Are You Kidding Me?-A Rant

Doing business online means that you really don't have that much interaction with the odd or rude customers that you have to deal with in real life retail, but every once in a while you get someone that just manages to irritate you and leave you wishing that the 'contact this seller' button on etsy came with some ground rules. Rules like: please don't ask this seller to do something that you wouldn't ask the cashier at walmart to do. (or maybe they would ask the cashier at walmart because some people apparently have no shame)

Okay, today I get an email from another etsy seller who just loves my stuff but is unemployed right now so could I either give them a discount if they bought a few things or maybe trade my things for something in their shop since they are unemployed and live in Michigan where the economy is so bad right now? Well, first off, I only give discounts for large orders and am not even going to do that anymore so that I can keep my prices affordable, and secondly, I just plain old do not trade, and thirdly, how do you know that I am not unemployed and living in an area with a bad economy too? So, I politely emailed this person back saying I'm sorry, but I'm not able to give discounts or trade, but thanks for your interest in my shop. And I thought that would be the end of that inquiry.

Nope

She emails me back saying 'oh that's to-her spelling not mine-bad. But it looks like you are not hurting for sales, so why bother. And, do you make what you have in your shop?'

Seriously? Why bother giving you a discount because it looks like I am not hurting for sales? So, if I were hurting for sales I would be so desperate for one that I would give you a discount? Really?

So, I emailed her back (after typing up and deleting the angry stuff first) and said that while it may look like I am 'not hurting for sales' I've been on etsy for over 2 1/2 years and have built up my business one sale at a time. My business has dropped by about 50% the past few months in this troubling economy. I offer free shipping, reasonable prices, and free gift boxes, I'm sorry but I just can't offer discounts. And, yes, I make everything in my shop by myself in my home.

Seriously.

Um, no

Another etsy find. This goes with a hand crocheted or knitted or whatever it is mama doll that gives birth. Apparently the doll is intended to teach small children about how the baby gets out of mommy's tummy or something, but I'm sorry, I think most small children would just get totally creeped out.

This little baby doll comes complete with placenta and umbilical cord and it also doubles as Baby Jesus and can be used as a tree ornament. I wonder how many kids will ask if that round red thing is a balloon or ball for Baby Jesus to play with? I know I'd be telling the kids that yes, it's a balloon rather than having to explain what a placenta is.


Wouldn't this be cute as the topper for your birth themed Christmas tree? Add some red glass balls for placentas and red rope garland for umbilical cords and imagine how festive it all would look!

We Are

Those dumb people that let their sprinklers run when it's raining.

We actually had RAIN last night. RAIN! Glorious RAIN! It never rains here, so excuse me if I get a little excited about RAIN!

And, of course, this morning our automatic sprinklers come on to water our already watered from the RAIN yard.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat too much!

We are going out for Thanksgiving Day breakfast tomorrow at Mimi's Cafe-yum yum. If you've never tried their muffins, the buttermilk spice one is especially delicious. I'm having one of those. Then we are going to Keith's brother's for dinner which I am thankful for because that means that I don't have to cook, which I probably wouldn't have done anyway.

We do have a turkey in our freezer, we were shopping at Save Mart last weekend and the cashier says 'would you like a free turkey or turkey breast?' Free? You betcha! We'll take the turkey breast since we don't like the legs anyway, so we have a legless turkey in the freezer. Maybe I'll even cook it one of these days.

And, no, I'm NOT going shopping at 4am on Friday. I was in a walmart on the day after Thanksgiving one year, purely by mistake, and vowed never ever ever to go in any stores the day after Thanksgiving ever ever again. No, thanks!

Winter

It's finally here and I'm really not looking forward to the cold months. Yesterday was the first day of Keith wearing his long underwear to work and me thinking about turning on the heater. We are promised some rain, but I never believe the weather reports until I actually see some wet on the ground. Along with winter comes the famous inland valley killer fog. The fog gets so heavy here that each winter there are numerous 500 car pile ups on the interstate and the schools here have fog delays, where classes start a few hours later in the morning so that the kids can even find the school in the dense fog. I'm talking fog so thick you can't even see the house across the street.

