Dog troubles, cold weather and busted water heater.

So, me and my little black dog, Loki, were attacked on our own porch this morning by two of the neighbor's dogs. There have been complaints about these dogs, as they have attacked another neighbor's German Shepard, as well as getting into the trash and just generally causing problems.

I'm not sure what is going to be done, the woman that owns them is not, how should I say it, quite "with it" if you know what I mean. So what will be done about the dogs, and her, is up in the air right now. But when I know I'll let you know.

My dog was more scared than actually hurt, and I was scared and very, very, very angry!! Anyone that knows me knows that I take care of my pets, they aren't allowed to go wandering around at will, and NONE of them have ever threatened or lunged at anyone. These two dogs, however, have caused and are continuing to cause problems. Hopefully they won't have to be put down, but I figure that is what will happen.

I think it's a shame when the animals have to suffer for the stupidity or laziness of the owners. The dogs didn't ask this person to take them in, nor do they have any say in how they are treated. Sometimes it seems as though the ticket a person will get for having vicious dogs at large is more of a joke than an actual punishment.

Enough about that, I'm still angry and I don't need to spout off about what I think.

COLD WEATHER....yes folks, it's a chilly day in old Sunny Cal, but it IS April, so we should expect the unexpected, right? It's finally stopped raining, at least for the moment, but the ground (ie mud) is soaked and slicker than snot on a marble! (Yes, I said snot on a marble. For those of you that don't realize just how slick that is, all I can say is try it for yourself and you'll have a better understanding! LOL)

Now on to the thing that is driving me NUTS!! My water heater has heated it's last drop. Yes, it is headed for the great water heater Happy Heating Ground. After cleaning up about 6 inches of HOT (think par boiled Teri) water out of the laundry room and bath room, I have decided that I really should consider moving. When a person has a lousy landlord, they should stay...I'm just saying.

But, the landlord situation aside, not having hot water is more than a inconvenience for me. I HAVE to have at least one shower a day...preferably a bath AND a shower. But, since there is no hot water, and it's about 40 degrees outside, I can't take either a hot bath or a hot shower. AND IT SUCKS!!!

I have been on a quest to find a good used gas water heater......and like all quests, it has been difficult and unproductive up til now. No, I haven't found a water heater, but the day isn't over and I am not one to quit, so the Quest continues!!

I've been working on the "manuscript"....notice the quotes? Well, there's a reason for them....the stupid thing has taken on it's own life and is making mine more complicated!! I'm not sure who is who anymore, nor what they are doing. So, it's like hunting for pennies in the tall grass at midnight! A lost cause unless you are really, really, really determined! And yes, I am determined!

I will post a few pages now and then for you all to read IF I get comments stating that you all would like to read a few pages. SOOOOOOOO, if you want to read a few more pages of the manuscript, please LET ME KNOW.

Well I'm out for a while!

Dodadaghovi

Soooo.....it's April!

So, it's April! If you didn't already know that just take a look outside, it's getting green and brown....green because the leaves are popping out and brown because mud is the new favorite color of West Virginia!

I, for one, don't like the weather this month offers us. Although April is one of my favorite months, simply because my oldest daughter, Shan, was born on the 17th and my birthday is the 19th, I could do without the weather that is thrown at us. We have everything from rain, snow, 86 degree days, fog and of course the mud.

It's so bad that I've taught my dogs to wipe their feet before they come inside! LOL I'm sick of everything having that wonderful reddish-brown color that is left behind by the slicker than snot mud of our great state! (For those of you who don't know, West Virginia mud is mostly clay....disgusting, skin staining, slick and slimy mud!)

Anyway....there's nothing I can do about the weather, so I guess I'll just put up with it and complain from time to time about having to scrub and scrub to TRY and get the mud out of the carpet, my shoes, my socks, my dogs, etc.

Speaking of complaining....I've got enough to complain about without worrying about the mud! My water heater took a dump yesterday! Yes folks, I had about 6 inches of HOT water in the laundry room and the bathroom, and of course the floors are simply linoleum covered press board...which means that I will have to replace the floors as well!! JOY JOY! Isn't my life sooooo restful and simple? Yeah...simply a mess!

On top of trying to find a water heater that I can afford....which would be a free one at this point.....I'm trying to figure out how to heat enough water to take a "bird bath".....I don't have any large pans...I live alone, what is the point of having large pans when you live alone, well, other than to heat water when your water heater decides to blowup!

And of course there is the manuscript! LOL That damn thing has not only taken on a life of it's own, but I've discovered that it's schizophrenic as well! Yes, it can't decide what is going to happen from page to page and I lost control of it chapters ago! I actually wrote 21 pages while staring off into space, allowing the Muses to take control....let me tell you that was a mistake! Sometimes the Muses are TWISTED bitches, let me tell you!

So now I'm trying to figure out who is doing what, where and when. I've had to re-read the entire thing and I'm totally lost trying to figure out what I'm suppose to do now! Strange, huh?

But, such is the life of a frustrated author stuck in the center of West Virginia!

I'm out of here for a while.

Dodadaghovi

It has been FOREVER since....

It has been forever since I've posted anything. Bet y'all thought I had forgotten about you, either that or that I had run away from home and wasn't about to give any clues as to where I was. But, although the running away thing is something I've considered a time or two, I am still here....just haven't been in a blogging mood.

Actually I've been working on a manuscript. Yes folks, Teri has finally decided to stop being such a chicken-shit and actually try to get something published! Yay me!!

A person would think that writing, especially for someone like me that has hundreds of thousands of words doing battle in their head, would be an easy prospect. Well, I'm here to tell you THAT IS SOOOOOO WRONG! I mean, it was easy to start this manuscript....I had a thousand ideas and story lines.....then I made the decision to allow the story to tell it's self. Yes folks, I am just the conduit for a bunch of words that come pouring out like pus from an infected sore. (ECKKKK.....that was just wrong)

What I'm trying to say is this, I sit here and stare off into space, usually listening to the Blues, and type.....I don't even read what I've written until later, sometimes not until the next day.....or else I sit here and watch television, usually some show about history or a Sci-Fi or Horror movie, and just allow the words to flow. I didn't do this at first, at first I struggled for each and every word, now that I've decided to allow the story to tell it's self I can't type fast enough to keep up!!

