Moving My Blogs

Hey everyone, I moved my blogs in case you didn't know!! OK, they are still here but the new posts are @ Animals That Give Pause, and Florence View has morphed (second time I've used that word today, becoming a favorite) into Tresa's Blog.

Now I have a legitimate and pertinent question to ask, what to do with my blogger blogs? Leave them here to point to my new blogs? Not a problem except the most popular one has the same name as this one. Do away with them? Has anyone gone from blogger to their own self hosted blog and lived and prospered to tell about it in the desert that is known as no guaranteed comments off of blogger. Just kidding, it took a long long time to get the blogs rolling here.

So advice anyone would care to share?

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?

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

The Most Wonderful Favorite Award

This award is based on friendship. My friend MizzLily passed it on to me on her blahwg! blog. Thank you very much Mizz Lily I am honored. I would like to change the rules and pass it back to who gave it to me but that's not the idea!
These are the rules in accepting this award:



Deliver this award to eight bloggers who then must choose and deliver the award to eight more and include the following text into the award.





"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. Please give more attention to these writers."





I would like to honor the following bloggers. As noted in the text above, my aim is to find them as friends. These are blogs that I hope everyone will visit and follow.

Oranmental, by Nina.

aMusings Blog, by aMusing.

Drawing and Painting, by Poet.

Hypnotic Visualization, by Monaliza.

Checkers The Peek A Poo, by Checkers.

A Majority of Two, by Jo.

Eduardo The Snuggle Puggle, by Eduardo.

My Fire Hydrant, by Bev and Bailey.

Once again thanks MizzLily and for those who saw the unfinished version of this blame it on my 4 year old 64 bit computer that has it's own parallel universe going on behind the scenes, I swear it does!

Kreativ Award for Animals That Give Pause!

I won an award!!!! What a great Monday. It's from my friend SquirrelQueen, @ Through Squirrel Eyes. THANKS SquirrelQueen!! It's called the Kreativ Blogger Award as you can see.


Now in accordance with tradition (doesn't that sound official?) I'm supposed to tell you about seven of my favorite things.

1. My husband who is my best buddy too!
2. My family, kids, grand kids, sibling, niece, nephew, etc. crazy as they may be I love em.
3. Reading a really good book, if it has animals in it so much the better.
4. Animals, in particular dogs, and especially my bichon Dispatch.
5. Let's be honest, sleep and naps.
6. Blogging, writing, taking pictures, painting, drawing, all my creative outlets.
7. My house and lawn when they are clean and neat and groomed which doesn't happen very often anymore.

Now I have to pass the award on to seven of my blog friends. In no particular order, here are the seven! Drum roll, taaa daaaaaa!!!

1. Thomas K-9 Corner
2. Ask Spike Online, a fun source (sometimes serious) for all things doggie.
3. Checkers the Peekapoo, we have to get some dogs on here !
4. Shopping Kharma. One of the most courageous people I know.
5 .Gary One of my first followers, thanks Gary.
6. Monaliza - Hypnotic because she reminds me the glass is half full!
7. Ian Myers Writer, because he needs to keep writing!!

THANKS SquirrelQueen I am honored.
TC

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras