That's Alright Mama - Matthew and Gunnar Nelson 1998

One of the many videos I have needed to put into the digital era... Fortunately I got a VHS to DVD machine so that I can reduce the size of the stuff in my closet to something more manageable, with most of my videos being either stuff from the television (Nelson clips from 25 years ago) or from shows and events I filmed myself (all too amateurishly), I figured this will be the year of reduction. I already reduced stacks and stacks of paper memorabilia to digital files, it's time to relegate the VHS to a digital world too. It's going to be a long project, but should be worth a few laughs.

I was pleasantly surprised when this song was one I discovered had been performed. I had forgotten that particular piece of information regarding this show from 15 years ago (has it BEEN that long??).

Merry Christmas 2013

It has been a really nice day. It was very different than the last 14 Christmases - instead of crack-of-dawn gifting we went with a more peaceful Christmas Eve dinner out. It was nice to go out, to see the loved ones and come home with plans to sleep in (if I had remembered to turn off my alarm) this morning. My best friend Cindy and I went to see 'Saving Mr. Banks' (a tear jerker for this diehard Mary Poppins fan) and afterward, we came home to have a nice country walk with Sheldon and Gibbs before fixing a delicious dinner for those of us in the house.

I get to wait until tomorrow to watch the last Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who - his leaving breaks my heart. Without cable TV I'll have to stay away from spoilers from now until then... eek, no Pinterest? Can I do it? Sure... I prefer the no-spoiler route after all. I will probably keep busy trying to figure out this VHS to DVD conversion thing, to try to pare down my closet stack just a bit more... I guess that means a whole bunch of Nelson video watching is in my future, since those are the VHS tapes I have left.

Until I can watch the Doctor Who Christmas special, I'll keep on showing my support (you know, because Doctor Who is to me what team sports are to others... something to be watched, cheered, dressed for and get completely emotional over) as well as my holiday spirit in my Doctor Whoville shirt from "my dogs".

The Christmas rush is over, another year of carols and specials behind us. Hopefully we can carry the joy and good cheer farther than just the wee hours of tonight. Be good to yourselves and to all those you love. Pay it forward. Rescue an animal. Do good works. I hope I can do several of these in the year to come.

For tonight, Santa finally gets a break and so do I! Merry Christmas everyone!

It’s not Ozzie and Harriet

Today I embarked upon a new adventure. I’m 40-something years old and can honestly say that until today, I've never cleaned an oven. OK, so I've been around when those toxic bombs you put inside (aka “Oven Cleaner”) go off, and I've had a wonderful life, in which mothers, grandmothers and roommates do the dirty deed. I have to admit; also, that it’s been awhile since my own oven has been cleaned (by aforementioned roommate) so I thought “Pinterest to the Rescue!” and hauled out the vinegar and baking soda.

One other thing I've never done is the “volcano” experiment. OK. So I KNEW there would be a chemical reaction… that’s exactly what I was planning for in my “natural oven cleaning” approach… but I didn't THINK about it when I concocted the miracle cleaner – nowhere near my oven.

On the plus side, that cabinet, counter-top and floor area “OVER THERE” is sparkling.

After cleaning up that misjudgment, I started to work. Ever so elegantly grubbily attired in my Avengers PJs (a girl needs all the help she can get-Avengers Assemble, this oven ain't gonna clean itself*) hanging upside down, half inside-half outside my oven, getting gunge from all manners of dinners and desserts and food fiascoes all over myself, gritting my teeth and employing “elbow grease”… which must also be comprised of spittle from seething and maybe even skin from the heel of one’s hand… the definition of the phrase is just about accurate enough to describe the level of scrubbing I engaged in.

After several heats in which I coated the thing with this "sparkling" (it bubbles - made me think of sparkling water) paste, let it set, scrubbed and scraped, I’m down to this:

Apparently there will be a grudge match.

I won’t call this a “Pinterest Fail” but I would caution everyone that it IS NOT a miracle… It’s a good old fashioned natural cleaner without much in the way of fumes or any scent really, so that’s good. It’s "old fashioned", which means you’re going to have to invest some of your strength, some time and get up close and personal with your oven. More than once if your oven started out like mine did.

*I don’t even know how useful the “self-cleaning” feature on our oven is… I've never used it either.