Sounds easy, huh? Well, I guess it would be except for the fact that the muse, or voice, or whatever that is telling this story is a bit schizophrenic. You see, the story keeps changing.....each and every time I write some new character or situation pops up. Characters that I thought would become a story line unto themselves have died...or turned out to be evil....or become so seriously boring that even I can't stand to read about them. Who knows, maybe I'm the schizo not the voice in my head. (hmmmm...voice in my head...pretty much the definition of schizo.)

Anyway....here is a little bit of the manuscript.....please let me know what you think, k?

He spoke to me of a magical tune

He spoke of a child, born too soon

He danced his finger across my face

He spoke of the magic in this place

She woke up with a start, the soft voice lingering in her ears, or was it lingering in her mind? Running her fingers through her short blond hair, she heaved a bone weary sigh and stretched like a sun-warmed cat.

“Shit, what I wouldn’t give for a full night’s sleep.” Her voice was sultry with just a hint of Southern flavor. Rubbing her fingers across her forehead, she sighed yet again and stood up to face her day.

Stumbling to the kitchen she started the coffee pot and wondered if she had time for a quick shower. Deciding that she did, she headed toward her small, neat bathroom, shedding her pajamas as she went.

Reaching through the shower curtain, she adjusted the water to just barely over lukewarm and stepped in. She grabbed her washcloth and squirted her favorite shower gel onto the cloth. As the aroma of honeysuckle and orange blossoms filled the shower the breathless whisper of a voice invaded the edges of her mind again.

Suddenly, the water felt like shards of glass slicing through her. The washcloth felt like sandpaper stripping off layers of skin.

“Enough of this shit!” Her own voice startled her so badly she almost fell. Reaching out a trembling hand, she shut off the water and grabbed the towel.

In sharp contrast to the biting water, the towel felt like fluffed cotton. Closing her eyes in pleasure, she slowly dried off and slipped into her robe. Wrapping the towel around her unruly hair, she stepped out of the bathroom with only one thought on her mind…..coffee.

So, that was the beginning. Do you think it sounds interesting, or am I just indulging in an act of mental masturbation?

Y'all me the judge!

Later!

Dodadaghovi.

Hello out there.....

Well, the cell phone is still working! LOL And the best part is that I haven’t had to charge it since the whole microwave thing! It’s been on since Thursday, and it’s still at full charge. Don’t know if the micro waving it has anything to do with it, but hey, I’m not going to complain about it.

Well, I’m not going to complain about the cell phone anyway.

But kiddies, I am going to rant and rave a little bit. I’ve got something to say and I’m going to take this opportunity to say it!

Maybe someone out there can explain a few things to me. Then again, maybe not, who knows.

Anyway, what I’m wondering is why people do such stupid, inconsiderate, hurtful, angry, spiteful things to one another? I mean really, what the hell is wrong with people?

I have several people ask me why they don’t see me out and about too much anymore. Well, I’ll tell you why. I stay home, in my little house on Pine St., with my fur-babies, my TV, my computer and my writing. I read, I cook, I watch television, I write and I only see the people that I want to see, when I want to see them. (Well, that’s not entirely true, because there are some people that I wish I could get to see more often, but time and circumstances prevent it.) What I’m trying to say is that I don’t have to deal with bullshit, so for the most part I don’t. At least I don’t unless it’s forced on me, and then I’m not the nicest person around.

I don’t understand why people can say they are your friend, they can act like a friend, be there in good times and bad, call or come over and spend time or whatever and then…..out of the clear blue sky……..they run their mouths about something that was confidential or they start rumors based on half truths, or else they just stop talking to you even though you call them or try to get a hold of them, and you have no idea why they have done what they have done.

I have a “friend” (yes, I am using that word loosely) that I trusted, a person that I thought was a good person who shared some of my beliefs and ideas. Then, for what reason I don’t know, she decides that she doesn’t have time for me, although she’s on the computer or out doing whatever. She can’t return a call, even when I leave a message. She doesn’t bother to call or even send an email that isn’t some stupid thing she’s forwarding. I don’t know what I’ve done, actually I don’t know that I’ve done anything. I get the feeling that she doesn’t know what I’ve done either, but that’s another story. Anyway, this person has hurt me and I, trying to be a better person that I actually am, haven’t confronted her or even said much about it.

Well ladies and gentlemen, guess what? I’m sick and tired of trying to be a better person. I am who I am and right now I’m pissed!!!

Then there is this other person that only wants to spend time with me when they want to spend time with me. If I’m busy, or if I don’t feel like doing whatever it is they want to do, this person gets an attitude!! WTF?? I’m not allowed to be busy? It’s not like I call them and want to spend time with them and they just drop everything in order to do so. But that’s what is expected of me. I should drop everything and just do whatever simply that’s because this person WANTS me to??

One word answer here….NO! (Actually it’s a two-word answer, but I’m trying to keep the profanity to a minimum.)

So, that’s two of the people that are inconsiderate and spiteful, and I’m one of the angry ones at this point.

There is also the guy that is in a relationship (or marriage…not going to tell you which) and the woman he is with loves him. For whatever reason he wants not only her, but another woman as well. No, he doesn’t want to leave the first woman, but he wants the second woman to be “on call” whenever he has time for her and if she isn’t, if she spends time with friends or has something else to do, he gets pissed. What really sucks is that woman number one is not necessarily a bad person, but she is DEFINITELY a negative person. She whines, she bitches, she blames others for her actions and she is never satisfied with what she has so she uses who ever she can in order to get what she wants.

Woman number two is a cool person. She doesn’t ask for much, just someone to spend some time with, go a few places with and enjoy the company of. She doesn’t want marriage, hell; I don’t even think she even wants a boyfriend. I know she said that she’s had about enough, but I’ve heard that before. I know she’s miserable and, for what reason I don’t know, she’s not doing anything about it. What I don’t know is why she is allowing herself to get caught up in all the damn drama!!

