Week of Nov. 23 to Nov. 29

Monday, November 23, 2009
It is overcast with some errant flakes of snow being blown about. By afternoon, the sun actually came out and while the high temperature was only 29 degrees, the wind made it feel a lot colder. More snow is predicted for tonight, but then it is supposed to be mostly sunny with the highs reaching 40 degrees on Thanksgiving Day.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I accepted Ray and Rae’s invitation to dine with them, Guy, Mary, and two other single people, so I will have a Thanksgiving dinner after all.
Last night, right after Joe and Michele left, I turned on the water pump and it ran for an extraordinary length of time. I shut it off and discovered that there was no water, so either the line froze or the supply at the creek is totally frozen. I had to resort to my back up containers of water, which I keep for just such occasions.
This morning, I plugged in the heat strip, which I had attached to the water line when I installed it, and left it on hoping it would melt any frozen spots. I changed both filters and tightened the hose clamps at the pump, primed it and then started the pump. The water flowed instantly and I think that the stoppage may have been due to the clamps being a little loose, causing it to suck air instead of water. What a relief to have it fixed, as I didn’t relish the thought of going without running water for the winter.
With having that fixed, I was able to do the dishes and clean the kitchen, and other than working on the computer, that was all I accomplished today. I will now take a nice hot shower and fix myself some dinner.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
It is snowing lightly and is calm this morning. NWS is predicting snow for today and tonight, with partly to mostly sunny until Friday, when snow is again predicted. That may give me the conditions I hoped for so I can rewire the shed and install the big generator.
I have made arrangement to meet Greg in town for lunch today, as I have a 2 PM chiropractor appointment, so I’ll finish my morning coffee and Zack and I will head into town.
Like most trips to town, it took all day. It was snowing fairly heavily when we left at 11 AM, arriving at Greg’s office at 11:50. Greg was ready to go and we drove to Montana City and had lunch. I didn’t know that the café had changed ownership and the menu and food were only mediocre, and in fact, the waitress got my order wrong and never came back to our table to check on us.
Greg and I had a nice visit and we parted when we arrived back at his office, with him heading to show some property and me to get dog food and my mail before going to my chiropractor appointment.
After my appointment, we stopped at Safeway for a prescription, some groceries, and to fill the Jeep and two cans with gas. We head straight home, arriving at dusk. I unloaded and put away all the items, played with Zack, built up the fire, fed the critters and then fixed myself some dinner.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
It is overcast with a light breeze this morning. I can see some blue sky to the east of me and it looks like it is moving this way. It is warmer this morning, as last nights frost had melted from the deck and roof by the time I got up.
If the weather stays this nice, or better, I will go to work on the shed, rewiring and making the adjustments on the generator platform.
By noon, the sky cleared and the sun warmed things up to the mid 40s with only a light breeze, so it was pleasant to be outside. I changed into my work clothes and after playing with Zack, went to work.
By 4:30, I had managed to remove all of the old tarps from the Argo shed and replace them with one large new tarp, secured by numerous batten boards to keep the tarp from flapping in the wind. I also disassembled the generator platform and removed the insulation from the area that I need to rewire for installation of the large generator.
I took three breaks to play with Zack and as the sun disappeared behind the mountain, it started to get really cold, so I stopped, played with Zack one more time and we came in to feed my furry companions. I took a shower and then ate some dinner before relaxing in front of the fire and watching television.

Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving Day
I sent out an e-card earlier, but if you didn’t get one, Happy Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day that we remember our forefather’s and how they came peacefully together with the Native American’s to celebrate the bounty of the land. They all gave thanks for the crops and good fortunes that had been bestowed upon them.
As I prepare to go to a friend’s home and celebrate my thanks, I can’t help but reflect on the past and give thanks for my good health and the things that helped get me to this point in my life. I hope all of you can find plenty of things to give thanks for in your life.
The weather today is about the best it has been in a couple of weeks. It is sunny and clear with a predicted high in the 40s, and no wind. Yesterday was about the same, with the high being 51 degrees and pleasant enough to work outside without a jacket, at least until later in the afternoon.
After my morning coffee and routine, I got dressed, played with Zack and then we headed to Ray and Rae’s for our Thanksgiving Day feast.
Ray and Rae’s home is very nice and they have done a good job of decorating it, but I’d hate to have to dust and clean all of the knick-knacks and things they have on open display.
After being given a complete tour, Guy, Mary and another friend, Glen, arrived. The other party was invited to her son’s for the day, so it was just the six of us for dinner. We all visited while Mary and Rae finished cooking and preparing the feast. When the turkey was done, Ray carved it and all of the dishes were placed on the kitchen island for us to serve ourselves. All of it was delicious and it has been a year since I’ve had a good turkey dinner, so I over ate and when I had finished the slices of pumpkin and pecan pie, I was full.
We ate at about 4 O’clock, so by the time we finished, it was dark. Both Glen and I excused ourselves, thanking the host and hostess, and headed for home. Zack had been invited inside to be with Ray, Rae’s dog and Guy and Mary’s two dogs, but he chose to stay in the car. I had him come in three different times and got him calmed down, but each time he headed to the door and begged to go out, so I let him. It wasn’t terribly cold outside, so he was comfortable enough laying in the driver’s seat of the Jeep.
We got home at a little past six, with the trip taking just over an hour, being almost 50 miles one way. I was glad I went and enjoyed the meal, but was feeling uncomfortably full and glad to be home. I downed an Alka-Seltzer and stirred the fire back to life, fed all the critters and then sat down to try and rid myself of the near explosion feeling in my stomach. I was actually looking forward to bed, knowing I would wake to a better feeling in the morning.

