Many blogs ago, I wrote about the pets of some friends of mine.

It was about Buddy and Rocky Dog, two crackerjacks I get to see most every weekend.

The past couple of months, Buddy (the big one) had been limping on his back right leg. It got so bad, Rocky, who follows him around everywhere, started limping right behind him! awwww...

The doc (I refuse to call them vets) gave him morphine, but the pain kept coming back. They finally did whatever test or scan it takes, and it's cancer. He's having the leg removed Monday or Tuesday.

And then he's got chemo. If everything works out, we'll still have him two or three more years. And hopefully, he'll be pain free.

I know this might come across as a bummer blog. But I wanted to give a shout out to Buddy, My Buddy. And to little dude, Rocky Dog. This is gonna rock his world too.

As for my friends, I couldn't speak for them. But I know it ain't easy.

TG

I was planning to debut The Tuckgraph Show this week.

It was going to be a variety show, with guests, contests, features, comedy skits, that kind of stuff. I even hired a juggler/Magician. My apologies to my sponsors, but things changed Friday night.

When I got home from work Friday, it was obvious something was wrong with Miss Prissy. She looked sickly. She didn't run up to me and rub around my legs, being herself. She sat and stared. If you're a pet owner, you know what I'm talking about. You can tell when something's not right with your pet!

I was puzzled, till I went to take the garbage out. I was greeted by these two gals!

Yikes!
Say hello to Daisy and Lilly.

At first I thought they were wayward pedigree strays. Then I noticed they had bedding. And chew toys. And a bowl with food. And, yes, water. Turns out, family had come to visit, and they brought their extended relations.

I can deal with it, because I don't spend my time in the backyard, roaming amongst the bushes, hunting lizards and sunning on the patio. That's Miss Priss's domain. Truth be known, it's not really a patio. According to MP, it's called a Catio! :) Which is why I had to deal with this look all weekend!

I've never seen her so Miss Prissed. But these two... dogs arrived as guests for the weekend. And they're so cute! They're basset hounds, two sisters. They're almost identical, but so different in personality.

They lay around, don't do much of anything till you walk up to them. Then, Daisy hoists herself up to you for a good petting. Lilly sits back with big cow eyes, asking, "Can't you pet me too?" :) Scary thing is, they're just pups. They're going to be huge!

Meanwhile, Miss Priss has been having an identity crisis. She thinks she's in some kind of cuteness contest.

The gals went home tonight. Just between you and me, I hope they come back to visit from time to time. And, given time, MP will become more tolerant.

Yeah, right!

:)
TG

Been a while. Always fun trying to pick out what to blog about.

My younger bro had a hip replaced, then we played golf.

Younger bro and me don't hang out a lot. Maybe see each other once or twice a year. We live different ways of life. I dropped in over the holidays, and he had had a hip replaced! "Had had" sounds so weird. But I think it's proper english.

So younger bro is a golfer. I took up the game last year. He's been playing many years. And he wanted us to play, even sans hip. As soon as he healed up.

Then his other hip started going out. So, he wanted us to play before he had the second hip surgery. And we did.

Here's the cool thing. While I've always played on smaller, cheaper, community golf courses, he plays on the Big Courses! We played on one course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and another designed by Arnold Palmer! They were built by a couple of casinos down here. They cost a lot more to play than the courses I play! And they're beautiful. It was a Younger Bro Treat! Here's a few pics:

We first played The Bridges, designed by Arnold, then a few days later the Grand Bear, designed by Jack. First a couple of Bridges pics.

This is younger bro warning about the hazards on the course. The Bridges was built around marshland, and is full of hazards. Some are more hazardous than others! Here's a gator pic:

Fortunately, nobody lost their balls to that thing! :)
Next up is The Bear:

That's the backside of the clubhouse. Kind of looks like a church, don't it? :) This course is out in the middle of the Desoto National Forest. I have no idea how they got the land. It was surrounded by miles of pine trees. It was so quiet, so peaceful. All I could hear was the sound of younger bro's voice. :)

This was the last hole of The Bear, at sunset.

Younger bro was scheduled to have his second hip replacement surgery last Monday. Haven't heard from him. I'm going to try to track him down tomorrow. Just need a room number!

:)
TG

Had I known my last blog was 150, I might have done things differently.

But that's behind us now. Nothing against blog CL, but 151 is yet another new beginning. Let's have some fun!

Good Sign, Bad Sign
Leaving for work last Saturday, I noticed this sign that had been attached to the Yield Sign in the corner of our front yard. As I passed by I thought, "What the heck is that thing?"



