Why can't we be friends.

I decided it was time to try something new at the Shaw household. I have known for some time now that chickens, besides providing a great source of protein, are also a fabulous source of pest control. Bless their little chicken hearts, they just love to eat those pesky little, multi-legged beasts that crawl around and make my skin itch. So, it was time to try an experiment in free ranging my little darlings. Now, you must remember that my backyard is also inhabited by two very large chocolate labs and a not so large, but full of attitude, little Lhasa Apso. I began my experiment by opening the door to the chicken run and then standing back and observing the behavior of all the parties involved.

First, my babies carefully, but fearlessly, stepped beyond the boundaries of their domain and ventured like troopers into the outside world. They marched happily down the fence line marveling at the great expanse of lush greenery before their eyes.

I'm not sure what they found so fascinating as they all stared at the fence. Maybe they're just curious followers and since one of them was staring, they figured they all better look. I'm hoping it was a smorgasboard of creepy crawlies they had decided to devour that held their attention. The dogs, however, were of no concern to them what so ever.

I continued to monitor their activities carefully. Moose seemed more concerned about what was on the outside of the yard than he was by the fact that the previously caged birds were wandering about the yard freely.

And Tater just wanted to make it perfectly clear that the tire was his, and off limits to anything bearing feathers.

At the end of the day, these noble creatures seemed content to accept that the backyard was big enough for everyone, and they could coexist together without incident or ire. Oh that humans could be so simple.

Why I like sunsets.

I am drawn to sunsets. I have great sunset pictures from around the United States. Sunset is the best time of every day. Sunrise is that time of day when you take a deep breath and say, "okay, I'm ready, bring it on!" The adrenaline is flowing, you're ready to do battle for another day. But, sunset is that time of day when all the world seems to take a deep breath and, for just moment, rest. The wind usually seems to calm. The birds coo quietly in the trees as they settle in for the night. The sun slowly falls behind the horizon as it displays bright, dazzling colors that capture the gaze of anyone who takes the time to look.

All of life is silhouetted against the light and everything seems equal. Each sunset gives me that chance to breathe deep and say, "I made it through another day. I'm still here." I can relax and refuel and reflect on the day. Some days I have accomplished great things, some days small things. Some days I find answers to questions and some days I just survive. Some days, like yesterday, I worship God, eat food that's bad for me, watch old movies, and take naps. Those days are some of the best. Even on the days when I do nothing of any real consequence I can still reflect upon the glowing horizon and say, "this was a good day." As the colors rise, burn, and then fade as the sun slips below the foothills I can hear the music of a lullaby in my soul. All the labors and emotions and struggles of the day flow away with the fading glow and I can sleep and prepare for the coming sunrise and a new day. And that is why I love sunsets.

I take on a hoard of angry Hornets!

I have a post lamp at the end of my sidewalk. It's mostly for decoration, but I like the security I feel when I see its little light glowing out there after dark. The photo cell on it went bad this summer and so I have had it turned off. Not a big deal when it stays light practically until I go to bed at night, but now that it's getting dark earlier, I have missed it's friendly little glow. So today I decided to replace the photo cell. The screw to the access plate was rusted in place. So I got my drill and drilled out the screw and pried open the cover. When the door opened, one lonely little hornet came buzzing out. I sat very still watching him buzz around a bit and decided that he was probably grateful to me for releasing him because he didn't mean to get trapped inside the lamp. So I resumed my business of replacing the photocell. When I pulled the wires out of the box a half dozen more little, not so lonely, hornets came out of the box. Now, I was holding very still again, but tensed as much as a old lady can tense, ready to run. Still, the hornets didn't seem too concerned about my presence there (maybe they missed the light too) and they quietly buzzed away to somewhere else. I confidently took the wires, disconnected the faulty photocell and replaced it with a shiny new one. Now, here's where the trouble began. Apparently, the little group of hornets that had come out earlier was simply a group of reconnaissance hornets, because when those wires started back inside the box, the entire hornet army came buzzing out of the box. I knew I couldn't run, so I sat very, very still, hoping that hornets could smell fear and if I stayed calm they wouldn't be able to find me. It seems I was on to something because the angry hornets buzzed around the opening of the box and up and down the light post for a few seconds seemingly completely unaware of me. After a few minutes of looking and not being able to identify the threat, the angry hornets started to retreat back into the box. Once I was confident that the majority of this angry, buzzing militia had regrouped inside the box, I calmly replaced the cover. Okay, maybe slamming the little door over the opening while shouting, "ha, ha! I trapped you little buggers." and singing the victory song from Rocky was not exactly calm. But, I had defeated the army with my nerves of steel and my clever thinking. I quickly screwed the door shut, jumped up and performed the Mary Lou Retton dismount maneuver and dashed for the house. (All right, the only part of the maneuver I did was throwing my arms up in the air, but you get it). Now I'm thinking....I'll bet they have hornet spray at Cal Ranch.

