Dirty Dog

Teddy is very slick at getting out the door without being seen.  If the storm door doesn’t latch right away he pushes on it and is gone.  He doesn’t run away, just wants to be where the action is.

Yesterday afternoon Lory and John were here to put up a shelf for me.  As they left Teddy must have gotten out totally unnoticed. 

45 minutes later I heard a scratching at the front door.  Sure enough, there was Teddy wanting in.  The front door leads to the street, very scary place for a dog.  I felt guilty about not seeing him get out.

It was bedtime before I noticed that his neck was crusty with some animal’s poop.   Must be losing my sense of smell.

Now I understand why animals do this.  It is an instinct to mask your odor with the odor of another animal so you can stalk it and kill it for food.  Humans probably did this long ago so they could hunt successfully.

But this is not acceptable behavior for a house dog who wants to sleep in the people’s bed.  So Teddy slept in his kennel last night.

This morning a bath was in order.

As you can see, he is not happy about it.

 

 

WOW, he survived!  Even his collar had to be scrubbed with an old toothbrush. 

Dogs eyes are supposed to look like that in pictures.  It’s kind of like “red eye” for people.  If they didn’t look like that something is wrong with their eyes. 

His eyes are really very black.  I need to tie his white bandana on him so I can see him at night.  He is just a darker patch on dark nights.

Teddy isn’t hard to bathe.  Once he is in the tub he submits with grace.  Unlike a Great Dane I once owned named Shadow.

She was already 3 years old when I got her from the Great Dane rescue people.  She weighed about 130#. 

The first time I tried to give her a bath I had just had my shower and saw no point in getting dressed before bathing that huge dog. 

I brought her into the bathroom and made it clear to her that she was to get into the tub - no luck. 

I tried attaching her leash and getting into the tub and pulling – no luck. 

I tried getting behind her and pushing – no luck. 

I tried putting my shoulder against her behind and heaving with my feet braced against the wall – no luck.

When your dog weighs as much as you do you have a problem.  Especially when you consider the dog has 4 legs to brace with.

The final solution (after getting dressed) was to put 2 leashes on her and attach them to the deck railing, one on either side.  Kind of like I have seen horses tied so they can’t get away from you. 

A Great Dane is just a big hound.  They have oily skin, lots of lanolin, and a hound odor.  Once again this was a dog that wanted to spend the night cuddled up in bed with me. 

So being tied up like a horse on the deck became a regular routine.  In winter I carried warm water outside to do it. 

Then I thought about the boarding kennel at the vet’s office.  They always gave the dogs a bath the day you picked them up.  Boarding was $15.00/day for Shadow at that time.  When I called to ask what they charged for just a bath it was $18.00.  HMMMMM

So sometimes, as a treat,  (for me) Shadow got a night at the vet’s with a bath in the morning – for $15.00.  Great deal, especially in the winter. 

I’ll try to find a picture of  Shadow to put on here.  I’m sure there are several in those pictures I’m sorting through.

She lived to be almost 10 years old, which is very old age for that large of a dog.  I still miss her.

Later….

Picture project and Smokey

The picture sorting project is going very slowly.  Part of the problem is all the memories they inspire. 

Plus I woke up Sat. with a very sore throat so I didn’t do anything all day but gargle salt water and drink juice. 

Today the throat feels better but the energy level is low.  Couple loads of laundry was about it.

So I’ll give you another Smokey installment.

I had Smokey for about 5 years.  He was a part of the family.

He would throw himself on his back and want me to blow on his stomach like a baby.  He made the puffing sound to be very clear about what he wanted.  He neatly removed earrings.

He would steal a partially melted ice cube from your drink, take it to his cage and stash it in his food dish, it was too cold.  Later he would look for it, cocking his head from side to side, where could that ice cube have gone?

We learned that sunflower seeds made him hyper so we bought safflower seeds and fed him vegetables.  Peanuts were always his favorite.  He would hold the peanut shell in his claw, pop off the top, and eat it like an ice cream cone.

We learned to put the seeds in the microwave for a minute or so to be sure we killed any potential moths.  Bird seed is one of the worst offenders for bringing those tiny moths into the house.

