Almost Done

Although I am still not making enough money to live on, circumstances have forced me to do renovations on my house. The crumbling flat roof is gone, and the crafts room is near completion.When my recalcitrant builder decides to finish the job--such as filling in this window which should now be a wall--it will be a great room. The dogs like having another large, air-conditioned room in which to play. I had the concrete foundation stained, for easier upkeep.
I am particularly happy to have been able to add a deep sink, somewhat like the ones that used to come standard in mid- twentieth-century houses. It was one improvement idea that came from me, although the builder pressed me for many others, and I watched the price creep up steadily. Finally I sold him Joel's 2005 Accord at a low price to pay off the last of the debt. Once he got title to the Accord, he stopped coming by the house to complete his work. But that's another story--and may become a lawsuit.



Progress on the carport-to-crafts room transition went quickly up until the end, but there was much more to do to make the house comfortable. It had been 16 months since Joel's death, and I had pulled up the cat-urine-soaked carpeting from his bedroom and Kate's, but had gotten no further. Adhesive-stained concrete floors were in each room, and cracks caused by 2005's house leveling and Hurricane Katrina marred the walls. There was a queen-sized bed lying on its side in the living room, and Joel's bedroom still smelled from the litter box. My computer had migrated into the TV room, and one by one, the dogs destroyed each piece of upholstered furniture, despite my use of slipcovers. Because of the sand pumping, the construction, and the four dogs' constant traffic through the doggie door, dust was everywhere. Every room had ceiling stains from the roof replacement.

Enter Ray and Mallory, who, with their dog Blaze, had taken two training classes with me at PetSmart. Ray's father owns a painting company, and Ray has worked as a certified carpenter and finisher for 15 years. His girlfriend Mallory is an architecture student. Ray and Mallory resurrected Joel's old bedroom (the master bedroom) by patching all the cracks, and freshening its calm blue-gray walls. This photo does not show the color of the walls very well, but it shows that I finally have matching furniture, and a gorgeous blanket crocheted by Kate. I still need to add my vintage Barbie dolls collection, a bookcase, and wall decor, including my biological grandmother's homemade quilt.

Kate's room was even more dramatically restored. Before Katrina it had been a delightful tribute to dolphins, with a photographic strip of wallpaper at waist height, and paint colors chosen to match the sky and the water. See photos at my October 13, 2005 blog entry. Over time it had been written on, ripped off, punctured by a million thumbtacks, and finally the walls themselves had seemingly tried to secede from the rest of the house. Now Kate wanted green walls and an accent wall in yellow. In these photos, Kate's ceiling lamp is broken, so we are limited to natural daylight.

I think the beginning of Kate's room looks fantastic!
After his trucks messed up my new sod, my builder promised to smooth my lawn, but he never did. He spontaneously mowed the lawn once, breaking off three feet of edging the sand pumping company had installed. I did an application of Weed n' Feed, and, on one bad day, ran around angrily killing weeds with Roundup. Since the dogs were scratching, and Confortis wasn't doing the trick, I applied special nematodes in the back yard, for them to feast on flea larvae. (This is the most gardening I have ever done in most of my life!) My friend Marcy was having her house leveled and offered me any plant I could salvage. This was my opportunity to recreate a San Diego landscape in my front yard. The hibiscus near the walkway was the first addition. Then yesterday in one busy day, Ray and Mallory replanted an azalea, two shorter (compared to my existing one) palms, and a rosebush. A little lantana, and I shall have most of the plants I grew up with! My old friend Charlie has even promised me a banana palm! Okay, I never had azaleas or bananas in San Diego, but otherwise it's spot on. My wonderful, oversized porch, once entirely overgrown, will add considerably to curb appeal. And, yes, I know there are still shutters missing, but we're moving one step at a time.

From Carport to Crafts Room

For months I have been finding small pebbles on top of my late husband's car, when it has been parked ostensibly safely in my carport. Last September my friend Lee was looking around and noticed the pebbles. He recognized that they were part of the carport roof—not even from inside the ceiling, but from the top level of the roof itself. It was a flat roof topped with pebbles instead of shingles. The flat roof was itself buckling and raining debris.

So many of the joists were destroyed that it will be expensive to fix. Just to repair the carport roof would require some serious building, as a flat roof is no longer allowable under the building codes. Lee suggested that I could probably add actual walls and produce an actual room (!) for not that much more than it would cost to replace the carport roof. It looks, then, like the fantasy of adding a room—which Joel and I had discarded when I realized his financial situation would not permit it—may come true after all!

In this heat, I still want a canopy over my car, to reduce its turning into an oven during the summers. We could replace the carport by moving it forward to run even with the living room at the porch line.

Here is the house with the carport roof still in place. This photo was taken just as the sand pumping had been completed. A new layer of foundation has been added to bring the floor up to the level of the rest of the house.

