Oscars Ok, I haven’t watched the Oscar awards show in I dunno how long, I find it boring and tedious. However, I do like to see the list of nominations to find out how many of the movies I’ve actually seen, and which ones I really should go see soon. So, here’s the list of nominations, with notes of the ones I’ve seen. Which apparently isn’t many of them! With thanks to http://www.oscar.com/ for the list.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

Sadly, I have not seen any of these movies! I do want to see Brokeback Mountain, and noticed just yesterday that it has finally got to a theatre near me (the owner/manager is gay, go figure!). I also wanted to see Good Night, And Good Luck but didn’t get the chance, and tho I am a fan of Johnny Cash, if it were any other than Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, I’d have gone to see that as well. I’ll wait for the DVD so as not to waste too much time or money on them :-p

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

I have seen Crash, and thought it was absolutely brilliant! (of course, it was written and directed by Canadian, Paul Haggis). I have also recently seen Cinderella Man, and it actually wasn’t too bad. The others listed I have not yet seen, tho I would like to see A History of Violence when its on DVD. I didn’t see it in the theatre mainly because it didn’t look like something I’d want to see, despite LoTR alum Viggo Mortensen. He’s just not one of my faves.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE

I have seen none of these movies. I hadn’t even heard of the Judi Dench one, but I will see this when its on DVD, I do like her, she’s awesome.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Again, I haven’t seen any of these. I really need to get out more. :-p
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

I wanted to see Corpse Bride, but just couldn’t convince James to go with me. We’ll see it soon on DVD.

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Yay! I’ve seen 2 of these! Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and King Kong!

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD

I saw Batman Begins, and even bought the DVD. Can’t figure out why it deserves a nod for cinematography though. I guess the scenery when he’s climbing the mountains?

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTSPRIDE & PREJUDICE
WALK THE LINE

Yeah, Willie Wonka’s costumes were cool, but Oscar worthy?

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

Well, as I’ve only seen Crash, I’ll go with that one. ;-) Seriously, it was a brilliant movie. Very disturbing.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA
THE MUSHROOM CLUB
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN

I haven’t seen any of these documentaries.

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
CINDERELLA MAN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
CRASH
MUNICH
WALK THE LINE

I’ve seen only 2 of these, and will again have to go with Crash. Fitting all of those different story lines into one, not only a marvel in writing, but in editing as well.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
DON'T TELL
JOYEUX NOèL
PARADISE NOW
SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS
TSOTSI

Foreign films never get here until DVD. If then.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
CINDERELLA MAN
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

Says a lot for how George Lucas stretched out his Star Wars story that his only nod for the final entry is for makeup. I’m not a fan of Star Wars, but even I know that Lucas and his ILM crew made SFX what it is today.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MUNICH
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In the Deep" - CRASH
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

Well, who will the big Oscar go to this year? Brokeback Mountain has so much hype about it, it may take it, but then again, is even Hollywood ready to acknowledge a “gay” themed movie with “the big prize”?
I really do need to get out and see the other movies

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AUSREISSER (THE RUNAWAY)
CASHBACK
THE LAST FARM
OUR TIME IS UP
SIX SHOOTER

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WALK THE LINE
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA

Well, there’s your 78th annual Oscar nominations. Y’all can stay up and watch them if you want. Me, I can wait til the following morning to find out who won. ;-)

Wow, a few minutes ago there was a HUGE bang, and it shook the house. We first thought maybe Bruno had knocked something over outside against the house, but when James went to look, nothing was askew. Bruno however was scared shitless, and ran inside the house. We went out the front door to look and there is a huge black cloud off in the distance.

We live just a few blocks from a gravel pit, and a chemical plant. Occasionally we hear dynamite going off when the gravel pit is blowing up more rock, but it doesn’t usually shake the house! This time it’s the chemical plant, James drove up to see what was going on. We have no idea what they make up there, James says he’s asked several people, but they never have answered him. Hopefully we won’t have to evacuate. So far it seems the cloud is not going anywhere, there’s not much of a breeze today. The dogs are worried though, and they want to go outside to see if there’s anybody who needs rescuing.

I’ve got dressed and got a duffle bag ready to pack, just in case they come round to evacuate us. Its been quite a few minutes though, and so far nothing, so we’re probably ok. Lots of emergency crews driving by. We’re between the fire house and the plant. And I can hear a helicopter, its probably a news crew.

****

update, few minutes later

the TV news just had an update for us. The plant makes chemicals for the textile industry, and so far there is no indication that evacuation is necessary, quite a lot of people are just hanging around in the area, and local emergency crews are not wearing hazmat suits or breathing aparatus. Several employees of the plant have been taken in ambulance and a few others are being taken via helicopter. Our local hospital does not have a trauma centre, so they'll probably be going to Charlotte.  ¶ 12:05 PM 3 Comments

  Date Night Saturday night James and I went out to a pub in Asheville called Jack of the Wood, about an hour from where we live. Our friends Juli and Jim, whose book store closing party I’d gone to on Friday, told me about a band playing called “Enter the Haggis”. I thought “hmmm….where do I know that name from?” and told them we’d meet them there. I looked the band up on the internet, turns out they’re from Toronto; I’ve probably seen them around there somewhere. I know I’ve seen them before, but just can’t remember for the life of me where.

