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Love this photo! Thanks to Kathy Lazenby for letting me post it for you all to see.
Enjoy the lovely weekend!

This True Colors Thursday we are in Black and White.  I offer up this photo which is 34 years old as a beginning.

A Happy Couple Wed In Black and White.

 

A Very White Landscape.

A Black and White Sign Posted By A Lake.

 

A Black Nose on a White Face. (Scooter)

 

 

A White Greyhound Looking Out a Window Into The Black of Night. (Renner)

A Black Greyhound. (Cyber)

 

 

 

 

 

A White Greyhound In a Black Shadow. (Renner)

 

Last but not least, a Black and White Greyhound. (Scooter)

For this ABC Wednesday Let me get the most important three ‘L’s in right off the top and those would be special people in my life Larry, Lucy and Lyle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This being Larry.

                  This being Lucy.

This being Lyle.

All people I Love.

The item being aimed at you is a Launcher, which Lyle is also holding and for some reason keeps finding its way into our 4th of July Lunch and celebration each year. It shoots Nerf rockets …usually at unsuspecting people in our party.

One of my favorite ‘L’s occurs during what I consider the best season of the year.

And that is……

  Leaves changing color in the Fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both photos above were taken at Savannah Portage in Minnesota.

Leaves on a hike at Nerstrand Big Woods in Minnesota. 

Renner Lying in the Leaves to rest after the hike at Nerstrand.

One last ‘L’ I would Like to Let you Look at are more Lilies in my garden (the bright orange instead of the scarlet ones this time.)

I just can’t help celebrating each time something new comes my way in the gluten free shopping place!

And Simply Great when a company takes a mainstream item and makes an issue out of being Gluten Free. So hoping this trend continues to catch on making like easier for those of us who must adhere to the Gluten Free diet in order to stay well. This particular cereal should be just about everywhere in the U.S. by June 2009.

Thank you General Mills!

This ABC Wednesday brings us to the letter ‘K’ which makes me think of Kitties, Kiddies, Kites and Kitchen. First are my two nearly twenty year old Kitties. 

This is Vinni my Siamese Kitty, sleeping with one of my Greyhounds, Tyler. Unfortunately Tyler is no longer with us but Vinni keeps on snuggling up with what every Greyhound has space available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Grey Tabby Dilute shown below is my Kitty Monti. Named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus as we are Monty Python fans.  I believe he is just done taunting Grand Greyhound Ruby who so Kindly puts up with his antics.

And of course there are Kiddies, of which mine are grown, but still fly Kites. I will put them all together in the next photos where my Kitty is watching my Kiddies (and OH) fly mini-Kites in the back yard just after the snow has melted and warmer temperatures begin luring everyone outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And last, but not least, representing the letter ‘K’ this week would be my Kitchen. It is due for a new paint job but I probably won’t get around to it for a while yet.

So there you go, though I Know if I’d thought it out better I probably could have come up with better things. These are few things that are Kind of a big part of my life.

 

Dear Mother Nature,

What have you done with Spring?

I didn’t really want to write about us being gone while we were gone and away from the house, but we will be back home in a few hours so I thought I’d mention that we have been rumbling around the states for the last couple of weeks in our RV with our greyhounds.

We went to my parents house as my Mom has finished her radiation treatments, only to find my Dad with two injured feet, one of which had broken bones. So it was good we went and *I* think the timing was fine, but my Dad didn’t. He had 3 people after him then to take proper care of himself…which left him basically no choice. With that many people after you, you almost have nothing else you can do but comply.

We also spent a couple of days at Fort Wilderness while we were down there and the rest of the time, except for the first 2 nights, the rig was parked out at Griffin State Park. This is a very nice park, a photo of the road we were camped on is below.

Going down was lovely weather, but then one of our Greyhounds, the eldest, Blew started having problems, so he had emergency vet appointment first thing in the morning when we got there. The vet put him on some meds and he is much better. They had x- rayed his leg, as it was swollen twice the size it should have been and bone cancer was suspected – but not so, he has beautiful bones, no sign of cancer so we were pleased. The medication really helped and he has been doing very well since.

