Lake Dumbar is gone

Thanks for all the comments! My husband will be home in 1/2 hour. It took 13 hours to fill the pool back up. The lake is gone (my property value just went back down - not lake side property anymore ;). He doesn't know a thing! And none of my wonderful blogger friend are going to tell on me - thank you.
I interviewed another pool company today. This one might be "the one." My husband has Thursday off. I made an appointment for us to go see the pool company showroom. We've got his relatives coming late April. We also throw a big pool party at our house every Memorial Day. I'd really like to have every thing done before that.
By the way, those ceramic pool "critters" are so expensive that we might not put them in. If we do, it might be the little crabs in three different colors. One for each of the grandkids that live here in Arizona. My husband informed me that he wants a new pool light - one that shines different colors. I'll have to see the price first.
Sigh

Shhh... don't tell ;)

Yesterday morning I noticed that Bandit dug a BIG hole in the grass by the pool deck. I went out and found that the sewer system had backed up. The sewer system was going out the "drain out" into the grass. Oh no! I had the washer going - the dishwasher going and my husband was taking a shower. I told my husband. We agreed that if it had happened again we would go out and buy a sewer drain cleaner.
I went to Harbor Freight. They have them for $259.99. When I got there I found out that they don't carry them in the store anymore. I would have to order one online :( So I went to Ace Hardware. They only rent them there. So off to Lowes I go. They have them but for $379.99. So on to Home Depot.... Yes, they have them too..... for $499.99. Oh no!
I called my husband. No answer. I tried 12 times. No answer. I was upset (to put it mildly). Since he is a mailman, I went to find him on his route. (many really bad words had been said by me during this time) I found him! He had a supervisor riding with him on his route. (hanging head for all the bad words I said) I told him about the prices. He said - we'll just have to rent one again this time. He would work on the sewer line when he got off work.
He called me at 6pm and said to go down and rent it now. I would have it there by the time he got home (and I'd only have to pay the 4 hour charge). I picked it up - brought it home - and in the dark he fixed the sewer line. He told me I should flush the line with backwash from the pool.
Stay with me... I'm getting there!
Soooo... I spread out the hose to the pool pump -turned it to backwash - and turned it on. The hose kinked on the end when I turned it on. So the water busted through one of the tiny holes in the hose. That tiny hole turned into a huge hole. Water was spraying so high it hit the side of the house. I ran to the timer and turned the pool pump off.
My husband laughed. He figured what else could go wrong today :::shaking head:::!
I was going to put the hose back by the pool pump but my husband said.... no, just leave it there. You can deal with it in the morning. hehehehe (little did I know then)
Last night I couldn't sleep. I slept in the guest room. I wanted my husband to be able to have a good night of sleep (considering the day). I heard Bandit bark a couple times through the night. Trixie did not. Trixie is my little barker. Finally at 4am I GOT UP!
I looked out in the backyard. There was Bandit - no Trixie. I looked at the grass area. I could see reflections of the solar lights. ummmmm
I looked out at the pool. Oh Good Golly! I remembered that I turned the pool pump off at the "timer." At midnight every night, the timer turns on the pool cleaner. I still had the pump on backwash. WATER WAS SPRAYING EVERYWHERE! For 4 hours!
Needless to say... I ran (Bandit ran with me thinking we were playing - Trixie was hiding) and turned the pump off.
My husband being really tired last night didn't hear anything. If I had been sleeping back there, I would have heard the water. Our bedroom and bathroom are in the back and opens to the pool.
My husband got up - got ready for work - and left. He didn't go in the backyard this morning. Shhhhhh.... he doesn't know we have a "lake" in the backyard. Don't tell!

Snoozer

Mom, did you get a new bike basket for me?
I fit perfect in this one!

Gimme some wind..... woof, woof

more driveway

Today, as we were sitting around discussing the bids I got on remodeling the pool, my husband says..... "You know dear, (oh oh) we should put those pavers by the driveway." What??? - I'm thinking. He said, "You know how you're always complaining (oh oh) about the drop off on the driveway." Oh..... he changed topics! The grass was lower than the driveway in one section. He put some dirt and grass seed in there. The birds keeps eating all the grass seed :(

He said, "Why don't we (there goes my back again) put the same pavers we put on the other side." He takes me outside - he's pointing and telling me all about this great idea he has. I'm saying, "ok dear, if that is what YOU (he didn't catch the YOU) want to do."

