How Much More Exciting Can Life Be????

Today began with a loud heralding of noise, mostly the high pitched squeak of Boogie supported by lower case woofs of Stuff and Rummy. When I went out to the west deck to see what the commotion was all about, there hung Major by his back left toe off the top of the chain link gate. He was panting but not hollaring. Thank goodness he's tall enough to touch ground with his front two legs or he would have been in dire straits. He began to beat his tail against the gate when he saw me and the look in his eye was clear: HELP ME!!! So I went down and tried to extricate his foot, to no avail. Then came a shout to Joseph to come assist. We both lifted this dog up and attempted to take the now pretty swollen toe out from the wire top of the gate. Nope, not happening. In the process this treasure of a dog made not a bark, not a sign of aggression even though we know he was in pain, and seemed to be only grateful for someone to come and help him out. I ended up calling Jack, and then Jerry Cannon, the man who originally found Major and lives down the street. When Jerry got here (first b/c he lives so close) Major wagged his tail in recognition once again and just remained in his trapped position without making a peep. Between Jerry and Joseph, they got the toe out and Major limped over to the pool edge and drank his fill. I have put some canned food mixed with Keflex and Ascripton in his bowl and we shoveled him into his crate for the morning. Poor soul. Just as I thought....not a mean bone in this dog's body and he's SO affectionate for a big cuss that it's just plain remarkable. He's out on the dog porch now barking b/c I'm positive he has to pee since he drank almost half a pool's worth of water when the ordeal was over. Anyway, this guy just has to find his forever home. BUT I don't for a minnit believe he has learned a lesson and won't be jumping over a four foot fence to come around front and see if we'll let him in.

Joseph is now in Emory hospital for a heart treatment and will be there overnight. After I took him there, Garbo slinked (a word???) out of the car and into the lobby of Dr. Ana's for yet a fourth progesterone. I'm waiting to see how far along she's come today. We went over the record of the last two breedings and determined that she didn't ovulate until about day 18, so that puts a problem (ANOTHER) in my schedule inasmuch as I am leaving for Denver on Tuesday and Day 18 doesn't come along until after I've left. Will have to sort this one out for sure.

Anyway, the sleeves are done on the costume and the skirt is almost ready for a waistband. I gotta finish that this afternoon b/c I don't want to miss American Idol tonight. So off to the sewing room now, hoping that the paw on the temporary guest is doing okay and the progesterone test tells me something good. Ciao for now, MsPatty

Another Day, Another Jolt

Just can't get anything done with all these distractions. First a long discussion yesterday with Joseph about exactly where his doc appt is today. He swears it's where we went by mistake, so we hye off to downtown Atlanta and Emory Downtown. As we drive up, he says, "This isn't the right place." I am frustrated b/c we've been thru this and clearly last night it was the RIGHT PLACE. So I drag out the GPS to find out the best way to get to Emory Main Campus office. He can't find the exact location and claims he can't remember that he's been to the doc's there before. I leave him off on Clifton Road in exasperation, saying when he's ready to be picked up he should call me. Went to Hancock's and got some material to finish the costume and then to Panera's to get some not needed bagels and a Starbuck's just a couple of doors away. Just about the time I take my first sip of a Vente Skinny Vanilla Latte the phone rings and he's ready. As he gets in the car I can tell there's something he doesn't want to talk about. But I press him. They're going after yet another one of those electric things to stabilize his heart. ALSO Seems the surgeon got after him for having stopped taking his meds. The surgeon, being a well-to-do idiot, doesn't understand that when they give him prescriptions for stuff that costs over $1500 a week, this destitute man doesn't have a way to afford to "keep taking his meds." So tomorrow morning Joseph is to be readmitted to Emory for this procedure and maybe a Social Worker will be assigned to help out in the cross-messaging of info from doc to doc about this case. In this one, the left hand doesn't know what the right foot is doing, apparently. Anyway, when we get home, we find out (b/c Jack has called the other docs and complained about the aforementioned problem) that Joseph was REALLY supposed to go into the hospital RIGHT NOW but he has refused, saying that as long as he's going to be doing the procedure tomorrow, he wants to go home tonight and then he'll only have to be in the hospital for one night! OKAY, but that means yet another trip to the campus on behalf of the Subaru with me as driver and I already have put off an appt originally scheduled for today for tomorrow morning. At least this time I'll know where to take him....humph and SIGH. This is like having a teenager, but he's a 37 year old man, for heaven's sake. He seems to feel that as long as he apologizes and recognizes verbally that whatever goes wrong is his fault, that makes it okay. I am beside myself...can you tell?

