I'm A Heartless, Cruel Wife!

A few days ago Bill got off the phone with one of his lawnmower buddies and said, "I don't want to go to Florida. It takes about 24 hours to get there, then you're racing for two days and come right back."

Now, no one was saying he HAD to go, but he had a few friends that were making it sound tempting. And after almost 20 years of being with Bill, I know that if he out of the blue says "I don't want to," it usually means we DOES want to!

So it was no surprise when I got home yesterday and his first words were, "I've decided to go to Florida!"  After teasing him a bit about his Florida "vacation" and how I deserve one so much more than he does, I told him there were just a few things he needed to do before he went. He needed to line someone up to plow the driveway and shovel the ramp for me if it snowed while he was gone, because I can't afford to be trapped here and can't plow or shovel myself. The second thing was someone needed to get the trash can out to the road Sunday night or Monday morning, because there again I'm physically unable to do it. And the third thing was,he needed to find someone to exercise his dog every day. I do the best I can, and sometimes he misses a day of walking, but there's no way I can handle him if he goes six days straight without a walk!

Tonight he told me he "can't" go because he'll never find anyone to plow the drive or walk the dog. I can't believe it, in this economy? This morning half the vehicles I saw driving through Harrison were trucks with plows on the front! I'm sure at least ONE would be willing to pick up an extra customer for one weekend! The same with Jerry - - he is fun to play with, for someone who is familiar with big dogs.

So I guess I better be ready to hear him say over and over again that the reason why he's not going is because "my wife won't let me go."  This is so unfair, because I don't care if he goes or not! I'm so used to him being gone, I rarely miss him anymore! But I think it's unfair of him to keep gallivanting off having fun with his friends and leaving me in dire straights like this. He NEEDS to start taking my safety into consideration! How can anyone with any kind of brain at all think that this behavior is in any way okay???? I just don't understand him at all, how he can be so thoughtless and so resentful when I point out the obvious to him!

Rescued! Is My Favorite Breed!

I've always wanted to do work with pet adoptions; work with a rescue group or shelter in some way. But with my physical gimpiness and my immune deficiency, it wasn't very feasible. If I put myself in a position to be knocked down, bitten, generally be in contact with an infected or diseased animal or its feces, I was just asking for trouble.

But last summer I joined a Facebook group called Rescued! Is My Favorite Breed. Basically they had some cute designs and slogans for tee shirts and bumper stickers, and if a particular rescue group wanted to use their products as fundraisers it was a match made in heaven. If you bought a certain minimum number of shirts, they could even design one specifically for your rescue group.

I thought the designs were pretty cool, so I ordered shirts for my kidney walk team, to set us apart from the other walkers. Also I helped them update their national directory in December, and spread the word to California rescue groups about their latest sweepstakes, yay me.

Today the group started making new pages for each state and signing on admins, so naturally I volunteered for the Michigan page! So I've found a way to promote animal adoption and be involved in pet rescue without putting myself at risk! Feeling pretty good about myself today!

Volunteer Success!

Over the past week, I did some volunteer social networking for "Rescued! Is My Favorite Breed" regarding a sweepstakes sponsored by Woofsticks. The winner was to receive a Woofstick dog toy package and the rescue group of their choice was given $200. The winning group was one that I contacted and heard back from a few nights ago, yay me! If I thought Cooper or Jerry would play with a Woofstick, I'd order them one in celebration!

Boots

I am so mad at Jerry today I could spit! This morning he ran out the doggie door with one of my boots, and I had to go out in my robe and slippers to retrieve it. Later while I was busy doing laundry, he stole the OTHER boot, and dropped it in the deep snow near the fence. Cooper went out and sniffed it but did not bring it in to me. There is nothing in the house I can put on my feet to wade through the snow to fetch it, so there it sits, being snowed upon, waiting for Wild Bill to get home from work tonight. I gave him so much attention yesterday and today, and this is how he repays me! Meanwhile, the first boot is in my bathroom, door closed, laying on its side next to the heat vent. Maybe some day it will dry.

Notice: I'm Not The One Burned

In my dream this morning, I discovered that Mom and Dad had bought a cottage in Sugar Springs and never got a chance to live in it, or tell us about it. I drove over to check it out and found Michael Westin (of Burn Notice) and Fiona there, but not Sam. I knew who they were because I follow their exploits on TV, but they didn't know me; alas, they'd never read my blog or followed me on Facebook! About the time I discovered the two "intruders" in my vacant cottage, they were realizing Michael's secret hiding place (the cottage) had been "compromised" and the terrorist villains were on their way! I look in a file cabinet drawer, the cabinet being the only piece of furniture in the whole house, and luckily there's my dad's handgun. I am free to carry this gun with me because I am now familiar with Michigan's Open Carry Law. (Nevermind that the gun is not registered to me, it's a dream, remember?)

