On a more up-beat note

The backyard of the Haven is almost complete. The fence is nearly done, the weeds are gone and grass is growing in the bare patch where the old outhouse was.

Outhouse? Yes, the prior owners had a decorative outhouse (NOT functional) in the backyard when we first toured the place. They were quick to tell us, during our tour, that it was not staying with the property.

........What a shame.


Last night I managed to dig out one of the two metal posts that were being used to support the old, broken fence to the side of the house. With the new post in, there isn't a need for it any more. The other post will come out today. DH says he plans to remove it. If he doesn't have time, I will be tackling it myself.

*flexing*
Me strong woman. Arrrr.
*realizing I have no muscle tone when I flex*

How sad.

In any case, the hardest of the hard work is all done and it is great to see things coming together nicely. I find gardening and yard work to be somewhat therapeutic for me. My hands in the dirt, making things grow... it's wonderful. And nothing tastes better than a tomato from my own vine.

Hello Fence, Goodbye Neighbors

Sometimes it takes a desperate situation to bring about good results. Thus it is that the fence we rushed to finish in an attempt to keep our dogs from being eaten by the pit bulls next door will do its job... for three days.

As we were busily attaching slats yesterday, the neighbor popped his head over the fence and chatted with us for a few minutes. We learned that by Wednesday evening he and his family will be completely moved out of the house next door. Because of clashes with their landlords they've decided to move in with his mother and eventually find a new place. No more neighbors, no more dogs eating the fence. I will NOT miss the damn dogs, but their people were good folks and "Good Folks" can be hard to come by. I'd rather have crazy dogs behind our new fence and get along with the people next door than have some crazy, dirty, nasty people move in.

Fingers and toes are crossed that the new renters will be equally enjoyable. And maybe, if we are lucky, they'll be 'cat people'. :-)

RIP evil Dog

Today, as we were working away at trying to return our fence to its upright position, the neighbor next door came out to offer some assistance. Really quite a nice guy, for the record. 3 of his dogs were in the kennel they made recently. I pointed out their playing and commented on how large the "puppy" had grown. I called the other dog in the pen "Odie" and the man corrected me saying "That's not Odie. Odie isn't here anymore". He then told us that they used to have FIVE dogs but Odie killed one of them so they took him to the pound to be put down. He then said the two remaining pit bulls shouldn't be rough housing like they were since it could lead to them hurting eachother, getting taste for blood and then killing like Odie had.

Never was the motivation to finish the fence so strong.

!!!


We're hoping that the current repairs will last long enough for us to continue our slow rebuilding. Once that is done we'll be able to anchor any other posts that are weak, ensuring that we don't have any further adventures like we did today. I feel badly for DH. He works a graveyard shift tonight and he's had NO chance for any nap today. He's exhausted already and he'll be even more tired tomorrow. I suppose I could go work a graveyard shift at work myself and offer some comfort in the form of mutual miserable status. <---I just made up that term. It will most likely cause English Majors to squirm but it makes me happy. Yay.

Let it Snow... again

Weather forcasts are sometimes our friends, other times they are our enemies. Today it is the latter. While fixing the fence, we've had to battle mother nature as well as a that blasted piece of wood. Who knew that a broken post would want to hang on to its anchor in a reataining wall so badly. With the help of our neighbor, (the owner of the damn dogs), we've managed to prep the hole for a new post. Our only obstacle now *knock on wood* is that we need to rent a drill that works on concrete so that when we mix cement and place our new post in, we can support it with some L Brackets. We can then attach the fence pieces and re-claim our yard. Of course we will continue to do all of this amid snow and rain. YUCK!!

I'm not much help since I've been fighting off getting sick for a few days. Last night I felt rather icky but I've been slightly better today. It only hits me now and then. We'll see what spending several hours outside in the storm does for my health tomorrow. I'm supposed to go back to work in the morning. Vacation is over.

