It's Been A Great Day

Did I tell you I had 30,000 hits on this site? If I didn't look to the right below, and the last post. (and more pictures of my bichon frise, talk about repetative AND I'm going to talk about blood clots--but I feel I must) My grandkids say I've refreshed quite a bit or I have 10 friends that go here all the time. They are lovely children. They really are, they took care of me while I was waiting to go have an ultrasound for a blood clot @ the hospital. I should have taken pictures while they were here but they told me to blog about how great they were. So I am, they emptied the dishwasher, changed the sheets on the king sized bed, ummmm, picked up and fed themselves, went and got me coffee and other necessities of life, oh yeah they took the trash out. The picture below is Dispatch smelling where they had their slip and slide, I noticed he went out there and kept sniffing where it was, then I realized he was looking for them. They really are good kids, the oldest was vacuuming when I got home from getting my test done or trying, the vacuum tripped a breaker with the ac in this end of the house. We are having a wienie roast next Tuesday when their Aunt comes in from KS (with her little dog Toto, I'm kidding, I don't think she has a dog yet and hopefully it won't be named Toto). They are gone home now and all is quiet. Nobody is streaking but we won't talk about that part, apologies to people on the highway. My favorite line from the whole grandkid taking care of grandma thing came when I was up going to go to the bathroom.
Zach: "Grandma, what are you doing up?"
Me: "Going to go to the bathroom." Ok maybe I added "is that ok?" or "would you like to do it for me?" Grandma can be rather snide @ times obviously.
I fiddled around in the kitchen which is not obviously the bathroom, headed down the hall for one of the bathrooms down there, thought about what I'd forgotten to do in the kitchen, went back there..........
Zach: "Grandma, pick a bathroom and GO to it!"
Me: "Yes sir." Thinking OK, oh bossy one soon I will be able to walk freely. The kids did say after I was allowed to walk around they liked me better when I couldn't move????? But they were really good as always. Nobody cried hardly and I don't think we had even one serious punch the whole time.

My test results from the ultrasound? Taa Daaaa-----I do have a blood clot or clots everybody seemed to be rather rushed since it was Friday afternoon, I had the NICEST radiologist though or he had a fancy name for it but we will call him a radiologist since I can remember that word. We knew quite a few of the same people and had some good conversation. But the blood clot is superficial which means close to the skin, I evidently have some pretty thick skin because no way can you see it, maybe it's that nice layer of padding on my legs that look fat in certain pictures, see 3 posts back. So the prognosis? I can go to Louisiana, I can go back to work, I need to not sit or stand in one place for long periods of time, and I need to take Plavix and a baby aspirin daily and if anything else goes on with my leg contact the doctor IMMEDIATELY. Why am I so overjoyed @ this? It's MUCH better than a deep blood clot, keeping my leg up, not being able to work (even though I have 5 days left), having to do injections of blood thinner and just a much worse senario. So today is a pretty good day and Dispatch the bichon obliged by posing quite nicely and looking good even though I didn't get around to brushing him yet.He even looked at me when I took a picture, well sort of in the distance when he figured out the evil flash from the camera wasn't going to go off, I actually think he was sort of getting into posing?


So that was my day, I hope your Friday was as good?

Thirty Thousand But Who's Counting?

Whoo HOOOO!!! See that little counter way down on the right hand side. That's how many visits to my site I've gotten! I know there are others that have way more but I remember when I was ecstatic over 100 visitors a day or anything close to that. Now I know they don't all return, I know some don't even read, they look and say bye bye, I know that some are repeat readers and say 2000 of those views are me refreshing the pages? But still 30,000 is more than I'd hoped for since this blog hasn't been around that long so today is a day of celebration even though I have to spend part of it @ the hospital. May I repeat? WHOOO HOOOO!!!

I thank each and every one of my followers and readers. My relatives and friends want to thank you also because they are no longer getting such long involved emails from me because I blog. Sometimes they do come here to find out what is going on also, the pictures of my leg proved of great interest. See last two posts. Also I will update on what the doctor said this afternoon or evening when I get home from ultrasound. It's much better today after staying off of it most of the day yesterday. The (jailers) grandkids are doing their job well watching me, I think they are getting points or something to be able to yell "Grandma, WHAT are you doing UP?" And my reply is usually I'm going to the bathroom is that allowed??? Actually we are getting along great, they are still asleep so I am allowed to be @ the computer. Their mama brought snacks and a slip n slide so they are happy. She also made them a list of things to do which I think is GREAT!


Since this blog is about animals we've been talking about their reaction to sickness. When I had lyme Dispatch the bichon was by my side constantly, being as he's by my side constantly anyway that wasn't much of a test. No really he didn't pay as much attention to other people he stayed by me even if I slept 23 out of 24 hours which I did some days. If I am upset about something Dispatch immediatly knows and is all lovey wanting to snuggle. If I have a cold he is very concerned trying to figure out if I'm crying or just have a runny nose. Bichons are like extremely people oriented dogs though, they could care less if other dogs are around as long as they have their person or people. I mean he plays with other dogs but as far as he is concerned he is part of the family unit (and a very important part too!).

