April 18, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Last night we did go to Hobo to shop for new carpets.  Stopped off at Taco Bell for supper prior to Big Lot.  Was a waste of time to bring Tony since he was no help choosing the carpets.  Every time I turned around to show him a carpet he was no where to be found and then would show up placing another item in the cart, not a carpet like we were there to shop for.   Ended up buying 5 carpets in various sizes.  Never did find a large one for the living room that we liked.  Will have to get one in the future.  Came home and spent the rest of the night watching TV, going to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM.  I did think of Barkley, but no tears, at least not immediately.  Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot.  Went grocery shopping in the morning.  Did a little more cleaning around the house.  Decided to go for a walk with Barkley, one last walk.  I held his collar the entire long walk along the river through the wood and along the paths.  Sat and talked with him.  Of course wouldn't you know the only person I would run into on the paths was my neighbor's son with his dog.  I am sure he now thinks I am a crazy old man, as he found me crying in the woods with my dead dogs collar.  Oh well, I stopped caring what people think of me long time ago.  I needed to do it for me.  Had to say my goodbyes and make some peace.  I hope Barkley is running around in heaven, healthy and not in pain, if there is a heaven.  Took over 2 hours walking and sitting by the river.  Ran out of Kleenex so I figured it was time to come home.  Got a call the flag pole plaque is done and ready to pick up.  I will pick it up tomorrow when I am downtown for my board meeting with ARCW.  Will most likely spend the night watching TV with the dogs.  It is truly amazing what a difference one less dog can do to a household.  He is very much missed.

April 17, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars and then Castle before going to sleep. Watched the last half of Dancing and Castle in bed snuggling with Stella, Bo, Kali, Vito and Tony. Finally fell asleep sometime after 11 PM.

This morning I woke up at 4:30 AM and the first thought was 'Barkley'. The tears started flowing knowing he is no longer here. Got up and watching a little TV before Tony got up and we fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Barkley's favorite times of the day was breakfast and supper. Was hard not to have to feed a dog you fed for 4 years. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. I then got on the computer and put all my Barkley pictures together so I could order copies at Walgreen's online. Ordered 13 pictures, one enlargement of Barkley in a 10 x 14, and a mix of all the pictures on one picture, an 8 x 10. Within an hour I got an email saying they were ready to be picked up. Called the store I order a plaque from to go on the flag pole to see if they still have the design, they did and after I emailed him the new picture to add and Barkley's information, he emailed me the following:

I told him to make it and let me know when it is done. I then called the flag company where I have the flag on the flag pole made to see if they still have the last design so I can add another Beagle to it. They have yet to call me back. Left for Walgreen's around 10:45 AM and picked up the pictures. I then went to Little Cesar's and picked up two pizza's and dropped them off at the vet to thank them for yesterday since I am sure they were affected by the howling and all also, much less seeing us walk out in tears with the body of Barkley. They thanked me. I also made an appointment for Saturday to bring Stella in for her shots and nail trim that was suppose to take place yesterday instead of Barkley. I figure on Saturday I will take Stella while Tony stays home with the other dogs. I can't have them see another brother or sister walk out the door wondering if they will return. Having one of us home will help. I know, I am nuts. Stopped off at the neighbor for a quick cry and came back home. Hung the large picture I had made in a frame I bought in the bedroom with Tiny's, Shadow's, Betty and Buddy's. Put the other pictures on the dining room table for Tony to see before I put them in the photo album. Sucks now that everything is digital. I didn't have one hard copy picture of Barkley except for Christmas cards. I now have some I can look at on paper. It might sound crazy but I have to do everything I did for the other, now dead dogs, like adding a pic of him to the flag and plaque and picture in the bedroom, or I will forever feel like I slighted Barkley in some way. I don't want him feeling like he was less than the others in any way. I know he is gone and only I know this, but I have to live with the decisions made. Put on some slow sad music and spent some time on the bed with the dogs. Not in the mood to cook tonight. Last night the neighbor was so nice. She sent over a plate of food for the both of us. How thoughtful knowing what we are going through. Guess I ment to say an IV tube rather than catheter like I did in yesterday's now corrected post. Tonight I am hoping to go to Hobo with Tony to buy some new carpets for the house. Cleaning the smell from Barkley is impossible and new ones have to be bought. Still can't get that sound of Barkley out of my head as they tried to euthanize him. I guess it will take time. I keep going back and forth with the thought 'was I a good daddy', and 'I wish I wouldn't have yelled at him for this or that'. I have to stop beating myself up and know I did the best I could humanly do with him. I guess my thought is: It sucks to wish you were nicer to someone after they are gone.

April 16, 2012 RIP Barkley

Barkley was sent to play with Tiny, Shadow, Betty and Buddy at 9:45 AM today. It was the worst experience of my life. I thought being the fifth dog it would be easier. It was not.

Made some big steaks for supper last night. Neither of us was hungry and ate less than half so I cut up the rest for Barkley to eat on his way to the vet. Spent the night on the floor with the dogs watching TV. Eventually I slept in the living room with Barkley, Kali, and Vito. Tony slept in the bedroom with Stella and Bo. Went to bed around 10 PM. Here is a pic of our sleeping in the living room.

Was up this morning by 5 AM. Didn't sleep much all night knowing what today would be like. I never imagined in my worst dreams how it would end. I called the vet a 8:30 AM and asked if they could get us in any earlier than our 11 AM appointment, since seeing Barkley try to walk or be comfortable was not pleasant to watch. The vet said we could come in at 9:30 AM with the same doctor. I took the appointment time since I honestly could not sit here another couple hours waiting for what we were about to do. I thought I had everything covered. I pulled the car around back and put the blanket and storage container in the front seat. Got the steak out to guide Barkley to the car. Took him out the side of the house rather than the back stairs to make it easier on him. Used the dog stairs and steak to get him into the back seat of the car. Got him to the vet with only one pain noise as Tony took a corner. I sat in the back seat with Barkley. Used the steak and dog stairs to get him out of the car and walked him into the vet. Weight him at 40.1 lbs and took him into the room. Had to give Barkley the rest of the steak since he was going crazy, but was having a hard time standing. When the doctor came in we told her we are ready, we know it is time, he doesn't need to be examined. The doctor then said she would first take him into the back and put a IV tube in him so it would be a smoother ordeal when they inject him into the IV rather than trying to find a vein in front of us. I walked him into the back to the door and they took him in the back. After a little while I could hear him howling in pain in the back room. I immediately thought, not the left leg, that one hurts him. I opened the door and the vet had Barkley in her arms, Barkley howling in pain. I screamed, put him down, you can't hold him, it hurts to much. They put him down on the blanket I had laid out and he was hopping in pain howling. I told the doctor to just 'do it'. Barkley kept squirming and howling as she tried to get the needle in the IV. I yelled again, just do it. The doctor said first, 'I am trying', and then 'I am'. I then told Barkley he was a good boy and how much I loved him. In a little while Barkley laid lifeless in my arms. I swear this was the most horrible experience of my life. The sounds of Barkley howling in pain his last few minutes will haunt me the rest of my life. Here I thought I thought of everything. I forgot to tell the doctors and nurse 'not to pick him up'. How could I forget that? I knew, that is why we did all we did just to get him to the vet. Barkley, I am so sorry. Paid the bill and wrapped Barkley in a blanket and carried him to the car. Put him in the storage container and drove home. Set the container on the kitchen floor and tipped it sideways so the four other dogs could smell Barkley and know where their brother is, or what happened to their brother. All the dogs sniffed Barkley. Stella even nudged him a bit to see if he would move. It was heart breaking. Drove Barkley to Pet Lawn on the north side of town and dropped off his body. Said my last goodbyes, and drove home. I just took a Valium and sinus pill to hopefully get through the afternoon. What a horrible experience, and to think I will have to do this at least four more times. Here is another picture of my Barkley when he was happy and healthy. I'm going to lay down and hug my other four dogs all afternoon.

Barkley
Adopted 9/25/2008 at the age of 8 - My memories:

I went to the Waukesha Humane Society on a Friday September 25th, 2008 to turn over a dog we had taken in for a few days from a family that did not want him because he was too ‘puppy like’ and full of energy. We tried to have him here but he was too much of a handful at the time. When I dropped Nena at the Waukesha Humane Society my sister Penny, who works / volunteers
there, suggested I check out a Beagle named Barkley who had been at the shelter for about 3 months. He was 8 years old. I took Barkley for a walk outside for a while and then decided to talk to the staff about fostering him and possibly adopting if he worked out. I filled out the paperwork and took Barkley to the car. He jumped into the front passenger seat and sat there the entire ride home. He was happy to be riding in a car and had obviously done it before. He was so good the entire ride home as I talked to him about where he was headed.
When we arrived at home I took him out of the car and slowly walked him into the house, not knowing how he would get along with the other dogs, especially Stella. He walked right in
like we had just taken a walk and was coming back home, like he had been here before. The other dogs did not mind a bit that another dog was coming into their lives.

The first night when we went to bed I remember Barkley sitting on the floor at the side of the
bed. I told him to come on up onto the bed with his daddies. He jumped up and had the happiest look on a dogs face I had ever seen. After sleeping in the shelter for 3 months on a cold floor listening to so many other dogs barking, I could tell he was so happy. He snuggled up next to me and had this happy happy look on his face. A soft bed to sleep on with other dogs and two daddies, what more could he have wished for?