Random thoughts

Today my mind was wandering, as it is often prone to do, and after a little jaunt past "who are the Gideons anyway?", (a query I now have the answer to, but that is another story for another day), and headed straight on to wondering why I have become so involved in social networking like facebook. Until about a year and a half ago, I had never heard of it, let alone been involved in it. I had managed just fine without sharing the intimate details of my life with a large audience of captive, but willing, participants. I really do enjoy my solitude and tend to be somewhat of a hermit, so why did I embrace the notion of social networking? I think I hit upon the answer, at least for me. I feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer for the benefit of my children, though. I want my kids to know that I will always have them, my memories of them, and my future with them. Of everything I have ever been or done, being their Mother is the most important thing. My life would be empty, in spite of a large circle of friends, without them. That being said, I believe there is nothing, not even chocolate, that is as comforting as an old friendship. Most of the people I associate with in my circle of friends knew me before I was somebody's wife, somebody's mom, before I was Jane the electrician or Jane the city councilwoman. I was just Jane, or Janey as my oldest friends call me. When my marriage of nearly 25 years fell apart and dissolved, I felt like a large part of my history had been erased in a moment, like deleting a photo from a digital camera. I would like to say I am progressive and modern, but I'm not. When that relationship ended, I had to let go of the memories and I lost most of the associations that were formed during those years. Of the few that remained, they were unalterably changed so that I often felt as though a large chunk of time had just vanished and left a large abyss. Then I found my old friends and although we had all changed, we shared common memories. I have a hard time remembering anything unhappy from those days, although I'm sure there were. Those associations were still there and some were even better. I was able to fill in the void in my life with comfortable old memories and share them with my new husband. He often feels like we have known each other forever because he has had a chance to share in some of those memories and experiences.

Thank you to my wonderful circle of old friends, family, and new friends who so willingly share their lives and experiences. I have learned that I am not alone. There are others who have experienced the same joys, sorrows, happiness and grief that I have and that mutual experience forms a bond that helps us survive and enjoy the world we live in.

Can this trip get any better?

After a long day, a broken toe, and too many meetings, I had just talked to Jay for the night and was just crawling in bed to read a bit before I went to sleep. When, what to my wondering ears should I hear? But the motel fire alarms going off. I opened the door and peaked down the hall and the fire strobes were flashing. A recording came over the PA system in my room (does anyone else find it disturbing that there is a PA system in the room) and says, "there is a fire emergency at the hotel. Everyone please evacuate immediately. Do not use the elevators, but walk calmly to the nearest stairwell and go to the main lobby." Really, are you kidding me? So, by the time I get dressed, because I'm certainly not going to the lobby in my nightgown...I have standards you know, and I gather up my computer, my nook, my camera, my jewelry bag (because you all now know how important my accessories are), my purse and the new sweaters I just bought ( I know what you're thinking...but I'm only on the 3rd floor and I can jump that far. Besides, I'm in the arena room remember? There have to be about a hundred exits out of that place. They can't ALL be blocked by flames.) the PA system guy announces that there is no emergency. Please resume your normal activities. So you see, I could have been seen racing down the hallway, with my broken toe, in my nightgown screaming, "fire, fire fire!!!" But instead I am nearly packed for morning and my dignity is still in tact.

