Preparing for the Invasion that Never Came….

 

     On Christmas day, Art’s youngest, 22, dropped a bomb and it wasn’t Sonny, the 2-ton Golden Retriever. Who is getting along with all of us just great now, btw.

      She. Wanted. To. Move. Home. Now, on a rational level, this totally makes sense. She had been working very little and her dad had been paying most of her bills anyway, so her coming home would actually save us money.

     The thing is, the guest room is MY craft room. Never mind the fact that I don’t actually do any crafts in the room, it is the room where I store all of my crafting and creating stuff. You know, the paints, the fabric, the lamps that need a new shade, the 4 million frames for that great idea I had for the wall, etc.

     The next thing is that I would have to share the bathroom. That room I do use and the prospect of sharing my little haven with 2 girls was not, um, exciting. (Oh yeah, did I forget to mention, her current roommate would be moving in too)

      Don’t get me wrong, I love kids. Wait, that isn’t totally true. I am not a kid person, but I have tried my best to build relationships with Art’s kids and have been lucky.

     Anywho, I was a woman on a mission to reorganize the whole house.

This

became this

    Drawers became magically empty, closets became forces of organization. I was a demon with a purpose, a rebel without a clue, a woman on the warpath. If it hadn’t been worn, used, looked at or had been forgotten, it was getting donated. Everything was vacuumed, dusted, shined, etc. Alright, I am still working on the pantry. It is a work in progress.

     So, everything is now ready for the invasion. The closest, cabinets and drawers are empty. I said goodbye to my bathtub and looked forward to the pile of wadded up wet bath towels to come.

     Guess what? She now wants to move to Colorado and her roommate found another place. No one wants to live with me except the dogs.

      What did I learn? Young adults change their minds faster than a speeding bullet, dogs are truly man’s best and many times, only friend, and I now have a whole new room to refill with crap.

     On the bright side, I am totally organized, ready to start the new year fresh, and am totally sure that I made the right decision not to have my own kids. It has also brought me closer to my own mom and stepdad. I keep calling them to apologize and say thank you for putting up with me. (I was a royal pain of a young adult, my behavior makes Art’s daughter look like a saint)

     I wish M the best on her new life in Denver and hope that she realizes that I am her biggest fan until I have to share my bathtub. Then all bets are off.

This picture has nothing to do with anything, but it scares me just the same. I just wanted to share my nightmares with you.

 

There is a New Sheriff at Murphy Grace Home

 

There are some mighty big HUGE changes going on here at the ranch. Some that we have known about for a bit and some that are totally unplanned all of Arts kid’s fault.

The big change that happened today is we brought home Sunny. Let’s give a big MG Home welcome to Sunny….

Sunny (or Sonny, depending on whom you ask) comes to us from Art’s X. She was moving and didn’t want to take him with her, so we offered to give him a home. What could I say? Art’s daughters grew up with the beast dog.

He

• is huge, at least 100 pounds
• is old and set in his ways
• has a heck of a lot of fur, way more than MG.
• has always been an outside dog
• is terrified of fireworks and storms
• comes with a large wood dog house of his own

Most importantly-Doesn’t want one single thing to do with Murphy Grace or I.

It is bad. He growls at me through the sliding glass door and goes ape when Murphy so much as looks out the window.

Any tips for introducing an old dog to some new tricks? I am all ears, just share them loudly, it is hard to hear over the growling.