When the first REAL winter rain comes to Oregon it is seldom understated, in fact it is usually a lot like a monsoon, so saying it is raining in Oregon today would be an understatement. We discovered in taking Karina to work, that although our 3 month old Ratchiweenie ( Rat Terrier, Chihuahua, Doxie mix) "Angel" ( and she is anything but) LOVES riding in the van... she has some MAJOR issues with windshield wipers.

Karina thought she was scared by the rain, but she stopped barking and trying to kill the wipers through the windshield when I turned them off at a stoplight... she is fearless for such a small dog. Needless to say, the 14 mile ride was rather noisy. She is doing quiet well with her housebreaking, still an accident here and there, but for the most part she is doing better than her litter mates are doing. I am quiet proud of her....now if I could just get Karina and Keegan to cheer for her like I do when she hits her puppy pad...she craves the glory and responds well to it.

I was going to stop and get acrylic sealer in route home this morning, for my brown paper bag walls... but decided against it when little miss "I am going to kill those things taunting me" sprang into action and would not back off. I have decided on a new course of action in the kitchen, for the cabinets and color scheme... for a better flow into the living room which is going to be browns, tans, charcoal gray with black and white...sorta tribal...but with eclectic funky and colorful accents, like a colorful mosaic'd body torso lamp, and a couple of whimsical painted cabinets/tables and a trunk. I am thinking about adding some scattered leaf stamps or molded brown paper leaves to the brown paper walls, but I am still undecided on that for now.

The kitchen has always been rather colorful... that is changing this winter to browns, charcoal and cream... because more neutral will make it easier to sell. For some understated punch I am doing handmade paper mosaic suns on the cabinet doors in neutrals and then sealing them.

A neighbor gave me a Ronco Cold Brew coffee maker that he got as a gift and he didn't want it... knowing my extreme coffee habit, he redirected it to me. Yay! he hinted that if I wanted to give him an orange almond cake as a thank you he would not turn it down LOL. I am taking the hint & making him one tomorrow.

It's been a very busy week, Keegan was out sick all week with bronchitis, Karina is acting like she is also getting sick... I on the other hand am eating D3 tabs like there is no tomorrow, and gulping blueberry juice like it is water... no sign if illness yet, even in close quarters.

Vi is being a pill.... apparently saying mean things to her live-in... I have not heard it happen, but she is certainly capable of mean-ness when she feels neglected... so I showered her with attention the last 4 days to try to get her to settle down. Last week was the first week of our new schedule... I am now working Thurs& Fri 930a-630, and Noon to 9 on Sat & Sun, this means I am not there Mon-Wed...(this change occurred so her live-in could watch his sister's kids Thurs-Sat so she could work). Vi appears to not like 3 days in a row without me there, she acts out when how she thinks things should go is changed on her. Yesterday she announced she is calling her social worker to "come fix things". She says she wants me there every day. I also know she bitches about me when I am not there, it's what an Alzheimer's client does to get their way. I don't take it personally, but her live-in does. I am sure that living there is MUCH harder than coming in and going home. I think he and her daughter are discussing placing her in a home... there have been hints to that, personally I would like to see her stay at home at least through Xmas, I just don't think she will last long in a nursing home. If I had more room I would just bring her to live with us and foster care her. But in our current 2 bdrm that is not an option, and besides that, any relocation will impact her mental status because she would lose control of some things she now thinks she has control of, even if she really doesn't.

I truly hope to die without fanfare before I become a problem to those who care about me, getting old, confused and dependent on others really sucks.

More later today, consider yourselves caught up to speed.