Survivors R Us

We haven't been able to update you on our life because our Internet has been terrible. It seems to be better today.

Scout and I have been enjoying the nice weather.

I enjoy spending time in the sun on the new deck.

Scout enjoys the air conditioning and the couch.

A hummingbird buzzed Scout's head today, so that's probably the end of her going outside for a while. She doesn't like hummingbirds or bugs. Mama probably shouldn't have bought Scout a red collar to wear. LOL

Last week Daddy was away on business and we ran into a copperhead on the road. Well, we didn't really run into it. We just walked by it. Mama ran us home and by the time she got back, the snake was gone.

Last Thursday was really a survivor night for us. Mama took us for a walk in back of the house and there was a copperhead. Mama screamed for Daddy, but he didn't have his listening ears on so he didn't hear her. She got us in the basement and yelled again and Daddy came running. He killed the copperhead. We hope that was the same one we saw earlier, but we have no way of knowing.

While Mama and Daddy were watching Survivor, I smelled something good in the trash can. All of a sudden the trash can lid came down on me. I started running like a cartoon character not going anywhere. I finally got traction and ran into the bar stools and knocked two over. Mama started laughing at me because she said I looked very funny with my head sticking out of a trash can lid. I didn't see the humor in it. I thought it was going to cut my head off. I'm glad Mama didn't have the camera to catch me on film.

Later that night, we went outside before bed. Mama checked the yard but didn't see the opossum in the yard. Scout and I did and took off after it. Mama screamed and screamed at us. Daddy came running out and grabbed us. The opossum finally left the fenced yard. Mama said it was really scary, but we thought it was fun. She now goes out with a flashlight and checks the yard before we can go out.

We went camping last weekend! It rained the first night and the electric went out. That was pretty boring. The next day, we rode around in the Jeep and drove by houses that are for sale. Mama said we were looking for our new home. We rode around for six hours! It was okay though because we went to Sonic and got a burger. We, of course, got to eat our frosty treats while camping.


Your friend,
Jack
The greyhound who survived a snake, trash can lid and opossum all in the same day.

Our House Is Listed!

Last week was another busy week. Daddy went to Kansas City for the week, so that meant I had to help Mama. We had to clean windows, paint things and clean the entire house. It was exhausting. The porch people were finally able to fix our porch. They used a friend's machine and it worked. Every time they came, they made a huge mess. The first time they made the mess, Mama freaked out but by the fourth time, she took it in stride. The head guy even called her outside to see the porch being raised and while she was standing there the hose got away from him and it almost sprayed her with concrete! She screamed, but laughed about it. A man actually showed up and took the free file cabinet. Mama had quit believing people when they said they would take it, but this man actually picked it. We had three guys come and pick up the aquarium. Mama said they reminded her of the movie Deliverance and I did not like them at all. I was so glad when Mama and Scout were both safely inside with me and those men were gone. We hope we never see them again.

We listed the house on Monday. Daddy said that we have to pitch in and pick up our toys and keep our noses off the windows. He says we have to do our part. It's harder for us than it sounds. Mama cut her thumb pretty bad on Sunday so you would think she would understand how hard it is not to have thumbs, but she says we could still pick up our toys.

Last night, Mama made a big pot of spaghetti for dinner and was dressed in her comfy clothes. Scout and I were relaxing with a frosty treat. The phone rang and it was the realtor telling us that someone was coming to look at our house right then. He said the other agent didn't give us the two hour notice that we requested. Mama asked if we could have a half hour and he said he would do his best. Well, Mama yelled to us "THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THIS IS THE REAL THING". She started running through the house trying to hide things. She had to put the good quilt on the bed, pick up all of our beds, hide our food, hide our food dish. She was nuts! Scout and I ran with her from room to room. She threw her dinner away. She threw things in the dishwasher and hoped no one noticed how things were just tossed inside. It was crazy. I tried to help by pushing her along. She put all of our beds in the back of the Jeep. Finally she said "WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" and she had to help us in the Jeep because the beds were stacked so high. We didn't even have to stand up to look out the window. We took off down the road and there were the people. Mama was all sweaty. It was pretty funny. We just drove around waiting for them to leave. They stayed for about 45 minutes. Mama was concerned about what she might have left out. She thought maybe there were clothes or something on the floor since she had to put on jeans before she left. It turns out that she forgot to put up one bed, one water dish and she didn't put out the good bath rugs. She did really good for only having 20 minutes to get us out of the house. She said we have to downsize the number of dog beds that we have because it is just nuts. She also said the next time, we will just hide in the motor home and not drive around the whole time. This house selling is hard work.

Wouldn't it be something if we received an offer after our first showing? Daddy said that life would get really interesting really fast if that happened. Mama hopes it happens, but knows it will probably take a long time to sell. I bet we get really good at cleaning the house fast.

By the way, our Internet has not been working well for the past week. It finally started working at 11 a.m. yesterday and Mama is happy again. It's hard for her when it doesn't work because she works at home and her boss is not very understanding.


