A day in San Francisco

Just the other day, Steve (Hubby) and I had to go into San Francisco to the Veterans health center.  Well, since it was a bright and sunny day (it’s been mostly rain here lately), we drove around and ended up at Land’s End (see photo above) which has a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and surrounding waters.  Of course it was windy, but not so cold.  We had time, before his appointment, to have lunch, so we picked a this place: and had a nice, but filling, lunch.  Afterwards, a walk was in order (to settle all that lunch), so we headed up the street. 

We had to laugh at this small collection of restaurants all in a row:  talk about diversity:  Italian, Japanese, and American Hamburgers all together!  SF is famous for that!  I always love all the neat and mixed architecture on the streets of SF---especially the Queen Anne and Victorian fancy stuff. 

All in all, it was a nice change to be in the city and experience some great food!  

Learning to get along together…

Yes, Gypsy Girl and Caruso are learning to get along better!  Gypsy is still struggling with holding back her biting and Caruso has got to still learn not to get himself cornered.  Occasionally, Caruso makes it onto Gypsy’s back and digging in with all four feet, tries to bite her in the neck, but can’t get through all that fur, so doesn’t even faze her.  This morning Gypsy managed to roll out of his back grasp and made Caruso growl.  But they’ve learned to be content together too:     Kit-Kit watches from above on her perch on the end of the piano, but stays still and quite invisible and looks down on them with disgust. 

It was pouring yesterday when I ventured out to the chicken yard.  All the girls and Charlie were under the outside enclosure out of the wet, Charlie crowing and making all kinds of noise (probably swearing at the weather).  As I approached the metal shed, Spot came running out to the shed to see me!  I was stunned that she was brave enough to face the heavy rain, but her desire to see me and get a pet, won out.  As I was leaving the yard, Charlie strutted out and came for me.  Luckily, I had the stick (Charlie beater) in my hand and was able to fend him off enough to escape the yard.  Sometimes I think he’s jealous of Spot’s attention to me!  I have trouble believing that, what with his tiny itty-bitty brain!

QUIT DOGGIN’ THAT CAT!

The title says it all!  Gypsy’s learning not to “herd” the cat too much. Caruso is such a sweetheart and wants to be friends with her, but he will only take so much before the claws come out and the low growl starts.  Will Gypsy Girl ever learn?   I have my doubts.  Our other cat, Ninja Kit-Kit has been as invisible as possible, thinking if she doesn’t move the dog won’t find her.  That works great at night when it’s dark, but not so well when she’s curled up on our light beige bedspread. She is especially fast and, in the blink of an eye, she’s gone---down under somewhere. 

Charlie, our watch-rooster, is as nasty as ever.  The other day I went in to check for eggs and feed the girls, he came at me and I knocked him off his feet THREE times with a plastic pole that I carry for just that job.  And STILL he came at me again.  At least the girls are well protected when we’re not there…that’s the only thing that saves him at this point. 

The great news is that I finally got my new refrigerator!  YEAH!  If you all remember my refrigerator blues last fall (or earlier?), we hauled in one of the refrigerators that the previous owners of this place had left in the garage.  It’s been adequate until just lately, when the freezer will go from below 0 to 40 at the drop of a hat.  Strange thermostat problems, I suppose.  At any rate, Sears had a sale, so I got this one for under $400---brand new with a warranty.  So far, so good.

Enjoy your week!

Been a While…

Wow, it’s been a couple of weeks since my last blog.  Time flies when one is busy.  Not much has changed around here lately---you know what they say, “No news is good news!”

Our snow has turned to steady rain (which we have needed) and everything has turned to mud, including our dog.  Gypsy has a tendency to run herding patterns around the chicken yard when we go there to check the chicks and her little figure-8 track has become one big mud pit.  Then, every night before she can come inside, she has to have a bath.  So, we keep a big pot of water on our woodstove that is always hot, just for her bath. 

The “girls” are doing well and still laying from 4 to 6 eggs a day.  I wished I’d had my camera handy the other day when Hubby went out to collect eggs and found all the hens lined up (like a production line) on the top rail in the hen house, waiting their turns to go into the laying cubbies.  There are 8 cubbies but the hens only use the same two…all the time!  They refuse to even get in the other ones.  Talk about creatures of habit!  Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic of that as he told me after the fact.  But it must have been quite a site. 

Charlie is completely healed and as nasty as ever.  I don’t think he learned a thing even with the boot to the leg!  But, if he’s that way with us, he’s also that way with predators that visit the hen yard, thus protecting the girls.  So, as long as he is doing his job so well, he gets to live. 

Gypsy Girl has been doing better, but has developed a nasty sneeze/wheeze, as if there’s something stuck in her nose.  It even wakes her up when she’s napping or at night.  I’m afraid we may have to take her to the vet to have this checked out.  She may have grass or fox-tails stuck up there.

Work has been good, but gas prices have rocketed---$3.95 at last look.  Afraid to look today.  So, I raised my tuning price up another $10 to cover the travel costs.  People seem to understand and don’t complain too much. 

Hopefully Max will have his first tennis match with his school team, this week on Thursday.  Since it is out of town, I’ve volunteered to drive.  Hope the weather cooperates.