Now, today, the scary part begins. Up to today, I had made my carport area unusable by my cars by adding the raised slab, but I had not yet completely committed myself and my bank account to replacement of my roof and construction of a new room. As of this afternoon, the old rotten joists lie on the ground, along with most of my shingles. The flat roof panels and pebbles have already been carted away except for the small section that covered the tiny laundry room and storage shed. What is left of the flat roof is covered only with a plastic tarp.
The next step will probably be new roof construction and basic framing of the crafts room. Alternatively, they will lay pilings for the new driveway. I did not want pilings under the driveway, but the engineer says that any downward settling of the driveway would pull my roof off, since the carport will be connected the rest of the roof.
I am not accustomed to making large or long-term financial commitments such as this. It is scary!

Building a Sandstorm

Those who live in this area are all-too-familiar with the phenomenon of having to contend with regular subsidence of the dirt around the foundations of our buildings. At my house we had neglected this necessary upkeep for some time, even though we had had the foundation shored up the year of Katrina. Not only did we have visible gaps around our foundation, but we had a cavern an average of 18 inches high under our entire foundation. As I am hoping to do some repainting and floor polishing in the house, I decided it was time to get sand pumped into the cavern to protect my investment. The first step was to remove all plants near the foundation. I spared my palm tree, because it was planted in memory of my father, and it also reminds me of San Diego.

After a backhoe was used to remove the overgrown shrubbery, and a jackhammer was used to break up most of our wildly crooked patio slab, a trench was dug by shovel, all around the foundation. Workers slid underneath to position the hose that blasted clean, dry sand throughout the unwanted crawl space. It was filled to overflowing and a vibrating machine was used to tamp down the sand in a graceful slope away from the house. The air conditioning unit was raised a full foot from its original position. What seemed like a ton of sand was spread throughout the backyard.
Finally sod was added to fill in where the plants had been. I had the option of getting regular topsoil, but all I could think of was wanting a yard that would require as little upkeep as possible. I am still awaiting the sod that is to go into the back yard. In the meantime, the presence of four large active dogs and a doggie door means that the house is full of sand. It is in my bed and in my food and in my shower. But it is worth it.

Ducky Graduates Beginner Class!

On January 18, 2009 Miss Ducky graduated her Beginning Pet Training Class. Her individual trick was to roll over onto her back. With more time, perhaps I can get her to roll over the rest of the way. LOL Ducky has been studying hard these past 8 weeks, and there is no way that I could now relinquish her to the upcoming Commander-in-Chief or to anyone else. 

Ducky matriculated wth a fellow Golden Doodle named Oscar. Oscar is a month older than Ducky, and they enjoyed getting to know each other in class. Can you tell them apart? 

President-Elect Obama, Meet Your Perfect Dog

An Open Letter to the Obama Family:

Dear Obamas,

My understanding is that your choice of a new pet dog has two criteria: one that your dog be a rescue dog, and two, that s/he be hypoallergenic. I have the perfect dog for you. Shadow (her current name) was brought into the national pet supply chain where I work by a woman who has been widowed for eight years. Shadow is a vibrant, lovely, black Golden Doodle, eight months old. Her mom felt quite overwhelmed by the time and energy required to take care of her. She was working several days a week--not for long hours, but long enough that Shadow chewed some of her furniture. Our operations manager tried to talk the Pet Parent into buying and using a training crate for when she wasn't home. I suggested a training class, which would allow the woman to feel less out-of-control, generally more empowered, and which would be able to address specific training needs as they came up. (For example, I would suggest using a taste deterrent on the furniture so that once Shadow tasted the furniture, she would no longer want to lick its bitter taste.)



Alas, Shadow's mom would have none of it. Although she spent quite a bit of money on thorough health care and spaying, she said she had even gone so far as to take Shadow to the local shelter to relinquish her. The shelter staff told her that, if Shadow were really that destructive, that they could not guarantee that she would be adoptable. They were speaking from a position of knowing that larger dogs and black dogs are less likely to be adopted in a rescue situation. Particularly in post-Katrina Louisiana, a large dog is harder to place, because people want a dog who is easier to transport and shelter in the case of a hurricane evacuation. So, still hurting and confused, Shadow's mother came into my store.



As a pet trainer, a practicing psychologist, and a recent widow myself, I could not help but be touched by the woman's story. I had taken in several animals from shelters since Hurricane Katrina: some as permanent pets, some as boarders, and others as fosters. In fact, well before Katrina I founded and operated (for four years) a Golden Retriever rescue called Old Gold Senior Dog Rescue of Louisiana. Since the loss of my husband in January 2007, I have tried to reduce the number of animals in my care, but the only way to help Shadow was to bring her into my home.

Tomorrow (November 14) will make one week since Shadow came to me. Shadow is now living with Butterball and Jesse, two mature Golden females, and Max, a Mastiff-Cocker mix who looks like a Brittany on steroids. She is happy here, although Butterball has resource guarding issues, and growls at her nearly every time she approaches. Shadow enjoys wrestling playfully with Max and with Jesse. Her house-training is impeccable. Because the White House is full of people all the time, I am certain that she would feel secure as the Obama family dog.



As an eight-month-old pup, she is still young enough for the girls to enjoy her playful nature and to enjoy watching her grow and change. She is close to her adult size, however. She is affectionate, responsive to direction, and cooperative with bathing. She is up-to-date on all vaccines, flea prevention, and heartworm prevention. She is more lively than my Goldens, but I cannot tell to what degree that is due to her youth, and to what degree that is due to her Poodle heritage. She is a true Golden Doodle and does not shed.



