Making my Own Pet Food

You know, it's kind of funny but it never really occurred to me before my move out to the country that I could make my pets their own food from ingredients I already had in my kitchen. It's really crazy now that I think about it. I mean, I make food for my family all of the time, why wouldn't I be able to make food for my pets too?

When I started researching ways to save our family money in this recession I started buying old books from the shelves at my local Goodwill store and checking out a lot of books fro our local library. It's amazing what people used to know that most of society seems to have forgotten.

One book in particular was really inspiring. It was called Home Made, Best Made and it was published by Reader's Digest in 1998. It has all kinds of things I can make it there from marshmellows to composting, home remedies to pet food, and quilting to orchards I swear it has almost everything in it that an eclectic person such as myself would enjoy finding out about. Granted, there aren't any long descriptions of any of the processes in there but it's great exposure to new ideas that may not have ever occurred to us to think about.

Today I thought I'd share with you the idea of making our own pet food and treats. It's really not as hard as one might think. Contrary to what you may have been told, you do not have to go to the store and buy specialty foods for your pets from the shelves. You can make a healthy, well balanced meal for your pet from ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.

The recipe calls for 1 pound browned ground beef, 2 chopped hard cooked eggs, 4 cups cooked rice, 6 slices crumbled white bread, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp bonemeal, and one crushed pet vitamin. Stir all ingredients together and add a little water if the mixture is too dry. Voila!

That's not exactly what I did to make my base food though. I had some frozen veggies that the family refused to eat and soup bones to dispose of so I used those instead. Once the meat was cooked I cut it off the bones. I also cooked the veggies. My dog does not care much for most veggies so I added the veggies and meat to our blender and mixed them together. Not only does the dog like it, but so do the cats!

Once the pet food was made and I saw that it would be devoured I decided to also make some treats which comes right after the pet food in the book. After all, I knew the actual food wouldn't last all that long from the look of things. The treats will keep for a month if refrigerated. I took pictures of the process, those are the pictures you'll see throughout this post.

Start with a base of 1 3/4 cups homemade dog food mashed to remove lumps, add 1 cup processed bran, 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal, and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix to consistency that is easy to mold into patties. Arrange biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 3 1/2 hours or until hard.

Yeah, as you may have imagined I didn't follow that either... I had way more dog food than that to preserve for our pets. I just added stuff until is looked to me like cookie dough. I had to switch spoons in the middle because the spoon I started with wasn't moving the heavy mixture very well. I know I could have made them into a dog biscuit molded shape, but I was anxious to get on to other projects and do not know where my bone mold wandered off to so I just dropped them like cookies onto the baking sheets. They are now baking in the oven and the house is smelling rather good.

Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Cindy

Christmas from a Cat's Perspective

My name is Speedy, and I have a few complaints I'd like to lodge about the upcoming holiday that the kids are all abuzz about.

Firstly, I am not sure whose idea it was to have this crazy holiday called Christmas right in the middle of prime lap sitting and cat entertaining season. I have an owner who likes to sit on the couch and pet me all day when it's too cold and snowy to go out in the garden, it's not like she has anything else to do. Sometimes she likes to entertain me with yarn and a metal hook or thread and small metal needles. Personally, I'd be much happier if she just got rid of those pesky metal pieces when she wants to play with me, but she seems to prefer using metal stuff for some reason. I assume they must be some sort of counterweights or something. Anyway, this whole Christmas business takes her away from our favorite spot to sit together and she is entirely too busy for our scheduled dates on the couch.


Take, for example, this morning. We were having a nice time watching the news when all of a sudden, she rudely discomforted me when got up and started to make a lot of noise in the kitchen. I waited and waited for her to come back like she usually does, but she didn't! Curious to see what she was up to, I wandered over and started sniffing around. She wouldn't even let me climb on the counter, she kept yelling at me to get off. Boy, was she crabby! I decided to lay by her feet instead, but she just wouldn't stay still. It was very hard to keep up with her. I began to drift off into a nice nap when it suddenly sounded like it was raining in the kitchen. I wonder what that metal rattle was all about.

Startled by the unexpectedness of this experience, I opened one eye to find treats raining down from above. Black, crumbly pieces of sweet tasting goodies were falling on the floor. Boy, did they smell good! I got up, but she wouldn't even let me eat them. Party pooper!

