DALLY WAS FOUND FRIDAY 10 MILES AWAY IN STANTON AZ…. WE THINK SHE WAS DRIVEN THERE & DUMPED OUT!!

First the good news about Dally.  We have 2 good neighbors around the corner called Shirley & Lou.  They live next to Dally’s house & their daughter is Dally’s owner.  We met Shirley on our walk this morning & she said Dally had been found 10 miles away in Stanton on Friday & other than a little worse for wear she is OK.  A neighbor is suspected of taking her there & dumping her out.  Sheriff is involved.  Lou was suspicious of the neighbor right from the beginning.  The neighbor, across the road & down a bit is a loner, not friendly, & other neighbors have had trouble with him.  Personally I think he is mentally unbalanced.  He hangs out in the Stanton area where a lot of gold prospectors live.  It is thought he took a dislike to Dally’s occasional barking.  There was a confrontation with Dally’s owners awhile back & Lou himself.  Shirley thinks he came in the wee morning hours & let Dally out because she heard a commotion over there & thought it was her daughter letting Dally out of the house for the morning.  It wasn’t.  Lou was suspicious of that neighbor right from the beginning.  We met that neighbor & his dog a couple times on our morning walks & said a cherry ‘Good Morning’ to him but both times he never spoke.  Pheebs wanted to be friends with his dog but it seemed very timid…………

DALLY KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON ME TODAY AS I GIVE HER SOME SCRUFFLES OVER THE FENCE

 

DALLY JEALOUSLY PUSHES AWAY HER PAL FROM GETTING ANY ATTENTION…THE OTHER DOG IS JUST VISITING TODAY

A lady in Stanton called her Vet in Prescott to report a stray dog.  Other calls were made & a connection was made. A photo was taken & it was confirmed it was Dally.  Shirley’s daughter & Granddaughter headed out & brought her home.  Shirley & Lou are good friends with the Sheriff so he was called.  Sheriff went & talked to this unfriendly fellow & told Shirley’s daughter to put ‘No Trespassing’ signs on their gates.  That way if the guy comes over again onto their property steps can be taken.  Kelly & I are worried the guy will throw some poison over the fence since there has been a second & third confrontation.  Shirley is hoping her daughter will smarten up & pay more attention to Dally now.  We have our doubts.  But the main thing is Dally is home & safe for the time being.  I remember a reader asking what breed Dally is so we asked Shirley this morning.  She is mainly a McNab with a bit of Border Collie in her.  We had never heard of a McNab breed before.  Wikipedia says ‘McNabs are well-mannered dogs, are hard-working, have good personal hygiene, and are friendly with small domestic animals such as cats and chickens’.  I’m thinking Dally’s over exuberance might have something to do with her young 2 year old age & not being shown a lot of attention or affection.  And not being properly trained.  Anyway, bottom line is she’s home………………..

OUR NEIGHBOR SHIRLEY & LOU’S FLOWER CACTUS GARDEN

 

Noticed when I was out with Pheebs around 5:30 this morning we still had a solid cloud cover hanging over us but no matter, it was still mild by Arizona early morning standards at 54F.  By late morning the clouds began breaking up & we could once again feel the warming sun’s rays.

 

When I entered my bathroom this morning & turned on the hot water tap the the old style plastic knob broke in my hand leaving water gushing from the tap with no way to turn it off.  Made a mad dash for a pair of vice grips to lock onto to the bare metal part & I’ll be darned if I didn’t manage to get the now steaming hot water shut off.  No idea why it broke.  Just old I guess.  Not a clue how to fix it either.  New knob, new set of taps??

  

Pheebs & took Winnie The Bago out for a good slosh before lunch.  Added enough water to the black tank to bring it’s level up to about three quarters full.  Drove us around some Congress streets for about 15 minutes giving that tank a good sloshing.  Back home I wheeled around behind the house & dumped the tank plus the gray water into our RV dump outlet.  Nice to have that convenience.  Rig just needs a vacuuming & we can begin loading her up for our next expedition.  

