Wednesday, December 30, 2015

[Ghouls on the Go] Colorado will always be our home base

We love Colorado and it'll always be our home base! It's beautiful here and we've considered it home since Paul and I both moved here 1979 (we didn't know each other then, but...). So we are NOT abandoning Colorado AT ALL. Our plans are to keep our home base HERE and then travel extensively to see parts of the US and Canada that we maybe couldn't afford to visit otherwise if we took into account airplane, hotel, and other fees. [ 279 more words—click link below to read more at Ghouls on the Go Travel Blog. ]

https://ghoulsonthego.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/colorado-always-our-home-base/

Monday, December 28, 2015

Three things to be grateful for

Our friend Quinnsettia's 13-year-old daughter, Lilly, was hit by a drunk driver while crossing a street in Pueblo, CO, last night. Driver was drunk, had no license, no insurance. Lilly has broken teeth and road rash, but NO broken bones. She's a lucky young woman. They caught the driver, thank goodness. Please send healing energy and/or thoughts to the family. This tragedy could've been much worse.

Second, Britt & Tack have a new Jeep! It's a 2015 and it's black and a sleek-looking ride. Nice, low payments and (as Tack said) it looks like Darth Vader. So I'm gonna call it Vader from here on. I'll upload a pic on the post after this one (taken tonight, but more coming).

Third, since Britt & Tack now have their vehicle, we get ours back (our nearly new Saturn ION w/only 50K'ish miles on it)! New tires and ready for us to use after not having a working car to use since November 2014. Tomorrow we will take it for a drive SOMEWHERE just to enjoy riding in it again!

MAJOR thanks to a several people for making this happen—Ron S., who helped with the VIN verification for Britt & Tack, Chandra & Mark for allowing us to use their comfy minivan OR giving us rides when we simply had to have one. Also, to Britt & Tack, who coordinated and made so much of this happen. Without them, it would NOT have happened! Love all of you guys. heart emoticon

Starting the new year with a car once again—woot! First time we've ever been without a car for over a year in our lives, and we do NOT want to go through that again.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

[Dream] Cobras & Demons

Two big dreams last night. In the first, I worked in some sort of a warehouse where people would come to have dinner and watch performers do all sorts of things. A group of snake charmers were charming a shit-ton of cobras (they were a bunch of pretty colors, though).

Now, I don't like snakes and I'm scared to death of cobras and vipers! Well, one snake charmer came over to me and tapped on my right shoulder (from the front). The cobra leaned down and laid its head (or nudged its head) on my right shoulder without biting me. I was scared shitless and I remember holding my breath in terror!

Then, the snake charmer was touched by the cobra and the snake charmer ended up dying -- I tried to run around and find an antidote (something called H1-something or another, but could only find H2-something). The guy's body bloated up and died, his stomach was big and distended like you'd see in a Feed the Children ad.

I did not die from the cobra touching me, though. I felt like, somehow, I'd been blessed and protected by the cobra (not sure if that makes sense). So, THAT dream was freaky and weird. But then...

Discovery: I have a lot of dreams -- a TON of them! -- about battling and/or exorcizing demons. Most always when I forget to take my Trazodone before bed. Then I wake up with a sore body and barely able to move from having my muscles tensed up all night, as a result of fighting demons (could you get more symbolic?!).

Last night I was helping our friend Carly's neighborhood rid itself of demons and Josh P. showed up as well. I didn't want to do down into Carly's basement, because it would be a high and tenuous climb to get back out of it, but I went in there anyway.

When it was time to get out, there was no other way except to climb up a steep, rigged ladder that was unsafe and shaky. I'm terrified of heights in real life, so in the dream I had no other choice but to face my fears and climb that shaky ladder and chance falling a long way down. Since there was no other way than up that ladder, I decided to avoid looking down and climb that ladder. I was scared to death. In the end, the ladder nearly came loose, but I made it up and out of the basement and to safety again.

Funny how the demons were less scary than that damned ladder climb! Anyway, last night's dream couldn't have been more dead-on about life right now, or how I'm feeling. I've never wanted to climb 'that ladder' many times in my life. I don't want to now, either. But sometimes climbing 'that ladder,' no matter how scary it might be, is the only way out of the abyss known as the basement. Damn...helluva dream, eh? Lots to think about.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

The ways things were...

My dad, Leo C. Walton, Sr., my mom Shirley Walton,
brother Barry Walton, and brother Leo C. Walton, Jr.

