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* A P R I L *
15 April 2006 / Holy Saturday -- Ken showed up at his closed shop a couple more times -- I got that Kool clock / sign down from the wall -- KOOL 1 -- KOOL 2 -- he gave me another load of things that were stashed at his son's home, and, of course, the safe he sold me that I mentioned in my March YES update -- this is Arthur, the safe mover and his helper removing the York safe from Irwin's front entrance -- -- here they are entering my patio gate with it -- -- it was barely able to squeeze through the somewhat narrow back door, but did, and it was jostled next to a book shelf in the rear of the back room next to where the washer and dryer will eventually go -- -- it took them less than 20 minutes to complete the job. When he was finished I asked him what his bill was -- FIVE BIG ONES, he replied! OMG, that is twice what I paid for the freekin safe! Oh, it was ONLY five twenties = $100 -- I sorta thought he was joking because he really had been VERY inexpensive before.
I was finally able to update Marian's web site -- she is in Boynton Beach, Florida, and has been active with her center for a couple years already --
There are piles of dirty laundry in several places here -- I took a trip to four appliance stores and did a search online looking at prices and models -- I think I am going to decide on a front loading washer and a gas dryer, which means that I have to get a gas line installed in the back room downstairs where the Rossi's had their electric machines, next to where the safe is now located. Joe Carroll came over after he returned from his place in Florida -- -- to see what had to be done. There was a slight problem because the washer drain, which has been in place for 50+ years and closed for at least 20 was clogged up -- when he used the portable pipe cleaning tool he then found that an entire length of iron drain pipe was completely virtually stopped up from the sink in that back room to the main drain in the bathroom in the basement! We both knew that the sink drained VERY slowly because I complained about it since I acquired the place, and we both poured gallons of drain cleaner into it over the years. The remedy -- about six feet of metal pipe was cut off and new PVC piping installed -- end of problem -- this is the new completed set up, waiting for me to order the appliances and have them delivered, with the wood panel that covers the opening to the right -- -- you can also see the safe. The washer and dryer will NOT fit through the back door -- I now have the task of clearing out a workable path from the front door of the closed shop downstairs to the back room, which basically means shifting piles of things from one place and finding where to put the shit somewhere else. Wish me luck!
This is Joe the day before he and his wife left for about ten days in Ireland -- -- he does seem to be able to travel much more than I can [I wish that I could!], but then again he does not have a herd of cats to worry about. When he returns to the States next week he will be back here again to adjust any last details IF the washer and dryer are in place. These things are somewhat unexpected / unplanned for expenses, and they will set me back financially for several months -- I really hate to use my 2 remaining credit cards [which are PAID OFF-- I keep them for emergency use only], but will have to use one of them if I want to have clean clothes!
If I do not have a chance to add something tomorrow
Easter eCard 1 -- Easter eCard 2 -- Passover eCard
25 April 2006 / Tuesday -- Ken appeared across the street three times in two weeks, which is unusual -- I got five more steel shelves, some boxes of things and that large clock / KOOL sign that you saw above -- his colonoscopy showed prostate cancer in three places, so he opted for some kind of radioactive whatevers injected into the gland, which is a somewhat new procedure -- he told me that closing on the property is on 1 June, so there is little time left to get his things out, and he has not even looked what there is on the second floor yet, that mysterious part of the building that I have not even seen in all these years. His son took all the other steel shelves and will take a desk and nice wall unit to his place. I met his cute poodle for the first time, Brandy -- a playful little critter.
Last Monday I finally went to Mrs. G's Appliances on the road to Princeton, to choose the washer and dryer I want to get -- I decided on the Whirlpool Duet, stackable, which would take up a lot less space in the back room downstairs -- the salespeep added on two new rebates and a so-called three year supply of HE laundry detergent, liquid, only twenty-four 32oz bottles, which probably will not last me a single year -- I never even saw the brand (All Small & Mighty) at Sam's Club or elsewhere. I then spent two days moving things to make a 27" walkway to bring the appliances from the front door to the back room -- unfortunately, the back door is too narrow and it would have been impossible to bring them in there without removing the entire door frame and taking bricks out. It was a chore finding a place to put many things, but I finally got that done.