I continued my classes on-line, while I was there so it was not a ‘work free’ experience. I stayed up quite a few nights until after 1 am doing school work.

Coming home has been anything but free and easy. Storms had broken out from south to north in the mid-portion of the country.

Tumultuous Skies of Tennessee

The brunt of the poor weather was in Tennessee where we were headed through to get to Paducah, Kentucky to bed down for the night. Stopped for gas outside of Clarksville and tornado sirens were going off. Got the dogs out for a quick walk in a sprinkling of rain and winds that were picking up by the minute. Finished gassing up and we were off toward Clarksville, not knowing what else to do but head onward in the direction of home. Considering the storm just kind of kicked up violently all around us we just kept moving hoping to move out of it.

However, it was not to be the case as just a few miles south of Clarksville we were caught in a mini tornado that sent rain, wind and small tree branches swirling around us as it rocked the RV and made it hard to see. It was actually very terrifying, we were pretty much all over the road and creeping along. Then it was gone and still heavy rain and wind prevailed. The wind remained heavy as we drove down the road passed Clarksville and on toward Paducah. There were several tornados moving through the area and one of them hit pay dirt as it picked up an empty semi ahead of us and threw it on its side.

Traffic stopped completely in all lanes as we all waited for the tow trucks to come and remove the semi from the road. It was a scary bit of time as we sat feeling rather trapped in the jammed up traffic, the RV rocking, at times violently, with the strong gusts of wind. We saw storm chasers zoom by us on the side of the road as they chased the elusive funnels. Finally we were underway again and the wind did not give up on pushing us all over the road for the next hour or so until we got to our over-night spot. It was dark and we were continuously concerned about being tossed over on our side, which added to the worry of just keeping it on the road. We did make it of course, but were pretty shaken up in the process.

This morning we found the weather much the same with not only rain, but snow as well. Though the winds have still been pretty hefty and the temps have dropped considerably from when we left to travel south from Minnesota, they have not been as frightening as yesterday evening. The winds have been heaving us around all day so far (we are about 4 hours from home at this point) and we understand that we will just be beating a snow storm into Minnesota (comes tomorrow – Monday), so we are thankful for that. It will be so good to be home again.

 

I will dedicate Scarlet Thursday to a cardinal we have named Hank. This beautiful Scarlet creature flew into my deck door windows and sat stunned in the snow by the steps. It was a harsh minus 30 wind chill and  I feared he would not survive. I kept vigil over him and finally held him in my gloved hands next to me keep him warm until he suddenly flew from my hands into a near by bush. I continued watching over him, keeping predators away, until he flitted off high up into the trees. We like to think Hank still comes back to visit us whenever we see a cardinal at the pond or feeder.

 

Another beautiful Scarlet I see only in the spring  and early summer are the Day Lilies in our garden.

 

However, nothing radiates  serenity like a beautiful Scarlet sunrise.

This is the first Instance that I have adhered to the ABC Wednesday rule and find this Interesting and even challenging to participate in. I Intend to do well but we shall see as this project Intensifies as we progress. First stop is the fountain out back that is now a heaving mountain of Ice, due to the Inhospitable temperatures of our Minnesota Winter.

Lovely isn’t it? And if this isn’t enough ice for you then I can also Introduce you to an Incredible Minnesota Tradition that is built during our Winter Carnival known as the Ice Palace.

Of course then you will want to see Inside this Interesting place where people have placed placed coins Into the walls.

The large block walls are Incandescent with color.

Our Itsy-bitsy fountain pales in comparison.

It may be Inferior to the Ice Palace, but it is Impeccably cared for and well loved.

 

 

In the hum drum day-to-day, it is often the events which  seem very insignificant, to some, that can really make a difference to many. So now you ask, what could the above photo possibly have to do with the significant, (or perhaps insignificant), statement above. The printing on the box along with what the box contains is very big news IF you are a member of the Celiac Disease community.  Yes, check below the name of the product and right on the front with big green letters it states that it is now ‘Gluten Free’.