Anyway, more progesterone tests for Garbo tomorrow, too. And Georgia is planting her behind on the glass door to tempt our temporary intact visitor who's scratching at the door and who couldn't breed her if we lifted her up and let him try. She's being the vamp and probably would be ready for breeding if we were going to do it this time. We're NOT.

I am slowly working on the top for Reese's costume and if the entire thing turns out like I want, it'll be spectacular. My wish is for her to be pleased and feel so ROYAL in it that she's the star of the show. Of course, Reese being Reese, it doesn't take a costume for to make her feel that way. She's an actress of the first order already in that intelligent and gorgeous head of hers!

I'm off to see if the Braves can hold off the Cardinals for the first of four games in St. Louis. I KNOW the Crazy Cantors are watching.....guess they've changed allegiances now that they live in the Gateway City. Too bad....but GO BRAVES and my This Season's Hero, Martin Prado!
MsP

Forgot to say something: Major had taken to barking his lungs out in the middle of the night. Joseph being Joseph, he's come down and let the dog out thinking that's what the barking is all about. NOPE, the barking was to train Joseph to pay attention to him. Now this is a huge, deep chested dog with lots of room to hold it for more than a couple of hours. If my Labradors and my Frenchie can spend overnight in their crates without being let out, Major can jolly well do that, TOO. SO, when the barking started on Saturday night, I marched out to the dog porch, grabbed the yellow plastic baseball bat and proceeded to beat two times on the top and two times on the crate door while declaring NO BARKING. I wish you could have seen the eyes on this huge head. They just about popped out of their sockets. When I met Joseph at breakfast time on Sunday morning, he was shaking his head in disbelief. What do you know....there was NO BARKING all night long!!!! Guess the message got across, huh? I've been teaching him "STAY" and he's loving it. He already knew "SIT" when he got here, so we are adding to his training and he's thriving with it. This dog just adores us all. He gallops all over the yard with sheer delight, and when you call him, he charges back to lunge into your knees with glee and happiness. I don't think he was poorly treated in his earlier life. It's easier for me to think that some folks loved him and just couldn't afford to keep him so they let him off at our isolated street in hopes that someone else would take him in. That's better in my heart than to think he escaped some sort of mess that was hard on him. He's got the heart and soul of a devoted companion. Thanks, folks, for the suggestions. We are working to find just the right place for this paragon of boxer/pit bull virtue. He deserves it.

Well, today is the sun after the storm. Apparently all night long we had wind like crazy and rain all day yesterday in buckets. On the other hand, I guess that's better than coping with the 12 inches of snow they had in Denver.
I am going to attempt to finish a certain Princess's costume for the Denver Shakespeare Festival today. Have about a dozen Gerber daisies to transplant, along with some other beautiful flowers and a couple of pepper plants (red and yellow) and that's the end of planting for this year. Have already eaten three little tomatoes from the plants that had set by the time they were put into the ground. Everything seems to like the front yard location, so it's easier to tend than the back when it comes to watering and that's good. Jack installed a timer I got at Wally World for half price and now we have moisture coming each day for two hours and a separate hose available when needed. Technology is a good thing even if I'm an antique.
Major is becoming more and more a part of this household and I'm getting more and more anxious to find a place for him. He's incredibly smart, quick to learn, dedicated to anyone who will give him affection and will climb a fence both going and coming. He doesn't go anywhere...just to the front door where he would like to convince someone to let him in. I haven't done that yet b/c I'm not sure of what he really wants to do with the cats. He's such a neat dog.....really needs a forever home and this cannot be it.
Braves just don't seem to be able to grap a winning cycle and stay there. There are all sorts of analyses of what's the matter, but I think it's just luck of the draw. Hope by the end of this season we do something good for Bobby. They advertised the first Bark in the Park, to which I had hoped to take Georgia, but I don't think we'll be here to do that. Maybe in the summer at night we'll get to go. It's SO much fun and she would LOVE it.
The court case about the property dispute looks worse and worse for this side and I wake up durng the night in a sweat thinking that this has cost me a year's worth of income at the end of my life without recompense. It is grossly unfair that I should have to shell out five figures to prove that someone ELSE did something wrong and then I don't even have a prayer of getting that money back. These people were toddering on the edge of being crooks and now I have to pay for it. Where is the justice? I used to say that there are reasons for everything and that what goes around comes around....now I wonder if that's really true, what did I do to deserve all this??? Humph...
Boogie has it in her head that chirping will get over to us the idea that she's not pleased about something. When she finally discovered Major the other day, she actually uttered a bark...first time in her primal four months. BUT 99% of the time she chirps....three in a row at about G Sharp above middle C, ad infinitum. There's no convincing her that this method of communicating isn't effective. Right now she's doing it b/c she can't get to Georgia to play. Guess I better go and put the two buddies together in order to stop the one note concert. Maybe today will turn out better in the later hours than it has so far. MsP

