Thinking about old friends

Been a while since we've posted.  Lots going on but nothing that we really want to blog about.  However, we saw this cartoon and it made us think of the Keeper of the Hounds.

The Retirement Village People

Yep

I Spoke Too Soon... Extremists on the rampage... again

So much for my summer boredom. Yesterday I was complaining that I had too much time on my hands. Today my wife alerted me to current lobbying activity by extremist Cary Theil (pronounced teal like the color..) here in Florida. Unlike the Massachusetts effort to end greyhound racing, this time Theil and his housemate crazy Christine Dorchak who have used their grey2k causes as their personal piggy-bank to fund their lavish lifestyle are joining forces with the track owners, who want to nix live racing and focus on poke and slot machines.

One of Theil and Dorchak's largest donors is the Humane Society of the United States which cons old ladies out of their social security checks by making them think the HSUS actually runs animal shelters-- which is not true at all.

In Massachusetts, greyhound racing was strictly supervised. I visited three different kennels, all of which were spotless. The hounds were happy and healthy. When let out of their crates they were overjoyed to see their handlers and were eager to play with them. Abused hounds do not act like this. To improve the quality of racing greyhounds in Florida, bay all means... lobby the legislature to adopt the standards that Massachusetts had!

But to end racing altogether, will cause the breed as we know (and LOVE) it to become extinct. I have seen greyhounds bred for show-- and the temperament is so very different.

If the hounds are being abused-- by all means lets improve the regulations that govern their care. But to cave into the extremists is dangerous. They will NOT stop at greyhound racing. Don't believe me?? Look here. Its a photo of grey2k vice president Christine Dorchak protesting with PETA at the New England Aquarium. To save the whales? Free the dolphins? Nope. She wants them to stop serving fish and chips in the cafeteria.

The extremist animal rights activists have an agenda. I'm okay with that. We are ALL entitled to our viewpoint. Let us know up front that your ultimate goal is to have us all get rid of our companion animals, and to become total vegans.

OH-- sorry I forgot. The end justifies the means.

Too Much Time On My Hands

Gratuitous cute greyhound shot to catch your eye and give you the impression that this blog entry might be interesting. Sorry to disappoint you. No food recall, no fundraiser, no grey2k or peta alert. Just a crazy greyhound lover with too much time on his hands.

You know the song.

I'm so tired of losin', I've got nothin to do
And all day to do it.
So, I go out crusin', but I've got no place to go
And all night to get there.
Is it any wonder I'm not a criminal?
Is it any wonder I'm not in jail?

Is it any wonder I've got too much time on my hands?
Ticking away with my sanity.

Styx

Okay. It's August in Florida. It's H.O.T.
I do not want to go outside to do anything at all. I'm even waiting until the sun sets to go swimming.
It's too hot to drive to the office up in Titusville. I'm saving money by staying home. Money on gas and on the electric bill by not cooling the office. I'm trying to convince myself I'm "working" from home.
Here you can see the results of my past couple of days "work".

I think even Wolf is bored. Or maybe just hot. Just out of sight to the right is a fan.

Yeah! 1, 2, 3, FOUR pillows, one blanket, two bones, stuffed bunny and a hound.

When we bought this house, I was certain that there would be room for a book shelf and an easy chair in the master bedroom. As it turns out, the room isn't as big as I thought it was.

Wolf really likes Judge Judy. I think she's a bitch.

Wolf is annoyed that I am interrupting Judge Judy.

He got sick of having his picture taken and went to his bed for a nap.

And I tell my wife SHE is obsessed with the hound.....

What's that? A treat?

NO! It's that damned camera again.

GREYHOUND FRIENDS FUNDRAISER FRAMINGHAM MASS

Just received the following from Louise Coleman from Greyhound Friends in Eastern Massachusetts. If you're in the area, be sure to help them with this Doughraiser.

Note: this is only at the Framingham Massachusetts Uno's location listed below.
------

Visit Uno's

in Framingham

on Saturday, August 14

and support Greyhound Friends!

Please participate in Uno's "Doughraiser" for Greyhound Friends on August 14, 2010. From 11:00 a.m. to closing (12:30 a.m.) a portion of your total purchase will benefit Greyhound Friends.

