Destress Friday

Okay friends.  Let’s have a destressful kind of Friday.  Today, let’s let the stress go far, far away…. even if it is just for a few moments.  Today, we will not let stress get to us in any way, shape or form.  Today, we will get it off our chests, breathe with relief and laugh it away.

What has been stressing you lately?  What has you worried you enough that you want to slap/kick or soccer punch someone in the pie hole and tell them to stow it?  Come on my friends.  Let’s let it ALL out today so we can have an awesome weekend.  Be it small or large – let it be no more!

My mom will go first.  Take it away MOM!

◊ Dear next door neighbor.  Believe it or not, there are several companies that come in our neighborhood to take your trash away.  You really don’t have to keep stock piling it in your backyard.  I mean no one can see your backyard but me… how lucky can I be.  But trust me, even if I didn’t see it, I could smell it.  So with that in mind, can you please call one of the local trash companies.  Heck, I’ll even give you a list of their numbers.  Just sayin’

◊ Dear XYZ Company.  If I haven’t called you back in three weeks, there’s a high probability that I’m not interested.  With that being said, there is no need for you to continue calling my residence upwards 2-3 times a day every day.  Just sayin’

◊ Dear husband.  Don’t add to my stress.  Be a good husband, nod your head accordingly and say, “I love you” randomly throughout the day.

 

Helpful Tips – Let’s Share

My friends – I’ve thought of something so cool.  Today, let’s share some helpful tips.  Perhaps there is something that you do to make life easier for you that could make life easier for everyone.  

For instance, mom has three magnets on the refrigerator.  One is a dog, one is a cat and one is an alligator.  Yes you read that right.  An alligator – rolls piggy eyes.  Mommy couldn’t find a piggy magnet.  Too funny that the alligator represents me – snorts.  Anyway, they are always kept in the same spot on the fridge.  When mom feeds the cats, she takes down the cat one.  When she feeds the dog, she takes down the dog one.  And then when she feeds moi, she takes down the alligator one.  That way, just in case she is running late or sleeping in and daddy has to feed us, he knows which one of us have been fed or not fed.  So no more double feeding – darns it.  

Another thing mom does at work is that she keeps a shot glass on her desk.  Snorts and rolls with piggy laughter – not for drinking you funny person.  She keeps her staple remover in it.  She goes through a LOT of papers and a lot of times has to remove the staples.  She removes the staples and then puts them in the shot glass to hold them while she goes through the entire stack of papers.  Then all she has to do and toss the contents from the shot glass when she is finished.  Something easy that helps her out a bit.  

Do ever wonder how daddy is able to do household chores without ‘seeing’?  For anyone that has vision problems, these are very helpful tips.  Mom taped a toothpick to the washing machine.  When daddy does the washing, he feels for the toothpick so he knows how far to turn the dial.  Mom also taped a key disc (you know the ones that are colored and are empty in the middle that you put on your keys for coding) to the oven on the “on” button.  If daddy wants to cook something in the oven, he feels for the disc and is able to turn the oven on.  Mom also put a key disc on the on button of the microwave.  

What are some helpful tips that you can share?

 

 

Renovation – Phase I

Hello all!  This is Bacon’s mom here.  I wanted to break down the entire renovation and share our experience of ups and downs throughout the process.  Today is Phase I which includes the start of everything.  Our house was cluttered.  Pure and simple it was.  We have been here 16 LONG years and throughout those years, we have had many surgeries, illnesses and taking care of family members that some things taken second – like the house unfortunately 😦

I was having a couple of weeks of feeling good physically. One never knows how long these days last when you have rheumatoid arthritis.  So when I told the hub unit I was ready to do it, he couldn’t believe me.  We made an appointment with the floor guy first.  We *had* to get rid of this awful carpet that had seen way better days.

The appointment was made 3/28/2015 with the flooring peeps.  They came out and we went over all of the measurements and looked at the different types of flooring that was available.  My husband gave me full reign over the remodeling so I picked a tan flooring.  We signed the paperwork and picked the date of 4/16/2015 for installation. This gave us a little under three weeks to de-clutter, purge and get the house in shape for the floor.  No small feat with what we had to work with as you can see from the pictures.

This same date, we went furniture shopping.  A joyful occasion to most… except me.  I despise shopping for anything.  The most important factor was that whatever we picked the hub had to LOVE his sofa.  I personally wanted something in the way of an oversized chair with an ottoman, etc – something that would be absolutely comfortable when I came home from work at the end of the day.  We went to a company called American Signature Furniture and picked out a sofa, an oversized chair, an ottoman and an electric fireplace mantle.  Sounds like heaven huh?  We expressed several times that the furniture had to be delivered on 4/17/2015, the day after the floor installation.

Now as you can see from these pictures of the living room, there was a LOT to clean.  I basically wanted to clear out everything and start fresh.  But in order to get to the bare basics, I had to de-clutter and separate items into (1) Keep; (2) Donate; and (3) Junk.  Just looking at the pictures you can tell that it was an overwhelming feat to start.  If anyone is in the same position as we were, two words – BABY STEPS.  I had a calendar and every night when I came home from work and on the weekends, we hit a different spot.  Slowly, things started going away.  AND, you know what we learned from all of this?  Letting go can be medicinal and therapeutic.  We made three trips alone to the Goodwill donation center down the street in the first couple of days.  I know that our garbage collection company probably thought what are they up to because we had loads of stuff we threw away.  Phase I took us the longest to get through – 9 days.