<<< US GUYS WAS CRUISING AROUND IN THE WINNIE WAGON THIS MORNING

Leslie & Peter did finally make it back home to Webster NY arriving slightly after midnight.  Said flight was smooth except for over the Rockies & coming into Buffalo with crosswinds.  I’ll bet they are feeling that classic traveler feeling…..nice to get away but what a great feeling getting home again too.  We always experience that in our travels & it is one of the great benefits of being a Snow Bird. 

  

Back in the years of 08,09, & 2010 I was very gung-ho on Full Timing.  Sell the house & all our stuff & the hit the road.  Had we done that I am sure we would have enjoyed the full time life & could very well still be doing it.  Would have certainly meant more adventures & places to write about.  But it was not to be & we just continued on with our Snow Birding ways & that has actually worked out very well for us.  Took a bit to get my head swung around from my earlier RVing day desires but swing around it did.  It has been said we have the best of both worlds now & I am inclined to agree with those thoughts.  We still have our boondocking ways when traveling & also have a little sticks & bricks at either end of our travels to be comfortable in.  Between the traveling & two home bases I am almost at the point of not being bored out of my tree having to do same-same things in the same-same place day after day.  Not everybody’s cup of tea of course but it sure does work well for me & my restless nature.   In fact we were just talking about some coming up summer travels this morning.  Nothing major like east or west coast Canada but shorter get-a-ways in & around Ontario.  Same ideas as last summer until a bunch of medical stuff snuffed out our plans.  We have our fingers crossed for a better summer this year:))

NICE TO AGAIN SEE SOME SUN SPLASHES ON THE MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING

I like the ‘Tree Spirits’ Paul has carved over at WHERE'S WEAVER.  I’ve always thought wood carving would be a great creative hobby & I think Paul has the right idea with his Tree Spirits.

 

Had myself a little photo assignment this afternoon.  Pam in the Shout Box had a question about Pheebe’s platform in the back of our 2 door Jeep Wrangler.  Shortly after buying our Jeep I had a concern with security.  If we had the Jeep top off (which we only did once) what is preventing anyone from walking by & just reaching in & lifting any valuables like cameras out.  I came up with an idea that would keep my cameras out of of sight & relatively safe.  Figured if I could put some sort of inconspicuous platform in the back I could conceal things underneath it & it would make a nice flat area for Pheebs to ride.  With the concept in my head I talked to my good friend Bruce back home.  Bruce is one of those guys that just knows how to do most stuff.  Told him what I had in mind.  He made a few measurements, asked a few questions, & went home & simply built it just like that.  It fit perfectly, was light weight, & lifts out of there in about 6 seconds.  No bolts or screws holding it in.  Just some well placed notches in the wood to fit over the seat holder latches.  I threw a bit of paint on it & cut me a piece of heavy duty rubber backed carpet runner for the top.  Screwed that down & that was it.  On top of it I carry a folded flat tarp & on top of that a floor mat.  And on top of that is Pheebs cushy bed.  Makes a nice soft riding space for her & she can lay down & look out the windows.  She can enter or exit the Jeep through the back but we encourage her to come in & out the passenger door instead.  It’s just easier & safer for her.  We can load a lot of groceries & any kind of cargo on the platform plus if we don’t want Pheebs to get into any food items we can just put them in the safe place under the platform.  The space under there is eight & three quarter inches.  That is high enough to carry my camera case & my telescope lens case underneath.  I purposely decided on that measurement based on my camera bag size.  The way Bruce built it we can also access a few items from the front seats.  This platform has worked well for us since July 2010.  So here then is what it looks like…………….

BACKSEAT IS REMOVED LEAVING THIS SPACE

  

PLATFORM’S UNDERSIDE & THE WOODEN NOTCHES TO FIT OVER THE FLOOR LATCHES

 

LOOKING AT THE PLATFORM FROM THE FRONT 

PLATFORM IS IN THE JEEP

 

MY CAMERA BAG & TELESCOPE LENS EASILY FIT UNDERNEATH ON THE RIGHT SIDE

 

PHOTO VEST, RAINCOAT, HIKING BAG, WALKING STICK & CANE PLUS JUMPER CABLES, TOW STRAP, QT OF OIL & A MINI AIR COMPRESSOR PLUS A CAMERA TRI-POD ALL FIT IN WITH LOTS OF ROOM TO SPARE

