DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Monday Grace comes home from school ready to go down for the count. We're thinking it must have been helluva weekend at her mom's house.

Grace has her snack and then hits the family room couch, dog in tow, for some rest. Wifey applies a cold cloth.

Grace is down for the next three hours. That's so unlike her.

Tuesday she stays home with her mom.

Wednesday we're off to buy a boat.

Yesterday . . . Thursday, Grace comes in after school still red eyed but grinning nonetheless. Whatever bug she had was still with her to some degree.

Even though still a bit under the weather, Gracie was still down but definitely not out. She just had to check out the inside of the sailboat. And she just had to bring all of her school books inside of it for homework reading practice.

Grace: Papa? I just love your boat.

Me: I'm glad that it meets your approval. And what if you didn't like it?

Grace . . . blank stare not knowing what else to say...

Me: Well, I guess if you didn't like the sailboat you would not be sailing with your Papa, would you?

Grace . . . blank stare . . . at times she just doesn't know how to take some of my comments.

It's Friday and a long weekend. Enjoy yourselves.

It was a long day Wednesday.

6:15 a.m. leave Cowtown.

11:00 a.m. Arrive boat yard.

5:15 p.m. Leave boat yard for Cowtown.

10:15 p.m. Arrive Cowtown.

This morning I feel like someone has kicked me down a set of stairs.

John, owner of Wind Toys, ran us through the mechanics of rigging the boat. Put it up. Took it down and readied it for the trip back home.

John and I are pictured here during one of the many stages of rigging. John in blue. Bob in purple?!

The dogs waited patiently under a nearby boat getting up only to bark at the occasional visitor.

Zeen, of course, had to have her ball. It was Zoe's birthday and she decided to lounge in bed all day.

There's still work to be done before she's launched. The outboard has to be checked and tuned.

The sails need a good scrubbing.

The topside of the boat should have a good coat of wax.

There's minor cleaning and touching up that we'll do.

It's a lot of work if a boat is to be kept in good condition. We've always made it a point to do just that.

Our new boat will be no exception.

THE DAY HAS COME

Up early and getting ready to drive 250 miles southwest to pick her up. It's been a long time coming.

Should be home late this evening, boat in tow. More pictures tomorrow.

It won't be long until Bob's at this helm and singing, Yo ho ho . . .

ZOE IS 84

Zoe will be 12 years old tomorrow. . . that would be in people years. Translated into dog years the old girl is going to hit 84.

Most say she doesn't look her age. They also say that Zoe doesn't look like a Pomeranian but a pure bred she is.

Born in Canada Zoe was sold off as a young pup to a breeder in California who had her flown from there to here. Once ready for breeding Zoe was flown back to Canada for a little romancing.

Her first litter yielded but one pup which was still born. On the next heat Zoe was again flown back to Canada for breeding . . . racking up more frequent flier miles. The second litter again yielded one pup which survived.

The breeder figured that this dog wasn't worth the flying back and forth for breeding. Couple that very expensive stud costs and Zoe was far from earning her keep in the puppy mill.

After hearing that a breeder wanted to give away Zoe Wifey traveled the distance to pick her up.

Once home it was easy to see that our new dog lacked in social skills. She was timid and often cowered. She fought for food. Could not walk on a leash. Knew not one command. Had no concept of how to play. In short, Zoe was a kennel dog who was neglected.


That has since changed. Zoe is a certified therapy dog who brings a little love and cuddling to those in assisted care facilities, cancer wards, children's burn centers, hospital ICU wards and what have you.

People ask, "What is she?" when they first see our Zoe. I reply, "She's a miniature Mongolian bear".

REALLY?! They exclaim.

I've nicknamed Zoe Pomzilla for when she's really pissed at Zinnia (or Zeenie) who's more than three times her size, she goes after her with a vengeance. Zoe has to be literally pried off poor gentle and indulgent Zeenie. Guess that behavior is left over from having to survive in the puppy mill. When you're a runt who is forced to suck hind tit acting like Pomzilla is an act of survival.