My oldest daughter and Dispatch have always had a love/hate relationship. She says he thinks he's better than she is and doesn't want to listen to her. There may be a bit of truth in that. She used to pull the hair out of his ears for me (necessary on a bichon) and give him haircuts, trim his nails, all the things that he wasn't happy with she would do for me so he wouldn't hate me. OK, I was weird not the dog, K? Dispatch was always VERY happy to have JJ pet him, he just didn't want to get close to her without mama. She also gave him this haircut which took forever to grow out, the picture is my husband turning our garage into a family room and the bad haircut dog. The couch is no longer with us thank goodness, I grew up with this couch and it's complete set of navajo rugs and covered wagon lamps to go with it. Can we say 50's kitsch? Sorry Mom.
So Dispatch the bichon LOVES my daughters kids, is so happy to see them, would go home with THEM (not her) I think. All the other dogs worship the ground JJ, my daughter walks on especially Mugsey who thinks he should be hers since she loves him SO MUCH and he will crawl on her lap to prove it. Down through the years Dispatch has gotten better with JJ but he still remembers the hair pullings and nail trimmings and she makes him sit and stay and she MEANS IT. BTW I do the haircutting, nail trimming, ear hair pulling now and make him listen and he is fine with it. He does run to Daddy if I get the hairbrush out though. This is a picture of my daughter and Dispatch when she helped me groom him in January, why did she help? She was there and he will sit still for her. He is trying to get away in this picture. She has my tight lipped look on, the one where the kids say our lips disappear?

So yesterday when my lovely wonderful daughter (yes they read this @ her work but that's not why I'm saying it) came over we expected Dispatch would be like glued to me and watching her for any sudden moves or commands. She brought groceries and looked @ my leg first thing and Dispatch is like HAPPY Dispatch, the bichon that is normally here with the kids. It was like he knew that they were here to help? I know dogs can sense their owners moods and maybe I was relieved to have company but this was weird. He's like playing with the kids and helping Sara my granddaughter play with her paper dolls, which are magnetic BTW they don't make them like they used to. Anyway Dispatch is completely relaxed glad to have JJ pet him, down on the floor wandering, it's just like he's forgiven her for making him sit when he didn't want to (mama going out door) or doing the dreaded nail cutting, ear thing.

So what does your dog do when you are sick or injured? Is there a family member that the dog treats funny and then decide that said family member may just be A-OK in their book after something happens?

What's Going On At Our House

Not much, that's for sure, I probably should have wrote this on Florence View but since everyone reads this one (maybe because it's the only one I post to regularly with any hope of something interesting) I decided to put it here.

First of all the picture of my legs (see previous two posts for the story of the blood clot and the fat legs), see how cleverly I covered my face, BTW I am fully clothed with shorts and a top and am resting. That lasted long enough to take the picture but I'm going back, leg is straight and elevated now I promise.

See all the junk behind me, that needs picked up and the desk needs cleaned, OK you realy can't see it but it's there trust me, can't file if I can't walk around much huh? OK maybe that's an excuse and I need to do that later today. I also need to plant, mow, weed, clean, dust and wash, plus pack for my trip to Louisiana that MIGHT GET DELAYED! Something about not letting me drive 700 miles with a blood clot. I'm prepared to bargain, I'll use the cruise control and stop every 100 miles and walk a bit? Doubt if that would make the doctor happy but we will just have to see what kind of blood clot it is. PLUS my daughter and "friend" are coming next week so it would be nice since he's like a neat person if the house wasn't like germy and messy or @ least not ready to be condemmed? See my nice flip flop lines on my feet, you know you don't dare call them thongs anmore or you get really strange looks?

Now I'm wondering if animals can really sense when you are injured or hurt. My dogs are sleeping, the cat does seem to be more attentive than usual but that problem was solved when I filled the large graniteware pan they call a food bowl. These are the dogs being worried. Part of the family room is still concrete (Mugsey is laying there because it's the coolest place) because it used to be a garage that was half carpeted. It's still half carpeted, with the wear and tear this room gets I just can't see new carpet but we will have to eventually. Anyway the dogs could care less, Dispatch does sleep by that leg that is swelling quite a bit I've noticed.














So why this obsession with weeding and mowing? Here's the front of the house, see the overgrown flowerbed? I didn't pick the hose up because I'm not supposed to be walking much you see?

