Earth Day

On this green day I am grateful that there is good weather and something green to do.
Also am relieved and grateful to report that Magnificent Max has survived in fine fettle and is recuping at home now. He had a serious operation in Denver yesterday and is now going to TRY to remain sedentary for the next three weeks in order for the healing to be successful. We've sent him a brand new and HUGE (thanks to Joseph) collection of baseball cards along with a couple dozen DVD's to keep his mind occupied....those and some puzzles and some little plant kits so he can have something green to watch over during this enforced quiet time.
This morning I let Georgia out in front to do her morning business and forgot that the new addition, a TEMPORARY visitor until we find him a forever home, Major, was out. Since Georgia is in season, we have kept them apart. Too, they haven't officially met yet b/c we weren't sure how much experience this guy has had with little dogs--he gets along famously with the Labradors, but a Frenchie is definitely a different story. So what to my wondering eyes should appear when I went to the front door to call Georgia in, but the TWO OF THEM side by side, staring expectantly up at me. The expressions on their faces were as if to say, "Well, what made YOU think we couldn't get along???" Two bulldogs, for heaven's sake....albeit the yin and yang of bulldogs. Georgia with no tail, no muzzle, perk ears, and about midget size; Major with long soft fold ears, a tail about a mile long, a muzzle that would make two for a Labrador, and almost 28 inches at the withers. Other than being canines, the only thing they have in common is that they're both brindles. He seemed to understand that even if she smelled enticing, there wasn't anything he could do about it, SO they are firm friends areddy....whew, and whew again! This boy is SUCH a good dog. He's handsome and kind and affectionate and if we didn't have so many others already, he'd be a permanent fixture here. But he's got to go someplace where he can get the proper attention he deserves. Any help will be appreciated, for this guy is something special.
Guess that's all for the moment....off to go green. Ciao for now, MsP

Cheesch

Boy, do I get sick and tired of these bloggers and facebook folks who keep sending bible messages and political views that seem to ignore that someone else may have another viewpoint....seems like those who do the most are the ones who might be the least secure in their beliefs???
HURRAY for Crystal Bowersox on American Idol tonight. She's absolutely THE BEST. Lee DeWise and BIG MIKE are close behind, but Crystal's in a class by herself. How's THAT for a political view, HUH??? Just MHO and I don't broadcast it except on this diary.
Anyway, today was a rush. First to the vet's to have Garbo's progesterone done again...still not ready, maybe Saturday. Also to take "Major" up and have the vet crew look at him. They all agree that he's a beauty and needs a forever home, but who will that be??? He's so sweet and handsome and well behaved that I can't bear to send him off to the pound. So he stays until someone shows up.....wonder when that will be???
Sent a large box of goodies off to Magnificent Max who is having surgery tomorrow morning. He will have to be still and quiet (HUH???) for three weeks (HUH...WHAAAAT???) and so we've gathered a zillion DVD's and things for him to do to keep his butt still. Joseph started a fabulous baseball card collection for him and it's all displayed in a new book that pretty much starts Max off at the professional level. I've gone on Amazon and ordered some books about this hobby and they should arrive by the weekend, so Magnificent Max is all set as soon as he comes out of his fog from the operation. Bless his intelligent and sweet bones...prayers up for success and quick recovery for the eight year oldster.
Braves aren't doin' so hot against the Phillies so far tonight. Think I'll go to bed and hope to wake up to a surprise eighth or ninth inning score. WHOOPPPEEEE....Jason Heyward hit a homer to tie it up in the 9th and then McClouth hit another homer as a walk off to win the game....see, toldja....they do better if I go off and ignore them! Phillies are pretty awesome, so we did good!!!!
Ciao for now, MsPatty

Do I Know What I'm Doing Yet???

