The Garden Grizzly

Weekend update

2008-04-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

It is nice just having the one job this week and Saturday was a great office day. We had a walk in client that most Realtors only dream of... which reinforces my belief that this is the prime location for the office. We are getting a few walk-ins every few days so everyone here should make money, and that's the reason I'm not in the garage anymore. 2 of us were out showing properties this weekend and we had other Realtors showing our listings so it was a good weekend. And I put the rockers out on the front porch at the office for the weekend (cabled & bolted down) and they were here when I pulled in this AM!

So yesterday I stayed at home and did the gardener thang. Used up the Roundup cause the weeds are winning at the moment...
And I took the racks I bought from Lowe's and got most of the garden shed organized which was something that needed to get done before garden season really kicks in.
I did not get the newest fruit trees planted, but there are 4 waiting. Mr. Grumpy got the water system turned on also so we can water the gardens now... it was 80 yesterday... And it was the first official day of not using the dryer for the next 6+ months!

And Mr. Grumpy is always very happy if this little thing dose not spin too fast!

I tried not to get too stressed out over the fact that the neighbors are pigs and just let trash blow around on their property...
And the best thing was at least there are still wild bees out and they were all over the pear blossoms...
So it was a productive Sunday, hope yours was good too! See ya soon...Happy Trails!

It's Friday!

2008-04-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

This has been a whirlwind of a week. Monday the board voted yes to my request to expand the office space so we now have the entire lower floor of the building, next we take over upstairs! Tuesday I once again pointed out to my one Lowe's manager that they had me scheduled to work days I can no longer work... so I am off from there for 11 days!!! Which means I can be at the office everyday (which I love) and it all seems to be going fast, 3 weeks ago I was in the garage and now I have 6 agents... Blessings!!! Today the sheriff's moved out of their part of the building so we could take it over, and they got to see my new name badge which is modeled on a sheriff badge to tie in with the office name and the ranch theme.

Now for the best news... I get to work in the garden for the weekend!!! I am off to town now to get some of the fruit trees we still need to get planted. So for now it is happy trails and it is a ride 'em cowboy kinda afternoon.... so enjoy! My heros have always been cowboys....

Enough

2008-04-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I will post this tonight or tomorrow but for the record it is 9:30PM, Friday night. From the previous post you will note that I was in a great mood to be spending a night with Mr. Grumpy and the doggies (kids) and not working at a ball busting job. For those of you at Lowe's that read this blog please understand that I like almost all folks I work with, but hate the company and what it represents of corporate America... every box says "made in china". 'Nough said...

Tonight instead of the great steak & shrimp dinner that was planned, I spent the evening holding a sobbing Randy (that is Mr. Grumpy to you dear reader). You see today he once again had to serve another family with a 10 day notice (3 this week) that they have lost their home. FUCK YOU BUSH ADMINISTRATION. I am sure that will trigger some sort of undercover audit... But I am wondering in this age where 22,000 AMERICANs lose their homes each week how we can have such a limp dick government that is FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE and yet lets this happen. TIME TO REBEL AGAIN COUNTRYMEN... it is not the British this time it is corporations.

Our country has been sold out by an administration that has nothing to do with the people and is all about corporate profits... I am very pissed... Mr. Grumpy does not sob, he is one tough cookie. But tonight he broke, and I am fuckin' pissed. He sobbed in my arms while he told me of the tears and sobs he endures when he serves these final papers and people become homeless. And today I heard of the woman who stood there and sobbed while signing his register on what was once a dream as she and her 3 kids (and a husband) became another AMERICAN statistic. FUCK YOU BUSH ADMINISTRATION. Enough...

I am not sure what I as one man can do, I promised him I would do something. What I thought of was offering free real estate services to anyone in trouble that I could possibly help. It is not enough, but it got him to sleep in a world that has gone wrong... See he has always believed in this country, I was the skeptic... it is why I insisted we be married in Canada 5 years ago, we both felt AMERICA and it's promises had failed us.

I could really use some advice here folks. What do you tell someone that is doing their job for the government as a postal worker (that denies them benefits as a gay man) and has broken under the strain of helping evict people out of their homes.
It was the AMERICAN DREAM... it is now a fuckin' nightmare... I am pissed...
No hot guys pics, no life is wonderful... because right now our fellow citizens are being evicted and are out on the streets, what can I do... help me...

It's Friday!

2008-04-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

YAHOO!
And it was a day at the office, my office, my almost perfect office. And I do not have to work at the other job tonight!!!
And our newest agent became licensed today!!! That means that we have (drum roll) 5 of us and 2 more about to start. Our rapid growth has caused me to email the board for their Monday meeting to increase our office space area. Was it just 3 weeks ago we were working out of a garage?

So I am heading out to actually see Mr. Grumpy during daylight hours (since Sunday) and to have supper together!!! And to add to a great day travel agent called and we are firming up some holiday plans. In the meantime my thoughts can turn to the nice warm beaches we will soon be at... and the sights one sees at the beach... Snow predicted here again this weekend...
So on a warmer note...
And besides laying on a warm beach we will be having a bartender pouring us some great ummm... shots... So it is happy trails for now!

It's Thursday

2008-04-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

Time is a flyin' by and we are at the point of trying to man the office full time now. I have gone part time at Lowe's and had told them only Monday thru Thursday and just evenings. So the new schedule comes out and they have me working just Saturday and Sunday AM shifts... which of course I can no longer do... hmmmm...

We had last Sunday off together which was really (really!) nice just to sit down and have a days worth of time and meals together. Too much of our lives have suffered with me taking a second job and even though it was a blessing this past winter, and I like all the folks I work with, it is taking too much of a toll. I get home after 15 to 16 hour days and have no energy to play with the doggies, do any housework, (remember housekeeper was laid off last October) and even talk with Mr. Grumpy... like he is awake at 12 when I drag in! OK enough! Mr. Grumpy says the blog should be more upbeat like last summer (when I was not always exhausted) so here goes! :-)

We walked down and checked out the gardens and what did we see... why the first shoots of asparagus!
And some nectarine blossoms which have probably frozen...
And the almond is bursting out... on the list is find it a pollinator this spring for next years nuts.
And while I was running around snapping pics and getting excited about fruits... Mr Grumpy fixed the yard hydrant so we can get some water going down to the back 40!
AND... while I was relaxing from the hard work of snapping pics Mr. Grumpy went on to pulling out last seasons sunflowers (which I was going to use for early pea supports) to show he was a good little helper!
Oh yeah, and the horseradish is still the best thing going... and the Simpson lettuce that never showed up last summer is now appearing...
Last but not least the forsythia is the best flower show in the gardens!
I also found my missing fruit trees list this morning on what I need to finish off the orchard, so I will start hunting tonight at the other job. Now I just need to find that special garden helper.... maybe someone that likes to run thru the sprinklers?

Survivor

2008-04-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

That is my general feeling these days, I am getting by with being a survivor. And I keep counting down the days until we leave for a week off to Mexico... just 5 weeks away at this point.

I've not been down to the gardens for 2 weeks now which creates a sadness that perhaps this is how the spring and summer might turn out. Life can be about sacrifice and perhaps the thing that brings me the most peace in life will have to disappear until... Well until (and if) our life that we have known these many years returns. In the meantime I will hold down the 2 full time jobs and survive. Mr. Grumpy is doing a great job at home as most of everything has fallen on him to get done. The doggies miss seeing me, and I miss being here at the house... a lot...

So enough of that, here is how things are running for now!
5:00 AM Alarm goes off & Mr. Grumpy is awake (I mumble something?)
6:30 AM Mr. Grumpy leaves for work and wakes me up...
7:00 AM I am into my 2nd cuppa joe and thinking about the shower
8:00 AM +/- I am at the new office getting things finished
9:00 AM talk with Mr. Grumpy on how he (& I) are doing
12:30 PM back to the house for lunch & fix my evening Lowe's meal
1:20 PM leave for Lowe's and talk with Mr. Grumpy on the way
2:00 PM clock in at Lowe's and go to work
7:00 PM take my dinner break and talk with Mr. Grumpy again to say goodnight & make sure he is having a decent dinner
11:00 PM get off work at Lowe's and drive home avoiding drunks & deer
12:00 AM finish winding down kiss the sleeping family goodnight & hit the sack.

I am adapting (surviving) and enjoy most of the folks at Lowe's. It is strange taking orders from people that don't seem to have a clue on management style. But maybe I am getting old & crotchety? I am very happy with the new office and we are at the point of just waiting on the new windows and the computer geeks to come out to wi-fi us and then we will be open! So here are some new pics of ALL STAR REAL ESTATE!!!
Our first dollar earned!

The conference table...

The office...

The rockers on the porch

And our sign!

So it is all coming together and once the computers are up and running we can be open regular hours... and in the meantime Mr. Grumpy, myself, and the doggies will all survive it somehow!

Spring?

2008-03-22T12:07:00.001-07:00

So I survived the ordeal of the 2-11 shift last night and it was with one of my fav managers so that was cool. It is the shift I asked to be put on so I could do real estate in the AM's and be at the new office! But so far no change on the schedule.And this morning was real estate after the wake up ritual which actually starts at night before sleepkins...
So the Kevbear awakened at 7:30 and grabbed the java, can't remember if Mr. Grumpy said goodbye (but I'm sure he did!) and let the monsters out. One of them threw up on my pillow during the night so once that was discovered I hit the shower fast! God only knows what they had eaten.

Got back to the house after meeting with some clients and went down to the garden in hopes of asparagus... nope... but the horseradish is making a strong appearance. Too bad it is such a looser looking plant... And then I hit the orchard to check out the buds. Nectarines are gettin' ready!
And the peaches are trying to get there too...
The pears are lagging behind... Which is a good thing! Cherries are even further behind and the apples haven't even started thinking about budding. So what it looks like is nectarines & peaches will get hit by a late frost (usual) and we will get none. Cherries, apples and pears we will have for this season... Now I need to find my list from last fall of which varieties of fruit trees I decided to add this spring so I can get out and buy them!
It is supposed to hit 60 today so we will be busy in the garden center... still glad I have the paying job as things are just going downhill in the country under that idiot faster then even I thought. Happy trails kids... and you know which kind I mean (wink, wink) that is definitely what I consider a happy trail! And he would make a great little helper in the garden!
Time for the Kevbear to be comin' outta hibernation for sure! And we even have the first official blossom on a forsythia out in the garden!
Maybe he would like to be a gardener... it will be time to start interviews for a garden helper soon... should we consider... Someone who will not have to worry about a sunburn? Ahhhh spring...

OK, OK....

2008-03-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Stop with the emails, I am trying to stay on top of life!
I have had no time in the garden what with 2 full time jobs and all but the broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, & cauliflower have arisen and are talking to me... Feed us, plant us, take care of us and we will take care of you...But it was with great relief that a load of Christmas was taken to the Christmas Storage Facility (mom's garage) yesterday (just in time for Easter) and Mr. Grumpy is happier for that fact! As we will be traveling this coming Christmas there will be no decorating (sorry neighbors!). Well except the one family who shall remain nameless (but you know who it is) that have requested we go to mediation before they take us to court or whatever... I shall continue to ignore them and pray for a cosmic event to take them out of our lives...

I requested a late shift at the job that cannot be named place and so far no go, it is a 2 - 11(PM) shift and as this Kevbear fades at around 10PM it will be interesting as I have this shift for the next 2 nights. I had to tell the family that I am working Easter (1st time ever) and will not be able to go to Easter service and have supper with them... no one is happy over that... Funny that a company from North Carolina (read Bible belt) would put the $$$ above religion, go figure huh?

On the ALL STAR REAL ESTATE note I have my lease and we will be moving into the new office on April 1st (no not a Kevbear joke) and I have been very busy on that front with office furniture, insurance, phones, and stress... Here is the new office...
And the view...
And the inside...
I found a source for our name badges and have ordered mine, they are actual western sheriff's badges to tie in with the western them and the star in the company name! They are exactly what I had in mind since the company name was chosen and are toooooo coool!
I had wanted this office since day one as when it was a real estate office way back we had a huge amount of walk-in clients and in this market it will take every advantage I can muster... plus it is 5 minutes from home! Now if I could just quit the paying job... but I like the folks I work with and it is paying the bills so stay I will. I have had an awakening there on how hard it is for young families to make ends meet on low wages. Some of those kids have 3 jobs trying to get by (I did too in my 20's) but had forgotten how hard making a living can be, and I never had a family to support! I have Monday and Tuesday off next week and am hoping to get away from both jobs and get the first of the spinach and lettuce planted... But Tuesday will be at least a half day in real estate so we will have to see.

So thanks for that email (lone reader) to get me back in the saddle and once again riding the blogger range!

The Garden Bear is out of his cave

2008-02-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

You all know how I detest going to a 9 to 5 job... or should I say a 6 to 3 or a 1 to 10 job... but in this economic climate it is a very wise thing to have a second (read paying) job and I will stay there longer then first thought... a lot longer it looks like. And I like the folks I work with too!

Mr. Grumpy is enjoying this enormously and is now making comments like "let's see how you juggle real estate, Lowe's, and a big garden this year!" And I am wondering that myself... But it is better to have him saying that then the popular comment of January which was "now you know how real people live in the real world"... hmmph, palease... All of you that know and love the Kevbear know that the real world and the Kevbear world only line up in the correct phase once every 10 lunar cycles... or something like that.

So today is Lowe's off day and we ran into town to pickup the pickup which died 4 times when we went to the dump last week. Apparently we need to drive it more then once every 2 months... Mr. Grumpy was happy that 2 of the mechanics there wanted to buy it, saying it was the nicest truck in the most perfect condition they had ever seen. If it is Mr. Grumpy's it is always in perfect condition... except me... I am in mint condition...

Last night I shared with Mr. Grumpy a few things I had been stashing away (read still putting away Christmas stuff) like the seeds for this years garden!
And all the seed starting stuff I have been gathering...

And I finished fertilizing all the trees & shrubs... which I normally do in January but what with 2 jobs.... hmmmm is this a taste of things to come in the garden???

And we (Mr. Grumpy) got the stove pipe cleaned out so there will be no spring chimney fires this year! And I got a spring calf on hold so we are going into raising our own beef (with Brenda & Chas!). Today I got the dormant spray (1st coat) on the fruit trees and the last of the manure on the asparagus.

Now back to the manure piles! Or maybe back to laying on the couch and reading thru my new books... and if I do that then let's talk about peak oil soon, OK? And in the mean time look around the Google (as that idiot calls it) and look up peak oil yourselves...