Then there is all this lawn, see the line of yellowish grass way in the distance down by the white house, we mow to there, soon this will be hay, thanks to my handy dandy cousin who does it, my husband would love to do it but this involves much time and about $10,000 worth of equipment we don't have. The pile of brush beyond the lawn furniture, I drug that over there yesterday, we are having a wienie roast next Tuesday night, I bet I can do that with my leg elevated! Anyway I usually do carry the brush off but have been stockpiling it from the storms

Here's the view to the north, see the yellowish grass there, we mow to there, and here's the log cabin I'm always talking about. We mow over there too. No it doesn't need mowed right now, I just finished by the cabin but it will soon need mowed over on this side of the driveway. Luckily my (jailers) grandsons are coming over later to watch me lay on the couch, they probably won't let me blog much unless I find something to bribe them with or use the laptop which gets hot and probably won't work on the couch. I do have ice cream in the freezer which can be used for currency, I can also let them go fish! I bet fishing is out until the ultrasound tomorrow too huh? I just don't see the difference between what I've been doing the last few days and what I do the next two till I get some dumb test? Other than work like @ my "real" job. Can you tell I'm not a good patient? Now for animal related stuff, if you haven't read Merle's Door by Ted Kerasote I highly recommend it, I'm reading it for the second time. OK, I storied about having nothing to read. Merle is approximately the same mixed breed as Mugsey, see photo above. Mugsey chases butterflies and vultures, Merle chased buffalo and prarie dogs, Merle was OK with rifles and hated shotguns? Mugsey hates anything that is above a normal speaking tone and goes into a trembling fit. Also Merle seemed to be much more shall we say active than Mugsey? Merle also seemed to have more personality or maybe it's just an active personality, one that doesn't involve snuggling and sleeping a great deal of the time like Mugsey. Mugsey is all about being a lap dog you see if he can get away with it. All people other than Mama and Daddy are subject to him crawling on the couch with them and then slowly inching his way onto their laps unless stopped. Since he's close to 50 lb probably (haven't weighed him lately and I bet I'm not supposed to go pick him up now because of my stupid LEG) him being on peoples laps is really not an option. I have also seen Mugsey hide behind Dispatch when they were "attacking" something like the strange hound that was in the yard yesterday. Not a pretty sight!

Back to my couch and book. I've also been reading Rubinman's mamas blog Forever Amber which is hilarious and Me and My Dogs (OK just the dog parts not much of the politics, I love Buttercup) and of course blogs like MzzLily's blahwg!, SquirrelQueens The Road to Here, see how neatly I got those in there? :-)

Would You Trust This Dog? (to be a nurse?)

Not really dog related or bichon related or animal related but I went to the doctor today. I'm glad I did, it's a blood clot. (see previous post for clarification and some nice pictures of a fat leg) Maybe superficial but we won't know till the ultrasound and I'm supposed to stay off of it as much as possible till Friday when I get the ultrasound. I'm off work with doctors excuse. Anyway notice the sort of strange look on the dogs face and the tongue sticking out, does he impress you as being really caring and trustworthy? Just kidding, everyone knows he worships the ground I walk on (as long as I'm devoting my entire being to him and possibly getting him CHEESE) and I love him more than I have ever let myself love a dog before. My cousin also lives next door in case I really need help with something.

So I went grocery shopping, and did as little walking as possible, took my doctors excuse by work and now I'm home contemplating my lack of new books. I can lay in the sun, riding the lawnmower doesn't do much for tanning the backs of your legs. If I do have a deep blood clot the doctor said something about self injections @ home with blood thinners but he was probably trying to mess with my head, not that he would do that but he is my cousin. We come from a family that didn't have dogs in the house in past generations, I have two dogs, my cousin has two dogs, my other cousins have a CAT, what is this world coming to?? tee hee hee

So I will probably be blogging and suntanning, I think it's OK if I walk a bit so will get some pictures, doctor said just to take it easy. I can see Dispatch plotting, he's thinking she can't move much and can't do much this means she can hold ME on her lap more and scratch my itchy spots and do the puppy massages we do and ask me if I love her and I'll wag my tail just so she keeps it up!

The End Of The Mockingbird? And A Photo Of My Leg

When I let Dispatch and Mugsey out this morning (yes Mugsey had been slightly skunked but it wore off thank goodness) I was greeted with a small pile of feathers by the back door, the picture was taken later after the wind had scattered them. They appeared to be, could it be? Mockingbird feathers! If you don't know the tale of the mockingbird you can go here, and here, and here to read about it. BTW the guest in the bedroom in the last post was awake quite early on vacation days because Mr. Mockingbird kept it up. Mr. Mockingbird also had a habit of deciding he needed to sing in a bush by my bedroom window @ 3 am. I wondered why the cats didn't try to catch him.