Like any aging being, Zoe visits the her doctor every six months or more for senior wellness checkups. She takes a little something for the tummy trouble that comes on every so often. Last week a respiratory problem placed her on a second medication. Zoe sleeps a lot which they say comes with her age. She's taken to only eating her morning and evening meal from Wifey's hand. All things considered, our girl Zoe remains active, playful and bitchy when it's necessary.

When you're 84 these things happen. Even at this age, Zoe does light up our life.

Happy birthday Zoe!

Thinkin' 'bout the times you drove in my car.
Thinkin' that I might have drove you too far.
And I'm thinkin' 'bout the love that you laid on my table.

I told you not to wander 'round in the dark.
I told you 'bout the swans, that they live in the park.
Then I told you 'bout our kid, now he's married to Mabel.

Yes, I told you that the light goes up and down.
Don't you notice how the wheel goes 'round?
And you better pick yourself up from the ground
Before they bring the curtain down,
Yes, before they bring the curtain down.

Talkin' 'bout a girl that looks quite like you.
She didn't have the time to wait in the queue.
She cried away her life since she fell off the cradle.

If you ever need a ride home here's how to get one . . . .

FRISBEE DOG

Zeenie's learning the fine art of catching a Frisbee. It's not easy you know....a round ball is one thing. Catching a flat object that's round is another. It's all about catching one of the edges of the Frisbee that we're working on.

Damn, that lawn is green!

Zeenie will play catch until the cows come home. We'll play catch and play catch then all of a sudden our girl stops and takes a nap. A few minutes later she's up and ready for more games of catch or chase. Whatta dog.

CAREFREE OR COULD CARE LESS?

Tuesday was the last entry here. Where have I been, I ask myself. Was it that I was carefree and couldn't be bothered with sitting in front of a screen?

Or as I approach 1,000 posts here that I've grown to care less about blogging?

Or was it that my office PC was in the shop and using the laptop was too cumbersome in the blogging process?

All of the above.

But Bob, being Bob, will continue to write here for reasons yet to be known. Bob says the best posts are yet to come. Believe that.

Photos here are of last week's sojourn north and along the Klamath River. Who couldn't resist stopping to capture this moment?



This is going to be a special week for on Wednesday Bob and Wifey take delivery of their Catalina 250. It's really going to happen. No more talk. Bob will soon be sailing the walk.

Bet you thought that I'd never buy that damn boat, didn't you?

Well, I thought so, too.....

HATE THE NAME/LOVE THE BOAT

By now this horrible name for a boat (far right below the rail) - - - Victory 2, has been removed per my instructions and awaits a new name. Just exactly what we'll christen her remains to be seen.

May 20th remains the pickup date. After parking in our drive we will continue to clean it up, replace the floor coverings and add a few other pieces of equipment.

She'll be berthed at Whiskeytown Lake. The link provided here is to a live cam view of a small portion of it. There's link on this page to current weather conditions on the lake. The latter drives me crazy. Yesterday temps on the lake were close to 80 with winds ranging from 8 to 16 mph. That's pretty decent sailing conditions and with no boat to sail . . . well, I go a little crazy.

http://www.whiskeytowncam.com/index.html

Tonight I've decided to sail . . . . . boat or no boat. Sailing this evening is defined as being a filled bathtub complete with a fleet of rubber duckies.

AHOY!

and when the bath water cools?

SHIVER MY TIMBERS!

ARRRR!

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Friday was one of those days . . . a day to remember.

Grace has had training wheels on her bike for what has seemed forever. Yesterday it was high time to take the training wheels off and "girl up" without them.

I got behind Grace, hands on her shoulders while she tipped left and right on the bike as she tried to balance herself. We did this for about 30 minutes - -- me behind Grace to steady her while she pedaled up and down the drive. Then I said, "Your turn to do it by yourself."


