Saturday, February 4, 2012

Tell Me Saturday

Thus far One For The Book has not jumped on the Tell Me Thursday bandwagon...however, I have read with interest many of the posts that others write on their blogs in response. Last week's questions about choosing a dog trainer, etc. intrigued me (maybe I will go back and answer those later). One of my goals for 2012 is to write more, so maybe I will use this as excuse to get on the blog more. In the winter time, non-trialling season, sometimes there is just not much to blog about. Work for pay is really busy, for which I am grateful, but that means gratuitous computer time often gets shoved onto the weekends with everything else like buying hay, feeding sheep, trying to work dogs, and oh yeah that pesky house keeping stuff.

With the best of intentions , we begin with the questions from the past Thursday:

1. Julie would like to know one frugal tip this week.


It's really a small savings but I recently downsized my garbage container. It will save me just under $6 a month on my city utility bill and every little bit helps.  In California we have strict regulations about cities reducing the amount of garbage that is landfilled, on an increasingly stringent schedule; most waste now and in the future, must be recycled. I have a HUGE recycle container and now, a really teeny-tiny garbage cart. The only time it will be difficult is when we shear the sheep but we'll figure a workaround there for the waste wool.  I called the local trash/recycle pickup provider and the deed was done to downsize the can in just a few minutes with a pleasant man on the phone -- who while I was on the line discovered that my account has been in the wrong name for years. Unfortunately I had still been receiving the utility bill just fine all along -- oh well. Two things fixed up for one phone call - yes! 

2. What are you reading this week?


I don't have much time to read. But the book I was given for my recent birthday by The Big Brother is called "Half Broke Horses" by Jeannette Walls. Whenever time allows, that is what I will be picking up.  He recommends it very highly. I have a wish list on Amazon and it includes many titles of books and DVDs that I want.

3. Barbara wants to know: do you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, and if so how many times?


Yes, at least once, when I am really naughty, twice. The clock radio is tuned to KDFC in San Francisco.

4. If you had to travel in a sedan (or if you already drive a sedan type car) and you had five or six dogs, how would you handle it?


If the back seat folded down at all in the proposed sedan (some of them do) I might do that. Five or six dogs makes it pretty difficult, depending on their sizes. I have three dogs and that is hard enough at times.  If five or six had to all go at once I'm afraid it would be a free-for-all in the back seat of the sedan, and whoever is lowest on the totem pole, riding shotgun in front so that he didn't get picked on.  In my little red car (Dodge Nitro) I have three crates for border collies. But that leaves no room for anything else; trips get a little interesting.  


I have not had a sedan in years. That's just life with dogs.

5. How much do you filter what you put on your own blog?


A lot. I don't name most of the people's names although I always give other photographer's credits, or at least I try to. I don't blog about many things because they are private, or else they involve people who are intensely much more private than I am. I try to respect that. I do post photos of public events sometimes, like local sheepdog trials and workdays and such...when I can remember to bring my camera and actually get it out of the vehicle and use it.  But yeah my blog is very filtered -- so be it -- as others have stated, it's my blog and I'm stickin' to that. ;-)

4 comments:

Laura Carson said...

Glad you joined us this week! I really enjoy getting to know other people better.

I'm afraid that's what might happen - a free for all. It'll be like "The Crazies Go to the Circus". Scary thought, that. But, we do what we must sometimes. Hopefully this is a very temporary stopgap measure.

You mention downsizing your waste container - do you compost? I've thought it might be interesting/useful/frugal to compost.

Laura Carson said...

PS - that Coal sure is handsome. I loves me a black dog. How is he bred? Not to be nosey, but wondering if he's related to my Linc.

Billy said...

HI Laura,
No I have not composted garbage...yet...although with California the way it is that may become a necessity. We have so many pests here even in the 'burbs (rats, raccoons, etc) that I worry about attracting even more of them. Years ago in another state where I lived, I had a regular compost pile like you would do for a garden. it took a long time to degrade enough to not resemble the original forms of things that you put into it - and i may not have managed it well.

Coal is probably not related to Linc...I do like the dark faced dogs also. Coal's mother is an imported bitch from Scotland going back to DJ Brady lines and she also has very little white so I am guessing that is where it comes from. For my next dog - if there is a next dog and if there is a choice - I will be hard pressed to not take the dark faced dog or pup if there is one to choose from. ;-) Guess I'm hooked! But I love my Chiefie with the white head too.

Laura Carson said...

Gotcha. Linc goes back to Bobby Henderson's Sweep, but he gets his blackness from his Mom's side. His dam seems to stamp them pretty clearly. :) I like my flashy dogs, but I do loves me a very black dog too.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for playing.