Brad Paisley sings "...you never know
where one might be..."
I can tell you where they are. On my dog, on my cat...luckily I
haven't found one on myself yet. Those things are freaky. Just
this week I've found 8 (5 on the dog, one on the cat, one on the couch
and one on a rocker). I wasn't smart enough to put that tick
medicine on the dog until yesterday, so hopefully she is done. My
cat Jacko is another story. He got his medicine last month and
luckily the ticks aren't embedding themselves into him.
Unfortunately what they're doing is hitching a ride on him into the
house. I've been trying to stop them at the door by checking him
as soon as he comes in the house...obviously I've missed a few.
I know the way to stop it is by not letting the dog or cats back into
the house...but they look at me through the window with those sad little
eyes and I cave in. My other option is to keep them in the house, but
what fun would that be for them?
I had someone mention she wouldn't know a tick if she saw one, so I'm
posting a photo of the one I took off Jacko this morning. This is
pre-skin attachment.
April 22, 2013 Baby Firsts
Even though my daughter is 15-months-old, she is still
experiencing firsts this year...first time in the snow, first time in
the mud. This time last year she was too young to really experience all
the things we take for granted.
When I took her out during the most recent snowfall, she didn't know
what to do. When I put her in the snow, she just sank. She
did more falling and sitting than walking and standing but she got to
feel the flakes falling on her face and taste the fresh snow, something
I see kids of all ages do.
This weekend Elizabeth and I took a walk down our lane. She and I
both wobbled over the stones to the field. Didn't realize until
after she started running that it was nothing but mud. She only
got so far before becoming stranded...mud weighing down her shoes.
It wasn't any better for me, but I managed to get her out and carried
her to a puddle so we could wash our shoes. I know, not the most
sanitary thing to do considering just last weekend our lane was flooded.
But you know what...we live in the country. As a kid I'm sure
she'll play many more times in the muddy field, fall many times in the
creek trying to catch frogs, and step in doo-doo when she does in the
duck hut/chicken coop to gather eggs.
April 5, 2013 Cat Meds
Wow! I thought it was tough getting my dog to take pills
at first, but my cat...
I learned the trick to giving the dog meds. Hide the pill in some
food. What works best for my dog is poking a hole in a hot dog and
sticking the pill in the hole. Of course to trick her I give her part of
the hot dog without a pill before and after.
The cat - I tried sneaking the pill in some food. Unfortunately,
unlike the dog, he nibbles. He found the pill in no time. I
tried feeding it to him like I would a treat. He wasn't buying it.
I finally ended up holding his legs with one hand and with the other I
opened his mouth and stuck the pill in as far as I could wihout being
bitten. Not an easy thing to do. I do have claw marks on my
leg (I held his legs down but on my lap). but I got him to swallow both
pills. Hopefully he feels better soon...unless of course he just
hid the pills under his tongue like people do.
March 27, 2013 Critters Scope
Out the Prey
We have bird feeders set up outside several windows.
The intent was that we could sit and enjoy a beverage while watching the
birds. That isn't working out yet because for one thing we don't
have the house finished. For another thing, our critters occupy
the windows when they are in the house. The other day I caught the
cats sitting on the window ledge watching a bird. I know they were
plotting how to get to the bird. By the time I let Jacko and Suds
outside the bird had taken off.
This morning, one cat was perched on one window sill, another cat was
outside on the step and the dog was sitting at another window. I
didn't see any birds, but I knew something was out there. I just
didn't know what. When I opened the door to have a look, I saw
adorable little squirrels hopping from tree to tree.
Unfortunately, those squirrels were what my critters had been eyeing.
They all took off toward the unsuspecting squirrels. Who won?
I don't know. I had to leave for work...but I did hear the dog
barking in the distance, so my money is on the squirrels.
March 20, 2013 Day-Z's Revenge
I hate when it's wet outside. Like any dog, mine
likes to play in the woods and down in the creek. When it's wet
that means extra mud. Day-Z is an indoor/outdoor dog. She spends
the day outside playing then spends the night on the couch. Tired
of the mud, I decided to give her a shower. When I put the leash
on her, she got excited and ran to the door thinking we were going
somewhere together. Well, we were. Just not somewhere she
wanted to go.
She new exactly where we were headed when I said, "No Day-Z," and
turned away from the door. She firmly planted her butt on the
floor, so I picked up my 40-pound dog and carried her into the shower.
(I have to use the leash so she doesn't run away) When her shower was
done I dried her as best I could, but there was still enough water on
her to get the walls when she shook. Then she proceeded to roll
around on the bathroom rugs and went straight upstairs to my bed.
