A Rough Day More Ways Than One

At first I thought it was the rare mixture of sugar and fat from my huge meal yesterday, topped off with some pumpkin pie topped with ground pecans and a bit of brown sugar. Then this morning I thought it might have been that plate full of left overs I had around 11:30pm while watching some ballgames, that may have been the source of me feeling "under the weather" today. About the time I survived all of that, I received a package that sent my blood pressure over the edge. This rough day actually started sometime around 2am that led to a sleepless night.

It could have been worse but for some strange reason I did not take my camera a with me on the first walk of the day like I do every morning. I wasn't sure I'd even make the full walk without having to sprint back to the house the best I could. Luckily Stella was on the retractable leash because as we started the walk a large Chevy pickup was coming around the first turn straight at us.

Stella noticed right off the bat and took off after the truck but stopped 25' late when the leach ran out of rope. Sadie did not notice as the owner of the field and his three grandsons stepped out of the truck. They were collecting things out of the woods to put in the back of the truck. Sadie just noticed someone was in 'her' field and took off sprinting toward the boys ... nothing I could do. 

Luckily the grandfather didn't mind, he knew Sadie and knew we walk various times in his field. I was told that Sadie laid a pretty good face kiss on the smallest boy, his brothers were laughing. Yet she did not jump on anyone, then took of on her own walk while I stayed and talked for a while. Stella sat next to me taking it all in.

Our conversation lasted longer than planned and enough time for Sadie to run to the back of the field and run back to us. By the time she arrived I was starting to feel bad again so we turned to head home. Stella was happy for that as well Sadie was. It was nice to feel the warmer weather and see the sunshine.

With me feeling sick and a night of little sleep I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make my Z4 roadtrip this morning. I was planning on driving down the same freeway I took in September to see my old friend, then drive back tonight. I called and canceled but as usual our phone calls are lengthly.

While in this conversation the FedEx driver arrived with my oil filter cap removal wrench that I had been waiting for. If you remember the first one they send was mislabeled and it was too small and not the same part number I ordered. When I talked to their customer service on Monday, Tuesday and again on Wednesday I had zero confidence in anything they said they would do.

I told my friend on the phone that in a matter of seconds he would find out if this was a better day or a bad day to continue. I opened the box and not only saw the same exact wrench they were replacing but I also saw the same bar code label (correct part number) on the same package with the wrong part number. The had shipped me the SAME EXAC WRONG PART I received on Monday.

I'll not go into our phone conversation, I'll just say I had them cancel the order and credit my account today. Then due to my trust issue with their customer service I called back and hit the number for their billing department to confirm my request would take place. She assured me it would and that their manager was aware of the problem.

By that time what a better time than take another hounds walk this time without the leash. I looked outside for any trucks in the field and did not see any so both hounds were free to roam. Great weather and I see a week ahead of temps in the high 50's ... so it's not that rough.

I also thought I'd test my digestive system to see if the pie was the culprit ... I had to have a piece.

Last night I almost left the toping off but I had to try the ground pecans and brown sugar on the pumpkin. The pie went back into the oven for 10 minutes after the topping was added.

Today ... no signs of indigestion after my small piece of pie. That's good news for more pieces later.

I did decide yesterday to drive over to the local Walmart for a Marie Callender's pumpkin or pecan pie and maybe even both. That is why I bought this pie that had both. I have no business bring two pies home with me.

I drove the Z4 over because it was a nice day and it would give me another chance to check of the lower grill would work loose before my planned roadtrip this morning. It was still on extremely tight after I returned home.

The tv has been full of college football and college basketball games today but the way I have felt I spent most of the morning in bed but have felt much better this afternoon. I'll try another plate full of those leftovers and see if it was the food or the quantity of food that made me a little sick.

I have one more task with this company I bought the parts from for the Z4 repair that sent me two incorrect wrenches. I have almost all of that hardware their sales rep thought I would need, plus the three parts that I cannot find the old parts need replaced ... so I'll have to return all of that. I hope they get things processed correctly. I'll photo include a copy of everything I send back with part numbers, description, unit cost and and extended cost. I'll keep the tracking number of course and see what happens.

The hounds did get a little food of mine yesterday. Heidi, Sadie and Stella each had a thick piece of turkey breast but were turned down for their request for pie.

Not sure why a lot of my pictures lately have been leaning to the right. When I click the 'cropping' button it will automatically straighten the picture.

Well I have an IU game to watch today in basketball. I have a full day tomorrow of college rivalries in football plus more college basketball games available if I want to watch them. A good time of year for sport addicts like myself.

All the hounds are back to sleep now after two walk. Heidi never left the couch today especially since the sunshine was warming her up.

They didn't have pie last night but Sadie and Heidi were 'out cold' while they slept. They never woke up even as I was going to bed.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday ... it was great here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope today finds your table full of food and a house full of family and friends. I've decided to cook this year so I have started the small turkey and have everything else ready to cook in a few hours after the turkey is near completion. It looks like an early afternoon meal in front of the tv watching NFL football. I can remember doing that 50 some years ago while my sister and I had the chickenpox. Three games back to back today as is the tradition on this holiday. Yesterday afternoon Heidi once again checked for warm weather but turned right around and headed inside.

Sadie and Stella thought it was warm enough for me to do the final inspection on my car. I pulled out my small LED camping flashlight so I could look through grills, from above the engine down through the wheel wells and from underneath ... looking one final time for where those two parts the insurance company thought I needed replaced. When I left you yesterday I was going make a final decision to either find them and install them, or okay the final job and take the Z4 out for a test drive.

Stella likes to take a nap after her lunch, so it was the perfect time to pull the car down off the ramps. It's not as easy as it sounds because of how low the front bumper is to the ground. The bumper would get caught on the ramps if I drove the car straight off of them, plus the left and right side lower front fender liners would get caught.

So backing the car down the ramps slow with the door open, I could hear when I should stop and then jack up the car so I could slide the ramps out from under the front bumper. It felt good to back out into the driveway and take a short 12 mile test drive. I wanted to see if that front grill moved at all or was loose after that drive. I stopped at a gas station so I could check all of that out after 6 miles. Everything was tighter than a drum.

So on the way back home it was time to do a high speed run and hit that same bridge with the rough junction within view of my house. At the end of that September drive this bridge junction is where the dragging plastic left fender liner broke and went flying out the back of my car from underneath. With the grille dragging the ground at the time, that explosion was also taken a large piece out of my belly pan cover. I saw yesterday why and how those parts got caught at the junction.

At the top of the driveway everything checked out. The lower grille was really tight and did not move in any way. That 3M tape I put on the top of the grille and bumper worked as advertised. All of the panels I installed under the car were still intact with everything else looking normal. It was time you reverse the parking spots back to the original setup.

Early this morning as I opened a new package of Starbucks coffee, I looked back through my blog on this day or same time period in past year. Some years I blogged on this holiday, others I didn't. A lot of the photos looked the same as today's do and the weather wasn't much different than I have experienced the past week. I guess things change very little here year after year.

Sadie wasn't going to let me get away without a morning walk. With mid 30's and overcast skies we headed out with Heidi in bed buried deep in her sleeping bag. She is the smartest of all of us.

It was different for the hounds though. Unlike other mornings they were on the far right of the field just above the left corner of my burn pile. They were not moving. Had deer really been that close to the house last night or are the raccoons back this winter? Maybe a possum was roaming the field last night while we slept?

I kept walking letting both of them do what they wanted.

They spent more time than normal searching along the edge of the field that is directly behind my house. I kept walking only to hear them running past me giving me barely enough time to get their photo.

When Sadie has her tailed curled and wagging ... the scent is fresh and strong. It was like she might take off running any second. Stella was a few steps inside the thorny brush. I found out during all of these walks over the years that basset hounds are not nearly as curious as bloodhounds. They are more interested in exercise instead of search and identify or eating.

I knew neither hound was going to go anywhere this morning so I kept walking the path and decided I would take the ATV path back to them on the way home and then walk the way we came.

I was right ... they were not interested in leaving.

I was almost to the point of making the final turn of the walk when Sadie snuck up behind me running as fast as she could.

We both turned onto the ATV path and headed back to Stella since she had not moved more than 5' while I walked the back edge of the field.

I have a feeling the deer like this ATV path that follows the back of the field from the woods to the north, across the field to where they go down into the gully. This morning I found the ATV path full of fresh deer tracks and closer together.

That must be the reason for neither bloodhound wanting to do much walking.

Trying to get both of them to head home, following the way we came.

It was a long slow process to get home. I was close to just letting them stay outside for as long as they wanted but I am still leery of letting Stella do that since she disappeared a month or so ago.

Putting all my food out on the counters this morning to get organized for cooking this large meal, I realized I must have had a senior moment shopping yesterday ... I forgot the pies I was going to buy. Can you have a Thanksgiving meal without pumpkin pie? I might have to drive to the local Walmart to pick them up. I would go with Marie Callender's pies.

