7/28/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

First is a successful baking of blueberry banana nut bread. I took two recipes and adapted...a little moist but oh my, DELICIOUS!

Second is the addition of a puppy to our household...yes, I am seriously nuts. But what a joy he has been. What work he has been! Housebreaking is going okay - as long as we are paying attention. He has his own Instagram account and his own Facebook page, Mighty Mini-Cooper!

He had his first vet visit on Wednesday and all was generally good. He could stand to gain weight so we increased his food. A little irritation in his ears, very common on the Doodles (Poodles, Golden Retrievers, Labs, etc) so we have some natural stuff to hopefully clear that up. He got shots updated and goes back in three weeks for the rest and to recheck his ears.

He has made himself right at home...ya think? LOL!

Third is finally getting back to working on Paradise Dead, the second in my trilogy of novellas in the Lei Crime Kindle World. I hope to make my August 1st deadline to get it out to my beta readers and typo hunters. Phew!

I hope you've had a spectacular week and have some small things to celebrate!

Click to see the other blogs participating in the Celebrate the Small Things blog hop.

Ciao for now!

Introducing Mini-Cooper, the Mighty GoldenDoodle

Many of you have followed us for a while and enjoyed Sadie's (our PitBoxer pup) tales. When we moved to Ecuador, she moved in with Stu's oldest and her family. She is now a well loved and well spoiled member of their family. We see her when we visit them in Delaware.

But being without a pup since 2013 was wearing on us. While we love Sadie, we knew we didn't want another pit mix and we didn't want a female this time around. We both fell in love with the Poodle mixes we ran into while traveling - LabraDoodle, NeufyDoodle, GoldenDoodle and of course the ever popular YorkiePoo.

So, we promised ourselves if we gave in, it would be to get a Doodle mix. Looking for a medium sized pup that wouldn't struggle with space when we are in the RV, we initially watched for a rescue of an older dog. We soon realized many of these were troubled dogs, a product of poor breeding or owners who didn't understand what they were getting into. At this stage of our life, we opted for a puppy over an adult rescue. (We may rescue a second dog once Cooper is about a year old).

I ran across an ad for GoldenDoodle pups for sale in the Crossville, TN area. We started talking to the breeder and before we knew it, we had put a deposit on a puppy. Fast forward two months and yesterday we brought home our own little Mini Cooper, GoldenDoodle extraordinaire. Here are a couple of photos of his trip home...in my lap.

First stop was Tractor Supply to get a halter so he could ride in the back seat, strapped in. He did well for his first time ever with a leash. We lucked out and got the harness at 50% off, we also picked up a water dish for outside.

Once home, he's been a jewel - almost too quiet. Weighs about 20# according to our scale. No accidents, slept in the crate all night with only 10 minutes of protest, eating, peeing & pooping all good. Even lets me brush & comb him and behaves on the leash most of the time.

But he doesn't play much. I'm used to puppies wanting to play all the time. Thinking it's just an adjustment period. Also, unless he is really hungry, he ignores treats including peanut butter, bananas and even a tiny bit of cheese. Definitely not food motivated...

While Sadie had her own blog (now merged into this one), Cooper will only have a Facebook page and an Instagram account [@Mighty_Mini_Cooper]. I hope you will follow him there.

His first 24 hours and 1) he slept all night, okay 11-5:30, 2) his first nap in the crate he cried for 20 minutes, the next two times it was 10 minutes, 3) he is eating and free feeding is working well, downside is he isn't food oriented, not even cheese or peanut butter, 4) he whimpers when he wants to go out, we're still working on the bell training. He's not a fan of his worm medicine and other than magazines, hasn't tried to chew on anything.

Ciao for now!

7/21/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great! By the way, it's been a BBBIIIIIGGG week!

First is delightful evenings spent on our back deck. Cooler temps, a little breeze and some beer &/or wine. Ahhhhh...



Second is finding two bargains. First was this hutch for our dining area. I wanted something with storage underneath for small appliances (ones not used too often) and the top for our collection of pint glasses. Got this for $100! It's a little darker than our other pieces, but I don't mind. It works perfectly. The open bottom shelf will hold some of the collectible pieces of our McNicol china that we've saved as well as a couple of my favorite creamers.



...and this 4' long stained glass wall hanging that will eventually hang in the dining area as well. $35



Third is watching the hummingbirds soar by, stop and drink when we are sitting on the deck. It was getting dark so my iPad didn't get great photos but here are two. Oh, they are definitely ruby throated hummingbirds.





Fourth  is getting our driveway expanded so there is more than enough room for the RV to the side of the garage and opening up room for two cars in front of the garage. It also makes it much easier for him to back in and pull out.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


BONUS: Stu got our 50 amp plug installed and working. We now have A/C in the RV - more room for company!




