Peek-A-Boo

Sometimes when I put Chase out into the yard, the weather is not to her liking. I really just need her to use the litter box and then come back in but she seems to think she needs to hang out there miserable for a bit before figuring out that if she were to just go "potty", I would let her right back in....this isn't the first time I have been confirmed in that she is not the brightest bulb on the tree, but we love her still.

Anyhow, depending on the sun situation, I sometimes have our very long blinds pulled down in front of the wall sized windows to keep the house cooler or warmer given what time of year it is. I think this bugs her because she can't see in to see where we are or what we are doing.

I happened to notice the other day that she will peek under the blind if I haven't pulled it down all the way so she can at least see foot movement in anticipation of perhaps one of us opening the door for her. I finally was able to get a shot of it yesterday. She looks terribly pathetic out there, but it wasn't raining at the time (it had been earlier and that is why the windows are wet), and she was only out there for a few minutes before she figured out to just "go" and come running. I let her in minutes after this shot was done and even dried her tail with a towel...spoiled kitty that she is.

Anyhow, I thought the picture was too cute to not post, even though everyone will call me a mean kitty owner....



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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Geocaching Blues

Happy Endings

I was volunteering for 6 hours today and at one point, the sky looked like it was going to dump so I ran out to my car, turned the key to ACC and rolled up my windows. I then ran back in, forgetting to turn the car back off. 6 hours later, my battery was dead enough that the car wouldn't start (even though my radio, and interior lights and noises still worked). I called a friend to come over and help me jump start it (I always have cables in my car even though I rarely need to jump my own car with them).

We got it started and then I was off. I ran a few short errands where I could leave the car on so the battery would get some charge and then headed home. I pulled the car way up into the garage area and decided I was going to leave it on for a bit more. I have a key bob that I use to lock my car sometimes, and I took my keys off the ring (so I could get into the house) and used the key bob to lock the car. Bad idea...apparently, that locking was the last thing that keybob had battery life for because I couldn't get it to work to unlock my car!!!

So I have my car sitting in the garage of our house, running and locked. Thankfully I had a full tank of gas. J is on a business trip and his keys went with him and I normally don't have a need for an extra key since I usually can use his (of course I am making an extra key to the car today). I went over to the local police station to borrow a slim jim after I realized that a coat hanger was not going to work on my tight windows. I was able to get one and used it fruitlessly for twenty minutes. The officer (who can't slimjim for you because of liability) offered to call a locksmith. I agreed.

This little guy shows up at my house in his regular sedan and starts to try to pick the lock. He doesn't get it, so then he uses these air wedge things to force my door open enough to get a little rod in there and pulls the lock open from the inside. I was very impressed with him and the best part of about it was that the charge was 15 dollars (in yen of course). Fifteen dollars people....where in the US can you get a locksmith out to your house and open your car for 15 bucks??!!! I actually gave him the equivalent of 20 dollars (even though we don't tip here in Japan) because I was so happy that he came out during his dinner time in about 10 minutes and opened my car so quickly.

I still even had a full tank of gas when it was all over and I am sure my battery is charged plenty now!!! I need to get that guys number just in case I ever need him again!!!!

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Life's Measurements A great post for me to reread and reflect on right now.

Tree Maintenance

We have a pond in our backyard. It is a small Japanese style pond with a fountain that comes out of one wall and it is very shallow with rocks in the bottom and a tree in the middle. We clean the leaves out of it regularly to keep it nice and clean looking but recently the owner of the house noticed that the tree was getting pretty big and that means a lot more leaves.

A few days ago, I spent 2 hours picking up leaves out of the pond in anticipation of the owner's visit to look at the tree. We actually have two trees in the yard but one is in the back yard and one is in the pond.

So yesterday morning, the owner came over and trimmed both trees. I was afraid to do it because I wasn't sure what kind of tree it was and didn't want to kill it by cutting back too much or cause a lot of sucker branches because they just look ugly. Apparently from his trim job, I could have pretty much cut anything I wanted and it wouldn't have hurt it...good to know for next year.

While he was there, I worked on my yardwork in the backyard (which wasn't in the plan when I woke up that morning) but managed to get it all done so at least that is one check mark on the To Do list...now I just need to get the front beds done.

So anyhow, these are pics of the two trees before and after he was done.