Sunday blahs

2008-02-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

No pics tonight, but there was nothing worth taking a pic of except snow... and I am tired of it. Today we went to the dump, always a thrill and today was more so! Apparently the 4X4 has an electrical system issue and we made it to the dump & back by getting jump started 4 different times, what a joy that was as neither of us had a coat and there was a fair amount of wind chill factor in the air... But at least our next dump run should be when it is much warmer, like March or April.

I got more Christmas stuff put away, there is still more to go... And I am taping all the boxes nice and tight since we are wanting to be someplace warm next Christmas. Mr. Grumpy has December 28th on off. Tomorrow is a 6 AM shift at Lowe's, still cannot figure out why they need someone in a garden center in winter at that hour??? But it means getting off at 3PM which should give me time to put away more Christmas... Fellow staffers are saying there are rumours of layoffs already so I count myself lucky to be fulltime...kinda... By next winter I think those with jobs might be the privaliged few in America. Plant, grow, can.

Shocked Mr. Grumpy today by watching the Superbowl, he had never seen me watch any sporting thang before... I lost all interest when they stopped the locker room interviews, go figure... But we had chips and beer and guac and slasa and pizza and more beer, just regular guys. It was not all that thrilling as both teams were yankees. But it did give me a chance to catch up on some gardening magazines!

On the real estate front both Pam and I wrote offers on Saturday so perhaps next month I will not have to feed the company... it took almost all my Lowe's paycheck on Friday...sigh... And we are getting close(r) to having an actual office!

So it is off to bed for the Kevbear as the alarm is set for 4:00AM... should have checked that lottery ticket today!

OK Already... catching up

2008-01-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile, but really, I have been working like a dog at Lowe's and have just been exhausted each night. Days have been busy with real estate when I have some time off from the pay the bills job. But I promise to be back to being my old self soon.

So to recap; all the garden seeds are ordered except for the Territorial Seed Company and I am getting ansey for the snow to go away (as we all are!) so I can play in the garden again. Some seeds have arrived and more are coming, I ordered from 4 different companies this year... Now if the snow would just go away!

I really love the snow but the gardening is my stress relief valve and I could use the relief these days! Retail nowadays is nothing like 25 - 30 years ago when I was last at it. The main thing that has me totally out of sorts is the fact that almost every single box that comes into the store says "made in China" on it. Not a good thing for our economy in the long run... Mr. Grumpy still is OK with his statement that I can walk away from Lowe's anytime I want and we will get by OK. And that rebate stimulus check "in the mail" is that a joke or what. I can just see my Buyers saying they now have a down payment!!!
On a brighter note I will shortly have 3 agents at the company and our location should be available to us sometime in Feb. so that has me jazzed. And the website is almost ready to re-appear after the parting with RE/MAX! And on a garden note we awoke the other morning to a present from Max...
Yuppers a big steaming pile of shit in the yard, gotta love that guy (from a gardener's point of view). Max has more if anyone needs a load to start with the spring garden, and his price is reasonable too!

Enough for now, I will be showing houses today, and again next week! Funny thang... I need to sell just 3 houses and I will make what it takes me to make at Lowe's in an entire year. OK time to hit the shower and get back to laundry & KP detail...

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

Here it is the new year and you are all snuggly, hung over and sleepkins. I on the other hand am getting ready to go to work at the new job... Here is how it goes..
Day One... Kevbear is not a morning person...

Kevbear and 100 other drones worked like slaves for 11 hours... Kevbear knew he would hate this... BUT, I like the people there (go figure). At lunch break I was on the phone being a Realtor... Kevbear came home on NEW YEARS EVE, Mr. Grumpy said nice things like "Now you know how real people live" and "Welcome to reality"... lucky for Mr. Grumpy he still is alive this morning... We ate dinner, Mr. Grumpy had champagne (Kevbear did not care), Kevbear was in bed before 9:00 on NEW YEARS EVE! What's up with that... At midnight Kevbears sadistic Mom called yelling HAPPY NEW YEAR into a sleepy Kevbear's ear... Kevbear hates the world this morning... but I think I might live...

I do morning sooo well...
Sue & Dean, sorry we missed your party, I hope you understand...

Home Bear Day

2007-12-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

We survived Christmas and the best part was we awoke to snow so I got my white Christmas!
And even though I am not supposed to talk about where I now hang my hat to keep the bills paid, you might get a clue somewhere on this post today...Oh yeah and what a coincidence, I will be in their garden center...
On a down note after my past office was closed my agents went to another company owned office and to spread further holiday cheer they found out they were out a job there too! In just 3 weeks... I should know shortly on office space for ALL STAR REAL ESTATE and be able to offer some a home. I really hate it when people are treated shitty. And they were...
One the second job front I will be starting 2 long weeks of 12 hours days so there might be limited posts here after Monday. BUT the overtime will be great to pay the rent on office space! Gotta go now... new seed catalogues came today... I already placed one order last week (and they already cashed the check) so I know there will be something in the mail soon! And all the asparagus has been ordered so we will have a nice patch after I get this second order planted, it should arrive in April. Since this is a Blog about gardening I figured I ought to mention it every once in awhile... More snow due tonight... YIPPEE (sorry Mr. Grumpy) so I spent the morning splitting and stacking lotsa wood on the porch...
Later Dudes...

A Westie Christmas Storey

2007-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Tis the Season?

2007-12-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

OK so here is the scoop... The Kevbear has taken a second job to get by. That's right, I got hired by a company that I cannot name (their policy) but it is not Home Depot and is a store like it and will be opening shortly. It has disrupted our lives, no one is very happy about it... Especially the doggies!!! Papa is not around anymore!!! But the new company (ALL STAR REAL ESTATE) could use a cash infusion and there are still bills to pay. I am really hoping this will be short lived and not more then a few weeks... AND I cannot curse there, ever... Not getting home until 11 at night SUCKS DONKEY DICKS too! So there is the scoop... don't tell a soul... just our little secret...

Doggies are very happy that Papa is at the home office today (in the garage) and have left me a present!

I was overjoyed to walk into the hall and find the present so I just had to share the moment... should it be a Hallmark card? And of course no one was talking... they all clammed up as soon as I yelled "who pooped in the house?"
And when I went in the kitchen to grab a bowl of oatmeal and some vitamins...
Did you notice the Special K's on my vitamins! The doggies were all right there ready to help with breakfast...
While fighting off the doggies I noticed a rainbow on the floor (did you catch that?) and so went looking for more!
And there was another one hoovering over the range! I am not sure if rainbows are angels or fairies (in this house... a fairy?) but I think it is one or the other. There are some that say it is just a reflection from a prism (like on the table?) but I prefer magic any day...
I need to get into town and help Mom with her outdoor decorations today and maybe finish off her tree... and then when I get home perhaps there will be more Christmas Cards in the mailbox as this year they seem to be a little thin and the wall is not nearly as covered as it should be (hint, hint...)

But I was late getting ours out so all of you in Europe and Canada are hereby granted until New Years Eve to get them to us. Our shopping is done, just a few boxes to put up, and some presents to be wrapped. My sister arrives tomorrow night, hope I can get off early to go pick her up... Note to self, never let Mr. Grumpy talk you into getting "a real job" ever again!

Oh and one more thing since this is the holidays and I firmly believe in Christmas Magic...

1) My bud SCOTT-O-RAMA says that comments are like heroin to Bloggers so give me a fix for the holidays...

2) Watch the movie LOVE ACTUALLY. It is perfect to let you know why everyone should believe in Christmas Magic... even if I asked for it for Christmas and do not get it again this year...

Westie Wednesday 5

2007-12-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!!! It's me, Camie Girl, yippee I have been waiting for my turn, this is so exciting I could just bark... OK I will!!! barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark! I just love to talk almost as much as playing and jumping, maybe more, I'm not sure but I love to do 'em all... but maybe talking is my favorite thing. Whenever the Daddies ask me something I answer right back, and then a few more times too just to make sure they heard me OK! I love to express myself, I could just go on and on about talking it is so much fun, just ask me something and I will answer you right back! OK, take a breath here... at our house we play games A LOT! My brother Brewster already told you stuff about us when we were kids so I get to talk about ME!!! YIPPEE!!! My favorite game has a couple of different names. Papa calls the game Let's Kill Camie and Daddy calls the game Get Camie Girl!!! I love this game it is so much fun!!! Everyone chases me around the house, I always win cause I can run faster and jump higher then anyone. It is such a fun game I love to play it all day long!!! Then I rest for a little bit so I can play again!!! My MOM used to be the best jumper, once she caught a birdie right out of the air! I haven't done that yet but I bet I could, yup I just bet I could... Wanna dare me, that would make it a game and I love games almost as much as talking! Once when we were little we saw MOM catch 5 squirrels all in a row!! One would pop it's little head up and MOM would grab it and toss it to her side then she would grab the next one when he looked up to see were the other one went! She got 5 before Papa made her stop, my MOM was really fast when she was my age. I never grabbed squirrels either, but I bet I could, come on and dare me to let's make it a game!
OK Papa says it is late and I need to slow down, but maybe we could play just a little game.... I have a ball stashed around here somewhere, want me to get it we could play catch... that would be fun, huh? OK, OK, Papa says to say my important name is Camelot's Lady Camille and I was borned right with my brother Brewster on February 12th 2001 and my MOM is Elizabeth and my DADDY is Bentley. When Papa goes to sleep I will sneak out and we can talk some more, OK! I just love to talk, almost as much as games... OK talking is really, really fun, wanna hear some more! barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark!!!

Morning Breakfast?

2007-12-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

Oatmeal is supposed to be great for breakfast, right? Good for blood pressure, heart & cholesterol... So the start of cookie baking yesterday was my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, 8 dozen give or take... I am sure that oatmeal cookies for breakfast should be just as good as a bowl of the stuff! Am I right or what!!!

Christmas Tree Update!

2007-12-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the push to get the outside of the house done and we succeeded. It is fantabulous and there will be pics somewheres down the road. All the lights are linked to music (thank you Mr. Grumpy for that!) and it is really cool... A WARNING... This year I have crossed a line that I considered tacky and there are some inflatables in the yard... Now on to the tree...

About 4 Christmas's ago we had our usual beautiful live (read cut down) tree that Kevbear had searched everywhere for. On Christmas Eve day half the needles had fallen off and we had a Christmas Eve party planned! Good friend Linda stepped in when she heard and offered the use of an artificial tree she was not using... that day I took everything off the tree and by 5:00 PM when people were do to show up I was just putting the last of the ornaments back on the new tree. So we were sold and after Christmas Mr. Grumpy went online and bought us a beautiful PVC tree, it has pineycones even! So here are the transformation pics...

Day 1 assemble all 3000 individual tree pieces...

End of day 1 put 10,000 lights on tree to make it more Kevbear...

Start of week 1 dig out 20,000 ornaments in 1,000 boxes from Christmas Storage Facility and start bringing in the holiday spirit!...

End of week two... think you have enough on the tree...

Sunday evening (end of week two) find little tiny ornaments that you could not find and you think the tree has to have... (note to self, do not put ornament hooks away with empty boxes ever again)...

Here are a few of my favs...

Where we honeymooned...

How I feel about my Mr. Grumpy...

A snugly Kevbear as a cub...

Rocket ship Santa... (yes I put real candles on our tree!)

Paratrooper Santa...

Part of the eggs collection...

One of the little churches...

And last the NATIVITY that Kevbear's Grandma made for his very first Christmas... that I had looked everywhere for and found it in with all the outside decorations boxes (go figure)... So the rest of the day will be spent in finishing up the guest room decorations and the start of baking 10,000 Christmas Cookies and breads. I have given Mr. Grumpy a break this year (on strict orders!) and will not be making the den (land of Grumpisorious) and the master bathroom over into Christmas Magic lands like the rest of the house

Do Me A Favor...

2007-12-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

There is a blog I love dearly and read daily, it always make me laugh, no matter how bad the day might be.

If you are a praying (good thoughts) kinda person click here and send her some kind message.

And bookmark I Am Bossy if you love to laugh, right now I'm kinda busy crying...

Kevbear

Westie Wednesday 4

2007-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hi my name is Brewster, and I'm a doggie! (The Daddies call us the Kids) I was born right here in our home on February 12, 2001 and my important name is Balmorals Lord Brewster, but everyone calls me Brew. Daddy Rand calls me Brewster the Rooster, I'm not sure why.Me and my twin sister Camie got to stay with Mom & Dad cause Papa started crying one day. All our brothers & sisters went away, then this buyer lady came and gave Papa a piece of paper, then Papa took Camie & me to a scary place, I think Papa called it The Zets, I'm not sure. When we left with Papa my Mom and Dad were screaming, "no, no, no..." Anyway we got to a place and me & Camie got really scared and we sat on Papa's lap (he has a soft lap!) and we gave him lotsa kisses cause we were so scared. Then an old lady came in the Zets and she was crying and hugging her doggie that was like really old, and she kept crying and telling the Zet people in the white coats they couldn't take her pal cause he was all she had. Then she and the other doggie went in a door, and we got even scareder, cause the other doggie was crying. Then the Zets came and we went in the door too, with Papa, Camie peed she was so scareded, I just held onto Papa real tight. Then a white coat Zet guy came in and when the door opened we saw the old lady again, she was laying in the hallway and crying real hard and holding onto her pal, we all started crying too, I'm not sure why but we were really, really scared! Her pal wasn't wagging his tail any more... Papa took us outta there pretty fast and we drove around till we found Daddy Rand. Papa let us go play on a big lawn and he started crying again, so did Daddy Rand, then we went home and boy were Mom & Dad happy to see us! The buyer lady came again to our house that night and Papa said sorry and gave her the paper thing back, she was yelling and not very nice, then Papa & Daddy promised us we could stay with Mom & Dad forever.When we were kids no one could tell me & Camie apart cause were twins. I wanted to be more like my Dad Bent cause he's all big & tough. But I was different, I didn't know what to do. I liked watching Lifetime movies for womans, I was great at playing ball & catch and stuff but I was all skinny and still looked like my sister. Then Papa and I had a talk one night after Daddy Rand & Daddy Bent went to bed, Mom stayed up with us too. Papa told me it was OK if I was different, my Mom said she would love me no matter who I was, they kinda figured I might be a gay doggie... I said "NO WAY" and ran off to bed. The next day I joined a doggie gym so I could work out and be all buff like my Daddy Bent. Pretty soon I was different from my sister Camie, but she would still pull my tail and stuff, cause we are twins... But I am a really good kisser no matter who I kiss! Nobody kisses as good as me, I practice when no one is looking...
Papa has a one little kiss rule but Daddy is good for a total face job when he is sleeping!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if I'm a gay doggie, but I'm OK with that. I get to live with my Mom & Dad & the two best Daddies in the whole world and my Aunt Torie and my sister Camie and my little brother Rippers... and I can kick his ass now that I'm all buff! Life is great here, my Daddy Bent is OK now that he knows I am different. Here is a picture of him & me waiting for Mom to finish eating, we all take turns... Sometimes Mom can be a little cranky when she's eating so I wait my turn. The Daddies always make sure we have plenty of chow!

I'm really happy I got to stay home, we all have a blast. We have a really fun game that drives the Daddies crazy... we call it Bark At Nothing! One of us will pretend we see something and run to the door so the Daddies have to get up and let us out, then we all run around and Bark At Nothing! It is a blast, here is a picture of me playing the game.

I just love to play! The only thing better is when the Daddies have been gone and we get to see them again. The Daddies are the best, we get to see Papa more then Daddy Rand so we make sure Daddy knows how much we miss him BIG TIME when he gets home!
So long for now!

OY VEY!

2007-12-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today Kevbear got to do something he rarely does. Kevbear has only done this thing a few times, you can count the times on a paw and a half paw... (under 10 times if you are paw challenged). Most times people have called Kevbear and said skip all the BS, we want YOU! But to keep our happy home happy Kevbear went out into the big world for a job interview. It was pointed out to the Kevbear that we are dinks (double income, no kids) and right at this moment we were being sinks (single income, no kids). What with real estate in America being what it is... So Kevbear (being of unsound mind & hot body) put out what are called internet job apps, Kevbear thought that would be the end of it... the next day the phone rang... Shit thought Kevbear, hurray thought Mr. Grumpy...

So this morning Kevbear had to remember what real people do with real jobs... this was not easy as Kevbear has not worked at a real job in (19 years?) a little while... So first Kevbear woke up...

And then Kevbear groomed himself... (picture deleted for viewer sanity). While Kevbear was busy with nose hair trimmers and some secret lotions, Kevbear thought of what people want in an employee... Kevbear thought some more... Kevbear thought about what is important to him...hmmmm... Christmas tree?

No... too big to take along... hmmmm... maybe something bright & shiny to distract potential bosses that Kevbear had bags under his eyes??? Quickly Kevbear sprang to action and took unshiny object and put it in shiny object fluid!

Shiny diamonds would keep their attention from the fact that Kevbear needed a hairycut! Then Kevbear hopped in the shower and took a long hot shower (picture deleted for viewer sanity again). The Kevbear decided that if clothes make the man they might help Kevbears too! So Kevbear looked for some clothes...

too Kevbear?

too country?

too Caribbean?

too early?

too preppy?

too fleecy?

Kevbear could not decide... Kevbear went for shoes to cover size 13 paws...

Kevbear went for black loafers. Then Kevbear went to pick out a jacket... Kevbear finally decided what to wear... it was what most Kevbears think of a "country club casual". Kevbear learned this term while cruising!

Then Kevbear went to get in the car... Kevbear forgot that when it is 15 at night the car might need some primping time too...

While the Honda primped, Kevbear had a muffin... then Kevbear got back in the car... "holly shit Batman" (thought Kevbear) I am going to be late!

Kevbear had just 25 minutes to make the 30 minute drive... Kevbear wanted to be a "dink" really bad! And Kevbears are never late!!! So Kevbear started to hurry... That did not last long... a mile from home Kevbear got behind the slowest RV driver ever! There was nowhere to pass... This guy was holding up at least 72 cars (by Kevbears estimate), so Kevbear did something he never does... he passed over a double yellow line... there was something in the way...

Kevbear eventually made it around the slowest RV driver in recorded history and got to go over the speed limit... then Kevbear got behind a truck or two... the first truck driver was busy looking around at stuff, he was sipping coffee, he was picking at something in his ear, he was scratching his left nut... He was doing everything but looking at his speedometer...

Kevbear passed this driver who managed to speed up just as we hit 2 lanes each way... funny how that happens... Then Kevbear passed a sign that said... " construction ahead, all trucks use right lane only", Kevbear was now following a blind person driving a semi-truck!!!
Kevbear continued to bob & weave through the slowest traffic ever to be seen... Kevbear was 5 minutes late for the interview...

Second Thoughts

2007-12-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

There are times when I could just let all the holidays go by the way and travel at this time of year (don't tell Mr. Grumpy). We had such a blast being away last year at DisneyWorld and had none of the usual hassle's... maybe every other year... A cruise? An island? Our place in Puerto Rico? DisneyWorld again? Except for the crowds...But we got to meet new (old) friends... Mr. Grumpy got to be a different dwarf for a week... Mr. Happy!

And even the Kevbear (who wants everything perfect) got to be relaxed and be Mr. Joe Cool...

Even though you could hardly tell I had grown a handlebar 'stache...

And a life with everyone waiting on you and being limo'ed around is not all that bad...

Plus there is really something for being nice and warm, like right now after it snowed again last night... The idea of a Caribbean Island sounds OK!

And we get to meet such great people when we travel!

We'll just have to see how 2008 goes, but be forewarned family & friends... it is in my head to go somewheres warm every other year! (At least) So now back to the grind of me being insane with all the decorating... Oh and before I forget my great buddy Kim (such a fox... if I was straight...) took Brenda and I to lunch yesterday

And when I mentioned to Bren that we might have our Christmas Party while she was in Hawaii (the somewheres warm place!)... she was devastated and cried...
So I might be leaning towards a 30th party... because the last thing poor Brenda needs are (more?) bags under her eyes.... Love Ya Sweetie!!!

It's Beginning To Look...

2007-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was hard at it. Those of you who know me know that this is my time of year! And for those of you (and we know who you are!) that are calling about the outside decorations, just be aware that there are transformations happening (on the inside). So here is a taste of things to come. And if Macy's calls again asking me to fix their Christmas windows just one more time...

Baby Jesus got knocked out of the dining room by the New Disney Tree & Santa!

Mr. Grumpy wanted (His?) Disney Tree in the living room so we compromised on the dining room. The Main Village gets the primo window & piano again this year in the dining room...

And the Baby Jesus booted out (act of God?) the toy train and took over the entry...

The toy train got another primo location, the side living room window...

And the top of the one entertainment center has passed the "Can I live with it test" and will stay and not be redone for a third time...

OK so the master bedroom will be completed today, somehow I misplaced my oldest Nativity? And the guest bedroom & guest bathroom will be started. I will get the lights on the tree (which takes at least 3 hours... Boogers can we get a pre-lite tree someday? And I am now headed into town to see where is that Nativity that I have had since birth... true, it was a present from my Grandma Krueger (handmade!) for my first Christmas... which would make it, what, somewheres around 40 years old... Also not too sure about my idea of one of the trains going around the dining room table... logistics?... but it would make it easy to pass the food!

Still up in the air over the ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY, could be the 16th... could be the 23rd?... or maybe the 30th??? What say you revelers?

Westie Wednesday 3

2007-12-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hi this is Bentley. I think this is really stupid, but Papa Kevbear is making me do this. I mean I could be doing something important like licking my paws or even funner parts. But Papa told me it is my turn so here I go.

This is me...

I was born on August 21st 1999 in Boston, my fancy name is Lord Bentley of Balmoral, but everyone calls me Bent. OK, the Daddies call me their Sausage Boy, cause I guess I have kinda a weight issue... The Daddies bought me and I had a really crappy flight out to my new home. My family has always flown a lot so I had heard stories and let me tell ya they are all true. I thought it was going to be a direct flight, yeah right. I had an overnight layover in San Fran, lucky for me the Daddies knew someone to take me outta that box they call first class otherwise I don't know what would have happened but someone could have gotten bit, if ya know what I mean. So I finally get to this wilderness outpost airport in central Oregon where the Daddies live and they leave me on a pallet, like a suitcase or something in the sun... for an hour no less! I was pissed, but you should have heard Papa Kevbear, that was some mighty fine cussing he did. He chewed on everybody around, didn't matter if they were just walking by he yelled at 'em good. That was the first time I saw Papa, I tend to be more laid back so I was kinda worried that he was a psycho or something. He turned out to be OK...

Then he took me to meet Daddy Rand and the girls. Daddy Rand is really cool and we get along, but those 2 sisters can be real bitches. Like when we were all little they would dig tunnels and hide all our toys in there and cause I am kinda stocky I couldn't fit in their stupid tunnels. Then they would sit in there and laugh, like they thought they were Queens or something. I think the Daddies might have spoiled 'em before I came along. But I'm from Boston and I know that every one of my ancestors has the word champion in front of their names and that means something where I come from!

So life here has been pretty good, it isn't Boston but it is good. Sometimes I feel like out here in the west they are all a bunch of savages, but the food is good and I get all the sex I want so I'm OK with life. Like I said I tend to be laid back, my favorite thing these days is getting my tummy scratched. We used to go to our beach house a lot and I always got to sit between the Daddies, just us 3 guys watching the road go by. My favorite spot is still between the daddies, it's how we all sleep, once in awhile I grab a premo pillow spot so they know who's the boss but we get along all right. Since I am the Papa, or alpha one of my jobs is to look out for the family, Elizabeth does it too, but I am taller and can see better... In the summer I swim a lot and lay around the pool. In the winter I like to lay in the sun. Winter is kinda nice because it gets really cold here (in this wilderness outpost we call home) and the daddies bring in a tree so me and my boys can pee right in the living room! I really like that, indoor plumbing! The daddies put lights on it too so you can see where you are going late at night... OK so that is about all for me, gotta go hit a few trees and grab some lunch, maybe give Papa a kiss... chio...

A Bit of a Breeze!

2007-12-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

So last night we had a bit of a gail, maybe even hurricane force winds. Of course I have no idea how strong the winds were as I have asked for a weather center for the computer every year since I had a computer... And the people who tell me I am impossible to shop for never seem to hear that I WOULD REALLY LIKE A WEATHER CENTER FOR THE COMPUTER, THEY ARE $69.00 AT COSTCO, so I have no idea how strong the winds were... but if I had a weather center I bet we would all know just how windy it was and is outside! The doggies did not want to go out at all and got mad when I started laughing at them. I would boot their furry little asses out the door and a piece of patio furniture would then chase them around, it was pretty funny... maybe you had to be there...Anyway it has given the boys new peeing targets... And the neighbors have finally found a way to clean up their yard without lifting a faggot hating finger. Yes that is right I am sure they are on their knees this morning giving thanks that all their garbage has disappeared into the unknown... Actually it did not disappear, it came to visit us and is now attached to different things around our once clean yard...

So I will go out shortly and pick up their garbage and deliver it unto an unknown place for it's source, yes, a trash can!

Hmmm... didn't I mention furry asses... and really we should start the week off on the right track...

I would really like to get a tattoo...

I have always worn my boots with jeans, but I guess they go with everything...
OK so now it is time to go deal with the real trash...

A Special Day

2007-11-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

OK so today was the day. The day that most people celebrate with joyful parties and stupid hats. The day Kevbears dread. The first wrinkle might appear. Someone might tell me to act my age (again). And it is the time of year where Mr. Grumpy says, now we are the same age... I don't think so... just look at the two of us and it is obvious to all that he should have been arrested for cradle robbery or at least we should live in Arkansas or someplace... So the day started as usual where my first wish was granted...

That I awoke to a snowy morning. Even if it was just a dusting it was still a wish fulfilled! And then I had some good strong coffee...
With just a dollop of the good stuff (clog 'dem arteries boy!) while Mr. Grumpy made breakfast, yum, yum gotta love dem Eggo's! We had to git to the big city to meet up with some vacuum cleaner sales guys that showed up last night on the doorstep...
Normally I would not just open the door to strangers still wearing clothes but they seemed like a nice pair and they hit me with a major weakness... something free if I would just let them in...
And for the most part they got to keep their clothes on... but they did point out how dirty our carpets were that I had just vacuumed, and they were even nice enough to leave me evidence...
But finally they went away. So we met them this AM to see about buying some used VC's for Mr. Grumpy's collection but then we passed on the idea. So then we went to see some homes hitting the auction block soon and then on to the Kevbear dream factory (Costco) where we bought dog food. We then headed to Best Buy where Mr. Grumpy had promised to buy me the complete AD FAB collection on DVD. But the kid there looked like we were a couple of trolls and said they had not carried that for years... sigh... I assured Mr. Grumpy that the steaming pile of shit he bought me was enough of a present and off we went to my surprise luncheon party!
I tried to find something nondescript to wear as I hate standing out in a crowd... And we arrived at my fav Mex Rest to meet up with hundreds of my closest friends and I was thinking probably some more paparazzi... I knew it was gonna be a blast with the start of the stale chips...
And the hoards of adoring friends turned out to be my bud Brenda...
And of course Mr. Grumpy...
Who kept telling me how great I was and how much he loved me and how special he thought I was making for a scene in a public place. My good buddy Pam was there (see group pic) who was the great gal who started the idea out of my scores of friends all meeting up for a luncheon... Mr. Grumpy forgot to give her a list of friends... sigh... But I was having a great time!
And the food was sublime...
And I did get presents... and then they brought out the special birthday boy sombrero...
Which brought a smile to my face... or was that the tequila? Anywho it was fun until I realized that hat had been probably been worn by hundreds (thousands?) of unclean heads and might have (ugh) lice or something in it...
So I took it off and went back to watching out for stalking paparazzi...
And being Joe Cool... Then we did some more (blah, blah, blah blahblah) stuff and came home to leftovers for dinner. Tomorrow we meet up with Mom for a night on the town! All in all I had a great day and can hardly wait till next year at this special time! And I want to thank all my friends (especially Pam! (who is going to the dark side!!!)) who put this lunch together today for me. Thanks Guys!
And NO I AM NOT BEING A WHINY BITCH...

Morning Commute

2007-11-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

You just know it will be "one of those days" when you start off the morning commute and nothing seems to be going right. I cannot attribute it to "getting up on the wrong side of the bed" because I got up on the same side as always. My side is by the window (in case of gas?) and closer to the TV so when someone else is sound asleep I can click on a late movie and keep it low. Works about 25% of the time to get me to sleep and trust me the last thing you want to do at 2:00AM is wake someone who is (endearingly) called Mr. Grumpy!

So back to the commute thang... the drive thru was incredibly slow again this morning, they really need to get some quality illegals or something to get their shit together...

There were some people in front of me that just took their sweet-ass time placing their orders or somethang, it was just what I needed, to be late to the office again this week... Traffic was snarled to almost a standstill and at the rate things were moving I thought the boss was sure to have my ass for being late every morning this week... I snapped a pic of the snails pace of the traffic (since it was safe to take both hands off the wheel)...

I mean the walking dead in a zombie movie move faster then this mornings commute time! When I finally got to the office my desk was buried in work the co-workers had dumped on me, probably pissed them off cause I was late again. But hey I can take it on as long as I get a coffee break to replenish the java that runs thru my veins...

So I was getting down to it and it seemed like it could turn out to be a good day after all when the co-workers started yelling and snarling about something. I mean really, we have a 8-5 job here and these guys act like they have not a care in the world! There are deadlines folks... So being senior management I had to go get the crew settled back into a decent workplace attitude... And one old timer was just not going to get back to it until he got his tummy scratched! If the boss ever finds out what goes on here...

So I get the crew back to work and check out my daily planner to see where I have to be and what the secretary has (secretly) added to an already overbooked schedule... Sure enough the morning is booked solid but it looks like there might be a break about mid-day so I can go get a workout at the gym and grab a quick bite at this great bistro...
It is just up the block from the gym. I have really been trying to get a full regiment going at the gym and have told the secretary to leave me a good hour+ for it on my planner... There are soo many muscle groups that each need individual attention to keep your bod in the buff shape I maintain... So it is looking like I might be able to sqeeze in those crunches and lifts and get to my fav corner bistro when sure as shit it happens... Yuppers, get the morning back on track, get the co-workers back to the grind and I get hit with... yes, that's right... the end of year reports... And as the boss tosses 'em on top of my already overloaded day... He tells me he wants me to take some time over the weekend and have some ideas and projections on his desk (after I spend my sacred free time reviewing the reports) first thing Monday morning... For crying out loud! It's my birthday this weekend and I was planning (on getting hammered) on a quiet time with the bestest guy in the world! If I had half the brains God gave the neighbors turkeys (which survived Thanksgiving?) I would tell the boss to shove it, quit this job, start my own company and work at home!

Westie Wednesday 2

2007-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

hI It'S ME, ToRI. PapA HelP mE WIth thiS ThinG.

OK, It's Kevbear here. Tori is having a hard time with the keyboard so we have decided she will dictate to me...

I am Tori, I am a princess. My Daddies see me in a golden light, and when it is icy outside I even walk on water!

I was born in Iowa on June 5th 1999 and live with my half-sister, Elizabeth, and the 2 best Daddies in the whole world. I am older then my sister so I am actually the Queen of all, we call her the Queen (Bitch) and she is happy cause she thinks she is a Queen, but I know really that I am the real Queen! My sister puts me down a lot, cause I had some rough times when I was a kid. There was a mix up at the place where doggies go to get registered and when the daddies went to get it fixed we found out my Momma got runned over by a truck. Then the daddies couldn't get it fixed, I'm OK with it cause I know I am really THE QUEEN. But my sister says now I am just a mutt and my kids are nothing but bastards, she is like that...

But this is about me, not what's her name. My real full name is Victoria of Kensington but the daddies call me Tori Oreos. My favorite things are eating, sleeping and being with my Daddy Rand. I love my Daddy Rand, sometimes more then food! And every day I wait for him to come home...

Cause he's my guy! I love my Papa Kevbear too but he can be mean sometimes and say the words I hate most in the whole world. When he says 'em I get all trembley and sometimes have to go potty cause I get so scared. OK I am going away while Papa types them so I can't see, the words are "poopy butt". I'm back, when Papa says those words I know the daddies will put me in the kitchen sink and my back parts get wet, I hate that and try to escape!

This is the worstest thing in the world, even badder than the coyote monsters that the Daddies say will get me if I run away like what my Momma did when see got trucked to death. So I try to be really good and I always want the daddies to love me.

I am really smart too! In the mornings everyone jumps outta bed to go see if there are monsters outside that should be barked at. But not me! I love to stay in bed late (all princesses & queens do) and Papa leaves on the world news (CNN) so I can keep track of my kingdoms, I love having the bed all for just me!

The daddies even have special feather things and lots of threads too by special designers so I can be happy in bed! My life is really good, but sometimes the Papa keeps me out when it is cold and I know that if Daddy Rand was home I would be inside faster then you could bark "Let me in".

Cause when you are a Queen or a Princess Daddies should obey you and not leave you out like a dog or something... OK, so one more thing about me that I love to do. My sister (Queen Bitch) gets riled up pretty easy so when the daddies aren't listening I whisper something to her and she gets all upset and starts in with her attitude and growling and stuff... Then the Daddies yell at her, I think that is sooo cool! She is like "my potty don't stink" with her attitude, but I've sniffed her butt and she is a real stinker sometimes!

OK I gotta go now and practice for the best part of the day, when My Daddy Rand gets home, cause he's my guy! Bye!!!

TWO POST TUESDAY!

2007-11-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

You would think that someone that heats with wood would (ha ha 2 woulds in a row) have better sense then to tarp it in a halfassed way but... oh well... With all the rain we have been having the water just ran down the one tarp and soaked my bestest dry seasoned wood (shit). Luckily I am an ingenious kinda guy and figured out what to do... (don't tell you know who) Yuppers, that is right I ran in the house and got the handy dandy bed warmer...

And had that wood dry in no time! But I did come across one issue... why is it when you have a hole in your glove (and you are stacking wood) that the splinters know where to get ya?

So I did get the wood stacked as planned but the wheelbarrow just did not seem inclined to cooperate and stalled just inside the gate... so I gave up on that for today...

And since I think I spotted a bigfoot track right by the manure I decided it was getting late (and cold) and I should head in to start dinner...

Now a few nights back we had pot roast and since we both hate leftovers I usually try to do the abracadabra thang and turn the offending leftovers into something that does not look anything like said leftover. (Man was that a leftover sentence or what?) So I got out the ol' family cookbooks and used...

That's right, a long held family secret for BBQ beef saniwhiches. Mr. Grumpy thinks I have spent hours getting the ingredients just right and we'll just let him go with that! It will be our little secret OK? Because everyone knows that what most people say is true... that the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach. But me being the clever Kevbear have found a faster way! Yuppers, right again a sharp pointy knife is much faster!

Changing of the Season

2007-11-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

Actually went into town yesterday! As part of our eat local I had found we could buy direct from the dairy (thanks Eberhards!) and so for a minimum of $20 we can get local dairy from now on. Just doing a little bit more to help the environment out... As I try to kill 20 birds with one stone each trip to town I also stopped at Don & Pam's to donate the fall pumpkins to their deer food, just keep the deer at your end of the ranch!They all appear happy and well fed... and of course they all have names! And I got the stationary finalized for the business, something I kept forgetting to do...

And I stopped at the Christmas storage facility (Mom's garage) to get another load of stuff because it is the changing of the seasons...

Santas (Radko Cookie Jar Collection) boot out the fall decorations...

And the first nativity is starting to take shape... baby Jesus always looks so happy!
And then when I got home it was back to trying out this bread recipe which turned out as described and was very east to leave & forget while I ran into town...

I found the recipe in Mother Earth News, a reprint from the New York Times and it is here if you want to try it. I was very impressed, not quite sourdough... but good & crusty.

The weather has warmed to almost 40 so I will venture out and fill up the porch with more logs and try for a few runs of manure down to the garden today. I was a good boy and spent half the morning on real estate (work) stuff and the other half starting in on the hundreds of Christmas cards we send out each year.

And remember tomorrow is WESTIE WEDNESDAY! The hostess will be Victoria, sister to our last guest blogger...

I DON'T CARE

2007-11-25T12:31:00.001-08:00

I don't care to go out and work on moving more of the piles of shit down to the garden, it is so damn cold out the piles quit steaming and any heat that was there has headed somewhere warm and south of here...I don't care to drive anywhere just to see some sun, because the cars are still frozen... I don't care that the world looks all nice and frosty and winterwonderlandy... I don't care that it is 1:00 PM in the afternoon and we are still in robes (for warmth)... at least the Daddies and doggies got some food that was warm...

I don't care that I remembered what it was I was trying to remember that I wanted for Christmas from my sister that you can only get down in Cali (sugar pine tree cones for decorating)...

And I don't care to have my fingers freeze to the ladder and staple gun today just because a certain person called last night to razz me because their outdoor lights were going up and mine aren't... because it's too damn cold outside (Patti!). About all I do care about today is getting some bedding washed, and no I am not using the damn clothesline in this 25 degrees at 1:00 PM weather! And I am now curling up on the couch with the doggies and getting some movie watching and reading done...

Because it is too damn cold out... and just whose bright idea was it to move the office out to the unheated garage in winter??? Jeez what an idiot...

BRRRRR....

2007-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

It dropped to 20 last night and was 22 when Mr. Grumpy left for work to be out in it all day. I need to get my fat ass outside and finish splitting the last of the rounds and start in on that steaming pile of shit... The garden will be very thankful come summer that I did it now, and there is a certain beauty to a frosty (freeze my fat ass off) morning...

But staying in has it's benefits too. Like I can catch up on my reading, I can get laundry done (while blogging!), I can spend quality time with the kids (and make sure the boys don't pee in the house!), and I can make sure our furnace is working...

We have the deluxe model box fan... it doubles as a heat exchanger in winter (to the bedrooms)and an air conditioner in summer (placed in a window)!

I could also start in on the Christmas decorations outside, but I hate it when my hands freeze to the ladder. After checking out Kelly's blog this morning and his bare ass out there hanging lights I would like to have a bit warmer weather. And don't worry Sue I will not be out there bare assed hanging lights! Speaking of neighbors...

Mr. Grumpy shared with me last night that some of his fellow workers (who know the MFMs) told him that these wonderful God loving (gay hating) neighbors of ours have said they will not rest until the world (neighborhood) is rid of us. You would think that if they were that sure that we are secretly trying to convert their sainted little bastards (breeding like rabbits) they would have done some groundwork and research before moving into this gayborhood. Like the fact that there are two of the sodomites living right next door to their hallowed homestead...

or the fact that that there is a lesbian living just down below them... or the fact that there are 2 lesbians living at the end of our street... MY GOD we have them surrounded! But it REALLY PISSES ME OFF that they can move in next door to us and be out there telling people that we do not belong in their neighborhood. And Mr. Grumpy gets after me when I wear my Polygamy T-shirt because it might offend them... PALEEAASSEE...

OK time to go work off some I hate the fucking neighbors energy that I just built up...

Turkey Day!

2007-11-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

We had it easy this year, just Mom and us... no big deal... except it is a Kevbear function. But I was good, everyone asked me to keep it simple and I did. I did not polish the silver for 3 days prior to T-Day. I did not go over the entire house making sure everything was immaculate. I did not wash the doggies so they looked perfect and smelled better. AND I did not stress over any of it! But what I did do...

Was make the dining room a little bit more... festive?
I did re-make up the guest room so it was perfect for Mom.

I did trick out the front porch.

I did move my office to the garage & reclaim the dining room for a dining room.

We both cleaned the house.

I did use the good china and just 1 set of the silver S&P shakers (unpolished).

I did cook all day (just like everyone else).

And I did leave dishes to do tomorrow!

The table gets set!

The table gets filled up...
The food gets eaten, the table gets cleared...
The happy campers kick back and decide on which sales need to get hit first thing in the crack of dawn shopping frenzy...
So it was a pretty good day all around this house, a damn fine day!

Best thing; part of the dinner was grown right here by us this year...

Worst thing; Pam & Don brought a lemon meringue pie (A Kevbear Fav) and there is none left!

Time to join the Grumpyisorious and get to bed, and no I am not going hog wild shopping tomorrow, we are having a lean Christmas and I am only getting very practical gifts. Night all...

Westie Wednesday 1

2007-11-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

Hi I'm Elizabeth, it's really Elizabeth of Windsor on my AKC registration, but who's keeping score. The Daddies call me Itsie Bitsie (go figure) and all the other doggies call me Queen Bitch. I was born June 9th 1999 back in Iowa and I don't remember too much before the Daddies came, but once they showed up my life improved by about a million percent... well accept for the fact that they also brought home my half sister Victoria. But they got me first, by at least 15 minutes! I used to like Victoria when we were puppies but then I wised up and saw her for what she is. She tries to steal the daddies attention away from the important things in life, like me! I also caught her in the sack with my husband, Bentley... I forgave him, but her... never.
When I was little (and liked my sister) the daddies lived apart so I (and my bitch sister) would live 2 weeks with one Daddy and then 2 weeks with the other. Now for almost 8 years we all live together. It was kinda cool in the old days because we had a beach house and a mountain house. Back then the Daddies were kinda lame, like our first toy was a 7-Up bottle, what's up with that? We (I) got them straightened out and now I get fresh toys and chewies whenever I raise my paw or give 'em the old get me a new toy bark. They are kinda slow, but with the years of training I have put in they finally have it figured out. They have also learned to open the door whenever I want to go out, sometimes I do it just to see if they are paying attention.
I have had 4 sets of pups, it is about my favorite thing to do is have the kids around me. Once in awhile we have a family reunion with all the kids, but the boys always fight and then I have to break it up. I talked the Daddies into keeping 3 of my kids at home so I would have someone to look after me when I get old. I think the Daddies will but they tend to go off sometimes for weeks at a time and I always worry if they will come back. When they go my Grandma comes to stay and she is my third favorite person in the whole world, right after the Daddies! The only bad thing that happens is she brings 2 of my bitch sisters kids to visit and they have the manners of a Saint Bernard. But I put up with them mainly because they are also my youngest son Ripley's daughters. My bitch sister got him a liquored up one night and seduced him, and well... I try not to play favorites but Daddy Kevbear is my favorite. I decided "He's My Man" when I had my first kids, he hung in there all night and never left me once, what a guy! Now don't get me wrong my Daddy Rand gives me Ice Cream so he is about the best guy in the world at bedtime, but I hang with Daddy Kevbear. Sometimes the Daddies call me the Alpha, whatever, I just know "I'm The Mary"! Daddy Kevbear said I got to be the first of "the kids" on his computer cause I was the first doggie they fell in love with... But I know it's because I'm the Queen!
Gotta go chase something, or at least bark at the dark so the Daddies know I'm doing my job. Bye!

Couponology

2007-11-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

Today I took an apprentice to the grocery store to teach her how to shop with coupons. When you try to explain it folks just don't grasp all the ins & outs compared to in the store training. So first I went thru the coupons to match up the big ticket items...

And then went over all the ads for this week to see what we needed for Turkey Day. Please know that we only buy what we use and it has to be a good deal too. The secret is our Albertsons takes everyone elses coupons; Safeway, Fred Meyers, Thriftway, Sentry, Ray's, plus their own! So you match up a store coupon, add a manufacturers coupon, put a double coupon with it and some stuff comes out free! Todays biggy was a 15lb ham for 39 cents. This time of year you can get some great deals... here are the biggy coupons used today...

$37.00 off on just three of these. So I took the rookie and her kids for their very first coupon adventure. Since she was just laid off by my old company it was something she really needed to learn. Her total was $95.00... take off $40.00 in coupons and she spent $55.00... not bad for a newbie!

