Painting On a Rainy Day.Mirage Hardware

It started out by thundering and raining. That was fine, we need it. Even the power, TV cable and internet was off for a while. The cats went out on the screen porch and just watched it.

Ray opened the big doors to the workshop and painted the vintage stove in there. We knew it was humid and that would make the paint take longer to dry. We finally got the stove done. No pictures as it isn't all back together.

The rain subsided for a while, but it had caused a big puddle in the walkway in the RVport, so it was difficult to get past the van to the Mirage. I backed the van out of there, we got out hoes and shovels, and made a little draining trough, and let the puddle go on it's way, where it would eventually wind up in the lake.

I did not take my anti-biotic this morning. It makes me stiff, and somehow discombobulated. I really wanted to get the hardware up for the drapes in the Mirage. Getting up into the over cab bed is easy when you are going to lay down, but when trying to work in that space, even with the mattress removed, you need to be pretty limber. After measuring very carefully, Ray and I drilled the holes and put eye bolts in for the top and bottom of the drapery runners.

Once that was done, I took my pill like a good girl.

Spread goodwill around, love everyone today.

Paint, Painting, and Prisoners!

When I opened the patio door to the screen porch at 6.00AM, it felt so warm out there, I quickly closed the door, as didn't want that hot, moist air in the house.
Even the cats were grateful that I just kept the place closed up, not aired out, with the AC on.

Ray wasn't going to be here for a while, so I went to get Roni to show her how much paintings like hers, bring on eBay. She is an artist, and had bought some blank canvases while we were at Michael's the other day. I took her back home with some ideas in her head. She wants to paint pictures of birds.

Then it started to pour down rain, I could hardly see across the road. It dropped down to the 70's on the screen porch, so I opened up the porch patio door, and let the cats go out there to watch it. It fascinated them. It didn't last long though.

When Ray arrived we carried the little vintage Modernaire stove into the workshop, and wiped it down, so that it wouldn't get rusty again. We went into the Mirage to try to see the best place to mount the hardware for the drapes, but I really had something else I had to do, so we didn't do any more.

This afternoon, as it was cooler, though with a heat index of 100, I thought it would be a good time to go into the next town to get all the various spray paints that I needed. Also I stocked up on oil, transmission fluid, injector cleaner, etc.

I have had this bee in my bonnet for the last few days that I wanted to eat out. So after dropping off the paper re-cycling, I stopped at one of the Mexican restaurants in our town, and had Beef Nachos Supreme.

We used to have a Mexican restaurant here in town, La Hacienda, that was run by a very sweet lady named Martha. I loved her Deluxe Nachos, they had all the food groups, taco meat, refried beans, cheese, onions, with plenty of lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole. Martha died of cancer a little while back, and La Hacienda closed down, so I thought I would try them at this other place. They weren't as good as Martha's and cost more. There were a lot more chips and meat though, so I brought the rest home.  That was my day.

Ponder this:

Homeless people should have it so good!
Once again the taxpayer gets stung.
It also shows that in most cases the quality of life for prisoners has improved considerably from what you might expect.
And I always thought prison was for punishment.!!!!!
Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this comparison chart should make things a little bit clearer:

@ PRISON
You spend most of your time in a 10X10 cell
@ WORK
You spend most of your time in a 6X6 cubicle

@ PRISON
You get three fully paid for meals a day
@ WORK
You get a break for one meal, and you have to pay for it

@ PRISON
For good behavior, you get time off
@ WORK
For good behavior,you get more work

@ PRISON
The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you
@ WORK
You must carry a security card and open all the doors yourself

@ PRISON
You can watch TV and play games
@ WORK
You could get fired for watching TV and playing games

@ PRISON
You get your own toilet
@ WORK
You have to share the toilet with people who pee on the seat

@ PRISON
They allow your family and friends to visit
@ WORK
You aren't even supposed to speak to your family

@ PRISON
All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required on your part
@ WORK
You must pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners

@ PRISON
You must deal with wardens
@ WORK
They are called 'managers'

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS

Vintage Stove. Fish 50 States in 50 Days

Ray and I wanted to get the fridge that came out of the Coronado put up, but first it needed cleaning. Just as we were going to move it, a junk man drove by and asked if we had any metal. Reminded me of Sanford and Son! Ray said "No", and I hurriedly said "Yes". Jay had brought some big heavy metal stuff up here, and had wanted me to take it 'over the scales' at the place in Conroe. I was tired of having it here, and as I don't have my truck anymore, I let the man have it.