Barkley really only played with Vito. Stella was too rough, Kali didn’t have a need for him. But Vito always got along with everyone and Barkley took to him. They wrestle often and humped each other.

When ever you go to pet Barkley he turns his body to sit with his back to you like a ‘pretty
boy’. It is like someone trained him to sit nice when he is petted. That or the fact he is just so happy to get attention. This was the way Barkley always was. Happy to get attention.

I one night started talking ‘baby talk’ to him on the bed. He loved it. He kept trying to
bury his head under my body to play. The more I talked baby talk the more playful he got. He has always been such a happy boy to have come home here.

I assume he got his name Barkley because he does love to bark.
When he wants something or plays with Vito he barks loudly nonstop. Otherwise he is always happy to just find a spot on the bed, chair or couch and what the world go by around him. He does get along with all the dogs and snuggles with them napping or sleeping.

Barkley always had skin and allergy problems which was one of the reasons his past owners decided to give him up for adoption. We ended up switching him to an AIMS Skin and Coat food after about a month or more on antibiotics. The special food did seem to help. That and frequent baths. Being a Beagle, he did need his ears cleaned often.

Barkley loves to go for walks, sit by his daddy, or snuggle to sleep next to Tony or I at night. I can not imagine how someone could have given him up for adoption. He is the perfect pet.

April 15, 2012 Sunday Dinner Time

We went to Menard's around lunch time yesterday for a few items I wanted, but didn't truly need. I honestly just had to get out of the house for an hour or so and get my mind together. I did buy a big storage container to transport him in after the deed is done. I also have a blanket ready to wrap him in. I have gotten very little sleep the past few nights having to keep an arm on Vito and an eye on Barkley all night. The thunder storms we had last night didn't help anyone sleep around here. Made it through the day yesterday after we got back from Menard's by just watching TV and laying on the floor with Barkley. Too bad the other dogs just don't get what is happening so that I could concentrate on him and not have to give the other 4 attention. Tony is of little help since they want to be by me all the time. After we fed the dogs supper Barkley laid down for a while so we decided to quickly walk up the block and get some supper for ourselves. Ate and came home. I spent the night on the futon mattress with Barkley watching the Titanic specials on ABC all night. At 10 PM I went to let all the dogs out, last time for the night. Barkley got half way down the ramp outside and started howling in pain and could not move. I yelled for Tony and could not believe when I heard him yell back ' I'm peeing'. Jeezes fuck. So stop peeing and get in here. Sometimes I hate Tony. Got Barkley back in the house, he did not pee, and got him in his enclosed area. Gave him a dog pain pill and talked about taking him to emergency. We have a Monday 11 AM appointment to euthanize him so we are just trying to make it to that time and have it done by the vets I know rather than a cold emergency vet room with people I don't know or trust. Barkley settled down and I called the emergency vet and asked a few questions like if they got the paperwork from our vet and if it would be OK anytime if something happens to rush him in. Got a yes to both. I had our vet fax his paperwork on Friday so there would be less confusion if we took him in to the emergency hospital. I then also asked if they knew of a vet that comes to the house I could contact so we can have it done here, if needed. They gave me a web sight and name so I got on my laptop in bed and looked into it. Barkley made it through the night, no help from the thunderstorms at 4 AM.

Got up at 5 AM, fed the dogs around 6 AM and sent an email to the person who could come to the house to contact me. I was surprised when she called back so early on a Sunday. She said she could come over and do it for $300. Well, that is a lot of money. But it is still on option if we can't get him out of the house on Monday or before if needed. I then called my sister for some dog advice. We both agreed the best thing would be to try to keep Barkley calm and comfortable all day and take him to our regular vet as scheduled tomorrow at 11 AM. We agreed I will feel better getting a final word from a vet I know. Plus I have the two back up options of emergency or the home care vet if something changes and I see Barkley needs to be put to sleep sooner than Monday. Around 10 AM I was hungry and showered and we decided to go out to breakfast, get lottery tickets and come home to spend the rest of Barkley's last day. We have just been laying around watching TV with Barkley and the dogs all day. I know my dogs, so I have to say Barkley is 'uncomfortable', he is not in great pain or miserable. I would never let that happen. If he was I would take him in immediately to emergency. It is now close to supper time for the dogs and Tony and I. We are making some steaks on the grill. I will most likely share mine with Barkley. His last supper and all. I have the futon still on the living room floor and plan on sleeping in the living room with Barkley, Vito and Kali tonight. Stella and Bo will most likely sleep on the bed in the bedroom. I just have to do this one last night so I know I did all I could for him and show him I love him. I know he loves me. So now it is just the waiting game until tomorrow at 11 AM when we euthanize him. I fucking hate this. My face is swollen from crying and I feel so tired. It just sucks I have four more dogs and will have to go through this again four more times, at least. I am sure tomorrow morning will drag on and on until 11 AM gets here. I will be a mess, but strong enough to do what must be done. I will use the dog stairs we have to try to get him to walk up into the car tomorrow. I hope it works. After we euthanize him we will bring the body home so the other dogs can smell him, know what has happened to their brother, and then we will then take him to the dog pet cemetery on the north side where the other four dogs have been cremated, to be cremated. So tomorrow will be a long horrible day. I will write when I get myself time and together. God I hate this waiting for the inevitable.

April 14, 2012 Saturday Morning

Tony got home last night at 5 PM and helped me feed the dogs. Barkley ate his food and seemed tired, and wanting to sleep. You could cut the tension with a knife in our house as Tony and I tried to decide what to do. We finally agreed to take a 'wait and see' approach as the night went on. Figured if we took him to emergency right now, we would euthanize him. So we decided what is the difference if we go now, or at 1 AM in the morning if something changes. So we spent the night with the dogs. Knowing that this could be one of his last nights I decided to get the futon mattress from the basement and put it in the living room so I could sleep on the floor with Barkley considering it could be his last night. Spent the night on the floor with Barkley, Vito and Kali. Tony slept next to us on the couch with Stella and Bo. Made it through the night, slept like crap and was up every half hour or so to check on where everyone was. Vito being blind and all this was strange for him sleeping on the floor on a mattress. This morning Barkley looks better but I still know something is wrong and the end is near. I think the plan is going to go like this. I will call the vet this morning and see if we can get him in to see them. If we can not, I will switch out Stella's Monday appointment for Barkley, if he makes it until Monday. I will not let him live in pain so the minute I feel it is time, he will go to emergency or the vet and do what needs to be done. Trust me, I have put down four other dogs I loved a lot more than him and made it through the ordeal. If Barkley can make it until 11 AM on Monday, I think that will be it for him. If I see anything before that, then the emergency room will be what we do. I slept on the floor with Barkley last night so I have no regrets when the time comes to say goodbye to him. I need to know in my heart and mind that I did all I could to make him happy during his last days or hours. I know how not doing this can haunt the mind a lifetime. So that is where we stand at this point. Kind of a wait and see, but know the end it very near. I will update with more if something happens. Other than that it is suppose to be in the 70s today and Sunday and I am sure we will spend most of the time around the house, giving Barkley the bulk of attention. I am glad I did not take him to emergency last night, but I do know that only gave me a day or two, the end result will be the same whether it is today or tomorrow or Monday. So damn hard to do this stuff, but trust me, I can do it. I love my dogs that much.

April 13, 2012 Friday Afternoon

Have to type fast. Had a great lunch with the guys. Came home and Barkley was not right. Something is wrong. He could hardly walk and I could tell he was in pain. Got him out to go potty and he laid down on a chair. When I went to pick him up he cried. Got him on the bed and we laid down for an hour or so. When I tried to get him off the bed he cried loudly in pain. Evenutally got him off the bed and called the vet. Being so late in the day they can not see him. Called Tony and told him to pay the employees and get home so we can take Barkley to emergency. I have a feeling this is the end for Barkley. I will fill you in more as I get time. Pray for Barkley. Barkley is over 12 years old and has many tumors around his body. I think something exploded inside of him. I hate these days.

April 12, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Saw the play West Side Story with my parents and Tony last night. My parents loved the show and the seats. Actually this was the first play I didn't have to nudge Tony and wake him during the performance. I am sure the 20 or so hot guys playing the gang members helped. Tony had the binoculars to his face for almost the entire show. LOL. Got home a little after 10 PM and after some TV went to bed.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Got off to a slow start and felt tired during the early morning hours. Made some finishing touches on the front wall, I only need two bags of black lava rock to finish the project. Will get them this weekend. Filled the pond with water because we have not had rain in so long it was down an inch or more. I did forget I had the hose on and when I looked the pond was over flowing. Oh well, it is full now. Went for a long walk to Pick N Save bank and deposited a check. Took the long walk along the river back home. Got home and laid on the couch for an hour listening to music. After an hour I just had to get up and start doing more. The sun is out and it is in the 50s, very nice. Dragged the lawn mower around the block to cut the little grass we had. Was happy I was able to start the damn thing after dragging it around the block. It is an old lawn mower and if we had more grass to cut we would get a new one. Making spaghetti for dinner with a salad. Will spend the night watching TV on the DVR. Here is a pic of the final block replacement of the front retaining wall. You can compare it to the pics the other day and see the change I made at the bottom of the stairs and sidewalk. I like it much better and happy I made the change. Of course now you can see we really need to repair the steps of the sidewalk. Always something.