I (of course) am the King Of Coupons so my total was $214.00... take off my (drum roll here) $153.00 in coupons and my total cash outlay was $61.00. Not too shabby...

Even More Rain?

2007-11-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

And the first snow mixed in too... It's 35 out now so it will be icy when Mr. Grumpy heads off to the slave state of a job at 6:00 AM, my poor guy. I think I hate his job more then he does. So with it being a rainy / snowy day we hung around the house. I worked on our Christmas letter and the other half caught up on EBAY. This is our second Christmas letter and while I despised them for many years the logistics of writing 200 or so messages just got to be overwhelming. What with the baking, shopping, decorating, wrapping, planning the ultimate Christmas Party... and oh yeah work too.

We have finalists in guys wanting the houseboy position. After laying off the last housekeeper we could really use some help around here with the chores...

This is Scott and he knows how to heat up a kitchen...

Matt says he is good with wood and trees and stuff in the garden...

Craig says he is great with clothes... both in, out & folding...

Rod loves a pool and promises to work really hard...

So it's a hard call. What I was hoping for was a little old Mexican lady who could clean & cook & teach us some Spanish. But since we cannot seem to find the perfect housekeeper we might have to go to the B list with one of the above... What do you think?

And the very bestest thing that happened today was Max (major hero material) delivered another load of shit for my gardens! I had forgotten he was coming, he had not, and then he gave me a ration of ---- about my being a fair weather gardener. I never should have given him a break on the jock strap photo...

Tomorrow Couponology!

A Wet Day

2007-11-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

It is one of those days when it is wet and muddy outside… which means I am not finishing up splitting the last rounds of firewood and I am not hauling the manure down the hill. If I was not so worried about twisting an ankle again & having another gout attack that is what I would like to be doing… but it is muddy… So I did real estate (work stuff) this AM and will spend the rest of the day cleaning and getting ready for company on TURKEY DAY! Mr. Grumpy has volunteered us to be the (as usual) house were all families come for holidays. I think (know) it is because he is so very proud of my (obsession) talent with the holidays. But this year there is this one little problem… The dining room table is the new office (at the moment), so I think I will probably move it out to the garage for the holidays at least…

I went by our CRR office again yesterday to check on some office space and I was getting ready to leave I turned around and was face to face with…

Nope worse then that… it was the crazy neighbor, just inches from my face and frothing at the mouth… She apparently has gross oozing sores all over her face these days. I had not seen this new development; she told Mr. Grumpy that it is a medication reaction just recently. Someone else mentioned it was a visual sign of craziness (I agree)… I feel very (happy) sorry for her as I have done nothing ever to her, but I am now on the hated neighbor list, there are a dozen or so of us on it…

Word is now officially out that my old office will be closing November 30th (my birthday), what a nice present for the Kevbear... should have given me that raise... I am sorry that the agents have been given so little time to figure out what to do, but I suspect that is the plan (no time to decide) so they will stay with the company. Not like they are being pressured... One a bright note!!! I have decided to institute WESTIE WEDNESDAYS where I will introduce the doggies (one per Wednesday) by age with pics and stories!

I am sure wishing some winter garden catalogues would come… too early still…

Have a great weekend! I will be thinking of some other home project I could be doing...

The Footprint Report

2007-11-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

After reading Scott-O-Rama's post and be shamed into finishing changing over the rest of our light bulbs to CFIs we decided to check out our energy usage now, compared to a year ago & see how we compare here to the rest of the USA. The only thing the PP&L electric website could recommend is my shower pattern... the is NO WAY at this point I will start with the Navy Shower routine. So after realizing we had done everything we could on the home front a year or two back I compared us to other Norteamericanos on our carbon footprint...

I was ready to gnash my teeth and buckle down to doing something more... I was surprised! The average Norteamericano family of 2 adults sheds between 7500 - 10,000 tons, yes tons of carbon each year for our bloated lifestyles. We came in at 1700 - 2,400... the numbers range because I used a few websites and the counts came out differently on national average & us. So it was a big surprise that we already use only 25% of the national average. And yes I was honest about our traveling. I think the main contributor to our low numbers was...

the Prius, and the Honda being a 4 cylinder stick. Contributing major factors were that we rarely use the clothes dryer (love the clothesline!) and try to heat with wood, and rarely use the air conditioning part of the heat pump. The garden & orchard will play a bigger part as time progresses. It was on the plans to have a solar water heater on the roof this year, but what with the Real Estate meltdown... it is on the agenda for next year...

So dear Readers... how are you doing?

The Shit Hits The Ground

2007-11-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

Last night Max the owner of A to Z (need work done call Max @ 923-1631) called to say he could bring me some more rotted horse manure for the garden. As it is getting colder and the ground is going to get hard soon I (of course) said bring it on... so he did... and me being the great Kevbear that I am told him he could keep his clothes on for the usual jock-strap shot as it was getting cold when he arrived... So here is Max & the manure! Well rotted manure might I add... perfect for the veggie garden!

Of course I wanted more so Sunday Max said he will bring me more! Now it is raining out and I am not in the mood to start getting the shit down the hill to the garden. The doggies have said they would like to stay in bed all day...

But as you can tell from this post we all got up! Since it is raining out I thought today was a great day to get around to baking all the zucchini carrot breads that I have been meaning to do. So I got out all the ingredients and went out to the garage (pantry) to get some more brown sugar... what me out of brown sugar! Not Mr. 8 month food supply guy... it must be here somewheres???

And I would never keep it in the freezer???

I did move my 50+ pounds of flour to the ice chests (to keep mice away) so maybe I put it there? Have to go look...

Great news on the HWMNBN appearances... After him seeing Kelly's blog last night (on their 5 year anniversary) he agreed that he will now appear back on the blog. OK, so here is the WHAT THE FUCK post story... I live in a good space, not too worried about being a gay guy in rural central Oregon. My Other half, HWMNBN while living in the same house, in the same country, lives in a not so perfect world. Even though he works for the government (currently a dictatorship) he has been threatened at work and could loose his job over his being, well him... So he is what is known as being "in the closet" and it worries him that my being ME could put us in jeopardy. So that is what happened that night, he was removed from the blog, all pics, all references, to protect him. Thank you for all the kind calls & emails, no it was not about divorce, it was about being out & gay. See I have this (very firm) belief that if every gay person was actually out and their family & friends knew it... then everyone would realize that we are a substantial portion of the USA and most would get over it. But he is not willing to risk his employment over my belief in the inherent goodness of people... So here is the reappearance of Mr. Grumpy, the love of my life! Ummm he is the one on the left...

Winter Prep 101

2007-11-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Today I got a great breakfast! Well the thought was there... someone decided I needed the magic of sculptured eggs...
But the finished yummy breakfast was not exactly what the creator envisioned... but the thought made it the bestest breakfast ever!
And the kitchen prep crew kept everything moving and clean & tidy...
With the 19 on the temp-o-meter this morning it was time to drain the pipes... umm the garden pipes (you dirty minded readers you)... so I finished up some watering... (that is a hose...)Funny that the strawberries are the last of the fall colors... And what with it only being about 40 when I went out... I dressed for the event (also worried about the stalking paparazzi!) After the watering and the pipes (water pipes) draining ( get outta the gutter!) I went on to the exciting adventure of digging the last of the taters!

And considered planting the 180 tulips that HWMNBN bought me when we went to COSTCO the other day...

But I decided that the sore back had had enough and it was time for a late afternooner of Advil & cocktails... And then the BIG EVENT happened, a blogger that I read actually read my blog! This ranks just under the filming (my being discovered by HOLLYWOOD!) event and a few steps under the most wonderful attempt of angel eggs I have ever scene (seen) that happened in our very own home this early AM.

So there is a fire going in the woodstove, we are getting by on a pre-made dinner and visions of sugar plums (hot guys) will soon be dancing...

In our heads (the ones on our necks!)

A FROSTY MORN

2007-11-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying working out of the house, I am surprised. It was not something I wanted to do, but I am finding that I can dictate my time and stay focused when I need to be. Perhaps it will change, but for now it works. It is cold out, 19 when we woke up at 6:00... The other half is home today, a day off... and we are both liking the times together more. I think a lot of pressure came off when I ran away to start my own business... it was time...

Life can be good and right now with the frost out in the garden, the other half cooking breakfast, and the doggies crashed out in the living room, life is good. It is funny that "other half" thing... But when you do find that one someone, something clicks, the walls we build to protect ourselves come down, we understand what love really means. The other day when I was thinking about peak oil and wondering how bad it could get and if this house is the right place to be. I thought "this is our home, how could I even think of another". But then it hit me, as long as we are together, that is where home is. Maybe that is why HWMNBN calls our suites on cruises and in hotels "our little home", he gets it, I needed time...

The Cascades are looking really nice as they deck themselves out in their winter finery, I love this time of year. There is magic, you can see it in the kids, you can see it in lover's eyes... Have a great day, breakfast is ready...

Needed... 1 bottle of good scotch...

2007-11-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay but what with autograph hounds & the paparazzi chasing me it was a busy week! To recap this past week...

To keep the face looking good for the camera I gave myself a good facial scrub... And I spent a half day planting 6 more fruit trees and going up & down the hill to keep (get) that 6 pack (keg) in shape so if I am required to do a swimsuit (nude) scene in my next movie I'll be ready and set in true fighting form to wow (scare) my fans...Also HWMNBN (alias Mr. Grumpy) was ill so I got to play doctor, but after he saw I was serious (and not playing fun doctor) he got better fast...

And I haven't been waking up in my usual cheery mood, because the first thing I do (OK, second thing) is open the blinds and look out upon the miracle God created and see... the neighbors yard... These are the gay hating (bible loving) neighbors (to clarify) who live in their own perfect world... (just wait till they get their whole very own planet to trash!)

And then just as (HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED) my other half was getting better I came down with something that I no longer get that often (no, not crabs) but when I do it puts me in one heck of a Kevbear (Grizzly) kinda mood... THE GOUT!

Because while I was gettin' in my fightin' shape I tripped going down the hill to plant those (damn) fruit trees, stubbed my toe & twisted my ankle and the rest is.... Well it was not a good week all around... but it could be worse... I might've had to be nice...

On an upbeat note... I am planning to make a run (drive) to the Christmas decorations storage facility (Mom's garage) and get out some of the outside festivities items because it is the time of year while other folks are getting out their few boxes of decorations... that I am wondering what new way I can short out all the electrical circuts in central Oregon! Just kidding Mr. G. (no, not kidding, I am going to kick ass on decorating this year)

Hello From Hollywood!

2007-11-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

Pre-makeup shot...

Well the Honda was in more filming scenes then I was, but I made it into a BIG SCENE! Yes, it is true the Kevbear will probably be discovered any day now and have to leave CRR behind and head off to tinsel town... I was teamed up with the new (yet to be discovered) star Gloria of F&G Properties (they teamed 2 Realtors?) as a husband & wife wondering into the motel lobby looking for a free breakfast. Our shoot included the costar Steve Zahn (many movie credits) who pointed out the coffee & pastries to us. Gloria made a beeline to the java and I (being a guy) went for the morning paper & pastries. It was then cut & wrap for lunch... We were incredible, Steve stopped just short of asking for my autograph and accepted a handshake as he was very nervous meeting the NEW HOLLYWOOD SENSATION... KEVBEAR!

The catering was superb, full breakfast when we arrived at 6:00 AM, yes true, the Kevbear was on the set at 6:00 AM! But the lunch spread they laid out was the main event of the day. Everything prepared fresh there on the set. We had wardrobe first, then makeup then stand (or sit) around waiting for the BIG SCENE. AND we even got paid, first time ever that happened when I was in front of the cameras. So a year from now we will see if I made it into MANAGEMENT or am once again on the cutting room floor.

On a more realistic side of things I now officially have a listing in the MLS under my new company name and am almost there for business cards & the final proof of the stationary. With some luck (and many prayers) I am now in business again and hoping to sell something before the end of this year!

Mr. Lucky?

2007-11-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

This morning I got a call that I was kinda hoping would happen but had not really expected it. Then low and behold it was Diana casting director for the movie being filmed in Madras that they wanted me on the set tomorrow (6:00AM!) for filming. So it is an early call for the Kevbear, but the buffets are always great on the set and it has been a very long time since I have had a part in anything involving Hollywood. Yes, it is true the Kevbear had 2 walk-ons in the 70's but due to bad editing I was left on the cutting room floor, and I also have 19 TV commercials under the belt. And in all honesty there was that one bad time on live TV, I have learned I like not being live and getting a second take on a scene! And that is all I will ever say about that experience.

So tomorrow I will be on the set with Steve & Jennifer filming their new movie "MANAGEMENT". And after that well we will just have to see where it goes...

Thanks Scott-o-rama

2007-11-03T20:42:00.001-07:00

Scott was going off about changing over your light bulbs which reminded me to check all of ours. I knew we had changed most of them over, but decided to check just the same. Sure enough there were 6 lurkers hiding out, so away they went and the CFI's went in. Now the problem is we have both bathrooms, kitchen, & dining rooms all on dimmer switches and need CFI's that will work on a dimmer. But with the wood heat & the CFI bulbs there should be some savings. And with working out of the house I am able to still use the clothes line... takes all day to dry the damn clothes, but it keeps the dryer off!

YAHOO!!!

2007-11-02T17:29:00.001-07:00

OK, So a picture is worth a 1000 words, well this says it all! Today I picked up the signs, today I became active in our local MLS again under the new company name, today I met with my first 2 clients as the Broker/Owner of ALL STAR REAL ESTATE. And tonight I will probably drink most of this bottle of bubbly... what can I say well... "YAHOO!!!"

Ghost Story part 3

2007-10-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

We have come to accept that we live in a house with something or someone else. We have learned that things tend to happen in June & November. Last November I got to see our ghost for the first time.

It was a Sunday morning and I was lounging in bed watching TV. On the one side of the bedroom is a closet the length of the wall and the doors are all mirrored. It makes it nice, you can turn and watch TV on one side or another. When you are looking in the mirrored doors you also catch a glimpse into the guest bathroom. I was just laying there minding my own business when I saw in the bathroom mirror what I took to be the other half standing then bending down in the reflection. I said hey, what are you doing to the black reflection... no answer. I called out very loudly HEY, what are you up to? Then from the other end of the house Mr. G. yelled back... the other end of the house??? Then he walked down the hall, he was wearing a white T-shirt. What I had seen was almost black.

That was last November. Tomorrow is the first of November, we can only wonder what this next month might bring...

The Burn Day (at last)

2007-10-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Normally I would have posted last night but this Kevbear was way too tired and sore, so that by the time we finished burgers we were ready for bed...

I started the morning off right for a Sunday burn day brunch with the breakfast of champions!

