The lost rings

Bogie's new favorite toy is 3 interlocking rubber rings.  He likes to fetch them.  He swings them from side to side, hitting himself on the shoulders like a ninja with nunchunks. 

This morning we played with them for a while. He stopped to rest and I went inside the house for a moment. I came back outside and we couldn't find the rings. He helped me look for the rings outside and in the house.  

Finally I remembered I had heard him getting a drink of water from the outside bucket. 

He'd gotten a drink and dropped the rings in the bucket. 

And forgot. 

He seemed just as surprised as I was to see them.  

I don't like living in a test market

Someone told me a few years back that Phoenix is a product test market.  Which helped explain why I see new products, fall in love with them, and then never see them again.

I really, really hate it when I find a product I love and it disappears.

Two examples:

Scotch Brite soap loaded scrubbers

These soapy scrubbers are more pliable than the steel wool scrubbers and thinner than other plastic scrubbers I've tried.  And I like that they were made from recycled materials.

If I had known I would no longer be able to buy them, I wouldn't have discarded them for being only slightly tattered.  The ones I have left are beyond tattered, but still useful.

Hefty Fresh Extend storage bags

I have a few of these storage bags left.  I'm learning to conserve my favorite products.  I like that the vegetables that I store in them keep for a couple weeks.  Sometimes longer. 

So, of course, logic dictates that they should no longer be manufactured. 

These are actually still available on-line.  But I am not willing to pay $16 for a 20 count box when a comparable sized storage bag runs $5 for 50 bags.  Around $5 is what I paid when I first purchased them.

This explains why, when I find something I like (t-shirts, bras, socks, etc), I buy multiples.

There have been too many times when I've gone to replace a product I love and it is no longer available.

Sleeping Bogie

 His snoring amused me and he looked so cute. He didn't even wake up when I took his picture like he usually does.

Bogie, sleeping in the arm chair.

I don't like it when your web site lies to me.

Angel is particularly fond of small marrow treats that can only be purchased at Walmart.  They are a Walmart house brand, so I find it odd that I am having difficulty finding them.

I checked 3 different Walmart stores and was unable to find the treats in any of them.  (That's the advantage of living in a large metro area.  Lots of different stores in a reasonable distance. )

I thought that she would get used to alternative treats, but after a week of snubs and sad looks, I was glad to find the marrow treats in stock again.

And - now they're out of stock again.

Being an avid on-line shopper, I decided to check Walmart.com.

Sadly, the small marrow treats are only available in store.  Happily, their web site indicated which stores had the treats in stock.

And that's why I'm ticked off.

Two of the stores that the web site claims have the treats in stock are the ones I've already checked.

The two stores that have no treats on the shelves.

The two stores that have not had any treats on the shelves for over a week.

I hate being lied to.

The short-lived doggy dish floor mat.

I was walking through Walmart today, fresh from buying more treats and toys for my dogs.  I passed a display of rubberized place mats to place under your dog's dishes.

Now, the dishes I use for the dry food are ceramic.  I was told that plastic makes both my dogs break out in pimples on their chins.   Who knew?

So, I use a couple of ceramic bowls.  One is in the family room and one is in the laundry room.  I have two so there isn't any fighting if they both want to eat at the same time.

Only, I have ceramic tile floors.  Bogie likes to drag the bowl across the floor.  He only moves it a few inches, but the sound of ceramic on ceramic gives me the crawlies.

I tried gluing cork to the bottom of the bowls, but that falls off when I wash the bowls.

The rubberized place mat seemed like the ideal solution.  I bought one to try, in a nice tan color to match my floor.

I put it under the bowl in the family room.  It looked kind of nice and I figured it would be easier to pick up the dropped pieces.

Angel eyed it suspiciously, left to go outside, came back and ate out of the bowl.  Success.  With one dog at least.

Bogie watched me put the mat down, but ignored the bowl and mat while we watched some morning television.

I went upstairs to check my job searches.  I heard a ceramic on ceramic scraping, louder than usual.  I assumed Bogie preferred the unmatted bowl in the laundry room.  I made a mental note to buy a second mat.

That's when he came loping up the stairs with the placement dangling from his mouth.  He came right over and proudly handed the mat to me.

