Our Summer Went to the Dogs

In late August,  our youngest daughter, Nancy, asked if we could dog-sit their basset hound, Daisy Mae for a week.  "Sure, when?....."Tomorrow? ..."dahhhhh OK"   This had been a summer of dog sitting.  Granddaughter Jennifer called in July to ask if we could take care of her little highland terrier, Oakley, then two days later came daughter Christine's call from Chicago,  "Mom, can you watch Cloe and Bella when we go to Denver?"......."sure"  Cloe is a cocker-poo and Bella is Shitz Tzu. So, Oakley, Cloe and Bella were here at the same time.  The girls got along great...once in a while Cloe, the oldest would get a little peeved with the two younger dogs..."I'm too old to play "chase around the yard!!!!".   Their food dishes had to be in different areas...Cloe eats like a horse and, if she can, she will eat whatever the other dogs left in their dishes.

We're not used to little dogs and these pint-sized girls would follow me around like three little white shadows.  If I took a step backward, I'd almost step on one of them!  Things went very well except at bedtime...Oakley was used to being kenneled at night, but not the other two.  They are Christine's babies....so, Ken and I had two bed partners.  Ken finally gave up and slept in another room...which actually caused me to have a week of peaceful sleep....Ken snores. On the other hand, Daisy Mae is a sweetheart but has not been around Ken and I as often. We'd see her when we'd go over to Nancy's house, but she doesn't know us well.  Nancy brought her over about 7:15 AM on her way to work...she and family were leaving that afternoon for a vacation in Minnesota before our granddaughter Rebecca went back to school.  

We put Daisy Mae in the back yard and I settled into a deck chair to enjoy the beautiful cool morning, have a cup of tea and watch the birds devouring the seeds in the bird feeder.  Suddenly I realized that I couldn't see Daisy Mae then caught a glimpse of her tail as she slipped through the back gate.  Yikes, she hadn't been in our care for 15 minutes and I've lost her already. I started calling "Daisy, Daisy, come're girl"...she just kept going, slowly but with determination.  So out of the yard I went, house slippers, nightgown and all.  I caught up with her two houses away as she started up the neighbor's front steps. Since I didn't have her leash I had to grab her collar and try to get her back to our yard.  She is about 15" at the shoulder and weighs about 20+ lbs so I didn't try to pick her up...I don't think I could have anyway.  And, I couldn't bend over and hold her by the collar while I shuffled her back home...I get a backache even thinking about it.  

Bassets are difficult to pick up....their bodies are long and stocky, very unbalanced. So I grabbed her by the collar, lifted up her chest and front legs and  walked her home on her hind legs....it was uncomfortable for both of us.

Luckily the neighbors weren't looking out their windows or driving down the street 
on their way to work....they would have seen a 74 year old grandmother in a nightgown and fuzzy slippers trying to get an extremely heavy and uncooperative  basset hound back to the yard.  Her  little jaunt must have  tired her out because she spent the rest of the morning curled up on our front room chair...which by the way was NEVER allowed when we had dogs.  Guess it's that ole grandma thing, grandkids and pets get by with a lot more than they used to.

Since I haven't heard from anyone.....or been pointed out at the grocery store followed by hysterical laughter, I think I pulled it off!!!!!! 

Made in America

I sell on twi online auction sites....Ebay and  Bonanza.   Many of my items are from my family, estate sales, garage sales, Thrift stores, and marked-down sales from big name stores.

I watched a news story last night that made me realize how I am contributing to the downfall of American industry....I looked at the items I have for sale, and was disappointed to see that less than 1/3 of them were made in America....made in the USA.

The ABC News reporter, Diane Sawyer said that if everyone in the United States bought ONE item made in the USA, thousands of Americans would still have their jobs. ONE item, costing less than $3.33. "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" is launching a groundbreaking series, "Made in America," focusing on American manufacturing and our economy. 

The facts show that our nation is addicted to imports. In 1960, foreign goods made up just 8 percent of Americans' purchases. Today, nearly 60 percent of everything we buy is made overseas.

One of the results....the city I live in has a huge population of lower income families. And, our crime rate is out of sight...Why? There are no jobs and the possibility of getting one is slight. So, public assistance is a way of life and, if things get really tight, robbing or stealing is the alternative......they have families and families need food, housing and clothing.

At one time, we were known as the meat-packing center of the United States, we had the stockyards, Armour, Cudahy and other packing houses, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, Union Pacific Railroad, public utilities, small businesses and factories where people could find jobs.....lets face it, not everyone is smart enough or wants to be a computer technician, retail sales person, teacher, doctor or design websites.

What are the young people in this area to do? Yes, there are some that will fight their way out of near poverty, but again, they are the exception....the majority have lost the desire to go to work even if work is available. And, why work when welfare checks arrive every month. In the past, one could always enlist in the armed forces.....not anymore. Their standards have gone up...no longer can someone  "join the Army and see the world" ... in my teens, I knew several young men who were given option of "join the Army or go to jail".   They were provided an education and a purpose in life.

I have wandered away from my original idea with this article. Yes, I will keep my items listed on Ebay and  Bonanza ...and hope they will sell.  BUT, I will make it a priority to seek out items MADE IN THE USA which I will put up for sale (and list them that way on my auction sites.)

Look at items in your home or closet....are you helping America's industries by buying Made in USA? If not.....why not?????

And, to those American companies who have moved their factories out of the United States and by doing so KNOWINGLY put thousands of American workers out of jobs

....SHAME ON YOU !!!

Hey tennis friends.... effective March 5, 2009, HEAD Penn closed their Phoenix factory, and moved all remaining tennis ball production to China.