the bank said yes

but the new place isn't done being built yet. so i'm renting for another month. i pointed out that i wouldn't have to pay rent if i could move in to the cabin, so i might get some more money knocked off the purchase price. that would be nice.
today is thursday and i'm not working. not working?!? yep. i've got a four-day weekend. the plan was for this time off to coincide with my move... yeah right. so now i'm thinking i'll move out of a really, really clean apartment. i've already packed a bunch and taken some stuff to the thrift store today. next project - clean out the windowsills in the front room and scrub off the mildew. yes. it grows in through the window edges.
and that is gross enough that i'm putting it off by dinking around online.

since monday:

got a gorgeous bouquet from old dog haven. which they got from beach bouquets - they do a nice job. also got a new old sheltie from old dog haven. well, from the shelter in olympia via odh. she's a beautiful little girl, except for what looks like stick-in teeth from a halloween shop. they are nasty, filthy, stinky, dark, and sticking in multiple directions with gaps in between. eeeeeew. since she's a dainty, petite little dewdrop, but her "overbite is an understatement" her new name is connie conundrum. i'll probably drop the conundrum part after her teeth get fixed. which might be tuesday. (please please please).
cracked and bought water and more laundry detergent. got a drink and did laundry.
packed enough stuff that i had to open two boxes today to get out stuff i needed...
finished painting the ceiling (finally!!!)
spent lots of quality kitty time. found lots of little owies - hobbes and balloon don't just wrestle i guess. they've been doing some nipping and slapping. so i trimmed some toenails and gave them a talking to. not that it'll work, what with them being cats and all, but hey.
worked and worked - i've kept my desk majoritarily (hee hee - new jumbleword!) cleaned off the last couple of weeks. it's been easier than i thought it would, and very, very nice. i can actually find stuff and get things done in a timely manner... who'da thunk?
went to the zoo yesterday! we were invited to tour their animal hospital, and (of course) said yes in an excited manner. we crammed the boss' car with staff and set off pretty early in the morning. sang a bit and laughed a lot in the car on the way up (someone has a droid phone with multiple fart functions - how could we not laugh until we nearly peed our pants?). toured the hospital and saw how they do things. then got into the zoo for free. even got to leave the car in the employee lot. yay - no parking fee! had a nice long day in the sun, with some shade and drinking fountains and handfulls of wild huckleberries. saw some awesome critters - the african wild dogs were out and about, and the great apes were very accomodating, making faces and kids and all that. we saw komodo dragons and a king cobra, and about a bajillion brazillian cockroaches (say that ten times fast - i dare ya!). all in all a very fun excursion.
then went to elmer's for lunch/dinner. YUM!!! try grilled swiss cheese, tomato, grilled walla wallas and avocado sandwich! and nearly five beverage refills. i guess that day in the sun made me thirsty...
after the fabulous meal, we went on to summit referral and emergency medical center to see their hospital. amazing! the doctor on shift was able to give us a tour. she's showing off thier ultrasound equipment and our staff got all excited about the over-the-door shoe holder they use to organize endotracheal tubes. ("wow!" "hey guys, check this out" "this is so awesome - we need to get one of these!"). it was nice to see the place and meet the people we've heard such awesome stuff about. i'm pretty sure that, based on the experience, we'll keep sending our specialist referrals their way.
also this week - getting excited for romania - now less than four weeks away. how am i ever going to get everything done in time? i'm supposed to move! if the bank comes through for me and/or if i can get alternate financing. and if they finish building! the place isn't done yet! and i was supposed to close on thursday. but now, well, kind of in a bind what with already having given the bank that owns this place a notice of my intent to vacate... what does one do? i think i'll call the bank, but i'd rather do it after i hear back from my bank about if/when i can expect to really move, pending that construction gets done. i think they're still just putting in cabinets and hardware... so pending, pending, pending, and then maybe pending that i'll get some relief.
just in time to finish packing, move, unpack, and leave the country. for two weeks. to somewhere i don't even know any of the language (in nicaragua at least i knew "hola", "bueno", and "habla poqiutito espanol"). and then stop in amsterdam for some fun on the way back.
and then get to know the new dog all over again - if i still have her by then. if she's as healthy as i think she is, she ought to get adopted out quick!

goals for the end of the year:
be moved in, unpacked, sorted out, decorated, and no longer ridiculously behind on laundry. this may necessitate getting rid of some clothes, as i generally store large quantities in the hamper.
replace the digital camera.
make huckleberry cookies at least once before they're all gone.
build a fire pit. use it.
chop down scrub and dig out a garden. mulch said garden with poo from the stables.
get the cattery built.
learn the lines to and not mess up too badly on either play.
get signed up for dog training certification.
save a couple hundred bucks.
finally get the car's brakes worked on.
maybe even the speedometer fixed.
decorate for christmas? recognize at least the existence of a holiday?
and whatever other billion random things come my way.