I have nothing else to talk about. Nothing. We are somewhat boring people.

Oddities

I try not to make too much fun of things that I see on etsy, there are plenty of sites that do that already, but...

While checking the newly listed items to see what mine looked like stacked up against the rest, I came across this, this, um...what would you call it? A monstrosity? Something you'd wear while grocery shopping? What is the purpose of this, and would you pay $90.00 for it?

It's made out of repurposed fur, or maybe road kill, I just don't know.


I must admit, this photograph is very artsy and could almost be a painting, but what the heck is that thing on her head? Complete with a unicorn horn.


What looks like hair going down the model's back is actually part of this headdress. And, if you look closely, there appears to be a great deal of underarm hair on this model or maybe that's part of the headdress that got stuck under there, or a really big shadow under her arm.

More on the Chainsaw Massacre

Okay, it wasn't the man who just moved into the house behind us that was wielding the chain saw at 6:30 this morning, but rather the GARDENERS that whoever owns and rents out the house hired that were mutilating the trees at 6:30 this morning with the loudest chain saw I've ever heard.

This is what they left of what once were very large very beautiful very shade giving trees.


Stumps, just stumps.

Ah, The Sweet Sounds of Morning

Birds chirping outside your window and the sun gently rising to wake you from your slumber on a lazy Saturday morning. Getting to sleep in a little and then sipping your morning coffee and contemplating the day ahead. Lovely weekends when life moves a little slower and there are no shrill sounds of alarm clocks to disturb you.

No, just the sound of a CHAIN SAW in the backyard behind you at 6:30AM!!! That has been going on for almost an hour now! Did your tree really need trimming at 6:30AM!?!

The guy that lived behind us with the big loud black dog that we oh so affectionately called Cujo, the same dog that was so bored he would constantly bark, has moved out. We were so happy that we could now open the bedroom window at night and not hear RUFF WOOF RUFF WOOF BARK BARK all night long, but now it seems that we have the Chain Saw Massacre guy living behind us. Sigh...

Strange Noises

This morning I was sitting at the computer (again-it's my morning routine to get my coffee and sit at the computer) and I heard some noises like one of the cats had found some crinkly trash to play with. Curious to see who was playing with what, I got up and checked around the bedroom-no, no cats in here-so I checked in the bathroom-nobody in there. I looked around a little more, didn't see anyone playing, and kind of went 'huh' and back to the computer.

Then I heard it some more-crinkle crinkle crinkle. A sound just like when they find a cellophane wrapper off of something and carry it around the house. So, I got up and checked around some more. No cats in the bedroom and no cats in the bathroom. Mimi and Harri were in the other bedroom sleeping, Bear was in the living room sleeping, as were Lucy and Pepper. What the heck? Who's making that noise?

Back to the computer again, silence for a while, and then more crinkling. From above me. The sound was coming from the vent in the bedroom ceiling. A sound not unlike a rat up in the attic crawlspace. Either that or the crinkling of a fire in the attic crawlspace. No smoke, though, and no flames shooting out of the vent. What is going on here? Do we have creatures in our ceiling?

Wait a minute. I didn't see Buddy when I was counting cat heads. Is Buddy up in the attic crawl space, and if so, how did he get up there?

Well, after remembering about the big hole that Keith cut into the garage ceiling a few years back, I had a clue as to how Buddy got into the attic. I don't remember why Keith cut a hole in the garage ceiling, but do remember something about him falling through said garage ceiling and cutting a second hole where he fell through the ceiling, so there are actually two side by side holes in the garage ceiling. How did Buddy the wonder cat manage to get to the holes in the garage ceiling? Well, in Keith's quest to organize the garage, he put a bunch of climbable stuff and a refrigerator under the holes in the ceiling. So Buddy was able to climb the stuff, jump to the top of the refrigerator and up through the hole in the ceiling.