April 11, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning outside fixing the bottom wall in the pictures yesterday. I did not like the way it was squared off at the bottom and made the two high wall rounded at the base of the sidewalk, like the wall behind it. I like how it turned out. After I was done I showered and went grocery shopping. Didn't spend a lot and just bought mostly produce and dairy. Came back and after a can of soup for lunch I took a two hour nap with the dogs since tonight we go to see the play West Side Story with my parents. They are driving into town and we are all going to the play together. The people who usually have the seats next to us are out of town and I bought them off them and my parents are using their tickets. Should be a good show. The music of West Side Story is always good, hope the acting is as good. Just making a frozen pizza for supper. Thought today might be the day the Mourning Doves lay their eggs. The mother spent the entire morning in the nest. I just checked the nest, since the birds are gone, and no eggs yet. She must just to practicing. I know the male bird was bringing her twigs all morning as she laid in the nest. Maybe tomorrow, it is going to be any day now. Was in the low 50s and sunny today in Milwaukee.

April 10, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars. To close to call as to who will go home tonight. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Decided to work on the front retaining wall. I never liked how I had set up the stairwell so I basically dug out both corners and then rebuilt the wall in a curve to the stairwell. Here is a picture of the stairs with one side finished and the other still squared off at the steps.

Spent the entire morning working on the wall and got it all done looking nice. Here is the wall stairwell finished. I think it looks much better with curves than corners.
Of course when I was finished my back was killing me. I am getting to old and do not have the back for this kind of work anymore. Went to Walgreen's and got my prescriptions and a foot long chicken sub at Cousins. Took a much needed nap with the dogs. Still having a hard time even typing and waking up and I have had a half a cup of coffee already. It is quite cool in Milwaukee today. It is in the 40s and cloudy. Glad I got my work done this morning outside while the sun was out. Much colder now that the sun is behind the clouds. Will spend the night watching the Dancing Results before going to bed. Going to take a pain pill and head to the couch after I spell check.

April 9, 2012 Monday Afternoon

Friday night we watched the movie War Horse. Very very good movie. I recommend it. There was one part when we had to turn away, when the horse gets caught in the barb wire, but it has a happy ending. War Horse was a very good movie, rent it. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Saturday morning Tony went to work for a while and I did things around the house. When he got home and showered we went to lunch. Came home and spent the rest of the day watching TV and doing things around the house. Very uneventful day. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday was Easter. We got up around 7 AM and after feeding the dogs and giving Vito his shot, we spent the morning reading the newspaper and watching TV. I showered early and went and got lottery tickets around 11 AM, also picked up a few items at the grocery store, like flowers for Tony's mom. Met Tony's mom, sister, son, and friend for Easter brunch in St Francis at a nice restaurant. We had a 1PM reservation. Thankfully we were all on time and got a seats at the bar to wait for our table. We waited and waited. Finally around 1:30 Tony's sister went up to find out what was the hold up. She came back and we waited another 10 minutes and I then said 'I will take care of this'. I went up to the front dest and asked for the manager, explained to him we were not happy and it is now 1:45 and we had a 1 PM reservation. He said he would get us the next table. As I looked at the reservation list I could see some how they skipped us and just went on filling tables. Our pager never went off, I think they just honestly skipped us. I then told the manager the only thing at this point that is going to put a smile on my family and my face is if he buys us all a drink for this inconvenience. He agreed and we all got a free drink and continued to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally at 2:15 I had had enough and went up to the front desk again to find out what the hell was the problem. I got loud and we got a table immediately. The manager then wanted to talk to me outside and I started to follow him and then decided the hell with it and told him I waited long enough to eat and I was getting some food. We all ate all we could and had a nice enough lunch. The manager even came by a few time and when we told him some other problems he bought us all another round of drinks and gave us a $25 gift card to use towards the Easter brunch. We were the last of the brunch rush and almost the last to leave the restaurant. Thankfully for the free drinks and the $25 gift card the bill for the five of us was still $170. WTF? I guess each brunch was $23 a piece. We will not do this again. Paid for ours and Tony's moms brunch and we all said our goodbyes. Tony's sister gave us each a small Easter basket, which was thoughtful. One more thing I have to comment on. The sisters son, who has no money and never offers to pay his part of course had to order top shelf liquor when he ordered his drink. I hate when free loaders do this crap. Hell, if someone else is buying your drink you drink what they are drinking or something similar. You don't order a drink with top shelf liquor. Of course he just drank, ate and got up from the table like it was all for free. Guess this is why we love some family members more than others. Gave Tony's mom her flowers I bought before we all left. Got home and it was close to 4 PM. Spent the rest of the day watching TV and loosening our pants. LOL Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:20 AM. After reading the newspaper and watching Live With Kelly I showered and drove to Home Depot to buy some bags of lava rock needed in the front outside wall. Bought six bags and after putting them out I realized I needed at least 8 more bags. Went back to Home Depot, thankfully it is only a mile or two away, and bought the 8 more bags. Came home and put them all out. I still need two bags at least of the black lava rock, but all they had was the brown. I have both colors, the black as a border. Will get the black rock later in the season or at a store that has it when I see them. I can live for a while the way it all is. Laid back and listened to some music this afternoon with the dogs all on the couch next to me. It is in the high 50s today and the sun is out. Nice enough for me to do things outside as needed. Our Mourning Doves from last year are back and keep going to the nest and fixing it, getting it ready for the next batch of eggs and babies. With the security camera on the nest I can see it perfectly. Will be fun to watch the whole process from eggs to chicks like I did last Summer. Hoping they hold off laying the eggs through this week since it is suppose to get below freezing a couple nights this week. Wanted to buy some plants and flowers today at Home Depot, but held off because of the freeze warning the middle of the week. Making a beef roast, baked potato and salads for supper tonight. Will spend the night watching Dancing With The Stars. Hope everyone had a great Easter. Will most likely go to Menard's and buy some bags of black lava rock tomorrow since I now feel the need to finish that project. If it wasn't so late in the day I would go there now.

April 6, 2012 Friday Afternoon

I got asked at lunch today why I didn't post yesterday. The simple answer was I had nothing to say. I honestly did so little yesterday I didn't think I should post and say I did 'nothing' all day. LOL. Of course I had the usual daily duties to do during the course of the day like feeding the dogs, laundry and vacuuming the house, but other than that, I spent the day watching TV and listening to music. Spent last night watching the Idol Results, Grey Anatomy and The Mentalist before going to bed.

This morning I was up at the usual 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I have no clue where the morning went. I read both newspapers and took a shower and soon it was time to meet the guys for lunch. I don't feel so bad since when I asked Tony at lunch how his morning was and he said 'I don't know where it went', I felt we were on the same page. Even so, I am sure he has more to show for his day than I did. Had a great lunch with the guys. After lunch I drove to the pet store to buy another bag of Grain Free dog food for Barkley. Not that I think it is doing much, but I have to at least try for a while and see if there is a difference in his skin and allergies. Bought the food and a bag of bird food for the wild birds Tony feeds each morning. Total came to $70. Drove the long way home through the park and after being home for a while I thought I should either take a nap or go for a walk. Decided the better option would be the walk, so I took a long walk along the river and trails. The trees are budding so in a month or so the trails will be even more beautiful then they are now. Now you can see everything through the bushes. Once the trees and bushes are full of leaves it will be pretty but the view of what you can see will be blocked. Either way I am really enjoying walking along the river and paths. I today stopped and talked with two people. I felt like the old guy who has no one to talk to and you hope would just walk away when he starts talking to you. LOL. Oh well, I am now an old guy with not much in my life. I still do like my life and would not trade it for anything. The only plans we have this weekend is to meet Tony's mom and sister at a restaurant for brunch on Easter Sunday. Not seeing my family this Easter but I will see them this Wednesday when we go to a play together here in Milwaukee. Hopefully I can get Tony to take a long walk with me on the trails on Saturday. There is so much to see and I still see new things every time I walk. So, with that I come to a close and say Happy Easter to all my followers. Have a great day, make the most of it, and give someone a hug.

April 4, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Spent the morning working outside in the front yard. The two brick high retaining wall in the front of the main wall needed some work. Some of the bricks had sunk in and some stuck out and the wall was not straight. Took the wall apart and spread two bags of dirt to help the sinking bricks. These are big wall bricks and my back is now killing me. But, it feels good. I am just thankful I can still do projects like this even though it is more painful than it was years ago when I first made the wall. Made a sandwich for lunch and then took a walk to Pick N Save to buy a couple items I had coupons for to take advantage of the double coupon day. Bought a pie and some raspberries along with a couple other items. The pie was on sale from $7.99 to $5.00 and then I had a $1 coupon which was doubled. So I got this turtle cream pie for $3, not a bad deal. Of course this savings only makes me happy, Tony could care less and would wonder why I just didn't buy it yesterday. Went over and talked with the neighbor about last nights Dancing With The Stars elimination. Came back home and made some salads for supper. Just going to fry up last night's spaghetti for Tony to go with the salad. I will just have a TV dinner or something. Will spend the night watching American Idol. Felt good to work outside and then take a walk through the trails. I am going to enjoy this Summer and the trail. Once the leaves come I will take some pictures. I did see a snake today in the grass. I do not like snakes. It was about a foot and a half long. Just kinda stayed away from it. They make my skin crawl. I hate spiders and snakes. It was in the high 40s again today and the sun was out. It would probably seem cool in the middle of Summer, but this time of year in Wisconsin it is perfect and could be worse.

