"Tails" of Groomer Angie

The Owl Box

2010-03-23T15:15:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it's been a while! But in the words of an old Johnny Winter song, I'm Still Alive and Well.

We've been fostering a new Bull Terrier, Skippy who came in from Sullivan Co. Animal Shelter. He's a very sweet boy who is just about ready for his own forever home. When he came to us, he weighed 28 pounds!!!!! An adult male Bull Terrier should weigh 50 pounds or more! This poor boy was skin and bones when I picked him up. I'm happy to say, he's now closer to 40 pounds and looking better everyday.

We've also been trying to get the top on our dog's kennel. I've heard Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls and also Red-Tailed Hawks out there and we don't want any of them swooping down and grabbing up one of our little dogs. I love having those birds around, should keep down the rat/mouse population! Not to mention they are beautiful creatures!

I've been working on my stained glass, making trophies for the Miniature Bull Terrier Club's last show. They turned out great if I do say so myself :)

I'm also involved in a new fundraising project with my friend Paula to raise money for our Bull Terrier rescue. Having a blast doing it. You can read about it on the Bullie's blog Kids in Dog Suits or if you are on FaceBook you can check it out on the fan page we made for it. Flat Papster and Flat Benny's Excellent Adventures~The Race to Silverwood.

The last couple of days I've been glued to this computer screen watching Molly and McGee, 2 Barn Owls out in San Marcos, CA. A couple out there put an owl box up on their property 2 years ago and this year the pair decided to use the box to raise their young. So far they have 1 owlet and 4 eggs still left to hatch. Egg number 2 is expected to hatch anytime now. It is so fascinating to watch her care for that baby and exciting to see the male come in to bring her food at night. Please go check them out, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Anyway, that gets you guys caught up for now, enjoy the Owl Box and I will try not to be as long posting updates next time.

Blessings to each and every one of you!

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy

2009-12-24T22:38:00.003-05:00

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with Child. 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the LORD hath made known unto us. 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His Name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

Blogging about The Advent

2009-12-02T18:47:00.003-05:00

I just have to share this blog with y'all!

Ice Shavings and Shinny. Craig is an awesome writer and he is doing a series on his blog this month called The Advent. So far I love it! I can't wait for the next installment and it's only Day Two!! Make sure you go back and read his Caveman Chronicles too.

I remember my mother bringing one of those little Advent calendars home every year and how excited my sister and I would get over opening the next little door. We made a big production out of it, always after we ate our supper and the dishes were done, we would head over to the little calendar and take our turn opening the door. One night I got to open, one night Linda got to open and I think even one year Mom took a turn opening the little doors. That was such a simple little *tradition* yet we looked forward to it every year.

We did the little Advent calendar for our kids as well, only by then it seemed it was impossible to find the calendars like we had, the ones with the little pictures behind the door. All we could find were the ones with candy behind the door. Mom came up with the idea to make our own one year so Jake and I spent the day making a cloth one right after Thanksgiving that year. We sewed little squares onto a panel and Jake took a marker and numbered the days on each square. Next we made little clothespin reindeer or snowmen to add to each square, that worked very well that year and it gave us some mother/son bonding time together. He remembers doing all that and even remembers how to make the little clothespin reindeer and snowmen.

I have a few of those left that I use as decorations on the tree now. Each time I pull those little clothespins out, I remember the day when my little boy WAS a little boy and we sat together making those little things. What wonderful memories for me. Jake tells me he remembers that day every time he sees those little worn ornaments as well and since that is what I was hoping would happen, mission accomplished.

Anyway, be sure to head over to Craig's blog and read his series, you will not be disappointed. While you are there, be sure to click the *follow* button, he always has some awesome posts over there.

Enjoy and blessings to each and every one of you!

The Rest of The Story.....

2009-11-10T00:04:00.006-05:00

(my mother, Jerri)

I posted this as my status update on Facebook earlier this evening~

Feeding time once again at the C. house, organ night ~YUCK! Not my favorite meal of this raw feeding diet, I HATE liver, but the dogs love it & they need it sooo...

Followed with this comment~

if you hear gagging, that would be me, the smell is disgusting! EEEWWW

Now since then, I've had a number of comments about what others feed their dogs and a few emails telling me they LOVE liver or asking me why don't I like liver? Any self-respecting southern girl loves liver and onions. Well, let me tell you, yes I was born in the south and I do live in the south now, and I do consider myself a southern girl BUT, I was raised in the DC area, not quite far enough north to qualify as a Yankee, but far enough to have grown up in a different culture than the culture here in my beloved Tennessee hills. So I guess you could call me a transplanted, somewhat northern, southern girl with a few northern habits and even more southern *traditions*

Now, my reason for this post? Well like the title says, I'm going to give you The Rest of The Story "Why I can't stand liver" The answer is really pretty simple, it makes me sick to my stomach, literally. There are no amount of onions in this state to cover up that horrible smell or taste, it's. still. liver. I don't care what you cover it with, and trust me, I've tried it all.

My wonderful mother was always a southern woman at heart. She raised my sister and I by herself, yet still managed to work a full-time job as a Deli Manager, keep a roof over our heads, keep clothes on our back and food in our belly. She managed to cook supper for us most nights. She managed to give us wonderful holiday memories and she instilled alot of those "southern traditions" into both of us.

(circa 1979, L-R~my sister, Mom, me & my baby brother in the back)

One of those "southern traditions" she stuck to for as long as I can remember.....liver and onions every Friday night!!! I HATED it!! I hated to see Friday come. I thought of all kinds of ways to be out of the house or eat at a friend's house, or be sick or whatever, so long as I could get out of eating that blasted liver! Most times, it didn't work. I cried, I begged, I pleaded, I sat there refusing to eat, (which I found out VERY quickly was the worst thing to do, I still had to eat it, only by then it was cold!) *insert gag* I covered it with ketchup, I covered it with A-1 Sauce, Worcester sauce, Soy sauce, I think one time I even tried to make a sandwich out of it complete with the mayo on 2 slices of bread (don't try it, that was pretty awful) Mom wouldn't budge, I was eating that liver one way or another and if I made it worse by adding all that junk to it, then so be it. I would throw up every time I ate the stuff, every single time! It literally made me sick to my stomach!

Finally it got to the point that Mom would say "Eat it or take a whipping" well, you guessed it, I took the whipping. For the longest time, can't even remember how long to be honest, maybe 6-8 months, I took a whipping every Friday night rather than eat that liver!

I'll give y'all a minute to quit giggling........

ok, finished??

One day, many years later I brought Jake to Mom's and we were going to stay the weekend with her, we got there on Friday afternoon. Guess what was for supper?? Yep, liver. I smelled it the minute I opened the front door! I remember I started gagging as soon as I smelled it and I told her I would just go back home, let Jake stay the night and come back in the morning, I can't stand that smell. She rolled her eyes and said "Oh fer cryin out loud, yer gonna stand there and tell me yer gonna get sick on yer stomach if you stay? You ain't no kid anymore, yer 28 years old and I promise I ain't gonna whip you if you don't eat it"

She rolled her eyes and muttered something else I couldn't understand, but I told her "Mom I really can't stand the smell, it really does make me sick, my stomach is churning just smelling it. Now if you want it that's fine, if Jake wants some that's fine, but I can't eat it!"

I will never forget the look on her face when I said that and I will never forget what she said next..... "You mean to tell me I whipped you all those Friday nights and you were tellin the truth? It really WAS makin you sick on yer stomach??"

I told her yes, I wasn't faking it, I wasn't just being a bratty kid, I really did get sick eating it. Her answer..... "well I swan, I'm sorry I whipped you, but you shoulda told me you really was gettin sick" Then she busted out laughing! Probably because my mouth was hanging open with my lower lip somewhere down around my knees!

Telling that story now makes me smile, remembering the look on her face and that sly little grin she would give, makes me smile. I miss my mother horribly, more today than ever, but I don't miss that Friday night liver!

Now I leave you with a picture of what brought all this up to begin with, the bowls, filled with liver on a previous liver night at the C. house. Yes, I was gagging as I fixed it and my stomach was churning while I was standing over it smelling it, but I made it through once again.

For those wondering, my sister hates liver as much as I do, but she would eat hers, sometimes she would cry about it, just like I did, but she ate her liver and never *took the whipping*

My brother who was raised by my uncle, loves liver, go figure.

Goodbye my sweet Tink

2009-10-19T11:19:00.005-04:00

Lounging on the couch

Tink is on the right
Bossing the dogs in the camp set-up next door

Enjoying her bed at a dog show in Chattanooga, TN

It's a very sad day at my house today. I have to help one of my beloved babies cross the Rainbow Bridge later this afternoon. I hate it! I know it's best, but I hate it! Oh, how I wish our 4-legged babies could be with us longer.

Tink is our 14 year old Miniature Dachshund that I rescued 9 years ago from a horrible lady that had her only for making money. She is one of the sweetest, most patient, loving little rescues I have ever had. She is very easy going, wants to please and for a baby that lived such a horrible life before I saved her, she gets along well with the rest of my menagerie. She's very sociable and yet, in typical Dachshund style, could be stand-offish at times. She is very protective of her pack, especially me. She was a wonderful companion to my son while he still lived at home, loved him dearly and would *protect* him from any number of *boogey men* that might come into his room at night.

The first 5 years of her little life was spent in a dirty crate, pregnant most of the time. She had 6 litters of puppies by the time she was 5 years old! SIX!!! That means she was bred every time she came into season, starting with her very first one! She came from a horrible woman who is now sitting in jail, thank goodness, after being convicted of animal abuse! HURRAY!

I got Tink a few years before her POS ovwner was arrested. At the time, I was grooming at one of the local veterinarian's clinic and the POS that owned her had brought her in to be euthanized. Her reason? (and I quote) "the bitch only gave me one puppy last time, I can't make money that way" So rather than do what a responsible breeder would do, place her in a loving home, she didn't want to be bothered and wanted to euthanize her instead. I asked her if I could take her and find her a good home. She told me I could *have* her for $150, otherwise, put her to sleep. Well, I wasn't about to give this POS any money for her, so I left the room. I was so mad, but what was I going to do? Anyway, the vet came out and asked me if I really wanted to try placing this little girl and of course I said I would. The vet then went back to the room, told the lady (I use that term loosely) we didn't have time to euthanize her right this minute, but if she would sign the release form and leave her with us, we would euthanize her that afternoon. POS said fine, signed the form and left. The vet then brought little Tink to me and said, "Here, take her and find her a forever home."

I brought her home and began working on her evaluation and getting her adjusted to living a *normal* dog's life. She had obviously rarely been out of that crate. She was terrified outside and would stand there so stiff I thought she would break. She didn't want to stay on the couch, or in a dog bed, or walk around on the carpet or hang out with the other dogs. All she wanted to do was go back to her crate. I had to keep the door to the crate closed just to keep her from going inside. She would sit there, by the door, waiting for me to open it back up. She had no idea how to potty anywhere besides her crate. She was afraid to eat anywhere except in her crate! In other words, her world consisted of her crate. It took me nearly a year to get her housebroken and acting like a normal dog and of course by then, I was so attached there was no way I was placing her. She stayed with me from then on. That was 9 years ago.

I vowed she would live a happy life if I could give it to her and she would not end her life in pain or suffering. She had enough of that in the first 5 years to last 2 lifetimes. So, the time has come for me to honor that vow and keep that promise I made to her all those years ago and let her cross over. She has been a wonderful companion and has brought me and my family joy ten-fold and I thank the Lord above for allowing me to take this little Princess home with me that day 9 years ago.

Goodbye my sweet girl. Thank you for your years of love and faithfulness and companionship. Go play with your old buddies, Pixie, Blarney and Marilyn. Be sure to kiss your *Nanny* for me and tell her I love her. (*to my wonderful Mother: Please take care of her for me until I get there Mom)

Tuesdays At The Table

2009-10-06T16:08:00.004-04:00

Now that I am back to blogging, I just had to get back into this meme. I LOVE it! I have found so many yummy recipes through this. These blogging women certainly know how to cook!
To participate post a recipe or cooking hint on your blog, then head on over to Cole's place All The Small Stuff look for Mr. Linky & post the link to your recipe. Be sure to link up to the TATT post. Then, and this is the most important part, check out all the other links for some great recipes!

Now for my recipe of the week:

Crockpot Potato Soup

2 cans Campbell' Cream of Potato Soup
2 cans Diced Potatoes
1 pint Half & Half
1 tsp pepper
1 cup Whipping Cream

Mix all ingredients in your crockpot & cook on low 4-6 hours.
Serve with cornbread, crackers, bacon bits, green onions, shredded cheese or whatever else you may want.
Talk about yuuummmyyy! Man did it hit the spot yesterday! And best of all, it's easy-peasy, I like easy-peasy.

So, head on over to All the Small Stuff & add your recipe!

Blessed Be

Retirement, House, Pampered Chef

2009-09-30T12:26:00.006-04:00

(little thief showed up just as the sun was going down)

Well let's see, where to start?? Been a while since I've been able to get on here & update you about anything and (for the 5 of you that are having Groomer Angie withdrawls) I apologize. *grin*

How about we start with this?-- WE ARE AT THE NEW HOUSE!!!

Notice I said AT not IN. We are here, but are sleeping in the motorhome for now. I love, love, love it, absolutely, no doubt about it, LOVE it! I knew I would, but I didn't have any idea I would love it out here this much!

(we were using the tailgate for grilling since our stove hadn't been hooked up yet)
I am not the only one, the dogs love it as well. All the barking I heard while at the other house has gone down by about 80%! They spend most of the day, sitting or playing in the 10 x 30 kennel we put up for them with their noses in the air & enjoying the sun. They seem to be fascinated with all the birds & I know they can smell the deer that come through here at dusk & at dawn. They do bark when the squirrels show up. They hate the squirrels. There are no bratty, mean children to pick at them anymore, no horns honking, no skateboards or bicycles running all over the place & we are ALL enjoying it. My blood pressure is the best it has ever been! DH says it's beginning to grow on him, he's always been in the city & is having to adjust to country life & all the things that go with it, mainly snakes. He hates them! So we have an agreement, I'll deal with the snakes when they show up, he gets to deal with the spiders. *shudder*

Our kitchen cabinets should be finished this weekend! WOOT! I am so tired of washing dishes in the bathtub. *grin* But I can do without the dishwasher for a bit in exchange for this serenity. We still have things at the other house to get out here, most of the little stuff is here, but we have some of the larger furniture to bring out yet, our bed, the couch, the entertainment center, things like that. It's all coming together, slowly but surely and now that I am retired, I can work on it at my own speed.

