Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Weekend Vacation Ranch Sitting

I spent the weekend ranch sitting. It was just lovely. I only had to feed horses and let sheep out to graze and get them back in. I had the run of a gorgeous house and acres of field to walk in.





The whole property is fenced so the sheep get the run of the place during the day. Being sheep, they will get into trouble when the opportunity presents itself.This one is eating the rose bush. Thorns are no problem to a sheep.


I got to meet Herbie the Frisian up close. What a sweet guy.



I was almost sorry to come home. The only thing I missed was having internet, but, hey, I needed a vacation.

Monday, April 22, 2013

One Year Ago

Last Thursday was the one-year anniversary of my arrival in Texas. A lot has happened in this past year, some good, some not so great.


The good stuff is I happened to land in an RV park that is very tolerant of dogs and old trailers. The owner is a good person and keeps the place kept up, but understands about hard times. He also loves the dogs but still expects everyone to abide by the rules.

The weather has been fantastic. It was a mild winter, even for Texas. I barely remember being cold at all. This spring has been a record breaking season. It has been cool and simply gorgeous. I have had the heat on some mornings and by afternoon I've turned the AC on, but only because the camper heats up like a tin can. My electric bill last month was $16. Amazing.

I managed to meet some Border collie people right off. They have been my life line to sanity. I don't get to visit as much as I would like too because of the not so great part of this post.

The bad stuff.

My truck started to break down and the garage finally said it would cost more to fix it than to replace it. Unfortunately, I haven't had the money to replace it. Living away from town and stores has been a major problem. My neighbor has been great about driving me to the store, but I'm becoming reluctant to ask for a ride. I've been stocking up whenever I get to the store so I can go a week or two without going to the store. Other things I order from Amazon. They have great prices but the shipping costs add up.

I was encouraged to start writing online to make money. I've been writing but the money hasn't materialized. My stats have dropped back down to where I started. \

I opened some stores on Zazzle. I did get one check after the Christmas season, but that has been it. I know these avenues of work take time, but I need an income now. I'm not giving up, but I'm not managing to save anything for another car either.

The Dogs of Zazzle - A sampling of some of my work.

Friday, April 5, 2013

I went crazy making these silhouettes of dog breeds. I even downloaded a free drawing program (Inkscape) so that I could make smooth, clean vector drawings. I have been working until my eyes are bleary. But I'm happy with the way most of them came out. I might redo a couple now that I know better what I'm doing.

Chihuahua Tote Bag
Chihuahua Tote Bag by Ragtimelil
Design unique personalized bags online at zazzle.com

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Living Without A Car In Texas

Living without a car is getting old now. I have to find a way to resolve this issue.



I did it! I now have over 1,000 items in my main Zazzle Store. I got some help with all the dog breed items I made, but I did learn a lot doing them. I have some of them up on the Featured Products, but I suspect that more may show up soon.