9/29/2017: 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.

It's been an interesting week, my first taking care of Cooper 24/7. Well, except for Monday when he went to doggy day care and I was FREE for a day. LOL!

So, here are my celebrations for this past week...

We have a new friend in the pasture. The previous ones, Brownie & Blackie, went on to feed someone. Now we have a much smaller Blackie, or BB for Baby Blackie. Cooper is not a fan!

Cooper has gone into a MASSIVE chewing phase while his adult teeth are coming through. After two months of play with his favorite vinegar bottle, it was finally thrown in the trash. But not until after I got this hysterical picture of him laying on his back, playing with it - inside his crate!

Yes, he has out-grown it. When Stu gets home, he's converting a used crib into a wooden crate. Should be interesting. LOL!

For those who don't subscribe to my newsletter (and you really should), the first book in my Klondike (PA) Mystery series, Not a Whisper is currently FREE! If you've already read it, then tell your friends! If you haven't read it yet, you should. Why? Because I finally finished the third book, Almost a Touch, and it's available on PRE-ORDER.

But the biggest news is the addition of a second puppy to the house. On Monday I picked up a 12-week old puppy, Murphy. He's a Collie/Goldendoodle pup and will hopefully stay a little smaller than Cooper. They are doing wonderfully, no accidents in the house except the very first morning. Of course, it helps that the weather is nice enough to leave the back door to the deck open. LOL!

They are sleeping in the same crate - no more puppy cries all night like the first night. If I thought it was cramped for Cooper, you should see the two of them. LOL! So today an XL crate and pad will be delivered and set up. Phew!

Murphy has his first vet visit today...hoping all checks out. He is a snuggler, something that Cooper isn't. I'm loving that! Oh, you can see a TON of photos in their SmugMug Album. Here's a sample...

Yes, there are two dogs in that last photo.

Hoping you had something to celebrate this week!

Ciao for now!

Meet Murphy! (Yes, I'm crazy....)

Cooper now has a little brother, Murphy. Note the flipped ear...just like Cooper except the opposite ear. LOL! Murphy is a Rough Collie/Goldendoodle mix. Here are pics of his mom (Collie) and dad (Goldendoodle).

Cooper is loving having a playmate, even if he has 1) way more energy at almost 6 months old than Murphy who is only 12 weeks old and 2) if he overpowers Murphy. Murphy is pretty good at taking it, will be fun to watch him grow.

So what do you call a Collie/Doodle mix? I'm going with Cadoodle...it's easy to say. LOL! Here are a few more pics from last night and this morning (which we will discuss below).

You can see a lot more on SmugMug, including a couple of videos of them playing. THIS ONE was taken the afternoon Murphy came home.

Murphy slept in Cooper's crate last night and Cooper slept in the bedroom like me. Cooper was an angel, never a peep. Murphy? Not so much....he barked, whined, fussed a lot but we both managed a couple hours of sleep. Finally at 5:30, he got much more insistent so I got up.

Oh my! He had pooped just at the edge of the crate, mostly out, some in. Cleaned that up, took them outdoors for a while. They came in and played and I put him in the guest bathroom with food and water while Cooper ate in the kitchen.

Within 10-15 minutes, he had managed to poop all over the bathroom, dump his water and food AND shred the roll of toilet paper into the middle of the mess. I put him into the bathtub, turned on the water, cleaned him up and then tackled the floor. So glad we have dozens of bar towels - perfect for puppy messes. LOL!

He has no collar or leash training but he does willingly follow me or Cooper - in and out of the house. In fact, it was Cooper who got him to go up and down the deck stairs. He mastered that quickly. I am happy for the baby gate at the top of the stairs. Not to keep them from going down, but to keep them in the yard for a bit. They play, tire out and then I let them in. Murphy likes to curl up into semi-protected spots, like under a dining room chair.

Today he is playing with toys, well, as much as Cooper will let him. No issues with resource guarding, just "stealing" anything Murphy is playing with. Murphy lets him without any issues.

Feeding is the hardest since we have to transition Murphy from his old puppy food to what we are feeding Cooper. Right now I am feeding a bit of both mixed, away from Cooper, who always wants what Murphy has. So I have to stand there while they eat. Murphy seems to be a gorge eater while Cooper does well as a free-feeder. So we will be modifying their eating until we see if Murphy can do free feeding.

So, I leave you with this photo...I had put Murphy in the chair for a break from Cooper. It gives you a better sense of the size difference.

I think it's time for a nap.....zzzzzzzzz

Ciao for now!

Our Jamestown TN Property for Sale

We've had our property in Jamestown TN up for sale by owner for a while now, not sure if we ever sent it out to all our RV friends. Shame on us! We know it will take a unique buyer, someone that wants a ready-to-go place for their RV with room to build a house or cabin, or someone who wants to enclose the existing pavilion and convert it into living quarters. Small town living, good year round climate, no state income tax, friendly people and a beautiful state.