So, I went to the garage and called for Buddy who soon appeared and jumped back down onto the stuff under the hole, and not wanting him to go back into the attic, where there are all sorts of dangers to kitties, I tempted him into the house with kitty treats and then locked the cat door into the garage.

Whenever the cat door is locked, it drives them all nuts that they can't get into the garage, so I taped some paper over the door, which of course drove them nuts trying to get that paper off of the cat door. They have a habit of running through the house and then slamming through the cat door, so I didn't want anyone to knock themselves sillier than they already are by slamming into the locked cat door. I figured if there was paper over it, they might stop first before slamming.

So, anyway, no rats and no fire, just a cat who's curiosity hasn't killed him yet.

Not Much

going on...sales are slow and people are buying but not paying so I'm waiting on payment for 13 pieces of jewelry-payment that may not come or may, who knows. A lot of sellers get really perturbed by non-payers, but what can you do? I don't get why anyone would buy something on the internet and not follow through and PAY for it, but again, what can you do?

I got up early today, usually I wake up naturally between 6 and 7, but woke up at 4:30 when Keith got up and couldn't go back to sleep, so...I'm up now, maybe I'll get something done today. Not housework, of course, but something. Either that or I'll just mess around on the computer all day.

I did put the sheets in the wash after walking into the bedroom and realizing that it smelled a little funky in there. Maybe I'll even get the sheets back on the bed before tonight! Odd thing about our sheets, I had bought a set of sheets but I can't remember if they were all packaged together or if it was the type where you have to buy each sheet separately, but I finally realized that our sheets are two different shades of beige. So, if they were packaged all together somebody screwed up. If they were separate, it's all my fault. But it took me over 6 months to realize that they were different colors, so, oh, well.

Okay, I'm going to go solder, maybe I'll even clean up in the workroom today because I can't find my glue and have some things I'd like to glue today.

Books Books Books and More Books

I just finished dusting all the books and cleaning the shelves. We have a lot of books. Not only do we have a lot of books on the shelves, but we have a lot of books in our hall closet on the shelves. Lots and lots of books.

Do we read all of these books? Well, at least once and then you have to keep them just in case you want to look at the book again, right?

Recently I cleaned out a whole bunch of books from the hall closet and carted them off to donate to the Goodwill. Bags and bags of books. There are still lots and lots of books. Keith won't let me get rid of any of his books JUST IN CASE. He may need that book on Bigger Muscles in 47 Days again, or that book on Building Codes for 1997, or that book on Uncommon Sense for Parents With Teenagers, just in case we have a teenager pop up from somewhere someday. (I'm tossing the teenager one out right now, he'll never know the difference).

I even threw a few books in the recycle bin only to have Keith ask why I was throwing books away. Well, because, the books were used and came from Goodwill in the first place, and they were BORING books and I didn't like them, and sometimes books should just be recycled into paper to make more books or cereal boxes or whatever instead of taking up space in an already overstuffed bookshelf or closet.

What is it with books and the feeling that they are somehow sacred and we should never throw them away? Because at one time they were sacred and scarce and something to be treasured forever and handed down to your children and your children's children? Maybe, but books are a dime a dozen these days and most of them are really not all that great and they become outdated and obsolete pretty quickly and really do belong in the recycle bin.


Plus they are heavy and unwieldy when you are trying to dust them.

What's That Smell?

The weather has been pleasant here this past week, pleasant enough so that I could open up the windows and let some fresh air in. Mmmm...nice fall breezes wafting through the open windows. Lovely.

Then I went into the work room to do some work and noticed a rather strong poopy smell in the room. Okay, who pooped in the cat box and didn't cover it up? No, nothing in the cat box that smells, did they leave me a little present somewhere else in the room? No, don't see any little piles of kitty poop anywhere, is there something on the bottom of my shoe? Nope, what the heck? Where is that poop smell coming from?

