Gone But Not Forgotten

Busy, busy, busy.  Still trying to sell this property.  Looking for land in the Emerald Triangle, check us out http://emeraldtriangledreams.webs.com/

Now, on to important things like the Furbabies.  We are now at 5, yes that is FIVE canine furbabies.  Don't think I've added pictures of the boys, so here we go.  Better start with the patriarch and that would be Mr. Pugsley.  He is *supposedly* Pitbull but I'm thinking American Bulldog and god knows what :)  His mother looked part hassock, part yellow lab and maybe part Pitbull.  She looked 100% like a candidate for Weight Watchers :)  Not to be outdone by the girls, Mr. Pugsley also plays dress up.  Personally, I call him Cream Puff.  He's a grumpy old man but he knows who mom is and totally wilts if I holler at him for snapping air when one of the other dogs bug him.  HOWEVER, he did make the mistake once of snapping at Cali and she knocked him through a doorway and would have torn him a new one only she glanced up and saw me looking at her.  Now he makes sure he doesn't snap air next to her.  Tuff-E doesn't like him because he snapped at her.  She won't let him in the bedroom and lays in the doorway so he can't get in.  Totally funny.  Minnie Mouse is in love with him and wants him to play.  He's too grouchy but she keeps trying.

The other one of our boys is our youngest pit, Tyson.  Tyson is built like a brick shit house and he has SWAGGER.  Not swagger, SWAGGER!  He struts his stuff.  He's 6 years old now and still looks like a total puppy.  Mr. Pugsley is his dad and his mother, Cleo, is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and one onery baggage!  Tyson likes to bring gifts.  Oh, things like 6' long limbs from trees.  Or a small tree stump.  Just any *little* thing he can figure out to carry home.  And he LOVES to ride in the trucks.  He never met a truck he didn't like.  His favorite destination is "there."  He knows when he is getting "there" and starts singing.  Well, squealing would be a better description.  A couple of octaves higher than breaking glass!  He also likes to "borrow" Minnie Mouse's toys.  I have a video of them playing.  Quite hysterical and I am going to have to figure out how to load it onto this computer and onto this blog.  So, here's a picture of him all dressed up, yep, he plays dress up too, in his custom, one of a kind, made only for him and his swagger, Billabong hoodie!  Doncha all wish you were him :)

Now, just so we're up to date, and just to vanquish that stupidity put out about pitbulls and you can't have two males together or you can't have two females together or you can't bring new pits into a household.  Here's a picture of the four pitkids.  You'll have to look carefully because, well, unlike Vinny, they "blend." :)

Well, as usual, I am computer challenged. Haven't the faintest how the poster ended up on here too but it says it all.  So, just so there is no confusion.  This is my "OMG, the fools marked the wrong price" hand tied Oriental rug on which the Pitkids are laying.  Facing us is Cali.  To her immediate left is Mr. Pugsley.  Mr. Pugsley is laying on Tuff-E.  And up in the corner is Tyson.  He is sulking.  He went into the laundryroom and "demanded" a cookie and didn't get one.  So he came out to the livingroom and PLOPPED on the carpet turning his back on his compatriots AND on us. He was angry!  Whatta cutey!  And, yes, he did get his cookie but he had to wait a bit.

One More Time

I don't know what is going on with Blogger but I guess it doesn't like this computer.  So, last blog was about the new puppy.  Got as far as putting up the picture and again with the "error on page," which btw, I am getting again.

New puppy came with the name "Pebbles" but it was quickly changed to "Minnie Mouse."  If she were a he it would have been changed to "Mighty Mouse."  She attacked our youngest Pitbull, Tyson.  And, I do mean "attacks!"  She grabs his throat and tries to shake him.  She bites him on the lips.  Nips his nose.  Jumps on his head if he lays down.  AND, when they play chase, IF she catches up to him she bites him on the hiney!