bring it on, world! i got my cocoa today, and i am soooooo ready to mix it up (multiple meanings there)!

lest i forget...

the 8 days of jj:
day one: met in a parking lot. collected his stuff. posed for some adorable pictures. went to a park, walked through the woods, and onto a pebble beach. took it very slow on the walk back. jj had a blast - smiling and smiling... seemed like a happy little guy. he slept (and farted) the whole ride home. when we got to the house, he walked on in and puttered around like he already lived here. he briefly said hi to hobbes, and ignored the other kitties. didn't eat much. i chalked it up to an exciting day and new surroundings. slept like a log.
day two: fought over taking pills at breakfast. barely ate, except for some turkey dogs. went to work to meet "the pack". offended poor betty (the boss dog) by pointedly ignoring her when she tried to intimidate him. puttered around the yard and staked out his spot by the back door. ate even less. had some icky poo. fought over taking pills again with dinner.
day three: jj showed his little attitude with morning pills. after i had the pill in his mouth, and was holding it closed so he would swallow, he started coughing. so i had to let go, and he spit out the pill. the look he gave me! it said, "ha ha" plain as anything. then, after he finished coughing and i was about ready to start fighting again, he ate up the pill from off the floor. again, "ha ha".
days four, and five: went to work. slept, played, came inside when it rained, puttered around the yard some more. on day four jj learned how to fetch, and actually ran a few times.
day six: saturday. napped most of the day. went for a couple of short walks in the rain. threw up friday's lunch and everything he'd eaten since then. took more naps.
day seven: napped most of the day. threw up everything. wagged his tail when we went out for walks. had "empty ketchup bottle" diarrhea. started shaking in his sleep about 8:30 at night. kept shaking even after i woke him up. went to the hospital. got x-rays. got fluids. got anti-nausea meds. left the poor dude in a kennel overnight so he wouldn't have access to food or water - so he wouldn't throw up.
day eight: drank a little bit. went outside. puttered around. didn't play, but watched the other dogs running around like idiots. got more fluids and a blood panel. went for a car ride to buy chicken for trying to get him to eat. he wasn't interested in the chicken. started breathing strangely about 9:30pm - rapid and shallow. gave me the "help me" eyes and leaned in for lovings. he hadn't done that before. i tried to calm him down, distract him with a walk. he liked the walk, but his breathing didn't get any better. i called emergency, brought him in, told him he was a good boy. we x-rayed again. diagnosis: system failure. so we let him go.

reasons to celebrate

went by the new house. it's not complete yet (still). it smells new and clean and exciting. it feels raw and unused. i can't wait to fill it up with hope and dreams and events and memories. also critters. scoping out where to put the cattery. picturing the huckleberry cookies i'll have to bake almost right away, since the huckles in the yard are ripening fast. breathing the ocean breeze and loving it.
tried out for the community theatre group's set of christmas plays. was cast in two. i get to play hillbilly cora belle, whose maw is set on marryin' up with a mean ole polecat. then i get to be della, newlywed new yorker who sells her hair to get her dear jim a watch chain for christmas. the part of jim is still open. first read-through is on wednesday night.
i embarrassed myself in front of the entire invited community at the annual cardboard boat race today. my team definitely had our boat done the quickest. we had a plan and we executed it well. our design was based off the southern illinois university's physics program's best boat. hence we thought it would float well. "they" gave us paddles, but my paddle was too long, so i started using my hands. then the boat shipped water and i tipped out. i tried to swim and drag the thing, but it turned into soggy dead weight really fast. so that didn't happen. the water was not as cold as i expected. and i was able to tell the emcee that i was thinking of him when i put on the burro hat... good times.
i have critters. i have more than i probably should, and i barely have the time they need, especially with the new sick old guy. but they are so incredible. they greet me. they hang out with me. they wash themselves and i get lost in the zen of it all. then they balance it out by vomitting on the floor and such. so i have to laugh, clean it up, and move on. critters...
the sky is amazing today. it's every color sky can be: golden, blue, silvery white, and misty grey. the wind is fresh, the air is almost tangy. i love living near the ocean!
the breaker-inners did not take my music. i have cds and a cd player and i can hear/sing all i want. i can hum, dance, and chicken head right along to whatever i want.
i have a car! and a bicycle! means to escape when i need to. means to feel free and capable. means to do things for myself and others.
i have the ability to make choices. i decide what to do and when to do it. i make plans and keep 'em or break 'em as i see fit. the power of choice is amazing and i know so many people take it for granted. i love being able to say yes, no, probably, or probably not. and which one i say is up to me.
massage. 'nuff said.
food! the amazing variety of it. the different types, styles, tastes, textures, combinations... yesterday went from bagels with leftover gravy to strawberry chocolate tea (yes, chocolate tea, and it was incredible!). i have so much, and so many ways to use it. and sometimes out here, there is wild food, sitting around outside, for free. also, lately, several people have loaded me up with a variety of foodstuffs and enabled me to not shop, for which i am very grateful.
the outdoors and exercise. i don't mean lifting weights in a gym. i mean going out and doing something, moving, feeling, using the body to get something done. it feels good. more, it feels great.
humans! my greatest frustration. also a reason to go out and be me - so i can be around them. because, being a social animal, i want to hang out with 'em. and sometimes it's worthwhile.
sleep. wonderful, refreshing, good-for-me. ahhhhhhhh.
telephones and internet - means of communication with the outside world. yay, technology!
and that's the list right now.