Please consider Shadow as a possible member of your family. She would be an ever-present reminder of the irrepressible people and animals of Louisiana, but--more importantly for your entire family--she would be a loving and responsive family member. She could easily be taught to respond to another name, as we in rescue commonly change dogs' names. I am fond of her, but an opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime. Shadow would do great as a White House dog.

Sincerely,

Gloria Manucia

If you are reading this blog and you would like to help promote Shadow's consideration by the Obama family, please feel free to link to this post any way you like.

Photos from Howl-O-Ween 2008

On the whole, I don't think this year's costumes were as good as last year's. You be the judge.
A Chihuahua Pumpkin:


A Siberian Husky in a t-shirt:


A boxer in a t-shirt:


Old English Bulldog in Cape: Notice the red toenail polish.
The t-shirt of this 17-year-old dog reads: "So many bitches, so little time."


This Longhaired Chihuahua Matador had a matching cart that was decorated just as lavishly as the costume itself.
Sparky, the Sheltie as a Fireman:

Maltese:

This Miniature Schnauzer Angel was recently adopted from a rescue, along with her sister, the Snow White immediately below.




Your Humble Photographer/Hostess, Governor Palin:

Chihuahua Elvis:

Black Lab Skunk:

Bee Family: The one on the left is some sort of terrier, and the one on the right is probably a Miniature Pinscher.

This very patient Dachshund is a caterpillar:

CLose-up of the caterpillar costume:

Rat Terriers or Chihuahuas dressed as a Crawfish, a Spider, and a Pumpkin:

This Witch Pomeranian kept urinating on displays.

Wookie: The ears are part of the costume.

I'm not sure of the breed of this little Native American girl.

Fairy Princess:

English Bulldog:

Samie, the Boston
Terrier:
Dachshund Skeleton:


This Mardi Gras Maltese won first place last year when dressed as a physician.

And now Gustav!

It looks like I will have to evacuate. I plan to leave Sunday, August 30 (although I am getting very antsy and may leave earlier), and drive up to Ruston, LA which is in the NW portion of the state. All the hotels there were booked up already by Thursday morning, but my friend Catherine and her husband Frank have graciously offered me their home. Since they live in a very small house and have no fenced yard, Catherine called around and found a woman who runs an air-conditioned kennel which will charge me $33 per day for boarding my 3 large dogs and the cat. (I had originally failed to find a motel in Ruston—the closest being an hour away in Camden, Arkansas—but the Camden hotel wouldn’t allow the larger dogs, despite the emergency evacuation.) Catherine and I will be able to cook, hang out, and visit the Tech campus. Since nothing else is going on, I should be able to visit the dogs daily. Boogie, the 15-lb YorkiPoo, can stay with me at Catherine’s. I am vastly relieved to have friends to stay with, as otherwise there would be nothing to break up a steady diet of watching the weather channel like a zombie. That's all we did during Katrina, and to do it alone would certainly be unhealthy.

My friend and psych colleague Lee has offered to help me board up the windows and do whatever else is needed in the meantime. This past week he has been a saint about helping me with putting up curtain rods, fixing locks, and other household things. Today I was to hear whether or not River Oaks Hospital (where I take consults) will be closing down and evacuating. To me it’s a moot point. I am not even sure as to whether or not I shall attend the continuing education seminar that I signed up for on tomorrow. It is amazing to me that it is not yet canceled. Even Loyola University has cancelled classes on Friday and Tuesday. Supposedly the PetSmart manager will be taking all the store’s animals to Covington across the lake sometime this weekend. The shelter cats whom I care for in the evenings are to be moved today or tomorrow.

Despite the fact that I now have the beginning of a psych practice here in LA, I just might move to Austin, TX if the house sustains major damage. I don’t know. I hope to post my plans here. Moving is a nightmare, but evacuating is like a minor move, only repeated over and over.

Earlier today I delivered a letter from Kate to Joel's grave site. It had arrived in today's mail, so I knew I needed to deliver it right away before the traffic became congested. Since the cemetery had been closed for nearly an hour, I had to climb the fence to get in and out. Fortunately no one seems to have seen me.

Next, I need to go get cash, gas up the car, and begin the laborious project of packing. The worst part will be identifying all the financial papers and such that I have not yet organized since Joel’s death. I am also overwhelmed at the number of framed pictures, photo albums and the like that I need to take. After going through Katrina, I want to have my work materials from both jobs and lots of my favorite clothes with me.

My friends Lee and Catherine and even Kate's counselor at school, Sara, are taking great care of me emotionally. I’ve packed before and I know what I’m doing. It should be a lot easier not having to fit several birdcages into the van. Now that I have a place to stay, I really should have no worries.

For anyone who thinks of calling me: FYI, house phones do not work during hurricanes, and cell phones often die out too—although sometimes they will still work for text messaging. If you get a text message from a (504) number, it could be one from me. I shall try to update this whenever there is news.