Friday, November 8, 2013

Just who I am....

Loyce always told me that without her to do the cleaning and organizing, our house would become a pig sty....   And with that thought in the back of my mind, I have been religiously spending each morning attempting to clean myself back up from yesterday's activities.

Of course I always shirked any of these responsibilities in my former life as the husband of the house...  Partially because she would always  seem to come behind me and do most of the stuff over again should I become domestic....  I didn't have her ability to care for every little spot....

So my days are increasingly domestic..!  And it seems as though I am loosing the battle.. But my sheets are clean and the guest room is back ready for its next visitor...

I spent yesterday afternoon driving around looking for the specific type of dog treat that Biscuit is used to eating....  We visited several pet stores..   Never finding the exact brand...  It must be a local thing in Missouri or Kansas....

Loyce always used Pet Land back in the Midwest...  I think because they did sell pets...  Of course that has become a big no no..  She didn't see it that way, as long as the animals were cared for and sold in a timely fashion...  But that is another debate.  I know we got Biscuit on the second day that she was in the store....  But yes she was bread for the pet market as a designer puppy..

Because of their selling of pets, Petland was drummed out of the business out here in fashionable Arizona...  Screams of puppy mill supporter and the like were amplified into a law suit that stained the companies reputation beyond their ability to come back...  So they went broke...

That is a long winded explanation for why I can't find certain branded dog treats....  But at Pet Club, I found something that was reported as popular and a good seller...  Baked with peanut butter of all things....  And nothing healthy, but then they aren't her food, just treats....

Once we got out in the car, I gave her one of the biscuits.....  And..... she hated it...!  Broke it all up in her teeth and spit it back out in the cushion...  She did eat some of it in the 20 minute ride home...

Today I mixed some of the new treats in with the old ones and put them on the top of her food bowl... She ate them all, so perhaps........

My friend Roger was in a toot to get on the highway Tuesday morning, and tossed his stuff into the car early in the morning..  Thanking me for letting him stay here, he was out the door...   Of course he knew that I would talk his ear off and not let him leave otherwise...

But in that hurried departure, he left his tennis shoes and ball cap out in the garage... We had gone on a morning walk the day before and they were right where he had removed them...

So today I was looking for a box and the tape to seal it up....  Again this required digging thru the myriad of stuff in the sewing room..  But I found things right away and got myself off to the UPS store...

And on the Jeep subject,  Roger and I had decided that the carpet fabric floor mats that came with the vehicle were not appropriate for the Arizona desert..  The gravel just gets ground into the fabric almost immediately...

I had searched the computer web sites but didn't find anything made specifically for the vehicle unless they were $150 plus shipping....  Toooooo much...  So I stopped at local auto parts stores....  Where the solution was to cut generic mats to match the oddball shape....

But the guy at O'Reiley suggested going back to Jeep...  Saying that they weren't all that expensive and would be made exactly for the application.....

So after the UPS store, I went back to Jeep..  Where I found that the row of 20 Jeeps from last week had been reduced to 4....  That was amazing... But the parts counter guy knew exactly what I wanted and said they had them in stock for $85...  Sold!!!

That included the longer one piece for the back, and both front mats...  They are rubber and curve up to catch the spills of a bouncy bad road.....    I saved the carpet ones for the day that the vehicle is sold on to its next owner....  And you know that I will get a wild hair, sooner rather than later and trade it on down the road......  Its just who I am....

Retired Rod


  1. Your mention of all things domestic makes me think of a brief visit I had at a friends place a few weeks back. After our "great book heist", I was dropping off the second of the two guys I had gone with, and needed to go in and use "the facilities". Now, I've know this guy for a number of years, and he lost his wife a couple years ago by now I think. Anyway, he now lives on his own.
    So, I only went into the washroom just off the front hallway, so I didn't really see the rest of the place. It didn't seem "cluttered", but I could tell that the washroom hadn't been given a good cleaning in a long, long time. Like, it was "dusty". I'm sure you would have been able to see where I had walked. Like that.
    Didn't matter to me. I had to go.
    It would never have been like that if his wife were still alive, but we all have our priorities.
    I'm usually the one trying to put things away and tidy up. Just the same though, we have a cleaning lady come in every other Wednesday. I have no desire to be bending over the tub etc.
    I *guess* I would try to keep the mess at an acceptable level if something were to happen to my wife. I've never given it much thought.
    I do know this though, if you're not used to it (the cleaning up/tidying up thing) it's a hard habit to take up.

  2. Trader Joes organic chicken and brown rice sticks have been enjoyed by almost all dogs we've met.

  3. I think you need to clean to the level that it's appropriate for you. If you're having company maybe go the extra mile. You are doing great!

  4. I only clean when it is absolutely necessary. ;)

  5. Brenda says the same thing about me, and I have the same excuse, no point in me cleaning up, she just comes along and does it all over again anyway. I have lived on my own though and didn't disappear in the dust although I did have more "stuff" on the counters than is acceptable now.

  6. We have to bring a 3 month supply of doggie treats with us when we head south because if we buy new ones Molly and Rylie spit them out just like Biscuit. Talk about spoiled dogs! Eventually, when they figure out that's all there is they'll grudgingly eat them.

    I get that cleaning thing around here too - no matter how good a job of cleaning I think I do, it's never, ever clean enough. Jeesh!!

  7. Rod,

    I find it funny how dogs are, my wifes dog eats cat poop like they were made for her but is so picky on her food and treats it makes no sense at all.

    I understand the domestic part, I clean better but I'm not allowed near the laundry... I somehow never get that right. ;)

    I just got a new car this year, I get the urge to trade after about 2 to 3 years, well before that actually but hey I try to be somewhat reasonable... it's who I am. :)

    Hey, you need to let me know what frequencies you use, since I'm not General yet, just a lowly Tech I can't use 20M which would probably work, 10M might work and I'm good there, let me know.

    Stay well,


  8. I second what Judy said about cleaning. If it looks grubby, I'll clean it, but not before!

    Biscuit doesn't eat Taste of The Wild anymore? It does have a 5-star rating. It is at Tractor Supply, as well as other feed stores. Misty loves the Bison and Venison one.

    Happy Tails and Trails, Penny, TX

    1. Yes she is eating Taste of the Wild... Have to get it from Pet Club out here.....$$$

    2. Have you checked on TOW site, they list the stores:
      There is TOW canned food too.
      HappyTails and Trails, Penny

  9. No one could ever clean like Loyce-she was a cleaning machine. Proud of you trying to keep up with the cleaning-not always easy to do-but can catch up with you if you don't. You might look on line for treats for Biscuit-there is so much out there.

  10. Be careful on the dog treats. I read where there have been a lot of dogs killed from various treats. There are several brands. I don't have a dog, so I don't know what they are...just be cautious.

    Our kitty does the same thing if we try to sneak another kind of dry kitty food in with his favorites. Spits them right out.