Every few days I am honored with the cats presents by the back door or between there and the feeding shelf, in the past month the gifts have been feathers probably 4 days, two snakes one of which was brilliant green and large, several mice, and several partial mice. Kitties have been busy, we have lots of toads, evidently toads and frogs can live in the feline kingdom of the yard of Paris Hilton the tomcat and Meany the lovable mama cat among others. You have to remember these cats have food available 24/7, they just like to kill things which is OK, they are supposed to kill mice. We have no mice problem now, they are supposed to kill snakes (or @ least I hoped they would), we've had no live snakes here for more than a month which is some sort of record. The birds? Well evidently kitties aren't as slow as they look. I'm afraid the mockingbird or one mockingbird was among the deceased birds which were sparrows till now I think. Doesn't Dispatch look like "Bird, what bird, I didn't kill any bird, it's HOT out here!" in the second picture?

Now for the leg photo's. First some history, I had lyme four years ago, yeah it's been that long!! And I'm like 95% recovered which is all anyone can ask for. Second bit of history that may or may not be relative. My dad had phlebitis, blood clots, took heparin or whatever they gave him for probably over 30 years. He was hospitalized with them several times. I never took "the pill" because of his blood clots and my supposed predisposition to them.

I sent these photo's to my kids, one is a nurse, one is training to be a vet assistant, and my cousin who has had medical training, so far I've gotten a I don't know from the vet assistant and the nurse who is with her. Background, a month or so ago I noticed my leg was slightly red on the inside of the right one. BTW I don't have FAT FAT legs, it's the pictures, actually my body is fat and my legs are skinny, that said we will continue. I then noticed I had a sore spot (like a deep bruise or small muscle pull) which was getting worse toward the bone right below the knee, no injury, two long car rides but this started before that I think. About a week ago, maybe 4 or 5 days I noticed the red spot on my inner thigh right above my knee, it's worse @ night, not visible in the mornings, till this morning and then it went away after I'd been up a bit. When it turns red it's swollen and warm or hot to the touch but then after I sleep all night it's like it isn't there, it's a little sore below if I poke it but nothing excruciating, I know it's there now but it's just a bit stiff feeling unless I push on it and I don't want to do that? Ideas? I haven't had any ticks on that leg I don't think, actually I haven't had many ticks @ all this year, I do use off, and if it's a blood clot shouldn't it be like PAINFUL??? The red is getting bigger and spreading upwards, @ least tonight. I do have insurance but I'm not one to run to the Dr. obviously, I did go to the dentist today because I'm trying to be like grown up and responsible and my tooth was ugly. Anyway any ideas on the redness and swelling? The small scratch is just that a tiny scratch, don't think it's infection. The spots are grass from mowing. After looking @ these pictures I feel almost obligated to put real pictures of my legs on here but really they aren't fat.

A Video And Two Animal Links

This is Mugsey and Dispatch howling in our camper, Mugsey was a puppy this was 2 years ago, hard to believe. Notice the no hair look on Dispatches tail from being pulled around by Mugsey all the time. Thank goodness it grew back. I can do another video like this @ any given moment, we got them to howl the other night after pizza and wine. Pizza and wine and dogs howling @ the squeaky toy, what good Midwestern fun!?

This next site may be a little too off the wall for some but I found it hilarious. My niece emailed me the link today, she also enquired about UFOs in Warrenburg MO and Alligators in the Lake of the Ozarks, what does she think we live in a nut house? Whoever heard of such things? BTW I've seen some UFOs but the presence of an airbase nearby explains quite a bit I think.
Anyway here's the link to the hilarious quasi news site.
Be prepared to spend a little time there if you have my sick sense of humor.

And this is a funny funny blog. I wish I'd written it. I don't know why Rubinman hasn't posted lately but I wish he would. I can't look @ Dispatch sometimes without thinking he's talking like Rubiman, I am wolf, fierce wolf warrior, I have superdog power,I can fly.......Well just go read and you will see what I mean.
Rubinman's blog

Dog Walker Trampled By Cows And A Crocodile Story

This is not a funny story or a good one but proves large animals can be protective and even lethal. A woman was walking her two dogs in England, evidently they walked by a herd of cows with calves. The cows felt threatened and attacked. As the little kid who had to go after the cows every evening before milking I can attest they will turn mean on you. As an adult I've been chased while trying to round up the neighbors cows who had escaped and didn't want to loose their newly acquired freedom. Actually it was a young bull, not a cow exactly. I can jump fences with one hand thank you or I could then.
Link here.

This isn't exactly about animals but worth mentioning. In Australia two friends flew into a remote area to camp, they were flying over a saltwater crocodile infested lake and crashed. The pilot had only minor injuries but the passenger was more severely injured. The pilot buried his friend in sand because he thought the chances of immediate rescue were slim and it was getting cold. At last word they were both safe after being rescued when the pilot used a satellite phone to alert rescuers, the friend who was buried is in serious but stable condition. Humans- 2, Crocodiles- 0.
Link here.

