Good-bye August

Hiker woke me up at 5:45 am to go outside. It was already 72° and extremely humid. We got out of bed at 7 am and by 7:30 we were out for our morning walk. It was 75° and the humidity was 72%. The bugs were eating me alive and I felt like I was walking through a sauna. By the time we got home I was drenched with sweat. I wanted to put some more of that anti-itch cream on Hiker this morning but she sensed something was up and she kept hiding from me. That little bugger is so smart. I have no idea how she knew I wanted to put something on her. I kept trying to get her to go outside because she gets the “scared wee wees” and I didn't want her peeing all over the house, but every time I'd try to get her to go out she would run and hide in my bedroom. Any other morning, she would be wanting to go outside and lay on the patio after our walk, which is what she usually does every day, but not today. I finally fooled her into going outside just before lunch and I applied the lotion while she peed all over the patio (LOL). The rest of the day, we stayed inside as it was 96°. The humidity level went down to 42% but that is still more than we are used to. The sky was beautiful all day with big white fluffy clouds.

Last Friday Of August

Hiker and I had our normal Friday morning dog walk with Jean and her dogs. We left at 7 am and it was already 75° and starting to get muggy outside. Because of the humidity, the bugs were eating us up as we walked. Hiker has been scratching and chewing on herself a lot lately and I thought it was fleas or bugs, but I checked her out really good and don't see anything on her, so Jean and I talked about it and Jean thinks Hiker is having a problem with dry skin. We went up to PetSmart and I bought some lotion to put on Hiker where she keeps chewing on herself. The lotion is for hot spots, rash or itching and it has aloe in it. Since I put it on her, I have not noticed her chewing for awhile. She would chew on her back so much that her hair would be sopping wet. Once again we stayed inside all day. It was a few degrees cooler today, but not much. I see in the 10 day forecast that a week from today it is supposed to be 104° which does not make me happy. Watched the latest episode of “Under The Dome” today on Amazon. Wonder if this dispute between Time Warner and CBS will ever end. I've read that whatever happens between them that it will set the precedent for negotiations between networks and other cable/satellite companies from now on.

Techie Day

Got up at 7 am and Hiker and I went for a mile and a half walk. It was already getting hot and muggy. I was having a strange dream when I woke up. For years I have had dreams that after I retired from Lockheed that I went back to work there planning to only be there for a short time and retire again (strange). Anyway, I was having a dream that once again, I had gone back to work there. Besides me returning after retirement, my friend Judy Holdt was also back there working after retirement. In the dream our boss was leaving to go to another company and she was putting Judy in her position as boss. I recognized the woman who was our boss in my dream as a woman who really did work with us years ago at Lockheed, but I cannot remember her name) Well Judy wanted me to be her assistant and I agreed, but I told her I would be retiring (again) very soon and this time I actually filled out the paperwork to do so. In all of my other dreams, there was always a deadline of when you could fill out the paperwork and I always seemed to miss it, but this time I didn't. Also saw my friend Rick Kuklok in the dream. He is also retired now but he was working again too. I went over to my friend Gin's house today. She is a widow in her 80's who goes to my support group and she has been having some computer problems so she wanted me to check it out for her. She is using Norton for her Anti-Virus which is one of the worst ones to use plus it costs money. I told her that the Norton is causing her computer to run slow and showed her the difference if I turned Norton off how much faster her computer worked. Problem is, she just renewed her Norton for a year and still has almost 250 days left of it and they won't refund any unused money, so I told her I would leave Norton on her computer until February but then we need to remove it and put Microsoft Security Essentials on it so that it will run faster and she won't have to pay for the Anti-Virus. I ran some scans on her computer to make sure she didn't have any viruses or malware and I downloaded a disc and registry cleaner and set them to automatically run on her computer. She made me lunch and we sat and talked for awhile. She has the cutest little dog named Goldie who is a Doxie/Chihuahua. Got up to 103° here today. YUCK!

Too Humid!

Didn't really sleep in today since I had to go up to Wal-Mart this morning. I always end up spending way more than I planned to when I go to Wal-Mart. Wonder why that is? (LOL). By the time I got home at a little after 9 am it was already about 85° and humid outside, so it was too hot to take Hiker out for a walk. Probably won't get her out for a walk tomorrow morning either unless I get up really early because I am going over to one of my friends house (a woman from my support group) to look at her computer and see if I can clean it out some and speed it up a little for her. I did promise Hiker that I would take her for a ride in the car this afternoon, so we did that right after lunch. It was too hot and muggy to even get out of the car, but she was happy just to have a ride. My neighbor Jean and I have been discussing taking a trip over to Simi Valley when it gets cooler for a visit to the Reagan Library. Ben and I went there many years ago and Jean has never been there, so thought it would make a nice day trip for us. Probably won't do it until late September or early October. Didn't do much else today, so it was a lazy, hot, muggy day here in SoCal.