70 Worcester Road
Framingham, MA 01701
508-620-1816

Dear Friends,

Uno's in Framingham has generously offered to support Greyhound Friends by donating up to 20% of your purchase for in restaurant dining or take out food. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a fun and delicious dining experience with friends and family while supporting Greyhound Friends at the same time.

When you place your order, simply present your ticket (get yours here) to your server. If by chance you forget your ticket, it's not a problem, just let your server know that you would like to participate in the Greyhound Friends Doughraiser

Email: ghfriend@greyhound.org, Phone:508-435-5969

Louise Coleman, Executive Director

Greyhound Friends, Inc.

Another Dog Food Recall OR Another Reason to Feed Raw Diet

In case you have not heard, Eukanuba and IAMS have been "voluntarily" recalled.

Hat tip to Keeper of the Hounds.

Supposed "top of the line" dog food. Phooey! This is yet, another reason to feed your pets raw diet.

We've been feeding raw diet to our hound for several years now. It's the right thing to do because it is best for our canine companion. We know exactly what our hound Wolf is eating. When we buy treats, we read the labels. If it contains more than a few ingredients, we put the package back. End of story.

How could we not feed this face only the best possible for his health?

The Next GEICO Gecko??

One of the cool things about Florida is that there are geckos everywhere. I cannot pass a day without seeing at least one scurrying around outside the house on the porch or car port. As a result, we have almost no other bugs around. The other day, one of these cute little suckers must have been on the roof of the car. As we were driving, this one hopped on the windshield.

We pulled into the country club to let the little guy off in the grass.

This is taken from the outside looking in, just before I put the little guy on the grass, where he promptly found a bug and ate it.

New Wheels

We've had a 2001 Grand Am since September 2001. It has been a great car. No real problems. No major repairs. But, alas, the old gal ain't what she used to be. The time had come to replace her.

Thus we began shopping for a new vehicle. I had my sights on a minivan. Yeah, I know. But there have been many times in our travels that we have wanted to buy something and bring it home or to the office but space in the car prohibited it. Brianna had driven a Kia Rondo as a rental car a couple years ago and had her eyes on getting one of those. Of course, she had the final say.

We got an excellent deal on a 2008 Kia Rondo with less than 30,000 miles on it. Kia has a ten year 100,000 mile warranty.

Even though I do most of the driving, Brianna insisted on being the one to drive home.

As a result we have to cancel our planned trip to New England for the end of August. In addition to not having the funds to travel, both of us have been having some intense lower back and and leg pain. Neither of us would be able to sit in a car for the multiple hours long haul back to the mother country.

I've always been a General Motors guy, but this Rondo is really a cool little vehicle. Lots of room, V6, so it has good pick-up and it's really comfortable. Just the right height. The Grand-Am was just a bit too low to the ground for my knees and back. As Goldilocks would say, this car is just right.

Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

When is the last time you actually READ the Declaration of Independence? More than ten years? It's been at least that for me. So, after watching the Nation Celebrates the Fourth of July at Ford's Theater I decided to actually read it. This led me to the Constitution, which I was supposed to read for a U.S. Government class, but never did. Like so many things in my school years, I stumbled and blustered my way though it. In the long run of course, I have only cheated myself.

In my Orthodox Christian religious practice, on certain days of the year we remember those who have lived the Christian ideal before us in an exemplary way, known as saints. Usually remembered on the day of their earthly death, through prayers and often by reading the story of their life, or their written works if they left any. In the same vein, this weekend during which we commemorate the forefathers of our great country, I plan to read through the Constitution. Seems like a good idea to help make this weekend more meaningful.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

Solid Solutions For Any Problem

The Finished Product

At long last here are the pictures of the completed (except for a few needed pictures) interior of the new house.

Living Room (or The Den as my Mother-in-Law insists on calling it)

Dining area

This is a hammered copper picture of an elephant that Brianna's parents bought
several years ago. The plant beside it was sent by a family member when her father
died almost four years ago.

I know you are not used to seeing Brianna in the kitchen, but I swear it's really her.

The kitchen as it usually looks without Brianna.
I really like this kitchen.

Master bedroom with the new bed

Wolf's corner in the Master Bedroom

Justin's Bedroom

Justin's room from another angle.

Drop One Day, Save Billions!