Have a good day, we as well as most of the midwest have heat warnings so make sure your outside pets have shelter and plenty of water and the inside ones have plenty of water and are cool enough. As for Dispatch he is laying behind me in the computer chair, it's morning nap time, it's hot enough that he doesn't want to stay outside if I'm on the mower or using the weedeater, he'd just as soon stay in the air conditioning and tell me how I shouldn't be out there without him from his seat by the window!

Three Dog Stories And A Raccoon Tale

Jeter a Great Pyrenees rescue dog saved his family from a fire but died himself when he reentered the family home in Ohio.
Read about it here.

In Illinois a mixed breed dog named Redbelly found a newborn infant and alerted his master thus saving the baby's life. The baby had been left outside in the rain, the mother is facing charges but the baby is safe.
Details here.

In Guangzhou China, dog owners will be asked to get rid of all but one of their dogs on July 1. This policy is already in effect in other Chinese cities.
You can read about it here. Chinese dog owners are obviously upset and hope the policy is not strictly enforced.

In Tulsa Oklahoma a soda machine dispensed more than pop. Two baby raccoons were inside, a skunk whisperer (a new employment opportunity if I ever heard of one, sorry couldn't resist) was utilized as well as a vending machine employee to rescue the animals who will be released into the wild after rehabilitation.
Link here.


Here in Missouri? My son came down with his girlfriend. My bichon is not my sons best friend, partly because he likes to tease him, not mean, they play with each other. After a supper of pizza and wine I am going to mow some more while it's not raining. The picture? It's Dispatch in my granddaughters tutu that I made her for her first halloween. Dispatch wasn't impressed with it @ all. For some reason I got the idea to dress him in it last year. BTW I had on no makeup. LOL Notice Mugsey in the background hoping I don't get the idea the Labrador needs to wear a tutu also?

Four Dog Stories

Since my dogs are doing nothing extraordinary other than lay around in the air conditioning and we have had no animal visits other than the raccoon in the cats food lately (he was huge and I was like 5 feet away, I'd like to think he was more scared than I was?) I have four interesting dog stories for you. The picture to the side is my dog saying leave me alone, get that camera out of here, can't you tell I was sleeping? No reason I just like to show him off.


The first story is about a 70 year old man in Boston, he was always seen with his Saint Bernard, Wednesday the dog showed up wet without the man, when he was led into the nearby woods he headed straight to the water. Police haven't found the man in the water or anywhere else, they don't know the mans name and are still hoping for clues.
Boston Saint Bernard Link Here

Did you ever hear the story of the Akita in Japan that was so faithful to his master he went to the train station to meet him ten years after his master died, every day he'd go to meet him. There was a statue erected in his honor. NOW there's an Americanized version of the story in a movie, A Dogs Story, with Richard Gere no less!!
Link to A Dogs Story here.

The next story is about five puppies who were cloned from the rescue dog Trakr who pulled the last survivor out of ground zero on 9/11. The retired Canadian police officer won a contest and says the puppies are identical to his beloved dog.
Trakr's link here.

Roo is a pit bull, before you get all anti pit bull on me rescuers think Roo may have been used for bait to train fighting dogs, it's not a good story but it has a happy ending. After looking @ Roo I'm wondering how much pit bull my grandma's dog had in him and he was never aggressive.
I'll let you read the story here, it deserves to be read.

Ok, you thought you could get away without a Dispatch story? Nope, the other night we had bad thunderstorms about 1 am. Normally this dog sleeps through most thunderstorms, he might stir or he might jump if it shakes the house. He woke me up worried for this one, wanted me to DO something. So I got my purse and my cell phone and laid it by the steps down to the basement, seemed logical to me? Then I watched it on radar as much as I could. It was bad here but just a few miles to the south it was horrible, one out of every 10-20 trees uprooted, huge oak trees laying across power lines and houses. Here the patio table blew over and some of our lawn furniture was out by the highway but nothing major. Dispatch did sense that there was bad wind close by though. Mugsey the labrador was much more worried but he's afraid of gunfire, fireworks, lawnmowers......... The only other time Dispatch has been really worried about a storm we lost our garden shed outside, up up and away, found it twisted out by the highway so when he's worried I guess I will listen.

Two Awards From Three Bloggers!!

Seems like I'm always behind, ask my kids and grandkids, their birthday presents and cakes are often not on time. I haven't written on this blog for awhile so I'm behind on that too! Lawn needs mowed, there's always the house and now it seems our neighboring town got "blown away" in the storms last night, wonder if I can get gas for the mower there?
I'm back, the town is still there, trees and branches down all over, I think they may have lost about 10% of their huge trees, too much rain and too high a wind. BTW I stopped @ the Stover Animal Shelter Thrift Shop to see my friend and make sure she was OK. They have 3 female maltese in central MO if anyone is interested. Back to the storm it was straight wind with much rain and saturated ground, many of the huge old trees just fell over because the ground was mud. The warning sirens didn't work, they were on too much last week from the tornadoes and burnt out. Can we say bad weather is our name? Only a few houses damaged, park is BAD, a roof off of the old quilting factory.
Back to the awards!

