Speak for Defenseless. Painting.

"We are all aware by now that Billy Joe Gregg Jr has been arrested and is in jail on 12 counts of animal cruelty at Conklin Dairy Farm. We are also aware that his boss and owner of the farm, Gary Conklin is also seen, however briefly, kicking a cow violently in the face, yet no charges against him have been filed. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!" 
From: http://www.civicdirect.net/category/person/gary-conklin
"Animals Do Not Have A Voice Of Their Own. If We Do Not Stand Up And Speak For Them... Who Will?!" ~ Joan E Loza Mobry.
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Letter by Jaime Lee Curtis:
"Mr. Conklin,
Our daughter came to us last night urging us to watch the video of the abuse at your plant. She was overcome with grief that human beings could inflict such cruelty and unconscious hatred at the most benign of creatures and their infants. The shocking images were too much for her father and me but we watched enough to know where it led……..
It's all here in this petition, which we encourage everyone to sign."
~ Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest
More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/an-open-letter-to-gary-co_b_591730.html?view=screen
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By me:     The video is very gruesome, and very disturbing.

Please, please sign this petition.  It is disgusting what these torturers are doing to the cattle.

They are enjoying beating the little calves and helpless cows so much that I am sure that they carry it home with them, and they treat their wives and kids this way too? 
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/shut_down_conklin_dairy_farms_and_arrest_and_charge_gary_conklin_and_his_crew_with_animal_cruelty
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My views:

Even a calf and it's mother deserve to be treated properly, even if they are in a slaughter house waiting to be made into veal cutlets and hamburgers!

I was married to someone who loved to torture and mistreat animals, and it didn't stop there.  I was beaten and judo chopped to near death.  I felt so helpless, with nowhere to go, but I managed to get out of that situation before he hurt my little daughter.  These cattle can't get away from their torturers.

Even if you have never encountered cruelty like that, please feel for these animals, and help get this stopped.

If you see or hear of anyone, child, senior or animal being mistreated, PLEASE report it.  
You can save a life.
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More about other farms:
"On factory farms, animals are subject to unspeakable cruelty every single day. In battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates, chickens, pigs, and calves endure confinement so extreme that they cannot stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs, or lie down comfortably. Unable to exercise their most basic natural behaviors, these animals exhibit signs of extreme psychological distress. This daily reality for millions of farm animals across the nation is rarely covered on the nightly news."
From: http://animals.change.org/blog/view/ohio_animal_abuse_demonstrates_need_for_farm_animal_protection_laws
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Today:

Ray and I moved the dining room table from underneath the pass-through going into the kitchen, sanded and painted the wall and baseboards. 

He handed me the crystal glasses off the shelf so I could wash them.  We did get that wall and one to the right of it done, but the whole place is still in an upheaval, as we haven't put the table or chairs back yet.

Here are Paco and Patches under the table. 

I am surprised that scaredey-cat Patches is that close to him!

Paco thinks the phone is a door bell, so he barks and runs to the front whenever it rings. 
I think he hopes it is his girlfriend coming back to see him.

It rained all morning, so everything is greener, cooler, and less humid today.

RV & CG Budgets. BBQ. Painting.

Anonymous said... “Although new to motor-homing, I had the chance to talk to an old timer full timer about the costs involved. He made a great point about finances.

"If you couldn't balance a check book and bills were always late paid, you still wont be able to balance a check book and the bills will still be late, but now you will run out of gas"!

I can see his point. You will have to be good at managing your finances or fulltime will not work for you.”
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But it is not just your budget, Campgrounds have them too:

"As campers, we can do a lot to help both private and public campgrounds reduce their operational cost.

Too many campers consider the un-metered electricity included in the campsite cost like an “all you can eat” buffet. They run their air conditioners or electric heaters even when the RV is unoccupied. Behavior similar to what we practice at home by turning off lights and lowering thermostats could save campground owners thousands of dollars in annual electrical cost.

Not littering, perhaps taking the daily trash to a dumpster yourself, cleaning up the shower or sink in a bath house after use, and just being a responsible camper can add to the reduction in expenses a campground incurs.

The bottom line to all of this is we want nice campgrounds with big sites, full hookups and low rates. If we want this combination to continue, we must do everything possible to help the campground owners keep their expenses down."
From:   http://blog.woodalls.com/2010/04/the-campingrv-industry-are-taking-a-hit-from-the-recession/
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Now for news here:

 Late yesterday afternoon, I was doing laundry in the attached workshop.  (All inflammables and paints are stored in the shed outside.)  The lock was still off that door from painting it, so I could close it, but not latch it. 
Patches loves to open unlatched doors with her paw, so Prime and Patches got in the workshop.  It was 91 deg. in there, but that is where they wanted to be, laying on that mat!

Gee, and I am paying for AC for them, and they want to be out there.  Took me ages to get Patches, even food wouldn't coax her, but finally she knew she had to go back in the grooming room if she wanted any supper.
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Sweet 'n Sour Pork.

Last night I got ambitious to try a new recipe, and made a very good dinner.  I had bought a jar of Woody's Sweet 'n Sour BBQ Sauce because I like Woody's Cook-in' BBQ Sauce.  I don't like the taste of most BBQ sauces.