The United States Postal Service has announced plans to reduce mail delivery to five days a week by ceasing to deliver on Saturdays. BRAVO! Of course the postal union is in an absolute tizzy. I won't even start on the carriers union. That is entire post in and of itself. The postal workers are already protesting outside some of the larger post offices in Florida and elsewhere.
I'm in favor of keeping postage rates as low as possible. If this means that a few overpaid government workers are offered early retirement, I'm okay with that.
If you feel the same way, let the postmaster general, Jack Potter, know. Send an email-- or hey better yet-- spend the forty-four cents and send a letter!

Postmaster General John E. Potter
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260-3100

My View

So, I've been a little slow in posting pictures from the inside of the new house. Yeah. I'm a procrastinator. But, here are a few shots from around the outside of the house.

This is "Rainbow Over Walmart"
I've seen more rainbows in my first year in Florida than I have my entire life in New England.

Pool side view. I've been swimming almost every night since moving here. Pool is nice and quiet after 8 PM until it closes at 9 o'clock.

View from the pool, looking at the building that houses the computer room, laundry room, and a game room with several pool tables. To the immediate left on the other side of the lounge chairs is a walkway that overlooks a large lake. Pictures of the lake at sunset are below.

These two birds visit our back yard (small as it is) on a regular basis. I think they are fishing in the little canal that is out there. I have not found out just what they are yet. They stand about four feet tall and are beautiful.

GREYHOUND ADOPTION EXPO 2010

2010 Greyhound Adoption Expo June 19th (Rain date June 20th)

He has a point.....

Palm Bay Dog Park

Wolf at the Palm Bay dog park
Gotta love those ears!

We live in Melbourne a very short distance from the off leash dog park. It's rather gross. Lots of smokers with no care or respect for the environment or non-smokers just toss their butts all over the ground even though plenty of receptacles are provided. But that's really not as bad as the fact that no one picks up after their dog poops all over the place.

In Contrast-- the Palm Bay off-leash dog park is BEAUTIFUL! Clean, lots of grass, well cared for and HUGE!
Its a few extra miles in the next town over, but well worth the drive.

The play area for dogs over 25 lbs is really large

Cool in the pool at the Palm Bay dog park- even though its a bit small for a greyhound
We've bought Wolf a large pool of his own for the house because he LOVES to be in the water

Extremist Celebrate in an extreme way

Many people wrote to me saying that I was wrong when I accused Christine Dorchak and Carey Theil of being extremist wackos associated with P.E.T.A. but I stood my ground. They have recently announced a big shindig to celebrate the end of greyhound racing in New England. How do animal rights extremists party?


"What: Three-course vegan dinner with a selection of tea and cakes. " Seriously. Its on their website.

YUMMY huh?

Don't get me wrong. I myself eat and appreciate vegetarian and vegan foods for several weeks at a time throughout the year, as my family tries to follow the guidelines of fasting and abstinence of our Orthodox Christian faith. I have friends that are vegitarians for health reasons and their own principles. I respect that.

What I cannot accept is forcing ones personal beliefs on others. You can be certain that if organizations like P.E.T.A. and Grey2k continue to chip away at their goal to eliminate all companion animals, they will take the next step to force the entire population to eat only a vegan diet. Of course if they achieve this, I don't know what the full time paid activists like Newkirk, Theil and Dorchak will do to earn a living. Perhaps they can work in some kind of rider on the legislation outlawing meat and animal products that will give them some sort of annual government stipend annually. Why not? I'm sure they will believe they have earned it.

Moving.... again

View of the new place from the outside

Spacious kitchen with LOTS of counter and cabinet space

So, we're moving again. We've been almost a year in Titusville.
We live in a brand new security patrolled, gated apartment complex with a beautiful wide open floor plan, oak cabinets, marble windowsills built smack dab in the middle of the ghetto.

I have lived in some rough places before, but never where I have actually heard gun shots. Yeah, for real.

We were going to brave it out another year because the monthly rent was actually going to be reduced by almost one hundred and twenty dollars, but things changed rather quickly. Brianna's mother has moved in with us, and this has facilitated us purchasing a home an entire year before we were planning to. We were looking around already just to see what was out there, and an excellent deal presented itself.

Wolf has already settled into his room

Needs a coat of paint before we can move in

Will be sure to post some "AFTER" pictures as well.