Oh, it's coming from OUTSIDE! The fresh fall breezes are bringing smells of poop from the cows at the dairy farms outside of town. The whole city smells like POOP!! Lovely.

And speaking of smelly things, Keith filled me in on his daughter's party that I wisely decided not to go to. Picture a bunch of twenty something military guys all drinking beer, having farting contests, drinking more beer, pulling down some girls tube top, drinking more beer, punching each other in the crotch, drinking more beer, vomiting up said beer in the back yard, and then drinking more beer until 3am. I guess the party was a huge success! So sorry I missed it!

Is It Really Necessary

To talk on your cell phone about your plans for the evening while doing your business sitting on the toilet in the stall next to me in a public restroom?

Or is that just the latest in multi-tasking?

Randomness

I just saw a cat chasing a little dog down the street. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around.

We are going to start keeping our money under our mattress. We had some money invested in mutual funds-on the advice of our broker-and lost over $2000.00 this past month. Poof. Then after looking at things a little closer we realized that we had lost a total of over $5000.00 this year. Poof again. Now, all the financial experts will tell you to just ride it out and things will turn around, but if I ride it out much longer, our small investment account will just completely disappear. So, I'm closing that account and putting all the money into The Mattress Savings and Loan. (not really-it will get put into the bank.) The silver lining is that we'll get to take a big write off on our taxes, but I'd really just rather have that $5000.00 back.

We got invited to go to Keith's brothers for Thanksgiving! Yay! That means I don't have to cook! Yay! Not that I was planning on cooking anyway! And I asked if we could bring anything and they said no! So I don't even have to bring a dish! Yay!

Oh, and speaking of Thanksgiving, we were shopping at Wal-mart the other night (cat food and toilet paper, the usual staples) and noticed a huge banner on the front of the store. OPEN THANKSGIVING. What the ? I'm sure the Wal-mart employees are just thrilled that they get the opportunity to work on Thanksgiving. And I'm sure that since they are open they have eliminated the paid holiday for Thanksgiving, one of the very few holidays that Wal-mart employees get paid for. Oh, how I miss working there-insert extreme sarcasm here.

The bell ringers are out already, too, I guess they're starting early since they will probably feel the economic pinch just like everyone else. I put a dollar in the bucket at Vons yesterday and you would have thought it was $20.00 from the effusive thanks for being so generous that I got from the bell ringer. She was in such a good mood and so pleasant and happy that I wish it had been $20.00 that I put in there.

And if you are planning on buying gifts from the malls and big stores for the holidays, the news guy says to go ahead and buy now. The stores are already running huge sales because they know it's going to be a bad one this year, so prices are as low as they're going to get! The news guy also said that we'll probably see a bunch more retailers going bankrupt after the holidays. Which in turn will cause more job losses.

Keith went down to Oxnard yesterday to visit with his daughter, so I got the bed all to myself last night. Well, almost all to myself. I left the door to the bedroom open so the cats could come in, but was woken up at 3 am (again) by Buddy chewing on my toes. Okay, Buddy, I know you're somewhat nocturnal, but I'M NOT so quit chewing on my toes! I know you want to play, but I DON'T! GO AWAY!

The Latest Etsy Fad

Keep Calm and Carry On. From what I understand this sentiment originated in England during World War Two advising people to go on about their business while the bombs were falling. For some reason it has become the latest fad and is all over etsy, 22 pages of keep calm stuff right now. I'm really tempted to make some pendants and get in on the dollars rolling in, but I really don't like to follow the crowd that much. However, times are tough and sales are slow, so you just might see some of this in my shop, too. Now you can combine two etsy fads into one and put this on your scrabble tile pendants!

Well, I was trying to upload a picture of one of the many etsy keep calm and carry on things, but somethings up with blogger and it won't let me upload, so...just go to etsy and type in keep calm and carry on and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I guess it's so popular because we are being bombed by bad economic news every day?

