May 07

Yet ANOTHER Public Service Announcement from KELSEY the DOG:

Dear Fellow Canines:  It is NOT a good idea to use cats as "Frisbees".  Especially those cute ones with the white stripe down the middle of their back.  Just because they spray once, does not mean they cannot spray again, and again, and again, every time you toss'em.  You will have to spend the day outside, and even AFTER a bath, your master will NOT hug & kiss you for a LONG time afterward!

 

Getting de-skunked.

 

FOR SALE:  USED KIDS
One less than four years old, the other not even a year!  Both have lots of wear left, are somewhat trainable, occassionally obedient, and have plenty of uses, such as:  Losing toys, hiding spices, making messes, etc.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
If you act now, you get diapers, bottles, bath toys AND a supply of formula & Doritos!

NOW, how much would WE have to pay you?  Oops, I mean how much would YOU pay?

Perhaps you are wondering just WHY these two mini-estrogen units are for sale?  After all, how COULD we BEAR to part with them?  Well, here is what happened...

Once upon a time -- the last Saturday in May -- I called Sandy over to look at something on the computer.  The ankle-biters were INNOCENTLY playing in the kitchen.  After NO MORE than five minutes, Sandy & I were done, and noticed that the house had gone COMPLETELY SILENT.

Obviously, something was amiss.

Calling the kids' names, we got no answer, so we went looking for them.  All the doors in the house had been closed by the senior rug-rat in charge, so we had to open the door to each bedroom and bathroom to look around.  No little germ-spreaders to be seen, anywhere.

Yet, there was no screaming, nor crashing, or even water running.  The ONE place we did NOT look was in the laundry room, as WE had closed that door, to prevent the junior rug-rat from playing with the dog's food.

So, we opened the sliding door and found...

 

Obviously, Sam had QUIETLY opened the door, let Nic in, then just as QUIETLY, closed the sliding door behind them!  Now, in case you're wondering just WHAT is in the dish, here is the "magic formula":

Take one part water, add plenty of dog slobber, a bit of disintegrated dog food, and a healthy helping of hand lotion.

Sam ever-so-gently pats her face with it -- SEVERAL TIMES -- like it is the finest of perfumes, after making sure Nicki has plenty on her HAIR!  Not to mention plenty of lotion ALL OVER the rest of her sister!

Sam then procedes to "exfoliate" her cheeks with a dirty nail brush, dipped in the mix.

Thus, we have re-thought our decision to have children...

 

Little bundles of joy.

 

Sandy kind of insisted they get a bath. Daddy giving Mommy a reward for her hard work.

 

Daddy drew a hopscotch board.  He's not very good at it...

 

Mommy took us out to see the iris'.

Mother's Day

We made Mommy breakfast in bed.

 

Bringing Mommy a present. Piggyback ride for Nicki!

 

I can pull myself up, to stand!

 

As soon as they caught me, they moved the level down to the bottom!  UNFAIR!  Now that I have 2 1/2 teeth, I like toast even more!

 

Visiting w/Kathy & Megan during Sandy's "bunko" party.

A LAKE IN THE FRONT YARD

Mackinac got stuck in this little hole/puddle, which we THOUGHT was a molehill filled by rain.  But then, we noticed it "bubbled up", then stopped, then started...about the same pattern as when the sump pump runs. Since it might have been a busted sump drain tile, we started digging...

 

...and digging... ...then, the hole began to fill...

 

...and KEPT filling, unless pumped out. It appeared there was a blockage somewhere, since the water did not drain.  We had to find out where it went, so we dug ANOTHER hole.  Don't have a picture, but had a fellow come out with a cleanout machine that had a "sensor" on the end, which pinpointed just where & how deep the blockage was.

 

Which was 100+ feet away, by the pines.  So, we dug ANOTHER hole, this time actually a trench, on the OTHER side of the driveway. There was nearly 30 feet of root-blocked drain tile!

Copper Sulfate is Our New Friend!

As you can see, the roots actually grew INTO the shape of the drain tile, corrugations & all.

The Culprits

The guilty parties turned out to be Mr. Austrian Pine, along with his accomplice, Ms. Willow.  They were sentenced to death, which was carried out immediately via backhoe; there was no appeal.  Chainsaw practice, anyone?