It was tippy at first but then it didn't take long before Grace looked like she had always ridden a bike without training wheels. It didn't take long to catch when she:

Tried to run her poor defenseless Papa down all the while giggling hysterically when I'm forced into the shrubs for safety.

Attempting and nearly putting both feet on the handle bars - - "Look, no feet, Papa!"

Up and down the driveway for well over an hour without falling.

Miles and miles of smiles.

Grace is ready for a new bike . . . they say it's time for a 16 inch model. We'll buy one sometime next week.


Grace was so pleased with herself. After months of trying the goal of riding a bike with out training wheels had been met.

She was all smiles. And so were Wifey and Papa.

It was definitely a day to remember.

CAMPING TONIGHT

I'm off this morning for a couple of days headed north to where the 5th wheel is parked. I'll fix the forced air heater. Make a few other repairs. Eat. Drink. Visit a friend who lives locally. Get my chee together.

The delivery of the sailboat will be on May 20th. Longer than I thought for them to get it repaired, painted and cleaned. I've waited this long. What's a couple more days?

Here's a photo of John who owns a Catalina dealership and who I bought my boat from. John owns a Catalina similar to the one just purchased.

A picture of a Catalina with wind in its sails and heeled over gets my blood running. There's nothing like it.

I can't wait. But it looks like I'm going to have to.

MY CHEAP ASS BROTHER

During my sojourn to Santa Rosa to buy the sailboat I stopped by and saw mom.

Meet mom. She's resting in peace.

Younger brother was in charge of the services, the burial and the memorial. Because I lived some distance I didn't have a role here other than to speak, on behalf the family, some words about mom.

Months after the service I visited mom. Each of the memorials in the park were of the size you see on either side of mom.

Knowing that a purchase of a larger memorial would come partially from brother's side of the estate he chose the economy sized version - a size you'll not find anywhere else in the park. One son's tribute to his mother.

When it was time to settle the estate brother argued that I should give him my half since I was set for life, didn't need the money and he did. Ah, brotherly love. Nothing like it. After this request and being the kind, loving person that I am brother heard these words come from me: Go fuck yourself. What are you, nuts? That was definitely a Bob moment.

Since brother has always been an ass and will always be that. I have to say that at least he's remained consistent over the years. You always can count on him to be an ass. Never fails.

Yeah, yeah, mom doesn't know the difference. But the one son who loved her dearly does.

MAJOR MEAT

Wifey had dog training last night so I had a friend over for dinner and to watch the NBA playoffs.

Guys have to eat what a guy has to eat meaning major meat was grilled on the barbecue last night. Here it is in all its glory. Two inch New York steaks. Does an artery good.

Probably not.

Huge salad.

Baked potato.

Corn on the cob.

Meat.

Priceless.

WOULD YOU HAVE GUESSED?

Had this not been tagged with its title would you have guessed what tune this is? It's an intro not often heard.

BTW: If you've not seen Reservoir Dogs and you like major violence, blood and guts, it is for you.

Mine that Bird comes from the back of the pack and scoots down the stretch to the front. As you'll hear, this takes the announcer completely by surprise as he stumbles on calling the name of the horse who passed those in the lead - a 50 to 1 long shot!

What a Cinderella story this is!

Things That Make Me Smile

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

Here we are at our destination just off I-5 in northern California.

We've parked the fifth wheel in this park for the summer as a place to get away and to enjoy new scenery.
Wifey is shown here all happy on Friday and holding her pal Zeenie.

Little did she know. . .

Little did she know that Saturday morning the trailer's forced air heater crapped out. It would blow but it wouldn't burn. Sounds like a thermal coupler.

Since the climate this time of the year can be frosty in the morning (and it was that Saturday) we packed up, left the trailer and drove home. A repair service will fix what ails the heater sometime this week.

Those damn wheels continue to need grease and more grease.

PACKED UP HEADED NORTH

The trailer is packed and ready. I'm ready to get out of town for a bit.

It's raining. So what's a little water?
A couple of cans of Diet Coke for Wifey.

The remaining beverages for Bob.

Back in a couple of days.