My second complaint has to do with this weird tree that looks like it's made of pine needles, but it's not. It doesn't smell or taste like pine, but somehow I keep forgetting that. I like to play with the nice toys she set up for my sister and I to play with a couple of weeks ago that hang from this tree. Why else would someone put things that dangle from branches of a tree up?



Some of my favorite toys are the ones she made with a string of white pearls that I can rip right off of the bigger, red beaded part of the ornament. So far I have managed to dismantle 4 of these, what fun! I also tried playing with a yellow bear that was playing a drum once, but he ended up being no fun at all. She yelled at me for playing in my new playground too. What is it about this holiday that makes her so darn grumpy anyway?

Then there are these fun paper wrapped boxes that sit under the weird tree too. I like to chew on the neatly folded corners to see if I can get some of that clear sticky stuff off of them. I don't know what her problem is, they open them too...



My final complaint is all of the screeching she likes to do while listening to the radio. I mean she does this occasionally during the rest of the year, but this time of year she screeches along with almost all of the songs that she hears. It's exhausting, I tell you. It's almost enough to make me want to pack my bags and move out!

Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

December Dash

Normally I'd do a bloom day post today, but with the deluge of snow and cold we've gotten lately, I decided to stay inside. A LOT. Most of the month. The bunnies have munched away at all of the once perfectly intact seed heads of my blazing stars that I had thought about showcasing. They looked so pretty laden with snow as I walked past them the other day. I wonder what they will eat next...

As of Thanksgiving we had only a skiff of snow and our lakes were still not frozen over. Once December hit all heck broke loose though. So here I am, half way through the month of December. Where has this month gone?


This is the snowfall from just one storm. We got it last week and schools were closed on Wednesday because of it. Crazy, isn't it? I know many place may get these amounts of snow too, but it melts throughout your winter when your temps rise. Ours won't be warming up enough to melt anything until almost springtime though, so it will keep piling up. Just in case it doesn't look like much to you, I decided to go grab a tape measure for you just to show you the depth of it.

Yeah, that would be why Cheesehead stayed at a hotel a few days ago.

Yesterday we got another 4 inches of snow. Pretty much a couple of days after it was warm enough to go out and blow the snow out of the driveway. I'm taking my time with finishing that project up though since the temperatures have dipped back below zero. It was 15 degrees below zero today, so I just did enough work in the driveway that I didn't feel like I didn't do anything today.

What is a gardener to do when they are cooped up inside? I've been keeping myself as busy as ever. Is that a big surprise?

I have attended two concerts/programs this month.


My son started to play in the middle school band this year. I remember when I was in band it was always so hard to pick out the outfit I was going to wear. You needed something nice looking, yet comfortable enough to play your instrument. His director has removed that distraction, so all he had to worry about was practicing his part.

I didn't take a picture of my daughter's program with this camera since I had to record it for the rest of the family who couldn't make it today, but she was glowing. She even brought a brush to school today just in case her hat messed her hair. I don't think I worried about such things when I was in third grade.

Can you believe that Christmas is only 10 days away? I still have to buy a few presents, wrap them all, and bake some Christmas cookies. At least the tree is up and I just got the cards in the mail today. No Christmas letter was written this year though since I couldn't seem to find the time to write one in a timely manner.



I had the kids help me decorate the tree this year, as usual, but forgot to hang all of the fragile ornaments myself. Usually, I put them at the top of the tree out of the cats' reach. I didn't do that this year though. The crazy beasts have only managed to mangle 5 ornaments so far. The rest have migrated higher up the tree. Thankfully most of the damage is repairable.

Speaking of decorating trees, does anyone else like to do theme trees? Usually I try to stick with a color scheme and change things up a bit each year. Most people seem to have more Christmas decorations than they know what to do with them anyway. I buy a bunch of stuff when it hits the extreme clearance racks after Christmas just for this purpose. In the past I have done a white and silver tree, green and gold, red and white, and everything home made on our tree in the past. I even try to match the lights to the theme if possible. Not so this year.

I accidentally grabbed the big tree and brought it in from the garage to warm up this year. I didn't discover my mistake until we were ready to put the tree up, so I wasn't about to go out and look for the other one. This tree is entirely too big for my theme minded tree plan, so we just mixed it all up. I can't believe the kids couldn't seem to tell the difference from last years' tree and this one.

