3 Paws Saloon Attic

well val.i guess that you now have a reason to buy some summer clothes that you like.. .

hope the computer stops giving ya problems fergie..i'll see if i can up load them into the other section later on,just to see if that works for ya..

my mom is still in the hospital,and with issues.it looks like to me that we're gonna have more medical expense's then what we already have.so i started a go fund me account.and because of that. im wondering if it'd be alright to post a link to it here,or some other area..

My..it surely is quiet in here. 

Part of me says 3 Paws has lived well past its time.  15 years is an extraordinary life span for a website, and yet - I can't quite bring myself to click the delete button on it. If nothing else it brings back an awful lot of memories. The days when 'chat' was all the rage  -times when we'd have as many as 100 people filling the screen all at once! But most times we were a cozy group of under 20, who met nightly. Then MSN decided to do away with public chat and sentenced us to 'group rooms'. Unless you belonged to the group you couldn't chat. Everyone missed public chat a lot.  I knew there had to be a way to beat MSN at its own game, to bring 'public chat' back in some form. I also knew how possessive managers could be of their groups, always viewing things as an attempt to 'steal' their membership, which I had no desire to do. However, I did convince them to allow me to build 'bridges' between our groups that would allow them access to my chat room. With any manager being allowed to co-host. I kept primary control.  

Then fate stepped in and I made the acquaintance of an internet radio dj named Nomad. My wheels churned, and he was willing. So we gave out invites to all interested groups to join us for an evening of music with live djs. "Chat like it use to be!" I remember we had so many listeners we blew up the station at one point, and they had to scramble to increase their listening coverage, and so many bridges were built! Oh my! It was such a success that Nomad came to play music 2 or 3 times a week, "Live from 3 Paws Saloon!" Very quickly, managers of rooms I didn't know were contacting me about using our chat room. It was good, until MSN decided it was going to axe groups as well...

Once again I was scrambling to find us a new home. We moved to Spark Pea for chat, and here for everything else. Once again I was building 'bridges', spanning together various pieces to recreate what we once had. 

I guess the chat died when I returned to college 5 years ago. It was already limping, but I just couldn't work 2 jobs and go to school full time, and chat with any regularity. Many had already turned to FaceBook.  I completed a 4 year course in 2, graduating with Honours 'Cum Laude', but too late to salvage any part of the chat. Folks had moved on. I can't blame them.

Slowly, in the shadow of big social media folks drifted away from here too.  I come in and blow away the cobwebs, dance down memory lane.  Musical throws around foam rocks, and Plum pushes me off the swing. CT is encouraging me to try for EMT licensing, folks are flirting.  Various things that made me laugh, shared tears...  Good times. 

I am so sorry to hear about your Mom, Wolfie.  I've been 'locked out' of the forum for a bit, due to the fact I've forgotten my password!  Anyway, hugs.

Welcome home, Fergie!  I sympathize with the house work. I really should be doing some as I should put up the tree soon. Just not feeling Christmasy yet.  Every morning I tell myself, "After work, you can do____", but then after it's "I'm too darn tired." Come's the weekend and more of the same - just too tired.

Small bit of exciting (for me anyway) news: I've been hired to create a website for an UK artist! Been awhile since I've done one for pay.  So. I've been collecting the various plug-ins, codings etc. to make it do what she wants. Hopefully over the Holidays I'll get it up and running for her. 

Wolfie, you doing ok, bud?

I have missed you, Fergie. 

Work has been a royal pain this year.  The past couple of months it's gotten to the point I cry almost daily, or feel upset. Normally, I'd write it off to my seasonal depression due to Josh's passing, but it seems like no one, not even the managers are happy at work. 

That ride does indeed sound like a nightmare! Thankfully no one was hurt.

"Therein lies the rub," pretty much sums up my job situation. I can't afford to quit without having another job in my hip pocket. Between my age, and no car finding another job is pretty slim.  Although I have been very vocal as to how I feel with upper management (bosses' bosses). The problem boils down to too few hands for the workload. Their solution was to move the work load around.  
Seriously ?  Same amount of work, redistributed over the same number of folks, is still the same amount of work.  I don't see where they think this bit of smoke and mirrors will help, but I'm willing to give it a try. 

What a cute pic of Shen! I'm glad she had fun at the dance. 

Did Angel smoke by any chance? (Thinking of the lighter flicking.)

Well, hopefully 2018 is treating you nicer than me so far. Where's the cheese? I need it to go with my whine.  Seriously...

