Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.....

First of all, thank you, everyone, for all of your support. Dad read the comments, and they are really appreciated!

The residents of Britknitterville woke up to more snow this morning. Ugh. Enough already!!! Yeah, it's pretty, but I refuse to take any more picture of the nasty white stuff. The good part about it is that work is closed until noon today. Yay! So, in between laundry and paperwork and scratching bellies, I am finally getting in another blog post.

Do you remember my little house at Fortescue? Well, not really MY house, but I consider it mine.



Hopefully some day, but more on that another time... Anyway, the little town of Fortescue has been in the news lately. This article on the feral cat colonies at Fortescue was in yesterday's paper. How can some of those people be so unfeeling? These cats are not hurting anyone. In fact, they are keeping down the rodent population on the island. Sheesh!

Here are some photos of the cats. We go down and feed them at least once a week. Aren't they beautiful?



The blue tubs are cat shelters. They are a tub within a tub, stuffed with insulation in between, and the "porthole" allows access for the cats while keeping the inner tub (stuffed with straw and blankets) nice and cozy.


Here is a recent photo of dad working on one of the tubs for the cats! Who knew he was a cat lover?


Tara says those cat shelters may be cozy, but she'll stick with her big doggy bed.

I'm back with a PSA...

Confession time: It's been a while since I have blogged, and I (shamefully) haven't read anyone else's blog in months. It really feels weird to be here, but for now I am back, checking in, letting everyone know that I am still alive. The hooligan Brittanys are in fine form, too. No health problems, just the usual orneriness that is inherent in the breed, but that just tells me that they are perfectly fine, healthy and still very puppy-like, even at their ages.

Just for fun, here is a little video I took of the babes this morning. They each had a special ketchup heart on top of their breakfast for Valentine's Day, and they loved it!



So, why have I been away for a couple of months? I have lots of excuses, all of them quite lame...

• the dreaded holidays
• working two jobs
• getting classes started at Glitter World
• making samples for the classes (4 knitting lessons and 4 crochet lessons, 2 samples per lesson for a grand total of 16 projects)
• knitting a kajillion samples for my Craft Yarn Council teacher certification
• stuff that I haven't been able to think about, let alone write about without my head exploding, which would make quite a mess with all those pieces of brain matter splattering the walls

Yep, it all boils down to that last one, so now for the real reason I've been MIA.

My Dad.

Dad has cancer.

I couldn't say that for weeks. Couldn't think it. Could barely get out of bed when the results came back from his biopsy. It is prostate cancer, which is one of the best kinds of cancer to get, if there is any such thing, but dad has an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

This past week we went to Fox Chase Cancer Center, and we all feel as though he will be getting the best of care there. (Nothing but the best for my sweet dad!) I won't go into details here, but the doctors at Fox Chase exuded confidence, and dad's surgery is scheduled for March 15.

Now for my PSA: Ladies, made sure your guys get their PSA checked. Right now I know more than I ever thought I would about, ummm, boy-parts... and, again, I won't go into detail here, but please make sure your husbands, fathers, brothers, boyfriends... heck, even the pizza delivery guy... make sure they all get tested regularly.

OK, enough for now. I was going to get started reading some of your blogs tonight, but my head is feeling like it is getting ready to explode, so some knitting therapy is in order. I WAS going to sit in my knitting chair, but look who has beat me to it...


Mr. Cooper McLooper. He's a silly boy, but I love him!

Note to self: Ask WonderVet about getting Cooper's PSA checked.

Chills... in a good way!

I heard about this today on NPR. It gave me chills, and still does every time I watch it.

In Which The Chain Of Shame Gets A Little Smaller...

It's been just three months since I buckled down, got the lead out, put the nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the wheel, (and various other idioms) and began the long, looooong road of getting out of debt. You may remember this visual aid from a previous post.


It's the Chain of Shame I made to represent the amount of debt I have. Sickening, right? Well, today it got a bit smaller. I removed a pretty big (actually pretty small, when you consider the whole chain, but we won't go there) section from the chain, and had a little fun with it.


Yes indeed, I made Tara parade around the house wearing the section removed from the Chain of Shame! Lots of fun for me, but not so much fun for Tara... After I was done making her suffer... er, taking photos of her, I took the chain representing three months of hard (glitter-filled) work....


...and added it to a bunch of leaves and pine needles in the outdoor fireplace...


...and set that baby on fire!!!!


What a good feeling!

My Attempt at Some Very Lame Excuses...

Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive and well. Neglectful of the blog, tired all the time, and after working 14 hours in a day I feel like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest (to quote the late Captain Phil of the Cornelia Marie), but I am still alive. Everyone here is just fine, and I hope you all are doing well, too. The babes are all happy and healthy, and mom and dad celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this week. 55 years! Sheesh! I haven't read a single blog since Halloween, but promise to get caught up with everybody this week. I hope. Between both jobs, today was my first day off this month. I even worked Thanksgiving day, but the way I look at it, I should be thankful to have a job. Well, two jobs.

I can't mention the name of my second job since all employees had to sign some kind of legal document saying that we wouldn't mention the name of the company in any "social media", but I didn't sign it until after I had already mentioned it in a previous post, so I figure I'm OK. That might be flawed logic, but I can't worry about it. To refresh your memory, my second job is at a big chain of craft stores... you know the one... it starts with an "M" and rhymes with... well, it doesn't really rhyme with anything. You can scroll back a few posts, if you really care, but from here on I will call it "Glitter World", which is a much more descriptive name for the place, anyway.