today, today. started with a cancelled surgery - cancelled about an hour after the patient was supposed to have been dropped off, but hey. so there was a gap in the morning schedule. then there was an emergency cancerous bleeder right after lunch and that turned into emergency surgery that took up most of the afternoon, and even after all that the poor guy didn't make it. just in case anyone else's pet suddenly collapses from a cancer-thing. no, you did not do anything wrong. no, you couldn't have known. there was no way anyone could have known without taking x-rays, and why would you do that if he's acting normal? no, you are not to blame. please, grieve for his loss, yes, but don't take it out on yourself.
and then the day was over. and i brought the dogs home and walked over to pick up a bicycle and a mystery gift - which turned out to be large pieces of carpet. which i can use to put on shelves that i plan to bracket to the walls of my new place for cat fun. joy!
then there came the issue of getting the carpet home. enter ingenuity and bungee cords! the carpet (rolled up) fit pretty well crosswise over the baskets behind the bike seat, and voila! so i pedaled home oh-so-carefully, and finally relaxed when i made it home with nary a spill. i hid the carpet in the car so the cats don't tear it up just yet. and the purple bicycle (with handlebar streamers!) is sitting in my house taunting me about my current lack of camera.

"nothing much" happened today

by nothing much i mean that early this morning my bank called because the stupid resort at mt. hood went ahead and put a "hold" on my entire bank account when i gave them my card at check in (the room was supposedly prepaid, and they said they just needed the info in case i watched pay-per-view or something). so i got to sort that out.
i also introduced jj to the dog pack at work. things went well. he and the little corgi mix have a thing for each other. so that's really cute.
then someone asked me to run a key down to the car detailing shop during my lunch break. so i walked around town. it was nice to get out. because i still had to clean off my desk when i got back to work.
we got to hospitalize a dog who got heat exhaustion from playing too hard at the beach, which meant the vet assistants were busy with her, so i got to play assistant and check in some patients. got bit by a 16 year old cat with probable kidney failure. that was all kinds of fun. and we had oreo cake because it's this intern's last day here. so that meant tricia brought in some kittens for the intern to take home with her (the left behind kitten and a foster brother).
the oreo cake was yum.
both teddy and jj made friends with a neighbor kid on the way home, and then i ate masses of french fries.
and that's pretty much the "uneventful" day i had (so far).

missing update

so a couple posts ago i mentioned the free concert. well, i went on down to the casino, and there wasn't any parking. i've been getting spoiled by small town life long enough that i hadn't even considered the possibility of that being a problem. after driving around the parking lot for a while, it became clear that nothing was going to open up until after the concert. fine. it was out on the beach anyway, and the beach is considered state highway, so i just had to get out on the nearest beach access and drive on up, right? which is all well and good until one gets stuck in the sand. got out just fine, but by that point i figured the concert was just not meant to be and i went home. some concert-goers stopped by afterwards and said it was pretty good and then we stayed up late playing mad-libs. love that game!
that was last weekend, but since i didn't update about it then, i went ahead and snuck it in today.

golly he's cute!

