Aunt Lois

A week ago, I received the sad news that my Aunt Lois passed away unexpectedly.  She had gone to the Dr. the day before because he leg swelled up.  Dr. couldn't find a problem.  My cousin, Beth went downstairs the next morning to have coffee with her Mom and found her passed away in her chair, holding her Kindle. It must have been quick and peaceful.  

She was a wonderful Aunt.  Always happy to see me.  Quick to offer coffee, tea and a snack.  We shared a love for reading.  I have several great memories of time spent with her.  I will tell some stories about her at some point.  

I have been keeping busy with work, I have three clients and work 4 days a week.  I've been driving a lot.  Two clients want transportation to Dr. appointments and visiting friends.  In fact, the two days after Christmas, I will be picking them up and bringing them home from relatives homes.  

My new hobby of crocheting is going well.  I have made a couple hats and a scarf.  I'm working on a hat for a child right now.  I might try and sell it on Etsy.  I made a hat for my friend, Tim.  I hope he likes it.  I felt it came out too girly.  I did the purple sparkle on purpose, he is gay and I thought a touch of fabulous would be nice.  Here is me modeling it. I'm not happy with the way it turned out.  It is too loose.  I think I'm going to add a small stitch in it to tighten it up.  

This is a scarf I made and gave to one of my clients. She got several compliments on it.

Donna

J-Land and Blogger lost one of the best yesterday.  My friend, Donna Diggins passed away after a long battle with bladder cancer.
She was always so upbeat and friendly.  I went and visited her a few years ago and had such a nice time.
She was famous for her beautiful personalized tags that she made.  She loved hockey and her family.  I'm going to miss you, Donna.

Brownie

My old girl had to cross the Rainbow Bridge last night.  She developed an abscess on the right side of her face.  I brought her to the vet and he recommended an xray to see if it was soft tissue or cancer.  It was cancer.  She was very old, about 17 or 18, so it was time.  She passed peacefully in my arms, purring until the last.  
I'm upset by the amount of money the vet's office charged me.  No discount on anything, full price for the xrays (3), an examination charge, plus the euthanasia.  Unbelievable.  $500.  I'm disgusted.  
I am not going to get any more pets.  I still have Sasha and the outdoor cat, but I am going to try to find a home for the outdoor cat before winter.  
This is the last picture of Brownie, she is just passed.  I have a patch of her fur and her paw prints.

It's still October!

Yeah me!  Two posts in a month!  I have been a slug the last two weeks.  I went to the second grape harvest next door and went up to the Penfield museum, but that was basically it.  I skipped going to Calvary Day at the UVMH.  I wish I hadn't because I understand that Oak performed magnificently.  I would have enjoyed basking a little in his glory. 
So I have been staying home and staring out the window feeling guilty as hell for not enjoying these last few days of fall weather.  My "should" has been out in full force.  I "should" have done this, or that.  My last counselor, Carol, was fond of reminding me of that word.  
I've compromised on my ceiling.  I purchased two rolls of reflective insulation barrier to put up.  I'm hoping it will help hold the heat in with the new insulation put up.  I bought a new Arrow staple gun.  It is no easier than my last one was.  That tool is not meant for mortals to use.  One must have the strength of a God to use it!  

October

It would appear that I missed an entry for September.  That is ok.  I bought season passes to the Great Escape for Sarah and I.  I've gone twice.  I can go all next year as well.  
I have been continuing to go to Dead Creek to work with the horses.  I've been putting in time with Tex.  He is an easily startled horse and needs a lot of work.  I was able to mount him once, but I think it was a fluke.  I went with Chris on Saturday up to the Penfield museum in Ironville, NY.  We took Oak up to demonstrate the Morgan horse.  I was pretty upset because Oak head bumped me, no problem, but then head bumped Chris who promptly hauled off and hit him hard in the face, right in front of spectators.  He did it again just a couple minutes later.  He said he was being the "herd boss".  There are ways to establish yourself as leader without hitting an animal, especially in the face.  I fear for him and Oak.  I have a bad feeling that despite the fact Oaky is a gentle stallion, he will kill or badly injure Chris one day.  Chris seems to have no sense of horse handling in some respects.  When we were getting ready to leave, he was up in the trailer trying to yank Oaky in.  Oaky wasn't going in.  I was watching the dog out of sight.  I went around to the back and Oaky was looking at me,  I just said, "Go on, get up in there", and he did.  LOL  I felt like a boss just then!  Chris strikes me as the type who needs to appear like the expert and in charge.  He seemed disappointed that he couldn't ride Oaky at the event.  He tried, but Oaky wasn't having it.  He couldn't even mount him.  He should have lunged him instead of left him tied to a trailer for 3 hours first.  Oaky however was a perfect gentleman around the visitors.  Small children were able to pet and groom him.  

52

Yesterday I celebrated the beginning of my 52nd year on earth.  I worked and made the mistake of volunteering to work an extra four hours caring for one of my clients, A.  
A has advanced Alzheimer's and is very anxious and forgetful.  She worries about everything, but then forgets what we have told her and the cycle repeats.  Her memory span is mere seconds.  By the end of the night last night, I was in pain and near tears.  I was trying so hard to keep under control and not yell at A after she got out of bed for the 10th time wanting me to pick up her obese cat and put him back on the bed.  I never imagined a 90 year old woman could wear me out.  She has me jumping and fetching constantly.  The only saving grace was the fact that we were up at the lake house with a beautiful view.

