Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year To One And All
Hopefully you all will have a wonderful and prosperous 2009. I expect to, despite the gloomy outlook of the economy. Put on a happy face and put one foot in front of the other...keep walking. Smile...it only gets better. Like I always say, life is what you make it. Make the wrong choices and it's hell; make the right choices and happiness abounds. The thing is, knowing which is right and which is wrong. Therein lies the rub...
posted by Cheyenne at 6:57 PM comment(s) made:
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Disappointed
Both these pictures were taken December 7th. This was our first snowfall. We have had a more significant snowfall since. Still nothing to write home about. Wherever that is.
I so hoped we would have a white Christmas. Instead of cold and snowy we got warm and breezy. If I wanted that, I'd move where it's warmer. Wait a minute...I didn't mean that. I would move to a warmer climate in a heartbeat. There are just too many responsibilities right here, right now. Nope, I think we're here for the long run. Damn it.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:20 AM comment(s) made:
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Sunday, December 28, 2008
Phillipians 3:13-14
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:02 AM comment(s) made:
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Thursday, December 25, 2008
Luke 2:9-14
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:01 AM comment(s) made:
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!
FROM OUR CATS TO YOUR PETS
(Note: These are not our cats)
posted by Cheyenne at 12:10 AM comment(s) made:
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Monday, December 22, 2008
Tale of A Christmas Tree (Relived)
(I have posted this the past two years. This year isn't any different)
Hello. I am a Douglas Fir. It took me a long time to grow up to be a Christmas tree. Yes, A Christmas tree. I was so happy with my feet planted firmly and I had many friends all around me. Once a year a lot of people came to look at us but I guess we were just too small, so they kept on walking. It seemed they always went to the bigger trees.
It didn't bother me ~ I was happy where I was and I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. Sometimes one of my friends down in the valley would be brought by us on a wagon and we often wondered where they were going or what happened to them.
One day, while I stood there enjoying the brisk air and the warmth of the sun on my branches, that wagon stopped right in front of me. They chopped me down, threw me on that wagon, and took me back to some buildings where a lot of people were milling around. They tossed me on the ground and I lay there wondering why. What next? Soon I was yanked up on end and slowly spun around. No one had ever touched me that way and I was so confused, not knowing quite what was happening to me.
They took me to a place where someone cut off my lower branches (ouch!) and then they drilled a nail up through my trunk. That really hurt. And then, the humiliation! They stuck me in a hole, I was pulled through, and I came out all trussed up with string, I couldn't breathe. Next thing I knew I was being carried away and put into the back of a truck. It was dark inside and I stayed in there a long time.
Finally someone took me out of the darkness and into a place that was warm. It felt kinda nice. They released my branches and I felt sooooo good.
Before I knew it things were being put on my branches and when it was all done, I felt very special.
And as I stood there I wondered why anyone would want to call me a 'holiday' tree. Holiday indeed! I AM A CHRISTMAS TREE! Show a little respect for me. Thank you.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Matthew 18:18
Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:02 AM comment(s) made:
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Thursday, December 18, 2008
I Love My Little Tree
When we adopted our two kittens back in November 2006, I knew there would be no live Christmas tree for the holidays. I read too many stories about how they like to climb them and I felt if I didn't put the temptation in front of them, they would not get into trouble; therefore, I would spare myself having to yell at them all the time.
The same thing in 2007 ~ no tree. This year I stumbled across something that would not tempt them to climb and at the same time we would at least have some kind of tree. Behold our wonderful tree:
Yes, it's a wall tree. It came with the tiny white lights, some red bows, and small blue and red balls. I added more red bows and my own tiny ornaments. There are two Dale Jr. ornaments on the tree and another one on its way will be added as soon as it gets here. The only thing missing that I didn't have was an angel for the tip of the tree. I have always had an angel on the top. I'm not a big Target shopper, but that is where I found the perfect angel.
This tree is the best of many worlds as I mentioned earlier. It's very simple to hang, very simple to decorate, and I'm sure it will be just as simple when I un-decorate it. Or is that de-decorate? No matter...I have always had the pleasure (read chore) of decorating the tree and then taking everything off, putting it away, and stowing it somewhere till the next year. And every year I put it off and whined about having to do it. And still nobody else offered to do it for me.
And because I didn't have to deal with a huge tree this year, I put more decorations around the house than I normally do. And get this...I baked cookies this year. Yes, can you imagine? Me baking cookies? I haven't done that in decades. And when I baked some recently, I remembered just how much fun it was. And that little tree on the wall is responsible.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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Monday, December 15, 2008
Economy Got You Down?
Christmas is a-comin' and the goose is gettin' fat...
Yeah right...maybe the goose is getting fat, but the American's coffers aren't. Take my IRA for instance. Or my husband's. We both lost so much money that I don't even look at them any more. I will just ignore them and hope for the best in the years to come. At least I know I'm not alone as many others are suffering the same consequences of this miserable economy. But, boy, was it nice to watch those amounts rise and rise and rise back when times were good. Only to go straight into the dumper right quick.
If there has been a worse recession than the current one, it didn't happen during my lifetime and even if one did, I certainly do not remember it. I keep reading about a recession occurring in the early 80's (1982?), but I was working back then and everything seemed perfectly fine to me. As a matter of fact, I was a newly divorced single parent, too. So why is it I can't remember any recessions occurring during that time?
