Silly Dogs!

 Silly Dogs!

 

Two dogs are play fighting on my couch. They had a blanket between their mouths and were biting each other through it. Silly dogs! They turned it loose when spoken to, but now they are chewing on each other’s chins. Love my critters! They keep me entertained and busy just trying to clean up after them!

 

Speaking of cleaning up—have a dust mop that was purchased in Mansfield once upon a time along with some neat cloth stuff that soaks up water and makes very good cleaning cloths. The salesman told us not to throw them in the dryer, but just wash them and hang them up to dry somewhere. Just discovered today that the dust mop would clean a piece of carpet of scattered bits and pieces of stuff that gets on the floor. Never had one do that before! But it took it right off the rug.

 

A certain dog is telling me that he needs something from Chewy. And we are ALL OUT of treats except for the ones he does not really like. They are too big to be enjoyable—or something. He likes the smaller ones and can catch them like a champ when he and Sylvia are sitting next to each other and playing catch. Now Sylvia has brought me the last tennis ball that still has bounce in it. She is pretty hard on tennis balls. Guess the next order from Walmart will have to include a can of tennis balls. Not sure where she found this one, but the toy box has not been cleaned out in a while, so maybe it was hiding in there.

 

Couldn’t decide if the windows were fogging up or if the weather was just that froggy outside. It has been misting rain, but it was hard to see past the state hospital to the east, so maybe it was just the mist outside. Days like this were my favorites when my horse was willing to do some head flying running in the mists. She would leap into the air when turned and headed back up the hill from a farm out south of town. The distance was about a quarter of a mile, and she flew down that road like she wanted to sail over it. The only thing that ever slowed us down was the sight of a car headed our way. For that we had to pull up and move over. It was, after all, their road! The lady who lived there was a friend of Grandmother Pollard. They did all kinds of things together including having club days for the Home Demonstration ladies. Can’t remember her name right this red-hot minute, but she was the one who went out to get a couple of eggs in the hen house and reached in and got a skunk instead. She called Grandmother and asked her to host the get together that day. Her experience is one of the reasons yours truly always has a light on for checking on the hens.

 

Speaking of the hens: the Black-laced Wyandottes have decided to roost in the little coop in front now. No need to try to talk to them about it any longer. And a couple of the Marans have chosen to go there as well since they can no longer get in the long coop. Hoping the rest will go there soon without having to be moved by hand. There is plenty of room for all fourteen hens in the little coop. Now if it were still 36 hens, it would be a bit of a mess. That was just too many hens for one coop. But this should work out well when it gets colder. It takes longer to accumulate a dozen eggs, but what the hey! And the molting hens will start laying again fairly soon. They are already getting their feathers back on their necks. Fed them a cabbage that lasted hardly a day. They know as soon as they see it what to do to get their portion! Pretty sure cabbage is just as good for them as it is for humans.

 

Managed to order a book on running and nutrition for my granddaughter. Did call her, however, and tell her to pick out one if that one was not quite what she wanted. Never knew it was so difficult to pick out things that semi-grown kids would like. But Rachel is going for sports nutritionist out at Tech next year. Wondering if she is going to take any summer courses. Guess she will handle all her classes just fine, knowing her. Kids are really amazing when they start growing up and making their own decisions. Wonderful to see them being adults even at 17 years old!

 

Just put three pounds of turkey in the oven in a pan with Mrs. Dash on it. Most of it will be mixed with rice for the dogs, but some of it is for yours truly. The good thing about this is that it can be separated into freezer bags and put in the freezer ahead of time for their meals later. Still have two of those long logs left to feed them from the “FreshPet” meals. The directions say that they should get a pound a day, but dividing it into two meals during the day seems to work well so far. Told Thompson that he just had to take three hip and joint bites instead of treats for now. He is getting older and stiffer by the day. Understand completely how he must feel. However, no one has run over him and knocked him on his backside! It pays to notice what the dogs are doing now if avoiding their path while they are doing the zoomies matters. One piece of spinal column out of alignment is more than enough, thank you very much.

 

Got a call from the hospital letting me know how much this little visit to their facilities was going to cost. Dear hearts, they are proud of their services. It is not quite as bad as what Sharon Dickerson said that the hospital in Dallas charged their insurance, but close enough. Would not even want to think about what it might cost to actually repair the situation instead of just doing the injections. And Dr. Ohman said that this injection might not even be in the right spot to get rid of the pain and numbness. Oh joy.

 

Well, the FedUp man just left and brought Thompson’s bed warmer. Not sure how well it will work, but it is large enough to cover “his” recliner, so maybe he will stay warm sleeping on it. However, no treats were in this delivery. Sigh AH! And now Sylvia says that the warmer is nice enough for her. Thompson says that it makes strange noises. Nope, not happening for him. Just let me have my nice soft, fluffy blanket, Mom. Oh well.

 

The turkey is smelling good, so maybe in another 30 minutes or so, some of it will go in the dog pans and some on a plate for the old woman who lives in a barn. The rice is ready, so mixing them together will have to wait until everything cools down somewhat. Guess some time reading the current book will take care of the waiting period. It is a good book, too. Well, enjoyment takes into account one’s silly expectations of life. A little bit of magic always makes life more interesting.

 

Someone—who should know better—recently told me that he did not see that prayer did much good. The comment made me want to say something about how much good it did to vote when men could totally falsify results. If a person can believe that voting matters, but not believe that praying matters, what does that say about our beliefs? Some of us will believe that God has plans that He will fulfill no matter what. And HE can make a difference in what happens in the affairs of men. Alistair Bell, a Scottish minister who gave a sermon on the latter part of II Samuel, showed that God is the one in charge, no matter what men plan. Robert Burns did not believe in the sovereignty of God, but even he could relate to the “best laid plans of mice and men.” Let us be like Daniel and pray those three times a day or more. Let us rely on the power of prayer and His will in all affairs. Let us beware of deceptions of men and Satan. Let us use the armor given to us by God to prepare for our future. Be grateful to have the knowledge given to us of His plans.

 

Ok, let me leave you with the story of “Rest and Be Thankful.” When the men of Scotland were fighting wars years ago, they had to build a road between mountains from one area to another. It was a military road and was about as steep as any mountain around. Although the steepness was no more than a fifteen percent grade, it was a tough journey for man and beast. So, when they topped out of the valley, the man who caused the soldiers to work on it told the men, Rest and Be Thankful. “The highest point on the A83 is 803 ft above sea level and divides Glen Kinglas from Glen Croe. From the viewpoint of this famous beauty spot, you can see the old valley road, engineered by General Wade during the subjection of Scotland following the Jacobite rebellion.”

Now we are not building roads, but we work to understand our destinations just as surely as these soldiers did back then. And we know who deserves our thanks.

 

May you be grateful for all things in life no matter how strange things may be. And know, you are loved.