Anyhow, we got to the pub a bit late, but luckily the band was running late as well and hadn’t started playing yet. The place was crowded, and there was a line up out the door, with an expected wait of an hour or more. We didn’t wait that long however, a few people ahead of us decided they didn’t want to wait, and a few people left the pub, so we were able to get in just as the band was starting. We looked around for Juli and Jim, but couldn’t find them, so we just got a couple of pints and found ourselves a spot standing near the bar. Later on, someone vacated a stool, so we grabbed it. Or rather I grabbed it, and James stood next to me. He’s such a gentleman. ;-)

Enter the Haggis is a Celtic-Rock band, and they’re pretty darn good too. Other than them, I think I was the only Canadian in the place. They did ask of course, if there are any other Canadians there, I did the obligatory “whoooooo” from my perch at the bar, and later a guy walked up to say that tho he’s a local, he has a cottage up in Haliburton, and they used to spend every summer up there when he was a kid. He said it always felt like it took forever to get there, I told him from where I grew up, Haliburton was a day trip. ;-)

After the show, I went up to talk to one of the guys in the band, and told him I’m originally from Toronto, and when I said the last neighbourhood I lived in was at the Beaches, he said that’s where he’s from. Ha ha, small world eh? I asked him where I may have caught them before, and he said they usually do the Firkin pubs quite a lot, so that’s probably where I’d seen them. There are a lot of Firkin pubs in and around Toronto, and I’ve been in quite a few of them, plus I used to travel a lot for work, I may have even caught them in some other city.

We bought their latest CD “Casualties of Retail” and listened to that on the way home. I will likely order their others sometime later, whenever I have some money. I won’t be starting my new job at the pizza shop for a week or 2. James doesn’t want me to start on Superbowl weekend, I may not like it and quit. ;-) I was glad to get out and do something other than just see a movie together. I don’t think we’d been “out” since the last time he was able to visit Toronto. Which was back in 2001. :-p At least, not that I can think of. My poor James, he’s getting old. He said he felt sick all day yesterday…just can’t handle his beer. ;-)

Here’s the Enter the Haggis website, if you’re interested in having a listen http://www.enterthehaggis.com/index.php They travel all over the world touring, so check their schedule, they may be coming to a city near you sometime!

During my quest to figure out how I knew the band name, I see on http://www.maplemusic.com/ that The Arrogant Worms have a new CD out as well, I will have to order that too when I get some money. They’re always good for a laugh. One of my fave Worms songs is “Jesus’ brother Bob”, ya just don’t hear too much about him. ;-)

Well, I’m about half done the bathroom now. I’ve got the primer on the walls, and the trim painted. I just need to put the colour on the walls. I could probably get that done today before James gets home from work, he’s there til closing. It’s a small room, but lots of trimming edges, which takes time. Plus my hands are sore from all this scraping and plastering and sanding and painting and and and…whew…I’m just lucky the dogs haven’t got in there yet and shedded fur all over the wet paint! This week we *really* need to get the yard mulched to cut down on some of the mud. Then maybe I can keep the house a bit cleaner. Every time I wash the dang slip cover for the couch, George comes in and gets it all dirty within 10 minutes.

I need to get some boxes and start packing up some of this stuff that we won’t be using any time soon. James said one of his employees at the shop just moved in to her first apartment, and needs dishes and stuff, so we can give her some of our extras. I think we have 3 or 4 sets; we can spare ‘em! Plus there’s a box of plastic storage containers in the basement, and a bunch of other stuff we won’t ever use that may come in handy for someone just starting out on their own. Or not…but better in her cupboard than mine, if you follow!

16 days and counting until my green card interview. I’m getting a bit anxious about it. I know we’ll pass it, but still, the consequences of not passing it are far too great to not worry about it. I really do wish James would get his police record sorted out so he could at least visit Canada. I’d like to go home at some point. *sigh*  ¶ 1:48 PM 3 Comments

  A little hard work never hurt anyone Who the hell said that anyway? I’ve been working hard the past week and its killing me! Ok, well, maybe not killing me, but it sure as hell does too hurt!

First scraping wallpaper for 2 days, that’s hard work. Steam, scrape, steam, scrape repeat. In a few spots for some inexplicable reason, its 3 layers thick! And underneath it is messed up drywall. So I spent the next 2 days filling in holes and smoothing out spots that were never sanded the last time someone filled in holes :-p ugh…I swear whoever it was filled in the holes looked at all of it and said “I don’t feel like sanding, I think I’ll just wallpaper over it” GAH!

I’ve been sanding all day today, and despite the dust mask, my nose is full of it. Bruno didn’t like all the noise so he went outside to sleep on the porch. George didn’t like the noise either, but still prefers the noise to outside. Strange dog that one.

I also moved the cupboard/shelf unit thing and scrubbed the floor under it, and scrubbed several decades of grime off the floor trim (its not even quite a baseboard). Tomorrow I will do the primer and get ready to paint. We went to Lowe’s on Wednesday and got paint and a couple of ceiling light fixtures, one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom (that’s next on the project list). The only light there now is a bare bulb, which is really quite ugly. We got 2 colours of paint, Fairy Dust, which I will use for the trim I think, and Siesta for the walls. Its kind of a very light salmon-y colour. I think I will do the cupboard thingy the same. Yeah, kinda blah and bland, but “neutral” colours are best for when you’re trying to sell right? At least its not builder beige! ;-)

My shoulders are really sore now, but I’m nowhere near done. Still to do is paint the bathroom, then start on the bedroom. I need to scrape the wallpaper off the ceiling in there (why is there wallpaper on the ceiling? I have no idea), then either tile or paint the ceiling. I also really would like to remove the paneling in there and paint the walls some not-so-neutral neutral colour. After that is the kitchen. In there we have to remove the vinyl flooring, put down new flooring (probably vinyl tiles), paint the cupboards, and maybe even paint the walls. The wall paper really is horrid in there, but I can’t scrape that off, so I’ll have to get some really heavy duty primer. THEN we really should strip and re-paint the trim throughout the house. That is if I have any control left of my arms and they haven’t gone on strike or something. That’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Most of which I wanted to start doing almost immediately after moving in, but James kept putting it off saying either we don’t have money or “what’s the rush, we’ll be here for a while”. :-p Now we’re planning on moving, and we’re in a rush. Hmph.