Now, before you jump to conclusions, woman number two is NOT me, although I’ve been there before.

There are so many things I don’t understand. But there is only one that I want to know.

WHAT HAPPENED TO LOVE?

Why does someone throw away 30 years of his or her life in order to “scratch an itch”? Didn’t the person they have been with all these years ever scratch that itch? Why isn’t that person scratching it now??

Why does someone turn their back on their friend? Wasn’t that person always there regardless of what else was going on in their life? Isn’t that person worth anything? Or is it as simple as the fact that the person who turned away is selfish and can’t stand the fact that their friend is actually happy?

Why would a man stay with someone out of pity? Doesn’t he realize that sooner or later it will come to light that they didn’t actually love the person they are with? Doesn’t he realize that pity isn’t an emotion to build a relationship on? Does he not care that the woman will eventually be hurt more than she would be if he just told the truth?

Why does a woman allow herself to be used and cast aside like she is worthless? Doesn’t she know that she is worth more than gold? Is she so lonely and afraid that she will accept any type of attention in order to feel like she’s loved?

Does anyone out there have the answers to these questions? Am I correct in thinking that the one thing that is missing in all of these circumstances is LOVE?

For such a little word LOVE carries a lot of weight. It can mean passion, or desire, or concern. It doesn’t have to be sexual, or even romantic. You can love a friend, a sweetheart, a wife, a child or a dog. You can love the person next door in the sense that you worry about something happening to them or are concerned for a situation that they are involved in.

I don’t understand why we, as human beings, can’t admit to the longing to be loved. I don’t mean romantic love necessarily; I mean love as in being important to another human being. And I really don’t understand how we got to the place where we don’t care about other inhabitants of this planet.

If anyone can help me to understand, please do so. Because I’m getting to the point where I don’t even want to see another person. If I stay totally alone, I don’t have to worry about how I feel versus how someone else feels. I don’t have to worry about someone trying to use to get something they want or simply to keep them from being alone.

Anyway, enough of my bitching. I know that I probably won’t get many comments on this, although there are a few of you that read and comment almost every time. I know that very few, if any, of you will bother reading this entry to this point, let alone try to answer me.

I guess I’m just looking to be reassured, even though I know that there isn’t anyone that is assured enough to reassure me.

Later ya’ll.

Dodadaghovi

It's been way too long!

So, it’s been a very long time since I’ve posted anything here. I’ve had people ask me when I was going to put something up again, others have asked if I was okay or if I was having some problems.

Well, I’ve been fine, just busy with a few things that have become a priority in my life. You see, it looks like I’m going to be published very shortly!

Yes kids, I’ve finally gotten off my butt, found my courage and decided to actually do something about getting a manuscript out there for everyone to see! LOL No more fear, yeah right…. I’m scared to death that I will fall flat on my face, No more procrastinating, yeah right…. I’m sort of stuck right now and I’m putting off doing anything about it. But the thing is, I AM doing something about it, I’m working, I’m dreaming, I’m writing, I’m living!!

Other than the manuscript, some of which I will post at some pointing the future, I’ve just been hanging out, taking pictures and just in general being myself. Isn’t that a scary thought, Teri being Teri??

As far as things go in the wonder little corner of the world that is so jokingly called Sunny Calhoun, the weather has finally broken, by that I mean that there is no rain or snow today, and not even a whisper of a thought that there will be. Not just that, but it’s actually suppose to be in the 60’s today!! After days and days of 20’s and 30’s a day of 60-degree weather is truly a Godsend!!

The fur babies are all doing fine! Yeah, I still have my menagerie, way too many fur babies and each and every one of them are spoiled rotten. Oh well, I’ve always been the one to take care of someone else, now that the kids are gone and I’m alone I guess I just need something to take care of…….soooooo, Loki, DeOhGee, Cabella, Emily, PattyCat, Wacker and Tiver, you don’t realize how lucky you are! LOL

One last thing, just to let you know that I’m still me……..the other day I charged my cell phone and then put it on top of the microwave. I didn’t think anything about it, I usually keep it there unless I’m going out somewhere and want to take it with me. Anyway, I got busy doing this and that, and then I finally decided that I was hungry. Just then the phone rang and I ran off to answer it.

While talking to one of my friends, I decided to do something about the hunger thing, so I grabbed some left over chicken, slapped it in a bowl and stuck it in the microwave. Then I wondered off, waiting for the ding that announced that my lunch was ready. Long before that coveted ding, I heard what sound like popping grease. Running into the kitchen, I jerked open the microwave door and there, sitting in the middle of my semi-warm chicken, was my black cell phone!!

Yes folks, I microwaved my cell phone! LOL Now for the best part, once it had cooled down enough to handle, I tried making a call and IT STILL WORKS!! LOL I even plugged it in to see if it would charge, and it does!!

Regardless of what can or cannot be said about Tracphone, they sure make one tough ass phone!!!

Dodadaghovi!

Cars, trucks and idiots

Well, I'm back! LOL

As many of you know, I do not have a car at the present time. Usually I complain about that fact and act all put out and such...but today, after sitting by the window and watching the way some of these people drive (or try to drive) on my little dead end street I'm actually glad I don't have a vehicle.

Why? Well, for one simple fact...I don't handle stress well, at least I'm not handling it well these days. If I had to go somewhere today, with the roads being the mess they are and these people driving around on them, well, I'm afraid I would suffer from the Mother of all road rages! I would probably end up charged with vehicular homicide (although taking out some of these idiots would be a service to society in general) and spend the rest of my natural life in prison! Just for future reference...I DO NOT WANT TO SPEND MY LIFE IN PRISON!

I've been wanting to take a walk around and get some snow pictures, for all that it's making life rough it sure is beautiful. But as I sat here drinking my tea, I realize that walking on the roads today (or most any day for that matter) would be the same as playing Russian Roulette. I have witnessed folks coming up this road at a high rate of speed, only to stomp on their brakes and slide for 30 feet.....I don't understand this, if you can see well enough to drive, you should be able to see that the street has only been plowed, not treated, and there is ice on it.......I have also witnessed someone sitting in their driveway spinning their tires for 25 minutes trying to get the car to move.....maybe the fact that they almost fell on the way to the car should have enlightened them to the fact that it is slick....not to mention if the tires are blowing black smoke and the odor of burning rubber is heavy in the air you should probably let up on the gas and rethink your actions. And then there was the one that thought she could come off of a gravel road and, apparently just because it's gravel, not slide when she slammed on her brakes at the stop sign. I guess ice doesn't form on gravel.........

