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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Sofa Disappointments and Cute Poodles

After all that hemming and hawing over which sofa would I think I prefer, not one of the owners got back to me. Craigslist is a funny thing. Now, I ask, are there really that many people in my area looking for a vintage sofa that most likely has to be recovered? Did someone grab them to put in their Rec Room? Does anyone still call it a Rec Room?? Oh my, dating myself? They were between $100 -$250 dollars so they weren't really a 'hey let's get it and if it doesn't last we'll throw it out' kind of thing, or maybe they were. I knew the MCM would probably get scooped up pretty quickly because everyone is looking for that style now and the town it's in is a little more hip and chic and we also get searchers from NY. So, once again, I'm on the hunt.

Onto other delights....

This cute set was given to me by a friend, along with a couple other sets of salt and peppers. She was delighted to know that I had a person in mind for these.


Said person has a little white poodle named Misty. My friend and SPR's secretary/treasurer, Angela. She probably wasn't looking for any little tchotchkes but tough crap, she got them anyway. It was a surprise package and she was very delighted and found a perfect spot for them.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Search Continues

I've been searching for another vintage sofa for months. I love the one I have but it's not comfortable and I've decided to not spend the money on reupholstering it, as I feel it might remain uncomfortable. I like to be able to curl up on the couch with a book, legs tucked under, with dogs used as blankets. I will probably cry when I release this sofa from my grip but I am generally a function before fashion king of girl. It would look so HOT in the cheetah print I bought, but...

Today I took some time to peruse Craigslist to see if something was there. I found 4 different styles. I don't want to recover any right now, but when seen up close, it may have to be done. I don't mind any of the fabrics, except that they aren't really dog proof.

Mid Century Modern Coolness... (would look great in the cheetah print)

Lime Green Girlie...

Long and Lush Rustiness...

And, I Think This Would Work But I Have To See More Of It... (or a better picture)

I've inquired about each. I'll have to go visit each one and try them out to see if they are curlupable, napable, and dog snugglable. Cross fingers.

Which one do you like?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Who Me?

A friend recently sent me a picture of Weezie that she took years ago. I love this picture. It was a nice reminder of how cute Weezie could be. She used to love to jump in the bathtub to get a drink of water. She got caught on camera before being able to make her exit.

Here she is a few years later in 2008 making herself comfy in the laundry basket. Funny girl she was.

40 Lab Beagles Rescued

Clicking along and giving my daily dose of Freekibble, today's question is about The Beagle Freedom Project. 40 Beagles have been rescued from a lab in Spain. It's a heartwarming story, their sweet faces showing caution and wonder as they step out onto the grass for the first time ever....get the tissues, you might need them. (Click on the photo to be brought to the story. )

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Goodbye Rexxie Boy

Unfortunately, Rex did not come home with me from the vet's yesterday. This was a tough one for me. I had such hope that he would come around and break through what he was experiencing. In the end, it was his time, too short for this delicate little guy. His body was not cooperating with my plan.  We gave him what we could medically, and gave him even more in love and devotion. He will now rest with peace and no further pain.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Sweet Rex

I've been working with Rex trying to get some weight on him. He's such a sweet boy. He finally put on a pound...then lost it. Very discouraging. He has good days with very little clear vomit and other days that hold more excitement, which cause vomiting more often. His trachea must be killing him. Although he was diagnosed with acid reflux I believe it's something more that isn't being found. Something that can't be explained. He is a bit lethargic these past two days and his bowel movements and eating habits have changed to something that doesn't look like a good sign. We have a vet appointment this afternoon.

Do You Play Freekibble?

You can have a daily email sent to your inbox. Click on the Bow Wow and/or the Meow, answer the question, right or wrong, and kibble goes to shelter pets. Often times, links to pictures are included, today's link was about Rhoda and Clarence. http://www.halopets.com/freekibble/donation30.php Great pictures that their mom posts on facebook. You have to check it out.