I followed the recipe on the Sweet 'n Sour jar, made with cubed pork, onion, bell pepper, can of pineapple chunks simmered in some Sweet 'n Sour sauce.  I omitted the can of tomato sauce, but used some of the pineapple juice.  It said to put it over rice, but I didn't want to do that, so I cut up a potato.  It was an easy "one pan meal", and yummy.  It would be good for camping.
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Today:

First thing, Ray put the lock back on that door.  Then we glued back on some of my red, white and blue 9/11 Memorial Flowers which had fallen off the wreath on my front door.  Even added some new ones. It has been there since that terrible day.

It was not a day to be outside, as we are expecting rain, so it was very humid, so we concentrated on indoor jobs.


There are still some rough places on the baseboards and trim that we haven't fixed over the years. 
The contractors who finished that part of the house had tried to save money and roughly routered 1 x 4's with a dull Ogee bit and the baseboards caught dirt and dust.  
As we were trying to get all the baseboards and trim repainted, now is the time to fix that.  I washed the lower wall and baseboards on the east side of the dining area and a little way into the kitchen, so Ray sanded and painted all that.
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Paco, formerly Sugarboy, is still looking at that recliner, and then looking at me… then, when he goes out, he looks through the front fence to the parking area and back at me… and asks me when someone will bring back his little girl friend.   But he is getting over her and doesn't give an occasional  little low howl now.  He is very good, but scared of men.  He scampers back into his bed if Ray talks to him.    Patches is still terified if there is a man in the house, and she gets in her little tiny hidey-hole safe place behind one of the kennel cages in the grooming room.

I have the wheels in motion to get him neutered and get his really bad teeth cleaned.  Judging his age by his teeth, he looks a lot older than he acts.   Saturday, I will pick up the antibiotic that all dogs should take before and after, they have a teeth cleaning, then we can get him done.

The high temperature here was 93.3° today.

How to Clean A Grill. Just Nylons. Fur!

I should have posted this before now, but better late than never:

"If you didn't clean your grates before putting away your grill last year, it won't be fun to clean them this year. But, there's hope in the form of a homemade remedy.
Simply put the caked-on grates in a black or dark color plastic bag, pour a cup of ammonia into the bag, leave the bag in the sun for a day, then open it up and the crud will easily hose off the grills, thanks to solar action. For the inside areas of your grill, Bale suggests using a putty knife to scrape away old residue.

Make Cleaning A Habit
Going forward through the season, clean your grill after each use. Remove cooked food, turn flame to low, brush the grates with a grill brush for a few seconds, turn off burners, let them cool, and only then spray the surface with vegetable oil, which loosens more food from the grates."
More at:  http://www.shelterpop.com/2010/05/27/how-to-clean-a-gas-grill/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl8|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelterpop.com%2F2010%2F05%2F27%2Fhow-to-clean-a-gas-grill%2F
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Once again, I don't use Tiny URLs, as this way you know where you are clicking!
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Now they just need nylons, not hair and fur, for the Oil Spill:

"5/23/10 please note: We need nylons for the Gulf, but we are not accepting hair from new sign ups till we work through the tons that we have. All new sign ups are in the RESERVES till further notice."
From: http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html
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Yesterday:   Sugarboy, now Paco, and Maine Coon cat:

The lady who gave me "Sugarboy", the little smooth coat intact male Chihuahua, came by yesterday, but brought her girl dog (in season).  She had named him after her late Chihuahua, Sugar, but I think he looks more like "Pacoboy".

Of course we didn't let them do anything, but it got him all upset when they left.  He hasn't completely settled down yet, goes to the recliner where she was sitting, and gives a little howl.  What was she thinking?  He wouldn't eat his dinner, but he did eat his breakfast, so that is a good sign.


He is so well behaved, that it is nice to have a dog around again, though not my type of dog.   I prefer them to be about 14" high at the shoulder, and I prefer breeds that don't shed, like poodles or schnauzers.  It is a good thing my little Hoover Nanolite really picks up pet hair.  You should see what it picks up.

She also brought a young lady with her who was trying to give me a great big beautiful Maine Coon neutered male cat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon  She said they couldn't keep it because their neighbor was going to call Animal Control on it.  I told her that the cat shouldn't be outside, killing birds, lizards, etc., and in danger of being killed or injured by a car.  I also told her that Animal Control wouldn't put down a beautiful cat like that, it would go straight to their Adoption Center.  She said it was box trained, so why couldn't she keep it indoors?  Maybe it was not neutered early enough and it is a sprayer!!

I hated not to take it in,  and I shall worry about it's future,  but……do they think I am the local pound? 

I couldn't have a new cat around my SPCA foster cats, who are all checked out healthy, flea-free,  and ready for adoption, it is against the rules.  Apart from that, I wouldn't want mine to be exposed to anything where an outside cat had been.  Also, the foster cats are around my 15 year old Bobcat. She is a "Rumpy" - no tail whatsoever, Manx: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_(cat) )

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Today:

I have been doing the RV Rule:  You bring something in, then you have to get rid of something! 
But this is not in my RV, but in the clothes drawers, and closet in my house.  Anything that didn't fit me, or I don't wear, had to go in the 'Yard Sale Dept', to make room for the clothes that I have recently bought.  It is funny how we have our 'favorite clothes', and then some that we hardly ever wear. 
I don't know if I will actually have another Yard Sale, so then it will become the "Donation Dept"!

Then I have been washing all the cat's and dog's bedding. 
It is amazing how much fur is in the dryer lint filter today!