Friday, November 27, 2009
It was overcast and gray with a light breeze when I got up at 8:45, but it soon turned to rain mixed with snow and then alternated through the day with rain, sleet and snow. It never stayed below 32, so the wet snow melted as fast as it landed.
Due to the weather, I stayed in all day and worked on the computer and some art projects I have going. I played with Zack numerous times, while Zoey and Rusty took turns getting individual attention in my lap. Although Zoey still isn’t ready to fully accept Rusty, they did share the couch for a long nap together.
Rusty is still doing fine, but I won’t be convinced he is 100% until at least a week after stopping this latest round of antibiotics. I still have several days’ worth to give him, so we shall see.
Dinner for all and I enjoyed the fire while watching television until bedtime.

Saturday, November 28, 2009
The weather this morning is clear with a very light breeze and in the high 20s to low 30s. I built a fire on the still red-hot coals of last nights fire and then had my coffee while checking my emails.
I worked on some training with Zack, as I need to spend more time challenging his exceptional brain. We reviewed all of the tricks and commands he has already learned and then I tried out a few new ones. A hand shake is something that a lot of people meeting him for the first time try, but I had never worked on that, so we spent some time doing that and he was rewarded with his favorite thing in the world . . . playtime. I also tried challenging him by throwing two of his disc at the same time to see how he would deal with it. At first, he tried to pick both of them up to return but when he couldn’t, he left one and brought the other back to me. I had to make him go retrieve the second one and we repeated this several times without him ever being able to collect and return two at a time.
I also spent some of the day doing research, writing, and working on some of my art projects. The day was too cold, with the wind chill being 21 degrees, to work outside. I played with Zoey and Rusty, using the catnip filled toys hanging from the ceiling beam, but Rusty wasn’t that interested and wandered off, which is when Zoey dove in and chased them.
Rusty is having trouble learning simple commands and I am not sure if it may be due to his possible brain damage or not. I don’t remember Zoey having any trouble learning voice commands for the words; move, stop that, watch out, come here, and other simple commands, but he at least is learning the command “no.” Often times he will stop what he is doing, or about to do, but mostly he just hesitates and then tries it again until I physically stop him.
He hasn’t been playing in his water dish very much and I made it impossible for him to move it, which I think helped. I replaced the clay litter in the downstairs litter box, which he has since used just to pee in, but only added the Feline Pine to the upstairs litter box, as Zoey isn’t use to this new type of litter. They are both using the upstairs litter box more than the downstairs and neither of them have used it for anything but peeing. I think that with time, they will both become accustom to using the new type of litter, and that should eliminate the mess and dried clay litter between Rusty’s toes.
As the day progressed, it tried to snow but didn’t and the wind picked up with gusts to 6 mph, which isn’t too bad. I have kept a fire going all day and the sunroom has remained at 72 degrees and comfortable for all of us.
I will play with Zack one more time before feeding all of them and then I’ll shower and fix myself something to eat as I settle down for the rest of the night.

Sunday, November 29, 2009
The wind picked up during the night and blew continuously, causing me to get up at 2:30 in the morning and shut my bedroom window. The temperature wasn’t that cold, 21 degrees, but with the gusting winds it felt a lot colder. It is supposed to be “partly cloudy” today, but it became overcast by afternoon and the temperature stayed at 32 degrees.
I did my usual computer work, played with Zack, cuddled with Zoey and then Rusty, who had spent the night sleeping with me, had something to eat and then worked on my art work for the remainder of the day.
Tomorrow is supposed to be “partly sunny” with a high of 38 degrees, so I plan on working on the generator platform and wiring for the shed and might even have some time to split some more firewood.
That’s it for this week. I hope your Thanksgiving and week was good.