Before I start my next project tho, I’m off to friend Juli’s bookstore this evening. She’s closing up shop and having a grand closing gathering tonight. It’s a shame to see her have to close, but I understand totally where she’s coming from. She’ll continue her business from her home, ordering books for local customers with her account from the internet. She’s in a small town, not everyone up there has grasped the concept of amazon.com yet, lucky for her. ;-) Perhaps other opportunities will open up for her sometime soon. As they say, the end of one thing is another something’s beginning. Or something.

I’ve been thinking of all the new beginnings I’ve had the past few years. First meeting James on the internet, then meeting him face to face, and starting up our long distance romance, thereby ending my sowing of wild oats in the goth clubs of Toronto ;-) Then getting married, and still living apart for nearly 3 years. Then moving to a new country, new culture, and actually starting our “new” marriage together. Since I’ve been here I’ve had 2 new jobs, both sucked and I quit them both. I’m normally not what I would call a “quitter”, but I also know I’m just too damn old to do a job for the sake of having a job. After my 13 years with the software company from hell (well, maybe only 8 or so years were hell), I decided I’m not going to do jobs that I really really don’t like anymore. What is the point just to be miserable and pull in a miserable paycheck. What is the point when you look at the bottom line and its costing you more in stress and aggravation than the paycheck is worth? I have no idea what my dream job is, but I’ll never find it if I hold onto the job from hell now will I? And its not likely that I’ll find it here in this hick town either, which leads us to our next new beginning, Wisconsin.

I think we’ll do well in Wisconsin, for several reasons. James will likely enjoy the job better since he’ll be working for himself, and not some greedy bugger who doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself and his own fat wallet. James knows the business, and once we get to know the people, I know he can be quite successful at it. I know the dogs will like it much better there, the winter is actually winter, and the summer isn’t quite so hot as it is here. Plus, we’ll be right on a lake, so they’ll get to go swimming fairly often I think! Plus, I think James and I will get along better together, even if I do have to work with him at the pizza shop :-p ;-) Because we’ll Both be starting out new in a strange town, in a strange culture, surrounded by strangers and not knowing where to go or what to do. Even after a year here, I am still an outsider. So, off we go, to where we’ll both be outsiders.

Well, I should call Juli and see what she needs me to bring to this gathering tonight. Its getting dark and I need gas in the truck. Hey, there’s another new beginning kinda thing. Can you believe that before I moved here I never had to pump gas before? I had to learn how to do it, and I still don’t like it, but there’s not a full serve station anywhere near here. Weird huh?  ¶ 5:34 PM 0 Comments

  r'uh r'oh Raggy! Well, the dang Tories went and won the Canadian election. Although, it’s a slim minority, we’ll see what they do with it I guess. If they fuck it up, the Liberals and/or NDP will have to see about picking up the pieces. Usually minority governments have to call elections about half way thru a normal 4 year term. I am beginning to wonder if Canada might benefit by setting a fixed election date like the US has. But then, it wouldn’t be Canada would it, just able to call an election whenever the going gets tough? At least its not as bad as Italy! ;-)

*sigh* I just hope they don’t do anything drastic…but then with a minority government, how could they? I was surprised to see how much of a toe-hold the Conservatives got in Quebec. I’m not at all surprised that the Liberals held on to the GTA tho. Toronto is Liberal to the core, and probably always will be. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Canada needed a change, there’s no doubt about that, I’m just not convinced however that the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives are the answer. Time will tell.

+++++++++++++

I managed to get a few strips of wallpaper off the bathroom wall yesterday. It gets hot in that tiny little room tho with all the steam, I can’t stay in there too long. Plus I get all sticky from the paste, and its all over my sweatpants I was wearing because I have to wipe the scraper on something, and the only thing I had handy was my leg. Hopefully I can get that finished and then go get some primer and paint. I’m debating whether to paint the kitchen as well, but its got mobile home panel on the walls, not proper wallboard/drywall, so I’d need some heavy duty primer to cover the god-awful pattern. I don’t think the paper can be stripped from that paneling or not. But its just really ugly and the house would probably sell better if I can get rid of it. So much work! Bleah.

James passed his first interview yesterday, and they set him up to go to Chicago for training on February 8 & 9th. For some reason he’s worried he won’t pass the training class because he hasn’t been in school for so long. I keep trying to tell him he’ll be fine, its not like school, and he knows all he needs to know, there’s nothing to worry about. But he’s still worried. My powers of persuasion are lacking I suppose. We just worry about different things, and I think he’s being silly to worry about having to take a training class. He knows his stuff, he’s worked for Domino’s long enough he could probably recite it in his sleep. Why doesn’t he worry about important stuff, like how the hell are we going to move all this junk to Wisconsin, and how the heck am I going to be able to drive all the way there on my own, with the two dogs in my truck? James will probably be driving the rental moving van, and towing his pick-up. Which means I have to drive thru the mountains, such as they are, between here and Virginia, and I don’t do well driving in the mountains. After that it’ll probably be all flat, or flatter anyway. Then we’ll hit winter, and hopefully some snow. But not too much I hope, my nerves will be shot by then. :-p

We haven’t had any winter here in Morganton yet. Its again up over 15C today already, and not even 11am. The sun is shining, and I’m quite certain that winter will never get here. I know a lot of places are experiencing the winter that never was, but its rather annoying. I miss the snow. Not so much the cold I miss, just the snow. Last winter we had only 1 inch of snow here, so far this winter, nothing. Except that ice storm a couple of weeks before Christmas. And some people say there’s no such thing as global warming. Hmph :-p

Well, I should get back to peeling wallpaper. Catch ya later.  ¶ 10:58 AM 4 Comments

  Allergies and Outlaws This afternoon I went to the drug store to get myself some night-time antihistamines. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night, so stuffed up I couldn’t breathe. My allergies have been so bad since I moved here I should buy stock in Tylenol and whoever it is that makes Puffs tissues. Claritin used to do the trick back home, but not anymore, so I’ve been using antihistmines with decongestants included, non-drowsy for day time use, and night-time so that I can sleep. As of now, I have to get the purchase card off the hook, take it to the pharmacist counter, show ID and sign the book whenever I buy these things because the meth labs have made pseudoephedrine an outlaw drug. Hmph! All I want to do is be able to breathe, and to do that, I have to show ID and sign a book! There’s less hassle to buy ammunition in Canada for pity’s sake!