Please share this page with anyone you think might be interested!

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FOR SALE
5 Wooded Acres, set up for RV or mobile home
plus partially cleared spot for building a home.

SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY, PLEASE! 
 

Wooded, unrestricted 5 acres on county road in Fentress County, TN (just south of Jamestown). We bought this property in 2009 with the intent of eventually building a house. In the meantime, we added a 12' x 24' double door shed with large exhaust fan and a 24' x 60' (with 14' clearance) pavilion for our fifth wheel trailer and medium-duty Freightliner truck.

There is a septic tank, power, city water and a temporary phone line which provides DSL for internet. View the google satellite map view and the star is on our property. You can just see the roof of our buildings. To the left is our neighbor who owns the surrounding 15 acres. The cleared area is at the edge of our property and belongs to our neighbor.

No building permits are required per the Fentress County website.

Fentress County does not have zoning regulations or special building permit requirements. Please be sure to check the property deed for any specific restrictions that may be required for the property. All state laws for permits and inspections must be followed. For more information you may contact the County Executive’s Office 931-879-7713.

The property is south of Jamestown, TN. Small town living, good year-round climate, no state income tax, reasonable registration & insurance rates, friendly people and a beautiful state full of sights to see.

Fifteen minutes from Jamestown with a Super Walmart (including gas/diesel station), banks, service stations, restaurants & more. Fentress County is the county seat.

Here are some additional specifics:

• 5 wooded acres on a quiet cul-de-sac
• Gravel drive
• Septic tank
• City water
• Electric & phone to pavilion (phone is temporary wiring)
• County road
• Pavilion 24' x 60' with 14' clearance
• Shed 12' x 24' with electric, loft, storage shelves, workbench and exhaust fan
• Creek with rock bluffs on one side, waterfalls at the back
• Huge azaleas (like trees) along the creek
• Second partially cleared area close to the road, middle of acreage (getting overgrown)
• Culvert installed for access to the second area
• No building codes (just electric hookup)
• No restrictions other than no junkyards, no swine, and no outhouses
• Pavilion could be converted to enclosed garage or even to a house
• Quiet, secluded area
• Current taxes are $88 a year 

NOTE: RV/Truck(s) not included in sale (see pricing at bottom of page)

[additional photos of property during improvement phases]

Road running alongside the property

Property before pavilion or shed added

Pavilion with 41' toy hauler and medium-duty Freightliner under cover

Pavilion with F-250 and 41' toy hauler under cover

Shed, is on the right of the pavilion when looking towards the
road. Has large exhaust fan at one end.

Rock bluffs alongside the creek

Small year round creek currently needs cleaning of old trees, limbs, etc

Small year round creek

Star shows our property, if you look close you can see the pavilion roof.
The cleared property belongs to our neighbors & is on the edge of our property.

Asking $55,000 for the property

(cash only - no financing) 

Asking $140,000
for the property and the 41' 5th wheel toyhauler & Freightliner
(cash only - no financing)

If you would like to see the property, please contact us for showing.
We will be in Tennessee until sometime in late November.

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Ciao for now!

9/22/2017: 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!

Late this week (but dating it yesterday). Been BUSY!!!

Stu spent the week getting ready to head out on the motorcycle for three weeks. He has several firefighter events to attend and since he hadn't done a long motorcycle ride, I encouraged him to go enjoy! We might have both gone but I have an author event the same day as one of his events. Oops! Besides getting his gear ready, he also did a lot of little things around the house so I didn't have to deal with them - just the dog (that's enough). Cooper helped him prepare on the morning he left!

I've had a lot of busy time, too. First was getting my long awaited wedding ring tattoo. While I absolutely LOVE our gold Celtic wedding rings, mine has gotten too small. Due to the pattern, it can't be enlarged (it was stretched once already. Last summer, we camped with motorcycle friends from Canada and they both had ring tattoos, each different to represent their spouse. I had considered getting one more tattoo, a double heart on the inside of my write, but never got around to it. So, that is my wedding ring tattoo! It's still healing but I love it.

But had that's not all, I just put Almost a Touch, the long awaited third book in my Klondike mystery series. Yippee!! I still have some edits to do in the next couple of days, but on October first, it will be LIVE! Hoping for a lot of pre-orders....[hint, hint]

GREAT week, hope yours was the same.

Ciao for now!

9/15/2017: 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!

Missed last week and still busy, so this will be short and sweet!

Cooper has had an adventurous week. First up - he discovered he could slip under one of the gates and turned up at our front door, asking in. Stu fixed that as soon as we found where he was getting out. Then on Wednesday, he was neutered and forced to wear the inner tube of shame. (LOL)



Stu has been busy with chores, like the above mentioned fence issue, plus installing new locks on all our west facing windows. The original ones were sun-rotted plastic and now they are metal and will outlast us! We also finally got rid of the HORRIBLE fake wood blinds in the office and put in bamboo Roman shades. I love them. They look so much better than the drooping mini-blinds and will keep out as much light as those did since they never closed up the way they should have.



