Running Away From Home

This is Toni Louise. Look at that mischievious sparkle in her eye. She is my escape artist. She loves to run and run. Any opportunity and she will bolt from the gate or the door and run like the wind.

She is easily entertained and will chase her own tail for hours. She has a sweet disposition and is so easy going.

So sweet, my Toni Louise. This is the sweet little girl in my lap every night ........ whether or not I want her to be. She will use her head to lift my hands from my laptop and demand my attention. She will pounce on my keyboard and not give up until she has all the affection she wants. And just look at that sweet face ........who could not love her? Mr. Martha, the cat, is her favorite plaything and she is his.

Yesterday, Toni Louise and Wall-E, world famous author of "Letters To Gavin", totally took advantage of he, who is apt to open the gate without checking to see if canines are playing in the yard. They both ran through the open fields and gave he, who jumped on the golf cart, the slip.

Wall-E, being older and wiser, knew better than to push his luck and stayed on the property and let his Papa pick him up. Toni Louise, however, hit the black top and was galloping down the road to parts unknown. After dropping off escapee #1, Doggie Daddy took off after the willfull Toni Louise.

I have had to round her up before and can tell you from experience that this is no easy task. Scolding just rolls off her like water, bribery does not work, either. I spent an entire afternoon chasing her one day ....... in my car. At first I rolled along the roads of the park and lied about treats through the window. Then she took off down the road after a car. My heart in my throat, I followed in my car and lost sight of her. That is, until I looked out the window to find her loping along beside me. I was going about 15 mph! She looked like she was grinning at me. I noticed a delivery truck coming into my park and I growled at her to stay out of my way and threw the car in reverse and backed half a mile down the road to recieve the pool paint.

The Fed-X driver joined me in trying capture her. We finally corralled her into the fenced area around the pool. He went on his way and I spent about 30 minutes chasing her round and round until she discovered the steps and raced into the almost empty pool. Then I chased her on a slope. I was lining treats up to try to grab her, but she was too fast. Then ......... then she discovered the nasty, slimy, utterly gross water that needed to be pumped out and proceeded to prance through it and splash it everywhere. This made her slimy and slick, so that when I grabbed her she would slip right through my hands. This all ended with her consuming half a pound of hot dogs and getting a bath. I was not happy, but she was going through her toddler stage.

I thought the search party would be out longer, so I was more than a little surprised when a mere 5 minutes later I saw the golf cart with Toni Louise aboard rolling up to the office. I went out to pick her up and scold her. I lifted her and carried her in the store and told her how unhappy I was that she had pulled her latest stunt. Tail wagging and licks to my face ensued and I noticed a funky odor ..... familiar. I have smelled this before. Can't place it. I put the bad girl down and noticed her limping. Then we see the blood on the inside of her hind leg.

I remember the odor I could not place. Same odor that my other bad girl, Louise, the Saint Bernard, had when she ran into the SUV and crushed her elbow. I looked at my Toni Louise's eyes then and knew that she was hurt pretty bad and shocky. I called my vet and relayed all the information. Toni Louise had surgery last night. Her hip was dislocated and the blood and wound on her lower leg was full of gravel. I saw one truck on that road before she got on the golf cart. Don't know if she chased it and took a slight hit and tumbled, or simply lost her footing and flipped over.
 

She came home this morning with her leg in a sling to keep the ball joint in her hip in place. She is not allowed to run or jump or play with her siblings.

Last night was very subdued for the remaining animals. I am sure they were aware of the odor she emitted and they saw her carried out with towel around her to immobilize her and catch the blood. Last time they saw one of their own leave wrapped in a towel, she did not return. Two of the saddest little dogs climbed into bed last night and snuggled close to me. Even Mr. Martha, the cat was looking for his best buddy.

It was joyful reunion that I cannot show you until tomorrow! Blogger hates me and won't post all my pictures!

Small Appliances

I can post, but I can't comment. I commented on one blog, but after that my priviledges were suddenly revoked!