The before... getting ready... After some discussion we decided the pile was too big and we drug a bunch of branches off the pile.

Burn,baby, burn...

Junipers can fight back...

The after... no brush pile and all the junipers limbed up to give the fruit trees room to spread out. Eventually the junipers will all go the new orchard area is now 90' by 100'!

Pre-dinner relaxing after we hit the showers.

While we were burningthe brush, the sheets were in the wash so when we were done it was fluff the feather bed and get ready for some great sleepkins. Of course I was so tired I slept like shit...

And now I can get the burn clothes out of the washer and out on the clothes line. Yes, the weather is still good enough that we can get away without the dryer... And then I will drag my sore carcass down to the new improved orchard area and finish laying out the fruit trees!

Fire Day!

2007-10-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to burn the big ol' dead trees that are in the middle of the future orchard! This is very exciting to me as I have wanted to do this even when our bureaucracy would not let me because of some stupid rule, like I would do some southern Cali fire thing! I would only do it for the hot firemen would show up...
So for right now I will finish my coffee, then make the final decision (Bloody Mary's or Cosmos) on breakfast with muffins and get going. I promise to add pics later... especially if any hot firemen show up!

Ghost Story part 2

2007-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Time went on, we adjusted. A summer came and went and we started repairing the outside of the house, it took 7 coats of paint on the west side… Every once in awhile something would turn up missing. You would put something down, go do something else and go back to get whatever it was and there was nothing there. It took us awhile to figure out that it was not just us being forgetful. Because the strange thing was… say you put down your glasses on the dining room table and then went back… they were gone… we would search the entire house, no glasses… then the next day there they were on the table.

It was the following November, we had been in the house for almost a year. Mr. G was home alone; he had taken a shower in the guest bathroom. As he walked out the door slammed shut behind him. Now there is one thing about this room… there is no window, there is not even a heater vent to create a draft… nada… He jumped and turned around to look, he was freaked, the door was shut. He opened the garage door and headed out … pronto… then that door slammed shut behind him, again no draft possible. He did not believe in ghosts. When I got home he had Christian music blaring and was trying to anoint the doors with oil. Things quieted down again for awhile after that. I wanted to see the ghost!

The following June I got a taste of her… Mr. G was in the kitchen, the doggies were in the kitchen. House rule; when a Daddy is cooking there is a chance of food falling from the sky (especially if a doggie trips the daddy) so the doggies stay around when we are cooking. I walked into the living room to turn on the evening news. We have 7 or 8 old books on the entertainment center along with other stuff. I was standing about 6 feet away with my back to the TV when I heard a loud bang behind me. Doggies came running out of the kitchen barking, I turned around, the one red book was laying face down about 4 feet from the entertainment center. It had come from the middle of the row of books; all the other books were still in position…

The doggies kept watch. We were not alone…

12 STEPS

2007-10-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

And... I will survive and address What The F@#k somewhere down the road. Thanks guys, but tonight is the 12 STEPS PROGRAM! (Because Kelly called me tonight)

1) Stop paying someone to run their office in a bad economic climate.

2) Figure out what you love to do & how to do it well & make $'s at it.

3) Consult with mentors & folks that you trust to give you sound advice.

4) Consult with Attorneys & CPA to get it right legally.

5) Create a corporation per advice from #'s 3 & 4 above.

6) Create a name that you & others that you care about can live with.

7) Fill out Walmart Greeters application (just kidding)

8) Meet with Bankers & get turned down to keep you grounded firmly in reality.

9) Meet with sign & stationary people to get it the way you want it.

10) Meet with potential landlords because a dining room table is not an option.

11) Let people know that even though this is a scary thing you honestly feel you are doing the right thing for all the right reasons.

12) Pray through all the above steps.

OK so this is where I am headed. There have been little things along the way these past 2 weeks that have enforced my belief that I am doing the right thing. Like the glass company called and mentioned I had a print there (for a year) being framed... it was a present from my very first clients (when you see it you will understand). Like getting a great & easy to remember office phone number 923-6321. Like calling my toll free provider and getting 1-877-923-6321 as my toll free office phone number. And mostly knowing that there are a lot of folks out there rooting for me and my new company... ALL STAR REAL ESTATE, inc.

So at this point my real estate license is pending in Salem (but they charged my Mastercard Tuesday?) And then I can re-join the MLS ($2,000!@$?!). And then I can...

Cheers!

What The F@*K

2007-10-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ever had one of those weeks where you really thought things in your life were going pretty good, then you get nailed by something you knew was coming but never wanted to admit could happen to you. Because you really believed your life was pretty good. God I hate tonight...

Loosing Stuff

2007-10-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Today was Mr. G's last day of vacation and going to the dump day! I am sorry that Mr. G has to go back to that hell hole and get up pre-crack of dawn to get there. I will try to be a good Kevbear and somehow put a few sentences together to send him off with (it makes him happy if we are both awake). And I do like to watch the sunrise over the hill behind the house... Plus there is that first cuppa joe... Now about that loosing stuff title. This being dump day we went to the dump. ( See Pony, see Tom, see Flip run.) At this dump we loose stuff, we recycle (we could do better), we go to the dump 4-5 times a year. This I feel saves the gas in the dump trucks that lumber around every week and usually I get stuck behind on corners. To be fair I also get stuck behind these...

This one also needs a dump truck... Anyway we actually got rid of some things we have had around that were broken and we finally forgot why we were saving them. I also loaded the Honda car with stuff to go to, hmmm... Goodwill? St. Vincents? or??? stuff we have had in the garage since we moved here and have never needed. The garage is much cleaner today! But the reason I said the dump was where we loose stuff was from the past. Once many years ago a woman named Erica helped me loose something... Once Mr. G put on my wedding band (by mistake) and while hurling something into a bin we heard a ping and never saw that dear little gold band again. I also managed to loose my cell phone on a dump run (not as dear as the ring). This, I think, is the dump Gods wanting sacrifices...

Tomorrow will be the day of official forms & signing of papers and no not the Walmart greeters application! So perhaps this week I can talk more about work and less about stalking neighbors! Sue (a nice neighbor) was so kind to point out that we are blessed with 2 crazy neighbors, north & south and perhaps you (dear readers) would be confused. So let me clarify; there is nutzoid neighbor (south) with the endangered vacant lot and there is mother fucking mormans(north) also known as gay hating bigots. Ah, we are truly blessed... and they all like Mr. Grumpy! The same Mr. G who told me this afternoon I should try to make amends and forget the past (remember the Yankees). Wait, what was that flying by the window??? The snow was seen in Bend by Mr. G getting our politically correct car new shoes (if you are reading the comments dear readers).

This being October, the month of good scary movies, I have Sci-fi channel going in the living room. At the moment it is a Japanese flick with subtitles, kinda hard to follow, but by the screaming it is getting good. All the doggies have gone to bed with Mr. G so I am on my own if a serial killer, zombie, ghoul, or flesh eating bacteria try to get in tonight. We already have a ghost...

Tonights dinner was a good one because everything but the chops and lettuce came from our garden! And those taters were mighty good as was the salad... Trust me them was gooood vittles! Always fun to be creative in your cooking!

VIEWERS UPDATE!

2007-10-20T22:32:00.001-07:00

I knew that would get you to stand up and pay attention!
I think I have reset the right control so now anyone can respond & leave comments.
I just know that thousands of you have been really upset that you had to do all that Google stuff just to tell me how great the blog is... so I hope this now makes it easier for comments!

Windows

2007-10-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here tonight in the dining room at my temporary desk (another hint?) while there is something scary on TV. Brewster (Gay Lifetime watching doggie) and his Mom, Elizabeth are crashed out on the back of the couch. Sometimes Ripley (Joe Jock) stays out here too, depends on whats on the tube. Hmmm... can we still call it the tube? Am I dating myself (other then in the shower that is) sorry ladies.. guy joke... Have a nice fire burning and just went to get a log off the porch. OK here is a Kevbear thing... there is a big iron cauldron beside the wood stove full of wood but after looking at the fire and my wood assortment I decided to go out and get a different log... which brings us to windows (subject title above). When I went out to get the log there were loud boisterous noises coming from crazy neighbors house, intriguing. Crazy neighbor has fought with almost everyone on the street. My turn came when she called the county & the police because my new woodshed was endangering her vacant lot. The wood could spontaneously combust and burn her vacant, weed infested lot down. Because I did not get a permit I agreed to move it (it is now a wonderful garden shed). But while all this was going on she would come to the 2 strands of wire she had put up to keep us away and scream at me. Sometimes I screamed back, most times I told her to get back on her medication. I put up a 6' tall fence, she called all the authorities again that the fence was on her property, they came to look, she took photos of us all. What crazy neighbor did not know that was in a snowstorm I had the line surveyed so the fence would be a few inches in on our side, crazy neighbor has gone on to hate a new neighbor, she claims he is stalking her... The reason I put the woodshed where I did was because we were pretty sure she would stand in her fire prone bare lot and stare in at the gay people. This was confirmed when a while back she mentioned someone in this house danced naked in the living room. I like to think of it as exercise, Mr. G thinks it could scare people... So now there is a tarped 6' high woodpile along the fence line, take that nutszoid neighbor. BUT she now has a guest, we have heard a grandson. He races his car up and down our quiet street, tonight there are party kinda noises coming from the crazy house. When her daughter stayed with her long ago the daughter punched out crazy neighbor. So I have some questions that will never get answered...

1) What guy would ever breed with crazy neighbor? (she looks... well crazy!)

2) Were multiple bags involved in said breeding?

3) Why did the daughter not finish the job started?

4) Is grandson a chip off granny's block?

5) Will grandson finish the job? (See 3 above)

6) Why does crazy neighbor like Mr. G? (birds of a feather? Just kidding Mr. G.)

Which brings me back to this blogs title... I am sitting in the dining room with a window in front of me which looks right at nutszoid neighbors house. Is she out the in the darkness watching?

Back to today. Mr. G went to Costco and got the new fantabulous snow & ice tires. Yesterday they told him 2 hours, it snowed last night... it was 5 hours. Everyone wanted the new fantabulous tires. The hybrid is now even more PC, we are going studless (tires only involved) Mr. G also brought home a surprise (for the doggies) yup, Mom's doggies are visiting. So far no major brawls... I had a wonderful day working out in the garage (told you so) getting it in shape as doggies winter condo.

I hope the appreciate their little winter getaway...

Tomorrow the excitment continues, we are going to the dump!!!

taters!

2007-10-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

After our downpour last night (glad I cleaned out the raingutters!) I decided today might be a good day to start digging all those taters. So I started in on the Yukon Golds...

This was (told you so) also the day I started in on cleaning the garage and getting it ready for the doggies winter condo. Mr. G worked on the house. I also cleaned up the garden shed so there was someplace to put all the tools from the garage & the lawnmowers. The boys love to chew the pullcords off the power tools each winter. What can I say, Boys will be Boys...

Mr. G did mention once or twice that since I let Housekeeper go there seems to be a lot more things we need to do around the house. Lucky for me we lay Gardener off each fall so I get away with no complaints there... But... with the current real estate market and me being a Realtor I really felt we needed to cut back somewhere. I overheard Mr. G on the phone saying we were also cutting way back on Christmas this year (WHAT!) so it looks like I will be on a street corner soon... Should I sell it by the inch or by the pound???

My all time favorite actor is on right now and it is becoming harder to concentrate...

When Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up you just get some amazing movies. And this one is one of those Christmas crossovers that you can catch all year. I was always more of a Cary Grant kinda guy but I think Depp has only scratched the surface of his acting at this point. And while mentioning movies last night this was on and I just have to stay up and watch the Milan scene...
Tomorrow Mr. G is going to get those new snow & ice tires for the Hybred at Costco and will be bringing Mom's 2 little monster (some of our puppies) doggies for a visit while she is off on a road trip. 84 & on the go, hope I will be so lucky in life... of course I do have Mom's genes, no wrinkles yet! And tomorrow I will continue to work on that damn woodpile & the garage (sigh). Chance of snow tonight... OK a very small chance...

Ghost Story part 1

2007-10-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

I was the first one to see the house; it was on a Realtor home tour. I walked in and gasped, it was exactly what we had been looking for. I came back later that day and spent an hour or two there just looking around, making sure before I told Mr. G. It took a few days of me using my best getting Mr. G to do something he was not to sure about to get him to the house. He walked in, he gasped, he smiled, and we had found our new home!

It was seven years ago on Halloween that we started work on the house. We had heard that the woman who lived here before (it was an estate sale) had died. We later learned she had died here in the house. She had smoked, a lot. The other Realtor who had represented her estate told us it took 3 months to get the house clean enough for anyone to see it… And so we started to clean more…

Mr. G could not get here everyday so it fell to me to rip up the old carpets and start the painting before we could move in. After we started to paint we realized that we needed to seal the walls, the nicotine bled thru the paint. So I got shellac and got to it. We had an electrician and a drywaller coming in too as we fixed and patched, but for the most part I was here most afternoons alone.

We somewhere got the impression that the old woman (as she was soon called) had died in the living room. I would work until 2-3 each day then head to the house to seal & paint until well after dark. It was on one of those late afternoons (almost fully dark) in mid November that we got the first hint that there was something different about the new house. I was almost done with the sealing and painting the hall & the inside of the linen closet, all the interior doors were off the hinges and stacked in the garage. I was alone in the house. Just across the hall from the linen closet is the guest bath, I was sealing the walls of the linen closet. Shellac smells… it is overpowering. I was facing into the closet using the roller when I heard someone exhale a deep breath behind me in the bathroom doorway and I was enveloped in the smell of a cloud of smoke… I took a very deep gulp, counted to ten, put down the roller and turned around, there was no one there… I left, fast…

When I told Mr. G that night what had happened he chalked it up to fumes in a small area, he did not believe me. I kept going back and kept up the schedule, but left each day before dark. The new carpets were put down, the new front door & garage doors were installed. We moved in Thanksgiving weekend 2000, it was snowing and very cold.
We were very happy. The doggies were not, we only had 3 doggies back then. They would stand at the end of the hall looking down the dark length and growl… Mr. G still did not believe, he said they were just adjusting to a new place. I knew better.

Winter went on; spring was a hint in the wind when we learned where she had died. The neighbors told us one afternoon. They had noticed the mail piling up in her box. She was not a great neighbor so everyone left her alone. They figured when the police broke into the house with the paramedics she had been dead around two weeks. She had died sitting on the head in the guest bathroom… across the hall from the linen closet, in June 2000...

Fall is?