(took this at the old house when the dishwasher broke, picture the same thing here with a white tub)
Speaking of my retirement, all the letters went out last month & it is NOT going over very well with my clients. They are not happy, but I don't know what else I can do. I CAN NOT continue doing this, I just can't. My Doctor has been after me for a while now & I had a bad scare last month that made me decide it was time now!

When I ended up at the ER with heart attack/stroke symptoms, it scared me badly. Thankfully, it wasn't a heart attack, but we still haven't gotten to the source of my stroke symptoms. Tests showed that I didn't have one, but my body is saying otherwise. With a history of stroke in my family, I am not taking any chances, so I'm finally obeying my doctor. I am sorry this is making it hard for some of the clients, but I have to think about ME & what is best for ME, not what is best for everyone else.

I have given everyone a great recommendation. I know she will take care of the dogs in the same way I do & as far as her grooming skills, well, since I am the one who taught her to groom, I am confident that she knows what she is doing. So, I have to find some way to deal with the clients that are continuing to call me & beg me to keep grooming their dog. I have to try to find a way to make them understand that yes, I have chosen to stop grooming dogs just as I chose to start grooming all those 30 years ago. Difference being, 30 years ago, it was a choice, now it's not a choice, I HAVE to choose retirement, for my sake. So....how do I make them understand?? I welcome any & all suggestions since I really don't want to have to change my phone number, I've had the same number forever. I'm starting to think getting a new number is the only way I will get any peace though. To tell the truth, I expected some fussing about me retiring, but not this much fussing. I have to admit too, it hurts my feelings a bit to hear them carry on about them & what are they going to do, while not even hearing me tell them that I Physically! Can't! Do! This! Anymore! or I will end up in the hospital! (to those clients of mine that are reading this, please try to understand it has nothing whatsoever to do with you or your little dog or me not liking you, it has to do with me & the fact that I want to be able to enjoy life, which is something I have not been able to do in a long, long time because of the pain I'm in & my health steadily going downhill)

OK, enough of that, now on with what I have been doing.

Two words--Pampered Chef! I absolutely adore the stuff! It's like Kick Off at the Redskins' season opener, Fireworks on the 4th of July, Winning Best of Variety at a dog show, Mardi Gras & Christmas all rolled up together! Ok, well maybe that's a bit ~~ridiculous~~, ~~overboard~~, exaggerated, but I mean to tell you their products are awesome! My aunt had a Pampered Chef Cooking Show at her house & I went, oh sweet mercy did we eat some gooooood food, all fixed in the microwave no less! So I booked a show of my own (held in my aunt's downstairs kitchen since mine is still not together yet, hers was held in her upstairs kitchen), we planned Baked Chicken, Mexican Layer Salad, & Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, all made in the microwave!!

Yes, that chicken was made in the microwave! 20 mins & it was done!! The cake was made in the microwave too! The center has those mini Reese Cups in it!!

It was pouring rain that day, I mean a real frog strangler & the only ones that showed up were me (of course), my sister Linda (on the left), my aunt Frances (middle) & Jane our consultant. I was a little disappointed with that, but I figured as much when the rain didn't let up. We didn't care, we all ate good & had a wonderful fellowship with each other that day. I'm seriously thinking about becoming a consultant for Pampered Chef, I could make a little extra money AND would be able to get all kinds of Pampered Chef stuff! :)

I'm also still working on my stained glass & loving it as well, so don't worry about me in my retirement, I'm doing lots of things I enjoy. As I close this longer than I intended it to be post, look what I found at Wal-Mart.......

You know I just had to have them! teehee

Be blessed everyone,

Retirement, here I come

2009-06-15T11:22:00.006-04:00

( Bandit Crabtree)

Yes, you read that title right. After nearly 30 years in the pet business, I'm retiring. It's time, in some ways, it's beyond time. My health and my back have gotten to the point that I feel I have to quit before it gets any worse, but I'm ready, I really am. I've thought about it long and hard and yes, I am indeed ready to retire.

(Rio Jackson)

I can't complain, I have been very successful in this business. It has provided for me and for my son, I've met some wonderful people and some wonderful little dogs, I've made life-long friends that, if it weren't for grooming, I would never have known. That's the upside. The downside.......

(Pepper Malcolm)

I am in constant pain, I have discs in my back that are nearly gone. I have scars from bites and scratches, I have carpal tunnel, and a couple of nerves in my hands that just plain don't work anymore from being bitten. Most days, I can hardly move by the time I finish working, much less think about doing anything beyond working when I finish my day. I go to bed in pain and I wake up in pain and it's taking it's toll on everything I do. Grooming is not "playing with little puppies all day" It's extremely hard work and trust me, after this many years in the business, I can tell what it's done to me, physically. I would wager, if you ask any groomer that has been in the business for 15 or more years, they will tell you the same thing. I KNOW they would, 75% of my friends are life long groomers and they DO tell me that.!

(Misty & Josie Jones)

My friend, Paul and I (who has been grooming for almost 35 years now) have always joked that someone will probably have to push our wheelchairs to the table and put the scissors in our hands before it's all said and done. We've been saying that for years, but I honestly don't want it to be true. :) From the looks of things, if I keep pushing myself like this, it WILL be true and how scary is that??

( Honey Harry)

So, after talking all this over with my DH, we have decided, the time has come. If I am going to have any quality of life at all, I HAVE to. I will be doing this slowly at first. I'm not going to just stop all at once, I will be phasing out so to speak. Letters will begin going out next week.

(Ginger Patrick)

I won't just leave everyone hanging without a groomer. I will be sending out a recommendation, along with an index card with the information their next groomer will need in order to give the dogs the same clip I have been giving them. All you have to do is take the card with you to your first appointment and they should know how I have been grooming your pet and what clip you are used to getting.

I am recommending my sister, Linda. I taught her to groom over 15 years ago and she is wonderful with the dogs. She won't mistreat them and since I taught her to groom, her technique is the closest to mine that you will be able to find in this area. She is good to the dogs and she knows what she is doing. She's located in Bristol, VA and her shop is called Family Pet Grooming. You can find her in the phone book. Or you can contact me for her information. (I'm reluctant to put her number and address in here for all the world to see) At any rate, she is the only one I would recommend AND she grooms cats too.

(Baby Evans)

I want to thank all of you who have trusted me with your babies. Thank you for letting me enjoy them and for sharing them with me. Thank you for your friendship over the years and for making my career a successful one. I will never forget the joy some of those little kids have brought me. Don't worry about me "missing it" remember, I have enough of my own kids that need grooming to keep my hands in it. :)

I am looking forward to the next phase in my life, spending quality time with DH, working with my show dogs, working on our new house, working on stained glass projects and just plain enjoying life surrounded my the loves of my life. I will continue to post in this blog, after all, I will still be alive and doing things, just not grooming. So be sure to keep my blog in your favorites and see what all we have been up to.

(All of the kids in this post have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. They are just a few of the ones I miss and will miss.)

Workman Problems & Crazy Woman Update

2009-06-06T14:59:00.011-04:00

I've had a few people ask me how the new house is coming and whatever happened with the crazy lady that used to live there, so I figured it was about time I gave everyone an update. Hope it doesn't turn out too long, but if it does, remember ya'll asked! :P Problem is, where to begin?

The remodel on the house is still not finished!! (*insert a vision of me screaming and pulling at my hair here*) Do you realize how hard it is to find someone that actually WANTS to do the work you ask them to do? And in a timely fashion?? Apparently, you get one or the other, but not both with most folks. Thankfully though, we have found someone that does just that, at last! This guy has done more in 2 weeks than the last guy did in 2 months! Hey, we don't know anything about remodeling a house, I'm a DOG GROOMER for crying out loud, I can "remodel" any dog you ask me to, but not a house. DH has owned his own food business for the last 34 years and now runs our automotive repair shop, WE. DON'T. DO. HOUSES! At any rate, we ended up telling the last guy to hit the road and found someone else to finish the job.

(*Living Room before and after floor is finished now*)

Carpenter #1 was nickel and diming us to death, needing this, needing that, finding this on sale and that on sale, things we did not need, but that he thought "would look good" in the house. It got to the point that I felt like he was working on HIS house, not ours and he was beginning to see it that way himself. After nearly 2.5 months there, the only room that was completely finished was the living room! None of the other rooms were ready to move anything into, the kitchen was still without the cabinets he was supposed to build and no sink. The Spare Room still didn't have the closet enlarged and a door put on, nor did it have the trim put back up or the tile put down. The Bathroom was/is still sheetrocked, no paint, no medicine cabinet, no trim. The Dog Room still needed trim, tile on the floor, another closet fixed and the door worked on. The Hallway still needed tile put down, panelling replaced and stairway worked on. My Stained Glass Studio still needed paint, trim and a door. The only rooms in the entire house that didn't need something done were the Living Room (which really only needed to be tiled and paint touched up) and the Master Bedroom (which we weren't doing anything with other than paint and that was done) 2 months and every room he was working on was still only half finished! Then to top it all off, the weekend we let him go, he called and asked if he and his wife could go camping out there!! For crying out loud, you sure that's not what you have BEEN doing? Needless to say, in the words of an old Roy Clark song that comes to mind Thank God and Greyhound He's Gone!!

Now, on to Carpenter #2~He's been there for 2 full weeks and we have tile on all the floors, the Bathroom only needs painting now, the Spare Room is trimmed, the closet is finished and he will be adding a box type thing to the ceiling to cover that awful, tacky looking air return hose from the heat pump that the previous owner didn't bother to do anything with. The tile in the Dog Room and the Spare Room is called "Sunset" I love it! Wish I had found that for the Living Room, but that's ok.

(*ugly return hose in spare room being covered*)

The Dog Room now has a fixed door, new tile, trim and is ready to go. The Hallway looks great and just has a couple of minor things to finish up. The staircase still needs doing, but I haven't figured out what I want to do with it. Any ideas? Hardwood? Tile? Anything but carpet.

(*hallway before panelling was put up*)

I found this cute border tile to put in each doorway, I love it! It breaks the tile up nicely I think.

The Kitchen is the last thing he is doing and he's due to start on that this week, so keep your fingers crossed that we will be in there by the end of the month! I hope so, the kids are out of school now and apparently we've had about 10 more move in the neighborhood over the winter! The dogs HATE it! And the noise is even worse than last year! It's driving me crazy! Those of you that have been around for a while know what kind of problems I have here with the neighbors and this neighborhood, so I won't go into that in this post.

We've also had the driveway widened so the motorhome can get up in there and had a french drain put in to stop the water from coming into the house. That guy was finished in 2 weeks as well, so we have managed to find at least 2 people that do thier job!

(*shot of our driveway before and after the widening*)

Ok, update on crazy woman that used to live in our house. I posted here about her husband committing suicide in the out building on the property and the fact that she had his urn buried on the property? And how she was constantly coming to the house to "visit" him, nose around, then write notes complaining about things? Well, we got her to come remove his ashes and take them with her. I know that sounds harsh to some of you, but this woman was/is just a little on the crazy side, she really is!

(*the hole the urn was in*)

She had left her number on a couple of the notes and after one such trip of hers and the neighbors calling us to tell us there were people coming and going at all hours up there, we called her and asked her to remove him. She threw a FIT! Telling us how that "house was MINE before you all bought it!!" And that she had every right to come up there to "visit" him. We informed her that we have talked to the Sheriff's Office and we have No Trespassing signs up and that she was breaking the law coming and going as she pleased. We set a date to meet her there and had a Deputy on hand to make sure things stayed calm. Let me tell you, she did NOT want the Sheriff's dept there AT ALL! The woman is a bonafide NUT! She had the Deputy looking at us as if we had horns and pointed tails, convinced she suffered from Lupus and was unable to do anything (she could traipse around through the woods nosing around the house just fine until he arrived)

(*below you can see the nut and the Deputy coming out of the woods*)

She spent alot of her time trying to talk us out of making her remove him. But we were adament, move him! See, I would have considered letting her leave him there and come visit if she called first and let us know she was coming, but as time went on, she was getting more and more weird. Almost like she blamed us for buying HER house. She questioned and complained about work being done, she saw the old carpet laying outside and wanted to know why we removed it. She had looked through the windows and wanted to know why we painted and why we put tile down, what was wrong with how she had it? Then she started in on "Well you know how my husband died don't you?" We told her yes and she said "You don't have a problem with the fact that he did it right here on the property?" Started about how she and the kids missed the place and how much her husband had loved it and he wouldn't have liked what we were doing. DH had told her we had signs up and a chain across the driveway now and that we didn't want her there. Her answer? "The chain doesn't matter, I park at the curve and walk through the woods anyway" It was getting so I was really beginning to worry about what this woman would be capable of, especially if she decided that WE were the reason for all her troubles because we bought the house. Having her remove her husband was the simpliest thing to do in order to stop her from coming and going as she pleased. So far, there haven't been any signs of her coming back. We have cameras set up all around the house now with the security system and can watch from anywhere we have an internet connection. So far, so good, I think we are shed of the crazy lady. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays this way.

Now, this post is long enough, but I leave you with a shot of me & Peggy Sue napping on the couch, never mind the circles under my eyes, I have been having the worst time sleeping lately and it's beginning to take it's toll.

Until next time, be blessed friends,

Trophy Photos

2009-05-29T12:11:00.008-04:00

Now that things have finally settled down to a small, containable riot around here, I thought I would post some pictures of the trophies I made for our show. Total made: 18 Fan lamps and 4 Table Lanterns. The first photos are of the 3-sided Table Lanterns that I did for Best in Show & High In Trial.

I didn't think to make sure to get a shot of the entire trophy table, I'm hoping maybe one of the other club members took one. I also didn't have lights on in the Calla Lily ones, but the shots turned out nice. The fan lamps were made for Group 1, High Combined and Best Junior Handler.

The Calla Lily lamps turned out very nice, I was really happy with them. I think I'm going to make one for myself. :)

The flower is a deep wine color, hard to see it, because the picture makes it look black, but it really is a beautiful color.

I hope to get a post written showing the steps it takes to make one of these lamps soon.

