Confusing

CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO SEASONS

On the Tuesday after Labor Day (Labor Day Tuesday) my cousin asks me to post a word to describe my day. I usually think such FB requests are scams but she verifies her identity by sharing a "cousin" code word, so I play and post. I pick "confusing" for my word of the day. Why? Tuesday is just plain confused about what it is-summer or fall.

Labor Day weekend ends and we plunge into fall overnight. My Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/store/15640/offers its fall lattes to customers who are attired in tank tops and flip flops. It is a rainy/sunny day- remnants of Hurricane Isaac. Some folks wear slickers, others tank tops and  flip flops. I have all three. Confusing.

LIAM FEELS THE RAIN

The US Open tennis starts and stops. Rain threatens then takes over allowing only a few matches. Attendees are confused. Who is playing, who is not? and in which stadium?  Do we leave our seats or huddle under umbrellas and hoods?

HAVE TO HIDE FROM THE RAIN

Last week it was a summer US Open, hot and blazing, this week the US Open is in fall rainy and dark.


Some TV shows have their fall debut.  Kelly has a new co-host Michael Strahan.  The View is new. Not all shows are back. Some still on summer vacation. Confusing

School is back in session. Not for all though. The teachers are back first; the kids return today.

Autumn acorns fall, squirrels feast, Liam stalks and jumps and hangs, hoping,

 

CVS is decorated with items labeled "fall harvest" this covers now and also might extend through Halloween and Thanksgiving with some witches and turkeys inserted here and there.

A beautiful fall mural at my Starbucks done by one of the many gifted staff members.

Confusing. My word of Tuesday.

In a good mixed up way. Happy/summer/fall.

LIAM IN THUNDERSHIRT THIS WEEK

Woof, Woof

No Buzz

LIAM LISTENING FOR BUZZ

There is no buzz. There used to be. When I was a kid living in our 3rd floor apartment in Pomonok Houses in Queens, NY there was a buzz. It came on summer nights. It was the sound of mosquitoes buzzing around my head. We did not have screens on the windows. They would find me and circle for a feast. I pulled the covers over my head to hide from the buzzing bugs.

PULL UP THE COVERS

We did not have air conditioning; it got very hot quickly. Usually the mosquitoes got what they wanted, leaving gorged with my blood.


Now we have screens and air conditioning. We live in a house with a yard. I had always dreamed of a yard.  Of sitting outside with my dog. I have that yard and I have a dog, Liam.

LIAM OUTSIDE NEXT TO ME

The mosquitoes are also outside. Screened out. They are not like the ones in our growing-up apartment. These make no buzz. They bite so quickly and so often that one trip outside and I have multiple bites. These bites are not like the childhood bites. I don't know that I have been bitten until suddenly an unbearable itchy sensation compels me to scratch until the welts appear. These bites remain sensitive and keep their shape and itch producing sensation for days. These are not the mosquitoes of the 1950's and 1960's. Who are these new creatures? They also can make one sick because some have West Nile virus. People now die from infected mosquitoes. see link
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-28/west-nile-virus-cases-increase/57402754/1

Battle Plan

1-Cover up- long sleeves, socks, gloves, hat.

2-Insect repellent-parts like face, hands, ears should be sprayed with repellent. I even spray my hair.

3-Citronella bracelets-wear them around wrists, ankles

CHECKING THE BIRD BATH

4-Standing water - empty bird baths, flower containers, tops of garbage cans

Results

1-Covering up- proves too hot. July is the hottest month in history. 

2-Insect repellent- takes off my nail polish. If Liam licks me, he may be poisoned. The universal remedy "Skin So Soft" from Avon. gives me hives or a rash or something in between. Takes 3 weeks to go away.

WE HAVE TO STAY INSIDE

3-Citronella bracelets- works on the wrist and ankle - all else is unprotected and fair game.

4-Standing water- maybe would be better to leave it to attract the bugs as a trap? 

A SITTING LIAM

I take a chance on Tuesday.  I sit down with a latte. There is a slight breeze.  Liam sits and rolls. I take pix.

A RARE ROLL THIS SUMMER

GO AWAY MOSQUITOES

A brief sit. We hear the gardeners approaching, Tuesday is their day and we have to retreat. No bites though. First time in two months


Is it the wind, the latte or the gardeners that stop the bites?  Or all three.  Maybe those Pomonok mosquitoes from childhood.
We tend to be nostalgic about the "olden days" never thought it would include the "olden mosquitoes"

THEY CANNOT GET ME HERE

Woof, Woof

Broken

IT'S HOT AND EVERYTHING IS BREAKING

This was the summer of breaking. Here is a Timeline of the items in chronological order.
Broken:

The PC- May 27-August 13
Cause-Malware-self-inflicted. A slow painful death. First my credit card, then my hard drive. Yes. I did it. Me, who does not click on forwards, is hyper sensitive about links, never has fallen for a scam, doesn't re-post, does not forward those little icon people who are running for causes, does not sign online petitions- you get the idea.  I was an untouchable. A virtual virus/malware snob. Well I was knocked off my pedestal, actually leaped off- a fake security shield got me-see link-as mortified as I am I do not want anyone to go through this, so I am admitting it
http://blogs.norman.com/2012/for-consumption/norman-declares-war-on-security-shield-a-fake-antivirus-software

LIAM WEARING THUNDERSHIRT TO RELIEVE MY ANXIETY

Tooth- July 7
Cause-aggressive flossing- laminate pops off exposing my real tooth, now just a filed down spike- yes, like a vampire, really attractive.