Michael and Fi left in a hurry in their Plymouth Fury (go ahead, say that out loud, it's fun!), leaving me behind to deal with the bad guys. When they surrounded the cottage and pounded on my door, I decided to mistake them for potential buyers of the cottage, and that the Michael Westin they were talking about must be a realtor, but no realtor had contacted me. "I only just now arrived, you see, and until about a day or so ago, I didn't even know about this house...are you interested in buying? It's been empty for a long time, so I'll make you a good deal on it...."

Later, I'm in a bigger city, and I come across Michael and Fi again, still running from the bad guys. I invite them to come with me into a nearby highrise building, where I'm about to look up a new dentist. After all, who would look for Michael Westin in a dentist's office, with his big white perfect teeth? 

I must have started waking up then because that's all I can recall about the dream's events. But I had my "old" body back, the young, lean, fit body I had all through my 20's, plus a self-confidence I have NEVER had at any time in my life. I was confident in my looks, in my shooting ability, in my running speed and endurance, and my ability to out-think a bad guy. This dream was almost as good as the dreams I used to have about my ability to fly!

Pet Peeves

Gimps on the beach!

I heard some really great news for northern Michigan beach lovers this morning. The Disability Network of Northern Michigan (I'll have to look into this group) has made it possible for Clinch Park to add mats to their beach to allow wheelchairs and walkers to go right to the water's edge! The network is also providing wheelchairs that go into the water and float. I'm sure I'll never make it to Clinch Park, since it's in Traverse City. It's too far away for me to go on my own, Bill would never "waste" his precious time off from work to do anything I might enjoy (more on that some other time), and I don't have anyone emotionally close enough to be that would be willing and able to make the trip either.

But still, maybe this will catch on in other places! I can still remember when most of the scenic beauty of the Huron National Forest was lost on everyone but the most athletic.

I Am A Terrible Dog Mom!

This morning I took my car to the dealership for scheduled routine maintenance. It takes about half an hour to drive there, so I left at 10:30 am for an 11:00 appointment. Getting out the door is difficult for me these days when I'm here alone with the dogs:  Jerry knows when he sees me put my "outdoor" shoes on that I'm leaving, and he hates being home with no humans! To prevent my departure, he will grab something--usually one of my shoes--and run out the back door with it. And that's what he did this morning, along with many other tricks to keep me from leaving. Knowing he was full of vinegar, I decided to close the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms to limit the damage he could do.

When I came home, he jumped all over me and in general was an incredible nuisance! I had text messages to reply to (because I NEVER text and drive!), a phone call to make, an e-mail I wanted to send before I forgot, and I had to go to the bathroom! I could hear whining when I came out of the bathroom, but thought it was coming from Jerry, lying in the hallway and taking up all the room. So I went to my desk, returned all my messages, sent off that e-mail, and decided to grab some lunch.

I don't remember why I opened my bedroom door, but I was shocked to see an empty shoe box, a box of greeting cards and a chunk of wood on the bedroom floor!  "What happened in here?!?" I thundered, knowing the room didn't look like that when I closed it off earlier. And then it dawned on me:  I must have locked Cooper in there. I don't know how it happened; I'd looked to make sure he wasn't in there when I closed the door, and didn't see him come out when I opened it back up again. And yet, I'm sure that must be what happened. My poor panicked pooch had torn part of the trim off the door frame trying to get out of the room. In my tunnel-visioned efforts to make one dog "be good," I'd neglected the safety and well-being of a very good boy, who certainly deserves so much better than he's been getting these days!

*FAIL

If Money, Skills and Strength/Stamina Were No Object

I would buy one of the mansion/cottages on Tawas Point Road and turn it into an inn. With a regal sounding name, a chef or two, elegant rooms with views of the bay, and a second building with a conference room/banquet hall, an indoor swimming pool (this is Michigan, after all!), and an underground tunnel connecting the two buildings for use during inclement weather. Maybe a connection with a charter boat for fishing and moonlight cruises. My staff would all wear uniforms, but they would be casual-looking, like polo shirts and walking shorts in the summer, with my inn's logo embroidered on the shirt pocket. It would be MORE than a B & B, but not a full-scale resort with it's own golf course, etc. There are plenty of great courses in the area already without adding another. I think putting such a place together would be so enjoyable! Not sure I'd want to run it once it's finished though!

