Christmas Day was my puppy's birthday! He is now ONE year old. He is still such a baby in so many ways. Now he is giving me the evil eye, he has to go outside to water a bush in this c-c-c-cold weather. Poor thing.
We are b-b-b-back from our very brisk walk. Man is it ever so cold out there. I put on his sweater, plus his flannel coat plus his vest, and the poor doggy was still cold. His only gift on his birthday was some leftover ham, which he devoured quickly. I try to groom him everyday, he loves that. Brushing his little bits of fur, puts him catatonic. I brush his fur backwards, so it stands out, making him look like a big doggy. Of course, once he comes out of his near-comatose state, he shakes it furiously, so it settles back into his wild ragamuffin look.
Before his birthday, I worked really hard with him, to teach him "drop-it". When we play fetch, he runs for the ball or toy, grabs it, then plays a comical keep-away game with it. So I have been trying to teach him "drop-it". He sort of gets it now, if he drops the ball or toy, when I say so, then I get to toss it again, he gets to chase it again.
I figure, if you repeat the same word ten thousand times to your puppy, he eventually learns. I am super grateful to have my little puppy dog. He is my favorite waste of time.
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| Out of six pictures, of the dog, this is the only one that is not a blur of puppy motion, however, I snapped it so quickly, I cut his head off. Oops. |
The garbage truck just came by. Incredibly, the man working the back of the truck, hopping off to grab the cans and empty them into the truck, is wearing shorts. It's now 32F degrees, which is 0 Celsius, which is freezing. I hope his knees don't get frost bit.
I am working for my friends, who are originally from Greenville, South Carolina, where I was born. We are all in Florida now, except one fled the warm weather of Orlando (ha ha ha, since when is 32F degrees warm?) to pay homage to South Carolina. She called Christmas afternoon, from upstate South Carolina to announce "It's snoooooooooooooooooooowing!" It hasn't snowed on Christmas day in that area since 1963.
So I pulled out my magic mermaid wand, flew up to Table Rock State Park and snapped the picture below.
Table Rock State Park, South Carolina
That is SNOW on the ground, very rare for this area.
Picture taken on the morning of December 26, 2010
| The Cherokee Scenic Highway in upstate SC is featured in this book. | Table Rock State Park is featured in both these books. | |
Christmas Eve, we received a registered letter that the homeowners, where I work, would be fined $1,000.00 per day, if they continued to have me parked on their property working for them. Previously the county had granted us a stay of execution, until New Year's Day. So naturally, we are upset and confused with this registered letter. Today I must pack up my mini motorhome and move to a campground. Talk about Scrooge coming for a visit! Bah humbug. Orange County, Florida has some vicious laws and apparently, their word is no good. The county code enforcer tells us one thing, then does another! Shame on him. It sure put a damper on things. The closest campground is thirty minutes away by car or RV, so that is not going to be much help at all. I don't own a car. According to the county laws here in Orange County Florida, where Orlando is located, you are NOT allowed to have a mini motorhome, nor a boat, on your private property without a special permit, that apparently is impossible to obtain.
Naturally, over the last 6 weeks of being here, I have settled in, which means my belongings are scattered around the motorhome, rather than all tucked away in cabinets for travel. I had pulled out the mountain of paperwork, threatening to overload me, to sort through it all. I have fallen hopelessly behind on paperwork. Computers were supposed to save trees and drastically cut down on paperwork. WHAT HAPPENED? Before computers, if you bought one item at a store, you got about a one inch piece of slender register tape. Now if you buy one item at a store, you are likely to get a 12 inch strip of wide register tape, double printed on both sides.
I signed up for electronic billing where ever possible, but still my mailbox is stuffed with paper mail and advertisements. So anyhow, I have paperwork scattered everywhere, that is in the process of being sorted out. I don't know if there is time to finish it all, so I probably have to just toss it all back into baskets, and deal with it after I move again.
While cleaning up, I find junk to toss out and stuff to give away. I think I should sort through my meager clothing selection and give away anything I haven't worn in the past year. Living in a tiny space, means constantly culling the chaos. I sure don't want to live all packed out like a pack rat. I have seen others do that, and I hope I never ever join their leagues.
Less is best. I know that is so un-American, for me to say and think that. In America, it seems at every opportunity, we are assaulted with aggressive marketing that we need more, more, more.
Speaking of more...
Santa Claus brought me a gift certificate. So guess what, I get to go buy more, more, more... It's for a store that sells clothing and home items at discount. I don't need anymore clothes, I already have 4 winter outfits, so I am going to check out their bed comforters, plus I want a pair of tongs with the silicone tips, for the kitchen. I feel so spoiled, I didn't think Santa Claus would even find us this year, but he did. I am so lucky! Yippie!
Now I have to find a new part time job and a new place to camp or park. Life is never dull. I am just so c-c-cold, it's hard to think about all this stuff I have to do. This job was supposed to last until spring, now it's abruptly ending.
This past year has been a constant test of humility. The more I try to make things better, the more brick walls are thrown up in front of me. Through the grace of angels, have I been lucky enough to survive and write about it. Lucky me! Yippie!
A Big Thank You To The Angels Who Help Support a Recovering Mermaid
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