So, my cousin Tracy posted this pic and I gotta tell you I'm pretty emo about it. Actually crying a bit. Lost my mom over a year ago from Alzheimer's and my dad when I was about seven years old. My dad, Leo C. Walton, Sr., will always be my hero. I wasn't very old when he died, but I remember it was the day before Halloween. He doted on me and often carried me in his arms.

Yes, I was a daddy's girl. I miss my dad. I use the hyphenated name, Walton-Porter, on a lot of things that I write. It's how I honor my dad. He read to me all the time. He instilled a love of words in me, so it only seems fitting to publish books using his name, Walton, as part of the author name.

The kindest, most sensitive and caring man I've met besides my dad is my husband Paul. I think that's why I feel so much in love with him. He dotes on me and loves me unconditionally. Just wish my dad could've met Paul and vice versa.

The left towhead is my brother Barry (he still loves guns!) and the smiling kid to the right is my oldest brother, Leo, Jr. I have two other brothers, but they are my birth brothers Jan and Van. I didn't know about them until 1999 when I found my birth family.

Anyway, this photo makes me happy AND sad. Brings a smile with thoughts of a long time ago. This pic was taken at my MawMaw & PawPaw's house (Hontas (Kelly) & Charles Schumaker). They always did things up right (as best I remember).

Love you and miss you, mom and dad.
Love and miss you, Barry and Leo.
Thanks for posting this, Cousin Tracy ;-)

Sunday, December 20, 2015

[Paul's blog post] The RV calculation

So, my wife Bev and I want to do something that may sound crazy to a bunch of you, but it may actually be the best way for us to live.

As many of you are aware, because of financial difficulties thanks in large part to some health issues of mine, and extenuating circumstances that I won't go into right now, we are about to lose our home. This is a dire situation to be sure since we currently have no place to go, and because no matter what, we have to keep our dogs (they are all registered Emotional Support Animals [ESA], for the record). We will, however, not be sad to leave this house because part of the reason for our financial situation, and no doubt my health issues, is due to this property. It needs too much upkeep and repair which I cannot do thanks to my back and knees, and it costs too much money because it is old and was not built well.

This was my mother’s house and she left it to me when she died. The mortgage was never in our names, Bev just kept paying it because the house had been quitclaim deeded to me. Then the mortgage company accelerated the loan, which means that unless we come up with the entire loan balance by the end of December 2015, we have to move. Bev has worked herself into a crater trying to keep up with the mortgage payments, along with the endless repairs and code upgrades that cropped up due to the age of this property. We have dumped a lot of money into this property that we will never see again.

The utilities have also been a factor in making things rougher. Those utilities were the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, because there is a cottage on the property, and due to that we were charged commercial rates whether there was a renter in there or not. Most people do not have to pay three separate utility bills – plus a gargantuan commercial deposit – as part of their bills, but that’s another thing we’ve been saddled with over the years.

In addition, once both of the kids moved out of the house, Bev and I discovered that we barely ever saw most of the place. There are whole sections of this house that we just don't need. All those places do is collect junk. We use a small bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, a small office and a tiny corner of the front room. Occasionally we use the laundry area, obviously, but even most of that space is superfluous to our needs. Still, we have to pay to heat the whole thing, and this place is, as I have mentioned, very drafty. All of the windows are old and warped, which doesn’t help. Overall, the place isn't put together well.

I guess the question becomes, “Why move from one place with a lot of space that we are never going to use, just to move into another place with space that we are never going to use?” Even renting a house or apartment for an extended period of time (over a year or more) would lead to us paying money into something that we wouldn't use most of. Add to that the fact that most rental properties, whether house or apartment, are not going to look kindly on us having four dogs, or would charge a pet deposit for each one and then possibly higher rent on top of that. For us, it has become clear that we need to find another, more cost-efficient way.

So, why not an RV?

We've been doing some digging, and there is a lot of information out there on how to live and travel in an RV for reasonable amounts monthly, even if we had an RV payment each month. Our cars are all paid for, so we have no car payments and no monthly credit card payments to make. This would actually be the best time for us to hit the road in an RV and switch our lifestyle, in fact. Our monthly costs would be much less than they would be otherwise, even with a monthly RV payment.