On being a woman in a man's world

I love my job, let me make that clear. Somewhere I think there is a rogue gene roaming around my DNA helix that causes me, as an otherwise pretty average female, to love all things electrical. I love the specific language of electricity. I love knowing how it works and the amazing power that it holds. I especially love the tools associated with the installation and maintenance of it. That being said, the profession is predominately occupied by men, who know nothing about the importance of accessorizing. I am attending an exciting seminar on the analysis of changes to the 2011 National Electric Code. I got up at 6 a.m. so I could do my hair, apply just the correct, subtle amount of make up, put on some pretty, but not over stated clothing, and best of all, matching accessories, not something really appropriate for normal, everyday inspecting activities (although I do insist on maintaining well manicured nails in spite of the raised eyebrows I get from most contractors). After a nice breakfast in a restaurant way more sophisticated than McDonald's, I arrived at the conference and checked in for my seminar. Some guy with a mustache that appeared to grow out of one ear, across his face, and back into his other ear, handed me a big, black pouch resembling the breastplate of a medievil knight's armor hanging on a black shoelace and said, "here's your Id badge. You must wear it throughout the seminar." I stared at it like he had just handed me a burning bag of dog manure. It would not only cover the stunning green gemmed necklace Jay got for me in Algeria, but it was beyond hideous. As I stared blankly at him, the girl genes organized with the rebellious genes and I smiled politely while in my mind I screamed, "there is no way in hell that thing is going around my neck!" Funny thing is, the badge police never stopped me once and demanded to see my ugly black apron of a name badge. However, I was the best accessorized individual there. I heard it said once that the only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize. Men, you have a ways to go. Oh, in their defense, the guys from UL gave me a leatherman tool and matching nylon sheath. Okay, accessories aren't always about jewelry.

Hotel adventures

Jay likes to tease me that I choose hotels that could be very loosely referred to as "quaint." He calls them hotel hell. Considering I have a weed whacker named Satan, I suppose that could be appropriate. But, this room is simply the result of my tendency to be a crap magnet. I guess booking a room two months in advance and guaranteeing it with a credit card is no real guarantee that the lovely king suite I was supposed to have will actually be the room I get to stay in.

Instead I got, wait for it.....the Arena room! The bed is a lovely number that pulls out of the wall.

This would be my view from the lovely balcony at the far end of this splendid specimen of fine Boise accommodations.

Oh, and did I mention that this is the only window in the room? And yes, I can actually stand on the balcony outside the door and take in the beautiful view.
Now, to be fair, they did take $40.00 off the price of the room. You are welcome, City of Ammon, for my sacrifice to save you some money in these hard economic times. And they did offer to move me to my king suite tomorrow. However, that would be pretty inconvenient as I would not be able to unpack, I have meetings all day long, and I am only staying one more night. So, I offered to endure my time here in this horrific mother of all rooms which, by the way, has a big sign that warns it is a non-smoking room and an additional $250.00 cleaning fee will be charged if there is smoking in the room. Ironic, since I am sitting here trying to scrape the taste of stale cigarette smoke off my tongue. If I save $40.00 a day on the room rate, does that mean the City will let me eat from the room service menu where a hamburger costs $15.00? Sounds fair to me.

I will be calling my friends here in Boise to rescue me. Yup, the adventures just never end.

