Man, my readers are smart folks!

Just got home from 3 days in Gray Area, and my house is almost finished. Herve and Jeremy and Tony are unbelievable! It looks amazing. My neighbors all said it looks like the builders just drove away, as in the paint job makes it look like a brand new house! Also Herve said that after I wrote about them, another neighbor came by to see and hired them to paint their house too! Good stuff. If you are interested in getting a bid on work you need done, you can reach Herve at 264-7094. They also do general contracting and foundation work.
Also, the guys went fishing at Jackson Meadows and brought me a 6 lb German Brown Trout that we'll be BBQ'ing tomorrow for lunch. Did your painters do that for you??????
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Sharon Hess stopped by to mention that since I blogged about her house cleaning business here in the shores (she's on the service provider list) she has gained a few more clients. You are all sooooo smart to hire her.
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Supv. Nate Beason and Doug Ferrell of the Roads Dept. came through and paved the corner here of BQH and Pasquale. I'll send them a quick thanks from all of us that have to make that turn, and can now do it safely without swerving to miss that pond that had formed.
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Reminder: The Homeowners are having their annual community yard sale on 09/10, Sat. This is your chance to sell junk and buy treasures! You can have a booth for $10, and a table for $5. Lots of fun and food also.

Another great house/deal in Cascade Shores

12942 Spanish Lane. This is a short sell (patience) but is listed at $179K now. This is a great 3/2 that shows very well. Clean and pretty, with a nice bedroom/bath that were added a few years ago. What a nice house, and Spanish Lane is a really nice street. So many great homes for sale in the shores right now, though many do seem to be finding new owners. I think this housing debacle may have a silver lining. All the homes that were not well kept seem to have "turned over" and have new owners that are bringing them up to their potential. Lots are being cleared, helping with our fire safety. In the end, we may have a more consistent look, and lots of interesting new neighbors. As they say, the only thing you can count on is CHANGE. The times they are a changin'.
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Isn't the weather just perfect? Went and floated on the lake yesterday, and it could not have been nicer. From 2-4pm not a single motor boat on the lake. Just me, a floatie, little Kate the Chi-Chi and a whole lotta sunshine. Paradise. On the way out I realized the shrubs were holding a bounty of wild raspberries. Yum. It's still blackberry season too. The vege stands are carrying the heirlook tomato's now too. Joy.
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So far, Herve and Jeremy are doing an amazing job painting our home. They are tidy and fast! Check it out when you drive by. Corner of BQH and Pasquale. They both live here in the shores (father and son) and you can't find nicer guys.

Scooters Pals blowout yard sale Sat.

139 Joersche St, across from Weiss Bros Nursery, 8:30 till 5pm Sat. A warehouse full of treasures, plus wonderful baked goods. I'm making Green Tea shortbread cookies and chocolate espresso cookies. If you're nice, I'll give you the super simple recipe for the Choc. espresso's, which are AWESOME if I do say so myself. The Green Tea cookies are my own invention, so I'd obviously have to kill you if you got the recipe. Anyway, please come to support Scooters continuing effort to rescue wonderful deserving dogs from high kill shelters (meaning that every week, approximately 70% of their dogs and cats die cause no one showed up to adopt them). You can pick up some great items, baked goods or grab a lunch snack. Also, if you want to donate books, they sell them on ebay. So easy to help our furry friends. You can also find out how to become a foster parent to some sweet little baby, if you have been considering. Scooters pay's the vet, food and meds on such animals. You just give them a loving "soft place to fall" while they await their forever home. Thanks to all the wonderful staff and volunteers at our shelter, Sammies Friends, the euthanasia rate is under 1%. What an awesome team.

Blessings, and kiss your pup if you are lucky enough to have one . . . .
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Went to the Yuba river today with friends. It's friggin cold. It was wonderful and refreshing, but I think I'm back to our nice warm lake tomorrow. Felt just like the snow melt that it was. The scenery and white water was breathtaking though.