April 3, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Left the house around 10 AM and went to ARCW to get my month of prescriptions and food. Came home and left a little later to go to Pick N Save to make a deposit and buy some food items like milk and salad. Came home and after making myself a ham sandwich I took a nice 2 hour nap with the dogs. Slept like a baby. Was hard to get my mind going again after the nap. Took a cup of coffee and I still could use another. Making spaghetti and salad for supper tonight. Will most likely watch the results of Dancing With The Stars tonight. They all were so good last night it will be hard to say goodbye to anyone. My lungs and back still hurt but I figure it will take a while for the antibiotic to work. No call from the doctor on my chest xray, which tells me it must have been clear and OK. In the high 40s again today in Milwaukee. The sun was out on and off, but it could have been a bit warmer if we were not so close to Lake Michigan.

April 2, 2012 Monday Afternoon

Can you believe it is April already?

Friday night we did go to the fund raiser for Brew City Bully Breed. It was at a downtown night club and I was not sure how finding parking would be. I knew all was in alignment when we pulled up in front of the bar and the parking space on the street right in front, first spot, was empty. We parked the car and went in the night club. I said hello to the people we knew including the lady in charge of the event. I told her I still remember the great band they had two years ago at that fundraiser, Left On Sunset. She said to me, 'I got them back this year'. I knew we were in for a good night. Got a table right in front of the band stage and spent the night listening to good music, having good finger food, a couple drinks and even a few jello shots. Got home a little after 10 PM and watched a little TV before going to bed for a little lovin.

Saturday morning I got up at 7 AM. Tony was already up and reading the morning newspaper. I fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning watching home improvement shows. Around 11:45 AM we left to go to a 12:15 PM showing of The Hunger Games. Guess I looked at the time wrong in the newspaper because the next showing was at 12:45, not 12:15. I had brought an ad for a restaurant that I wanted to go to after the movie and when I told Tony about it he said 'its right there'. So we walked the half block and ate lunch before the movie The Hunger Games. Lunch was good and I would return. Got the usual large popcorn and soda at the movie, not that we were hungry from lunch, but you just gotta to have the movie experience. The Hunger Games was very good. I expected a bit more, but was pleased with the movie and would recommend it. Might even pick up the second book now since the next movie doesn't come out for 18 months. Came home after the movie and spent the rest of the day watching TV on the DVR before going to bed around 10:30 PM after another round of lovin.

Sunday morning we were up by 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper and made breakfast. Around noon we decided to drive to Seven Mile Fair. A big indoor and outdoor rummage sale type place south of Milwaukee. Bought a bunch of crap we didn't need. Thankfully it was little things and it didn't add up to much, duct tape, tooth pics, a cake pan, strawberries and some rolls of paper towel for Tony's auto body shop. So we did good not buying anything expensive we didn't need. I was looking for a new leather jacket, but they had nothing. Came home and Tony wanted some lovin. I swear the more I give him, the more he wants. So we did the deed and spent the rest of the day watching a couple movies and TV on the DVR. Watched the movies Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close and Breaking Wind. Extremely Loud ... was great. GREAT! It is a sad story about a kid who lost his father on 9/11 and what it did to him, his mom, and the people he meets finding the lock for a key he found. It was really good and I recommend it. Breaking Wind was a knock off of Breaking Dawn and not worth even going into details. It was not good, had it's moments, but toilet humor. Rent or go see Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, it is that good. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Had my last cigarette, LAST, and took a shower. Put on the nicotine patch and got on with the day. Went to my 12:15 PM doctor appointment. Like I said before, the doctor is on her time, not yours. Sat in the room until 1:45 PM. She looked at me and got me some prescriptions, gave me a bronchial mist treatment and sent be downstairs for a chest xray. Will find out the results of the xray when she calls me. My chest, back and lungs still hurt a lot. Left the doctors office at 3:45 PM. I hate how long it takes and being my first day without a cig it took a lot of deep breaths. Stopped at Walgreen's to pick up the antibiotic. I am now on the antibiotic Cefdinir 300 MG. Guess it is for my lung infection. The doctor said I have a bronchial infection. So I guess this is the perfect time to quite smoking anyway right? Hell I even made it in and out of Walgreen's without buying a pack and that is where they are the cheapest. Got home a little after 4 PM and thought I better get a post out before I begin supper. Making some salads to go along with sweet and sour chicken and rice. Will spend the night watching Dancing With The Stars and Castle. It was in the high 40s today and the sun was out. Could be a little warmer, but I am not complaining. Still taking deep breaths, wish me luck this time quiting. I honestly have to quit. HAVE TO!

March 30, 2012 Friday Afternoon

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house. Since my lungs are not feeling better I broke down and made a doctor's appointment for Monday afternoon. Showered and got ready for lunch with the guys. Had a great lunch as always. Bought $5 worth of lottery tickets for the big drawing tonight. Hopefully I will be the big winner. Took a short nap with the dogs. Really didn't get any sleep but was nice to spend an hour just resting. Got up and vacuumed the house and now I wait for Tony to come home from work. Tonight we are going to a fundraiser downtown for the Brew City Bully Club which helps raise money to stop dog fighting. Since we own a Pitbull we are involved with the club. The fundraiser is from 5:30 to 10 PM which works perfect for us old folks who go to bed around 10 PM. Figure it also gets me out of cooking supper since some sort of food will be served to munch on while we have a couple drinks. Was rainy all morning and still cloudy. In the high 40s today in Milwaukee. Suppose to warm a bit tomorrow and then be in the 70 on Sunday or Monday. No other plans for the weekend. Will just let the weekend unfold and see what we do, hopefully it will involve a walk since I have not for the past two days.

March 29, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Last night Tony came home around 6 PM with the new umbrella I bought on line for the table outside. I ordered it online on Sunday and just got the regular shipping to his shop. Still arrived in just 3 days. Goes to show buying the more expensive, faster shipping is a waste of money. Spent the night watching American Idol and then South Beach Tow. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM because the dogs would not let me sleep any longer. Got up and fed them and gave Vito his shot. Barkley is again wearing his cone since the other day when I found him chewing himself bloody again. Damn dog, going to be the death of me. Did very little all morning. Listened to the soundtrack to Les Miserables and then took a shower and started the day again around 11 AM. Drove to Little Caesar's and bought a $5 peperoni pizza. Took it to Tony's shop and we ate lunch together. Of course the guys had to come and eat some of the pizza too. Sucks I can't just bring my man lunch at work and not have to feel bad about feeding the employees. Got home and shortly thereafter took a long nap with the dogs. Stella is still not feeling well with her ear infections. She snuggled next to me in bed until Bo wedged himself between us. Got up around 3 PM and started supper. Making pork ribs, mashed potato and green beans with a salad. I do love ribs. I think it would be what I ask for if I had a last supper. My lungs and back are still hurting but seem to be getting a little better, well I should say they are not getting worse. Still wondering if I should call the doctor. I just hate going again to the doctor and hope this just clears up on it's own. Will spend the night watching American Idol Results and then shows on the DVR before going to bed. It was in the 40s today in Milwaukee. A little cool but the sun was out most of the day making it seem warmer than it was. Tomorrow is suppose to be a cold rainy day all day, yuck.

March 28, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Went out for tacos last night for supper. At the restaurant we got into a conversation about Tony's looser brother, who is on work release, working for Tony again. He showed up last Tuesday. We were talking about the fact that Tony reports his hours, and pays him to work from 8 AM to 5 PM, so he can be out of jail. Well, his brother takes a bus to and from work and arrives about 9 AM and leaves at 4:30 PM to get the bus home. I asked why he was not paying him from 9 AM to 4:30 PM and and argument started. First Tony used the bus as an excuse to pay him those times. When I tried to explain to Tony the reason he takes the bus is because of his own drunk driving 5 times, Tony kept saying, 'he is my brother'. I kept telling him he is not our responsibility and it is once again bullshit to pay someone for hours they don't work. Tony is trying to give his brother a break and help, but I see it as coming out of our pocket. Plus, it is just bullshit. If he works from 9 to 4:30, he should get paid from that time not an hour and a half more for not working. It just doesn't make sense and pisses the hell out of me. Tony did tell his brother that this is temporary and as of May 1st he better have a different job because he will not be welcome here after May 1st as an employee. Yah right, stay tuned. Want to bet come May his brother is still working for him. He is to fricken lazy to go out and find a different job, much less one that might require him to actually work for his pay. Dinner was quite after that and we ate and came home. Spent the night watching Dancing With The Stars and Body of Proof before going to bed.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Saw an ad for a pillow chair at Menard's that would be great for the dogs, $19.99 after rebate. Left the house around 9 AM and went to Menard's and bought the chair, some bird food and some Algae control for the pond. Came home and after putting the chair together left again to go grocery shopping. Ended up spending more than I would have imagined for very little groceries. Took a nap with the dogs. Stella needed to snuggle next to me so tight. When we got up I noticed why. She has an ear infection and has scratched it bloody. Poor thing. Cleaned it out and put ear medicine in the ear. Will have to keep an eye on it for the next couple days. Should have known something was up when she needed to snuggle so close during nap time. Now I just have to keep Bo from licking the medicine out of the ear. Kali loves her new chair. I put it right next to the computer desk and she is sleeping away right next to me. I think she claimed the chair. Making hamburger helper and a salad for supper tonight. Will spend the night watching American Idol. Was in the 60s today. Warm enough for me and still way above the normal. Tomorrow a cold front comes through for the day in it is to be in the 40s. Then back to the 60s and 70s for the weekend. This is what weather is like living near Lake Michigan. Depending on what direction the wind is coming from has a direct effect on the temperature being so close to the lake like we are.