Did I mention she weighs about 4 pounds and he weighs 85 pounds?  Evil pitbulls, doncha know :)

So, on the homestead front I am repotting my marionberries and raspberries.  We are fixing the place up to sell.  We've found we aren't mountain people and the ocean is calling us.  We love fresh seafood and by the time it gets up here, well, who knows, if you know what I mean.  It has been a 10 year experiment but try as we might, it just isn't us.

I need to repot my roses.  I need to pot irises.  I need to slip the grapes and the blackberries.  I'm also going to pot some young strawberries to take with us.  Then I need to find some giant pots and dig up my redwood trees so we can take them back down to the coast with us.  In 10 years they have only grown a few inches.  At their age they should have grown a foot a year.  They aren't happy up here either.  Oh, and my lilac.  It has some shoots coming up and I'm going to dig them out and pot them also.

Shouldn't be hard finding a buyer since we are in the Emerald Triangle and we have "gold."  As in water.  A good well that doesn't run dry in the summer (the norm up here is running dry for two to three months each summer) and two creeks.  And, we're on a private road.  Not a lot of traffic which is nice for anybody.  Along with good hunting -- deer, rabbit, quail, wild turkeys, wild hogs, bear.  Hunters paradise!  3 lakes within 45 minutes to an hour.  Two rivers with great fishing.  And for folks into snow sports, Mt. Shasta is only 2 hours away.  The only thing it doesn't have is my ocean :)

OMG! I Am A Bad Blogger Mom!

Wow!  Has it really been that long since I set fingers to keyboard?  I lost my little box with all the log in info in it and I found it today.  Guess I could have tried harder.

We have acquired two more cats:  Here Kitty Kitty and Mihus (I think that is how you spell it, the name came with him).  Here Kitty Kitty was semi-feral.  I started feeding him because he was soooo skinny.  I mean, SKIN EE!  Gradually convinced him to let me stand there when he was eating.  Then I gradually moved the food next to a cat carrier.  Then I convinced him not to run when I reached down and petted him.  Then, SURPRISE!, I pushed him in the carrier and off to the vet we went.  Neutered, wormed, rabies shots.  Brought him hom and put him in a BIG dog crate and gradually convinced him to let us pick him up.

Now, the name.  I know you're just biting your lip waiting for an explanation.  As I was talking to him to get him used to me I tried all kinds of things to get him to listen and then respond.  Blessed if he didn't respond to "here kitty kitty."  I then promptly wished evil things on his prior owner because obviously he had been someone's pet and they had tossed him.  Eye for an eye sounds good to me!

Then there is Mihus.  Youngest is all grown up now and has her own place.  Got herself a kitten and then had to move.  The people where she had been living said they would take care of him and then they decided to move.  Seems during the year he was with them they hadn't bothered to feed him.  So, we acquired cat #7.  Again, off to the vet, neutered, rabies shot, wormed.  He's quite pretty now.  I'll have to get a picture of him.

Did I mention that Here Kitty Kitty looks just like Smokey?  I can tell them apart but no one else can.  I'll have to get a picture of the two of them together.  Two great big blue gray balls of fluff!

So, one would think that we had enough animals now.  Oh no.  Not happening.  About 3 weeks ago, youngest calls and asks if we can care for her boyfriend's puppy.  Pebbles.  The runt of a litter and supposedly Australian Shepherd.  Ah, I don't think so.  This is what she looks like ~~

The Sad Saga of the Stoves

For years and years I've wanted, lusted after, an electric stove. I absolutely, positively H-A-T-E gas/propane stoves. I saved pennies. I saved nickles. I saved dimes. I saved bottles and cans. I used coupons and put the amount I saved in a jar. I get the house rewired for 220. I get my electric stove. I'm a happy camper.

For about a month. The oven isn't accurate and the brain isn't working correctly. Out comes the repairman. He fusses around with the stove and says he has to order some parts and he'll be back. He brings back and installs the brain and then he informs me that if I want accurate baking I need to buy an expensive stove. He goes on to tell me that stoves can take up to TWO HOURS to reach a steady temp. What kind of hogwash is that?

