"Savin' Me" by Nickleback

Remember that earworm thing I have...? This morning it was this song by Nickleback going over and over again in my head....

Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you

Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you

Come please I'm callin' (fainter/echo)
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin' (fainter/echo)

[CHORUS]
Show me what it's like
(To be the last one standing)
And teach me wrong from right
(And I'll show you what I can be)
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
(Hurry, I'm falling') echo

Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
(And all I see is you)
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh I scream for you
(Come please I'm callin')
And all I need from you
(Hurry I'm fallin')
[CHORUS 3X]

Hurry I'm fallin'

**************
Maybe this had something to do with reading The Da Vinci Code?? Only the bolded lines is what was going thru my head this morning, with the music of course.



To get the lyrics I had to go find a Nickelback website. Found the video to this song, very interesting. Some guy gets pulled back from the curb by another guy, almost gets hit by a bus. Then everyone he sees from then on has a "countdown" over their head happening, how much time left on this earth. Then he saves a girl when her car gets smashed by something falling on it... now she sees people with this digital clock over their head. Hey, it sounds weird, but it's cool. Honest!!

The Da Vinci Code

Wow! Picked up this book on Friday nite... it's one of those "can't put down" books!! Can't wait to see if they do it justice on the big screen.. altho, it's a Ron Howard film, with Tom Hanks in it. Thinking it will do just fine. Lots of puzzles and mysteries and "didn't see that one coming" kinda book. Highly recommend it!

EARWORM!!!!

Earworm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Earworm, a loan translation of the German Ohrwurm, is a term for a song stuck in one's head, particularly an annoying one. Use of the English translation was introduced by James Kellaris, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati. His studies appeared to demonstrate that different people have varying susceptibilities to earworms, but that almost everybody has been afflicted with one at some time or another.
Some sufferers from earworm prefer the term "repetunitis" or, if sufficiently acute, "melodymania."

I "suffer" from EARWORM!!
This morning, like EVERY morning, I wake up to some portion of a song going over and over again in my head. But this morning was REALLY bad!! This morning, I heard over and over again, and over and over again.... "hands in my pocket, hands in my pocket, hands in my pocket"!!!!!!!!!!!! You know, from those DUMB tv commercials!!! GGGRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good news!

Been a week of good news and bad news to tell you guys about...

Good news first...
Our truck got found on Monday nite. Basically, it was stolen so they could drive 10 blocks away into another subdivision, and steal our heavy silver tool box out of the truck box (that my Dad gave us!) JERKS! I'm not kidding!! The gas tank still was full. Dave's new, leather, warm gloves were still sitting on the seat. But now the door lock has to be fixed; the steering column and ignition needs to be worked on; a wheel alignment needs to be done. And there is a good sized kinda L shaped scratch in the back bumper. But hey, at least we have our good truck back!!! Yippeee... camping is still on!! LOL

Bad news...
We've been discussing the last few months that it was getting time to put our old dog Shannon to sleep. But neither one of us were quite ready to make that appointment. Earlier this week, she just wasn't eating anymore. So I called and made an appointment for Saturday to do the dirty. I came home from work on Wednesday, I get to the top of the stairs, and there was Shannon, laying on the carpet, twitching, eyes open, no response. Long story short, took her to the vet and had to put her down then. But both of us were with her, talking to her, and she was laying on her blanket, when she passed. And she was 13. Lived a very 9-lives kinda life, so it was okay. It was time.

Bad news....
Ssshhh, don't tell Dave, but I probably got the WORST haircut of my life a few weeks ago. Don't tell Dave, 'cause it was he that bought me a gift certificate to get my hair "professionally" done by an experienced hairdresser, instead of at the beauty school, by students. God, it was horrible!

Good news...
I went Wednesday, on my lunch hour, back to the school. And I tell you, my last 2 cuts there has been great! This one is perfect. Cut shorter in the back, and my curls really pop out. Just long enough to tuck behind my ears or wear a skinny hair band. I REALLY like this cut. Maybe THE style I'll settle with for the rest of my life. Ya, right!! LOL

So, it's been a topsy turvey week.

God, it's weird only have ONE cat, and ONE dog now in our lives. Hard to believe that 4 months ago, we had 4. Two of each. The "zoo" feels kinda empty. Is this what they call the "empty nest" syndromn?