It could be worse, I could be living in a state that has taken pseudoephedrine out of the market entirely. I should check to see if Wisconsin is one of those states, I may need to stock up somehow…or find something else that works, which up til now, I’ve been unable to do. *sigh* It is entirely possible though that my allergies won’t be so bad up there, its only since I moved here to Morganton that I haven’t been able to breathe. My usual seasonal allergies last all year long here, and are a hundred times worse. Plus I blow my nose so often that its raw, inside and out. Although the Puffs with lotion isn’t as hard on my nose as tissues without lotion (I keep wanting to say “potion” because of that old commercial for Puffs!), its still raw and it hurts.

Oh well, lets hope that whatever I’m so terribly allergic to here in Morganton doesn’t live in Wisconsin and that after we move I’ll get some relief. I’m doomed if it’s the dogs though, because no way will I get rid of them. I’ll suffer the stuffy nose if it’s the dogs.

Well, I bought a wallpaper steamer today too, and it should be about warmed up enough to go strip some wallpaper. I could have saved some money and bought the chemical strippers, but all the labels had a warning on them for people who suffer breathing problems and allergies, so I figured the $40 for the steamer is worth it. Plus, I don’t want to poison the dogs with chemical strippers. In the long run its better for all of us to just spend the money, rather than polluting the air and environment. Later I’ll also need a paint stripper, but that’s another day.

Back to work!  ¶ 1:22 PM 2 Comments

  Stuff Well, we survived the funeral service, and now its on with life.

It was a beautiful day, unusually warm and sunny for January, even in the south. Quite a lot of people showed up, considering it was a weekday. But most had to get back to work, so not many joined us at the house afterward. Only half a dozen or so, which to me is strange; I’m used to the after funeral gatherings to be large and boisterous, with mass quantities of beer consumed. Must be a Canadian thing…or it could just be my family, who knows?

Now all that needs to be done is clean out her house and settle the estate. Which I get the feeling, will be like pulling abscessed teeth from a rabid lion. *sigh*

James has his interview with the Domino’s guy on Monday. He got a huge package of paperwork in the mail yesterday, which he has to present. I’ve been trying to get his credit reports from on-line, but of course the printer decided, quite literally in the middle of a page, that it didn’t want to talk to the PC anymore, so I had to reboot. I managed to retrieve only one of the 3 reports, and for some stupid reason, the website doesn’t have a technical support contact. How freakin’ stupid is that? GAH! Have you ever seen the movie “Office Space”? I have quite often fantasized about taking this printer, any printer really; I’ve never had a good relationship with any! Out to a field somewhere and just beat the toner out of it with a baseball bat! I think I would feel so much better if I could do that. :-p

So I have to try and tidy up this house. NO small feat I must say. Its so cluttered and we have so much crap, we may have to rent another storage garage in the meantime. We already have one garage rented to store all the stuff that was cleaned out of James’ parents house when his father died last spring. Plus all the stuff that we just don’t have space for, that he refuses to get rid of. Of course there will be even more stuff we don’t need but he’ll want to keep when we are finally able to clear out his mother’s house. I’m not even sure there’s room in the storage garage for a few boxes of things we need to put away in order to sell our house. Some of our collections of shall we say…occult material…that may scare off potential buyers. ;-)

I think I’ll go thru the cupboards and boxes in the basement, and boxes in the storage garage to see what if anything we can sell. We “inherited” quite a lot of crap from the previous owner of this house. Y’see the previous owner died, she was an older lady, whose family took their own sweet time to clean out the house after her death. When my father-in-law bought the house for us, the family could never seem to find the time to clear out her stuff, so James said just leave it. The cupboards were full of dishes, and plastic storage containers and stuff. Then he moved in with his dishes and plastic storage containers and stuff, and then I moved in with my dishes and plastic storage containers and stuff, and well, we just have way too much crap! Most of it will never be used. Like the serving dish set that got left behind. Its nice enough, with a couple of meat platters, a soup turine, gravy boat, salt and pepper shakers etc…but we never entertain. I wouldn’t exactly say James is anti-social, but its not bloody likely those items will ever get used during his lifetime. Might as well sell them and make some room in the cupboard right? Plus there were 2 sets of tea cups and lunch plates, a full box of plastic storage containers, and a bunch of other stuff that we will never use, and yet he won’t let me get rid of. Maybe once he sees how much it will cost to move it all, he’ll let me sell it. I wonder how much it would cost to get a table at the flea market, and if I need a vendor’s license? Hmmmmmm…

We don’t plan to stay here in Morganton, even if the Domino’s deal falls thru for any reason. There really is not much opportunity here in this or the surrounding counties, there’s not really much of anything to DO, and the only reason he moved here was to be near his parents while they were both sick. They’re both gone now, so we don’t really need to stay. There’s just lots to get done before we can go. Most of which of course we need money to do, and we don’t have money to do it. Like basic “brightening up” renovations to the house, clean up the yard with some mulch etc etc etc…

I guess I should get at it then eh?  ¶ 12:22 PM 0 Comments

  Early morning phone calls Well, James’ Mother died early this morning. I heard my phone ring just after 4 am I think it was, but couldn’t find it in time to answer it. By the time I found it, I saw the message on it “missed call – Randy”. So I went and woke James up and told him that Randy had called. He tried to call him back, but Randy was already in the car on his way over to the house.