2007-10-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

OK, you will all be very happy to know that at last the Kevbear put off the procrastinating and worked on the woodpile... and might I add hit the halfway point (maybe). I also managed to get the raingutters cleaned out, a load of laundry done & met with the CPA for 2 hours! I could get used to this working at home stuff. But... I know me and I need more structure then a puter on the dining room table. And there is that Walmart Greeters application... And Mr. G was the perfect son-in-law and took Mom shopping today and to top it off actually sat at J. C. Penny's for a period of time (Mr. G swears it was 2+ hours) while Mom bought some female support & tightening devices! Three cheers for Mr. G!!! What a guy!!! I could never sit thru that...

We have a big storm due in late tonight and tomorrow. I always wondered why they make such a big deal of winds 75+ mph on the east coast when we get winds at 100+ on the Oregon coast. I will hope to finish the woodpile but might have to stay in and work at the office (grin). And with the advent of wind & potential snow this week my thoughts will turn to warm beaches and hot bods... I just love the beach...

OK... Mr. G just pointed out that I could spend less time putting some eye candy on the blog and more time getting myself in the above shape... What say you viewers?

The News Sucks

2007-10-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

For those of us in real estate todays news was not good... which makes me think that last weeks events were right on target. In a coming winter where agents don't know when they will see a person interested in buying a home it makes no sense to pay someone for a desk space and have to spend $$$ on manditory advertising to save the office face. The dining room table is very nice looking and does not charge me to sit at it! I would (of course) love to be off cruising someplace warm...And Mr. G is so happy and relaxed when we are cruising... you just know he must be smiling on the inside!

So even tho we are talking about using some of those 6 trips worth of frequent flyer miles and heading off to somewhere warm along with the rest of the migrations... we shall wait... And I am sure that by February we will want to be down in Puerto Rico for a few weeks of R&R.

Mr. G is heading out tomorrow with Mom (they love going off together) and even tho I am invited to go along I would like to get started on that damn woodpile and get the fall garlic planted. Also there are hundreds of potatoes that need to get dug up! The weather reports are looking more like winter and less like an indian summer at this point... Plus those of you who read this (and never post comments) know I am firmly in the mind that things will keep going downhill in our nation and a garden is a very smart idea! And the burning season has started and we need to get the last of the dead trees and brush burned so I can plant the last of the fruit and nut trees. And there is always the chance that we will have too big a fire and the firemen will show up!

It's UP!

2007-10-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I knew you would all be excited to know that I am now safely back on my very own (work) puter setup here in the dining room! Mr. G took one look at it in the daylight and spent an hour cleaning it up and lecturing me on the dangers of dust on and in a computer... it is now strangly clean and runs better, weird... After just 3 hours talking with a guy who's name I cannot pronounce (let alone spell) in what sounded like India I am now online anywhere's in the house. I tried myself to do it alone (the directions (yes, I did read them) sounded easy) which was a bad time for both myself & Mr. G... Thank goodness for India guy, it could not have gotten done without him! And now we have pics back!!! It is 9+PM now and Mr. G and the kids are all nestled in our bed with visions of hot naked hairy guysdancing in their heads...Yesterday was a great success with the mentors! I was sorry I had ever left their company and (of course) I had them pose for a blog pic...
Mike & Miriam... 2 folks who helped make Kevbear the Realtor he is today (is that a hint?). And after leaving them I met Mr. G in town at Deacon & Hilary's (the remote stealer) for a great curry dinner and too much wine (but lot's of good talk!).

After the grueling wi-fi thingy was done I headed out to plant the last of the daylillies and water so there was a brief outdoor advent where I did snap a pic of a Bambi wandering by looking longingly over the fence at my safely protected plants!

There is now a nice fire burning to keep us all snugly warm tonight in the woodstove, no the damn woodpile is still not split & stacked...

And now the long awaited hairy cuts pics (drum roll going), Mr. G says I am going way too far with the camera, but if a pic is worth a 1000 words just thinks of the time I'm saving! So without further ado (yes Barber comes to the house for our hairy cuts) here are the pics!!!

"Who wants to watch Wheel of Fortunes when the daddies are getting clipped!"
"Now can you see the nose hair I am talking about?"
Clippers, a drink & a stoggy, this guy is a multi-tasker!
The hero being humble after all the hairy cuts are done!

SLOWING DOWN?

2007-10-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here it is Saturday and I'm at home in my robe!!! 2 full nights of sleep, YAHOO!

I need to get a wireless thingy so I can get my puter (on the dining room table) up and running so you can all see the (drum roll) NEW OFFICE! Yes, I broke down, shoved over the tasteful fall display (in an antique silver bowl Martha Stewart would love) and set up the puter... at 7:00 AM no less! Now as most of the world knows Kevbears love to hibernate in the early hours, so I am not expecting this to be an everyday happening... But I am a very excited Kevbear at the moment, 'nough said... And Mr. G is very happy if the Kevbear is awake and alert enough in the wee hours to string some words together that appear to be coherent while he is leaving for his blood-sucking, slave wages job.

I am meeting my old Broker Michael that trained me into the biz for some brain storming (this is a hint) and lunch today. Yes it is true even Walmart greeters need sound advice before venturing into the exciting world of greeting people with a minus 100 level of fashion sense. AND we all know what this Kevbear would say to those shoppers in sweats & fuzzy slippers... even with training...

On a brighter note the mother fucking mormans next door are currently building a big (without permits) structure just off our master bedroom. It looks suspiciously like another barn for more livestock. In watching it closely (and taking plenty of pics) Mr. G thinks it could perhaps be a storage building as their religion has told them to keep an ample food supply for the end times (just before they are wisked off to a planet just for themselves). I have to wonder will the livestock be wisked away too? I need to do some research on that... Mr. G thinks we should turn them in as they already have 1 illegal barn for their fowl within 60' of our house. I am more of the mind set that we should wait until it is completed and filled with whatever and then calls the mounties to come and get it moved, it will be much more expensive and harder that way! Mr. Grumpy says I am pure evil... I remind him of the yankee story, these mother fucking mormans did us wrong (Mr. G almost went to jail that night!) and I will never forget that... ever...

Mr. G has all next week off, yes I know I already told you that... BUT this morning he put a scare into the Kevbear by saying the unthinkable "maybe we should go thru the garage". I shot up in bed, doggies flying in all directions, "and he added "I thought that might wake you up"... I grabbed MY remote (it is a talsman!) and said "but mr. G I thought you were going to the coast by yourself". "Well he went on, the garage could use a good cleaning and we could get rid of a few things" I quickly grabbed the lead and said the undeniable, "like vacumn cleaners?" "No" he said "there are not that many out there, really you make it out like we have a lot of them to everyone". Being good at math and now fully awake I did a quick mental tally and said "From where I am laying in bed there are at least 15 vacumn cleaners with 20 feet of me" Mr. G immediately "countered there are not" and went into the den to count and came back to add, "you are wrong... there are 16, so there"... Now this does not count the guest bedroom or the garage VC's. But he loves to collect them, so he can keep going as long as we have room to walk (hope he never reads that statement). AND we all know when grumpesorius erectious poopacacaous nictotinus (full name) says "we should" he actually means Kevbear!!!

Sorry for no pics today but after the brain storming (there's that hint again) I will try to get to Bend to get the wireless thingy to get my puter online. After all there are the hairy cut pics and a pic of the NEW OFFICE!

hits the fan

2007-10-11T09:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the worst so far this week. I was given my walking papers an extra 2 days early and once again the boss sent a minion to do the dirty work, so I signed my termination papers yesterday... THEN half way home Mr. G called... What many do not know (and it has been proven time after time) is the Lucy Principal applies to me. If there is ever a way that a person (other then Lucy) can manage to take a simple thing and totaly screw it up to where you are laughing your ass off it is yours truely. It is always funny in retrospect... anyway... So, as I left the house yesterday morning it was still raining a bit, the doggies looked very forlorn outside, so me (being a Lucy), with only the best intentions left the sliding glass door open so the kids could come & go. No biggy, doggies had the TV on and would be happy and I trotted of to work...What I had not thought about was we live next door to a dump these days. And turkeys, goats, chickens kept in small unclean pens attract flies... Now I had honestly thought that all the flies had died as we have had at least a week of below freezing nights. That's how it works, winter starts, bugs die... Except for the flies that stay at the dump next door, manure breeds warmth (and flies) so I was very surprised when Mr. G called screaming (kinda) and frothing at the mouth because the house was full of flies. I was almost home. I did think of fleeing the country, but then I thought, "well there can't be that many flies around".

So the first thing I did (after ducking a right cross) was gasp when I walked in the door. For every square foot of ceiling, wall, cabinets, furniture, there had to be at least a half dozen flies. We guessed that there were over 600 as we started the hunt. First I had a scotch (Mr. G was having a great time with the vodka). Then with fly swatter and vacumn cleaner we got to it...

It took almost 2 hours, it was dark out... The doggies were outside (fly swatters are scary things) and stayed out before we had the infestation somewhat under control. We had a late dinner... Mr. G forgave me as he understands the Lucy Principal. The doggies came in and we settled down for the evening, killed some more flies every so often... This morning we killed a few dozen more.

Last night I slept a total of 4.5 hours... sleep has not been easy this week. There is also this knot in my tummy that has been around all week... Maybe I should not have asked for that raise on the 1st??? Whatever, I have been treated poorly... This morning I stopped (for the last time) to get the office mail on my way in... there was a large packet, "what the?". It was my award for 5 years of outstanding service and loyalty to the company... figures... I sent it on to the ex-boss (heh, heh, heh...)

All said and done, I am doing the right thing and when you wake up to this view of fresh snow on the mountains as you sit on the front porch... you just know that the Lucy Principal also ends happily and life will get better! (soon please!)

Now to put the puter in the car and go get a hairy cut!

And to quote Scarlett... "I'll think about it tomorrow... tomorrow is another day"

Hump Day

2007-10-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesday now and I am over half packed at the office!!! (better to be half crocked) The hard part is changing all the damn emails to different accounts... bitch... sigh... bitch... whine... Lots of calls and emails wanting to know what the Kevbear is going to do (OK an underwear model is an option) and I do have a favorite brand that I have a pic they recently took of me here... And I am sure they would sell millions if I take that job offer! I could just pack it up and move to the beach...

I am sure with the right curtains our little nest would be just fine...

I have not slept well all week as I worry myself into a wrinkle or two... I know, I know, you are all thinking at his age, a wrinkle??? But even with being the perfect guy that everyone has wanted for years (sexually) there might someday be a wrinkle appear somewhere... Mr. G says it is being a redhead, I say it is good genes and no kids and youth, after all there is that underwear model job and well with my bod...

I even look good in sweats.

Mr. G is already making those "we are a 2 income household noises". AND he just called and has next week off!!! When I suggested we go somewhere fun, I got the "you need to get a job"... I even tried the we could get a pump tent and do the Brokeback Mountain thang... we could even go to the beach... with just the right curtains... I am sure our perfect doggies would be just fine by themselves, they are such well behaved little darlings... This is Brewster who I am just sure is at home right now being a very good boy, or at least I am really praying that is what is happening... I left Lifetime Movie Channel on (for women and gay doggies) which is his favorite, so I am sure as long as his (straight) brother Rippers does not take MY remote away and put on ESPN they will be fine...

Tomorrow is my going away party!!! So far 3 people are coming, I am way too popular... And I am hoping Barber shows up tomorrow night for some hairy cuts ( I promise pics!).

Countdown

2007-10-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here it is Monday and I got the word that I will be gone Thursday, not Friday and I am in shock... First I thought I would have plenty of time to find the perfect thing to do, then I thought well at least I have a week to pack up my office, now it is only 4 days!!! Luckily I am a very organized person (NOT) and packing up will be a breeze... We are also going thru the where to put the office at home discussions. Mr. G votes for the dining room (and I have already figured out that he will hound me to keep it tidy) and I vote for some space in his very sacred den. Now I am all for the fact that everyone needs their own space, and granted the den has always been the Mr. G zone, and he does fuss when I sit (pounce on) his couch that I mess up the cushions... I find this kinda hard to swallow as when he had the couch redone he had them put the hardest foam possible (think Fred Flintstone furniture) so it would last longer. I am sure it will last well past us...

This weekend brought one change in our lives... Mr. G read the blog... I left him alone (he was after all in the sacred den) and every so often he would laugh, or snort, or make other noises which I took to mean he liked my words. Then he came out of the hallowed sanctury... and said " everyone will think I am grumpy if they really think I am a Mr. G". I did my best to not grin and laugh... and gave him a big Kevbear sized hug and said "well dear you are an asshole, and there are times when you are a tad grumpy when you get home from work". And besides I went on " everyone knows that you don't use real names in a blog". He actually bought it!!! AND I did promise to write that he is (most of the time) a great person that I could not live without. We will forget the first hour each evening when he returns from his slave wage, humanity killing, whip cracking job and I leave him alone to decompress. Every once in awhile I do forget and have to run to safety... Let it be said here and now "MR. G IS A GREAT GUY", there, glad that's over with!

I am pretty happy with the way things are going... and other then all that grey showing in my beard (thank you Mr. G) I am sure our lives will settle down in a few weeks... My dear friend Hilary came by Saturday for a visit and other then the fact that she took MY TV remote and proceeded to flip channels like a Kevbear we had a great time!

Mr. G was kind enough to later point out that I can be rather possesive about MY remote and never let even him touch it. And he said it spoke to my true feelings for sweet Hilary that I did not lunge and attack her like I do him when touches MY remote... hmmm...

I was going to write about our haunted house today (we have a ghost) but Mr. G thought I should write something more uplifting like "HE IS A WONDERFUL, UNDERSTANDING, EMOTIONALY SUPPORTING, GREAT GUY". (I hope this is the end of this) So I said I would put off the ghost story until almost Halloween and say something upbeat about Mr. G. There is also something amazing that has happened (I have walked on water for years so no it's not that) Mr. G has found a place he likes to go to on the way home to "pick up a few things". The new bloated super Walmart is on his way home and he likes to go in there... amazing... so now I can call him and ask him to "pick up a few things". We have found we like their pizza...

with just a little doctoring it tastes OK. And it was going to be my lunch today but while dear sweet Hilary was abusing MY remote she also ate the leftover pizza ( I helped a little too). OK back to packing up the desk... later dudes...

It's Friday!

2007-10-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

OK, first off I was wrong about the Wednesday night thing. I learned a lot and even went back Thursday for another 3 hour go and got to learn even more. Wednesday we covered S Corp vs C Corp and when you really need an LLC or a few LLC's. Thursday was retirement planning and protecting your estate... I know, I know it sounded boring but the attorney talking was a hottie so it kept my attention (and the bar was free). If I had my wits about me I would have snapped a pic with the cell phone, but alas no... maybe there is a website??? hmmm

Today was the day I was going to let Tom (boss Tom) know my plans on my future here. So I called, figured I would drive to the main office and talk. But no, he said " let's just talk now on the phone"... long of it is that I was planning on leaving the company at the end of the month... it is now next Friday that will be my last day. YIKES!!! I have never left a job without having a better offer accepted and in place, now I am at a place never experienced before. Yikes!!! Or to quote a guy in tights... "Holy Shit Batman!" But the time is now, the writing is on the wall and in this real estate market I cannot continue running an office that costs me $$$ each month out of my own pocket. This is a post that could use some comments folks (or a hint of tomorrow's POWERBALL #'s?). I did figure out by 10:00AM or so that the hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach was really a hollow feeling so I ate something...

