My Husband Scares Me...

Or at least his driving does and frankly, I don't know what to do.

He is 62 and just seems to be moving in slow motion.

My husband has always been a very cautious (almost overly so) driver and I certainly can't complain about that.

Lately though, his driving has gotten frightening and honestly, I'm afraid he is going to get us both killed.

Yet, I am very reluctant to say anything.

You know how defensive people can be about their driving.

It is your freedom and your independence.

I don't know what is going on.

He drives SOOOOOOOO slow that if we are on many of the two-lane highways we have around here, he will have a line of cars behind us.

And if we are on the Interstate, he barely gets up to 50 mph (the minimum speed limit if 45 mph and the max in most places is 70 mph).

We get blown off the road and cars pass us constantly.

Yesterday, he pulled in front of a sand truck (these things are MONSTERS). He was barely going 35 and this huge thing had to put its air brakes on to slow down.

Then, on the way out to the golf course, when the speed limit opened up to 55mph, he was still going barely 45 and a huge SUV and a logging truck (another MONSTER) had to pass us on a narrow two-lane highway.

The logging truck was blowing its air horn the whole way.....as if to say "GET OUT OF THE WAY, YOU %$^*^#%()^%$!!!!!".

It is REALLY worrying me

HE is clearly OBLIVIOUS to it.

(Other people who have driven with him have mentioned it.)

At first I thought it was about his old old falling apart car but now I'm wondering how much of it is him.

Lately, I have done just about anything I can to TACTFULLY get out of driving with him and take my own car.

"Oh..I have some other errands to run, so I'll just meet you there."

"No, I don't feel like going today, you go by yourself, I'll just stay home."

It is worrisome, frightening and a VERY difficult subject to tackle but I sure don't want to get run off the road or worse.

I don't know what to do.

Prima Donna and Dirty Girl.

Well, we went and picked up the new dog yesterday.
i have been trying to find a new friend for Cookie, our dachshund and I discovered there was an award winning AKC breeder about 50 miles from here.
She adopts out her "retiree" mothers.
We went there 3 weeks ago and met Flower, a shy quiet delightful little long haired dachshund. And we decided to get her but we had to wait 3 weeks before we could pick her up.
We, we went and got her yesterday.
She is just a love.
She is sweet and quiet and very well-mannered (she was a show dog as well as a mama).
And although she was afraid and nervous, she is a bit clingy and has tried to do everything she can to please us.
The only problem right now, she and Cookie are just little parellel universes.
There was no spark of recognition. No "Oh boy, a new friend!" Nothing.
There has been absolutely no growling or jealousy (although Cookie can't figure out WHO this new dog is who has plastered herself against me).
Since she is absolutely no trouble, I will give her a few more days to see if anything clicks. We have her on a trial period right now.
She has been going outside to pee and slept totally quietly in her crate last night.
She does not seem to know how to play with toys or a ball.
The Prima Donna and Dirty Girl?
Cookie goes in the back and digs tunnels under leaves and branches, snarfs and sniffs and buries her entire body in dirt and wet mulch.
So far Flower, the Prima Donna just sits in my lap and wonders what on earth is going on.

Another Bag O' Crap

oh goodie. I never thought I would fall into this group BUT when people tell you to not take your 70 year old aunt another little crystal turtle or a ceramic cat.. LISTEN TO THEM. It is TRUE!!!!!!
Saturday was Valentine's Day. Hubby gave me just a little gift that was perfect and much appreciated. He gave me a gift card for Books-a-Milion with just enough on it to buy two paperback books. I was very happy with it and I am still trying to decide on which books to buy with it.
Then there was CrazyFriend. CrazyFriend has this affinity for buying me gift bags of crappy stuff that I don't want and will never use. She will spend $25 or $30 dollars on all the little useless trinkets and I have 3 of said bags sitting here, untouched and unopened.
She gave me yet another one on Valentine's day.
Included in the bag o' crap:
A set of made in China ceramic pink and white dove salt and pepper shakers.
Some yucky scented oil that permeated the wrapping the bag and my car.
An ugly black infuser and tea lights for said oil.
A totally ridiculous Valentine's costume that she KNEW would be 2 sizes to big for my dog but she bought it anyway.
A chocolate bar with cherries and almonds.

Now I don't want to seem ungrateful but out of all that crap, the only thing that was of any use was the chocolate and I gave that to hubby. And I KNOW she had to have spent $25 to $30 for all if it. And now it will sit in the closet with my collection of her other Bags o'Crap, unused, untouched and eventually donated to the Goodwill store.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE....listen to what they say. Don't give your Aunt Gracie a Bag o"Crap. Buy her a gift card from someplace she will actually LIKE. Take her to lunch. But PLEASE. Don't buy her any crystal turtles or ceramics cats.
She doesn't need them/

Coraline..

I went to see the movie "Coraline" on Monday.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would highly recommend it.

It was GREAT and the 3-D was fabulous.

I had never seen anything quite like it.

If you get the chance, go and see it.

It's NOT just a kid's movie.

Pee on the Floor then Hide Under the Bed

Who says animals can't communicate??
Cookie, our little Dachshund has a very clear, simple straightforward way of letting us know when we have done something to upset her or if her nose is out of joint.
She pees on the floor and then hides under the bed.
No doubt, no question. Cookie is unhappy about something.
Now keep in mind this is a dog who is totally housebroken.
She will literally wake me up out of a sound sleep at 2 o'clock in the morning to go out.
She will scratch and and stand by the door.
So it's not a mistake or an "accident".
It is a statement:
"I did not like getting a bath this morning. Thank you very much. I'll show you. I will now pee on the floor then I will hide under the bed."

Willing to Give Flower a Chance

Well, we may have finally found a friend for Cookie and after sleeping on it, I think I am willing to give Flower a chance.

We (both of us AND Cookie) were exhausted yesterday and frankly, a little overwhelmed.

We found an award-winning Dachshund breeder in a neighboring town about 40 miles from here.

She has 40 dogs and several adult female "retirees" that she puts up for adoption.

We had to make an appointment to visit her kennels.

We went yesterday at 3:00.

She is a VERY nice lady and her dogs were beautiful.

She gave us 3 dogs to choose from (the one I REALLY wanted wasn't up for adoption).

There was Misty who was painfully shy. I wasn't comfortable with her because I thought she could potentially snap or bite just out of fear.

There was Jill who had a delightful personality but she was just a little too bouncy and energetic. I thought she would go directly to Tito just out of curiosity and I didn't want to have that fight.

And then there was Flower.

Flower is a small, red long-haired girl with a very demure personality.

She was very sweet and quiet and seemed like a very good match for Cookie.

She was quiet and gentle. Not bouncy, pushy or hyper.

We ALMOST took Jill but I had to speak up.

I just wasn't prepared.

I wasn't comfortable taking a dog right away and even though we have to wait 3 weeks for Flower (she's not quite ready to go yet), I liked her personality and her coloring better and I think she is a better choice.

So we chose Flower and we will pick her up on the 21st.

Our household will be upside-down for a month or so while we get used to her and she gets used to us.

She'll take a little work and a little training.

I hope it works but if it doesn't, the lady assured us that we could bring Flower back any time if she isn't working out.

So....We'll get Flower.

I hope she and Cookie will become friends.