The Terrible Two

SO - Molly has been adjusting over the course of a few weeks, a couple bobbles here and there but nothing to write home about. A few days ago we had noticed that Molly and Reuben have become the best of pals, they sleep together, eat, and lately, trouble make together. Yesterday they were in rare form, wrestling around my legs all morning. I finally made them stop when I was attempting to negotiate the stairs with them yipping and twirling all the way down. A little later they went out for their morning romp, I make sure I have at least a total of 45 minutes to an hour for them (and me) to play in the yard. They were doing their usual loops but were edging closer and closer to the front - suddenly Molly peeled off with Reuben hot on her heels and they BOTH darted across the road - yikes! I was yelling both their names and then Molly started running around Ed and Ramona's house, me hollering and then Reuben taking up the end position - I was hoping everyone was at work, believe me! It took me a minute to realize Molly thought this was a big game so I called her again and went the other way - success! She started chasing me, I got the leash on her to lead them both back home. THEN when I got home from work everyone was in trouble having gotten yelled at over an incident involving Vincent the Cat. As you can see from the picture they're hard to get mad at because Molly is so sincere and Reuben is a big palooka. Everyone survived the day and they are better today, but we will be cracking down a bit from now on. We live on a back road but it's a straightaway and the few cars that come down the road are usually flying. Our neighbors lost their beloved Gabe to the road last year - we cried for a week too as he was Pearl's best buddy - I have no desire to repeat that. In other news I had my follow up eye exam and it went very well, I am so pleased! The pressure in both eyes have remained near normal, the vision in one eye actually improved a little and the other eye stays the same, but there is no visual deficits. I do NOT have to start the eye drops, I have the vision of a hawk, well, a hawk that needs glasses and my next appointment is not for 6 months. My last day at work is Monday - this week of course while I was trying to get everything tied up  there was an explosion at every corner - but I handled it along with my coworkers. Some of it was serious, others were of the Are You Kidding variety - what a way to end. I will miss everyone but  this is the right decision.  I'm booking my flight for Jackson's wedding this weekend too, very excited and happy for him. It's so hard to find the right person but he's done a good job - then off to Tennessee for him and Brandi. Adam is enjoying college, once again straightening out the GI bill, he will need to start again to look for a job but it's not critical at the moment. We want him to settle into college and do well with his studies, we can work towards the rest later. The Bruceton Mills house is a week away from being done - we have hit another issue - another disgruntled relative. Nothing major just an annoying chapter that doesn't affect anything. Silly crap. I'm almost done with the second sock and then on to.............hmm. I guess I'll have to think about this.

Comfort Measures.

It's funny how when pressed, we all have our go to things to  make our world level things out.  Some of us run, garden - some hit the hay and stay there until whatever upsetting event has blown by. I tend to spend a day on my own, the quiet calms me, inside and out. I clean a little, the concentration moves the bad stuff down the hall enough so I'm not tripping over it. Movies - tend to be scenic or childish, this weekend's picks were Lars and The Real Girl and A Wrinkle In Time.  The second I was absolutely over the moon about, I had that book as a kid and read it to shreds, it was a loved book. The books I read follow the same theme, Debbie Macomber is wonderful for relaxing and forgetting your troubles. I knit of course, I"m working on my plain old sock - knit knit knit with no fancy stitches. Coffee and cream, cream and coffee. Berries and cream too. Feet up, curtains open, sweat pants and a baggy sweater. Are things that bad? No. Things are changing though, most for the better but change is change - good or bad. Molly continues to get more comfortable by the day, soon it will be like she's always been here. Adam made his first trip to Pittsburgh and loved it, he met up with an old friend from high school which is always fun, isn't it? I'll be booking my flight for California this weekend - David is finishing the house and we'll be moving forward from there. I will be ending my job with home care management, I am going back to being a nurse. This is a decision that has taken me months to get to but I am not happy in a management role. I'm going to be working in a long term facility/rehab for a nation wide company, starting on nights but that is more than alright. I will be a floor nurse during the week and then one night I'll be charge. I can do that. I'm going to have to work every Friday and Saturday but I'll have 3 days in a row off every week so it's a good trade off. And for now, that is more than enough.