I guess you'll start seeing more driveway and planter (oops, that's right I forgot to mention the planter) pictures.

The pool, well, (:::shaking head:::) it will get done. I found out there are a lot of dishonest pool salesmen! Not necessarily, big name pool companies are more reputable than the others :(

The Money Pit

I don't know if you remember.... two weeks ago we got another new pool cleaner. Our other pool cleaner lasted two years (of course, it lasted until the warranty just ran out). The new pool cleaner works so good (?) it has been sucking off the tile around the edge of the pool :(
The last four days I've been getting quotes to have the pool refinished and retiled. You wouldn't believe how many choices there are! You can plaster, quartz plaster, regular pebble-tec or mini pebble-tec. Then some companies offer different types of pebble-tec like: sheen or baja, etc. Then they have a multitude of colors of pebble-tec. There are also almost a million choices of tiles. One of the things I'd really like to do is put a turtle or fish or something to define the area where it is 4 to 5 feet (so the grandkids know where the deep part starts). These "things" you can add to your pool range from $100 to $300 for the small to $800 and up to the larger "things." (The things I scanned and posted above.) Oh my! There is a diving board and the pool is 10 feet deep. There is also a slide and the pool is 8 feet deep there. I call our pool "The Money Pit." Remember that movie?

Trains & Things

This is a picture (I bought at an auction) of Oatman, Arizona. It's from the early 1910's. I have this with all my "train things" in the living room.
This is another picture I bought at an auction. It's of Roosevelt Lake here in Arizona. This picture was dated on back 1925. It is also in the living room.

One of my many train pictures bought at auction. Unfortunately, I sealed the back of the picture when I framed it and didn't write down the year and place taken :(


Another train picture bought at an auction and unfortunately I sealed this one, too.



Narrow-Guage Locomotive D&RG #94 Baldwin 4-4-0 Old West Hotel, Del Norte, Colorado
:) I didn't have the back of this one sealed.

This is of the train depot in Loveland, Colorado. When I was in Loveland two years ago, this train depot is now a restaurant :( I have more old train things. Want to see more?
I got hooked on trains when I took my first train ride in Germany. I had to go to Denmark to pick up my car. Oh Golly was that an experience. It was mid January.... Silly me! Dressed like typical California girl in the middle of winter in Denmark! :( It's really cold there - I had on a sweater and flip flop shoes. I had to stand out on the pier for an hour. Oh - the lessons we learn sometimes!

Proverbs 3:5

AOL welcome screen has daily news worthy (and sometimes not so news worthy) items to read about. Yesterday one of the items was: hidden religious messages on your product or packaging. I checked it out and found that IN-N-Out Burger was listed as one of the companies that does this. I just happened to eat at IN-N-Out that day. Soooo..... I checked my "packaging" to see if I could find any secret messages.
Yep, there it was on the bottom of my milkshake cup!
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. (Prov. 3:5-6)
Amen!
Note: *** I vote that they print this "secret message" in big letters on the sacks!

When Grandkids call and ask for....

When one of your grandchildren calls you and ask if you happen to have a wheelchair at your house they could borrow, it can't be good news.
My eleven year old grand daughter called and told me that..... well, I better back up and start from the beginning.
Saturday I called the grandkids and asked them to come over. We'll BBQ and swim in the pool. Then they could spend the night and we'll do it again the next day. The oldest said she'd have to ask Mom ( Mom was in the shower - she'd call me back ). Dad (my Son ) called me back and told me they bought a dirt bike. They were taking it out with friends with quads and doing some riding. "Oh, Ok have fun," I said.
OOPS.... I should have added "and be careful." Monday afternoon, I got the call. We have a lot of stuff out in the "barn" (as I call it:) but not a wheelchair. My husband found one on craigslist for free. I rushed out and picked it up and took to her.
Oh my! Poor baby - she fractured her leg and sprained her ankle. At the emergency room she said she got to choose the color of her cast. She picked purple. I signed it.
Not once did I say.... maybe you should have come to Grandma's house and gone swimming.

It's gone to the dogs!

This is another one of those Bad Dog Bandit posts. We have a couple guest rooms in this house. One of them has this antique chenille bedspread, pink satin sheets and antique embroidered pillow cases on the bed. The doors to the bedrooms are always kept shut (because of Bandit).