Now, I'm not dumb enough to think that it will be all sunshine and roses by choosing this path. There are still a lot of considerations to take into account. We would need to have a state of residence and a place to get our mail. We would need to make sure that we could get our medicine. We would need insurance on the RV. What belongings we are going to keep, but not take on the road with us, will need to be kept in storage. We will need to make sure we have a method of staying online so that Bev can work and we can communicate with everyone. We need to afford fuel, food, propane, and maintenance on the RV. There will be times when we may need to pay for a camping spot (although there are a lot of workkamp opportunities out there, and we can boondock some times). We will need food for the dogs. Even then, if we watch our money, it would be cheaper than living in a house or apartment, and we could keep our dogs with us without paying a huge amount of deposits or extra monthly fees added to our rent.

On the upside, if we don't like someplace that we end up, we can just leave. Also, we can travel, which is something that Bev and I both love to do but could never afford to do much of over the past ten years. We could see some of the places Bev has never been and that I haven't been to since I was a child. We could visit friends who live in other states. We could see the ocean again. We could see the badlands of Utah, Yellowstone, Upstate New York, and Maine. So many places that we've always wanted to see and just weren't able to. Or, we could end up stuck some place until we could get enough money together to move on, but that could be exciting too. We are more flexible than most of our friends, so I think that’s a definite plus. We would have to come back to Colorado Springs fairly regularly to get our mail and the like, but that would give us a chance to hang out with friends here. No need to worry about never seeing us again.

As far as how we would make a living, right now Bev is the only one who brings in any income (although I'm in the process of lining up possible work for the next few weeks), But if she gets enough article writing and editing jobs she can cover the cost fairly easily. I could do a nicely edited video blog about interesting and spooky, out of the way places that I could put up on YouTube and monetize (that's not a guaranty for making money, but it might,) plus I'm currently learning to code in PHP and Java Script, so I might be able to score some freelance work doing that. In addition, Bev has been after me to put up an Etsy shop that would sell prints of some of my artwork. Yes, Bev is the big breadwinner around here, but I have ways of bringing in money to help out.

Bev can work from anywhere that she can get a Wi-Fi signal, and a lot of the stuff that I do could be done in the same way, so that would work in our favor. Plus, as I said, there are workkamps where you do some sort of work at the campsite in return for your pad, electricity, water, and sewer. A lot of the more physical jobs I couldn't do, but I bet there would be something, even if it's walking around all night making sure that no one is up to no good.

The point is that an RV lifestyle for us is doable. It could end up being cheaper to live than a stick and brick house or apartment, plus, you know, the dogs. I guess what I'm saying is that we are committed to doing this. It's only a mater of time before we do. The truth? If I could buy an RV today and drive it off the lot, I would. It would really put my mind at ease knowing that Bev, the dogs, and I would have a roof over our heads after the first of the year. We also wouldn't have all this wasted, expensive space. It’s not just a dream of ours. It’s become our goal.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Manifesting the full-time RV lifestyle



NEWS (Yes, it's long): Paul and I are planning to hit the road, full-time, in an RV and live/work from the road in the near future, meaning within a year or two. Depends on the research and planning. And, of course, purchasing an RV. We have NO car payments because we've paid off three cars, two within the last five years. That is one good thing in our favor.

These are our goals and we firm about making them happen. I don't want to hear about why we CANNOT do this in a year or two; instead, I will only hear HOW we can make it happen -- concrete plans founded on research and info on HOW to do it. We have already begun the research and planning stage, with a year to three years as the window for making it a reality. It can be done. There is a way and we will find it -- period.

I was raised a military brat and I am familiar with traveling and moving from place to place. I've pulled up stakes and moved halfway across the US several times. Each time I planned, researched, and made it happen.

Colorado will always be our home base. That will NEVER change. However, I'm 51 and Paul T. Sninchak is 46. We have places we want to see. With my job, I'm able to work from anywhere with an Internet connection. We want to travel and see Maine, Upstate New York, Washington State, Oregon, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, New Orleans, and many others.

The best part is I'm newly approved to write travel articles for a German website (and they pay for them), so I'm building my article portfolio so I can earn income from our travels. I'll continue my existing writing and editing gigs, of course, but I can now add travel articles to my arsenal.

SO...all that said. The big thing NOW is that we need to find a place to move to for the beginning of 2016, first and foremost. Once we settle into a new place, Paul and I will spend the next year researching and planning for our upcoming RV adventures.

If you know of someone who has an RV they would like to sell, if you have resources we should check out (we are already aware of many), or if you have tips we should know about as we plan our FUTURE RV travels, comment here or e-mail me at scribequill@gmail.com.