Exterminators had to come to rid us of those before we figured out what to do about it. 

He tolerated other people most of the time.  If people were patient they could pet him.  If someone got too friendly with him they got bitten.  My daughter has a scar on her lip from him. 

If you want to give a child a lifetime pet, give them a parrot.

Later….

Road Trip & Friday Hodgepodge

Another road trip to the Ohio Valley Antique Mall.  Several of the dealers here shop at our Butter Street Barn so we wanted to see what prices they put on our items.  Of course there was some shopping done while wandering around.  There is no way you can see the whole place in one visit.  You just burn out on “looking”.

We found a few things.  See that big roll of fabric in the cart?  That’s going to be new curtains for the living room windows after I get new windows.  $10.00 for the whole roll.  Can’t beat that.

The people are LaDonna, Amy, and Lory.  They are waiting for Eve to check out so we can go for lunch at the Olive Garden nearby.

Then there is Teddy.  He is all black so it is almost impossible to get a good picture of him.  He really is ugly but very lovable. 

That big poodle who doesn’t walk, just prances, and who loves to be told how beautiful she is ----- drinks out of the toilet.  Kind of like a closet alcoholic.

Then there was the Friday surprise, snow.  At this time of year it is not pretty.

But it IS March and any kind of weather can happen in March.  This area had a test of all the tornado sirens this week getting ready for that season.

Later….

Grandkids and Great Grandkids

Can’t call it baby sitting when the grandkid is 13 years old.  Maybe just spending some time together covers it.  He showed me his BB guns and demonstrated on a pop can. 

We found some pieces for his Mother’s jigsaw puzzle.  We solved some word puzzles on a calendar.

He made me a sandwich and got me a soda to go with it. 

We took a short walk to his friends house to retrieve a video game.  When we got home he demonstrated the video game with a lot of shooting and blood in it. 

Pretty normal kid.

Then this morning there is the baby-sitting with the great grandkids, age 2 1/2 and 1 1/2.  

We read a book that had dogs in it so the kids became dogs and I was supposed to throw stuffed animals for them to retrieve in their mouth.  A lot of “good doggy” and pats on the head.

The 2 year old did fine for a while, then decided he wanted crayons.  I was not prepared to deal with crayons as well as I didn’t know where they were. 

The crying, red puckered face, didn’t bother me, then the whining started.  We decided the only proper place for doing this activity was in his bedroom with the door closed.  That lasted a while with several discussions about whether or not he was done.  He came to the door once, opened it, stood there, then closed it again saying he wasn’t done. 

When he was really done he came out and sat beside me and kissed me and cuddled and said he loved me.  AAWWWW. 

He was just getting around to asking for the crayons again when his Mother came home. 

Thank goodness.

The 1 year old was a piece of cake.  He brought me toys and I thanked him for each one which was a big hit.   He didn’t much like the fact that I keep my car keys clipped to my belt but only scowled about it. 

There is a good reason why women cannot bear children after a certain age. 

Later….

At the Park

We went back to the park today to see if the bike path had survived the high water.   A beautiful day for taking the dogs for a walk. 

Sure enough the bike path survived.  First the flood picture from last Wednesday….

Then the picture taken today.  You can see where the water has been but it went down and left the bike path intact.

The dogs really enjoyed the walk.  I sat on a park bench by the bank of the river and day dreamed about how this area must have looked to the first settlers, or hunters, or surveyors who came up this Great Miami River from the Ohio River.  They probably saw lots of wildlife along the bank, lots of big trees, maybe even some native Americans.  Certainly no park benches or….

yellow tape????  Yes, the bank is threatening to cave in, that tree is leaning badly and will soon fall into the river.  Somehow the yellow tape ruined my musings. 

If you drive on secondary roads around here you often come to a 90 degree turn followed shortly by another 90 degree turn, turns so sharp you feel you should use your turn signals.  I have read that this happened when the original surveyors stopped their work in a hurry and didn’t get back to the exact spot to continue their work. 

This was due to being interrupted by bears or Indians etc.  Now those turns are surrounded by corn fields, pastures, or maybe soybean fields.   There must have been a lot of trees here then.