I have also started helping out at a "ranch" near Fort Edward.  The owner, Christian, owns several Morgan horses.  One is a stallion who he rides in military reenactments.  I've been up there a few times already and have yet to ride or get any kind of reward for helping except for the privilege of getting to work with these horses.  I don't even think he has said thank you yet.  He strikes me as an elitist.  He is a retired Army officer, so that explains a lot.

He has a show Labor Day weekend, so I will probably go up and help out with that.  Be an assistant.  We will be at the UVMH farm. He got bucked off the other day.  Horse flies were biting.  Anyway, it's almost September!  Travis' birthday is this Friday.

July 2018

I almost missed blogging for this month!  I started a new job with Home Instead and I like it.  No more weekends or overnights if I don't want them!  I have three regular clients that I see and I can pick up extra shifts to fill in the gaps.  I'm aiming for around 20 hours a week.
I went to Rochester last weekend with Sarah to visit my friend, Tim and to attend Roc Pride with him.  It was a fun weekend.  The parade was fantastic.  On the way out, Sarah and I stopped at the Harriet Tubman home and then her grave.  It was amazing to be walking in her footsteps.

Here is a pic of my friend, Tim and I.

On the way back, Sarah and I stopped at the zoo in Syracuse.  It is a nice zoo, but not much has changed except they had animatronic dinosaurs!  

Yesterday, I took a geocaching trip out to Fort Hunter and Schoharie Crossing state park.  They have geocaches which are part of the yearly summer state park challenge.  I only managed to get 2 of them.  I'll have to go back out, now that I know where I have to go to get the others!

I also went out to Stewart's pond with Lindsay and her fam.  I had fun playing with the kids in the water and teaching the boys how to kayak.  This is me and Izzabelle.

It had been a good month.  I have today off, but I really need to get some yard work done before I go out and play!

Busy little bee!

I have been very busy the last few weeks.  Going out to different events and taking lots of flower pictures.  I met a guy who lived in Schaghticoke, but I'm not holding my breath.  He doesn't really seem to have time for me.  We might go to the ocean next week and he has expressed interest in going with Sarah and I, so who knows.  
On Saturday, I went with the Peer to peer group to Mountain Adventure to go on the obstacle and zip line course.  It was a lot of fun.  I've been taking horsemanship classes as well on Fridays at Knipper Knolls.  Tonight, I went to PJ's BBQUSA for biker night and helped staff the table for Peer to peer.  Got a free chicken dinner!  That is one thing I love about this group, lots of fun free things and food!
I'm considering moving on from Gateway.  It is a great place, but I am having increasing difficulty with the noises.  It is affecting my work and I'm loosing hours.  I can't afford that.
I'm continuing to have mice giving birth!  I am going to have to attempt my first "gas chamber" this week.  I just have to find a suitable container to do it in.  I might just run a tube between two coffee canisters.  Finding a piece of tube is the hard part!

May 23, 2018

Today is going to be a beautiful day.  Lots of sunshine.  I have to do some weed-whacking and plant some seeds.  I met a guy.  Taking things slow.  His name is Richard.. haha, what a surprise.  He goes by Rick however.  He grew up on a dairy farm and is really into gardening etc.  We have so much in common it is scary.  He also drives a Buick!  Our coffee date turned into lunch and we spent 3 hours together.  He gives great hugs too.  I'm not going to hold my breath.  He does know about the breast cancer and doesn't seem worried about the fact that I don't have breasts.  God, that sounds awful, but it's the truth.  I can't count how many guys didn't want to date me after they found that out.  
I've been getting out to photograph flowers.  I need to post some pics in my other blog.  Gotta get out to see my Dad soon too.  Rick invited me to a festival in Greenwich on Saturday.  I want to go, but I'm skeptical about the parking situation.  It seems like the park is too small.  

Hooray for spring!

Thank God Spring is finally here!  It comes so slow and then rushes right in.  Daffodils and tulips blooming, leaves on the trees.
A big storm blew through on Friday night and three big trees snapped and fell on three houses, right in my row!  Debris fell in my yard.  I don't know how I have been so lucky so far.  I bet I'm next.  Old Grandfather and Grandmother pine are overdue!
I went bowling with the veterans group on Thursday, that was fun.  There is a trip to Mountain Adventure coming up.  

It's April already???

How did it get to be April already?  I just got back last week from another trip to Louisiana.  Yes, I drove again!  The trip was nice and smooth, but that drive is just mind-numbing.  I think next time I will fly!  It is cheaper in the long run.  I spent 6 nights in motels and probably $200 on gas, not to mention food.

It was nice to visit my family however.  My sister and I went to the zoo and I watched her get a tattoo.  I did some sightseeing and geocaching.  I have been out of work a couple months due to my hernia surgery and my trip.  I started back Saturday night, working 3 overnights in a row.  The check will be nice!  I really don't have anything new going on.  I think I will be doing some camping this year, I got a new tent and sleeping bag.  Also a mattress for the car's back seat.  I can use that in the tent as well.  

Sarah just got back from another successful Anime Boston.  I haven't seen many pictures yet.  Here is one her friend posted.

Her group, Idolized, hosted a meet up and had a dance party with other Love Live fans.  

I'm eagerly waiting for real spring to get here.  I have tulips and daffodils coming up.  It will be a while before they actually bloom, however.