And yes, the dogs will go with us on our travels. They are Emotional Support Animals (ESA) and with my PTSD and GAD, plus Paul's, wherever we go, they must go. wink emoticon

Tips, resource sharing (thanks for the Workkamp group suggestions, Chandra!), and anything you think might be helpful is appreciated. We already have several RV monthly budgeting websites/blogs we're checking out.

Bottom line: In order to make certain things a reality, you put it out there...and that's what we are doing NOW so we can manifest it within a year or two.


Friday, November 27, 2015

Tragedy and the Final X

Today my hometown was once again thrust into the arms of tragedy and violence. A shooter, now identified as Robert Lewis Dear, holed up in a Planned Parenthood office and ended up wounding nine people and killing three people, including two civilians and a campus police officer from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

It's hard to go back to living your life and doing mundane things around the house when you know there were a few of people from here in Colorado Springs who woke up today and had no idea that yesterday was going to be their last Thanksgiving, and that they wouldn't make it to tonight or live another day past today to see their family and friends ever again.

I remember seeing a calendar in my kids' grandfather's room on the day after he died from a heart attack in his sleep. I glanced at the monthly page as I was on my way to the bathroom. He had marked off every day that had come and gone with an X, with notes about what he'd done and planned to do for upcoming days. I stood for a moment and stared at the final X he marked on his calendar...and then I looked at the notes he had for the rest of the month...what he had on his to-do list for around the house, etc.

That final X has stuck with me. He didn't know it would be the last X he'd mark on his calendar. He had plans, but he died in his sleep that night. No more notes, no more crossing off the days of tasks he completed...it was done, and so was he.

Sobering and sad. Life can be real shitty at times, but even during the shitty times, you are still breathing and living.

You never know when you're going to put down the last X on your monthly calendar, or breathe your last breath. You won't know if you'll be here next Thanksgiving, or even tomorrow. In the end, life completes your tasks for you, even if you weren't ready to have them finished. We all have a final X. You only have today, this moment. Maybe we should make sure all our X's count.

Don't you think so?

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The shootings in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the place my family and I call home

For those of you who know that my family and I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, you also may know about the tragic shooting deaths that occurred downtown yesterday. Everyone in our family is okay, but please keep the families who lost loved ones yesterday in your thoughts.

The people who were gunned down and lost their lives did nothing wrong. They were minding their own business, just living their lives. Until a selfish, rifle-toting man bent on chaos and destruction mowed them down like animals.

We live about five to ten minutes from where the final shootout occurred, depending on the volume of traffic. We often pass through that intersection (90% of the time, in fact) when we head downtown. It's in a neighborhood where nobody would think it wasn't safe to walk, ride your bicycle, or stand outside on your porch.

We've often gone through that drive-thru at Wendy's, as well as the McDonald's across the street from where the shootout with police happened. There will never be a time that we will go by there in the future that we won't be reminded that innocent people lost their lives there.

The people who were shot by the gunman were random people on the street, just minding their business on a Saturday Halloween morning. This was a senseless tragedy that did not need to happen. My heart aches for their surviving family and friends.

We do not have any other info than you may have read at this point. However, this is not something we could've ever guessed would happen here in Colorado Springs. But I guess that's a refrain we hear all too often these days.

Thank you to the police officers who risked their lives to stop this man from killing more people. If it had been a Monday morning, there probably would've been more victims.

As you spend tonight with your family and friends, please keep the victims' families in your thoughts during this awful time.

Thank you, stay safe, and much love to all.

(**NOTE: Please do not use the comments of this post to begin a debate about guns. Quite frankly, I don't want to hear about guns right now. Right now I want to use this post to ask people to remember the victims and their families. Any comments that go against this request will be deleted.)

Sunday, October 25, 2015

When a tomboy marries her broham


Me: "Oh no! The last iron pill."

Paul: "It's all yours."

Me: "It's already in my mouth, so I dare you to take it out."


This is an example of how our conversations usually go. If you didn't know any better, you might think Paul and I were adolescent schoolboy friends instead of a married female and male. Why? Well, part of it is that I'm a tomboy at heart. I'm not a girly-girl type. I'm not a high-maintenance woman.

In short, Paul's like my broham. We have a bromance, except I'm a bro in personality most of the time, but not in physical terms. He likes boobs and I have boobs. He likes my ass and I have a female ass. So he gets a no-bullshit woman who doesn't care for all the trappings or perks many females want.

