Frigging iPads, or the tale of Quinn’s Woeful Saturday

What a lovely day Quinn thought Saturday morning, good day to take a run! Oh! Daddy is rising from the dead, whoop whoop! Wait! Where is Daddy going with the food lady?

Friggin iPads. Okay here’s the deal with iPads and iPods and iPhones IMHO: You do not need the expensive memory! Use your computer and backups to store music, books and photos… But, no -DH buys the mid range, extra memory iPad for $800. Then…

One evening in a far away land, (the garage) DH exits his chariot (the mistress otherwise known as ‘the porsche-bitch’) and fills his arms with things (milk (my fault), briefcase, lunchbox, and balanced (not really) on top: the iPad. Then while shutting the trunk, (bending over to do it) iPad sees a rare opportunity to fly away to freedom!

Sadly, iPad realizes, moments before and during hitting concrete floor: “WTF? Why did I ever think I could fly?”

Ipad hits concrete floor, bottom corner first and makes a crinkling-crackling sound as spiderweb-fractures spread across its embarrassed face!

Oh, Oh! DH says: “My Bad!”

I say: “Oh no! All my books on iBook and Kindle!”

For clarification: yes, I can read them on iPod but that’s like 50 words a page and a simple novel is like thousands of pages! And, it makes my hand go numb holding the little thing for so long inches from my face. DO I really need to complain? –My fault: old tired eyes!

Wait three months. Leave iPad in box -where it actually enjoys this punishment. WIth weeks left on warranty, drive to Apple Store in Greensboro, talk to genius. Joy! Joy! –they will swop broken for new for only $300, should buy Apple care for $99 because future drops are $49 each (you only get 2 drops though)

I notice new mini iPad is size of one book page and definitely on my ‘to buy someday’ list.

It’s 11:00 am and the next available time slot is 3:15pm. Did I mention it’s an hour drive?

So, off to P.F.Changs for a gin and tonic and calamari. Then, to Greensboro Farmer’s market, sampled amazing Chocolate Truffles made from goat cheese OMFG! I did NOT buy those delicious morsels! I know they are genetically predisposed to go straight to hips or belly! Bought gumbo ingredients.

Head back to Apple Store, 15 minutes early, where Mr Busy Genius was taking a break but another little genius jumped in to help… the new iPad slipped out of her hand and almost fell on the floor when she took it out of the box to activate! Um, these iPads are apparently like those mysterious (don’t ask don’t tell) slippery filled noodles found only at real dim sum restaurants.

Whilst waiting I grab a genius to ask if I can batch remove email addresses from the root using a wildcard@facebook.com command. I was told by Genius Couple: Perky Genius and Goofy Genius that Facebook is so convenient! I can put a app on my iPhone to access it, I clarify and they give me 2 smiles better suited for androids (no not the phones!)

May I have another, please?

Return home to endure w well-deserved tongue lashing  from Quinn, who barked at us for 10 minutes, here is a transcript of what he said several times:

1. Why did you have to buy the figging expensive iPad? Don’t you love ME?

2. Why aren’t you more careful! Don’t YOU love me?

3. Didn’t you realize the iPad was precariously balanced? Don’t you LOVE me?

4. For all that money you could have driven to a snowy place, got a hotel room and mushed us…  Don’t you LOVE ME?

5. Why did you buy vegetables and NOT dog cookies! YOU LOVE ME! Damit!

He was, of course, correct on all accounts. Sunday morning I made wonderful dog cookies as my penance (even though DH dropped the iPad)

Penance Dog Cookies:

1 can pumpkin

1 egg

1 cup corn meal

Lots of vile pea protein, we can’t gag down but dogs LOVE

roll out, bake 350 degrees, 25 minutes, use pizza cutter to make 1/2 inch nibbles squares

Snow is on the way! Yeah!

I wish there was some way to let the dogs know there is nearly a foot of snow on the way later today. In fact, it is ending at midnight, so I might be posting some rare midnight snow mushing -rare for North Carolina!

