Surgery

Thank you all for your sweet comments, prayers and well wishes. I am going to have a partial shoulder replacement tomorrow. My husband doesn't know a thing about blogging so I'm not sure when or how I'll get a post up. But I will be FINE!

It probably hurts more now.

thanks again
see you soon.

See You Later.

 My yard and my body are in the same state. We need repairs. I have avascular necrosis. Those who have inquiring minds can google that and see why I am having so many problems with my bones.
Friday unless we change the plan, I am going to have surgery on my right shoulder. I haven't been blogging much because it hurts me to type. The truth is between pain and depression and not getting much rest I haven't felt like doing much of anything.

My dog has been good medicine. He is a reason to get up and get going. He is so sweet and thankfully he is laid back and seems to know when I'm not feeling good.

Because this is my right arm and I'm right handed  I don't know how long I'll be gone. I may read your blogs and not comment but you'll know who it is if you have a visitor button. I'll miss you probably more than you'll miss me. Lately my life has bored me to death.  I'm not good at this patient thing. Having these changes in my health has been the lousiest plate of humble pie I've ever had to eat. About the hardest thing for a care giver to do is be a care receiver. But that is where I am and I can't side step it.

 So this is my farewell for now post. Friday I have surgery and recovery will take time.

Be good, enjoy your babies and families. Don't sweat the small stuff, don't fret about fat thighs, be grateful for health and strength for each day. Give thanks for your life, for your abilities to do the things you want to do. God is good, even when He takes us some where we don't want to go. He never send us off by ourselves.  It's funny because I have been pretty grumpy. I have wanted to be alone. I'm tired of being in pain and I don't even want to talk about it anymore. But God is invisible company! His presence however can be felt. I can't get away even when I wish I could.

I'm saying more than I really want too. I just can't wave bye though and say nothing. I'll be back when I can and until then...so long.

The Questions.

I hope this doesn't start a slew of meme's because I get sick of them fast but this looks like fun.

The Q's.

1. If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?
2. Do you put your seat belt on before or after you start the car?
3. Shave or hair removal cream?
4. What's your favorite feature in a house?
5. What is your favorite "Fall" scent?
6. What TV show are you looking forward to seeing the most this Fall??
7. Personal Shopper or Personal Chef?
8. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of "Fall"?


1. EDIT!!! Anthony Bourdain No Reservations. Can you imagine having a job where you get to travel and EAT fabulous food? I love to watch that man eat.
2. After, it's so hot the first thing is to roll the windows on and get the AC on ASAP! I do buckle up that's the main thing.
3. shave.
4. Favorite part of a house? Isn't that tough? Sunlight through the windows, clean and orderly,& good smells coming from the kitchen. I  like comfortable furnishings that are also useful and I have to say that I am enjoying my extra large utility room and pantry very much.
5. Pumpkin pie spices, I love fall. I am UBER ready for fall. I hope it comes early because I am quite sick of burning up with heat.
6. I have to copy Kat no pun intended! Hardy har har,The Biggest Loser. If it wouldn't kill me, which it would, I'd like to be on the show. Except for the baring your nekkid fat stuff for all the world to see. NOT!
7. IF the Shopper came with an expense account, I'd like that. Or if the chef was someone who made everything taste like a million bucks but you get skinny eating the food. Can't decide.
8. COOLING OFF.

Home Made Dog Food--um good enough to eat!

Today I began my experiment with making a large amount of home made food for the dog. I also purchased an 11lb pound bag of Wilderness Salmon Food by the BLUE dog food company. A representative was at the store today. I found out more about the company. It was started by people who lost their dog "Blue" to cancer. I talked with her for awhile because these people like me, were unaware of the huge problem of cancer in canines until their dog got sick. Cancer is as high as 40 and 50%.