Cloudy, Hot and Muggy

Went to my support group at the senior center today. They are refinishing the main parking lot there and it is all a mess. We are now parking in the back lot which actually has more spaces than the front lot does. You can see the bison at Hart Park from the back lot. We also are having our meeting in a different room since they have our regular room blocked off because of the work. Actually, I like the new room better. It is in the main building instead of in one of the trailers and it is closer to the restroom which is a big plus (LOL). The heavy lady that comes to our sessions is so obnoxious. We all thought Edwin was bad when he first came, but she is worse than he is. At least now she is wearing pants instead of the dresses, so we don't have our “peep” show anymore thank goodness. What none of us like about her is that she is a “know-it-all”. She tries to tell people what they should do about certain situations and she doesn't even know anyone's story. She also has something to say about everything. Obviously she reads a lot and she will start telling a story like she was actually there, but in reality it was something that she read somewhere and she tries to make it funny, but it's not and she's the only person laughing. None of us still understand why she is coming to our group because she is not a widow, but we cannot stop her from coming because it is open to anyone. It has been cloudy and very humid here today. I remember when people used to say they didn't like summers in southern California because it was so hot and we would reply “yes but at least it is a dry heat”. Not anymore. We are getting more and more humid here as the years go by and us natives are not used to it. Some of us girls went to Round Table Pizza for lunch after group. I left a little earlier than the rest because school is back in session and I have to drive right by the junior high, so I try to get past that point before all of the buses and parents start arriving to pick up the kids and cause a major traffic jam. I've gotten caught in it before and I hate it. When I got home, Hiker “helped” me put the trash bins out at the curb and she went with me up to the mailbox, then I walked her down to the park. I wanted to get some photos of the beautify clouds. It was so muggy that by the time we got back home I was soaking wet with sweat. Come on fall, hurry up and get here.

Muggy Monday

We didn't sleep in this morning because we had a dog walk/play date with Jean and the dogs. I sure wish the entire day would stay nice and “fall-like”. The mornings are so nice a cool but by 10 am or so, it starts to get hot. After Jean went home, I went to do my grocery shopping. I noticed that the Halloween candy was already out on display. Got up to about 95° here and there were some big thunder clouds towards the east and some big fluffy clouds to the west that didn't look like thunder clouds. It was feeling pretty muggy.

Map shows thunderstorms in the SoCal desert

Thunder clouds to the north east of where I live

A Lazy Sunday

Hiker and I got up around 7:30 am and headed over to Bridgeport Lake to take a 2 mile walk. There were a lot of people out walking their dogs this morning. Hiker wanted to say “hi” to some of them, but a lot of the people didn't want to let her. Maybe their dogs don't get along with other dogs. We were walking along the sidewalk and a duck came out from the bushes right in front of us. It startled Hiker a little, then she wanted to go after it, but I didn't let her, so she just watched it run away from us. It was a beautiful morning but then started getting hot outside around 11 am. When we got home, Hiker went outside as she does every morning. She alternates between lying in the sun and then in the shade on the patio. While she was outside, I did a load of laundry, vacuumed and put clean sheets on my bed. Since Hiker does not like the vacuum, it is best for me to do that housework when she is not in the house. I watched the movie “First Daughter” on the Hallmark Channel. It was pretty good. Then I watched “The Way We Were” on Amazon. Would you believe I had never seen “The Way We Were”?

I'm Watching You

Hiker and I slept in again this morning then went for a morning walk. Did some laundry and watched some TV. I really want fall to get here so I can get up off my lazy butt and get out to hike. It's just too hot right now to do much of anything but stay inside with the A/C. It was a few degrees cooler today...only got up to 95° instead of 99° like it has been, but it's not enough to be able to feel the difference.

Saw this shed with eyes peeking over the fence this morning while Hiker and I were out for our walk.

Friday Again

I was going to watch a movie on Amazon last night but got really sleepy around 9 pm so went to bed and went right to sleep. When I woke up this morning, the bed felt so good that I decided to go back to sleep and slept in until 8 am. Got up and took Hiker out for a morning walk and then did a little housework. Watched the latest episode of “Under The Dome” on Amazon. Was another extremely hot day so did not go outside much. I will be so happy when fall gets here. Problem is that here in SoCal, we don't really get into fall until mid October.

Fun Day With Friends

Slept in a little this morning. Drove up to Palmdale, CA to have lunch with some of the ladies I worked with at Lockheed for so many years. All but one of us is retired now. There were only six of us this time. For those of you who might know them, it was me, Kay Limpus, Gail Plessner, Diana Brewer, Judy Holdt and Jacki Sanderson. Diana is the one that still works and she always has “gossip” for us from the old salt mine. Was about 102° out in Palmdale and was 99° in Canyon Country when I got home. Judy had given me a new toy to bring home to Hiker and as always, Hiker loved it. Every new toy she gets, she puts aside all of her other toys and ignores them totally.

