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Showing posts from June, 2015

Well, That Didn't Work!

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Last week I promised news of our visit to a horse rescue. My sister and I planned it for my visit to her last week, while hubby was on a fishing trip. Not gonna happen. (So the pic on the left is bogus, and I admit it!) We tried, we really did. In the first place, though it had a website, there was no address given, which I guess means they don't want company. A little exploration on the Net found a mailing address, but it was in the city, on a residential block with houses squashed together and not room for one horse, let alone many. There wasn't even anyone at home to ask if we could go out and pet the horses. I get that they probably don't want casual visitors who interrupt their routine, but it seems like it would be good PR to allow it, maybe once a week. People would be more likely to donate to the cause that way. We're not giving up. We plan to visit a different rescue place, but it won't be until the end of July. We'll keep you posted on that o

This Week's Blog Delayed--For a Great Reason

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I'll blog later in the week, because I have plans to visit a real horse rescue! When I wrote about it in MURDER IN THE BOONIES, I talked to people who knew about the topic, but I didn't actually go to a horse rescue site. Faye's rescue comes about almost by accident when she  turns the family farm into a place for horses to retire, especially horses who've worked on Mackinac Island. . Once I've seen the real thing, I'll tell you about it here and see what's alike and different about the real one and the one I dreamed up in my head.

Learning a New Language--Like Cat

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Must Have Known I Was Writing About Her--She Took a Nap! They should have taught languages in school that I can really use: like cat or dog. I took French, but I live in Michigan, for heaven's sake. I might use it a few times in my life, but cat or dog I could use every single day. The old cat has been trying to tell me something all morning. I checked her food dish--full. Her water is fresh. I cleaned the cat-box. Hubby vacuumed her bed so it's comfy and arranged the way she likes it. There are no suitcases out, which always makes her nervous. Neither are there strangers in the house, which sends her to the basement for the duration of their visit. She stopped going outside some time ago, which we figure is due to a natural sense of self-preservation: She's too old to escape the critters that roam our woods, coyotes, owls, and the like. The hummingbirds outside the kitchen window sometimes upset her, but that doesn't seem to be the case today. So what is she

Fractured Proverbs & Such

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MURDER IN THE BOONIES includes lots of animals, and I got to thinking how often we include animals in our advice, our conversation, and our hearts. Here are some examples of what happens when we switch animals in some of those sayings. 1.You can't teach an old cat new tricks. (In fact, you can't teach any cat new tricks. They simply don't care.) 2. You look like the potbelly pig that ate the canary. (Just doesn't work for me.) 3. You can lead an alligator to water, but then you'd better step back. 4. It's raining cows and horses. (Now that's a storm!) 5. A sheep in the hand is pretty hard to keep hold of.

Division of Labor

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For me, Monday is Chore Day. I have a list of things I do: laundry, cleaning, watering plants, etc.  My husband tends to do his chores as he notices them, and he's pretty good about noticing. I stick with Mondays because then I know things got done at least once a week. Otherwise, I'd just write books and forget housework. What I've noticed is that our chores have shifted in retirement. In years past, he did "outside stuff" and I did "inside stuff". Now vacuuming hurts my back, so he does that. We admitted to ourselves that he's the better cook (and the one who cares if we eat regularly), so he does that, too. Gradually he took over things like taking out the trash, shopping for groceries, and returning bottles for refund. If it sounds like I've become a slacker, that might be true. Still, I take responsibility for the house being clean and the bills being paid. I maintain our flowerbeds, though he's pretty much taken over the vegetable