I recently bought a Baby George Foreman Rotisserie. I know you are thinking, "Does she think this is a new thing?" I know I don't get out much, but I am not that isolated. I bought mine from my favorite consignment store, Four Doors Down. Ten bucks. It looks new, like it was only used once them cleaned with a magic eraser. That made me suspicious. Maybe it doesn't even work.
There is a return policy and it was only $10.

I had a couple of pre-packaged filets wrapped in bacon. My new rotisserie was lacking a manual. I looked it up on line and cooked my steak. I am impressed! It was tasty and the only problem was the bacon unrolling and sticking out. It was over done. My fault for not securing it better.

Yesterday I did a chicken. It was better that the ones I buy at the grocery. I shoved an apple up the butt of my chicken before I tied it up. I have an abundance of apples and I figured it couldn't hurt, might help. It was so good and moist. My only problem today is trying to find something to rotisserie! It is a dreary day. Soup or chili sounds good and I don't know that the rotisserie will be called into action.

So, on to my trusty crockpot. The crock pot has been busy all week with apples. Apple butter and applesauce. So easy and the house smells like cinnamon. But, how much applesause and applebutter can two people eat? Still, I am thinking about making more today and freezing it. I don't know why. I have been giving apples away as fast as I can and I will be making apple pies this weekend. Apple muffins, apple bread, apple fritters, baked apples ........... I am open to any apple ideas.

Lucky Penny

Some days. I have been engaged in a day long fight with the internet. Wait, not the internet. Blogger. Blogger keeps spitting me into blogosphere. Not recognizing me and not posting my comments. Erasing my posts before I can actually post them.

So many cleverly written episodes of my exciting life gone .......... poof!

Last Friday a rainstorm hit our area. Not a bad one, although I heard tell of some magnificent hail nearby. It did discourage camping, though. Before the rain I had a woman come to the entrance to the office and knock very lightly on the storm door. I saw her, didn't hear her. I happened to be in the office with the air on. It was uncomfortably hot and humid. I went to the door and told her that I was open. She walked in wringing her hands and acted like she was having balance problems.

She was very nervous and began to explain how she came to be in my kampground. It was a rather lengthy one-sided conversation. She was from Florida and she was very tired, having done some banking in St. Louis. Said she wanted to rest. Said she had to go back to the bank ...... in St. Louis and since this place (the kampground) was so close ( not really ..... I mean, closer than Florida, but over an hour ....) she thought she should rest here and maybe even sleep.

She may have thought her request to be odd, but it wasn't. People stop here all the time and stay overight, sleeping in their vehicles. They feel safer here than at a rest area and can have a shower. So she took the registration I gave her and began filling it out. This also took longer than usual as she kept stopping to tell me about her trip. She stopped at one point and stated that she was a law abiding citizen. This made my antennae rise. Said she had never been arrested, not even for a felony.

I am beginning to wonder if I put out some sort of vibe that attracts these folk. The story doesn't end here, either.

She was the only kamper in the park, so when the storm came rolling in, I looked out at the tent area to check on her. She seemed a little frail to me, maybe in her 70's and I was concerned about her being locked up in a vehicle with the windows up. I wasn't looking for company, but, she was alone and I thought I should bring her inside. I could not find her. I confess that I did not mount an all out search, but the car was not where I had put her.

I sort of forgot about her until the next day. I was packing copies of my book and getting ready for my book signing when she suddenly appeared in the store. After asking me if I remembered her .... as if I could forget her, she launched into another tale of adventure. Seems she decided to "ride around" before the storm hit. She was looking for a store and ended up at a truckstop nearly 20 miles away. While there, she discovered that they had showers! She bought a shower for $10 (mine was included with her stay) and then she discovered they had a laundry for only $2 a load ( mine is $1). And, there was the store for her to look at. A truckstop, people, a truckstop. Not a mall.

