Too Strange to be True!

Just a short post:  I just heard on the news that my doctor died over the weekend!  I'm still reeling over this - she was found dead in her boyfriend's house - in the chimney!!!  I don't have all of the details yet, but apparently she was trying to get into the house in his absence and tried to go through the chimney?!?  Something ain't right here.

Why wouldn't she break a window?  Maybe afraid it would set off an alarm?  Could it be that she had a little too much to drink and wasn't thinking straight?  Could she have had a mental breakdown? 

Dr. Kotarac was just 49.  She was a brilliant lady - right now I can't begin to remember all of her awards and titles, but this was no 3rd world country bumpkin.  An autopsy wasn't completed at the time of the report, so that will prove to be interesting.  It's such a shame and what a loss to our community!  She was loved and respected by a lot of folks....

You Have No Idea ...

 This is "Jay" Leno - our resident Scrub Jay.

... how very much I appreciate all of the kindness shown to me and hubman.  Your comments just make me realize what a wonderful community we have, here on our blogs!  I've been at this for some time and it still boggles my mind that we can care so deeply about people we may have never met!  ♥♥♥

I now remember what it's like having a toddler in the house, but one with little razor-sharp puppy teeth! Homer is one active little guy and smart, too.  He's figured out how to get out of the doggie door but we're not ready for him to be outside on his own.  We've got a few too many gaps in the fence, so hubman is headed to Lowe's for some fixin' stuff.  

We were doing really well with the potty stuff, too, but we're regressing and running out of Resolve!  I feed him, immediately take him outside and wait, and wait, and wait.  Give up and bring him in.  He poops.  He's got it all backwards now. (But, thankfully - never thought I'd say this - the carpet in this place is on the top of the list for replacement.  Couldn't be a better time to house train a pup!)

And poor Katie!  She's such a sweet natured little girl, and all he does is pester the daylights out of her.  He hides and dive bombs her just like cats do, so she runs away from him.  Ha!  Now he thinks he's the Alpha Pup!  She's finally starting to growl and bark at him.  I know they'll work stuff out...

Again, you guys mean a heck of a lot to me and I just wanted to tell you how wonderful you are!

Meet Homer....

This has been a crappy week.  I was getting back into the swing of blogging regularly, but our Mini Schnazuer began to fail rapidly, so we made that gut-wrenching decision to euthanize her.  It will be a week ago tomorrow.  This was one very special pup - exceptionally bright - and she had such expressive eyes.  When she looked at you she was asking questions: "What can I do?  Do you need me, right now...?"  Our little Shih Tzu, while very lovable, just wants to be loved...nothing else, nothing more.  And that's a good thing, too.

We held Zoey in our arms while the doctor gave her the injection.  It was a very peaceful, gentle death.  She will always be in our memories...

We made a decision to find another dog, against popular belief.  But we thought it would be the best for us and for Katie.  Katie has had surgery, put up with that stupid collar for ten days, lost her sister, and now is beleagured by a puppy.  The little guy, Homer, is wanting to play with her but she's not wanting any part of him.  She has not growled or snapped once - although, I think if she did, he might back off. 

He was part of a litter whose Yorkie mom was stolen.  The folks that took the litter in hand-fed them around the clock so he's a real lover boy.  His dad is a Shih Tsu, so he should be a real cutie to go along with the attitude! 

By the way - I am not responsible for naming him~

Little Bits and Stuff...

This photo finds us back in Kernville again.  We had horrific wildfires that are just now getting contained, one of which was just north of this spot.  Fox News picked up the story, probably because there was another fire up in Tehachapi, close to the wind farms.   When this photo was taken, we stood on the bridge and watched fire truck after fire truck, along with the Hot Shots, headed up to a fire.  We could just barely see the smoke when we left.  That fire was shut down quickly, and by the fast response, I'm not surprised.  But this one was vicious.  Thankfully, no injuries or worse, just heartbreak over lost homes. 

Our Shih Tsu got her "Elizabethan" collar off Friday.  It was funny watching her, even though we felt sorry for her in her efforts to get around.  She tried to go through the "doggy door," and it was a sight!  And yes, we did open the door for her!  She bumped around a lot but adapted quite well.  I think she kinda liked the fact that the collar was a great way to catch all the doggie snacks!

We're still not certain about our Mini Schnauzer, Zoey.  She has congestive heart failure.  She's on meds but she's losing weight rapidly, even though she continues to have a good appetite.  We go back to the vet on Wednesday.  (Holding my breath...)
  We got the bill for our rent, which includes all utilities.  Our previous summers have been totally out of sight - like $400-$500 for electric.  I tentatively  opened the envelope, expecting to have the vapors, but the electric was $65!!!!  The swamp cooler we had installed has now paid for itself!  It's so dry here we're not bothered by the moisture.  I keep telling hubman that it's good for all of my houseplants.  (My former husband said when he came home at night he felt like he had to grab a vine to swing through the living room.  It's true - I love plants!)

Had a email message on FB from my son's ex (?), completing dragging me and hubman over the coals for all the wicked and evil stuff we've done to my son.  I blocked her from FB.  There's definite mental issues here - and I'm not trying to be hateful. It's the troof.  (For those of you who may not know - he's 42 and a total wreck.)

No plans for the week ahead except a trip to Target for sundries.  Oh, the trip to the vet, too.  I saw a cartoon last week (Pickles- It's the adventures of an older retired couple).  Their daughter asks them to go to dinner with her and her husband, but they pass because they'd miss Jeopardy!  I thought, "Oh, Lord.  Please don't let me get that bad!"