Need help with your utility bills?

In case you are not aware, there are two great programs to help you with utility bills if you are low income. LIHEAP is a county program that will help you with PG&E, Propane or Wood (your choice). Call 265-1388 for info to see if you qualify.
CARE is a PGE program that can get you a 15% discount if you can qualify. The number is 800-743-5000.
Hope this info in helpful.
Check mynevadacounty.com for info on these programs.
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EC wrote me back for an ABFAB night. Anyone else???
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There is a darling doxie named Mona available at GV shelter. Also, Scooterspals has one name Sushi, young, sweet and very male oriented. Anyone looking for a darling wiener dog to love? I can hook you up!

Very Scary Dog Attack on BQH Hill

Just got news that last night 2 loose pit bull's jumped into a fenced yard on BQH by the store and attacked the resident Aussie Shepherd. A very brave neighbor heard the commotion and ran over to break it up. One of the Pitty's left, but the other challenged him and stayed in the yard. I don't have a description of the Pitty's other than white with substantial collars on. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY BELONG? If so, please let me know and I will pass info on to the doggie victims family and Animal Control. This business of letting dogs roam around here with so many kids and cars and other FENCED IN dogs is crazy.
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Hey EC, want to get together for wine and ABFABATHON???? I need to be with "my own kind" when I watch that show.
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Hey Patti G, your neighbor had his lot cleaned. Looks super good. You will like.

Where has the time gone???