We got dressed and drove over to the hospice to say last good-byes before the mortician takes her to the crematorium.

We’d gone over earlier in the evening to visit. Apparently earlier that day, or perhaps the night before, her lungs had started to fill up again, and her breathing was very laboured and rattly. Just before we’d arrived, the nurse had given her some morphine to ease her breathing, and something else I can’t remember. She was pretty much out of it and asleep the whole time we visited, but she woke up just long enough to realize that we were there.

When we returned early this morning, we noticed that the nurses had given her a CD player and a relaxation CD to listen to, I guess to help her sleep after we left. She was flat on the bed, with her mouth gaping open. The least they could have done was close her mouth! Sheesh! Its rather disconcerting. I can only imagine how my James and his brother Randy felt seeing her like that. I can’t say that I was all that close with her, and after the months of pain and suffering she’s had, well, she’s in a much better place now. Wherever that is. I can only say that when my Gramma died in 1988, and when I saw her lying in her casket, I was a bit creeped out, but hers was the first open casket funeral I’d been to. A strange custom in our family. But there’s some difference in seeing them shortly after death, and then after the mortician has had them all dolled up. My Gramma was so done up, she barely looked herself. I think I will put in my will that I want to be shown “au naturale” ;-) Besides which, I want to be cremated anyhow, so no viewing is necessary really. Just toss me in the incinerator, have a good ol’ rowdy wake, and then get on with your life.

My mother in law wasn’t old, but she’d been sick for a very long time. Almost as long as I’ve known her (James and my 5th anniversary will be October this year). Two years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer, right after she’d had a bout of pneumonia. After she completed her treatments for breast cancer, James’ father fell ill with cancer; then died in March of last year. Right after that Mother was diagnosed again, this time with liver cancer. She wanted to try to last until May, so that she could get to Laura’s (her only grandchild) high school graduation, but she’d had so many complications since before Christmas, frankly I was surprised she held on as long as she did.

So now here I am, wondering what the heck I’m supposed to be doing with myself. Yesterday evening James had given me a laundry list of things I needed to gather up for our business application, so I guess I should work on that. But he’s off to a meeting this morning, and said he wasn’t sure if he’d go into the store to work this afternoon as scheduled or not. Maybe I’ll just wait to see what he decides to do… *sigh* I just feel kind of in the way, not knowing what to do, or what needs to be done, or should I just make tea? Which is what I’d be doing if this were my own family, but the differences are so vast, its incomprehensible.

Anyhow, we’re moving forward with this business opportunity in Wisconsin. James has an interview on Monday next week, where he has to show our financial statements, etc etc. Then he has to go for a 2 day training class in Chicago next month, then after that, another week long class at the end of the month. Coming home between those two for our immigration interview of course!

With all of this going on, we have to ready our own home to list for sale, and probably James’ mother’s property as well. Not much work, if any, needs to be done over there, but considerable work needs to be done on our house before we list it. We’re not doing anything big, just cosmetic really, but there’s enough cosmetic work that needs done, its going to cost us a few bucks. We were debating last night whether to buy new furniture for the living room, so that the room wouldn’t look so shabby and dog-worn. I think we may be able to just get away with a new area rug, and to wash the slip covers on the couch and futon. I dearly want to tear off every single bit of cheap paneling from these walls, but we don’t know what’s underneath, and we don’t have time, or the money, to be replacing every single wall in the house.

All but the bathroom and kitchen are paneled with that horrible 1970s fake wood paneling. The kitchen is paneled with modular home panel, and the bathroom is done with a lick-n-promise dry wall with wall paper on top. You can see thru the wallpaper that the joint compound was not sanded, and when we tried to put up a towel rod, we noticed the almost complete lack of studs. How the walls are even standing is a miracle. For now tho, we just want to clean it up a bit so it will sell, and maybe give us a few bucks to put a down payment on a house in Wisconsin. We’ve been looking at the listings, and saw one that we both really like, that’s got a fair sized back yard for the dogs, and its affordable. Its recently been renovated and upgraded, so all we’d have to do is move in. It even has a dishwasher. Let’s just hope its still available when we get our business approval, and that we can get a mortgage.

Well, I must go do some laundry. And maybe see what skirts fit that I should wear to the funeral. I hope it doesn’t rain. The forecast says rain. Bleah.  ¶ 10:44 AM 4 Comments

  So, here's the deal... Yesterday I gave notice at work, and the district manager told me there’s no need to work my notice (2 weeks) because she has other photographers who were also sharing part time jobs who need the hours. So, as of now, I’m temporarily unemployed. Again. *sigh*

James spoke with the franchiser in Wisconsin again, and with some other high up muckity muck, and all he needs to do now is schedule when he can get in for the franchiser training. The next one coming up is sometime in February, he just needs to make sure its not the week that he needs to be here for our immigration interview. He REALLY needs to be here for that! So, depending on that schedule, we may or may not be moving to Wisconsin in the next couple of months. That is if he passes that exam, and we qualify for all the other financial stuff. Which we should as soon as we sell this house, we’re just a couple thousand short on the liquid assets requirement.

I need to make some quick fixes here in the house before we can list it though. The kitchen floor needs replacing, the kitchen sink needs replacing, a whole buncha superfluous crap needs to be put into storage, the bedroom ceiling needs covering, and all the cupboards and trim in the house could do with a coat of paint. Then there’s the little things to do, like a new throw rug in the living room, maybe put up a shelf or two in the kitchen and bathroom, the usual stuff to dress up a house in order to sell it. I’m considering getting rid of one couch in the living room so that it doesn’t look so awkward and squished, but then what will James sit on? ;-)

Then James will hire me to work at the Domino’s shop here so that I can learn how to make pizza and take orders and blah blah blah…its not really what I had ever considered doing with my life, but there ya go.