Jack
The Greyhound Whose House Is For Sale

Life Is Too Busy Right Now

We have been so busy getting our house ready to sell. It has been very frustrating for Mama.

I'll try to re-cap what has happened since our last update. We had a guy come out and stain our cedar siding. He was noisy. He had to power wash the house and that was scary. Scout really got scared one day when she woke up to see him looking at her through the window. He was here for 10 days. He always showed up between 11 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and would stay until 9 p.m. Mama celebrated when he finally finished the job.

We have been trying to have our porch fixed for the past three weeks. It needs to be jacked up. The guys came out one day and they put holes in our porch. The noise was so loud. Then their equipment malfunctioned. Concrete went all over the landscaping and the porch. Mama called Daddy almost in tears. She was scared they were not going to clean it up good enough. She then found out that their machine was broke and they would have to come back. It was another week before they came back with a new machine. That machine did not work either. They then discovered that the materials they use have recently been changed and it does not work in their machine. They called their buddies and found out that they were having problems too. They said they would come back last Friday, but they didn't. They couldn't get the correct materials. As of today, our porch is still not fixed and they are still trying to find the correct materials. We cannot list the house if the porch is not fixed. Mama is trying not to think about it.

Mama's computer crashed. She said that Windows did an automatic update and the next day it wouldn't boot up. She couldn't find her recovery disk, but contacted Dell and they sent her a new one. It arrived by FedEx in just two days. She was able to fix it and it seemed to be okay although a few days ago it started doing strange things again. She has backed up all our photos and other important things and if it dies then it dies.

We had a huge yard sale a week ago Saturday. It turned out to be a huge success even though we live in the boonies. After the sale, Mama tried to give some things away on Craigslist, but found people said they would come to pick things up and they never showed up. As of today, we still have a fish tank and stand, large file cabinet, Total Gym and exercise bike that people said they wanted, but then stopped communicating with us. Mama is very frustrated with the human race right now.

Last Thursday, the carpet cleaners were supposed to come. Mama moved the furniture Wednesday night. She waited for the cleaners to show up, but they didn't. She called them to find out they were not coming until the next day. She was not happy. They did show up on Friday and it was scary for us. Mama sat with us on the couch while they cleaned our room and then we moved there when it was ready for us. We didn't like having the house re-arranged, but it is back to normal now.

This past Saturday, Mama cleaned out the basement. She was down there all day long. Daddy worked outside. Yesterday, Daddy went on a business trip. Mama spent part of the day cleaning and painting things.

Daddy says we are listing the house next Monday. I guess he is optimistic that the porch is going to be completed by then. We are keeping our paws crossed because we want our lives to return to normal. We haven't had a peaceful day in over a month now.

Oh, no! We just had another major error on our computer. It re-booted but the error said it was major. It took me an hour to get back here to try and publish my blog. Mama is ready to throw the computer and our Internet card out the window since it's being bad today too.

Jack,
The Greyhound Who Wants His Lazy Life Back

Deck Is Finished!

Daddy and Grandpa finished our deck last week. It's really BIG!
Wow, I have a great view from up here! I'm king of of the deck!


Daddy is now working on a porch underneath the breakfast nook.

It was another very busy weekend. Mama cleaned out drawers. Daddy started cleaning out the garage. They both worked on cleaning up the yard. Yesterday, we had turkey! Can you believe that? Mama says she is cleaning out the freezer.

Mama says today is our only "semi-normal" day this week. The men are coming tomorrow to start staining the house. It's going to be crazy here with men on ladders peeping in our windows.

Why are we doing all this work? Well, we are preparing to sell our house. Yep, that's right! Our house is going up on the market very soon. We are going to buy a much smaller house after this one sells and we won't have a mortgage. Mama says Daddy will be able to retire sooner if we don't have a mortgage. I retired after only 8 races and retirement has been a lot of fun for me. I hope Daddy can retire early too! We are a little nervous leaving our home, but it will be an adventure. We may even live in the RV while we look for another house. Daddy thinks that will be fun. Mama doesn't think it will be all that much fun, but at least we have a place to stay while we wait for our new home. We hope our house sells this year, but with the economy it could take a long time.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Loves His New Deck

Happy St. Patty's Day

It's been crazy around here. Daddy and Grandpa have been building a new deck for our house.
It's been very noisy. Scout refused to greet Grandpa on the third day of construction because she is not happy with her beauty sleep being interrupted. Today is day five of construction and they think they will be finished today. They have plans for the rest of the week, too. They are bringing in gravel and mulch. Mama has been busy cleaning and pricing things for a yard sale. She said there are things that were not unpacked when they moved here six years ago, so all of that stuff goes. It's going to be a HUGE sale.

Next week, men are going to come and re-stain the cedar siding. We also have to get our porch fixed. Mama says the staining is at least a week worth of strange men being here and looking in our windows while we try to sleep and work. It will be worth it when it's done though.

Happy St. Pat's Day everyone!

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are Looking Forward To Their New Deck!