Next project.......

Bull Terrier trophies for my regional club's speciality in November, and another fan for a fellow blogger who fell in love with the ones I was making.

I am going to open an Etsy shop as well and hope to start selling different things online, lamps, suncatchers, tissue boxes, clocks, etc. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head.

I have a program on the computer that will let me make patterns and I hope to be able to make things with the less common breeds of dogs. It's hard to find things for breeds like Bull Terrier, Chinese Crested, Dandie Dinmont, Bullmastiff, Irish Wolfhound, Japanese Chin, just to name a few, I hope to remedy that in a small way at least.

This program is wonderful, if you can dream of something you would like in stained glass, the program makes it possible. :)

Until next time,

Why I hate to vacuum....

2009-05-23T09:41:00.003-04:00

Ya'll thought I was only kidding about the Bullies not letting me clean house in peace, didn't you??
They do the same thing with brooms, mops, window cleaner spraying, etc, etc, etc.

I'll be back later with the story of how our dog show went last weekend.

Home again

2009-05-19T09:10:00.002-04:00

We're back from the show weekend, tired, cranky, hurting and glad it's over. Pappy showed his hiney BIG TIME!! Needless to say, he didn't show since I was not about to let him act out in the ring in front of the whole place. More later about the weekend, right now, I have to go back to work. (Dang it)

We're Outta Here!

2009-05-13T16:35:00.002-04:00

We're off to the dog show, be back the first of the week!

Ya'll behave now! :)

Angie

A different kind of blog swap

2009-05-02T11:19:00.000-04:00

I finally had a little time to sit and read some of my favorite blogs. Normally when I'm working on my stained glass I do all of it in the spare room (can't wait to get in our new house where I'll have a little studio to work in, but that's a whole 'nother story) Anyway, when I get down to the foiling portion of the project, I bring the pieces in the living room and either watch tv or surf blogs while I'm foiling. You can see someone is always on my lap while I'm trying to do something, here's Peggy Sue our Toy Poodle watching Andy Griffith with me (look at the tv screen)

Well, I found the cutest little blog and she is having a blog swap that is right up my alley. The 2009 Dog Swap Now, I know you've all seen the swaps most blogs have and probably participated in a few of them. This one is a little different, instead of getting a partner that you find cute little things for and swap people things with, in this one you get a partner and you swap doggie things for your dogs! Now how cute is that idea? I signed up right away (does that surprise you? haha) and can't wait to find out who my partner is.
There is a spending limit and a limit of up to 3 dogs. So head on over to my new friend Sprinkles' blog and read all about it, sign up and join in the fun! I can't wait! This is such a cute idea! A big thank you to Sprinkles for doing this!

Now I'm off to work on some more trophies on this rainy, gray day.

In the words of Andy Taylor on the Andy Griffith Show....Ya'll Act like somebody today!

Trophies and an Award

2009-05-01T01:15:00.007-04:00

The trophies are coming right along and they will be finished on time, thankfully. I just tend to worry a little too much about things like that, even when I know I shouldn't. I tell you though, being sick with whatever that bug was for 2 weeks did NOT help matters a bit!

I am missing all my favorite blogs big time! I miss doing Tuesday's at the Table with Andrea, I miss Mari's Slow Cooking Thursday, I miss Julie's daily dose of crazy, heck, I miss all of you! I promise though, I will be back as soon as our dog show is over and things have gotten back to normal around here (well what DH and I call normal)

The dog show is on May 16 and 17, and since I am the Parking Chair, we are going to take the RV down on Thursday and I will just stay there until Sunday. DH will be down Friday after work to help and he will stay the rest of the weekend, so I'll only be there one day and one night without him. Our friends with the Bullmastiffs are always there to help park the RV's as well, so it will be a busy 2 days! Most folks start coming in on Friday, so I want to be there to mark off the reserved spaces and help get some of the other things set up. I will be showing Pappy, the baby of the bunch on Sunday, wish us luck.

Now for the award Jan at Jan's Place gave me, I was so honored to get this! Thank you so much for thinking of me, I really appreciate it. If you haven't met Jan yet, head over there and meet her, her horses and her dogs. You'll find a down to earth, neat lady! Is that not the cutest award?

Here's how it works:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to up to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Coming up with 15 blogs is not going to be easy, there are so many great ones out there and I have to admit, alot of the blogs I visit are Dogs with Blogs, so I'm including both 2-legged and 4-legged friends in this list. ;) Also, most of these are not newly discovered, but ones I enjoy reading. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Cindy at Tales from the Winterdark

2) Rachel at A Doggie Life

3) Allison at Reflections of a Dog Mom

4) Farrah at Old-Fashioned Homekeeper

5) Andrea at My Chihuahua Bites

6) Erin at Life of a College Student

7) Rosie at Reading Rosie

8) Deb and the Bullies at NY Bully Brats

9) Mari at My Little Corner of the World

10) Clive and the Little Man at Assistance Dog for Autism

11) Julie at From Inmates to Playdates

12) My own Kids In Dog Suits (so they can pass it to doggie friends)

13) Catsmum at Susan in Stitches

14) MW at DogGonedMysteries

15) Karen at Karensbrae Terriers

If you have already received this award then that means you do indeed have "One Lovely Blog"

so accept it in the manner in which it was given and know you are doing a great job! ;)

Lastly, I have had a couple of requests for pictures of my glass trophies I have been working on, so here you go....

The fan lamps are what we are giving for Group 1 and High Combined (Obedience) and the 3 Panel table lantern is for Best In Show and High In Trial. The last shot is what my table looks like right now. I have them all turned over to solder the backs first. I have found if I do all my soldering at one time, they come out more uniform. Seems my soldering skills vary from day to day.

I'm outta here for a bit, gotta get back on those trophies.

I'm still here

2009-04-28T23:09:00.002-04:00

I haven't forgotten you guys or my blog. I'm sorry I haven't been around to visit with you much lately, it's been a little on the crazy side here.
I've been sick with some kind of 'creeping crud' and I've been working like a mad woman trying to get these stained glass trophies finished for our dog show next month. I may be scarce for the next 2 weeks, it's getting down to the wire with the show and I am trying to get all my duties done. I'll be back regularly when I get this show past me.
I want to say a big Thank You to Jan for the award! I'll post about that tomorrow if I get a minute! Meantime, ya'll go visit her, you'll love her blog!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-04-20T01:28:00.003-04:00

Although your birthday has come and gone 5 times now since you left us, I miss you more than ever!

I love you Mom, Happy Birthday!

April is a Busy Month

2009-04-16T19:46:00.007-04:00

April has always been a busy month for me what with birthdays and being the Parking Chairman for my kennel club's show in May. Nowadays, there are a few more things added to the month.

April is National Donate Life Month. I am a huge advocate for organ donation. I volunteer whenever I can and I have met some wonderful, amazing people while doing so. The need for organ donation is great and it is so easy to help, all you have to do is sign a donor card or the back of your driver's license, then be sure to let your family know you want to donate your organs. According to UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing, as of today at 6:00 pm, there are 101,792 candidates awaiting an organ transplant!!

(My mother Jerri, Christmas 2003)

My beautiful mother Jerri, died suddenly Aug 7, 2004 from a ruptured brain aneurysm and she was an organ donor. I know for a fact, there is a lady in North Carolina who spent years on dialysis waiting for a kidney. She has a son who was planning her funeral instead of planning for her to watch him graduate high school. There is a man in New York, who had to stop working and was living a life of pain, watching his family grieve for him while waiting for a liver. There is an older lady in Tennessee and a gentleman in South Carolina who couldn't see their children, the beauty of a sunrise or spring flowers blooming. ALL of those folks received Mom's organs! There are countless others who received her tissue donations as well!

(Mom with one of her hand-fed baby birds she raised.)

The lady in NC did indeed get to see her son graduate and by now has also seen her daughter graduate. I hope she has also gotten her horse that she was looking forward to getting. The man in NY has gone back to work and is enjoying running and golfing. And I could just imagine how the folks that received Mom's corneas are living! Imagine, seeing your child's or grandchild's face for the first time or watching the sunrise!

Losing my mother was the hardest thing I have ever gone through, the pain is still great, especially on those special days, Mother's Day, Christmas, my birthday, etc. BUT knowing that someone else is living and enjoying life because of Mom eases that pain somewhat. Mom would have been 66 years old this coming Mon. April 20. Yet another day that makes this month a hard month for me. When those special days roll around I find myself thinking of her organ recipients and wishing like crazy that I could hear from them. I think I'm ready to write them a letter, let them know a little about Mom and see how they are doing.

(Mom, 4 months before she passed away)

According to the policies and protocol surrounding organ donation, recipients and the donor family can indeed get in touch with one another IF both parties want that. Either side would write a letter then send it on to the donor organization that handled our services. Mine would be Mountain Region Donor Services. These are the most caring, wonderful people I have met. I have made quite a few friends through them, both during Mom's donation process and through volunteering for them. So I think I will write something to her recipients and hope that they want to communicate with me.

I've been told by other recipients it was hard for them to contact their donor families. They were afraid of bringing more pain on the family or opening up a wound that was beginning to heal. They have also told me they didn't have words to say to the donor families. Thank You just doesn't seem like enough to them. I promise you, I am not looking for a thank you anyway. I am looking for a way to see that Mom's organs have made a difference in someone's life. I mean I know it has, I just want to SEE it or READ of it. Wish me luck that I will get a response.

This post grows long and believe me, I could go on and on and on about this subject. Yet another reason I volunteer for MRDS and try to get the word out about donation.
If you would like to know more about it, if you are contemplating donating your organs and have questions, please, please, PLEASE feel free to ask me anything about it. I promise I will help you all I can and if I don't have the answer right then, I will find out for you and get back to you. I promise.

For now, I'm out of here and I'll be back with you next time with another cause I care about, you see, April is also Autism Awareness Month.

(My second cousin Kolby, the reason I support Autism Awareness)

Be Blessed,

Tuesdays at the Table

2009-04-14T11:47:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it's Tuesday again? Time for Andrea's Tuesdays at the Table! I have found so many recipes that make me hungry just reading them since she started this! Join the fun, post a recipe or food tip then head over to Andrea's place, My Chihuahua Bites, link up your food post with Mister Linky and go see what everyone else has posted. I warn you, these ladies are posting some awesome recipes, so get ready to have your mouth watering!

Today, I'm posting another really easy recipe (I told you, I like EASY) that is a favorite around my house, not to mention, yummy!

Pepper Steak with Soy Sauce

1 lb. beef round steak or sirloin, cut into strips

2 T. shortening or oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup water, divided

2 med. onions, cut into strips

2 bell peppers, cut into strips

2 T. cornstarch

cooked rice

Brown meat in shortening or oil until tender. Add soy sauce and 1 1/4 cups of the water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add onions; simmer for 5 minutes. Add peppers; cook until peppers are tender. Mix remaining 1/4 cup water with cornstarch and stir until no lumps remain; add to beef mixture. Allow beef to continue simmering until sauce thickens. Serve over a warm bed of rice.

I'm telling you this is good stuff, we never have leftovers no matter if I double the recipe or not!

Now get on over to My Chihuahua Bites and join in the fun!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T15:16:00.003-04:00

A big thank you to my cousin, Cheryl who sent these to me and gave me a huge smile first thing this morning! :) That's her Lab, Zoe and her friend's Greyhound, Joker all decked out playing Easter Bunny.

Have a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Tuesdays at the Table~Week 3

2009-04-06T13:23:00.006-04:00

It's that time again~Tuesdays at the Table hosted by Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites. I am loving this party! I've found so many great looking recipes so far and can't wait to try them. Join the party and head over to Andrea's place to get in on it.

Today, I'm posting Chess Bars. I like easy. I like good and this one fits both bills. My niece, Tori gave this to me a long time ago and I make it quite often.

Chess Bars

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

1 box yellow or chocolate cake mix

1 egg

Mix together and press into a greased 13x9x2 cake pan.

1 8oz cream cheese, softened

1 pound box powdered sugar (yeah I know 1 pound!)

2 eggs

Mix these together and pour over first mixture. Bake at 325 for 50-55 minutes.

This is awesome, but as you can see, not for those looking to cut back on calories!

Now get over to My Chihuahua Bites and add your recipe!

What to expect in a groomer

2009-04-04T11:32:00.007-04:00

(Pooch looking cute)

I have had a few requests for this information lately so I thought I would share it here as well. Susan aka Catsmum over at Susan in Stitches suggested posting it here. Go check out her blog, you will find a pretty talented lady behind all those goats and yarn.
After nearly 29 years in this business, I have learned alot, not only about animals, but about other groomers as well. Some of them are not what they claim to be, others are absolutely wonderful. The grooming business is like any other business as far as the "business" end of it goes. We are in business to pay our bills and hopefully be able to buy things we want. Most of us are in the grooming business because we love animals and want to be around them. Some groomers however, are only in this business because you can make good money. Those are the ones to watch out for.
Grooming is not an easy job, it's dirty, it's hairy, it's very physical and it's dangerous at times. Being a groomer means at any given time, you can be bitten, scratched, pooped on, peed on, or puked on. You most likely will end up with a bad back, carpal tunnel, dry, cracked hands, arthritis, damaged nerves in your hands and most certainly, scars. BUT, those of us that absolutely love this job just deal with those things and chalk them up as part of the job. Those of us who can't see ourselves ever doing anything else will continue being bitten, pooped on, peed on, etc. because to us, it's worth it to see a freshly groomed dog, with a bandana and bows dancing around so proud of his/her new look. It's a wonderful feeling to see what you have accomplished when you look at the finished product. It's very rewarding!

