Thursday, March 28, 2024

Thursday cometh

 

Does this really look like a poor kitty?  He's 13 years old.  He's smart and intuitive, and his hu-mom adores him.  Just not enough to turn down the long wanted puppy from coming to join us!

My trainer has medicalizing this morning, and was going to text me if he got done in time to schedule a session, since I'll be taking next week off to settle Ember into the mix.  But I just texted him and said, "Nawww... my cleaning is in full session today and I don't want to interrupt it."

I am doing things that probably should have been kept up with right along.  You see, those of you who remember me from the Spark days might remember that I am a self-identified "Messie".  So things get left out, mid-project.  I am not good at finishing what I start.  Sigh.  I've lived with this me ever since I was a kid, and was shamed for it.  But I have come to accept me for who I am, and periodically fight the good fight because of a higher need.  

Well, a new puppy in the house is definitely a higher need, so I started removing cords and things that are no longer used (like the not quite successful digital antenna on one of the TV's), so as to remove temptation from a curious critter.  I moved the laptop that usually lives on the dining room table up to the office (where I'm typing from now), so the cord won't tempt her.  Cleaning products are being consolidated into safer locations so they won't look like chew toys to her... etc.  

When Carl was a puppy I kept several doors closed in the house while he was present, so that he didn't get in trouble.  Watching these puppy videos has me very aware that I need a higher level of supervision for the new puppy than I gave to him at first.  Both eyes on the puppy, distract.  I'll have the advantage of starting crate training myself from the jump, in this case.  At least that's the fantasy.

In family news:

The mythical son and his wife have their final approval home visit for foster parenting Thursday.  They have installed a locking cupboard for cleaning supplies, and a locking bar cabinet for the liquor in the house.  Being a responsible gun owner, my son has long kept his heirloom and personal firearms locked up, so that was not ever going to be an issue.  

The two sets of potential foster-grandparents are hoping and praying for a good report after said visit.  

All of which is to say:

Life is good.  Here's hoping that Ember comes into my life to keep the Spark alive!  And may all who follow along, Spark along, as well.



Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Moonset was stunning

 

I woke before 4 Wednesday morning.  Early waking is the side effect of several things:  anticipation, of course, better diet, earlier bedtime.

"Better diet" is a side effect (for me) of the onset of Spring, even with the reprise of Winter weather.  I start wanting more fruits and veggies, less bread and starches.  I start craving more activity, too.

One of the benefits of waking early is seeing the sunrise and the moonset.

The first "puppy preparation" package arrived late Tuesday.  It's a Snuggle Puppy, with a little heartbeat generating thing you put in its tummy, so the puppy will be comforted.

I have never used one before, but then again, I have never raised a puppy all on my own from scratch, either. 

The second package arrived in a big box labeled "Chewy".  I stepped out onto the porch to receive it, telling the delivery guys (there were two, one in training) that I would not chant "The Peanut Butter Box is here."

Next, I created a user account at the Zoom Room training place, even though I don't have the vet papers for vaccinations yet.  I scheduled myself into an orientation session for Friday morning.  I called to confirm that I don't have to have the vaccination papers until Ember comes to a training session with me.  Orientation sessions are for just the humans.

I also called my sister's vet to schedule Ember's first checkup, and transfer whatever vet records come with her.  So that's on the books.  

The neighbors are gradually being given the heads up, too.  Saw one couple walking a 12 week old puppy so we will undoubtedly be sharing puppy phases.  I warned the puppy parade walkers that Ember is going to join my household, and discovered (probably knew it before) that Barnaby's co-walking older dog had been named Ember!  I think I had been introduced to her once, but had mis-remembered her name as "Amber".  Go figure... it's Kismet!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking!

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Winter reprise

 

It was chilly and overcast Thursday, but thankfully those street workers finished not just the tail end of the patch in front of my house but also the ones down the block on the side street... so it turns out that for once the weather and the work coincided.


Friday morning I went and got my hair cut, as it had reached the "driving me crazy" stage again.

For those of you who remember how "March Madness" I get, yes, it's happening again this year.  I watched three games of men's NCAA tournament Thursday, including the one where Oakland upset Kentucky.  I do not fill out a bracket or bet on games, but I enjoy watching the winnowing process, the Cinderella stories that can end in simply being "spoilers" or actually in Cinderella wearing the crown.

Thinking of my old Galloway coach, I watched Creighton and the Oregon Ducks advance... he went to both schools, both won their first round games on Thursday, and they played each other on Saturday with Creighton coming out on top.  Since I had a cousin who played for Creighton, I'm fine with this.

My own alma mater, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, lost on Friday evening, against Texas A&M, the school that recruited away our athletic director.  The Husker women won against the Aggies, though, then went on to lose their Sunday game.

I usually look for Syracuse University (I took some grad school courses there) as a more likely winning team... but they aren't even in the round of 64 this year.  At least not on the men's side... the Syracuse women are there, at least in the first two rounds!  They lost to UConn Monday night.  

But the big draw for the women is the Iowa team with Caitlin Clark, and I watched them both Saturday afternoon and Monday night, but fell asleep before they pulled off the Monday night squeaker.  

Outdoors, Saturday has brought us snow, and after The Prisoner went out, he came back in with an extra coat that was rapidly melting.

Of course he will be in for the shocker of his old age when Ember shows up next weekend.  