Not that I eat Corn Chex normally, but I will go grab a box in support, it is the idea that mainstream manufacturers are now starting to pay attention and take seriously, the needs of people who cannot live with gluten in their lives. Each time another manufacturer reformulates one of their products, that never really needed to contain gluten in the first place, so that it no longer contains it,  voices of the Celiac community can be heard cheering from coast to coast. Kudos to General Mills for being one of the leaders among major food manufacturers for stepping up to the plate  to offer mainstream products that can be had in any grocery store for a normal mainstream price. 

In the last few years we have started seeing a slow progression of mainstream manufacturers moving toward better labeling of gluten in their products. Prior to this movement Celiac’s were forced to purchase food items that were quite often obscure and very expensive in order to be able to have something that compared to what they ate before diagnosis. Yet, regardless of paying twice or even three times more for the item, it often tasted quite below par. I do hope that other mainstream manufactures will jump on the bandwagon and at least label their packages to help Celiac consumers decipher whether or not items contain gluten or are gluten free. Being able to just pick up a package and see it clearly stating whether or not the product contains gluten would shorten shopping time considerably and be a veritable Godsend to the Celiac family as a whole. Two Thumbs UP for General Mills.

 

 

Wow…..the last few days have been warm here. (figured I hadn’t done a weather post for a day or two) And the snow, of which we had a lot, is now nearly gone. Yesterday I actually saw a opossum toddering around out by the pond, in broad daylight (now that’s just not right). Things are topsy-turvy around here. I’m thinking by the end of the day we could be hanging out at the lakes in our shorts (I never wear swim suits…so not going there) and flip flops. Temps here in Minnesota don’t have to go too high in order for us here to revert to summer wear. A little sun and 50+ degrees and a lot of us are ready to go for a dip in the lake…uh provided the ice is off it. I know, for some March is when a lot of people start feeling that spring has sprung, but those of us in this far flung northern state KNOW it ain’t over till it’s over, and that can be anywhere between April and June. March is generally the snowiest month of the year. BUT if it hits 50 it is good enough for us to discard the snow pants for a pair of shorts, even if it is for only one day.

Crazy day….geez I hate Saturdays where you have so much to do the day is gone before you even know it is here. Took a lot of the pets here into the vet to the tune of $1300+. The rest of the crew are not due until April, so we will do it all again then. Mostly good news

Renner Sleeps In Back Of Car.

on the ones that went in, but we have to wait for the lab tests to come back, then see if there is anything we need to do from there.

Then the Fridge in our camper was recalled, we just had the camper in last week getting a winter thing done on it, and the stairs fixed (they quit working right the end of last fall) last week, would have been nice to get the recall letter BEFORE we did that, but no it came right after we got it home from the shop. So took it back again yesterday. Hopefully they can fix it up in good time so we can go visit my Mom and Dad with the doggies when the time comes.

I also had to hunt some new kitty food for Monty. He and Vinni are the old guys of the crew here, will be 20 in April, and Monty is supposed to be eating NF, but can’t tolerate it for some reason. So I started giving him regular kibble again. That helped a lot, but was too high in protein. So I was trying to find a commercial brand that matched the vet kibble, that he would be able to eat. I came up with a few choices, but couldn’t find any of the brands at my normal haunts. So I got a kibble that was close for now, however…he snubs it. I guess less protein means less appeal, which makes sense. Sigh – well….what do you do then…something I have faced with many a pet. We usually just work until we find some sort of mid-ground that works for all, it is just finding it that can be tough some times. After finding the kitty food we moved on to Fresh and Natural.

F & N is an organic food store that carries a lot of Gluten Free items as I am a Celiac and so have to be on a special diet myself. Usually I shop at a normal store for most things, but some things you can’t find at a normal store, so I have to head out to either

F & N or a Whole Foods. I like the organic stores better anyway, but they are pretty expensive. After going back home to feed the dogs and let them out, (where we’d be in and out a few times already) we stopped for dinner. When dinner was finished we went to the airport to pick up the kids who were coming back from San Diego. Brought them back to their house, then came back to our house to pick up Ruby, my GrandGreyhound, to take her back home. Everyone was very glad to see each other. 🙂 Blew had graced us twice that day with a peed on floor…frustrating, but he is an old man and had a rough day (does not like going to the vet), so we felt pretty bad for him. Having such a tough day then having your owners gone off and on so much is not easy for an old guy. By the time we got home and settled in again it was about bed time. Being busy is good of course, but sometimes I feel like I should just have a revolving door installed at my house.

