Back to the lake and the dentist!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I leave early and head back up to the lake for another dental appointment. It's a 5 1/2 hour trip with a stop in Chico for Starbucks, Subway and Valero! I fill up there because the gas is cheaper! I wont be staying more than 2 days probably .. there are no chairs outside, no umbrellas, etc. (it's been winterized) so it's hardly conducive to 'sit and relax' .. and I have to be available to pick up my sister and bro-in-law on Friday midnight as they return from their Africa trip.
I always take my camera with me so if I see anything picture-worthy, I can capture it.
Bye for now.

Coming Up: September 28th

September 28th is my dear Rich's birthday .. I'll be sending him a message on a helium balloon just like I did last year, and on Valentine's Day and the anniversary of his death and at Christmas. I thought I'd post a few photos of him taken on our cruise to the Inside Passage, Alaska just six months before he died. This one is my favorite .. it's taken on our cabin deck as we entered Glacier Bay.

Because of his lung problems, we had to choose our on-shore excursions carefully but we had a great trip in a tour bus around Ketchikan. This was taken shortly after we landed .. we were walking around the harbor shops and found a bench in front of the stuffed moose and a kind passer-by took our photo.


This was taken on our trip around Skagway .. we really enjoyed our Norwegian Cruise Lines cruise. It was touch and go for us because Rich had just been prescribed oxygen on a daily basis and we didn't have enough time to arrange to have it put on board .. so we decided to go as planned because we may never have the chance again .. and as it turned out, that was the right thing to do.

Bits and Bobs

Always start off with something nice to say ... so I'm saying it with a photo! This is Gypsy, our second German Shepherd ... we adopted her at 8 weeks old. The owners had two female pups so we tested them both and Gypsy was by far the livelier one. She was extremely intelligent ... easy to train ... a therapy dog who spent a lot of her time visiting 'old folks' ... and was used to walkers, wheelchairs, canes, etc. A great protector, a great friend and companion, won four ribbons at AKC shows for obedience.
One time Rich put on a halloween mask (so when we opened the door to give the treats, we would be 'in the Halloween spirit') .. and he was curious to see how Gypsy would react, so he stooped over and staggered out of the back room. Gypsy was in the living room with me and she immediately got up and charged at him, barking like crazy. He threw himself upright and whipped off the mask and yelled "whoa, Gypsy, it's ME". Then we had a good laugh about it .. but he never tried that again!!
She was an ambassador too .. we took her when we went to fairs and set up a fund-raising booth for the volunteer animal rescue group we ran. The kids loved her and I'd have her perform some tricks for them.
One time I had her in a local park and was throwing the tennis ball for her .. and a little boy came over ... maybe 3 years old, and asked if he could throw the ball. Well, he couldn't throw it very far, but she ran after it. I told him to hold his hand out and say 'give' .. and she brought the ball back and plopped it right in his hand. He was thrilled! That's the wonderful personality she had! I miss her so much.
Well, it looks like I had lots of nice things to say .. about Gypsy .. such good memories I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

Craig's List

I have finally ventured into Craig's List!! How much easier than ebay ... localized sales to check ... no ads or popups ... no cost to list your items ... easy place to navigate!
I placed my ad and the first contact was from a crook! You've read about these scams ... his secretary erroneously sent a check for $3,000 more than the amount agreed on so he asked if I'd send him back the change! I'm stringing him along for a while then I'll email everything to the FTC and whoever else would be interested. What worries me, is that there are so many people out there who'd be taken in by this smoothie! But there are lots of signals if you don't overlook them.
So happy am I with Craig's list that I've placed a second ad! Let's see what champs and chumps that will bring in. If I manage to sell my items, I'll list another one!

Labor Day weekend

I'm up at Lake Almanor again ... this is the front of the house .. it's 2-story at the front and 3 at the back on the lake-side ... will be going home Wednesday .. after my penultimate dental appointment .. weather's been sunny but breezy in the afternoons. Lots of company but they're leaving today ...
Driving back to the house one day, we spotted this well fed doe lying on the back patio of a house .. curled up like a dog .. so I stopped to take a photo .. naturally, she got up and gave me the once over .. I got a good pose from her.
This is Daniel .. my friend Michelle's youngest son. He was up at the lake working and funning (that's Jennifereze for having a good time) .. I thought he'd get a kick out of seeing his photo on the blog! He graduates next year from high school and his future involves college and/or ?
I have found a website that's unique ... submit a photo and it will be edited with a photo of Zorro, his cat, and he will then send a donation to WWF or SPCA on your behalf. He can't do many each month because it's costly for him but maybe some person with lots of money to spare can send him a donation for the charities and he can post more pics each month. In any event, it costs nothing to send him one of your travel photos and see what he does with it ... http://www.zorro-the-cat.com/
That's all for now ... did you find ME in the school photo below yet???