the definition of Dog Tired

I wish that I could talk to dogs

I am in my 2nd week of the Couch Potato to 5K program. I've never been much of a runner, but I've decided that I could be.
A couple of my friends began and after how I heard how they were doing, I decided that it might just be a good program for me as well. I want to do a 5K in the future. I know that my 70, or possibly 80 something, neighbor will still kick my butt, but I want to finish a 5K. So far, my refabricated ACL is holding up vs my original ACL in the other knee.
Today, I had Cinnamon running with me, which, BTW is like trying to put a leash on a deer. She loves to go with me, so I take her almost every time. We were running along and she spotted something that caused her to stop in her tracks. She froze, and began to back up. Freaking out.
It was a baby stroller with full trash bags tied all over it. Something that is usually being pushed by a homeless person on the street. This was just sitting at the curb. We could not pass it and needed to turn around. Cinnamon didn't calm down until we were half a block away from it.
It's not as odd as Pumpkin's irrational fear of aluminum foil when we first rescued her from the shelter, but it was odd.
I wish I could ask her what was wrong. How long was she a stray on the street? What happened?
She is sleeping quietly on the sofa now (and drooling onto the floor)... safe and sound, and that's what matters.

14 wonderful years

Stuntman enjoyed the anniversary gift that I gave him today.
Even though we rarely give gifts for our anniversary, we always sit and watch our wedding DVD and have a nice dinner together (if we happen not to be apart for work or war reasons).
The 14th Anniversary is the "Ivory" anniversary and he liked his bar of soap.

Volcano, or pyrocumulous cloud?

I was going through my video camera and forgot all about the quick video I shot of the Station Fire in L.A. last Saturday.
This is my first video upload to the site, why not.
At the end, you can hear E1 ask me if we are evacuating. I say "maybe".

On another note... our usually squirrel-free backyard is full of squirrels, dozens of them. Usually, there is only that one obese squirrel that eats every last almond on the almond tree.
The squirrels escaped the forest,
where are the coyotes, deer and mountain lions? Remind me not to go for walks by myself around the neighborhood.

Home Sweet Home

It's good to be home.
We've been evacuated for several days. Although the neighborhood is smoky, it is still intact.
I have many days of cleaning ahead of me (what's new). I'm just happy to have a home to clean.
I replaced the house air filter and I think everyone else in town has done the same because the store was practically sold out of filters of all sizes.
I am so thankful that the winds stayed calm as the fire crept closer to my home because any flying ember would have easily torched anything in it's path.
The firefighters have done an amazing job. A BIG THANK YOU to them.

Tomorrow...
1. clean the pool because it is full of ash.
2. begin wiping down everything in the house, there is a fine layer of black dust on everything.
3. relax... traveling with 3 kids and 3 dogs and trying not to destroy your BIL's house is exhausting.
4. count the hours until Stuntman returns home
5. almost forgot... try to fix the sprinklers in the front yard. Someone (fire truck or looky-loo) drove into my yard while I was evacuated and ran over two sprinkler heads.


On a side rant... an online map of the fire was drawn incorrectly and showed that the fire had made it's way past our home. Stuntman was a little freaked out by this when he was looking for information on the fire. The media coverage of the fire has been horrible. It has been sensational, but not informative. Some online information was helpful, but some (as noted above) was inaccurate. Maybe next time someone can get it right.