I got a kick out of this photo! This was my view, during the week I doggie-sat Benji. It was a little tricky walking three dogs at once, but I quickly became a pro!

This cutie is my Dalmatian, Fredo.

Here is a photo of my Westie, Shallie. Yes, she does need a haircut!

Yesterday, my old landlord, Joanne, called me. We rented her house until mid-June, when we moved out and bought our current house. First she asked if I knew anyone with a red Toyota. I said no (and I really don't). Then she asked if I gave anyone a key to her house. I said no. The only person besides myself to have a key to the house was Bill. I didn't feel it was right to have keys made and given out because I didn't own the house. "Why?" I asked, not realizing what I was getting myself into. Apparently, Thursday night, someone used a key to get into the house and stole the kerosene monitor heater. Now, who would want a monitor heater? I don't think it's tops on many thieves lists of things to steal. The house is empty while it's being shown by realtors to prospective tenants. She asked if I knew anyone who would want a heater. Hmmm... no. She kept asking in an accusatory way, until I got ticked (I'm a slow-burner) and told her flat out that I have no idea who would take the stupid heater! I don't lie, and would have no reason to in this case. She backed down, and proceeded to tell me what happened a couple weeks ago. She was heading down the driveway to the house, when she saw a beat-up old car parked in front of the house and a man walking along the front yard. She asked what he was doing there, and he said he is thinking of renting the house. She asked where the realtor was, noticing there was only on vehicle. By this time, the man's wife and son CAME OUT FROM HER HOUSE!. The wife said she didn't know where the realtor was. Joanne asked who the realtor was. The woman didn't know. Which office was it? The one on your sign. Ok. Without asking how they got into her house, she proceeded to show the house to them. The young child said to her, "My Mommy broke your window". The woman shook her son to quiet him. Joanne asked what window, and the woman wouldn't answer. At that moment, the guy comes in and says the rent is to expensive for them, and said they should go. After they left, Joanne checked the windows and found none broken. She didn't think to call the police nor did she wonder how in the world they got in her house. It's obvious that they were looking for anything of value. I guess there must be someone out there who wants a heater! Poor Joanne!

Yesterday started out as a nice day. I met L. for lunch at Red Robin. She brought her album of beautiful photos that were taken during her vacation in Nova Scotia. We then went to the movies and saw the matinee of "Possession" starring one of my favorite actresses, Gwyneth Paltrow. I recommend this movie... it has a nice, but sad, story.

After I was home for a few hours, the phone rings and it's Bill telling me he isn't feeling well, and is coming home from work. It's unusual, though I know he hasn't been feeling well for the past few days. When he walked in, he was as white as a sheet. He said he was dizzy and felt like passing out. He worried me, and after a while, I convinced him he needed to be seen by a doctor. We headed for the emergency clinic. They said his blood pressure was 150/110. His EKG was ok. After the examination, the doctor said he has a viral infection in his inner ear. She prescribed some meds, and he is now asleep in bed. He still gets dizzy when he is awake, so I am trying to keep him in bed. I made an appointment a while ago with our family doctor on the 3rd of September. Bill had wanted me to cancel it, but now that this happened, we are definitely going. Bill has an intense fear of doctors and hospitals and needles and whatever has to do with the medical profession - you name it, he's afraid of it. His whole family is like that... they would rather feel sick and not know what is wrong with them than go have it checked out. What a bad thing to pass on to your children! That old adage, "Out of site, out of mind" doesn't work when it comes to your health! I've been working on Bill's confidence when it comes to doctors, and he has been getting better. He taught me how to swim (I was terrified of it) by saying "Trust Me". Now he needs to trust me.

Bill's back has been killing him, so we made an appointment at a chiropractor who was recommended by one of his managers. Our appointment was this morning. Bill has gone to chiropractors before, but they make me nervous. The only reason why they scare my is that I remember my father telling me that he went into one walking, but could only crawl out the door. He would never go back, so I guess that planted the seed of fear in my mind. Usually, Bill is freaking-out nervous going to doctors, and I'm the level-headed one. Today, it was the other way around. I was so sure something bad would happen to him. Give me a needle anyday if my other choice is having my bones popped in and out of place. (The only time I saw a chiro was when I fell in the shower and smashed my nose against the wall. My doctor also did chiro work, and he said he'd adjust me to alleviate some of the pain I was feeling. I still remember the sound of my neck bones - or whatever it was - cracking. Gives me the chills!). Bill didn't want me to go into the office with him (probably because I would make him too nervous?), and he was in there for over an hour. I thought for sure something went wrong. When he finally came out, he looked pleased with his visit. The doctor said that his muscles were pulled and spasmed in his lower back. He did an adjustment (Bill said the pop was so loud the pictures on the wall shoot - I'm sure he said that to make me get the heebie jeebies! UGH!) and is confident that he can help Bill in only two weeks. Bill's going back tomorrow for another crack. If it makes him feel better, I'm all for that... just don't ask me to go!

I like this quote... makes me feel good about all of my daydreaming!