The fridge wasn't really grubby, but we moved it on a hand truck, to the area where we wash things. It was plugged in, with some thermometers in the freezer and fridge to make sure it worked right. It didn't even come on, even though it had, when it was in the Coronado.
Ray jumped in the Puddle Jumper and found the junk man, who came back here. As I was trying to unplug it, he tipped the hand truck to move the fridge, and it came on! Obviously it was temperamental, so off it went, on the man's truck.

It was cooler in the shade, and there was a breeze, so we worked on the stove some more. We removed the burners, primed and painted the part under them. The rest will have to wait until I have the right paint, and it was just too hot to go into town for just that.

We also moved some of the smaller pieces of foam board insulation, and birch paneling that I had bought for the Coronado, out of the TranStar, and got it put up in my attic. The 4' x 8' sheets will have to wait until Jay is here, he is taller. They go up to my attic a different way, through a 1' wide, 5' tall slot, high up in the workshop wall, as the stairs won't accommodate 4' wide stuff.

The father and son who are trying to fish in 50 states in 50 days in their RV, have finished the lower 48, and are flying to Alaska. http://www.fish5050.com/Maryland.html Boy, that was some schedule, I just don't know how they found the stamina to do 14,000+ miles in that amount of time. I like to watch the videos and see them releasing the fish, they even have an under water camera!

We still didn't get the drapes up in the Mirage again, today.

Pine Needles.Coronado Stove.TX Yard Sign & Mailbox

This morning we finally got some more work done. It was cooler, still humid, but with a breeze, so it was a good time to get these jobs done.

Ray and I sacked up the pine needles that I had raked up the other day, and a bunch more, into really big sacks. These aren't Lawn and Leaf Bags, they are a lot bigger than that, but they are not very strong. The burn pile is looking ugly, and as we still have a burn ban, we couldn't burn it. But this new batch of pine needles just had to be put somewhere, until we can burn them all. So we stored the bags in an out of the way place. We stacked and hid some old lumber from the Coronado, also waiting for the burn ban to lift. I sure do miss our dumpsters, I preferred them to this

curb service.

Then I moved the TranStar back into the nice clean driveway, and we checked the fluids and Ride Rite Air Bags air pressure.

The Coronado buyer didn't want the stove or fridge, as he had his own. It is a vintage stove, so it should sell to someone restoring a vintage trailer. We spent quite a long time cleaning it up. It was greasy, as the old guy that stayed in the Coronado before he went into the nursing home, hadn't cleaned it very well. Some Easy Off, and plastic scrapers took care of that. I will get some black High Heat (engine) paint, and paint the sides, which don't show anyway when it is built in, but it will make it look better. We had to clean it before we could put it anywhere, while it is waiting to be sold.

Didn't get the Mirage drapes hung again, today.

Hero Shot Dead in Carjacking.Destiny's Child Inc.

I don't know if you want to hear about my trying day, so you can skip to the more interesting bottom part of this journal, if you wish. I took Ronnie to court in the next town this morning, well not her, a witness for her. Her social worker took her, but would not transport her witness, insurance regulations or something. Ronnie wasn't ready when we went to get her, then the witness wasn't ready. The witness, Bobby, had already been drinking beer when he got in my van at 8.45 AM!! Ronnie and Bobby were dropped off at the court house, and I drove around the corner to get some of that special cat food that I like to feed my foster cats.

My cell phone rang, Ronnie said that as we were late, the court was postponed until the afternoon. Good thing I hadn't gone far. I picked them up, but Ronnie and I had to listen to Bobby going on and on about he had to have a beer. We went to the bank to cash a check that Ronnie had, only to find out that it had been written on an old account or something. Finally as we had to stop for gas, Bobby got him one. But I wouldn't let him even sit in the van with it, as TX has "Open Container Law". So we had to wait while he drank that. He stood with the door open so we couldn't drive off and leave him!! Finally we got back to our subdivision. We got rid of Bobby as fast as we could, and went to find Duke who had written Ronnie the check. Ronnie, Duke and I drove back to town to our branch of that bank and Duke got it straightened out. They had printed the wrong account number on his new checks!! So there is a reason why they say to check your checks!!