Sat here for an hour yesterday composing a diatribe about meds and Joseph and when I went to look up something else to be accurate, the entire message disappeared. I just quit and went to watch the miraculous Rockies pitcher pitch a no hitter shut out over the Braves. Guess I cut off my nose to spite my face as my Granny used to tell me...
At any rate, Joseph came home from the ICU with a list of four new meds to keep his heart rate steady at something below 154. High, huh??? So off I went to leave them at the pharmacist. Much to my horror, it turns out that one of these things goes out at $1030 PER WEEK and the second (except we got a one week's free coupon...humph) is going to be $230 PER WEEK. Now these docs know this man is indigent, homeless (except for me), jobless and disabled. He does not have any insurance of any kind. WHERE DO THEY THINK HE'S GOING TO GET THE DOUGH TO GET THESE MEDS??? I certainly can't afford it and there's no doubt he can't. I'm livid.....and feel rather helpless to say the very least. We're going to call them on Monday to see if there are other options. God please help us if there aren't!~
We have officially taken in this boxer/pitbull in tact mix. Hoping to find a forever home for him, as he's too nice to give up to the pound. We call him Major and he's strutted around here examining the place. Stuff and Rummy have accepted him in their area and ignored his advances, both being spay and used to all sorts of interlopers in their many years. He's a brindle, taupe, with white paws, white tip of tail and big white bib. He has lovely big head and a kind brown eye. He's obedience minded, walks well on a leash, gets along with other dogs and is very affectionate.
Spoke with Eliz Bowron on her way home from a successful Potomac. Will probably take Garbo down there in the middle of the week so she can be bred to Monkey. Can't wait to see what comes of this combination....just want a black girl and maybe a show quality boy out of the mix.
Off to garden and then watch the Rockies/Braves game while sorting thru baseball cards to be sent to Max, the ultimate grandson, for his perusal after an operation Wednesday. He will have to be quiet and pretty sedentary for three weeks....impossible? Maybe....at any rate, Joseph, bless his kind heart, has donated a collection of the cards and I've gotten a few along with a notebook to display and keep them in. Sending that out tomorrow so it will be there when Max awakens. It'll be tough on this tough kid, but he'll pull thru it.
Georgia and Boogie are best of friends and play together like yin and yang doing dances thru the grass and leaves. So different from one another and yet so close. Boogie is so much like her mom that it's uncanny.
Ciao for now.

Will Wonders Never Cease

Well, I finally found out what the address to this silly thing is, so the news is out and maybe before too long somebody will admit reading it.
This afternoon we spent some wonderful time watching Georgia and Boogie chase one another in the front yard all over the tall grass that has just now started to grow tall enough to hide behind. Georgia is faster by a zillion than is Boogie, but the latter has learned to attack her as she rushes by. Georgia has a bone that she with which she likes to play keep away. Boogie tires of that in about a nanno second, but after a few dashes by, Georgia lures her back into the chase. It's a hoot seeing a brindle Frenchie playing with a four month old yellow Labrador.
I've NEVER seen such a clone as is Boogie to her mother, Garbo. They are EXACTLY alike, not only in looks but in gestures and temperament, with the great exception that Boogie is a LOT more outgoing. With that in mind, I'm hopeful that she will be a LOT easier for Darcie and Anthony to show than was Garbo, the princess who only went around the ring once and then declared that she was too smart and bored to do it again. She garnered a Major and a couple of singles, but she'll never finish no matter how well she fits the standard. So we now have hopes that your clone of a daughter will not be so particular!
Have just spent a couple of days worrying about Joseph, my "nephew" who lives here and helps me by taking superb care of the dogs (Boogie spends each night with him in his bedroom.). Joseph was married to my dear niece at one time and we were good Braves friends during that time. He moved to PA for a time and then ended up here. He has a bad heart and Monday went to the ER and then was admitted to ICU at Emory U Hospital. His heart rate was above 154~the cardiologists finally got it down to a reliable level and sent him home two days later with five new prescriptions. The cardiology dept there has never seen a man of his young age (late-30's) with a heart that bad. To add to the mix, Joseph also has a debilitating back problem brought on by falls from roofs. He was a professional roofer. He adores the dogs and they him. So we now have Joseph back in the fold and are going to the pharmacy first thing in the AM to get those new meds.
Anyone interested in a fabulous rescue pitbull/boxer mix? He was found wandering up and down our street last weekend. My neighbors took him in and we are actively trying to find this jewel a proper home. He's as gentle as can be, apparently obedience, leash, house and car trained (although not neutered YET). He's a brindle (taupe) with a white bib and four white feet and a white tip on his tail. His quiet nature and his affectionate temperament make him a real prize and for that reason we are loathe to take him to the pound. We've tried to find his former owners but no one has responded to our efforts. We are afraid if we take him to the pound he'll end up with someone who wants a protection dog and this creature would have to be mistreated very badly to become an attack dog. He's just too nice! We call him Major and if someone thinks they have a suggestion for finding him an appropriate home, please DO call me.