Go to Freekibble and get started on giving...if you don't already...cost? a minute of your time.

I learned that it is a very sweet young lady that started this project. Oh, what kids can do.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Hanging Out By The Fire

My little wooly monster, Bug, with Harley and Rex, keeping warm.


Thank You for Your Donations

Since our plea awhile back we have received almost $1090 in donations from blogger friends and those who have adopted dogs from us in the past. This money has helped us to be able to pay the vet bills for Harley and Rex which have amounted to more than $4000.

I'd like to thank all of you that have responded and generously given what you could in order for us to continue with their care.

I know it is a difficult time with the economy the way it is and we are not very good at asking for money, it's not something I am comfortable with at all, but it was a necessity in this case.

You will never quite understand how much it means to me that you care enough for these dogs that you have not met and for our little rescue here in the Northeast.

Thank you so very much.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Murmuration

Found this on a friend's Facebook post...I got chills when I watched it. It's very cool.


Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Rex



Well, after spending about $2000 on testing for Rex, the diagnosis is acid reflux. But, of course, not your general run of the mill acid reflux. Most dogs that have this condition can be fed while sitting them in an upward position and they remain that way for another 20 minutes so that gravity goes to work. There was actually a chair designed called the Bailey Chair, for dogs that have this diagnoses. The creator had a dog named Bailey that needed to be kept in the upright position.

Well, Rex is a bit different. We tried the upright position, the partial upright, the on the floor and whatever else we could think of. I've had him for about a month now after Shelly had him for a few weeks. We thought he would do better in my home which is calmer. She had been able to put a couple pounds on him and after a few days with me he has lost the weight and I'm having difficulty in putting any back on. The change of scenery effected him it seems. He was regurging quite a bit but now I've gotten it down to much smaller meals with no real regurgitation, but he vomits a thick sticky mucus/foam combination. Yeah, nice. It has been determined that this often occurs with any kind of anxiety, excitement or stress sometimes even when it is very mild. Yup, making it a bit difficult to live a normal life for him or me.

We have no idea what brought on this condition so suddenly 3 months ago. The original owners didn't want to spend any money on trying to figure it out so he came to us.

He loves to snuggle, likes other dogs, and is happy to see me come home. He is crate trained so now when I feed him I'll put him in his crate for a resting period and this seems to help. He is a mellow boy by nature and that is definitely helpful. He is a really good dog and we are emotionally stressed as well as financially drained between his care and Harley's surgery.

I'm hoping that there will be someone out there that will be able to adopt him that has a quiet home, stays home a lot and is willing to do multiple feedings, someone that would enjoy a quiet companion and not mind picking up puke a couple times a day. But, maybe with the perfect home, that will become less of a need.

I need to get some weight on him. If I can't, then he will literally be starving. He's so hungry now and although he is given extra vitamins and such, he needs to put on 3 to 4 pounds. I've experimented with foods that I've used to put weight on my dogs and he was not able to handle most of it even though it was simple and bland.

So, if you could keep Rexxy in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it.

Surviving the Storm

On Saturday at 5:17pm our power was restored. My internet has not been and here I sit at the library, where there's a log of talking going on in my general area. Hello people -- library -- quiet. Or did that go out the door when it became OK to go out in public with your pajamas on?

There are many in the local areas that are still without power, ugh. The buzz after the power came back on for many, and then again on Sunday, was all very similar...bed sheets were being changed, fresh showers were enjoyed and many loads of laundry were being done.

