cats vs dogs

You know, I should really consider changing the name of my blog.  I am tending two cats and now a dog, after all.  I'll be honest and say that I am more a cat person than a dog person.  I like dogs, not as much as cats but I have welcomed Oscar into my home and will do my best to take good care of him.  We are still getting to know each other.  The two in combination crack me up.  

Skyler is so nosy to the point of risk sneaking up on Oscar in the open crate last night to see what he was gnawing on (a small rawhide bone).  I had gotten the baby gate to keep Oscar out of the living room but what I had not counted on was Skyler going around or over it.  Twice last night I stopped him from getting any closer to the dog.  The third?  I did not see him in time and Oscar finally did, barked and chased him out of the room.  BUT did that stop him?  NO, he did not learn his lesson---at all.  

Oscar meanwhile does not want to go OUT necessarily.  I can stand and hold the back door open and he won't budge.  However, if I get the leash and maybe his food bowl, he will go out the car port side happily.  He has piddled on the floor a couple of times even after walking and being out in the backyard for hours.  Those sad eyes when he is scolded.  "did you do that?"  and he looks like he has been whipped or something.

This morning at 6 when Skyler insisted for over a half an hour that I get up and feed him.  Oscar is buried so far under his towel cover that it looks like he is not even in there.  He did not budge through feeding the cat, my fixing and eating breakfast either.  Not until I went to open the gate did he even stir.  Food and a walk and he is back outside for most of the day.

At the same time, Skyler wants to run and play, wrapping himself completely around his scratching pole and digging in with those back legs.

If I were the one trying to sleep, I think I would want to be more like Oscar and drop like a rock and stay asleep till at least 7.  BUT you know who wouldn't hear of that!

When Oscar and I started out for the walk, Mamacita spotted us and I had to stop and feed her too.  It was a little early and I had not spotted her on my earlier outside trips.  She is getting a little bolder now and has twice walked into the house when I was trying to get back in the door for her food and holding Skyler back.  She has even been in the beauty shop when I went across the lane to get my hair cut earlier in the week!  Still no sign of the baby kittens, born on April 12 so they would not be weaned at 3 weeks.  I don't really mind as long as she and Skyler don't get in a hissing, fighting fit.  He just wanted to sniff and she just wants to get back outside to eat, LOL as that was why she came running when she saw me, after all.

I have had a dog before, back when I was in nursing school with my 4 housemates.  I forget just where she came from but we named her Abner---we watched a lot of Bewitched re-runs back in the early 70's and you remember how nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz used to call her husband "Abner, Abner".  Then came summer break between between junior and senior year and one of us had to take her.  My folks said she could come home with me but she had to be outside.  My brother Steve built her a dog house.  Then graduation came----could not have a dog and my family got custody.  I think my sister Janet was her favorite, after me.

We thought she was some sort of terrier but she really was no bigger than Oscar is.  These were taken when she came down to visit for the day with one of the kids.  The three younger kids would take turns coming to spend the day with me and we would fix whatever food they wanted, go out the mall on the bus, to the park or a movie or whatever.  I have pictures of Janet and I making fondue that were probably taken along with these pictures of Abner.  Phil was thrilled to make tacos as it was not something we had at home at that time.  It was not all that long after this that Diane lived with me for a time while she was attending the same school of nursing.  I loved this little apartment though I did not like the guy who later became the landlord.

This was back in 75 so the fabrics are really dated, LOL.  In the upper left, that was the flowered spread that I had used throughout nursing school in the dorm and house we shared but continued to use until I got a full sized bed. the same one I have today.   I still have and use the granny square afghan as my mom made it for me. I don't have a clue where the other one ended up that I have my head on watching TV with the dog.    In the lower right picture the dog is looking at Vernon the parakeet.  Birds were okay, I guess or I had one anyway for a short time anyway.

A little trip down memory lane, LOL.  In the here and now, since I was up plenty early as I said I have already been busy with the critters, breakfast detail and such.  I also swept up the grass clippings from the car port to try to cut down on the stuff I track in. (Robert mowed on Thursday Then I swept up the kitchen and laundry room, dusted in the living room and vacuumed the entire house.  I sat down to write this post just to cool down a bit!  The dishwasher has been run but needs to be unloaded/reloaded and a basket full of laundry awaits.  I'll save the bathroom cleanup for another day. 

 No sewing---maybe I will feel like it today?  What I need to work on has not changed but I do know now when my assigned day will be for the picnic hop so I have a little leeway but still, it would not be good to procrastinate too long when I have other things to work on too.  If I can only find some energy to get my rear end off this chair.

I hope you are having as lovely a day as we are here---got to love the low humidity and cooler mornings though I hear 80's are coming back in a day or two.   I like it how it is right now!

what a day!

I started out the day determined to finish up with the state tax forms after working through all the medical/dental bill stuff to itemize those deductions until almost 9 last night. Even Skyler was getting tired of that routine and just wanting a cuddle. When I finally flopped on the bed on my belly with the cell phone in hand, he was trying terribly hard to get me to roll to my side. He wanted me to lay down next to me and I just was NOT getting the message at first! The circling and head butting finally convinced me.

I just now finished with the filing, ready to mail it out in the morning. I kept on goofing up the forms when I was trying to copy the data over. Then I started doubting my math.  On  re-examination I decided that "yes, my taxable income was minus 300 some dollars". I could have done fillable forms but there was just too much stuff to add on and write in.  You know how stinky java script can be sometimes! At least this year I did not start printing several copies and then find that page 2 was upside down. Then when you try to reprint said java script  would make me start all over on the fillable part. GRRRRRR.