Our trip to the park was so nice I decided to continue on to the pet food store.  The dogs are allowed to go in there and they really enjoy all the smells. 

As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a very disagreeable smell in the car.  A glance into the back seat explained the odor.  Poor Teddy had been car sick.  Of course, Silly stood up and stepped in it, drug her leash through it, tracked it around. 

We pulled out of the parking lot and went home, no pet food store today.  The car got a good scrubbing and the windows are down for the moment.  I’ll have to watch the weather as it is supposed to rain later today.   I thought Teddy was over the car sickness but apparently not.  He loves to get in the car and he hasn’t been sick in the RV since the second day I had him.   I’ll have to give him medicine the next time we go for a ride.

All in all a pretty good day.

Later….

Doctor visit and New glasses

Yesterday I got my eyes examined and ordered new glasses.  After they put those dilating drops in my eyes the doctor wanted to know if I was fuzzy, I told him he was fuzzy but I was fine. 

I also convinced him to prescribe those drops for dry eye that you see advertised on TV.  He was horrified impressed that I can put drops in my eyes while driving.

Today I saw the oncologist and got my Zometa and Faslodex.  They take blood every time I go in.  Until now I didn’t know what all they were looking at.  The Dr. says they look at “markers”.  I tried to ask what markers they look at but the answer wasn’t clear.

These markers seem to tell how the cancer is doing and any big change in them is important.  So not only the CAT and PET scans keep track of things but these markers also keep track of things. 

So I go every month, give them blood, get my drugs, and go on with my life.  Everyone was wearing green today and they had green cupcakes in the waiting room.  I grabbed one on the way out.  I also left them three paperback books and picked up one that looked interesting.  Kind of a paperback book exchange.

My bowling balls  in the front yard are stacked.  I’ll see if they stay that way.

Crocus are brave to be blooming already.  That’s what I like about them. 

Later….

Rain and Wildlife

Was supposed to have a doctor appointment yesterday but their office called to put it off until tomorrow due to a water main break.  Don’t know if that is due to all the recent rain or not.

These geese seem okay with the rain and the high river.

The Great Miami River is pretty high.  It covers a part of the bike path.  When they were building the bike path they had to redo it at least 3 times before it stayed.  I wonder if it will still be there when the water goes down.

It hasn’t been all rain lately.  Silly and Teddy found some sunshine on the back deck a while back. 

Teddy isn’t quite as good as Silly at finding the sunshine. 

I’m getting the estimates on the improvements to the house bit by bit.  The second company is coming to look at the fireplace tomorrow morning. 

I have one estimate on the windows.  The ones there now are about 80” tall and 28” wide, probably the original windows and glass.  The best information I have found for the age of this house is that the lot was defined in 1907. 

They will try to save the wavy glass that is in there now if they can.  Some people want that for restoring old houses.  I’ll take the new ones that are easy to tip in and wash without climbing a second story ladder.   Silly me.

Later….

Sorting Pictures Not So Simple

Sorting old pictures is turning out to be not so simple as first thought. 

And whoever “Very Anonymous” is, NO I don’t want any more pictures to sort.

There are pictures of pictures taken of old family albums that couldn’t be reproduced any other way.   Some of these need to be cropped and put on ancestry.com and shared with family.

There are a lot of pictures that can be thrown away though and that is probably worth the whole job.  It will save someone else a lot of trouble. 

There is also the job of writing on the back of pictures if I can identify the people or date.

I’m rethinking the sorting, maybe some of them should be sorted by decade. 

Household hint:  Do not think you can wipe that one spot off the bathroom ceiling.  It will expand to the whole ceiling and walls which will interrupt your picture sorting project.

Later….

More Smokey and if sausage doesn’t agree with you, don’t feed it to the dogs.

Waste not, want not, isn’t always the best policy.  Woke up to two messes on the floor from dogs having eaten the sausage that I couldn’t eat.  It wasn’t their fault so there were no recriminations.  I got punished by having to clean it up. 

Smokey liked to share everyone’s food and drink.  That drop left on top was his.  This is my much younger sister sharing her ginger ale with him.