I don't dare put any presents under the tree yet. The cats seem to think we put the tree up for them to run around, sleep under, climb, and play under. Do your pets do that? That is also why we do artificial trees instead of real ones, I'd have more pine needles on the floor of my house than I've got in my compost bin the way those maniacs play. In the past they have even given away some surprises to the kids by ripping holes in wrapping paper! I guess I have a good reason for procrastinating, I'll just blame my cats...

Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

I've Gone and Done it!

I keep complaining to everyone who will listen that I don't know how to knit or crochet. I decided to get off my lazy but and do something about it instead of my constant belly-aching.

I wasn't sure which of the two was easier or really what the difference between the two crafts is, but I broke down and bought a book I found at a craft store the other day. (At least I found something when I was out and about looking for that lye!)There were books for both there, but I'm just taking it one step at a time.



Here is my first attempt at crocheting. This is lesson number one, the chain stitch. I look at it and it seems to look kind of like a braid. Is it just me? Maybe a larger size needle will give me a more satisfying result. Peanut saw some of the pictures in the book and is patiently awaiting the completion of a scarf for her. I saw a fabulous looking pattern for a poncho in there that I want to attempt to make for myself someday. Son didn't sound very excitied about having me make something for him.



I also managed to capture a shot of one of our neurotic cat's drinking habits. Would you rather drink snow that's been stepped on and fallen off of boots or clean, fresh water from a bowl? Apparently Speedy likes carpet fiber in her drink. At least it's nice and cold????

I'm still waiting to get her other crazy habits on camera, but either the shots are out of focus, I can't get to the camera in time or I am completely off target with my blind shot taking that's required to use my current camera. Hopefully I'll be able to afford a new camera soon so I won't have to put up with all of the headaches I keep going through.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

How to Ruin Christmas

Many people have been turning their attention to Christmas posts lately. I thought of a few tips to share with you while browsing through other's posts.

1. You cat lovers out there may appreicate this one. Do you remember a few days ago how I posted about our home made Christmas tree? All of the ornaments were spread all over the tree.

Don't plan on all of your decorations staying where you placed them. Some well meaning soul may want to help with a little redecoration.

Apparently Speedy doesn't like the silk poinsettas to stay on the tree. I can't blame her confusion, most people don't put flowers on a tree. None of the other ornaments seem to belong on the tree either. Anything with a hook she has figured out how to remove if I didn't wrap the fake tree's branch around it. She even figured out how to get some of those off the tree. Notice the northward migration all ornaments have made to keep out of her reach?

Tree skirts aren't meant to lay on the ground either, they must be there to cover her up. You may not be able to see her, but she's sitting under the tree on the lower right hand side of your screen. If she needs a blanket I wonder why she has fur....

2. Don't expect perfection.

Believe it or not this little duck started out it's life intending to be a snowman er... person? Plans changed when the "carrot" wouldn't stay glued shut to conceal the pin holding it in place. A beak was born and our snowperson became a snow duck instead. The wings were actually scraps from a felt snowflake in the next tip!

3. Don't give home made gifts to people who don't appreciate them.

Of course I still need to add the strings to these ornaments to make them ready to hang on the tree, but that's okay. I will put one of these into each of those stockings I made in my last post. Again I come to the dillemma of which one goes to which child.

4. Don't expect everyone to spend Christmas day with you. I mean it's not about the day really, is it? We don't know the exact day that Jesus was born on, what we're celebrating is his gift of hope to the world, not the fact that it's December 25th.

One of my friends once accused the Christians of lying to get the pagans on deck with the celebration of Christmas. Whatever, I'm not going to pretend to know all of the facts. It's not about the day, it's about sharing love, charity, kindness, and appreciation. We can not be every place on one day, it's just too stressful. Know that your loved ones are thinking of you and show your consideration for their feelings when you make you Christmas plans.

Be flexible, communicate, and work together. Christmas isn't supposed to be about creating hard feeling for unrealistic expectations or spending lots of money. Christmas is what we make it to be. Be joyful and share the love this Christmas and every day.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Dear Cats and Dogs

My mom sent me this cute little email. I thought it was rather humorous and wanted to share it with my pet-loving friends without cluttering inboxes. (Although I must add not all the the views contained are my opinions, I just thought it was funny. I like people and my kids!)