On her way back the storm hit and she turned around and went back and stayed the night .... in her car, having already paid to stay here. I am leaving out many details, as it took her quite awhile to relate all this to me. I tried to give her money back, since she did not stay here, but she refused and asked if she could walk around and look at my gardens.

Of course I said yes and once again tried to refund her, but she was insistant. Out she went and I saw her looking at the cosmos and bending to sniff. Had I not been getting ready for my book signing I would have gone out and offered seed and shown her some of my heirloom glads that do smell sweet. He, who would rescue a damsel in distress, saw her slip and almost fall. He asked if she was okay and offered his hand to help her gain her balance .........

She withdrew and barked "NO" at his offer of assistance and got into her vehicle and fled. Let me assure you that my husband is not a scary man and does not look like a scary man. But, we seem to attract strange folk.

So, now that I have once again navigated my way to re-boot the modem, tripping over a dog who now thinks her name is STOP. IT., with a cat clinging to my leg, I will again try to post this. Well, it is not the same as either of the other posts that are lost in space. But, hopefully the stars are alligned and the moon is smiling. I did find a penny in the pool area today ...... heads up!

Book Signing Event

Hey, that's me! I wrote that book ....... well, Wall-E and I did. Yesterday was my very first book signing event. I sold 5 books in the two hours I was there.

Here I am all ready to go. I left he, who hates to be confined, in charge of the kampground office. It was a very quiet weekend and I made the trip to the Columbia Mall without incident.

Never ask your husband to take your picture .....

I wasn't sure what to expect. There was a sign on the front door of Barnes and Noble promoting the event. Not my book specifically, but that the month of September was deidcated to promoting local authors. My publisher met me there and we were set up with a table near the front and I greeted everyone I saw.

A man approached and asked about my book and I explained that it was written in the voice of a dog and was letters to his boy. He told me about his dog, Brutus. Seems that Brutus was an abandoned dog that he found in 1985. Already full grown, estimated to be about 4 years old, the dog lived until 2001. While I was busy doing the math, he waxed eloquent about the wonders of Brutus and began relating anecdotes about his beloved Brutus. On and on he went, my eyes were glazing over and though I tried to steer the conversation back to the selling of my book, he was having none of that.

After over 10 minutes of listening to him, my publisher slipped away (abandoned me, I thought!) and called me on my cell phone. I was trying to disengage myself from this man who was obviously not interested in purchasing my book or even allowing me to get a word in edgewise ....... and trust me, people, this is hard to do! He had moved on from Brutus to enlightening me to the values of shopping on-line and how he never buys books in book stores.

So, why was he there? I am not sure. He had engaged the author in the time slot right before me in a similar manner. Yolanda (publisher) was of the opinion that he was lonely and looking for someone to talk to. She wondered if he even knew how to read. I thought he may be homeless and simply hanging out in a place that was full of creature comforts. All I can say is that he needs a new dog! Been over 10 years since Brutus passed and he is still mourning ........ well, unless he made it up just to have something to talk about. I am wondering about a dog that lived to 20.

After I rid myself of the owner of Brutus, I put out some business cards for the kampground. Bookmarks, they will make great bookmarks. And, should happen my way and want to kamp ...... not to mention that Wall-E will do a meet and greet if you desire. He is actually very good at it. He enters the store and meets people, lets them pet him and goes back in the living quarters when told to.

I am just happy that I did not display my business cards until the man with the story of Brutus had left. If he showed up here, I could easily have a breakdown! I met and chatted with some wonderful people. The last book I sold was to a grandmother of an 8 year old boy, same as my Gavin. She teared up when I told her that I did not set out to write a book, that the letters were just a way to communicate with my grandson who couldn't keep a dog he loved. It was a great day.

Beware Of Men With Guns

 

I ventured outside this fine morning and found that I had a visitor.

Make that two. They have been together every time I have seen them. Yesterday as I rounded the corner of the building, heading to my vegetable garden, they ran lickity-split from my yard. I don't know which of us was more startled. No time to grab my camera, only to mourn the loss of my beans. I suppose they have to eat, too.