Who puts up a sign behind a big bush? I went on to work, decided to check it out the next day. The next day, I pull back the bush to see what it said.

Yea! They've lifted the water boil notice! We don't have to boil our water any more! It's just, no one at our House knew there was a water boil notice. How long was it in effect? Was it for drinking and cooking? Bathing? I already take pretty hot showers. And I use antibacterial dishwashing liquid. As long as they don't call a Diet Coke Boil Notice, I think I'll be okay. :)

Then I noticed the positive attributes of that pesky bush in front of the sign.

Yes, Spring is in the air! Okay, it's not Spring. The weather's crazy. It was just a perfect Sunday. I went to a buddy's place to watch the pro bowl. I took the beach route, really nice. I put on my black cap and reflective shades, trying to look like a Bad Dude:

Did I look like a Bad Dude? C'mon, if you didn't know me, Bad Dude? Okay, thanks for being honest. :) More flowers, please!

I'm an Exporter!
One of my tv.com Friends asked me to help her out. She wanted these House t-shirts she found on the internets. The shirts say, "Normal's Overrated." That's a House quote! :) Problem was, they didn't ship overseas. So they've shipped them to me, and I'm shipping them to her!

Glad to help out, so forth and so on, but here's the cool thing. They also shipped her an awesome complimentary House wall calendar, and she says I can keep it!

I like this even more than the shirts. Because a calendar is guaranteed to fit all year long! :) And I like taking part in this warm and fuzzy world economy. :)

Finally...
We all know there's a big holiday coming up. Kind of awkward sometimes. I'd just like to wish everyone a Happy Friday the 13th! And...

Happy Valentine's Day from Miss Prissy!

:)
TG

I used to live in a town called Taos. Taos, New Mexico.

I worked at a newspaper. And it was fun, because there's a lot of different people in Taos. Newspapers are a great place to monitor the pulse of a community. And police stations.

That's Taos Mountain! Isn't it beautiful? It sets behind Taos Pueblo. The Taos Indians are a unique bunch. They're the only tribe in North America that never surrendered! That's what I'm told, anyhow. No footnotes here! There's also a rich Hispanic culture, and white people who vacation there or buy expensive homes.

In the newspaper, there's a section for the "Police Blotter." It's a log of calls the police station receives, from citizens concerned about something. Whoever receives the call makes a record of the transaction. They can be quite humorous.

I received an email from my old boss, and they had compiled the "Best of Police Blotter 2008," or something like that. There were as least sixty memorable phone calls, but I culled it down to my Favorite Top 27.

The Best of Best Top 27 Taos Blotter Reports In Chronological Order!

JAN. 11
12:26 p.m., Criminal property damage, 216 Calvary Lane — Caller reported that someone put a hole in her door about three weeks ago.

JAN. 13
10:11 a.m., Miscellaneous, no address given — Caller reported she had been the victim of a dating scam.

JAN. 17
12:36 p.m., Assault, La Luz Drive — Caller reported that she went to pick up her grandchild at daycare and a worker pushed her out of the house and threw a dirty diaper at her.

FEB. 5
1:32 p.m., Miscellaneous, 926 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that two panhandlers were riding around on bikes.

9:16 p.m., Suspicious person, 400 Camino de la Placitas — Caller reported that a man had been sitting in his vehicle in the library parking lot for hours.

MARCH 4
7:01 p.m., Burglary, 960 Ranchitos Road — Caller reported that he went to his daughter's house and someone unauthorized was there watching TV.

MARCH 20
2:16 a.m., Miscellaneous, 512 Ranchitos Road — Caller reported that she wanted to speak to an officer about "something that happened 10 years ago."

MARCH 25
3:53 p.m., Welfare check, San Antonio Road — Caller reported that an elderly man was walking down the road cursing at people.

APRIL 2
2:11 p.m., Welfare check, 615 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that a man and a woman were in the ditch and the caller was not sure what was going on.

APRIL 15
11:43 a.m., Miscellaneous, 102 Paseo del Pueblo Norte — Caller reported that he was supposed to meet his sister and she was an hour late.

MAY 7
12:20 p.m., Assault, 413 Sipapu — Caller reported that a man was arguing with the director. Caller reported that the man had no weapons but had "long dreadlocks."

MAY 12
11:22 a.m., Stray animal, 300 Salazar Road — Caller reported that two dogs were running loose that had four legs and floppy ears.

MAY 26
3:56 a.m., Welfare check, Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported a man walking toward Wal-Mart without his shirt and shoes on.