 

Birds are messy pets.  Nature somehow taught them to throw down some of the seeds of the plants they eat so there will be a crop for the next year.  Probably the birds who didn’t do that starved to death leaving only the messy birds to survive. 

At least a third of the food goes flying.  If it is vegetable matter it will stick to the wall.  They will eat about anything you eat.  I would shop for a weeks worth of veggies at the salad bar at the grocery.  

When I think of wanting another bird I remind myself of the once a week job of washing floor and walls as well as cleaning the cage.

Smokey was allowed out of his cage while I was home.  He would try to creep down the side of it before he could fly.  If I saw him doing that I would yell “get back up there” and clap my hands.  So he connected the action with the words and started yelling “get back up there” as he crept down the cage.  A great give away that kept him safe.

Dusty, the dog, had killed a couple of mourning doves in the past and they were similar in size and color to Smokey. 

Dusty was cured of  killing mourning doves, even though they are really stupid and just hunker down when you get close.  I took each bird from him and did a little shake and bake with alum powder and pepper, then gave them back to him.  The second time I did this I had to pry his mouth open to stuff the bird in.  He never killed another one, but I didn’t completely trust him.

Smokey tortured that poor dog unmercifully.  He would call him and throw down a peanut shell.  The dog would try to eat it, since he thought “I” had called him and given him a treat. 

Smokey also tortured me by barking like the dog was outside and wanted in, when the dog was already inside or outside enjoying himself.  End result was the dog got left outside sometimes when he wanted in, or I made trips to look for the dog – wherever he was.

Later….

Talking Dog

Okay so it’s only “unh huh” but it is definitely talking. 

He does this at bedtime while I try to read a chapter in my library book.  He is trying to get my attention.  He has tried putting his foot on the book, lay on the book, and chew on the book. 

When none of those work he gazes intensely at me and grunts his little “unh huh” over and over.  So I have started doing it back to him and that seems to satisfy his needs.

Maybe we’ll go for “hi” next.  Some dogs on youtube actually seem to be saying “I love you” and “hello”.  I think Teddy and I should keep it simple. 

The only dog I ever had that would howl was a Siberian Husky.  We were looking for the perfect dog.  I got a book from the library about different breeds.  I found that the Siberian Husky cannot bark.  WOW  That’s the breed for me.

I called around and found one in a nearby town.  She was discounted as she was 4 months old and had been sickly.  She was all better and ready to go.  I bought her.

That first night I shut her in the kitchen so any messes would be contained.  Everyone went to bed.  It wasn’t 10 minutes before the howling started.  One boy in the neighborhood described it as “Rah Ree Roo”.  I laughed until I cried.  No barking, just howling, and howling, and howling.

Camping with her was a real treat.  If there was a moon out she couldn’t contain herself.  We worried about disturbing the other campers until one time a neighbor camper came by and asked if he could record it.  He loved it. 

It came in handy once as retribution for keeping us up until the wee hours of the morning.  Some teenagers nearby were having a party – all night, with loud music and yelling, screaming, and laughing .

We were traveling and had to get up early the next morning to hit the road.  So EARLY the next morning I got her howling.  It took quite a while but finally there was life from the teenagers camp.  They were bleary eyed and rumpled – but they were up.  I called a cheerful good morning to them. 

How did I get her howling?  Simple, just stand in front of her and “direct” the orchestra.  Maybe add a little howl of my own to get things started.

When we left we stopped by the office and told the ranger about the problem and our solution.  He laughed and said he would call their Mamas to come get them.  Apparently it was supposed to be a bunch of girls but there were boys there at the party.

That was in 1975, I’m sure because we took that trip across Canada that year as we wanted to stay home in 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial locally.  (Sorry – a bit of a ramble there.)

Shopping for a few essentials today.  The weather has been way too nice lately.  The snow is almost gone. 

Later….

Sorting Old Pictures

It’s the job that gets put off year after year.  It’s the job I finally started to deal with this week.  The first thing is decide how to sort.  That can’t be decided until you look through a bunch of them and make decisions.  I once saw a sign that said “I used to have a problem with indecision but now I’m not sure.” 