I am so very happy, can’t wait! I grew up skiing in NH and I am probably as happy as a Sibe when it snows!

Expect many good frolicking posts here this week!

This was a rare snow in 2009: 

My BFF, Tala, the inspiration for a character in my new novel!

Too bad the snow on this blog is virtual and only on the page but that is the sad price we pay for living in North Carolina… well, one of many sad many prices… but this is the one that is most frustrating to our Siberian Huskies. We get a few snow storms each year but none last long and I don’t think we had any last year!

I am writing in the screen room today with the dogs and all is quiet. The temperature is very comfy! As the sun sets, it is 70 degrees! Certainly not a December evening!

The neighborhood has been quiet. We have not had any roaming dogs since the neighbor’s pit bulls killed our other neighbor’s cat in my yard. My dogs have been so quiet I thought something was wrong with them but I have to admit that having stray dogs walk through the neighborhood had everyone’s dogs in a frantic state.

As some of you know, I am a writer. I stay at home and write, I also try to keep my home in one piece and keep the dogs from destroying too much. I spent the month of November writing a new novel and competing in NaNoWriMo, which I won, yeah!

Tala is not even half done!

My new novel, The Last Daughter, is heavy with Norse mythology and my Siberians were an inspiration for one character, mainly Tala. The Valkyries of Norse Mythology rode winged horses, ravens or wolves from the battlefields to Valhalla carrying the brave warriors who’d died. My main character is a leftover Valkyrie, or so she thinks and she has a wolf for her sidekick.

Tala is not even half done!
The wolf companion, Carla (for lack of a better name), has been with her for two thousand years or so. This wolf can slip in and out of human form at will and is loosely based on Tala, my BFF.

I tried to imagine Tala as a human companion, charged by Odin with my care and protection. I also tried to imagine this character with many of Tala’s stubborn spoiled traits. It is a lot of fun writing, Tala must know something is up, since she has been hanging around with her head resting on my feet as I write.

I suspect Tala would take her job seriously, as she takes a few alpha chores now. For example, when the water bowl freezes, she will lick an access hole while the other dogs wait patiently, sometimes it takes forever! So, I spent much of November imagining Tala in a human form with her prey drive, her sense of humor and last but not least her sarcasm…

If Venison was Good Enough for the Pilgrims

This gallery contains 5 photos.

nano nano November

As the month goes on and on I am determined to finish this and get a badge! Go me!

Where I am this month



My progress:

Fences make the best neighbors, not to mention control dogs!

Update: on rereading this I am still stunned 2 months later. The cat owner and his daughter have been mollified, probably compensated and I am still the bitch with the barking dogs. But, one neighbor did respond to my email a week later, she was out of town and thanked me for the heads up… which is all I ever expected… sigh!

I’ve been lax in posting lately, mainly since I am participating in NaNoWriMo and trying to catch up on a million other things, sigh! The pups have been as they usually are, but this week we had a crisis. It is a common one to many dog owners, particularly Siberian Husky owners. Our neighbors let their dogs roam free or visit to play with other dogs… –sigh! I know this is a contentious subject but please, hear me out. My neighbors won’t listen but I am hoping a few of the Gulag’s friends will support me, at least in a friendly comment or two or a hug, or a drink.

Dirty Little Lulu

We have a broken pond which is loads of fun and good times for the pups. I use 25′ tie out cables and connect gently to a tree and the dogs jump into the mud and dig and play and eat crawfish… really wears them out!

the girls are listening for the sounds of crawfish in the mud

Today they played while we blew leaves off the driveway. For a while I sat with them and laughed. Lulu is the water baby, I think the five years she spent in a crate probably made her respect water for the good times to be had. She is the only one to dip her head completely under water and happily dig deep holes in the mud.

Pretty in her mud masque

Even hours later she is still wet and dirty but very happy!

So dirty! Lulu almost looks guilty.