Twig

 

This is Twig just hanging out in the kennel on her soft pad.  She barks at Manley if he gets too close to her.  She is funny. 

I woke up early enough to see these cool pinkish colored clouds this morning.  HAD to post it! 

Well, so far today I have fed my animals, taken a couple of pictures,  taken care of Jeff’s dogs, had an interview , stopped and dropped off brownies at Walgreens pharmacy and Kyle’s and dropped off books at the library. 

So, I am the newest employee at Albertson’s Pharmacy and starting on December 7th!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is so nice to be employed!!!!!  Enough vacation for awhile and enough job hunting—ugh! 

Looks like rain or snow today and tomorrow.  Off to do laundry and watch a movie or two. 

Sincerely,

the employed Julie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL

Thanksgiving

 

This was the sunny day we had yesterday.

This is Manley Man after a few hours at Mike and Catherine’s.  He is tuckered out from all of the pets he got from all 4 of the Hickeys and from the 3 Shepherds pestering him.  Poor thing!! 

We went over about 3:00 and helped put the supper together.  (Well, Manley just watched.)  We had prime rib, twice baked potatoes, green beans, corn pudding, wine, chocolate cake with homemade ice cream and bananas foster. 

Lots of good conversation, thanks to give, and good food!!  

Now I can’t go over there without Manley or they won’t let me in the house.  :)  They think he is cute and smart!! 

I am going to make some Roasted Red Pepper/Potato Soup today.  It consists of red potatoes, roasted red peppers, carrots, celery, chicken broth, garlic,  1/2 + 1/2, thyme and salt & pepper.   And I have some Asiago cheese bread to go with it. 

Y’all have a great day and I will enjoy another sunny day here in Colorado!! 

Manley is Groomed for Thanksgiving

 

 

Here is Manley after a loooonnng 30 minutes of being groomed. :) It was very nice and warm in the sun while grooming him.  He is, of course, napping on the quilt that his Auntie Jacque made. 

We are going to Mike and Catherine’s for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, so he also has to look his best for the feast. 

Nothing much new on the job hunt. Just waiting for my interview Saturday morning. 

I got an additional dog sitting job for this weekend.  It is for Twigg, Jayme and Jim’s little Lhasa who growls at Manley if he gets too close while she is snuggled up next to me in the recliner.  Just gotta laugh at those little brave dogs!! 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone and save room for the pie! 

Bird /Kalista

Have no idea what kind of bird this is. Anybody? He seems to be a little fuzzy and was pecking on the wood. Cute, huh??

This is an aerial view picture of Kalista in her bed. I just thought it was cool.

This is Kalista hiding from me. She knows I’m there, but will not look up or open her eyes. Only thing telling me is her ears.

Slow Tuesday

This is Manley warming up my side of the bed the other night. Isn’t he sweet?

Slow day today. Went to let Jeff’s dogs out, picked up a loaf of bread and got a book at the library.

The day is sunny and bright and have been outside reading for a bit but feeling a bit lazy today. Must be the headache I have.

I plan on taking a short walk/hike up the hill later and making some fajitas for supper. And to let Jeff’s dogs out another couple of times.

That’s all I have for now.

What made your day?

This is one of the things that made my day. It is a photo of the mountains behind where I live, and to get to my place, take the driveway to the left.

Another instance that made my day was the neighbor dog Ocita chasing Bandit, the cat. Oc is a chihuahua/pom mix. She was confused when Bandit did not run from her and just sat there. (Course, Bandit does not run from Manley, so why run from OC?)

And last but not least, while I was driving to the library, there happened to be a little boy and his dad riding their bikes. The dad was riding between traffic and his son. I rolled down my window and asked how old his son was ----4 yrs. old. The little boy says ‘I ride my bike a lot!’ I told the dad that they had just made my day and the little boy says ‘Thank you’. awwwwww. It was just too cute, and no camera on me at the time.

Last night I was invited over to Jim and Cynthia’s for supper.

(This is Jim and Cynthia's house)

They had pork chops, salad, mashed potatoes, asparagus and wine. I even got to take the leftovers home, as they left this morning for Thanksgiving in Texas with family.

Don’t forget to let me know ‘what made your day’ yesterday.

Yipee!! It’s Friday!

I called Albertson’s this morning and I have an interview set up for NEXT Saturday morning. Don, the store manager, got a very good reference from Walgreens and has already started the process for giving me the same or higher wage that I had been receiving. I asked him if this was a definite hire and he said that he does want to find out why I am no longer at Walgreens, but that there’s a very good chance I will be hired and then he’ll finish all of the paperwork. So, I have another week off, then go to work! 90% sure at least!!