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." Edgar Allan Poe , Eleonora

Last Friday would have been my Mom's 72nd birthday, so of course, I was thinking of and missing my Mom more than usual. Mom was the best chaperone when I was in high school. My art teacher organized field trips to New York City every year, to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mom volunteered to be a chaperone. The first year, I had a few of my friends in my group. We rode the bus to the City, and upon our arrival at the Museum, were told that we had to stay in the museum all day. Yea, right! We did go in and see the exhibits, but only for about two hours. We were in the most exciting city in the world, and we wanted to go to Bloomingdales! I always laugh when I think about this! We walked all the way to Bloomingdales, stopping in little shops along the way, and eating lunch at a pizzeria. We did our shopping, and headed back uptown to the Museum. We'd sit on the front steps watching NYC life (taxis, pretzel vendors, street musicians), until all the groups were back. Did we feel bad about it? Heck no! We weren't the only ones with Bloomies shopping bags--- my teacher, Mrs. Whitford, was laden with bags herself! For every year after that, my Mom would be the chaperone, and each year, more and more kids wanted to be in our group! We were able to be very selective! People who never talked to me in school wanted to go with us. Needless to say, they weren't included! One year, we were supposed to stay at the Metropolitan, but we decided that since we already saw that, we would head over to the Guggenheim and the Frick Collection! So it wasn't all just shopping! Mom made sure we got the art experience, too! Those trips are what led me to enjoy New York City, and fall in love with my favorite place in Manhattan: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I saw the Van Gogh in Arles exhibit, as well as a showing of Da Vinci's drawings with my Mom there! I haven't been back there since she died, but I'm sure I will be thinking of her when I do.

Well, after working on my new template all day, I think I have it all working. I even figured out how to get the archives working, though they do look a little different. I'm not very good at HTML yet, but I fiddled with it until it worked. It was upsetting. I'm relatively new to this online journalling, but what I write is important to me. Some of the things I wrote in the last month were things that I didn't want to lose. I may not be the best writer, but my story about my Mom, and stories about Bill, are close to my heart. I feel better now, and I love my new layout!

Well, I've got the comments system back up. The only thing I can't get working is my archives. Blogger doesn't make it clear about how to make it work... I've been messing with this for an hour now, and I think I need to step away or my head will explode! I'm upset about my archives... I wrote some good stuff, and now it's all gone. Plus, what I write now will not be saved. I don't know what to do! :(

? Bear with me... I'm updating! My links and such will be back soon.

UPDATE: It's after midnight, and I think I have everything restored! I did lose some personal links, and my comments section, but there is always tomorrow (actually later today!). I like the new layout... I'm really happy with it!

Here are my "This or That" answers for today!

1. Sesame Street or Captain Kangaroo? Definitely Captain Kangaroo! I liked Mr. Greenjeans!
2. Muppet Show or Fraggle Rock? It has to be the Muppet Show! I never watched Fraggle Rock!
3. He-Man or Jem? Neither, but my cousin was obsessed with He-Man, and used to get all the action figures. We used to play with them all the time!
4. The Smurfs or Muppet Babies? The Smurfs... I still do the La-La song when I'm bored!
5. Archie or Josie & the Pussycats?? Josie, all the way!
6. H.R. Pufnstuf or The Banana Splits? I loved H.R. Pufnstuf! What a flashback!
7. The Partridge Family or The Brady Bunch ? I actually watched both of them
8. Happy Days or Welcome Back Kotter? Seldom watched either, but if I had to, it was Kotter (I never cared for Travolta, either!)
9. Punky Brewster or Small Wonder? Neither
10. The Facts of Life or Silver Spoons? Neither

I was writing a snail mail letter today, and one of the topics my pal and I are writing about was raising children. It brought something to my mind, and I thought I'd write about it here. How do you know you are doing the right thing? How do you know what you are doing, or saying, or showing your child won't cause them to someday grow up to be a psychopath? How do you know if you made a mistake by taking him/her to a movie, which plants the seed for some future mental breakdown? I was lucky. I had great parents. Sure, they let me watch Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote & Roadrunner, but I still turned out fine. (At least I think I'm fine!). I don't want to raise a murderer, or a racist, or a child/animal abuser or any of that nasty stuff. What do you do? Do you just keep your fingers crossed and wish for the best? It's a very scary thing.

Benji is staying another night (hey, I don't mind! I'm gonna miss the little guy!). L. & R. got stuck in a huge traffic jam coming through New York. I know L. misses her little pup... it's just one more day of anticipation... just like the ketchup!

Benji is going home today. (He is sleeping under my chair as I write this!) I will miss him, and so will my dogs (you should see little Benji playing with my big Dalmatian, Fredo! I think Fredo actually thinks he is a little dog... the same size of Shallie and Benji!). We just took our last walk as a quartet. His parents haven't called yet about what time they will be picking him up... but hey, that's ok! I took some very hilarious photos of all three of my dogs, and a few of them have Benji in compromising positions. I have to email them to R., because he thought that my dogs would give his dog "bad habits"... well, my photos prove it's the other way around! HA!

My neighbors, the ones who's house is behind mine are getting the finishing touches on their house. They must be getting ready to move in next month. There was this huge pile of dirt (from the digging of the foundation) in their backyard, which blocked the view of their house, and it is now gone. I'm kind of sad about that, but for a silly reason. The prettiest wildflowers sprouted on that big pile of dirt... I swear everyday there was a different color flower! Plus, many birds made their home among the flowers (especially a family of goldfinches) - I loved watching them, and now they are gone. Before the winter begins, I want to get my birdfeeders set up. I love seeing all the different kinds of birds that would come to the feeder!