Gone to the Dogs

Are you ever busy talking to someone and suddenly you feel like the most annoying person ever? Honestly, how can other people even listen to me? I have some friends that are chatterboxes, and I just don't want to be like that.

Today I had to call 911 because someone left their chihuahua in a hot car in the Walmart parking lot. It's the desert people! Yes I see you cracked your windows a bit. In CA it is actually illegal to leave a dog in a car. The dispatcher said she'd give the info to animal control. Someone had a very bad day if the cops got there before they left. But the dog being dead would be a worse day. And as we were leaving the parking lot, a Mexican woman was holding two chihuahua puppies, and a man with her was calling out to people trying to get them to buy one (which is also illegal now I think). If you must have a dog, please do some research and learn about the responsibilities involved, and then rescue one on death row. A dog is not just a fashion accessory.

Monday and I'm Taking the Day Off

I'm having one of those 'too tired to move' days. It's hot (94 on the porch but 88 according to weatherunderground.com).  I'm super tired from the weekend. We had a lot of customers at the archery booth yesterday. Luckily friends helped us tear down.  But this morning we were both so tired that the truck hasn't been unpacked. We'll wait until twilight to do it.

Our neighbor is also on vacation, so we have the added duties of caring for her yard. One of the horses slipped out of her fly mask, so my boyfriend had to go in and put it back on. We are not horse people, so we have to figure out how to do things sometimes.

Plus we are taking care of our own sick cat. It's been challenging knowing what the right thing to do is.

I really just want to do some drawing today. I fell asleep in the recliner reading a vampire book. I dreamed we rented a never ending house that caught on fire. I'm running through the house yelling 'fire, get out' and then I lost my voice. As I struggled to yell louder and louder, my boyfriend (in real life) yelled out from the other room 'Did you say something'. I was talking in my sleep.

Then I woke up with a charlie horse in both calves. The right side was worse so I ended up getting up and walking it off. So much for napping.

I'm still not recovering my energy. I think it's just too hot out. Or in, I should say, because I'm sitting under the fan and staying inside until it cools off a bit.

Forgiveness

I can't seem to stay balanced today. That I've survived at all is a miracle. I've never had so little faith in my country. People seem to be short on forgiveness, even those claiming to be Christians. One class I observed said it is a good idea to start the day saying with great enthusiasm, "I forgive everyone." Look in a mirror and keep saying it until you mean it. Forgiving others cleans out the cobwebs in your own psyche. If you can't forgive simple things, like someone parking in your spot, how can you forgive major things, like someone shooting your child? Forgive, let it go, and use your energy for something more useful. Note, I didn't say forget. Remembering is a survival skill. You can forgive someone without giving them a second chance to screw you over.

Off On Another Adventure

Time to pack for a camping/vending/archery event. Oh yes, I should have been getting ready all along, but until we found a pet sitter, it didn't look like I was going to get to go.  And I woke up with a backache which morphed into a headache.  We got the laundry done at the laundromat and now I'm too tired to pack. But pack I must unless I'm going to go for five or six days without clean clothes.  There are three categories of packing. Personal stuff, like I'd take on any trip out of town. Craft booth stuff, and archery/projects to work on stuff. Between the two of us, space is at a premium since we only have your average sized pick-up truck, with the archery booth having top priority.  Which means I never get to take my guitar and I have to argue for the right to take things like juggling equipment. You know, the stuff I take so I'll actually have FUN on the trip. I need to re-pack my inventory so it takes up less space.

My cat is sitting in an office chair with his face buried in the corner of it. I'm sure he's a bit stressed because the pet sitter has been here 2 days already. One extra person in our tiny house adds stress. But it was the only way he could get a ride out here.

Working Vacation

I'm looking forward to a business vacation out of town. It's vending and camping and I can't wait to be somewhere I can socialize. It's been nasty windy today. So much dust is in the air. I've never lived anywhere this dusty. I'm thankful I don't have asthma. So as soon as we can get packed and laundry done we are heading out. We are aiming for Wed. But maybe if we are lucky we can leave on Tues. I just want out of here.

At least the dust makes for a good sunset.

No More Daily Blogging

I hate to admit defeat, but I can no longer keep up with the daily blogging. It's not for lack of desire, or lack of motivation or not having anything to say. It's my darn Internet connection or lack there-of. Broadband hasn't worked all day. Last night's post crashed before I could hit send. Right now I'm borrowing my boyfriend's dial-up, but he doesn't like me using it much because it ties up the phone lines and then our customers can't get through. And it can't handle uploading things like photos or videos. Maybe if I had a smart phone or a laptop I could keep up. I have another week long trip coming up and no way to blog from the campground. I can use the library computers but only if I can get a lift there, and the library is only open 5 days a week. They are closed Friday and Sunday.

Sometimes I am so mad that we moved out here in the middle of nowhere, where there is no Internet infrastructure.

Strange Day At The Library

I'm at the library because my Broad Band no longer gets a signal. And I'm absolutely surrounded by the crazies. Every computer has people at it who are seeminly unaware that others are trying to concentrate. They are chatting it up, yelling across the room, jostling my chair. I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to living here.

My most current ex-friend is a Christian who just can't seem to stop trying to convert me. The last straw was when she invited me to her church for Easter Sunday. There will be no way to avoid her. They go to the same archery events as we do. And there are only so many archery events and we vend at them. She knows how I feel. I've told her many a time. But she can't seem to drop it.

While at the library I was trying to see why I didn't get a check from Hubpages this month. I thought for sure I'd get one. Well, I didn't make the $50 minimum. I made $45 and some change. I really needed that money. Unless something changes, this month is really going to suck financially.

Flesh and Fire Novel

I started reading a new fictitious novel today called Flesh and Fire (Book one of the Vineart War) by Laura Anne Gilman. I don't want to fill this post full of spoilers other than to say it is about the magic linked to grapes and wine.

A writer I met recommended I join Smashwords.com so I can e-publish short stories on the Internet. But my Broadband hasn't worked all day so I finally resorted to dial-up, which didn't want to work either. I'm not sure I can open a site and join it until I can get the wi-fi connection to work again. I'm not impressed with Virgin Broadband after 3 months of using it. It often goes out of service for hours on end. When I do call I always have to wait at least 15 minutes to talk to a tech and each time they tell me there is an outage in my area and they are working on the towers. Last month they told me they would compensate me, but so far, no refund or partial refund has been given. Lame. I'm looking for an alternative now. But I like pay-as-you-go and I don't want to be locked into any contracts that start out at one price and then jump to a higher price later on. So I have my book on my desk so I can read it as I wait and wait for dial-up to change from one web page to another. At least I'm getting some reading done.