Grass, let them eat grass. The grass is no longer brown and dead looking , but green and lush and in need of mowing every other day.

They still have spots. Although they let me get pretty close, it was not close enough to determine gender. Where is Marshell when I need him? He is the one who proclaimed that Mr. Martha, the cat was female. Maybe I don't need him, after all.

Here they are at the corner of Bullfrog Boulevard and Frog Hollow. You will not the deer crossing sign in the background. These are smart kampers, my deer.

Obviously twins, I feel I should name them. But, are they boys or girls .......... or, maybe one of each. I had one of each 37 years ago. Not deer, humans. Jeff and Jill. He, who was enthralled with his offspring, wanted to name them Jack and Jill. But I prevailed, not wanting them to hate us.

He, who says he got close enough to "see", says that they are girls. I suppose he is better at gender guessing than Marshell, since he found the equipment Mr. Martha had hidden so well.

Suzy and Sally. I called out to them , but only Suzy looked my way. I told her to be very careful crossing the road and to look out for men in camo, with guns. Deer season will be here soon.

If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake

Despite all the cancellations Isaac's rain caused, I still had a happy holiday weekend. The rain was welcome after such a dry spell. I could actually watch the grass grow before my very eyes. And that is where I have been all week. Mowing. Weeding. Planting.

The holiday weekend held a surprise for me. I was perched upon a stool at the checker table, nursing a cup of coffee and chatting with kamper, Patrick, when the door opened and  a lovely lady appeared. She was no kamper, dressed in real clothes, not kamping klothes. Kamping klothes vary little. Shorts, long pants, sometimes pajama pants and tees. Usually smelling of wood smoke or chlorine from the pool. Kathy, of Kathy's Klothesline, knows about such things.

The pretty lady approaches me and asks if I am Kathy, of Kathy's Klothesline and introduces herself. It was Sioux, of Sioux's Page!!! From the Land of Blog! She does exist! And, she brought homemade fudge. A true southern lady always gives gifts of food. Not that Missouri is the true south, as I know it, but .........

Okay, here, is where I should, no doubt, link to her blog. I confess that I don't know how. I am sure it is quite simple, and as soon as I post this, you will all tell me just how simple it is. If I were resourceful, I would do a little research, trial and error and figure it out, but I have a mower calling my name and time is short. Okay, I am lazy.

The visit was too short, but there was chocolate to eat when she went on her way. I even shared with Patrick. He who loves all things chocolate ate the bulk of it, but I had my more than fair share. Thanks, Sioux, you have added to my fluff.

Despite my limited knowledge of technology, I managed to help a very frustrated man log on to the Internet. He had inquired about the wireless Internet when I checked him in. He then had his wife call the office for instructions. I gave my standard answer that there was no password or code, just find me and log on. The words just flow off my tongue and I sound like I might even know what I speak of. I have heard he who knows a little more than I do say it and it sounds good, so I use it.

He who changes tires on the side of the interstate was not here and the phone rang again. This time it was the frustrated man ....... "how do I find the wireless connection?" Crap! I usually offer to send he who is not here! This adds that personal touch and saves me from actually learning how to do this stuff. I sit down at my laptop and play with the icons until I find the one that reveals my connection and I walk the man through it. I manage to impress my own self with knowledge I did not know I possessed. I go on about my business, thinking I am done with that and now know a little more than I did before.

About an hour later, the couple come in, laptop in hand. Totally perplexed and frustrated. He says that he was on-line and everything was fine until his wife "did something" and messed it up. She says that she only wanted to check her e-mail and that he won't let her touch his new laptop. They are not happy with each other.

And I am winging it, wondering if they would like to chat with my son on the phone. He has a back door into my computer and fixes things for me. He is always trying to explain what he does. Does he really think I am listening? The most important thing I know about my computer is that he can fix it from afar. I wonder if this couple would like to give my son access to their computer. They have both revealed their passwords to me, in hopes that I can make the laptop come to life.