The one we are in now (which they are claiming we entered a year ago already), really stinks. It hasn't really hit our household other than high grocery prices, but I feel for those young families with children. Especially if either parent (or both) lose their job.
I'm not going to get into the Big 3 Auto Bailout, mostly because I am taking a wait and see attitude. I do know that it is sorely affecting the NASCAR community. So much so that I am beginning to wonder what make of car Dale Jr. will be driving next February when the season starts. He has always steadfastly stated that he will not drive anything other than a Chevy. I hope he can live up to that statement.
posted by Cheyenne at 2:45 PM comment(s) made:
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:02 AM comment(s) made:
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Friday, December 12, 2008
From Basement Hell To This - Part 6
So this is it. This is what we were left with. Back to basics. It didn't even look like this when we moved here. The former owners made a bedroom in the far corner to the right. We never used it as a bedroom; we didn't need a fourth bedroom. There were only three of us when we moved here. So we used that bedroom for storage.
The bio company did put insulation back on the ceiling but not like we would have liked. The other stuff was between the boards whereas they nailed everything over the boards. Beggars can't be choosy.
I think I have another photo or two still in my camera and I will post that eventually. This is the end of the road for our basement saga. My husband has since painted the walls white and once we get some kind of heat down there, he will paint the floor gray. And that's as far as we are going to go fixing up the basement. Trust us though, everything will be elevated. We have since bought six 5-shelf units for storage, and will get more if needed.Oh and one more thing...during this whole debacle I acquired a nice little case of hives. I've never had them before and I hope to never get them again. They.are.not.fun.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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Monday, December 08, 2008
The Basement From Hell - Part 5
So let's see...where was I? I really should read over my previous post on this subject because I don't remember where I left off. Anyway, this is our bare bones basement. One corner of it anyway. That blue thing in the corner is for the well. On the wall to the left is where the water came in via the pipe from the well.
And all those wires hanging everywhere are no longer there. The electrician got rid of those that weren't being used. Nip and tuck, so to speak. It really is just a little weird to go down there and see what's left. These first three pictures were taken five days after they hooked us up to public water. Not exactly something I wanted to do but we really had no choice.
I think I had this shot on my previous post where the steps were enclosed and a closet was under the steps. I kept all my old Christmas decorations in there and sad to say, they all rest in a dump somewhere. I wanted to get rid of that stash for awhile and just never got around to doing it. That board covering the I-beam is gone too.
This photo shows what we were able to save. A tiny fraction of what we had.
And this is where our saved items went while the guys continued to work in the basement. The owner of the bio company brought his trailer where he keeps his race car in the off season. Remember the blower that had a fat hose going out the window? Eventually they took the hose from the window and had it do whatever it is it did on the inside.
After the basement was all nice and dry with no more nasty little mold spores floating around, they then proceeded to spray a coating on the ceiling (rafters?). Once that was dry they put new insulation on the ceiling. That was on a Thursday. The following Monday they were back to transfer our things from the trailer into the basement.
And finally we had our basement back. Not the same as it was before, but I'm okay with that. In a way what happened can almost be considered a Godsend. We kept dragging our feet when it came to going down there and sorting out things to keep and things to toss. I guess because we couldn't make up our minds, someone made it up for us. And that's a good thing.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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Sunday, December 07, 2008
Luke 6:37
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:35 AM comment(s) made:
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
I Rescued A Human Today
(I received this via e-mail today from a friend. I was so touched by it, I felt I had to post it here. It brought a tear to my eye.)
I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.
Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past.
I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.
I would promise to keep her safe.
I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved.
At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
posted by Cheyenne at 1:54 PM comment(s) made:
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Monday, December 01, 2008
The Basement From Hell - Part 4
Let the gutting begin...
This was a bedroom that was added before we bought the house. It is the room with the infamous red rug that had nasty fungi growing out of it. I guess it was the hardest hit area because the rug acted like one huge wick. Everything you see in this photo was taken away, down to the last nail. The water came out of the wall to the far left of this room.
Same room, different angle:
Picture this without the sheet rock and the closet beneath the stairs, or the door, because that is how it is today. Beneath all the sheet rock was insulation providing a nice warmth to the basement. Of course, that is probably what helped those little mold spores to multiply and fly through the air. I'm telling you, they must have had so much fun doing what they did. Mold spore heaven, the little bastards.
Once our contaminated personal possessions were carted away on the dump truck (two full loads), this waste receptacle was brought onsite. And it was one long mother. Two full loads were taken away. This is where all the T-1-11, sheet rock, lumber, insulation, ceiling tiles, etc. went. Thousands and thousands of dollars' worth. All gone. Thousands. I can only shake my head at the mere thought of it.
From October 9th through the 15th the cleanup crew devoted all their time to gutting and decontaminating our basement. At one point they had a huge blower exhaust machine with a fat hose that was put through one of the windows to draw out moisture and spores. They also set up a dehumidifier. These machines put a huge dent in our electricity. My husband called the electric company and was told it spiked to twice as much as we normally use on a daily basis. Somehow that cost will be incorporated into the insurance coverage.Slowly, but surely, our basement was regressing back to what it looked like before anything was ever done to it. Sort of like a rebirth. And it was getting colder without the insulation. There will be at least three more installments with pictures, so be patient and stay tuned.