Yesterday, I noticed the door was open. I'm not sure if I forgot to shut the door or not but...

On the floor was this pillow with the pillow case ripped.

:::(counting to ten before I continue to type)::::

The dogs slept outside in the wilds :) of the backyard last night - the whole night - and will continue to spent every night and most of the day OUTSIDE! Now we can say that someone does lounge around our pool. It's gone to the dogs!

Yard Sale finds

I was out killing a little time hunting for yard sales this morning. My Sister had to take my Mom on some "important" errands before I went to pick her up for her flight home. I found a few yard sales but no great finds. I did find these great looking plants at this one house along the way, though. Isn't this cactus amazing?
They had this amazing firestick plant in their front yard too!

We have alleys in the back of our houses. While driving looking for yard sales I across this alley. It has a bike path. AND it is clean! My alley doesn't look like this :(

My Sister went back home today. She and her husband will be back the end of June for their son's college graduation. Wow - 10 or 12 years of college (I lost track)! Do we have a Doctor in the house?

I am a....

My Sister called me and said Mom HAD to go shopping at Brightons! She said, "Where is one here in Phoenix?" I said (not knowing that I was falling into a trap) "Oh, there's one at the Scottsdale Mall and one in the Chandler Mall."
To make a long story short...... she talked me into going to the Chandler Mall yesterday. Some people have vises. You know, drinking, smoking, mine is shopping at the Scottsdale or Chandler Mall! I have faithfully stayed away from both malls for a year now, really!
Until yesterday :(
We went to Brightons http://www.brightoncollectibles.com/ AND I bought a purse.
Weakness #1. Purses #2. Watches #3. Perfume...... and this store has all three plus more. I was the only one out us three to spend money at the mall.
My name is Dee Dee and I am (no not a smoker, no not a drinker) (hanging head down) A SHOPPER. But not just a shopper.... a shopper at the Chandler and Scottsdale Mall.
After they had me spend tons of money, we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Ohhhhh! We were all so stuffed. The food was soooooo good. And of course, dessert was excellent!
We went back to my house for awhile. When they left, I took a nap. All that shopping and eating wore me out.
Just thought I'd let you know, I'm having fun.

almost done....

After buying plants at Wal-Mart, A.J. Nursery, Home Depot and Lowes (stimulating Phoenix, remember?) this is what the planters look like today. We are almost done....

In One Word

As I looked through Arizona Highway magazines today, waiting for my truck to be repaired (under warranty) - I saw this picture. I thought if I could describe my life in three words, what would they be? When I saw this picture only one word came to mind. This picture describes my whole life....... "decisions."
Every other word I could think of always came back to - decisions. What would your "word" be? Would it be a picture in a magazine that inspires your word? Just wondering.

Stimulating Arizona

The sprinklers work today - woohoo! My aloe vera are planted today - double woohoo! Tomorrow I'm going to go out and stimulate the economy :) at the nursery that just happens to be two blocks east of me. Sure glad we have a truck or two or three :)

Addition Update

Three times my husband assembled the stones - then took them apart (because he didn't like it) and REassembled them again. I've never known him to be that picky. He put 3 tons of dirt in. He turned on the sprinkler system he installed. Oh no! He didn't make sure that there were no gaps between the stones. When he turned on the sprinklers the dirt escaped through the cracks :( So he had to REassemble all the back stones. Today he turned on the sprinkler again AND no leaks in the cracks. But.... the sprinklers spray in the wrong directions. So the dirt will be moved aside again and the sprinkler will have to be REadjusted.
Determined to show me that this area didn't need to be professionally done..... you know, "the" that costs too much money, I can do that myself, husband is still not done.
This is what the project looks like today, well at 1pm today :)

Alert the Media!

Phoenix city resident spends morning repotting her plants. While working in her potting shed, she thinks "Where should I plant this very large pot of Aloe Vera?" Thinking that maybe the best place would be on the side of the barn ( her name for the huge addition her husband built in their backyard), she continues to repot the rest of her plants. When she finished, she walks over to the side of the barn. To her surprise.... her psychic ( or maybe more like psychotic) rottweiler had dug a hole right where she was thinking of planting the Aloe Vera.
This Phoenix city resident claims that she had not trained her dog to be psychic. She showed us the training CD her husband bought her to use to train this lively 72 pound, 6 month old puppy.