After I dropped Ronnie and Duke off, I came home and managed to swallow a little lunch. I was beat, and I knew that I had to pick Ronnie up again about 1.00 PM. I laid down to take a nap, and just as I dropped off, Jay called, so that stopped that nap. I drove back down to get Ronnie, who decided that as Bobby had fallen off the wagon after 4 months sobriety, she didn't need him in court. I dropped her off at the court house and went to Home Depot to do some un-shopping and shopping. It wasn't long before my cell phone rang, and she told me where she would be. It is a good thing I found a shady place to park, as she was still about half an hour. I was hot, the van was hot, and even running hot. Several cars on the freeway had their hoods up, steaming!! We made a couple more stops, and finally I was home by 4.00PM. Ronnie said that I had really helped her, and made her feel calmer over her whole ordeal, so I guess it wasn't a wasted day.

Here is the interesting part:

Vernon Forrest One of True Good Guys
Posted Jul 26, 2009 11:01PM By Kevin Blackistone (RSS feed)
The truth is that, often times, those of us in this business find ourselves struggling to say only good things about a recently deceased personality whose acts in life demanded that we make him or her known to the public. With Vernon Forrest, it seemed to be the opposite. It is not manufactured hyperbole for the purpose of being polite that you are hearing and reading such wonderful things about Forrest, a three-time boxing champ who we learned Sunday was fatally shot Saturday night in a carjacking attempt in Atlanta. A more famous Atlanta fighter, Evander Holyfield, may be most well-known as the Real Deal, but there was absolutely nothing phony about the good guy who was Forrest. As HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg, whose network carried many of Forrest's bouts, told the Associated Press on Sunday of Forrest: "He was one of the most gracious and charitable fighters in boxing and he will be missed by the entire boxing community and all of his friends at HBO."
Forrest will be missed most, however, by people beyond the ring -- people who need people, as the old Barbra Streisand song goes. Forrest told this story any time he was asked. It goes that he was hanging out at the home of a friend who worked with the psychologically and emotionally challenged. (How novel is that? He wasn't hanging out at the strip club or dogfighting ring.) He watched one of those in his friend's stead, an autistic child, who Forrest said struggled for an hour to tie his shoes. Forrest said he became so frustrated watching the child fight to do something most of us take for granted that he could no longer take it for granted. His friend refused to help the child because the friend hoped the child would break through alone. The child's battle broke Forrest, however, and Forrest eventually helped the child tie his shoes. Then Forrest set out to help others with similar struggles.

"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant," Forrest recounted to the New York Times in August 2006 before a match against Ike Quartey. "A light just turned on in my head."
Deaths in Sports
It was the mid-'90s when Forrest had his epiphany. He was closing in on 20 professional fights without a loss but didn't have much bank or accolades to show for it. A native of Augusta, Ga., Forrest had planned to jumpstart his pro career in 1992 like Oscar De La Hoya with an Olympic gold medal from the Barcelona Games, but he was easily upset in his opening match and said afterward that he'd been stricken with food poisoning. Nonetheless, Forrest scrapped together around $80,000 with some other easily touched people, like his hip-hop video friend Ki Toy Johnson, and formed a company called Destiny's Child Inc.

Their idea: to provide long-term care to people like the autistic child whose shoestrings he helped tie. Forrest, who studied business administration at Northern Michigan University, and his partners purchased a suburban Atlanta home in 1996 and retrofitted it for the demands of their business. Destiny's Child, which took in patients from institutions or families that were no longer able to care for them, didn't get any cheaper to finance than it was to start up. This was healthcare, after all, the very industry President Obama and many others are saying is too costly to meet the needs of everyone who should have it and, as a result, needs to be reformed. Forrest was experiencing all of that.Forrest's payroll grew to include as many as 25 caregivers, coordinators, and administrative staff. There was a $5 million insurance policy as protection against malpractice that he had to pick up. And in 2000, the state of Georgia requested that Forrest's company take in 17 patients who were enrolled in a competing firm that folded. Forrest couldn't say no to the extra patients anymore than he could sit idly by as that autistic kid fought to tie his shoes. It didn't matter that the increased patient load nearly bankrupted Destiny's Child. The story continues that, with Forrest at the helm, Destiny's Child picked up the clothing and medical cost for the new patients.