March 27, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Took Bo to the vet today at 11 AM to get his nails trimmed. Stopped off at McDonald's after the appointment and got me a hamburger and medium french fries for the dogs to munch on while I eat my hamburger. My lungs and back are hurting me today and have been for a while now. It seems to be getting worse and I am thinking I might have to see a doctor soon if it doesn't get better. I think it is also making me very tired, so something is not right. Took a walk to Pick N Save, not really to go shopping, but to just get out and walk. Today started in the 40s and it is now close to 60 degrees outside. Nice in the sun. Felt good to walk. My back and lungs almost feel stress related, but I have no stress to speak of so I think it has to be my lungs. Don't feel like cooking tonight so I think we will go down the street for dollar tacos and call it dinner. Will spend the night watching Dancing With The Stars Results and then Body Of Proof, before going to bed. Not much else going on today. Wish I didn't have this lung and back / shoulder pain. It is even hard to breath at times. Time will tell I guess if it is something serious.

March 26, 2012 Monday Afternoon

Saturday morning Tony went to work to pay bills. I did some cleaning while he was gone. A little after noon a friend I worked with and his wife came over and we went out for lunch at a bar a couple blocks away. Had a nice lunch and conversation. Was nice to see him and his wife. I had not seen them in a couple years. Got home and in a little while Tony was laying on the bed wanting some lovin. Did the deed and I got up to do things in the other room. I left half the dogs in the bed with him. I started watching TV and doing things in the living room. A little while later I could hear the rest of the dogs filing out of the bedroom with Tony. He looked at me and said 'they won't let me sleep'. I told him this is what nap time is like during the week also. Spent the rest of the day and night at home watching TV shows on the DVR. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Sunday morning we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Left a little before 10 AM to go pick up Tony's mom and go out for breakfast. So funny to sit and listen to her ramble about how she thinks the newspaper girl purposely does things to her yard each day as she delivers the paper. Tony's mom think she pours bags of leaves and rocks in her yard and ruins her path lights. Of course she is nuts because this just is not happening. Could be the ghost and ghost boyfriend she thinks lives in her attic. Yes, she is going nuts. After we ate I walked next door to Stein's Garden and bought 4 bags of big bark nuggets for the front yard. Put them in the trunk of my car, dropped of the mom and drove home. As I was putting out the bark chips the new neighbor's son came out to let his dog out. Told him I would love to meet his father, since we had not yet. He went in to get his dad and his dad walked out, looked at me and said, 'hi Dave'. We actually know each other. I had hired him to do painting around the building for the company I last worked for. Talk about a small world. Thankfully I was never mean to him, LOL. Around 1 PM I talked Tony into going for a long walk around the river paths. Took the long long 2 hour walk around from North Avenue to Locust Street. On the way back we decided to stop for a strawberry margarita at the Mexican restaurant by our house. Found out it was 2 for 1 so we both had to have two. LOL. Felt a little tipsy walking home the block we had to walk home. Afer we got home Tony was feeling frisky again so we again did the deed and had some lovin. Tony then napped for an hour before getting up and joining me in the living room. Spent the night watching Amazing Race, The Good Wife and CSI Miami, before going to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony took my car to work today to finish the brake job he started 6 months ago. Since I am without my car for the day, he did leave his truck, I figured I would spend the day cleaning. Cleaned my bathroom attached to the bedroom real good. I hate cleaning the bathroom and usually let it just go until Tony does it. I just hate cleaning the toilet. Never did like it. Did three loads of laundry today and made a chocolate cake. Laid on the bed for an hour or so this afternoon listening to music with the dogs. Could not nap since the neighbors dog was barking and it kept my dogs stirring. Made an appointment for Bo to get his toe nails clipped tomorrow. I tried and he will not let me or Tony. Tony tried over the weekend but he is so blind I thought he would cut the dogs toe off doing the job so I made him stop. Plus Bo was not having any of it. Making a pork roast, rice and a salad for dinner tonight. I did not get a card from Tony for the anniversary weekend due to the fact he says the date in May when we had our Holly Union, four years after we were dating, is our anniversary. He says that, but then that date comes and goes and he does nothing special for that anniversary either. Oh well, not worth the fight. Will spend the night watching Dancing With The Stars and then Castle before going to bed tonight.

March 23, 2012 Friday Afternoon

Had a nice dinner last night to celebrate our 23rd first dinner together. I did order something different and was not happy when the steak came with mushrooms on it. I did have to send it back. I do not eat mushrooms. Came home and spent the night watching the last two episodes of this seasons The Walking Dead. Was surprised how many main characters died in the final shows. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. It was raining when I got up this morning and it appears it will continue all day. It is in the 50s so it is nice enough outside. Went back to bed until around 10 AM. Got up and showered, met the guys for lunch. Had a great lunch as always. Been spending the afternoon watching court shows on TV, listening to the rain fall. The dogs have been sleeping all afternoon due to the rain and darkness. Making some left over spaghetti and salad for supper tonight. Have plans to go to lunch with a guy I worked with a few years ago. He is coming into town so Tony can see his truck and possibly fix it in the future, and have lunch. Will eat at Tracks Bar, two blocks from our home. No other plans this weekend.

Twenty three years ago today Tony had a date with the guy he met the Saturday before. He called me the minute he got home and we spent the night talking on the phone. The next night we met at his father's tavern here on the Eastside and I met his sister and dad for the first time, it was a Friday night. On the night of March 25th, we spent our first night together. It was a Saturday and I worked all day. Met Tony at his apartment around 7:30 PM, a one room apartment. We look back and laugh now how I took the liberty to bring an over night bag with me for that date. Guess I was planning ahead, yah, that sounds better than the alternative. Our first night together was so nice, tender and sweet. Remember another red flag, the next morning when Tony was in the shower I looked through this stack of bills on his table. I remember seeing this months electric, gas, phone bills, etc. Then continuing through the pile seeing last months electric, gas, phone bills, etc. And then continuing to see the next months, and so on. I should have ran away fast, LOL. That and the closet full of laundry and the sink full of dishes. LOL. Remember how when I met Tony at his apartment he was all dressed up. He actually went out shopping that afternoon for a new pair of jeans, a shirt. I still can picture him today looking so nice for our date. Tony is not a shopper so this was exceptional for him to do all this for a first night together. Guess he even cleaned the sheets, LOL. After breakfast the next day, which was Easter Sunday, we went to my apartment because me ex was at his parents house in Chicago for the day and I needed to get home to my two dogs Tiny and Shadow. I was still living with my ex partner at this time. I remember so well as I was drying myself after my shower I looked through the crack of the door and saw Tony on the floor playing with the dogs. I knew right there and then 'he passed the puppy test', and he was the one. We took the dogs for a walk and I then spend that next night at Tony's apartment. Still can not believe all this was 23 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. Going forward we spent at least 3 night together a week and in May we moved in together with another roommate in a three bedroom home with my two dogs. We lived there for a year. On a sad note, that roommate died of AIDS a couple years later. I never knew and not sure he did that entire time we lived together. Is is sad how many friends we both have who have passed from AIDS. Makes me appreciate the days I get because of the advancements in treatments for AIDS these days.

March 22, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Went out for $1 hamburger and $1 french fries last night at a local bar. Came home and spent the night watching American Idol and South Beach Tow before going to bed.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the two newspapers we get. Around 11 AM I took a walk along the river trail to Pick N Save to buy some fresh fruit. Bought a deli roast beef sandwich for lunch. Walked home and ate the sandwich. Laid down on the couch and listened to the new Madonna CD. Around 2 PM I felt something wrong in my stomach. A little while later I was on the toilet. I will never buy a deli sandwich from Pick N Save again. I know I said that the last two times when I got sick also, but this time I mean it. Walked over to talk to the neighbor for a while. A little chilly today in Milwaukee. But remember, when I say chilly, it still means it is warmer than it should be this time of year. The thermometer outside says it is 55 degrees. I am sure it is warmer away from the lake, west. Tonight Tony and I are going out to dinner at Palarmo Villa to have an Anniversary Dinner. It is 23 years to the date that we ate at this restaurant for our first date together. Tony and I last night were kidding each other about all the 'red flags' we should have seen and ran fast away from each other. I remember at this first date / dinner together Tony's breath being horrible. He also had to leave by 7 PM (we had an early dinner) so he could go to his group therapy meeting. Two big red flags right there, LOL. I did find out later the reason he had such bad breath was because he never made it home from the night before when we met and spent the wee hours out talking at a diner. Guess he forgot to tell the friend that was staying at his place to let him in at that time of night. Tony ended up sleeping the night at his auto body shop and hadn't even been home yet from the night before. Then there is the group therapy. I remember weeks into dating he was being told not to date me because 'it was too soon'. Well I guess they were all wrong because 23 years later, we are still together. Have to admire the determination on Tony's part to still meet for dinner under the circumstances. But we had made the plan to meet as we left the diner at 3 or 4 AM. Remember well how he called me that night after dinner and his meeting and we talked on the phone all night. Of course there was another red flag. He had just met a guy the previous Saturday and went home with him. And they had a date now to go to a concert the next night after Tony and my first date / dinner together. So he was kinda dating someone he just met when we started seeing each other. Sounds like another big red flag, LOL. He did go on the date and called me on the phone when he got home and we again talked on the phone all night until the wee hours of the morning. I honestly knew the minute I saw Tony in the bar he was going to be mine. I had always had a crush on him from the bars and I guess I just knew he was the one for me. He did have a very slutty past I had to deal with also, but we got through that. Hell, the guy he had been dating for 3 years, and just broke up with a couple weeks earlier, had a restraining order against Tony and Tony against him. I remember going to bars in the first few weeks and the bouncer at the door would tell us we could not come in because Russ was in the bar. Plus when we did get into a bar there was always an ex or two or three there to spoil the night. Somehow we got through it and Tony put up with all my insecurities, trust me, there was a lot of insecurity. It is not fun to go out with your man and have some dizzy queen walk up and tell you they slept with your man and how good it was. Gay people can sometimes be so cruel in this area. Not everyone wants to hear of know about all the other people they have slept with. Much less hear them brag about it. Anyway, I am sure we will have a nice supper tonight since we have ate at the restaurant every year since and many times in between. Will most likely come home and after a little TV do the lovin thing. I will recall and tell the rest of the weeks story 23 years ago as this week goes on. Those that have followed me for over a year most likely know the story. I do enjoy reflecting on it. It makes me smile. We both were lost souls looking for someone to spend their life with. Unfortunately we had to taste a lot of 'fruits' before we found each other.

