Moved

The dogs seem to have very few tails to tell, so I've moved into a new blog....

Holmes Home on Wheels

The wheels aren't turning, so the dogs don't get to see new sights... But I'll blog here when they do!

Change is good!

Spring

The First Day of Spring came--and went. Time changed. Tonite it's 35 and could rain any minute. But I saw crocus and mini daffodil leaves poking up through the leaves today.... I'm afraid to clear the leaves away for fear the plants will freeze!!!

Keith got a job offer from Williston, ND last week--and turned it down. 1255 miles, at 7 mpg of diesel.... just to GET there (where it's still winter and all the campgrounds are closed!) for a site unseen job? We'd have had to borrow from everyone we know to get back here if the job didn't work out!!! LOL! But, "any day now" work is going to pick up around here (as per the Union Rep's BS). None of the pipeline jobs is due to start until at least May....more like June!

So, what does he decide to do with all his free time right now? He pulls the 'drowned' car (yes, he kept it--and bought a junk yard motor for it!) into MY garage and pulled the motor! At least he's out of the RV all day.... :D It was starting to shrink fast! Out there he has his wood stove blazing and all his tools strung out and pieces of car everywhere....and a radio, a big jug of Dr. Pepper and a 'tree' outside the back door!

I finally attacked the boxes of photos again. I'm going through them as if I were our kids--who will end up dealing with whatever is left. I've scanned some into the computer to put on a flash drive one of these days, dropped several into a box for Jared, some in a box for Lana and tossed the rest!!! What a liberating feeling! I had started an album with pics from our wedding, and I've been adding a few to that as I go along, but mostly I'm just filling the trash can. Nice pictures of people the kids don't know and places they haven't been....

Oh, computer. Well, I struggled along on the antique Dell laptop for a while, and then went and acquired the old Compaq monitor that was in the kids' attic and hooked it up to the 'gooder' laptop. Then loaded everything onto a portable hard drive, just in case the rest of this laptop decides to quit working. So far, so good. That pretty much exhausts my technological expertise!
I think the next computer will probably be a PC, now that take up so little space. This old Compaq takes half my little computer desk--the half not taken already by the printer/scanner/fax/copier machine.... :D

When I get so sick of looking at old pictures that I could just barf, I am back to working on a quilt I started making blocks for--eons ago. No thought required! Meanwhile, March Madness is driving me insane! It's hell to only have 3 networks and PBS.....

Tomorrow we're skipping out on the annual 'gather and eat ourselves silly and watch kids hunt eggs and smear chocolate all over new clothes and the house and each other" at our son's house. :) Going to our daughter's and eat quiche and hang out--watch the guys play their version of Battleship (I can't play cause I don't have a screen...:( ) and maybe watch the latest movie from Netflix.... I know, I know--too much excitement, right? ;D

HAPPY EASTER to those of you who celebrate....

Bright yellow orb in the sky!

Could it be the SUN??? Temps nearly 60! Is Spring nearly here? :)

Today's chores consist of Keith finishing the overhaul on his tow dolly and me trying to clean and organize the truck camper--just in case we need them to take off for a job! No way we want to hook that fuel-sucking RV hauler and the 5er up and head for 'parts unknown'! Have you seen the price of diesel fuel today????

That's all I got right now....

Baby

This is the newest member of our family--her name is Jorie, and until a month ago, she was in a foster home in S. Korea. Two years ago, our niece and her hubbby began the arduous process of trying to adopt a baby from China. That's when I started making the little quilt in the picture. Just a few months ago, the Korean adoption people were looking for a home near to the one where they had placed a little boy, to place his baby sister. In the process, they found my niece & hubby on the Chinese list! And so, Jorie was offered to them! They are still on the Chinese list, so may yet get a litttle Chinese sister for Jorie! :)

So, like I said, I had started the hand-pieced & quilted baby quilt--but didn't want to jinx the adoption by finishing it before their baby was actually HERE. Silly, I know! But I finished quilting it last week. Jorie likes it! :)

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My big laptop is still non-functional, and I'm still struggling along with my tired little backup laptop. It refuses to recognize the floppy drive or the CD burner and tells me there isn't enough memory to add hardware, blah, blah, blah.... But, I'm getting by. Eventually, Keith will get back to work, and then I may just upgrade the big laptop--which I've had for 4 years--and it was a refurb when I got it! Right now, I'm able to get email and get on the Internet, at least! I've tried several times to get rid of the Earthlink software that seems to have it's tentacles woven deep into all kinds of stuff on the laptop and refuses to let go without taking chunks of other programs with it. *sigh* If it'd go away, I'd have more memory....

