JoyfulC

Hands down, the funniest thing I've heard this week! (And with this rain, I needed the funny.)

Additional Comments:

Then you might give the audiobooks a shot. The story I'm listening to seems much fresher and truer to the earlier seasons. Obviously they turned the TV series over to some screenwriters and they farked it up.

If you enjoy Dexter, you might try one of the books. I'm not usually into audiobooks, but my tomatoes are coming ripe and I figured I'd download something to keep my brain engaged during the coming hours of mindless tomato processing and canning. I went with "Double Dexter." I downloaded it from my library. It's a slightly different story than the TV series. Rita is still alive, and they have a baby girl named Lily. Deb also has a baby, apparently! So if you enjoy Dexter and want more, check out your local library. You may need to apply for a library card if you don't have one, but it's all free and they have excellent interfaces for most smart phones.

Or rather, a solvent.

Today was "patch" day at my house. I spent all day sewing patches on clothing and upholstery. With a 1-year-old puppy in the house, nothing's getting replaced or reupholstered for at least another year.

It's good to have more in your glass, of course. But perhaps you misunderstand the analogy a bit. The amount of water in the glass is the same, but different people see it differently. Glass half empty people only see what they're missing. Glass half full people appreciate what they have. Learning to appreciate whatever you have, no matter how little it might be at times, is a terrific survival skill and can help you get a lot more mileage out of life. Additional Comments: Can I make a suggestion? Make a skydive. First jumps are done tandem these days, and are very safe. You get a high altitude exit, freefall and a long parachute ride. Spring for the extra for video. It's more than worth it. I have seen this make the difference for quite a few people who were suffering with depression. Maybe it's the adrenaline. I dunno. If you're in the Ottawa area, may I suggest www.SkydiveGan.com And if you do it, don't forget to hook us up with your video!

How come... lawns? What in the hell ever made us decide to surround our homes by growing something resource and maintenance intensive that is frustrating and inedible?

Watching the video. The part about the spouse being in a bad mood and somebody coming to the door. A) If my spouse is enjoying my bad mood, then he probably deserves it. And B) I don't make nice with anyone who comes to my door unexpected. Call first, and I'll try to receive you better. But just show up? You'll get what's happening. But that said, I don't really think this video was about happiness. I am a very happy person, in general, but I get pissed off, I get down in the dumps, I get snarly. That's just being human. It's when you can't just experience it, get it over with and move on that it's a problem. What the guy in the video is discussing is more what I'd call anger or mood management. My husband and I are both from families where our parents bore long lingering resentments and grudges. And when we were first married, we did too, because that was what we figured you did when you were married. But then one day, it's like a light just came on and we realized that it just doesn't have to be that way. Shit happens, and always will, but you have some wiggle room WRT how mangled you get by it, and you can optimize your experience by how you react to it. Judging by my daughter and her friends, it seems that many young people think that feeling less-than-fulfilled or disappointed or blue means you need therapy or antidepressants. While there are situations where a person does need these things, I'm convinced a lot of people are using them that really need to just understand that life isn't all rainbows and unicorns all the time. I think it's okay to be unhappy sometimes. And let's face it, we live in a world where we get run over daily, and have to witness some pretty terrible stuff. I think you have to decide you're going to be happy (if for no other reason than it will drive the bastards nuts ;) ). It helps to find happiness fixes. For me, Looney Toons cartoons and Just For Laughs Gags can knock me out of the fiercest funk. Other times, a good cry or chasing my partner around the house with a butcher's knife, threatening homicide really does the trick. But whatever you do, live in the moment and do it as authentically as possible. And pursue happiness. Because there is no heaven or hell after death. All you get is this life. Make it a heaven or languish in hell. Good luck!

Trying to enjoy a leisurely sandwich in front of three dogs. All sandwiches must be eaten MACH SCHNELL!! CHOP CHOP!! They want their cut!!

Cough *trolling* cough!

My baby boy beagle is getting older and he occasionally has bad days with arthritis. He's a retired hunting beagle and is a bit of a legend around these parts. Everybody says that, in his day, he could run like the wind. But the years of limited exercise all year round, followed by a few days a year of balls out running, coupled with sleeping in the kennels year round, when it was hot, wet or -30, have left him with some problems. This week, he's having a bad week. And I'm having to carry him up and down the stairs to go outside. So last night, I'm here on my own, with him, the two labs and the ugly pugly, and he's got to go out. We have our family room and bedroom combined into one on the second floor. I grab him up, and he's pretty tender, so I'm trying to be careful. I get to the top of the stairs and tell the other dogs to go down. Nope. They're not going down until they see me start to go down. Then it's like The Three Stooges, with everyone trying to go at once. I nearly got knocked off my feet. I had to let go of the dog in my arms with one hand to grab the railing, which meant I had to squeeze him tighter with the other, which set him screaming. I wrenched my back in the process. I get him downstairs and put him out, my back killing me. He runs right out to the bottom of the yard and loses himself amongst the tomato containers, where we play hide and seek for ten minutes, treating the mosquitoes to a feast. And then I have to carry him back up. Still, he's got me worried. Usually he has a bad day or two and snaps out of it. He's been having problems since Tuesday, though. All you can do is love them while you can!

