Lola

Legacy's Whatever Lola Wants



















October 26, 2006 - March 26, 2020

Welcome Spring

Ordinarily I love Spring. This year might be an exception. It's been raining for days and the plants in the yard aren't sure what to do. The rose is all leafed out and has been for a couple weeks. The cherry tree is trying to bud but we're expecting a freeze so that may kill the flowers. The other plants seem to just be waiting for a signal to get started.

I think this is a little pine tree that was planted by the birds in the rock garden. I hope it continues to grow though it's not located in the best spot. We'll see.

We're doing our cocooning. I can practically recite the lines to every Law and Order program from heart. Still it beats listening to virus statistics for hours on end.

In honor of a more normal first day of Spring, I offer you this.

Stay safe, everyone.

Viral Thoughts

I never expected being a loner to come in so handy. Rob and I are staying home with the mutts, reading lots, watching old reruns on TV and of course stitching. There isn't a lot of exciting stuff to post about but I'm hoping to urge my ancient computer to work with me on waking up my blog.

I could be using the time to clean house and organize but that seems like a task better put off till boredom truly gets out of hand. There are so many more enjoyable activities to keep me busy.

So far both the humans in the household are well. Lola has some sort of strange hormonal condition known as alapecia X. It's causing her to lost a lot of her coat. Her head, chest and front legs look fine but the back part is practically naked. It doesn't seem to bother her in the least so we're just wtching her closely.

Norma Jean is her usual goofy self. Her sight and hearing aren't as acute as they used to be but she knows when anyone has food and shows up for her share. She and Mackey work together to keep us safe. Since Norma Jean can't hear the mail truck or Fed Ex truck, Mackey barks and NJ jumps in as backup singer.

Mackey hasn't had a seizure since January so we're just watching and trying to keep her safe.

Syd is well. She and Rob have movie night every evening after dinner. They get together in the basement and watch some movie that I wouldn't enjoy. Rob likes lots of action and Syd likes lots of bellyrubs.

I need to cut this short as I've promised to make chocolate chip cookies and now seems like the right time. Stay safe, Blogville!

Mackey The Water Dog

Mackey likes to help us. She alerts us any time a squirrel invades the bird feeders. She barks loudly and enthusiastically each day when the postal truck goes by and of course weekly when the trashmen come to steal the poop from the big can at the curb.

Lately Mackey has been looking to expand her watchdog status and she found a truly unique and annoying way to do it. She became a water dog. No she didn't grow black curly hair or webbed feet. She chose a different route.

Back in 2012 we had a terrible experience when our whole pack of dogs became ill from an encounter with cryptosperidium. Samba and Sky died and several others were left with permanent damage. Crypto is a water born illness and I don't know where my dogs came into contact with it, probably a puddle in the yard contaminated by wildlife.

I do know where I came into contact with it. When I visited Russia (at that time still the Soviet Union) I was very careful to not drink the water. I didn't eat uncooked food, no salad, and I brushed my teeth with wine. On our last night in Russia a friend and I went out for a drink and to talk over our exciting trip. In my fatigue, I forgot to tell the bartender not to put ice in my drink. I had two drinks with ice and didn't give it a thought until two days later when the cramps started. I was in tremendous distress for several weeks until my immune system fought off the attack.

All public water systems contain crypto but only a certain small level is allowed. Still those of us who have had the problem sometimes react to small levels. I was never able to drink the water in Maryland even though we had a filter. Heat is the only thing that destroys crypto. I've noticed that sometimes the water here bothers me, so for years I've boiled my drinking water. Since 2012 we've boiled all the drinking water for us and the dogs.

Twice a day, morning and evening we boil up two big pots of water, then transfer it to bottles for drinking. Rob usually does the morning boil and I do the evening. Mackey has learned to alert us when she hears the water start to boil. She runs from the kitchen to the living room and back barking at the top of her lungs. Whoever is closest hurries to the kitchen to turn off the burner once the water has boiled for a couple minutes. She's very proud of herself and thinks she's doing us a great service.

Who can argue with that kind of help?

Valentine's Day

15 years ago today my special Valentine was born in Arizona.

We all miss Fudge so very much.

Today the girls will have cupcakes with sprinkles and we'll all think about our very special Valentine.

It's What????

We're so sorry to report that today is National Squirrel Day. The girls all agree that it is just totally wrong to have such a day.

The squirrels around here are out of control. They empty the bird feeders before the poor hungry birds can get a chance to eat.

They chew on the deck and have even ripped up the chair cushions.

When we're in the yard they yell at the dogs and even throw acorns at them.

But we're on the job, at least Syd and Mack are on the job. Mackey watches for them and alerts us when they're approaching the feeders.

Sydney has even disposed of a couple of the pests in her own way.

So go celebrate in whatever way you see fit.

Squirrel Day, phooey!

Schizophrenia?

Mother Nature seems to be suffering from some sort of mental disorder. As an example, take last week here in Missouri.

 Friday it was 65 degrees and windy. Remember this is January. Then it was announced that we were under a tornado watch. That lasted all day. Around six PM the tornado sirens went off and we all went downstairs to watch the weather reports. The tornado was slightly east of us and soon we were able to go back upstairs. The wind was blowing hard and it was raining. Boy, was it raining! About 4 inches.

The next morning the temperature had dropped alarmingly and we had ice on all the surfaces. Then the snow started, about two inches of it.

Sunday was quiet and the temperature hung around the freezing mark. On Monday it was in the forties and today, Wednesday, it's heading for sixty.

We just watched the forecast and we're expecting freezing rain on Friday and very cold temps for the weekend.

For awhile I've thought that good old Mother Nature was bipolar, but I'm beginning to suspect something worse. So what do we do during these rampages?

We sleep in a sunspot, of course.