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The
other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a
paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim
for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically
pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't
help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry
about this. Do NOT think I will continue s lee ping on the couch to
ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball
when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each
other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know
that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the
other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If
by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it
is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get
your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit
through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the
bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's
butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on
our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the
furniture. (That's why they call it 'fur'niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter
who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Usually come when called
5. Never drive your car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

I Think I Finally Found Someone Who's Busier Than Me!

Speedy sure "caught" a lot of prey last night! Cheesehead was kind enough to gather it all together for her so she could pose for this picture, wasn't that sweet? Her haul includes 2 sets of mouse ears, 6 dogs, 2 rubber frogs, 4 bunnies, a plastic salamander, a leopard puppet, and 4 other miscelleaneous animals.



Here she is with her largest catch yet. Peanut sure hates having to pick these toys up every day, but if she'd put them away in her toybox where they belong, Speedy wouldn't be hauling them all over creation.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

This Really Takes the Cake

I thought I'd share something besides shed information for a moment. (It seems I have been sharing a lot about that shed lately.)

I was pretty amused at the sight I was greeted with when I got up this morning as I was preparing to prime the shed's trim.

Do you remember how we discussed the fact that Speedy carried stuffed animals, slippers, and other soft furry things around the house? Then she yowled over the prize she "caught".

She doesn't stop the yowling once you praise her for the good work either. (I thought that some of your stories may help us figure out this puzzle. Apparently she's not looking for praise.) Anyway, LOOK what she's been bringing up lately!



No, not those video game remotes behind her. In front of her. She has some rubber animals. One of them is understandable since it is gray and has a tail, if your eyesight isn't so good it COULD conceivably be mistaken as a mouse. The other one? Not so much. A bright green dragon with wings? How could that be mistaken for a mouse of any sort? Weird cat.

Oops, geez! Where did the time go? I'd better go make dinner before we head off for football practice!

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Family Fun

Peanut and I have been playing games this evening since it started raining again.

I don't think we're ever going to get done with this painting at this rate! We're almost half-way done with our shed priming now. Grr. It didn't even rain all that much either, just enough so we couldn't finish today. There was only a small chance of rain today too with more rain tomorrow. Since our job is impossible to do, we retired indoors for some fun.



I really shouldn't call it "family" fun since only 1/2 of the family is really here for the fun. Son is at grandma's and Cheesehead is working, but the cats decided to join in on the fun. Looks like Speedy wants a turn to spin the spinner. "Right hand blue."

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Our Morning Misadventure

While this annoyed me this morning, I thought I may amuse you with a story before I head out today.

I am trying to sleep in for the long trip today. I had a rough night because I was worried about being able to get to all of the right places today. I guess I should have looked at mapquest yesterday. I didn't because Cheesehead told me that his mom and uncle both knew how to get there.

Anyway, at 6:15am I can hear Beauty whining in the living room. She won't stop and it's too early, I'm too tired to be thinking straight, so I get up in a flash. I don't want her to have an accident on my nice carpeting. Both of the dogs go to the garage door acting like they've just GOT to go outside. I hurry up and open the door following them to make sure they stay in the back yard. Mind you I'm wearing my summer nightie that is fairly short. I wasn't worried about being seen by neighbors so I didn't even grab my robe. We were going to stay in the back yard anyway....

We go out through the garage's back door and get to the kennel. The kennel door is ajar. They tear out of the back yard into the front yard. I run after them allowing the door to shut behind me. I didn't want them to find the baby bluebirds!

Suddenly it occurs to me that Cheesehead probably just headed to work and the dogs were sad because he left them. I call the dogs to the back yard. Amazingly they listen to me. We all go into the kennel and try to open the door. I never unlocked it! EEK! I'm cursing the door locks we have. Who makes door locks that you can open without unlocking the door anyway? Now we're stuck outside, the house is locked up tight and there is no way inside except the kids letting us in.

My mind starts whirring with thoughts of how to get back in. I start wishing that we slept with the windows open at night. We don't because Cheesehead is afraid a bear will break in or something. Um, since they're taller than me I really don't think that could happen! Too bad we never got the code programmed for the touchpad on the garage door, I guess that will have to get on the to do list pronto. Our extra key is no longer outside where the builders kept it. I wish I had my purse, I could use my cell phone to call them and let the phone ring until I roused the kids. Oh, if I had my purse I'd have my keys.

