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.

Holiday Ready

Well, we've been missing in action for quite a while. It's been a very difficult year for us and we've been just spending lots of time doing nothing together. The Portie girls are old and they miss their siblings. Mackey has started having seizures again after almost a year and Syd just does her own thing all by herself.  But even if we'd like time to stand still for awhile so we can get our act together, it keeps racing on with or without us.

So we'll just jump in as if we haven't missed a beat.

Yesterday, late in the day I realized it was my holiday, the Winter Solstice. I don't know exactly when I started celebrating the Solstice as my own personal holiday but it makes sense to me. One doesn't have to follow a certain belief system or join with like minded people to acknowledge the Solstice. One only has to believe in science, which apparently has become an option these days.  As a teenager, I always thought I was descended from witches or Druids. Since getting deeply into genealogy, I find that I do have some of those folks in my background. It makes me happy.

 Tomorrow is a much newer, less serious holiday that I find amusing, Festivus. It
 appeals to me mostly because I don't have to do anything except complain. That comes easily. You can see that the people who lived here before us planted the Festivus pole in the ground, but it hasn't grown an inch since we've lived here.

It's not like we haven't done anything at all for the last few months. We've been somewhat busy, just not in a frantic holiday sort of way. First the Christmas cactus took only about a six week rest this year and is back in full bloom again.

 The older plant is still alive though it looks more like a tree with a thick woody trunk and only sends out a handful of flowers. I can't part with it because it's still alive and well.

I find it hard to throw out healthy plants when the flowering is over. In this case I have a couple Poinsettia plants that were given to us three years ago. After the holidays they dropped their leaves but the stems were still alive. I kept them in a cool bright window and watered them weekly. So here we are three years later and look what we have.

I've recently completed a Christmas afghan, all except the fringing which I'll tackle this week. It gets added to my small but growing collection of Christmas afghans.

 The red one I made for my Grandmother about 40 years ago. It's what started my collection and I've already chosen one for next year. I'll start it in the spring.

  I also made these little creatures just because I thought they were cute.

 This one is a reindeer.

This one is supposed to be a hamster. OK, I'm not sure why the designer thought it looked like a hamster but here it is.

 This one was supposed to be a bunny, but mine wanted to be a dog. Surprise! He's my favorite, surprise!

Norma Jean is practicing for Christmas Eve. She knows she has to sleep before Santa comes. Norma Jean is a very good sleeper.

This little kitty is also ready for Christmas Eve. She's in her jammies and has her blanket.

Notice that she's wearing her mousie slippers.

Today I'm thinking about making some cookies. So far I'm still in the thinking about it stage. Hopefully I'll actually get started.

 Mackey says we hope your holidays are bringing you joy and not stress.

Today

Happy Solstice, everyone. We'll be back tomorrow to catch up. Busy celebrating today.

What Does Obsession Look Like ?

When my boys died in the Spring, I became depressed. My girls are all pretty independent but my boys were my babies. They followed me everywhere and climbed on my lap and I miss them terribly. I knew I had to stay busy or I'd lose it so I picked up my knitting needles and a ball of yarn and got busy. It turned into an obsession. As soon as I finished one thing I started another. Want proof?

Those are only some of the items I made. I also made this couple who went to live with a friend.

I made a whole kennel of mini dogs.

My most recent pieces are these two, Oisin the Reindeer and his little girlfriend. I finished her last night.

This one is my favorite. I call him Boy. I started him the same week that Sebastian and Noah died. I incorporated their colors into him. His sad little face makes me cry but I adore him.

Now I'm ready to start another creature. I'm not sure yet what it will be, but I'm picturing a frog fairy.