On the back side we confirmed that there was no training skills taught by this CD on digging or psychic abilities. So we are alerting the media that: Psychic Rottweiler in Phoenix is available for "minimal" charge.

Phoenix city resident showed us what the planter looks like now. She told us that this is just temporary until Psychic Rottweiler reads her mind again.

Mr. Mailman - This is for you!

A little 4 year old ran up to my husband this last Saturday. "Here, Mr. Mailman, this is for you!" As the 4 year old stood there giggling, my husband opened it to find this wonderful letter. My husband and I don't speak "4 year old" anymore. I'm not sure what it says but..... it sure was cute.

This little 4 year old thought that the mailman should get some mail too.

Where is this?

Yes this is in Arizona. We had to find someplace to pull over and stop so I could get this picture. Have any idea where this is? It's on Hwy 87 almost to Winslow, Arizona. Just North of Payson, halfway up to Winslow is this clearing ( meadow, or whatever you want to call it). It's on the left hand side of Hwy87. While driving up there, it was mostly forest like. Then it seemed - like "out in the blue" there was this massive clearing. Absolutely breath taking!

By the way, all the pictures I post are "my" personal pictures. When other people are in my pictures, they have given me permission to post them. One of my daughters gave me permission to post about her and my grand daughter. So if you see very few family pictures, I respect their privacy.

I feel that my dogs and cats are "fair game" to my postings. Since there are four of them it seems like something is always going on. (Bandit!)

I am approaching my 300 post and am not sure if I'm going to just continue to ramble about anything and everything. I thinking of starting another blog and pick a favorite interest of mine. But.... which one? :::::shaking head::::: I don't know.

Bad Dog Bandit!

I've been trusting the dogs in the house lately. Their favorite spot in the house is in the living room by the front window. They bark at anything they see out the window. They have really been good - no bad dog mess.

I was ready to leave out the front door and in the corner of my eye I saw something white. A closer observation I found my dining room chair. Bad Dog Bandit, although she has plenty of dog toys decided to use my chair as one of her toys too.

I found her laying on the couch as if nothing was wrong. She looked at me - I looked at her - she ran (no, galloped) out the back door. She is hiding (as if a rottweiler can hide?) over by the diving board. I guess she knows she's going to be walking the plank soon!

Precious Moments Carthage Missouri

I'm still looking for those pictures I wanted to post and can't find. I ran across these pictures. One of the companies that I worked for 18 years, gave me 1 month of vacation time each year. One week I'd spend fixing things around the house. One week I'd spend traveling around my "home" state. The other two weeks I'd go check out places I hadn't seen.

These are pictures of Precious Moments in Carthage Missouri. I was heading for Branson, Missouri on this trip. Precious Moments was along the way :)

The trip was in April and it was raining. Most of the outside attractions were closed. Cool place, though!

in comes in four flavors?

I saw this on some one's blog. It reminded me of Fluffy the neighbor's (four houses down) cat. I don't see her very often since we got a rottweiler. Before Bandit, Fluffy use to come over every day. She use to lay under my bushes and wait for birds.
I saw her two days ago and the neighbor's had shaved her fur into the shape of a skunk. Oh My! I got a "fast" picture of her (it's not very clear).
Anyway..... you wouldn't catch my cats, Si, and definitely never Mindy being concerned about birds. But Fluffy.......

Wyoming :)

I've mentioned before that Wyoming is one of my "stomping" grounds. I was attached to the 133rd Engineers, Laramie, Wyoming.
This is Wyoming's wild (?) life. Laramie has more bars than people (no not really). I'd say all the wildlife is at the bars.

Chugwater's rest area - definately not like the ones down here in Arizona!

Howdy from Chugwater!

Everyone goes to Wyoming for their fireworks! Golly, these pictures make me a bit homesick. When we share our pictures on our blogs, we all get to "visit" places we might never see.

Brinton Desert Botanical Garden

Yesterday, I went over to Mesa, Arizona. My CPA that does my taxes lives in this neighborhood that is right next door to Brinton Desert Botanical Gardens. In the eight years he has done our taxes, I never went to the gardens until now. I didn't have time yesterday (always so busy). I made a special trip over there today just to check it out.

What a cool place! I must have taken 100 pictures - no one else was there - what a nice day.