RAIN

I know I'm shouting! We had wetness from the sky.
As I was driving to town yesterday morning, I heard this noise like gravel hitting my car. What is this sound? Then I saw the raindrops hit the windshield. It had been so long I'd forgotten the sound of it all.
I drove another mile and by then had moved out from under that one small, lonely cloud. The air smelled great, for just a moment. Then it was done. I never even used the wipers.
Someday it will rain again, for real, I'm sure.

Beating on the walls, #2

Yesterday I wrote about taking out a section of wall someone had put into the house before we bought this property. It divided the main part of the garage from the end that's used as wash area.
We liked what we had done, taking out a couple of feet of wall.
We mulled the project over for a day and came up with another plan yet. I checked up in the rafters to make sure the ceiling would not fall down. ( I found a couple of junk items and a few things to donate there as well.) Our handyman has a job to do here on Monday, we will ask him to secure one electric wire that we left dangling with the outlet attached.
Today we took out the last seven feet of wall and opened it all up.
The results are simply excellent, indeed!
Why, oh why had we never thought to do this before?
Many of the walls in the garage are already painted white, so that will make the completion of this project much simpler. We still have to move some shelves, restock them.
We have a pile of building debris, we were dusty, We are so happy with this job.

Hanging Out

Alani likes to hang out when I sit on the patio. The princess doesn't lay on the ground, she uses the furniture like the rest of her pack does.

Beating on Walls

The washroom is in dire need of a face lift. It's been more than twenty years since we painted it that startling yellow.
Last evening Michelle was picking at the brittle Japanese Garden, wall paper that still clung to the washroom wall. Very soon the wall was stripped and we were discussing what we could do to update the space. We pulled the shelves and hardware off.
We discussed patching the walls and giving them a fresh coat of paint.Than the proverbial light bulb came on. I decided to demolish part of the wall to the garage. We'd had a three foot wide opening with a header. Now we have a five foot wide opening clear up to the ceiling.
As it was, the handyman had been here and we asked for his input.
Michelle pulled the studs, all that remains of the demolition are a few nail ends to be cut off.
I think we will paint the space white.

Not Ready

Michelle and I went out to lunch on Wednesday. It was her treat so she was in charge of the activities.
She said I needed to begin the search for a new dog. We stopped at the local animal shelter to check out the dogs. Not surprisingly there is a large offering of pit bulls, and a number of other larger dogs. Some of those dogs are downright scary. They had a few pups, none really looked to be a good fit for me. There were some golden retrievers, but they really are a larger dog than I want in the house, although I like their personality.
The nice thing about a little dog is that I can carry his monthly food bag in one hand. The output is not a chore to pick up, and he can be bathed in a basin. Also important is that their bark is just as loud.
I'm glad we went, but I'm just not ready for a new dog.

The Fountains

The Fountains is an upscale shopping area in Roseville, California. By upscale I mean the ambiance is very pleasant and the prices in the shops are high as well. This central fountain, one of several water features, has an ever changing pattern,reminding me of the display at the Bellagio in 'Vegas, just not so elaborate. (Nothing beats 'Vegas!)
Since I'm recovering from foot surgery I've been somewhat stifled in my activities and I'm living on memories of the big exciting world.
So, there you have it. Visit the lovely, expensive, exclusive Foutains!

Pond Maintainance

It's pretty easy taking care of this pond. Every couple of months I put in some biological product that keeps the water balanced. I rarely check it anymore. The fish and plants are happy and the water is mostly clear-ish.
One end of the six hundred gallon tank is thick with an assortment of plants and only about three feet deep.
The other end is deeper, colder and has a stone shelf under which the fish can hide.
Today is the day I need to get out there, switch off the pump, pull the heavy filter out of the water and clean out the components. It's not a bad job if you like to play in water, and I do.
It's another story though in the winter when the water is very cold. At least twice every winter I end up cleaning it.
Today, however, I'll enjoy it since it's toasty out there.

Doggie Jail

The folding dog kennel was a good investment. We use it to block the dogs out of areas as needed. We fold them up when the girls are free to roam.
This evening Alani put herself in solitary confinement.
The reason became clear in short order. She was trying to flush out the little tree frogs that find refuge under the log. She pursues them with great enthusiasm.
It's clear she has become comfortable with the kennel.