On the 31st, it will be Dave's 50th birthday. I'm doing a "surprise" birthday celebration. And that's been kinda/sorta coming along. Still not EXACTLY sure who will be coming. But hey, I've done most of what I can. Except CLEAN HOUSE - that's this weekend!! And all of next week too. LOL Okay, so I'm not the most "tidy" person out there. Clean freak I'm not! LOL So, let's see how this all turns out!
TTFN

Thieves target northside trucks

This is from our Sunday newspaper:

Thieves target northside trucks
Police are investigating the theft of a blue GMC truck stolen between 11 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday from Greenview Close North. The truck has Alberta licence plate TSR 181.
Also on Greenview Close North, a briefcase and flashlight were stolen between 10 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday from a GMC truck.

Well. Hmmm.... looks like we weren't the only ones hit that night! The bad guys must have had a "thing" for GMC trucks. Couldn't get the first one started, so found ours on the same street? How convenient for them, glad we could oblige. We aim to please, ya know. Being Canadian, and all that...

Hey, just called Dave - looks like if the truck hasn't showed up by the end of the month (next Friday), they will pay him out. But then they get to haggle over the value of it. Thank goodness I found some decent pictures of the truck, a side view pic from our Girls Camping Weekend, and then a direct front one from when I went to Waterton. Would still rather have the truck, 'cause we still have to replace it, and it was a damn good truck!! GGRRRRR!!! Oh well... such is life.

bbfn

The TRUCK!!

Remember when I said that I had seen what must have been a Great Horned Owl on February 14? Remember when I said, that within a 6 week period, a "big change" would probably occur? Ready for this?

Friday night / Saturday morning (March 17th / 18th)...

OUR TRUCK GOT STOLEN!! From right in front of our house! With the streetlight shining on it.

At 8 Saturday (yesterday) morning, I stuck my head out the front door to get the newspaper... and I'm sure I had that shocked look on my face when you can't believe what you AREN'T seeing - the truck wasn't there!! You look. And look again. And then I woke up poor Dave. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!! Someone "walked" off with our truck!! What the hell? It's just a basic truck. No fancy dancy stuff. Just a '92 GMC blue truck with a Chevy front end (courtesy of Dave working in a body shop). With the bench seat in the back - what do they call those? A crew cab? A club cab? Anyway. Just am/fm radio. No power windows. Just a good truck. CRAP!! With a really good freakin tool box in the box. With my wood splitter in it. And tarps. DAMN!

Now what are we going to use for going to the mountains?? My itty bitty Grand Prix? Which, by the way, was parked right in front of the truck. Damn, they could have taken it!! My God, that car is cursed - hit last year 3 times in 3 months. At speeds less than 5 km. Lots of cosmetic work got done. Oh, and by the way - all THREE hits were by MEN!! LOL

Anyway, the truck! It was great for getting my sons, those big kids of mine. And ALL their gear! For camping - I'm a Tenter, so lots of space in the box for the tent, the tarps, the rubbermaid containers w/food, etc. Getting my BIG shale type rocks from the mountains. Even to go visit anyone, room for BIG Gracie and little Shannon. Not the truck!!!

Dave says it's nothing to take a hammer and smash out the ignition, and then use a screwdriver to start it. Like I would know how to do that! Obviously someone who's done it before. But how nervy of them. Right on the street. Right across the street from a street light shining on it! They didn't break the window (no glass on street), so Dave's not sure how they opened the door. Altho there are those metal sliders that the tow truck drivers use to unlock the door when you lock your keys in your vehicle...

So YES, this is a BIG CHANGE for me!! For us!! The owl warned... Man, if it wasn't for bad luck, we wouldn't have ANY luck at all!! Happy St. Paddy's Day, eh?

"quote" re: Bridge

I love those smart people who have wordds at their disposal, and make everything flow smoothly. And I love quotes from those smart people!!

The hardest thing to
learn in life is which
bridge to cross and
which to burn.

COLIN ! ! ! ! !

I just had a lady call me, out of the blue, looking for my brother. Actually, she was calling everyone by our last name, looking for him, which is a very nice thing for her to do! There's that "Love being a Canadian" thang again!

I guess a year and a half ago, 2 years - he was working at the HUME HOTEL in NELSON, BC. The employer he had before that had forwarded his T4's to them, and now they need to find him to send his T4's on.