Here are some pictures of the sun coming up over the hill behind my place.

BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER

Isn’t it gorgeous!

Sunny Wednesday up in the LaPlata Mountains

 

Here are the snow-covered LaPlata Mountains today.  It is about 55 degrees where I am and at least 10 degrees cooler up in them there mountains! 

I just got back from a walk with Manley after a morning of dropping off resumes, filling out unemployment information, and stopping at the library. 

I talked with the store manager at Albertsons and he REALLY wants me to be patient for a couple more days so he can get everything together and get me hired.  (He has corporate guests in today and the  head Pharmacist is off today.)

Will let y’all know what transpires in the next couple of days. 

Enjoy the picture!!

My Forever Golden Rug

 

Forgot to put this one in the last blog.

This is a corner of my bedroom.

My Place

 

 

Here’s the kitchen.

The bathroom.

  

The bedroom.

The living room. 

The hot tub.

The waterfall/pond after the first snow.

The first snow. 

 

The VIEW.

Hope y’all enjoyed the pictures. 

Monday is a GREAT Day!!

 

The latest picture of the bobcat in my cat tree.  (Kalista)

Today was a great day.  I woke up at 4:30 am.  I had gotten an insurance billing offer that happens to be in Denver, but Monster.com is on the ball!  Then 2 of my friends from Walgreens came and brought lunch and strawberry desert.

After they left, I was driving to an interview and a pharmacist called me from where I had dropped off a resume and told me that he really wanted me to come work for them and that if I got a job offer not to accept it until he has had time to make one!   How cool is that!! 

Then I got a confirmation on another job that I had applied for online.  They will call if they are interested, but at least they acknowledged me.

Plus, during my short interview, I got another reference/contact person from a licensed nurse, the insurance guys wife.  And I dropped off my resume at Durango Animal Hospital.   So see, Monday’s aren’t always bad! 

Will keep you all up to date on the job front. 

Had to go get my license plates today—154 URR--very expensive here (they go by the year of the car) and so a big bite out of my money.  I forgot to tell y’all that I got pulled over on Saturday for my temp. plates expiring and just got a warning.  The officer asked all about Manley who was in the car with me.  He had a female Golden awhile back and thought Manley was a great looking dog. 

So, off to a couple more places tomorrow and I still haven’t gotten through to unemployment. 

Thanks for all of the support.  I am truly blessed.

My name is Sparkle

 

This is my third Pixie Bob.  Isn’t she cute!!??

This is Kisa. 

And this is Kalista.

 

And, of course, this is Manley. 

I forgot what was so funny! But I know why Joyce is crying!

Here are (from left to right) Jacque, Joyce and Jill. I am taking the picture in the first one. This was at our ‘Sister’s Day’ weekend in Wisconsin.

The top one is where Joyce got her quilt and it was so beautiful that she was crying.

The 2nd picture is Me, Jill and Joyce all laughing about something. Must have been our funny sister Jacque. Actually, the present on Jill's lap is from Jacque, but I offered to carry the HEAVY present out. Then I threw it on her lap.........not heavy at all!!!

This is Tim (Jill’s significant other) modeling his apron that Jacque made for him, so he wouldn’t wear Jill’s.

Here are the 4 sisters, Joyce, Julie, Jacque and Jill (from left to right) at Outback.

Here are my niece Jen and her son Trent putting on the ‘pout’ look. They are too cute!

This is my third PixieBob, Sparkle. She is 2 years old and very playful.

And here is Manley with his quilt trying to get some much needed sleep after his hard day. :)

Hope y’all enjoyed the pictures and glad that I could share them with you.

Manley and His Quilt

Here’s Manley testing out his quilt that his Auntie Jacque made for him. He’s peeking though!!

There's A Mouse in the House

I now have a mouse for my laptop. It is easier when playing games and gives you faster and more control. And I now have my laptop sitting on my table from mom and Ray, with room for the mouse!!

Well, the last 3 days have been eventful, to say the least.

Thursday I went to work and was asked to leave as I was distraught over not following company policy the week before. I was wrong, but I had someone's permission. Will explain on the phone if you want more details.
I was then asked to return on Friday afternoon midday. I was then dismissed, got my final paycheck and was allowed to get any personal items out of my drawer in the pharmacy. One of the pharmacists is still awaiting a call from the district manager in Colorado Springs to find out if he is fired or not. That will be determined Monday.

So, since then I have gotten a lot of love and support from friends and family.

This morning I had a job interview scheduled for Monday by 8:15am after looking at the job ads online in the paper. Then I updated my resume, which Catherine embellished and printed several copies for me, then I dropped one off at a couple of different pharmacies and went home. I applied online at 2 places so far today and will be going to a job fair tomorrow. (It's interesting that they timed that so well for me!! )

I have cried all the tears I am going to cry and from now on it is onward and upward. One door closed and another will open.