Yea...wet dog smell all night long. At least is was clean, wet-dog
smell.
March 7, 2013 Why Can't I Keep My Car
Clean
People like to tease (ok - make fun of) me because this
time of year my car is always dirty. It doesn't matter how often I
visit the car wash, there is no keeping it clean. Why? It's
pretty easy to explain. I live on a farm, and the lane is made up
of stones. At least, it's supposed to be. In the fall, the
tractors relocate them. I have no idea where they go...probably
into the field. Rather than replace the stones before the snow
falls, we wait until spring. The hope is that the snow and ice
will keep the lane tidy. Unfortunately the past couple of winters
have been mild. Rather than having the snow packed on the lane, we
have mud...and the potholes just get bigger and bigger.
I took video to show what I'm dealing with:
I know it's my own fault for not replacing the stones before winter, but
it's expensive enough to do it once a year.
February 21, 2013 Not the
Brightest Idea
You know how when you get an idea in your head that you
think is wonderful, you do it then find it wasn't at all? I fell
victim to that thinking recently.
It was almost 9 when I got home from work. It's dark. It's
cold. I'm tired. The chickens need locked up.
I went to lock them up and realized there were some eggs in the coop.
Usually I collect them in a bucket, so I don't drop any on the way back
to the house. Since it was cold, I didn't want to have to walk
back from the house to get the eggs. I had my car. I'd just
hold them while driving.
Yea, I should've seen it coming. I had 4 eggs in my hand while
trying to drive up to the house with the other hand. Needless to say, as
I was getting out of the car i smashed the eggs on my lap and car seat.
It was gross! It was so cold that as I tried to clean up the mess
the water and egg mixture was freezing up. Let's just say it took
a lot longer to clean up than it should have.
Am I going to learn from this and collect eggs again without a bucket?
Probably not.
February 12, 2013 Polish
Lessons
OH MY GOSH! (sorry, didn't mean to yell but
this is a pet peeve of mine)
If you are going to adopt our traditions, at least be
able to say it correctly. Pączki IS the plural. Pączek is
the singular. If you are eating 1 donut you're enjoying a pączek.
If you're eating 2 (or more) you are NOT eating 2 pączkis, you are
eating 2 pączki.
Wow! That actually made me feel better. Enjoy your donuts and
Happy Fat Tuesday!
Seriously, I know in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really
matter. I don't even know why it bothers me. I used to
correct people on the proper pronunciation, but I gave up on that.
I realized that I'm not good when it comes to Spanish, and my friends
fluent in Spanish don't expect me to be. As long as you're close,
people know what you mean...most of the time.
January 29, 2013 Oh, That
Smell!!!
Last night my dog wanted out to play...in the rain.
And where did she go? Straight for the creek.
That's a double whammy. Obviously when she plays in the creek, she
comes back muddy and I have to clean her off before letting her back in
the house. But when she plays in the rain, she not only brings
back mud but that wet dog smell. (Not sure why playing in the
creek doesn't) Had I been thinking about it, she would have spent
last night in her doghouse. Instead, she came in tracking mud and that
"smell" everywhere.
If you have a dog, you know what I'm talking about. It's a smell
that lingers. And to make it worse, I still smell it here at work.
Hopefully it's my imagination and hasn't attached itself to me (the way
someone who lives with a smoker always smells like cigarettes).
I'm hoping it's my imagination so that Big Dave doesn't have to deal
with it in the morning.
If it isn't my imagination I hope the smell is gone for Roseanne and Big
Dave when they come in. Luckily they both have dogs (or at least
Roseanne grew up with one). Maybe it'll be a smell they are used
to. Or...I could start spraying the disinfectant now.
January 17, 2013 Spring?!?!?!?
Oh my gosh! I'm so excited! I saw a Woolly Bear this
morning. It was right there, waiting for me to see it, as I
stepped out of my door this morning!
Yea, so...well, according to legend Woolly Bears can predict whether
we're having a mild or severe winter. According to legend the more
brown a woolly bear has, the milder the winter. True sign? I
don't care. Anything that gets me thinking of Spring is enough for me.
January 15, 2013
Oh no! The bug traveling the county may be headed to my house!
We have been lucky so far. This morning, however, my husband woke
with the chills. "Well, duh," I said. It was 2am and we
don't have the heat set very high in the house. Well, he took his
temp and it was up there. Great!? But, did he stay home from work?
No! Most of his co-workers have it, which doesn't make me feel
much better. I'm doing what is recommended - getting sleep (or as
much as you can get with a baby, dog and 2 cats), washing my hands,
getting my vitamins and fruits & veggies in, taking my herbal
remedies... I just hope it's enough.
Has this bug made it to your house? What have you been doing to
keep it away?
SRETAN BOZIC!
(I should have typed that from home. I can convert my home
keyboard to another language pretty easily)
Merry Christmas!
No, I haven't lost it. Today, January 7th, is Christmas for those whose religion
follows the Julian calendar (Ukrainian Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian
Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox....) It's no different than "American"
Christmas, as my friends and I called December 25th. Not as
commercialized, it still has the same meaning. You still have a
Christmas liturgy, enjoy a festive meal and spend time with the family.
December 6, 2012
Did St. Nicholas visit you today?
He came to my house, so I must've done something right this year :-)
I remember waking as kid and running to check my stocking to see what he
left. It was just as much fun as Christmas. Some years it was lip
gloss and a new Barbie while some years it was just money. It
actually didn't matter what he left, just so long as it wasn't a piece
of coal.
A few years ago, my parents gave me my Christmas stocking.
The money was still in it. I never kept track of how much I'd
collected, so it was a nice surprise when they gave it to me.
It's a tradition I'd like to keep going with my daughter...but I guess
that's up to St. Nicholas.
October 23, 2012
Today Elizabeth had her first swim lesson. I know, she can't walk
yet and I've got her in a pool.
I'm planning ahead. We have a creek running through our property
and my in-laws have a pond on theirs. It won't be long before
she's walking and I don't want to take chances.
It was fun...well, for me.
With it being her first time in a big pool, she was a bit unsure at
first. It was a good 10 minutes before she stopped hanging on my neck.
We floated in the water watching the other babies trying to kick and
blow bubbles. After a while she got the hang of splashing (yea
let's just say she mastered splashing) and by the end of class she was
trying to paddle her way to a toy we were playing with.
Am I expecting her to be a world-class swimmer? No. Am I
going to let her run around the yard without supervision? No. But
I know to expect the unexpected. If she happens to fall in the
creek or run into the pond, I'm hoping something will kick in and she'll
instinctively know to blow bubbles or kick/paddle herself to the edge,
or grab that tree branch.
October 8, 2012
Why aren't I taking more pictures? That's something I've started
asking myself. Normally I'm the first person to take pictures of
anything and everything...so much so that I've had people ask if I have
time to enjoy an event. I have some coworkers and friends I don't
see very often asking for updated photos of my daughter. When I say I
don't have any, they don't believe me. One friend whose son is 3
months older than Elizabeth told me she has 3,000 pictures of him...just
on her phone. I may not take the time to go in the next room
to get my camera, but I'm enjoying every moment. Am I going to
regret this? I don't think so. I get on the floor to play
(despite my knees objecting), I read to her, and I speak to her in more
than one language. Will she hate me when she's older because she
has only one shoebox full of photos instead of several? I hope
not...but...maybe I should attach the camera to my hip just in case.
August 23, 2012
Bronchitis is NOT going to win!
This is really getting annoying. What started as my sinuses draining,
turned into Bronchitis. How the heck did that happen?
Last time I had bronchitis was 17 years ago, and I got it from being
around coworkers who smoked. (The vent where they smoked was connected
to the vent in the newsroom)
Found out my meds were working backward. The cough medicine the
doctor prescribed was supposed to control the cough. For me it did
the opposite. I didn't realize it until 10 days later when I went
back to the doctor. I just thought it was like Mucinex and caused you to
cough up all that pretty stuff.
Doc said it could be a couple weeks, but I should see improvement.
Have you ever had bronchitis? How long did it last for you?
Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper. But instead of children, I'm
attracting poultry.
When I buy dog food, I buy in bulk. Rather than keep huge bags in
the house, they are kept outside in a trailer. Once I jokingly
gave my chickens some of the dog food. I thought they'd ignore it.
Nope! They ate it up and wanted more. I thought it was
funny, so when I'd go outside to get food for the dog I'd leave a little
in the grass for the chickens. Soon the ducks began to eat it too.
Now I'm at the point where it's no longer funny. When I go out to
fill the dog bowl, the chickens and ducks come running. No, it's
more serious than that. When my car pulls into the yard, they come
running. They don't come running when my husband pulls in...just
when I do.
The chickens like the dog food so much, some of them jump up into the
trailer with me when I go get it.
One of these days I'm going to take video. It's annoying but
humorous at the same time. They just follow me around. I told you,
it makes me feel like the Pied Piper. If I walked into the creek
with the dog food, they'd probably walk right into the creek with me.
Here's a photo of the ducks. The drake is eating the dog food
while the hen is shooing away the chickens (which you don't see).