Well, I guess he isn't down east anymore. Or wasn't a year and a half ago. He's still in the resturant/hotel business. And he's probably still an active alcoholic. What a crying shame. I miss him....

Is this my "big change"? That's partly the reason why our phone is under my name in the phone book... with the hope that maybe one day he will call. I haven't gotten "lost", and maybe someday, he will be "found".

Kodak Easy Share zoom camera

See the subject line? Dave gave me one for my birthday!! Now all I have to do is figure the darn thing out!! But this will be SWEET once I do! WOW! No more zoom camera breaking down, batteries dying, etc, etc. WOWEE!! Or going back to my Canon Sure Shot, which has been a wonderful camera for me, for these 25 years plus! LOL Guess how I'm spending MY weekend!
TTFN

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder? This is how it manifests:

Damn, this is pretty much my typical day at home!!

You decide to water your garden.

As you turn on the hose in the driveway, you look over at your car and decide your car needs washing.

As you start toward the garage, you notice that there is mail on the porch table that you brought up from the mail box earlier.

You decide to go through the mail before you wash the car.

You lay your car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, you decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then you think, since you are going to be near the mailbox when you take out the garbage anyway, you may as well pay the bills first.

You take your check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

Your extra checks are in your desk in the study, so you go inside the house to your desk where you find the can of Coke that you had been drinking.

You are going to look for your checks, but first you need to push the Coke aside so that you don't accidentally knock it over. You realize the Coke is getting warm, and you decide you should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As you head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches your eye--they need to be watered.

You set the Coke down on the counter, and you discover your reading glasses that you've been searching for all morning.

You decide you better put them back on your desk, but first you are going to water the flowers.

You set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly you spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

You realize that tonight when you go to watch TV, you will be looking for the remote, but you won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so you decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first you'll water the flowers.

You pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, you set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then you head down the hall trying to remember what you were planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the driveway is flooded
the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
there is still only one check in your check book,
You can't find the remote,
You can't find your glasses,
and you don't remember what you did with the car keys.

Then when you try to figure out why nothing got done today, You're really baffled because you know you were busy all day long, and you are really tired.

You realize this is a serious problem, and you'll try to get some help for it, but first you'll check your e-mail.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

Mine has already arrived!!!!

ROB THOMAS!!!

In the last few weeks, I qualified with our WONDERFUL radio station, THE RIVER, to win tickets to go see Rob Thomas and Anna Nalick in Calgary on Tuesday, April 4th. At the same time, I won Anna's cd (I already had Rob's!)

Today was the first day of three that they would be calling people who qualified to give away a set of tickets per day. THEY CALLED ME!! I WON!! I'M GOING TO SEE ROB THOMAS IN CALGARY ON APRIL 4TH!!! That's the good news!!

Bad news... Crap, it's just after Dave's surprise birthday weekend, so I should be totally exhausted by that point! It's April 4th - right in the middle of tax season! Which, somedays during this wonderful season, I go to bed at 8:30 p.m.!!! It's a FREAKIN' TUESDAY night!! Won't get home until 1 or 1:30 a.m. from Calgary. And there is NO WAY on God's green earth that I will be able to take Wednesday off!!

But HEY, I DON'T CARE!! My body will just have to suck it up, 'cause I'm going to see Rob Thomas at the Jubilee. ~doing a little happy dance here!~ I'm gonna go see Rob Thomas in Calgary. ~still doing that happy dance!~ Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me... ~singing a happy tune AND doing the happy dance!~

BONUS!: And the tickets were FREE!!!! Free is good. Free is my friend! :-)

~fading off into the sun... doing that happy dance still~

Short-eared owls!!

Drove Chris up to Calgary to catch the bus on Saturday past. Unlike the Holiday Monday when I went up to Calgary to get him - when I saw a coyote and 2 bald eagles by Claresholm - it was pretty quiet. Just saw a coyote trying to find a mouse or something under the snow. Why is it that a coyote is classed as a member of the dog family, but pounces on it's meals under the snow like a cat? Things that make you go "hmmm..."

Anyway, I digress. No wildlife, other than the coyote, on the way up to Calgary. Nothing on the way back, and I even took the Vulcan Highway, where I've seen bald eagles and snowy owls... nadda!