The dude said to call him today early to set a concrete delivery time, which I did. Surprise -- he was not in today! I then asked the person on the phone about how they will stack them, washer under or on top -- the washer goes under the dryer. But then they told me that they only contracted to deliver, not stack or install! FUT THE WUCK, so I am supposed to do all that work, lift the dryer on top the washer?? Maybe 20 years ago WITH a helper, maybe -- the hoses and power cords I can certainly do myself. The salespeeper did NOT tell me that they charge $90 extra to stack and then connect everything, so I told the lady OK, forget about it, I want a refund and they can keep the appliances -- I can get them just about anywhere else with NO charge for connecting the damn things. She said she would call me back later today -- the sales manager called me within 5 minutes! NO PROBLEM, they will deliver, stack and connect at NO charge, and I will be ready to do wash when they leave -- he was sorry for the misunderstanding. Misunderstanding my ass, the guy who sold me the things should have told me all these hidden details, I do not buy these things every week and know all the possible charges and stuff. He said I would be their first stop -- they arrived in about 15 minutes.
They unpacked both gizmos in front of the place -- the two guys actually stacked them outside, which I thought was sort of dumb -- that only makes the combo a LOT harder to manipulate than had they to move them as separate units -- do you know what the stacking package I paid $19 for consisted of? Two slightly bent metal brackets about 2" wide and two strips of thinnish rubber maybe an inch wide -- shit, that is like all those military bolts and toilet seats that cost thousands of freekin dollars!! What a racket!
I put the large carton with junk inside across the street at Ken's because he has a pile of old display things he threw out when he was here last. They made it inside OK, had to do a couple slight turns to get through my really tight walkway -- once in the back room it may have taken them 20 minutes to connect everything, about the same time it took them outside to get them set up -- -- this is what they look like installed -- ANOTHER VIEW -- larger, showing where the hot air exits -- luckily the Rossi family also used that room as a laundry room, and the dryer was probably on the other side below a ceiling fan / vent I never used before -- -- I did not spend time attaching metal straps to the flexible tubing and fixing it to the ceiling because I wanted to get some of the piles of wash done, I can do those minor details another day. This is the washer, model GHW9150PW, as seen from inside the room -- -- simple selection buttons and the only digital thing is a timer that shows how many minutes are left. The gas dryer, model GGW9250PW, as seen from the back door -- -- they both have a central dial to select different general automatic or manual settings, and a couple buttons to further define the type of load, all very simple.
I did not know what to expect when I put in the first wash load -- it does have a large capacity, similar to the one I used in West Trenton -- I was worried that when the fast spin cycle is running, there would be a lot of noise and vibration, since the floor is wood, NOT concrete as it was in Bernar's basement -- his almost sounded like a quiet plane taking off when it was in fast spin! Surprisingly, this model is SUPER quiet -- there is a slight, yet expected, localized vibration. OK, so I find that I can put two wash loads in the dryer at the same time, which I never did in West Trenton, where it was one load washed, the same load into the dryer. So how were the results thus far?
It washed BETTER than Bernar's -- the towels that the cats sleep in, and that Kamiel, the old-ish incontinent male kitty, soils extensively, came out clean as a proverbial whistle -- I have an old long sleeve dress shirt at the bottom of the stairway here that I used to dust and clean things for over three years, simply because it was hanging there as a work shirt -- it was really ratty looking -- I could wear it now with a suit! I have done six wash loads and am now on the third batch of dry -- still have a couple more to do tomorrow. The lint filter of the dryer is located inside at the front and is easy to get to -- Bernar's was in the top back right, which was just as easy I guess. After all the "misunderstanding", I am quite happy with my VERY expensive purchase, which will set me back a couple months on other bills and things. The drier has a removable platform that you can put delicate things on for air drying, but for that I can hang things in the air and not use electricity or gas.
I paid for them with a credit card, which I did NOT want to have to start using again -- somehow, remarkably, this year I managed to pay off the two plastics I still have and swore that I would only use them for emergencies -- this was such an emergency. If any of my readers might like to help me pay for these necessities and reduce the monthly credit charges which really greatly reduce the amount I have to live on, please contact me at the email address below. DO NOT send me any of your dirty laundry, though -- I always have enough of my own! I told a student at Penn State about the new washer and drier and he replied, Oh and appreciate the washer/dryer... I'll be downstairs trying to find a coin operated machine that isn't being used, and then I'll be running the dryer at least 2 times to ACTUALLY dry everything. As they say, you do not have to be a rocket scientist or astrophysicist to see his point. The closest one to me is two blocks away and is always packed with a lot of illegals with their large bags or pushcarts of stuff -- I hear they can be cruisey, though, if you enjoy watching the gals putting in their panties and other intimate items.