I've often found that statement confusing too. Especially when someone is asking about an appointment then asks if I'm a clock watcher. ?? My rates are based on time and I can break them down into 15 minute chunks. So just book for the amount of time you want. We'll spend it all. And if we don't and you leave early, I'll be happy to rebate you to the price of the actual session length. I've done it many times. But in the back of my mind, when someone asks me this, I wonder if he's poking around to see if it's possible to pay for a shorter session, but get more time. Sadly, there are people who will do that, thinking that they've come up with this great original scheme. I don't watch the clock, but since my rates are based on time, I do expect to be paid for the time I spend. Just as you'd want to get the time you paid for. Sometimes things go a little over and sometimes a little under. Most SPs realize this, and there is some wiggle room built in. But we know the difference between a session that simply flowed over a bit and someone who's trying to take advantage. Just like we know that, if we get you in, grab your money and rush you out the door, you probably won't repeat. Have an honest heart, and trust your SP to too. We'll give you a reasonable benefit of the doubt.

To follow up on Emiafish's post, how come do women's clothing manufacturers assume that someone who would fit into clothing that fits me in the butt and in the bust is about 5'6" tall, with little short arms and legs? So many beautiful outfits I couldn't wear over the years because the pants were floods, the sleeves stopped 6" or so above my wrists, or the waistlines were up around my rib cage.

I bought a couple of rubber pet groomers/massage paddles off ebay, and the kitties and the doggies are just loving it! I got two, and it was under $5. My old beagle, Rocky Dude, is in 7th heaven! I should have gotten this years ago.

Two brutal, ugly scratches with some broken skin and a bruise down the front of one thigh. Had to break up a dog fight. Ugh.

You don't need to kill them. Just open the doors, maybe take the screens out of a couple windows in the warmer part of the day, and they will leave. Close everything up when it starts getting cooler. If they can't get back in to the nest, they'll build another somewhere else. Wasps are pollinators. And they're generally harmless unless you accidentally sit on one or threaten them. They want to be outside during the day. Let them go!

Definitely! We try to only buy local berries and apples, and anything else we can (that we don't grow ourselves). Cannemore Orchards had great berries this year. Lots put up in the freezer at our place! I find the years that they're smaller, they're sweeter and tastier. Almost time for cider season, and putting up apples as sauce for use all year round. And maybe process a pumpkin or two for tasty treats like pumpkin rolls and pumpkin muffins.

The Buddarator is at it again. This time, I decided to make angel food cupcakes to eat with whipped cream and all the lovely berries we got at Cannemore this year. This was a hard decision for me because I seem to have some mental issue with recipes that call for separating and only using part of an egg. But my husband assured me that if I freeze the yolks, he will find a use for them. So I separated six eggs yesterday and put the whites aside on the counter to come to room temperature. I had them in a bowl, way back on the counter on top of the toaster oven, covered with a plate. I turned my back for two seconds, and I heard the clang of the plate hitting the floor, and the sounds of Buddy vacuuming up my egg whites. Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!! I've never met a dog that's so crazy about food. And the farts this results in!

This is me:

Some days you just have to fall on your knees and give thanks for all the good hippie men still roaming this earth, still devoted to the pursuit of making love. I am blessed!

Our lab/boxer mix puppy turned 10 months old on Friday. 14 more months to go. It's going to be a long 14 months. Today is my husband's birthday. I found a recipe for chocolate cake using zucchini. We have our first zucchini from the garden, so I figured I'd make him up some cupcakes to surprise him. I waited until he went out last night for his business, and started baking. I had two bags of a dozen unfrosted cupcakes each. I put them on top the fridge. Puppy managed to get one bag down and at A WHOLE DOZEN cupcakes. He's so skinny! He has one of those builds with a deep narrow chest and a waspy waist (very prone to twisted gut, I know). I couldn't believe he ate all those cupcakes, wrapper and all, but there was no other explanation. It seems like that much food bulk would have made a bump on him. He's so skinny! I love him with all my heart, but he really is too much dog for us. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Being in a business in which it's perfectly acceptable to spank your customer. Today I applied that perk.