Until.... I get 56 km away from home! Hmmm... what IS that on the fence post on the other side of the road? I slow down on my side, creep over to the shoulder, and coast up the road. DAMN!! It's a freakin' owl!! But not an owl like I've seen every before!! It's small. Smaller than a hawk. ??????????? What on earth???

I go up the road a ways, and turn around, and come back, now on the same side as the owl. I park the truck directly in front of it. Took a picture with the zoom, and the FLIPPIN' camera FLIPPIN' died!!! GGGRRR!!! But it stayed for quite awhile, looking at me, not scared at all. Then it swooped off the fence post and flew to some dead shrubbery out in a field.

I continue coasting on the shoulder, waiting for the traffic to go past me, and WOW!! Another owl on a fence post. And no, it ISN'T the same one! Actually, this one is skittish. Flew off pretty much as soon as I came up to it. Flew behind me, and landed on another post.

I continue coasting on the shoulder until it's clear for me to pull ANOTHER u-turn. Coasting once again, going in the home direction. Watching the 2nd owl. Get closer, and again it swooops low and heads off to the shrubs where the first one disappeared to. Get a good look at it's wings from the top side. Bands across the wrist area. Make mental note to self.

For the next 50+ km until I get home, I'm trying to figure out what kind of owl that was. Process of elimination... NOT a snowy. NOT a great-horned. NOT a boreal. NOT a burrowing. Wait! There was that band across the wing... maybe it's a barred owl. Think I've read that name somewhere.

Zip into the house... once I've been greeted by the clan and everything has settled, dig out my good ole bird books. Pretty darn sure is WASN'T a barred owl, it was a SHORT-EARED owl. Far out!! All my years of driving and watching, I've NEVER seen this owl before!! Didn't even know they existed around here!!


SHORT-EARED OWL(Asio flammeus)
Field Marks: The tufts of feathers on the head are very small and inconspicuous and generally not seen except when the female is in camouflage position at nest. It should be considered a round-headed owl for identification. The eyes are yellow and the bill black. Its facial disk is circular, grayish white with black orbits. Juvenile owls retain more black on the disk until the fall. Ventrally they are buffy brown with vertical streaks, paler on the belly. Dorsally, they are mottled buffy/brown. In flight, dark"wrist" on underwing is a key field mark, coupled with mothlike flight.
Size: 13 to 17 inches.
Weight: 11 to 14 ounces.
Similar Species: The Long-eared owl has a smaller "wrist" patch, buffy underwings and a darker belly. Although long-eared owls hunt similarly to short eared owls, they are rarely seen hunting during they day as the short-eared may. The burrowing owl is much smaller and has a yellow to whitish bill.
Habitat: Open grasslands, plains and agricultural areas with suitable vegetation and food.
Voice: "Hooh, hooh, hooh...," given approximately 15 times during courtship flight. Courtship song is also accompanied by an audible wing-clap and dive between calls.
Natural History: Begins nesting in late February to March. Nests on the ground in a small depression, often with grasses placed around the depression;nest resembles a small bowl. Clutch size 4 to 10 with an incubation period approximately 26 days. Young fledge at 30 to 40 days. This owl is migratory, however some individuals may not migrate.
Food Habits: A vole or field mouse specialist- almost the entire diet is made up of these small rodents.


Damn!! I never paid any attention to it's BILL!!! Who knew!!

And When I Die - Blood Sweat and Tears

I'm sitting here, for a moment, at my pc (in between doing laundry and making beds, etc!), listening to our Sunday Morning Oldie Show... and Blood Sweat and Tears came on, with that haunting harmonica at the beginning... aaahhhh.... sweet song! And my Dad comes to mind....

I'm not scared of dying,
And I don't really care.
If it's peace you find in dying,
Well then let the time be near.
If it's peace you find in dying,
And if dying time is here,
Just bundle up my coffin
'Cause it's cold way down there.
I hear that its cold way down their.
Yeah, crazy cold way down their.

Chorus:

And when I die, and when I'm gone,
There'll be one child born
In this world to carry on,
to carry on.

Now troubles are many, they're as deep as a well.
I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell.
Swear there ain't no heaven and I pray there ain't no hell,
But I'll never know by living, only my dying will tell.
Yes only my dying will tell.
Yeah, only my dying will tell.

Chorus

Give me my freedom for as long as I be.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me,
And all I ask of dying is to go naturally.
Oh I want to go naturally.