It is hazy, hot, and muggy even though it's only 60 degrees. Beauty is whining for me to let her back inside. Gee, if all I ever had to do was whine to get my way I'd whine all the time too. I start knocking on all of the windows and doors of the house to try to rouse them kids. Nothing. I have to go to the front yard. I put the dogs in the kennel hoping the dogs don't figure out they can knock it over just by jumping on the walls.

I am circling the house like a vulture. I can't stay up front long because the neighbors do daycare and some of the other neighbors are leaving for work. I don't want to blind them with my brilliantly white thighs, so I keep circling, knocking, and ylling for the kids.

All of a sudden I hear a strange soft warbling noise that I haven't heard yet. It's the baby birds. Sorry babies, I wasn't even thinking!

Defeated I go to the back yard, wipe the moisture off of the cleanest chair and plop down to plan my next move. I could go over to my favorite neighbor's house and try to use their phone. If I were wearing my other nightgown or had my robe over the top I probably would.

I close my eyes. Man, I am still SO tired. I listen to the birds twittering in the trees. I can hear the robins and the mourning doves. There are several other birds calling too, but I don't know who says what. Some of them are sweetly singing with melodious voices, others are twittering among themselves, I hear chirping, and warbling. At least 6 different bird calls. I am waiting. Sweat is trickling down my body. The dogs are whining. Mosquitos buzz. An eternity passes. I decide to make another round. Still no one stirring inside.

I start grumbling to myself. The kids are usually up early watching tv. Why not today? Grr! I knock on the front door again. The cats come to investigate. They look at my seeming to wonder why I don't come in. I yell "Speedy, go get the kids!". She stares at me blankly. Hmm, I guess she doesn't act as much like a dog as I though she did!

I turn around. Mother bluebird looks at me curiously from her watching post. I'm sure she's wondering why that crazy lady doesn't just go away. I mumble to her that she's lucky she doesn't have a door that locks on her house. I proceed to the back yard to wait. The cycle repeats for what seems like forever.

Suddenly both dogs are looking through the window of the garage door. The kids must be up. I practically sprint to the front yard. Yup, there are both kids. I knock. They open the door and the first words out of theire mouths are "Where are the dogs?". Gee, it sure is nice to be so well loved!

The ordeal lasted an hour and a half. I relate the tale to them. They didn't hear a thing. I go out to get the dogs. Do I have to? If it weren't for the naughty beasts I'd already be ready for my trip. I suppose I should have been getting ready instead of telling you a story, but in retrospect it is somewhat amusing. I sure made MIL laugh when I told her.

Okay, enough procrastinating I need to get to MIL's with enough time to squeeze in both lunch AND an oil change.

I know we just had one, but MAN do I need a vacation!

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Homecoming Havoc

We just got back from picking up the dogs. So far so good. The kids were so excited they didn't even make us late. We ended up getting there about 10 minutes early, so I let the kids each pick out $1 worth of treats while we waited.

They pulled the car up right next to the van and opened the door facing the van. Beauty jumped right in to be by the kids. Angel started wandering around the parking lot, so many people to see!



The dogs were good riders for the most part. Apparently Beauty wanted to drive the van. Too bad I didn't have my camera ready for that picture. She was sitting in my seat. Silly dog! She only climbed on the seats a couple of times. I guess she wanted to look out the windows, but she's shedding terribly so I wouldn't allow it. Luckily there's plenty of space on the floor of the van.



They loved the yard. I didn't let them sniff it for too long though, didn't mind it when they were by the shed, but when they came on the other side of the driveway it was time to go in. I was worried they'd find out about the baby birds. I'm going to try to keep them in the back yard as much as possible. Hopefully everything will work out. I suppose that's asking too much?



Once we made it inside there was a mad fury of paws and hissing. Sweetie ran into hiding in the basement and Speedy jumped up onto the bar stools away from Beauty's nosy nose. She started to settle down after a couple of minutes though. Her back was still arched as she decided to lay down and she's still keeping her eyes on them, but I think they'll get along just fine. She and Angel used to be the best of friends. It's Sweetie and Beauty's meeting I worry more about.



I want the dogs to get used to going out the back door, so we've taken them out there several times. Here is the kennel I brought up by the house. I think it will work out well for us when I'm working on the garage.



Uh oh! Sweetie came out. At least the dogs are smart enough to stay away from her! She doesn't look too happy yo see them. At least it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Beauty keeps trying to make me bring her out the front door. I'll show her who's boss though. Just becasue she rules at MIL's house doesn't mean she'll rule here.