JUNE 5
2:26 p.m., Harassment, 1508 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that he was flipped off the day before and wanted to see what could be done.

JUNE 29
5:15 p.m., Miscellaneous, Salazar Road — Caller reported an angry old man.

JULY 4
11:10 a.m., Disturbing the peace, Taos Plaza — Caller reported that a man was playing guitar and singing.

JULY 14
11:23 a.m., Miscellaneous, Placita — Caller reported that a man in his boxer shorts was waving a gun.

JULY 21
1:58 p.m., Miscellaneous, Bent Street — Caller reported that there was a woman with a horse who needed to clean up after it.

JULY 25
2:18 p.m., Abused or Stray Animal, no address — Caller reported that her neighbor had "different kind of animals" that smelled bad when it rained.

AUG. 5
3:56 p.m., Larceny, 131 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that someone had stolen their curtains.

AUG. 14
3:20 p.m., Miscellaneous, 710 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that two men were sitting on a bench swearing at each other.

AUG. 17
3:58 p.m., Trespassing, Taos Plaza — Caller reported that there were hippies sleeping under the gazebo.

OCT. 6
11:53 a.m., Welfare check, 701 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that there was a possible fight going on between two people with dreadlocks.

NOV. 9
10:31 a.m., Harassment, 1321 Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that he had gotten 100 hang-up calls in the last two days.

NOV. 17
7:54 p.m., Suspicious activity, 250 Paseo del Cañón East — Caller reported that a man kept going to the caller's apartment looking for someone named Matilda.

And My Personal Favorite...

DEC. 8
9:09 a.m., Welfare check, Paseo del Pueblo Sur — Caller reported that Matt Damon was in Naples, Italy, and controlling her mind.

For my Friends who took the time to read this silliness,
the final entry into the prestigious list:

DEC. 14
10:24 p.m., Non-emergency call, 301 Linda Vista — Caller reported that he was having an anxiety attack and his "eyes were numb."

Does anyone else have a personal favorite?

:)
TG

Now that we're the living ghosts of Christmases future, time to itemize the trivial, superficial transactions.

And describe my Christmas!

First the gastric content. On Christmas Eve day, we enjoyed a fine batch of pork and sauerkraut. Christmas day, we had spaghetti! Excellent stuff. I made the french bread and grated parmesan. Okay, I didn't make them. I buttered and garliceted (did you know there's not a proper way to spell that word?) the bread. I didn't bake it from scratch. And I just grated the parmesan. Who makes cheese? Don't answer that. :)

Now For the Goodies

I received a stunning wall calendar of scenic golf courses I'll never play. It's kind of like a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Calendar. They both require your imagination. I received a jar of "Caroline's Jalapeno Garlic Pickles."

I received a book, the "Barbecue! Bible of Sauces, Rubs and Marinades." I'm really excited about this book. It is a companion to the "Barbecue! Bible," which I highly recommend. I received a can of Royal Dansk Luxury Wafers (In a can. I really like the can). And I received a biq lighter, designed for lighting hard to reach places, like propane and charcoal. I think Santa is looking forward to some grillin' this year! :)

Also...
I received a letter signifying that I'm the proud owner of tuckgraph.com! Courtesy older bro and sis-in-law. Yes, it's my own website, complete with a program called "Word Press," which is designed for people who want to make their own blogging website! WOW!

I'm a little intimidated. This means I'm going to have to learn. But I'm impressed. I mean, they know I love my blogging; it's like my hobby. And now I've got this whole new universe! Or planet. Planet's better.

The thing is, I like blogging here. I'm like an old dog. Like? :) I enjoy blogging here, and I'm not giving that up. But now I've been given this new gift. It's kind of like someone who noticed you wear black dress shoes, so they buy you a tuxedo! It's a nice gesture, but where am I going to wear it? I like analogies. :) I'll figure out something to do with it. First step is to buy "Word Press For Dummies." :)

From The Out Box
I gave in many ways. There was the bread and cheese, and I roasted some pecans! I also made a batch of Christmas Pigs-In-A-Blanket! Wait, I ate all of those myself. :) I only bought one gift this year:

It's a special brush for making Chinese Calligraphy. I gave it to older bro. He's into Chinese stuff. It's a big, authentic brush. Made In China! :) I couldn't find the proper Chinese inks and parchment. Or instructions on how to use it. He loved it! If worse comes to worse, it would make an excellent baster. :)

This is where I tie it all together with irony. Older bro buys me my own domain and software, and I have no idea how to use it. Meanwhile, I buy older bro a giant Chinese Calligraphy brush, with no details on how to use it! Okay, it's not "The Gift of the Magi," but like analogies, I love irony! And Christmas.