I hate shopping, so he doesn't have to get dragged around malls or stores. In fact, if I could shop online for everything we needed, I would. I hate shopping unless it's for something important, like a new computer or tech gadgets.

I also don't care about collecting a gazillion shoes. Do they cover my feet? Are they comfortable? Okay, that's what I need. It's not that I don't like shoes, it's just that I'd rather spend my time playing World of Warcraft, watching movies, reading, writing, or watching online course lectures than shopping for shoes. If my feet weren't so stupidly weird in size, I'd probably get my shoes online too. Yes, I've had high heels and fuck-me shoes in my day, but we aren't partiers or clubbers, so I have no need of them right now.

Now, I still enjoy flowers and chocolate (I kept that female gene, apparently), but I don't require expensive or elaborate bouquets. Pick me some wildflowers (if it's legal) and I'll be just as happy. Or, you know, just pick up a bunch at the local 7-11 or Safeway and I'm happy. It's the thought that counts. The flowers will smell nice and all of that, but regardless of where you bought them, they're gonna die in several days, right? Practical, I know. Must be my Virgo rising (not sure).

But yeah, I understand the way males think much more than I do the female mind. It was always more fun to hang out with guys than girls when I was growing up. They didn't go to the pool just to sun, they went to the pool to roughhouse and play. They didn't cause drama and there were no catfights. There was no competition or one-upmanship. What's more, I was surrounded by males in wet swimsuits and when you roughhoused with them, you could feel their dingles inside their swim shorts. ;-) I may have been a tomboy, but I still had pubescent urges, after all.

I'll be honest: some women don't like me. I'm sure some of them hate me. That's not my problem, of course. Not everybody will like or approve of you. Women can be extra catty, though. For many of them, it's always a competition of some sort. I got plenty of flack in high school for having so many male friends. Because, gee, I must've been a huge slut who was fucking all of the guys, right? Wrong. I wasn't.

Plus, many women can't stand my strong personality, my blunt nature, my opinionated ideas, or my occasional rough language. Well, tough shit. You get what you get, and this is who I am. The thing is, if I griped about their personality and wanted them to change, it would be a whole other story. Ever notice the people who gripe about your personality and want you to change are the same ones that would balk if you treated them the same way? Yeah. How about NO. If you can't stand me telling you my opinion without the frills, find a BFF that will fawn over you, because that's not me.

Anyway, the point is that Paul is my best friend and we have a bromance of sorts (at least personality-wise). He says he knew I was the right one when I watched (and enjoyed) Orgy of the Dead with him when we first began dating. We love horror movies, we are geeky, we are weird, we are flaky introverts, and we are odd ducks. But I know how lucky I am to have found an odd duck like me. One who loves me for who I am, warts and all (figuratively, because I don't have warts!)

So, if you're a tomboy, take heart. There are plenty of guys out there who will understand you and have fun with you. If you're an odd duck, there's a match out there for you somewhere. It may take some time, but you'll come across your mate. Or inner broham. Whatever!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

I have a bread problem.

Sometimes I wonder about the weirdest things, like how many meals I've eaten in my life, how many times I've slept, and how many times I've pooped. Yes, I already know I'm strange. Sometimes I'll ask Paul, "Hey, you ever wonder if..?"
His answer is usually, "No."

In other news, I'm eating amazing zucchini bread from our friend Chandra. I want to dive into a pile of this bread I love it so much. Mmmmffff!

Oh, then there's the yummy ginger-carrot soup here as well. But I'm stuffed from last night's leftover chili. The autumn chill makes me feel so homey and content. When summer leaves, I feel more at peace and centered. Well, except when life's bullshit gets in the way. You know what I mean. Still, I'm glad summer is gone for long while. If it never came back, I wouldn't miss it.

LATER:

So, I'm a dumbass. It's pumpkin-apple bread.
To me, it's FUCKING* AMAZING BREAD!
Now you know why I'll never be a professional wine taster.
People are like, "Oh, can you taste/smell the hints of...blah, blah, blah?"
I'm like, "No. No, I can't. All I know is OH MY GOD IT'S WINE AND GET INTO MY MOUTH!"
Same situation here.
I just know delicious. That's what I know.

(*Yes, I use the F-word on occasion. If that bothers you, then you're probably going to be offended in the future, too.)