Did anyone notice that the US penny is worth MORE now that many of the metals have risen a LOT in price on the stock exchange? Here is a link that George always pointed me to -- he liked GOLD coins -- I was always a SILVER kinda guy, and, hey, I have a couple coffee cans of pennies too --
I spent a couple hours using the GoogleEarth app, which I downloaded this week, to find my place here and in Tenerife -- on dial up it takes quite a while to locate exact places, but I never have enough loose change to get a faster connection. I may take a couple screen shots and include them in my next update.
* M A Y *
2 May 2006 / Tuesday -- just a quicky link to a new SPECIAL REPORT -- it is not complete yet, but there is enough to graze on until I update it again
14 May 2006 / Sunday - Mothers Day -- I finally finished the above special report about the nearby fire, including some thoughts about the illegal aliens who seem to be in the news a lot recently.
I think I may have previously mentioned a German lady who Joe, the plumber, knows -- she owns a small restaurant on South Broad Street, Katherina's -- I have driven by there hundreds of times but never stopped in. Joe told me that she is psychic, able to fortell the future -- my Mom's Mother had this gift -- in my younger days I too had seen future things on occasion. I went to Katherina's and found it closed by the city [why is the Chinese take out near me still open and doing business?] -- apparently there was a fire in an adjoining building a few weeks ago that caused some so-called smoke damage to her place -- -- her restaurant is the small building nestled between two taller ones -- the fire was in the one on the right. The door was open, so I went inside -- a slight smell of smoke was present, nothing major -- her place looked normal and useable enough. She was sitting in the back chatting with a friend -- I told her that Joe mentioned her, then she took a frame out of a box and showed me a couple old photos of Joe, his son and first wife [she died of cancer]. Katherina has a delightful German accent and showed me some of the papers she used to flee Nazi Germany -- I spoke some German with her which was great practice because I rarely get a chance to speak it. She rambled about the fire to the olde days to not knowing what she will do now -- I seem to ramble a lot too, so I enjoyed it -- one can learn much from ramblers. My only regret is that I did not ask if she had time to do a reading for me -- I shall save that for my next visit.
Do you recall a photo of an abandoned animal testing lab I wrote about way back in 2001, at the time of 9-11 and the anthrax thing at a local post office here? Click photo for original page link --
well, it was for sale for several years, I called the realtor, they told me the owner was in florida and just wanted to get the building off his back -- he was asking too much, though. Well, now the entire place looks somewhat different -- whoever bought it seems to have also obtained at least one home to the right which was razed to make room for a parking lot -- -- some kind of a Pro Services technology center -- -- whatever that means. They renovated almost everything on the exterior of the building EXCEPT the wood moulding around the entrance door! It is still as weather beaten as it had been for many years.
Across the street is the shopping center -- the old supermarket is still empty -- apparently no food chain is interested in moving in to a place where four previous owners had to close due to so many things disappearing from the shelves that they never made a profit.
I updated a bunch of my for sale coin, stamp and book domains, as well as Ted's coin and collectible domain --
eBay has begun to really slow down, it is depressing -- FEW bids and usually at the last minute -- the few that sell are sold for the opening bid. I have been getting almost desperate, so I tried a new approach to marketing on YardSaleNet -- Whirlpool Washer & Dryer -- hey, I just bought them, why do I want to sell them already?
Kamiel, my oldest Sphynx is really getting skeleton like, despite all my efforts to provide him the soft food he always gobbled up in the past -- now he only nibbles at it and for the last few days does not seem to be able to jump as high as he used to. I wrote that I was worried about him several times over the last 2 years or so, took him to the vet a couple times, they prescribed some meds but they did not really improve his condition much. Nothing seems to help.
After writing those few words about him I went to the kitchen and the other four cats came out to greet me, NOT Kamiel. I found him in the lower crate apartment, the easiest for him to get into -- barely moving and colder than normal. I bathed him in warm water to remove his excrement stains, wrapped him in clean towels and took him to the bathroom, plugged in the small heater and held him in my arms, trying to feed him some liquid cat enriched milk substitute in a syringe and soft moist food -- he was barely able to swallow the liquid -- I was teary eyed.
