NO JOKE

It's pouring down rain again. My agility classes were cancelled. That's my cardio!

Life With Jake

Jake retired from agility this year. He still likes to play in the backyard, but competing didn't seem as much fun for him anymore. This movie is a look back at our life with Jake. There is still lots left to go.

I can't swim!

You will not believe it, but we are in the middle of a thunderstorm AGAIN! It's pouring down. I pulled some weeds this morning and the dirt around our flagstone has green slime on it. We are just one giant petri dish right now. Mold everywhere.

Here is a close-up of the side yard with the water around the flagstone. Those poor plants are drowning.

This is out the kitchen window at the gate to the backyard. We cannot get grass to grow on this spot.

It's supposed to rain every day this week.

They call it stormy Monday

But Tuesday's just as bad.

Guess what it did today? Rained. No way. Yes way. I headed out this afternoon to do some errands. Hit the last TJ Maxx in town to see if they had my quilt. I swear it's a curse. No quilt, but on my way home I see it raining up north at our house. While I'm in the grocery, it pours. Moderate rain while I load the car. We manage to grill dinner, and then a tornado warning comes on the TV. Way north of us, but the skies are still black. When will it end?

Spent the day watching a BBC documentary, The Power of Nightmares and it's fabulous. If you are interested, check out http://shoes4industry.blogspot.com/

It covers the contents of The Looming Tower, another fabulous book, and explains the neoconservative movement. I totally believe that knowledge is power, so learning as much as you can about what is going on will give you peace of mind. Each video is about an hour, so give yourself some time.

Got to sign off to watch Hell's Kitchen. Love Gordon Ramsey.

And I found my quilt on Overstock .com. Fabulous day.

Sunny Day Finally!

Well, the rain stopped and what did we do all day? Work on our computers in the house, instead of frolicking in the sun. I have been trying all sorts of things to avoid opening my PC to install a card so I can download video, but nothing worked. So today, we unhooked everything from my PC and installed a card so I can use a FireWare cable to download video from our camera. Here is a video that we took last year of Jake and Woody doing a jumpers course at Triple Crown.

Rain Rain Go Away

You will not believe it. After the major downpour this morning, I thought the rain was over for the day. Frank and I headed out to do errands. Coming out of TJ Maxx (went to buy a quilt that I saw yesterday and it was GONE!), the sky had opened up and it was pouring. Frank, being the gentleman that he is, ran out to get the car. I had forgotten the driver door sticks, and there he is in the rain getting soaked. Finally jumps in the back seat and opens the lock. OOPS. As soon as I get in the car, the rain stops.

So on we go to do more errands and have lunch. I know where there is another TJ Maxx in hopes that I'll find that quilt. Coming out of that TJ Maxx, it's pouring again! This is Arizona Monsoon type of rain. Even an umbrella won't help. We try to kill some time, but it is still coming down. Another brave soul runs out to get the car for his lady, which gets Frank going and he does the same. Again, when I get into the car, the rain stops. A TJ Maxx curse maybe?

At home, the sky is blue again, but in the distance I see clouds. Sure enough, about an hour later, it's pouring again. Man alive. Where is all this flippin water coming from? I am so glad we live on top of a hill.

Floating Away

Saturday is my weekend day to get up with the dogs. Dogs woke me up at 5 am. It was pouring down rain. Again. No one would go out. Puttered on the PC for an hour. Only Woody ventured out at 6 am. Good dog. Left the door open and fell asleep on the sofa. Cold noses woke me up at 8 am. That is the latest they've let me sleep. Ever.

Our drought-tolerant landscaping is drowning. We have gotten so much rain and California is burning. Go figure. Texas has the highest carbon output of any state, so perhaps Mother Nature is giving us a bath. Dwarfed by SUVs at the grocery yesterday. Giant beasts. Who needs a Hummer to drive your kid to school? But then, I'm looking at motorhomes to drive to agility shows. Oh well.

European Grand Prix is Sunday. Getting excited about going to the Canadian Grand Prix next year. Now that is a town that celebrates F1. Too bad Indy blew it.

Lasers

Today I had my first laser treatment on my rosacea. Fifty-two years old with skin problems. Lovely.

The technician put numbing cream on my face. She said it had to sit for 15 minutes. She then wiped it off, which I felt, and asked her if my face is numb, how can I feel this? She chuckled and said everyone asks that. OK... She said the procedure would be much more painful without it. OK.... The doctor comes in and tells me that it will be the worst on my forehead. OK.... The tech gives me two stress balls, one for each hand. I ask her if I need a bullet to bite on. Another chuckle. Seriously, I have no idea what to expect here. She said it will feel like a little rubber band hitting my face.

She rubs gel on my cheeks and says she is going to do a test patch. She asks me if I want her to announce each "shot." I told her, yes, until I know what is going on. The "test" feels like a hot poker on my cheek. The sensation is the size of a pin, so I'm thinking she's going to have to do this a bazillion times, but apparently the area is much bigger. It hurt, but not killer. A very cold blast of air is on the entire time and the pain lasts for just a millisecond. I've had worse.

My face is now all red, but it's not bad. I have to go back in 4 weeks and do it again. I guess the unknown was the worst part. Now that I know it doesn't hurt too badly, that the next time will be less stressful.

No US Grand Prix Next Year

We had decided to go to the Canadian Grand Prix next year any way. What a shame. Not sure why the US won't join in on global sporting events. Soccer. Grand Prix racing. Every other country goes nuts with F1 racing. People hold the country flag of their favorite racer high and proud. We have one US racer and I don't think anyone knows or cares.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/sports/othersports/13autos.html?ex=1342152000&en=18638fa2e4b5daca&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Stop Watching Fox News

I never have and never will. Get your news from a reliable source, i.e., one not owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Going Green

We spent Saturday watching Live Earth. The message I got from the day was to just doing something because every little thing counts. So today I went to Home Depot and bought some compact fluorescent bulbs. Not too long ago, I changed out all our bulbs for the blue ones because the blue bulbs are closer in light quality to halogens, which is a pure white light. Regular bulbs give off a yellowish hue, so the colors in a room are altered. The blue bulbs show the true colors. So now I've got fluorescent light, which is greenish yellow. Oh well, I guess I can make the sacrifice.

The compact fluorescent bulbs are actually nicer in my lamps because the bulb is tall. You can't dim the bulbs, so I can't use them everywhere, but I managed to change out 6 bulbs downstairs. As they said on the show, every little bit counts. My next step is to buy local produce as much as possible. Saturday morning, we are going to the Austin Farmer's market downtown to see what we can do.

Our carbon output is pretty high. I check http://liveearth.msn.com/ each day for tips on how to reduce it. We are fortunate in that we don't have to commute to a job each day.

Raining Again

We had a major thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. Has rained every day for the last week, it seems. Last summer, Lake Travis looked empty. Small islands were visible and more than 20 feet of rock was exposed along the banks. Since that is our water supply, I was getting worried. What would happen if we ran out? This spring and summer so far, we have had record rainfall while the rest of the nation bakes.

Here is a photo montage of what we are experiencing. Luckily, we live on top of a very high hill above Lake Austin, so we haven't had any damage. Only my newly planted landscape appears to be drowning, but I'm sure it will bounce back.

http://www.statesman.com/search/mediahub/mediahub/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=24963

Watching Live Earth concert today. All day. Gives me hope that we aren't all trying to blow each other up.

Keith Olbermann Special Comment 7/3/07

Crystallized my thoughts perfectly.