Can't believe it's Monday already. The days are getting longer but the weeks are getting shorter, LOL.

Moved some boxes of books down to the basement as part of the sorting, discarding process. Each step makes the house begin to look like a more inviting place to live. One of the books I've read suggests that some folks just don't see clutter. (Shyly raises my hand.)

It has been raining a LOT in Northern Californa. It stopped enough Sunday afternoon that I at least could get my recycling out of my yard.

That's neat - I don't have to type my full salutation. Computer's doing it for me.

We had absolutely beautiful weather for our beach clean up on Saturday and a lot of people came out. I'm looking forward to having a great walk with the retrievers today - no pulling junk out of the mouths of the younger two. I took Stella (the fat girl - affectionately said) the lab out last night for a good long walk (her owner's son was up for one of our music awards and she was at the show). We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over the Toronto skyline.

I said goodbye to Mabel the American bulldog yesterday. I already felt relieved when I left her house and today I imagine I'll be dancing down the beach with the remaining two in her group. I had no idea of how anxious Mabel's increasing aggression made me.

Great Monday all!

Dagmar

Morning all,

I had a pretty nice weekend that ended with my chorus's final concert of the year yesterday. We did a lot of broadway tunes and it was fun but I'm really glad it's over at this point. 1 less rehearsal to go to, 1 less thing to worry about. I think I've finally almost kicked my cold to the curb, too. My head is much clearer today. I was actually really pleased with getting to the gym 4x last week, plus taking Emma for several mile walks 6 days last week, and my cravings for fruits and veggies have continued. Maybe they have something to do with spring, too?

Bargoo, sorry about the rain. I think it's headed to this part of the country later this week. Do you have a happy sunshine lamp you can use to make your house seem brighter?

Dagmar, what do you mean, isn't it great fun to pull things out of dogs mouths constantly? Preferably while straddling their entire bodies so you can really get in from both sides at once? (obviously being sarcastic). I'm not happy to hear it costs $400 to have a seat belt repaired, my passenger seat belt is broken now too (permanently stuck halfway out - won't go in, won't go out enough to buckle around anyone - any suggestions anyone?)! And shouldn't the owner pay for the damage?

Bill, I'm glad you're still making progress on your house. At the end of this process are we all going to come over for a party?

Allison . How are things with your family today?

Have a good week everyone.

I'm back home in So Cal and I'm wishing it wasn't Monday. I have a full day of hard work ahead.

I was hoping for a miracle and it didn't happen. While I did manage to lose a couple of pounds while in Salt Lake, it wasn't as much as I had hoped. I guess I really need to work at this.

My Dad and Sister wrote my Mom's obituary yesterday and when I got home I cropped a photo of her from my DD's graduation three years ago and we're using that photo for the paper. I'll post a link when it's up. It's nice. Her memorial is in a little less than two weeks and I'll be arranging my flight back up there for that. I'd really like to be able to fly up and back the same day, but I doubt the airlines will accommodate my wishes.

I'm looking forward to next weekend as we'll have two days for golfing. I think I might go buy a new set of clubs this week so that I don't hurt my back carrying my heavy clubs. We'll see, though.

Allison, I hope things will get back to normal for you soon.

Hi everyone!

Still having some computer troubles at work. I may have to uninstall the program that is having problems and reinstall it, but I really don't want to because I need it for all of my work and it takes 3 hours to install.

In other news, we took Carter down to the country this past weekend. Good thing I strapped on his life jacket as soon as we got him out of the car because he went straight into the lake for a swim even though it was only 40 degrees outside! He kind of clobbered himself trying to go up the stairs down there though. I guess they are slipperier than the ones at home. He basically tried to go up, got half himself up a couple steps, fell into the stairs, then rolled back down to the ground. He seems to be okay physically but now he's decided he's afraid to go up the stairs again. It's freaking us out a little because being afraid to go up the stairs was the first symptom he showed of his back problem, but if we feel around and press on his back he doesn't show any sign of pain, and if we get a towel under him to give him a hand he goes right up the stairs with no problem, even if we're not really assisting him at all beyond just standing behind him. I'm pretty sure it's psychological. We moved our bed back upstairs yesterday so hopefully as he gets used to the stairs again he will calm down.

In any case he had a great time swimming in the lake and poking around the woods. We kept him on the leash most of the time so he wouldn't try to run off and accidentally hurt himself. I could tell he wanted to run, but I'm glad we kept him leashed. A couple times he tried to run and ended up doing this goofy bunny hop, which I did catch on video. I'm planning to upload a couple videos of him walking around soon so that we can show his progress.

Driving into the office in Connecticut this morning, I put on a DVD by the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron for my morning commute. It's a lecture on fear & fearlessness. It's my way of steeling myself for the week at work.

Today I'm not going to chew peppermint sugarfree gum compulsively at work during my tensest moments.

I'm going to drink more water than coffee.