Settling In.

 Things are finally - finally! - starting to settle back down. My work situation has been resolved - I hope and I am feeling less stressed. David is finishing up the house in Bruceton Mills - and better yet, the RE already has someone to look at it and we haven't even talked about listing it. But by the end of the month it will either be rented or on the market. Adam started college this week with a full load of classes, he's met a few people and Ruby has called twice following up his references which is a good sign, they said they will let him know by next week. If it doesn't pan out he can start to look for a job in PA.  But today he is not feeling well, he's probably coming down with that upper respiratory infection David had  so he's next in line for the vaporizer. David's better and back to work, glad to be done with that. Jackson and Brandi are continuing with their wedding plans, I cannot wait and I'm so happy for them. They make a great couple, don't they?  I went to a new Yarn store today which was nice, it's called Kid Ewe Knot - some of the yarn was dauntingly expensive ($50?!!) but most of it was reasonable and the people that own it are very nice and friendly. I bought yet another skein of sock yarn and some new DPNs plus a sock pattern that she threw in for free. She laughed when she stuck in the bag saying it was not probably not good business - I told her I was pretty sure it was!. Let's face it, we all go for the freebies don't we? When I'm not knitting I'm reading, very much loving my new ereader and the $100 worth of ebooks I bought after Christmas. Molly is doing wonderfully - we so love that dog! We've progressed to no leash the past couple of days, she still has her moments but they are farther  and fewer between. She and Reuben are the best of friends - where one goes the other follows.  The weather has been beautiful the past two weekends but with warmer temperatures comes the mud - the mud here reaches epic proportions, sucking off your shoes and forming great lumps on the soles. It splashes up your pants and just a tiny amount  can coat the entire kitchen floor. I keep a pair of old too big shoes for the yard and just peel off the layers once in awhile. I have some pants I wear for gardening - I suppose they are my Play Pants - the older  I get the more my childhood comes back. But that's OK - because I am only reliving the good parts.

Settling In

We have survived the first week well - it was different adopting a full grown adult - we've dealt with Cat Envy, darting off, etc.. We're working very hard on the command "come" - we're getting there. Trust is a big part of that so it  will come in time. The weather has been beautiful this weekend so we've been out a lot in the yard, she very much enjoys horsing around with Reuben - they get along well,flying around the yard like a pair of whirling dervishes. Poor David has been having an awful week - he has that upper respiratory that hangs on forever. He's been to the doctor and got antibiotics but after a full night up with him hacking and coughing I went back to the best thing ever invented. A vaporizer, Vick's and the Tylenol version of NyQuil. We hadn't had to use the vaporizer recently but when we finally located it - ick! Out it went and a new one was bought. I love vaporizers, David slept soundly the next night with no coughing at all. Adam is off today on college orientation, he starts tomorrow. We heard from a couple of his friends that his references were checked so hopefully that will be resolved too. But he can always put in for jobs in PA since the job he was interviewed for was in WV and he was accepted to the college in PA - isn't that way things always seem to happen? I'm working on the second sock this week, the first one came out pretty good. After that I'm not sure what I'll be working on, with the spring like weather I'm thinking of cotton rather than wool I must admit. Oh the weather has been insanely wonderful - sunny, warm with a little breeze - whee!! The bad part of course is this is just a mid-winter tease. We're all dorking around in sweaters and little jackets with no hats, peering at my turned garden, looking at seeds in Walmart, and by next week WHACK. The temperature will drop and spring will be that much further away - I love these days midwinter but I hate that it makes the days til the real thing rolls around seem that much out of reach.

Molly.

