Today...

...is our last Thursday before our
homeschool co-op starts again.

I should take it easy and enjoy
the peace and quiet, right?

Well, I am not.

This morning I am taking F-O-U-R
furry members of our family to
the vet.


That should be a very lovely time.

Poor things.

And then I know that I will faint
dead away when they hand me the bill.

The great, big, pay thier kids way
through college bill!

Oh well,
It has got to be done.



One of those things you commit
to when you fall in love with
furbabies.

Now for a laugh to start your day...



It has been cold here like it has been
where most of you are.
Not all, I know.
Some of you are enjoying warm sunshine,
I'll try not to hold it against you.

Anyway...Our bedroom is particularly
chilly thus explaining the various assortment
of blankets right now. I blacked out the
background just to spare you Warren's bedside
table and flip flops...you are welcome.

So, Sunday evening found the other televisions
in use in our house and I decided to snuggle
in our bed and watch the tiny one back there.

Apparently, I fell asleep...
with my glasses on and all four
animals on the bed with me.

Warren amused himself by taking
pictures.
Nice!

This is just a bit of payback for all
of the goofy pictures I have shown of
my family on this blog.

I knew you needed to laugh.

Beaux Says Hello!

We came home tonight to find our Ollie
and Georgia's Beaux playing on our back
fence. You know, like in the movies when
the cats meet on a neighborhood fence and
howl at the moon.
O.k. so I just want to think that is what
they are howling at...





Ollie and Beaux were saying hello again after
some time apart.

You see, Beaux is a very good hunter.
Too good.
He has been known to climb up on top
of the bluebird box. As he last did this
when there were eggs in the box, Georgia
decided that he could just live indoors
until the baby birds were bigger
and able to get away.
Apparently that has happened.
Hence the recent Beaux sitings.



Do you see those eyes?




He is such a handsome cat and delights
in playing with our Chloe, the chihuahua,
and Oliver, our kitty.




They like him too.
Most of the time.

Oliver

"You talking to me?"

Decisions...

This is Beaux.

Beaux was Charlie.

Charlie used to live with Mrs. Rabe.

Then Charlie came to live next door
and became Beaux.

Now Beaux is here.

Hmmm....

We already have:

Tidbit, the old lady!
She quietly owns the house.


Kimmy - Our "Guard" Dog but very loyal friend.
No one gets into our yard let alone into our home
without Kimmy's knowledge and thus ours...sigh...
When we got her she looked this cute!

Now she looks like this except she has more
fur around her neck like a mane:

There is Chloe, the Diva!

She understands most of the english language and expects us
to do what she wants to do.
"Hold, me...take me with you to pick up Mikey,
I want to go an a walk! Yes! I do!
Play with Me!"
Very demanding...yes, she is!

And then there is Oliver...
I caught the death of a cold
rescuing this guy several years ago.
He is a joy.
This was him as a young one...


So you see my dilemma...Beaux needs a home
but I don't really want that home to be here.

Beaux has been a sweetie except in one area...
He has been "spraying".

Now here is where I need your advice:
Will Beaux stop spraying once he has been
neutered...or is it too late once he has
begun?

He can go next door to live again if he
will be good...

What is your knowledge on the subject.

Burning candles like crazy and waiting
your advice!

We are Dogsitting!

This is Bear. He is my mother's dog. Mom did not mean to get a dog but last year she went along for a ride with us to the Humane League. We were looking for a dog to help fill the void after our husky, Sally, had passed away. Bear caught Mom's eye as he was being taken to meet a family.
I guess she wanted him then but figured
there was no way that the other family would say no to him.
They did.
Next thing I knew I was encouraging her
to fill out paperwork and bring this large dog home.
She did.
We spent the next couple of weeks shaking our heads at this spontaneous decision but Bear has proved to be a great friend for Mom.
He is very protective of her and with her constantly. Being with us overnight must be quite confusing to him since he can see her house from here.
Mom has overnight guests that are not dog lovers.
She, being the great hostess that she is, asked if we would keep Bear.
Not so long ago when we were in Virginia on a quick vacation,
Mom kept our two pooches at her house for three days.
Now that must have been a challenge!
Thanks Mom!
Bear is a very nice dog
and has been very well behaved.
Just thought those of you who like dogs
would enjoy meeting Bear.

I like to encourage anyone looking for a new pet to
visit their local Humane League first. You may
find the sweetest dog or cat there, like our Chloe and Mom's
Bear. You may not. But at least you will know that you
have tried to get one more animal rescued into a good home.
If you do go to the Humane League try to spend some time with
the pet you are condering adopting. We left the first day convinced that
we were coming back the second day for one particular dog
but after spending time with that dog we could see that it was
not a good personality match for our family. It was good that we
made that extra trip...that second day was the day we met Chloe and
I wouldn't trade her for any other dog.

Introducing Kimmy

This is Kimmy...

You have seen the picture of Chloe

on the sidebar.

Chloe is our easy dog to love.

She is cute and has an amazing

personality. She welcomes people and

absolutely loves to be "adored".

Kimmy is the opposite of all of that.

She pants...a lot.

She barks at any strange noise or person

who dares to come near our home.

She gets carsick.

Too much water at one time doesn't sit well, either.

She is kind of hard to love.

When we brought Kimmy home from the

Amish farm where she was born

she made a horrible mess in the car and

then went into a terrible

form of shock and was out of it for hours.

We decided that we had brought home a "dud".

But then there is this side to Kimmy,

she is loyal.

She loves her family...so much!

She is especially bonded to me

and will be sleeping at my feet -

(she prefers my lap but she is over 40 pounds now)

at every possible moment.

Once she really trusts someone

they are her forever friend.

Friends who come over regularly are

met with much joy

while those who she

sees as "new" get the horrible

growly bark.

I guess that is how it can be with

people too.

Some are naturally easy to love

while others have this

guard up over their heart.

They test those around them

to see if they can trust them.

Then when the friendship is formed

and the trust is there

the appreciation and beauty of

their true personality can come out.

I hope that I can give the "Kimmy" people

enough time to see that I can

be trusted and that I

want to be their friend.

We don't know what happened in

Kimmy's first few months to cause her

fear...we are just glad that we

have spent the time to get to

know her sweet side.