I'm going to laugh hard during lunch hour, which I'll spend in the cafeteria, taking a whole hour.

I'm going to talk with my friend John about his experience at the South by Southwest festival, and about the movies I saw this weekend, "Jane Eyre" & a documentary about the street fashion photographer for the NY Times, Bill Cunningham. (Wonderful, wonderful man.)

In other words, I'm going to open up my life a little, because it's been narrowing down way too much to the laptop, work & gym. It's spring & I need to try opening up a little more to the light & air.

Don't you hate it when work interferes with 3FC!?
I keep logging on this morning and then having to work. The indignity!

Allison-- sounds like you are doing well. Continuing to think about you and your family. How is your dad doing? Where will he be living? After my mom died, we put my dad into assisted living as we were afraid he wouldn't be able to care for himself.

Saef-- your plan sounds so wonderful. I need to give my life and priorities some thought. I had a wonderful weekend with my husband and I want to focus on that.

Hi Jessica. Hope Carter is okay.

Megan-- our bad weather is over and the sun is out and shining. Where are you going?

Dagmar-- what is an American bulldog? Is it like a pitbull or staffordshire terrier or something else?

So after 4 days of Bikram Yoga, my back is killing me. I spoke to the instructor yesterday and she assured me that it is normal. The back muscles have to strengthen and as long as I'm not experiencing twinging or severe pain it is probably okay. She did say not to do any of the poses that really hurt or put a strain on it. I am enjoying it though it is very different from anything I've ever done.

I still really want to do a mini triathlon. I found one and mentioned it to dh and he said he doesn't want me spending any more money on myself. Grrrr.... he says he doesn't spend any money on himself and I told him he should. Jessica-- the thing holding me back is that I don't have a bike. Do you know if they are available to rent?

Dh and I are off to Vegas on Friday for a long weekend while dd will be on a choir trip to New York. I was trying to get my weight down before I go but I'm not having any success. Still experiencing "blockage" issues.... Not sure what we'll do as I don't drink or gamble much but I'm super excited to go. Any suggestions?

More work just walked in....

Michele, I don't know if you can rent bikes but you can buy cheap bikes. For a sprint distance you don't need to get a fancy road bike or anything. You can probably find someone selling a used mountain bike on craigslist or something like that. I have been using the hybrid bike I already had which I think cost less than $300. I'm seriously considering buying a road bike now which is more around $1000 but you don't really need one for short distances.

Another option is looking for an indoor triathlon. A lot of gyms are doing these now -- swim in the pool, use the stationary bike, and run on the track.

Good morning! Rainy, wet and cold day here today. I'm hoping for some brief reprieve from the wetness to get in a run this afternoon.

Bill - I am one of those who doesn't see clutter, too. I spent some time cleaning up my bedroom and sitting room last night and it was amazing how much different it looked this morning. The space just looked bigger. It was amazing.

Bargoo - raining a lot here, too.

Dagmar - I'm glad that you got your beach clean up done! And I'm glad that you don't have to worry about Mabel anymore.

Megan - glad that your choral concert went well! And high five on the exercise! Woo hoo!

Allison - I hope your week goes well, and things start to settle down. The obituary sounds beautiful. How is your dad? And I say get the new golf clubs if you can - don't want to hurt your back trying to do something that you enjoy.

Jessica - I'm glad that you guys had such a good weekend with Carter! Indoor triathlons don't sound as crazy to me as they would have a month ago before I read an article about indoor marathons.

Saef - I like your 'open life up' plan, too. I think we could all use a little of that.

Michele - I want to do a mini tri myself, but I don't have a bike or a pool. You can get an inexpensive bike a lot of places, and I think that some of the bike shops will rent them as well.

Good day everyone!

Dad is doing okay. He's sad, like all of us. Since he was basically a caregiver to Mom for the most part (he had to do all the cooking as she couldn't stand up to do it) we're not too concerned for his welfare. However, we'd be happier if he were to go into assisted living, but I'm not sure if we'll have much luck in that regard. I was discussing this with my sister who is staying with him for the next two weeks (until after Mom's memorial service). We both really hate watching him do some things--his dexterity is horrible. Watching him peel an egg the other morning took him at least 10 minutes, and then watching him cut and eat his food. It makes you just want to take over and do everything for him--including feeding him. And he still insists he can drive! We're getting nowhere with that. Yes, he has good enough eyesight to see the road and traffic signals and other cars, but his depth perception is horrible (blind in one eye). A few months ago, he ran into something (perhaps a parked car?--we'll never know). He knew nothing of the damage to his car until my SIL pointed it out. Then he made up some story that it happened when someone tried to steal his sideview mirror...Yeah. Not going for that story. He also refuses to wear a hearing aid and since he can't hear most of what is said to him, he tends to make up his own reality about things. That can be really interesting when you hear him retell things to people!