Unbelievably vet medicine does offer chemo and radiation and all the therapies that are offered by humans. Having worked in oncology for humans I cannot even imagine putting an animal through that. I don't know if they practice pain management or not. When I took Roman to the vet for his rabies shot and his little checkup, I sat next to an old man whose little old dog had cancer. He was paying for her to have surgeries and chemo, she was just trembling all over. I felt so sorry for them both. I wondered if B12 would help her nerves. Poor dog. It was so sad that old man loved that dog so much. But why spend thousands on therapies and feed cheap junk? I don't know what he fed her I didn't get into it. That would have been mean. A lot of folks around here buy good old Rob Roy at Walmart.  Everything in this life takes awareness.  First we have to ask the question, what is in food?

I put my first dog down before he got really really sick. He was such a magnificent dog I couldn't bear to let him slowly deteriorate. I also knew how aggressive his cancer was and did not want him hurting. It was traumatic though, one of my most painful experiences in this life. Because of my strong beliefs about the relationship between diet and disease I am applying those principles to my new puppy. There is still no guarantee of course, that he won't get cancer but I will have done everything I can, in advance.

 Discovering a company with similar motives was a very pleasant surprise. It is an American made product. The only imported ingredient in BLUE dog food is lamb. They use human grade foods in their products nice to know!

I also cooked. Since the food I make has brown rice in it, I buy the Wilderness, which has no grain in it at all.  I know about the puppy food thing but puppy food gives Roman the runs, and I'm just looking for a normal poop about now. Which by the way with this diet he has perfect poop! Aren't you excited?
only a nurse can be excited by perfect poop. The smell is no longer gagging a maggot either.

OK so we have 11 pounds or terrific store bought food for $28. about $2.50 a pound. I am just estimating here. Now for the cooking.

The chicken in the pot was $4.50, I bought one that was hormone and antibiotic free, but not organic.
Organic chickens are about $13 a piece.

When I boiled and deboned the chicken and ground it up in my food processor I got 12 cups. I used all the skin and what some people would throw away.  Anytime you buy ground chicken salads they usually have got every bit of usable stuff in them. I used to work in a deli, I know about that. Whatever hot chicken didn't sell the day before gets ground up for salad. Since he is a puppy the skin and fat won't hurt him. If he was out killing his supper he'd eat the stinkin feathers.

While the rice cooked in the broth I mixed the grated raw carrots and a bit of parsley together. I used my hands to feel for any bone pieces I might have missed. I found 2 small ones. I learned that trick in the deli too. After the rice was cooked I blended all of this together. It tastes great. No seasoning, no ONIONS
dogs cannot eat onions and just a little bit of salt. They don't need salt but I just couldn't help myself. My hand is addicted to the salt can. Even a tiny bit of salt goes a long way in taste.
I spent about 2 hours and $10 and made 14 pounds of food.
I process the meat because he barely chews. I don't see any reason to cook the carrots. The rice is enriched by cooking in the broth. You can't beat this!

So my plan is to feed him about a cup a day of dry food and 2 cups of cooked.  We will see how long it lasts. I have 2 containers in the freezer and a big one in the fridge.
I made a smaller batch earlier in the week and this puppy loves this stuff.
While I was cooking he was lying by my feet groaning and yipping. He really wanted it. I told him to behave and not be such a little pig.
My husband has never cared if I cooked for him. I baked him a pound cake. I finally have an appreciative male to cook for, a little 4 legged one. I think it's hilarious.
And on a more serious note I also think it's imperative for his health. I hope he lives to be really old, and dies of old age without being sick.
I hope and pray that for my hubs and myself too.

I'm Learning Again

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Ok so it's my first video. I didn't have the record button on for the best part. The best part was 4 month old Roman getting the water out of the bowl and onto the floor so he could lie down in it and play. But you get the idea.

The other thing I am learning about is dog food.

Oh dear.

I suppose if manufacturing plants don't mind feeding us garbage their is no objection to what is put into  feed for dogs and cats.

