How the dog and the car almost died

Well last weekend was the big camping weekend at Kanopolis Lake.  We got off early, but everyone else had headed out there first thing so we were already going to be the last to arrive.  Andrea and I got off at about 2PM and stopped by the post office to pick up the mail before we packed up and hit the road.

As soon as I got back in the car, Andrea said, “Um… its stuck.”  Sure enough the damn car was stuck in park!  And we were double screwed because we couldn’t even put it in neutral to get a tow home.  So we walk back to the house.  Luckily nothing is farther than three blocks away from anything else in Albert!  We loaded up the tools in the back of the other car and headed back to see if I could figure anything out.  I tried several things, but finally just had to unhook the shifter and craw under the car and shift the transmission by hand, which at that time caused the car to start rolling with me under it!  Luckily Andrea was quick on the brake.

Next I swallowed some pride and walked over to the local restaurant and got the owner to help push the car into the street and give us a tow home.  I told him I’ll stop by his place and rack up a big bill here soon.

So we made it home.  And since we weren’t planning on taking Andrea’s car anyway we loaded up the Toronado as planned and got the heck out of town.  Figured I’d worry about the Cutlass when we got back.

Camping was great.  It’s always awesome seeing the family and the kids, and it was especially fun haning out with my buddy Chris!  We just don’t keep in touch the way we should so it was great to spend a little time hanging out.

One of the nights though, Daisy (who loves to bark at anything that moves within 1,500 ft) took off after a truck.  Andrea had her on a leash, but the leash slipped out of her hands.  So here goes this stupid little wiener dog chasing after a big ol diesel pickup in the middle of the night with a leash flapping behind her.  She runs along side yapping and yapping, then all of a sudden we could see Daisy in the headlights of the truck.  About half a second later she appears to trip over something and the truck rolls right OVER her.  She goes right between the tires and the truck keeps on going and a bewildered wiener dog finally notices Andrea screaming at her, and in a daze, trots straight back over to the campground.  Our guess is her leash she was dragging behind her got caught under a tire and tripped her up.

But despite some unnecessary excitement it was a very excellent weekend.  We got Andrea’s car fixed that following Monday after work and Daisy is still the same as always.

Walkin’ Weiners

Cutest Video Ever!

A few random pics.

Well I haven’t been blogging much lately.  I guess it’s just been pretty dull lately.  So for lack of anything better to post, heres a few recent pics I pulled off of the digital camera.

My halloween costume. Whatever that's supposed to be.

Andrea's nieces up to visit. Annie and Lyssa.

Andrea's nephew Nick.

Covered in animals.

Andrea and Sydney

Invisible pilates ball.

Invisible pogo stick.

Enough sun for both of us.

How to catch a cat.

We were playing with Sydney last night and after it worked the first time, I had to grab the camera and see if it would work the second time!

I feel so bad.

But it’s not my fault!

The other day I decided to drive the Blazer to work.  You know to kinda justify the insurance and registration, plus it’s only like 5 blocks from the house.  What could go wrong?

Well the Blazer made it to work, and even ran a few errands around town without incident!  (Yes, it was a proud moment).  But there’s still a lot that needs done on that thing so I popped the hood and after about twenty minutes I noticed an ANIMAL stuck in the passenger fender between the battery.  “Oh no.  How long has it been there… please don’t be dead.” I poke it and it’s warm to the touch and squirms a bit.  “It’s alive!”. It seems to be a cat.  I try to figure out how the heck it got in there, but I can’t for the life of me.  So I have to take the battery out, and can tell it’s starting to get scared.  So with the battery removed I try to pull the cat out, while keeping it in a position that will keep my forearm intact should it FLIP OUT!  I can’t get it out, so I decide to go inside and get some food and see if I can lure it out.  By the time I’m walking out the door with food in hand, I see a white cat hauling ass down the driveway and down the alley out of sight.  I knew there was no way I was catching it so I let it go.

That’s not why I feel bad.

Yesterday as I was leaving work I noticed the older lady next door.  She was standing in her back yard calling “Kitty!  Heeere kitty kitty!”

But it’s not my fault!  Really!

It’s a trap!

Kittens love to play.

Andrea and Sydney were playing around tonight.  It was pretty cute!

Best Friends

Meet Sydney

Well, we got us another cat.  Andrea had been hinting for quite some time that she wanted a kitten.  And I kept saying, “No”.  So she used my birthday as the perfect excuse to get me a kitten.  I have to admit she’s too darn cute (as most kittens are).  There was an e-mail at Andrea’s work for free farm kittens.  They had cats of all ages out running around.  It was hard to pick one, but this little gal was just so relaxed, I figured THAT’s the kind of cat I like.

The Nala and Daisy aren’t too sure what to do about her yet.  Nala is happy to pretend like she isn’t there.  But Daisy I think is afraid we’re going to forget about her forever.  I’m sure they’ll get along eventually though.  Sydney doesn’t seem too shy, but not quite ready to rub noses with anybody just yet.  Infact just about all she’s done all night is sleep!

Check out my Picasa Gallery for a couple more pics and full size versions of these.

Sydney