 We are getting used to Molly and she's getting used to us. Is it perfect? Of course not -she's a rescue dog from a volume breeder. She's been caged, not fed, not given water and no socialization - but her foster family did an amazing job with her and we will continue what they started. But she is obsessed with the cats and we are already disciplining her not to chase them - or worse. David has been employing The Hat which is the most bizarre thing and works with all of our V's. You take a hat, say NO and sort of shake it at the offending party - everyone will do whatever to get away from The Hat. Because it's a non aggressive thing everyone also recovers very quickly from The Hat and goes right back to it. Eventually it sinks in and the offending party stops doing what ever it that was offensive in the first place as it becomes too much trouble. We have been keeping Molly on the leash until we know she'll come back to us - we've got our phone number and address on her collar in the event the unthinkable happens. But she's already responding to commands and seems to very much like keeping company with Reuben - they are a Gang Of Two at this point. We've had a few frolics around the house at high speed and the cat is  not all Molly's fault - someone has been instigating and I won't point any paws! They did the crates downstairs for the first time today, David will be finishing work early for a few days - we have a room downstairs that will be theirs during the day once we know they will behave with each other - we can start on a weekend so they can have it for a couple of hours to see how they do. There are a few quirks, for some reason Molly will not let me put the leash on her - David can do it and I can walk her on the leash with no problem and she'll even come for me to take it off - I have no idea why but it's not a huge issue at this point. At night they have the run of the house since there's nothing really for them to get into, they manage to sneak into Adam's room and bunk in with him - he's been around  the breed  since birth so he just sighs and makes sure he gets a pillow. As you can see we are very much enjoying her. In other news Adam starts the local college next week, the University completed his background check so he's being considered for the job he interviewed for and he was out to dinner with someone he met so things are starting to fall into place for him. We are still recovering from the vacation - I was pretty mad at Subaru the other day. When were coming back from Lancaster 8 miles from the house I ran over something and blew out my front tire. Arrgh! The only hilarious thing was we broke down right across from a gas station with the nicest guy. He changed it quick and didn't ask for anything - I paid him of course but how nice. David called Subaru - and they not only didn't carry their own tires, but had no idea where I could get one. I was like are you kidding??? They said they could order one and it would take 3 days for it to get here - since I'm on the road all the time I certainly can't be running around on a doughnut. Cut to the chase THEY had to drive up to Pittsburgh to get one and David had the oil changed while he was there. But can believe it? How can you sell a car and then not know where to find the tires? Just when you think you've seen it all - you see something more!

The Times They Are A Changing......

Ever since December the crap has been hitting the fan, we've been running on quick sand, name it, it's happened. Not all bad mind you - just drastic shifts in our tiny world. We left for Janet and Diane's with Brandi, Jackson, Adam and me on Thursday after Adam's interview. We got to their house about 6 pm, just in time for dinner. The next day up and out the door to Ray's in NJ for the day. My map quest and GPS said 2.3 hours however neglected to mention that was according to Post Apocalyptical driving time where everyone else is dead or too zombified to drive - unfortunately in real time it was more like 3.5 hours. Each way. But it was very much worth it to see Ray and go out to eat with him. We had a ball and after we did the book store, then back to Ray's for tea. Getting back was a nightmare as we managed to hit rush hours and the GPS went to the dark side and made sure I hit every jammed road. I was a super crabby pants about the whole thing but we survived. Janet and Diane held dinner and we did tacos and tv - all was right in my world again. Saturday we bothered the amish, we peeked at their quaintly selves and bought doo-dads, We ate at Good and Plenty which I was very excited about - I've been to the bakery but have never hit the big leagues- upstairs in the Farmhouse Dining Room. They seat you at big tables and if more people come they sit at your table too. It's family style so you can have seconds  and thirds if you like. I ate shoo fly pie - I ate a big piece and then secretly wanted to eat another but didn't as I would have barfed. I was a little full. We did a little more sight seeing and peeping, then back home. Brandi was having a good time since this is her first east coast trip - I was glad everything worked out so well for their first trip. Diane did appetizers for dinner and since everyone was in a Pennsylvania Dutch frame of mind Janet had an Amish Mafia marathon, four hours. They have a mennonite as an enforcer - it's a very silly show and not too believable but we had a great time watching Lebonon Levi wielding his amish powers. Sunday morning Adam and I headed out leaving Jackson and Brandi to visit til Monday when their flight left. I had things to do and I know The Aunts enjoy some alone time with the kids. While we were heading home David was heading for Ohio to get our new dog, Molly from her foster family. I know it's hard for them to give her up - I have no idea how fosters do that - but I'm very greatful that they did. Molly was very skittish when she got here but has relaxed a lot over the past day much to the cat's dismay. We know it's a huge adjustment for her, there's no way to tell a dog what's going on and we know how scared she is which is why we waited until all the guests were gone and holidays were over to go get her. But she's doing very well and I look forward to the warmer weather. I still miss Pearl dreadfully, when I took a picture of Molly that looked like her I wept when I saw it - grief is the only emotion that can blindside you so well. But it's not as bad as it was, time tends to soften the blow. And I'm so glad we have Molly now.