:)
TG

Oh, what an exciting, fun filled holiday week we've had!

I can't cover it all here. It's just too much to express in one blog. I'll bring you the highlights, thanks for being patient. I know how much all of you live for this.

The Christmas tree is up and glowing. Here's a pic of this beauty:

I thought they, I mean we, did a pretty good job. It's covered in joy. And candy canes. Candy CANES??? Where's Cameron. :) I did my part by taking a pic. There's also a bunch of presents down there, and some sort of Christmas Monkey looking little dude in the window. While I lament not making a significant contribution to the branch dressing, I did spearhead another belly important holiday tradition.

The Holiday Shish Kabobs

Not a tradition in your household? Me thinks you should reconsider your priorities! Kabobs are special any time of year. Put some pine cones or holly on there if you have to. Or chestnuts, they're great over an open fire. Just no ornaments. They melt or crack under the heat. Trust me.

A Very Special Sale

I was going through the newspaper sales flyers last weekend, trying to figure out what to buy myself for Christmas, when I saw this very crafty sale at a local clothing store:

I highlighted the details about the sale. Looks like they're trying to appeal to the mathmatically challenged! :)

Finally...

In full disclosure, I didn't help with the tree. I didn't help with the yard decorations. and I've only bought one gift. And I haven't decided who to give it to yet! :) But those kabobs, they went over pretty good. Next time, I'll do a little mistletoe garnish. Never know.

But enough about me. I've never been one to send Christmas Cards. It just seems so fake and phony. That's probably why I don't receive any Christmas Cards either! :) Meanwhile, Miss Prissy wants everyone to know how much everyone means so much to her during this very special holiday season. So,

Okay, ya happy now MP? For a few seconds?

:)
TG

It's that time of year again!

Where you do something, anything, to acknowledge the Spirit of the Season! I love it. I couldn't wait to put up the festive lights around the House!

LOL! :) No, that's a pic a Friend emailed me. I'm sure it expresses a lot of sentiments! But we did put the lights up last weekend. And when I say "we," I mean everyone, anyone, besides me.

I Was Sick All Weekend
The cold came on late Friday night, I was worthless Saturday. More so than usual. :) Chest congestion, sinus crap, body aches, the usual. I was feeling better Sunday afternoon. Then, early Monday morning, before sunrise, I awoke with a terrible earache. It brought back such fond memories!

Do You Hear What I Hear?
I had many earaches when I was a kid. My mom had this remedy. It was a little bottle of oil with a dropper dispenser. She would heat the bottle up in a pot of water on the stove, then drop a bit on her wrist to make sure the temp was just right. She would drop a few drops in my ear, cork it with some cotton, and I would be fine the next day! I got over those episodes around 7 years old.

You Can Never Go Home
A few years ago, while living in New Mexico, I came down with a mean earache. Seems like it always happens early in the morning, to wake you up. When I got to work, I told my boss I needed to go to the doctor.

"Oh no," she says. She says she has this oil her family always uses for earaches. And some other medicinal purposes. It was Swiss Oil, or Swedish, or from some Nordic country. Yes! I remember oil! She goes home for lunch and brings it back for me.

I put a couple of drops in, and it starts to soothe. By the time I get home, it's aching again. A couple more drops. Works till bedtime. Another drop or two. Around sunrise, I'm writhing in pain! This is not your mother's earache!

I pull the cotton out of my ear, and it's covered in blood! Bad sign. NOW I go to see doc, first in line. Turns out, my eardrum burst. They flushed my ear, and gave me some antibiotics and pain killers. They said it was a parasite. A few days later, the same thing happened to my other ear! Evidently, there was nothing to keep the parasite from going from one ear to the other! Like a brain? :)

I lost about 20 percent of my hearing, and that's cool. Because I can ignore people. I'm not arrogant, I'm handicapped! :)

Back To The Lights
So much for that heart warming story. :) "We" did get the lights up! Here's an artsy shot of the front yard:

In the foreground, that's a statue of a lady balancing a bowl on her head. I call her Lady Bowl Head. She hangs out year 'round. Great gal. In the background, there's the seasonal display, featuring our Hero! By day he's common fake snowman, by night he's Mr. Sparkles! :)

I'm not a matchmaker by nature. But when it comes to inanimate objects, I can't help myself. I'm going to try to introduce Mr. Sparkles to Lady Bowl Head. I think they're made for each other. If I'm wrong, that's okay. I've heard it all before. Or did I? :)

TG
:)