In It For The Long Haul

Our bazillionth anniversary is coming up in a few weeks - not sure but I know we're coming up on the 40th mark in the next couple of years. When you tell people that you're with the same person you met at  19 you get looked at like you just pulled a unicorn out of your ass or something. It DOES still happen - my sister and her wife are coming up on 30 years, John and his wife Carleen are coming up on the big 30,Kim and Steve were married the year before us, it is possible. Most people will follow up the unicorn-out-of-your-ass-look by wondering aloud how you could stay with the same person for that long. It's not easy - but the interesting thing is you aren't staying with the same person, everyone changes over the years and the trick is not so much staying as it is adjusting. Because we all change, don't we? I was a cake decorator, David was a lobster fisherman. I opened scallops, he cleaned a school. He was a landscaper, I was a CNA at a nursing home, I was a student, he did shingles. I became an RN, he became a houseflipper. We had two kids six years apart which was interesting because they were only children for a period of time - Adam for the first 6 years, Jackson for the last 6 years. We have been through cats, dogs, been broke, been solid, cars, boats, houses, floods, jobs. 

But it's fun too. The other morning David was complaining about his insomnia AGAIN, so I told him to tell the doctor not me and as usual he told me he would kill me if I said that one more time. This lead to a somewhat lengthy discussion as to who would win in a hand to hand combat fight to death using the household item of our choice. He said he would use the big knife from the block in the kitchen but I said I'd use the extra large frying pan (it's not heavy but I thought it would cover a lot of ground) so it would be super hard to get close enough to stab me repeatedly. And yes, this was an actual conversation, not the first and certainly not the last. We do tend to laugh hysterically at the same things - the dog having toxic gas, bad haircuts, you know the stuff. We support each other - sometime assuring the other one it's ok to feel like that or to take the day off - you do know it, but sometimes it helps to have someone else say it out loud, doesn't it?

We do bicker and argue, cries of You Don't Appreciate Me! are occasionally voiced but for the most part we have down pat. We deepclean the house together every week or so - David does the lawn mowing, the dishes, house repairs. I tend to be in charge of the electronics - he can but some of it is just hard. We have ereaders and I'm in charge of Book Selection, buying and downloading - since I'm a voracious reader I know all the authors and it's easier for me to pick out David's next reading adventure. And no I don't mind because it doubles the books for me to read. He's currently addicted to David Baldacci who writes military spy government secret mission for the president books, it's nice to have a hobby you can share. And we support each other in the ones we don't - I knit, David hunts. We like the quiet, we live rural and we're both in agreement about that. 

We've had a good run, haven't we?

I Never Smelt So Good.

Smelt is a BIG deal out here, it's like the Black Friday of fish. The smelt run around the end of February and everyone is ready for it. I was working out in Castle Rock today (yes I want to live there just so I can tell people I live in Castle Rock!!) and the road I take runs along the river. Since I'm Sea-Lion obsessed my boss had suggested I check out the river banks on my way because when there's Smelt there's Sealions. Now, I drive up and down this road quite frequently so imagine my surprise to see this normally quiet little road lined with cars from one end to the other!! Whole families, teens, toddlers,people with cameras and tons with nets and buckets. Because that is how you catch smelt. All you need is a large fish net and a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket and you're in business. I've seen the seagulls circling the river for a few days and realized that the large schools of smelts is the attraction. 

But what I wanted to see was not stink-o-la smelt, no siree bob, I wanted to see those blubbery giants - where were they? I stopped at the park on the river first but no sealions - I asked the group standing next to me (FYI - if you move to Lands Unknown always start a conversation about where you moved from, excellent icebreaker). I was directed back to large berm about a mile back. So back in the car I went and arrived back at the berm, parking was tight! At first I was disappointed but then......

Sea lions are so loud! They bark constantly as they paddle along and you can see they're very proud they can make such big noises. I'm sure if I was a sea lion I would do it too, but that is one of the reasons people around here are not Sealion fans . People that live near where they like to hang out complain that they never shut up and they break docks since that is the favorite place to sun. While I was standing I started a conversation with the people in the pickup truck behind me - they were commercial fishermen. I told them I was from LI and it was an interesting conversation about nets and fishing. He told me in Alaska when they pull the nets they're often filled with fish and seals eating the fish! The sealions are the enemy of the locals, because they actually follow them(They follow the smelt, not the locals). The smelt migrate  up and down the coast to San Diego and the sea lions migrate right along with them, I guess you could call it fast food.....