The Sun was out, so I decided to take him back to the kitchen to get some warmth at the back window and have the company of his friends --immediately, Tuska, his first daughter [on left], and Fabiola, his mate [on right] jumped up to accompany him -- -- Tuska even lay beside him to provide added warmth -- he did make a couple feeble yet forceful attempts to stand up, but was too weak.
I now removed ALL the clean towels I changed twice yesterday and replaced them because they were very soiled -- I washed out the two plastic cat crate apartments -- MOST of the laundry in the overflowing basket is cat towels soiled by Kamiel. I had to mop several places on the kitchen floor every day for well over a year already, spots where he sat or did not quite make it to the litter boxes before the diarrhea shot out. Although I love him dearly and shall miss him, his hugs and smooches, it is sort of sad to say that, at the same time, I think that I will finally be free of all the extra work he has caused me over the past few years. Devi did not add to my chores in her final days -- I never did find the time to make her an obituary page, so it is likely that she and Kamiel will share the same one -- they both were my oldest cats. I just took the wash downstairs -- Kamiel is still barely hanging in there, poor thing -- he will not survive the night.
In past years I always commented about the turtle dove who built a nest in the tree outside my window and laid eggs this time of year -- for some reason, the bird has not appeared this year -- maybe it's too early yet?
UPDATE -- at approximately 23h, Kamiel died, warmed by Tuska who was beside him until the end.
Crystalskye Kamiel of Pimpernelle
Blue Mackerel Tabby Sphynx, M
born 3 October 1994 - Helena, Montana
died 14 May 2006 - Trenton, NJ
at the age of 11 years 7+ months
19 May 2006 / Friday --
* J U N E *
10 June 2006 / Saturday -- I have been doing some work on the small patio, finally -- Adolfo, a dude from Honduras helped me trim the large tree on the side of the place and remove three tree stumps from the patio left there a couple years ago by the last peeps I paid to do the same thing -- they only cut the above ground parts down, left the gd stumps, then disappeared. This is an outside view of the patio -- -- the large trees are Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) my favorite tree (you may remember the ones I had in West Trenton). I got these on eBay two years ago when they were a foot high -- today they are all taller than I am (6 foot 3 inches) -- Bernar wants one -- -- the large hole is where the three stumps were. On the far end of the patio is a Yucca -- -- with two more stumps I have to take out, and at the end of the garage are three other stumps -- -- one VERY large, that I have to eliminate one of these days. I have been waiting to paint the side of the garage and redo the patio surface until all the stumps are gone. I did REglaze the small window panes in the iron window facing the patio. I REpainted the yellow lines in my handicapped parking space and in front of the garages for the first time in two years.
On Wednesday, 24 May, I finally took Devi and Kamiel out of the freezer, lovingly laying them in their final repose in that large hole seen above. After cleaning the kitchen when he died last month, I have NOT had to do any work there, which did take up a LOT of my spare time every day. I switched the Russian cats from the bedroom to the kitchen (which is much larger), and gave my original Sphynx the run of the other three rooms, except my study -- it took a while for both groups to accustom themselves to their new larger areas.
Ken has been back several times and is almost finished removing his things from the property he sold -- I got several more steel shelves (the last of them), many boxes of miscellaneous things, and still have a pile of goodies to take out. The shelves were useful for all of the boxes of stuff I had piled in the van from Erwin's -- the van is now empty and I can load it up with donations to take to the Salvation Army, hopefully soon. I finally saw his second floor for the first time after all these years -- quite roomy, large enough for two apartments, but it needs a LOT of work. I got a stray piece of plywood from him to use for making enclosures for the cat litter trays in the bedroom, something I wanted to do for a couple years already -- it was above the company computer (which I am also getting, a PC), and has cartoons on it, drawn by one of his employees -- -- here is a smaller one on the bottom left -- -- that was the first section of plywood I cut. This is how one of the litter trays was set up for a couple years -- -- a left over piece of linoleum from West Trenton with the litter box on top -- it was effective but the back was tucked into the baseboard heating and the cats always played with it, making it come down, plus they scraped litter over the sides and it went everywhere -- my bed is on the right. I got a bunch of 12" self - stick linoleum tiles from the Dollar Store (packs of 3 for $1) some months ago for another job downstairs (not yet begun), and used thirteen of them for the new litter enclosure -- -- the above drawings are on the bottom, facing the floor. The sides will now keep the litter the cats throw out contained and not all over the floor -- less work for me, more time to do other neglected things, finally.