While reading blog posts from years past during this time period I saw I was still trying to decide what to do for a diet, just like now. It not really a diet but what my meal plans would be on a regular basis. Not menus but just what type of food to eat on a regular basis.

I also saw I was questioning whether to blog or not to blog. And of course last year I had traded my blue FJ for the black cherry FJ, only to trade that one 45 days later in early December for the back Mini Cooper S Countryman. It's good I am back to the combination I've had the longest and like ... the Z4 and the blue FJ. I have had no urges to make car trades since getting the blue FJ this past July.

Also looking through photos from this time years ago ... all the hounds look the same, about the same weight. Heidi's skin looks good compared to two years ago and had not changed much since she started to improve last February.

Thanks for stopping by to read the blog and to make comments. Hope your holiday is a good one.

Time is flying here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana, I've got to get back to the kitchen.

A Walk In Light Rain

The rain that was predicted started last night but was not as heavy as expected. You could 'hear' the wet pavement of the highway as cars passed during our first trip outside this morning.

The hounds started their normal routines but today it was a little harder to convince them to come back inside so I could start my daily intake of coffee. Even yelling the keyword "coffee" did not get them to respond as they normally do.

There is a cause to all of this ... they have a nose 200x stronger than people and a reputation of being stubborn.

It never fails that Stella will aways take her time, possibly walking even slower than she normally does, when she comes to my call and she doesn't really want to. If I were to mention any kind of food in my yell, she would be sprinting for the door to get back inside.

Just in case it would start raining harder later, I wanted to get at least one walk in this morning ... so I cut the internet reading short, waited to drink that 2nd cup of coffee when I got back and headed out. It was warm enough to switch from a down jacket and gloves to a all-season jacket, no gloves. Amazing how warm 45° feels with no winds.

With a light rain I put the lens hood on the camera to prevent any rain drops of hitting the lens. It wasn't a steady downpour but it wasn't a light rain. It didn't matter to the hounds ... they had things to check out, not waiting for me. The Tamron lens has worked every day since I bought it last summer. Thanks Tom for the suggestion.

About the time I thought they would head to the far right corner, they made a left to follow the path. It's hard to say what their noses picked up to make that decision for them. It was a good move since we were walking in the rain.

Whenever I go see what Stella is eating, there is nothing there. Her nose will have pushed the brush back to ground level and as you can tell, the brush is thick and deep.

The amount of rain drops stayed the same throughout the morning walk. Both were happy to get back inside where the dropped in their normal spots for a late morning nap. Life's rough as a bloodhound ... very similar to being retired.

Yesterday afternoon after a lot of demanding by Sadie's stare, then Stella's howling ... we took out for the 3rd walk of the day on Tuesday. It was still pretty cold but the sun was out and the skies were blue ... very nice.

It was Sadie this time that stayed back in the corner and then came sprinting ... great exercise for her at 8-1/2 years old.

You may notice she is down to just one front tooth. I guess that is what happens when you are a puppy and are determined to get out of a large indoor kennel while I was at work. She chewed and even was able to bend those heavy black rods that made up the wall of the kennel. I was glad to finally put that kennel away, never to be used again.

Tuesday afternoon.

Just a few years ago, the wild brush that grew around that 75 year old fence post and those trees to the right, was so high and thick you couldn't see it or the base of the trees. I'm glad I became motivated enough in April 2015 to cut, burn all of that out and plant grass seed.

The burn pile for 2017 has started.

Yesterday was colder but so much nicer than today. I knew it was going to be one of those kind of days where the light rain or drizzle would never stop. Yet, plenty to do inside. Some new books to read, college basketball games, some college football games with plans of a lot of food to eat stretched out over the weekend.

Heidi had her 20 minute Epsom Salt soak today. Once again she almost fell asleep with her head propped up on the side of the bathtub.

As the day moved along, it continued to rain and a little harder. So we didn't get another walk in and stayed inside except for the short trips outside for them to dump their tanks. I did more reading about the Blood Type Diet and of coarse with anything written in a book or online ... the reviews voice both sides. I go with my intuition after reading reviews from what kind of dog food, to electronics and/or diets.

Here are some pictures of the hounds during "Football Saturday" or even during the week while watching IU games. Very rarely that the bloodhounds argue about couch space. Mine is a little smaller than your three section couch, so this past Saturday we had a power struggle going on. Instead of Sadie moving over to her chair by the wall ... they decided sharing space was better.

Heidi decided to move out from the bed to the couch. It must have been that Mexican blanket I pulled out of the old FJ and put it back into the active stack of blankets. I am sitting to the left of Heidi and Stella.

Happy Thanksgiving from the hounds and I here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.