 

Apparently so.

Photo: CATERS NEWS

Check it out further using this link:

Telegraph

Pinky is the world’s only Pink Bottlenose dolphin and was discovered in a Louisiana Lake. It’s coloration is due to albinism.

And just when you think you’ve seen everything to see that is possible in pink, one more thing pops out at you. Truly fascinating.

 

Yes, Grandson + MeeMa = Loud around our house. After chasing Bampa with a snake around the kitchen island for a while, then chasing Meema around the house with a snake, even Ruby for a while, it was time to put the snake (a long shoe horn) away and wave bye-bye to Bampa as he backed out of the garage and went to work. Scaring everyone brought him great joy. Ate cereal with blueberries, fed dogs,doggy dishes washed, doggies taken out 3 times, watched Big Bird and Elmo for a little bit on Sesame Street. We have built a sand tower in the garage out of the sand that is used to keep the doggies from slipping on the ice, advised Bampa that his pond is frozen and needs more water. Made the Robin ‘flap flap’ around the house and go sit back on its perch to sleep. Read 3 books twice, done puzzles, played with the Little People Airport. All doggies have been kissed more than once and informed ‘WAKE UP’, found the kitties, started the dishwasher. Played dodge ball, seal, bounce the ball, chase around the island, spin the ball on your finger, kick ball and roll around on the ball on your tummy (which I didn’t participate in that one so much, hide and seek and it is not even 8:30 yet. Who knows what the rest of the day will bring.

 

The kids are on vacation down in San Diego this week. I have had Grand Greyhound Ruby with me since last Friday. She is a good little girl, no problem to have. The boys may feel a little put out about having a bossy female around. Ruby runs the show when she is here, is an only greyhound at her house and thinks everything should be her way and for the most part the boys do give way to her. I am also caring for their kitties (3) and their house as well. They will be back sometime Saturday, we will go pick them up at the airport. Meanwhile I need to get my kitties and doggies all into the vet in the next couple of weeks. Everyone is due for everything. Gonna’ be an expensive March! 

Meanwhile, I thought I would get a lot more done on my school work from not having my Grandbaby here with me today, but it is funny how life always finds a way to ‘fill in’ any extra time you may suddenly find on your hands. I was working on my notes for Excel, which I am already behind on due to a class communication issue the professor seemed to have with the entire class. I left to go check my daughter’s house and kitties, get some more dog food, and mail a birthday card…just a few errands, wasn’t gone all that long. Came back and Ruby had made herself pretty comfortable on the couch, found my notes on the back of the couch…hidden up there so nothing would happen to them, and decided to do a little work on them herself. Let’s just say the Excel notes are even more of a puzzle than they were. You know, I really didn’t want to do them anyway! 😉

                                           ROOOBEEE!

 

 

I think the title just about says it all. I keep getting sick, I do believe my little grandson brings more than his greyhound with him on his days with Meemaw. What’s a Meemaw? Oh yes, once my little grandson could talk, he began by calling both me and his Momma, ‘Momma’. It was all a bit confusing for him I think at about 6 months old or so and he also had another Gramma to address as well. He had a lot of concepts to grasp for a little guy. Very smart he is indeed, and I’m not saying it just because I am his Granny. He started talking in full sentences early enough to even surprise his own doctor. But then sometimes in order to understand him you have to speak ‘his’ language. Somewhere along the way, Momma stayed Momma (and rightfully so) but I turned in to Meemaw. I will pause here to mention that actually his first name here was given out to his very well loved Bampa. Yes, the first thing he asks as he walks in the door is Where’s Bampa? Bampa still in the shower? Once Bampa enters the room it is all about Bampa. Anyway, getting back onto the subject of ‘Meemaw’. I thought it was cute (I think everything he does is cute!) that he was calling me Meemaw and still tried to keep saying Grammy so that eventually he would get around to calling me what *I* thought I should be called. But found myself many times saying Meemaw back to him, when speaking grandson-ese, rather absent mindedly, instead of consistently supporting the Grams thing.