NEXT COMES DOGGY’S BED COMPLETE WITH A DOGGY & LOTS OF ROOM FOR ANY OF HER PALS SHE WISHES TO BRING ALONG FOR THE DAY

 

AND THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE FRONT SEAT…PHEEBS CAN EASILY MOVE BACK & FORTH BETWEEN THE PLATFORM & THE PASSENGER SEAT USING THE CENTER COUNCIL TO STEP ON

Pheebs & Kelly went to the library this afternoon & on their way home stopped to see Dally.  Another dog was there as well.  Kelly took Pheebs into the yard but Dally & the other dog’s playfulness were just too much for Pheebs to handle.  About an hour later I walked over to Shirley & Lou’s to take some photos of all the flowers in their Cactus Garden.  Stopped & had a few scruffles with Dally over the fence along the way.  She was pretty happy to see me & had quite a time keeping her Pal from taking any scruffles away from her.  She wanted them all:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((   One day there were three people. Their names were Manners, Trouble and Shut up. One day they were playing hide and seek. Manners got a tummy ache so he went to the toilet. Trouble was hiding. Shut up was finding Trouble when he met a policeman. The policeman said, "What is your name?" "Shut up!"  The policeman replied, "Are you looking for trouble?" "Yes!"  The policeman fumed, "Where are your manners?" "In the toilet."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

FILLED UP OUR HOUSE WITH MUSIC FROM FLOOR TO CEILING:))

PETER SNAPPED A PHOTO OF US BEFORE THEY LEFT

A cloudy morning for Peter & Leslies departure.  Breakfast finished, suitcases in the car, a final farewell, & they were on the road by 8:45 a.m.  They will be landing in Buffalo NY later tonight & the weather there is totally miserable.  They may have to dig the car out of a snow bank before they can make the snowy cold drive home from Buffalo to Webster NY. (near Rochester)

DID YOU LOAD THE SUITCASE?  NO I THOUGHT YOU LOADED THE SUITCASES

 

A LAST WAVE & THEY WERE OFF TO LAS VEGAS TO CATCH A FLIGHT HOME

Turned into a busy morning for Kelly & I.  Laundry to do & I had all my stuff to move back in from the rig.  Noticed a quietness in the house & quickly rectified that by quickly re-hooking up my Sirius Satellite radio Boombox.  I soon had the old house rocking again filling it with music from floor to ceiling.  Kelly did her laundry first & then headed for Wickenburg to pick up some groceries.  I was quick into my spacious sticks & bricks endless hot water shower.  The Winnie’s shower is OK but no room to twirl & dance around under the soothing hot water.  Pheebs & I kept ourselves busy for most of the morning just getting ourselves re-organized.  A couple loads of laundry kept me hopping.  It was a great week in the rig but I’m glad to be back in my favorite Ikea blogging chair right beside my own big old comfortable bed.  I sure like this Arizona home base idea…………….Groovy:))

BEEN SEEING A FEW BUTTERFLIES THE PAST COUPLE DAYS

Sometimes decisions can be a long time coming.  And sometimes there is just no rhyme or reason for that.  No amount of excuses seems to cut the delay factor.  It’s just the way it is sometimes.  And so it has been with our decision to change internet providers while here in Congress or on the road traveling.  We have been with Verizon since November of 2008.  Today we finally made the decision to switch over to MILLENICOM.  Tomorrow (Saturday) Kelly will make the phone calls to set the wheels in motion.  

I am one of those sensitive characters that always does a post analysis thing with myself after anything that involves interacting with other people.  Kinda like those sports post game reviews.  The military might call them de-briefings.  Of course I generally always bring myself up short on these ‘look backs’.  I’m not much of a conversationalist anymore & I’m even less of a story teller.  But I always ask myself, could I have done better with my people skills & daily interactions & the answer of course is always yes.  But it is the way it is now & my Yakky Doodle days are long behind me.  No point in tearing myself up about it.  I’m just living in & adjusting to a different era now…………….