Horse Shoes and Hand Grenades.

Today has been a day of almosts and near misses. I got a call from my glaucoma doctor wanting to see me in the office today as they had gotten my message about the swelling over the weekend. I went in because although I didn't think there would be a problem when it comes to things like your sight, you can never be too careful. The news was good - he had no idea why the area around my eye had swelled but didn't think it had anything to do with the previous surgeries. He tested both my eyes and good news! - the pressure is down in both of them so he was very pleased and I was very relieved. So it was a pretty quick visit all in and all - I was on my way back home late morning. Then my car started making a noise. Between the front wheels. sigh. Since we are  up and running off to the Mother Land (heading to my sister's and NJ) tomorrow of course it was a issue. I called my dealer and they said to bring it in at 12:30 or so. I had enough time to go home, tell everyone to get dressed and back out the door again - and of course, it stopped making the noise. The mechanic met me in service and took it for a ride, no problem. He said this time of year getting a pebble stuck which will make that noise is not usual so the car was fine and back home again. We didn't do too much while Jackson and Brandi were here with the holidays, me working, and other sundry items but we did get some time to play in. I took them over to see the Bruceton Mills house which is coming along, hopefully it will be up and running in a couple weeks, then we did the bookshop and then off to the Chinese buffet. Adam chose to stay home, he just wanted a little time alone. After we get back on Sunday if all goes according to plan our new dog Molly will be here, I am off on Monday to make sure she gets settled in alright. So 2013 is stuttering in, but will be picking up speed soon we hope.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe I haven't blogged for almost two weeks - that must be a record. Anyhoo my resolutions remain the same:

Knit as much as humanly possible
Buys as much yarn as I can stuff into the house
Drink a lot of coffee

I like to make them do-able. In other news  Jackson and Brandi are here for the week, we are really enjoying having them both here. Brandi is from California so this is her first snow, and her second. And her third. But she's liking it - Reuben has appointed himself The Host and as part of his duties, he sleeps with the guests. Brandi has a dog of her own so it doesn't bother her I hope.We had a nice dinner when they got there and a birthday cake for Jackson who turns 23 this year.  Adam is having a good time hanging out with them over this winter break. I have taken some time off so I have a week to hang out. I'm in the midst of knitting socks - I have one about 3/4 done and of course I'm obsessed with my new Kobo. For Christmas I took a little over a hundred dollars and downloaded ebooks onto to my library. Adam inherited my old one so he's been busy reading too - we share some of the same reading preferences so it will be awhile before he needs to buy anything. He's getting organized for college, it will be a race to the finish I think. Since he only had a few weeks to get signed up we have been frantically getting transcripts, looking for vaccine records,etc... we're heading to Janet and Diane's on Thursday, will be seeing Ray on Friday, Philly on Sat, home on Sunday and hopefully the new dog home on Monday. I'll need a vacation from my vacation! I had a little  bit of a to-do with my eyes over the weekend and found myself in the walk in clinic - I woke up with slight swelling around one eye but no vision disturbances. They suggested I do a couple more days with drops and that seems to have resolved it, but it's a little nerve wracking when it comes to your vision, you know? We did the mall the other day and of course Brandi was taken to Gabriel Brothers, that is like the funnest store you can shop at. I got a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for TWO dollars, can't beat that, can you?