I hope you've had a spectacular week and have some things, big or small, to celebrate!

Click to see the other blogs participating in the Celebrate the Small Things blog hop.

Ciao for now!

Bugged!

Our new house has a lot of blooming plants and shrubs....

...including roses.

And roses mean Japanese Beetles. I remember these growing up in Massachusetts. I think my mother spread some kind of powder to fight them. Now it's even easier with these amazing traps. We now have three out and they are filling fast. Of course, some damage has already been done to the bushes but hopefully they will be okay.

Stu tried to get the traps at our local Tractor Supply but they were sold out and backordered. He found one at our local co-op and as soon as he saw how effective it was, we ordered two more from Amazon.

Ciao for now!

Keys...Precautions...

We have keys....LOTS of keys. Keys to three vehicles. Keys to the RV entry doors. Keys to the RV outside storage bays. Keys to the toolbox on the pickup. Keys to the shed on our property. Keys to the shed on our house. Keys to the deadbolts on the house. Keys to the storm door on the house. Keys to doorknob on the door between the utility room and garage. Keys to Stu's Craftsmen toolboxes. Keys to....well, you get the idea.

This means multiple key rings. I have one set up for the RV, when in Florida or traveling and I have one for the house. Both have keys to the pickup, the only vehicle I drive. Stu has one set for everything but the motorcycle and one for the motorcycle.

Last week he was out riding with our friend, Earl, and they wanted to stop at the house. Stu realized he had the garage door opener but no house key. I had left to do some shopping and was 30 miles away.

So we bought a couple of things to aid our failing memories (and yes, he did add a house key to his motorcycle key ring) and also help if we need to ask someone to access the house when we are away.

First was adding a Universal Garage Door Wireless Opener from LiftMaster. My late husband and I had one and I loved it. (And if I close the garage door while Stu is working in the shed and the side door is locked, oh, and his keys are in the house - VOILA! He can enter). You can read more on the Liftmaster site.

LiftMaster Universal 387LM Keyless Entry

Next was adding a combination Key Safe or LockBox inside the garage. We did this for two reasons. We never lock the doorknob lock on the door between the garage and utility room. Since we already carry too many keys, that is one we don't bother with. But what if someone accidentally locked it?

The key safe is mounted inside the garage and we have stored a copy of the deadbolt key as well as the doorknob key. This way we will never be locked out. Plus, if we need someone to access the house and they don't have keys to it, we can get them inside without having to mail them keys.

Kidde KeySafe Push Button Combination Key Lock Box, 2-Key

Of course we now have number combinations to remember for our house security system, the house safe, the RV safe, the garage door opener and the key safe. LOL! Needless to say, these are written down and accessible via our smart phones thanks to DropBox and a shared folder between us.

Phew! I think we have all contingencies covered...well, for the most part. I'm sure something will come back to bite us in the butt. LOL!

Ciao for now!

YouTube is Evil (It All Started in Ecuador)

Honest! YouTube is evil.... The story began in Ecuador where Stu discovered he could watch YouTube videos on our TV. In the states he always watched car shows. In Ecuador he discovered woodworking shows. LOTS of woodworking shows.

A year later, we are back in the states, we bought a house but the obsession didn't stop. Oh no, it got worse. The obsession has spread from watching YouTube woodworking videos to.....

THIS!


and THIS!


LOL! Seriously, he is having a blast turning the shed into his woodworking shop. He still needs to install an exhaust fan but for now he has moved on to organizing the garage.

Yes, YouTube can be evil, addicting and educational!

Ciao for now!

7/7/2017: Celebrate the Small Things

It's Friday and time to post my Celebrate the Small Things on this blog.

If you'd like to join in the fun or check out some other participating blogs, click the image to the right or the link at the bottom of the page.

My small things for this past week, some not so small, but all great!

First is a great dinner with good friends at a new restaurant, Los Posas in Harriman, TN. Should have taken a photo but we were too busy chatting and eating. LOL! We will go back. Took the back roads home and got treated to a little rain and some interesting sunset scenery.





Second is getting lots of chores done around the house, including moving things in from the RV. Still a lot to do (including sorting through and organizing a huge tote of file stuff as well as deciding what goes in the house safe vs the RV safe). We bought a new ceiling fan for the guest room and I love it. The old one was, well, ugly! LOL!





Third is FINALLY getting our wireless thermostat scheduled the way we wanted it. Took a while but we finally wrestled through it.

Fourth and final, is finding a great free extension for my Chrome browser on my laptop, Momentum. It replaces what is displayed on a new tab. Here is mine taken recently (you put in your own thing you want in your prompt for each new day). You can also change things: double click the temperature to toggle C/F and double click the time to toggle 12/24hr time.

Click to see the other blogs participating in the Celebrate the Small Things blog hop.

Ciao for now!