Behind Second Base

It's been raining off and on here for three days. Yesterday, Scully and I had a small window of opportunity to get our walk in so off we went. As we rounded the soccer fields and came into view of the softball fields I noticed something in the infield. There were two white pelicans just hanging out behind second base. We detoured our walk to try to get a cell phone photo. I got as close as I could so they are quite blurry, but still pretty cool.



It was pretty cool. We couldn't get any closer. I turned away for a couple of seconds to get Scully heading away so we could leave and they had taken to flight. I was a little bummed I missed that, but I saw them flying back towards the usually dry river where they live.

I was thinking about getting a nice digital camera with some of my tax return, but there's a drawback to that: California is not paying tax refunds. In fact they even said after they balance the budget they might not be able to pay. That didn't go into effect until Feb 1st. If only all the 1099's I needed were here in time I could have filed before the freeze! Ofcourse, the other drawback is being unemployed and maybe needing that money to live on once the unemployment wears out.

Every Day Feels the Same

Scully and I were having a bit of cabin fever the other day. While we go on our walk every day (rain or shine) the walls still tend to close in on you when you don't get out much. I still haven't found a job. That's a full four months out of work as of today. With Circuit City going out of business that's putting another 34,000 people out of work in the US. The job market is becoming non-existent.

And in five more days it will be a full four months without a vehicle. I've been watching some vehicles on a used car lots website. There are several that have been on there since my accident. A couple weeks ago I put in my $2000 offer on one to see if they'd come back with anything. I haven't gotten a response. It could be because I didn't give my address, but that's none of their business unless they accept the offer and I buy the vehicle. $2k is all I have right now and being unemployed, I can't commit any more. It would be nice to have a vehicle again. I miss attending services at my church. I was there last weekend because I rented a car for the weekend for a business dinner I had to attend at a location a couple hours from where I live. In the mean time, I have some friends who attend a church in my area so they pick me up and I go with them. It's just not the same.

My sis got a new bunny named Fidget. She's a cutie. Scully and I saw a dog at the park that reminded me of her first dog, Winston. He was just as energetic as Winston was. The lady walking him was older and could barely hold on to him. She had taken him over near a tree when she saw us on the path. I can only assume to try to 'hide' us from him. It took everything she had to keep him from pulling her down. I would say not good planning for a pet on her part.

Scully comes home from our walks and pretty much poops out. She's 8-1/2, but in doing some research it turns out that a boxers average life span is only 10-12 years. I told her she needs to plan on the far side of that. I'm sure she'll do her best. I didn't sleep well the last two nights for some reason so when I let her out this morning I went back in the room to lay down. I heard her come back in and called to her. She jumped onto the bed, walked on me to get to my front (I lay on my side), got right in my face and layed down in a ball right there. She's very clingy lately. You'd think she'd be tired of me being around all the time. (I know I am.)

The Clouds Roll In

So, much for beautiful day! Scully and I awoke to another winter storm this morning. I love the Southern California winter storm watches. In the mid-west and east they have a winter storm and everything stops 'cause the snow is so thick you can't get around. It starts drizzling here and they freak out.



Quite a contrast from the last picture, huh! Ah, well, back to the job search.

It's a beautiful day!

For the first day this week there are no clouds at all in the sky! It rained from Saturday early a.m. until Wednesday. There were breaks in the rain, but I couldn't go anywhere since my mode of transportation is still walking. My sis sent me a package that arrived on Wednesday. The rain had slowed to a drizzle so I went around to the front door of the main house to see if the box was there. It was. The same second that I stepped back into my front door the sky opened up and it poured down rain again! I have always loved the rain and since I am still unemployed I can do what rainy days are for: make a cup of cocoa, curl up on the couch and read a book. The only drawback is I don't have much of an overhang on the house so I can't leave the door open to watch the rain.


Love that natural framing!

This morning I used some of the rabbit fencing I have to block the sidewalk at my back door so Abby can't get in and Scully can go out and come in at her leisure. I asked Phil about it beforehand and he was good with it. I like how it worked out. I want to put it at the back of the house, but there's no way to mount it to the side of the house. I have to take it off one side in order to get to the hose behind my house, but it's good until Scully and Abby become friends. Plus, with Scully being able to go out as she wants, there will be more opportunity for Abby to calm down and get to know Scully and not be so yippy.

