I asked a friend for her suggestions and she suggested that I get some rain chains.  I had never heard of or seen a  rain chain and asked her what it was.    The chains rain water down from the top creating a beautiful effect.  They are a nice alternative to the old plain jane rain spouts found on most homes.   I looked around at several different websites and found that rain chains come in various sizes and shapes.  I think that a rain chain or two or three would make a great addition to my exterior home decor this year, and help me get out of my winter doldrums.

She said that she would call me and we could have coffee and look for a new temporary home for her together.  I love shopping for houses, especially for other people!!  She will be there for 6 months to a year and needs a place to call home. Just a cozy 2 bedroom house with a small yard would be perfect.

I asked her how she was going to find a place to live while she is here in the U.S., and she told me about a website that her company had told those chosen few about, where they could “shop” for homes in Canada right from her own home computer.  Well, pooh. I thought she meant we could take a trip to Canada together and look at houses!

I wish her all the luck in the world and can’t wait to go visit her in our great neighbor to the North.

So I hit the good old Internet and low and behold, I found a  site where I could get a USB battery charger!!!    The prices seemed reasonable enough and they had so many items to choose from.  I  I cannot wait until it gets here here, so I can continue to capture Roo’s antics to share with the world.

I couldn’t see spending all day at work stressing over what I could not get done within the short work week and then coming home, taking care of our little Roo and Pooh bear (two cocker spaniels – for those of you who are not familiar with the family yet), and then trying to cook a big dinner, get pies made, etc., just to get frustrated and tired out.  So, I did the pies on Thursday for Friday dinner.  It worked out great!!  I had a 20 lb turkey to cook for two of us, so I froze a lot of leftovers.

I tried something new this year.  I made the stuffing from whole wheat bread, instead of white bread; I made my pie crust from whole wheat flour (a little tougher to roll out) and made sugar free pumpkin pie.  The entire meal turned out to be very tasty.  We did not do the traditional sweet potato pie or scalloped corn, since we are trying to watch our diets a little more closely these days, but we did not feel we missed out on a thing.  The pie was great!!!

                                                                                         The Wooden Bowl
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.  The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.  The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult.. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.  When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.  The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.  ‘We must do something about father,’ said the son.  ‘I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.’  So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.  There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.  Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.   When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.  Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.  One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.  He asked the child sweetly, ‘What are you making?’ Just as sweetly, the boy responded, ‘Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. ‘

The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.  The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.  For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. 

I get the mop home, and use it and I loved it!!!   I was reviewing my receipt and see that I was charged $79.00 for the mop, not the $49.00 price that was on the shelf.  So, I load the mop back into my car and go and get the box that it was in, which had been left at a friend’s house (I demonstrated the new mop for them) and headed back to WalMart.  I hunted down a manager and explained my dilemma to him to which he said “Let me go back to the shelf and take a look.”  I then followed him back to the shelf where I had gotten the mop.  He looked around a bit, saw the $49.00 tag and compared the UPC code on the shelf tag to the product I had purchased and told me that I should have compared the UPC code on the box to the tag on the shelf!!!  I told him that it was not my job as a consumer to have to check UPC codes to be sure they match and that it was his job to be sure that the correct product was in the correct place on the shelf.  In fact, the product that was $49.00 was not even available!!

So, I came home and contacted WalMart corporate offices via the web.  I have not heard anything back from them yet, but I will say this:  I am currently refusing to shop at WalMart.  I think that they have gotten so big that the individual consumer no longer matters.

Roo is so cute and very intelligent.  She is already barking if she has to go out to use the potty (unless, of course, she decides at that moment to go on the floor).  Then, it’s another clean up and mopping of the floor.  I think my kitchen floor gets mopped at least three times a day.  A couple of nights ago, she decided to completely tear up her potty pads and spread them all over the kitchen.  Then, she goes on the floor and steps in it.  So, I get up at 10:00 p.m., my comfy, warm bed and clean the kitchen.  I then make the mistake of opening the refrigerator for something (I can’t remember what I opened it for) and found a brown semi-liquid substance all over my fridge.  After some investigation, I discover that a can of soda had frozen and exploded.  So, not only did I have to clean up after Roo, I had to clean my fridge out too.  It was a short night in the bed.

I know that soon, this will all be over, and Roo will be house-trained and I will get much more sleep.  And then, I will miss the days when she was little.

I think that reality TV has gone too far.  Who cares about what the Kardashians are doing?  Apparently a lot of people, given the ratings.  I had never even heard of them until their show came out, and I have better things to do than watch what is happening in their lives; I am too busy living my life!!!  I really do not care about the real housewives of New Jersey or Los Angeles or any other city.  I have seen little bits of these shows (a few minutes is all I can stand to watch) and ask myself, “Are these people for real”?  Surely not, at least I would hope not.  And I do not care in the least what Snookie is up to.  People of America, get out there and live your own lives and quit burying yourselves in your television set watching these people live theirs.

Last night they came to my home and took Roo out for a walk and, as I found out later, they even picked  her “potty pads” up off of the floor and put fresh ones down for her.  They definitely went beyond the call of duty.  They are also helping to train her to sit and to not bite when she is playing.  

I plan on rewarding them well for their efforts.  Again, these are a great bunch of kids, their mother has done a great job of raising them and teaching them to be responsible people.  I think Roo will do well with a little help from her great playmates.