When he who loves me presented me with my laptop, he had already loaded all the programs I would be using. This man's computer was very new. Although he did not want his wife to touch it, he was willing to allow me to ........... thinking me to be knowledgeable of computers.

I left them at the table and went to get my bifocals, like clear vision was going to lead me to do things I have no knowledge of. I grabbed my laptop, too. Although he was more than willing to let me touch his keyboard, I preferred my own. His was too clean, not a speck of dust adorned his screen. I somehow managed to help him load Yahoo and show him how to log out of his face book page, so that his wife could log on to hers. Now if he will let her touch the keys, she can navigate the web and check her e-mail. He was happy when he left the office and I was amazed at my ability! I must have been listening to some of what my son said and the rest, I just stumbled upon in an effort to look like I knew what I was doing!

I know my son will be so proud .......

Rain, Boys, and Dogs

Started raining Friday morning and it is still raining, just a slow gentle rain. We need the rain and I am happy that we are getting the rain, but with the rain came 36 cancellations ........

Only the die-hard campers are out in force. My church group cancelled, but they were going to be in tents, so I can't really blame them. My big family of faithful campers is here, though. They keep adding to the crowd and I hear that a whole lotta cookin' took place yesterday. I heard this from the men and they listed the menu items as fried fish, ribs, beef and some more pork and oh, yeah, some kind of beans. I am sure the women provided some vegetables in that mix.

Friday evening the power went out. He who chases stranded motorists on the highway left here at about 11 am to "run to the bank" and didn't return until around 8:30. I prepared a sandwich by the light of the solar yard light I was carrying around. He ate, then left again and did not return until around 11 pm.

Without electricity, I could not run credit cards, so I just parked the campers and told them to see me the next day. I sat outside and read a book old style for as long as I had light to see. While I was rocking gently and reading, one of my favorite little campers came up to check on me. It was still raining, but not hard enough to keep the kids off their bikes. Caleb is just the cutest little boy. Eight years old and one day this kid is going to break some hearts. "Are you okay?" he asks. I told him I was fine. "Well, if you need anything, you just come down to our campsite. We will take care of you."

See what I mean? Chivalry is not dead! I love this kid! So, this morning, when Caleb came in the store with his dad looking for he who owns the place (I sometimes let him think that, you know, for his ego), looking somber and sad, I knew he had gotten himself into trouble. I summoned the owner (snort) and he came out having just awakened, hearing aids squeaking. Caleb was instructed to tell what had happened.

He sat on the couch and cried his little heart out as he related the mornings adventure. Keep in mind that there is a herd of cousins and siblings in tow. Seems they decided to ride bikes down the back road. There is a clearing for dry storage of campers back there. Only one there right now is an old model belonging to a guy who is an avid hunter. It is not in great shape ........ only men stay in it ..... to hunt and tell tall tales of the one that got away. I suppose the kids may have thought it to be abandoned. There may have been some dares involved and the window was broken. On purpose. By Caleb.

To his credit he went and told his dad what he did and his dad brought him to the office to confess and tell us that he would pay for the window and he would do any chores we needed done until they go home tomorrow. He was so mortified he could hardly speak. I couldn't stand it and had to hug him and comfort him. Wall-E, the wonder dog, author of his very own book, lover of boys everywhere, happened to be making a visit to some of his fans when Caleb came in. He sensed something wrong right away and went over to sit next to the somber Caleb and rest him head against Caleb's in comfort. Wall-E is a sensitive guy.

I must go find a chore for my little friend now. The sun is trying to poke his head through the clouds and the forecast says we will have a nice afternoon. There is still on area of the pool wall that needs a good scrubbing. The new horse shoe pits need more sand shoveled. Sounds like I may have a worker for those jobs and I am betting he will have help from his cousins ........