Procrastinator Nonpareil

That's me. There's no more accomplished procrastinator in the world than I. I should be working, but I'm sitting. Waiting to hear that a little 4-month old beagle/poodle pup got pulled from a shelter this afternoon (before he's euthed tomorrow morning) and will be arriving here on Sunday. They also had a 4-month old Mountain Cur puppy. She, and a big Lab/Deerhound mix, are the only ones slated for the gas chamber tomorrow that haven't been spoken for as of about an hour ago. As much as I'd love to help, I'd have a heck of a time finding an appropriate home for her and I'm afraid that, even at 4 months of age, she'd be too prey-driven to live safely with cats. I hope someone else can take her.

I seem to have "will take beagle mixes!" stamped on my forehead. That's OK - they're cute, sweet, are usually good family dogs, and are pretty easy to place. The beagle/fox terrier pups - box terriers? feagles? foggles? - are doing very well. Scarlet and Sydney are both very social, snuggly little stinkers, and both enjoy just crashing on my lap. When I reach out for them, they lie down and roll onto their sides or backs to get belly tickles. Chance and Holly are still a little shy, but coming around. They're all over me until I reach out for them, then they move back out of reach. But they're easier to "catch" than they were a couple of days ago, so I think they'll be fine in another week or so. I listed them on Petfinder on Tuesday afternoon, and haven't had a single inquiry. It could be because of the upcoming holiday weekend, people thinking they'll be able to take a puppy right away and not wanting to do it until after the long weekend. Or it could be because their descriptions say the pups came from a puppymill, with the word 'puppymill' being a live link to Prisoners of Greed.

I got a decent application for Nellie today. I don't know if she's the right dog for them, but they're worth checking out. It might be a very good situation for her, and it sure would be nice to get her out of here and into a permanent home.

When I woke up this morning, Ivy was curled up against my thigh. I just reached down and started rubbing her head - she didn't flinch, didn't try to get away, just stayed relaxed and enjoyed her head rub. Either she wasn't totally awake and didn't realize that it was me touching her, or she was too relaxed and just didn't care. In any case, I enjoyed being able to pet her. Snickers has almost completely come around. I can even reach out and touch him now when he's on the table and I'm standing. He sleeps next to my feet, and comes for cuddles every morning. I'll be lying on my back petting cats and little dogs when I'll feel him getting on top of my shins, and then up my body to my stomach, where he settles down and waits for me to notice him through the crowd and reach through to pet him. He's a very heavy guy, at least 16 pounds. It hurts when he walks on me!

Poor Chu-Chu. She was getting really shaggy, so I gave her a haircut last night. I had given some thought to letting her coat grow out, I think she'd be stunning in a "show" coat, but I figured she'd be more comfortable, not to mention it would be easier to keep her clean, if I just gave her a summer shave-down. I didn't realize that her head's so tiny in comparison to her body, she looks a bit like a cartoon alien now. I'll have to get a pic, she's pretty funny looking. Oh well, she'll be cooler for the next couple of months, and now I know not to shave her head completely next time, but to leave a little beard and topknot to balance her out!

After my last class of the term on Monday night, I stopped at Lowe's on the way home and got the paint for the floor in the family room. "Grey Blue Sky" - a light bluish grey. I've decided I'll get 3 quarts of Glidden's bright floor paint - one red, one yellow, one blue - and mix some of those together to get orange, green, and purple, and splatter those on the grey floor. Anything that's left over from those bright colors can be added to a quart of white to make medium-bright or pastel colors, and I'll use that to paint the bookcases/shelves I want to put in there. I'm going to start removing some of the carpet in there tonight; not all of it, just enough to finish filling my trash cart. I don't want to wait to start removing carpet because I don't want to waste the trash cart space now and then have to wait 2-3 weeks to get rid of all the carpet later.

I'm going up to my mom's in the morning. There's a huge community garage sale where she lives, tomorrow and Saturday. I'm looking for a futon and a rocker/recliner, but I'll settle for any seating that's a) in better shape than what I've got now (that's not going to be hard to find), b) comfortable, c) something I can fit in my car to either bring home or get to my mom's to put in her garage until my sis (with a van) or my brother (with a small SUV) can get it here for me, and d) cheap. The old leather sofa I have now was destined for the curb when I took it from an acquaintance 3 years ago, and it's in a lot worse shape now than it was then. Like the carpet, it's got to go! My rocker/recliner is still in relatively good shape, but the seat cushion's not cushion-y any more. I can feel the wood slats when I sit in it, and have had to put the cushion from an old couch on the seat part. I'll hang onto it even if I find a replacement, and just move it out to the family room. I'd also love to find a small computer desk on wheels. The desk I'm using is a good sturdy office desk, but it's awfully darn heavy. Too heavy for me to move easily, even if I empty it out and clear it off. I need something that rolls. I'd move this desk out to the pole barn, and either sell or chop up the old but not antique wooden desk I've got out there. I'd like to find a smaller, lighter dining room table and chairs, too. The table I've got is OK, but it's heavy. The chairs match each other but not the table, and they're heavy too. I'd really love to have one of those old tubular-leg, formica-topped kitchen tables from the 50's, and chairs to match. Again, something lighter weight that I could move easily myself. I'm also sort of looking for an entertainment center cabinet. Nothing big, just something that will hold my 21" TV, the cable box, and my VCR all in one convenient place.

There's a devastating predator in my yard. Flint, who likes to spend his days out on the patio with the little dogs, has recently taken to dashing out to the big yard when I open the gate in the evening to bring the big dogs in. He wants to prowl. He never leaves the yard or I wouldn't let him stay out there after dark, he just stays in the yard until I let dogs out at bedtime, then he comes in with them. Almost every morning, I have to take a dead mouse away from Sparky. Flint's catching and killing them and bringing them onto the patio for me, and Sparky finds them in the morning and runs off with them. I have to chase him around the yard ordering him to "drop it, DROP IT!!" then pick the mouse up and dispose of it when he complies. It's gotten so I don't even open the door in the morning without sticking a paper towel in my pocket so I'll have it in case I need it as a shroud for one of Flint's victims. If I sound cold-blooded about Flint dispatching mice to the great cheese wedge in the sky, I am. Since Flint's been on the job, I haven't seen a single mouse in my garage. Organic mouse trap, indeed.

OK, now I really am going to get up and work on the kitchen floor some more. Yes, I know I said I hoped to have it done by tonight. But I also told you I'm very good at procrastinating. *grin* It's coming along, just slower than I'd planned. I'm hoping the flooring under the carpet in the living room, dining room, and bedroom is in better shape than the stuff in the kitchen. I'm on my third pint of wood filler, and not done filling cracks and evening off the height differences between all the different pieces. I 've been putting off pulling up the carpet from the stair between the kitchen and the hallway, I'm afraid of what I'll find underneath. But I guess I'll bite the bullet and just do it. Might as well get that stair done at the same time I paint the floor in the kitchen in that area. Here we go......