I was watching my favorite evening news guy Brian Williams last night and he had a story about how food pantries and meals on wheels are feeling the pinch with empty shelves due to people not donating as much food as usual. They're having to cut back on the food they give to people in need and the meals they deliver to seniors. They showed one woman in her 80's who depends on her daily meal and sometimes doesn't even have enough money to buy a loaf of bread. The other night there was a story about heating costs in the winter. A man in his 80's using his entire social security check to pay his winter heating bills of upwards of $650.00 each month.

On the other hand, there was the story about how some of the bailout money that's been given to the large finance companies has been put aside so that their employees can get their bonuses this year. We're not talking about little bonuses, either, they said that the average bonus was in the one hundred thousand dollar range. One hundred thousand dollars. Think how many meals on wheels or heating bills could be paid with that one hundred thousand dollar bonus that some people will be getting this year. From our tax dollars.

Quick Tip of the Week

Or not...depends on if I ever post another quick tip because I never have before and may not ever again. So this could be quick tip of the month or year or decade for all I know.

I just got out of the shower. Here's how to save time, money, and water all at once. Get yourself over to Target and buy Suave's 2 in 1 shampoo. Shampoo and conditioner all in one. And don't read the directions that say to lather, rinse, repeat. There is no need to wash your hair twice. You probably shouldn't even wash it every day but if I don't I feel greasy. This quick tip will save you money on not buying separate conditioner, time in the shower, and about 5 minutes worth of hot water.

But wait!

Two tips for the price of one. This one only saves time, though.

Sort your laundry when you take it off. We keep 2 laundry baskets in the closet, one for white and one for colored clothes. Put your clothes in the correct basket when you take them off. Or, if I've been too lazy to put the baskets in the closet, or the cats are playing with them or sleeping in them, 2 separate piles on the floor will still work. When laundry day comes around or you run out of clean underwear, your clothes are already sorted and ready to throw in the wash. Of course you still have to remember to put them in the drier. And remove them from the dryer after they're done. And fold and put them away.

Here's One Thing That Bakersfield Does Right!

Veteran's Day.

For many Americans, it's just another day for sales at their favorite store, or if they work for a bank or the government, another paid holiday.

For Bakersfield, it's a day for a parade.

I kind of wanted to go to this parade but didn't have the car to go downtown, but I'm going to go next year for sure. I get very sentimental about stuff like this so I'll go watch next year's parade and probably have a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.

Over one hundred entries were in this year's parade.

I had to borrow this picture from the local paper's website.

From the stories in the paper and the local TV news, people lined the streets downtown to see this parade. Yep, next year I'm going for sure.

There was a story on NBC's nightly news about the Highway of Heroes in Canada that also left me with tears in my eyes:

WHITBY, Ontario - More than 200 people line an overpass above a stretch of Canada's busiest thoroughfare now known as the "Highway of Heroes" to pay final tribute to three soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Veterans, families and firefighters respectfully applaud and wave maple leaf flags as the motorcade passes. The soldiers' families wave back in appreciation.

The ritual is repeated every time a fallen soldier returns to Canada.

On Saturday night, as three bodies moved down the 100-mile-long section of Highway 401 that connects the military base in Trenton, Ontario, to the morgue in Toronto, dozens of bridges along the way were packed with people.

You can read the entire story and see video if you go to msnbc.com and search for highway of heroes.

Stupid Humans in the News-Again

This is one of the top stories in today's news here in Bakersfield. There are a lot of people who live in this area that are not members of Mensa.

Carjacking suspect nabbed after pursuit

A 36-year-old Bakersfield man was arrested late Sunday night on suspicion of carjacking, kidnapping, resisting arrest and felony evading while a second suspect got away.

Israel Rendon was found in the backyard of a home in the 3700 block of Eucalyptus Drive following a pursuit, Kern County sheriff’s deputies reported.

