Does anybody really read this stuff?

( I thought I lost my dogs forever... )

WE HAVE TRADEMARK!

Sort of...I filed the application today to trademark Paws & Rest.

I developed a marketing survey for the July research trip. Could you guys critique it for me? Be brutal--I want to get this right.

Paws & Rest Traveling Pet Services Survey

My century old house has a new tenant. I have no idea what it is, but it has taken up residence inside one of our sealed up fireplaces and seems to be trying to chew through the wall.

The house has three chimneys and no fireplaces. Two of them disappeared when they built the closet walls. This whatever has selected the chimney shaft next to the closet where I keep my nice work clothes. At the moment, I am afraid to open the closet in case it has found a way through.

This is the closest I have come to meeting a ghost in this house, and I don't enjoy the feeling. I'm actually a bit terrified.

Dear Prairie Home Companion,

I changed the dial shortly after today's show began. For months, I've been getting more and more creeped out by the inappropriate innuendo, toilet humor, and increasing misogyny of the jokes on the show. I thought last week's Life of the Cowboys was a new low, but this week's opening PMS skit finally did it. I'm done. I have listened loyally for 15 years and attended live shows but I can no longer tolerate Mr. Keillor's slide into dirty old manhood.

I no longer want to witness the increasing irrelevance of a once proud and innovative radio show.

The weather predictors have been warning about enormous storms today. My insurance agent even sent me an email warning me to take cover and what to do if the weather destroys my home and cars....
Now there's nothing on the radar and it's all a huge hoohoo over nothing. This is good that an act of god storm will not destroy my town, but we haven't had any severe weather yet this year and March is usually quite dramatic with thunderstorms and such. They're beautiful to watch so long as they aren't destroying your neighborhood.

The original of this...
I found it in a FARK photoshop contest several months ago, and I have used it as wallpaper ever since. I'm ready to change the wallpaper, but I don't have the original saved (this is from a screenshot) and I don't want to lose it in case I want to use it again...

I know it's on FLIKR somewhere, so if you run across it, can you send me the link? Searching "paper sculpture godzilla" and similar terms has failed me bitterly.

With the torrential rains in Peru, the rail line to Machu Picchu has been destroyed in several spots. The Sanctuary Lodge, where we had reservations for the night of Feb 16, will not re-open until at least the 21st.  Good news is that the Machu Picchu itself was not harmed. Sadly, Aguas Calientes and her residents won't be so lucky. The town only existed to serve the pilgrims to the citadel...until rail service is restored, they have no means of support and a great deal of the town has taken heavy damage. The Incas were better builders than the modern guys.

Unless by some miracle we can arrange a helicopter flight and talk the Lodge into letting us in, we will instead take the train to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We will likely stay a the Mosoq Inn then take a boat to the Uros islands. I remember being fascinated by the fabulous native boats when I was a kid.

Funniest part? If I had had my way, we would have been there for the floods and evacuating and stuff. Tony made me schedule the trip after the Super Bowl. He had such high hopes for the Cowboys this year.

Since my insurance covered it 100%, I decided to go and see an allergist and discover just what things make me sneeze.
The usual suspects: Ragweed, Mountain Cedar
Oh, Yippee!!!: Dust, now we have to hire a cleaning service
OH, CRAP!: CATS! On a scale of 0-4, I'm a 3...

I am allergic to cats! One of them sleeps on my computer when she's not sleeping on my head. I have never not had cats! Cats are like furniture--the house is not a home without them!

But hey, rabbits, cows, guinea pigs, and dogs are fine. The two cats I have now are fifteen and thirteen, so eventually, I won't have cats. I guess I'll move on to guinea pigs....

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Something new for my Christmas wishlist...

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