But using euthanized animals? Cannibalism. Yep, I'm serious as a heart attack.  I'm mind blown really. There are no FDA controls on animal food. It gets worse. The pentobarbitol that they use to euthanize animals is not broken down, so each bowl of dry kibble has a little bit of this drug in it. Not to mention the salmonella, diseased animals, road kill, and waste from meat manufacturing plants.

You know I really have to wonder just who has the sick minds to dream this stuff up?

Some wacko's that sit around a table and say to each other, "Gentlemen we have a problem with animal control and what to do with all these dead bodies. We can't burn because of air pollution regulations, so what shall we do"?
And some brilliant guy says," Grind them up and make pet food out of them, we can call it, MEAT BY PRODUCTS AND BONE MEAL".

That's my imagination about how this started. Anything that solves a problem and makes a profit.

It's makes me want to puke.
All I could think of was how glad I am that we buried Rasmus in our yard.
I would be hysterical about now.
I realize this may be causing some upsetting thoughts for you.
But wouldn't you rather know?
Especially if you have pets now?

You know we just need to get back to home and hearth. If we are the keepers of our own families and pets and do the providing for them ourselves, we don't have to worry. Processed stuff is all crap. I'm really sick of this.
My dog died of cancer at a young age. Lots of animals are dying of cancers. Lot's of people are dying of cancers. When you start looking at what is being done to the food supply for all living creatures it is absolutely revolting. Gee it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that maybe eating has a relationship to illness, does it?

Anything for a buck.

There are SOME good pet food products out there now. Yeah they are expensive but you get what you pay for. I have been using Blue Wilderness dog food and then I started wondering where do they get the salmon from?  I'm thinking about getting a dog food cook book and feeding my dog myself.
That's what people used to do.  I'm going to have to figure out the cost too.
I'm thinking that with the price of the expensive food I probably can feed him cheaper myself.
Not to mention KNOWING what he is eating!

Back in the "old days," families cooked.
In the country they made a pan of "dog bread"  corn bread made with water, and put all the table scraps in. But the dogs ate pretty good! They sure didn't eat each other.

I found a couple of free recipes on line. Sounds like dogs need what we need! No sugar or salt, and 2 parts of protein, 1 part carbs, 1 part veggies. Imagine that.

Here's a sample recipe

Buffalo loaf for canines. (or any meat)
3 cups ground buffalo
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. oats or brown rice
1 1/2 c. grated veggies- choose from carrots broccoli, squash, sweet potato, spinach.
1/2 c. cottage cheese.

bake at 350 for 40 mins.

There is also free info about how to calculate how much to feed your dog and if you need supplements.
There are lists of foods to avoid.
I'm giving my dog cod liver oil for his dry skin which has rapidly improved it. The breeder fed them pretty cheap stuff and he had dandruff.  The vet said, "mild dermatitis". I could just imagine the skin issues we would be facing in the future. You know me, I'm going to nip that mess in the bud. Cod liver oil coming right up!

The people who feed their dogs claim that the dogs don't get bad teeth, bad breath, and that their poop isn't so nasty stinky. Wow, isn't that a surprise?   Good nutrition is important for everybody.

I did read it is important to SLOWLY change your pets diet over to avoid big diarrhea blow outs. So mixing some home made food into their current food and changing it slowly is always a good idea.
Do some research on this yourself, just use google.
You will be shocked really, I'm not making this up.
And we all need to do our own research.
That's how we come to believe something is true, when we check into it ourselves.

I think maybe we don't want to know because it means we have to work harder. OR maybe because of the cost, but how expensive is cancer? Skin allergies? Vet and doctor bills? Medications?
What price can we put on suffering and grief?

Yeah, exactly that's what I think too.

We Are All In Big Trouble Now

You asked for it.

I warned you.

I told you that for 10 years I wouldn't get the recipe.

It is a weight gain guarantee. Big fat bo hiney's here we come.

