The Name for the Day Is:

Allie. [sigh] It’s halfway between Ellie and Addie, so whatever I call her, I’m not too far off.

We’ve considered Gypsy and Bella and Sophie and Arial and Brandy and I don’t remember what else. None of them really seem to fit. Maybe if she hadn’t come with a name, or we didn’t know what it was. Before she got here, KSA had suggested calling her Ellie 2, but she’s just not an Ellie.

I was about rolling, though, when I read DW’s suggestion of AD! And JPG, what if we lengthened the abbreviated version of Damsel to Dam-Dam? Do you think that would work? ;-)

I understand better the issue with her potty habits (although I don’t think it’s an excuse to return her). She seems to prefer concrete or gravel instead of grass. And it’s not really an issue of sniffing around and finding the right spot—if she needs to go, she just squats, wherever she is.

It’s going to take some time and patience, but she’ll learn about the good life of a pet. In the meantime, she’s an awfully sweet little girl and we all love having her around.

Flo

She’s Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!

Would you check this out?

KSA adores her. He tries to make like he’s not an animal person. Especially an indoor dog person. But he’s really a softie.

Except he’s never taken to one of my animals so quickly, and never right off the bat.

He came home yesterday and there Addie is, looking up at him, wagging her tail, prancing back and forth on her front feet, and that was that. He goes on about how cute she is, he really likes her, and on and on. It’s almost disgusting. He’s telling me what to do—you ought to brush her, she’ll like that; if you get her to poop and take her back to the same spot, she’ll poop for you; yada yada. And he offered to walk her this morning, even when I told him it could take a while and he’d have to be patient and he had to keep her on the leash (we’ve been taking her to the field instead of to the fenced area downstairs).

She got here late yesterday morning and I think she’s finally settled down now. She walked and walked and walked yesterday, all around the house, with occasional stops to look at Smokey lying in one of the chairs. He just hissed if she got too close, but that was it, and off she’d go again. Tawney tried to sneak out from under our bed once, but Addie spied her and went to see her, so Tawney took back off to crawl under the bed. Addie went back and forth from one side to the other, then she’d crouch down and bark. She wanted to play with the kitties so badly. They still won’t have anything to do with her.

She’s not pacing all around today, though. She’s found herself a little spot by the door in my office, so she plops down and goes to sleep.

PJ and Harley are ok with her now. Of course they have to stick around when I’m outside with her, but they don’t follow her every move. And she’s perfectly fine with them, which is why I’d rather take her out to the field with them instead of the fenced area, because she’s used to having other dogs around.

I’m not quite sure what to do about her name, though. MFD and I love “Adrianna,” but it’s too long for everyday use. We don’t much care for “Addie,” and neither does KSA. Originally, I was going to try to keep it fairly close, but I think it’s going to be too confusing for me. A couple of times I have automatically said “Ellie” and when I realize what I’m doing, it goes to “Allie” and finally to “Addie.” So I may have to get completely away from it.

She has the most adorable face, it reminds me of something, I just can’t place it yet. I don’t know how well you can see on the pictures, but she has the black that goes around her eyes except the little touch of brown right above them, and a little stripe of black off to each side. And her tail looks like a fluffy little fox’s tail, with white right on the tip.

What a pretty girl, look at this face:

How’s about this fluffy tail:

Look how daintily she crosses her feet:

Name suggestions, anyone?

Flo

Adoption Delayed

The foster mom’s own Australian Shepherd was bleeding from his ear, so she had to rush him to the vet clinic.

She just called back and it turns out he had some cuts and a puncture wound. He and one of the other dogs must have been roughhousing and gotten a little rambunctious. Took a couple of stitches, but he keeps shaking the bandage off and bleeding all over again. She needs to stay with him and try to keep it under control, and I understand.

She’ll call back to make other arrangements with Addie, but I’m sure she’ll be tired after the adrenalin rush wears off, so I don’t expect to hear from her until tomorrow. Poor things.

Will keep you posted.

Flo

Picxthures for JPG

This is the only one I have right now. It’s off of the rescue website, and it doesn’t do her justice at all. I promise to get more for you all.

She’s coming around 1030-1100 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flo

We're Adopting!

A dog, of course.

Her name is Adrianna (Addie) and she’s a 5-year old tri-colored Sheltie. She is very sweet and adorable and loves attention.

I went to the adoption clinic last month to look at a couple of dogs they had. Addie was in her crate when I first got there, but she got up when I came by, looking for attention. Later, when I was sitting around with a couple of the other dogs and Addie was out on a leash, she came over to me several times on her own. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. She wasn’t one I had originally gone to see—I was looking more for a sable, with perky ears, on the younger side. But she was on my list for consideration when I left.