Another Hot Wednesday

Hiker and I went for a 2 mile walk this morning. The sky was so pretty with the little “cotton ball” clouds. When we got home, I poached a couple of eggs (one for me and one for Hiker) for breakfast and then I put my license plates on my new car. For some reason, once you put the plates on and remove the dealer paper plates, it feels like the car I no longer new. When Keith was here I purchased a Black & Decker rechargeable, hand held vacuum to use to keep the inside of the car clean. It's not one of those car vacuums that has no suction. This vacuum can be used in the house too and has a lot of power. I vacuumed any dog hair that was in the seats after I put the plates on. The rest of the day, Hiker and I just stayed in the house with the A/C since it got up to 99° here today.

Nice sky when Hiker and I went for our morning walk. When the flowers on this prickly pear cactus bloom, I'll take some photos to share.

Started My Day Early

My neighbor Jean and I went over to the old Saugus Speedway for the every-Tuesday “antique” swap meet. Most of the stuff just looked like junk to me. Jean bought a couple of things. After we left there, we headed over to Denny's and had breakfast and then went across the street to the Goodwill Store. I didn't buy anything there either. It was nice early this morning but was starting to get pretty warm by 10 am. I'll be so glad when fall gets here. I got playing a “hidden objects” game on my iPad and before I knew it, 2 hours had passed. Had lunch and then went out into the yard with Hiker and played some ball. It is about 90° but there was a nice breeze blowing so it didn't really feel that hot. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I got my new car and I already got the license plates for it today. That was really fast.

New Blog

If you like my "Fotoblog" and/or my "Hiking" blog, make sure you check out my new block about Vasquez Rocks County Park. This is one of my favorite hiking places and also one of my favorite locations for taking photographs:

Picturesque Vasquez Rocks

Pleasant But Busy Monday

Did our regular Monday dog walk/play date this morning. The weather was really nice this morning before it got really hot. When I got up at 6 am, it was partly cloudy. I guess they had some thunderstorms in the desert last night. There was a nice breeze and once again it felt like fall weather, but by 9 am, it was already getting really hot. By 10 am it was already 90° outside. Jean usually leaves around 8:30 am but today she stayed until 9 am, so I was late starting my housework. I needed to do the stuff that I didn't get to this past weekend because Keith was here. I had to clean the big bathroom, wash my sheets and towels, dust and vacuum. Also ran my dishwasher. I was only going to do some of the stuff, but then I remembered that Jean and I are going to the antiques swap meet tomorrow so I wanted to get everything done today. The thermometer read 94° at 2:30 pm when I walked up to the mailbox, but it didn't really feel that hot. There was a bit of wind and I could see thunderhead clouds off to the east.

Product Alert!

DO NOT buy any of those "Pocket Hoses" that you see advertised on the "As Seen On TV" commercials. I bought 2 of them 3 or 4 months ago and I have tossed both of them in the trash as of this morning. The one in my backyard started leaking from where the hose and the coupler that screws onto the faucet meet. I thought it was the washer, but appears the hose was tearing away from the coupler. It finally broke apart. The one in my front yard was really strange. The "skin" on the hose, that they claim is made from the same material as fire hoses split open. It the caused a blockage somehow around the rest of the hose and the cheap inner tubing started blowing up like a water balloon. I turned from watering my plants on the front porch and saw this huge hose and at first it scared me because I thought it was a snake. (LOL)

Anyway, even though they "claim" they are guaranteed for life, there are several terms (in small print). You must have the original receipt for the hoses. I only kept my receipts for a couple of months and then tossed them. Also they want to take the hoses back to their manufacturer and have them run through tests to determine that I didn't run them across any sharp rocks or other objects before they would refund any money. I had a guy at Target tell me that his broke 2 weeks after he bought it. He returned it and the company refused to refund his money saying that it appeared he had some how "cut" the hose.

So stay clear of those hoses. They are a scam!

Another Hot Summer Sunday

We had planned on maybe going for a hike this morning but when we got up at 7:30 am, it was already getting warm. I had promised Hiker that we would take her for a ride in the car, so we drove up to Vasquez Rocks and walked around for a few minutes. It was already 90° there so we didn't stay long. Keith and I went over to Wal-Mart where I purchased a portable vacuum to use in my new car. I didn't realize that the black seats would show every little thread, etc. We also went over to GameStop and picked up a few Wii games. They had used ones at buy two get one free. I've decided not to go to my support group on Tuesday even though Keith didn't get to stay as long as he was going to originally. I had already made plans with Jean to go to the Tuesday Antique Swap Meet at Saugus Speedway, so I'm not going to cancel that plan. So just a heads up to the ladies in group, I won't be there this Tuesday.