Blueberry Salad

1 3oz. grape jello
1 3oz. strawberry jello
2 c.s boiling water stir until dissolved
1 Lg can crushed pineapple including juice
1 can BLUEBERRY pie filling.

congeal above in 13x 9 glass pan.

topping
1 8oz sour cream
1 8oz softened brick of cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c powdered sugar beat until smooth add about 1 oz of pecan chips.
(I always thought it was nuts I don't know what pecan chips are. I'm going to use chopped nuts. and at least a half of a cup. I always thought it had diced celery in it, guess that was pineapple).
Mix until smooth, spread and refrigerate again.

It's just killer. This stuff is so yummy. I'm so dead, I guess I'll go make some.
10 years I held out on this info, just look at what ya'll did.
And just because you wanted to know.

Ruined me.

News Flash

I'm not typing very well these days, one handed. My shoulder is um killing limiting me. Looks like I need another trip to the OR.  Anyway that's not a problem that can't be remedied. It'll be a relief to fix it. So I might not be around here much, like that is something new.

I'm downsizing my home & hiney. I posted a bunch of stuff on Craig's List today. You know the stuff you have to dust. Extra goodies...
dishes, because I have 3 sets.

this couch--because I have two.

majolica

nick knack stuff

some wall stuff. Hope it sells. Do you think it will sell? I think I priced it pretty cheap. Is all this stuff hopelessly out of style? What is in style now? I am so out of touch. An amazing thing happened when I quit taking magazines. I stopped spending money on what's in style. I don't even know what is in style. Ignorance is bliss.

 I'm just getting started. I listed books and a microscope and and and.....I've got more to photograph and list. Wicker furniture and a rug, wall pictures. Why did I buy all of this stuff?

I need less stuff to clean. I'm hoping to talk the hubbins into a smaller house, gently not my usual  constant nagging  persuasive style.

Actually the reality of what I can do now that I am by myself is sinking in. Ya'll mistakenly think I am wonder woman, but I have had the assistance of able bodied teen age girls until recently. Now that I am on my own, I am in deep weeds. Deep I say!

The puppy would help out but he is too busy chewing on stuff. A favorite toy is an ice cube. His heart is in the right place though. I can tell by the soulful eyes and playful butt in the air. Woof.

Big Puppy and a Road Trip

I totally forgot just how time consuming a puppy can be,

especially a big puppy.

Who might look like a grown up, at 30 pounds and rapidly growing, but definitely isn't.

I spend all this money on great dog food with no corn and no by products and then this big galloope eats dirt. He will eat anything, rocks, sticks, bugs, dirt clods...very picky gourmet eater.

I have to spend a majority of my time watching him. So he doesn't eat something that would get us into trouble. He has to learn everything. Puppies don't come already housebroken. They are good at house breaking! Thank God for baby gates and linoleum.

In between puppy training I started cleaning up the garden.  My garden was a bust this year. Too many bugs. My tomatoes made more plants than fruit. Some of the bushes were 6 ft tall, but almost no fruit. The tomatoes they produced were weird. Just weird, I never have seen such strange abnormalities in a tomato before. My farm friends that had 248 plants gave me several boxes of tomatoes that were just gorgeous. I canned salsa and cooked tomatoes. After filling up my pantry I pulled my tomato plants up to get rid of the bugs.  Not exactly your gardener happy ending story, but that's life.  What if we had to depend on that for our living? I guess I would have been out there smashing bugs all day. I told the hubbins next year I'm planting all flowers and a couple of cucumber plants.

Every now and then my hubbins gets a good idea. He suggested we take a drive and a break. Every new mother needs a break, puppy mothers included. Did I mention that my puppy wakes up early EVERY day? He is doing very well with potty training. His only confusion has been about the carpet, he thinks its grass. We have only had 3 accidents with that. I try unsuccessfully, not to FREAK since it's my brand new carpet. I just had a brain storm and had the hubs cut a piece of the same carpet to fit his crate so maybe he would get the idea we don't pee on carpet. What do you think? Think he will make the association?

