It takes a village

Feb. 7 - 16, 2014 (10 days)

David Crockett State Park-Lawrenceburg, TN

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RV LIFE:

Pigeons trying to keep warm in Grand Prairie, TX

Ahhh, our site at David Crockett St. Park in Lawrenceburg, TN

Ahhhhh. Savor this time. 

We are settled for 10 days. 

We are back to only two dogs. 

We are back in my comfort area with trees around and birds tweeting.

The temps are more reasonable (around 40° this morning)

Things seem to be working fine.

We have our own transportation into town.

There's a Walmart within 10 miles.

There's a Tractor Supply (for dog food) within 10 miles.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

As I walked the dogs this morning, I shuffled through fallen leaves. Ahhhhh.

I saw 3 deer running through the woods that I was surrounded by. Ahhhhh.

This is my environment.

Our truck is running great, although I try to avoid looking at our dwindled savings account.

Life is much better now.

Time to catch up on things.

I don't understand people who ask what do I do all day now that I'm retired. There is plenty to do!

I'm waaaay behind in my A&B dog rescue volunteer duties. With all the daily traveling, I've been avoiding doing the rescue work. Now I have to catch up on processing the applications, voting on any Executive Board issues, find volunteers to help with home checks, fill in my spreadsheets, etc. If this was a paying job, I'd be either fired or given a warning for not keeping up.

We will also be doing a little house hunting, as well as hiking through these beautiful Tennessee woods!

Scott kept very busy yesterday by repairing the slide molding that hit our easy chair while sliding in for travel. He also "repaired" our fan/ceiling light that "wasn't working". Why the quotes? Because the light was really never broken. One day the fan and light just didn't work. Scott pulled out things in the basement to follow the wiring, he pulled out the circuit breaker area to check for broken wires and connectivity. He lost sleep thinking a wire broke or was chewed through and it is rubbing against something in the walls of the RV and will catch fire. Scott misses that light. While Scott was replacing the battery for the cabinet light, he noticed a large toggle switch for...."Ceiling Fan". Oops! This switch must have been accidentally toggled and turned the connection for the ceiling fan off. Well that was a "duh" moment. Easy fix. Turn the ceiling fan switch to the "on" position. 

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CRAFTS:

I'm also waaay behind on my MKAL's (Mystery Knit-a-longs). Although I knit in the truck, that knitting is limited to heavier yarn and larger needles. With the bouncing of the truck, there is no way to do delicate knitting. In the truck, I've been knitting a ruched hat and cowl set.

Waiting for our next trip

I'm behind in my "Follow your Arrow" shawl. Clue 4 came out on Feb. 2. I usually have the clue completed by the next day, but we were traveling, so didn't bother. Clue 5 is coming out tomorrow. 

I'm behind in a new MKAL for a beaded lace cowl. The first clue came out Feb. 7. 

So you all know what I'll be doing...knitting.

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PETS:

Our sweet, sweet, res dog, Dina is now on her way to her adopters in NJ. I'm so glad we took the chance and picked her up. Instead of being work, she was a joy to have around.

Have a great life, my sweet, sweet Dina.

This morning as I was getting ready to walk the dogs, I looked around to see where Dina was. As soon as I sit to put on my shoes, Dina would get excited and start licking my face. So I was looking around so I could protect myself while donning my shoes. But no Dina....sigh.

It takes a village...Just to give you an idea of the all the volunteers that participate EVERY weekend to transport dogs either from shelters to foster homes or from foster homes to adopters, here is Dina's transport sheet. Dina's transport was from Tennessee to NJ. Hers merged with another transport for 3 dogs coming from Missouri to the East.

The transport request starts being posted about 10 days prior to transport date. Of course, by the time the day of transport (Feb. 8) came around, all the "legs" were filled. Included in this transport was a volunteer that had to keep these 4 dogs overnight! 4 dogs that don't know each other and that the volunteer doesn't know, plus her own animals being introduced. The dedication and kindness of volunteers is absolutely amazing and so very appreciated.

