We got a new pickup!!!  Well, new is an exageration.  It's a used '95 Dodge Cummins.  It's paid for !!!  All of it!!! Very very exhilirating!

That's not really one of the more surpassing things in life.  But satisfying none-the-less.  So now we have 2 vehicles again, and only one payment.  Very nice indeed!

Thanksgiving was really good.  We stayed home, and it was the first thanksgiving we celebrated without family/extended family around.  It was different, but good, too.

Jackson the wonder-dog is well.  He has started putting himself to bed instead of having to be put to bed once, retrieved from the couch which he escapes to, and being put to bed at least one more time before he will stay there.  It's very cute.  When he gets bored with whatever we're doing, he'll just wander off, stretching and yawning.  Then, when we start looking around to see what he's up to, we find him curled up in his doggie-bed, sound asleep...

We're very much looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas.  It seems like forever since I've seen them.

We recently saw Pride and Prejudice, and it was true to the spirit of the book, but not to the numerous details which I have apparently realized.  Overall, it was pretty good.

Well, on to the weekly house-scrubbing.  Happy Saturday to all.

Oh Yeah, and in case I forgot to tell you:  Happy December!!!

Evidently life must have gotten busy or something; it's been a while since I updated.  Tini, I hope you're still having a marvelous time!

Dogs and chickens are doing fine.  It's pretty cold again.  It warmed up for a while, but now has decided to switch back to winter.

We decided not to decorate for Christmas.  Even though it's a "Christian" holiday, really it's not.  And, we're usually not at our house for Christmas anyway.  Anyone want to buy some decorations, ornaments?

Well, I stayed home from work today.

Sunday, while hubby was still at drill, I somehow managed to get stung by a wasp.  I have not to my knowledge ever been stung by a wasp before.  This was shortly before it was time to go to church.  He got me right where the thumb meets your arm/wrist.

By the end of church, I had a nice-sized welp the size of a half-dollar that itched like crazy.  This is normal, I react to everything from fire ants to mosquitos to you name it.

By Monday evening, my wrist was red/puffy/itchy about 3 inches up my arm.

Last night, there was a small streak of the irritation going nearly to my elbow.  So, I finally broke my record of like 5 years since I'd been to a doctor and went.

He told me it could either be just the allergic reaction or it could actually be infected, so I now have a prescription.  It's feeling some better today, but I'm supposed to elevate and apply cold compresses.  Thusly, I am not at work, because it's hard to do that and type/answer phones at the same time.  So what am I doing at home... (grin)

Anyway, it's a relief to know it's not really anything serious.  Jackson the wonder-dog also enjoys this because it means he gets to actually come inside during the day...

Been a slightly less crazy week at work.  Hubby is off with his AR unit reclassifying weapons, which they do every six months to make sure everyone still knows how to fire their rifles and manage to hit the target...  hee hee.

AR is Army Reserve, not Arkansas, by the way...  (grin)

Which means I get to surprise him by re-organizing the office.  Don't worry, I do this to him from time to time.  I don't change things so much that he won't be able to find them, it's more like putting things where they actually go, instead of into the big pile of paperwork that tends to collect on one end of the desk...

Jackson's nickname of the week: Dormant Dachshund.  We bought him a doggie bed of that high-density foam, which he does not like to get into at night (mainly because it means having to get off of somebody's lap).  Come morning, however, he is very reluctant to get out of it.  You have to coax him out slowly, and it usually takes at least three tries before he'll willingly get up.  I've never met a dog with quite as much personality.  What a character!!!

It's finally been behaving as though it's fall, so we've been enjoying a few fires in the fireplace.  I love the smell of wood smoke.  Don't you???

Happy Weekend!

God Bless!

Well, it has been a pretty productive week.  We finished building a bigger chicken coop for some of our chickens, since we recently acquired some more.  By the way, that's Crele birds, not Kreel.  Sorry!!!  And they are coming along nicely.  Since they aren't show quality, I'm making pets out of them... quite literally.  They have already (mostly) learned that they can't escape being caught by trying to fly away.  But I think they're happy here.

Jackson the dachshund is well and hale.  He enjoys the chickens, too, especially when they flap and sqwak.  He gets so excited that he starts to shiver.  This is a bad thing.  We're still trying to figure out how exactly to teach him that chickens are off limits.  But at least it's not like he's a big dog.  Now that would really be bad!!!

I discovered this week that I have started rumors at work.  But really, I'm just minding my own business.  We are going through some re-structuring, switching around job duties, etc, etc.  The way parts of it are being handled really undermine my confidence in the management, and what their priorities really are.  That's sad, because up until this point, I have gotten along well with them.  It's much, much easier that way...

So, I have started visibly re-ordering some of my priorities, part of which involved de-decorating my office.  Apparently, some people are holding their breath waiting to see if I'm really coming back after weekends, etc.  That's probably not an ideal situation, but I really don't know for sure at this point what is appropriate to disclose, and what isn't, so I'm just keeping my mouth shut for now.  It's not like I'm not doing my work or anything...

Also, I'm not being as social with co-workers.  I'm certain that part of the reason I'm there is to (hopefully) be a good example, but so far, it's much easier to be influenced negatively than to be a positive influence, although I don't think I've been totally ineffectual.  So I'm pulling back some.  Being conformed to the world is definately not a good thing.

On a positive note, I've been corresponding with an Army wife whose husband was in the same unit as mine during training this summer.  I'm thoroughly enjoying that.  It's encouraging to get to talk to someone who is having the same re-adjustment difficulties that I am.  Not that we complain, but that way we know it's not just us...

Well, happy productive weekends to all.

God Bless!