I'm glad I'm not a smelt having to go around looking all tasty and stuff all the time. That would be annoying. You can see where they are, when there's a large school the water starts looking like it's boiling. The seagulls can't actually see them but they wait til a few surface before they pounce. I didn't see the smelt itself but will leave that for another day, there's only so much excitement one can take in a day!

Visit.

One of the fun things about being a government employee is you get a lot of  time off. Did you know I get ELEVEN holidays? Plus vacation, sick, personal time? So four days weekends are not that hard to come by anymore. Plus I can do ten hour days - not bad, you just don't burn up vacation too fast. Since I had a four day I took some PT for Thursday and was able to leave early, we hit Port Townsend around 3 or so, the ferry reservation wasn't til 6:30. I arranged it that way so we could doodle around, it's just a beautiful old harbor town with a side of touristy thrown in. We ate at the Bayside Cafe, David's favorite and he is still not braving the Alaskan Salmon- he thinks about it though. I of course hit the yarn store and if you're wondering - there are a lot of yarn stores around, there are just not a lot of GOOD yarn stores. But the one in Port Townsend I love, it's pretty big and they have a great selection. I only bought one skein of yarn, but did buy four large Our Lady of Guadalupe applicaes because they were so funky. I am an atheist through and through but I love religious art. After I walked on the public docks and saw a seal up close but had a hard time getting any sort of picture, it was diving alot. We thought about trying to get the ferry a little earlier but the guy said it was super packed and we should keep the reservation we had. No matter, the ride is only half an hour and the drive to Brandi and the girls is about 10 minutes from there.

The girls are so fun now! They're almost completely potty trained and make loud announcements when out in public. Chloe amused the restaurant by waving down our waitress at the other end and shouting HEY! I PEED IN YOUR POTTY!. They're very 3 going on 4, they have fits over everything - it's amusing til the end of the day then Nana is like WHATNOW?? it can be anything from they suddenly don't like thier socks to my favorite - Chloe sobbing because Delilah said No. She didn't say it for any particular reason, just marched up to her sister, said it and left. And yeah, they do get into it. We took them to their first dental appointment which went fairly well. The appointments are really just to get them comfortable with going, I had to laugh when the hygenist invited Chloe to watch and she came over and just about stuck her head in Delilah's mouth so she could see better. But you can take them out places now for longer than 10 minutes and they chat up a storm. 

We headed back Monday morning, picked up the dogs around 1 and then headed home- which everyone was glad to be in. There really is no place like home, is there? I enjoy vacationing and visiting but you know - you come in and turn the heat up, start the wash, greet the cat, tv on, feet up, dinner is served. Work the next day - I sometimes have a hard time with that. For years we've always had to travel far so I always made sure I had a day inbetween coming home and going to work, I needed it. We would need to get the pets, shop for food since we were usually gone a week and a half - or more, etc... but now it's a four and a half hour drive- and that includes the ferry so we can now take a lot of mini vacations. In May we are planning on driving down the coast for a weekend with Kim and Steve to see how the other half lives, I cannot wait!

Start To Finish

The fun thing about Facebook is the cat and dog videos, the memes, so cute puppies and kittens! But then there's the other side - the lost, the abandoned, the abused. I think what really breaks my heart the most though is the senior dogs and cats left to fend for themselves or given up to shelters because they're work now, they cost money, they are old. Who the hell are these people?  The idea of walking away as your pet sits watching you go, not fully realizing what is going on....How do they live with themselves? I cannot imagine. 

David and I have always believed that when you adopt an animal its a lifelong commitment - that's not to say we have never rehomed an animal because we could not care for it - we rehomed a dog because it was aggressive towards children, a puppy that just kept getting away from us - but they got new homes, we did not just put them out. And that's ok in my book, not every relationship works out no matter how hard you try and making the decision to find a new and often better home is fulfilling your commitment to keep your charge safe. But everyone else - start to finish. Because your pets make a commitment to you too, don't they? They go out with you, they hunt, hike, walk and just hang out. When you're grieving they are your steadfast friends that absorb all those tears into themselves, sitting patiently while  you hang on to them - my dogs have often been my rock. There have been times in my life when I've grieved so hard I could feel myself coming apart, only to have my dog curl up behind me, laying thier head on shoulder - being strong until I could be again. My cats and dogs have been my companions in strange towns, strange houses, strange places. Exploring the woods and lanes with me - how much more fun with an excited companion!