*sigh*

Thar she Blows

I woke up this morning after having slept in a little late and methodically put two of our dogs in the backyard to do their "business". I then wandered through the house and after finding my husband and his mother MIA, I called DH's cell phone. His mother answered and said they were at the local hardware store. "Why?", I asked them. "Did you happen to look at the back yard?", she asked me. Uh... no, no I didn't. A quick peek out the window sent me running for the back door. Luckily, the dog I was most worried about having go for an adventure in the neighborhood was cold and decided to stay near the door so she could get inside. The Sheltie, however, had jumped through two sections of downed fence and was taking a huge dump in the far corner of our neighbor's yard. OYE!!! And so begins my day.

...........

Side note: I normally get the urge to blog at work during my breaks. Annoyingly enough, the internet has been down for several weeks. I've continued to blog, but I've been forced to save the entries on my hard drive until things are repaired. Hopefully, in the time I've been on vacation, they'll have sorted everything out. *crossing fingers and toes for luck* Eventually this blog will be hit with a barrage of entries that will make me look like I've been REALLY busy. HA! Hope I remember how to back-date everything. I hope, I hope.


Ms.Behaved

Damn Dogs

It's safe to say that I am an animal lover. If it's cute, cuddly, or in any way adorable I want to bring it home and keep it forever. That said, I have something to share.

Ms.B's Deep Dark Confession #3: I hate the damn dogs next door!

About three months after we bought the Haven, the family who had been renting the home next door moved away and the property was vacant for a few months. Recently a new group of people moved in. So far I've counted four adults, 6-8 children, 4 dogs and a partridge in a pear tree. A nice bunch, so it seems, except that the dogs are left outside all day and all night with no shelter and minimal interaction. The Shih Tzu barked non-stop the first two days but has mellowed out a bit since then. The three pit-bull terriers are wild! One seems friendly (though I've not stuck my arm through the gaps in the fence to test this theory!!). The other two pits are semi-aggressive. When they see the monkey and the wiener in the back yard they lunge at the fence in an attempt to get to them. This wouldn't be a problem except that the back fence is one of the few projects around our home that need some attention. The boards are brittle and hanging on to the cross-beams by the skin of their teeth. A solid thud by a muscular dog pops them like a cork from a wine bottle.

*POP* goes a board.
*FIZZ* goes my temper.

So a project that I thought could be ignored until mid-summer is suddenly an issue that must be addressed immediately. Damn dogs! The sad thing is that we aren't sure who owns the house next door so we can't approach them to see if they'll pay for half the cost of new fencing. Chances are that they'd avoid doing it since they aren't there to enjoy it themselves anyhow. The plus side is that we can now just put up fresh slats on our side and not worry about what their side looks like. *insert evil laughter here*

I guess in the big scheme of things its not a big deal to repair everything a little early. We'll be able to enjoy the finished product for more of the warm season this way and there will be no fear of sending three dogs out for a potty break only to find a fat, satiated pit-bull, licking his chops, waiting for me when I go to call them back in.

And once the fence is done there shouldn't be any major expenses in the near future of our home. *knock on wood* At least not the kind that can be planned.

Damn Dogs.

Saturday Adventures

At first glance today seemed as if it would be a typical Saturday. I spent a few hours at work monitoring some rehab issues with the residents. I took the DH and the monkey with me so that we could could head right to puppy class at the end of the shift. Monkey went around the building and greeted everyone with his typical "kisses and love" style which made me proud. Growing up with an anti-social dog made me appreciative of a pet that is willing to bound into a total stranger's arms with little hesitation-- provided the fore-mentioned stranger is prepared to have a puppy bound into their arms, of course.

Puppy Class went well. I've gushed about it on this blog before so I'll contain myself a tad. Being the proud mamma, however, it must be stated that the monkey is the smartest little pooch I've ever owned. He sits, lays down, shakes a paw, Sneaks(crawls) and is now learning "roll over". *sigh* What fun we've had in that class. Next week is graduation. Not sure if we'll be signing up for the Intermediate Level.

