Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Sometimes a painting just needs tweaked.

 I do a lot of paint and wine classes, sans wine.  Sometimes a painting will look okay when I leave class but later I will realize it's not quite what I wanted.  This is one of the reasons I have paints at home.  

For example, we did this mermaid tail at our last class.  Not bad, but for one thing, the littlest starfish blends in with the tail.  And the shells don't look right. 


So I looked up some images of starfish and shells online (which I should have done while in class).  And I changed it.  


I like the new version much better.  And I'm glad I didn't give up on it.  





Thursday, March 3, 2022

There is STILL no dark in my house

 It's been just over 10 years since I posted There is no dark at my house.  Had you asked me then if the problem would get worse or better, I would have probably guessed "better". As in fewer lights. 

And I would have been wrong.  

In my prior post, I listed everything by room.  Not going to do that this time.  But suffice to say, for every thing I eliminated that had a light, I added two that lighted up. 

The Roomba charging light. At least it's not on all the time. 

There is a strip of white light on my replacement printer that stays lit all the time.  "They" tell you a printer works best if left on.  So this light is always on. 

Working from home now so add a work computer with a little red light. 

Replacement cameras, still with lights.  Added smart plugs, with lights.  Phone charger, NO light.  Yay!

No more cable so the lights on the receiver are gone.  There are small lights on the streaming devices, but they are hidden behind the TV.  So they probably don't count?  

Add to that, my neighbors have gone all out with the exterior lights.  There were some decorations stolen this past Christmas, so I don't blame them.  

But of my 10 closest neighbors, 6 have exterior lights on all the time.  Another two have motion sensitive lights.  And we're not talking one porch light.  Most have porch lights plus lights on either end of the garages.  

Another neighbor in the back across the retention basin installed an LED light outside that shines right into my bedroom.  Luckily, they turn it off at a reasonable hour.  Usually. 

What is my point?  Not sure I have one.  It would be nice to sit out on the patio and see the stars.  I can understand why astronomers complain about light pollution. 

But on the plus side, I don't have to worry about stumbling over any furniture in the middle of the night. 

And when Moana and I walk in the early winter mornings, there is plenty of light to see our way.  

If the next ten years follows this same pattern, I think dark (at least in urban areas) is going to be as rare as quiet.  

But that's a tale for another day. 




Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Moana and her collar


Moana is the only dog I've ever had that is like this. All my other dogs only wore their collars when we were out walking.  Never in the house. 

I took her collar off the other day to wash it . She stood right next to me at the sink and stared as I scrubbed it. Then she followed me when I got a towel to dry it.

She seemed so relieved when I put it back on her.



 

Monday, October 4, 2021

Life with Moana

 It's been almost a year since I adopted Moana.  She's gotten more confident and sadly, less cuddly.  Although I'm not sure that isn't because it's been hot. 

She still wants a lot of attention and interrupts my work.  But she doesn't lay on the couch with her head on my lap hardly at all.   

Like Bogie, she will lay on the floor with me nearby petting her.  But I'd be more comfortable if I could get her onto the couch.  

She has decided it's her job to guard the house. She sits in the upstairs window and watches the street.  Barking at people and dogs going by.  I have managed to get her to stop barking once I acknowledge she is doing her job.  

However, there are a few things that make her bark extra crazy.  A specific German Shepherd she's never met but has taken a dislike to.  Ditto a small dog that is frequently walked by our house by a woman in a wheel chair. 

Recently we had some nasty weather.  More rain that usual.  And Moana particularly objects to people standing on roofs.  At least 4 of the houses in her eye range have been inspected.  And no amount of assurance will calm her down until the people are off the roof.  

She sleeps in the bed with me.  Sometimes I make her move if she takes my spot.  Most often I find alternate open space on the bed.  At least she doesn't kick in her sleep - very often.

Our daily walks are calmer.  She doesn't freak out when she sees unknown people.  But she still barks at them, as she is walking up to be petted.  Everyone we've met has been wonderful with her.  And that has helped build her trust.  