On the job front, Keith has been calling Union Locals around the Country and being told that they have too many people out of work already, so he can't sign up with THEM! So, resumes are going out to as many big gas and oil pipeline companies as we can find. I probably mentioned that getting into pipeline work is a 'who you know', rather than 'what you know' process...and Keith doesn't know anyone! But we're both working on it...we'll find a way in! My guess is that we'll end up in Wyoming, since that is where the oil and the pipeline projects are! Sooner, rather than later, would be nice!

We still get reports on Molly B. She sounds to us like she's fallen into doggie heaven! :) Here in our house, it's both strange and a blessing to have her in a new home. MUCH less dog hair to deal with, that's for sure! The remaining 2 dogs are still just tolerating each other, and I sure wish they weren't 'barkers'.... But having 2 dogs is quite a bit easier on us all.

Well, it's incredibly late and the weather dude is predicting weather that sounds vaguely like it could get really nasty--hence, there's an early morning grocery run in our future! Guess I'd best get myself off to bed!

Hang in there, ya'll. SPRING IS COMING!

The dreaded 'black screen'!

Finally happened. The laptop was sitting here, behaving well, and then it's world went black! :( The computer was still running--but there was nothing to see! The screen is dead. And I've only been using this laptop every day for 4 years, since I bought it refurbed on eBay! LOL! The timing stinks, of course. The money tree hasn't begun blooming yet...





When it does, I either buy another laptop on ebay, or struggle along with this ancient piece of technology that I dug out of the closet, or buy a stand-alone monitor, or buy a $75 used screen and put it in.... *sigh* What I need is for Jerry and Marie to live next door so he can scrounge me some parts and make me a computer.... :D





Meanwhile, it's a blustery, 53 degree day here in IL. Tonite's low is supposed to drop to the teens. It rained all nite and should snow some tonite.... It's the Midwestern Winter Rollercoaster!





I finished the baby quilt! Started it 2 years ago, when my niece and hubby started their adoption process, but didn't want to jinx things by actually finishing it (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). The baby is here at last and there's a shower next week--and I'm ready! :)

Still doing the job-hunt thing. It'd be simpler if his resume and all the contacts weren't tucked away in the screenless laptop...but we'll manage! :)

Enjoy your Sunday!

And then there were 2

61 degrees and foggy.... Gotta love that Feb. thaw!

This morning a lady called, in tears, to ask about Molly B (our 'middle child'). She and her husband had just lost their 14 year old dog last week and had seen her picture on Petfinder.com. They drove for 3 hours to come and see her--and took her home with them. :(

Yes, it's for the best. We had too many 'kids' to haul around the Country. I have had to stay home with them while Keith went places like his appointments at the VA in Indy. Too many dogs to take along overnite, too many to board out, too crowded in our 'house'--and then there was the fact that Keith has had a lot of allergy trouble ever since we brought her home with us, 4 years ago. Lots of good reasons to adopt out one of our dogs--but it feels like cheating, somehow, to just give her away.

The couple who took her were really happy, and they will spoil her silly and fuss over her like we never have. And she won't have to compete for attention! Oh, my goodness no! Anyway, I still feel guilty, but I'll get over it one of these days.

Meanwhile, VA says Keith is healing nicely. 2 more weeks to go on that.... Tomorrow he gets to spend the day on the phone, calling Locals and getting on their out-of-work lists for pipeline work. You gotta KNOW he's looking forward to that! But he's gotta do what he's gotta do!

I've got more gourd bowls and more wax.... :) This time I'm experimenting with an owl motif--we'll see how it comes out....

3.5 degrees, West wind @ 15mph

Brrrrrr! The dogs need boots to go out and do their business! No long walks today! Could be worse--we could be in Fargo, ND, in an RV... -20 right now! TODAY I envy the Snowbirds...

Keith is recovering nicely--well, okay, so he's whining about not being able to lift anything.... I offered to let him wash the dishes, but he didn't appreciate that much. At least he cooked dinner!

I'm playing with beaded crochet. I'd heard of it, but never looked into it. So, I had beads, I had crochet thread, and hooks.... and I had the Internet to tell me how! Besides, I can do it while sitting in front of the computer, under a down comforter. Life is good....