(before and after pictures of a Toy Poodle)

Now, what should you look for and expect in a groomer and grooming salon:

1. Ask to see the facilities, beyond the lobby.
Look for cleanliness of the cages, floors and work areas. Of course there will be hair scattered about, but there shouldn’t be dirty kennels, tubs and floors. If they will not let you see the facility then leave promptly. Someone with nothing to hide would give you a tour of their shop/mobile unit.
2. Ask what their policies are on handling your pet.
Do they use muzzles and restraints safely ? How do they handle puppies, seniors, and nervous or difficult pets. Where do they keep the pets while they are waiting to be groomed? Ask questions that you are able to see the answers to, such as the kennels, the bathing area, dogs currently being groomed, products used and stored, sanitized, etc.
3. What are their credentials?
Talk with the groomers and ask where they have been trained. Ask them to provide you with some client references. Ask to see a photo book of their work. Don’t assume that all groomers are the same. You want to find someone who has experience, yet has a love for animals as well. Ask to see if they have any certificates from grooming seminars, schools, or classes that they have attended. Also find out if they belong to any grooming association either state or national.
4. Do they have style?
Find out if they have a specific breed that they specialize in. Are they familiar with the grooming needs of your breed. Are they interested in giving your pet a style and clip that is easy to maintain with your lifestyle. Not all dogs need to be shaved down. If their skills are limited to shave downs and they have no desire to create a stylish look for your pet, you may want to look else where.
5. Ask your friends, family or Vet to recommend a groomer.
Navigating the yellow pages for a groomer can be a daunting task. By asking people you know that have their pets groomed can save you a lot of time. However, don’t just take someone’s word for it. Follow the guidelines listed and it will help you find the groomer that will suit your needs, and make your pet look and feel great.

What does your groomer expect of you?
Your professional groomer expects you to be honest about your dog's temperament, health and previous grooming history. Your honesty will give the groomer a better understanding of how to handle your pet to the best of their ability. If you neglect to give truthful information it could be detrimental to your pet and the groomer.**
Be aware, if your dogs coat is matted it could cost you additional charges ranging from 15.00 to 40.00 per hour, depending on the groomer and the severity of the matted coat. Some groomers may not even do a de-matt, they may just shave your dog (due to the pain of de-matting) and ask you to maintain a much more diligent grooming schedule.
Your groomer will expect you to have your dog picked up from the salon within a reasonable time. Be considerate, and don’t leave your dog at the groomers all day long. Most groomers will give you a pick up time or call you when your pet is ready.
Tipping your groomer for a job well done is something you should do. The normal tipping scale is 15% of the total fee. If your groomer is an owner/operator you should still tip them for their hard work.

What you should expect from your groomer
Not all groomers are created equal. Never assume anything.
Ask for your pet to be provided with clean fresh water while they are in the salon, or mobile unit. If your pet is going to be in the salon for an extended period of time, ask what their policy is on walking your pet to let it relieve itself while it waits.
Grooming times vary from groomer to groomer and what they have scheduled. Ask how long it will take to groom your pet and ask for a pick up time.
Grooming fees vary between salon and mobile groomers. Ask how much your pet will cost to groom. Find out if there will be any other charges incurred prior to leaving your pet to be groomed. Let the groomer know that they have to ask permission to do additional services on your pet, such as flea dips, shave downs, etc. You shouldn’t have to pay for additional services that you didn’t agree to prior to leaving your pet.

Finally, you should be able to express what style of clip that you want your pet to receive. Let the groomer know your lifestyle and time constraints on keeping up with grooming at home. You should expect a clear and concise idea of what your pet will be groomed like.
You should expect to be able to speak with the groomer that will be working on your pet. You should expect to be treated with respect and your pet to be treated with dignity and compassion. Ask questions and be informed.

**If your dog is aggressive, or has been known to bite PLEASE be sure to let the groomer know! Getting bit is not fun, but it is nice to know ahead of time if the dog has bitten before. It won't matter to most groomers, we're used to it, remember. Forewarned is better than NOT warned.**
I can't tell you the number of times I have been bitten only to have the owner giggle and say "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that". I think folks are afraid if they tell the groomer the dog bites, they won't groom the dog, that may be true with some groomers, but not all of us. A good groomer will not turn you away for telling them that, they will know what to expect and will be ready for it.

One last thing, one of my favorite sayings over the years has been "God does not groom dogs and I do not work miracles!". If your dog is extremely matted or has not been groomed in a long time, don't expect me to make it look like the dog you saw on the dog show. To have a dog clipped like that, it has to be groomed on average, every 4-6 weeks. If you don't take care of the brushing and care of the coat at home, don't expect me to "fix" it when you bring it to me. My main concern is your pet. I won't cause pain by de-matting a dog that hasn't been touched since last year, it is far better for the dog to be shaved down and start over. Then get on a regular grooming schedule.

(Miss Peggy Sue in her first clip)

Hope this helps some of you, if you have any other questions about grooming, you can email or leave a comment. Oh, and I'm sorry for not getting around to everyone's blogs, I'm hoping to get that done this weekend, those stained glass projects have been keeping me pretty busy.

Tuesdays at the Table

2009-03-30T22:36:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in a week! But it's time once again for "Tuesdays at the Table" hosted by Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites. Last week there were some pretty awesome looking recipes posted. Join in, you'll have fun! Post a recipe, then head over to Andrea's place and put a link to your recipe post on Mister Linky, then be sure to check out all the other recipes.

Today I'm posting Cola Chicken. Ok, don't start curling your nose and yelling "eeewww" as strange as it sounds, it really is a yummy recipe. I found it on AllRecipes and I tweaked it a bit. I use Dr. Pepper instead of Coke and I've added the green peppers. Trust me, it's mmmmmm goooood!!

Dr. Pepper Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breast halves

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cola, regular or diet, or Dr. Pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Arrange chicken breast halves in crockpot. Combine ketchup, cola, onion, and green pepper; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. Serve chicken with sauce over rice.

Serves 4 to 6.

Now give it a shot and check out what everyone else has posted this week.

Tuesdays at the Table

2009-03-24T01:06:00.003-04:00

I love, love, love to try new recipes and Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites Blog has come up with a good one! Tuesdays at the Table! Check out her blog and find some great recipes. I think this is going to become a favorite of mine! :)

I've told you before how I got my Grandmother to call out her recipes to me so I could write them all down before she passed away. I cherish those recipes and fix them every chance I get. My favorite is her Peanut Butter Pie as you can tell from that previous post.

Today for Andrea's Mister Linky, I'm posting my Grandmother's Peanut Butter Candy. (Can you tell Granny liked peanut butter?)

Peanut Butter Candy
1 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1/4 teas. salt
1/2 pint marshmallow creme

Boil milk, sugar and salt for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and marshmallow creme, blend together until smooth.
Pour into pan and let set. Cut into squares.

I've made this before, and I do remember it taking a bit to get it all mixed up good. Granny wasn't the best as all the 'recipe embellishments, most of her quotes included "add about" or "or so" and such. So, with alot of her recipes I had to figure out the best way to do it.

Good luck and don't forget to visit Andrea and find more recipes and good things to eat. And by the way, I don't think her Chihuahua really bites, but since I have Chihuahuas, I know they will bite if they take the notion. :)

Blessings,

It's Bristol, Baby!!

2009-03-21T11:23:00.004-04:00

Bristol Motor Speedway Marquee announcing our marriage

It's that time of year again, race time in Bristol, TN. Home of the World's Fastest Half Mile
Bristol Motor Speedway is far and away the most popular track on the NASCAR circuit. The races are always sold out and fans come from all over the country to attend the race. I'm told our little town of nearly 25,000 becomes the 3rd largest city in Tennessee!! I can believe it, getting around town takes an act of Congress the entire week.
Before Dale Earnhardt died, I used to love watching the races and attending them here in Bristol whenever I had the opportunity. He made it fun to watch and you could always count on him doing something unforgettable. After his passing, racing just wasn't the same for me. But attending the race in that tiny little oval track is an experience one never forgets, trust me! If you ever get the chance to go, grab it, you won't regret it!
Nowadays, while it is pretty neat to know that so many people love to be here in our little town as much as we do, it's pretty aggravating sometimes for us residents to get everyday things done in a timely fashion. Oh well, it's only twice a year, so we've learned to deal with it, not without alot of complaining though. :)
This year, Hubby and I had 2 tickets to Sunday's Food City 500, or as we call it "The Big Race" (the little race is the Busch race the night before) but we weren't going to attend. So the first person I thought of who might want the tickets was Randy, a fellow Andy Griffith Show fan and a member of "The Front Porch" an online message board filled with fine folks from all over the country, Canada and even one from Ireland, who are all fans of The Andy Griffith Show. So, I picked up the phone and said "Sarah, get me Randy's house" and asked him if he wanted the tickets. He said yes and after talking to him for well over 5 years on the Porch, I finally got to meet him and his lovely girlfriend, Sherry in person yesterday!! They drove up from Georgia late yesterday evening and met up with us at our auto repair shop. What fun it was to finally meet them in person!

Sherry, Randy, Angie & Robert

I've talked about The Front Porch on here before. I have been posting over there since mid-1997 and I've been able to meet a few of the 'Porchsters', as we call each other, over the years. Those folks over there have become like a family. We know each other's children's names, pet's names, and we send one another Christmas cards. The Porch is just as you would picture it, a place where we all sit and rock and enjoy one another's company, just as you would on a real front porch. We rejoice in one another's triumphs, we pray for each other's problems, we lend an ear (or eye in this case) to those that need to just talk, we laugh, we cry, we love and we cut up with one another. With all the bad things on the internet these days, it's a blessing to find a place to "hang out" that is not only fun, but safe for your children to read as well. It's a family atmosphere in the midst of all the less than acceptable sites on the net. Feel free to click on the link and join us, most of us have picked a "Mayberry" name and post under that ID, mine is *Mavis, Randy goes by Spot.
Anyway, back to the meeting yesterday, we took pictures, of course, and I hope we'll get to visit with them a little more before they head back to GA.

Randy, Angie and Robert

Sherry, Angie and Robert

So, if you're a NASCAR fan, remember when you are watching the race, I'm sitting about 5 miles from that track, listening to the cars from a distance. And once it's over, we'll just wait until August, for it all to start again. :)

Peace friends,

Top 'O The Morn to ya

2009-03-17T01:06:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Wanted to post a picture of our Toy Poodle, Poochie, all decked out for St. Paddy's Day (well actually it was for Christmas, but who's being all technical about it?) I used Lime flavored Kool-Aid to color him and it was gone in about 2 weeks.
So, enjoy your day, don't get pinched and

"May ye be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead!"

Camera-Critters

2009-03-14T13:06:00.004-04:00

It's Camera-Critters time again! Be sure to visit the Camera-Critters blog and check out all the other folks participating this week. I'm always impressed with all the cool pictures being posted!. You can get there by clicking the button at the top of this post.

Today I'm posting pictures from last year of a hen and her chicks that live next door. Yes, we do live within the city limits, but there are still chickens next door. Along with a duck and a couple of roosters that crow at 2 am! The dogs found her on this nest right next to our fence, then not long after, I spotted her leading her brood all around on our side of the fence. I apologize for the pictures not being so clear, I had to use the zoom to get the shot. I especially like the little dude that is "high-stepping" behind her in the 3rd pictures! :)

Hope you enjoyed my addition this week and be sure to check out Camera-Critters for more.

Honestly!

2009-03-13T18:49:00.006-04:00

Imagine my surprise when I visited Karen's blog to read all about her adventures at Crufts and found that she had given me an award!

Here are the official Honest Scrap rules:
"When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Scrap" weblog. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

Now, the Bullies have already gotten this award On their blog Kids In Dog Suits and it was pretty easy to come up with honest answers about them, it's not as easy coming up with my answers. I mean how much do you really want to know about me anyway? Don't answer that!!
So here goes, 10 honest things about me:

1) I love a good margarita.
2) I can't stand liver, not matter what animal it comes out of! YUCK!
3) I took a whipping every Friday night when I was a kid over not eating liver! Again~YUCK!
4) I still love my job even after 28 years.
5) I miss my mother more than ever.
6) I'm excited about getting into our new house.
7) Chicken & Dumplin's are my absolute FAVORITE!
8) I love riding on the motorcycle even though it kills my back now.
9) I'm addicted to the B/W episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
10) I prefer to spend my days at home in my pajamas.

Now I'm supposed to pick 7 people to pass this on to:

Rosie at Reading Rosie
Cindy at Tales From The Winterdark
Erin & her dogs at Erin, Bubbles & Tex
Lisa at Kssnnikkel

I know that's only 4, but everyone else on my list has already gotten the award or would rather not do this so, if you are reading this and want to have the award and post your own 10 things, feel free!

I WAS going to start....

2009-03-09T23:07:00.005-04:00

a series of posts outlining the steps involved in my stained glass project I'm working on.

I spent the better part of the early afternoon downloading pictures off my camera onto the computer. I had a ton of them, pictures of work being done on our new house, pictures of the new foster dog we have here, pictures of my glass project I'm working on, lots of pictures I'm here to tell you.
Well, I managed to get about half of them downloaded just like they should have, but I'm not sure what happened next. I was adding all the stained glass photos into my folder so I could do a series of posts describing the process from start to finish. Somehow I managed to lose all the glass pictures without them being downloaded! Makes me so mad!
I guess, I'll have to start over with the next project I work on, and hope I don't mash the wrong button on this machine and lose everything again. Wish me luck.

I have not felt well all day, my attitude has been less than award winning to say the least and the picture problems didn't help it one little bit. I'm grumpy, my joints and my back just ache like a miserable toothache, and I feel that dreaded wave of depression over my mother's death coming on. My birthday (which is next week), her birthday, my son's birthday, Mother's Day, the holidays and the anniversary of her death brings the depression on like a tidal wave. I HATE it and I wish it would ease up on me. It's been nearly 5 years since Mom passed away and I swear it's still just as painful today as it was back in Aug. '04. Please keep me in your prayers as I fight through this yet again. And those of you reading this that still have your mothers, hug them, hang out with them, take them to lunch, enjoy them and tell them you love them!! They won't be there forever, enjoy them while you have them.

I leave you with a picture of my beautiful mother Jerri, with one of her baby birds she raised.

Until next time,

Camera-Critters

2009-02-28T11:10:00.003-05:00

I have missed this fun meme for the past couple of weeks, it's been so crazy around here, by the time I remembered, it was too late. I hope I got it done in time this week, if not, you can at least enjoy the pictures. :) To see more cool critter shots head on over to the Camera-Critters blog and click away.

This week I chose a few pictures of my Miniature Dachshund rescues. Both girls came from a horrible and I do mean horrible situation. Tink, the little Chocolate girl on the right, had birthed 6 litters of puppies before she was 5 years old! She was terrified of being outside and didn't know what to do about the grass being under her feet! Apparently she had only been out of her filthy little crate long enough to be bred and whelp puppies. Dumplin' came from the same lady, but I got her when she was very young so she didn't have to go through all that horror. Thank doG. They are the sweetest little dogs (when they want to be), and I have enjoyed their companionship for nearly 10 years now.