Sunday morning I awoke with a feeling of renewed energy but also a bit of a feeling of loss. The stresses of life quickly crept back in and the peace of no lights and doing things at a slower pace were being missed. Most disappointing was that the quality of sleep I had been getting, changed to being awakened by dogs that needed to go outside, and just being in a dream state rather than hard core wiped out sleep. Maybe I should have my neighbor keep his generator running for white noise.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Harley And His Surgery



Harley had his surgery 13 days ago and it went very well. I picked him up the day after and thought I would have to keep him in his crate for at least a week. Nope. When I got to the hospital I heard the familiar bark in the back room. They had him out and walking around and he was doing great. They all fell for him, as most people do when they meet him. He is a character and likes to be heard. He was fully pumped with pain medication and had a pain patch wrapped around his neck and had pain pills, too. He was a little bit mellow for a few days and followed me around. The pictures above show him getting comfy on a newly thrifted chenille spread ready for the wash. He needed to be wherever I was and why not snuggle in some softness while I do laundry? After the third or fourth day he started to be more active and playful but cautiously. A couple times Bug bumped into him and a yelp was heard. The first few days Bug was a very good girl and must have known he was not himself. She hung around him outside but did not try to engage in play whereas normally she'd jump him in a second.



Here he is looking perfectly happy and sleepy with the Koala in the bed that just happen to not have another dog in it. This bed is often filled with a body or two especially now that it's near the wood stove.

It took about 9 days and he was completely himself again, barking away and engaging in play. I took him off the final pain meds because there was no longer a need. He went yesterday to have his staples removed and with 3 left, the Dr. pinched him and he took a fit yelling at the Dr. like there was no tomorrow. The drama of it was laughable. Then when the Dr. went to continue, Harley yelled at him more, not trusting him, which I can't blame him for. It was quite funny, though. Literally he was looking right at him squealing and barking letting him know that it didn't feel very good. Once done, he went out full barrels loaded talking and pulling and letting it be known that he was back to himself.

Storm Alfred

Time goes by when juggling life and then add an electrical outage and it puts any computer work on hold. This is day 4 without power so I sit here at Panera Bread charging my phone and using the wi-fi. They just got up and running themselves. It's crazy and it's predicted another 4 or 5 days. I was fortunate enough that a friend that doesn't have power, does have a pilot light on their hot water heater so I was able to shower at their place. Yey. I am very grateful for the wood stove to keep us warm and have offered neighbors a visit to some warmth. I also have water, which is a blessing because I can heat water for tea, dishes, sponge baths and fill my neighbor's carafes so they have some, too. We are making the best of things and I am fortunate that the neighbors surrounding me are friendly and we've been doing the give and take.

The first evening of the storm (Saturday night) my neighbor on the driveway side, well, their white pine I've been wishing for them to take down because it makes a mess of my car and yard, finally lost enough branches. At 1:00 in the morning, I heard a big crack and then blue light was blaring...the transformer just down the street, blew up. A few minutes later, more branches fell and the blue light strobed again. Done. Unfortunately, it took down the wires to their house -- the branches and a wire went across my driveway. I thought I would be housebound but white pines are so weak that I could break the branches back in order to pass to the front of my driveway. It was OK to drive over the wire and then I finally moved it (with a shovel) which I know one is not supposed to do but I was told it's a telephone or cable wire and therefore, was pretty safe in doing so.

Yesterday a truck with ladders attached came by the house and the wires are low enough where a ladder caught one...and, of course, pulled it completely out of my neighbors house. So now the electric company is figuring out what to do with it. My neighbor saw it happen and I wish she had gotten his license plate number because now they will have to pay for the reattachment, unless, of course, because this is considered a major storm damage area, the electric company will just do it.

When a storm occurs I'm am generally not bothered in that I like to be housebound. I like being in my own little world getting some stuff done without feeling the pressures of work or people needing me for something. It is not the case when the power is out. I have been busier than ever and exhausted when I go to bed. I don't generally sleep well and I've been sleeping like a log. I've been hauling wood in for the stove, hauling wood over to my neighbor for his stove that he uses in emergencies. He has a generator so he's been charging my phone for me, which I am thankful for. My neighbor that watches my dogs have come over for warmth, I've gone over there with food and hot water. The chatting with neighbors is often and often about how long this will all last. The original prediction was 7-10 days. It is hard for some people that are not used to living without. Living this way is not a far stretch from how I normally live. I do miss being attached to the computer, but it's also nice that my addiction to it can not be fed as I can be available for another things.