So the other night we were all together for his 2nd Birthday party, Meemaw, Bampa, his folks, and his other set of grandparents (my SIL’s folks). He’s all ‘hi Meemaw, hi Bampa!) and then he turns to his other grandmother and says ‘hi Grandma’. I am like whoa!!!! Did I actually hear ‘Grandma’…. he said ‘Grandma’ to her, Wow!!! So I commented to my daughter about what I had heard. She explains to me that he’s been saying Grandma for quite some time to the other Grandma, and just refuses to call me anything but Meemaw. That is who I am to him, and quite possibly, that is who I will stay. I wasn’t sure how to feel, because I am the Grams who has seen him (and my daughter’s family) through most everything regarding Grandson….I was graced by being able to be there for his ultrasound (when we found out it was a boy) right on through his birth (push…Push..just a little more Sweetie, you can do it). My word, I think I was nearly as tired as she was because I was pushing in a standing position and at least she was laying down. 😉 I have cleaned a ton of the poopiest of butts, rocked, held, played, read, worried….well, I figured it was high time I deserved that name ‘Gramma’!! And you know, who ever heard of being called ‘Meemaw’ sounds a bit like a donkey’s bray don’t you think? Okay – well except when my Grandson says it, then it makes me feel very happy and proud that I am his Meemaw. Obviously he has bestowed upon me his own version of identity for someone who he knows loves him very much and he feels safe with. I’m good with that, in fact I am more than good with that, I feel honored. However, I just have to ponder occasionally how it is going to sound in 20 years (if I am still around) when he walks to me with his girl and says, “Hi Meemaw, meet my girl friend.” His girlfriend will probably ask ‘Meemaw’ where did you get that name?” I’m thinking he might answer, “Well it is what she wanted to be called so that is what I call her, makes the old lady happy.” Now my question at this juncture is…how did he know I wanted to be called that when he was only six months old… before I even knew? See, I told you, he is a smart little guy!

Keep mouth closed tight while chipping  poopsicles from ice in potty area!

 

 In this house the most important spot is any area that has even  the slightest amount of sun hitting the surface. Scooter takes this very seriously. If there is no bed on the sunny spot he tries very hard to ‘think’ one over into the area. If that doesn’t work then he stares at the person in the room trying to ‘think’ them into moving the bed into the sunny area. And if *that* doesn’t work, then he claws, pushes and shoves the bed in the direction of the sunny area. By the time he has tried everything that hasn’t worked, and IF the sunny spot is still there, he walks over and throws himself down in the sunny spot stretching his very long body as far and wide as possible. Making sure everyone must now walk over him to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ while looking at you like, ‘seeee – you should have just moved the bed!’

 

Yep…the skinny stuff, no calories….just a little fluff. It has been good to make things look clean, no yellow snow at the moment because it is currently snowing, but the hounds always make it their business to have their business be everyone’s business…so it goes that by the time they are out a couple times it is pretty clear where the dogs live. Look for the yellow snow and you will find a dog (or in our case the dogs!) Dogs are pretty ‘out there’ where bodily functions go, whereas cats are…..shhhhhh, ‘scuse me’ shhhhh….going in to a little covered box where I will have my privacy, and then….shhhhh (quietly now)….cover it up so no one sees it…I will tip toe back to where I was and get in the exact same position I was in before I did my ….shhhh…. business. No one will even know I did my business, because I am a cat. No body’s business is my business and my business is no one else’s business.

Really quite the big difference between the two!

Dogs are all ‘yeah, yeah….right here…I got your business right here! And I advertise!’

Unless of course your cat has gas…then it is a little more everyone’s business but still not as bad as several Greyhounds with gas, and for those moments we stock Federally approved gas masks or, if it is your choice, we can just let it render you unconscious and drag you out into the fresh air to recover. (Not recommended when the temps are -zero outside).