The incident began at about 10:38 p.m. when Isaac Chavez, 22, of Bakersfield reported he and Maricio Gonzalez, 41, were sitting in a Cadillac Escalade when they were approached by two men in the 300 block of Cooley Street in east Bakersfield.

The men demanded $60, but Chavez told them he had no money.

The men got into the vehicle and forced Chavez to drive to his residence in the 3100 block of Occidental Street.

Chavez said one of the men kept reaching into his waist band, indicating he might be armed.

But when they got to Chavez’s home, Chavez went inside and called 911 while the two men drove off with Gonzalez still in the car.

A deputy spotted the Escalade on Oswell Street at Pioneer Drive where he attempted to stop the car.

The car sped off instead and deputies pursued it for about three minutes, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph.

The driver stopped the car in the 300 block of Troy Street where both suspects ran away.

Rendon was arrested a short time later, deputies said.

Okay, first off, if you are going to carjack and kidnap for money DO IT FOR MORE THAN $60.00!! Second, why would you let the guy go inside the house BY HIMSELF? WHERE HE CAN CALL 911? Third, does anyone else think that this might be a drug deal gone bad? The victim owed the perpetrator some money maybe?

All I can say is DUH! These guys just weren't made for a life of crime, I guess.

Shopping for Something to Wear

With the weather getting cooler and winter on it's way, I took stock of what little I have in the way of warm clothes, which was absolutely not much at all. Last winter I wore either one of the 2 very old sweatshirts that I have or one of the 3 denim/flannel shirts that Keith has, and on really cold days I'd put a t-shirt under the denim shirt. Very fashionable.

So, I went to do a little clothes shopping yesterday, which is not something I really enjoy. I get all hot and sweaty trying on the clothes but I didn't not want to try them on, spend a bunch of money, try them on at home, and then have to return them all.

First was Target, since I needed cat food too. Target's big fat girl department is sadly lacking in much of anything these days, it's kind of an afterthought in between the misses and maternity departments. I found one shirt.

Next was Wal-mart, where they have a little more selection, but a very frumpy dumpy selection. What's up with the baby doll tops for big girls? Do the clothing designers think we want more attention drawn to our roly poly bellies? I found one sweater. One of those fake twin set sweater things where it looks like two sweaters but is really only one sweater.

I was a little discouraged at this point. I would like to have a few pieces of clothing that aren't borrowed from Keith and don't look like hillbilly goes to town in her pajama bottom pants and a stained sweatshirt.

Where else to try? And how much money do I want to spend?

We live behind this huge shopping center with Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Petco, Home Depot, Target, Pier One, Cost Plus, Dress Barn, Michaels, Babies R Us, and Kohl's. And a bunch of smaller stores, cell phones, restaurants, fast food, and Starbucks. Everything but a Barnes and Noble. Which I really wish they would put in this shopping center. Anyway, shopping around a little is pretty handy since everything is right there within walking distance if I weren't so lazy. I drove.

I decided to give Kohls a try. I found the fatties department and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of clothes they had that actually looked nice and were somewhat fashionable. Until I looked at the price tags. Yikes! Okay, we're definitely not in Wal-Mart, folks!

I looked around a little and then started seeing SALE signs. Good sale signs, like 40% off and a whole bunch of clearance racks at 70% off. While 40% off on a $50.00 sweater is still a chunk of change, the sweater is a much better quality than the $20.00 Wal-Mart sweater, so maybe it might be a good idea to get a few nicer things that won't look like they came from the Goodwill after a washing or two.

I tried on a bunch of stuff, discarding a bunch of stuff. What I thought was odd was that there was nobody watching the dressing room. And no place to put your discards. Usually I put all the clothes back in the proper place after I try something on, but I was getting really tired of trying on clothes, so I just stuck them on the first available rack. Sorry, Kohls employees, but you really should have a rack right by the dressing room.