I’m still actively marketing my Watkins business, and building my empire. I have a few repeat customers, and a couple of down-line associates. I’ve also got advertising out there to continue building my down-line, and hopefully the half dozen or so candidates I have now will soon sign up and I will get bigger bonus cheques every month. Every little bit counts right? I have had a few difficulties with a couple of customers (bouncing cheques, not paying back or on time, etc) but its all part of doing business. Live and learn as they say. For the most part tho, I enjoy doing this. I can see how its possible to make a lot of money at it, and its nice to get out there and meet some new people. For some odd reason however, quite a lot of my newest candidates have been from Canada! Its funny to talk to them on the phone and hear the accents that I miss so much. These people down south here talk funny! ;-)

Well, I must start surfing and do some price comparisons for these renovations I have to do. First, floor tiles and ceiling tiles! Oh, and a screen door for the back…George has totally destroyed the one on there now, we need something indestructible! Ha ha!  ¶ 11:37 AM 0 Comments

  LOST OK, so last night we finally picked up where we left off, and there was a new episode of LOST. I have a question…

Is this island the centre of the universe or sumthin? Everyone seems to be destined to be there, and everyone and everything is connected somehow. I’m sure even Kevin Bacon is less than 6 degrees of that island. ;-)

Last night we learned about Echo’s background. He’s a Nigerian gangster, with a priest for a brother, and the Virgin Mary statues that Lock and Boone found last season in that small plane crash, which Charlie later found and kept a few for himself, are there on the island because of Echo. Or rather, they were in that plane because of Echo, and then the plane crashed on the island because that’s what planes do when they get close to that island apparently.

Y’see? Somehow everyone and everything on that island is connected. And Echo faced the Monster without fear. Charlie saw it. WE saw it finally! And now that we know it can be faced and we can survive, will it be so scary anymore? Maybe its not a Monster after all…perhaps like all evil, its just misunderstood. ;-)

Poor Charlie, he really should have just left the heroine where it was. Now Claire has kicked him out of their tent, and he’s on his own. Stupid git should get rid of that stash he’s hiding, but he’ll probably just start snortin’ it up his nose again. Then he’ll hit rock bottom, bring someone to grave danger and close to death because he’s stoned out of his mind, he’ll see the light and will be ordained by Echo. Who is a fake priest by the way, in case you missed that part! I get the impression though that he had intended to be a priest when he was a kid, and only shot that man to save his brother the horror of having to do it. But what do I know…

Now that we’ve been introduced to the Monster, how much longer can that story line go on? How much longer can the series go on? Or did they get the Monster out of the way so that we can focus our attentions on The Others? Is it really Walt on the other end of that computer chat, or are The Others playing with Michael’s head? Stay tuned…

Well, as for us in the real world, James spoke to the franchiser in the mid-west about those 2 stores. It looks as though the Wisconsin shop would be the better of the 2 for us, as the Minnesota shop requires far too much money to be put up for it. It is “turn key”, but requires about $30,000 worth of upgrades in order to comply with Domino’s corporate policy. The Wisconsin shop is just walk in and start flippin’ pizza. James will need to take some training at Domino’s corporate in Ann Arbor, and he’d have to pass and be approved to be a franchiser, but it is possible, even probable, that we could be moving to Wisconsin. This means I have to get this house here cleaned up and put in order so that we can sell it! A project I’m not looking forward to, this place is a total mess. :-p

The other day I spent some time looking up some information about this town in Wisconsin. It’s a small town, population just slightly over 8,000, its on a lake, and about 100 miles from Superior, WI - Deluth, MN. There is affordable Real Estate to be found, and there’s actually Stuff To Do! There is even a Pagan shop in town, which means at least a small Pagan community to play with. I’ve emailed back and forth with the proprietor of said shop, and she says the town is mostly tolerant, as she’s not had too many problems with the Christian community. That’s not to say she hasn’t had *any* problems, she’s not had much. If you follow.

It sounds like a great opportunity for us, if James can pass the testing and we get approved. The liquid assets requirement is fairly low considering, and we have enough for that. The only thing we need to figure out, is will we need actual cash in the bank, and can we get a mortgage to buy a house up there. And how do we find a house we like, if we can’t travel up there to look. Internet shopping for books or movies is one thing, I’m not sure I’d want to buy a house sight-unseen. But that may be how we have to do it. I am dead set on getting a dishwasher though, if I’m going to be working insane hours in a pizza shop, I’m not gonna go home just to wash dishes. :-p

As for me working for Domino’s, I will be quitting my job with the photography studio here, most likely this week, and then going to work for James at the shop here. This will give me more money, because he can actually give me a full time job. Or at the very least, a whole part time job all to myself! I need to learn the business, because once we take over the franchise up north, we won’t be able to afford it unless we both work in it, at least for the first year or 2. So, we’ll be a pizza making family. I’m sure the dogs will love that. ;-)

This morning James took his Mother to the local hospice. She’s not doing very well at all now, and finally capitulated. My poor James is all stressed out, there’s just too much going on all at once. And I’m afraid I’m at a loss as to what to do to ease that stress, I have quite a bit of my own.  ¶ 10:57 AM 2 Comments

  This is January? I was just outside, running some errands around town, and can you believe it, its 67F/19C out there! This is January? It’s just not right! There should be snow, and cold and wind, not sun and heat and t-shirts! I want snow dammit! Hmph. Now my dogs are going to start shedding again :-p Honestly, Minnesota is looking better all the time. Sure its cold, but they have snow! And I never thought I’d say this, but I miss snow. Winter without it is just wrong. And boring. Maybe I could get a snowmobile.

Well, James’ Mom got to go home again the other day. They drained the fluids again from her lungs, this time via syringe rather than surgically implanted tubes. If the fluid comes back again, I’ve no idea what they’ll do, but hopefully she’ll have some relief for a while.