 

 

I guess I really never thought much about this until this morning. We have a lot of owls around our property, which I think is good. However, this morning I noticed a very large Barred Owl, I’d say about 18 inches or so in height, sitting on a wing of a fountain fairy (spouts water into our pond when temps are not freezing) looking for something. I went to take a photo and it flew into a nearby tree, still keeping an eye on something. That something turned out to be a small squirrel. *This* is the part that I really hadn’t thought much about before, the squirrel was about to become a part of the owl’s diet. We also have a lot of squirrels (who doesn’t) around the pond and have a bird feeder too which attracts them. No birds were in sight due to the owl’s presence. It just never really occurred to me that owls eat squirrels too. Mice and other small rodents, but it never clicked that if the owl was of a larger variety it also gnaws on a little larger animals like fox, Opossums, and squirrels. We hear them in the night hooting away outside, I love listening to them, don’t see them then though. I have never really seen them hunt in the daylight, actually I thought they reserved that behavior for the evening hours. Guess it all depends on how hungry they are, this one was definitely hunting in the day. I was then looking for the movie camera and caught a tiny bit of footage of the owl sitting in the tree looking around, but suddenly he took off. I missed it with the camera of course, it all happened to fast, so I am unclear whether the owl actually ended up with the squirrel or not. Not a very smart little squirrel to be the only creature at the pond with a big owl looming over head, I must say. The owl suddenly swooped out of the view finder and then both owl and squirrel were gone.

Warm…well considering (28 degrees) how the weather goes in MN this time of year, a lot of times it is the most exciting thing going on. When it gets around this temp snow is never far away and stands to reason it has found its way into the forecast for the next few days. Quite a bit of it melted in the last couple of weeks with our warm spells and all. On the other hand the water that has formed from the melting snow is now a crunchy ice pack and makes for a poor running environment for my greyhounds who often feel the need for speed. Needless to say they have suffered some minor nicks when making the rounds. Two of my hounds have real issues with boots, another one is a total spaz when you put boots on him. I have several pair of expensive boots in their closet that I’d love to put on them when they go outside during times when the terrain is rough for paws. I gave it up when we were outside one day and one of them threw one boot, had the others loosened…and was just generally not happy with the situation. Still I was determined these guys were wearing their nice boots! I bent over to put this one hound’s (okay…it was Blew!) boots on right and just as I was getting the last one on he decided to bolt. My glasses went one way, I flew another…I think it would be safe to say ‘I had my bell rung’ big  time. When I found my glasses, I noted that now Blew was running around with two boots on right, one missing and the other ‘tread’ side up. Renner only had one boot on. Blew was standing on a patch of ice doing his best ‘Bambi’ impression (if you have seen that movie, where Bambi first stands on ice). Renner was running around on three legs because he still had a boot attacking one foot! Yeah….gave up on the boots after that. Now, days when the terrain is ultra rough just becomes a ‘no run’ day.

‘Blew and Renner Share A Little Sunshine’

R

 

So far it has been really quiet here. Sundays usually start out that way. It has turned cold again, 3 degrees right now. But the sun is out and that is something we have been missing, so it is good that it finally blessed us with it’s light yesterday.  A lot of the snow cover has gone due to the warmer than normal temps earlier in the week. Very nice, but gray the entire time. Seems we just can’t get both things to happen at once, sun and warmth. Eventually it will come…here in MN that is called Summer!

Spring?  Oh that must be the couple of weeks that happen about mid-May, passes right by us pretty quickly and on occasion even with a slight dusting of snow. We have the same problem with Fall, which is my favorite season, but is here only 2 or 3 weeks then gives way to winter all too quickly many times.  Actually if you live in Minnesota then you know the saying ‘we have two seasons – Winter and Road Construction’. It is a lovely place.

Fall Hike, Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, MN

 

But we were having a good time. My kids brought over Rockband 2 for the PS3 and we played it….until 2am this morning. Who’da thunk it? I do believe Scooter even joined it a couple of times (my singing). 😉 Pretty bad. I do believe the animals were thinking, ‘looonnnggg night, will it ever end’?

 

“I Just Can’t Take Any More!”

 

It’s Friday the 13th! I didn’t even realize that until now. Humm… and wasn’t there a full moon last night as well? Wait, it was a Waning Gibbous, almost a double whammy there. Whew!