After dropping Gus off at home, we next headed to the local hardware store to order the carpet for our basement and pick up some supplies for fixing the fence. This year's tax returns are being put to great use. The nasty, stinky brown carpet in the basement is going far, far away. It will be replaced by a nice Berber carpet called "Caramel". It's light enough that the basement will feel bright, but has enough color and pattern to hide a multitude of sins. PERFECT for a family full of animals, myself included.

The real adventure began when we arrived home after our shopping spree. Somehow, the pipe where all the water and sewage exits our home has become clogged and all our waste and water is now overflowing into our laundry room.

EWWWWWW!!

Not sure what happened, but we've narrowed the location of the plug down to a small area and my Daddy is coming tomorrow afternoon to save the day with his handy-dandy snake tool. At least, that is the plan. All fingers are crossed that a plumber won't have to be called since that could cost a pretty penny and we spent all the pretties we had on the carpet that will be installed in a couple of weeks. Oye!

Fortunately, we've discovered that if we avoid flushing toilets and running sink water, nothing pours from the pipe. We should be able to survive until tomorrow without those things though we'll have to miss church. I can't go without a shower and I'll be !@#$%#ed if I'm gonna rinse off with the garden hose in order to get cleaned up to go. What a great excuse for playing hooky! Ha.

We can stay home and work on the back fence instead.

Ms.B

So Cold. Toes Numb.

Red and blue are beautiful colors. Very patriotic, classic even. However, when the red is my hair, and the blue is my skin, I am not a very happy camper. The heater in the Haven is not functioning properly. Yesterday morning I glanced at the thermostat only to discover that our house was a cozy 52 degrees. ACK!! Since I'm normally content and happy at about 70, this was a major problem. My father is in the process of helping us get it fixed, but in the mean time we had to make a dash to the local hardware store to buy some small heaters to keep our house from feeling like an icebox. I'm not programmed for cold. Yes, I live in the Rocky Mountains and yes it gets chilly here, but I prefer to admire the snow and ice from inside a well heated building. When I have to open the fridge to get a blast of warmer air there is a problem. *sigh*

Luckily, things will soon be back to normal and we'll use the heaters in less desperate situations. And if they don't get better, I can always go sleep in a snowbank to keep warm. ACK ACK!!

Ms.B

Pug + Home Remodel = STUPID OWNER

A nasty migrane woke me up at the butt-crack of dawn. A handful of drugs and more sleep later I decided to call into work for the day. It's not often that Ms.Behaved suffers from a head-ache so I figured "What the Hell".

Now that a few additional hours have gone by, my head, though still pounding, is at a pain level that I am able to deal with while moving around so I decided to be productive. I patched the nail holes in the guest room walls (which are now a lovely shade of primer instead of pine-tree-green) and decided I'd caulk the trim around the door in the bathroom as well since I plan to be painting it in the very near future. No sooner had I run a bead of caulk from floor to tip-top of the door frame when I looked down to see the Monkey with caulking all over his face frantically attempting to lick it off. "!@#@$&*!"

With lightening reflexes, I scooped him up and stuck him in the sink for a good face scrub. Luckily he seemed to enjoy the process (crazy!) and was none the worse for wear. I then finished smoothing out the remaining caulk and decided to blog while it dried. About the time I was typing the "!@#@$&*!" above I looked down at him and sure enough, a new batch of caulk was on his face.

Back to the sink for another scrub. Of course, this time I was astute enough to close the bathroom door when I was done. Needless to say, I've been more productive than I planed. The walls were patched, the door was caulked (twice) and the Monkey has a clean face to boot!

Ms.B

If I didn't have legs...

Why does it seem that as the average height of people on this planet grows larger, the bathtubs get smaller? I swear, to use the average bathtub these days you have to twist yourself into a pretzel in order to fit inside. How is that relaxing? And how are you supposed to keep yourself clean if half of you can't even get under the water to rinse off? The bathrooms in the Haven were originally designed for a family of people who averaged 4'9". Of that, I have no doubt. *grumble grumble*

Ms.B

Au Revoir 2006

Ah, 2006.