'Your blog deserves to be shot!' This award is from Checkers The Peekapoo
and from SASSY SASHA THE LOVABLE SHIH TZU two of my bestest doggie buddies and their mama's aren't bad either. Seriously two of the cutest canines anywhere with their people and adventures, check them out they are sure to give a lift to your day! Thank you Sasha and Checkers.
And the rules are:
1.Post the award and link it to the person (or canine) that gave it to you.
2. Choose 5 life situations that could be repeated in slow motion and explain why.
3. List up to 12 blogs and pass the love to them.
Since this is mostly for Dispatch my dog I will give his life situations that he likes most that could be repeated in slow motion (all day long as far as he is concerned)

1. Any kind of rub involving the belly, chest, or ears.
2. When mommy feeds him and gives him more of the white pieces of kibble because he likes them best.
3. Going to bed and rubbing all over the bed to make sure it smells like him.
4. When he gets his collar on because then he knows he's going somewhere.
5. And last but not least waking up and scooting a little closer to mommy so he can feel her and giving a sigh before he goes back to sleep.

In the case of this award I would like to nominate:
Percy and owner from Percy's Adventures
AL and her dog Coffee from Burnt Chicken Republic
Bell and her mommy from Awesome Dogs @ OB Dog Beach
Hickchick and her brood of foster puppies @ Hickchick Thinks
Thomas @ K-9 Corner
Crystal Jigsaw and her dogs (soon to some be puppies too!) from Crystal Jigsaw
These are great animal blogs, well they have some people things in them too, please check them out though!
And every one of my followers and blogs I follow are deserving, check them out, there's another dog blog but I don't seem to be able to find it! I found it!! A Dog's Beach
you get the award too, sorry it's a bit belated.

The next one is from my friend MzzLily @ her blahwg! blog. It's the "Love My Friends Award". I thank you and I am honored once again. All of MzzLily's blogs are interesting and have excellent writing, examples of what blogs should be. And a nice person to boot.
This is a description of the award:

The Love My Friends award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

If you click on my awards to the side you will see who has given me awards in the past. I would like to include those bloggers, since they have already received the award I can't actually pass it onto them but they are the ones who are deserving of it. I'm talking about you MzzLily ( becoming an author... my journey) and Squirrel Queen (The Road to Here), as well as those above who passed the "your blog deserves to be shot" award to me, Sasha (SASSY SASHA THE LOVABLE SHIH TZU) and Checkers (Checkers The Peekapoo) and of course their mommies too! And also Rae (Weather Vane) excellent writing with an excellent point of view.
These people are true friends, loyal, understanding, and caring. Please take a moment if you can and see what you've been missing if you aren't following them already.

Now if you received an award do what you will with it. It's my first day of my "weekend" too wet to mow and the couch and the bichon are calling my name!

Lemonade Award

I've won the lemonade stand award from SquirrelQueen on her blog The Road To Here! Thanks SquirrelQueen, not only is she my friend, she is very creative (check out the name!) and she takes beautiful photos, sometimes of mundane things that she makes simply gorgeous.

The way I understand it this award is for those who make lemonade when life hands them lemons, this idea pleases me greatly. Digressing a little bit here I'm a half empty glass type of person, if you knew me in person you would say I was bubbly, I'm not sure I like that word? But that's what people say, I cultivate this because often things do turn out for the best. Even when things happen that don't look like blessings they are blessings in disguise. I can't tell you how many major accidents I've been right ahead of because I had a nagging feeling to get going or how many times I or loved ones have been delayed and thus possibly avoided a catastrophe. It's hard to remember sometimes when life is handing you lemons but things do have a way of working out and handing you new possibilities and opportunities in the process. The two biggest examples that come to me immediately I will tell now, you can't stop me. Or you can skip to my nominees if you want.

My oldest daughter always wanted a career in business, and her dream was to work in New York City, in the WTC exactly. She was starting college in 1993 (stop doing math I was a YOUNG mother!), injured her eye @ her job, had to quit college, met and eventually married a local boy (which she said she'd never live in the country or have ANYTHING to do with farming or outdoors?). Now she's a school nurse with four children partly because of one accident that was a catastrophe @ the time and turned out to be a huge blessing. The second example happened in 2000 or 1999, my husband had trucks, many trucks, due to not being able to find drivers, fuel and prices going up eventually we only had two. This seemed like a decline but when my father fell and broke his hip in January of 2000 I was able to stay @ home and take care of my father for most of the year which was a blessing (we did have to put him in the nursing home permanently in November of 2000 and he passed away in January of 2001 but he had many other complications, diabetes, crippled, and Alzheimer's). If we had had a big business @ the time I would have never have been able to care for him or even arrange for his care for the time I did. I'm blabbering on here but I will always be so grateful to my husband for his patience and understanding during that time. I will never forget the phone call when I told my husband that the doctor said my father had Alzheimer's and would need 24/7 care from now on. I asked my husband what we were going to DO and he instantly replied I guess we'll have to move in with your father and you'll have to take care of him. I'd been traveling with my husband before that so it was a big change much less living with another person, especially one who has Alzheimer's etc.