I was sick the next clinic, so I didn’t go. Addie’s picture was gone from the website shortly after that. I thought, “Oh well, she must have been adopted.” She wasn’t gone for long, though.

The rescue group had gotten several new Shelties, so MFD and I set out Saturday to take a look. I asked, and Addie’s foster mom said someone had tried to adopt her, but evidently had problems with her potty habits. She’s not one to rush out and do her business, and I guess they didn’t want to wait so long.

I never said anything to MFD. I was sitting with a couple of the other dogs when MFD came over and said Addie was the one. I even tried to dissuade her—“look at this one with the beautiful blue eyes.” “Addie is 5-years old, don’t you think we should look at one a little younger?” Nope, Addie was the one.

[sigh]

She comes to me on her own…she’s adopted, then she’s not…she’s the one MFD picks out. What other signs do I need?

One of the gals from the rescue group had called last week to see if I was still looking. I had already put in an application and she said she had checked my vet references and I was approved for adoption as soon as I had a fenced in area. We’ve got a walk-out basement with retainer walls on two sides, so we just needed to close off the fourth side, and I told MFD and KSA that’s what I wanted for my birthday.

Baling, delivering, and stacking hay put that on hold, but I told KSA we’d picked our dog, so he made it his priority (once the hay was done, of course) and got it done Monday evening. Someone came out yesterday to check and approve it. Now we’re just waiting for her foster mom to call back to make arrangements to get her.

Addie came from a puppy mill, which surprises me a little because she seems friendlier than a lot of the puppy mill dogs I’ve seen. Those breeders are so disgusting, the only thing they love about the animals they have is the money they can make off of them. A couple of the latest dogs were rescued just days before the owner would have shot them. He was moving and couldn’t take them with him. I just cannot fathom such a callous and heartless being.

But, I think a lot of Addie’s attitude is due to the love and care of her foster mom. And now, like the man throwing the starfish back into the sea, I’m making a difference in the life of at least one girl that’s been rescued. I just hope, for Addie’s sake, that the transition to her furrever home is a smooth one.

Flo

I'm So Lucky

Guess what I got to do for my birthday. (Not you, Holly and Lainy, you already know.) You’ll never guess. Give up? Are you ready for this? You better sit down. You ladies are going to be so jealous you don’t have a husband like mine. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a man.

I had the pleasure of…

…sitting in the tractor and baling hay most of the day.

Yep, that’s right. Overwhelming, isn’t it? Just screams “I love you.”

Ok, it really wasn’t that bad. I haven’t baled for years. MFS took over when he could handle the tractor, then KSA went to round bales. This year he’s got some good brome hay, so he decided to square bale it and sell to horse owners. And since MFS had to work and MFD doesn’t do tractors, I got to do it.

Brought back so many memories. There’s nothing like the smell of diesel, except for maybe JP-4. I forgot ear plugs, so I couldn’t hear KSA half the time. Getting hot and sweaty and dirty…what a way to spend your birthday, huh?

Didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of things. It’s really not that complicated, but you do have to keep an eye on things. Get the RPM up, plant the tire on the edge of the wind row, make sure the baler doesn’t get clogged. Then you just daydream or sing to yourself. It was while we were baling at the other farm that I got the bright idea to sell that farm, get something smaller and move closer to town.

Huh. Maybe that’s why I didn’t bale any more.

Ah well, it all worked out. And I still had a nice day.

Flo

That'll Teach Me To Volunteer

It’s been a week now, and I still get twitches when I think about it, but I want to tell you about my pistol of a nephew.

I don’t know what possessed her, but Lovi felt she and the DB were entitled to a weekend without children. Harrumph! Arrangements had previously been made for MFS to spend the nights over there. I don’t know what he was thinking (or maybe I do), but he had messed up and had scheduled appointments until late Friday. Nice mommy and sister that I am, I offered to take Levi overnight and until MFS finished Saturday.

MFS now owes me WAY more than an ER co-pay.

The kid cannot sit still or be quiet. The talking and the questions started as soon as we got in the car to bring him back here. I’m sure he talks in his sleep, but I didn’t want to chance the sound of my breathing waking him up.

He had been up past his usual bedtime when I told him it was time to get ready for bed. He told me that he really didn’t have to go to bed yet. So I told him he had been up an hour and twelve minutes (and 23 seconds, but who was counting?) longer than usual and I thought that was more than generous of me.

His sister hadn’t packed his pajamas, so we dealt with that and sent him off to bed. Then he needed a drink and he was off to bed. Then he had to go to the bathroom and was off to bed. Then, after telling me he didn’t need night lights any more, he couldn’t see to get to the bed; so we discussed that and he went to bed. Then he told me he would leave the light on until he could say hello and goodnight to MFD (who was at a guitar class that evening) and could I turn the light off when I went to bed; and then he went to bed. Then he had to inform me, this wasn’t something he did on purpose, it just happened, that he woke up at 0700. After informing him that was fine, but that if Uncle KSA was still sleeping, he had to be quiet, he went to bed. Forty-eight minutes later, after I told MFD that if Levi got up one more time, she should tell him she was going to get me, I collapsed on my bed.