And then came the date that we asked Salvation Army to come to the house on 4/9/2015.  They actually had to make two trips because we gave it all away:  sofa, love seat, entertainment center, china cabinet, hutch, kitchen table, six chairs, rugs.

After they left, we cleaned more and started making a pile of trash.  On 4/11/2015, we had 1-800 Got Junk to come out to the house.  This junk company will come to your house and pick up your trash.  According to how much you have to fill their truck, is how much they charge you.  We had scheduled them to come out on this date between 3:30-5:30pm.  To our advantage, they were running late so (1) we got to pick up and clean more and (2) the later they were we got a discount – which is always a great thing in my book.

The company *finally* got at the Hotel Thompson around 8:30PM – which they had been calling throughout the day to keep us aware of their schedule.  I never got upset with them and it was a good thing.  Other people had in their schedule.  They came to our house and gave us a $125.00 discount for waiting.  So it cost only $100.00 for them to come in, lift and take out our final junk.  A bargain in my book because by this time we were so over lifting.

Now our neighbors had been watching all of the activity happening at our house in the pass 9 days.  Word got back to us that we were moving which we laughed off.  Nope – we were just doing some MAJOR spring cleaning.  All of this work was Phase I – come back tomorrow for Phase II my friends 🙂

 

 

 

Goodbye Loyal Furniture

Today at the Hotel Thompson, we say goodbye to the rest of our furniture.  Last Thursday, Salvation Army came out and picked up some pieces.  Today, Goodwill will be picking up some pieces.  What is final, the junk man will be coming by this afternoon and picking it up.  It has been a long week getting this far.  To think, by tonight the kitchen and front room will be empty.

Kitchen table, chairs, china cabinet and entertainment center – you were all good in your efforts these past 16 years while you have lived here.  You have seen good times and bad.  We have served many of meals, laughed and cried at the table.  And furniture – sofa and couch – you have especially been great these past 11 years.  You’ve taken a lot of torture from us anipals.  We will all miss you dearly because we have been told we can’t be on the new furniture – rolls piggy eyes.  That hurts.  But mom/dad said not to worry, they will work something out with us.

This starts Phase II of the renovation here at the Hotel Thompson.  The painting.  Colors have been picked out.  Rollers are ready.  Not a lot of painting but some contrast painting is lined up.  So that’s where we are my friends.  Phase II.  Phase II only has a couple of days and then the end is near – Phase III.  I can make it… right?

 

Dear Easy – Special Edition

September we have been highlighting some of my friends who volunteered to help me out with my Dear Bacon issue. Today’s last special edition is by my brother Easy.  If you don’t know Easy, you *must* go visit him and check him out.  Tell them that Bacon sent you.  Now, on to some great advice to help out our fellow anipals.

 

 

 Dear Easy,
Last night was great. My human dropped a pill on the floor. The next thing she knew, I ate it. I’m not sure what it was but I want more. I was so happy. So giggly. So alive! What do you think it was? Signed Feeling No Pain

Dear Feeling No Pain,
I bet it was a blue pill with a rhombic shape… they are the pills that lift anything up… really anything and anybody…. Those kind of pills you can buy when you check your spam folder. No worries that you could be fooled by a hoax, the offers start always with “Dear Friend…” and friends never fool you, right?

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Dear Easy,
I think we may be related. Can’t you see the resemblance? The eyes? The nose? Maybe the good looks? I think we may even be twins separated at birth. What do you think? Signed Mirror Image

Dear Mirror Image,
It seems you are really my twin… what’s sad, because I’m sick of my singleness… butt maybe that’s just the first impression and there is a chance that we are related butt not by blood? I can see some differences on your right ear and on your nose, what’s missing the scratch I wear . Please check your pedigree and call me immediately!

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Dear Easy,
I’m so pretty. I’m so fun. I’m so exciting on the farm. My human knitted my outfit for me and I love it! Don’t you? What size are you? I can get you one too so we can both have fun, fun, FUN! Signed Pretty in Pink

Dear Pretty in Pink,
Thanks that I have the chance to meet you. You must be the longlost twin of my mom. She wore exactly the same outfit like you, as they brought her home from hospital or wherever they found her.. Do you remember her? She just has no horn, butt probably hers grows inwards… Oh and btw: I’m a size XS…that means xtremely sloshed :o)

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Dear Easy,
They see me rolling and they’re hating. My pops bought me this get up and I highly recommend it. You want to know why? Because it attracts the ladies. What do you wear to attract the ladies? Signed Ladies Pup

Dear Ladies Pup,
You have a very wise Pops. He knows that all girls have a shoe-obsession and that a butt is a good butt in the perfect jeans. Oh and to wear sunglasses your way has something of James Dean, I agree. Girls love rebells, so they will open you their heart and their treat packs. I have to admit that I’m a professed nudist, but maybe that’s the reason that I’m still single?

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Dear Easy,
I got busted. Here’s the proof – thanks to my humans. During the day while they were at work, I got into the garbage can. I thought I was safe until this contraption got stuck on my head. Dude I couldn’t get it off. Any tips for my future escapades? Signed Lid of Shame

Dear Lid of Shame,
Your humans need a garbage can with an automatic lid, called Dive In in carnivore circles. That’s an essential equipment if they share their crib with a dog. Oh and I would remove that thingy before they come home… in worst case, next time they would save the money for a cone and try it with the lid of the treashure can…

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Thank you to all of my guests that helped me host my special editions for September.  Remember my friends – Dear Bacon can’t happen without *you*.  Please continue to send your letters and questions to me here at the Hotel Thompson at baconthompson@gmail.com