Or maybe it's just people don't know how to drive??

Dodadaghovi

Snow, snow.....and bad internet service

Good Morning, y'all!

Well, for the third day in a row the children of Calhoun County have found a reprieve from school.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our schools are closed once again.  If you are wondering why, I will tell you.  We have SNOW....yes, that wonderful, wet, cold, frozen water that falls from the sky has graced us with it's presence once again.  It's not as though we have a lot of snow....it's just that we had a bunch of rain, followed by wet, heavy snow and freezing (really freezing) temperatures.  Then more snow....and freezing temps.....and more snow......and more freezing temps.  So our roads are slippery and snow covered, our sidewalks (what few we have) are obstacle courses and it's just plain yuck out there.

The fact that it's cold, snowy and not fit for man or beast out there wouldn't be so bad if those of us that are addicted to the Internet could just stay in and play/blog/facebook all day/night.  But NOOOO...not here!

In wonderful Calhoun (which it can be a wonderful place) we have been without internet all night.  I guess living in a rural area has it's downfalls, God knows I've lived here long enough to figure that one out on my own, but this is ridiculous.....when we call FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS, our wonderful phone/Internet provider, we are told...."There is no known issue in that area".  Okay....maybe mine is an anomaly, I could except that.  Except for the fact that when I finally get back on Facebook I find that the WHOLE COUNTY has been without Internet service all night!!

I realize that we are a small county, we aren't heavily populated and we have no thriving cities....but we still have enough people here that SOMEONE should have noticed that the whole county has been offline for the entire night!!!  Shouldn't the phone calls have alerted someone to the fact that there was a server problem in this area?  Or maybe the fact that no one had heard from any of us all night? 

All I can say is that it is humbling to realize that even when the whole county is still and quiet, no one notices.  In the great scheme of things, a night without Internet isn't that horrible, but it is annoying.  And it's even more unsettling to realize that our whole county can go still and silent and no one really seems to notice.

I'm going to go back in and crawl under the covers.  For some reason I suddenly feel very small and almost frightened.

Have a good day y'all.

Dodadaghovi

I'm soooo lazy

Well, January is almost over and I am just now adding a new post. Seems like I'm either really behind or else just lazy.....I guess I'll go with lazy for the sake of argument.

So, a short update on what's what so far this year......

I'm still here, in my little house on Pine Street with my pets (or is that pests?) and my books. I'm getting more and more adjusted to living alone the longer I live alone. Not that it's not lonely from time to time...it's just that you get used to it after a while. But then again, I had a friend once tell me that you could get used to anything if you had to put up with it long enough.....don't know if that's true or not...but I'm beginning to think it is.

I'm working on a Paranormal Romance. Yes folks, I have decided to prostitute myself out in order to try and make a decent living like a normal (yeah right) person. Anyway...this story started out as one thing and has now taken on a life of its' own and I'm not sure where exactly it is going. Hopefully the place it ends up is in the hands of a generous publisher!! (cross your fingers for me!!)

We've had snow, snow, snow, ice, rain, rain, sleet, snow, ice, rain, snow so far this month! Sounds like fun, huh? Anyway, last night a lot of people in the county lost their electricity...luckily I wasn't one of them, although I did have a few flickers. Most every one has their electric back from what I hear, so hopefully, all is well in the wonderful county of Calhoun!!

Well, you're caught up...well, except for today that is.

Today, I gave blood!! Yes folks, I actually volunteered to have a needle stuck in my arm and a pint of that precious red stuff drawn out! Why you may be asking. Well, I realize that unlike coal and oil, blood is a renewing natural resource that can/will/could save the life of our next president, the person that cures cancer, rock star or Great American Novelist!

I just don't understand why the Red Cross has to beg people to give blood! It's easy, it doesn't hurt and they feed you afterwards! (Hell, that's better than most of the dates I've been on in the last few years!) It doesn't take that long, well, the actual process doesn't take that long, and the best part is that you could be saving the life of someone you know! WE NEED MORE BLOOD DONORS!!!

I just hope that all of those pussies...uh, people, that are afraid to give blood don't ever need to receive blood or blood products. If they do, I just hope that someone who is a fitting donor for them was brave enough and selfless enough to give the blood that saves their life!

Okay...Teri is stepping off of the soapbox!

Oh yeah....I forgot!! I GOT NEW GLASSES!!!! I don't have to wear them to see to read or type of whatever...but if you're more than 10 ft away from me and ask me how you look I WILL LIE unless I'm wearing my glasses. You see, if your 10 ft or more away I'm lucky if I can tell who you are, let alone if you look good or not! LOL

Well, that's it for now! I'm going to go find something to eat! I'm starved!!

I'll try and find my way back soon!!

Thanks kiddies!!

Dodadaghovi

Brrrr....cold, damp....brrrrrr

I'm sitting here looking at the photos on my wall - all of which I have taken and then "done" something to. (Damn, that makes me sound like some type of photography psycho/rapist/serial killer) I must admit, I'm getting pretty good at the photo thing -YES, that is me contorting myself into the shape of a pretzel in order to pat myself on the back.

Anyway......I'm sitting here when it dawns on my that I hate the cold! Now- those of you that live close realize that it IS 46 degrees - and 46 degrees is NOT that cold. But it's damp. Not just damp - it's seep into your bones and make everything feel brittle and just yucky damp.

There are a few things about he cold that are good - but then again, I can usually find at least one good thing in any situation. But anyway - good things about the cold.