And I know there is tomorrow and I will be fine, after all I have Mr. G at home that will support my good judgement...

And he is not really the monster I make him out to be...

And even tho I need to get out there and figure out what I am going to do for $$$ (com'on POWERBALL) it will give me some spare time to plan out my true passion at this time of year... yup Christmas decorating... Yesterday I had someone tell me how sad it was last year for them as we had no Christmas lights out... apparently folks really do look forward to my (insane) love of the holiday season. When I shared this with Mr. G last night night, how we made the holidays brighter for others... he pointed out they were not paying OUR power bill which doubles with the holiday season... sigh... and he wonders where he got his endearing nickname... Of course last year we were at the bestest place on earth (Disneyworld) where I was busy getting more ideas to spend $$$ on the power bill.

And I did get something of a tan AND even had a handlebar 'stache. Plus we returned with a Disney Christmas Tree!!! Which has never been put away, per Mr. G... and this is the guy that would not let me put twinkle lights on his ficus tree our first Christmas... another story, another time (probably the holidays).

A night out.... NOT

2007-10-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a function that we are required to go to for business... it is from 5-8. Spouses (Mr. Gs) are not invited, dinner will not be served. Drinks & appetizers will. Others will have to buy their drinks, our company is buying ours. Others have paid $50 a ticket to go, ours are comped. We will carpool as it is an hour away to save on gas.

I hate going to these things... I think most people do... My kids will miss me...
They will be looking off the deck thinking where oh where is Papa (I am Papa, Mr. G is Daddy). I will run home shortly to change & say hi to the kids...

Mr. G will go to bed without "little kisses" and because of this he will be living up to his nickname (No not ?), his other nickname (Mr. G). I was told this AM I did not need to attend for reasons we will talk about soon but I really feel I should be there to "support the troops". Mr. G might just have the first fire of the season without me!!! It is getting colder each night now. So I am hoping there will be something positive about tonight, like the woodpile fairies came and stacked all that damn firewood?

Or there will be a competition for major hotie of the night and I will win? We will just have to wait & see....

On a brighter note! Today I emailed most of my friends that there is this blog here so maybe I will get a comment? Has anyone found me yet? Is this the worst blog out there? Is there an award for worst blog? What if I am nominated!?! Oh shit, there goes the afternoon... time to stop and eat my orange...

Autumn

2007-10-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here it is October and that puts me in a good mood all month long. For starters there is the smell of woodsmoke in the air, we have not built our first fire of the season, but will soon (we heat with good old fashioned wood). Then there is the fact that the SCIFI channel and others will have more monster movies on! Yippee!!! And it is most importantly the time of year when I start planning out this year's Christmas decorations extravaganza!!! I have found that by at least stringing the miles of lights on the eaves of the house around the first of November I have a far less likelihood of; a) getting soaked from rain or snow, b) falling off the ladder because one leg is on something solid and the other leg found un-frozen oozing muck, c) running out of decorating time because I always try to do too much!

Speaking of fires... Sunday was the day Mr. G deemed we needed to clean out the stove & chimney day. This involves me getting out the brushes, extensions & ladder and pushing a not very happy Mr. G up on the roof (it was drizzling). He does not sing "chim chimeny, chim chimeny, chim, chim charoo" and he does not dance on the roof either. He does it all (bless you Boogers) and after a few hours we are all cleaned out & ready for the cold weather to "Bring it on". (Really, what an ass wipe thing to say to terrorists). While Mr. G does this yearly chore I am worried about the important things... getting out the fall silk plants and will everyone notice they are the same from last year?... Arranging a fall front porch motif using mums and our very own pumpkins!... Laying out all the green tomatoes on the guest room bed,... I did manage to put off starting to stack & tarp all our firewood which is now wet... the drizzle turned to rain.
On Saturday I spent 6 hours putting the garden to bed. The compost pile is now piles. There are still potatoes to be dug & stored but everything else is in good shape for now. I have found a new source for rotted manure and a guy that will haul it at $15 a load so as soon as that damn woodpile stacks itself I will have some more shit to add to my gardens! Oh, and there is still that last case of daylillies that showed up 2 weeks back that really need to get in the ground this coming Saturday. With our drizzle we should have the outdoor burn season open soon and will have a big fire when we light our bonfire pile which is currently in the middle of the rest of my orchard area below the veg garden.

Neighbors

2007-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Back in the days when we had decided to shack up (live in sin) Mr. G had tried to get a transfer down to the coast so I would not have to relocate my business. After a year of trying it was decided I would move to central oregon. Soon Mr. G's house started to grow small... daily, and we only had 3 little monsters back then. So we found the new house (another story, another time) and the one thing we both really liked was the next door neighbor had a really cute yard with lots of flowers and veggies growing. I knew that meant real soil and a future garden... very rare in central oregon. Most folks grow rocks & sagebrush around here. But it was a cute place and she was a nice gal so we knew it would work, here is her garden then...

Then Maggie moved away and first rented her house out... but then she sold it.

The new people had 5or 6 kids, they were very religous (think gay hating biggots). One day soon after they moved in the head sow made a statement that their old neighbors were very happy they had moved away as they did not like the smells. At the time I thought that was a very strange thing to say to a new neighbor and I even asked Mr. G what that could mean... it did not sound good...

Turkeys smell, and when there are more then a dozen turkeys all pended up in a tiny pen they stink really bad. We soon found out what the head sow meant... the nice yard had changed also...

Then the shit hit the fan... Mr. G yelled at their kids one evening to keep it quiet, there are times when Mr. G has to get up before the crack of dawn to go to work. Soon the sow was on our front porch accusing a sleepy Mr. G of being a child stalking pediphile and everyone knows that gay guys do this... I came out on the porch and told the sleepy Mr. G to let me handle this...

I then proceeded to tell this white trash, stained sweats wearing, strongly smelling extremly fat sow what I thought of their "lifestyle". I then (after she told me we were damned to hell for eternity) told her that the only thing they had brought to our neighborhood since moving in was a decline in property values besides the stench from their house. She at that point started yelling (on our porch mind you) that we were after her children and she was putting a stop to it NOW. At that point I really lost my (well groomed) cool and told her to get her cock sucking mother fucking white trash ass off our property before I threw her mother fucking morman ass out in the street (see I did need that disclaimer on the top).

Soon the police were at our house, they visited for over 2 hours. The child stalking pediphiles had threatened the lives of the kind hearted christian neighbors who had done nothing wrong. The kind hearted christian neighbors were so threatened the called 911 3 different times before the police came. I no longer like the kind hearted white trash neighbors, they have since been nicknamed "the mother fucking mormans" and are still called that 1 year latter.

Mr. G now talks with them, he says we should put the past behind us... I remind him still about my family & the civil war... I will never forget. I have never had to entertain officers of the law at home before, it is not pleasant. I also find it surprising that the kind hearted God loving neighbors let their children play in our yard whenever we are not home. After what they told the police I would think they would warn their children away from the child stalking gay pediphiles... huh... go figure.

Now you've learned something new today!

Squirreling

2007-09-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

I get in this mode every fall where I am sure we will starve (to death) or freeze (to death) during the winter months. I think it is from growing up for some of my wonder years on the edge of the Sierra's and actually getting snowed in and having no water for spells. It could also be that great, great uncle Luke died in the Donner Party in the Sierra's back in the 1800 somethings. He was not eaten! Anyway winter is my favorite season and I love to know that the wood is split and stacked and there is plenty of food (nuts) stored away.

So here is the new seasoned wood in front of the old seasoned wood waiting for the Kevbear to get to stacking. There used to be a nice woodshed to put it in but the bitch neighbor from hell filed a complaint that it was a fire hazard to her vacant lot and the county made us move it, it was too close to the property line... it is now a wonderful garden shed!

So as part of my squirrel activity I went to the big city and bought some extra food. On Saturday I put 20 pounds of cheese in the freezer and another 6 meatloafs (12 total so far). I get this way... This year I did some research (thanks LDS) and bought some books and came up with a plan! A meal plan. I looked at what we eat and how often, as I am the cook in the house this was easy. I then looked at 2 weeks worth of meals, I then broke it down into what each meal took to make. I then figured these meals (with variations) for 8 months. Just until next years garden starts producing. And then inventoried what I already had stored away, and thought "oh shit I need more stuff!". So I shopped... Mr. G does have a point (ignored by me) that we do not have the room for my squirrel list. I am determined... I am also very worried...

We have some class A idiots running things these days. We are in a war over oil (#2 so far) and will be in more soon and very few leaders say we are in a war over oil... yet. We have an economy that is running on borrowed time that could pull many things down world-wide... soon. We have a government that is not addressing the fact that we are in a war over a dwindling resource and should really be putting the $'s into some new energy avenues. So I am worried...

I spent Sunday canning. Now I have not canned for 20+ years, so I thought that it might be a good time to get in practice again, what with having a garden and all. So I put up a dozen quarts of dill pickles and a dozen pints of relish. It was cool out so it helped warm the house up, and it helped get rid of most of the veggies on the dining room table. The zucs will become zuc/carrot breads for the winter hoard. Next weekend will maybe be applesauce... There is also that wood -pile waiting...

First Frost

2007-09-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

It always seems to happen about this time. Just as we are ready for a bounty of tomatoes... it hits. Never fails. I was out until almost dark last night picking peppers, squash, watermelons, cantalopes. Got most of the tomatoes covered with some extra coverage for the artichokes and watermelons. So I will hope for the tomatoes, there is plenty of corn, and we will have potatoes to last all winter! Plus there is the bonus of all the strawberries & aspargus that I planted that will be good eating next spring!

This morning went down to the garden, sure enough... it hit 29 last night and when I get home tonight I think it is time to pick the last of the baby peppers, zucs, & cucs. It is due to be 29 again tonight and then warming to give me false hope on the hundreds of tomatoes ready to ripen. I will be canning this weekend... the dining room table is loaded with vegies.

After a bad start to the first ever garden at this house (2 freezes in mid-June & neighbors from hell deciding to have free range bunnies (bunnies dig)) I thought I might get a break on a September frost. So I would say we had 80 frost free days. We did get to eat our first corn two nights ago and it was as sweet as honey. And Mom & JR who helped with the watering while we were gone did get a huge bounty from the garden. New rule... do not take a September trip when you have planted a big garden.

The big, giant, bloated Super Walmart opened yesterday in town and everyone wanted to go, Mr. G stopped after work to see it. Mom wanted to go but no one wanted to go with her so she will go today. It was on the news, it was an event, there was no parking... it is 5 acres under 1 roof for crying out loud. And twice that in pavement. There is a Home Depot going in next door, there is a Lowes going in down the road... and our economy is going where? To China? To Saudi Arabia? I am sure we will see these giant boxes be empty shells in the not too distant future. Both those countries could pull the plug on the US dollar and send this SUV, buy more and more, heads in the sand economy of ours into a depression that would make the 20's and 80's look like cake walks. So I will get better at canning, plant the last of the fruit trees this coming spring, and plant a much bigger garden next spring!

Meeting Mr. Right

2007-08-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Many years ago ( I think 12, Mr. G says 10+) I decided I did not want to spend my life alone. I was approaching 40 for crying out loud! But I lived in a small town on the coast of Oregon, I was back in the closet, I was even dating (gasp) girls to keep up appearances. So one day I was sitting at my desk and the owner of our company came in and said he was worried about his kids finding sex stuff on the internet, what did I think? I had no clue either... so we looked, and looked, and OH MY GOD there was a world out there and I had a pretty good idea that my life was going to change. He went home to lock up his computer from his teenagers and I hit gay as a search term. Life changed...

I knew a gal who had met her husband from an ad in a newspaper years before... I went to her for advice. I wanted a husbear too, she gave me pointers, one of which was you will date a lot of losers to meet Mr. Right. She of course did not know it was a Mr. G I was looking for.

So I put together an ad, it kinda put me in a good light, it started to get many replies, from all over the USA. There were doctors, lawyers, millionaires, and even a priest wanting me! I had never known it, but by some I was considered a catch, or at least a great time in the sack. I made lots of new friends and even ran a second ad since Mr. Right had not shown up, but I was having a great time looking! Then I ran a third ad... it was on Gay Universe (are they still around?) and there were the usual answers to weed thru... but at the end of that May there was this one email, it started with "this is the first time I have ever answered one of these ads" and it was from a guy that lived only 3 hours away! There was something different about this one, little did I know.

We emailed, neither of us knew how to post a pic... digital cameras had not been invented, scanners were but I was lucky I could even email compared to some of my friends. Then, after a few weeks, we started calling. Then it was nightly... we were both liking what we were hearing. Our schedules did not jive until August 4th... funny how you never forget some dates... I agreed to drive to central Oregon, two mountain ranges were not going to slow this Kevbear down! But being me I went out and bought a new 4x4 a few days before the first date, a Dodge Ram, might as well have a few extra pluses on my side. I assured the future Mr. G that I knew my way all around his fair city and would see him at 11:00, at 11:30 I called him, I was lost in his fair city... but I had me a cell phone! He talked me thru the twists & turns and after ten minutes he said OK you just went by my backyard... take a left, then another left, then a left onto the long driveway and you are here...

I turned into that long driveway and there he was at the end, we hung up... It is has been pretty rare in my life that I make a promise to God but at that moment I said "God, if there is anyway I can spend the rest of my life with that man, I will do whatever you ask and do whatever I can". I drove down the driveway and we met, we shook hands, we said hi...

A Start

2007-08-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to start this Blog all summer and it was going to be about my gardens. But when you get to thinking about it while you don't start your Blog... and the weeks roll by... you realize that there is a lot more to your life then just gardening. There is Mr. G, there are the monster doggies, there is the family, there are friends and jobs. There are also opinions and rants. So I will consider this an online journal to share. Remember the opinions expressed here are all mine and do not reflect the other 7 members of our household. On one item we strongly disagree on is the fact that I do not forgive easily, ever... I explained to Mr. G years ago that I come from a family that never forgave the Yankee's for what they did to the south... still... I am neutral on that one issue but will not be on many others.
So to start things off I thought I might just tell the story of how I met Mr. G, it might help some of you know that there might just be someone out there.