Forrest was said to have financed the entire $100,000 rescue operation. It would be six more months before Medicaid payments kicked in. "One of the things that I always wanted to do is help people out," Forrest told Black Enterprise magazine in March 2003. "But I didn't want to do something cosmetic. I want to know what I do is going to make a difference in somebody's life." By 2003, Black Enterprise stated that Forrest's altruistic venture had 30 patients and generated just over $1 million in annual revenues that were derived mostly from Medicaid reimbursements. "Our objective as a whole is to make sure nobody is abused or mistreated, and so we try to do right by the people we have there," Forrest told the magazine. Forrest was standing out in the ring by then, too. He was 35-0 at the end of 2002 after beating Shane Mosley in back-to-back fights to win and retain the World Boxing Council's welterweight title.

But ultimately Forrest will not be remembered by what he did as a prizefighter. He'll be recalled for what he did as a fighter for people not as fortunate as he was. Vernon Forrest didn't just sound like one of the good guys in the sport of boxing. He sounded like one of the good guys in sports, period. http://www.destinyschildinc.com/

What a shame that we no longer have Vernon Forrest here. God must have needed him now.

Just raked. Graphic Bait Dog Pictures.

I didn't do much today, except rake up the driveway where the Coronado was. I checked, and even though we had some rain last night, there is still a burn ban. So as the burn pile was rather big, I just left all the pine needles in a pile, and I will move them to the burn pile later.

People don't know where those animals are going when they give/sell puppies and dogs on the side of the road. They just don't realize that it would be better to turn them over to Animal Conrol who will at least vaccinate, spay or neuter, and check into the backgrounds of the prospective homes. They often wind up as "bait dogs" for the cruel dog fighting rings. Sometimes they are sold to laboratories for experiments. Sometimes they are just tied up in a back yard with no attention, love, or good care, and die in agony of distemper, parvo or heartworms because their people just didn't take care of them. As an SPCA foster mom I see what problems neglect, not vaccinating, and not fixing an animal, causes.

Please read this lovely story about a little dog who was saved from being a bait dog:

http://www.kens5.com/latestnews/stories/KENS20090525_ktvk-bait-dog-jake-adoption-hurt.774e9ae4.html Pitbulls are not born mean, they are trained that way.

Please if you see, or know of, any animal being mistreated or neglected, please call your authorities today.

Coronado Sold!

It is still hot and muggy, and the grass has to be watered to keep it green. We get a tease of a short drizzle and that is it. I wish we could have more.

Ray, and Mike, the future Coronado owner, arrived at 9.00 AM, and so Ray and I worked on getting the door locks back on the trailer, so it could be towed to San Antonio. Mike had bought magnetic lights, and ran the wire all the way to the tongue so that he could plug it into his SUV. He had bought some longer bolts, so after a lot of filing and grinding on the spindle that goes through the door lock, we got it to fit. Someone had welded part of that spindle on there, and we had to grind off the part that was too fat. Mike didn't want the big 110v. fridge that was in there, so we took it out to lighten his load.

He had wanted to give a check me on his company's account, and I wasn't thrilled about that. I took him to my bank in town to see if they could do a bank tranfer or something. As it happened, it was the same brand of bank where he also has an account, but not the one for his company check. So he was able to cash a check there for most of the amount, and then I just had to take a smaller check off his company account. Whew! I was happy, so I moved my motor home from in front of the Coronado, so that he could back up to it. I have owned that trailer three times since 1968, and he is going to restore it to it's orginal greatness.

Here is the stack of cabinet fronts, doors, drawers, and wall panels he has to work with! He promised to send pictures.

The space where it was, is covered in pine needles and leaves, but it was too hot to rake that today.

Mirage & Coronado. A Real Hero

Another muggy day, with rain and thunder forecast, but no real rain, just a short little drizzle.

I finally got over the allergic reaction to the allergy pill. Gee, that's bad when you are allergic to an allergy pill!!

Ray and I got the second light installed on the center panel, and then worked on the front ceiling panel in the Mirage, and it took ages. It had to be really secure as a drapery rod will be anchored to it. We had hope to get the drapery hardware installed today, but that panel nearly got the better of us. As it is above the bed, it had been filled with kapok padding, and that would really wind up on the screws as we tried to re-install it. It covers the wiring for the front top clearance lights, so we had to be careful not to nick them. We finally had to take it apart, undo two layers of covering, and get the kapok all moved into the middle, away from the screw holes, re-staple the two layers of cloth, and screw it back on the ceiling.