1.) Cold prolongs the shelf life of milk. Sounds simple, right? Everyone knows that cold - not freezing, just cold - keeps milk fresh. But DOES IT REALLY? Yeah, it keeps it liquid, no nasty chunks or funky oily stuff on top. So that's fresh, right? If so, why aren't cows kept cold? (Just asking, don't expect an answer) And it confuses me that milk is warm when it comes out and we call it fresh. It's cold when we buy it - and we call it fresh. And when it's chunky we call it spoiled. So, what about "clabbered milk"? Is it fresh? I could go on, but you get the idea.

2.) Really cold keeps ice cream solid! (Brilliant, aren't I?) Solid ice cream is good - especially Butter Pecan! Although butter, pecans and liquid cream isn't so good. Don't ask, you really don't want to know and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway!

3.) Cold gives us an excuse to have "hat hair". Not that hat hair is good - it's not. But it does serve as an awesome excuse for those days that your hair just won't behave or when you're just too lazy to "do" something to it.

4.) Cold makes it easy to tell if we are still breathing.

Well- that's about it. I guess I could say something about sweaters - but I just did, so we'll leave it alone.

Now for the downfalls of the cold. In my opinion there is really only one - Cold winters are, have been and always will be the downfall of civilized life. People are just not nice in the cold.

Ii know there are those of you who "LOVE" winter. All I can say to you is, I'd pay for your therapy if I could afford to do so. I know you're not bad people, most of you are nice. I just don't understand what a person could enjoy about wet socks, red noses, chattering teeth and numb fingers. It's hard to be attractive when you're bundled up like the Michelin man.

Wet socks make your shoes stink!

Red noses are NOT a fashion statement!

Chattering teeth are fine if you are a squirrel!

And numb fingers make it difficult to type.

That being said, I'm going to go curl up in front of the heater - as soon as I move the cats out of the way- and wish for Spring to hurry up!

Tata

Dodadaghovi

Snow.....what more needs to be said?

I'm sitting here watching it snow and listening to the wind prowl around the corners of my house, moaning and whining like a hungry wolf looking for a way to get in.

We are at the beginnings of a Winter Storm, or so they tell me. I don't know how much of a storm it is, or will be, but I know it's colder than I care for, and the wind tries to cut you to pieces when you step outside.

So once again, boys and girls, I am trapped in the house. So I thought I would post Version 2 of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying for an Answer!

1.) Why is it that the driver of the snowplow doesn't seem to have a problem getting to work? Has anyone else ever wondered about that? I mean, if the roads are too bad for school, or travel of any type, how does the snowplow driver get to the snowplow? Does he take it home so that it's handy when he needs to clear the roads? Do we have people held prisoner at the State Road Garage and we poke them into snowplows as needed? I mean, they do a pretty good job, the best they can anyway, I'm just wondering how they get to work. If any of you are married to/living with/are related to/know a snowplow driver, please answer this question for me, it's driving me nuts. (or is that nuttier?)

2.) Who is that poor dumb sap that is always sent into the heart of the worse weather ever by his bosses at the Weather Channel? Better yet, what did he do and who did he piss off in order to deserve being sent into the middle of a hurricane/tornado/flood/ice storm. And don't you just love the fact that he aways says the same thing, "It's getting pretty bad down here." Did he piss in someones Wheaties or what?

3.) Why is it that you can try and be nice, send everything your "friends" on Facebook request and still can't get them to send you a single thing? There doesn't seem to be any shame is begging like a bum in the subway for parts, hearts, boxes, nails.....everything, but there must be some type of rule that I'm unaware of, because I send out the things people request almost every time. But, damn it, I still need one heart, 7 nails, 3 paint buckets.....and no one seems to care. I feel so alone and neglected......I think I need an intervention.

4.) What happened to early morning news shows? Is anyone really interested in the latest New York winter fashions? (Which, by the way, look like something you'd wear to a Hustler or Penthouse party, not something you would wear in New York in the winter.) I must be getting old, but I remember when a show had the word NEWS in it you were going to hear what was going on in the world, not what FiFi was wearing when she was carried outside to pee on the curb! Maybe they should change the name to Irrelevant Stuff That No One Cares About Today, instead of just the Today Show.

5.) Will Martha Stewart live forever? Now, I admit I don't like the woman, although she does do some cool stuff with leftover socks, but a person can't help but admire her. She goes to prison for insider trading (like she needed to make any more money), she becomes the butt of way too many emails/stand up comedians/late night talk show host, she gets out of prison and she's still making more money than the Treasury Department! You have to admire that. But damn, how long has this woman been around? I'm 50 and it seems as though there has always been Martha Stewart this, Martha Stewart that. Come on, there is only so many things you can do with a tampon and a glue gun!

Well, that's it for this installment of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying to be Answered. Maybe I'll be back in little while. Right now I'm going to take the pup out to play in the snow!

Dodadaghovi

It is still cold out there......and I'm still trapped in the house.....this can't be good!

So, it's all of 18 degrees out there.....and it's just now 9 p.m. Bet tonight is going to be cold enough to freeze......well, fill in your own analogy here. Anyway....it's bitterly cold out, and I'm still trapped in the house because it's too cold for a skinny little old woman to go roaming around in the big bad world. Once again my day was filled with the wonder that is living alone, having too many pets and needing to vacuum at least once a day just too keep up with the various and sunder "stuff" that seems to collect on the floor when you have pets.

Oh yeah, and thinking about stuff. And therein lays the problem. Teri home alone, wild eyed and stir crazy, left to her own devices. This is the stuff that physiological thrillers are made of! Or perhaps that should be the stuff slasher films are made of. Although I admit there has not been anymore fantasies of becoming an Uzi toting revenge killer....there have been some strange thoughts going through the cold, dark maze that is my mind.

I'm trying to figure out why I continue this stupid blog for one thing. I know there are a few of you that read this.....mostly my friends, which of course makes me ponder the type of people that I befriend, I mean, I love y'all, but if you can read this stuff and still not be afraid of being left alone with me....well, maybe you should be doing some soul searching as well. (I'm just kidding guys, I love y'all and I think that you're wonderful people without whom I would be a raving lunatic.)

Tonight though I'm going to toss out a few questions for y'all. Hopefully someone out there will do me the courtesy of tossing back a few answers. Who knows, maybe we can get a game of virtual baseball going!