About 9 this morning I got a phone call from one of the quilting pals.  I expected the call as I had offered to print off some foundation sections for a block she is working on with small flying geese and a square in a square center.    That's it below, called "Illinois" block.  (The JOY Quilt Guild is working out of the Eleanor Burns' Pioneer Sampler book with a series of classes and a chance for the more seasoned quilters to mentor the beginning or less confident ones.)  We had discussed this at Belles on Tuesday. Donna said it would Thursday morning before she could get over and we did not set up a time then.

 At the meeting we had talked about her attempts to use the Eleanor Burns flying geese ruler---she had not offset the centers enough and was going to try it again since the ruler will be needed on other blocks in the book.  Turns out she was using the smaller ruler that makes 1 x 3 or 3 x 6 geese sections.  I was like, wait a minute!  Take a look at the block that is supposed to finish at 12 inches.  The math is off.

Basically it is a souped up 9 patch or a 3 x 3 grid.  That means that each section of a 12 inch block should measure 4 inches when sewn into the block.  She needed the ruler that has 2 x 4 inch geese in combination with the 4 x 8 one.  I found a duplicate ruler in my quilt supplies so was happy for that to find a new home with Donna!

While I was waiting for her to come, I was outside looking for the expectant neighborhood calico cat to come on over for breakfast.  No sign of her at that point but I had a suspicion she was hanging around up at Glynda and Robert's since that is where I normally see her come from.   Lately when she sees me come out the door, she comes running.  Occasionally I have to call "kitty, kitty" but then Skyler comes running too, LOL.  I heard Glynda hollering at one of the dogs, a lot of barking and one of them in distress.  She turned the hose on them, got Robert to come help.  I'll get back to that in just a minute but Oscar was really in the dog house!

In the meantime I started up the road because I needed Robert to help me with a problem I had with the front door when he had time.  He was just getting into his truck so I flagged him down as he got to my driveway and explained the situation.  I had gone in through the front door yesterday using the key on both the deadbolt lock and the regular lock.  Something happened that evening that deadbolt would not line up and the bottom lock seemed to be jammed.  I could not get the door open from inside the house--at all.  What's more, I didn't know if it was locked or not.  Since the storm door was snap locked inside, I could not try keying it from the outside without causing possible damage to the storm door.  He got it popped up from inside with a screw driver. If it does it again, I will know what to try first before I panic.   A little WD-40 all around and I am back in business.  I had visions of having to replace the locks, the door and whatever.  Easy fix, great!

 He said he was off to get some work boots.  I asked what size, same as DJ it turned out, so it was worth looking to see if he had any out in the shed.  I had given away any shoes he had to the Baptist Service Center last month so I knew there was none in the house.  No work boots outside but he could use the overboots and galoshes in his concrete work.  There was also a metal cutter of some sort that I passed on.  We discussed a few other yard work issues and he went on his merry way with my thanks.

Donna came over and while we were talking quilt in my sewing/computer room she asked me who had put in my laminate flooring.  Robert, I said and you can ask him if he would be interested.  Here is his number.  By that time he had returned from his errand and was out unloading his stuff from the vehicle.  I called him over so they could discuss what she needed etc.

Robert asked if I wanted a dog for backyard protection.  Turns out Oscar had attacked the younger of the three dachshunds for the 2nd time in as many days.  They were going to have to find him a new home or take him to the pound.  If he did not do well in his own backyard with 4 other little dogs, then he would not do well at the pound.  Glynda said it was like a case of two against 1 and he was the odd dog out.  So I inherited a dog but he has to stay outside for now.  Robert brought over his dog house and filled in a spot near the gate that he could have gotten out perhaps.  (We have a fenced in back yard.)   I put a rug and blanket in the bottom of the dog house and drug out the water bowl we had gotten when some strays adopted us temporarily.  What does he eat and how much?  I went off to get the food, a collar and leash.  We'll see how it goes.  I mean, I like dogs and all but I am more a cat person.

But how can you resist this sweet little face?   He has yet to bark at me but I did hear him this afternoon.  He has a sweet deposition.  Already got some doggy kisses.  He and Skyler met through the front door when I was walking him around the yard on the leash.  No snarly or hissing ensued.

While I was out in the back yard,  Skyler was overseeing the proceedings.  I could hear him in the house meowing and crying like he does when he knows I am outside.

And, the oldest of the three azaleas is in bloom.  I spotted the lilac first from the kitchen window yesterday.  Little did I know but the azalea was also flowering.  It got a bit cool like in the upper 30s last night so I hope the plants are okay.  I cannot see the azalea from the house as the big old gardenia bush blocks it from view.  That bush looks dead but it is a bit early for it.  If it is gone, then Robert will get it yanked up like he did with one of the ones in the side yard.  Parts of the lilac might have to be trimmed out a bit too.

DJ had babied this lilac for years, supplementing the soil as they are not native to Alabama.  All I could think of yesterday when I first saw it is how excited he would be to see it come to life.  The azalea too.  He might have hated it when I called him Farmer Alfalfa but he did enjoy tending his plants, watering them daily.  Much better green thumb than I have.  I might have said something about the hanging plant in the kitchen will be lucky to survive my lack of attention and he has had that thing since the early 80's.  LOL, he would be amazed to see me pulling weeds out of his rock garden area in front as I never did any of that to help him.  He was the outside guy.

Well, I need to go see if Miss Calico is ready for supper.  Maybe walk Oscar again, make sure he didn't dump over his water or something.  Skyler is stretched out on the bed as he got too hot in his window seat.

Tomorrow I AM going to sew on that quilt kit.  I deserve to do something fun, just for me, after all that tax mess.  Sheesh.   I'll probably post again tomorrow as Belles did meet on Tuesday and Lois had some quilts to turn in.  Always fun to share those!