Hey Rich...

[Todd]

Hey Rich,
I taught my Rocky to left shake and right shake and then I have a hand signal when he can hop up and hold hands as my dance partner. It's so cute and he loves doing that. We have a routine of hand signals that we use all the time. He's very smart and likes to surprise me with new tricks that I've never taught him. I think my kids teach him tricks too.
My wife wants a like white doggie like David and Pinky's. After we buy a home over there, we'll start shopping for one. My daughter wants a little kitten for herself. In both cases,they will need to be babies because of Rocky. He is the jealous type and loves to chase cats. Typical German Shepherd in that department.


I saw that Mary Kate said something about a Patrick and had to go back and see what she was talking about. I uploaded the video and just wow, what a great heart warming story. He does a great version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" too. Did you check that out also? That kid is amazing! How did you find that video? The video is awesome!

[midwayislander]

Rich, you may be lucky and Willie will stay his original color. Sophie is chihuahua and yorkie mix. Her mother was pure yorkie and was brown and tan like most yorkies are. Her father was a brown and black chihuahua. She came out black, grey, and white. And she's the only one from the litter that did. When people see her white face, they think she's an old-timer. She turned 3 yesterday.

I haven't been able to get Sophie or Keoki to shake hands yet. Toby (my schnauzer) will shake hands with either hand and do high 5. He'll also do a "happy dance" (spin in a circle). Sophie will do "happy dance" and a very dramatic death if you shoot her. When you shoot her, the first thing she does is look for a comfortable spot to "die". Then she puts her ears back, sits down then very slowly flops down on her back. When you say, "Good girl. You're alive again!", she jumps up and happy dances. Keoki only knows "sit". But if you tell him to shake, he'll sit and shiver!!
I don't have the heart to tell him that wasn't the kind of shake I meant!

[mauibeachbum]

That's cute Kate.

Todd, I seem to have better luck with large dogs than little ones.
I suppose maybe their size helps them from being intimidated.

[mauibeachbum]

It is so cute now. I spend a lot of time with repeating commands and responses with Willie.
The best learned yet is "cookie?". That is good for a backflip He is still afraid of a full handshake, but
when I give the command, from a few feet away, he raises his little paw like an Irish Pointer.

After months of putting a child gate across our bedroom door and Willie able to leap it in a single bound,
I gave up and conceded t let him sleep with us on one condition is 'cleanliness'. He doesn't like a bath but
that's the deal. It is so nice to have him between us as we sleep. He doesn't move around, kick or snore
I can always feel this little warm bundle at my back. Later at night with Jeanne on the sofa and me in my recliner,
I will recognize his command to me "come on Grandpa, bedtime". We wrestle a little, interact a lot and then off to
sleep. Yorkie's are a so routine oriented. Maybe I am too.......
He really is a gift to us.

[mauibeachbum]

Last week, Jeanne and I decided that we needed to upgrade Jeanne's computer desk.
In preparation for bringing Jeanne home from the hospital, nearly 5 years ago, I elected to bring her computer and desk upstairs so she could attempt to reconnect with family and friends. It was a typical pressed wood and contact paper unit, not one that compliments our living room, but functional for the last 5 years.
As a birthday prize, we went out to dinner and shopping for a new computer "desk thing".
We found one immediately. It really does compliment our living room as more a piece of furniture than a piece of contact paper.

While in the furniture store, a bedroom set also caught our eye. It would be a nice replacement for the 1970's grouping we have enjoyed. Only room for the computer desk and hutch in the old red pickup, we scheduled picking up the bedroom set until later. While quite a challenge, we did move the old desk back to the basement (for guests) and install the new one (whew!). We also moved the existing bedroom set out to storage for sale) How old did I say I was?
After a few nights of sleeping on the mattress on the floor, the weather has now permitted picking up the new set.
What a lovely bunch of banana's we now have!
After carrying (an over statement) in the new bed into the MBR, we decided that the furniture company was one coconut short of a party. No instructions, 3 out of 4 pieces present and only a clue of what the other 1/4 was not there! Okay, make do, not worth a 3 month fight with the furniture co. Get out the welder and old bed parts, make pieces of stuff, another night in the recliner chairs........... about there today!
Bed is installed. Now that is an overstatement! Jeanne asked "is it supposed to be that tall?" (I thought that all beds should be at least belly button high). We agreed that maybe we will use the box springs as a feature item on next year's garage sale.
Now comes the chest of drawers and then the dresser. Jeanne asked if I needed some help. I said no, it does not weigh much more that I do
Okay, we finally managed the chest of drawers into the room. Okay....... so where is the dresser going?
Well, if we compare the old chest and dresser had a total of 10 drawers. The new CoD has 6. It looks pretty good where it is and what the "H" do we need with the other four drawers full of stuff anyway............
Tonight when she and Willie went to bed, we talked about making a two tier set of carpeted stairs for Willie to get into the bed. I visualize a switchback scenario.
As I tucked Jeanne and Willie into bed, I said "don\t be scared if you see someone running around the bedroom with a flashlight and ladder, it is just me up to "p".
She smiled and looked me into m eyes, saying "we do some pretty dumb stuff, don't we".
I answered "ya, but we do it together".
That's Golden Pond.
Rich

Update: The dresser will look good in the dining room, replacing hutch also dated (and need of moving to storge for a garage sale)..... oh boy..........