So here it is, Teri's list of questions that are just dying to be answered! (version 1)

1.) Does anyone know what possesses a person to go to the Mall (yes, I used that word....please forgive me. Either that or add it to my ever growing list of sins) on the Friday after Thanksgiving? I mean, are there actually that many masochist out there these days? Although I admit, it does warm my heart a little bit to think that I may be receiving a gift which was wrenched from the trembling hands of some wild eyed little teenager who then, in a fit of rage, pushed a rather large woman into a display of chocolates, sending a cascade of nugget filled goodies skidding across the aisle. I mean, the very thought of something like that happening just makes that gift just a little bit more special, now doesn't it?

2.) Do all homeowners become tasteless, color-blind Nyctophobia suffers when the calender starts nearing Dec. 25? (Don't bother looking it up, it means suffering from an abnormal fear of the dark. Or, if you don't believe me, do look up it. I was just trying to save you some time.) I mean, some of these houses would make a bad Vegas show seem to be in good taste. Please folks, don't mix Santa, the elves, a big inflatable snowman and the Christ child all together in your little 8x8 front yard....it ends up looking like an electrical LSD flashback from the 70's.

3.) Who came up with the brilliant idea of tinsel? Was there once a surplus of tin-foil that fell into a shredder somewhere? Or is it all just an evil plot to wipe out all house cats everywhere? (In case you don't realize what I'm talking about, house cats seems to have an uncontrollable urge to ingest tinsel....it's dangerous, not to mention messy. You think hairballs are gross....wait until you clean up a shiny, tinsel laced ball of.....well I don't know what. It takes gross to a whole new level!)

4.) What the hell is going on with the skinny Santas??? Did I miss a memo or something? Did Santa Claus join the cast of The Biggest Loser and no one told me? If I'm not mistaken, the story goes something like this......"He had a broad little face, and a round little belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly....." Somehow that description doesn't fit with the hollow eyed, peaked, emaciated Santas that are showing up more and more often. (If you want the truth of the matter, I figure that after hundreds of years of delivering toys to screaming brats Santa just needed something to take the edge off.....unfortunately he decided that he needed to do something that would allow him to have the energy to continue with this charade......you know, just a bit of crystal meth from time to time.......now it's too late, Santa has become a shaking, scratching, stick thin shadow of his former self. But that's just my thoughts on the subject.)

5.) Who made the first fruitcake and how long as that sucker been bouncing around the world?? I'm not saying ALL fruitcake is bad....I actually like a good Stollen from time to time. (Once again, don't bother looking it up, it's a German bread that has dried fruit in it....and sometimes a shot or two of 100 proof something.) And the darker varieties of fruit cake, if they are moist, are good once or twice a year. There's nothing like sugar glazed dried fruit to start your day out right!! My question is about that one fruitcake that seems to keep circulating around the world. You know the one I mean, it serves as a door stop the other 11 months of the year, only to be picked up off the floor, brushed off and stuck back into a foil pan and wrapped with disgustingly cute wrapping paper and mailed to you from someone who calls herself your Aunt Milly, although you've never met this person or even laid eyes on a photograph of her. Have you ever tried to cut that fruitcake?? A Ginsu knife would not be up to that job. Actually, most chain saws are not up to that particular task. (If any of you are thinking of sending me the above mentioned fruitcake, please don't. I'd hate to have to write a threatening note, attach it to said fruitcake and toss it through your living room window.)

6.) Who's bright idea was it to have only one showing of "It's a wonderful life" on television this year?? I wait 11 1/2 months to watch that movie! I expect to be able to see it all the way through at least twice. I expect it to be on at least one channel every night for weeks before Christmas. WHO'S EVIL PLOT WAS IT TO PREVENT ME FROM WATCHING THIS MOVIE??? If the guilty party would please just step forward, admit their guilt and do everything in their power to fulfill my wishes, I promise there will be no retribution. Well, not much anyway.

7.) How many times do I have to watch the Hollywood Christmas Parade?? WHO wants to watch it in the first place? I mean, it's not exactly Macy's Parade, not to mention that there is just something wrong with Santa in red boxers with bright blue packages on them. (I'm sure there is some type of sexual innuendo mixed up in there somewhere, but come one SANTA in boxers?? Somethings are best left to the dark realms of the imagination.) Besides, I'm sitting here freezing my substantial ass off in the now 11 degree winter and these idiots are on television in shorts and tank tops with Santa hats. It's just wrong!

8.) Is it just me or are more and more people saying "Merry Christmas" like it's some Gypsy evil eye curse or something? There doesn't seem to be much of that "warm fuzzy" feeling in that particular statement these days. Some woman in the drug store the other day actually made some strange design in the air and muttered under her breath just directly after wishing me "Merry Christmas". It was obvious that what she was wishing for me was definitely a lot less than a warm, glowing holiday season. Maybe it's the Masochist thing again, I'm not sure. But then again, I was just a little frightened and ran away with my tail between my legs. (Believe me, with the tail I have that is NOT an easy feat!)

Okay, that's the first installment of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying to be Answered. Please send me your answers, thoughts, complaints or just your particular take on any subject that crosses your little minds!!

Love y'all!

Dodadagohvi

It's early....but Winter is here and I'm stuck in the house.....you know this can't be good!

All I can say is BRRRRR it's cold! The thermometer on the front porch says it's all of 13 degrees out there. That is WAYYY too cold! Time for all of us thin blooded Southern girls to stay inside where it is warm and find something to keep us occupied.

So, what have I been doing to keep myself occupied? Well, housework for one.....you know, that mindless activity that either lulls us into a blank staring Stepford Wife or turns us into an Uzi toting wild eyed homicidal manic. I tend to lean towards the Uzi toter myself, but that is another story entirely.

I have also been trying to figure my tendency toward screwing up everything good in my life. And I'm here to tell you what I have figured out so far. So pull on those hip boots and take one last deep breath of fresh air because the shit is about to get deep!