So, anyway, I came home with a sweater, fleece top thing, 2 long sleeved tees, and two tops off the 70% rack, everything on sale! But almost everything I bought is grey. So, I'll be wearing a lot of grey this winter.


And an occasional pink or red tee.


Now I need to clean out all the clothes with the sweat stained armpits and put all this stuff away.

Wow!

Fifty years ago in parts of our country there were separate water fountains marked white and colored, like drinking out of the same water fountain as a black person might somehow contaminate you. Black children went to 'separate but equal' schools. If you were black you sat in the back of the bus and never looked a white person in the eye. All white people were 'sir and ma'am' while you were called girl or boy no matter your age. You couldn't eat in the same restaurant as white people.

And then last night we elected a black man as our president. I'm proud to have been one of those votes.

This is the first presidential election that I've ever watched as closely or cared as much about who won. In past years I've pretty much voted for the 'lesser of two evils'-whichever candidate will do the least damage to our country. Politicians were like a used car salesman-not to be trusted and by all means don't believe anything they say.

Last night we watched the returns on TV, as I'm sure most Americans did. I was really impressed with McCain's speech and the smile he kept on his face despite his loss. And then to see the huge crowds that had been waiting for hours to see Obama in that Chicago park.

My first thought upon hearing how long these people had been in the park was 'where did they all go to the bathroom or did they all just show up wearing Depends so they wouldn't lose their place in the crowd?' During Obama's speech they showed Oprah all squished in the crowd of people. I was really surprised that they hadn't set up a special Oprah area for her with like a throne or something for her to sit on-ha ha.

Now that the election is over (finally-whew!) it's going to be interesting to see how Obama does in cleaning up this huge mess our country is in right now.

I just want my TAX BREAK next April as promised!

Finally

We finally have fall here in central California. After a very very very long very very very hot summer, the mornings are cooler and the temperatures are down into the 60's and 70's. Brrrrr.

We even had a little rain this past weekend. No, wait, according to the weather guys, it was the first STORM of the season. Time for everybody to go on STORM WATCH!! Here in California we make a big deal out of a little rain, mainly because IT NEVER RAINS HERE! The last measurable rain we had was way back in May. So, you can see why we get a little excited about a few clouds.

Yes, that is REAL RAIN on the sidewalk!


Hallelujah!

It only lasted for about 30 minutes and then everything dried up again.

Halloween

Was kind of boring. It seemed like about 2/3 of the houses on our street were dark, either nobody home, or they were hiding inside with the lights out. What a bunch of cheap ass party poopers! The turnout of trick or treaters was kind of light, too. We were getting bored sitting outside and wanted to go for a walk, so we gave all the rest of the candy to the last few kids. One of them was about 3 and dressed in a police uniform-so cute! He just stood there with that funny little kid grin on his face while I kept cramming candy into his bag!

Then, later in the evening, our neighbor's teenage daughter came over with a little black halloween kitten that she and her friend had found in a box in the street. 'Please can you take this kitten, my dad won't let me keep it! please please please?!?'

Um, no, we already have six cats.

Cutest little all black kitty about 8 weeks old, very friendly and loving, but with six cats already we just couldn't do it. We put it in the bathroom for the night with some food and water and tried not to let the other cats see it and get all freaked out, but they knew something was up. At one point we had three cats all huddled by the bathroom door trying to look under it and see what the heck was in there.

So, in the morning we went over to the SPCA, but they are full so they couldn't take the kitten, and the only other alternative was the pound. All the way there Keith and I discussed keeping it, but with all the kitten shots and deworming and vet bills and stress on the six cats we already have, we just couldn't do it. Cute as the kitten was, we just couldn't keep it.

Sad alternative, but all we can do is hope that maybe someone is looking for a little black kitty to adopt and will find their way to the pound and pick out this kitty. Not very likely, but like I told Keith, much as we'd like to we just can't rescue all the little kitties out there.