Tuesday morning, we awoke to a dusting of snow, cold temperatures, and a Winter Weather Advisory that lasts until 10 a.m., with gusty winds.  I will be heading out to work out with the trainer 

Ember's breeder posted a video on Monday of the litter (including a glimpse of her in the mix) experiencing their first snow!  It is apparent that Ember might be lonely when she comes to me, so of course I had to order her a Snuggle Puppy, that has a heart beat and heat... hopefully to help her sleep in her crate.  Again, all those wishes for "good luck" with this new project are appreciated, and might well be needed.  Fantasizing about a puppy and actually training one are two different deals.

It's been five years since I worked with Carl as a puppy.  It's been thirteen years since I said my last good-byes to Diamond as she was put down.  I'm sure that Diamond would be happy to have my heart grow to include Ember.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Coming soon!

 Ever have one of those days when you finally pull the ripcord and do something you're not sure you'll pull off well?  Sunday was one of those days.


See the "star" puppy in the middle, with the turquoise collar?  Her name is Ember (since last night's family discussion).  She was born on January 31st.  She's halfway across the state right now, but she will be coming to live at my house with The Prisoner and me, when her grandma goes out to visit for Easter.

I have given myself this week to prepare.  The mythical son and his wife have volunteered to puppy sit when needed.  Ember has not yet met a cat.  Both she and The Prisoner are in for an education.    

Puppy training videos are the new favorite.  What a pleasant distraction from the news, huh?

Now I HAVE to take care of my own health, too... because this little darling is going to depend on me, as much as I will be depending on her.  

Life is good.  Spark on!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Spring on pause

 

This little beauty was frost-bit and it looks like the freeze points will continue for a few weeks, after having been teased by a warmer than normal February.

Wednesday afternoon we got a sister walk in, ALICIA363 and I, and that's always one of those "high points of the week".  We dump our collections of life issues on one another, plus coping strategies and humor.

Thursday morning brought "breakfast with the financial advisors", where I tend to meet other retirees who share the same management firm.  There's a bit of market update and a bit of education on current products they are considering for folks who might be attracted to them.  

One part of market analysis that was shared might be of interest.  It had to do with market performance, the importance of sticking to your strategies in good times and bad, and whether or not "this year will be different".  He did a graphic comparison of "what would have happened to your portfolio over the past 50 years if..."  This was a lesson in the strategy of long term management winning over allowing one's emotions to force your buying/selling decisions.  It was one line of what would have happened if you only invested while the Republican party was in the White House, versus another line of what would have happened if you only invested while the Democratic party was in the White House, versus a third line that showed what would have happened if you just stayed the course regardless of who got elected.  Need I say that it made essentially no difference if you chose based on party, and the "stay the course" strategy was far and away superior to either of those partisan things.

I think that can be applied not just to investment strategies... it can be applied to living life in general and investing our time and energy into what makes one happy and healthy, as SparkPeople used to teach us!

The current investment vehicle they talked about reminded me of my mom talking about "dollar cost averaging" back when she was the one in the family building the nest egg.  This kind of does the same sort of thing, automating the "averaging" piece so that you aren't doing it by dribs and drabs, manually.  I don't know if any of this vehicle are in my own portfolio, but it got me curious enough to go look.

The most fun surprise was running into a gent who graduated from high school with me (and even shared the same Yearbook page, our senior year).  Funny thing about that is that we never met until we worked in the same agency as older adults!  I didn't realize he was a client of the same outfit.  Life is like that... connections and surprises about those connections.

The street work has moved around the corner, so there's still the odor of fresh asphalt in the air.  I'm thinking they will fill the rest of the second patch on my street today sometime.

As of Thursday morning, it still looked like this.

Life is good.

Keep on Sparking!

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The asphalt arrives

 

I shall leave the Springtime aroma of hot asphalt being applied during "road repair season" to your no doubt capable imagination.  Sometimes it is a blessing that we don't transmit odors electronically!

Arrival was about the same time, 9 a.m. on Tuesday.  They did finish the work directly at the base of the driveway, but ran out of asphalt before they finished the second spot South of the mailbox.



Looks nice.


Not quite done.  They still have the street coned off for now, and at ten to three, have come back from wherever they went in between.

Monday afternoon late the e-mail from the landscape company arrived.  I cringed at the bottom line, slept on it, and on Tuesday morning called them and booked the job.  Still don't know when it will be scheduled, but he said I was on the list for early in the season.  That will be nice.

Elements involved:  Sod, border wall, river rock, sand for the sandbox, pavers for where I put my hoses.  Labor and equipment charges, of course.  Oh, well, I was told to spend my "extra" money by my financial guy last year... I did some of that with the brick mason last year.  This is a bigger project for 2024.  

I'm still holding off on the inside work because I can't make up my mind what project(s) to take on or in what order.  But at least having committed to this large expense has put the "wanna puppy" urges to rest for now.  One project at a time!

Life is good.  Spark on!


Monday, March 18, 2024

Starting the week "blocked in"

 

The street repair crews are here, in the chill of a Monday morning, the last day of astronomical Winter.
The practical result is that I'm "blocked in" for a while.  I don't know how long.  BUT, the good news is I don't have an appointment for which I need to drive until Thursday morning.

The personal trainer called off Tuesday, and I had already called of Thursday so this is a "no trainer session" week.  Perhaps I'll dig up the dumb-bells to do a few free weight exercises on my own, but no promises.

When you get the trucks and machines, a work crew comes with it, and it turns out that this year, they are doing my pot-holes as a larger project.  For some reason the street repair crews always seem to come before the other home projects I plan, so that the newly repaired street gets the extra weight of landscape work equipment this year.  Sigh.


The Prisoner keeps a close eye on them.

Life continues to be good.

Keep a-Sparking, my friends!

Thursday cometh

  Does this really look like a poor kitty?  He's 13 years old.  He's smart and intuitive, and his hu-mom adores him.  Just not enou...