HoundBlog

Happy Halloween! Although some here in the office dressed up for Halloween, I have opted for my everyday costume as I think I’m scary enough au naturelle. 😛

I just love this weather we’re having! I love the cool, crispness of the mornings and the warm, but not too warm afternoons. My dogs do not all agree with me — the Whippets (with the exception of Skinny Marie) are OK with it, but the Cresteds decry the chill. They want triple digits back, thank you very much! 🙄 As far as Skinny is concerned, I just need to order her some more pajamas and she will be happier.

The crested puppies are a week old today. They haven’t changed much in a week — grown a bit — certainly they are nowhere near as interesting as Whippet puppies are! Whippet puppies start out as baked potatoes with a little knob on the end (for a head). As they get older, they morph into the svelt, curvy animals they are as adults with long, wedge shaped heads. The Cresteds have been born pretty much the shape they will be as adults. The notable exception is ears. Cresteds can (but in the US, it’s not desired) have floppy ears or erect ears (this is the desired ear set). They are born with them down –natures way of making it easier to be born, I guess — nothing to hold them back in the birth canal :P. Whippets, on the other hand have ears that go through every possible configuration you could imagine ears on a dog could go through. The stand straight up, flop to the left, flop to the right, curl backwards, flop forwards (like Odie in the Garfield cartoon ears do), cross over the top of the head before they (hopefully) settle into the elegant rose we admire so much.

Well, I’m sure that was way more information than you EVER wanted to know about the differences between Whippet puppies and Crested puppies 😆

Guess I should actually get back to doing something productive. Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

Love to all,

Margaret

Good morning everyone! I hope your morning has dawned as beautifully as mine has! Crisp, cool and clear skies. Our leaves are finally starting to turn beautiful colors.

I’m looking forward to this weekend and seeing Mom. It’s been too long since we hugged each other. I will see if I can get her back on line as we all miss her emails and I miss her comments on the blog.

This will be short as there just isn’t much to tell.

I think Ken talked to Chris Sunday and all is well with them. Bebe is performing in the Nutcracker this season Dec 8th I think was the date and we will try to get there to see her dance.

So now you know all I know 🙂

Love to all,

Margaret

Movin’ on down the road
We’re movin’ on down the road
It’s now time to let go; get on with the show
We’re movin’ on down the road

The movers are here! Let’s go!
Take all of your stuff in tow.
No time to make things just so.
We’re movin’ on down the road.

Our new office has a bright glow
It’s just sunshine don’t you know?
Like new sprouted seeds, we’ll grow
Where we moved to down the road.

Movin’ on down the road
We’ve moved on down the road
Twas time we let go, got the show on the road
We’ve moved on down the road

Good morning everyone!

As I predicted, our move Friday was fraught with delays and complications not forseen. Instead of the “flip a switch, move the servers, plug them in and we’re good” it was more like wait hours for the preparations to flip the switch to get done, then wait hours for the servers (and even then they didn’t bring them all!!) to get physically moved, installed into their slots, powered up, the network tested, etc, etc before we were finally “back in business”. So, instead of being up and running by 11:00 am, it was more like 3:00 pm before we were running. Although most of my day was spent helping others get their computers set up, their phones programmed and other mundane tasks, I was exhausted by the end of the day.

And then it was the weekend finally. I was glad I had nothing much on tap as it turned out.

I went to Inman to take Kathy the photo of the puppies and see how she was doing. I found her not feeling well and the kennel dogs still shut up inside the kennel although it was 11:00 am when I got there. I helped her get them out into thier runs and then cleaned the kennel room for her — I won’t go into the condition it was in. It could have been worse, but still was pretty bad. Brooke (her daughter who lives with her) was nowhere to be found. Right before I left, Kathy asked me to call her other daughter to ask her to pick up her medicine at the pharmacy. Daughter #2 said she would pick up the meds Sunday or Monday IF she could afford them. I asked her how much they were and she replied they usually ran $3-$5 each. Then I asked if I could pick them up and she said yes, I could but that she would do it once she determined if she was going to be able to afford it. Kathy is diabetic and on insulin. She also must take an anti-siezure drug as well as some other drugs for blood pressure, etc. So, I went to Walmart and got the prescriptions for her. Call me a sucker…….you won’t be the first to do so. All I could think of was this could be my mother (but thank goodness it’s not!!!!).

