Thursday, September 25, 2008

Preoccupied

It's been a long time. This year has flown by so far. I don't imagine it slowing down any time soon. Where do I begin? I visited Rob in the spring. I drug him to Philadelphia to see some of the great historical places there. I got to meet grown up Gooby! I got a chance to relax, it was my calm before the storm.

When I got home it was train, train, train for Ragbrai! Training combined with Jesse's graduation party and his celebration for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Party preparations, ride, announcements, ride, commencement, ride; that was in one night. OK so I am exaggerating, but it seemed crazy at the time. Jesse's party turned out awesome and I rode 6 1/2 days of the 7 days of Ragbrai. The half day we rode all morning in the cold rain by the half way town I just wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere and suck my thumb.

After Ragbrai, I worked at my previous employer for a week. During this time it was confirmed my employer was closing shop. *stress* So I went to Colorado for 8 days. OK, so the Colorado trip was planned for over a year but it sounded good when it seemed more spontaneous. Todd's scout troop, I think 10 adults, and our children invaded Ellen and Johns house for almost a week. We originally planned on invading their back yard with just a few of us leaking into their house, but after we ended their drought by taking our Iowa monsoons with us we ALL invaded their home and left the tents to blow away into their neighbors horse pasture or any other random place they ended up. That was way more entertaining then it must sound here. We went to the Denver Zoo, Wolf and Wildlife Sanctuary, Drove to Pikes Peak, Air force Academy, Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods. Some of us went hiking on our last full day there. I almost put my foot on a rattlesnake to tie my shoe. I don't know who was more scared, me or the poor snake that almost had my stinky foot on it, but that rattle sound they make seems MUCH more ominous IRL then when you hear it on TV. It was a great week.

Todd's Grandma passed away. 2 family friends passed away. We lost our little Pomeranian. All hold a special place in my heart. ~RIP~

When I got home I had to hit the ground running. Find a rental space where pet grooming was allowed. Utilities, licenses, Realtors, postcards to notify people where I went (over 800), get program running, office equipment/supplies, tub, washer/dryer, water heater, the list goes infinitely on. We arrived back from Colorado on August 10 and Kim's Animal House was operational by August 19.

It will take some time to fill in the blanks and elaborate on some of these things, but I hope to frequent here more often.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

New bike!

I finally got a road bike, January is a good time to buy a bike, but it is also a bad time. Now I want to ride. They are callling for 50 MPH winds and a blizzard. I guess I am still a fair weather rider, I am ~so~ not going to ride out there today.

My bike is a 2006 Orbea, new in the box with Shimano 105 shifters, deraillers, and wheels. Zues brakes. It is silver and charcoal. I can't wait to go ride it.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Remember Peanut?


That little tiny kitten my mom found near death back in 2006 (pictures posted in November 2006). This is him today. Such a stinker too. He is perpetual motion and always ready to play! I thought this dopey picture had to be published. Peanut currently resides with my parents. He is one happy, fat cat.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

The Zoo

My pets, aka "the zoo", are a rowdy bunch. It is hard to begin to introduce them all, that is why it has taken me so long to even try. Here goes...




Triskit (Nicknames include: Biskit, Siskit, Sissy, Bisky, Queen Bitch, and many other variations) Registered name Triskit Tai Winkie. (Sire was Tai Pan Hot Shot, Dam was Winkie Sue) She is a 15 year old grey and white Shih Tzu with a larger that life chip on her shoulder that not one of the other pets in my house will even look at, let alone knock off. This little 10 pound dog rules the non human lives in my house, the other pets will walk a six foot in diameter circle around her to avoid getting snapped at. She is very vocal, screams went you try to groom her, barks incessantly until you feed her, yet she can be the sweetest little princess when she wants to be. In her day she could and did run with the big dogs... she used to play tug of war with our Saint Bernard who has since passed. She would take the kids for walks, and sleep on my pillow . She doesn't see the best now, and only hears sometimes. Not sure if she has selective hearing or really has trouble. She has a way of being naughty and nice in the same wag of her tail.



Next in line is Bonsai. (Nickname: Sai) He is my 15 year old black and white domestic short hair cat. He follows me everywhere, when I sit he is right there to sit in my lap. He purrs constantly even though he is struggling with kidney failure. He sleep next to me with a paw on me to make sure he knows if I get up. If I run my fingers under the edge of the sheet or wiggle my toes under the covers the game is on! Triskit recognizes Bonsai's #2 position in the pecking order and generally leaves him alone, none of the other animals mess with him at all. He used to always, and still on occasion hold complete conversations with me. Answering everything I say with meows that fit right in with the topic.

Then there is LaMia (Nicknames include: Mia, Miles, Jami) Registered name Lamia Minnie Tally Wag. (Sire was Bozo Tally Wag, Dam was Minnie Woof) I had difficulty finding a name I thought suited her, I found myself searching a dictionary for something appropriate. I saw the definition before the name. It said "in Greek mythology; a female monster". The word Lamia. This is a dog that did and still does steal your shoe or a sock or drag around a 2 foot rope bone, she drops her nose in the snow and plows through the yard. She completely blocks out anything you say to her unless it sounds fun or it ends in the word treat. She will beat on you and dig at you with her paw until you pick her up and hold her but if you insist she come to you she will drop and roll over on her back for you to come rub her belly instead. She does run with the big dogs and she gets them on their backs and climbs all over them play biting and growling, if she wants to play and nobody will attend to her she has a half shrill, half howling bark she turns on to make her wishes known.