I was getting assistance for food and medical through the state. Then for some reason they decided all I need is $15 a month for food, and I no longer qualified for the medical.  So of course, I've broken a tooth. I'm to go for a redetermination on the help I get for utilities on the 17th, and I'm scared they'll take that too.  The federal gov. says I HAVE to have insurance, and the cheapest I can get is over 200 a month... Its the Lackamoola curse!!! *screams*

Oh, well...that's life huh?   

I'll forgive you this time, Wolfie.

Well, I finished that website, and Jen loved it! It's my first ever completely mobile friendly website, so there was a learning curve. If you want a peek:   http://gaiacreations.co.uk/Index.html

A mutual friend of ours, was telling me that Jen was singing my praises all over the place. That did my poor ego so much good.  

Hmmm... error 504 is a gateway timeout. Simply put one server isn't answering the other server in a timely manner. Which has nothing to do with your PC.   Sometimes refreshing the page helps, or using a different browser. 

No, haven't gotten my tooth looked at yet, as I was waiting on 'proof of insurance'. So much fun. At least nothing hurts -yet. 

Hard to believe Shen's in high school. 

Just found a pic with Angel, on Shen's first day of school - Grade 1.

Hi Val & Fergie,

Sorry to hear about your teething woes. I hope you can put off the need until the timing is better for you both. Visiting the dentist isn't one of my favourite moments either. There's the discomfort and the acute pain, especially in the hip pocket. But remember to floss and gargle with a mouth rinse after every meal to keep evil Dr DK away.

Fergie, thanks for sharing those happy snaps. I found an old photo of me celebrating my 50th in 2014 with a neighbour, who's a good friend. Then another one of Dave (Rex) and me celebrating him being cancer-free for a year in 2016. Here's to happy times ahead for us all this year.

Just a heads up. I flipped the boards so that the newest posts should show first. We'll see if it works. 

I Don't Believe It !! I wrote out a whole long post, clicked send, and the whole thing disappeared -Poof! Gone!
Aah well, lets try again.

Val, I see they are still piling the work on, no respite - poor you!
The popcorn smell - does it remind you of anyone in particular? Or a memory of an occasion with a deceased person? Rattle your brain a bit, maybe it will come to you.

Jadeite & T-Rex, lucky, lucky you! What a wonderful honeymoon you must have had. NZ is beautiful. We only managed to see bits of the North Island on public holidays and weekends. My brother took leave a bit later to honeymoon in the US.

T-Rex, please write up your journals, with pics, I would love to read/see them.

T-Rex is busy sorting out the hundreds of photos we took on our trip to California. We went with a tour group comprised mainly of Aussies, a lovely Kiwi couple, Belgium newly-weds and 2 retired school-teachers from Florida. It was a fun group. We looked out for each other, made sure no one strayed too far or got left behind. By the end of the journey, we'd become a little unit. We made a number of friends on our tour and still keep in touch with each other.

My travelling teddy bear came with us. I also 'adopted' a white bear from Universal Studios, who told me that her name was Holly Wood. The bears had the back row of the coach all to themselves for the whole trip.

The photo in the lobby is taken in LA. It's an actual apartment building which is now the Charlie Chaplin Museum. They filmed a scene from the original "Bladerunner" movie with Harrison Ford there. It was the setting for where the creator of the replicants lived. Great atmosphere. It had a "crowded" feel, but not in a bad way. Just a strong sense of history.

We travelled through Arizona on the famous Route 66!

The Grand Canyon was truly spectacular. Rex has a healthy respect for heights - note how tightly he's holding on to the railing. I shall leave the main details the trip to him though...

Hi Val, so sorry to hear about the nasty bout of Influenza. Having the flu is no picnic. I hope you got plenty of rest and that you're much better now.

T-Rex and I get the flu vaccine before every winter. I get mine free as a nurse comes to my work place each year (one of the few perks working for local government). Getting the flu is always risky for us. T-Rex has very little immune resistance and with my chronic asthma, flu can cause complications by becoming pleurisy or pneumonia. We were fortunate that I was able to pay for our private health insurance a whole year in advance. They were increasing the premiums and I calculated it would save us a few hundred if I could pay at the current rate. It cost us a few thousand, but the insurance ended up paying AUS$25,000 for his hospital expenses alone when he had the liver transplant. So it was worth the effort.