2006 started out with such promise. The first new year as a married couple. The first year together in our little trailor home. Happily living with our two cats (who's gay love affair would make any true romantic turn green with envy)and the Wiener, a new year seemed full of promise, fun and adventure. And boy did 2006 deliver!

DH started his first employement since moving here to marry lil' ol' me. On a number of levels, this was a good thing. For one, it helped financially, but the underlying fact is that I think it made him feel useful. We married in September and, due to immigration issues, he wasn't given authorization to work until late December. Although he cleaned house (!!), had dinner waiting for me when I returned from work each day (!!!!), and in all other ways was a wonderful man-slave, I think he was relieved to finally bring home a paycheck and feel like he was contributing to our well being.

Summer 2006, DH was accepted into the University and began school a short while later. Full time work and full time school makes for a busy combo. It didnt' help that we got bit by the "house bug" at roughly the same time and began looking at properties around town.

Reasons to Buy a House:

#1: We needed more space. A 2 bedroom manufactured home was ideal for a single girl. Not so much for a married couple with twice the "stuff". (And we NEED our stuff. NEED IT!!)

#2: Wiener seemed a little listless and lonely. The cats love each-other and tolerated her just fine, but I could tell she would really benefit from some companionship. Unfortunately, the regulations in the trailor park prohibited having a certain number of animals and since we already had a zoo forming... it wasn't gonna happen.

#3: My parents were the owners of the trailer and, although they made great landlords, I knew that eventually the hassle of selling it would rear its ugly head. Re-sale on mobile homes can be a real bitch. No other way of saying it. Since our particular home was on a corner lot and we'd put a LOT of time into making it absolutely adorable, I felt that the time was right for passing it on to someone else to enjoy. Someone else who had less STUFF!

#4: A new home would give us lots of space. Room for storage, room for another office. Room for a new puppy for the Wiener. Room for babies.

#5: I WANT I WANT!! It would be ours. We could decorate exactly how we wanted and put our own touches here and there and everywhere.

The housing market across the country is reported as being a buyers market. Many cities have had values taper off or falter recently. In our neck of the woods, however it is exactly the opposite. After years of just maintaining value with no great increase, the area is suddenly developing. "Housing Explosion" might be a good description. What this means is that values of homes here have gone up anywhere from 17- 30% and prices are steadily climbing. For the average layman (or laywoman, if you were to refer to me), finding a home can be a nightmare. Only a handful of areas (if you want to live somewhere without fear of being mugged while checking the mailbox in front of your house) are affordable. And, since about 85% of the world falls into this 'average' category, the battle to find a place, put in the offer, and be the lucky bastard who's bid is accepted can be quite a challenge. After a short, but exhaustive search we found The Haven. We received the keys on the first anniversary of our wedding. In all honesty, I still look around and wonder how we got so lucky. The Haven is a charming little brick rambler with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a car-port AND a huge garage (3 cars could easily fit) as well as a yard for the babies to play in! It even has a garden area, complete with picket fence and gate around it. BLISS! Of course, every rose has its thorn. The Haven's thorn is that the people who owned it prior to us had NO sense of style. Wait, I take that back. They had a sense of style. It was bad Bad BAD! The paint on the walls was a nightmare. Luckily, with a little elbow-grease, we've managed to remedy the issue. My current project has been peeling off the wallpaper mural (pine trees complete with river full of dirty water) in our guest room, priming the emerald green walls, and preparing to paint it a nice, soothing, calming color. Dark green walls and carpet, complete with mural wasn't soothing to me. It made me feel rather angry. Luckily the main living area (i.e. Kitchen, Dining, Living Room) is all painted and complete. Finishing that monster of a job made the Haven feel like home. Ours. happy sigh

How appropriate that 2006 was the year of the dog according to the Chinese Calendar. In addition to having Shelly the Sheltie (aka Granny Dog) come down from Canada to join us, Sir Gus Pugsalot joined the family in mid-October. Small, fury, and full of spunk and spitfire, he has changed life in ways before unimaginable. It may seem odd to anyone who isn't an animal person to hear this, but Gus (my Monkey) has somehow filled a maternal void for me.