**ROUTE and LEGS: Saturday, Feb 8th**

**Transport starts out in Central time**

Leg #1 - ...Thank you Debbie! (That's me!)
Lawrenceburg, TN - Nashville, TN
82 miles - 1 hr 45 min
6:00 am - 7:45 am

Leg #2 - Filled.....Thank You j. Lee!
Nashville, TN - Bowling Green, KY
65 miles - 1 hr
8:00 am - 9:00 am

Thank you Larry!

Leg #3 - Filled.....Thank You Larry!
Bowling Green, KY - Elizabethtown, KY
70 miles - 1 hr
9:15 am - 11:15 am (Eastern time)

**Rest of this transport is in Eastern time**

Leg #4 - Filled.....Thank You Mary!
Elizabethtown, KY - LaGrange, KY
67 miles - 1 hr 15 min
11:30 am - 12:45 pm

Thank you Mary!

Leg #5 - Filled.....Thank You Pat!
LaGrange, KY - Cincinatti, OH
77 miles - 1 hr 30 min
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Leg #6 - Filled.....Thank You Lisa!
Cincinatti, OH - Dayton, OH
52 miles - 1 hr
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm

** Dina Joins with Sebastian,Charlie and Holly Transport in
Springfield**

**Dina joins the transport**

Leg #7 - FILLED - Thank you Lindsey! (Dina only)
Dayton, OH - Springfield, OH
45 miles - 45 min
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

Leg #8 - FILLED - Thank you Alisa! (All 4 dogs)
Springfield, OH to Columbus, OH
48 miles - 45 min
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

Leg #9 - FILLED - Thank you Sherry! (All 4 dogs)
Columbus, OH to Cambridge, OH
80 miles - 1 hr 15 min
6:00 pm - 7:15 pm

Leg #10 - NEEDED (All 4 dogs)
Cambridge, OH - Washington, PA
80 miles - 1 hr 15 min
7:30 pm - 8:45 pm

Leg #11 -FILLED - Thank you Kaitlyn! (All 4 dogs)
Washington, PA to Donegal, PA
58 miles - 1 hr
9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

**Overnight NEEDED in the Donegal area** (All 4 dogs)

**Route and Legs - Sunday, February 9th**

Leg #12 - FILLED - Thank you Carole! (All 4 dogs)
Donegal, PA to Breezewood, PA
75 miles - 1 hr
7:00 am - 8:00 am

**In Breezewood dogs split up**

Leg #11 - FILLED - Thank you Samantha! (Charlie, Holly & Dina)
Breezewood, PA - New Kingstown, PA
60 miles - 1 hr
8:15 am - 9:15 am

**Aaron and Sarah pickup Holly from Samantha**
**In New Kingston, Holly and Charlie stay, Sebastion and Dina continue
on**

Leg #11A - NEEDED (Dina only)
New Kingstown, PA - Hamburg, PA
67 miles - 1 hr
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Leg #11B - FILLED - Thank you SueAnn! (Dina only)
Hamburg, PA - Easton, PA
43 miles - 45 min
10:45 am - 11:30 am

Leg #11B - FILLED - Thank you Denyel! (Dina only)
Easton, PA - Somerset, NJ
46 miles - 45 min
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm

During the transport, we get email updates. So besides the volunteer drivers, there also has to be a volunteer to organize this transport and route. Then someone to be by the phone all day to get the updates from drivers and send out an email to everyone. I am waiting by the computer anxiously waiting for updates to ensure that my sweet Dina is behaving, happy, and safe. A big fear during transport is escape. Many dogs are stressed from transferring from vehicle to vehicle and stranger to stranger. The dogs' reaction may be to bolt. I have two collars on Dina. One with I.D. and the other collar is a martingale type collar, so if she tries to slip her collar it will tighten without choking.
Volunteers are always needed. If anyone is interested in helping with a transports, I can put you in contact with our coordinators. Transporters are just as important as the foster homes. It takes a village to save these dogs from homelessness to the safety of an adopter.
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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have not read the other books in this series and I don't think there is a need to for this book.
This was the audio version and it just seemed so long and drawn out. The narrator was great, the story was great, but maybe I could have listened to the abridged version and enjoyed it more.
This would make a great movie.