Wishing you blue skies, lollipops and rainbows.... Crap.  Now I've got to go wash out my ears.  I hate that song!
Happy Monday!

When a Girl's Gotta Go, A Girl's Gotta Go!!!

Thanks to the "Gubernator,"there's no money for state parks...so be certain you go before you go!

Oh My! A Study in Contrasts

I recently reconnected with a dear friend that I've known since kindergarten.  She happened to find me on FaceBook!  She posted this old photo she'd kept as her avatar.  I nearly choked...I hadn't seen it in 50 years, but I remembered it!  Looking at as an adult, I'm absolutely horrified by my expression!  Was I trying to be a 12 year old sexpot?  Oh goodness. That's scary... 

Looking at the two of us, so very, very young, I'm astounded at the differences in us:  She's fair and I'm dark. She has such a darling gamin look about her, upturned smile, sweet little chin, aquiline nose and eyes that hint of spunk and playfulness. 

She used to come to church with us, and we always liked it best when it was just my dad.  He was so much fun!  He like to listen to rock 'n roll on the radio, and sometimes we'd stop and get cokes on the way home.  Or if we were really good, we'd come home via Signal Hill (a rather steep hill in Long Beach CA).  The attraction was a very steep portion of the road that was like a roller coaster - you'd get to the crest and lose your stomach on the way down. 

We went to different schools in high school, then married young and had kids. So we kind of lost touch.  She has been such a good friend over the years, calling and checking up on me.  About 12 years or so ago, we moved and our telephone was unlisted.  Our lives traveled very different roads.  She lived in Indiana and is now retired living the life in Florida!  I'm so happy for her.  FaceBook, thank you!

Looking at the Sky on Friday

This is one of my very favorite photos taken locally.  This is from the cemetery across the road from us.  It was taken in early June, and there was snow on Bear Mountain.  It's highly unusual to see snow this time of year.  We had an unseasonably cool spring, early summer.  Loved it!!!

A Little Bit for Linda

You all know how Linda loves visiting cemeteries?  Well, I do too, and have always enjoyed reading her posts, not just for the history but for the "spooky" element she so deliciously provides - orbs and all!  These photos are of an old Kern County cemetery that sits on the banks of Lake Isabella. The picture I took of the guy fishing was taken from this cemetery.  (See 3rd photo down)

The oldest headstone is a lot newer than the ones Linda visits but is one of the oldest here.  The thing that really contrasts between this one and the ones back east is the earth - here, it's as hard as a rock and dry as a bone.  Although cemeteries are not places in which you want to hold festivities, this one is so forlorn looking.  The solitary bare stakes that are holding the place of those unknown souls give no testimony as to who is forever laid beneath them.  The contrast between these and the ornately carved headstones is great.  Makes me wonder about the folks who inhabit these graves.  It just may be the the unmarked graves hold the remains of people who were of better character than those who fared better as far as markers go......

(While Mr. Lambert's headstone is relatively new, the description says so much about this area.)

Here's the text on the historical marker:

"Kernville, called Whiskey Flat until 1864, was founded in 1860 when Adam Hamilton, a whiskey dealer, moved shop here from the more temperate Quartzburg, founded earlier that year.  Both camps resulted from the discovery of the Big Blue Ledge by "Lovely" Rogers while tracking a stray mule from the earlier camp of Keyesville."

"Inspiration House"

 Photos:  Top - Ghost Town, Center - Inspiration House,  Bottom - "Little Chapel on the Lake"

This is where I spent a good deal of time..."The Inspiration House," my family's store at Knott's Berry Farm.  If you headed left, you'd wind up at the Indian Village; if you turned right, you'd stumble right into the "Little Chapel on the Lake," and on to Ghost Town. We had really good foot traffic, and if you stood at the right spot at the counter, you could catch sight of the people coming and going over the bridge. 

One of my favorite images is of a very large woman (I mean very large...) walking across the bridge away from me giving me a view of her rather large derriere.  Mind you, this was back in the late sixties when everyone embroidered everything imaginable.  She was wearing humongous bell bottomed pants on which was embroidered the body of a butterfly right up the crack of her jeans (didn't quite know how else to describe this!); on each butt cheek of her pants was embroidered a butterfly wing in outrageously bright colors.  So - if you'll hang on here with me - when she walked it was like a giant "Mothra" was on the hunt for prey!  Those wings really had to do some flapping to get over that bridge....

When I was young, I looked much older than my age.  Too bad it doesn't work in reverse, now that I'm an old crone!  Anyway, when I was twelve, my folks taught me how to make change the hard way - you know, count it back!  They gave me some lessons in customer service (meaning behave or else!) and let me wait on people.  Thus began my career. 

I remember one night a woman came running in screaming, "There's a hippopotamus outside!!!"  My dad and I ran out to see what the heck she was talking about!  We almost tripped over a tapir, which had gotten loose from "Old MacDonald's Farm."  How do you herd a tapir?  We called security and they in turn called the people at the animal farm to come get their "hippo."

There is a lot more - the monkey that got loose, the hair-puller, the mother hen.  To be continued....

Fishing in the Trees

This lucky angler is fishing at one of the forks of Lake Isabella.  I'll have to go back and do my research, but the lake was created by allowing the river to flood over the old town.  I have fished in the lake and managed to lose a lot of lures in those trees!  I haven't been fishing in over 30 years and aside from riding along in the boat, don't really have any interest in fishing!  (That's how I feel about golfing, too - I'll ride along in the cart, just don't expect me to swing the club...)

We drove up to the lake to see the water levels. It's incredible what a little rain can do!  Last year, the water levels were really low, so it was heartening to see how many people were out enjoying the cool summer weather.