Paperback Hero & Matt Nelson ~ Lullaby (+playlist)

It's been a Nelson week for me. I've decided to evict the twins from my closet... I need the space dammit! SO... "project digital" began with an all-nighter a week ago. Project Digital was something I had only dreamed of, since I knew it would be a time consuming mess, but I am trying to reduce the bulk of "THINGS" in my little house so all of a sudden, there was no time like now. Just today I finished oodles of scanning and now I will be fulfilling my grand plans to break away from all of this paper historical craziness with some kind of searchable database. In my erstwhile efforts to ensure accuracy in my new-found plan for organization, I was Googling up some details and came across this fine video of Matthew Nelson with Paperback Hero... 2009, precursor to Elvis Monroe? Possibly. Fantastic? Absolutely!

Dog Days

Yesterday we discovered that sometime in the past couple of days, Gibbs ate a sock. Not a little sock, not an ankle sock or even a knee sock... but one of those long stretchy, slouchy, over-the-knee socks. How was this discovered? The usual way, he was having a heck of a time completing an outdoor transaction.

Mom to the rescue (?)... Oh Joy! The things we do for our sweet doggies.

I tried to assist with a little "midwifery" of sorts-but only caused him discomfort, pain, anguish, and made him cry... yeah. mom to the rescue my hiney.

So, the length of sock (which was shocking) was cut so that we could dispose of that... and we left him to his sad self for a thorough hand-washing. When I tried to clean him up... it was not terribly bad, but he didn't like my attention on his hind end ANY MORE. I managed nonetheless.

My poor big boy was so lethargic at that point, I felt not only bad, but scared. Enough to call emergency vet numbers. almost 6 of them! Only one had an identifying message (so that I could be certain I was actually calling a pet care facility) so that's the one I left a message at). I was relieved at the speed the doctor called back and he reassured me by his calm suggestions that we try a number of things: Kitty hairball remedy (goopy stuff to lubricate his insides); gentle OTC laxatives and milk-and-or-pumpkin.

We might have gone overboard by trying all of the above, but there was no terrible night. No mess to clean up and at some point in the night or early this AM he managed to finish his task. He was much more like my "Gibbys" than he was for much of yesterday. SO... I think I'm in love with my vet, who I've never met. And I'm so happy my Gibbys is feeling better. I hear (since I'm working today) that he's running up and down the stairs and playing, so I'm feeling much better myself.

Be careful where you leave things like tights, socks, pantyhose, etc. these things can cause blockages and cost thousands of dollars in emergency surgery. I'm just so relieved that this guy seems to be getting back to his regular self.

On to Sheldon. He's going down the stairs like a 90,000 year old. Ok, exaggeration... but he's definitely hobbling the stairs a bit, so I am thinking he's overdone it again. I rubbed him down, checked his paws and legs and the rear left seemed to be tender upon flexing, so I'm hoping a dose or 2 of his pain meds will have him back to the springy, spunky guy (even though that's probably exactly why he's feeling this way) he's always been in no time!

Oh, can I just repeat, the things we do for our sweet doggies...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Garden Party - Birthday Memory

Today's my birthday. I always tend make a big deal out of my own birthdays because no one else really does. I mean, they don't have to, I'm an adult. But there was a time that I thought my birthday was a pretty big deal, for about 5 minutes.

Way back, when I was 5, I remember being at a get-together, a birthday celebration for a friend of my mom's and my uncle's. Jack and I shared a birthday so I felt it was my party too.

It was an outdoor gathering, I don't remember if it was a bucket o' chicken and beers or a BBQ and beers, the one thing I do remember is the song Garden Party coming on and how I excitedly thought that the song was a personalized anthem for the night. My mom dispelled my thinking.

"Mom, he's singing about us, we're having a garden party"
"No, Sherry, that's not what the song is about-go play"

Queue the first time I thought my mom didn't know what she was talking about!

OK, so she was right. I know this now. But when I heard the song this morning on my drive, all I could do was smile and think... 40 years later, Rick Nelson was singing Garden Party for me, for my birthday... then AND this morning.