Wish me luck, I have a feeling I may need it today!

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Preparing for the Dogs

Monday is MIL's sister's funeral. Since Cheesehead wasn't able to get off of work, we are watching MIL's dog (and ours). Angel hasn't been to the "new" house yet. I use that term relatively loosely since we've lived here two years.

Angel stayed with MIL and FIL when we were in the moving process. Speedy and Sweetie did too, until we bought our new house and closed on it. After the house became ours, it was our intention to bring all of the pets here. They stayed until September when we actually closed on this house, about 3 and a half months in all. In that amount of time FIL had really bonded with Angel.

He had collapsed at work from a seizure a couple of weeks after Cheesehead started his new job. He wasn't able to work in that amount of time, so he spent all of his time at home with the dogs. When it came time to take the pets home, we had just found out FIL was given a year to live. He was so sad that we were taking his Angel away from him. We just didn't have the heart to take her away. We took the cats and went on our merry way. Once FIL died last year MIL had also become attatched to her. She was very depressed and we though Angel could help her cope with her loss so she still stayed.

Now MIL needs to go to Iowa for her sister's funeral but doesn't have the money to pay for a kennel. I know BIL would prefer a kennel since he calls Angel "his" dog and I think he knows once she comes home with us, she won't want to leave with them.

Their dog Beauty is a complete spaz because she lacks the training that I gave to Angel. I just know she's going to drive me completely bonkers! I dragged the dog kennel up by the house since we only have 3 sides, that way I'll have a place to send naughty dogs without having to worry about what they'll do to the baby birds in the front yard. Cheesehead was worried I'd want to attach the kennel to the house. I'd rather get another panel for it so I have a way to protect my future vegetable garden from the deer. I don't want to leave holes in the siding when I move it for my garden.

I also moved the cat food dish up high so the dogs wouldn't eat it all. I investigated baby gates in town to keep them away from the litter boxes, but I decided I'd try to put the end pannels of Peanut's old crib across the door to keep them out of there instead of having to spend all of that money on something we won't need for long. After all, I'm sure we'll get those doors stained and installed soon.

I think we're about ready for them now. We are meeting them in Catawba tomorrow to get the dogs. The kids are so excited.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

What a yummy way to treat ourselves!

Wednesdays and Fridays are fish fry nights up here in the northwoods. We love to go to Minoqua to eat the best fry I've ever eaten at our favorite restaurant Tula's. There are two plant nurserys up there that I'm dying to go to, but they close so early. I'm planning on going to them on Cheesehead's day off next week.



I thought I took a picture of my dinner, but apparently I got a snapspot of the table instead. Cheesehead gave me a distaining look when I took out the camera so I tried to make sure that no one was looking as I took the shot. I must have moved the camera when I looked around. Oh well. I guess you'll have to take my word for it.

We came in and sat at the usual table. We vary our routine so little that "our" waitress brings us our drinks without even asking us what we are going to drink. TBO shocked her by ordering a different meal too. She even knows not to send tartar sauce for anyone and to substitute something else for the coleslaw. I guess that means we eat there a little too often, huh?

When we got home we found that one of the cats threw up in her room. It must have been traumatic for her, poor thing. She was sobbing so hard it was hard to believe that something didn't happen to her. We got it cleaned up, but apparently she doesn't like the look of wet carpet and insists it is stained??? She's sleeping in the guest room tonight. It should be dried out by tomorrow. How can a child who insists on such extreme cleanliness when it comes to dirt keep such a messy room with toys strewn all over the place? I just don't get it!

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Cindy

Look what the cat dragged in.

Silly cat. Speedy just dropped her last take. I've never seen anything quite like it! I keep trying to get a picture of her doing the deed, but she always has it dropped by the time my camera's ready. Darn digital! It's so funny seeing her carrying these things, especially the ones that are bigger than she is. Her head's high in the air and you can hear it dragging across the linoleum.



Sorry the picture's a bit weird, it must still be on the setting I used for the snow mold. The stash? 4 slippers and 4 stuffed animals. Is there a common theme? As far as I can tell it just needs to be soft and fuzzy.

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Cindy

Cat antics

While it is 40 degrees outside (and it's supposed to hit 50), we're still covered in snow. I guess I could show you a lovely picture of my driveway now that it's almost all melted off. If that were my grass I'd be much happier though. Since I know so many of you like to hear about pets, I thought I'd share these gems with you instead!



