Guess what followed me home?

No it wasn't some smokin' hot stud...he already lives here! HAHAHA  Well actually, Marc is pretty damn hot, but I digress.  Jan phoned me early and asked if I could meet her in Wilton to look at a little house for sale.  So I left the kids with Marc and drove like a bat out of hell, drove leisurely to Wilton to meet her at the Cenex.  She had Aila with her and we had a nice long chat before we decided to head back to my place.

She followed me on the drive back here to our place and as I was preparing to pull onto HWY 36 what do i see staring at me from the middle of the two lane road, but an itty-bitty kitty.  I stopped, got out and walked to the cat, which I fully expected to run away from me, and to my suprise, it walked to me and rubbed my leg.  I scooped it up and motioned to Jan that I had once again found another stray. 

The cat is VERY friendly and sat on my shoulder, much to my chagrin, all the way home.  The kids have named it Willy and it seems to be a sweet little guy.  He purrs the moment you touch him and I am sure he will make another lovely pet as soon as he is neutered and vaccinated.  Just what I needed, another darn animal.  Aren't the kids enough?

About a mile after I saved the cat from meeting Jesus prematurely, I passed a wayward calf ambling alongside the highway.  Jan called me and asked me why I didn't stop to rescue it too.  Well duh, I'm sure it wouldn't sit quietly on the ride home!

Good Day, Sunshine

Ever notice how everything seems better when the sun is shining?  Yesterday was a typical "Oregon" kind of rain.  It rained all day from dark, oppresive clouds that obliterated the sun's rays.  It was the kind of day that makes one wish they could stay in their pajammies all day long.

Unfortunately, Jerome had two eye doctor appointments which necessitated me putting on clothes and banning me from lounging on the couch after school in sweats.  He first saw the optometrist who concluded that since his corrective Strabismus surgery in Minneapolis last March, his eye sight has actually improved.  This is not a typical outcome from strabismus surgery.  He has a little near-sightedness, but it has improved a lot since his surgery.  I guess that is just a nice benefit besides having both eyes looking in the same direction at the same time.  His second appointment was with the Opthamologist who concurred that his eyesight has indeed improved and although his left eye still drifts slightly vertical, the surgery was a complete success.  He will probably need another surgery somewhere around puberty to further align the eye, but given how profoundly crossed his eyes were before surgery, one would never be able to tell he had had strabismus for the first 6 years of his life.

We gorged on Borscht soup last night at the neighbors and it is really, really good stuff.  She made the soup in a pot so large, I actually believe a small child could bathe in it.  It was GINORMOUS, but she said it was the only way she knew how to cook after having a family of 9.  Richnigthder had 4 big bowls of Borscht and Madison had 3.  It is a hearty soup and now that I have the recipe, it has been requested that I make it soon.  It was perfect soup weather last evening.  Dark, cold and damp. 

Now that the weekend is here, the weather is supposed to warm up to the 70's and be sun-shiny!  I like that a lot.  I probably won't be making Borscht this weekend, but instead plan to use the BBQ as long as the nice weather holds out.  Tomorrow Kitty,Bunny, Gucci and Carlos will be partaking in the Bismarck Kennel Club fashion show.  Not quite sure how to dress them.  I could probably do a costume, but fashion????  Not my thing.  Madison made a hat a while ago for Carlos that made him look like the pope.  Dumb dog wore it all day and didn't seem to mind it.  Guess I could dress him like that and call it Italian fashion?

As soon as Thomas finishes some reading and Jerome finishes some sentences, we are heading out to enjoy the gorgeous weather.  Can't ride the horses outside today as it is still too wet and slippery so that'll have to wait until tomorrow.  Sunshine beckons and I cannot ignore basking in the last warm rays of this fall's sun!

Borscht and Biscuits

Tuesday was a bad day around here.  Nothing bad happened, it just seems that the kids and I were at odds all day long.  That translates to a difficult day of homeschooling where we all feel like we are banging our heads together or alternately banging them on the walls.  Just when I was about to explode with frustration, the neighbor lady, Joyce called to see if it was "Recess?"  BTW, that's mom code for, is it a good time for a drink?

She was going to come over here, but I instead told her I would be to her house in about 3 minutes.  Her kids...all 7 of them...are grown up and no longer in school.  I was going to say, no longer living at home, but we all know that's just fictional thoughts as most kids return home for some period of time after college.  Alas, she has her 23 year daughter living back at home.  So I raced like a bat out of hell, drove carefully over to Joyces to have some liquid refreshment.

In the midst of my  rambling about my mouthy kids, she decided one afternoon aint gonna cut it to help me out.  So she called last night and invited the whole family over for dinner tonight.  Seems we'll be having something none of us Oregonians have had before, Borscht soup.  It sounds great; hearty, earthy food complete with homemade buttermilk bisquits.  I'm bringing an apple cake for dessert, but the real reason I am going is to enjoy the company of a mom who successfully raised 7 children to productive adulthood.  She gets the chaos, dirt, dishevelment of having 3 boys and a 13 year old daughter.

I'm looking forward to having Borscht soup tonight.  Better yet, I'm looking forward to the company and experiencing the wisdom that a mom of 7 kids can pass on to me.  Lord knows I need the wisdom!

