Jobless Veterans. Pergola. Mikey.

Support the Troops: Hire Them!
"Today, Joe is facing a new fight: finding a job. For the last 14 months, this West Point graduate and Army Ranger has been unemployed. With his wife 100 percent disabled and unable to work, they are scraping by solely on savings and disability income.
Despite his superior qualifications and a good attitude, Joe is still jobless; and he's just one of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed Iraq and Afghanistan veterans relying on savings and unemployment checks nationwide. Last month, unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan-era vets was an astounding 14.7 percent."
More at: http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/support_the_troops_hire_them
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"According to the Dept. of Labor, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are among the hardest hit of unemployed Americans, with an alarming jobless rate of 14.7 percent. Among younger veterans (18 to 24 years old), the 2009 unemployment rate was 21.1 percent. "
From: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-legion-urges-congress-to-give-jobless-veterans-proper-training-and-tools-for-new-careers-91034349.html
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This morning Jay put up the rest of the lattice and ledger boards on my pergola, while I groomed Mikey from down the street.  I was expecting Mikey, so Patches and Prime, my two foster cats had their cages closed to eat their breakfast.  They eat in their cages, normally with the doors open, then they have the run of the grooming room, so they knew today was going to be different. Patches meowed a few protests, but soon settled down, as they just sat in their cages and watched me wrestle with this big dog.

Mikey is a large white Miniature Poodle (that's the middle size), and he gets lots of exercise, so he is strong.  Technically, he is a Standard Poodle (like Fillmore) as he is over 15" at the shoulder, but he isn't that big, and looks more like a Miniature. 
(Toy Poodles are up to 10" at the shoulder).  
Mikey gets so grubby, it took three shampoos to get him white again.  So he got bored with that. 
He keeps very still while being groomed most of the time, but he is a very energetic dog, so near the end, he gets antsy, and won't hold still.  This wears out little ole me. 

During one of my breaks from grooming Mikey, I helped Jay put some leaves and flowers on the pergola.  I had to take them off some fake trees that I had been saving for this purpose.  We can't use real plants, as there is nowhere for them to root.  Even if we did, the heat from the sun would kill them under that roof.  On that end, the pergola is attached to the cat's screen porch, which is through a patio door in the front of my living room.

It isn't finished yet, and going up and down the ladder in the humidity was tiring out Jay.  It will look a lot better after the fiberglass roof has been pressure washed.















Some shots to show what we accomplished today.