Spending The Day With My Brother

Hiker and I got up and took a nice walk this morning and then I came home and did a load of laundry while waiting for Keith to arrive. Hiker was so excited when he got here. I knew that he would be arriving around 10:30 am so I told her to watch out the front window for him which she did. When she saw him pull into the drive way, she started "screaming" and ran to the front door to meet him. She was yapping and jumping up and down. He finally had to get down on the floor and play with her to get her to settle down. She loves him so much. Keith and I went over to Round Table Pizza for lunch and then headed out to do a few errands. Came back home to be with Hiker and we played some Wii games for awhile. Now we are trying to figure out where to go to get some dinner.

Another Week Come & Gone

Did our usual Friday dog walk and play date with Jean and her dogs then Jean wanted me to come to her house because she needed to groom her dog Sassy and Sassy squirms a lot when she is on the grooming table. Jean wanted me there to hold Sassy while Jean groomed. After lunch, took Hiker with me up to PetSmart. She loves going there because she knows they have cookies behind the counter. I needed to buy some flea & tick preventatives for her. I found some all natural ones that do not use pesticides, just natural plant oils. When we first walked into the store, Hiker went right over to the check out person and sat down to ask for a cookie and she got one, then when we were checking out, she went behind the counter and sad down to ask for another one. At least she sits like a good girl to get one. Got up to 100° here today. Watched the latest episode of “Under The Dome” on Amazon Prime. That's the only way I can watch it since I still don't get CBS on Time Warner.

Flea & Tick Medications

When I first got my dog Hiker, I took her out hiking and she got about 5 or 6 ticks. We had gone hiking in a canyon that had a lot of tall grass along the trail and I'm sure that is where she got the ticks.

I decided to start putting a monthly flea & tick medication on her. I first bought Hartz because it was inexpensive, but I was told by many friends not to use it because it had a bad reputation, so I decided to spend the money and buy Frontline Plus because I had heard that it was vet recommended and I had friends who used it on their dogs.

Then I saw Vetguard Plus at Sam's Club and it appeared to be a generic of Frontline Plus and it cost a lot less, so I decided to start using it on Hiker.

The first time I put it on her in June, I noticed that she was acting strange. She didn't want me to bother her and she seemed lethargic, but I didn't connect her actions with the Vetguard Plus.My brother had been visiting us and he had just left to go home. Hiker loves him so much that I thought she was just having separation anxiety for him.

The next time I put it on her in July, I noticed that she seemed to be breathing hard and once again she acting lethargic, and still I did not associate her actions with the flea & tick medication.

Today I put another dose on her as it had been a month since the last dosage. Once again, I noticed her acting strange. This time she started pacing. She circled the sofa for hours and then would lay down for a few minutes and soon get back up and pace some more. Again she acted like she didn't want me to bother her and she once again started acting lethargic.

I decided to go online and research these products and once I did, I tossed the last 2 tubes I of flea & tick medication that I had and I put Hiker in the shower and washed off the stuff I put on her today.

In my research, I found that all flea & tick medications are nothing but pesticides. The main ingredient in them is Permethrin. They claim that this ingredient is safe for dogs as long as you follow the instructions on how to use it but I disagree.

The most common side effect of Permethrin is redness, itching, rash or loss of hair, but it also has other side effects which include vomiting, drooling, diarrhea, increased excitability, lack of coordination, change in body temperature, seizures, tremors and lethargy.

I noticed the "excitability" in Hiker when she was pacing all over the house and the lethargy once she settled down some.

It is up to my friends who have dogs as to whether or not they want to use these kinds of products, but I just wanted to let you know the experience I had with my Hiker Girl.

Another Lazy Day

Not only did I fall asleep yesterday afternoon while sitting on the sofa, I dozed off last night while watching a movie on Amazon Prime. Went to bed at 9:30 pm and fell asleep immediately which is nice since a few weeks ago I was lying wide awake at 2 am. Got up around 7:15 am and took Hiker for a 2 mile walk. I love the mornings we've been having. They feel so much like fall, but then by around 9 am, it is already getting very hot. At noon today, it was already 95° here. After the walk and breakfast, I headed over to the bank, then up to Costco. Don't know what was with Hiker today. She was “pacing”. I've never seen her do that before. She just kept walking a circle around the sofa. I was wondering if she knew Keith was supposed to come today and since he has not shown up, she is pacing. I watched a very strange movie on Amazon Prime called “The Cabin In the Woods” and when I say strange I really mean freaky strange.