I found season two of Due South the other day at Best Buy. It was only $16.99, so I picked it up, and James got season one of War of the Worlds. I’ve now watched all of the Due South DVDs that I got, and will have to wait on season 4, as its not released yet here in the US that I can tell. Unless Mum finds it and sends it from Canada that is. I read a rumour somewhere that there may be a follow-up movie, but I’m guessing its too many years now since it was cancelled, so likely not. Ah well.

There’s not much else going on around here really. We’re still waiting to hear back from the franchisee in Minnesota to get some more information about the stores up there before we can make any decision. I looked up on Map quest where this town is; it is really close to Lake Superior, only about 25 miles or so from Deluth. Its closer to Winnipeg than Toronto obviously, maybe family and friends could meet me half way somewhere. The dogs would like it there, summer is cooler, and winter is downright cold! Maybe I could go on a Great Lakes cruise.

I’ll be back to work this week, for a whopping 25 hours. I figured it out, if we keep up with this one week on, one week off, I’ll have a total of about 51 hours per month! :-p Lovely. Half a part time job. And Bush says the economy is picking up. Yeah, right! He’s so proud of himself, saying that so many jobs were created in November and December; the jobless rate went down a couple points. What he failed to point out of course is probably the majority of those jobs were seasonal, and those people are either laid off again, or like me, sharing a part time job barely making enough money to buy groceries. Gotta love the spin eh? Bleah.

Speaking of spin, I hope my Canadian friends are getting ready for the election on the 23rd. I see in the polls that the Conservatives are slightly ahead. Stupid Liberal controversy again….the country is going to hell in a handbasket ya know. And Stephen Harper is holding the handle, you just watch! :-p *sigh*  ¶ 2:56 PM 3 Comments

  Gangs and Gun Control Recent news from Toronto about gangs shooting up Yonge Street on Boxing Day (that’s December 26th for any Americans who are reading) that killed one innocent 15 year old girl, and wounded 6 other innocents, has led to Toronto hitting the American news once again in a negative way. Gun crime is up in Toronto, gangs are getting prevalent, and more violent. A couple of months ago a 17 year old boy was shot and killed at his friend’s funeral, who just days earlier had been shot and killed. These gangs not only have no respect for life, they have no respect, period! Toronto’s first murder of 2006 was already discovered on New Year’s day; a guy found dead in his car, shot in the head I think it was.

The government; both provincial and federal, are talking tougher gun control laws. I don’t think its gonna work. I really don’t. What needs to be done is clean up the gangs. Tougher gun control laws are not going to get rid of gangs. It won’t even get rid of guns, I think that should already be evident. Canada already has fairly tight gun laws, but illegal guns still make their way into the country, and legally owned guns still get stolen from law abiding citizens. And then these guns get used to “solve” arguments and turf disputes, like on Boxing Day. Most usually to tragic ends, with one or several innocent by-standers getting hit.

Why do people join gangs? What is so glamorous, or romantic, or enticing about being in a gang? Why is it absolutely necessary to have the biggest and baddest weapons if you’re in a gang? Violent gangs have been around for generations, probably hundreds, if not thousands of years. But why? What makes a gang? Street Gangs particularly are what is becoming the major problem in Toronto. The Mob and Biker clubs/gangs have been around for several generations now, but it seems to be the street gangs mostly in the news lately. And they don’t care where, when or whom they shoot.

Not even the recent execution of gang leader Tookie Williams in California is a deterrent. It would seem, to me at least, that given the number of prisoners on death row in the US, that the death penalty isn’t a sufficient deterrent to anyone determined to commit murder. Why then would tougher gun control laws be a deterrent? Why would a minimum sentence of say 3 years for having an illegal gun be a deterrent to someone who then during that 3 years can make more connections while inside, and then once released just go pick up another gun?

No, its not tougher gun laws we need. We need to figure out what is wrong in our society that makes gangs and guns so attractive. Once we do that, we can get them off the street, and take the guns out of their hands. Tougher laws haven’t worked up til now, its still not going to work next week, next month, or next year.  ¶ 10:42 AM 3 Comments

  I'm bored I suppose I could mop the floors. Again. But its still all muddy outside from rain all day yesterday, so really what’s the point?

Yet another vacuum has burned out because of the Carolina dirt in here. Its like clay and it gums up the works, so yesterday while vacuuming the rugs, the belt fused itself to the roller brush. *sigh* This is the 3rd one since I moved here. At least this one is fixable I think. I just ordered a new brush and belts, hopefully that’s all it is. I didn’t notice anything else burned up.

James had to take his Mother to hospital again yesterday. She called him at work to ask him to take her to ER. Anyhow, she’s got more fluid in her chest, they didn’t know how much just yet when James finally left the hospital (after being there with her several hours), and he hasn’t called me yet today since he left for work. I’m assuming no one has called him to let him know what’s happening, which wouldn’t surprise me.

I did try to see about getting organized for our AOS interview next month, I looked at the checklist of required documents, and that was about it. There’s not much we can do at the moment, I’ve pretty much been keeping the files up to date, so that I won’t be scrambling to gather stuff at the last minute. The only things we would need are employment verification letters, and an updated Affidavit of Support; which all should be dated closer to our interview, so we’ll hold off on those a couple of weeks. Not to mention of course, I may not be employed at the same company by then, so I’ll just wait.

James got a little bit more information about the Domino’s franchises, but still needs to talk to the franchiser who is selling before we can make any decisions about anything. The whole thing is moot if we can’t get financial backing in time, someone else may just snap it up tomorrow.