Fix-dentist re-glues
August 6- half of laminate comes off same tooth.
Cause- yogurt. Really. Okay, there were a few almonds in the mix.

Fix- Dentist puts on a temp, orders a new laminate.
August 13- temp comes off
Cause -the everything bagel, about 10 hours old, beyond chewy. A masochistic hedonist act.

Fix-I fashion a piece of beige trident gum over the spike tooth so as not to offend onlookers and to protect my tongue from getting impaled on it.
August 16- new laminate glued on 

I CAN SEE FINE AND HAVE PERFECT TEETH

Toe-July 8
Causes- dark room, roller on bottom of bed, sandals, Liam, wine. I had a glass of wine (or two) ran after Liam (we were playing) he jumped on the bed, I smashed foot into roller on bed frame while attempting to leap onto bed (sort of like a vault in gymnastics)  my score-0.0000

Fix- taping broken toe to buddy toe and waiting six weeks-which is right now

NO PLAYING UPSTAIRS FOR NOW

Eyes-July 28
Cause-left contact fell into sink, temporarily lost, found the next morning -sort of dry. I re-hydrate it, clean and disinfect it overnight. Next day I insert it. After an uncomfortable day of scratchy eye, the white part turns bloody red. The right  joins in sympathy and swells up.

Fix-no contact lens wearing, eye drops, new contacts

THUNDERSHIRT NEEDED FOR THIS EPISODE

Some of the hours and days of Paul's two week stay-vacay were taken up with fixing and restoring my broken parts. I consider the PC mine since I am its only user most times. So that was a broken part of me also. These repairs and injuries impacted adversely on Paul's time off.  Everything coalesced into resolution and restoration during the last days of his vacation thanks to doctors and an expert PC consultant (referral available)  I was whole again.

Paul returned to work to recuperate.
I went to The Spa in the Woods to recuperate-our 5th annual gathering-SSA workers and retirees. The Spa is our name for the Northport home of one of our group.  Next photo is the pool out back. Tranquility.

 

 Liam attended the first 3 years.

ILLUSTRATION OF LIAM'S CAR RIDE POSITION

Due to his refusal to submit to seat belt restraints during the car ride he now has to remain home. The only position he will take is between the two front seats. This has proven to be dangerous as he slips off, usually head first,into the control panel.  However we have a Liam substitute

 who attends and at various times has fooled every
one of us into thinking he is real.   

Which is the real Liam?

Woof. Woof

Happy Birthday Liam at Five

BIRTHDAY BOY

Liam enjoys being outside. That is the theme for this birthday, Liam outside- year by year.  Liam attained five years old on Wednesday August 1, 2012.  In the rescue dog world, this date has been termed DOGust 1. The idea being a deemed birthday for all shelter dogs.  Here is the link for the blog story from last year to further explain it. http://liamlicks.blogspot.com/2011_07_24_archive.html
Ironically August 1 really is Liam's birthday.  Today's blog is self guided.

LIAM 2008

LIAM 2009

LIAM 2010

HAD TO GET IN HERE-ANOTHER 2010

LIAM 2011-a little grey showing up on chin

LIAM 2012

We will be back in three weeks-Thursday August 23, 2012.  Catch up on your LiamLicks and share.

  If we have a story that will not keep of course we will bark it out. 

Thanks for reading.

Woof, Woof

Red Eye Correction

DO I NEED BLUE EYE CORRECTION?

If you take pictures, you  know of red eye correction.  Cameras now have it as an option in settings. Used to be just hit or miss, with light eyed-folks getting gifted by the red eye look more often (less pigment)  Anyway now that I have Liam I have become aware of the canine version of red eye which is blue eye.  There is a scientific reason for it.  Humans have "red eye" because of a retina reflection. Liam and other animals have "blue eye" because of a special reflective layer termed tapetum, which gives them better night vision. However, it also causes a different color light reflection in the photo, often blue but also may vary with some pets showing green, some exhibiting yellow. If my simplified explanations do not satisfy. Here are some links
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080910185826AAYlD94

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-dogs-get-blue-not

and a fellow blogger who has found a fix for it
http://leonaruth.blogspot.com/2009/12/photoshop-removing-blue-eye.html

My fixes are:
1-At night and low light-no headshots

NIGHT SHOT WITH BLUE EYES

2-try again and delete the blue eyed pic

BLUE EYES

SECOND TRY -NO BLUE EYE

3-Black and white setting. This color change setting on my camera is entitled possessively "my colors"  some of its offerings: green, sepia, blue, red, black and white.