More cat updates

Naming a cat is apparently more difficult than I ever imagined. First rule of cat naming, give it a unisex name so that if you discover you have mistaken its identity you don't have to change its name. Second rule of cat naming, check with your husband before you name it to make sure he can remember its name. The moral of this story, Miss Calliope Catnip who became Mr. Calvin Catnip, has finally been named Carl Kittybritches. Jay just kept calling him Carl. No matter how many times I reminded him that his name was Calvin, he was always Carl. So, I decided it was easier to change his name than to change Jay's mind. I think this will be the last cat naming for now.

We even have adventures at the Chiropractor.

So...last time Jay flew to Algeria, a lady dropped a huge bag on top of his head when she pulled it out of the overhead compartment. For two months he suffered with the pain caused by the, I'm guessing, compression of his spine and the ensuing pinched nerves. When he got home this time he saw his family doctor and had x-rays to make sure nothing was broken, but still had a lot of pain. I have tried ever since we have been married to get to him to see a chiropractor for regular adjustments and he has always told me he can't tolerate adjustments. He will go for acupuncture, but that's all. This always baffled me because he is one of the strongest men I have ever known. As I have stated in the past, he has been shot, stabbed, beaten, tortured, strangled and crushed, so why would he have such a problem with a simple adjustment. Now, in case anyone is curious about his life of abuse, let me explain. For ten years he served as a United States Army Special Forces Army Ranger. He participated in what were referred to as black ops. He had, as Liam Neeson stated in the movie "Taken", shall we say, a very specialized set of skills. Due to the nature of his position, he has certain instincts and training that are better left alone. So.....I finally convinced him to see the chiropractor for an adjustment. Everything is going fine, his spine was cracking like a quaken asp log on a fire. Then the doctor grabbed his neck and snapped it quickly to the side. Jay hollered out in pain, jumped off the table, his eyes were glazed over (I don't know where he thought he was), grabbed the doctor by the throat and had him up against the wall. I jumped out of my chair and I'm standing behind him calmly saying, "Jay, it's okay, it's okay." Finally he looks over his shoulder and looks at me and I see his eyes clear up. He drops his hands from around the doctor's neck and is mortified and apologizes profusely. He was heartbroken when he realized what had happened. The poor doctor kind of stood there dumbfounded for a minute, Jay layed back on the table and the poor doctor graciously said, "it's not a good idea to choke me before I've done the other side." I can't imagine what was going through his mind when he had to put his hands on Jay's head and snap his neck the other direction. Luckily, Jay was ready for it this time and it was okay. Maybe if the doctor had warned him what he was going to do he could have been ready, but instead when he felt the neck snap and the shooting pain, his subconscious just reacted instinctively.

Well, we are kind of laughing about it now, and I'm sure the doctor had a great story to tell his wife when he got home. I think we will buy him a gift certificate to Roadhouse and send it along with an explanation of what happened. Jay is worried that he will never treat him again.

Like I said, we are the king and queen of adventure.

And so this adventure ends.

And so we head back home. Rv'ing is the way to go. When we're tired, we rest, when we're hungry, we eat, when Jane needs to...well you know...we just pull over and she has all the comforts of home. Oregon is very RV friendly and they have frequent, beautiful pull outs where a weary traveler can stop and just enjoy the view.

I will have my pictures to keep me warm while Jay is back in Africa.

And all these beautiful sunsets to remind of the good times.

So, as one adventure closes, we prepare for the next one to come. Stay tuned, it's gonna be a doozy!

Jane's birthday in Oregon

So it was another great day on the boat. Today the sun was shining and the fishing was great...at least for one of us. As much as I really hate to say this, I beat Jay fishing again today. It was an off day though. I got 4 rock fish and he got 2.

I got some nice pictures of the waves crashing on the jetty's on the way out of the harbor

We ended the day with a great dinner with Kevin and Katie Curtis. They cooked some delicious salmon on the grill. We brought dessert. Hey, if you invite a redneck to dinner, you just might get frying pan cheese cake.

It was the best birthday I've had in years. Thanks everybody.