I’m bored. There’s nothing on TV in the daytime. I could go shopping, but James is off tomorrow, so he might want to go to Hickory too. I found Due South season 2 for really cheap at Best Buy, and the Hickory store should have some in stock. Or so their website says. They don’t have season 4 yet, I don’t think its released in the US for some reason. They have the final 2 episodes, but not the whole season. Which makes no sense whatsoever, but there ya go.

Plus, if I go out, I have to put the dogs out in the yard, which means more mud in the house when I get home. I’m very tired of cleaning and mopping and sweeping and blah blah blah…I do it and 10 minutes later it looks like I haven’t cleaned in a month. Its very frustrating. I wonder what it would look like if I actually didn’t clean for a month? This is a house the Munsters would be proud to live in :-p If we could just do something with the dogs’ yard so its not so muddy, that would help. But what to do? Stones? Mulch? Concrete? It rains so much here, grass is useless with the dogs outside all day long. They dig, run around, jump and wrestle and the grass just slides away. If we do stones, that won’t be too comfortable for them to play on, plus when we clean up, stones won’t digest in the poop digester. We’re afraid if we put mulch down that George will eat it. She likes to eat wood for some reason. And concrete will be very expensive.

Ah well, another day another headache.  ¶ 1:47 PM 1 Comments

  Canuck in Minnesota? Well, here it is the beginning of 2006, its raining again, and there’s nothing on TV :-p

But I do have a bunch of new CDs on the player. At the moment is The White Stripes “Get Behind Me Satan”. I like the title, and so far the music is pretty good too. Did you know that the White Stripes are the only band (so far) to appear on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show to perform? I got the CD from my brother-in-law for Christmas, and am just now sitting down to have a listen.

I also have a bunch of other new CDs to listen to today as well. Well, new for me anyway. We haven’t had much money the past few years to go buy up everything I’ve wanted, but I had a bunch of freebies with BMG after I ordered my club requirement, so decided to order a bunch before the holidays as a treat. In the player coming up after the White Stripes is Rob Zombie “Past Present and Future”, then The Cult, “Beyond Good and Evil” then Rammstein “Mutter” and finally David Bowie “Heathen”. Good thing I have a 5 disc carousel eh? ;-) I also got a few others, which I think are out in the car…Pearl Jam “rearview mirror”, Eric Clapton with BB King and for some reason, I can’t remember the other 2, but I know there are at least 2 more.

I don’t take nearly enough time to sit and listen to music anymore. Part of it is that I have yet to find a decent radio station around here to be able to keep up with new stuff, plus, I’m only in the car for 5 minutes at a time to and from work, and we’re in this strange bowl where we can’t get a very good signal anyhow. We need to get us a Serius satellite radio. I really miss Canadian music. I should check a few websites to see if the Tea Party or Tragically Hip have released anything new recently.

It’s a shame that my favourite Canadian bands have not really gained any popularity across the border, other than in close border towns. Sure, the Barenaked Ladies are ok, but they got backing from Jason Priestly and appeared on 90210. I’m fairly certain that if that hadn’t happened, they’d still just be a Toronto bar band. But they’re not the best thing to come out of Canada by far. How do some bands cross the border and others don’t? I don’t get it. Perhaps they don’t really want to. I guess I’ll never know, unless I could sit down and talk to Gord Downey or Jeff Martin personally. I’ll have my people call their people. ;-)

Speaking of border towns, I bet you’re wondering about the title of this post aren’t you? Well, I’ll get to it then. Last week James received a message that there are 2 Domino’s franchises available for take over. One is in Minnesota, and one is in Wisconsin. They’d both be turn-key, but one apparently needs a heavy duty overhaul that could be fairly cost prohibitive. The other is just take over the lease and start tossing pizzas. James would need to go take some franchiser training of some sort and write some exams and get financial backing to qualify. Both shops are obviously closer to the Canadian border than we are now, but still quite a drive back home. They’re closer to Manitoba really than Ontario, but maybe I could meet family somewhere in between for long weekends or whatever. If the Great Lakes weren’t in the way, the drive would be much shorter! There’s this in-land ocean called Superior tho…I’ll have to teach James how to drive in “real” snow that’s for sure!

Then of course there’s the whole owning your own business, never have a vacation, work your ass off 20 hours a day 7 days a week thing. And they’re both in tiny little towns two hours away from anywhere. What to do what to do? James is investigating to find out why the franchiser is giving them up, he figures it was a corporate take-over for non-compliance, which would explain the one shop that needs the overhaul. Well, it’ll be quite a while before we could possibly do anything anyway, but its something that we are considering. If they remain available while James takes all the training and we find a backer, we may just be moving to the mid-west. Or not.

Also something we want to do this year is go to a friend’s wedding in Scotland in May. Our friends’ Chris & Alison are planning to be married, and since I am partly responsible at least for them meeting, I really would like to attend. Cost is one thing we need to consider, plus getting vacation time. If I still have my job with the studio, I’m only eligible for one week vacation, but then I’m only working every other week anyway :-p and I do want a trip home sometime soon as well. James might be able to get the time off, but can I get him on a plane? He hates flying. I’d have to drug him. But then its not a direct flight from Charlotte, we’d have to connect in either New York, Newark or DC, which would mean if he’s drugged I’d have to drag him from plane to plane. No easy feat, he’s twice my size! Would hypnotism work do ya think? Plus we’d have to put the dogs in a kennel while we’re away. There are no kennels around here that I trust to take care of them properly. The one here in town I’ve heard doesn’t exercise the dogs, they just leave them in the cages all the time. That’s not right. :-( I don’t want to just leave them at home and have the pet-sitter come in once a day, they need more human interaction than that, they’re very sucky dogs and need lots of loving! *sigh* I suppose we’ll think of something, it’s a few months off yet.

Well, if I can convince my fat ass to get up off this chair today, I think I will try to organize my files a bit to get ready for tax season. This place is a total mess and I’m off this week, so I might as well be productive.  ¶ 11:39 AM 2 Comments