GOOD 2019 EVERYONE!!

I've been busy for the last few months. The real life job has been full of books, books, and more books.

I had to use up the money from (I think) three grants before they expired. That meant A LOT of processing.  The good thing is that our public library now has a decent manga collection that I feed with my regular funds. 

The cool thing is that the stats for the collection was astounding. It had super high stats for the year.  It did better that some of our other collections. Woot!

Image from Playway.com

And it was not only books. There were a ton of playaways. Those are audio books. Tiny, portable, and can go just about anywhere.  They run on a AAA battery. 

I had two major projects in the works that had to be done. A major weeding of my Juvenile and YA sections.

Other than that, life has been going on. We were sadden to lose one of our fur babies. She was 17.

We were all depressed.

A month later, my brother brought home an impy little turd named Reba. She is a tiny 7 lb. bundle of Speedy Gonzalez energy. She has two motions stop and light speed.  She is also a sand worm from Dune. She burrows under the covers like one.  Nothing like getting a frigid nose butting your arm at 3 a.m. so she can bury herself under the covers.

I have decided to do the Popsugar Reading Challenge again. 

I know, I know. I tried in 2015 and didn't finish. This time I've planned ahead and found books to fit the categories ahead of time. So now I just have to read them.  Plus, I decided to do a reading log to go with it.

I've labeled the reading log with each of the Popsugar challenge categories ahead of time. Now I just fill in the pages with the books I choose.

I've also decided to pledge a set number of books in the Goodreads reading challenge, which I've never ever done before. I officially read 300 books (okay, mostly manga) last year. This year I said 250.

Sounds like a lot, but it's not really.

I also want to downsize my billions of books. So I'm bound and determined to read them and get rid of the ones I don't want anymore. 

So how has your January treated you?

A BIT OF RANDOM BORINGNESS 2

So far my life has encompassed three things:  a gift project (which is done!  YAY ME!), A to Z (I'm on K), and editing my book (that's not happening, but I'm pretending it is . . . heh heh heh).

Other than that, it's just work, life, and my furry babies.

Then there is a certain person that shall remain nameless that I would like to bop on the head.  Frustrating is the term that comes to mind.

I finished reading Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke.  Again frustrating comes to mind when I think of this book.  It ends on a CLIFFY!  GRR ARGH!

I'm also listening to the book Backwards by Todd Mitchell.  It's a very interesting book.  I won't say anything about it except that the book name says it all.

Also, I'm reading the Ghostwalker series by Christine Feehan.  I've finished the first one, Shadow Game, and i'm almost done with the second one, Mind Game.

It's fun to go back and read books you've read a years ago.  They're almost new again.  

AND THE STINK GOES ON! YEAH, THE STINK GOES ON!

The Chuie, the Fluff and I were minding our own business as we stepped outside so they could do their . . . business.  =D

And then something jumps away from behind the barbeque.  I thought it was the feral black cat that usually hangs out around our house.  It was dark so all i saw in the thin porch light was fluffy black legs.  The cat, right?

WRONG!  It may be genetically linked to felines, but felines don't spray foul smelling musk.

Yeppers, our little visitor was a skunk!

Well, Fluff decided he had to go chase said beast as well as the Chuie.  So, zoom went Nascar-boy, ripping the leash out of my left hand.  It twisted with Pugsley's leash and WHACK! YELP! It smacks the poor dog in the side, sending her into the dirt.  She's all traumatized now and cowering and stuck in the middle of a tug-of-war with the Fluff and I.

So I watch helpless as Fluff gets it --- in the mouth!

He comes running to the back door, stinking, as the culprit goes running off into the night.

I bend down and he is foaming at the mouth like some rabid beast.  It was like a St. Bernard on crack!

So I give the dog leashes to my mom and got a bowl of water and proceeded to rinse my dog's mouth out like a naughty child.  Let's just say I had to unclamp his jaws.  Then my poor, idiot dog had to be locked into the shower with me as I washed his chest and neck (and all his other body parts since he needed a bath anyway) at 9:40 pm.

My mom phoned a friend who gave her a recipe for skunk removal: baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and shampoo.  Mix and plaster dog.  It didn't help with the mouth problem, but it worked wonders for the chest.

And so both he and I were soaked as we exited the bathroom.  After drying him off, he proceeded to go ape-poop crazy by rubbing his face in the towel, the blanket, the chair cover, the carpet, and the blanket on the floor.  the chair cover went from flat to a literal ball of material by the time he was done.

So I took out the doggie tooth brush and toothpaste and brushed his teeth.  He, of course, was fighting me every step of the way because he was angry at all the indignities I made him go through and the trauma I inflicted upon him in the shower.

Thankfully, he is over his humility and is his cocky self again.

*****

And here is a random that just happened two seconds ago.  The was a dog outside.  A white dog with a black nose that was not ours, but was almost a spitting image of her.  Spooky. 

SOMEONE IS STARING AT ME!

Do you ever get the feeling you're being stared at.  You know that intense-can't ignore it-puppy dog stare that makes you cringe because you try to ignore it.

