Blackjack, Second of His Name

Realizing that I've mentioned it but never actually properly introduced the newest member of our family...  how about we fix that?  Meet Blackjack!

Jack for short.

Jack and a few toys (in varying stages of being shredded).

Or sometimes Jacky.  Or Jackjack.  And he's Jack-a-Lacka-Wing-Wong (in a goofy sort of sing-song voice) when I'm being silly...

He's a black and tan Doberman Pinscher who was being sold at bargain basement clearance price on eBay.  The breeder was ready to breed another of their dogs and needed the pen where this little guy was living.   He was the last puppy left from a previous litter and he had to go.  So they cut his price in half and put his picture on eBay where Derek found it and as they say, the rest is history.

Our little Jack is a name-sake for the dog Derek's family had when he was a child, another large black and tan Doberman.  And though his sister says we 'have to' get his ears done to keep the name, I think it's stuck on him by now.  With the floppy ears she says he looks like a hound... and she sings Elvis to him:  "You ain't nuttin' but a hound dawg!"

Jack is a good-natured little guy who loves to cuddle and kiss.  Kisses can be a dangerous proposition, though.  He still isn't convinced that teeth are not a part of kissing.

We feel pretty lucky to have him since he's such a perfect fit personality-wise with our other boys.  He jumps in and plays along with them, and fights his way to the front of the treats line, like he doesn't realize he's only about 1/3 their size yet.  Just give him a few months and he'll catch up.

And just like the others, he will eat anything I give him!  ANYTHING!!  Bananas, peanut butter and pumpkin puree are the currently favored treats. Somehow to me that stuff doesn't sound very dog-like but the drool streaming out their mouths would convince you they find it to be pretty darned tasty bites.

He sounds like a mooing cow when he moans in his sleep!  He's outgrown it now, but Lightning did that as a baby and I L.O.V.E.D. it so much!  So that Jack does it, too... well, it just melts my heart.

Today, Jack discovered that he fits into places the bigger dogs don't anymore.  He crawled under the futon downstairs and started nipping at feet as Thunder and Lightning and Gizmo would dart up to play with him.  One time he caught Thunder's back foot and so he stepped up onto the futon and then Jack nipped his opposite front foot and he put it up on the ottoman... with the next nip, Thunder shot straight up in the air and straddled the space in between the futon and ottoman.  It was so funny!!

We met Jack's parents when we picked him up and estimate he's going to be another huge dog based on their sizes.  And researching some other stuff Derek uncovered an interesting factoid about these very large Dobermans that neither of us knew before.  When a male's weight exceeds 100 pounds, he's referred to as a Warlock.  These Warlocks came into being in the 1970's in Europe when Dobermans' were just coming into fashion as guard dogs and there wasn't enough breeding stock to meet the demand for puppies.  Some were bred with Great Danes... and today's big boys are a throwback to those Dobie/Dane bloodlines.

It's Starting to Look a Lot Like... Halloween!

Several years ago I had a wild hair and decided I needed some Halloween decorations.  That's kind of a funny thing since, to me, it's not all that big of a deal for a holiday... and it's not something my family ever made into a major celebratory event.

Yeah, I went trick-or-treating as a kid.  Usually as a ghost.  But hey... it was Idaho and often there was a foot of snow on the ground for Halloween and a sheet is something that fit pretty easily over a heavy coat and a few layers of pants!

Otherwise the clearest memory of Halloween I have is from about 5 years ago when I answered the door expecting to see some little kids out for an evening of candy collecting and found a taller-than-me grim reaper announcing "I'm here for your soul!"  I have to admit that was not the greeting I was expecting and it kind of made me pause for a moment or two...

So I don't know why I decided to get decorations.  Maybe the leftovers after the holiday were especially cute that year?  Anyway, I have a few things.  And low and behold, the plastic storage tub where they get stored made it onto the moving truck with the Christmas decorations when I moved.  And that turned out to be a fortuitous thing since Halloween is one of Derek's favorites.  He likes the spooky fantasy motif and it's one of the few holidays that Americans do actually decorate for as part of the celebrations.  He's been out of town the past few days and as a surprise I started hauling stuff out and even crafting a couple of new items so there'll be something cheery to greet him when he gets home tomorrow evening.

Here's a little peek!

 I have these on the front porch for now.  Even if the ghosts, which will light up with a little battery power, stay in place I think we'll replace the bucket with a real jack-o-lantern.  Then I can take it inside to hold candy...