It is definitely spring here, at least according to the young male retrievers. Quincy tried to hump the two girl pups he was innocently playing with just last week. He's still somewhat unclear about which end of the girl is the appropriate one and got his stuff nipped by Ripley when he fastened on to her head.

Javi and Seamus both got into fighting stances (Javi!!! the creampuff) with strange goldens who approached very aggressively. I stopped anything from happening, except a great deal of sand kicking and over-the-shoulder growling after they passed us.

Miss Chloe went for my seatbelt again and I caught her! She is now sporting a jaunty little black cloth muzzle when in my car.

Business as usual in the doggie world.

And I received my godmother's bequest today in the mail. I was kinda weird about showing it to DH because he's kinda weird about money. But he's fine with it - suggested I put it into the bank into a 30-day GIC and then decide what I wanted to do with it. He and I are on the same page financially - bank it and then think about spending.

Think I'll go and cuddle my kitties now. Speaking of kitties someone sent me some photos of a mother tiger who has piglets dressed in tigerskins to get her over her depression at losing her litter of triplet cubs. She's seen sleeping, with all the piglets sleeping on top of her side. She's also interacting in a couple of shots with a little girl piglet (red bow on Miss Piggy's head) and seems genuinely attached to her "cubs", strange as they are.

If you go to Youtube and search "tiger piglets" then click on the "Pork Chops" video you'll see them.

Dagmar (keeper of the animal kingdom)

Wow... I would imagine a tiger trying to eat piglets!

The people who gave her the piglets weren't sure what would happen. But a lot of animal "moms" accept babies of entirely different species and mother them like they were their own. This has only been seen with captive animals. In the wild the piglets would have been dinner for sure.

I think the tiger skin "vests" helped (though that opens up a kinda horrible scenario - where did the skins come from?).

Dagmar

Allison, does your father socialize much? Does he have a group of poker buddies or friends to golf with, or something on that order? What helped my mother a lot after my father's death was belonging to a close-knit neighborhood & her having stayed in touch with former coworkers from the job she'd retired from years before. She's always been gregarious, while my father was a little less so; she ran their social life. Still, her life had recently revolved around caring for him while he was ill, so at first she faced a great emptiness & had to remember what life was life before she became a nearly round-the-clock caregiver. Nearly three years later, she's still adapting. I hope your father has a lot of social contact to help with this loss.

Michele, I've been to Vegas on several occasions -- my company used to like to hold a huge annual offsite meeting there, taking over the Rio, a casino & hotel that's off the strip -- & I have never gambled even a cent.

I used to hate, hate, hate it, until my L.A. friends told me to show up early & met me there, and we hung out together for a few days before my working meetings started. They made me like Vegas a lot more. But to appreciate "their" Vegas, one has to have a sense of humor, a relish for kitsch & camp & an appreciation for bygone Americana from 1940s-1980s.

First thing I do when I get there is sign myself up for some spa treatments, as there are lots & lots of day spas connected to the hotels & elsewhere.

Then I go to the shops at the Venetian, to visit the Acca Kappa shop, which sells wonderfully subtle scented Italian soaps & toiletries. (Black Pepper is one of my favorites by them.) I don't know why they don't have a free-standing store in NY, but they don't.

Then I make a pilgrimage to Hoover Dam, which is thrilling to look at. First time my L.A. friends drove me out there, I thought, "Big deal, a dam. Holding back water. Okay, so I'll go look at a public infrastructure work." And oh, was I ever wrong. It was spectacular & awesome: Turns out that I do give a dam. They were putting up a bridge right near the dam, and I'd like to see the finished bridge, which also looked like an engineering marvel.

Another favorite place is the Boneyard, where the retired neon signs are sweetly sleeping, commemorating Las Vegas history. Bring your camera to take pictures of yourself near the neon cowboys & etc.

http://www.neonmuseum.org/the-boneyard.html

Also, I keep meaning to sign up for a day trip into the Grand Canyon from Vegas, but haven't done so yet.

And the other thing is that Las Vegas is like Broadway West. A lot of shows transfer out there after they finish running in NY, or have a production there simultaneously. So look into that early, so you can strategize your ticket-buying to find the best price for seats.

I also recommend getting a drink with an umbrella in it at Frankie's Tiki Room.
http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/

And finally, Saef's L.A. Friends' Favorite Place in Las Vegas, Peppermill's Fireside Lounge (2985 S. Las Vegas Blvd.), which has a shag-carpeted fire pit. I repeat, it has a fire pit carpeted in shag. And plastic trees. Go at night for the full effect. Go to the lounge part, not the diner. Imagine "The Theme From Shaft" playing as you walk in. You have walked into a 70s time warp. Enjoy it while you're there.

Next time, try to time your visit for the annual Adult Entertainment Convention, so that you'll see all the porn stars and wannabes gambling in the casinos in the evening after sitting at the booths all day.