Here I go,
Hey Hey!
Here comes the devil,
Right Behind.
Look out children,
Here he comes!
Here he comes! Hey...

Don't want to go by the devil.
Don't want to go by demon.
Don't want to go by Satan,
Don't want to die uneasy.
Just let me go naturally.

and when I die,
When I'm dead, dead and gone,
There'll be one child born in our world to carry on,
To carry on.
Yeah, yeah...

Isnt' it strange, that after this time... a song can do that to ya! And THIS was my Pop! He went "naturally"... just drifted away. AFTER going thru shit! And his line continues...
bbfn

OWLS

Owls. Some people see them as bad medicine. Some as good. All thru time, in all cultures. For me... they signify a "big change". A warning of sorts. Usually, after I've seen an owl, something that I didn't "see", happens in the span of about 6 weeks. Sometimes it makes me very nervous, but never afraid.

The biggest "episode" was when I almost hit one, coming home from the lake visiting friends. I was driving. K had been drinking. The boys were in the back seat of the truck. And this great horned owl came swooping in front of the windshield/headlights. Scared the crap out of ALL of us!! It landed on top of a hwy sign, still within the headlight. And sat there, watching us. Within 6 weeks, I had left my home and everything (pretty much) that I held dear. It changed ALL of our lives.

Thru the years, I have documented the stuff that has happened to me, because it ties in with seeing an owl. A friend even once said to me, "no more owls, please!"

Recently, I saw one in the fall at the dog off leash area. Within 6 weeks, Ralph (my cat) had disappeared. Another big change. He had been with me since '98. Got him as a baby when my body was doing strange "ms" things, only I didn't know that at the time. He was my buddy. Would sleep in my hair. Don't ask! LOL I miss him, can't even say for sure that he is dead. Keep checking, 3 months later, at the animal shelter....

Chris and I saw a snowy owl before xmas. They don't seem to effect me like the great horned owls, don't know why. Maybe because they aren't native to our landscape?

On Tuesday, the 14th of February, I was at home "sick" with "burning bum". Again, don't ask!! There I was, on a day and time when I shouldn't have been home, sitting for the first time that day, on the couch in the LR. Whatever made me look out the window at that time? Just a glance, that's all. But what do I see? Yep. An owl. Probably a great horned one. It was big. Flying up from the south, to the east of the house. It swung around into the green strip to the north of us. Sorta circled. Then flew to the northwest. 6 weeks from now takes me to the end of March. So let's see if the sighting holds true again. Another "big change"? I'll keep you posted...

Roll Me Away by Bob Seger

You know, I never heard this song until a few years ago. I had the cd on, and was cleaning the house, and suddenly, I HEARD it! I have this cd in my car (the only one in a 10 pak, go figure!) And the section of lyrics below are great, but it's the lyrics AND the music that makes it! I wish everyone could hear it!!

Stood alone on a mountain top,
starin' out at the Great Divide
I could go east, I could go west,
it was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin'
and my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin'

Roll, roll me away,
I'm gonna roll me away tonight
Gotta keep rollin, gotta keep ridin',
keep searchin' till I find what's right
And as the sunset faded
I spoke to the faintest first starlight
And I said next time
Next time
We'll get it right

One of my favorites!!
TTFN

Been BUSY!!

I've been kinda/sorta planning Dave's 50th SURPRISE WEEKEND... so I've been trying to track down his old buddies from Thompson. I've set up a blog where I'm writing all my adventures (?) down on how this is all shaping up. And a place where people can go to check out how it's coming...

If you are interested, go to:
OMGDave50

Yep, translates into OH MY GOD, Dave is 50!! LOL

So if anyone is interested from here, just check it out there. And 'cause Dave is sooooo NOT a computer guy, I know my on-line diaries are safe!! LOL God, ya gotta love pc's!!
TTFN
CJ

The Eagle and The Hawk

I would have been about 13 when this song came out... the lyrics are great, but so is the instumentation with it. No wonder I'm such a Nature Girl, eh?

