Meandering Maunderings

A big thank you to every one who commented on my last post. :) I hope to be able to get back and reply to everyone soon. I've been gone since about noon last Wednesday, though I did try to catch up on what I missed while anniversarying.


As I mentioned, last Thursday was hubby's and my fourth wedding anniversary. We started the day with hour long massages at a local place. So wonderful and relaxing, a great way to start a relaxing celebratory day. Our anniversary itself we mostly stuck around home, but tried to tune out the rest of the world. :) (aside from my post. *laughs*) It was an excellent day.

Friday we dropped the pup off at a new-to-us kennel for boarding. They have four different outdoor fenced in yards, and do doggie daycare too. So while Kyle was there he got to play with different doggies, and overall had a blast! They also have cats in the office, and the front pasture has several llamas and a couple sheep.

Then it was off to Wilmington, OH so that we could attend the Ohio Renaissance Festival. We got a deal with a hotel that for some reason included 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Don't know what was up with that, but hey- ice cream! :) And also- jacuzzi tub. Tis a very lovely thing. Though I told the hubby that if we had one at home than our water bill would be really, really high.

The festival itself was larger than the one I usually go to in Holly, so I was hoping to see a lot more vendors. Oddly, there weren't really more vendors, they were just spread out more. Adding to that, the stores seemed smaller. However, a wonderful time wandering around was had. We weren't successful in our shopping (me looking for garb, and hubby looking to finish off his look and shopping for pants and boots to go with his doublet and shirt) except to get hubby some pants. We even saw Santa and Mrs. Claus. *grins* They weren't staffers, but a couple dressed in period-type santa outfits. And he definitely could pass for Santa! We saw a full armored joust, and The Swordsmen (listed as a must see), and all in all had a lot of fun. :)

We came home Sunday, and were pretty wiped out. I was very glad to have Monday to recuperate (normally I would work, but thanks to a conference Mr. & Mrs. Boss are attending I will be working Tuesday-Friday this week). We also picked up Kyle on Monday, according to the Kennel staff, he was a very good boy. He must have had a lot of fun there- he spent the whole afternoon and evening moving from one napping spot to another. Leo did have to give him a thorough check, and groom his head a bit. Kyle was too wiped out to protest much!

Speaking of the cats... We got one of those water fountains, and an automatic feeder for them since they were on their own while we were gone. The water fountain they weren't sure of at first, and the only way I could get Sasha to use it was to have it off. *facepalm* She did eventually drink from it while it was running, so we felt okay with that. The feeder..... oi. It has two food areas and these lids that open when the alloted time is up. Apparently Leo was impatient, and managed to pull both the bowls out from under the lid before the time was up... It still works right, but we're probably going to return it since it's useless for us. Leo Leo Leo... such a cute pain in the butt.

So now I'm back at work, and I've been working on this post since this morning. Something about being gone for 3.5 days made things pile up...


And on a random note, I finally saw series 4 of Doctor Who. Something about the way Donna said "Annnd spin." makes me laugh, a lot. Over the course of the weekend I would pop out with it and just giggle.

First it was a dolphin- NOW it's a baby elephant?!

"A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana.

A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta. "

The Weekend was good, mostly. ;) woke up Saturday, intending to hit the RH sale. Sadly there was a lot more snow on the ground than had been expected, AND I had a lovely migraine. :( However, rallied, and after a nap, felt almost human. The thing with me and migraines, that I do want to explain, because I don't think I ever have; most of the time I have a headache on some level, usually quite mild (and yes, I am seeing a doc about this). There are days that I don't have one- these are good days. :) When I get a really bad migraine and take meds- it's not the pain of the headache that prevents me from doing things, it's the mental/body weariness I feel once the meds have taken hold. Generally I manage to go out and do even with a headache, because if I didn't, I would never get to do anything. So know that if I do cancel something because of a migraine it's either really, really bad and I have no meds, or I know that I just won't have any energy after taking meds, but at least I won't be in pain. If I catch things soon enough I can manage to take meds and still go out and do, because my energy levels don't get so low. Just so you know.

Anyway, back to the weekend. Had a lovely Valentine's Day with the hubby. We were smart- instead of trying to actually eat AT Olive Garden- we called for take away. We had an excellent good meal (with easy cleanup!), in the comfort of our home, and didn't have to stand in their lobby for hours waiting for a table.

Sunday was kind of lazy. However, we are getting the new couch on Wednesday- and hubby works tonight and tomorrow. This meant that yesterday was the best day to get rid of the old couch, because both of us would be there. So we managed to get the couch out of the apartment without killing each other OR the door. :) Getting it downstairs was easy enough- as husband was good enough to make use of the assistance gravity provided. Plus, it really helps that we didn't care what the couch looked like when we were done. Since the sidewalks were snowy/icy, it was quite easy to just push it along. one of our neighbors was just coming home from somewhere, and he gave us a hand. :) Very nice guy with a cute, though not friendly, dog.