As I was proof reading and ready to post, Tony walked in the door, home early from work, for the day. He just told me the bad news, they found a body, most likely Tom Hecht, in the river just like I had thought. They just found the body hours ago. Now the police can hopefully figure out if there was fowl play or not. So sad. My sympathy to the Hecht family.

March 21, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Before I could feed Vito he threw up some bile. Great! Fed the other dogs as Vito walked away from his. As I was giving him a little attention to see why he was sick I noticed he has a sore on his bottom lip. Called Tony at work and asked him to come home and look at it. He said 'he will be fine', and left back for work. Typical response as I would assume. I am a little concerned and have been looking at it all day. He might have scraped it when he fell off the end of the couch on Sunday, or maybe he ran into one of the screens. Remember, he is blind. I hope it is one of those options and not something more serious. I will keep an eye on it and make a vet appointment if it gets worse or changes color. Finally got Vito to eat breakfast around 8:30 AM and gave him his shot. Talked to my mom on the phone for a while before showering and getting on with the day since it is so nice weather wise in Milwaukee. I know I sound like a broken record but this is just unbelievable. Our usual high this time of year is the 40s. We had snow on the ground last year this time of year. Our low last night was 60 degrees. The thermometer outside right now says 70 because we are so close to Lake Michigan. Go West and it is in the 80s. My sister in Oconomowoc had her air conditioning on yesterday and said she will have it on again today. It's March! We broke all time temperature records these past two days. Never since recorded has it been this hot in March in Wisconsin, EVER. Got the mail today to find a letter telling me my health care assistance will end next month due to the fact my doctor said I have been working and am working part time. I called the assistance office and had them fax a form to my doctor to fill out saying I do not work and have not since I was diagnosed HIV+ three years ago. Then called my HIV doctor to tell him to fill out the form and send it back stating I have not and do not work due to my HIV. Jeez, you would think my doctor would know I don't work. Hopefully that will be all straightened out. I need the assistance. Went for an even longer walk than yesterday around 11:30 AM. Took me 2 hours. This time I walked the trail down the the North Avenue bridge and then walked the trail on the East side of the river rather than the West side. Walked all the way to North Avenue and back home. As I was walking I thought next time I am bring a camera to take pictures to show how beautiful the river walk here is on the Eastside. Even stopped to talk to a police officer eating his lunch in his car on the trail. Talked with the neighbor for a while before laying on the couch to listen to some old disco and relax. The old disco is still playing. The song In The Name Of Love by Sharon Redd is playing. Love this song. Tonight we will go out for hamburgers since I do not feel like cooking. As I mention every year, this is our anniversary week. Twenty three years ago to this date I met Tony at the Triangle bar and we went out for coffee afterwards until about 3 AM talking. On the 22nd, 23 years ago, we had our first dinner together at Palarmo Vila, and on the 25th of March, 23 years ago, we spent the night together for the first time. So as of today we have been together 23 years. I think that is pretty good. Most marriages don't even last this long. Tomorrow night, like every year, we will go out to eat at Palarmo Vila to celebrate the first dinner we had together. Honestly I have no idea where 23 years has gone. It seems like maybe 5 years or so. I am very proud of the time and years Tony and I have been together. It has taken work and commitment. It has not always been an easy road. But in the end we have always been there together through the good and bad. Oh, and Tony got his blood test results back. He is negative for HIV and has a bone spure in his elbow. Also his cholesteral is high and he is getting a stronger pill. He does have this history and has had open heart surgery already, so we have to get the cholesteral level lower.

March 20, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars. Was a great show. I think the first to go will be the country singer and the tennis star. Went to bed shortly after watching Castle on ABC.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I am so amazed how giving Barkley a Walitin daily has helped with his itching. He has not had his cone on in two days now and he is doing great. No eating himself either. I will have to keep giving him this pill daily. Took a shower and gave Barkley a bath at the same time this morning. Didn't wash him on Sunday so I though I had better to keep his skin from itching. Cleaned up the work bench downstairs in the basement from all the wood shavings that have collected in time. Used the new shop vac we bought a few months ago for the first time. I then went for a long long walk. Walked the trail to Pick N Save and then took the path along the river home all the way from North Avenue to Locust Street. Took my time and stopped along the way to reflect and just relax. I love walking in the woods alone. I look into the horizon and pretend it is like my heaven fantasy, seeing my dead dogs and grandparents walking the trail or jumping through the branches. Cried a little and then pulled myself together to keep enjoying the walk. It felt so good in the 70 degree weather we are having in Milwaukee. Suppose to break records today and tomorrow. Rested listening to music for a half hour before I got the water hoses out and Weeded and Feeded the front lawn between the road and sidewalk. This is the only grass we have in our yard. The rest is bark chips or gravel. Used a whole bottle of Weed N Feed on the front lawn. I now have spaghetti sauce on the stove and soon will make salads to go along with it for supper tonight. So nice to have the windows open. The dogs just love the weather, laying out in the sun. Felt so good to get things done today and take some time for myself walking along the river. I think I will do it a lot more often this Summer. Not sure why all these years living along the river I have never walked the trials. Will spend the night watching TV. Most likely will watch the last two episodes of The Walking Dead tonight before going to bed. Will have to give Tony a little lovin before sleeping. Man do I love this Wisconsin weather this year. We are going to be so spoiled when next Winter comes. We really did not have a Winter this year at all in Wisconsin.

March 20, 2012 Riverwest Video

Here is a nice little video about the neighborhood I live in.

March 19, 2012 Monday Afternoon

Friday night we watched the movie The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. It was OK, but we found it hard to follow at times. Plus our hearing at our age, it seems you catch every other word or so. Went to bed around 11 PM. It was a long movie.

Saturday morning Tony went to work for the morning. I did things around the house. Around 2 PM we decided to go have lunch down on Water Street where all the drunks were celebrating St Patricks Day. Sat down in the middle of a couple hundred drunks and ate a nice hamburger. Everyone but us was drunk. It was funny to see what a mess people were and how they act when they are drunk. At one time a drunk girl came up to me and asked me what I am buying her for lunch. I said 'nothing'. I was not in the mood to deal with her. She was so drunk. I remember those days well and really don't miss them. I only miss the energy I had back then. Got home around 4 PM and spent the rest of the day outside or watching TV. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday was another unbelievable weather day in Milwaukee. In the 70s yesterday and today. Went to breakfast at Ma Fishers on the Eastside of Milwaukee. Stopped off at Payless Shoes and bought a pair a sneakers. Tony bought a pair also. Stopped off at Pick N Save to buy some groceries and the weekly lottery tickets. Came home for a while until we realized there was a walk going on for a guy who has been missing for over a week in Milwaukee named Tom Hecht. He never made it home last Saturday from going out drinking and the family and city have been looking for him for over a week now. So sad. He lives right down the street from us. I did not know him personally but it has been one of those stories that tug at your heart strings seeing the father on the news each night. I did talk with the father and told him 'his son is proud of him for all the family is doing to find him'. I tried to sound positive. The father thanked me with tears in his eyes. I honestly think they will find him in the river. I bet he fell in the river on his way home from the bars last week. Closure would be nice for the family. Handsome guy 28 years old. The family has been out 24 hours the last week looking for him along with the Milwaukee police and dive teams. It is less than a mile from the bars to his house, so where the hell is he. He is not the first 20 aged male to come up missing in Miwaukee recently. Got home around 4 PM after we walked back home along the river paths. After feeding the dogs supper we grilled out some steaks on the grill with some baked potato's and a salad. The gas grill ran out of gas half way cooking the steaks, was not cooked good. Tony loves his raw, I do not. Ate about half and that was it. Spent the night watching Amazing Race, The Good Wife, and then after some lovin went to bed.