Well, all is not beautiful in our new paradise. Over the weekend, I got a call from my co-computer geek that the system had gone down due to the server room getting too hot. He called to ask me about some errors he saw in the log and I had to fix what was wrong. He also had to call building maintenance about keeping the airconditioning running higher for that room — guess they had set it down for the night/weekend and got it too low for our servers. I hope that’s a one-time deal and that we don’t have to contend with that issue all the time. It will make life miserable otherwise.

Anyway, here is a photo of my view that I took with my cellphone camera. It’s not all that exciting unless you’ve been looking at cardboard colored walls for the last 7 years 😆 We had lunch at the deli Friday and it was VERY good food at a VERY reasonable price! I had a sandwich, chips and drink for $6 and they also have breakfast!

That will be super!

Well, I’ve got to run and get ready for work. I just wanted to get this up this morning so you could see my view.

Love to all,

Margaret

Well, the day is here! We are IN the new building!

I moved my stuff yesterday afternoon and have my cube all set up (well, I’m waiting on one box that the movers were to bring, but it’s non-essential stuff). It’s a really posh cube with walls taller than I am, locking cabinets both above the desktop and below it, a rolling file drawer unit that has a padded top (could double as a seat for a visitor. The desktop goes all the way around the 3 sides, so is way more desktop than I could ever use. I have a really comfortable chair and a window!! Of course there isn’t much to see as it looks out over East North Street towards the Hyatt, but its a WINDOW and has natural light coming in. One drawback is parking — we’re in the garage across Church Street from the building. Church is a 4 lane VERY busy thoroughfare into the city proper. Although there is a light with a crosswalk push button thingy, in bad weather, it could be a pain to manage. We can opt to park in the building’s parking, but it will cost me $35 per month to do that. I will have to weigh all the pros and cons over those choices. Another drawback will be the limited number of eating places within easy walking distance. I just don’t like to drive anywhere to find lunch, but may find that’s the only choice. I’m sure we’ll carpool at lunch since we don’t have passes for the other garage, but rather this monopoly money and once we use our 30 pieces of silver, we have to pay $1 per entry to get in. Apparently this is the only garage in the city that doesn’t have the electronic passes ❓ ❗ ❓ Crazy!

I don’t have to be to work this morning until 8:30 — which I don’t like as that will get me right in the middle of traffic and so forth, but this will be the only morning I go in late. The computer line won’t be switched until 8:30, so we won’t have computer access to the internet or servers until that happens.

Our phone number stays the same, but I have a new extension — 3071. I will miss 222, but I guess this is progress.

Well, even though I’m not getting back to work, I do need to hop in the shower to get ready for work.

Talk to you later!

Love to all,

Margaret

Good morning! It’s foggy this morning, but not raining and the drive in was a bit harrowing as it’s a full moon and all the crazies are out. This morning I had a truck pull out in front of me that had no tail lights. I just barely saw him in time to not run into his rear end.  Last night on the way home was a car whose muffler was dragging the ground and throwing sparks everywhere. Thank goodness it had rained all day or I would have been very concerned about fire. I was still worried that the car would blow up in front of me as it was.

Came into the office this morning and my desk is gone. My computer and monitor are on this little sofa table thingy that thankfully is just the right height. It’s OK except my back is to the door and I don’t like that part, but it’s only for today. We will be in the new digs tomorrow and all this will just be a memory.

Still nothing planned for the weekend. We went in the camper Tuesday night and there was no signs of ants, so we will not have to set off bombs after all (HALLELUJAH!).

I have ring times for Knoxville — 11:00 Saturday and 8:30 Sunday which are perfect as I don’t have to leave here at midnight to be there for Saturday’s ring time, will have plenty of time after we show to go see Mom and will get up, check out of the hotel, show and be home Sunday by early afternoon. Now, if we can just pull off the wins both days, Butterfly will finish, but, I’m not counting on that happening. I am never so lucky…:cry:

Well, I guess I need to wrap this up and get back to work.

Love to all,

Margaret

Good morning everyone! It’s still raining! Not a lot, but still is 100% more than we’ve had for months! Also, the temperatures are in the 60’s which is refreshing after several days back up in the 80’s — way hotter than October usually is!

Working from home today as I have a board meeting tonight. I’lll also work from home tomorrow morning so I can go in late and stay late to begin the move to the new building.