See how I get my mind off of things? Still thinking about potty training, the important issues of life. 
Isn't this  gorgeous?

The hubbins was really racking up the points. He pulled over a bunch of times to take pictures. He really got into the picture taking thing. What a great guy.

My zoom wasn't strong enough to really get as close as I wanted too. This post was way out in the water. It was so cool to see this crane perched there. We have a bird sanctuary and it is common to see big cranes. We have white ones too but this fella is gray.

The water lillies are blooming.

and the cypress trees that grow in the water...

It's about 50 square miles of reservoir. I pretend it's Monterey Bay.

The hubs wanted to see all of it, no puppy no kids.

 The hubs was relaxing. I was making an attempt at relaxing. I have been very uptight lately.
Kid issues and puppy training, and me old bones are acting up.

I think he was maximizing his puppy break. I was enjoying the scenery, really I did. I had too,....

because we went around the whole thing. This is the boat dock. If I was still a hippie and it wasn't hot I might live over here. Houseboats. I could handle a houseboat in the fall.

But I'm not hippie anymore and it is HAWT, just saying. It's been the hottest summer ever, a record breaker.

Then we drove through some expensive neighborhoods in the country. Very pretty. I am amazed that some people have million dollar properties in Mississippi. The hubs had to explain to me that we are the weirdos  unusual people who moved from their home state. Most folks apparently don't make moves like that. Because with a million dollars you can live just about anywhere you want too right? It might be an itty bitty apartment in New York, or a double wide mobile home in California but you know---the choice is for the choosing. So why chose to burn up?

I'll take my modest little place. Actually I have been seriously thinking of down sizing.  When your a gardener it's not the house you live in that makes those decisions tough. It's your 10 year old garden.
It's all the work you and your hubbins have put in over the years. But it is too much for me.

I found a 2 bedroom 2 bath house plan that I really like, with no stairs. Have you ever thought about how silly it is that we spend our whole lives accumulating stuff, and then want to get rid of it?
Some people maybe never do feel that way. I want a lot less to take care of right now. I suppose having bum bones has something to do with that.

In the mean time I'm very busy with this puppy. He is napping right now which is why I am finally blogging. By the way he gets called;
Baby
Roman
G
Ro-G
Puppy
and
luvins...

not bad for starters...

Celebrating a Speed Limit

First you get your favorite friends together. And one of them hosts your party and does all the work.
Now that's what I'm talkin about!!

and you mix it up right, 10 grown ups and 10 little people.

because the big people need something to look at besides each other and all of the food!

excuse me, we thought about a picture after scooping some out. This is blueberry salad. There is really nothing salad about it. It should be a dessert! yummmy. I can't tell you how to make it. From the first time my friend made it 10 years ago I have refused to find out. I might gain a 100 pounds if I could make this stuff.  I know it has jello and blueberry pie filling in the bottom and some kind of nutty crunchy cream cheese topping.... it will definitely make you fat.

gather round and EAT. We had barbecued chicken marinated in cilantro and onions, smoked baby back ribs that fell off the bones, home made macaroni and cheese, baked beans with bacon bell peppers and onions in them, cucumber and tomato salad with pesto dressing, fresh home made bread, home churned butter.....

and Tres Leche cake. Whew my stomach was exploding with all the love. Isn't this cake gorgeous? It was so delicious. We also had a little platter of cupcakes for the little people.

who ate them up.

and wore some of what they ate.

They had mercy on me and did not put candles on the cake in multiple quantities. I told them a forest fire like that would give me another asthma attack.

the kids played, both young,

and mature.

and then maybe the best gift of all. One of my friends really plays well and he brought a laundry basket full of sheet music and began playing and singing.

everybody gathered around and joined in. Little babies get the bouncy knees to the music which is so cute.

and the slightly older ones get a bit excited...

and just boogie down!

Which I think is just bringing them up right! Teach them to have joy with all ages of people.

It was the best birthday party ever.
Thanks to my friends.