Peace and quiet until 0650. Lainy was outside, chain smoking. She had gotten up about 0530, and guess who was there waiting for her when she came out of the bathroom?

We ended up having to take Levi to Mass with us. MFS was home when we got back, but he wasn’t quite ready to take Levi home yet. Levi was ready to go into Leech Mode, but I told him he had to leave MFS alone so he could finish up as soon as possible. Then they were finally out of here. Another 5 minutes and I might have taken up smoking again!

I don’t think they can ever come up with a drug strong enough to numb an experience like that, but I did learn some interesting things about Lovi and her family. Bwahahahahahahahaha!

All in all, I have to say it was entertaining, [twitch]

Flo

They're Here, They're Here!

Look what I got yesterday:

Yes, those would be my new canisters and cookbook from Holly! Aren’t they beautiful? Couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. (And do you see the third knife from the top? That would be the one that attacked me.)

Here’s reference for ya, Holly, so you know where in the kitchen the pictures were taken:

The dogs love Aunt Holly for using UPS. PJ climbs halfway into the truck waiting for the guy to come out with her treat!

I barely had a chance to remove all the bubble wrap before I had to play Farmer Fran and go bale hay with KSA. But I can hardly wait to try out some of these recipes. First will be the Classic Crème Brulee, which looks like the easiest recipe I have come across.

I bet if I come up with the Ultimate Crème Brulee Diet, I’ll be more famous than Jared from Subway!

Flo

My Week

It has been such a traumatic week, I don’t know how long it will take to recover. Holly and her DB left a week ago. I spent Thursday evening in the ER. Lainy did come back Friday, but SHE left me Saturday morning. And, my nephew, Levi (Lovi’s son), was dumped at my house for over 24 hours.

If you’re in need of a really good set of kitchen knives, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with a very nice salesman. His name is MFS and he’s selling Cutco this summer. I must warn you, though, they are sharp. They scared me even before I sliced open my poor little pinkie. But did MFS have any sympathy for his mother? No. First, he wanted to know why I had my finger in the way, then he informed me that I was using the wrong “tool” for the job. So he didn’t get any Key Lime Pie. Of course, neither did anyone else, since I was only halfway through the second lime when the knife decided my finger looked like a lime.

Five stitches in my little bitty pinkie. At least I finally have the tube bandage off and can semi type without hitting three keys at once with my finger.

The doc made me a little nervous, though. The first time he came in to look at it, he asked how long it had been since my last tetanus shot. I knew he hadn’t seen the chart when I answered that it had been 15 or 20 minutes.

The nurse’s station was right across from me, and a little later I heard one of the nurses go up to him and say, “You ordered 10cc and it comes 25mg/10cc, so I just wanted to make sure you wanted 25mg.” He mumbled a few seconds and said he thought he wanted 250mg, and the nurses said, “No, that’s Keflex.” So he said, “Oh, you’re right. Then that’s ok.” Then he came into my room to sew my finger. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I did feel a little bad when, after going on and on and on about what he was going to do and why, he told me I was braver than he was because I was watching him as he stitched me up, I couldn’t take it any more and finally told him I had been an ER nurse. There was a kind of awkward moment when he was probably thinking, “Gee, don’t I feel stupid rattling on about stuff you already knew.”

MFD was at guitar lessons when we left, so I had called to tell her we were at the hospital. “You’re at the hospital? Can I come see you?” I told her I was just in the ER waiting for them to look and see if I needed stitches. Then she asked, “Are you bleeding…profusely?” I gave KSA a dirty look and I told her she spent too much time around her father.

Flo

What Nursing Shortage?

My oldest nephew’s girlfriend graduated from nursing school this year. She had been given a sign-on bonus with one of the local hospitals. Turns out it wasn’t a job guarantee and it was only a bonus if you were actually hired, otherwise it was a loan. She interviewed for a couple of positions, and upon contacting them after not hearing back from them like they said they would, she was told they had no more positions for graduate nurses.

She talked to another hospital. Same story.

She has since been hired at a smaller community hospital, in the department she actually wanted. So it turned out for the best, but what a bunch of crap.

You’re not going to get an experienced nurse if you don’t give them the opportunity to get some experience. So don’t tell me you’re desperately in need of nurses, but you’re not willing to put forth the time to mentor them.

Flo

And the Winner Is...

If you visited my blog yesterday around 0630, Hughes out of West Frankfort, Ill is your ISP, and your browser is Firefox: congratulations! You were visitor number 5000! Ask me a question, any question, and I might answer it for you.

