A possible new venture. . .

 When you think of it, many times when life seems unfair and doors keep getting slammed in your face, that is a good thing.  It's God's way of pointing you in the right direction.

I retired some years ago.  The office politics and extreme mindset of the leadership wore me down, probably more than I realized.  A handful of jobs since just didn't go right.  Not only the jobs themselves, but I went to many interviews and didn't get the job.  Although I present myself well and, in some cases, even overqualified for the job, time after time I was not selected.  Age discrimination is alive and well folks, believe it.

Recently I was at home, my mind wandering about any number of things, certainly not about finding the right job.  One of my dogs walked over to me, put her head on my knee and looked at me with "those eyes"!  I've often said my dogs control me with their eyes!

That's the first I remember of a new idea going through my head.  I love dogs. . . if I see a dog, I just have to get my hands on it and talk to it.  Then I thought of a trip coming up and the need to board my two.  When I called my usual kennel, they were booked solid.  In a state of panic, I began calling different kennels.  In my opinion, there are only a few quality boarding kennels in my area.  The prices are sky high.  I don't even want to think about what I am paying for the kennel that I chose for this trip.

Still staring at Morgan's eyes looking up at me, it hit me!  Why not open an in-home dog boarding and dog day care business?  I stumbled onto a website online that features in-home day care right here in my town.  It's kind of like the Etsy for dog boarding!

Of course, I would have to limit the number of dogs I take in at one time. . . right now I'm thinking no more than two customers at a time, but I would not have the overhead that the commercial boarding kennels have.

There is much thought and planning that needs to go into this before I go live, but it does seem encouraging.  I posted on our neighborhood facebook page to judge interest.  With only a little over 200 people on the page, I was pleased with the response I got.  Almost all of them spoke of the extreme prices they pay to board their dogs.  I believe I can charge less and still make a reasonable profit.

Let's see where this goes.  One step at a time.  Laugh if you want, but I truly believe God had a hand at that moment in Morgan coming to me, resting her head on my knee and looking at me with those eyes!

The Ice Storm of the Century - 1991

People who were in Rochester, New York on this date 33 years ago will never forget the Ice Storm of the Century.  There are ice storms and there are ice storms!  

Being a sound sleeper, the crashing trees and tumbling power lines went on overnight unbeknownst to me.  Just before dawn, the phone rang.  When I answered, a friend asked, "Are you all right?"  

"I think so" was my answer.  "Is something wrong?"

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power, many for weeks.  Even though many mutual aid power companies made their way here to help, there was just monumental damage.  My home had no power or heat for over a week.  We slept with thermal underwear and all the blankets we could gather. We cooked on a Coleman camp stove.  If you went to the store for food or supplies, they were working with flashlights and could only accept cash.

Schools were closed for over a week.  My sons were in high school.  The school organized a large group of kids to go around removing debris from neighbors' yards.

Letting my dogs out caused ice to stick to their paws and they tracked blood into the house.

Yes, those were bad times.  But we persevered and survived.  I don't remember any deaths being reported due to the storm.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going!