A number of people will be transfering their prescriptions out of Walgreens just because I won't be there. There are also several people who are writing or calling the district managers and giving their opinion of the circumstances and result.

I am blessed with wonderful friends and a great family who support me and love me. Nikki is going to come over Monday morning and color my hair for me and will bring lunch. She is moving to Texas in another 2 weeks, and she will be missed. Now at least I have someone to go visit in Texas!!

My sister Jacque is finished with my kitty quilts and will work on my big quilt sometime this next week or so. I am hoping I get it by my birthday!!

And my sister Jill has sold her house, moved into a duplex and will be moving to Colorado by summer!! Can't wait to be only 5 hours away from her and of course 3+ hours from my niece Jody.

I will be busy tomorrow morning at the job fair, cleaning, but then I HAVE to get my pictures downloaded and post some in my blog!!

Y'all have a good weekend.

Chorizo Carbonara

I found a new type of sausage. It's chorizo. It's a mexican type sausage that you can buy in links or bulk. I was introduced to it on Sunday when Catherine and I went to Farmington. It is really good in an egg dish.

Tonight I made Chorizo Carbonara. I fried up the sausage then heated up 1/2 + 1/2, monterey jack cheese, cumin, and chile peppers. Put it all on top of angel hair pasta and it was just delicious!!!

I will be making an omelete with the chorizo in it Friday morning. I love trying new foods and recipes. Wish some person would finance a restaurant for me.

Don't forget the CMA awards are on tomorrow night! (Wednesday)
Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are hosting and lots of great entertainers!!! Turn the volume up and dance the night away!!

Another Sunny Sunny Sunday

I had a great day. I woke up this morning and decided that I would rake some leaves after my 2 cups of coffee. So, I raked for 2 hours and will pay for it tomorrow with pain in my upper arms especially. I had Manley out for most of the time, but he kept spreading out the leaves that I had in a pile. Evidentally he thinks its fun to undo mom's work.

The weather was sunny sunny and in the 60's. A nice little breeze and enjoyed it all day long.


Catherine and I had planned on going to Farmington, New Mexico, to Sam's Club. She picked me up about 12:30 with a special treat (chocolate flavored coffee) and we set off for the hour drive.


We went to a mexican store and got some wonderful pastries (no idea what they are called) and she picked up some meat, tamales and rice. Then we went to Sam's and got a big cart full of household items, meat, cleaning items, baking items and I got myself some wine and kitty litter.


The view is much better driving toward Durango than going south into New Mexico. (No, I did not take my camera.) When Catherine dropped me off, she came in and was greeted with a big hug from Manley. He is so funny. She left a couple of tamales and some sausage meat for me to try.

It was relaxing just to ride along and it is nice to enjoy her Sam's card discount!! She writes out the check and I give her cash. What more could you want??

I am now watching Sunday night football, laughing my butt off over the CapitolOne commercial with "Timmy's in the well". Must be a new one. My sisters will understand what that was about. Especially Jill.

I am going to get my pictures off of my new camera posted here soon. Just haven't taken the time to do it.

Pay day coming this Wednesday and lots of groceries to buy and rent to pay. I work Monday through Thursday, then work Sunday through Friday next week. Fun times at Walgreen's.

Almost Friday

Can't wait for the end of the week to get here. One more day of work and then raking leaves and hiking this weekend if the weather keeps on being so nice and sunny.

And, of course, cooking. Any suggestions?
No more Farmer's Market so no more fresh fruit and vegetables.

I'm reading The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles so will have that to finish this weekend.

My friend Victoria and I are going to go hiking in Moab for the day in another 3 or 4 weeks. It's about 2+ hours from here and I will make sure I take my camera!! Cool rock formations.........but no dogs allowed. Too bad Manley.


Y'all have a great weekend and hope your weather is sunny and warm!!

A Sad Day

The sun is shining, but our hearts are sad today. My sister put her dog to sleep yesterday. Allegra was her princess and she will truly be missed.

All three of us sisters did get to spend some time with her while we were in Wisconsin and had our 'Sister's Day'. Allegra was yapping away and yelling at all of us for not having come to see her sooner. You know how collies are!! :)

I am so glad I got to see her, get some pictures of her, groom her and say goodbye. Not that it makes this day easier, but you dog owners will know exactly what I mean.

Please go on Jacque's blog 'the doodles of my mind' and see the wonderful picture that was taken yesterday and a couple pictures of Allegra.

We will truly miss that little girl. Take care Jacque.