<<< THIS GILA WOODPECKER LIKES THIS HALF ORANGE KELLY TACKED ON A POST

I’m in a bit of a quandary about my weight.  I’m at a point where I am actually afraid to step on a scale.  I’m not a big meal eater but have to admit I am a snacker & therein lies my problem.  I have bad eating habits & that’s all there is to it.  And my addictive nature is no help.  Beat the booze, beat the cigarettes, beat my coffee addiction, but boy oh boy what a food struggle it has been these past 25 years or so.  Just bad habits & that’s all there is to it.  It’s no wonder my legs complain about the weight they have to slug around every day!!

 

MORE YARNELL EMPORIUM PHOTOS FROM THURSDAY 

For any pre, current, or post Slabbers or for anyone else interested in what is going down at Slab City at the moment here is a link with the info.  Scroll down the left side & find the heading, SUMMATION OF SITUATION.  A troubling & difficult situation is rapidly growing worse………….

 

ARIZONA WINTER TIME GREEN

Old habits are strange things & often if not impossible to break.  Do you know I quit smoking nearly 33 years ago & I still carry a lighter around in my left hand pants pocket.  Also carry a small jackknife & tweezers in the same pocket.  Now those two things can come in handy.  But a lighter?  What am I thinking…..d’ya suppose I’m still looking for a butt on the ground like when we were kids.  Fags we used to call them.  Wow, has the meaning of that word ever changed over the years.  Wonder if anyone remembers that word being associated with cigarettes.

   

Here’s a few thoughts I wrote about a few years ago.  Just as current today than then.  Maybe even more so.  Ever notice how people say things to you without ever thinking about what they are saying  A robotic programmed greeting for example.  And they will say the exact same thing to the person they meet before you or another person in line behind you.  I swung into the McDonald's drive-thru line one time & ordered up a Burrito & coffee.  When I rolled up to the cashier window she said, "I must be dyslexic this morning."  She was half talking to herself as well as me as she seemed to fumble with a roll of quarters.  I wanted to reach out, put my hand on her arm & sincerely say, "thank you so much for an original greeting."  Doesn't it just bug ya when people say, "Hello, how are you today."  It's a programmed response we all have that comes out as an automatic saying & do most people really care when they say that to a passing stranger.  If they did they would stop & wait for your response.  But they don't & just blow right by & lay the same lame saying on the next person.  Wouldn't you just like to turn around some time, grab hold of a person & say, "Soooo, you really want to know how I am today do ya” & then hold them there while you verbally dump all over them!!!

<<< KELLY HELPS PHEEBS WITH ANOTHER STICKER
And while I'm at it.....Have you ever been in the wrong lane at a grocery store & crashed your cart into somebody & have them tell you they're "sorry."  My fault, but they say they're sorry.  What's with that.  I'm the one who should be saying, 'sorry' but of course I seldom do because the other person has already apologized for my mistake.  No point in two of us standing there trying to out-sorry each other because before long somebody else would come along, bump into us & say......well, you know!!

 

PINK FENCE LEADS TO A BOUTIQUE BESIDE THE EMPORIUM

Cheryl Ann over at DEEP CANYON is having trouble with ‘pop-up’ ads appearing on some blog posts she has been opening.  If these pop-ups are not placed on their blogs by the blog’s author then how are they getting on there?  Wonder if anyone else is having these ‘pop-up ads’ problem.  We’re OK so far here at the Bunch & have not run into the problem….yet.

Kelly was back from Wickenburg about 2 so I started the Jeeps interior reconfiguration from people friendly to doggy friendly.  Hauled out the back seat & put Pheebs padded platform back in along with all the usual stuff we carry.  Pheebs is all set to hit the Jeep trails again riding shotgun in the back.  Took down our old rope clothesline & put up some regular close-line wire & quickly hung some clothes on it.  And it didn’t even fall down. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A woman walked up to the manager of a department store. "Are you hiring any
help?" she asked."No," he said. "We already have all the staff we need.""Then would you mind getting someone to wait on me?" she asked.

Why did the furniture salesman take six backless chairs to the doctor's office? Because the doctor wanted to get a stool sample.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.