We've also been working on cleaning up the RV inside, getting it ready for a dog crate (which will become my end table). We reinstalled the dining room chairs, removed the file cabinet and rolling computer cart and sorted through a ton of office supply stuff that is now inside. I have two overhead cabinets and a small tote that will store what we think we will need for office supplies. The lamp that was on the dining table, which was wedged into the corner and became Stu's desk, will go on top of the dog crate as well as our laser printer. Lots of organization going on! We also snagged two nice used chairs for $20 each, they go with our current dining room mish-mash and are quite comfortable.



Me? I finally got Almost a Touch out to my four beta readers. I hope to have everyone's feedback this weekend so I can edit. Then back out to 4-6 proofreaders and hopefully, on to publication at Amazon by the end of the month. Phew!

Other than that, I've been prepping for the book signing/author event on October 7th. I have 24 copies of Not a Whisper, 18 copies of Barely a Spark, signs, postcards, business cards, pens, guest book pages for newsletter sign-up and prizes! Five tote bags (like the one I'm using to carry stuff), one coffee mug, a Dead Fred pen holder, Crime Scene sandwich bags and Crime Scene bandaids. All in good fun! Hope to see some old friends and make some new ones!



Ciao for now!

A new decade...for me!

I'm excited! And here are a few things I can get away with now...I can just blame my age!

• Cutting in line - "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." "There's a line? I didn't see a line."
• Flirting with youngsters - They'll just laugh it off. Great way to make new friends!
• Forgetting names, how/where we met - This has always been an issue, but now people expect it.
• Wearing PJs all day - even outdoors. Ahhh, comfort!
• Forget how to do things - someone else will do it for you. [snicker]
• Eating ice cream or junk food anytime you want - I mean, at this point, does it really matter?
• Sleep as late as I want and nap anytime - isn't that what retirement means anyway?
• Call everyone "Sweetie" - even if I've just met them (yes, I really do find myself saying this!)

I'm sure there are more, but these came to mind first.

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY to me!

Ciao for now!

I LOVE FALL (I hate fall)!

Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the cool, crisp air. I love the color and smell of the falling (rotting) leaves. I have many memories from my childhood of raking the leaves into big piles and jumping into them.

Summer is nice...for a week or two. I'm not a hot weather person, nor a beach person (although I used to be). I find myself staying inside, enjoying the air conditioning.

Winter is nice...in Florida. I grew up in New England. I've had too many winters. Multiple layers of clothes, wet and cold feet, colds and flu. It's oh so pretty - to look at, if you don't have to drive in it.

Spring is nice...when the first flowers start popping out of the ground. But most springs are wet and muddy. Sorry, I'll get my flower fix elsewhere.

Cooper is a fall dog, too. He loves it so much we have to almost force him to come in at night, even when it's drizzly out. He lays on the chairs or little table on the covered part of the deck.

And that is why I now hate fall. No, not because Cooper loves it outside, that's a good thing. He races around the yard like an idiot and that tires him out. Yeah, a good thing.

This is why I now hate fall...

 

Burrs - which means every time he goes outside, he has to be brushed when he comes back in.

Every. Darn. Time.

Sigh.... Now to work on getting rid of this weed next spring so next fall I can be in love again.

Ciao for now!

9/1/2017: 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!

Running a little late...been a busy week, so this will be short and sweet!

Cooper seems to have recovered from his ear infection, is loving the cooler weather. He has spent hours outside, just sleeping on the deck, even when raining. We have a small section under cover and that's been his place today. Had to almost force him to come in for the night.

He also has discovered he can jump up onto the sofa. I managed to snap a photo today, usually he's off it too quickly (knowing he isn't supposed to get up there unless invited).



Oh, he also had his first grooming - you might be able to tell in this photo...he's not so scruffy looking. He came home so clean and fluffy!

We hate our refrigerator - mostly because we both dislike side-by-sides but also because it's noisy. But it's too new to replace. Tonight, I thought we would be selling it, for sure. Stu was getting eggs out for dinner (fried bacon and egg sandwiches) and dropped one on the floor. It landed on the throw rug. No problem. Well, until he pulled out the second egg and knocked his hand into the side of the fridge, breaking it.  I had to laugh as he tossed the remains into the sink, and he finally laughed. Off to get the third egg, third time's the charm, right? Nope! Dropped it onto the floor beside the throw rug. By this time we were both laughing as he kept repeating how much he hated the fridge.

I spent the morning baking, 48 banana nut muffins! Some are going to the neighbor as a thank you for helping Stu when he was putting up our fence. We will still have at least 3 dozen (we had 6-8 left over from the last batch). Think I might take some over to the other neighbor. LOL!









I'm sure other stuff went on this week but for the life of me, I can't remember what. Old age and senility, that's what it is!


Ciao for now!