Dachshunds are listed in the Hound Group with the AKC, and don't let their small size fool you, they are true hounds and tough little cookies! They are noisy, they are loud, they are master diggers, they are fearless, they are bossy, they are cuddlers, loving, and make great ratters. If you think you might want to learn more about Miniature Dachshunds, please check out the National Miniature Dachshund Club website and learn more about these wonderful little dogs.

These shots were taken at the dog show in Chattanooga last year. When we go to dog shows, all of our dogs go, not just the ones that are being shown, and the Dachshunds always take it upon themselves to stand guard over their domain. (The Chinese Crested that managed to sneak into a few of the pictures is Racy, she was entered in the shows that weekend)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the pictures and again, be sure to check out all the other Camera-Critters blogs.

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

2009-02-26T23:47:00.003-05:00

This week has been as long and stressful as last week. I took the day off tomorrow so I could wind down and hopefully get caught up on things around this house. I can't remember the last time I was this far behind in everything!
I heard someone say one time~
"The hurried-er I go, the behind-er I get!" that's me in a nutshell lately!

In the past 2 weeks, I and/or my dear Hubby have:

~Rescued and began fostering another Bull Terrier that has OCD issues
~Met with the ADT guy to get an alarm and security system on the new house
~Met with the man that is laying the tile in the new house
~Worked on/installed a new heat pump in the new house
~Worked VERY long days in both businesses
~Put a chain up across the driveway to keep the nut that used to own our new house from coming and going as she pleases
~Met with the same nut to have her remove her husband's ashes from our property
~Met with the Sheriff's Dept to keep the whole "Us vs. Nut" scenario calm
~Dealt with forty-eleven phone calls from same nut
~Handled forty-eleven and one phone calls from stupid telemarketers
~Had Lizzy the foster at the vet because she chewed the end of her tail off

I could go on, but I'll stop before I throw myself into some dark cave somewhere and never come out. I have lots of material for blog posts coming up, that's for sure!

Until then, enjoy a picture or two of my sweet Bullie boy with his birthday pressie, he turned 1 year old yesterday and has been carrying that toy everywhere with him. :)

Until tomorrow (I hope)

Just a Quick Post

2009-02-16T23:58:00.004-05:00

I realize it has been a week since I last posted and wanted to give everyone an update. Chico, the little foster Bullie we had here went to what we hope will be his forever home this past Friday. So far, the reports I am getting from his new owner are all positive, he just loves him! I knew he would, Chico is an awesome boy. :)
Meanwhile, practically as soon as Chico left here, I got an email about another Bull Terrier needing rescue in Knoxville. So, Sat afternoon, hubby and I headed out to pick her up. What a sad little girl she is. Her name is Izzy and she has some issues. She is very sweet, but she is a "spinner" She is going to take a little more time to work with and evaluate than Chico did, but I do believe she is worth the effort. She needs some structure and stabilty to start with, then we can go from there. She has been in 6 different places, counting ours, in the last 2.5 months! No wonder the poor baby has issues! You can see where she has chewed the end of her tail from the stress she has been under.
Keep us in your thoughts as we try to help her get back to a normal life and hopefully find her own forever home.

Fun Pictures

2009-02-09T10:59:00.004-05:00

JoJo had become very good at using his feet to do all kind of things. We gave him a couple of those waffle balls with bells inside that you get from the cat toy section, he loves them. He holds them in his little foot and shakes them like maracas while muttering all kinds of things under his breath, not sure if he is singing or just jabbering, but it's cute.

My friend, Kara sent me this cute picture of Miss Winnie all snuggled in her chair. I don't know what it is about these rotten Bull Terriers, but they do love being all snuggie under blankets. All of mine do it and as you can see, Winnie is no different.
Those of you that live in the south know what Goody Powders are. Kiwi, our little Green Cheek Conure seems to have a headache in this picture. All I had with me was my camera phone so it's not the best picture in the world, but at least I managed to get one. He had the best time with that empty packet AND he was quiet, so I let him keep it.

Now, I'm off to the grocery (YUK) and back to get some work done on my latest stained glass project....trophies for our upcoming dog show.

Enjoy the day,

My Grandmother's Peanut Butter Pie

2009-02-05T13:01:00.006-05:00

(*I changed the title of this post because feedjit was showing a bunch of visitors from google searching for things I would rather not have my blog associated with. Maybe the title change will stop the perverts)
Today I have a craving for my grandmother's peanut butter pie. I am so glad I got her to sit down with me all those years ago and call her recipes off to me so I could write them down. Granny rarely wrote any of her recipes down, she always went by sight when it came to making anything. If I tried doing that, the dogs probably wouldn't even eat it and they will eat anything! She passed away in Nov. 1982 and I cherish my collection of her recipes. Here is my favorite. Be warned, if you make this, you will be asked to make it over and over again, AND it is very, and I do mean very rich.

Granny Whittaker's Peanut Butter Pie
Stir together:
2 cups peanut butter
1 8oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tbls melted butter
Add to mixture:
1 cup Cool Whip
1 tbls vanilla

Mix together well and pour into graham cracker crust (you can use Oreo crusts as well) Chill at least 6-8 hours, but overnight works even better.

ENJOY!

Back pain & Stained glass

2009-02-03T11:43:00.008-05:00

(silly little ice cream cone suncatcher I did for practice)

I started working in stained glass over 20 years ago and I have recently gotten back into it. I had forgotten how much I love doing this. I also didn't realize how much the cost of supplies had gone up! WOW! Talk about inflation!
I have Degenerative Disc Disease. I have 2 discs that, according to the Dr, might as well just be labeled as "gone" and one that is half-way there. On top of that, I have arthritis running the entire length of my spine. Not good news for a dog groomer. 28 years of standing, lifting, pulling, tugging and fighting with big dogs, combined with the genetic factors have finally begun to take their toll on me and made me begin thinking of another way to make money. I hope to be able to open an Etsy shop soon.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am slowing down, I can't do what I used to be able to do, I am in constant pain whether I am grooming or not, grooming just makes the pain more intense. Some days are worse than others.
Anyway, I decided to begin my stained glass work again. I am currently working on trophies for my home club, The Greater Kingsport Kennel Club. We have shows each year in May and we always try to come up with something different each year for trophies. This year we decided to give stained glass pieces.
I'm pretty excited about getting started and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures as I go along.
I have done a few pieces for other things, mostly dog-related, but mainly just for fun. I'm certainly out of practice, but it's like riding a bicycle, it all comes back to you once you get on and get started.

(suncatcher I did for the Silent Auction for Rescue at the Bull Terrier Nationals)

Wish me luck, and keep your fingers crossed that all those panes of glass I ordered last night get here in one piece, not in a ton of pieces. The company will replace them if they do arrive broken, but that would mean the whole process will be running behind.

(The Rainbow Bridge Tissue Box)(Best of Variety (Colored) trophy for one of the shows)

I'm sorry some of the photos are not that great, the flash is hard to contain sometimes. The tissue box was certainly a project. I had never done one before, but I was determined to get it finished in time for the Nationals so it could be put on the Rainbow Bridge table!

Until next time,
Bullie hugs and kisses all around,

Tagged Again

2009-02-03T11:26:00.004-05:00

I know I'm getting old and can't run as fast as I used to, but tagged TWICE in one week? Man, I need to learn some new moves to get out of the way quicker. :)

Dannielle Over at 50 Fingers & 50 Toes caught me. So here we go, the same as the other picture folder tag except this time it's folder #6, Picture #6. Rules are the same as the last one.

The dogs found this big guy hanging out around our pond last year and DH rescued him. (He wouldn't have made it very long if he hadn't) Good thing for the turtle we have Terriers who can't keep their mouths shut when they find something new & exciting to play with or should I say torment?

We put him in the bathtub for safe keeping overnight, then took him out to the lake and set him free out there.

Now, the rules say I am supposed to tag 6 people, but I'm going to follow Mrs Mari's lead, and tell you, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. :)

Camera-Critters

2009-01-31T15:46:00.004-05:00

It's time again for Camera-Critters! I nearly forgot about it since I have been so busy here this week! Glad I didn't. If you want to join in or want to see other folk's adorable photos, please head over to the Camera-Critters blog and check them out! You can also click on that cute badge at the top of the post to get there.

My post today is of our 24 year old Blue Front Amazon, Chico eating a Ritz cracker. :) He loves them, he also has an addiction to Bojangles' Botato Rounds, Scrambled Eggs, Spaghetti, leftover chicken leg bones and Pancakes. Birds can eat anything we eat (except chocolate, avocado and onions, those are deadly to them) and in fact, feeding them good foods makes them healthier. All of our birds share our meals. As long as you don't use alot of salt whatever you eat, they can eat. Chico, like most of the other animals in our house, is a rescue.

Now, jump on over to Misty's place and check out the other Camera-Critters this week.

Tag! I'm it!!

2009-01-30T18:14:00.006-05:00

I wondered how long it would be before this tag reached me, well it has. I was tagged by Lisa. Check her blog out, really, what a neat lady! :)

So here are the rules:

1) Go to the 4th folder in your Picture folder on the computer.

2) Go to the 4th picture in that folder.

3) Post that picture and explain it.

That is (l-r) Pooch (the white Toy Poodle you can barely see), Cissy (the black Chihuahua) & Rascal (the Cockapoo) in the RV window. We are heading out to The National Donor Recognition Ceremony in Washington DC. July '07.

My mother passed away suddenly in Aug. '04 of a ruptured brain aneurysm. Mom was an Organ Donor and the Mountain Region Donor Services, here in NE TN handled everything needed for our family. Every other year, the Federal Government honors donors and their families with a ceremony in DC. Nationwide, each center can choose one donor or donor's family to sponsor for the trip and that year, they chose my mother! I got to go to the most wonderful ceremony. It was very emotional for me, but I feel blessed to have been able to attend and meet so many other donor families from all over the country.

I have to end this by telling you, if you have not already made the decision to donate your organs, please consider doing so. One person can save 7 lives and enrich the lives of so many others through organ and tissue donation. If you want to know any more about donations, please email me, I will help you all I can. I am a Champions for Life volunteer for Mountain Region, so I can help you with any question you may have.

Now I have to tag 4 people for this "Tag Your It" fun:

1) Erin at Two Dachshunds and a Puppy

2) Mo & the Hounds at Two Hounds and a Manx

3) Nigel at Nigel, Sola & Co.

4) The Gang at Hey, Mama Where's My...

So guys, TAG! Yer it!!

The Bullies are blogging!

2009-01-28T18:55:00.004-05:00

Alright already!!

The Bullies finally have their own blog!

I have had numerous people ask me to let them have the keyboard once in a while and let's hear it from their point of view, so today, I let them do just that! If you are interested, you can go to

Kids in Dog Suits and see just what they have to say.

I WILL let everyone know up front, I am not responsible for how they think, they are Terriers after all, and anyone who has lived with a terrier for any length of time knows, they have minds of their own. Don't be fooled by the fact that they don't have beards, they are true terriers, through and through!

I hope you will visit their site and give them some encouragement. And I sincerely hope I haven't just enabled 3 monsters!

Lazy Lizard ain't the only Lazy here

2009-01-27T16:55:00.005-05:00

Ok, so I've been lazy the last few days and haven't posted anything. It's been raining the last couple of days and all I want to do is be lazy. So, just so I'm not labeled as totally lazy, here's a couple of shots of the Bearded Dragon. He actually belongs to my son, but since he moved and it's been rather cold, we don't want to chance moving him in this weather and him maybe getting sick, so he is living with us until Spring. As you can see, I'm not the only lazy creature in this house! ;)

Enjoy.

Camera-Critters

2009-01-24T10:09:00.005-05:00

I have found the perfect Meme for me, Camera-Critters! Considering Hubs and I have 15 dogs, 6 birds and a Bearded Dragon, along with a foster dog for the moment AND I'm a dog groomer, I could play this game a LONG time without running out of photos!
So, I'm excited to publish my first post, if you'd like to join in, click on that adorable badge of the puppy with the camera and GO!

(My favorite picture of her, she's begging for my ice cream & yes, it worked)

(recuperating from her spay)

My first installment is Miss Feather Louise, my 4 year old Bull Terrier. I love all my dogs, but Feather holds a special place for me. I honestly feel, if it weren't for her, I would never have made it through the grief and the total feeling of being blind-sided by my mother's passing so suddenly in 2004. She kept me grounded, she made me laugh when I thought I would never laugh again, she made me get up everyday and keep going, she is a joy to have around and I swear she can talk.

(riding shotgun in the RV)

(her favorite way to sit)

I'm soooo ready......

2009-01-23T16:41:00.006-05:00

(the driveway coming into our new house)

To be OUT of this neighborhood and into my new house! I don't know how much longer I can put up with the people that live around me before I start picking them off one by one!! I mean really, doesn't anyone know the meaning of respect, common courtesy or thinking of others anymore? I know one thing, in this neighborhood they sure don't.

We have had problems with the kids that live around here and while I know it's not the kids' fault, it's the parents' fault for not teaching them any better, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I think the parents just shove them out the door when they get home from school and don't even bother with checking on them or knowing what they are doing for the rest of the day. I have seen them out in the street, skateboarding at 1 am! I'm talking elementary school aged kids! Calling the Police does no good, they don't bother to answer the call until a few hours later anyway, so by then, the little hellions are somewhere else wreaking havoc.

This cold weather has been rough on our dogs since they can't go out and play for long periods, but it sure has been nice for my nerves, it also keeps the neighborhood inside their homes. The last 2 days though, it has warmed up a bit and they are all creeping back outside. In 2 days time I have........

~~Listened to a car that needs a muffler and who knows what else doing at least 50 mph up and down our street. The driver is a boy that looks to be maybe 10 years old! Where is his mother??? Well, I'll tell you, she showed up yesterday afternoon when the police called her because the boy ended up running the car off the side of the road in the ditch just next to our house! She got out of her vehicle screaming at the top of her lungs at the boys and at the police. I know they gave her a ticket, but I'm not sure for what, but within an hour, that same boy was in that same car screaming up and down the street again! Cops showed up once more and I'm not sure what happened this time, but I haven't seen or heard that car today.