Pond tree before trimming


Backyard tree before trimming


Pond tree after trimming


Backyard tree after trimming

They look a little bare now but I am hoping that with spring around the corner, they will sprout leaves soon and be a lot easier to maintain for a while.

I also found out while he was here that he owns the field behind our house, and the papaya tree that is right next to my kitchen window. He said I could have any papayas I wanted...nice to know because up till now, I have been just letting them sit there, and this tree puts out a lot of papayas. They are a Japanese version so the insides are kind of hollow but I can still eat them in Papaya salad or after they are ripe just as fruit.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Grandma's Pillowcases

Chavez wins vote to scrap term limits in Venezuela

Suprise, suprise....I can't believe the people really voted for this...wonder if it was rigged???

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Squirrels, squirrels, squirrels

Bucket List Round Two

I did one of these a while back on here but this one has different items so I thought I would do it again. I have tons of other things to post about but not time to formulate them quite yet so this will have to do for now...

The Bucket List...Share

The Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then send it to your friends (including me).

This will feed into my Facebook and I will tag people from there...

Things you have done during your lifetime:
() Gone on a blind date
() Donated Blood
(X) Skipped school
(X) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Ran out of gas while driving (when else would you run out of gas?)
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Broken the law
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
() Hugged a homeless person
(X) Swam in the ocean
() Swam with Stingrays
(X) Been sailing in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Lived in more than one state
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Done a back flip on a trampoline
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Gone on a diet
() Ran a marathon
(X) Made a life-long friend (many of them)
(X) Sang Karaoke (I own a Magic Sing Mic)
(X) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
() Been ice fishing
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
() Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
() Seen the Northern Lights
(X) Been Parasailing
(X) Been on TV
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Learned to play an instrument well
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Fallen hopelessly in love
() Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans (also fallen down on bourbon street)
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Fed an elephant
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
() Had a child
(X) Fired a gun
(X) Danced in the rain
() Been to the Opera (Phantom of the Opera!)
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Serenaded someone
( ) Seen a U.S.President in person
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Been to Africa
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
() Driven a race car
(X) Been to a National Museum
(X) Dyed your hair
(X) Been to a Wax Museum
(X) Seen Mount Rushmore
(X) Eaten caviar
(X) Broken a bone
(X) Blown bubbles
() Gone ice-skating
(X) Been scuba diving/snorkeling
(X) Gone to the movies
(X) Been deep sea fishing
(X) Driven across the United States (several times)
(X) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Learned a foreign language
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(X) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
() Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
() Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
() Ridden on an elephant
(X) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
(X) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(X) Saw and heard a glacier calf
() Been spinnaker flying
() Been water-skiing/wakeboarding
(X) Been snow-skiing/snowboarding
() Been to Westminster Abbey
() Been to the Louvre
() Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(X) Been to a National Football League game
(X) Been to a National Basketball game
(X) Been Married
() Been Divorced
(X) Been proposed to
( ) Swam with sharks
(X) Been White Water Rafting
() Seen a Broadway show
()Written a book or screen play

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Filing Is Done (wish it was done for this year too but it is not...)

Peanut Butter Recall

J and I eat a lot of protein or energy bars. We keep them in various bags so if we are out and about, we don't end up binging on bad food just because we are getting hungry. I was sick last week when the full news of the peanut butter recall hit, and didn't get a chance to go through our bars to see what might and might not be safe to eat. I basically told J to just stay away from any of the ones we had that had peanut butter in them (which is most of them). He bought some chewy granola bars to get by with.

Today, I finally checked the FDA's site since I wanted to throw a bar into my bag for my 4 hours at the gift store. It seems the only bar we have that is recalled is a Clif bar. All the Powerbars and Balance bars are NOT affected by the recall...which is good news since these babies are not cheap either...haha.

Anyhow, I just thought I would share the info just in case others had not gotten to the site but had a stash of Powerbar or Balance Bars....they are NOT affected by the recall. They must get their peanut butter from a different plant.

If you have other brands of bars or snacks with peanut butter in them, I highly recommend a visit to the FDA's site to make sure your food is good to go. This info I have provided is not all inclusive by any means and everyone should check out their cupboards on their own.

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Ebi Filet

Reading Blog Update

Okay, I updated my reading blog today with my reads for January and I FINALLY got the 2005 books back up after almost losing the entire list last year...one more small thing I can check off the list that has been nagging me.

Check out the reads if you have time...some are for fun and some have been very informational.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Things To Do