End of summer rolls around and I'm canning some cabbage for cole slaw. Just as the timer goes off, I smell burning electrical. I get the jars out of the steam canner and onto a towel. Run outside and switch the breaker to the stove off (you can tell where my priorities are).

Call the repairman out again and he says the burner connect has melted. I shouldn't be using it so much. Huh? I guess I didn't get the memo where it says how much you should use a burner. As he's fussing with it, the burner itself goes. Great. Now I've got a new connector but no burner. I get the "I'll be back speech again" and I tell him, I don't need you to return, just mail me a new burner.

While I wait on this stuff, I call Sears and tell them I am NOT a happy camper! They say there is nothing they can do. Well, I know different. My mommy didn't work for them for nothing. I pick up the phone and call corporate. By gum, the stove's a lemon and I am not happy with it. They replace the stove with an upgraded model. ~~sigh~~ It's a piece a c**p! Burner connection over heats and melts. We replace it. Then we have a power outage and the surge when the power comes back on melts the brain. A week later a burner arc's and misses my hand by less than an inch!

I go looking for an OLD electric stove. One that isn't made out of tin foil and plastic. I find one . . . sit down and hold on to your hat. $6,000! That's right SIX followed by three zeros! I don't think so.

I'm back to looking for a gas stove. OMG! They are tin foil and plastic too. So, I go looking for an OLD gas stove. Oh yeah, they are even pricier than the electric stoves.

I have an epithani. Appliance junk yards. Wahoo! I find my stove. It's a gas stove. They had an electric stove but I'm not buying an electric stove that has been sitting out in the rain and snow. Ah not!


Isn't it pretty? Gotta center griddle, which I love. Has simmer burner plates. Two ovens plus I have a wall oven, watch out baking time. Only one problem. I should I say one more problem since this whole thing has been a comedy of errors. I have the stove but I can't use it. Go figure. It is soooo big it won't fit in the kitchen so we have to remodel the whole blooming kitchen. DH is not a happy camper, but I am since now I get the shelving built for my wicker baskets. We're almost there and within a couple of weeks I will have my stove.

JUST A NOTE: I found out that Sears has their stoves built by Electrolux. GE doesn't make them anymore and hasn't for a few years. I complained to Sears and then I sent a letter to Electrolux telling them about the quality of their products. I got a letter back from Electrolux that said "sorry, it isn't our problem, it is the exclusive responsibility of Sears" I sent an answer saying I hadn't asked them to do anything, just informing them of the quality, or lack thereof, of their product. I get a second letter back stating "Thank you for contacting Electrolux Major Appliances. We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, you will need to direct your concerns to the offices listed below: Sears . . ." Hmmmm, I need to address my concerns to Sears over the lack of quality in a product that Electrolux produces? Guess who lost a customer for any of the dozen or so companies they've bought up -- Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator, Eureka, Philco, Tappan, White-Westinghouse.

Well, haven't been here in awhile. Lots of things have changed. Some not for the good. Our cat, Kahlua, has disappeared. She was critter savy, so we think the gun happy neighbor shot her. There is no way Kahlua would miss a meal! And when she didn't show up for dinner for two nights in a row, we knew something was wrong. We searched everywhere, all her favorite places and the places where she went hunting. No sign of her or of an animal fight. That leaves theft or the charming neighbor.


Her kittens, Lil Harry Houdini, Pickles and Mr. Snuggles are all grown up. Lil Harry is dumb as a rock but fun. He doesn't have any survival skills or instincts, so he is a house cat. He doesn't want to be a house cat but we're not giving him any option.