Celebrate my birthday with me, listen to Rick's sons performing Garden Party, choose the original, or enjoy both:

Photo Challenge - Day 1

My friend Cindy shared this with me. I've seen it before, of course, and every time I did, I always had the intention of doing it. But procrastination is my nemesis. So. In preparation for yet another birthday, why not try a little follow through?

Here's day 1:

With a little tweaking from Snapseed you might not notice a forty-simething on the wrong 4:00 hour of the day. Did you even know there were two 4:00 happenings each day? I'm partial to the daylight one myself.

Just Some Minor "Pet Peeves" For the Day

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More Dog Aggression

Does this look like trouble to you? Nah, me neither... but every once in a while, he'll try for some dog. One day it was at the Farmers' Market and someone else's dog, luckily for me Gibbs was on leash and I'm strong and quick enough to stop him when I'm on the watch.

Yesterday it was at home, in the comfort of the family room and he went after Sheldon for no reason that I know of... unless it was the treats WE HUMANS were eating. Things went sour in a moment. Gibbs biting, Sheldon reaching to get the upper hand, broken ottoman and broken skin. I wheelbarrowed Gibbs away from Sheldon by his hind legs and we got them separated. I then sat through the evening with a towel on Shel's side to stop the wound from bleeding.

I need help! I also need it cheaply.

Dog aggression is not a fun thing. But putting this big beautiful guy in other harm's way by not doing right by him is not acceptable. We've got some uphill battles to be sure, but I'm hopeful that we can find a solution that will give our whole house some measure of peace.

The big problem with getting professional help is that they're expensive! I understand why, but that doesn't make it any easier to manage.

I'm hopelessly, madly in love with all three of my crazy fellows, and I know that one day there will be a peaceful resolution, but until then, we'll just have to carry on keeping separate quarters.

I'm just so very sad for Gibbs that he's just alienated his only canine ally.

Rocking at the Riverside with @RickyNelsonRemb

We went to see Matthew and Gunnar at the Riverside Casino in Laughlin this past weekend. The Summertime temps were hot and so was the show!

If you've never seen these two perform, you owe yourself the chance to do so!

The Ricky Nelson Remembered show is the stuff memories are made of. Could it be because it showcases memories of their iconic father, rock and roll legend, Rick Nelson? Might it be due to their position in an entertainment dynasty? One never tires of hearing that these guys are Guinness record holders as the only family to have #1 records in three successive generations -their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, had a #1 hit with "And Then Some" in 1934, and their father, Ricky Nelson, had #1 hits with "Poor Little Fool" in 1958 and "Travelin' Man" in 1961; and the twins with their band Nelson's #1 "(I Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" seal the deal - not only is this is a badge to be worn with pride, it's a wonderful accidental marketing tool! I am certain that all of those things are part of the charm, but they don't make the show what it is. They're actually just the tools that are artfully wielded to pull in the audience and immerse the listener into a whole new world. One that blends the memories of a generation of people who saw as Rock and Roll was just born, with the memories of a father's sons. As if that weren't enough, the thing that really does the trick is that these guys know how to make fun of themselves, and have fun with the audience in ways that bring joy to a whole room of diverse people. They create entirely new beautiful, colorful memories for the audience to take home with them.

You really do want to find these guys in a theater near you: http://www.rickynelsonremembered.com/

Pets in the Heat

It's ridicu-HOT outside. We made the error in judgment of taking Gibbs to the farmers' market today. I feel badly for my hot dog, and for the other dogs I saw there today... many people had the same thought. My big dog suffered half the way home, panting and hot.
He's resting comfortably now, in front of the air vent, but before we left the market today, he tried to show his dominance in unacceptable ways to other dogs, more than usual. Probably spurred by the heat. He's now sporting a small war wound on his nose.


When we got home, we discovered that Cindy's mom had no idea that Sheldon was outside. He went out sometime after we left and we were gone for 2 1/2 hours. Poor guy was alone outside for that long and Mickey couldn't get "grandma" to understand why he was antsy and running up and down the stairs. I feel like a terrible dog mom today, causing suffering for Gibbs and discovering Sheldon had some suffering of his own at the hands of the extreme temperatures.

I'll be keeping a close eye on them both to watch for heat stroke and sun burn.

Just so everyone else can start off on a more educated level than I did today here are a couple of items:

this is very important information - do not leave a dog in the car!
Note.... in all of my above comments, I never left my dog in the car!