First, I want to thank you wonderful people I have run into lately that have thanked me for my blog, thereby reminding me that I have not blogged (verb?) for awhile. Much has happened around here at Casa de Perros. First, my majorly cute foster dog OSCAR got adopted by a lovely couple in Carson City, Nevada. Bless you Oscar, you stole my heart! We drove him to them yesterday, a long beautiful tearful ride around Lake Tahoe, and on the way there and back saw so many amazing hot rods and classic cars, then realized it was Hot August Nights in Reno. So had to stop and have dinner and peruse town. If you love cars even a little, or want to relive your childhood you have to go the HAN in Reno. The people watching is spectacular too! Oh buy back to OSCAR, who will be living on the high desert with an 8 year old Rottweiler sister, chickens, and Wild horses, as his 1 1/3 acres borders BLM land. We saw 2 herds right outside his fence, and he was not even impressed. I was. They were beautiful healthy looking horses. Lucky Oscar.
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Around the shores, could the weather be more perfect? I think not! In the low 80's and dry and just yummy . Enjoy. The big lake is officially bath water temp, and everyone is smiling and it seems last winter's hardship are forgotten. Well, except we are all still cleaning up trees. I ran into Michael Cotton (Michaels Tree Service) and he has a very big smile on his face. He said he see's it taking probably 2 years to clean up the storm of 2011. Then I saw Brian Bixler (Bixler's Tree Service) and he's pretty happy with the amount of work available here in the shores too. So if you're dragging your heels, better line these guys up if you want work done this year. Shop local! Their phone numbers are on the service provider list.
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Don't know if you've noticed, but the pot hole on my corner (Banner Quaker and Pasquale) is graduating from a pot hole to a swimming hole. We call it Lake Pasquale, or Pasquale Ice Rink in winter. Anyway, I saw that they are resurfacing Pasquale from the Red Dog end, so I emailed Nate Beason, Supv. of Dist 1, (love that man) and asked him to see if he could get the guys to come down and repair that hole before some poor person in a little car disappears into it! Within 24 hours he answered me back and got Doug Farrel of roads dept to commit to fixing "soon". We'll see how that goes. Nate is pretty good at getting things done.
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This is the time of year you can usually get a pretty good seat for the annual meteor shower, though I think the waning moon (is it waxing or waning, I forget) may cause less than perfect viewing. We often go down to the boat ramp with pillows and lay down and watch the show. James Mayer (thanks James) sent me a link for when you can view the Space Station in the sky, but I'm too lame to read it properly. However it is so I think if you google Satellite Sighting/Grass Valley you can view it (i'm also to lame to transfer the Nasa link).
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Lost Mine Lake is reserved tomorrow, Sat. the 12th. The children's climbing thingy got restained today, and I stopped by and did some weeding/cleanup in the area around the playstructure.
Warning to the wise: August is the month I have usually seen rattlers (yes, rattlesnakes) down in the diggins'. So make sure your kids know what they look like and how to evade them. Seriously.
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After watching the GOP debates, minus Ms Palin, who is touring Iowa, again stealing someone else's thunder, we tried to come up with a few slogans for her campaign, just in case. How about "Palin 2012, "Stupid IS the new Smart" Or, "Sarah, Twice the Man You'll Ever Be." Or nice and simple like "Sarah - GOTCHA!" CUMON, that's a little funny. Well, it is behind 1/2 bottle of white wine . . . .
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In case you're a newby, and you'd like to join a walking group, just want to let you know that if you are are the Firehouse on Monday, Wed and Friday, 8 AM SHARP, there is a group that walks 1 1/2 miles out Pasquale and back, (yes, that's a total of 3 miles) and dogs are welcome, on or off leash. They keep a pretty good pace, and you will be back at the firehouse by 9am, and you're dog will sleep till 12! The faces change, but there usually is someone there.
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Reminder of upcoming events on the calendar: Aug 20th, Wine tasting at LML. Bring and appetizer and wine to share and visit with neighbors. The Wed night BBQ's are still happening too. Some serious horseshoes going on down there. . . .
September 10th is the annual community yard sale at the Firehouse. Great event. Bring your treasures to sell, or bring you mad money and buy. Lots of fun, and burgers/chips/drinks for lunch. This is you chance to purge your life of those useful but no longer needed items, or but a great recycled item and help save the planet. It only works if you work it!
September 18th is the Barbara Schmidt Millar triathalon at Scotts Flat. You are probably noticing the athletes jogging and biking around here right now. Give them a wide berth on Pasquale. This is a great event that raises money the free cancer screenings at Sierra Nevada Hosp. and raises awareness. A dear friend here in the Shores has recently been diagnoses with breast cancer, reminding me that 1 in 8 women will experience it in their life. So, please support this event, and be sure to give these wonderful athletes the respect they deserve.
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The taco's at the store on Taco Tuesday are pretty freaking good. Suggest you check em out.
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Met a nice retired General Contractor names Herve, who bought a house on Summit Ridge. He and his son do house painting and other handy things. So, we're getting our house painted by them next week. Tres exciting, but sooo hard to pic out a color. I'll let you know how it turns out.
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OMG, are you watching Trueblood. Can you even believe how wimpy Eric has become. Where is my wonderful evil vampire. He's become a total wuss. This must end! Vampires are not supposed to be sensitive and "in touch with their feminine side." YUCK!
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Were you ever a fan of the 80's show "Absolutely Fabulous.?" One of my favs, also known as ABFAB. Well, it's in rerun on LOGO, channel 146 on Comcast, and it's doubly funny the 2nd time around. Gotta love that British humor. And then if you hang is, it's RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, which I can't explain, but you must see to believe. Who doesn't love to watch a bunch of outrageous Drag Queens makeover plain jane wannabe's?
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IN case you weren't aware, we had a scheduled power outage from 8am - 1pm ish today. So, reset those clocks and timers.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS IN NEVADA CITY LAST FRIDAY!

Crimeny, I just love that band. They played a private party at the Foundry last Friday night. You can read about it in the Union. Why the hell wasn't I invited? I'm their biggest fan, (ooooh, spoken like Cathy Bates in "Misery.") No really, your mission is to find out who sponsored that concert and REPORT BACK TO ME! Thanks! That means you too Dixie, use those contacts and let's get on next years list (if there is one).

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