[mauibeachbum]

Didn't have the energy today. TBC. (That for new folks is To Be Continued)
Jeanne woke me today and said, "Are you going to sleep all day?".
I just looked down at the floor and said "uh huh .....it's safer"
Rich

[mauibeachbum]

Oh my, another morning. It is 4:15 am.........The paper carrier must be using her husband's truck to deliver the Sunday paper today. Sometimes I wonder if people who provide early morning services intentionally have loud mufflers, or things that go beep beep beep when the back up to tell others that if "i can't sleep, you won't either"........ It woke up Willie and now my face is washed (and washed with soap and water). Willie and Jeanne are back to sleep and I am up for the day :lol:

While up, just as well use this time to think.

I received a new motherboard for a laptop from Hong Kong yesterday. It's fun for me to look at the postage stamps. This particular shipment was a purchase that included free shipping. The stamps on it totaled , let's see, $20, $20, $20, $10 and $5; $65.00 in all.
After sharing that bit of trivia......... free shipping for $65.00 [Hong Kong money] to a few dis-interested locals, I decided to share it with Jeanne before tossing the wrapper. I got that usual blank look from her. I said, put it this way: If we were on holiday in Hong Kong and went out for dinner. When the check arrived and it was $1450.00 plus tip would that make you say naughty things like oh shxx? Currency exchange is scary! She smiled. Don't know if she absorbed the point or not.

This week, baby Robin's have appeared. As Mama have kicked them out of the nest to find their way, I have found new partner's. They follow my every footsteps in search for food.
This week also, has been a time to separate large Hosta's into smaller ones to plant near the yard pond. whew......
With them, came numbers of earthworms and nightcrawlers. Idea's in my head........ food here... baby robin's there...>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As I gathered them up into a bucket, I found singing to me self..... "I got a worm right here, his nam is Paul Revere.... can do, can do.

When the planting was complete and my old bones so tired, I loaded them up and took them the three blocks to our other property. I distributed them on the lawn for the Robin's. I stood and watched. It made the time worth while.

This morning while there, I noticed the young robin's (yes, the word get's around) that were standing in the lawn with "Sooooooooo"
My only reply to them today was:
I got a horse right here... his name is Paul Revere........ can do..... can do........

Maybe sometimes in life, you just need a little kick in the rear :lol:

Right now, I look around for neighbors: "He's out there talking to the animals again"

It is still dark outside, maybe it is time for a nap.......... move over Willie ...... we have a couple of hours before the next wake up call.
R

[mauibeachbum]

hmmm-------------
"Have you ever seen a Rainbow at night"
I suppose that I might qualify the term "Rainbow".
It would be a display of colors, always in an arch. The colors are always the same.
The colors will always be of the "basic 8" of the color wheel.
There is always a beginning and there is always an end to a Rainbow.
It may or may not end at a pot of Gold, but usually does.
Beyond that........
I have stood at a street corner with a tear in my eye.
Looking up at the street light, yes, I have seen a rainbow.
At night and you are walking in the rain,
searching for a lost soul,
and you find it,
yes there is a Rainbow.
When you sit.......... watching the sun set over the palm trees
and ocean,
and you watch it rise again.......
there may have been a Rainbow.
So yes,
I suppose that I have seen a Rainbow at Night.
Rich

[mauibeachbum]

I planted my garden this week. It included 4 low acid tomatoes.
I am looking forward to an acceptable Bloody Mary

According to the package, I only have 76 days to wait That is August 1st!

Rich

[mauibeachbum]

When at the Vet's this week with Willie, I was asked if he had his Heartworm treatment yet.
I said no, not yet.
Has he been bitten by mosquito's in the last six months?
I don't think so, it seems that it has been 28 degrees below zero for most of that time.
.....hmmmmmm

[mauibeachbum]

I was sitting tonight with two of my favorite things to do, thinking and watching commercials on TV :roll: .

I wondered to myself that if insurance companies would spend billions of dollars less on advertisements that brag about how much cheaper they are than the competitor........... my insurance premiums would be much less......... :roll: I know, it's better not to think

Rich

[mauibeachbum]

For lack of a better reason, here are a couple more mindless thought provokers:

Remember, half the people you know are below average. (okay, so where are the other half?)

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

[mauibeachbum]

Todd-
I went out on the patio pre-dawn this morning with my digital camera to record the almost deafening sound of all of the birds waking up.
When I downloaded it, the file was 43 meg strong so decided that a taking a movie of the darkness to record the sounds was not an effecient way to send you a chirp !
Rich

[mauibeachbum]

Todd-
I went out on the patio pre-dawn this morning with my digital camera to record the almost deafening sound of all of the birds waking up.
When I downloaded it, the file was 43 meg strong so decided that a taking a movie of the darkness to record the sounds was not an effecient way to send you a chirp !
Rich

[NoKaOiDude]

Rich I have the same problem where I live. There are lots of birds and they start churping about 5 in the morning. If I wake up while they are chirping, I can't get back to sleep. I am not a morning person.

[mauibeachbum]

Dude- I am thinking that I will import a couple of Bantam roosters to add a little local color.
At least I wouldn't feel bad about getting up that early if I thought it was Hawaii

[NoKaOiDude]

Great point Rich! Anything in Hawaii is fantastic!!!!

[mauibeachbum]

Yeh, it is.
Got an email tonight from a landlord on Maui for a rental unit at about 2/3 the price of what we rented one for two weeks in November.
And that was about half of what we paid on our last visit.
I know, maybe if I wait long enough, they will pay us to house sit. You think so? Maybe not, but what the heck, gotta dream about something.
I am going to hold out for a fridge fully stocked with pina colatas.
R

[mauibeachbum]

I am looking forward to the day when I open my PO Box and it is empty.................................

[mauibeachbum]

Excuse me for using this thread for just a test, but will try to upload different sizes of the same pic to record the time it takes.

First: a 2952x1944 (30x20)
2592x1944.JPG