~~Watched 4 boys skateboarding up and down the street doing "tricks" off the neighbor's car that is parked out on the street. Before I realized they were in the church parking lot, I let the dogs out to play a while since it had warmed up. Same 4 boys started bouncing off the fence screaming at my dogs for barking at them and teasing them through the fence! Needless to say, I stormed out there and gave orders for them to go home or I was calling the police. They told me to "Go ahead f*%&#ing cops don't come anyway!!" THAT out of the mouth of an 8 y/o! So I told them "Fine, I'll just go get my gun and shoot you in the foot" Oh yes, I did, I most certainly did say that to them. (I am not proud of it, just coming clean with what I said and what it took to get them to listen to me)

~~Heard the neighbors arguing so loud I'm sure the whole neighborhood could hear them. Apparently he's cheating on her because she cheated on him first. Lots of screaming and door slamming and finally a "peel out" up the street.

~~Watched the neighbor behind me stand on her stoop and scream at her kids at the top of her lungs to "come home now" they scream back "NO" and she threatens to "whip them" they say "so what" she goes back inside and slams the trailer door, the kids proceed to the other neighbor's house to chase the chickens pulling tail feathers out of the roosters.

~~Watched 2 boys, (same 2 of the 4 that were cussing me in the church parking lot) throwing rotten apples at our motorhome. Apparently that was pay back for me threatening to shoot them in the foot. Just dialing the phone and acting like I was talking to my husband was enough to make them stop that (for the moment anyway)

~~I've also listened to someone playing the car stereo bass so loud the windows were rattling in the house and the dogs were going off about it. Someone working on a car revving the engine up at 2 am last night, another argument on the other side of the street and car doors slamming all night long!

~~Watched a guy walk up the street carrying what looked like 2 black garbage bags and put them in his car parked in the church parking lot and leave. Found out later, he was at the house on the other side of us stealing and XboX and all the games that go with it, he put them in the black pillowcases from off the bed and carried them out the door! The police were called about the theft and didn't bother until the house owner found out I saw the guy walking up the street at the same time the theft happened and called them again, so they (police) decided they would come on out and take a report! Nice, huh? Guess he had to finish his doughnuts first.

(What I see out my back door, lovely, huh?)

This has just been the last 2 days! I can't go through another summer of this and if we don't soon get into our new house, I'm just going to go over there anyway and sleep on the floor using the back deck as a fridge for keeping my Mountain Dew cold! Look at the different views, THAT alone is worth sleeping on the floor!

(What I see out the doors of the new house, PEACE and QUIET!)

And how was YOUR week?

IHeartFaces

2009-01-20T14:56:00.004-05:00

I found the neatest little contest that I just had to get in on over at I Heart Faces. I have looked at a few of the entries and just love them. I wanted to add mine before I go back and look at the rest of them.

Now, since my "kid" is almost 21 and lives out on his own now, I don't have many recent pictures of him, so I wanted to add one of my 4-legged "kids" to the contest. :)

Meet Darla Jean, a brindle Bull Terrier. I took this photo in a hotel room after a long day of showing at the Bull Terrier Nationals, she was one tired puppy.

"Not Me!" Monday

2009-01-19T11:41:00.003-05:00

I have been reading and enjoying on several blogs the "Not Me!" Monday posts hosted by MckMama and I just had to get in on it. Check out her blog and go to the blogs listed, I promise you will love it!

I did not wake up wanting the throw the alarm clock this morning!

I was not secretly happy that my first customer cancelled thier appointment because of snow this morning. Really, I wasn't!

I did not decide to not drag the trash can to the street because it was too cold and snowy to bother.

I did not make my bird, JoJo his own scrambled egg this morning because he was being a demanding spoiled brat!

I did not make him a demanding spoiled brat! Nosirreebob, not me!

I did not let my phone go to voicemail when I saw who was calling because I didn't want to talk to them.

I did not waste my morning in front of the t.v. and computer instead of grooming my Cockapoo who needs it desperately.

What have you NOT done lately? Anything interesting?

BSL? Really? Well, what about this??

2009-01-14T17:59:00.010-05:00

(Search and Rescue Team, Christina Ridge and Doc)

BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is trying to take over this country like a virus, a deadly virus for those of us that love dogs. Owning Bull Terriers, it's a personal concern for me, but it should be a concern to everyone who owns and loves dogs. Just because your breed isn't on the list now don't think you're safe, rest assured, it will be, give it time. If we, as dog lovers, don't get busy and do something about it, we will all lose our right to have dogs.

What starts off as a law against "Pit Bulls" will be changed to "Pit Bulls" and American Staffordshire Terriers. Then, not satisfied or just because they can, why not add Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Bull Terriers. Oh and let's not forget the Rottweiler or the Doberman, they're dangerous too, right? But wait, how about we just say any dog over 100 pounds, because lets face it, if it were so inclined to be "dangerous", a dog that size could really do some damage, right? Ok, so let's just do that. Think it won't happen? Think again, it already has. Fairfield, Iowa has a restriction on just that, so if your dog weighs over 100 pounds, best go around Fairfield if you are traveling and want to keep your dog safe!

I have a magnet on my vehicle that says "Punish the Deed, Not the Breed" that is exactly what needs to be done, don't blame an entire breed because of what a few do. Suppose you were raped or robbed by a dark haired, blue eyed man, does that mean every dark haired blue eyed man should be considered a robber or rapist? Of course not! How stupid would that be?? Well then, why are the ~~idiots~~ powers that be passing laws to ban every "Pit Bull" because someone was attacked by one?

Ok, I know some of you are saying, this woman is crazy, does she not know how scary those dogs are? Well, let me ask you this, Why are they scary, because you, yourself have had a personal experience with being attacked by one? Or is it because the news showed a report about an attack and it scared the bejesus out of you? Yes, I know it has happened more than once. Why? Because drug dealers, gang bangers, criminals and any number of other jerks out there see that same on report on the news and they decide they have to get a dog like that so no one will bother them. They get one, they raise it to be a mean, bad dog so they, themselves look badder and what do you have? Dogs that are doing just what they were raised to do, not what they were bred to do. So, the news media is not helping the matter at all.

Now, look at these pictures....

This dog is doing what he was raised and trained to do...Search and Rescue. His name is Doc, and he is an American Pit Bull Terrier, a breed that is at the top of nearly all BSL laws and restrictions. He was injured during the rescue effort following Hurricane Ike. It's a good thing BSL wasn't in effect in Galveston, TX, huh? Think about it, I mean really think about it, banning a "Pit Bull" would mean, banning Doc and many other dogs that are working to help us. In those pictures, the lady carrying him is his owner Christina Ridge, I don't know who the man is that is helping him, but obviously, he is not concerned with someone besides his owner working on him while he is injured. Does that dog deserve to be banned or restricted just because of his breed, or his color, or his 'looks'?

Dogs are what we as owners make them, and they should be treated on an individual basis, punish the owner that is letting that dog run loose and wreak havoc, not the dog that doesn't know better. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners!

To find out more about your area, or your state, check out Rott-N-Chatter here you will find information on laws, what you can do to help, a list of states and Canada that have BSL in effect or are thinking of it.

More information on Search and Rescue dogs and dogs used to help during disasters can be found here Disaster Dog.org they also have a list of breeds that are affected on their site.

And, lastly, just to clarify, there is no such breed as a "Pit Bull" it is an American Pit Bull Terrier, when you say "Pit Bull" it's lumping every dog that looks like an Am Staff, or a Staffie Bull or a Bull Terrier, or any mix of those dogs as one breed. (I for one can't see the resemblance in my Bull Terriers and an American Staffordshire Terrier, but some fools out there do or

they wouldn't be listing them as all the same breed)

I leave you with a link I beg you to try, and come back to tell me how you did, be honest, I myself got it wrong the first time I tried and I've been involved with these Bull Breeds for a long time! Take the test, please. It's not as easy as it looks, so how can animal control anywhere KNOW what they are looking at?? Every dog on that page "fits the description" of what a "Pit Bull" is supposed to look like, so you tell me, what do we do??

We stand up and fight is what we do, we fight for our right to have the breed of our choice, we fight for our rights as pet owners, if we don't do it now, we will be fighting for the right to have a dog, (or cat or horse or bird or whatever) PERIOD! Keep a check on your city and your state, keep an eye on what bill is coming up and stay on top of it, write letters, send emails, attend meetings, speak out, THAT is what we do!!

I'm sliding my soapbox back under my little table for now, but it's still within reach, I can pull it back out anytime. ;)

Blessings to you and yours, be they 2-legged or 4-legged!

Being a groomer, then and now

2009-01-12T16:14:00.010-05:00

This spring marks my 28th year as a groomer! (28 years, good grief, am I really getting that old?? No wonder my hands and back hurt!)
Being in the business that long, I have learned quite a bit, not only about dogs, but people as well. Thinking back over nearly 3 decades (Oh Lawd, again with the age thing! Sheesh!) of grooming, I realize that old saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same" is most certainly true. Today, I'm writing about some of those "things".
Overall, the way folks take care of their dogs now has most definitely improved, for the most part, dogs are more like family now, rather than just another possession.

For instance, I remember when 8 out of 10 dogs I groomed would be covered and I do mean covered with fleas! Now, that number is more like 2 out of 10.

I rarely see a dog that is severely matted anymore. Years ago, it seemed like all we did was shave a dog down to the skin to remove what felt like 5 pounds of matted hair, and hope like crazy that we weren't going to find rotting sores or maggots underneath all that mess. (yes, I've actually seen a dog that ended up dying because of maggots, but that's another story) I rarely see those Once a Year dogs either. Most of the dogs I see now are on an every 6 weeks schedule.

Dogs seem to be living longer lives now than they were years ago, as well. Another good thing since I do tend to get attached to my little furry customers.
Those things have certainly changed for the better! :)
Now some things that haven't changed (only the names have been changed to protect the guilty) *wink*

1) People thinking since I groom dogs it's not really work, I'm just having fun playing with puppies all day.
NOT!! Try having a dog pulling on you constantly, or running all around the table, or sitting down and you having to hold them up with one hand and clip with the other. If being pooped on, peed on, puked on, getting bit, having anal glands expressed on you, getting bit, getting scratched, getting bruised to the point you look like a prize fighter, did I say getting bit? If all that means I'm playing with puppies all day, then I must be doing something wrong, cause sometimes it just ain't no fun! It's also not fun to ache the way I do at the end of the day (please do not bring up my age again)
2) People making appointments and then just not showing up or calling to cancel.
I hate that! Throws my whole schedule off for the rest of the day, that sort of thing has been going on for years, and when I call to find out where they are, the answer is still the same today as it was 20 years ago, "Oh I forgot, I didn't know I was supposed to call" Do they do this to their Doctors, or at the Vet's or for their own hair appointment? I doubt it.
3) People wanting to dicker about my price like I'm some sort of flea market or something.
My price is what it is for a reason. No, I don't give discounts because someone has more than one dog, or because they "have been coming to me for years" or because they knew my mother, or because they know my husband, or because so and so only charges $XX can't you match that? (Hello, do I look like Wal-Mart?) The list goes on and on and on. Each year, folks seem to come up with yet another reason why they should get a discount. Hey, I do the same amount of work on each dog whether you have 2 or 10, it takes the same amount of time per dog to make them look nice. I also don't take payments, I am not a bank.
4) People telling me how to groom.
I don't mean how they want the dog groomed, I mean telling me how to go about grooming. Well, if you already know more than I do about grooming, why are you bringing it to me in the first place?
5) People blaming me for the health or condition of their dog.
Dogs come in here with ear infections, ear mites, bad skin, broken toenails, moles etc. And I usually will tell the owner if I find something like that, give them a "Vet Ref" card telling them (and the vet) just what I found during the grooming and suggest they take the dog to the vet. Once they do, most people are grateful that I found something they knew nothing about, but others swear to the heavens above that I gave it to their dog! Especially if what I found will cost them money at the vets office.

So there you have it, my Top Five Things That Will Never Change. But before you ask yourself, or me for that matter, why do I still do this for a living, the answer is simple...I love it! I love my little customers, I love being able to make a little dog feel better just by being pampered, I love to watch them prance around showing off when they are done, and I can't see myself ever doing anything else. One of my favorite sayings is "The more I know of people, the more I love my dog" I love being able to take a little dog that looks horrible, and turn it into a thing of beauty, when I can sit back, look at the dog I just groomed and see what I created, it makes all those "things" worth while. (See what I mean?)

Puppy hugs and treats to ya'll,

(Dogs in this post, Bandit, our little Shih Tzu that went to the Rainbow Bridge last year, Bear, the Pomeranian who is really just a little man in a dog suit, Rascal, our Cockapoo, Pooch, our Toy Poodle, and Pongo before and after)

The Invisible Hands

2009-01-12T00:40:00.003-05:00

I opened my email this morning to find something that really warmed my heart and thought I would share with you. Thank you Sandi for sharing this with me, I love it!

The Invisible Hands
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask me a question. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, I brought you this. It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:' To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Quotable Sunday~1/11/2009

2009-01-11T19:31:00.004-05:00

Are you ready for another Quotable Sunday? Seems I'm always late in the day posting mine, but at least I actually got it posted on SUNDAY this week instead of Monday. ;)
~ Post a new post on your blog with some of your favorite quotes.
~ Go over to "A Daily Dose of Toni" and post your link in the mister linkey.
~ Go check out all the other cool bloggers that are joining in Quotable Sunday, check back all day as people will post throughout the day.

Today my quotes come from the Native Americans~

Thoughts are like arrows: once released, they strike their mark. Guard them well or one day you may be your own victim. -American Indian Proverb, Navajo

Contemplating this one, I am struck by the idea that so many people "release their thoughts" never thinking of how they may affect someone. It tells me to THINK before opening my mouth, which is something I do really have to work on.

There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail. -American Indian Proverb, Navajo

When I read this, I think of the future of our country. How alot of people don't look at the whole picture, they only look at what they WANT to see. A rattlesnake mesmerizes you with his tail, beautiful in both sight and sound, but look further, you could find there might be some venom behind that beauty and that venom could be our demise. It tells me don't be drawn in by the "obvious" just because it sounds good, make sure I look at the whole picture before taking another step.

I leave you with a Cherokee Prayer Blessing:

May the Warm Winds of Heaven
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your Mocassins
Make happy tracks
in many snows,
and may the Rainbow
Always touch your shoulder.