We had quite a few VERY HOT, summer like days, at which point I put the air conditioner back in my study window because inside it went over 86 degrees and was stifling -- the past several days have been raining, with much lower temperatures. I now go barefoot inside the apartment, since the floors are much cleaner than they had been with Kamiel -- the cat switch helped, too. I have been sleeping in bed more frequently rather than the repeat naps at the computer, and often crawl into bed around midnight which means that I am getting more sleep and feel much better rested in the morning.
* J U L Y *
4 July 2006 / Tuesday -- today was the end of a prolonged 4-day weekend -- two patriotic links follow --
Flin / 4th of July -- Cyndi / 4th of July 2
We started the month off with flooding in the lower lying areas of Trenton, including West Trenton where I lived a couple years ago. Last year there was a significant storm, if you recall from my web page about it -- on 1 July I went to see what I could in that area -- more roads were blocked than last year, but I was able to park at one of them and walk to the side of Route 29 -- the river was inches from the highway, which was not covered by water as far as I could see -- PIC 1 -- at the Calhoun Street Bridge the water covered what was a tree lined walkway under the bridge -- PIC 2 -- from that bridge looking south the water raged past, covering the small islands further down -- PIC 3 -- the water under the bridge had risen over twice the remaining dry height of the support seen in the background -- PIC 4 -- it was higher, and still carried tree trunks and large debris in the current -- many TV trucks and emergency vehicles blocked the main entrances to that end of the city, and there was an evacuation notice for residents to move to higher ground (as they did last year).
More crapola from the lovely neighbors -- first they pulled the cord holding the fence post upright -- I tied it back -- then for some reason they somehow knocked two cinder blocks over that I piled near the fence in the patio to be able to paint there easier -- -- this afternoon when I went out front, they were ONCE AGAIN sitting on my doorstep -- almost every day I find them there and politely ask them to move, both in English and Español -- today I TOLD them to get the fuck off of my step, it is NOT a public park -- then a police car went by, I called them over, mentioning that I seem to be having a communication problem with the nice neighbors and would they mind telling them to stay on their side of the street, which they did.
It rained a little today, and I constantly hear illegal fireworks going off in the neighborhood. On the other side of the river, in Pennsylvania, they sell fireworks everywhere, so they are very easy to get and bring them to New Jersey.
Here is an interesting link to all kinds of rare antique religious items, from statues to other art work, vestments to relics and reliquaries --
the gentleman is from The Netherlands (Holland), and has an extremely interesting selection of European goodies available at reasonable prices.
24 July 2006 / Monday -- Joan from Florida sent me the sad news that her beloved rare white Shepherd died
Duchess of White Candyland / Candy
White German Shephard, F
born August 1994 - Atlanta, Georgia
died 21 July 2006 - Florida
at the age of 11 years 11+ months
Flin / I Did Not Die -- Me / I Did Not Die 2 -- Terry / The Rainbow Bridge -- Joan / Candy on Vet's Page
The hispanic renters next door pulled down the chain link fence in the patio AGAIN -- -- the days have been hot, the nights somewhat cool, and it rained several times, but not too much. Ken told me today that actual closing on his property is next Monday, 31 July, so I shall have to remove the things I want the next time he is here -- wish me luck! He also has truck loads of papers to dispose of, somewhere.
Today I took the van to Morrisville, Pennsylvania to reduce the sensitivity level of the alarm system -- when it rained the alarm went off, draining the battery -- I had to constantly use the portable battery starter when I had to move the van from one side of the street to the other on sweeper day, twice a week -- this has been happening for a couple months and is a PITA -- about six weeks ago I had a friend of Carlos', also a puerto rican, check out why the van would not start -- he said it was the starter and charged me 200 clams for a theoretical new starter -- I am still waiting for the warranty and doubt he replaced anything! Just another neighborly ripoff, as has happened many times in the past.