It worked out well that I chose today, since the pg rescue Crested is having her puppies today. So far, we have one boy and one girl. The boy is a puff and a pretty golden palomino color while the girl is hairless and quite dark — almost coal black. Cameo is being a good mommy and the babies are doing fine. I think she has 2 or 3 more to go. Of course pictures will come.

Speaking of pictures! I almost forgot to post the ones from the fashion show!!

 This is Star and Elizabeth in their Halloween dress. Notice Star’s stem hat? It was a real hit with the audience!

This is Whinney, Star and Tara with their handlers showing off thier New Years Eve party dress. Don’t they look like they’re going to have fun? This was such a fun thing and I know Janet put a TON of time and trouble into it! I just wish I could have gotten more and better pictures! However, my camera was taking forever to recharge the flash for some reason. It was VERY frustrating!

Well, I suppose I should get back to work.

Love to all,

Margaret

We continue to get some rain. It’s not hard nor is it steady, but it’s 100% more rain than we’ve had in months, so I’m not complaining.

I pray we never have to endure fires like they are in San Diego county, California. I cannot fathom having to leave behind my animals to sure death by fire in order to save my own unworthy hide, but people are doing just that. It’s horrendous. And I wonder, in light of other disasters that have occurred in the past 4 years, just how long it’s going to take our Federal Government to step in and help the 3 million people who live in that county and who have lost all.  It will be interesting from a political standpoint to see how GW responds to a Republican Governor’s request for help compared to his response to a Democratic Governor’s request 3 years ago. Natural disasters such as hurricanes and fire have no politics, but you watch the politics unfold around this one — and ironically, New Orleans is threatened with flooding once again — not from a hurricane, but from rain…..Mother Nature sure has her quirks, doesn’t she??

Move day is in 3 days…. we are in countdown mode here with last minute packing being frantically done and OMG’s being said for things that were forgotten but shouldn’t have been. We go over the ever-growing task list ad infinitum to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything and to make sure we have the moving of the servers orchestrated and choreographed like some kind of ballet.

Guess I should put my shoulder back to the grindstone…

Love to all,

Margaret

On another blog, I wrote about people with their hands out. Well, this post is about someone who is extending a helping hand to another.

Drew has extended a hand to a couple who are battling cancer in their lives. Becky Machinski and her husband Mike have both had battles with Cancer. Becky has been Cancer free for some time but Mike is still battling. The Machinskis have three beautiful little girls who have had to pack up their lives to go where their mother and father could get treatment. They do not complain and are very sweet. The family has, in essence spent all of their savings and income on getting both Mike and Becky well. They cannot get insurance and so the rising cost of Mike’s treatments compounded over the years has been astronomical. The Machinski’s keep an online journal, with updates on Mike’s condition. He has had over 120 radiation treatments since 2004. Suffice it to say the family could use a little financial help.Ben’s trying to get them some help in the form of a calendar he’s created that the proceeds of the sales of which will be donated to the Machinskis at Drew’s Reunion in November. Please help Drew out by purchasing a calendar. They’re beautiful, reasonably priced and will help someone who needs it.
Love to all,

Margaret

Good morning everyone! Woke up this morning to a nice gentle rain. Of course that meant I didn’t WANT to get up, but rather lie there and listen to the gentle patter on the roof and possibly drift back into slumber. However, duty called in the form of Payne needing to go out, so I forced myself to get up and begin my day.

The weekend was uneventful. I got my usual chores done in mindless fashion, watched some t.v., read a book and wrote a tutorial — which if you’re into PSP, is HERE. Ken was in Lumberton, NC for a dog show where Tigger was Reserve Winners Dog both days, so it was a less than stellar weekend for them, but he did enjoy the quiet, although not the ants. Evidently the ants were pretty bad up there and now we will have to bomb the camper as they made themselves at home. 😥

This is our week to move, so we will be finishing up packing (I am pretty much done except for stuff I use every day) and will be in our new digs come Friday morning.  I’m still nervous about the transfer of the servers — Wes keeps saying it will be smooth and that we will only be down for a few hours at most, but I have serious doubts about that. While I certainly HOPE it is what happens, I also know how the best laid plans often go.  You may call me a pessimist, but I think I’m more of a realist.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work and make this day a productive one.

Love to all,

Margaret