And I have returned the favor - when Charger's arthritis became so bad the medication no longer worked and we had to have him put down, he had to sleep in the foyer because he could not get up the stairs. I dragged down blankets and spent his last night on earth curled up on the floor with him. Mr. Lee spent her last day before going to Kitty heaven lap sitting, Jackson and I holding her as the vet gently put her to sleep. Copper - we stayed home with him, he spent the day feasting on hotdogs and ice cream, visiting with those he loved and we sent him off with all the love he could take with him. Pearl I have spoken of many times - those two pictures are when we got her and when  we let her go. Molly and Rueben are starting to hit the old folks part of thier lives, Molly is lumps and bumps, Reuben is turning white. They are slowing down a bit, but the nice thing about this breed is they stay silly right up to the end. Molly still wages war with the mop and David, Rueben points the cows. They expect cheese and toast if you're having and we have very much relaxed on some of the rules. To us this is just one more phase of life, different from puppyhood, past thier prime but just as much fun in a different way. They love to snuggle, interested in everything from cleaning the bathroom to getting the mail. Outside is checking the garage everytime because they once smelled something that might have been exciting. It takes them a little longer to get going, we go out to potty more often, long walks often make them stiff the next day, but we love them more everyday. Everyday to them still is an adventure, they leap out of bed each day to greet the day, life is to be lived for them - and I cannot imagine not being along for the whole ride.

Net A-Flix-tion

David and I gave up cable years ago, we'd debated it for awhile since like everyone in our age group we had ALWAYS had cable. But it had gotten very expensive and the one thing we noticed was even if we had over 300 channels, at the end of the day we just watched four on a regular basis. In reality  more than half of those channels were pure crap - infomercials, religious channels, etc... they just tell you all those channels to make it sound like you're getting a bargain. One of our first visits to Jackson and Brandi changed our minds - they had Net Flix and YouTube - no cable! It was different, a bit unwieldy at times - instead of a channel guide you have to navigate through genres, not everything you watch is there, some of it is just plain weird. Have never wanted to watch a Korean Rom-com series and there is a ton of stuff from Indonesia, India, etc.....some of which just does not translate well. But someone must be watching it or it wouldn't be on there.

We had to play around with it a bit - Net Flix of course, Hulu for the other TV shows, and Amazon Prime seems to cover it all. I found you could buy just a channel and I subscribed to CBS for a the last two seasons of The Big Bang Theory. Or you can buy the DVD series and then  just subscribe for a couple of months - I got Game Of Thrones for my birthday which covered seasons one through seven - David was more addicted than I was! - and then we did HBO for a couple of months to finish out the series. I did the same with True Blood but in reverse - I watched season one through five on Netflix and then bought the final two seasons on DVD. I got a trial of Showtime free for two months but cancelled it after the first week, I am not paying an extra ten a month as 90% of their line up was just tired old crap I can watch anywhere else. I watched two movies and then retired it. It's a little extra work but we save a ton of money, the internet is only $40, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon video (which is included in your Prime account so it doesn't cost) comes to about an extra $20 - since we no longer have a land line our total  cost for internet and  television is $60 a month. 

The downside? Ugh, Binge watching. It's unavoidable - I actually have the same problem with my ereader since you can buy an entire books series at once. On regular TV series are weekly, so you've got to wait each week to see your show. On the internet  it's like the Golden Corral Buffet and you've got your big pants on. All the time. You can find a series and watch it til you're drooling, eyes glazed over. We started watching Supernatural - neither of us had ever seen it but after the first couple of episodes we were hooked. We ripped through years of shows in mere weeks, on the weekend we could do a month of shows in one sitting because there's no commercials either - the shows are 40 minutes as opposed to 60. Then you hit the wall, Sam and Dean have been resurrected 10 times, kidnapped, possessed, beaten, chased, amnesia.....Series One, Series Two, Series Three... it begins to lose it's novelty, not again with the Resurrection Glow Treatment. Then it's work, you are just trying to get to the end of it. Then you get to the end of it, feeling somewhat accomplished - and now you have nothing to do. So I've been trying to break it up, watch another program for a little while. I started watching Anne With An E, a remake of Anne of Green Gables which I love.

I watched 4 episodes last night.