Flo

Boo Hooie

[sniff] [sniff]

The house is too quiet. [sniff sniff]

No, Lainy, you may not have a new blog. I’m too depressed to write.

Boo hoo hoo hoooooooooooooo. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffle]

Flo

Wild Women

Heaven help me if Holly, Kate, Lainy, and Phlegm are ever all with me at the same time. I’m not sure my cheeks could stand that much exercise. It’s been about all I can handle with only two of them. And I think I know way more about them than I really need to. We’ll just say that their husbands are fortunate and leave it at that. Thank goodness for the bottomless margarita bucket!

Truly, it has been so much fun. I’ve missed both of them and don’t get to see them near often enough. Holly and Lainy hit it right off, which makes it pretty convenient, and I’m sure adding Kate and Phlegm to the mix could only quadruple the fun and antics.

MFD had a friend over the other day and for some reason, we had to share bra designs and colors. I’m not sure how many margaritas we had had at that point. Couldn’t have been too many, because we left shortly after that.

There we are, cruising topless down the highway. Suddenly, in the rearview mirror, Holly sees Lainy flashing someone in the car next to us, and waving and yelling “I love you.” Poor Holly thought Lainy had lost it, until I told her it was MFD and her friend.

KSA and Holly’s Dearly Beloved have been getting along marvelously. I think they’ve been very glad to have each other to go off and do manly things [I had to put my foot down and tell my Dearly Beloved he could NOT have a Tractor like KSA. Our yard is not big enough to warrant the use of a tractor for mowing. He was mighty disappointed.] instead of following in our wake and watching us spread sunshine wherever we go.

When we went to visit them over New Year’s, Holly promised to show KSA how to make her famous chicken spaghetti, and she did. She supervised, and from listening to some of his questions, she was ever so patient. But it not only turned out edible, it was pretty darn good. He’s so proud of himself. He’s ready to do it again. This afternoon, he learned how to make Reese's Cup cookies and Calzones. He is now a Master Chef.

GUESS WHAT?!?! One of the things Holly is giving me for my birthday is a cook book—for CRÈME BRULEE!!!!!! I am SO excited, I can hardly wait for her to get back home and send it to me. Because of course I had a brain fart and left it at home instead of packing it!

Oh goodness, what else have we been doing? I can’t think of much else right now, other than having a blast just visiting. I’m sure I’ll come up with more when I finish crying after they leave tomorrow. In the meantime, there are still margaritas in the freezer—and we CAN’T have that, so excuse me for now.

Flo and Holly

MPD Alert

I try to keep all my people under control here, but sometimes they just won’t shut up. If I want to get anything done the next few days, I need to mention a few things just to get them off my back.

Here’s your Public Service Announcement for the day: Never Use Dry Heat. I’ve been dealing with a headache for several days, so after a follow up with my primary doc for my blood pressure, she sent me off to the chiropractor. He said when dealing with inflammatory pain, always use a moist towel with your heating pad. In the long run, dry heat makes the inflammation worse.

I feel another episode of Backspace (thanks, Lovi—claim your margarita next time you’re over) coming on. In case your monitor isn’t blurry because of all the bouncing and giggling going on, Holly and her Dearly Beloved are coming to see me for a few days. Lainy will do an over-nighter on the way to visit her sons, too. So I’ll be busy eating (and drinking) and visiting (and drinking) and cooking (and drinking) and laughing (and drinking). Somewhere in there, Holly wants to write a blog, but I’m afraid there won’t be much reading going on, so I’ll have to play catch up.

Shortly after I wrote about the beaver on the lake, I think he died. However, now I think we have a heron/egret/ibis/some kind of Big Bird family going on. I’ve seen the one…or maybe the other…for a few years. I haven’t got a picture yet—either I don’t have my camera, or he flies off just as I’m getting ready to take the perfect one. As I was leaving yesterday, three birds took off at once. Mama and Papa for sure, I just couldn’t tell if the third was the same kind of bird or not. But still, at least two of them. How cool is that?

One of us heard there may be access to an incriminating picture somewhere on this page. That’s all the info you Enquiring Minds are going to get.

I heard an advertisement for an organization/storage store on the radio the other day. The woman commented that her closet used to be the most embarrassing room in the house. Room??? Is that the latest in home buying? 3 bed/2 bath/2 closet…and here we have the master bedroom, but wait until you see the closet, it’s a room in itself! Huh, and all this time I was thinking my closets were unique.

Check my site or Holly’s in the next few days, one of us might sober up long enough to write something. Have a happy and safe 4^th of July. Phlegm, Kate, wish y’all could be here, too. We’ll drink one for you. Then we’ll drink one to you! Then we’ll drink…

Flo