We couldn't finish putting the locks back on the Coronado doors, as the bolts that I bought yesterday weren't long enough. I wasn't myself when I went to the hardware store yesterday, and should have added enough to get the nut on them.

Jay was at the store around the corner buying beer when I took a neighbor there, so he let me pick up MaeMae. MaeMae gets scared of Jay when he drinks, and he gets upset when she won't come to him, so he is willing for me to take her. She and Muffie played for a while until Claudia and her neighbor got back from the casino and picked them up.

The man came to see the Coronado, and is supposed to be staying the night in a motel in town, and coming back in the morning to buy it, and tow it away. He is supposed to pick up some tow lights, and the lock bolts before he gets back here. I hope this happens.

Here is a REAL Amercan Hero:

Subject: Ed Freeman
Folks do not forget! Ed Freeman

You're a 19 year old kid.

You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley. November 11, 1965.LZ X-ray, Vietnam .

Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out.

Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.

As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.You look up to see an unarmed Huey. But ...it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway. Even after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in themachine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses. And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!! He took about 30 of you and your buddies out who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died at the age of 80, in Boise, Idaho.

May God Rest His Soul. Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/freeman.asp

I would rather hear about real heros, not stars that are doing drugs, adultery and mayhem.

So that was the 19 year old's best day.

Allergy. Muffie. Coronado.

More rain forecast, so we had hot muggy weather, but only the usual 5 rain drops on the pathway again.

I hadn't slept well, it must have been the new allergy pill. It has Cetirizine in it, I must remember not to take that again. When I got up, every muscle in my body was hurting and crying out, and my head was stuffed up worse than usual. Several medicines do that to me, including statins, so now there is one more on the list. I was dragging around all day. Strange, as I can take allergy medicine with Diphenhydramine in it, and that was the only thing that would stop my coughing.

Muffie, Claudia's neighbor's dog, arrived for me to board in the house with me, as they have gone to the casino. Muffie and Mime, my foster cat, declared war, and if they could have got to each other through the glass door, I know one would have really been hurt, probably Muffie. They each tried to get past me to get at the other, but I was ready for them, and did my leg blocking shuffle tactics at the door when I went in or out of there. To remind everyone not to open that door, I pushed a cage up against it in the dog room. So now we have to go around the other way to get into the dog room, or the little bathroom, as there are two doors to get to it that way. When I say "submarine", everyone knows to close a door behind them, before opening the next one!! Funny, as Muffie and Bobcat will lie next to each other on my bed. Then I picked up Jay and MaeMae.

With a man coming to look at the Coronado tomorrow, it got put back on the front burner. Ray and I cut, made, and installed this patch to replace the awful looking painted one that was on the trailer front door. We had to wait until I could go into town to get some special size screws for attaching the lock itself on the inside. Then the handle will be straight. We got the back door patch ready, but didn't get it attached today.

Jay has been all gung ho to tear up the last piece of floor that needed replacing, and had already moved the freestanding fridge. But cleaning up the place, stacking the closet wall, doors, and putting all the cabinet parts in a neat pile was more important. He vacuumed and straightened up in there, and now it looks tidy. I sure hope it sells, so I won't have to fool with it any more.

Even though I was still feeling stiff and sore, I knew I had to drive into town. I was so glad when Jay said he wanted to go too, as I just didn't feel right. I had to get money for Ronnie's work yesterday, and get the screws and nuts for the door lock. (Well, and some TP!) Now, this Coronado was made in 1947, and they didn't have Phillips head or hex head screws then, so the lady at the hardware store really had to look for straight slot ones the right size.

I hope I feel better tomorrow, than I did today.

Mirage Ceiling Panel Up. Pathway. Coronado

I didn't start re-taking my anti-biotic pills until this morning. They are so big that they won't even fit in my pill cutter! I have to cut them with a knife and even swallowing half of one at a time really takes some doing. I have just gone through two weeks of this, and now another month. I started the allergy pills, too. I hadn't wanted to start them on a day that I might drive, to see if they would make me drowsy. I hope they aren't the kind that stop me from sleeping tonight.