* A U G U S T *
4 AUGUST 2006 / FRIDAY -- on Ken's last visit to his supposedly sold business across the street, just when the heat wave began, I helped him pack and remove dozens of boxes of old paperwork and other things such as swivel desk chairs, some metal cabinets and stands, etc. and got them to the curb for the trash peeps to take -- since he has given me (or sold at a VERY reasonable price) MANY things that are useful, I thought it was fair that I should help him -- he is still more agile than I am after the radioactive seed implants, and in the excessive heat my lower legs / ankles swell up, causing mild distress -- AFTER helping him I can hardly move, though. 1 August was supposed to be closing, BUT the Hispanic buyer changed his mind -- couple that with an Hispanic real estate agent, and any deal could theoretically take years to complete! Mañana is the operative keyword here. In the past few months we have put TONS of paper, metal and wood things, out on the curb both in front and on the side of his place -- the stuff on the side is what I can see when I look out my windows in the kitchen and bathroom. Weeds had grown up to over 5 feet high, I was tired of seeing at them, so I sprayed them with weed killer, later pulling them out and / or cutting them down. The trash men have a weird way of taking things in this area -- sometimes the normal pickup trucks pass his piles of things without taking anything, and sometimes they take everything -- on other occasions another truck comes down the side street to pick trash up at the end of the street at the industrial sign maker's place, and pick up what Ken and I left on the curb.
Well, the load we left out there last week, consisting of several wooden chairs, metal cabinets and stands, a small fridge, three office swivel chairs and other goodies was selectively taken by the neighbors, namely the swivel chairs, metal stands and fridge -- the trash guys took the wooden chairs and a couple boxes of paper, but MOST of the paper things in boxes, some quite heavy, were left there -- it rained twice since then. This morning as I was sitting here before 08h, I heard the trash trucks on the other side of the street -- the pile of stuff was still sitting there -- -- at least three times fewer things than were originally out there -- so I went out in my briefs and old leather Birkenstocks (much easier on my feet when they swell up) and as the trash truck approached I asked the dude on foot nicely if he would not mind taking all that shit -- he was friendly, and I helped him pile the stuff in the back of the truck, telling him the story of Ken, his cancer, how I helped him get the stuff packed and out there, and how I was annoyed seeing all that crap sitting there for over a week. We had a few laughs, and now everything is gone, awaiting the next MONSTER batch of things still stashed in Ken's basement whenever he returns from South Jersey again. I did get his very nice wooden desk with separate glass top and two designer wood book shelves, which are now simply stashed in the walkway, what is left of it, downstairs inside the front door of the shop entrance -- his two sons helped move them.
This entire week has been VERY hot, probably breaking records in several places. I have an air conditioner in the kitchen (with the door shut -- that is where the Russian Sphynx cats abide to keep them separate from the older ones that have the run of three other rooms) and in my study (NOT allowing the cats in there, usually, with some exceptions) -- so the other rooms are EXTREMELY hot -- I tried something different, due to the heat -- I opened the kitchen door to allow the cold from in there to cool off the other rooms, and the cats were free to mingle. There were a couple hissing matches, but nothing major -- they do know each other already because I have had some of them them together for extended periods before.
On Tuesday Bernar made a surprise visit, perhaps to see if I was surviving the heat, and to look at three picassos I have hanging on the wall (he has seen them dozens of times over the years and says he is interested in acquiring them) -- he brought me 2 cases of Italian red wine, great stuff -- SAMMATTEO, Morellino di Scansano, Estate Bottled -- he petted the kittens, stayed a few moments and left as quickly as he appeared. I enjoyed the brief company, my first in many months to actually converse with a real live peeper instead of just typing in emails and posting on the two AOL venues I frequent on a daily basis.
The Honda is full of things from Ken's, which makes it impossible to go to Sam's Club for food -- there is literally NOTHING in the fridge, I have been opening cans of things, adding rice and pasta just to have something to eat for the last two weeks. I may make a quick trip there and only buy a few absolutely necessary goodies instead of the car full as I always do.
An eBay seller from Belgium of quality religious items, including first class relics, has been having a problem with some competitor who notifies eBay that his relics are NOT allowed under eBays flakey guidelines, and they have been being deleted en masse -- VERY frustrating for him because he takes the time to provide excellent item descriptions with several pictures -- so he made a personal web page about a week ago listing some of his relics, most WITH official Vatican documents which prove their authenticity -- Frederique
I received a review copy of Tempus Fugit, a fascinating historical novel by Lawrence Lee Rowe, Jr -- visit the Web Site
What would our Founding Fathers do if they suddenly found themselves in the present-day United States? Would they be pleased with the current state of America?
