Thursday

I mentioned yesterday that the Iditarod Sled Dog Race was beginning soon in Anchorage.  The famous Alaska Fur Rondy has just completed, and I was looking at some photos of it on the computer.   This has got to be more fun for the residents of Anchorage,  The event is a sprint race, and lasts the entire weekend.  So fans get to watch the teams leave and finish every day.  And they have so many other activities - - softball games, snow sculpture, etc.

 

Seems they have a little moose problem on the trail this year.  This cow tried to attack every team that went through, and they had a big crew of police and trail crew to keep her off the teams.  How would you like to be that musher?  The dogs look a little frantic too.  After the race was completed, she calmly wandered off with her calf.

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I will be a blithering idiot by the time I am through today.  Not only did my new computer come, but the replacement remote for DishNet came.  Both have to be set up.  It was suprisingly easy to set up the remote, but the computer is something else. 

 

I got as far as trying to set up my e-mail, and got the message I was not connected to the Internet.  My home network showed up, I chose it, and entered the password.  Don't know what happened.  I am going through the tutorial now, which is Greek to me.  I guess I will just keep slogging through it all.

 



Wednesday

There were only four of us at art group this morning.  I baked a loaf of Banana bread, and Pat brought blueberry muffins.  Kind of an overkill for only four people!

I spent part of my morning organizing and cleaning a cupboard in the art room, eating and drinking coffee.  I did finally start a new drawing.

The big Iditarod sled dog race starts in Anchorage this coming weekend.  There are about 70 teams entered this year.   Always exciting and I like to keep up with the race, but every year there are fewer mushers that I even recognize their names.  I see Newton Marshall is entered again this year.  I wonder if Kasey still thinks he has her Barbie Doll?  Lance Macky and Newton borrowed Barrie's dog truck and trailer one year when theirs broke down during the Stage Stop Race.  Kasey had a Barbie Doll in the truck, and it went missing.  Kasey thinks Newton has it, but she thinks Newton is her buddy.  He did some Jamaican dancing with her in the parking lot

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Tuesday

I really don't enjoy watching a "mouse massacre".  Kat had a mouse yesterday, and it was still very active when she took it into the bathroom and played with it.  It got away and hid for a long time behind the entertainment unit. When it finally came out, Kat was waiting.  I think the poor little thing lasted about six hours in all.  I couldn't see it anywhere on the floor this morning, but Kat brought it out and put it in front of my chair later.

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Barrie stopped by yesterday, and I sent her to the store with a list and some money.  She brought me all kinds of goodies.

 

I get really frustrated with these kinds of things, but some people enjoy the challenge.

 

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The long haired black cat was here this morning.  Choe was on the front porch yelling for her food, and the black cat waited on the steps.  Of course it ran off when I opened the door, so I don't know if it got any of the cat food or not.

 

I would like to leave cat food on the front porch, but the magpies clean it up. 

 





Monday

Barrie is home, and it is scary.  She has a pile of things outside her bedroom door, and I can hear a vacuum running in the basement. She must be in her hurricane mode again.  I don't even want to look at what is in the pile, as it's probably mostly mine.  I'll never miss it.

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We have a "new" cat hanging around.  It was on the front porch with Chloe yesterday, and ran as soon as I opened the door to feed Chloe.  It's black, or dark gray, with a white bib.  It's got yellow eyes, and very long hair.  It looks like part of its tail is missing.  It was back again this morning on the front porch.  It's very wild,

 

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I finished the colored pencil drawing of Kat yesterday, and I think I like it.  I'll pick a mat for it today.

 

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There were four deer in the front yard yesterday.  We have left the front gate open for them. The grass and tree leaves on the ground must be cured just right.  I notice every winter about this same time, the deer congregate in the big stand of quakies at the place next to me. 

 

 

 

It's back!  Kasey got this plastic spider at Halloween, and Kat loves to steal it, bring it upstairs, and play with it.  I haven't seen it for quite a while.  I'm not a big fan of spiders, and it always gives me a start to look down and see it on the floor.

 







Sunday

What a scary crash at the Daytona Speedway yesterday.  Kind of took the fun out of the race when the pieces of a car flew into the stands and sent about 25 fans to the hospital.  Alll the drivers involved walked away.

They probably have worked all night to repair the catch fence and get the track ready for the big one today.  I hope the race today isn't that exciting.  Good luck Danica.

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I don't watch TV very often, but when I do, I would like to be able to change chanels and such.  My remote is so old, and is just plain worn out.  So I called DishNet yesterday to order a new one.  Wow, what a pleasant surprise!  The guy could almost speak English, they are sending me a new one by UPS tomorrow, and it is free of charge.  That doesn't  happen very often.

 

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Judi mentioned that she wasn't sure what a Tater Twister looked like.  Here is a photo of one.