Finally Ronnie came to finish putting an edge on the pathway in front of the screen porch, so that the blocks wouldn't slide. Here it is a while ago, and now.

The timbers, 4 x 4's, that we used are both painted white halfway, but we can paint the rest, so it will look like a white edge. The grass will grow back, and I think it will look good.

Here are pictures of my Red Maple tree that I am growing for shade on the house. One was taken last Spring, and now the other one today. The bird feeder was cemented in next to it when it was a baby, so that it wouldn't get run over or mowed down. It also helps support it. I wonder if it will give the house shade in my lifetime?

Wonders of wonders, someone saw my listing in Tin Can Tourist for the 1947 Westcraft Coronado travel trailer, and is coming to see it this weekend. They want one they can finish out themselves. That is fine by me, as I have enough to do. I hadn't intended to do this much to it, and I will be glad to let someone else finish it out. That is as long as they don't think that I am going to give it away!!

Ray and I got the newly re-covered center panel up in the Mirage ceiling. It was a job, the fabric kept on wangling around on the screws if we weren't careful. We had poked holes through the fabric with an icepick, but had to make them larger with a punch. Then Ray had to look above the panel, with a light to find the screw holes for each one while I screwed the screws in.

We were beat after getting one light installed, so we called it a day.

Fixing Java Error 25099. Mirage. Shih Tzu

It still felt like it was going to rain, but Mother Nature would only throw a few drops at us. So I watered the grass, and turned on the underground waterer to the privet hedge and aloe plants. Now it will rain!

Jay went to the Medical Center in Houston with his mother, Claudia, for her weekly blood tests. They keep a very close watch on transplant patients.

I had an answer from Chris Guld of Geeks On Tour in their forum, and she put me on to a site that had several suggestions for my Java problem. This is the one that worked for me:

""> I found the way to fix this problem.> Go my computer> Open (C:).> Go to Program Files.> Find Java Folder and delete it.> Then after deleting java folder go to your Recycle Bin and delete it from there also. Then go back to java.com. OR Link below: http://java.com/en/download/inc/windows_upgrade_xpi.jsp & Download JAVA. That is how I fixed this problem for me.> MY COMPUTER IS WINDOWS XP!!!!! I DIDN'T GO TO WINDOWS TASK MANAGER TO> DELETE ANY JQS.EXE. I DIDN'T FIND ANY JQS.EXE UNTIL I WAS ALREADY DOWNLOADING JAVA AGAIN. I DIDN'T TRY DELETING I LEFT BE.""

Really, to you, it would have been obvious to do this, but little old computer illiterate me, didn't even know where Program Files were!!

Sad. A close friend of my daughter just died of cancer. Her little old Shih Tzu is left there all alone in the house, with the lady's daughter coming over to feed it, and let it out to pottie. The Shih Tzu/Llasa Apso Rescue is full. They just had to rescue a bunch of puppy mill dogs in bad shape. Every one of their foster homes is at capacity. Please make sure you have an alternate home for your pet, should anything happen to you. Poor little Pumpkin may have to go to Rainbow Bridge. http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html

Ray and I were looking at another two of the jobs that really need to be done to the Mirage. The light up near the over cab bed needed to be replaced, but when Jay had tried to do it, the fabric covering the center panel that hides the wiring got messed up, so now it will have to be recovered. The other job is to replace the screen in the back door window. We decided that we would do the panel, in the Mirage's AC, as it was too hot to think about being outside taking the window out.

This is the ceiling with the panel removed. The old fabric had been foam backed and it dripped old yellowy brown foam powder and bits all over us, and the rig. So I had to get the shop vac. There is another light on that panel that we never could get to work, a florescent one. I got the bag with the electrical tools, and we tried to test to see how far there was juice to that light. It seems that the light is defective, so we cut the wires to it too. I was "gopher", and after many trips all the way across the front of the house from the RVport to the workshop, I was worn out.

By the time we had cleaned that up, and the fabric cut, we called it a day.

Java 25099! Dr.Appt. Sinusitus. Shopping.

"They" keep on saying it is going to rain. Yesterday evening I was going to turn on the sprinklers to the front grass, and Ray said "It is going to rain". It sure felt like it was going to rain, so I didn't turn them on. Later it thundered, but still no rain. Well, just 5 drops on the pathway, I counted!