A few weeks ago there was an episode of Dog Whisperer where he dealt with a small dog that kept going after the big dogs. Finally, one of the big dogs would turn and come after the small dog. That's the one thing I've noticed at the park is that the small dogs are vocal and aggressive and Scully would just walk on by (bah bop bop baaah...). Abby's the same way: she taunts Scully, who just sits there staring at her. Keep praying for them to become friends because that will be easier for all concerned. It's been a hassle for me because I have to have Scully on her leash to be in the shared yard. Since that's where I need to take her to wash her muddy feet it's just a pain in the butt.

Not friends yet...

Scully hasn't made friends with Abby yet. In fact, quite the opposite. Monday we spent a lot of time outside putting up the Christmas lights. From the time Christy left for work Abby was doing her barking thing in and out of the house. She wouldn't come near me and Scully. Scully just kept looking at her and looking at me as if to say, "Why's she doing that?" I explained to Scully that she wanted her people to come home and that Scully needed to get to know her so she would feel comfortable when they were gone. During the day Abby would get a little closer to us. I felt like it was a good day and we made some progress.

Tuesday I would take Scully out and just sit out there with her so Abby would see everything was alright. That afternoon Scully and I went for our walk. When we got home, Paul was pulling the car thru the driveway. Scully was all excited. Then Vickie came around the corner from the back yard and Scully ran over to her. I had just come out of the sun and my vision hadn't adjusted to the shade of the trees yet so what I didn't see was that Vickie was holding Abby. Abby went nuts trying to get away from Vickie and Scully went after her. It took my brain a few seconds to catch up to what was happening. I ran over and grabbed Scully's collar, twisted it and pulled her back. Abby took off and ran inside the front door. So much for all the work we did on Monday and Tuesday!

Vickie came over to let me know that Abby was okay, had calmed down and she even went out back to do her business. She said Paul wanted Scully to either be in the back field (her yard) or on a leash if she was in the shared yard. The bummer for me is that I can't just leave the door and the gate open anymore for Scully to be able to go outside when she needs to go. Scully was confused Wednesday after we did the pooper-scooping as to why I didn't let her walk with me to dump it in the trash. I reminded her it was her fault. If only she understood.

I figure with time Scully will get used to the fact that Abby isn't going anywhere and they will meet on good terms and be friends. At least, I hope so!

Full Tummy

I went to Paul & Vickie's for Thanksgiving yesterday. It was a tough commute that 100 yards from my front door to their back door. I made pumpkin pie. In today's instant world it should be noted that I make my own pie crust. I would have used fresh pumpkin, but having had no car to go purchase pumpkins this year I had to resort to the canned pumpkin. Everyone loved it.

After we ate, Vickie, her Mom, Elouise, and I played Yatzee. Vickie's dad, Roy, joined us for two rounds. I had lowest score four of the six games. If I tried that intentionally I couldn't have done it (although, that's a good strategy for next time). We all had a lovely day. Vickie and her Mom spoiled Scully. Today she's sleeping comfortably. She's so cute when she sleeps.



One of these days I'm going to find a digital camera that I like and take some better photos for you to see. My cell phone camera is good, but not great. And my Canon printer has great quality for when I print them out. I'm just so picky when it comes to photography. Technology updates so fast that I'd end up buying a nice 14 megapixel camera and the next day they'd come out with 24 megapix!

Paul & Vickie move out next Friday and Saturday and then Phillip & Christy move in the same two days. It's gonna be crazy around here. When we were discussing it yesterday Vickie suggested I stay scarce or get put to work. I said I'm happy to work, but with all the neck and back injuries the most I can do is move couch cushions. She said I was worthless. I said I wasn't worthless to which Elousie said I was workless. We were cracking up.

Missin' You

Today was my friend Joyce's funeral. She went home to be with the Lord on Thursday. She had started her last journey with a diagnosed brain tumor. That was over twenty months ago. The docs gave her six months back then, but they don't know the awesome God I do. After surgery, chemo and radiation treatments over the last couple of years, Joyce had more good days than bad. It's only been in the last couple of months that she started having struggles. The last few weeks were the hardest as she could no longer speak and slept about twenty hours a day.

I am happy for her now that she is not suffering and is celebrating with Jesus, but sad for the loss of a friend. Please keep her hubby, Max, as well as their adult son & daughter and grandkids in prayer. Joyce was only in her late 60's. She was truly a Christian that others could look to as an example of "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. Love others as you love yourself."