The living room was rearranged somewhat so we have seating for the next couple of days. We stole the cat's chairs for our use. ;) Hubby has a blue lazy boy type chair, and I have an eons old lazy boy type chair that's been Sasha's since I got her! (Hey Sis, if you're reading this, any idea how old that chair is?) The animals were all locked up for the duration of the moving, and were MOST confused to see the new arrangement. Sasha was Not Pleased! She told me so. She did get her exercise jumping from my lap to hubby's, since she could no longer just walk across us. Leo decided he just didn't care so much. Kyle adjusted quickly, deciding the pillows now on the ground were for his use...

Now we just need the new couch in! *laughs* While I like the two "easy chair" set up, I prefer a couch. Makes snuggling with my sweetie easier. :)


And lastly, dragons.

Stealing from scouts_angel- this is just fun!


Watch CBS Videos Online

Could I have one? Friday night was fun though, so it can stay. :) Took Caracassonne over to zen_kitty's house. Was much fun. Though earlier in the evening I took Kyle for a walk and managed to slip on the icy sidewalk. Ended up sitting cross-legged on the ground. Not exactly sure what happened- but I do recall having one of those moments of 'do I go with it, or try not to fall?' I decided to go with it, fighting to keep my footing probably would have ended with me hurting myself. ;) Like I said, I ended up sitting down, and Kyle trotted over with a 'Whatcha doin' sittin' on the ground, Mama?' look, and a healing lick to the face... As I was still in a 'it's FRIDAY!' good mood, I was able to laugh off the fall. Then like I said, went to zen_kitty's and had much fun, laughter, all good stuff.

Saturday- woke up with a slight headache, snuggled a sleep hubby for a few, then got up EARLY! *gasps* to get myself ready to go to losgunna's place (the getting ready involves dog walking, and so on). I talked to her briefly, and said I would leave between 12-12:30. I actually left just a few minutes after 12:30pm. I was making really good time on the road- I was looking at actually being on time! Then traffic slowed... signs appeared for roadwork- a lane closed 12-13 and 12-14... Great. When the cars were actually stopped for more than ten minutes, I called losgunna to let her know what was up. This triggered cars to start moving again, and then a helpful person on my right pointed at my back wheel to let me know I had a flat. The noise did kind of give it away. Luckily! There was a ramp right there and I was able to get over and off the road. The idea of putting the spare on was NOT enticing- the wind was quite cold. But there was a gas station right there, so I filled the tired, hoping I could make it to losgunna's and from there to the tire place she knew of. Did manage to get there, took the car over, and settled in. Unfortunately sarbah77 wasn't able to join us. :(

Go to pick car up (they asked us to be back by 4:30) figuring that since we hadn't heard from them that it meant that it was an easy fix. Umm, no. They hadn't actually gotten to my car yet- which is understandable, they were really busy. So we waited (they closed at 5) and got the news a few minutes later- there was a big ole nail in the tire (they showed me). Fix not possible, need new tire. Oh, and I have after-market wheels, so they had exactly 1 tire they could use. $135 later, I was good to go. Oww. That done, we went to dinner, when it began sleeting a bit. This cut my trip short as I really didn't want to be driving in really awful weather. And actually the drive home wasn't all that bad, no freaked out drivers, just people being reasonably cautious (for the most part).

Sunday was migraine day. Didn't get much accomplished at all. Did get a nap on the couch with the Kyle-dog. He was funny, laying next to me, belly up. That was a happy thing. Finally felt better about 8 pm or so... *sighs* But didn't sleep well, and had trouble getting myself moving this morning. :(

So can I have my week-end back to re-do?

from bluesgirly from this post

My dear friend Mary is in the business of dog rescue which is a profession I wouldn’t wish on anybody. First, she must witness crime after insane crime perpetrated on man’s best friend. Then, she has to listen to vile excuses and crack pot stories like the one I am about to tell you. She takes in the sorry and the injured, the abused and the starving dogs. She gets them all to the vet, does the nursing and the feeding and the loving until one day, a forever family shows up and it’s all worth it.

Which brings me to our newest outrage which is Lucky. Lucky, unluckily, found herself living with two vagabonds. This little dog lived with beatings and neglect and with owners who figured the solution to a rotten case of mange is to buy a plastic collar and leave it around her neck for a year. The itch that goes with a disorder like this is the human comfort equivalent of walking around with 3,000 mosquito bites. These hobos finally sold the poor thing to Mary for $1. Times are tough for perfect dogs right now and there is absolutely no way this dog is adoptable in her present condition. Thus, we are stuck.

Here is Lucky’s story :

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-11-07.5153921676/groupaction_view?portal_status_message=Your%20changes%20have%20been%20saved

If you can help out with a few dollars, provide a link to your blog, forward this an email or simply send a prayer Lucky's way - then you will win for helping. I have the best readers in the world, and I appreciate you all.

My vacation started last Wednesday. It was hubby's and my 3rd wedding anniversary. :) However, he had to work the night before, and I had an appointment to get my CPAP that morning. So much of Wednesday was spent not celebrating, but sleeping, as I stayed up WAY too late the night before and ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep. *laughs* We did go out to dinner to celebrate our actual anniversary- and that was very nice.