Meth Lab Raid!!!

I heard on the news tonight there was a meth lab raid in Harrison earlier today! Naturally I assumed it would be in that little subdivision on the other side of Cranberry Lake Rd from us, but I was wrong. They showed the house on TV and it was pretty nice looking. They said the name of the road and I found it on a Google map: about two blocks long in the subdivision between Budd Lake and Long Lake. You know, the kind of neighborhood I still can't afford to live in? Just goes to show you, your income and lifestyle are not a true indicator of your character!

The Highs

Late, I know, but as promised here are the highs. Having Bill around for ten out of eleven days was pleasant, and gave us the most "normal" week and a half since we moved here. Bill's cold kept him from being TOO active, but he still walked his dog, puttered in the shop and took me on a short excursion one day.

Christmas Day started a little frantically, giving the dogs their Christmas presents. Jerry was not patient at all!  He was "mine! mine! mine" with ALL the toys and goodies! Bill seemed to like the blue fleece hoodie I gave him, but he was a little annoyed that I hadn't noticed the envelope on the tree with my name on it. I'm sorry, honey, but you put it on the OTHER side of the tree than the side I always see!

He had gone to Gladwin and stopped at Riverwalk Place and bought a gift card for me to the Oasis Salon and Spa for $150, plus there were $5 coupons enough for another $25! I was blown away! I'm pretty sure my helpers told him to get that for me, but he took the idea and ran with it!

We had a nice but overpriced buffet dinner at the Doherty in Clare. I saw an elderly, senile old gentleman that I used to know from my old church; he was there with his family. I'd heard his wife had passed away several weeks before, and I gave him a hug and told him I was sorry to hear the news, and that I hadn't heard until after the funeral. I was tickled that although he couldn't remember my name, he knew where he SHOULD remember me from and that he really liked me. Then one of the waitresses was Debbie, a woman who tried a secretarial job once that she wasn't really capable of doing, and I guess she thought I was kind to her at the time because she certainly seemed glad to see me! We had really fabulous service for a buffet dinner, I must say!

The day after we had our furnace installed, we decided to go to Ebel's General Store in Falmouth. We'd both seen many local commercials for the store but had never been there, and weren't exactly sure where Falmouth was either. It's one of those odd little places that is too small to be a destination, but isn't on the way to anywhere, either. No main roads, just a slow spot on a zig-zagging county road somewhere between here and Cadillac. We saw a sign for the store but no front door, so Bill drove around the block looking for one. The building WAS pretty much the whole block, and we found the parking lot and entrance hiding behind a restaurant--you almost had to already know where it was in order to find it!

Once inside the store, you are greeted by a flight of stairs leading down to the hardware section. I am sure there is an elevator of some kind down to that level but we never saw one. Bill found some parts for his mower right on the shelf that he always has to special order from any other store, so he bought one while we were there. The main floor features a clothing department that carries mostly Woolrich brand clothing (read that as: nothing big enough for me so I didn't even look), a giftware department, a small grocery store and a HUGE meat counter!

They make their own sausage, summer sausage, beef sticks and other meat sticks, jerky, smoked hams, and probably cure their own bacon. We bought several flavors of summer sausage and jerkies: some were elk and venison! We also bought a NY strip loin,which they sliced thick for us and trimmed off the larger chunks of fat. It was only about $3/lb, how could we lose?

On the way home, we decided to stop following the Tom Tom directions and take a "short cut" through Leota. We ended up driving several miles down some dirt roads, but we did eventually end up in Leota.
I am glad I didn't have to go there on my own, because I don't have GPS in my car!

More on the meals: After we were done shopping at Ebel's General Store, we cut through the parking lot at had lunch at a restaurant called Duane's. It is the building that prevents us out-of-towners from finding Ebels' front door. It was a nice "Mom's Home Cooking" kind of place, and we were lucky it was there because the town doesn't seem to have so much as a Subway!

The day after Christmas, my sister and her husband and son came up to exchange gifts. They arrived half an hour earlier than their "normal"time, and were all excited to go eat burgers at Pudgy's for lunch! Then we all opened our presents, chatted a bit and they took off again for Novi. I'm glad I've decided not to work myself silly preparing a delicious meal if they are only going to stop by long enough to eat and run.  Funny thing happened while we were there: the man who waited on us, probably one of the owners or a relative, is no one I've ever seen before in my life, but when Bill and I walked in a few minutes after the Klanns did he greeted me (not us, me) like I'm an old friend. Later my brother-in-law commented about how quickly I seem to be making friends here in Harrison, and how nice that must be! Cracks me up.

Burgers were great, btw.