R's mom is 75 and active, but has no water. She does have a wood stove so has been able to cook foods and heat water. She made use of the snow but with warmish temps the snow if vanishing. Fortunately, a neighbor of hers brings her coffee and toast in the morning and invites her over in the evening for visiting and some coffee or a bite to eat. He has a generator, it is very nice of him and helps her to have someone to talk with. The thing that bothers her most is not having the TV or radio for background noise. Checking on her radios in the house was a bit late as there weren't any batteries. When we went to the store, as we knew would probably be the case, they were all out of the larger size batteries. Her daughter from Wisconsin will be sending her some that she just happens to have a slew of because of helping to clean out the house of hoarder/pack rat. She said there were probably about $500 worth of batteries there. Whoa. To get his mom out of the house I invited her to travel with me an hour up to Massachusetts so that Harley could get his stitches out. I will go to lunch with her today. Keeping her busy is good. She had a hard time and got really off balance a couple months back when Hurricane Irene hit, so we are trying to not let that happen again.

I know, Harley has had his surgery and now stitches are removed. I'll post about that next. 

I had made a bit of food prior to the outage, not expecting it to happen so quickly after the storm started. I actually had a meatloaf in the oven when it occurred so I ended up cooking it on the wood stove. Perfect. I've set my garage up to act as a refrigerator. It's been cold enough at night that I open the doors for the cold air to come in and then close it up in the morning. It's maintained about a 38 degree temperature in there, keeping cooked foods cold and produce chilled. My stand up freezer is in the garage and this has also helped it to keep foods frozen. Fortunately, it was stuffed full beforehand so that has helped. The freezer is my biggest worry. There's about 300 lbs. of food in there, mostly meats, that I do not want to lose. A 150 pounds of it is raw meat for the dogs. I've put them on a grain free kibble for the better part of this outage that I have on hand so that I do not have to open the freezer and then try to keep 5 lbs. of meat cold enough at a time as it comes in 5 lb. tubes. The less I open the freezer, the better chance of keeping it all solid or at least cold enough.

The local shops are starting to open, some of the smaller ones were running generators so people could still get eggs and milk and the like. Stop and Shop about 10 minutes from me is fully operational and the other one nearby was open but with minimal produce and low lighting. Thankfully, people were able to get some food even if they had to go out daily. But, going out means using gas and there were two gas stations within 20 miles that were open and the lines were long. Now, more are open but it's still scattered.

Listening to the chatter here at Panera, I'm overhearing stories of snowblowers not working, sump pumps not working, how people are making do without electricity. There are other stories that grow from there and a bit of laughter, people coming out and talking with friends, keeping their spirits about them.

I figure if you take it slow, be courteous to others, keep your head about you and practice patience, you can make it through. In times like these you find the gifts of giving from those who have, the appreciation of those who don't and the overall kindness of people when we are often at times in the world curious about humanity and the actions of people. Oh, believe me, in this financially comfortable neighborhood that I sit right now, there definitely are those that are selfish in believing that since they pay a boat load of taxes that they should be the first to regain power. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. The grid is the grid and how one is connected to it and how they fix it will determine when one gets power back.

If you are in a situation where the simple comforts of heat or water is not available, I hope that you have family, friends or neighbors that extend a hand or open their homes to you. I know of two people that have family with fully operational homes as they didn't lose power and they did not invite family to stay with them. What they did do is use their computer to find them a hotel an hour away as the local ones are full. I can't believe that. It would never occur to me to do that, even if you had to sleep on my floor. This happened by a daughter to her mom and dad. I should be writing that with exclamations because I am just baffled by it, and it's not like her mom and dad have throw away money to stay in a hotel for a week. Makes me crazy.