DH and I have been trying to have a child from the first month that we were married. Though I can't deny how convenient it has been (can wear white pants without fear!), I've never had a regular menstruation cycle. I found the most wonderful doctor who put me through a bunch of tests including medications as well as (horror of horrors) NEEDLES!

Ms.B's Deep Dark Confession #1: I experience great angst when it comes to needles. I have my theories as to why this is, but that's another story.

The deeper part of this critical fact is that it took great strength of will to go through the process and when, in the end, I was told I am infertile and that meetings with doctors who specialize in In vitro fertilization would be the next step, depression set in and I gave up my hopes for a child- for now. I won't even begin to describe my feelings of failure when I found out that my new sister-in-law, who married my DH's older brother in late November, is already expecting their first child. sigh

Fertility issues aside, this has been a banner year. First anniversary, new home, new additions to the family. I am truely blessed. Poor 2007, you are coming with gusto, and honestly, I am not sure you will be able to deliver the way 2006 has. But, venture forth, bring it on. I am ready.

Ms.Behaved

All is Well, All is Well

If there had been a musical track for the background of the past couple of days here in the Haven, it would have been "Flight of the Bumble Bee", by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov . In hindsight, it is great that we had the motivation to finish so many projects. The house looks great. Today, right now, is the blissful moment that I told myself to look forward to while working my butt off for the last 48 hours. The good angel on my right shoulder told me: "Relax, don't panic. Once this is all done and the party is over, you'll be so greatful that you've accomplished so much!" The devil on my left, however, was more a true reflection of my inner thoughts: "Dammit! This sucks. I'm never moving again. Redecorating a house is a pain in my ass. ARG. Oh, puppy, you better not even THINK about pissing on that floor. I've just spent four hours cleaning it and it took two, count em, TWO trips to Walmart on the eve of Christmas Eve to take back that damn rug shampooer. Curse all that be for us forgetting that stupid stair attachment and having to make a return trip!"

So today, Christmas Day, I am going to be a lazy slob. It is my gift to myself. The DH is sleeping. Worked a NOC last night to earn extra holiday pay. What a trooper. I need to stay quiet so he can rest. I plan to waste time by hopping on the "City of Heroes" game and fighting crime. Too bad I couldn't channel my hero's powers for the past few days. Just think what could have been accomplished if Ms. Behaved had 'super speed'!

Happy Holidays

Friday. The last day of work before a glorious, though all too short weekend. There is nothing quite as satisfactory as a Friday. The Friday before Christmas however, is quite a bit less relaxing than others have been. It is Christmas in our new house. Our first Christmas in the new house. Bless mother’s heart for suggesting we have our family Christmas celebration at our place. I’m sitting here at work, where the focus should be on.. well, WORK, and the only thought in my brain is the checklist of tasks I need to complete before the Haven will be ready for a visit from my mother.

I love my mom. I really do. We have a lot in common. Too much in common. When two people with too much in common get together, the chances of a clash are high enough that you dare not bet against it. She will see every flaw. "Oh, Is a crack on the ceiling the new style these days?" Red-heads such as myself can only bite our tounges for so long before hell-fire and brimstone fly from our mouths and we rip someone a new a-hole. My home must be perfect for her visit! AHH!! My dear husband (DH) has a honey-do list a mile long and I’ve made one for myself as well. I think the chances of me finishing everything on it are slim to none. But I will try. My house will be sparkling and ready for a party when my family arrives…. And I will be in a corner somewhere, rocking back and forth while in the fetal position, sweaty and twitchy, ready to celebrate.

Ms. B