The basic guidelines are:

1) Put the award logo on your blog.

2) Nominate at least 10 bloggers (more or less, whatever number is good for you), that have a positive attitude.

3) Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.

4) Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm sorry I'm not going to do 10 bloggers. In the interest of my dentists appointment, the dirty clothes waiting to go in the washer, the clean clothes waiting to be folded, the dishwasher, the lawn, ...... well you get the idea. I give the award to those below but also to all of my followers. If you don't know how to go to their blogs just click on their picture to the right here under followers and it expand and give you a list of their blogs, you may have to scroll a bit. I've found many interesting blogs that way, maybe that's why the laundry isn't done and the lawn isn't mowed? LOL

So here are my nominees:

Squirrel Queen and her blog Through Squirrel Eyes
MzzLily and her blog becoming an author...my journey
chicamom85 and her blog Sassy Sasha The Lovable Shih Tzu
AL and her blog Burnt Chicken Republic
Crystal Jigsaw and her blog Crystal Jigsaw
Rae and her blog Weather Vane
Checkers and his blog Checkers The Peek A Poo although I suspect with Checkers and Sasha's blog they have some help with the typing as they don't have thumbs exactly?

Once again, thank you Squirrel Queen, I am honored.

Alligator Loose In Morgan County!

Picture is from The National Geographic.

The big news about this is it's Morgan County Missouri, not Morgan County Alabama. Link here and amusing comments to boot! Seems the missing alligator can survive, he/she just can't breed in the unlikely case he/she finds another alligator. The missing gator wasn't 3 miles from a very large freshwater lake, The Lake Of The Ozarks, I think somewhere I read there's more shoreline on it than California has on the Pacific but that's counting all the coves and creeks up quite a ways, maybe it's Lake of The Ozarks and Truman Lake combined which would be quite plausible.

Evidently it was a pet and was stolen or let loose or something. A local festival was going on not 2 miles from where the Alligator was, the festival is called the Pigeon Swap and is actually in a field that's on top of a huge cave. I kid you not. This is also like 2 miles from my daughters house. No alligator sightings were reported @ the Pigeon Swap and that's not a line you'll hear every day. (the pigeon swap is a giant flea market/street fair type atmosphere, it's great if you like to walk and buy animals or anything handmade or anything actually).

The reason I was reminded of said alligator is a relative emailed me and suggested we needed to put the dogs in the house, she had heard of the alligator from the authorities in the next county? I actually hadn't thought of it. Said Alligator is 10 miles away as the crow flies, granted it's a sparsely populated 10 miles but I would think he would head south to the lakes. When she emailed me I had just come back from fishing @ the little pond with my grandsons and left them down there (grandsons finished mowing the "other" part of the lawn today and weedeated! Thanks Zach and Marcus! So grandma went fishing with them). It's not far from the house but it did give me the willies the authorities thought it could come this far? I guess living in Mississippi not far from the coast with all the displaced alligators and baby ones bobbing up investigating my fishing line made me more blase about alligators than the average Missourian? I did see something in the pond but I'm pretty sure it was a turtle.

I told my husband when he called about the alligator on the loose, I'd forgot to tell him before. Husband being in down South where there really are alligators thought I was full of bull hockey till I explained the story, I had to repeat the line twice that there was an alligator on the loose up here, he thought the phone was messing up. I just hope they find the gator and he doesn't cause too much of a stir. Or appear on my doorstep anytime.

Postscript: Go to this link for another look @ the missing gator and also a gator that was actually caught in a park lake in Sherman TX, granted TX is south but Sherman is north of Dallas. I believe there is one that lives in DeQueen AR also. Do not ask me how I know this. One was sighted in Indiana also, you start looking for gators where they shouldn't be and egads they are everywhere!

I Have No Louisiana Pictures, Or Why To Keep Training Your Dog On A Leash

Ok, I went down to see my husband, he's got his truck in Louisiana working construction. What does this have to do with animals you ask? Well Mugsey the Labrador Retriever and Dispatch the Bichon Frise went with me. Dispatch doesn't ride well, he still thinks he should be on my lap. Once we had 700 miles of whining, this wasn't that bad, it was only like 650 miles. Just kidding, he was quiet some of the time.