This morning I was up at 6 AM since the dogs could hear Tony in the living room and wanted to get up also. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper. Around 10 AM I went back to return my shoes I bought over the weekend. Didn't like them after having them on an hour in the house. Return went smoothly and then I went to Big Lots to see what they had in dog beds. Last one of a kind bed had no tag on it and I told the clerk, $10 and it is sold. They finally agreed and I was out the door. Stopped off at Tony's shop to see him and then dropped him off a mile away to pick up a car having work done on it that he does not do. Came home and took a two hour nap with the dogs. It is still so nice in Milwaukee. I have been holding off putting the pond plant back into the pond from it's bucket of water it has been in all winter in the house. I figure it has to get cold again, right? It is only March. Think I might just break down and put it in the pond. I can always pull it out again if it snows. We do get snow in May here in Wisconsin some years so it is hard to say if Winter is truly over. Making a salad and pizza for supper tonight. Looking forward to tonight's first show of the season's Dancing With The Stars. Been waiting since last season ended. We do like this show.

March 16, 2012 Friday Afternoon

Spent last night watching American Idol Results show and then a couple shows on the DVR. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up a little before 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper and went back to bed from 8 AM to 10 AM. Got up at 10 AM to shower and get ready for lunch with the guys. I could have just gone back to sleep I am so tired. I have no energy at all for some reason. Also feel like I am getting a lung infection because I keep coughing. Hopefully just a cold but I am on an antibiotic until next Tuesday. Stopped off at Walgreen's on my way to lunch. Had a great lunch with the guys. Came home and went back to bed for 2 hours with the dogs. Barkley has had his cone off most of the day. I think a second day on his allergy pills is helping him a lot. I have had to yell at him to stop licking here and there, but not like before when he just wanted to always eat himself bloody. Time will tell. No plans this weekend. Tony mentioned how tired he is at lunch and said he looks forward to 'sleeping the weekend away', I think not. LOL. Will most likely watch a lot of movies and TV on the DVR. The weather is still very nice in Milwaukee. In the mid 50s and sunny today. Still way above normal temperatures for this time of year.

March 15, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Spent last night watching American Idol and then CSI. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:45 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Started giving Barkley the same allergy pill I take daily in hope it helps with his skin condition and licking. So far it has not helped but I figure it has to build in his system for a few days to hopefully see some positive results. Spent the morning doing things around the house. Left around 11:30 AM for my noon board meeting with ARCW. Had a good meeting. Had a speaker on fund raising today. It started in the 60s today and as the day has gone on, the temperature has been dropping. Suppose to get in the 50s tonight. Forgot to mention in yesterday's post that our TV cable channel 12 was not working again in the morning. After spending 45 minutes on the phone with ATT I finally just told them to have a supervisor call me. Of course no one ever called. Will have to switch companies or just reboot the box when this happens. I am so tired of waiting for repair people and will not go through it again. We have had them out at least 10 times in the past year for this problem. What a pain in the ass. Making a Stouffer's frozen Lasagna for supper tonight with bread and a salad. Will spend the night watching American Idol results and Grey's Anatomy, most likely topping off the night with a DVR TV show since there is nothing we watch after Grey's Anatomy. Feeling tired again today. I wish I had some energy. Not sure what the problem is, can't be the weather. Must be my mind state. Just feel like sleeping.

March 14, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

Thought I had better come in from the sun for a while so I don't get a rash like I seem to do every year on these HIV meds. Thought I had better blog since I did not yesterday.

Yesterday was so nice in Milwaukee you would think it would be hard to beat. It was in the 60s all day and I even opened the windows in the house for a couple hours. So nice to air out the house. Walked to Pick N Save and did a little grocery shopping. Did not buy much since I would have to carry it all back home. The Pick N Save is 5 LONG blocks south of my house. Bought $25 of mostly produce and walked home. Had a phone call from someone who works with a new therapy for HIV. I guess it is called SilverIon Therapy. Sounds promising and hopefully trials will begin soon in the USA. I guess the trials are in Mexico right now and they are having great success of ridding over 200 people of HIV. Now of course I am skeptical but hope full. I would not be a good candidate for the trials since the procedure alone would scare me. Much less being in the trial stage. If anyone is interested in more information email me. The person I spoke to yesterday said he would get me some information to put on my blog. Time will tell. If I get the information I will pass it along. Went out for $2 steak tacos last night a block down the street. Spent the rest of the night watching TV, topped off the night with a little lovin before going to bed.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Slept like crap last night. These damn dogs are about to go out the window. Between letting them out and them just stirring, I got very little sleep. It was in the 40s when we got up this morning and now it is 75 degrees. Yes, 75 degrees in Milwaukee on March 14th. Has anyone heard of global warming? I have all the windows open and spent most of the day laying outside with the dogs enjoying the weather, listening to music. Moved a chair away from the front window since I am tired of yelling at Stella for being up in it and barking at everyone who walks by on the front sidewalk. Did a lot of cleaning today with the windows open. Even did some windows. Will make a beef roast, corn, potato and a salad for dinner tonight. Tony dropped me off a hamburger at lunch that he got for me when he had lunch with his Mom. They do that every so often. I think it is great and let them have the alone time. Since I am always invited to join them, that is enough. His Mom is nuts so I can do without the drama. Going to go back outside and enjoy the warm weather. Jeez, this is crazy how warm it is. I think we will even break a record today.

March 12, 2012 Monday Dinner Time

Friday night we watched the movies The Descendants and Real Steel. Both were very very good movies. I recommend both. Went to bed around 11 PM.

Saturday Tony was not in the mood to do anything. Said he needed a day off. So we did very little all day. Watched a lot of home improvement shows during the day as Tony napped, all day. I did some tile work, or should say, tore up my tile work from last week. Around 4 PM we went to dinner at a restaurant called Hamburger Mary's. I took a chance on the chicken barbecue sandwich and I did not like it. Not sure what they marinated the chicken in, tasted like cloves. Ate half of it and brought the rest home for the dogs. Spent the night watching the movies Young Adult and Take Shelter. Both were good enough but not as good as the two movies we watched the night before. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Made a big breakfast. Around 10 AM I saw Tony starting to recline on the couch and told him I was not spending another day doing nothing, I do that all week. LOL. Called a friend to borrow his ladder so we could work on the overhang on the porch. Told Tony I only needed his help for an hour. Jeez, one hour, you would think I asked for the whole day. Got the project done in less than an hour and Tony returned the ladder. It was very nice outside, in the 60s, so I spent the afternoon working on the pond while Tony napped. Around 4 PM I woke him and we went to Home Depot for some patio blocks for the pond wall. Took a little getting him to do anything again, but we were soon out the door. Bought the blocks we needed and unloaded them by the pond. Of course I could not wait for the week to work on the wall, so I started working on it after we got back for a while. Made a couple steaks on the grill for supper with a salad. Spent the night watching Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives and the show after it. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. It was so dark outside with the time shift over the weekend. Got the dogs fed and gave Vito his shot. Had to drop off Vito at 7:30 AM at the vet for a glucose blood check for the day. Stopped off at McDonald's for some breakfast on the way home. It rained all morning today, quite hard at times. By around 1 PM it ended and soon the vet called and said I could pick up Vito. His blood work was great and we should continue with 5 units of Insulin at feeding. Brought Vito home. He was so happy to see me. I even called the vet around 11 AM when I heard thunder to let them know he is afraid of thunder storms. They said they could keep an eye on him. Got Vito home and spent the rest of the day working outside in the yard and pond since the sun was now out and it was in the 60s. It is suppose to be in the 70s all week. Unheard of this time of year. Making spaghetti and salad for dinner and will spend the night watching TV. Tony will by tired being a Monday and the time shift I am sure will not help. I am sure he will be sleeping on the couch by 8 PM.

March 9, 2012 Friday Afternoon

Spent last night watching the Prop 8 video on yesterday's post. I had watched it earlier in the day, I knew Tony would want to see it. Went to bed shortly after watching The Mentalist around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went back to bed after Tony left for work for another hour. Spent the rest of the morning doing things around the house. My sinus problem is not getting better. Just as I was about to call my doctor to make an appointment the phone rang and it was Walgreen's saying my 3 prescriptions that the doctor called in from Tony going on Tuesday, were ready to be picked up. I love my doctor. Left for Walgreens around 11:30 AM to pick up the prescriptions prior to lunch with the guys. The prescriptions were for my pain pills, antibiotic, and Cialis for Tony. I did not get the Cialis since the cost would have been $61 for two pills. Sorry, $30 a 'pop' is not going to fly in my house. Tony will have to do without. Since I am not complaining I don't see why it is a big deal. LOL. Had a nice lunch with the guys. Two didn't show due to being sick. Everyone is sick in Milwaukee. It has to be this mild weather. Apologized to Tony at lunch for yelling at him for not getting the prescriptions in hand on Tuesday since the doctor did call them in for me to pick up today. I do apologize when I am wrong. Tried to take a nap with the dogs. Ended up just laying there thinking. Got out of bed and decided to get some more done around the house. Vacuumed and dusted. Will make a salad for dinner for the both of us. Tony will need a TV dinner or something more. I will be happy with just a salad due to not being hungry from lunch. No plans this weekend. Will most likely take Tony's mom out for breakfast Sunday. Today it was a little above freezing all day with the sun out. Tomorrow and going forward for the week it looks like it will be in the 50s. Spring is here.

March 8, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Had a great dinner last night on Tony's Birthday. Got home and watched a little TV while we had cake. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went back to bed shortly after Tony left for work. Got up again around 10 AM and while watching the People's Court on channel 7, the channel went black. Spent 45 minutes on the phone with ATT again. Spent the afternoon watching the play about the Propositon 8 trial. It is worth watching. Had me shaking my head at the nut jobs and their stance on the measure. Well worth watching. Here is a link.

