Camille took Sherlock to be groomed a couple days ago and it is as if he is a completely different dog. Gone is all the long hair on his ears and back. Almost shaved and so very soft now. The picture just doesn't do him justice but ther really funny thing is that it seems as if he hates the camera. I don't know if it is because of the flash or what but when I try to focus on him he lowers his head as if he were ashamed or being punished.

Flavor Paper

I was listening to "Day to Day" on NPR and the story was about a new product from a company in NOLA that makes scratch and sniff wallpaper. I thought the idea was hilarious. It is super expensive, but think about it. Get done in the bathroom and then go scratch the wall to mask the smell! lol. Of course I'd imagine the scent isn't quite that strong but still, it is quite funny.

When it rains....

Went to the Bungles game on Sunday and they truly lived up to the name. Carson kept thinking that this was an away game and threw to the guys in white jerseys. I had a lot of fun at the game even though we lost. I managed to keep warm for the most part, except for my toes. I'll be going to next weeks game as well and hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to keep my toes warm.

Camille's car broke down the other night while she was driving. She called AAA and they sent someone to give the car a jump. Why they would think that a car that had been running and dies while driving needs a jump is beyond me. So they sent a tow truck. Camille had the car towed before calling to have me pick her up. What gets me is that they would have had the hood open to give it a jumpstart and since that didn't work, they declared that it must be a problem with the alternator. Why they didn't see that there wasn't an alternator belt at all is beyond me and turned a $10 problem into a $150 problem. The only good thing is that while it is in the shop they are fixing a gasket for the oil plug that was causing a small leak. Even though that's $5 part, to replace it you basically need to get an oil change since all the oil is going to come out when you remove the plug.

I didn't wake up in time yesterday to get the Camry to the shop for new tires so hopefully I can manage to get it in sometime soon. The Camry has been having problems lately too. I don't drive it nearly often enough as I'm in the van all day and Don't really care to be back on the road in my time off. Good for mileage though as I've had it 3 years and barely put 15K miles on it. At this rate if it last 200K miles I'll be retired by the time I get rid of it.
Then the company van is having problems too. A couple weeks ago I noticed that one of my rear blinkers/brake lights wasn't working. I had planned on getting this fixed at the next oil change. Today the other one went out. So the only brake light I have is the top rear light and I have no rear blinkers. To top that off, I have a blown fuse somewhere, tracking those suckers down is a pain as more modern cars and fans have one fuse panel inside and another in the engine compartment and it isn't standard from one brand to another as what fuse goes where. It probably isn't as bad as I make it sound but it is just one more straw on my ready to break back.

Cheating at Christmas

Saw this, or rather, I heard it as I walked out of the store today. I've been wanting to comment on how lazy we've become at decorating for the holidays for a while now and finally I have an excuse to do so.

There is a house on a busy street near mine that has something inflatable for every possible holiday. Right now there is an inflatable turkey up, gobbling at all the passers-by in their cars. By the end of next week, I expect we'll see Santa and a few reindeer as well. Valentines will bring a giant teddy bear, Easter will bring a giant rabbit and the ghost and spider just dissappeared after Halloween.

This being our third year in our house, I hope I can get some lights up or something for christmas, nothing this easy or expensive for that matter. I could pay someone to put up lights for me cheaper than I this.

Retiring to Mexico... Maybe Panama!

I can remember as a child being so excited to see the first snowflakes of the year. When I was driving this morning I saw a few and all I could feel was the dread of another cold winter and having to drive in the crap while dealing with all the holiday traffic.

As I deal with the ever increasing problems at work and now the cold weather, I grow ever more fond of the idea of retiring to Central America. I don't know that I ever would because as much as I complain about the cold, Camille complains about the heat. She says she'd love to go live by the beach and that she could deal with the heat by swimming every day but I have my doubts. My second reason would be medical care. I would have to really weigh my options there. How close are the hospitals and how good would my care be. Especially emergency care, and I wonder if I could fly to the US for regular visits? hmmm...

Time flies...

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Vacation has come and gone in a flash. Thanksgiving is almost here already.

I really was so mentally exhausted I didn't even want to write. I hate to bitch all the time and it seemed that that's what my last couple posts had been. I'll try to be a little more upbeat in the future.