So I take off in the middle of the night headed for Louisiana alone with two dogs. I tried to take a nap after work but no dice so I finally got up about 11 and left about midnight. The first bathroom break was North of Springfield MO. The gas station attendant was trying to make friends with Mugsey, and he got a big deep WHOOF for his troubles, after that I wasn't so worried about traveling alone with the two "boys". Little did the attendant know Dispatch would gnaw his leg off if he'd gotten too much closer to the car. OK, I'm kidding but Dispatch said he would have. Mugsey slept and slept, Dispatch paced and panted, he was better if he could touch me but I sort of like to be turned mostly toward the steering wheel when going down the road.
So I don't remember much except thinking I really hoped the dogs didn't get sick going down 65 highway in Northern Arkansas so I took it sort of easy, it was getting close to daybreak when we stopped North of Conway, then I could call people because they were actually awake and life got easier. If you are from Arkansas pardon me but they don't believe in too many speed limit signs or signs announcing which road you are on, it's sort of a guessing game. I guessed right except for one time they said 167 turned the next left and they really meant it except it looked like a construction road going into a cow pasture, it was only there was more highway . The only wrong turn I took till I got to where my husband was, then I took another wrong turn and played slow motion chicken with a semi but that comes later (he won, I decided to delicately back up and go in the RIGHT way?). So it's early morning, every time we've stopped I've tried to get the dogs to go potty. Remember Mugsey the WHOOF dog? Well he acts like he's never been close to people or vehicles before every time we stop @ a gas station for gas and potty breaks. The lab acts like I perhaps beat him also, imagine, slink slink tail down, I'm insisting he wears a leash because he's not as well trained as Dispatch who has on a leash too. The lab has been to town many many times lately but for some reason traveling with mama in the car makes him more fearful than traveling with Daddy in the pickup. It's that leash thing mama insists he wears, it is a connection with the devil he's pretty sure I think?

So now I have this bichon that potties on command but THEN he takes his leash in his teeth and walks on his hind legs to me after pottying and scraping the grass thoroughly like a little bull while I'm pleading with the slinking fearful labrador to PLEASE go potty. So I put the show off bichon back in the car and take the lab for a walk by himself, nothing, no pottying from the lab, plus he looks like I've stolen him from his true master, the only time he wags his tail is when he's getting BACK in the car after not pottying again.

We get to where my husband is working construction in Louisiana, well where our camper is, husband has taken part of the day off but wants me to come out to the staging area so I do. That's where I play chicken with the big truck, it seems you go in on the left and not the right, I finally get on the right road after dodging all these HUGE car swallowing mud puddles, I see no other cars, just pickups and semis, then I get back in the parking lot where husband is. You have to remember the bichon is talking this whole time, harrr huh harr huh which really adds to my concentration. There are definitely holes that would rip the tires right off my car and a 4 inch jog isn't anything for a semi but for a low wanna be sports car it's quite a jump. So we finally get to husband and I just let the dogs go, then I take them to the grass without leashes so they can go potty and they do. So I'm walking back watching the lab so he doesn't get muddy because everywhere there's a hole there's MUD, Louisiana MUD, and the bichon is gaily trotting along behind like he usually does and plop, the bichon sort of disappears. He's in a hole between two logs in the parking lot, in the mud, the stinking mud. So he jumps out and immediately wants picked up and gets mud all over me, there are people around I'm meeting and shaking hands while trying to wipe most of the mud off of the bichon before he distributes it on me and the other people who he's SO very glad to see. And I'm fielding the usual, is it a poodle questions about the bichon and why is Mugsey named Mugsey?

So that was pretty much our adventure except the lab still acts like I've been abusing him when I put him on the leash and the bichon acts like he owns the world, I've given up putting the bichon on a leash because he never goes anywhere but right beside me and it's embarrassing when he holds the leash in his mouth and follows me on his hind feet, I'm not kidding but naturally I didn't have the camera anytime he did it. Also the bichon did sleep on the way home past Little Rock, he snuck in the front seat and faced away from me, that way I couldn't see him? You do know if a dog can't see you you can't see them didn't you? We were also going through Little Rock right after that Military Recruiter got shot, traffic was backing up, I did hear more about it on the news, poor poor man.

We get home today and I'm talking to my husband and all the cats and dogs are frolicking on the lawn and I see a big red cat in the log cabin, we have two light red cats, they are both in the grass frolicking with their friend the bichon. So I go over there and take a picture (with my new phone), seems I've acquired another cat while I was gone?

It seems I can't transfer pictures from my new phone to my ancient (4 year old) desktop without an act of congress (or I figure out what I'm missing besides brains) so pictures of the cat will have to wait because it disappeared when I went to get the real camera.

Postscript: More than one way to skin a cat (pardon the pun), sent the picture to my daughters phone who had GOOD internet service on her phone so then she sent it to my email!! See I told you there was a kitty in the log cabin? Thanks Sis!!