I have gotten over worrying about Friday the 13th by deciding that they are lucky days for me and it is actually the 14ths I have to worry about! And of course when the 14ths also have a full moon accompanying them then the dogs and I sit up all night baying at the moon. Some strange force has me picking up all their favorite meatless bones that are laying around the house. By the way, that is where the saying ‘I’ve got a bone to pick with you’ came from. Just in case you were wondering. (ummmm don’t look that up!)

I can never really figure out what to do with them, but I must pick them up none the less as they all disappear from the floor. As the sun rises, come morning, we are all found sprawled out in the family room them looking particularly happy and me…I have a strange, stale, meaty taste in my mouth, which always drives me to the butcher that day to get them some new bones. Very strange.

The dogs went out this morning, still dark outside and found it was pouring rain. The water was standing on top of what was still left of the snow, which is now a sheet of ice. I had sanded it (have more than once in the last few weeks) and even still there was an awful lot of slipping and sliding out there. I was concerned especially for Blew, the old man, because he has a weak rear end going on, and I thought he’d be doing the splits out there. But he didn’t go out far, and did pretty well. Scooter it didn’t really bother in the slightest (he’s the youngster here at about 5 years old). Renner was not amused and walked slowly, I think he slid around more than the rest. He is the middle man at about 7. But the warmer temps are nice. It is 42 right now. This is going to freeze most likely in the next few days and wow, won’t that be good fun. For now we are going to just enjoy the warmth though.

The weather today is bug everyone to go out every 20 minutes good! The white cold stuff is frozen to the ground in some spots, and nice and soggy in others. It is hold your pee to stand and sniff into the wind wonderful. Unfortunately there are no bright spots to lay in, inside the house and little wet sprinkles hit my back when I sniff outside, but that’s okay because my feet aren’t getting nearly as cold as they were. They are however wet…and I get some grief at for bringing in mud, but it is allll worth it to not have to hear ‘Hurry Hurry’ being yelled at me all the time. I don’t know if this will last but while it is here I am going out as much as I can no matter who it annoys. 😉

Feeling on the sad side today. A new friend of mine lost one of her greyhounds about 5 or 6 weeks ago, was a lovely greygirl named for royalty, and rightfully so.  She also had been having problems with their older greyboy, and after so much effort to help him, he suffered pulmonary embolism and passed away last night. She is now pet-less and I could just feel the anguish in her words. She and her OH seem such lovely people and mentioned how terribly quiet the house was without him. (what heartbreak!) Having gone through losing my pets so many times, instead of hardening, I seem to feel other’s pain ever more severely when they lose their animals. We had a very bad year a couple of years ago where we had many, many elder and special needs greyhounds and for a while we were losing them one a month or so. It hurt so much, so often, for a while I became a bit numb from all of the tears and anxiety. It is so very hard to lose a pet, but something I have not yet experienced is becoming pet-less through loss. I have always gone and brought in another. My Mom has asked me several times why I keep doing it. I mean….setting myself up to continually go through heartbreak after heartbreak. As I get older I keep thinking, ok I just can’t keep taking this. And then I do it again. I am addicted to these beautiful animals, and I love having them around me. The love and memories they impart upon me must be worth all of the pain I feel when I lose them. I really can think of no other excuse. They make me feel good…a Greyhound high.

***My heart goes out to you Jay and your OH. God Bless. God Speed Pirate. 😦

Monty, doer of all strangeness within our walls,  Bestower of many things for me to conversate about, would like me to convey his annoyance with me for laughing at him when he drinks water from a bowl. A lover of water, he really enjoys getting a drink in many different ways. Actually a lot of his ways could fit into the ‘Slob’ category but sometimes they are actually very dainty looking. However, I’m pretty sure he would take offense as being labeled as dainty as well, so I will skip the labels and cut to the chase. He just can’t drink like a normal cat, (if there is such a thing). He often sits beside the water bowl dipping his paw in to scoop up a little water and then licks it off his paw  ‘…ahhh pure heaven’. He will sit and do this for half an hour at a time. There are times when he has to go to the dish and slap the surface of the water many times, occasionally with both paws… ‘submit oh fluid of life, submit I say….!’ Once he has beaten it into submission he can then masterfully lap it up. Thought the most annoying (and often occurs when he is most annoyed at me) is the ‘Move The Entire Bowl’ method.  ‘Move The Entire Bowl’ really didn’t take him that long to master. He simply plops himself down by the bowl and proceeds to push the bowl around in quick small jerks so the water spills over the sides in waves. When he feels a large enough puddle has been created, he drinks. He has emptied large bowls this way, because obviously the ‘best’ water is at the bottom.