They had to discharge T-Rex a few weeks earlier than intended because it was a very bad flu season. So many vulnerable and elderly were admitted into hospital that they were stacked up in the corridors waiting for a doctor. Visitors coming into the hospital were being told to stay away if they had a cough or the sniffles. The doctors were worried that he would get the flu because of that, so they sent him home. I had to take charge of his initial rehabilitation for the first few weeks. Helping him in and out of bed, getting dressed, etc. All the things we take for granted when we're able-bodied.

Take care. Have lots of honey and lemon tea, chicken noodle soup (Asian version), rice congee. I made pot stickers again tonight (T-Rex had a craving) and thought of you. If we ever win Lotto, I'll send you a plane ticket to come over for a holiday so I can make them just for you and spoil you rotten!

I am doing much better now, thanks. Funny you should mention the flu shot, as I did have one. The doctor I saw, said it only works in 10% of people, but then it probably kept it milder then it would have been without the shot. We also talked about how there's 4 different strains of it running about right now and maybe the shot isn't as effective on some as other strains.  So many cases are pouring in, they're running out of the test kits.  I know it's making it's way through work (public school - germs everywhere!). Our cook was out sick (diagnosed with a respiratory infection) same time as me (she got to go back on Thursday), and now the prep cook tells me he feels lousy. I told him to go see dr. as the sooner he gets treatment the better off he'll be. 

Between Thursday and Friday we got hit with about 12 inches of snow. They actually cancelled school, and many work places were closed as well. I heard the shops all got hit hard on Thursday night. Stupid folks panicking thinking 'blizzard'.  Driving got a bit rough, but nothing really bad. Just a heavy snow fall.

It would be very cool to come see you guys. I've never been out of the States. 

I haven't been entirely inactive this week. I've vamped Trespauze!!!  It is now the first of its kind to be mobile friendly! Although personally, I think it's wasted on cell phones (screens too tiny to show all the details) it can now be done on tablets, laptops (any mobile devise) as well as PCs.  Of course since I had all the pages open, may as well make some other changes as well. Added some special effects, streamlined the navigation, changed a room or two or three (not telling). Improved the contact page as well. Just hope it all makes for a more enjoyable experience. Now, I can move onto creating another adventure...I'm thinking pirates and treasure.

I am doing much better, Fergie. In fact I went back to work on Monday. Lucky thing too, as 4 others have called off. Seems the flu is making its rounds.  Time off is varying. Some are only a day or two, some longer.

I did have a sweet thing happen. One of the girls gave me her number. She said," I know you don't have a car, and I started thinking what if you needed something? So now, if you need you can call me."

Another house sitting adventure?  In my book even if nothing happens, it's still an adventure as you're somewhere else than home.  You must tell us all about it, when you get back. How long will you be gone?

Sitting here feeling rather chuffed with myself. I stood up for myself at work against the highest managers (my boss's boss, his boss, and his boss's boss).  I've always had a hard time standing up for myself - for anyone else no problem. Maybe that's linked to my past - being told over and over that I was worthless and an utter failure, and no matter what I said I was wrong. I don't know. So, I usually just take it when it comes to criticisms. What's the point when you can't win? It escalates into an 'argument', if you say anything, you're being 'argumentative' and you have a 'temper' problem. 

Anyway, I was told they had said my specialty pizzas were over cooked (too dark), and that was like 3000% wrong. I figured maybe they didn't realize I was using the par-baked wheat base, which is naturally a lot darker than the white flour dough. So, I went up to them and said, "Excuse me - I was told you have a problem with my specialty pizzas? That they're too dark," and launched into the dough differences. They said no, they had asked why there wasn't any. I said, "Please - she has 3 in her warmer, she says she was told to remove them by the 'boss man' who said they were too dark." Instant denial by all 3 of the men.  So I said, "Ok, maybe she misunderstood something. I'll go tell her to put them back out, and reassure her by saying if there's a problem you should come talk to me. OK? Because we all know if you're sniping behind my back - that just makes you a meanie, and rather silly."  They actually laughed, and said, "No, if there was a problem we'd tell you."  I always try to insert some humour.  Anyway, YAY, ME!

Hi Val,

There must be a lot of history attached to your school. That's almost 200 years. Wow!! 

I found out about my school's reputation when I went for my first job interview. This elder statesman, on the interview panel, looked down his nose at me and quoted Ian Dury's immortal line about 'sex and drugs and rock & roll'. I smiled at him and he smiled at me. I didn't get the job.   

His loss and my gain - I learnt to focus on my grades and not the name of the school at the next interview.

T-Rex