Apparently, Bogie thinks he is a budding magician and pulled the mat out from under the bowl.  The dog food was dumped in a pile on the floor.

So, no tidy place mats for me.

Job search crisis of confidence

I read in this morning's paper that in order to get a job, you need to have a job. Employers apparently look at the unemployed as damaged goods. (Unemployed complain they need a job to find a job)

Great!  That does good things to my confidence level.

It also didn't help that my mother, who talks before engaging her brain, asked me yesterday if I was too old to get another job.

Thanks, Mom.   And I'm not that old, thank you very much.

Nor did it help that the HR person from Company A who said Tuesday that he was going to schedule an interview for "this week", never got back to me.

There are several things preventing me from spiraling into a vortex of self-pity.

1) Wil Wheaton.  Yes, THE Wil Wheaton posted that he was having a crisis of confidence after not getting any response from an audition he thought went well.  If Wil Wheaton can have doubts, it's okay for me to have doubts. (living in a hallway that keeps growing)

2) I spoke to a recruiter on Thursday that did not mention my lack of employment as a problem.

3) I have a phone interview scheduled for Monday with Company B.

Still, that doesn't mean I don't lay awake nights, worrying.

Sigh.

Arizona Renaissance Festival 2013

My friend, TJ and I went to the Renaissance Festival Monday, President's Day.  We totally miscalculated how many people would be off work and willing to drive to Gold Canyon for the day, even for a half price entrance fee.  It took 90 minutes to drive the 25 miles to the Festival site.

But it was worth it.

I've been to the Festival in other years.  They have it here every February and March.  No one in their right mind would dress up in period clothing for an entire day any later in the year.  It was already quite warm Monday.

Lots of dressed up people.  I couldn't always tell which were the festival participants and which were fair-goers playing along.  Well, the two guys dressed as Ghostbusters complete with proton packs were probably not part of the fair.

It's been three years since my last foray.  I swear every time I go the Festival is bigger.  There were artisan shops that I don't remember ever seeing.  It was really hard to resist buying this striking leather, ankle-length vest.  But seriously, no matter how cool it was, where would I wear it?  It wouldn't look right with my usual uniform of t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers.

We watched an amazing demonstration of glass blowing.  I hadn't realized how little air is needed, nor how many layers of molten glass.  It's probably a good thing the equipment is so large and expensive, or I would have myself yet another hobby.  I also resisted buying any of the beautiful glass.  I know it's worth the price, but I would be devastated if I broke a piece that I spent that much money on.

The shows were awe-inspiring.  I had only ever been to the first of the three jousting matches.  This time we only made it to the second.  I hadn't realized each show was different.  We got ourselves a seat at the top of the bleachers where we could lean against the backboard.  Then I spent the entire joust leaned forward to watch the action. Beautiful horses.  Lots of cheering and yelling.

The Barely Balanced Acrobats (Barely Balanced) did tricks I had never seen before.  In one, a man laid flat along the feet of the bottom man, and the girl stood on top of him to juggle fire.  I can't imagine how strong his abdominal muscles must be to hold himself level.

Our favorite was The Tortuga Twins, a trio of three unrelated guys doing improvisational pirate comedy.  We made it to their second show, which is considered their PG show (or Loose Cannon in "medieval" parlance.) We enjoyed it so much that we went back for the final show, which is considered their R (or even XXX)  adult show.

They take people from the audience to participate.  I don't know if these people have been approached before hand or not.  I would expect so.  Not all women would appreciate being kissed by strange (very strange) men.  And they teased different audience members.  A couple times I think the comedians were taken aback by the enthusiasm of the people they approached.  If it was planned, it was well-played.

The humor was very raunchy with many gay references and so funny that TJ and I both laughed until we cried.  Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but we liked it.  (The Tortuga Twins)

That took us to the 6 pm closing time.  We wended our way back to the front gate.  There were drummers pounding out a beat while the King, some wenches, and some audience members were dancing.  Just as we stepped out of the gate, the closing cannon went off.  Very loud.

The drive back wasn't quite as bad.  Still it took an hour to get home.

All in all, a fun, hot, tiring day.  I can't wait until next year.

Renaissance Festival