Image originally posted on http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Summer-fun/

lovely little product

do you just love your camera? I do.
do you take it with you everywhere? I do NOT.

its that big bag, you see. bulky, obnoxious and inconvenient. in comes Camera Coats... Oh - this has been on my wishlist for so long now. I suppose I'll have to be my own valentine.

Unless.

Unless I win one. Check the contest out here

just look at these darlings:

giveaway

You Don't Always Get the Dog You Want -

You Get the Dog You Need

The title of this post is a quote from Cesar Milan. I heard it while watching 'Leader of the Pack' today and it brought tears to my eyes and a thought to my heart... I have been given 4 dogs at stages in my life. 

My first dog, Harlee was a typical puppy, she was bitey, man, how many times I worried that she would grow up to be a vicious thing and since I was new to dogs, I was pleasantly surprised when she grew to be a phenomenal dog, so smart, so loving and sweet. She loves riding in the car, seems to know how to tell time and is so in tune with what we say... "too hot" and she knows she can't go. She knows "W" means "going to Walmart" so she always has her ears perked for the magic "byebye"... She was really the perfect introduction for me to dogs.

Mickey came next, a bit more challenging. His puppy years were different from Harlee's. He wasn't as bitey, he slept through the night and knew what "nite-nite" meant - going voluntarily into his kennel to snuggle with his blankey and toy - from an early age. I still fondly recall the everyday event of him chewing on his soft plastic bone as he fell asleep "SQUEEK.SQUEAK.SQUEEK.SQUEAK" slowly downgrading in tempo and volume until "squee......squeee.....squ..." as he fell asleep mid chew. He was antsy in the daytime, crazy, running, chewing... for almost 5 years and BAM! Adult dog. Mellow except for mealtimes (his and ours) and bedtime, then he was and is quite demanding. He's always been the caretaker, laying on top of you when you don't feel well, giving you the notice when it's time for food or sleep and diligently following kids and people who he felt required nursing.

Sheldon followed Mickey, and lets just say, Mickey's years of antsy, crazy, running and chewing didn't quite prepare us for Sheldon, they were by far SURPASSED by Sheldon's skill and ability. Sheldon gutted a sofa, tried to chew through walls and could get out of his kennel... to do it all over again. The amount of electronics he's chewed through is just crazy! I've been repeatedly told by so many that he would have been gone if he was at their house (mercy). Luckily for Sheldon he's at my mercy, and I have learned to have quite a bit. In my most stressed moments, all I had to do was think of two things, how much we love one another and how little hope he has as a 'destructive' Pit-bull mix. He's more than paid me back in humor and affection, the things we don't have any longer, I don't even remember. How's that for important? I would remember and mourn the loss of Sheldon always.

This brings me to our latest challenge. Gibbs. Just as lovely and loving and hilarious as Sheldon, Mickey and Harlee combined... and more trouble than all of them combined as well. He's only destroyed a few things, a sofa cushion, a comforter, a whole host of pillows... but the worst offense has been his desire to destroy Harlee! Things started out so well, they all got along pretty well, the eldest ignored him for the most part, except for when he settled in for a snooze. All of a sudden he changed-puberty? Harlee's health issues? Whatever it is, he goes after her if he sees her. We can't part with either of them, they both own my heart, so until we can figure out how to safely integrate them, Gibbs spends lots of time separate from the other dogs. Sheldon is his only ally and even he's not always willing to hang with the big boy. To some people, Gibbs appears to have a pit-bull look to him, people confuse American Bulldog with Pit-bull and this could be a strike against him, especially with the label 'dog aggressive'. He wouldn't fare any better out there if we were to relinquish him, although I have no desire to do so. He's my big-face boy and I love him so.

Every day on Facebook I see dogs who are in danger in shelters and rescues... the dogs in my home, life and heart are dogs that came to my care and that's for life... for better AND for worse... I wish people would GET that before they decide to entertain the thought of getting a dog! The shelters are overflowing EVERYWHERE! 

Rehabilitate the dog and train the owner - Cesar Milan

My home's craziness leads me to wonder, if things got progressively more challenging at this rate (less than 10 years) what on earth will my future hold? I'm sure of one thing, regardless of the damage, the love is worth it all.