This morning when I turned on my computer it said that I needed to install a Java update. But it wouldn't install, came up with "Error 25099 Unzipping core files failed". The Java help section said to un-install other versions of Java, so I did that. Then I couldn't get Java installed no matter what. I tried the several suggestions for Error 25099, and still no Java. So to get on chat, http://www.rv-dreams.com/ tonight I will have to fire up my laptop. I dislike that thing.

My doctor appointment is this morning, so no work today. Jay wanted to go with me, as I was going on to the next town's Hobby Lobby to see what I could do about attaching the drapes to the commercial carpet lined ceiling in the Mirage.

The doctor said that the CAT scan showed that I have sinusitis and prescribed anti-biotics for another month, and also to take an allergy pill each morning. She said that the membrane between the sinuses and the brain is only paper thin, and demonstrated it by poking a pen through a paper towel. Apparently several people die each year from ignoring chronic sinusitis when that membrane gets punctured and causes a fatal brain abscess. I am feeling alright, never had any sinus pain, and I think she is being an alarmist.

But they still made me an appointment to see an ENT specialist. I did a search on sinusitis, and some bright spark said the remedy was to inhale Coca-Cola!!

But I did find out that my earlier uncontrollable dry cough was caused by a sinus infection from that cold I caught while I was grooming Mindi's poodles in my very cold grooming room. The cold was the only thing that would stop Sheba, with the collapsed trachea, from coughing. They left here on the 6th. of May.

We bought a few bargains at Krogers, while we waited for my prescription for the anti-biotics, and the month's supply for them cost the same as the two week supply that I just took ??

Another hot day.

Quiet Sunday. Greatest Gifts.

It was going to be another hot one. In fact, after Ray had mowed, I asked him if he had run over the outdoor thermostat and broken it, as it was so hot this afternoon. I couldn't figure out why he mowed while the front yard was in the full sun, as it is shady later on in the day.

This morning, we had polished the hood of the Mirage some more. It is in the RVport, and with the back door open, so it isn't too hot there in the mornings. Then we turned on the AC in there, and glued all the carpet liner back over the nuts and bolts used to hold the windows in.

Just a quiet day.

Mirage. Little Things are Big Things in Life.

It warmed up again today, but Ray and I got a few jobs done on the Mirage. They were mostly on the inside, so we had the roof AC on. The new window needed to be covered with the same film that we put on the other ones to keep the heat out. Even though this Plexiglas is tinted, you can see the difference this other layer of tinting makes. Because of it's position it was difficult for a right handed person to trim it right, as you have to do it laying down. I am still trying to make drapes for those windows.

Howard's "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" reminds me of this.

Keeping your mind open, and see the beauty of things that would usually annoy you:

""When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.

My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.

My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.

My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.

My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.

My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children! Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.""

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions, today.

73 at Noon!! Phoney TV Shows.

It started out warm and humid so I brought the cats back in for their breakfasts. Neither Jay or Ray were here, and I was busy vacuuming baseboards when I realised that it was overcast outside instead of bright sun. When I looked out to the porch there was rain dripping off the roof, and the thermometer out there was in the 70's. I couldn't believe it. I looked online and the weather station just across the street from me, said it was only 73 deg. at noon.

Now about Wes on The Bachelorette.
These reality shows are so staged it is ridiculous. He happens to be Jay's sister's son, so I know a little about Wesley. It was said ""This DOG has been bangin' around bars in South Texas for a long time. That wasn't his home in Austin he took her to, it was a house rented by the network. This dude lives in a trailer in Huntsville. ""

This is absolutely untrue. He lives in Austin, and his parents were both high powered real estate brokers, who have a lovely big house in a beautiful neighborhood there, and another really fancy log cabin on Lake Buchanan, in the Texas Hill Country. They depicted Wes as a heavy drinker, which he is not. A lot of people said that he was on the show to further his band career, and had ulterior motives. http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/07/wes_--_not_the_bachelorette_ba.php He went on there genuinely to get to know Jillian, but he was very put off when she wanted to smooch with him after she had been kissing the other guys. He was very upset when the producers of the show wanted to make him into a 'bad boy', just to put interest into the show. So don't believe everything that is presented to you, it is all about "ratings", and the almighty dollar!!

Today was a lovely cooler day.