Oreo, the floppy-earred chihuahua

Meet Oreo, sometimes known as O-dog, our chihuahua. She's only about 6-1/2; don't let the white face fool you. She's just prematurely gray. She's quite special - for instance, she does a very convincing imitation of roadkill, as you can see.

She also has floppy-ears, which takes the edge off the chihuahua look, and we find it very endearing. When she was a puppy, they told us the ears would eventually stand up, and for a while, the fold in each ear worked it's way up, until there was just a little flap folded over at the top. Then, it was like the effort was just too much, and both ears flopped over big-time and have been that way ever since.

In the past couple of years, she has developed an interesting tongue feature - it often hangs WAY out the left side of her mouth when her mouth is closed, even when she's sleeping.

She's extremely friendly, which surprises people who think chihuahuas are mean. The only time she's gets testy is when the other pets crowd her at her food dish or on the sofa... I totally understand; I'm the same way myself :o)

Thermostat Wars

Here's an equation for you:

1 post-menopausal woman who's carrying around a little more weight than she'd like +

1 man on medication to lower his blood pressure and slow his heart rate = PERPETUAL THERMOSTAT WARS!!

I never thought it would happen to us. I used to shake my head at the bickering between my parents over turning the A/C up or down. "Wow, it's so great that we both like the house at the same temperature - we're just so compatible," I'd think to myself.

And then, a few years ago, it changed - I morphed into this woman who seemed to be constantly overheated. I've been known to throw a pair of jeans into the fridge just to tolerate putting on long pants. About the same time, hubby started heart meds which made it harder for him to stay warm. It's a pretty common sight at our house to see me sitting on the sofa sweating in a T-shirt and shorts, while he's bundled up in quilts like Nanook of the North.

A few days ago, hubs asked for a Hershey's kiss from the candy bag on the counter. I passed him one, and when he popped it into his mouth, he casually asked, "Why is the candy soft?" "Because - it's - so - HOT - in - here!" I practically shouted.

Maybe when we build our house here, we can incorporate some little custom environmental zones - a hot spot for him, and a cold one for me :o)

Footing the bill

Recent foot problems and a trip to the chiropractor led to an unusual (for me) purchase - a pair of Skecher Shape Ups. It was unusual for a couple of reasons - ordinarily I would never consider spending $80 on a pair of sneakers. However, the inability to walk without pain can drive you to do strange things. Second, I wouldn't normally buy a shoe where the sole is shaped like the bottom of a rocking chair. But, what the heck, at that point in time, I would have given shoes with Hovercraft abilities a try.

I have to admit, they took some getting used to. I had to endure the snickers of my family as they watched me try to stand still on these things, but instead, swayed to and fro, trying to find my balance. I had the misfortune of stepping in doggie poo once, and as you can surmise by looking at the treads on the sole, cleanup was no fun.

After I had gotten over the sticker shock somewhat, the chiropractor threw a curve ball my way.

"You know, you'll only be wearing these shoes for about 6 months, 'til your feet get back to normal. Then you'll switch to a "maintenance" shoe with a different shaped sole."

"No, I won't...I just spent $80 on these shoes - I want to be buried in them." Well, I didn't say that, but that's what I was thinking.

I will say that, after a few weeks of wearing the Skechers, I am a convert. My feet feel great, and I don't even wobble around on them anymore. Hmmm, do you think if the chiropractor said they were medically necessary, they would be tax deductible? I'll have to check into that. Hubby also wants a doctor to tell him that an 18' Sea Ray 185 Sport is medically necessary to reduce his stress...guess I'll have to check into that, too :o)

Shoveling Seagrass

We like to go up occasionally to our lot in Tarpon Springs and hang out, dreaming of the day we'll build our house there. (Yes, we're pretty boring people.) Low tide exposes a beautiful little sandy beach and the sunsets are spectacular.

A few months ago, we noticed sea grass washing up on the beach. As the weeks went by, more and more sea grass washed up until it created a thick, slippery mass of sea grass that made it just about impossible to wade out in the water. After a little research, I discovered that it's a natural annual phenomenon, which essentially turns your shoreline into a big compost pile.

We decided to reclaim our little sandy beach. We purchased a pitchfork and tarp at Home Depot and got busy. A little trial and error directed the removal efforts. The most interesting thing we learned was that there was a top layer that scooped off pretty easily with the pitchfork. Underneath that was a layer that had been decomposing for quite a while, and was basically - muck. Stinky muck. REALLY stinky muck. Hold-your-breath, cover-your-nose-with-your-shirt stinky muck.

We decided to haul the intact seagrass over to a pile to dry out. We spread the muck out in another spot because it looks like it will make a great soil amendment when it dries. After one session, here's what the beach looked like:

A few more sessions should git 'r done, and we'll have our lovely little beach back...'til next year :o)

Advice for Dog Owners

Never leave your dog alone with a watermelon. Period.

One Little Pepper & How It Grew

K got a Topsy Turvy planter for her birthday in June and we filled it up with pepper plants. It's grown and grown, and flowered and flowered, but no peppers - until now. A lovely little pepper has appeared.

It's not very big, but I have big plans for it...I'll use about 1/4 of it for a tuna noodle casserole, and split the rest between a batch of Mexiburgers and a homemade pizza. Grow, little pepper, grow!

Steampunk

Just received a goodie bag from Rings & Things today...they have a drawing each month to give away goodies to their blog partners and this month I was one of the lucky winners!

Here are the goodie bag contents:























Now, to the untrained eye, this may look like a shopping trip to Home Depot. However, to those in the know, these are components used in steampunk design. Whenever I see steampunk items, I think of an old TV show from the 60's that I was crazy about, "The Wild Wild West." Secret service agents West and Gordon guarded President Grant and they alway had the coolest futuristic gadgets!

What exactly IS steampunk, you may ask? It's tough for me to describe, so I'll just quote the definition on dictionary.com:

"a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power"

O-o-o-kay. Still a little vague. To give you a better idea of the style, here are a couple of Etsy items by artisans who do steampunk design:

























This beautiful piece by Cerriousdesigns is actually a USB drive. Steampunk frequently has gears and an aged patina look. For more info on this item, click this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/54001079

Here's another great steampunk piece:

















This beauiful cuff bracelet is by edmdesigns. Notice the use of gears, metal and the industrial feel of the sawtooth blade. For more information on this piece, click on the following link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/52679246/

Now, I will be the first to admit that I've never made a steampunk item in my life, and I'm not sure I could. However, I've had several requests to make some masculine phone charms, and I think that the industrial look of the steampunk components would make a fine "man charm" :o) So excuse me, but I've got some designing to do!