Tonight Samson determined that any and all fireflies who dare to flicker in  the area between the tips of his ears and his paws on the ground are enemies to all canines. He has consequently declared war.

And that is a fine thing for an Elkhound. Keep trying, Samson!   *grins*

Here is what happened, so I remember the order...I was making baked potatoes. I always coat the potatoes in butter and pierce the skins, coat with salt & pepper, roll in foil, pop in oven. I usually double coat them with foil, because the butter drips.
I didn't do that tonight.
The butter dripped, the alarms went off, I opened windows, shut off the oven, the dogs were panicking. I let them onto the screened in porch, grabbed the sheet with the potatoes out of the oven, Samson was freaking. I went to soothe him, the hot pan in one hand, dripping butter.....he bolted. I instinctively held onto the pan.....hot foil, dripping butter, hot baking sheet...all on my forearm, and Sammy had bolted.

I ran out back, called him...he came right up to me.....but had to be bribed into the house even though the alarm had quieted.....I am icing....will deal with later.

But it's not pretty.

I want sympathy! I feel like Rachael Ray's food looks. I was feeling worn out yesterday and when I woke up today, it was like my body was at war with me. I have some bug thing happening and every hour it seems I feel worse. Bah.

I made it through the winter with no ailments of this type. Why did I brag about it last week?

There is a meeting at work, at which I am supposed to be a big part of. Cancel that. Facial. Cancel that. Dinner with relatives from out-of-town (not the usuals). Cancel that. Already canceled work tomorrow. And we have tickets to see Second City Improv, they are in town for the first time in seventeen years. I hope I can go...

The hubby wondered if I was being a little dramatic because other than some sneezing and coughing, nothing shows. So I don't seem as sick as I feel. Par for the course with me, if you know anything about RSD. But that kinda pissed me off, and I let him know it. You can't see the tightness in my chest, or the pain in my neck, or my body soreness. Or just plain how shitty I feel. I think he didn't mean for me to take it as badly as I did, everything is magnified when you're sick.

Samson knows I am sick though. He is always at my side, but today he insists that he be touching me. Curled right up to me. His presence is so comforting...*sigh*. Everything's fine.

I have been resting and pumping echinacea and cranberry, I hope they work.

What a week. I am tired. I wanted to sleep in today. But it is sunny. There is construction work being done on a new house close by. The bastards started at 7:30 AM. So much for that. I can't sleep when it's sunny, anyway.

So I got up and read for a while. There's a St. Patrick's Day parade in town this afternoon. The Indy Colts' cheerleaders are appearing. Wahoo! And the local beauty pageant queens and high school bands. The Friends are rallying at the Irish bar around one. For some reason I find myself wanting to go. But Husband is all congested and shit, so he's not really into it, at least at the moment. It's probably better that we don't go, because I would be drinking beer very early in the day, and I more than likely would not stop. I should rest up after the last few days anyway.

On Monday I went to a class at the Aveda Institute. I enjoyed it a lot. It was also pretty interesting taking the train ride with two twenty-two year old stylists. ( Read more... )

What a relaxing day. It has been pouring rain since yesterday morning. With nearly constant thunder rumbles. I love rainy days, but poor Samson is just beside himself. Last year he was afraid of lightening. But this year, even the rain is making him nervous. I researched it a little and it turns out that dogs in the hound family are particularly sensitive to weather. Maybe because they were bred to be outdoor workers, according to what I've read. Shady is nervous too, but not nearly as bad. I woke up this morning and there was a 55 pound elkhound ON MY PILLOW, shaking terribly! Cute, but so pitiful. I try not to baby him too much, that would be akin to rewarding his nervousness. I am just trying to remain as calm and low key as possible, hoping he will mirror me eventually. I have a few windows cracked open so we can hear the wind and rain. Maybe in time he will get through it.

Last night we went to the Guatemalans' house for a spaghetti and wine party.( Read more... )

Intermittent connectivity...WHY. OH WHY?

Should be better in the AM I am told.

Meanwhile it's AUNTIE EM! AUNTIE EM!

I can't believe that four days ago saw one of the worst snowstorms I have ever seen. And that is a lot of them. This was in my top 6 or 8, as an adult. Now, here I am on the back porch wearing a sweat shirt over a sweater, jeans, and my big furry uggs. Having a beverage, almost like being at the beach.

It sounds like a rainstorm out here and the breeze coming over the snow pack is cool, but still. No snow pants, no gloves. Laptop on the porch. IT'S FEBRUARY, PEOPLE! It's not SUPPOSED to be 54 degrees!

Went to the co-op farm meeting this morning. I may actually get to have a real plot on a cleared piece of land this year. Last year's pepper patch was good to me, but I need more dirt in the sun than I have here... We may just begin composting the land this year and waiting for planting until next year. I don't know. It is interesting to meet new people who want the same things, but different things than other people I know. Some of them want animals, I just want to put some seeds in the dirt and tend them.

Holy SHIT a huge piece of ice just fell from somewhere onto somewhere and skeered the HELL out of us all. The whole house shook! I hope that meter is still there, once is enough...Eh. I'll check later. This happened all through the night last night and it was like being ice-bombed. The dogs were jumpy, naturally. I think I am going to find and post a few pictures.....

EDIT: The slab of ice that fell off the roof measured 5' x 12' and it was 2" thick. I am glad one of the dogs wasn't laying there when that thing fell. Or one of us. Yikes!

It is February 1. It is 38 degrees at 1:15 AM and climbing. I love winter but a little break is nice, sometimes....

And it is Super Bowl Sunday. Have fun everybody, especially my friend Renee!

GO STEELERS.

that were on Yahoo tonight.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/24/new-private-obama-picture_n_160570.html?alacarte=1

Oh my. The wind chill is minus 27 again and falling. They just declared a state of emergency due to the cold. This is twice this year we have walked with a wind chill of -27 degrees! More later...

I am mad at the remaining LJ staff. Surely they know how nervous we all are.

A statement from them is due. Now.

1) Reality is almost always wrong.

2) Note to self: Stop doubting you.

Or at least I got them close.

When I went to sleep last night it was 54 degrees. When I woke up it was 9 degrees. Weather is a fascinating thing. The wind chill is -7.

I am headed to the yarn shop finally for a couple of hours. Then back for my walk and more baking. Yesterday I almost made it through a whole day of vegging out, but I got a late afternoon (inspired by a two hour walk with the dogs) burst of the need to create. So I went to the store and got the fixings for a nice Sunday dinner and several types of holiday cookie. So I was up till 10:30 cleaning and cooking.

Oh well. Tis the season?

Never regret anything. Every “mistake” you ever make, every right instead of left –it will all lead you to the very place you’re going.

Augusten Burroughs said this on his FB.

Why is it that almost every thing this mans says rings true in my soul? It's the way he says it and all the things we have in common...I am so happy that I got to meet him this year.

They solved the case....huh!

Shock that Marjorie or whatever her name is is undergoing treatment. I mean, with bodies in her freezer and all, she is obviously just a little abnormal.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/04/sentence.pizza.bomb/index.html

I am about to say byebye to Samson for two nights. He loves his kennel and they love him, they know him so well. But it is breaking my heart!

I'll be fine as soon as I start cooking. We're going for a quick walk. Then off he goes. This will be his first time without Shady, too. She'll LOVE it here without him. Before she starts missing his sassy ass.