The first group is “I don’t know, let the kids decide later”.  This is old stuff that, if the kids want them they can have them, old pictures of family, etc.

The second group is “throw it out now before you change your mind”.   This  group are pictures with no people in them, unless they are very significant scenery pictures which, of course, we thought they were when we took them.

The third and fourth groups are “Lory and Susan”, my daughters. These groups are easy, their school pictures, their dance recitals, etc.

I have started, Lord only knows if or when I will finish.

Later….

Road Trip

When antique (vintage junk) dealers get cabin fever they take a road trip.  Today we went to a Goodwill Outlet store.  That’s a place they put out all the stuff they were going to throw away and customers get to paw through it before it is tossed.  It is dumped out and only stays there for a few hours.  Then more is dumped.  The dates on the pictures are a day off since I recharged the battery in my camera yesterday and reset it wrong. 

Inside it is well organized in rows of bins full of stuff. Every now and then you hear a crash of broken glass as people rummage.

There are usually a lot of flea market dealers there.  There is competition for first pick when new stuff is brought out.  See the people lined up waiting?

They cover the new bins with quilts or blankets to keep people from grabbing as they go by.

 

When the covers come off the people dive in.  I couldn’t get too close to take the picture for fear of my life. 

The strange part is most people are looking for different things so it doesn’t really matter when you get your turn to rummage.  Some men grab all electronics they can find, then go find a corner to really check out the finds.  Others are after dishes or toys or decorative items.  There are also a lot of books, shoes, and clothes. 

Then when we are done we have to admire one another’s finds.  My finds are in the basket.  Three colorful bowling balls at $2.00 each, to be used for gazing balls in the yard.  I now have 6.  2 stuffed animals for dog toys, a cocoa gift set never opened, 3 pieces of clothing, and 5 mariachis for the great grandsons to make noise with.  A total of $12.84.  Your cart is weighed to determine the price except for the bowling balls and clothes, 79 cents a pound.  Clothes are $1.49 ea.  A few years ago it was 19 cents a pound.  Inflation has hit here, too.

After that it was lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken and then on to another shop where some our friends have space.

They said the shop was on Facebook but I haven’t checked that out yet.  Very nice place and fairly reasonable prices. 

We also checked out a new shop in Germantown, it turned out to be a yarn shop so we didn’t stay long.  No knitters in the group.

Our last stop was a small antique shop also in Germantown.  They have downsized due to the economy. 

All in all it was a fun day even if only three of us were able to go.  My bowling balls are already out in the yard.  I’m trying a cannon ball style stack in the front yard.  The dog toys have been checked out and slightly chewed, and I am hungry again.  That is a good day.

Later….

The Sun is Shining and More Smokey

A beautiful day in the 40 degree range.  A promise that spring will come.  Ran some errands, got some estimates for my PLANS.  I might as well spend the money before the government takes it.

Found another picture of Smokey.  This is not pretty.  He liked to take food from my mouth but this time he got carried away and tried to take out my dentures.  He was always taking off my glasses by flipping the ear piece over my ear.  I learned to take them off before he came around. 

 

One evening we got home to a smoke alarm low battery beeping.  It took quite a while to figure out which one it was.  We replaced the battery.  There was still a beeping.  It took even longer to figure out that it was Smokey who had been left to listen to that sound all day and had perfected it, even down to the timing between beeps.

It took a few days for him to stop that. 

We learned as we went.  When he started throwing tantrums in the evening we figured out he was overtired.  I subscribed to a bird magazine and learned a lot from that.  Birds need to follow the sunrise and sunset so they molt properly and get enough rest.  So in winter we covered him and carried his cage to a back room at sunset so he could get his proper rest. 

In summer I would set his cage out on the picnic table on the back deck for a while on nice days.  He wolf whistled at an elderly neighbor.  I didn’t want her to think it was my husband so I explained it was the bird.  She said that’s fine – that’s the only kind of wolf whistle she got anymore.