 The jack-o-lanterns also light up.  The big one in the center plugs in so the kitchen table where I've got it setup now is probably not the best place for it.  The outlet is right over the dog dishes (they are infamous little chewers who gnaw on anything they can get into their mouths!) and it doesn't work.  We haven't figured out why yet.

 I put a couple of little towels on the oven door to brighten things up in the kitchen.

This is 33 cents worth of paper plates cut up and strung together with some yarn...  I think I'll find a black marker to redo his eyes and give him a gaping mouth and get a little tape to hold his arms and legs in a more interesting shape.  He's silly, but cute!

There is a template you can print and use to cut the plates here or do like me and just free cut them by looking at the picture.

I bought a pack of 45 plates for $1.  They are the cheap, flimsy, little plates that you really don't want to eat from but they work perfectly for these kinds of kid-friendly craft projects.  This nearly adult-sized skeleton takes 15 plates.  And yes, if you are making a lot of them you can buy a bigger quantity and they are even cheaper -- I saw 100 plates for $2 at Dollar General.

I also like that the cost makes him expendable.  I don't need to worry about protecting him from the weather and trying to save him for another year.  If he gets trashed it's no big deal!

This is my other big project...

I put little pictures in each of the 9 panes of the carport door.  I had thought about using markers to 'paint' something on clear contact paper but ultimately decided I was too lazy to do all that.  What I used is little treat bags that are about the size that would hold a smallish popcorn ball.  I just cut them apart (as you can see below) and used the picture on the front for this and kept the clear purple backs for another project that hasn't quite all come together yet.

This would also be a cute idea to display kids' artwork.

All I did was cut clear contact paper to fit the panes, center my 'art' on it and press onto the glass.  The easiest way I found to center the pictures was to only partially peel the contact paper back, lay the picture on the backing and then carefully lay the clear part back over it.  Mine are mylar and the static between them and the contact paper and backing was insane!  I solved that by using a sponge to moisten the back of the picture a bit.  That killed the static and made it cling in place while I pulled the contact paper back up.

Cutting the bags apart.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!  It's a fun and cheery greeting to arrive home to!!

Can hardly wait to see what Derek adds to our decorations over the next few days!

Politician or Statesman?

John Gibson, 1943.  From the Collection of
The U.S. House of Representatives.

For some localities, election season is just around the corner and signs imploring "Vote For Me" are appearing on lawns and roadsides daily.  These are mostly local elections, but the same principle  applies.

I was reading the weekly newspaper for Dallas, The Paulding Neighbor, earlier.  It's a very small, sleepy little community so most of the 'news' is High School sports, government functions and community groups holding events.  Strangely almost, it's also one of the most well written papers I've ever picked up.  People who put a great deal of thought into what they have to say contribute columns and the editing is equally well done.  Very impressive!  One of the articles this week is about the late John Gibson and the GI Bill and I'm going to quote, without permission, fairly extensively.  Credit for quoted material belongs to Loran Smith, a guest columnist for the paper who is otherwise employed in sports communications for the University of Georgia.

Many people have been captive audience when I've talked about a conversation I overheard 15+ years ago that left a deep impression on me.  An elderly gentleman was lamenting to his lunch companions at the next table about politicians.  He commented extensively about how 'in the old days' our elected government were statesmen and not the politicians of today.  One of his companions asked him to clarify what he meant; what the difference was.  He said something along the lines of "A statesman is someone who cares more about doing the right thing for the people who chose to put him in the job while a politician is more concerned about doing what's going to be good for his own finances and re-election."

Seems like we have a lot of politicians in office these days...

And that made finding a story of a real statesman quite refreshing!

"Today we hold a jaundiced and cynical view of Congress, its function and its membership.  Have you heard anything positive about the government lately?  Government still works in my view.  I can't cite any recent examples, however."  That is the opening Loran Smith uses...  He continues telling us about John Gibson's role in history when, in 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted Congress to pass the Serviceman's Readjustment Act.

"There was not that much disagreement on doing something for our veterans who fought so gallantly in World War II, but to move the bill to the floor for a vote it had to get out of committee.  There was a deadlock, 3-3, and FDR needed Gibson's vote.  But the Congressman was nowhere to be found.  He was back home in Douglas (Georgia) - and nobody had an inkling of his whereabouts.

"Radio stations broadcast reports asking for help to locate the Congressman.  State troopers stopped people on the highway and asked if they might be [or know where to find] Rep. Gibson.  Finally, he arrived home and answered the phone.