The B/W setting has an advantage in-that it fixes the rust effect on our lawn furniture, as well as the paver water stains as well as evoking that old time feeling  see next

BLUE EYES, RUST ON TABLE

NO BLUE EYES AND NO RUST

BLOCKING EYES WITH CHAIR LEG IS ANOTHER FIX

I take many pix of Liam; I will try to keep his brown eyes from turning blue

Woof, Woof

Turkey Necktie Training

I PERFORM FOR TURKEY

No, not training a turkey, and not about Thanksgiving.  No "Fifty Shades of Grey" necktie involved.  It is Liam and my attempts to train him to sit/stay and bark appropriately. Paul is puzzled that I have been unable to teach Liam to do the basics. He cites my management background and extra time in retirement as reasons why I should have been able to do it. Why does a loving licking blogging Liam need training?

I AM A GOOD DOG

He barks (too much) and greets by jumping. These are the two behaviors that we need to work
on.  I have been reinvigorated to try training by the just completed series "Dogs in the City" with Justin Silver see link
http://www.cbs.com/shows/dogs_in_the_city/
and Cesar Millan's final group of "Dog Whisperer" shows

http://www.cesarsway.com/dogwhisperer/about-the-show/
I have found techniques to try from both
.
Turkey-
that is from Justin. He rewards with turkey. We always have deli lite turkey in the fridge. I take out a piece (only 10 calories) break it into pieces, say sit/stay with a hand command.  Liam does as many sit/stays as I have turkey pieces. Paul points out that sometimes I say sit and other times I say stay. I counter that it is the hand motion that does it. However, most times when I do the hand motion without the turkey, Liam just stares at me and then heads to the fridge. A serendipitous by-product of turkey training is that Liam goes into some sort of turkey coma.

TURKEY COMA

That takes care of sitting/staying and barking.

Necktie-

NECKTIE STOPS BARKING FOR A BIT

This idea is from Cesar's episode last week with a barking British dog. This terrier mix has barked for 6 years, nonstop. Cesar even prayed over this one. Really. I have never seen him do that. He rubbed some scented oil on his hands and tied a dishtowel around the dog's neck. Both techniques were aimed at calming the dog. They worked. No barking. I try a variation- I spray Avon "Skin So Soft" bath oil on my hands and tie a necktie (scarf) around Liam's neck.

LIKE THAT OIL SMELL

Works for about a half hour.

Then come the violent, end of world storms of Wednesday, July 18, 2012.

BRING ON THAT THUNDER

On goes the thundershirt. Barking ceases. Liam does a lay not a sit/stay

THUNDERSHIRT DURING THUNDERSTORM

.Hear the thunder that Liam heard in this You Tube

What if Liam wears the thundershirt and bath oil soaked necktie during turkey training and I play recorded thunder sounds?

Maybe I have to pray.

READY FOR THE NEXT STORM

Woof, Woof

Vacation from Retirement

LIAM RETIRING TO HIS SANDY BEACH

Yes, people who are retired do take vacations just as they did while they worked.  However, this story is about vacationing from retirement. Why would one need to do that?  Over-scheduled?  Me? 

 SOAKING UP THE RAYS

Did not think so.  I want to keep trying new activities, attending events, learning-all that I have written in my retirement mission statement. I chose well and when asked to join other activities, did so.

 KONG BONE, BIRDS, AND MORE

This past school year was very scheduled. I liked it all. I still go by school year. However, some changes happened. I graduated from my 3 1/2 year writing program at NCC. I should explain, I self-graduated. I had no more to say in the classroom venue. I was done. It was perfect for what I needed after retirement, until it was not. So I stopped.March 2012. 
Then in May 2012, our Yoga instructor changed her life and prepared to move to Northport. This eliminated three more activities from my schedule.

Yoga will continue with a different teacher and Meditation and Body Prayer (yes, that is really the name) will be offered again though not as often.  However, in the break from my schedule I now am thinking a bit differently. I like being less scheduled. Having a "free" day. I always have several activities-so I am not laying out like Liam. Some days this year I had four clothing changes in one day- my events and activities were so different. Those runway models have nothing on me- (in terms of a quick change, that is all we are talking about here)

I like Liam's idea. Observe. Be present. Leap (at birds, I would do something of a human equivalent)

LIAM OBSERVING

IN THE MOMENT-RUTH'S ROSE GARDEN

Finding pleasure in the moment.  For Liam, everything is new all the time. For some reason now that my scheduled activities have decreased my reading (book clubs stay on the schedule) and writing have increased.  I have also gained 50 Twitter followers, going near 150.  Am I tweeting more?  Or tweeting better? I started the same month as Oprah. She has nearly 13 million followers.
Paul thinks all my followers are computer generated and tweets are from a machine.  I know Anderson Cooper, Barack Obama and E..L. James (Fifty Shades) and Kristen Johnston are real.
Is it just summer time and the living is...no, it isn't really easy...just changing

New mission statement-I am on vacation from retirement.
We will see where this goes...

JUST BEING

Woof. Woof