It was bound to happen when you have a bird who can fly in a house with doors.  He flew away, across the street and behind the houses.  I was frantic.  It was summer which was good, he wouldn’t freeze.  I ran where he had gone and found nothing, I enlisted the neighborhood children to help find him.  After an hour of looking I went inside for a break. I was thinking about putting his cage outside.

My next door neighbors called an hour or so later to ask me if I was looking for a bird.  There was one in a bush in their back yard.  I rushed over, plucked him out of the bush, and carried him home.  I thanked them profusely. 

He had flown to an area that he could see when he was outside in his cage.  He was trying to come home.  Bless his little heart.

After that I studied up on how to clip a wing.  It isn’t hard to do.  You just spread the wing out and clip the wing feathers toward the back, the ones that fold under when he is sitting still.  Just one wing, so he can fly or rather float a little, not fall down splat. 

Later….

Plans

There are big plans for the spring.  There are a lot of things that need doing to this old house and I am tired of doing them bit by bit.  It needs new windows, a paint job, and the electrical wiring checked.  The only information that I can find for it’s age is that the lot was recorded in 1907.  That is probably when the house was built.

I need to remind myself of things that have been done:

insulation in the attic and walls

glass block windows in the basement and bathroom

new roof

city water instead of a well

new floor in the kitchen and bathroom,

bedroom and bathroom painted

removed a rough rock patio area beyond the back deck and replaced it with decorative concrete squares (seconds)

added a back storm door

added dead bolt locks

added an iron rail on the front porch

had the chimneys checked and capped

Reviewing that list makes me feel a little better but I get impatient.   

I doubt that the chimneys were truly capped as I meant them to be.  There is one fireplace still in existence and when I open it I find bird droppings.  There is also a draft going up that chimney.  I’m not inclined to get up on the roof to check the chimneys.

Now I want to put a ventless natural gas burner in that fireplace so I guess I will have it checked again. 

Plans are fun.  What is that saying?  Make plans, God loves a good laugh.

Later….

Smokey the parrot

It’s Monday again, trash day, and I got my trash to the street.  Didn’t get the recyclables out there today, maybe next week.

I will now bore you with remembrances of the past.

Smokey the parrot had grey eyes when I got him which meant he was under 6 months old.  The eyes turn yellow at about 6 months of age.  We learned together how to be friends.  I later learned that a bird thinks your head is another bird and your body, when he sits on your shoulder, is a tree the two of you are sitting on.

Found this picture in an old album.  That’s Smokey and a much younger me, about 25 years ago.

He once tweaked my nose gently and then backed up with an amazed look.  Yes, a bird can look amazed.  My beak wasn’t very useful in his opinion. 

A bird’s beak continues to grow like our fingernails.  Since there wasn’t the normal “in the wild” ways for him to wear down his beak I had to clip the tip off it now and then.  His toenails also had to be trimmed.  The method of doing this was to wrap him in a hand towel, lay him on his back, and give him a corner of the towel to chew on (keeping the beak busy was a necessity) while I pulled one foot out at a time and clipped the nails.  The beak was a quick snip. 

When I used fingernail clippers on my own fingernails, he flinched every time I clipped. 

I forget what his first words were but they came fast and furious.  He sounded like the person he was mimicking.  He called the dog in my voice – the dog came.  If he was out on top of his cage he would call the dog over, turn his butt over the edge of the cage and poop on the dog.  A cute white dog with a blob on top.  Yuck. 

If I hadn’t been “obedient” to his wishes he would poop down the front of my clothes.  If I had been “good”  he backed up and pooped off the back.  Kind of a “poop on you” attitude.

As Thanksgiving approached that first year I thought it would be funny to have him gobble like a turkey.  I worked up a pretty good gobble and taught him to do it. 

He liked it so well that after Thanksgiving we came up with a way to use it.  I would sing “Old McDonald had a farm”, he would do the E-I-E-I-O part, then I would sing “on that farm he had a turkey” and he would gobble.  We added a rooster and a hen over the years.  He would ask to do the act by starting off with his E-I-E-I-O.  He had a wonderful crow for the rooster.  We were working on a duck sound when I passed him on to another home.

That’s a whole other story.

Later….