"It was Washington calling, asking that he return to the Capitol post-haste.  Eastern Airlines had a 2:30 a.m. flight out of Jacksonville.  Congressman Gibson rushed to the Jacksonville airport.  The pilot had been told not to take off until Gibson was aboard.  The plane landed in Washington at 6:37 a.m.  Gibson immediately showed up to cast the tie-breaking vote, which led to the passage of what has become known as the G.I. Bill.

"Passage of the bill was one of the greatest decisions in the history of our government.  Not only did it show appreciation for our servicemen, it was also an investment in our country which paid far-reaching dividends.  It was a salute to higher education.  It changed the face of America.  It created a vast and productive middle class.  More than 14 million servicemen enjoyed benefits as they became more educated when they otherwise could not have been able to afford it."

Even more than his remarkable link to history, John Gibson should be remembered as someone who was elected to Congress for three terms and went there TO SERVE!

Peek in the Bedroom

Here's a quick peek into the guest bedroom that pretty much matches the hall bath...

The medallion pattern that graces each piece of furniture in the set.

The throw pillows I have to decorate the top of the bed.

An afghan my mom made.  I think she entered this in both the County
and State Fairs in Utah once and won blue ribbons!  I like the punch of
color it adds to the foot of the bed.

A few of the decor pieces to go on the [yet to have mirror re-attached] vanity.

The chest of drawers to the set where I had it in my old house.  Here it's
against a blank wall.  I LOVE the locking chamber at the top!

That 70's Bathroom

I'm pretty sure I've whined about having bathrooms straight out of the 70's before...

But it's true!!

There's Harvest Gold fixtures and everything!  In the hall bathroom anyway (the master has the ever-lovely Avocado Green) which is one of the rooms I've been working on the past few days as I start to get stuff in shape for a visit from a wonderful friend I haven't seen since about the time we both graduated from high school 30 + years ago.  Sadly, for now we're stuck with the Harvest Gold so... I'm doing my best to rock that shade of awful!

Here's a couple of BEFORE photographs of this little bathroom I've all but ignored for the last 5 months.

I started with a good cleaning.  The bathtub, toilet, and sink are actually in pretty decent condition with all the muck scraped and scrubbed off... they're just uglier than sin.  Which is kind of funny since it's almost the same color as the bedspread in the bedroom that this bathroom services.  Once the tub and tile were clean, I hung an ivory shower curtain liner ($1 for the rings and $1 for the liner panel at Dollar Tree) and used some of the extra drapes from the bedroom (the windows at my old house were a LOT bigger!) around the bathtub.  It was tighter than tight getting the drapery panels on the shower curtain rod!!  But for a free fix, I can expend a little effort.

Better Homes and Gardens it's not, but I think we can live with the Harvest Gold a while longer now...

You can't see it in any of the pictures but we also traded out the wimpy little showerhead for a nice big rainfall style one.  And I spray painted a neon green mesh trash can (gotta love the stuff you can find at Dollar Tree!) white for this room.  Now to fresh up the towels, parcel out the wall decor between bed and bath, get some cute soaps and stuff and put down a fluffy rug to make this room ready for its AFTER shots!

Everything is pretty simple and basic still at this point... but I'm repurposing things we already own and the FREE part helps me appreciate what beauty there is.  The liner makes the shower functional and the curtains do add privacy and the beginning of some sense of the room being put together.  There's a fluffy rug on the floor that matches one of the shades of gold in the curtain that makes for a nice spot to step out of the shower.

Not too bad for just using the extra curtain panels from the bedroom?

Fresh clean towels are also out.  We're short on towel bars so... in both bathrooms the clean ones are just folded and kept on top of the toilet tank.  It works because we're also not flush on towels so all we own fits in that spot.

What's funny about these tan towels is that when we first looked at the house, the lighting in this bathroom was so bad we thought the tub, toilet, and sink were tan.  It wasn't until we'd moved and replaced the scary old light fixture that we realized everything was harvest gold...

I decorated the corner of the counter with shells from all over the world:  The conch and abalone were my Grandma Clarke's from a trip to the CA coast in the late 1940s.  The sand dollar posed on the lip of the conch and the smaller similar shell up front was collected by a cousin taking an adventure and travelling as an itinerant worker all around the country during the mid-1980s.  Most of the small tan and brown ones my dad gathered on the beaches of the Mariana Islands when he was there as a soldier during WWII.   And the really tiny shells and bits of coral on top are things I picked up relaxing on the beach in Antigua.

At some point we do want to re-do this bathroom with white fixtures and a smaller simpler vanity cabinet.  Not fancy even then, just brought into the current century.