Journey with our Founders as they discover airplanes, Constitutional amendments, World Wars, and the Kennedy Assassination. Watch CNN and Jerry Springer with George Washington, meet emancipated African Americans with Thomas Jefferson, surf the web with Benjamin Franklin.
The exciting new novel Tempus Fugit is a fast-paced, profound, often hilarious story that brings Washington, Franklin and Jefferson back to life. After reading it, you will view our Founders and our republic in a different light.
11 AUGUST 2006 / FRIDAY -- well, after my last update I finally went to Sam's and stocked up on much needed food -- it all fit in back the Honda around and on top of the other stuff that is still in there. The Puerto Rican parade passed by on Sunday, 5 August -- I distributed cigars, bags of candy and sunflower seeds to the ones in front watching (all from Erwin's, of course) -- I also did two loads of wash that day. It was an eventful day -- the MOST exciting thing was that the previous day Fabiola was acting VERY friendly and always wanted to get close to me -- she did seem to have enlarged nipples, but it did not occur to me that she was pregnant -- just to be on the safe side, on Saturday I put her alone in the bedroom with a box and cloth inside. In the early morning hours of Sunday she had three adorable light colored kitties -- I put a dish of goat's milk for her to drink, and bottle fed the kittens a couple times the next two days -- one that seems fuzzier than the others refused the milk, but seems to have learned to breast feed -- here is todays pic of mommy and babies -- -- the box is an old one that has been used several times for birthing in the past, just the right size for moving around easily -- the bottom flaps were loose so I used that great tape from the Post Office to keep them secure -- although I originally had the box upright, mommy seems to like it better with the opening at floor level. I did not put a towel in the bottom because the wee ones' claws always seem to get hooked into the almost nappy cloth -- I used old pillow cases instead. The second day I put the box in the center of my bed, but Fabiola knocked the box onto the floor, so I put it back to where I had it the day before, on the floor. I have not yet looked to see what gender they are -- that can wait until their eyes open in a couple more days. The father of this batch is Ziggy, son of Kamiel -- I did not have many photos of him on any of my web pages, so I took some shots of him and a couple of the others. This totally surprise happy event stimulated me to update my Sphynx cat pages, adding some new pics and info. The following photos are NOT on the cat pages -- here is the happy daddy, who I allowed to see his progeny briefly -- -- all the kittens are similar to his colour -- the next one is BeanTuska, my first super loving Sphynx female -- -- she never had kittens and does not seem to have the slightest interest in the advances of the males, although she loves Ziggy to pieces and was always VERY close to Kamiel. I can rarely get them in a photogenic position, so the pics are shot on the fly -- this last one if of Chiqui on the left with Tuska -- -- one of the cats in the kitchen may possibly have some babies in the not too distant future, hopefully -- it will be her first, so I have to keep a watchful eye on her.
Last Monday, after calling the police at least five times over the last two weeks, they finally came to tow away an abandoned pickup truck with Pennsylvania tags that was parked on the side of my place -- the back was filling with trash left in it, and, quite frankly, it was annoying -- the freekin doors were unlocked too, and it did get three tickets due to my calls. Why it took them so long to remove it is beyond me.
Ken has not been back since last week -- I guess he now has a lot more time to remove the remainder of his things because the theoretical deal to sell did not work out. If I could get a loan / mortgage, I would love to have his LARGE property across the street as a storage place -- that way I could remove everything from the garages (and have room to park the Honda and maybe even the Dodge van), tons of things piled up in boxes in the shop and all over the apartment, not to mention the self-storage locker that is costing me a LOT / year to rent -- then I could REopen the shop again and depend a LOT less on eBay for much needed income. I can dream, can't I! He does have a VERY low asking price on his place -- speaking of asking prices, the Puerto Rican neighbor told me he wants 130k for his place -- he plans to move back to his beloved madre patria before Christmas -- I have never seen the inside of his home, but he did have exterminators there earlier this week -- guess what, he is asking 10k MORE than Ken is, and Ken's building is at least TWICE as large and has a fenced in parking area, useful for my van. Please God, show me how I can invest in the building across the street -- Amen.