 

 

And here is a potato that has been cut into a curly fry.  You end up with a long spiral of potato. I got mine on EBay, and didn't have instructions.  I couldn't figure out how to use it, and a musher friend of Barrie's figured it out

 

I noticed that Amazon is selling these, and they have a price of $99.95 on it.  Good grief!  I doubt if they were selling for more than about $25 when they first came out.

 

EBay has quite a few of these, ranging in price from $10 to $30. 

 

Here is my idea of a great political cartoon!

 



Saturday

 

I actually did it -- said I was going to finish something and did it.  I finished the pencil drawing of Kat yesterday.  I have a colored pencil drawing of her started, and could finish it in one day if I would do it.

I delved into the back of the low kitchen cupboards this morning and found a couple of interesting things.  I have a very small crockpot, and I never use it.  So I guess it goes in the pile of things to go to the Food Basket.  Also found a "Tater Twister".  Anyone remember those?  It makes curly french fries, and I would use it if I had any potatoes.

 

This doe was at the back door yesterday, licking up spilled bird seed off the snow on the back porch. When I used to feed birds in feeders the deer could reach, they just curled their tongue and licked the seed.  They have really  long tongues.

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I turned the TV on for a while this morning, thought I might catch some of the practice runs at the NASCAR race track.  Got my mind set to watch Danica kick butt tomorrow.

 



Friday

I will finish  my drawing of Kat today, unless the house burns down.

She caught another mouse last night - that's her third one this week!  She's an overachiever!

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Barrie and Kasey are house sitting for about 10 days for a couple with two big black lab dogs.  Maddy and Shorty have to stay here kenneled in the basement at night, so they are not too happy about it.  Kasey is having a good time.

 

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I watched a John Wayne movie last night, "Cowboys."  Remember it?  He can't find a crew to drive his steers to market, so he hires all the kids he can find, ages from about 11 to 15.  John Wayne is killed in the movie by rustlers, and the kids take over, kill most of the rustlers, and get the cattle to market.  A feel good movie.

 

 

 

If I saw this sign in a store, I'm sure I wouldn't even notice the typo. 



Wednesday

There were six of us at art group this morning.  Not a very big crowd, but it's quality that counts, right?

 

I worked on this pencil drawing of Kat this morning, and vowed that I would work more on it this afternoon.  It's far from finished, but it's to the point where I need to give it a rest and look at it a while.  I find that photographing something and looking at it on the computer screen gives it a whole new perspective.

I think I'll also watch a video I have by a woman who draws animals a lot.  She always gives me some incentive.

And Kat got her second mouse of the week last night.  She left it in the middle of the bathroom floor. I would give her a treat, but she won't eat anything except dry cat food,  and she won't allow me to pet her.  Maybe she just knows I appreciate her.

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Barrie ordered a pickup truck load of dog food, and it came in last night.  A friend of hers (from Montana, I think) brought it down, and they are unloading it in the basement right now.



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I baked a loaf of bread this afternoon. (With the help of the bread machine, of course.)  It's plain white bread this time.  Wish I had some bologna and potato chips!

 



  

Tuesday

Do you ever wish you had an "undo" button for your house?  I have rearranged some of the things on my wall, and hung three new paintings and one pencil drawing.  I wish it were back like it was before.

This was a nice, clean looking white wall before I hung these up.  I'm not sure why, but I like uncluttered spaces.  And the two pieces were not supposed to be the same height - I would like one higher than the other, but that was as high as I could reach.

I hung two watercolors, and moved the feathers and mocassins to this wall, and I don't like the arrangement.  I guesss I'll just look at it a while before I move them back.  I think I know where I would like the feathers - in the corner by the book case next to the Indian design pottery.

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It's interesting how my spam and junk mail has evolved.  Not long ago, I got several a day urging me to take this stuff that will enlarge my penis.  Right around the holidays, that tapered off and I got all kinds of mail for weight loss products.  Now it's all about stock tips and making money in the market. 

 

I guess many people gain weight during the holidays, hence the spam about weight loss.  Now that it's tax season, maybe they figure people are interested in making money.  I don't even want to speculate about penis enlargement.  I wonder what will be next?

 

Monday

I did my taxes online, e-filed them, and paid with my credit card.  No cost except for a $4 fee for using my own credit card instead of getting the new one they were offering.  Geez!  I just got rid of one credit card and don't want another.

Check out the Turbo Tax web site if you think you can use this service. 

It's perfect for me, because I have no deductions, and nothing unusual to report.

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I hung some pictures upstairs that I have been wanting to put up for quite a while.  Still have one that goes in an awkward, hard to reach place above the entertainment center.  Maybe my friend Barrie will come up and do that one for me.

 

 

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This little guy was taking a snooze in the back yard yesterday in the sunshine.