Isn't this sweet? They love to sit together on Cheesehead's lap. Nap time for all! Cheesehead was sleeping too, but prefers that I not take pictures of him (party pooper).



Wasn't it so wonderful of Sweetie to help me fold my laundry?

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Cindy

Our four year old puppy

I know that she's really a full grown dog by now, but she still acts so much like a puppy that it's crazy. Angel's a better listener than her sister Beauty is though. Our dog's a bit crazy and likes to jump on people when they first arrives, but she's able to calm down after a few minutes.

Our dogs came pre-named. I know we could have changed the names, but they already knew their names and answered to them so we didn't bother. I know I would have changed Moonbeam's name if we had adopted her though!



When they're outside in the winter it's really very handy to have all of this snow laying around. If you look closely you can see some of the snow she's eating falling out of her mouth. Silly pup. They were even trying to fetch snowballs for us when we were having a snowball fight. You'd think by now they could tell the difference between a real ball and a snowball!



Look at them play. You'd think they were still tiny pups the way they romp around. It's good exercise for them though, so as long as they refrain from this play inside we're okay with it. Playing keeps you young at heart anyway, right?



I just love her "eye brows". They make her look so gosh darn cute, don't they? She was one of 2 favorite puppies at the home we got her from, so she was used to sitting on laps and being inside the house from day one. She's always been a bit spoiled! It took Beauty a while to get acclimated to this type of environment though. They must weigh at least 75 pounds and they think they're lap dogs. Angel did adjust when FIL became ill though so now she mostly sits on the floor nearby people to get her petting.



She is my daughter's constant companion, following her around and watching her like a hawk. Peanut really loves her animals! Angel tried coming home with us last time we went to MIL's. That would have been fine with the kids, but MIL and BIL looked like they lost their best friend when they saw her sitting in the van. She wouldn't even get out for a treat. Cheesehead had to drag her out and bring her inside so she wouldn't chase us down the road. Why is she at MIL's house? Good question. It's kind of a long story though....



Just look at her patiently waiting for Peanut to be done swinging. She's a gentle loving dog who brings comfort to the hurt, lost, and lonely.

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Cindy

The wild one

Introducing Sweetie! (Another cat I did NOT name!)

Have you ever heard the expression that curiosty killed the cat? Well, this is the first cat it would probably kill. She is always into anything new and/or different around our house. She is the first to notice that our suitcase smells different after out visit to MIL's. She turns her head to any of the faintest of noises thus making it VERY hard to get a good face shot of any kind. She sees thing flying in the air that I can not see. I'd think it was her imagination if Speedy didn't come and join her in the watching of the flight path!

If we leave anything on the counter she is up there to check it out. Naughty as all get out. (Hmm, she DOES remind me of her owner....) The other day I left some hamburger buns on the counter, when we woke up they were on the floor and the bag was torn to shreads with bites out of the buns. The culprit? Well, I guess I wasn't awake to see it, but my guess would be this little honey!

She's also a fraidy cat too. If you are spraying air freshner in the air, even if you're in another room, she's off and running for cover. She could be sitting on your lap, if you change your position at all she's had it (even if you move something that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the area she's sitting on). It takes her an eternity so find a comfortable place when she's sitting on your lap. This is the cat I found to catch the mole that got into our house. I brought her into my bedroom and she ran and hid under the bed. It was dark under there for me to see anything, but I could just picture those two sitting side by side under the bed quaking in fear.

She likes to sit in Cheesehead's chair for whatever reason. If he's sitting on the couch by me she'd prefer to sit in his chair. We move too much when we sit by each other apparently.

Isn't the stripe down her nose just neat? I have to admit if it weren't for her face I may otherwise think she was a bit homely. Cheesehead likes to tease that it looks like she was hit by a few paintball guns. Actually I don't think that statement is too far off! There really is no pattern to her markings at all.



Her fur is the softest thing you've ever touched. When you pet her, it feels like silk. If her fur where any prettier someone might like to breed this cat for the fur. Seriously, it's SOO soft. I love to pet her. It's also very fine though, so it tends to tangle easily (another trait she shares with her owner).

Even though she's almost 4, she is still very kitten like. She likes to taunt Speedy and play with her. She waits until Speedy isn't looking and pounces on her as if she were hunting prey. If there is a marble laying anywhere on the floor of the house, this would be the cat you'd find chasing it on the linoleum at 3 in the morning.