Friday, October 23, 2015

[Bev's Dream] A concert, a tragedy, getting lost, waking up sore and numb

This is one thing you'll find out rather quickly, and that is I have weird dreams. None of this butterfly, unicorn, cotton candy stuff for me—no sir! I have weird, intense, and often disturbing dreams. Sometimes I share them because I want a record of them (because, unfortunately, some of the dreams I've had have come true. Here's the latest (don't say I didn't warn you):

Woke up after a crappy dream about being at a concert venue and there was a shooting inside the arena/colosseum. You could hear the agonized screams of the people whose loved ones were killed or injured. 

I was with my first husband, Gary, and shortly after he left to use the bathroom and I was so freaked out I grabbed the hand of the guy to my left (a stranger) because I was afraid. Then everyone began to leave and Gary wasn't back yet, so I was freaking out because I didn't know where he was or remember where the car was parked. 

Strangely, there was a long, light blue casket-like object laid out the entire length of the exit aisle that we had to walk on top of to get out of the venue. I exited, then snuck back in to find Gary (security guys were posted to keep people from going back in). Finally saw him and called out to him. He didn't hear me at first, but I eventually caught up with him. 

It was a stressful dream and my whole body was tense and sore when I woke up. My right thumb is also numb and it's been that way since I woke up. Hopefully the numbness goes away soon. Soon as my brain is awake I'll answer messages & be able to think clearly. But first, food & drink! Back soon.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Loki: Border Collie and...?

Love my baby boy Loki

We think he may have hearing issues, because he can't tell where sounds come from at times. We aren't sure what other breed he is. Possibly Dalmation or French Brittany Spaniel? We won't know till we do a breed DNA test.


Cast of characters: Loki



Vigilant Loki watching our cat Lucy. 
He's obsessed with that cat!



Loki is our Border Collie mix. We adopted him September 30, 2014. He's primarily my dog (me, meaning Bev). He thinks he owns me, which I guess he sort of does!

Guess who's coming to visit this weekend?!

Been offline for a couple of days, so it may take me a bit to catch up. Today started out crappy, but then I got the best surprising news in a while -- my son Jon, his awesome girlfriend Cait, and their dog Jack are coming to visit us for a few days! I'm so shocked and happy that for once I cried tears of joy! They will arrive late Friday night and will stay until Tuesday when they'll have to drive back to Chicago.

Jon was supposed to keep things secret and surprise me when they arrived, but he knew I was feeling down today and ended up telling me (much to the chagrin of Britt & Paul, who both already knew about the surprise). I'm glad Jon told me, though. I'm so freakin' HAPPY right now that Paul, me, the two kids, Cait, and Jack will all be in one place for a few days! ;-)

Photos will be forthcoming, of course.

 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Poor Hannibal Loakter!

Poor Loki! Accidentally left him outside earlier this evening. Let all the other dogs come in and thought I counted four, but I didn't. Busy doing stuff in the kitchen and didn't notice.

About ten minutes later, I walked back into the office and he wasn't in there. No Loki in the kitchen, bathroom, or front room, either. Asked Paul where he was. He didn't know.

Opened the front door, and there stood Loki on the front porch, all wigged out and full of anxiety. I felt *terrible* over it!

Britt, you know how he jumps up on you and he growls a nervous growl? Well, he did that for a long time with Paul and me. He was upset over the whole ordeal, and I can't say I blame him one bit.

Poor Hannibal Loakter*! ;-(

(*One of many nicknames we have for Loki.) 

Cast of characters in Meet the Sninchaks

Cast of Characters (as of 2015, so adjust accordingly)

Humans

Paul Sninchak, age 46 - husband
Bev Sninchak, age 50 - wife
Brittany, age 23 - Bev's daughter, Paul's stepdaughter
Jonathan, age 26 - Bev's son, Paul's stepson

Animals
Harley - Ring-necked dove
Isis - Black cat, 14 years old
Lucy - Orange cat, senior - *Updated: Lucy passed the end of 2015. Rest in peace :(*
Cosmo - Rottie/Staffy dog, 6 years old
Bandit - Britt's dog - Sheepdog mix (unsure if Aussie or Border Collie + something else), 4 years old
Loki - Sheepdog mix (Border Collie + English Setter), 2 years old)
Panda - daughter of Loki and Bandit, age 8 months
Freya - daughter of Loki and Bandit, age 8 months
Tidnab - Britt's puppy - son of Loki and Bandit, age 8 months

I think we've firmly established that we love animals in this family. Maybe too much, if that's even possible.

Yes, we're moving into this blog!

Yeah, we're here...just settling in.

Our first blog post is coming!