I get that a lot.  Actually, I'm getting it right this moment.  The Chuie can tell time.  I swear.  She knows exactly when 5 pm occurs.  5 pm equals walkies.  5 pm equals "take me or I will pester you until you do."

Then, my Fluff starts in on me.  He gives me that look.  The hang-your-head-and-look up-with-sadness-because-I-have-to-go-potty look.

It's too much.  It kills me to ignore them.  And the freaking tail wag if they think their going to get your attention.  Yes, evil creatures they.

But the complete killer is Fluff's floppy right ear.  It doesn't stand up all the way and the tip flops so . . . so cutely that I die when he flicks it back and forth.

So now I will sign off, and take the four footed creeps for their walkies. =D

WRESTLING . . . WHAT?!

Now, as everyone knows, there is no way to stop dogs from roughhousing when they get playful.  As long as they don't try to hurt each other, what's the harm, right?

The harm is that--when it's O'Dark 30--the thundering herd Nascaring around the living room and dining room along with the thumps and growls of play wakes you up.  On a weekend.  Before the sun even rises.

What's worse than that?  The Chuie barking like mad as the other two play.  Clear across the house.  With the door closed.  And still loud enough to be heard by half-asleep ears.

Ignore the paws thumping against the floor and the body whacks against the furniture.  Turn over and cuddle under the lovely warm covers, and then . . . YAP!  BARK BARKITY BARK BARK! YAPPITY YAP YAP YAP YAP YAP . . . ad infinitum. 

Who really wants to yell at two stupid dogs before the first glorious sip of coffee?  I don't.  It just ruins my day.  It does.

What's even more horrible is when they get all, "You're awake!  Yay!  Look how cute I am!"  Tail wag and happy faces.  Chibi eyes all aglow with joy.

ARGH!  Must not give in to the cuteness . . . must not give in . . .

Ever have a dog just purr when he sees you?  It sounds like a an open-mouth growl but not.  It's really quite different.

Let's just say that I caved.  The glittery chocolate eyes and the purred greeting along with the white one's tail wagging so hard, she created a current of air.

Why do we suffer the torments of early wake up calls?  Why?

Maybe because they make up for it by loving us, cuddling us, kissing us, playing with us, and, as for my dumb dog and the Chuie, talking to us.

I'M SUCH A NINJA . . . NOT!!

Well, my adorable Fluff-Muffin (Yes, I make up gooey names for my dog.  Sickening I know.) thinks he is such a ninja.  Yep, he thinks I don't know when he comes to bed at night.

He can't just come to bed when I do.  Nope, too easy. 

 He has to wait until I turn off my bedside light.  It has to be completely dark, and he thinks I'm sleeping.  Um, sorry, boy, but I don't fall asleep 30 seconds after I get comfortable. =D

Sometimes he comes in and checks to see if I'm sleeping with the light on, but he always runs away if I try to coax him into bed.

Anywho, there I am all snug in my bed and counting the seconds it takes for him to come into my room.

I hear him.  The atmosphere changes to one of anticipation.  ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE . . . JUMP!   Onto the bed he goes, and 20 lbs of dog step on my legs, while I feel like I'm in an earthquake.  Then turn, turn, turn, turn one more time . . . PLOP!  "Humph!"

Yes, my dog humphs and sighs.

It's so nice to have something warm and fuzzy plastered to your leg.



I bet you thought  I was going to talk about me!  HA!

COYOTES SINGING, DOGS HOWLING

As I sit here eating my GREEK GODS GREEK YOGURT (honey flavored), I think about what the p.i.t.a.s' (pain in the arses) did last night and still get cranky.

I was at the point where I was mostly asleep but still conscious.  I don't know if you know that point, but that's where I was.

Then, as the quiet settled, there was singing.  Yep, a pack (or whatever it's called) of coyotes began singing outside.  It sounded as if they were right outside, but they were probably farther away.

Then, White Fang (not her real name, but it's what we call her when she "wolf" howls) went off.  WOOF! WOOF! AHOOOOOOOO!  Then, Fluff went off with his semi-yap bark, which is both high and low pitched at the same time. BARK!  BARK!  And then, Pugsley (also not the Chuie's real name either), who was at the other end of the house with the bedroom door closed started.  Her yap is extremely loud and obnoxious.  YAP!  YAP! YAPPITY YAP YAP!

By the time I woke enough to hear the coyotes, I was ready to KILL!

Suddenly, the ENTIRE population of doggie kind up and down the street went off.

So, being the kind and wonderful person I am, I yelled, "SHUT UP!"  Bark, Ahooooo, Yap!  "IF YOU MAKE ME GET UP TO SHUT YOU UP, I WILL KILL YOU!"

Quiet.  No more Bark.  No more Yap (but i think that was mom's doing).  No more Woof . . . And then . . . WOOF!

Let's just say I yelled one more death threat, and she quieted down for the night.

Thankfully, I passed out quickly after that.  Heh, what can I say?  I like what sleep I get.