Other than the masses of glitter that I end up with all over my clothes, in my hair, in my eyes, etc. (I am sooooo sick of glitter!) it's really not bad. Everyone I work with is so nice, and the customers are great. Hey, we're all crafters, and crafters are wonderful people, right? I have even managed to NOT buy a single skein of yarn. None! In fact, I haven't bought a thing in my two months at Glitter World. 100% of every paycheck has been applied to my Visa card, but that's really a post for another day.

For now, I will just leave you with a couple of photos I took this morning. You might ask what I wanted to do on my first day off in a month. No question about it, I wanted to go to Fortescue. It was too cold and windy to walk on the beach, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos of the water.


Of course, I had to drive by "my" house to make sure it is still for sale.



It is... not that I have the money to buy it. It's nice to know it's still there, though.

Dogs on Thursday, Halloween Edition

Hey, blog buddies...It's Emma, and I am hijacking the blog. Our momma has been so busy working two jobs that she has been seriously neglecting us, not to mention the blog, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. I mean, what are the chances that she would have gotten her act together and written a Dogs on Thursday post? Slim and none, I would say. So, without further ado, I present this humble offering, and wish one and all a Happy Halloween.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Cast, in order of appearance:
Mad Scientist.....................Emma
Frankenstein.....................Cooper
Vampire..............................Joseph
Bride of Frankenstein........Lizzie
Werewolf...........................Tara

Inspired by.....Emma
Written by.......Emma
Directed by.....Emma
Produced by....Emma
Casting by.......Emma

Video Dogs on Thursday

Yes, I know I have missed two Dogs on Thursday posts. No excuse, other than the fact that I am obviously a very bad dog mommy! To make up for this lack of attention to the dogs (and the blog), I am including, for your viewing pleasure, a clip of the babes eating their breakfast this morning. It might be weird to some people that I filmed the babes eating, but I happen to think that the sound of dogs enjoying their food is one of the best sounds in the world. I just love the slurp-slurp-slurp sounds. It shows that the food is good, the babes have a hearty appetite, and for them, all is right with the world.

Enjoy!

Where Did My Comfort Zone Go?

Just a quick post to thank everyone for their good wishes for my new part time job at Michaels. I had training on Saturday and worked the cash register on Sunday. It went well, I think. I was a bit out of my comfort zone, though...starting my first new job in 20 years. Sheesh, do I feel old.

At the risk of revealing my advanced age, the last time I worked a cash register, that's exactly what it was... a cash register. You actually had to punch in some numbers and do some math. Not any more. Now they have these new-fangled things they call computers and with fancy hand-held scanners. Amazing!

I managed to resist temptation and didn't buy a single thing. Not a skein of yarn, no needles, nothing. That doesn't mean I didn't come home without anything, though. After working the register all day on Sunday, I was covered with glitter. Yes, indeedie, glitter! I can't tell you how many of those holiday garlands, swags and bunches of flowers I had to separate and scan, then wrestle into shopping bags. Those things are covered with glitter, and as a result, so was I. I had glitter everywhere. On my clothes, in my hair, in my eyes... I think I even ate some glitter. I even took a picture of myself when I got home Sunday night:


Now that's a lot of glitter!

GOOD Post #2

It's been almost a month since my last Getting Out Of Debt post. What has kept me from updating? I've been waiting for something good to report. After doing the math, I realized that at the rate I am going, I will be out of debt in approximately a gazillion years. Give or take a few kajillion years. It's true. Math doesn't lie. Given this unsavory reality, I had no choice but to buy a boat-load of yarn. Nope, just kidding. Really, I went to a spa and for a massage and a mani-pedicure. Gotcha again!

Seriously, several weeks ago I applied for part time work at several local stores. Eight to be exact. A week went by, and no one called, begging me to come and work for them.

Very curious...

Then two weeks went by, and still no calls.

Very depressing...

Three weeks went by, and what do you know...a phone call! I was interviewed over the phone (while doing the dance of joy) and asked to come in for an in-person interview.

Very nerve-wracking. This was my first interview in 20 years. How old do I feel?

That was last week. It went well, I think, and I was told I would hear on Tuesday.

The phone rang last night. It was the store manager. I wasn't supposed to hear until Tuesday. I'm getting the call on Monday. Is this good news? It can't be. Can it? I've had no other calls in response to my applications, and now this place (which just happened to be my first choice of a second job) doesn't want me. What now? Will I ever get out of debt? No. I will be a homeless old woman, living in a chicken coop, surrounded by my dogs. I will be muttering things like "If only I didn't have so much debt" and "Why didn't I plan for retirement?"

But wait, I'm still on the phone with the store manager. I had better pay attention to what he is saying...

What do you know... I got the job! I start on Saturday! Woo Hoo! Where will I be working?


Michaels... and I'll get a discount on yarn! Hmmmm. I don't have a "yarn" category in my new budget. No problem. I'll charge it!

Oh, no... What have I done?

Dogs on Thursday on Friday, again

Yes, it's Friday. I didn't manage to post Dogs on Thursday on Thursday again this week. It might have something to do with lack of sleep. We had a major thunderstorm move through the area late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. You know what that means... Cooper was in a panic.

Cooper's pills we got from the Vet don't work, his Thundershirt isn't working, and his herbal calming collar isn't working. The poor boy was pacing and digging and pacing and digging for hours. HOURS! He gets a glazed look in his eyes and there is nothing you can do to calm him down. Of course, when he gets like that, no one gets any sleep. When the storm is finally over, he takes about a half hour to calm down and go to sleep. Unfortunately, it takes me a lot longer!

The good new is that my poor boy didn't have to get up and go to work in the morning. He managed to drag himself out of bed to eat a hearty breakfast, then stumbled to the nearest soft spot and collapsed.



If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as a dog. I think it's time for another trip to the Vet to get something stronger. Valium maybe? I might share some with Cooper, too.
:-)