John Denver - The Eagle and the Hawk (1971)
1943 – 1997

I am the eagle, I live in high country,
In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky,
I am the hawk and theres blood on my feathers,
But time is still turning they soon will be dry.
And all of those who see me, all who believe in me,
Share in the freedom I feel when I fly,

Come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops,
Sail over the canyons and up to the stars,
And reach for the heavens and hope for the future,
And all that we can be and not what we are

Aunt Jean's emails

My wonderful Aunt Jean sent me the following emails, thought I’d share… She is an amazing computer literate “mature” woman! I’m sure she won’t be far behind getting her own blog! LOL

First one:
Viki gave me the link to your blog and I read it last night, I am impressed with your views, and activities, Good for you!

I keep a journal and have done so for many years, I've got a large drawer full of books for the family to read when I've gone somewhere else, heehee. They have settled many disputes and when anyone needs some history, its there. There was a period during the years we spent in Ont. that I was not keeping a diary and have regreted it.
Life here is good. Hope alls well with you.

Love & Hugs
Jean & Allan**********

Cool... that you checked out my blog! Impressed with my views? LOL Now I'm scratching my head... oops, what views did I say in there??!!

I used to keep diaries. Scribbler type. More so when I was a teenager. Come across them every now and then... was I ever THAT naive? In love? Hurt? Oh, the pain of being a teenager!! I sooooo like being in my own skin nowadays!! I LIKE who I am now, or at least, most of the time I do!! That's a far cry from back when I was younger!!

Okay, enough of me rambling!
Love and hugs to you both!**********


Hey! don't you read your own blogs? I found lots of views in there, maybe because I look for them, I like to know what people think! No I'm not a shrink, I just like people.heehee.

Thanks for your note, I love hearing from you. You have a way with words, maybe you should be a writer, Have you ever tried it?

Love from here.**********

Love from here, Aunt Jean! :-)

Small pleasures & BIG couches!!

Wednesday, for whatever reason, this ad popped out of the paper at me: COUCH & LOVESEAT. Green leather, reclining. $500 for the set. 555-5555. It wasn't like I was scanning the classifieds, going down the column with my finger,looking for a couch! It was just THERE!! Anyway, came home that nite, mentioned it to D. He said, we should look into it. Ya, but, $500. Oh wait, there's Ralph's Bucks that came in.

Ended up calling the number on Thurs. The phone was busy a couple of times, but I finally got thru. Spoke to the lady, there was someoone looking at it at 1 p.m. Damn, rushed over to the south side on my lunch hour at 11 a.m. NICE green leather reclining LARGE couch and loveseat. Called D on his NEW CELL PHONE... at work, he was ok with coming over on his lunch hour to give cash to them, and I flew out of there to rush home (waaay north), let the dogs out for their pees and give Shannon her pill, and zipped back to work. ALL in an hour!!

Last night, D and a buddy brought them home. CRAP, much larger than my old $15 auction buy!! Got them all set up. D is in HEAVEN!! There he was last night, all reclined on the couch, quite enjoying the comfort!! LOL He sooooo hated my old green couch!! Hey, $15, 4 or 5 years ago... it served a purpose!! And because the deck is covered and protected from the wind and rain, I'm going to set up the old couch on the deck. Might as well... Lynx and Gracie will love it out there!!

And the "small pleasures"... I went over W's head at work directly to one of the partners and got the okay to spend about $600 on a remote ear / mic way of answering the phone!! And he was so okay with it... I had the whole speel ready to give him why I needed it, and he didn't care!! W would have so given me grief, she can be SUCH a hard ass!! WwhooooooHooooo!! "Small pleasures!" LOL Life is GOOD!!

My favorite Bird Books

Two books that I use to do "research" on the birds I see on my walks, camping trips, hikes - or wonderful feathers that are gifted to me!!

"Birds of Alberta" by John Acorn (the Nature Nut) and Chris Fisher by Lone Pine Publishing AND/OR "Field Guide to the Birds of North American" - National Geographic Society. I have other bird books, but these are the two that I use quite a bit. And once I've identified my birds, then the internet is a wonderful tool!! Soooooo much information out there!!

Another great little book is "Animal Energies" by Gary Buffalo Horn Man and Sherry Firedancer. Call me wonky, but my animals that I come across - always seem to answer a question or lighten my load, or show me the way. Yep, time to lock me up! LOL I don't find any animal "spooky", more like a gift from the Great Spirit, the Creator, Mother Earth. I know, I know, I spend toooooo much time outdoors in the bright sun, with a very overactive imagination! But even when I was a little girl, I could whistle to the chickadees, and they would answer me back! Still do. :-)