Overall, she's a great companion, pushing me enough to get up and around.  Keeping me company.  

Driving me crazy.  :-)




Tuesday, April 13, 2021

When Bogie died in October 2020, I convinced myself that I was going to wait for the end of that horrible year before getting another dog.  I'd spent the past couple years taking one or both dogs in for weekly vet treatments.  I wasn't ready for another. 

I was still taking my daily walks, but I missed having a companion with me. So after a couple weeks I started looking for rescue Danes. 

The first I chose was pronounced not a good fit since I didn't have any other dog companions.  The second was a "foster fail" and no longer eligible.  For the third I made a 3 1/2 hour round trip to Tucson to meet her.  

And Moana was a sweetheart.  I admit the name concerned me since I'd never seen the movie.  But it took a couple more weeks for the process to wend it's way to completion, and I got used to the name.  And made a point of watching the movie.  (very cute). 

I got Moana the day before the Thanksgiving holiday and had the four day weekend to acclimate her. 



She's a now-3 year old Great Dane who's been marvelous company for me.  Her color is called Piebald and the gray spots you see are her skin, not her hair. 

She's kind of a blend of Angel and Bogie, very cuddly but also a little willful.  Luckily she'd had some training so I didn't have to start from scratch like I did with Bogie. 

It helps that I work from home and don't have to leave her.  She's not happy when I leave her, but she's not been destructive.  

There seems to have been some abuse.  She was terrified of men at first.  Especially men with beards.  But now she is anxious to meet anyone we encounter on our daily walks.  Although she tends to bark at them as she is walking towards them.  "Pet me, but I'm tough"?

I'm lucky to have her.  



Sunday, October 18, 2020

My Bogie Boy

When Angel died in March, I thought I would have a couple years of solo time with Bogie since he was  only 9. He didn't need a lot of attention, which was good because Angel demanded attention. I wanted to make it up to him. 

 But it wasn't to be. What had been noticed a couple years ago as a dragging of his back feet, became more serious. Degenerative myelopathy. He began to not only drag his feet, but have trouble getting up. And standing up. 

 We tried swim therapy. And he seemed to like it.

But getting into and out of the car did more damage than the therapy helped.  

So we muddled on the best that we could.  The final straw was when he couldn't get up.  And I couldn't help him up.  The panic on his face crushed me.  He eventually did get up, but that was a portent of the end. 

On October 17, I took him in to the vet, held him close, and let him go.  


Sweet, smart, stubborn, and stoic, he is sorely missed. 

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Quail baby rescue

Yesterday afternoon, while I was fixing Bogie's dinner, I looked out the window and saw a quail pair approaching the ground level bird bath.  Sweet.  Wait.  Something else is moving.  At least 20 little puffball babies. 

Bogie was distracted by eating, but I was afraid he would want to go outside afterwards.  I watched the babies go back under the gate.  Whew!.  Wait.  Mom and Dad didn’t leave.  Babies came streaming back into the yard.  Bogie laid down with no plans to go out into the heat.

Babies scurried back under the gate.  Yay!  Again, Mom and Dad didn’t leave and the babies came streaming back.  I opened the patio door, hoping the noise would send them all under the gate.

Mom and Dad flew over the wall.  The babies scurried away – into the yard.  I made sure Bogie couldn’t get outside, then I went out to gather up babies.  I found where some were hiding and herded them to the gate.  Score!  They went under. 

But wait, others went the opposite direction.  I caught one and put it outside the gate.  And it tried to come back into the yard!  I deflected it and put it further outside.

Herded the rest toward the gate.  Caught another and deposited it outside.  Didn’t see any more and went inside to find Bogie completely uninterested in what was happening. 

As I cleaned his bowl at the sink, I saw 3 more babies scurry along the wall and under the gate.  I watched a while longer, but nothing else moved.  All babies safely outside the yard.

Not my photo