I have been pondering love, relationships and all things confusing and complicated that are terrifying and heart wrenching as well. In other words I've been trying to decide if I believe in, are you ready?? TRUE LASTING LOVE!! Yes I said it, I said those words that can make a grown man tremble and a young girl faint.

Now, for those of you that have no idea what exactly I mean by TRUE LASTING LOVE, let me elaborate. I mean love between two people that last through thick and thin, good times and bad, rich days and poor night, as well as sickness and health. The type of love that stands strong even when you don't like the person at that moment, the type of love that can withstand those hot, horny nights as well as those days when the closest thing to sex you get is saying screw you as you pass one another in the hallway.

I do know that once upon a time such a love was not an unusual experience. I know that my grandparents went through things that would destroy most relationships these days. I have several friends that have that type of love as well, they have walked through hell together and came out holding hands. So I know it exists. I know that once upon at time a person could find that type of love.

Now a days however, I believe it's an almost extinct experience. I believe that most people don't want to put the work into a relationship that it needs in order to survive all the shit that life can and does throw at us. It's too easy to replace people these days. Once a relationship gets too difficult it's just easier to move on to the next one. I mean, who would want to put out actual hard work, who would want to compromise, who would want to give every ounce of themselves to another person when it's so much easier to move on to someone new. There's even that added bonus of the "new toy" feeling that we all have at the start of a new relationship. When there's a problem, just leave.

Right??

Well, it's not right, but it is reality. At least it's reality for way too many people.

At times I think it's reality for me as well. I have discovered that I have fallen into a pattern of not allowing another person to get close enough to me to cause me any pain. Once they get that close, which is rarely, I do something to make them miserable just so I can be proven correct in my assumption that they were going to leave anyway.

You would think that because I realize this about myself that I could do something to change it. YEAH, RIGHT! Just because I realize it doesn't mean a damn thing other than I realize that I have a particular behavior that needs to be changed. Notice I said needs to be changed. Doesn't mean that I'm going to change it, doesn't even mean that I would if I knew how. Just means that I realize something about myself.

Right?

NO, it means that I'm a chicken shit that has been hurt one time too many by one of those people that find it easier to move on than to work on a relationship. That's what it means. It means that big, bad, "I can handle anything" Teri is too afraid to open herself up in order to give a relationship a chance.

Why is that, you ask.

Well boys and girls, get comfortable and I'll tell you a little story. Maybe it's one you've heard before, as a matter of a fact I'm sure a few of you have heard a similar story, if not lived one yourselves, but this is my blog and I can damn well say what I want.

Once upon a time there was this woman that fall for a wonderful man. (Notice wonderful is in italics? There's a reason for that.) The man supposedly fell for the woman as well. (Once again, notice the italics.) The man was having some problems with depression and such, and wasn't the easiest person in the world to get along with, but the woman was determined to stick it out because she just knew he was the one. ( Notice bold letters)

Well, things went okay for a while. The man got better, the depression slipping away almost as silently as it arrived. And, believe it or not, that is when it all started to go to shit.

Once he wasn't so depressed that he wouldn't leave the house, once he talked and acted more like his old self, the man started running to the bars with his friends. (yes, those pesky italics are still around) He spent less and less time with the woman and she began to feel less and less important and more and more like a convenience instead of someone that is actually loved.

I'm not going to mention the other women, oops, I guess I did, didn't I?

To make a long story short, the woman stayed years longer than she actually should have, ended up having her self esteem and self worth shredded and, in the end, having her believe in love destroyed. Now she is alone and wondering if she will remain that way.

Yes, you guessed it, she is me and I am her. I used to love, may still love, may once again love, may always love this person, and it didn't, doesn't, never will matter. I've accepted that, and actually I'm okay with it. I mean he is the one and all. Of course I thought that meant he was the one that I would be with the rest of my life, the one that I would share that love with. I didn't realize he was the one that would mess me up so bad that I can't seem to break down that wall that suddenly sprang up around my heart.

So kiddies, that is my sad twisted little story. Anyone have any suggestions for this poor screwed up middle aged woman that is getting more and more afraid that she will be alone for the rest of her life?

Or do you think I should just pull up my big girl panties and move on?

Dodadagohvi

So.....here we are again

As we all know, today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. No surprise, right?

Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, a lot of you reading this would be surprised to find out how many people living in this country view Thanksgiving, myself included. You see, today is one single day that has been appointed as something special by a people that didn’t seem to have understood the very simplest thing about being Thankful. To even think that one, single day has to be appointed in order to remind folks that we should be thankful is, to me at least, an insult.

It all began, in this country, a very long time ago. It all began with one race of people thinking they were superior to another. It all began with a group of people giving thanks in a way that I will never understand.

When the Pilgrims came aground in the “New Land” in 1620 they seemed to have overlooked the fact that the land on which they wanted to settle was already inhabited. But never the less, these men, women and children stayed in makeshift shelters that they hastily built to protect themselves from the harsh winter in what is now New England.

In order to survive the first few weeks, they explored and found “artificial mounds” in which they began to dig. You would think that once they discovered these “mounds” were actually graves of the Native People of the area they would have stopped, but the Pilgrims continued to dig and finally exhumed the offerings of Maize (corn) that had been left behind. They also found several Native built structures from which the inhabitants had run away; from those houses they STOLE more corn and various types of beans.

Then they gave thanks to God for the food that they had "found". (To me this is hypocrisy. To steal from others, be they dead or alive, and then give thanks to God for "blessing" you with the very things that you stole is beyond my comprehension.)

Thus it all began. The White People stepped foot on this land and one of the very first things they did was steal from the Peoples that were already here, both the living and the dead. Do I see a theme developing??

Anyway, shortly thereafter the Pilgrims became ill and more than half of them died that first winter. There were several encounters with Native Peoples during this time. Several times the Pilgrims were fired upon by Natives who had already had some bad experiences with the White People.