Thursday was slug day, we had debated going to Toledo and in the end I delayed. My head was bugging me big time, and I didn't think I would enjoy wandering with it. However, there was much time spent with my dearest, which was the point of the vacation... Being me, I had a little song I would break out into "We're on baycation... we're _____ " filling in the blank (...goin' to the zoo, ... staying at a hotel), and yes, it's baycation, just go with me. I did reserve a room for us at a hotel in Toledo, booked boarding for the Kyle-dog, and got directions from Google Maps on how to get to each point we wanted to visit, AND home).

Friday we took Kyle in, went out for breakfast, then got ourselves packed, left extra food for the cats, and headed out. Luckily we had only just gotten to the car when I realized that I had left the directions upstairs... Directions retrieved, and we were on our way!

The first stop was The Toledo Museum of Art". Lovely place, I've been there before, but not for like 6 years... (Whoa... I remember it was the December before hubby and I got together, so almost 7 years. Wow.) We headed in and spent the next several hours gazing at painting after painting, and some decorative pieces (tables, fireplace mantles, etc). There were works by Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Sargent, and on and on. My feet got tired of walking before my eyes got tired of looking! One very funny, to me, note. There is a section of the museum devoted to Sacred Art. In this area is The Cloister- it's a center courtyard with pillars forming the square. Each side represents a different style of arch used in the building of cloisters. At one point I happened to look across the square and saw a nun wandering around. I HAD to point this out to hubby, who was also amused. No nuns in the entire place until we were in the Cloister. Then a whole gaggle of them showed up. I was very amused, but it did make me feel a bit more irreverent. *grins* Then there were the groups of teens, talking very loudly... We tried to keep a gallery or so ahead of them. At the gift shop I was good- I only bought a couple postcards of my favorite pieces, and a pair of very pretty glass earrings.

Finally, aching feet won and we headed to the car to find our way to the hotel. The directions were good, but the signage... not so much. Especially trying to find parking... But we prevailed! Found an underground lot, parked the car and headed in. The place was somewhat disappointing initially. It wasn't terribly clean, and rather shabby, but it looked like they were doing some renovations. The elevator we took up to our room had a sticky floor, but at the time I was more amused than anything else. Being determined to be in a good mood can work! so we get to the room and upon inspection find out that the coffee maker doesn't have a carafe. However, we had 'splurged' on the junior executive suite that came with a jacuzzi big enough for two... So the room wasn't a total loss. ;)

Bright and early the next day we were off to The Toledo Zoo. Again, we found the zoo easily enough, but parking was another story.. See, we came in the 'back' side thanks to Google Maps, which actually worked to our advantage, once we got turned around and into the parking lot. *grins* There will be a picture post later- I took so many pictures at the zoo that the camera battery almost died! I won't post all of them though. *laughs* The weather was perfect for wandering around the zoo- not too hot, bit of a wind, but most of the animals were active.

It was just a lot of fun, and a wonderful way to celebrate hubby's and my anniversary. It was really nice to just get away for a little while. We both commented when we got home that it felt like we'd been gone much longer than just one day. A good vacation sign I think. Now however I have a cold... one that I've kindly shared with the hubby (or he shared with me?).





Too cool. 106-year-old voter chooses Obama

Look, a dragon:

I've been trying to find this show for quite some time- I saw it on TV years ago, and loved it.

For beldar

John Cleese + Lemurs = Funny Educational! (this is part 1)



( More of it back here... )

Is a bad idea.

This is just too cool. To give you an idea of the story- a group of Bikers formed a group called Rescue Ink- and they work to help animals, checking on bad situations, and letting owners know what steps they need to take (and that they'll be checking in on them...). :)

There's a slideshow that goes with the article... I think This is my favorite picture...

Captioned: Desi Calderon, who goes by Des, is known as "the Cat Man." He had been carrying the rescued cat everywhere for the past week and a half. "This little guy has to eat every few hours," he said."

After losing most of today to the migraine from Hell, I'm finally feeling human again. I have had pizza, and have a purring Sasha cat on my lap- so all is good.

For many migraine sufferer-type people spicey food is a trigger, or cheese is. For me, I need something with some extra kick when I'm in recovery mode. I don't know why exactly. Pizza worked.

As for the Sasha... In other Jadecat household weirdness, the laptops are generally placed on the coffee table. Hubby likes to kick back on the couch with his laptop. For me, I've found th best solution is to sit on the floor (on a cushion!) keeping the laptop on the coffee table. This is the best height I've found for proper ergonomics... or something. A few minutes ago one Sasha the Grey came ambling over, and crawled between my legs- under the coffee table. After poking and prodding said legs into acceptable position, she curled up and is now snoozing/purring.

Must be naptime in animal land- Kyle has sprawled out in his crate (his choice, the door is open) and Leo is doing his Pan Cat thing. If I hadn't napped most of the day- I might think about joining them. But no... I'm not tired! At the moment.

Soon it will be time for me to get off my tushie (though I may have to wait until Sasha gets up on her own accord, she can be sooooo lippy if I try to ove her before she's ready...) and go through the boxes of books in Leo's room. I went through three bookshelves last night and pulled about three boxes worth of books... So many things that I liked, but will probably not be interested in reading again. I'll let you all know when I'm done. ;)


and just for fun- dragons!