Our Wish To You

All of us here at the Portie House wish all of our friends in Blogville a most wonderful, happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

We hope Santa Paws brings you lots of toys and treats and maybe the turkey will fall into your bowl by accident.

Love from Morgan, Sebastian, Fudge, Tess, Lola, Bailey, Noah, Norma Jean, Elwood, Stanley, Calder, Norris and Mom and Dad too.

The Solstice

To my friends who celebrate the Winter Solstice with me, and you know who you are, enjoy the day and dream of lovely days to come.

To everyone, we're headed toward longer days and another warm and beautiful spring. Relax for a moment and enjoy the beauty around us.

A Wonderful Early Christmas Gift

With all the sickness we've been thru lately and all the unhappy vet visits we've had to make, I was quite apprehensive about taking Morgan in for her six month checkup. Morgan is thirteen years old and has understandably slowed down a lot over the last couple years. We also know that she has liver disease and arthritis in her hips and legs, so when time came around last month for her to visit Dr B, I let it slide. But Tuesday Sebastian was due to have his stitches out, so we planned to take Morgan along and get her checked out.

First Sebastian stretched out on the floor, so Dr B and nurse Sara got down on the floor to remove the stitches. Dr B was very happy about the incision. He said the area feels nice and soft and he's sure he got all the cyst plus some of the scar tissue. He also said the scar tissue was confined to the muscle and tissue and didn't get into the joints so we won't have to worry about arthritic changes as he ages. That is excellent news. Sebastian had to wear his cone for one more night, but I removed it the next morning at breakfast and he's very pleased to be able to curl into a ball to snooze.

Then it was Morgan's turn. To say that I was anxious is a real understatement. Dr B put Morgan on the exam table and talked to her for a couple minutes. Then he listened to her heart and told me that her heart sounds like a young puppy, nice and slow and steady with no murmur or other sounds. Her lungs sounded clear and her eyes had not gotten any worse since last spring. He said her weight was perfect which came as a real surprise because she had been gaining during the early summer and I've been trying to get her back in shape. I had taken a urine sample in and it was also perfect. Then he drew blood to be sent out to the lab. We discussed what to expect. We knew her liver values would be high but we hoped they at least would hold steady and not continue to climb. We left feeling encouraged and waited for the phone call the next day.

The phone call came and we were all thrilled. Morgan's liver enzymes were all normal except for one. Normal range for alk phosphatase is 10-150. Last spring Morgan's was out of sight at 3202, but now it's down to 1874. It's still high, but it's come way down and is continuing to drop and all the others are normal. Dr B says Morgan must be part cat with nine lives. Back when she was three years old, she almost died of liver failure and she's had problems ever since, but she's in great shape for a grumpy old lady dog. And we're all happy to have her around for awhile.

A Little Holiday Creativity

I haven't been a total slug over the last few weeks. When the dogs were sick I tried to spend as much time on one floor as possible so that Samba wouldn't try to follow me up and down the stairs. I'd gather up my craft du jour and settle in front of the TV and when we weren't racing in and out the front door, I got a few things stitched. Would you like proof?

This is a shawl that I knit for a friend who is always chilly even in summer. I liked the colors and fortunately they were also her favorites.

Check out this neat shawl pin that I found on Ebay. It looks like it was made for this shawl. We exchanged gifts a few days ago, so now I can post these pics

This piece took forever. I thought it would never be finished, but here it is. Done

For some reason this year I feel like stitching Santa and his reindeer. Who knows why I choose a particular subject, it just happens. This one looks like they're having a great time flying over rooftops.

This is a big piece. I had to cut fabric the right length and I have no idea what to do with it now that it's finished.

Here are closer shots of Santa and his buddies.

Finally this is one that I finished last night. It has more of an old world feeling to it.

Today was cookie day. I made lots of cookies, then divided them up for friends. The house smells wonderful, like gingerbread and peppermint. I don't know how the dogs can stand it. First are frosted gingerbread.

These are those absolutely decadent fudge like cookies made with coconut, chocolate chips, nuts, graham cracker crumbs and condensed milk. They are way too rich and way too good.

These are made with almond flavor and cherry chips.

And these which are delicious are chocolate mint, made with Andes peppermint chips. They smell great and taste even better.

Tomorrow is dog biscuit baking day. That will get a lot of attention, I'm sure.
See, I can be creative at times.

Words Can't Express

There are no words to express the sadness that results from yesterday's events.

But, come on people, aren't we better than this?

This must stop. Let's all take a moment this weekend to think how we can each do something to make our country and our world better for all of us. Surely we can each do some small thing to make our little piece of the world better for someone who needs help.

A Musical Interlude

Here's a new song for you. Please relax and enjoy.


Said the Yorkie to the Collie Pup,


























"Do you see what I see?
Sitting near the tree, Collie Pup.
Do you see what I see?
A cat, a cat
Sitting near the tree.
Would you like to chase it with me?
We can chase it right up that tree."


Said the Collie Pup to the Labrador,

"Do you hear what I hear?
In that pile of toys, Labrador,
Do you hear what I hear?
A squeak, the sound of a brand new toy.
Join me for a search and destroy.
We can find it and fix that new toy."


Said the Labrador to the Basset Hound,

"Do you smell what I smell?
Coming from the stove, Basset Hound.
Do you smell what I smell?
The scent, the scent 
Of bacon in the air,
We can reach it from up on a chair.
Help me move the chair over there."


Said the Basset Hound to the gentle Dane,

"Do you know what I know?
Stuff on tables are for us, gentle Dane.
Do you know what I know?
Pizza, cookies and even meats,
They are all just meant to be treats.
We can help ourselves to some treats."


 


















Said Miss Norma Jean to the audience,
"That's the end of our song.
Thanks for coming by, audience.
That's the end of our song.
We really love singing songs for you,
And it's best if you sing it, too.
So for now we'll say toodle-loo."

Well, there you have our newest song. We want to thank our friends who helped us with it, Mr Pip the Yorkie, Minty the Collie Pup, Dexter the Labrador, Miss Sissy the Basset and Rory the Dane. We hope you enjoyed a little relaxation in this busy season.

Now back to the rush, Norma Jean the Portie Queen

Brain Fade

Last night I though up a good topic for a post. Before drifting off to sleep I composed most of it in my head so I'd be ready to go in the morning.

Unfortunately, I haven't the foggiest idea what the topic was . It's completely gone, filed somewhere in the storage area of my brain. Will it reappear? Perhaps. If it does I'll at least jot down a word or two to remind myself.

Until then, here's a little winter cross stitch to amuse you. It's called The Snowball Fight.

I've been doing a lot of stitching lately and I'll post a few of them over the next couple weeks. So till my brain clears out, good day.