We've added two Pitbulls to our population here. Mr. Pugsley and his son, Tyson. Mr. Pugsley is about 6 years old and weighs over 107 pounds. Lil Harry, being the bright bulb that he is, waltzes right up to Mr. Pugsley and starts rubbing all over him and hasn't a clue that Mr. Pugsley doesn't like him, or any cat for that matter. However, Mr. Pugsley is smarter than the average bear and knows his life wouldn't be worth much if he attacked the cats. He, great big Pit that he is, runs and hides in the bathroom.

We also have Son #3's girlfriend's cat, Zoe. Zoe is certifiable. She is cute as all get out but nuts, nuts, nuts. A candidate for the looney bin! She growls like a dog, attacks fox (who are twice her size) and yowls and hisses at anyone who tries to pick her up. She also bites anyone male that tries to pick her up. *She*, unlike Lil Harry, stays far away from Pugsley!

I WAS WRONG!

Sad to say, I was wrong. Snow lasted about another day, maybe two after my pictures and then nothing. We've had a couple of days with rain since then but nothing "serious." And it was all brought home in a big way this week.

Hubby went out to move the fence you can see in the first snow pictures. He wants a bigger front yard. He hauls out his trusty pick, post hole digger, shovel, electric drill and chainsaw. I figure he's good for hours. I mean, all those "man toys" should have kept him happy. NO! Back in he comes to tell me that he finally believes me when I say "drought." Seems he digs down just a hair more than an inch and the ground is dust dry!

So, he spends a couple of days moving his fence and then announces one morning that we need to prepare the garden and "get serious about growing some food." This from the city boy (born a few minutes south of Boston, I mean CITY boy) who has spent years treating my gardening as a cute hobby.

Today he "attacked" the garden. I told him I needed to redo the raised beds because critters were eating my plants. And that I needed to redo the lasagna rows.

So, raised bed #1 has been dug out and 3 of the lasagna rows. He even marked off the area that I've been asking him to dig out to put a hoop house in! I figure by the time of the last frost I will have ALL of the raised beds and lasagna rows I want. Yippee!

Tomorrow I will be laying hardware cloth and the dirt will go back in raised bed #1. You see, the cats may have cured the squirrel problem but they haven't put a dent in the mole, gopher, vole problem. I am on a mission and wonder of wonders, finally something is on sale -- hardware cloth -- when I need it. I shall defeat the highly acid soil, the VERY short growing season, the lack of dirt and abundance of rocks AND the extreme cold and heat.

Now, if I could just convince the STUPID city folk that are moving out this way to keep their blooming mutts home!

Maybe Not A Drought Anymore

O.K., so the rains have finally arrived. And arrived and arrived and arrived. Then the snow arrived. And, not to be out done by the rain, it came in and dumped on us. Captive for a week, power out for a day and a half and, horror of horrors, no internet for THREE DAYS! Pure torture.
It was quite a learning experience for DH, the city boy. And I do mean CITY boy. He was born and raised just outside Boston. When his family moved to California they first moved to San Luis Obispo and then up to Wine Country. Big city followed by city followed by city. Quite a learning curve when I drag him from a city of almost 200,000 to a county with less than 130,000 and a city of only 28,000. THEN I drag him to a county where the population is less than the city we left!

So when the power went out, he thought it meant no food since I have an electric stove. Woodstove works fine for me. Drag out the cast iron and enamelware and dinner is served! Well, maybe not quite that fast but who can starve when your hens are laying, you've got a pantry full of home grown and made jams, jellies, salsa, pickles and spiced veggies, a 50# sack of organic flour and bacon from the little piggie down the road? Denver omelets, bacon, homemade biscuits with jam. Dinner is served.

After hauling wood in first thing in the morning and feeding the chickens, we all putz'd around the house. Later in the day we spent time watching the hummingbirds play in the snow. We have two resident males who spend the whole year with us. If we don't keep their feeder filled, they fly back and forth in front of the livingroom window demanding attention. They come up and eat out of our hands. AND, they eat mosquitoes by the thousands during the spring, summer and fall. Beautiful to watch and a real bonus to have around!