A "Fabulous" award to start the day....

2009-01-10T11:58:00.003-05:00

(I'm going to try this again, spent over an hour on this & blogger somehow lost half of it! )

What a "fabulous" way to start the day! I found that Dannielle over at "50 fingers & 50 Toes" gave me my very first blog award! How exciting! And a big thank you to Dannielle!

Now apparently there are some rules that go along with this award...
I have to admit to 5 addictions and then pass the award along to 5 blogs I like. So, here goes......

5 things I am addicted to:
1) Coffee.....I can't even begin to start the day without my coffee! I have cut back on it, but I still drink at least 1 pot a day.
2) Cigarettes.....Yes, I am still addicted to these horrible things. I need to quit, have tried to quit, then something happens, my nerves get out of whack and I'm right back smoking again. :(
3) Dog Shows.....Whether I'm entered in one, attending one, or just watching one on T.V. I love, love, love my dog shows!
4) The Andy Griffith Show.....Yes, I've seen every episode and can quote the scenes, but they still never fail to make me laugh! My favorite quote: "Gomer, get down there with them spiders and start workin'!"
5) Bare Escentuals Make-up.....My dear mother gave me some for Christmas a few years back and that was all she wrote. Awesome make-up!

5 blogs I'm passing the award to:
1) Lanni, because her Missions to Mongolia are truly an inspiration to me! I have "known" Lanni through an Andy Griffith site we both frequent for 12 years, can you believe it 12 YEARS! This blog is about her trips to Mongolia spent helping others in need. A must read!
2) Farrah at Old-Fashioned Homekeeper, because she helps me to strive to be the best wife I can be to my wonderful husband. She also "hangs out" at that Andy Griffith site.
3) Susan, because her blog Susan in Stitches shows me I am not the only "crazy animal lady" around. Her writing is wonderful!
4) Mari posts some of the tastiest sounding recipes in Little Corner of the World. Have a couple I am going to try this week. I am all about new recipes!
5) Dede at Legacy and Winsor Bull Terriers because she has some of the most beautiful dogs around! She and her son make all of us Bull Terrier owners proud, they are as beautiful as their dogs and she is a joy to be around.

All of these ladies are an inspiration to me in their own unique way and I think they will be to you as well. Be sure to visit them and see what I am talking about. You won't regret it.

Again, thank you Dannielle for my first blog award!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Presley!

2009-01-08T17:34:00.006-05:00

(**before reading this post, please remove any and all bevarages from around your keyboard & swallow what's in your mouth~My apologies to my friend, Susan at Susan in Stitches for any near miss I may have caused between her coffee and her keyboard.) teehee :)

Today Elvis Presley would have been 74 years old!!

I remember the day I heard the news that Elvis had died. I was at my aunt's house visiting when it came across the news. We all stood there with our mouths hanging open, Elvis? Dead? No way! Elvis can't die, he's Elvis for crying out loud! But, indeed he was. I was only 15, but I remember how I was drawn to everything they showed on tv, everything Elvis it seemed went on for days. I saw people on the television screen crying and wailing like they had lost their very best friend, I was amazed. I didn't cry, but I do remember his death making me realize, we all die, one day, we will all have to make that journey. I guess that realization is why I can remember Elvis' birthday and the day he passed away without having to look the dates up. Strange, huh?

I have a niece, who is now 21 years old, but when she was little, 5 or 6 maybe, she was all about getting married, and she didn't care to inform anyone who asked, or didn't ask for that matter, that she was going to marry Elvis. She could sing many of his songs and never miss a word or beat, she insisted that my mother play her "Blue Christmas" record (yes, I said record, as in LP) every time she went to Nanny's house. Not only did Nanny have to play it, my niece had to be able to carry the LP jacket around looking at the picture of Elvis on the front.

She absolutely adored anything and everything Elvis, a 5 year old mind you, born 10 years AFTER the man passed away!

Let me tell you she was one mad little girl when she found out Elvis had passed on! My mother had asked her for the LP jacket back so she could replace the record, my niece threw a fit, told her she needed that picture, she was going to marry him. Mom decided to let her know that Elvis had died and let me tell you the Poo! Hit! The! Fan! Little Miss M. said "Fine then, if he's just gonna go and die before we get married, then that's his problem!" and off she stomped with her hands on her hips, very put out and never said another word about marrying Elvis again. She still loves his music and like any other woman I know, thinks he was a hunk, but in the mind of that little 5 or 6 year old girl, it was his loss if he was just gonna up and die without ever meeting her, much less marry her!

(On a side note that has nothing whatsoever to do with Elvis Presley, I found this site last night to make up a "signature" instead of just typing my name, so here goes, I'm trying it for the first time on this post.)

Fostering Chico, the Bull Terrier

2009-01-06T15:17:00.005-05:00

We own and show Bull Terriers, you know, the "Target" dog, or if you are a little older, "Spuds MacKenzie" or perhaps a little older still, the "General Patton" dog. Those are just 3 famous Bullies, there are quite a few more listed here that you may not even know are Bull Terriers! I've posted about their antics a few times, the main one that stands out at this moment, the time they went on "An Adventure" through the neighborhood at the butt crack of dawn! Oh yes, they can be trying, they can be stubborn, they are bossy, they are bratty, they are funny, they are clowns, they are loving and we are absolutely devoted to this breed! I can't imagine my life ever being without one. They bring me laughter and lift my spirits each and every day. (See what I mean?)

My Pappy rolling around in the bed. LOL

That being said, I am a member of the Bull Terrier Club of America and being a part of that club, I feel I should do my part in rescuing Bull Terriers in need. When I can't foster a dog, I try to donate funds to our rescue committee. The BTCA and it's members try their best to help any Bullie that needs rescuing.

Last Friday, I get an email telling me of a Bull Terrier in the Johnson City Animal Shelter and since I am the closest to him and he's slated to be euthanized in 2 days, could I go get him? Of course I can, even in the middle of moving things to the new house, how could I live with myself if I didnt help this poor boy. He was an "owner surrender" a little thin, but not emaciated, scars and scabs all over his face from fighting and all he wants to do is play and be loved on.

"commando crawl" Bullies LOVE to do this

can you see him smiling?

He walks on lead fairly well and will "Sit", we are working on "Down" right now, and "Kennel Up" for when he needs to be crated. He loves his raw food and looks at me like I am Greek Goddess of Food or something. He will make someone an awesome pet and I hope he will find his very own forever home. He hasn't offered to fight with or try to hurt any dogs here, but I haven't had them out together yet. I want to make sure he is not contagious from being in the shelter. He also has ignored the chickens next door, could care less about our birds and seems to like men and women both. He's very playful and his eyes show a typical Bullie glint of mischievousness.

I will keep everyone updated on his progress. Right now, he is at 48 pounds and as soon as I can give him a bath (he has stitches from being neutered) I'll be able to better tell the condition of his skin and coat.

enjoying his first turkey drumstick

So, here we are, 2 people trying to move from one house to another, caring for our own brood of 15 dogs, 6 birds and a Bearded Dragon, both of us running our own businesses and we figure what's one more? Neither of us could bear the thought of a wonderful dog being put down because some jerk of an owner decided either he didn't want it anymore, or just didn't want to deal with the responsibility of taking care of one. At any rate, Chico is here until he can find a forever home.

playing with Hubby

Bullies live for "good times" they relish in life and all it has to offer, getting everything out of it they can, I hope I can take lessons from my Bullies and remember to "Live Life to the Fullest, enjoy every minute of it!"

Bullie hugs and kisses,

Angie (and the Tennessee Tribe + one)

"Twilight Zone" marathon come to life?

2009-01-05T00:18:00.002-05:00

I'll tell you the story, then you tell me if it came to life or not.
New Year's Eve.... Sci-Fi had "The Twilight Zone" marathon running....
Hubby and I went to the house we just bought to work on some things, getting carpets cleaned, covering drafty windows and such.
When we got there, we found a Christmas Card on the door, addressed to "New Homeowners-(address followed that)"
My first thought was a welcome wagon sort of thing, or possibly the church up the road came out on visitation to invite the new neighbors to attend services. I did think it was more than a little strange that they would drive the half mile up the single gravel drive to say "Welcome to the Neighborhood" but figured, what the heck, it's possible I guess, even if they did have to drive all the way to the top of the ridge.
I opened the card and it turns out, it was from the former owner asking/saying/telling (depending on how you want to look at it) us she would be coming up on special occasions to visit her husband's grave!!!! Yes, you read that right, his GRAVE! I almost fell out in the floor!
Now for those of you that don't know me or are new to my blog and don't have the background on all this, let me fill you in (I'll try to keep it short, honest, I will) You can read my first post about getting the house here, the next post about it here. Finally after all the ups and downs and all the set-backs, we signed the paperwork the end of October and the house was ours! It's in a small town where everyone knows about everyone else.
The house was a foreclosure and we got most of the story from our realtor....the previous owner passed away and the family couldn't keep up the payments. We got the rest of the story from the neighbor down below, the guy that installed our cable and internet, and a lady I met in the small town Post Office. The previous owner did indeed pass away..... he committed suicide by hanging himself on the property! (the neighbor's part of the story) There is a small aluminum outbuilding on the back part of the property, that is where they found him (the cable guy's who is also a volunteer EMT and was on the call when they found him, part of the story) Seems the wife, the one who left the card, was/is hooked on Meth and Crack and her problems with drugs were causing enough problems both in the marriage and with finances and the husband apparently didn't see any other way out. (the lady from the post office's part of the story, she has been friends with the wife since grade school)
Now, we didn't know any of this before we bought the house, but I doubt if it would have made a difference, I absolutely love the place!
So here we sit, with a card from a lady that lost this house, that may or may not be hooked on drugs, wanting to just come to the house to visit her husband's grave whenever she pleases! Nope, ain't happening, I don't want in the middle of that. All I want is to get into the house and live a peaceful life with my hubby and our dogs and be left alone.
First, I called the funeral home to find out about his burial, they told me he was cremated.
Next, I talked to the Police Department, their suggestions were put up "No Trespassing" signs (that's been done) and inform the lady we do not want her there and if she insists after being told and seeing the signs, she can be charged with criminal trespass. (she left her number in the card) They say as long as there is not a fenced-in family cemetery on the property, she has no right there anymore, it's not hers anymore.
So, we go forward from there, let her know we would rather she not come up there, call the police to help us and let her get someone to help her move him. I know that sounds horrible, but I DO NOT want him there, I DO NOT want her there, I just want US there without having to constantly watch the drive for someone coming up to the house. I don't want to be worrying all the time about her retaliating in some way, tearing things up, hurting my dogs, whatever. I just want to be able to relax in the house and enjoy life in the country.
If you're so inclined would you say a prayer that we can all work this out with no complications and no further problems, I would greatly appreciate it.

Now, did we or did we not "find ourselves.....In the Twilight Zone"??

Angie

Quotable Sunday~1/4/2009

2009-01-04T23:44:00.003-05:00

This is my first time participating in Quotable Sunday, I have a few quotes I've always loved. But first......

The rules (for newbies)
~Go to your blog and post one or more of your favorite quotes.
~Go to A Daily Dose of Toni and sign mister linkey with the link to your post and then go visit the other participants and leave some comment love.
~Spread the word of course...we want lots of Quotes to read :)

Now for a couple of my favorite quotes:

"Don't take your organs to heaven, heaven knows we need them here"
I'm not sure who to credit with this quote, but it's my favorite~

As of 12/31/2008 there are 100,736 waiting list candidates, find out more about Organ Donation, one person can save 7 lives!

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."-Roger Caras
How true is this, I don't know what I would do without my dogs, they love unconditionally and most of the time listen better than the kids do. ;)

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."-Maya Angelou
Needs no explaination, the truth is in the words.

So now that it's taken me until after midnight to get this posted, does it still count as Quotable Sunday?? I'm only 12 minutes late. ;)

Angie

Comments & Acts of Kindness

2009-01-02T16:44:00.003-05:00

While surfing around the different blogs I have found some of the coolest folks! I have really enjoyed reading about folks from all different walks of life, from all over the world, in all age ranges, even found one lady who is 81 years young and blogging! How cool is that??

Allison at Savoring The Moments came up with a great idea (yes, I'm being lazy and did the old "copy & paste' right from her post):

"I am paying it forward with a premeditated act of kindness. Would you like to receive a fun gift and then give a gift in return?

THE RULES: The focus of this is to do an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and "pay it forward."

I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!!

If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!!

You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog.

Doesn't this sound like fun!!??

On your mark, get set, comment! Stop lurking, and have some fun!

Oh, and if you're not one of the first 3 to comment, please don't do what I do and just not participate. Comment anyways, and let me know you're here, and how you're doing.

Thanks for playing along!"

Now, how about it? Let's see how many times this game can run across the blogs, we'll have folks getting little pick me ups from all over. Oh, and please be sure to check out Allison's blog, it's great. DISCLAIMER: (No, she did not put me on her payroll, nor bribe me with fine food, I just thought this was a great idea and I really do enjoy reading her blog)

Bullie hugs and kisses to each and every one of you.

Angie

(Stay tuned for a post about the strange thing that happened to Hubby and I New Year's eve.)

Bullie Adventures or "Why is my hair graying? says the Mom

2008-12-29T15:41:00.006-05:00

While watching my Bull Terrier girls play in the backyard this afternoon, I was struck with the thought of just how much those crazy dogs do for me & my sanity. Not a day goes by that I don't laugh at the antics of one of the 3, usually ALL 3 give me a laugh or two. Bullies know how to live life to the fullest & how to relish in every glorious moment of it. They are known as "A Kid in a Dog Suit" not a care in the world & doing things just because it's fun.

My fun comes from watching them. They bounce like a deer, they play tag (using the poor azalea bush as "base"), they tease one another, they remind me of little kid in kindergarten that does what he knows he's not supposed to do, then sits back & watches everyone else get in trouble for it with a big grin on his face. They also hucklebutt & trance, things I have never seen another breed of dog do in my 28+ years of working with dogs. I have yet to be able to catch a great hucklebutt on video, but if you go to YouTube & type bull terrier, hucklebutt in the search box, you will see lots of them, some better than others, but hucklebutts none the less. One of my favorites is this one.

