As the World Turns

My last vacation was a dream come true for me and my family! We went to Las Vegas and saw what I call an ‘artificial wonder of the world’ and from there drove to the Grand Canyon to experience one of the true wonders of the world. We’d always seen these places in pictures, but seeing all these places in person was so much more impressive and memorable than I had ever imagined. From the Grand Canyon we headed to Bryce Canyon, and while the first one made us say “Ooh and aah”, the second one left me shaking me head and mumble “Beautiful, simply beautiful” over and over again. I took close to 900 pictures on my trip and shared with others quite a few times already and everyone who sees them wishes that they had come with us. During our trip we drove just over 1100 miles, and believe me, although we were very tired when we climbed back on the plane to make our way back home, those 7 days and all the things we saw will remain with us for ever!

It can be difficult to keep your small dog safe outside, but poor little Fido can get into trouble indoors too. A solution us to restrict your small dogs to certain areas of the house using one of a variety of dog gates available. These gates keep your pet safely away from toxic items like cleaners, new furniture, and even dangerous electronic items that could give them a shock. For those with young children, gates can also keep pets away from babies to prevent accidents. And baby gates can double as those for dogs! So keep your human little ones in on one side and your four-legged little ones out on the other with a simple, moveable, adjustable hate that makes it a happier home for everyone.

Meet Theodore Edward Bear. He’s my dog, and we call him Teddy, or Theodore, or Dork, depending on the day. Teddy is a Samoyed, and Samoyeds are typically very loving, very intelligent, and very strong-minded. That is, they usually do exactly what they please; unless they happen to be in the mood to obey their owners. Teddy is about 50 pounds and about 2 feet tall at his shoulders. My daughter got the brilliant idea we would dress Ted up in dog pajamas for the Halloween parade. Ted loves my teen daughter, so he was fairly patient with the initial process. However, he became very fidgety and started trying to eat the pajamas during the parade! I guess that’s what you get for having a Sammy; sometimes they just can’t behave, no matter the situation.

After retiring from fulltime employment, I took a job as a docent in my city’s local art and history museum. Located in a historic Romanesque brick building on the waterfront, the structure itself is part of the city’s history. My desk, alongside the grand oak staircase in the lobby, was situated so I could greet visitors as they arrived. What fun it was to explain the building’s history. As a custom house, it held the naval investigation into the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, the precursor to the Spanish American War. Even more fun was my discovery that the basement once held a jail cell. To my shock, one of the inmates was still hanging around! I could smell his pipe tobacco every time I was down there to lock up at night. This was not passed along to visitors, but I did verify it with a co-worker who admitted smelling it, too.

I feel like life is kicking me in the head. This economy is killing me. First, I lost my job because the company went out of business a few weeks ago. Today I woke up, turned on my computer, and checked my bank account. Wonderful, there is a whopping $2.39! I search every job listing service on the internet. No one job that I qualify for which I have not already applied for. I am a business management professional and now I face begging for a waitress job. I need to go apply at the 3 or 4 places left in town that I have not submitted applications to yet, but I am on my last quarter of a gallon of gas. Lucky me…the doorbell just rang. My water is turned off. What a way to start your day!

Usually I don’t remember what I did from one weekend to the next, but last weekend was quite different and the reminders of it are still intact today. If you thought that it was something really fantastic and outrages – well, sorry to disappoint … I cleaned up my walk-in closet (smile). I converted a ‘jungle’ into what I would now label as a ‘peaceful meadow’. No longer are there any hidden shirts in between my coats or ‘Prego’ clothes that I wore when I was expecting my second (and last!) child eleven years ago. All the odds and ends that were not so neatly placed on the shelves are now neatly arranged in baskets and the various picture frames that I have been collecting to display my children’s photographs are now arranged by size from left to right. Oh what a great feeling of accomplishment I had when I was finally done! So what are my plans for this weekend you may wonder, attack another closet, dresser, or even the pantry? No, I’ll have a yard sale so that all the buried treasure that I unearthed last weekend will find a new home and will hopefully find a nice and neat spot in someone else’s closet.

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It’s Halloween again, and time to think about dressing up the kids. But why leave out the family pet? An enormous variety of pet costumes are available at almost all pet stores as well as larger department stores. You’ll find shiny angel halos, fluttery fairy wings, and even rubber dog boots to put on your pooch. And don’t forget Fluffy. She can wear a super shiny collar, a lace-up ladybug jacket, or even a pair of dog ears! Your pet will be the hit of the neighborhood as you go trick-or-treating, just make sure the costumes are pet-safe, with no little parts to be chewed off. Also, be sure Fido is comfortable in his get up and not prone to bite the human goblins roaming around. Lastly, get a leash, but make sure it matches the outfit!