sooooo many things i forgot to mention

like flirting outrageously with drunken old dudes at the golf course. and the fact that my undies weren't just scattered, they were apparently used in an impure manner. and the carpet steamer is gone. but they left all the cds. and i went through my stuff and discovered that my best weapon is a claw hammer, so i slept with that and the phone, just in case.
also, i got up early and drove to lacey to get my new dog today. jj is an older sheltie (estimates range from 8-13 years) with pending kidney and liver failure and a newly diagnosed heart condition, besides the multiple fatty tumors, horrible teeth, formerly broken and improperly healed front leg, and having been shut up as a puppy mill gigolo for the last however many years. also, he has scars all over his face and there's a piece of his tongue missing. and he farts like it's going out of style. i learned this on the car ride home. and even with all that baggage, he turns out to be a model citizen. likes everyone, potties appropriately (so far), has not bothered any kitties (balloon is sleeping on the floor not far away from him right now).
and, as if enough weird stuff didn't happen to me:
when i got to the casino in lacey where i was to meet jj's foster mom, someone i know from out here was waiting there with a dog that's being given to a rescue group up north, and they'd arranged the same exchange point. maybe we should've carpooled...

goodness gracious me

as if i didn't have enough going on anyway! so i went to a resort at mt. hood for a few days for a work conference. the resort is usually awesome (been there before) but of course, since the boss wasn't there with her magic credit card, the rooms for which we had prepaid (and yes, i did double check) were not prepaid after all, and they somehow erased her credit card information in between the time they verified that they had it and the time the rooms needed to be paid for. so that was a big mess. add to it that the booking was messed up and someone had to sleep on a couch, and that the rooms didn't have microwaves (we'd been told they would and packed food accordingly). and then when we showed up for the first morning of workshops, the front desk staff pointed us (and anyone else who asked where our group's breakfast was) to their main dining room for breakfast, instead of the free breakfast upstairs in the conference room. so we had a loooooooot of not-so-happy campers about all that. the conference itself was pretty good, learned a lot of stuff, and all that, except that on morning 2 i got to be involved in several phone calls regarding that my house had been broken into while i was gone. literally. the door was kicked in. my kitty-sitter and the boss got someone to fix the door so they could at least lock it until i got home. great. so then i'm sitting through 2 more days of conference wondering what to expect when i get back. at least i knew the cats were ok. they told me to call the cops when i get home and give 'em some more details.
so i got home a little after 9:30 (a nice drive, if a bit too long), called the police, and had a couple of officers drop by to help me sort it out. they tried to get some fingerprints, but that was a no-go. they checked next door (my first suspicion) and found some maybe helpful info. maybe. i'm supposed to call 911 if i hear anything over there.
whoever it was that broke in took the ps2, rock band (gasp!), my digital camera, video camera, and book of dvds. also, for some reason, they took the carpet steamer. but not my laptop. super weird. also, quite disgustingly i think, my underwear drawer was pretty much emptied and is currently spread all over the floor. i think i feel like buying all new underwear. iggghhh.
and to think i was hoping for a nice early night and some decent rest before i have to head out again tomorrow morning.
tonight's good news is that it's teddy's last night as an only dog, and tomorrow we get to go meet jj in olympia to bring him home. such as it is.
after i go buy more water and kitty litter. after i sleep.

gearing up for the weekend

i added meatless meatballs to my mac'n'stuff today. excellent choice, if i do say so myself! seriously dosed hobbes with hairball remedy, and he's not puked yet today (knock on wood). speaking of wood - i need to get rid of one tall (cheap) bookshelf. and some plastic drawers. and some books. i'm thinking the paws garage sale...
and i got the email back (finally!!) that li'l jj is all set to join my pack this weekend. now i'm waiting for a phone call from the person who's driving him out here so we can coordinate all that. and word on the street is that i'd better go to the free christian kane beach concert tomorrow because, hey, it's free! and it's on the beach! and it's tomorrow! and what else am i doing? besides getting set up for a new dog and going to town and going to paws and giving a dog shots and sorting and packing and having a sleepover party with a friend and her two teenage neices...
boy, i hope the concert is fun!

sold the guitar!

yay! one item down, a bunch to go. i conserved funds by eating in today (leftover twice baked yum). then i went and visited the place one more time to confirm that yes, i do want to live in a beach cabin. then i stopped by the realty office with a check. i confirmed that i will indeed be given a cattery...ok, ok, a dog run for use at the new place. then i helped rescue a large, wet, stinky dog that was wandering around in "traffic" (three cars present). dropped him off at the city shelter. then i went to paws. there's a new dog there, and she's pregnant. they're talking about letting her have the puppies because "puppies are easy to adopt out". not sure how comfortable i am with that. nice dog though.
and teddy smells like urine again, despite having been given a bath on sunday.
starting to compile a list of things i'll need to get/purchase for the new place:
curtains
shelves/chunks of carpeting for making cat perches
machete
a few throw rugs
wooden things for shadow to scratch in lieu of door frames
a mop
bricks/rocks/etc. for building a firepit and reinforcing the bottom of the cattery
a shovel
(eventually) a storage shed
and i'm posting the list because if it's not online, doubtless i'll forget where i left it.
silly me.