up ...
4 cups of rhubarb, a cup of sugar, and two cups of water ... brought it to boil and cooked it on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes (give or take ...) stirring constantly -- or it will stick and make a mess.  When all the chunks break up, it is done.  Cut up some fresh strawberries and throw them in with the rhubarb for another variation.

I was lucky to get a picture of it before it all disappeared!

Tasty!  Yummy!  Delish!

Sheba Updates

Looking down from my computer chair ...

This is what Sheba looked like on Monday evening.

about as pregnant as an 18 month Boston Terrier can be.

Then she started panting ...

Starting early this morning (Tuesday 5/3/11), she began having babies.

Count them ...   7 total.

How could they all possibly fit in there?

A very exhausted mother.

The babies are "Bugs"

They are a Boston Terrier/ (Black) Pug cross 

Both parents are CKC registered.

The first two were brown brindle colored - both males.

The rest are black with various markings.

The all have the white breast and stomach marking of their mother.

Between now and July, we will be interested to learn their personalities.

Right now all we hear are little whines when they aren't close to mother 

or their food source.  - Ha!  :-))