Once  when my OH was working close by, a good 3 times in about a 30 minute span, the bowl was emptied by Monty and again filled by either my OH or myself (the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing). When I saw it, I just thought, ‘oh Monty’s done now’ wiped up the water and refilled the bowl. Many wet towels later my OH caught on and put the bowl up on the counter putting an end to it. A necessary step to break the cycle. It was for Monty’s own good. He was suffering from a very severe bowl moving funk, it just wouldn’t release him. Either that or he was getting back at me for getting him a food shaped so he  couldn’t bite the ends off of to leave all over the house.

I don’t know why so many Minnesotans are totally preoccupied with the weather, but a lot of them seem to be this time of year. When warmer winds prevail you hear a lot less about weather coming out of our mouths. But in the days during winter and prior to spring ‘springing’ there is nothing more we like talking about than wind chills, snow, ice and what we are going to do for a vacation to break up the winter. So to stay true to form I am going to talk about what we are going to do this winter to get away from the cold. We are packing up the hounds and taking our RV down to Florida to visit my parents, which will include a stop at a  campground at Disney World. We did the same thing last year, sans the Disney World stop, in the middle of an vicious snow and ice storm and let me tell you the trip down would top the ‘Tower of Terror’ ride at Disney World (which no one has been able to get me on yet, but I learn from others experiences pretty well). On the way down, I would have questioned our sanity, but really was too stressed to do so at the time. However, after having ‘made it’ through the last trip down I do have the time to question it now. Why in the world would we turn around and do the same thing again if it didn’t go too swimmingly last time?

The only excuse I can come up with that it gets so cold here, it actually freeze some of the ‘reasoning cells’ of the brain. The cells don’t thaw until the temp. stays consistently above 32 degrees Fahrenheit for at least a week. We will stay in Florida for about that long and start to regain our sanity right about the time we need to drive back. It is on the drive back that the cells begin to refreeze due to the lower temps we start to encounter on the trip north, and by the time we get back we are telling people how great it all was, because we really just don’t remember the drive until the summer months when we really aren’t that into talking about the weather or winter vacations. By the time the subject comes up again we are well into the winter once more and the cells freeze once again, just a vicious cycle that keeps a lot of us in an unconscious repetitive pattern. Not a pretty excuse but it is all I’ve got at –14.  However, it is supposed to reach nearly 34 ABOVE zero today and if the weather holds long enough, it is possible this winters trip could be canceled.

Monty has some unusual habits. None of my other cats has done some of the things he does. They can be a little irritating sometimes, depending on my mood, but I also find them humorous.

 

I am pretty picky about keeping the house clean. I consider it really important when you have as many pets as we always seem to have. Blew, one of my greyhounds, has a *very* touchy stomach and just can not eat anything out of the ordinary or it sets off some terrible gas and runny stools. So I always make sure there is nothing on the floor that he will eat, else we both pay the price. (yep getting back to Monty now) Anyway, Monty is always challenging me in the clean floor department due to the  fact that he likes to walk around while he eats. He eats very loudly, and I don’t he even has it in him to just stand over his dish and eat. He also doesn’t eat the ‘ends’ of his food, only the middles, so that leaves all of the ‘ends’ all over the floor as he strolls around chomping. I have an island in my kitchen and when Monty is finished I take my DustBuster vac and whip all around there getting  up all the ‘ends’ of Monty’s food. By ‘ends’ I mean his food is little x’s and he eats the centers of the x’s and leaves the rest all over the place. He is very old, though healthy, and needs to eat several times a day so it is ongoing though out the day. Blew, on the other hand, knows that Monty does this and will go out there looking for Monty’s ‘ends’ and if I don’t get to them all before Blew finds them it is 24 hours in a gas mask for me!