With Darcie to keep me enthused, I have started the veggie garden this year even though I didn't originally plan to do that. Have moved it around to the front yard to make watering simpler. The romaine and butter crunch lettuce are practically running us into a produce business. All the tomato plants save two are heirlooms and we are anxious to have the first ones. Also have a great herb garden stashed among some lovely annuals and bulbs, so the front (in case somebody is foolish enough to want to buy this place) will look acceptable should we ever be able to put it on the market. Too much to repair and replace at the moment to have a date for that. Also the property dispute is still in full argument (expensive lawyers' bank accounts are like dark holes into which you pour money....), so we are still on hold.

I appreciate all the good wishes sent to me on Monday for my "anniversary".... my mom's best friend always said what's normally called a birthday is really an anniversary and a mother's birthday....but evidently somebody missed that along the way. At any rate, I spent it in the ER with Joseph. BUT my wonderful best buddy/first cousin JoJo on Sunday treated me to a fabulous birthday dinner (and dessert -- white chocolate banana cream pie) at ARIZONA over in Stonecrest Mall. Next time any of you come to town, be sure to remind me to take you down there. It's as good as the Sycamore Grill in Stone Mountain, believe it or not.

Okay, that's all for today. I'm off to watch the ballgame....GO BRAVES....interspersed with the next edition of Project Runway. Keep in touch, You All.....MsP

Today like all days.....

Here I am again. Almost forgot how to get here and am here all alone, it would seem. Probably not a good idea to have a blog that no one else reads, but I don't know how to "advertise" so it's me and the local canines and three cats.

Have just taken Georgia (Frenchie) and Boogie (formerly "Treasure") up to the vet's for their rabies shots. Boogie took the place by a storm, AFTER she got over being in a place where she wasn't in charge of everything. I find that the case with all puppies who think the world revolves around themselves when they go to a new place and find out that's not the case. However, at the end of the trip, she had returned to her rightful place as Vice Director/Administrator to the one who's REALLY in charge, Georgia, Director and Administrator of EVERYTHING.

These two are the Yin and Yang of breeds....each one diametrically conformationally different than the other, but they are the VERY best of buddies and can't stand to be without one another. Boogie also got a cudo from a breeder who walking into the vet's as I was checking out and declared: "There's the most beautiful yellow Labrador puppy in someone's van out there!" Of course, I piped up and claimed her. She's truly a gorgeous pup and she's practically a CLONE of her mother, Garbo. The difference is that she's got a much more out-going temperament (once she's learned the lay of the land), so I'm sure Anthony and Darcie will be relieved to hear that I may have a winner who won't poop out after one go-around! We'll see. I'm taking Boogie to FL with me to visit in a week or two and that will help in her socialization.

At the moment we've about given up moving to Colorado before the summer is up, mostly b/c there is so much to be fixed up around here, so little moolah to pay for it, and so much that keeps appearing that we didn't know about in the beginning. It's been like peeling an onion....once one problem layer is gone, another emerges up. We've had rat infestation in the outer wall, squirrel families roosting in the attic, rotting bannisters b/c the original builder didn't use pressure treated lumber, leaks in the roof due to faulty placement of those stacks that give outlet to things like bathrooms and kitchen. Apparently the roofer who did it was paid a pittance and as a result did the job that he thought was appropriate to payment. Fortunately my nephew, Joseph, who lives here and takes care of the dogs as well, is a consummate roofer who knows what's right and is making it so.

I've planted my veggie and herb garden out front this year in order to make watering easier. Hope that hasn't made stealing the fruits of the garden easier for the squirrels who already own the peach, pear and apple trees. I'm going to learn to shoot a gun in hopes of scaring the bejessus out of them if I don't hit 'em. That didn't work so well for my brother-in-law, Randy, in Florida. When he killed the fat ones eating their bird seed, the squirrel team brought a complete army to pay him back. For killing two, he got a family of eleven!!!! So far the noise emmitters we bought to place in the attic have scared the local squatters away, but I wouldn't put it past them to pay me back by eating the fruits of my summer garden. Joseph has found their attic entry methods and plugged them up, but they have an uncanny way of making more, so we probably have an ongoing fight on our hands.

More on the garden and good things: Have even planted stevia as a possible sweetener for our iced tea! And just recently found a passable substitute for my daily habit at Starbucks (sorry, Darcie) for a skinny Vanilla Latte: 1 teaspoon Juan Valdez coffee crystals, 1 teaspoon real sugar, 3/4 cup hot no fat milk, 1/4 cup boiling water and six squirts Starbucks no sugar vanilla syrup. That keeps me going when things bog down energy-wise.

Okay, I've written what's on my mind and I'll read it over....probably the only one until I can figure out how to tell somebody that I have a blog.....cheerio, MsPatty