This is Wrong

It's snowing.  Big, white, angry flakes driven to the ground by the Northwest wind.  I am not ready for this.  I still have lots of riding to do in our beautiful new outdoor arena.  So much to do and old man winter is breathing down our coated necks.

This is just wrong!

Dog Lovers, please read this post and learn from our near tragedy!

Last evening I heard an odd noise while Kitty and Bunny were playing on our back deck.  It was a thumping sound.  Beside the thump, thump, thump, I heard an odd raspy type of noise.  When I opened the back door, what I saw horrified me and I began to scream, "Kitty's dead!"  Madison came running and so did Thomas.  What we all witnessed was Bunny's lower jaw wrapped and twisted around Kitty's collar.  Kitty was lifeless from the noose-like twisting of her buckle collar and her limp body was being dragged by Bunny's entwined mouth.

Kitty's collar was twisted over Bunny's lower jaw and behind her canine teeth.  The more she pulled to try to release it, thhe more it choked Kitty.  Bunny was terrified that she couldn't close her mouth and also by the fact she was dragging Kitty with her.  Thomas immediately tried to stop Bunny from her frantic pacing and I tried to pry her mouth wider open to untangle the collar.  It so tight over her jaw, I had Thomas run and get a steak knife for me.  The dogs were so tightly tied together that it was impossible to get a knife in anywhere to start cutting. 

Kitty was limp and lifeless.  Her tongue was bluish-grey and her eyes were BULGING out of her head.  She did not blink, nor breathe.  Bunny was frantic and I realized after the fact that I had sliced up my fingers on Bunny's teeth trying to pry the collar over her canines and off her jaw.  Thomas also got some nasty cuts on his left forearm trying to help me hold Bunny's mouth open.  Somehow, I'm still not quite sure how, I got the collar over Bunny's lower canine teeth and was able to un-twist it from her jaw.  Bunny staggered away and Kitty fell lifelessly to the floor.  I closed Kitty's mouth, with her bulging tongue hanging out the side of her mouth, and began to give her CPR.  I never checked to see if her heart was beating, I just started doing some chest compressions on the side of her chest, kind of behind her elbow.  I don't know how long I did this, perhaps just a few times, maybe a few minutes.  My heart was beating out of my chest and I was  sobbing so loudly I couldn't hear Thomas yelling that she was alive.

I leaned over Kitty and saw her abdomen moving in very shallow breathes.  I started rubbing her vigorously all over and when she started to blink I knew she was coming back.  She laid there for some time in a type of fog.  She didn't get right up, but rather laid there and gained her bearings.  After several more minutes she lifted her head and stood.  She went right to the water bowl and drank.  About this point, my legs gave out and I was crying like a baby.  Sure we've had dogs put to sleep before, but that is humane, painless and needed.  Seeing a puppy suffocating and terrified of their own impending death is a sight no one should witness.

Thomas and I went to urgent care last evening and got our cuts cleaned up.  I was worried we'd need stiches, but they just steri-striped us and sent us on our way.  I was also concerned that they would report this as a dog bite and would take Bunny away.  I think after we explained it to the doctor, she understands that although the dogs teeth cut us, they were not bites.  She infact, called me a hero!  That made me cry again.

SOOOO, my PSA to all my dog lover friends is to never, ever let your dogs wear a collar of any kind without your direct supervision.  Even better, since supervision cannot stop the dogs from playing and getting tangled, do not let your dogs wear collars unless you are on the other end of the leash.  My shelties have microchips for ID, and next week, Kitty and Bunny  will too.  I will  never have my dogs wear collars again unless they are on a leash.  BTW, our dogs wearing nylon, buckle collars and the steak knife, had I even gotten to use it, would have been highly ineffective.  It's life cutting a seatbelt....damn near impossible without a razor.

Kitty is fine today.  Bunny is fine today.  I hope my blood pressure returns to normal and then I can be fine too.  Learn from our near tragedy!

Hearing Voices

I dropped Madison off this afternoon to get her hair corn-rowed, which left me with the 3 boys.  The last thing I would ever consider is having them hang out with me at the salon with Madison for 2 plus hours.  It was bad enough for the few minutes they were there.  They sat and looked at magazines and Richnigthder quickly became bored which immediately spread to Thomas, and lastly to Jerome. 

All 3 boys were obviously starving as they only wanted McDonald's and not the dried fruit I had with me, so in an effort to appease everyone, I took them to get some cheese burgers.  As we were driving, I had received a call from Marc, ended it and tossed the phone into my purse.  I commenced with telling the boys that they were not getting meals, but I was getting burgers and a soda and to not complain, just be happy.  The next thing I hear even over the deafening din of the kids and the radio, was a voice calling my name.  I thought I was the only one hearing it, but Thomas heard it too.  The voice kept calling my name and then I heard the voice tell me to pick up or hang up! 

Seems I had dialed a friend here in town and she knew it was me.  I'm so glad I wasn't hearing voices in my head.  I'm also glad I wasn't yelling and screaming at the kids.  I'd rather be crazy than to purse dial someone and have them hear me yelling at the kids to sit down, be quiet, look out your own window and just be happy with with your damned burgers.  That's the real me!!

Tequila ad

This is hysterically funny stuff.  Sorry Sarah for swiping it from your blog, but something this good and funny MUST be shared with the rest of the world. 

BTW,  This is the first song that was playing/being sung when Marc and I first met and talked.  Ah, memories!