March 7, 2012 Tony's Birthday

Last night the ATT repair guy showed up at 5:30 PM. He was here about an hour and a half. Only think he could think would cause the problems was the connectors on all the cables. So he replaced about 12 connectors and told us the problem should be fixed. If it happens again we have done everything inside the house and it has to be an outside problem. Spent the night watching some shows on the DVR before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Was out of the house by 9:30 AM. Stopped at Walgreen's to drop off two of Tony's prescriptions from his doctor appointment yesterday. One for his finger nails and his pain pills. I was also pleasantly surprised when he told me he had the doctor add an HIV test to his regular tests he had done, a blood draw. Of course he did not get any antibiotic for me at the doctor like I had asked. He had so many excuses I could not believe it. The next time I see the doctor I will not be getting him any meds, samples, or boner pills. Although, I do benefit from the boner pills. LOL. After dropping off the prescriptions at the drop of window I went to Piggly Wiggly to buy a cake and Birthday balloon. They had nothing in cakes and ended up buying a frozen one. Stopped at Tony's shop to give him the Birthday balloon and attached it to his desk chair so all the customers today can know it is his Birthday. I then noticed only half of his security cameras were working and when I found out he needed some adaptors I went to Radio Shack and bought him four of them. Dropped the adaptors off at the shop and went back to Walgreen's to pick up his prescriptions and some allergy medicine. My allergies are just killing me this year. It has to be the warm weather we have had. Spent a half hour with the neighbor before coming into the house. Took a short nap with the dogs this afternoon. Taking Tony out to a little Italian restaurant here on the east side of Milwaukee tonight for his Birthday. Will most likely stop for a drink on the way home at one of our favorite bars. It got to 60 today in Milwaukee. Very windy and cloudy all day. If the sun had come out it would have gotten warmer. Rain is suppose to start falling by 5 PM tonight and then all night.

March 6, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

Tony and I sat here last night waiting for the ATT repair person. Waited, waited, soon it was 8:15 PM and still no one. I called ATT and was on hold for 47 minutes and when I finally got a person on the phone and told him my story and wanting to find out where the repair person was, we got disconnected. UFB! I was so mad by this time I took a Valium and we went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Took a while for Vito to eat again today. After I got the dogs taken care of and Tony walked out the door for work, I called ATT. Spoke to a supervisor and was told someone would come out today from 4 PM to 8 PM. He promised it would be a good repair person who would find the problem. Showered and left the house around 10:30 AM to go to ARCW to get my monthly prescriptions and my food for the month. Came home and spent the afternoon listening to some of my music mixes. The sun is out and the thermometer says it is 60 degrees out. The snow is melting very fast and with tomorrow being the same, most or all the snow should be gone. I even have the sliding door open to the sun room it is so nice outside. The sun heats the glass sun room. Soon the repair person should be here, again. The dogs do not like being locked up and caged when the repair person is here and they let us know it. Called Tony and reminded him of his doctor appointment and asked if he could hurry home tonight to help with the dogs and the repair person. Hopefully this will be the last time or I am switching to Time Warner Cable again. Made a couple salads for dinner and will throw a pizza in the oven in between the repair and service guy. Wish they would send a cute repair person. Is there such a thing? Makes one wonder. Tomorrow is Tony's Birthday. I will go buy him a big cake and card tomorrow. Better sign off, the repair person should hopefully be calling or here soon.

March 5, 2012 Monday Afternoon

Saturday we did not even leave the house. Spent the day with the dogs watching TV. Took a two hour nap and some lovin in the afternoon. We did put the muzzle on Vito and after a little while, and a lot of fight on Vito's part, we were able to trim him just the way I wanted. He looks so cute with short hair. Got most of the hair in his face also which is the hardest to do. I am always afraid I will hit his eyes with the scissors or electric hair cutter. Took three sessions of hair cutting to get him done. Watched the movies Jack And Jill and Tower Heist. Tower Heist was the better of the two movies. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Sunday I made breakfast and we spent the day doing very little again. I left the house around noon to go to Pick N Save and deposit the rent check and do a little grocery shopping. I will not have to go this week now since I bought all we will need for the week. Pretty much cleared the DVR. Watched the movie I Melt With You, which was pretty good. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning the first words I heard was Tony saying we did not have ABC channel 12 again on the TV. Damn, how many new boxes and stuff do I have to get from ATT to make this stop happening. Fed the dogs, Vito would not eat so I could not give him his shot. Called ATT after 7 AM and now a guy is coming to the house between noon and 4 PM today. I hate this crap. Not that I have plans but now I will have to cage Stella and lock up the dogs when the guy is here, all the while the dogs will be barking and going nuts. It must be a problem with the wires coming from the outside pole or something. Will not let him replace the boxes again since we have been down that road before many times and it did not correct the problem. Finally got Vito to eat half his food around 8 AM and gave him his shot. I think he felt my tension and that is why he didn't want to eat until I was more calm. I am sure he heard me on the phone with ATT, my voice was not soft, I was mad this still is happening. Had to reboot the entire system again which take about 10 minutes. The sun is out today but it is very cold in Milwaukee. Coldest morning of the Winter so far. The weekend was cold and we had light snow all day Sunday. Nothing really accumulated, but it was pretty to watch all day. This morning was in the teens and cold. Of course this is Wisconsin and tomorrow it is suppose to be 45 degrees, and 50 degrees on Wednesday. Then Thursday back in the 30s. Spring in Wisconsin is a roller coaster of temperatures. Spent the afternoon listening to music waiting the the ATT guy to show up. He finally showed up around 2:15 and walked out in frustration at 3 PM. I was so mad. He said I was not cooperating. I told him over and over that the problem is not in my house it is your wires and the signal coming into the house since we have replaced every box and cable at least twice in the past year and the problem persists. Got on the phone with ATT and another service person is coming out now between 4 and 8 PM. Filed a complaint against the first service guy. I am so pissed right now. Do you have any idea what it is like to cage up 5 dogs so someone can come into the house. All the while they are barking and going nuts. I am honestly on my last nerve right now. Going to start making dinner, which I am sure will be disrupted by the service call at some point. Will let you know how this plays out with tomorrows post. Hopefully Tony will be home when this next service guy gets here and will keep me calm.

March 2, 2012 Friday Afternoon

Spent last night watching the results show of American Idol. Then watched two comedies on the DVR before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspapers and doing things around the house. Had Tony pick me up for lunch with the guys. Had a great lunch as always. Started raining at lunch. Came home and spent an hour on the couch listening to music with the dogs. As I type this, a little after 3 PM, the rain has turned to big snow flakes. We are suppose to ge about 6 inches of wet heavy snow in the next 6 or so hours. Could still be worse if we were not on Lake Michigan. Everywhere west and north is getting a lot more of this snow than us. With Lake Michigan not frozen over it will keep our snow total down. Sometimes it is nice to be near the lake. It is pretty watching the big flakes fall. It is suppose to be a cold weekend but the future forecast says in the 50s by the middle of next week. Will spend the night watching TV on the DVR since we have over 40 shows in the DVR to watch. Could spend the weekend snuggling and watching movies and and TV if we choose. We don't have any plans this weekend so that might just be the case. Have a great weekend everyone.

March 1, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

Saw the play Mary Poppins last night. It was OK. Could have been better. Was hard to hear what they were saying on stage at times. Had to nudge Tony a couple times to wake him up. At intermission he looked at me and said 'is it over'. Got home a little after 10 PM. Went to bed shortly there after.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning changing all the artist names on my music mix sights. Emailed back and forth yesterday with someone from my file share sight. He told me I was flagged because of a search from a company over seas called SCPP. It's a french company. He also told me if I didn't want to get flagged again I should alter the artist name a bit so that it can not be found in a search a company might do to find copyright material. So I spent the morning putting a * in ever artist name. You can see what I did for an example with the mix at the bottom of this blog, my Summer Mix, the one they flagged and deleted. It is back. I had over 600 people listen to the mix so I hate for it not to be available to play. Hopefully this fix will not get me removed from the file sharing sight since it was my second violation. Removed and re cemented another tile in the kitchen today. Should have included it in the four I did yesterday. Got it all cemented in and will grout it tomorrow. Make a bowl of tomato soup for lunch. Always makes me think of my grandmother on my mom's side. Remember as a kid going to their house for lunch and she would make tomato soup. Remember how it was so sweet because she added a ton of sugar. I do add a little sugar also and think of her every time as I do it. Remember they would always be sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. So sad they are gone and that they died before I was old enough to appreciate them. I guess if I could do life over I would spend more time with the people I should of at the time, knowing they won't be around when I get older. Took a little nap with the dogs this afternoon. Bo is such a nut. Stella and I spoon in the bed as we sleep. Bo is not happy with that and has to be in between us. He stands on my pillow and licks my face looking at me to say 'make room for me'. So I then move over a couple inches and he squeezes in between Stella and me. He is always happy if he is in between me and Stella. Took a two hour nap. Cloudy in Milwaukee and in the mid 30s. Suppose to have a sloppy weather mess tomorrow of rain, sleet and snow. Will most likely just leave the house tomorrow for lunch with the guys. Tony will have to buy lunch tomorrow since his Birthday is next week. The Birthday guy always buys lunch for everyone.