She's got the saddest, loneliest meow I've ever heard. It has a bit of a whiny quality to it (yet another trait she shares with her owner). She starts meowing after a few minutes of play, I can't stand it so I make her let the poor thing go. I don't know if she's just talking to her or what, but it just sounds so darn sad.


Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Cat-dog

Since I'm tired of posting about our lack of gardening ability and too much snow, I thought I'd tell you a bit about our beloved pets.

Today's post is about our cat Speedy. I swear, this cat THINKS she's a dog. I've never met another cat quite like her. Believe me, I've know A LOT of cats! I suppose you're wondering why I say that. Well, there are SO many reasons, I hardly know where to start! Let me count the ways....

1. Speedy LOVES to sit on our laps, she's almost never sitting anywhere that isn't with a person. Even if you're a total and complete stranger, it just DOESN'T matter.

2. She loves attention from anyone who will give it to her. Even if it means she's getting mobbed by a rambunctious child.

3. She lets my daugther drag her around (usually she somehow either gets carried upside down, over her shoulder, or being held in some other way that most cats tend not to prefer), pull her tail, grab her paws, play with her, wrap her up in baby blankets, (the list of abuses goes ON and ON) and never has a single complaint. She won't even hiss, scratch or bite her. I get fed up with her mistreatment of the poor thing before the cat does and make her let the cat go!

4. If there are any bugs in our house, you can count on this little hunter to find them AND eat it. I swear. The last bug she ate was a sand spider just a couple of days ago. I HATE spiders, so I called Speedy's attention to it and she ran right over and gobbled it up! YAY!

5. Did I tell you she comes to her name EVERY time anyone in the family calls her? Even if she doesn't know you. SERIUOSLY. How many cats can you say that about?

6. If you pat your lap, she'll jump up on it too.

7. You can't read a newspaper, book, or magazine (well, reading material of any sort) if she's sitting in your lap either, if you try she'll just sit right on top of it or poke her head around it any way that she can.



This is a picture of Speedy laying in the sun, about the only cat-like thing that she does. Cute, isn't she?

By the way, I did not name her! You can blame my son for that. You see, I got the cats each a cat when we were at a garage sale almost 4 years ago.

There were 2 kittens for sale there, I couldn't choose just one of them. Out of self defense I told hubby that we had to get one for each of the kids so they wouldn't argue. Hey, I could TOTALLY see that happening. You just don't know my kids. Quit laughing at me!

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

Silly cats!

I'm sure most of you know we've got two cats. They're missing a few screws though!

A mouse got in the house today, we've got field mice hiding out in the garage. Anyway, Cheesehead saw it run into our bedroom through the master bath. I hurried to gather up the cats so I'd scare the mouse out from under our bed. I brought Sweetie into the bedroom (they're normally not allowed in there since I think I am slightly allergic to them). She hid under the bed. Probably sitting right next to the mouse but it was so darn dark under there I couldn't see a thing. Why do you think I got the cats?

Well, she was useless! So, I started a frantic search for Speedy. She likes to eat sand spiders, so I figured she'd probably be a better bet to help us get the mouse. Was she ANYWHERE to be found? Of course not!

So it was up to Cheesehead and I. What does Cheesehead do but head out to the living room, sit in his recliner and turn on the tv! Good thing I'm not too squemish or that stupid mouse would probably STILL be in our bedroom! Okay, so I guess it's up to ME!

The mouse was under some clothes I had washed and not put away. The pile fell on the floor. I could see a little lump moving along under my daughter's swim suit. I wasn't going to risk loosing the teeny little thing, so I just grabbed to whole pile of clothes and ran to the door. I threw it all out on the floor of the garage. You know what? Cheesehead had the nerve to be annoyed that I didn't kill the stupid thing! At least it wasn't in our house anymore.

Parking in the garage again... finally!

Well, we used to be able to park in the garage, before we got more of our stuff from Big Lake that we didn't really have room for. We got the big items moved into the basement and everything else rearranged to leave the middle space open. Yay. No more window scrapping. Of course we had to move a few things out into the "shed". Okay, it's really the dog kennel, so I guess that means our dog won't be coming home this winter. I'm not so sure that she would have come home anyway since they seem reluctant to give her back.