(History fact unknown to many: The local people were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before the Mayflower arrived. In the Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by Thomas Hunt. Hunt kidnapped twenty people from Patuxet (the place that would become New Plymouth) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. Source : Wikipedia)

An ally among the Native People came forward. A Patuxet Native by the name of Tisquantum, now known as Squanto, helped the Pilgrims recover from the bitter and deadly winter they had just survived. Although Tisquantum had been kidnapped by Thomas Hunt for the purpose of being sold into slavery, then rescued by the Monks, thus learning the English language, and had, upon his return to his homeland, found that his People had been wiped out by disease that had been spread by the English, he still found it in his heart to help the settlers. (This very fact makes him a better person than I will ever be.)

Because of his assistance, the Pilgrims were able to not only survive, but to prosper. In 1621 the Pilgrims held a three day feast to celebrate their first successful harvest in the “New World” and to give thanks to God for all of their blessings.

Without the help of Tisquantum, who became the guide and translator for the settlers, the Pilgrims would never have survived. Tisquantum helped them not only learn how to plant, fertilize and harvest the foods that allowed to to feed themselves, but he was also the main reason for the peace between the settlers and the Wampanoag People that lasted for 50 years after his death.

Now, the fact that there was, historically, peace between the two groups for 50 or so years does NOT mean that there were no problems between the settlers and the Native Peoples of the “New World.” There were.

Now that I have given you a brief (or maybe not so brief) history lesson, let me point out a few things.

In return for the assistance the Pilgrims received from the Peoples of this land, their descendants gave assistance in return. They assisted the Peoples by giving them blankets that had been used by victims of smallpox, thus “assisting” the Natives in decreasing their population. They assisted by taking “unsettled” land, thus forcing the Native Peoples to either flee or fight. They assisted by destroying, raping and burning. They assisted by lying, stealing, cheating and murdering. They assisted by destroying the very land they “settled”. All the while, they observed a “day” of Thanksgiving each year.

For the Native Peoples of this land, Thanksgiving is not a noun. It is a verb. Thanksgiving is not a day, it is a concept. The Peoples of this land hold the idea of giving Thanks as a sacred ideal. Every day is a reason for Thanksgiving.

So, as you enjoy your football games, as you complain about how stuffed you are from the turkey, stuffing and gravy, as you enjoy the warmth and comfort of your family and friends, please find time to try one new thing. Try to realize that today is nothing special. It is a LEGAL Holiday, it is a day off of work, a day for friends and family. Thanksgiving, however, is what each and every one of us should do as soon as we wake in the morning. It is something that we should do whenever we see our children, our friends, our family.

Thanksgiving is a way of life. It is NOT a single day to stuff our faces with food and our heads with some mindless game.

Have a blessed day. And remember, I am thankful for each one of you. I am thankful that you allow me to share my opinions with you, that you allow me to rant and rave. I am especially thankful that each and every one of you are alive and well on this not-so-special holiday.

Dodadagohvi (Cherokee (when speaking to many) meaning "Let's see one another again, soon")

Autumn oh don't fall on me!

The first breath of morning lingers for a moment, crisp, clear and hazy with moisture. Red gold leaves glitter like ruby in the foggy morning light. Crystals of ice reflect a rainbow of colors that shimmer in the chilly breeze. Autumn has arrived on a carriage of leaves drawn by horses of diamond light.

Okay, enough of that. I am in a reflective mood today and I was starting to sound like a stoned philosophy student. Sorry about that, it’s just the way Autumn affects me. I am one of those people that truly understand why they call it Fall…..I fall into a funk every year at this time and I never seem to climb out until after Thanksgiving. Thank God I’m not a Turkey, I’d really be screwed then.

So, it’s obviously turning colder. The days still seem to hold the promise of warmth and sunshine, but the nights show the true bitter heart of Autumn. I do admit that I find the first frost of the year to be beautiful, the way it makes everything shimmer and shine. But that beauty wears off almost as quickly as the frost melts, because I know that one morning soon I will look outside and instead of frost I’ll see snow.

Yes Folks, that awful four-letter word has been uttered. Now I realize that there are those of you who, for whatever reason, really enjoy the Winter and all that comes with it. But I am not one of you. Personally I believe that anyone that professes to enjoy Winter should have their heads “shrunk” by the best Psychiatrist available, but to each their own I guess. The only thing I’m sure of is that I hate the prospect of the coming snow and all the bitter cold dampness that comes with it. Not to mention the ice storms, lack of electricity, colds, flu and just general “brrrrrr” things that are lurking just around the corner.

I will admit that some years Autumn proves to be the most beautiful of our West Virginia seasons, although I don’t think this has proven to be one of those years. Mother Nature dresses her lovely mountains in jewels of maple red and oak gold with trim of dark cedar and pine. Then the vindictive bitch sends cold northern winds to rip and tear the glorious colors away until there is nothing left but dull gray trees that moan and cry in the wind. Let’s hear it for Mother Nature.

Well, I guess I’m done bitching and whining about the change of season and weather. So here are a few pictures for you to enjoy and maybe find some beauty in.

Tata!

Pictures, pictures and more pictures~

As most of you may know, I am addicted to taking photographs! (Honestly, it is an addiction, I think I need an intervention!) Here is the shocker though, as much as I'm addicted to taking photographs, I believe that I'm more addicted to working with the photos that I take and adding varied and sunder effects to them.

Right now I have a favorite subject as well as a favorite effect. I'm sort of stuck on nature photos, namely the woods that surround those of us that are lucky (cursed?) enough to live in Calhoun County WV. I'm also loving taking photos of any water that shows reflections of it's surroundings.

Anyway, here are a few of the many photos that I have taken recently. Hope you enjoy looking at them, and please, if you get some pleasure from viewing these photos, leave me a comment and let me know. (It gets really depressing when I go to all of the trouble of posting this stuff and no one seems to notice.)

The following pictures were taken in a hollow close to my friend Esther's home.  We went for a walk and I saw some things that I thought were beautiful, so I took the pictures.  

The first picture in each set is the original picture.  The second picture is the one that I have added the effects.  I personally like the "soft" look of these pictures, I find them much more interesting than the originals.

Please, if you like any of these photos, leave me a comment and let me know!

Well, it's going to be a busy day today, so I have to get off my butt and get showered and dressed.  Maybe I'll be back sooner this time, but then again, maybe it will be a few days/weeks!  LOL

Have a wonderful day!!!

Tata!