Then there is Puffit. (Nicknames: Puff, Roo, Rooski, Piffit. Poof) Registered Name Lil Mystical Puffit, instead of Lil Miss Muffit. I did not name her with a part of each parent's name cause I just couldn't make anything from them. The Sire was Ka Ce's Leonardo, and the Dam was Moshannon Shelly Fan Jo Pep. Puffit is a 10 pound buff Pomeranian that is 4 years old. She has a genetic problem with loose back knees (Lax Patella) which causes her knees to bend either way sometimes and she limps a lot. It is not evident whether she has any pain from her ailment. She runs and beats on LaMia when she can. She is our house thief, if you don't watch her she will steal bones from the big dogs and even Triskit. She is a closet eater, she waits until we go to sleep to eat. She is definitely over weight.. or big boned as the kids like to say. Her tongue is bigger then her mouth and if you don't watch it she will lick you to death. One of her favorite tricks is trying to stick her tongue up your nose. I groom her many ways, she gets such a long coat she seems more comfortable when she is shaved. She often has a mohawk, or a heart shaved into her coat somewhere... or something fun to let her express herself. Whatever it is she struts around like she owns this town. Occasionally she will forget Triskit is the matriarch and she will try to step in, she is always put in her place.


Marty. She likes to call herself "Good Girl or Marty Girl, pretty girl". Not sure her exact age... Guessing she is 8 or so. She is our Blue and Gold Macaw. She has a limited vocabulary. She says "Hi", and "good girl", and "hahaha". When she thinks she is in trouble she yells "stop". She has said "sonofabitch"<~~ came with that one, don't really say that. She will chant " here kittykittykitty, here kittykitty, Where's that cat?" A dog is called Boomer in her mind because the previous owners had a dog named Boomer. So when she wants a dog to come to her she will say "come here Boomer". She dances and sings and licks the dogs when they lick her. She does not like blondes and she has bitten people with blonde hair. She will get on the floor and waddle around behind me and follow me around along with Bonsai. She will sit at the table and eat with us when she can. When I get junk mail I hold it out to her and say it's a bill and she shreds it for me. She will let me cradle her in my arm sometimes. If she gets startled she'll say "What up" or "what that?" She sits on the back of the seat in the car and laughs at people going by. Sometimes she yells hi or what up at them. She fits right in with the zoo.




Buddy and Duke I will do together because they are two peas in a pod. They are Boxers. Both fawn and white. Buddy has a white box on his nose and a crooked white bow tie mark on his scruff. Duke has a black face. Buddy is 3 1/2 Duke is 4. They look a lot like a double mint commercial most of the time. They will simultaneously shake their bodies or run side by side. They are incredibly nosey and have to see everything. They and Puff and sometimes LaMia have a really bad habit of barking profusely when anyone arrives here. They tiptoe around Triskit, they shower Marty with licks all over. They roll over and let Puff and Mia beat on them and they love it. They play tug of war with the little dogs and let them win. Buddy watches the only other animals we have in the house, fish, for hours. You can tell him to go fish and he will sit there and watch the tank for quite a while. Duke will stand at the edge of the bed and whine to get up there. When they need to be kenneled, I just say "Kennel" and they go right in and lay down. They both think they are human to the extent they have their own love seat. They love camping and disk golf and anything that has to do with running and playing. Unfortunately Buddy has something wrong with his knee. The Vet is still trying to figure out, as you can imagine it is difficult to try to get him on bed rest to allow it to heal. When the Vet did the x-rays he didn't have to tranquilize him though, which is generally standard procedure. He laid still and let the Vet do what was necessary. Great dog!
This is my zoo!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Dad

Today is the 28th anniversary of my Dad's death. He died when I was 10, he was 37, of colon cancer. Now colon cancer is very preventable if caught soon enough. Even when he was suffering from it, had he gone to a doctor when he started having problems they had a good chance of helping him. Every year at this time, and many other times, I wonder how my life would be different if my dad was still living. I miss him always.
RIP Dad. I love you.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Ramblings

I like an article or a verse or a flip comment from a strange little old lady in the grocery store that not only makes me stop and ponder at that moment but reiterates itself in my mind at random times when I think I am concentrating on other very different things.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

Now that the "feed" day is behind me I can focus on better habits. Starting that off tonight with a 30 minute ride on the trainer! I get to look forward to that getting easier because right now it is anything but easy. I had to do something today after I ate lunch at mom's! She is too good of a cook. I am sure even though my arms are tired from boxing on the Wii I did not come close to burning all those delicious calories off!

I started reading Alan Alda's book today "Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself". So far I am really enjoying his unique humor. I will let you know if I recommend it when I am done. Climbing mountains at 70+ years old is definitely something he can be proud of! Hopefully I will be strong enough at that age to do incredible things like that.

I had a conversation tonight that dabbled in religion, astrology, astronomy and many other interesting topics with a great friend. Those conversations are great mind stretchers. My PT Ellen and I discussed how she is going to make sure I sufficiently torture myself this year. What a great day!