18 AUGUST 2006 / FRIDAY -- last Monday Blinky had two kittens in the kitchen with the other newer Sphynx present -- Zews, the daddy, was in the box, seemingly looking at them -- one was very small, and the other seemed almost twice as large, which sometimes happens -- when I chased Zews out, I was shocked -- one of the cats, possibly Zews, had chewed the head off of the larger of the kitties! I swatted him, for whatever it was worth, and immediately moved him, Olga and Yakshini into the central part of the apartment with the older cats -- they never hit it off well together, but now they would have to since I did not have other separate places to put them -- many cat and dog breeders keep their animals in separate cages called crates (they are NOT usually as friendly as home raised cats / kittens) --
Fabiola was still by herself in my bedroom with her three. I guess I was so shocked that I did not even think to take a gory horror photo of the now headless baby. OK, so what was done was done, I could not do anything about it -- what I had to do is try to make sure that the surviving wee one would keep on truckin -- this was Blinky's first litter -- sometimes mommy cat does not have a clue what to do when she has her first ones -- in this case she seemed to have absolutely no interest in feeding it, so for three days I bottle fed the kitten with goat's milk, something that a breeder of min pinchers from Texas suggested to me some months ago (thanks, Terry) -- Blinky had quite enlarged milk filled nipples, but the few times I saw her in the box with her young one, she brushed it away when it started crawling on her.
The other cats are getting along as well as could be expected -- some minor hissy fits, but nothing major -- when I bring in a fresh dish of canned food, both usually antagonistic males somewhat warily eat together -- there are enough places to find solitary refuge in the three open rooms, and each has selected their favorite. As an experiment, I moved Fabiola's three kittens to the kitchen (with Blinky and Kappora) and placed Blinky's with the older experienced female -- at first she just looked at it, but after a while she settled down and the newest runt found teats and started drinking as it had from the bottle -- what a relief! The ones in the kitchen were noticed by the two females there, but were left totally unattended -- they were fat enough to be able to survive some hours away from their food source -- every time I came into the kitchen and talked to the females, the kitties would meow -- I guess they knew my voice by now (they are almost two weeks old and their eyes are open). Now I have to be extra careful because Kappora is pregnant with her second batch, and is probably due within the next two weeks. She was almost clueless with her first litter -- only one from that litter survived, Olga.
A few minutes ago I took shots of the critters in my bedroom -- here are the now four kittens -- notice how teensy Blinky's is compared to Fabiola's -- the one in the back is what was the runt of that litter, and it seems to be progressing nicely -- -- in the next pic we see Fabiola with all four of them as they feed or rest in her warmth -- -- hopefully things will continue to progress positively until they are old enough to find them adoptive parents. It has been about two years since I sold a single kitten, and my cat related expenses keep adding up, which is really hurting my fragile economic state -- when I bred Siamese, I would have sold probably two dozen in that time interval! I never had to bottle feed the Siamese and daddy cat was always in the box with them without a problem -- maybe my newer Russian Sphynx are more blood thirsty than my American ones? Maybe I should rename the male, Dracula? I hope to add photos of the adoptable kittens on the cat pages in another few weeks, when I can get pics of them playing and walking around. If you know of anyone who might be interested in them, tell them to keep watching my available Sphynx page, please.
I shall probably start a new page for the next update because this one is getting long-ish, which means slow-ish to load when using a dial up connection.
Once again I decided to add the new Kewl Links on a new 2006 page, link below.
-- 2005 #1 * Of General Interest * Health * World News *
* Inspirational / Religion * Humor / Fun Stuff *
-- 2005 #0 * Apple Computer / iPod / Mac * Apple Computer / IBM Intel *
* Computers / VoIP * Podcasting *
Due to the increasing demand by developing nations, the price of metals on the world stock exchanges has been skyrocketing. The metal content in the US ¢penny¢ , as well as many other world coins, is now worth more than its face value, and the price of SILVER and GOLD is higher than it has been in some 30 years! The UK Royal Mint has warned against melting down coins for their metal value.
As the value of the paper $dollar$ decreases on the world currency markets [largely due to the rapidly increasing US deficit], greedy investors are once again turning to the precious metals as a hedge against inflation and as a time valued investment -- the time to buy WAS when it was in the $300 range, NOT now when it is more than twice that.
Countdown to Labor Day
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