Trancing is something lots of Bullies do, but not all of them. Pappy, the baby has yet to do it, I've only seen Darla do it one time, Feather on the other hand seems to do it every chance she gets. They will stand under something, branches hanging down from a bush, plants in the house, tablecloths, anything that is just long enough to tickle their back. They will stand there as if in a trance, eyes kind of glazed over a bit, with a look of pure bliss on their faces. I've seen Miss Feather Louise stand for a full 5 minutes basking in the feel of a tablecloth on her back. I know, a little strange, but yet another Bull Terrier trait that I just love.

Bull Terriers are not for everyone, they are, after all, a terrier. Those of us who have them are totally devoted to them, adore them, sometimes curse them, laugh at them, cry either AT them or BECAUSE of them, but can't imagine life without them.

They do keep life from being boring, & make me contemplate adding a nerve pill or 2 to my daily list of meds I have to take. Like the time Miss Feather decided the grass was greener on the other side of the fence & proceeded to use that big Bullie nose to open the gate, let herself & all her little 4-legged brothers & sisters out to run down the middle of the road to Mamaw Jackson's house next door! Scared the crap out of me & probably gave the neighbors a big laugh watching me run behind them in my pajamas, hair not combed, teeth still sitting in the cup on the bathroom sink, threatening them within an inch of their lives. Or, the time we came home to find a note on the front door from the police department, informing us that they were here today, checking out a "possible" break-in, & a cop parked up the street, because the alarm system was sounding off, & ADT for some unknown reason couldn't get in touch with us & had called them. After checking the place out & finding everything to look ok, they posted an officer nearby until we got home. (Apparently, ADT turned the alarm off once the officers arrived since it wasn't sounding off when we got home) The neighbors were all waiting for us to get home & descended the minute we got out of the car, "the cops were here today", "your alarm was hollerin", "reckon everything is alright?", "we thought somethin was wrong" How embarrassing it was to have to go out & tell everyone, cop included, everything was fine, Feather Louise just decided she would rather sleep in our bed, than in her crate. I found her, curled up under the ball of covers, sleeping through all the commotion! Somehow, she had gotten her crate open & wandered through the house, setting off the motion detectors in the house. Oh, & I can't forget the latest Bull TerrOr adventure.........

5:30 am, the butt crack of dawn, Robert comes in to wake me up saying "Honey, you gotta get up, the Bullies are out & I can't find them, I've been looking for 30 minutes & it's dark & I need help" Sheesh! So, my heart pounding, thinking they have been hit by a car, or a school bus or something, I got my son & his friend out of bed & we all got in separate cars, combing the neighborhood looking for these 2. We found them, 2 hours later, 1 block down the street, in someone's fenced in yard, playing with their German Shepherd! When I got there, they looked at me like "What, I wasn't lost, I knew where I was, is brekkie ready?"

What was it I said at the beginning of this post? Something about them being good for my sanity?? HA. Truth be known, I wouldn't have it any other way, I love these dogs like you wouldn't believe & can't imagine me ever being without a Bull Terrier in my life.

(don't let those innocent faces fool you, they are TerrOrs, through & through. Feather is the white girl, Darla is the brindle girl & the shot at the top of my blog is Pappy when he was 4 months old, I LOVE that picture!)

Hug your puppies, hold them tight & thank the Good Lord for sending them to you.

Hugs & Treats all around,

Angie

6 pounds of Chicken Livers

2008-12-27T12:15:00.005-05:00

Most of you know we feed our dogs a Raw Diet, meaning, they get no kibble or any other kind of dog food at all, they get meat and only natural treats. All of their food comes from the grocery or the meat packing plant that serves food for us humans. Everything that goes into their little bodies could just as well be going into ours.

They get chicken, beef, Jack Mackrel, venison, turkey, rabbit, quail, and more. They also get cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, deer legs (in season), beef ribs, bananas and more. When feeding a raw diet, there are some guidelines to follow, they have to have organ meals, (liver, kidney etc), they have to have supplements, they have to have bone. It sounds daunting, but it really isn't. Just takes some practice and some learning and the internet is filled with all kinds of sites to get that learning. It is also filled with sites that will give you wrong information, the trick is finding the right place and the right people. I found just those people on a Yahoo group called Raw4Bullies.

My adventure into the raw food diet began when Feather, my 3.5 year old Bull Terrier was diagnosed with Demodectic Mange and secondary skin infections, among other things when she was just a baby. Nothing was helping her and going to the vet once a week was doing nothing but making my vet bills grow trying to treat her and get her better. I started searching online and found that wonderful group and the rest is history, as they say. I started her on this diet and within a month, I could see a HUGE change! No more problems with mange, no more skin infections and for a girl who started her life off being at the vet's office at least once a week, she hasn't been to the vet for anything other than a rabies vaccination in over 2 years!

(Feather in her Santa hat "talking" to me)

So, I will tell anyone who will listen about this diet, how my dogs are healthier now than they EVER were, how Dr. Steve (our vet) will see us in the store or elsewhere and ask us to bring the Bullies to visit with him since he never gets to see them. Anyone with ANY questions about it, please leave a comment or email me and I will help you give your dog the best it's ever had, I promise, you won't regret it.

Now, the idea behind this blog post.....Last night was organ meal night, chicken livers to be exact, and Robert was working late, so I had the honors. I HATE liver, I mean I really HATE liver, (used to take a whipping every Friday night while I was growing up over it, Mom would say "You eat it, or you get a whipping" I would take the whipping) it gags me, turns my stomach and generally gives me a "sick in my stomach" feeling just looking at it, never mind handling it or smelling it. If anyone were here watching me dish it out, I'm sure they would be laughing at me with tears in their eyes, watching me wretch every few seconds, mumbling about how much I hate liver and having to take me teeth out to keep from gagging even worse! HA! Robert gets a big kick out of it, me, not so much. So last night, while I was going through this horrible ordeal all by myself, with no one to laugh at me except the dogs, I thought, "I'm going to post this on my blog for all the world to see, pictures and all"

Here you go, pictures of all the bowls before adding the supplements. One of my dear friends, Janice (Mom to TraceyBelle, Pappy's half sister, also raw fed from birth) tells me feeding at our house reminds her of an Army Mess Hall, with everything lined up and weighed out. (please excuse the mess behind the bowls, we are in the midst of moving and things are all in an uproar around here)

You will notice there is one bowl that doesn't have food in it, that would be Pappy's bowl. Our baby Bullie. Pappy is 10 months old, weighs nearly 60 pounds and is the picture of health and beauty! Pappy is 4th generation raw fed, meaning, his mother, his father, his grandmother, etc are ALL raw fed as well. I have had dogs all my life, and he is, by far, the healthiest puppy I have EVER had! I attribute it to his diet and the fact that he has NEVER had any dog food or kibble of any kind since birth. Anyway, Pappy will not eat chicken livers, I don't care how I serve them, cold, warm, hot, seared, mixed with cottage cheese, with a dollop of yogurt, nothing, it doesn't matter, he will not eat a chicken liver!! So, Mr Papoose gets beef liver instead. Let me tell you, beef liver gags me worse than chicken livers, I can smell that stinkin stuff across the room. I fixed his bowl first so I could get that wretched smell out of the house before going on to the rest of the kids.

(Pappy (L) with his littermate Bama, also raw fed in October at the Nationals. Bama's Mama tells me, he won't eat chicken livers either)

So, like I said, if you want to know more, learn about how much better this diet is for your dog or cat, please, please leave me a comment or email me. I will help you the best I can. There are lots of places that sell raw food already mixed and ready to go. With 15 dogs, around here, it's more feasible for us to buy it ourselves and go from there, but if you only had one or 2 dogs, feeding the pre-mix would work for you.

Hope you found this post interesting and didn't gag too much looking at "6 pounds of chicken livers" :)

Blessings everyone!

Angie

Christmas Puppies

2008-12-23T09:20:00.001-05:00

I promised some shots of my kids dressed in a Santa hat, some of them wouldn't co-operate with me, but I did manage to get a couple of shots.

Peggy Sue (the black Poodle) looks as if she may have had one too many egg nogs! HA

Enjoy, now I'm off to groom a few client dogs & get them ready to greet Santa tomorrow night,

Later taters

Angie

Working is getting in the way of my baking.

2008-12-19T23:43:00.002-05:00

I still haven't been able to make the Fruitcake Cookies! I had hoped to have them made last week, but working the way I have been this month (Christmas is a groomer's busiest time of year) & trying to get all the things packed up to move to our new house has slowed my baking progress way down. I do hope to remedy that tomorrow.
Our Kennel Club is having their annual Christmas party tomorrow night in Jonesborough & I can't wait to get in the middle of our gift exchange. Everyone that wants to participate brings a wrapped gift that is appropriate for a male or female & places it under the tree, then we all draw numbers. Number 1 picks a present from under the tree, unwraps it for all to see, number 2 then has the option to pick from under the tree or steal the present that number 1 got! If that happens the person stolen from picks another from under the tree. Number 3 comes next & they then have the option of stealing either of the first 2 presents or picking from the tree & on goes the game until all the gifts are spoken for. After 3 steals, the gift is retired & can't be stolen anymore. It's tons of fun & sometimes it can get rather hairy. Hope I draw a number closer to the back of the line rather than the front, more to pick from that way. LOL
It's pot-luck so I am making Cowboy Beans for the gathering. We have some great cooks in the club so we will eat some good food, enjoy some good company & have lots of fun tomorrow night.
I plan to make my fruitcake cookies tomorrow in between packing & getting other things done around here. Hubby is bringing one of the Penske trucks home so we can start moving bigger things like furniture into the house! HURRAY!! I am so ready to be in our little house on the ridge.
So I leave you with the Fruitcake cookie recipe & tomorrow I hope to get some pictures I took of a couple of the "kids" today in their Santa hat.
Blessings & enjoy your cookies.
Angie

Fruitcake Cookies

cream together:
1/2 lb butter
1 c brown sugar
Add 4 eggs, beat well
then add:
3 tsp. baking soda
3 tbls milk, beat well
Sift together:
3 c. flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
Alternately add to mix:
1/2 c. bourbon
flour mixture
next, add:
2 lbs. pecans (chopped)
1 lb. green candied cherries
1 lb. red candied cherries
1 lb. candied pineapple
1 lb. golden raisins

Drop in balls on greased cookie sheet, bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes

Egg Nog Bread

2008-12-09T00:27:00.002-05:00

You would not believe how good this bread tastes! It's even better warmed up with butter!
Enjoy!

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons rum extract
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and extracts; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Pour into three greased 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Yield: 3 loaves.

Next up~~Fruitcake Cookies that are not what you would think, you won't "re-gift" these!

Christmas Survey

2008-12-03T23:45:00.002-05:00

I "borrowed" this from my friend, Farrah, over at The Old Fashion Homekeeper, I thought it was great! I added #23. :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mosty wrap with a few bags thrown in for hard to wrap gifts.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real! I love the smell that fills the house!
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually 2nd week of Dec, but not sure if it will make it this year since we are moving.
4. Do you like eggnog? I LOVE it!!
5. Favorite gift received as a child? Deluxe Yahtzee my sister & I shared.
6. Hardest person to buy for? My brother's girlfriend.
7. Easiest person to buy for? Jacob & my aunt.
8. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a gift from my mother.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, it's one of my favorite parts of Christmas
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Don't ever recall getting a 'worst' present.
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? "It's a Wonderful Life"
12. When do you start shopping? Usually summertime I'll start picking up gifts here & there.
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, a couple of times. ;)
14. Lights on the tree? As many as it will hold!
15. Favorite Christmas song? "Star of Bethlehem" sung by Patty Loveless or The Judds
16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home
17. Angel on the tree top or a star? An angel dressed in white
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve, the rest Christmas morning
19. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Seeing "Xmas" everywhere instead of "Christ"mas
20. Favorite ornament theme or color? Blue and gold
21. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham, biscuits, sweet potatoes & corn
22. What do you want for Christmas this year? To have my son here with me.
23. Do you buy presents for your pets? Of course, I even wrap them & let them open them! They love it! Can't wait to see my newest 2 babies open their first ever gifts this year!

Feel free to add this to your blog. I would love to read each of yours.
Thanks Farrah!

Will it ever end??

2008-12-01T15:32:00.003-05:00

Most of you know, my mother passed away Aug. 7, 2004 from an aneurysm in her brain that ruptured. I miss her horribly every day, but the holidays are especially hard. Mom and I never had the best relationship, both of us being stubborn and independent, we butted heads alot, and I do mean ALOT. Looking back, I realized it was because we were so much alike. I also realize, I am the woman I am today because of, the way she raised me. She instilled in me self-confidence and self-esteem and the knowledge that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I thank her for that, even if it meant some rocky years with her.

Mom raised my sister and I by herself, sometimes working 3 different jobs to keep food on the table and the bills paid. She always had things in order, as far as I remember, she was never late on her bills and we always had something to eat. At Christmas time, we didn't get a ton of gifts like kids nowadays do, we got a few gifts, most of them addressed to both of us, meaning we had to share them. Memories of my childhood Christmases are something I treasure. She always made them special, even with all the working she had to do. She was a very strong, independent woman and I feel sure, she passed those qualities on to me. (Although sometimes I don't think my husband appreciates them. LOL)

Now, something that for the life of me I can't figure out is why she didn't have a will. She always told us where this account was at, or where the accident insurance paperwork was at (she was without health insurance), we knew where the needed paperwork partaining to her house and her pet shop was at, she even had her funeral planned right down to what kind of dress she wanted to be wearing and the kind of flowers she wanted on top of the casket! But, no will!! No paperwork anywhere giving me or my sister power of attorney over anything, NOTHING!

Needless to say, that one detail that she didn't take care of, is the one detail that has caused so many problems and so many heartaches for me.

I got yet another call today partaining to her estate and the house my sister is living in now, seems my sister is, once again, 3 months behind on making the payments and they are threatening foreclosure, AGAIN! I am so sick of dealing with all of this, but I swear, I'm beginning to think it's never going to be over. It's bad enough trying to deal with the pain of the holidays without Mom, but dealing with my sister's lack of responsiblity is making matters even worse! I told the man that called from the bank to just foreclose if he needed to. I'm not bailing her out again, and since I signed the house and all it's contents over to her more than 2 years ago, it's her responsibilty, not mine!

How could my mother raise 2 girls that turned out to be completely opposite from one another, as different as night and day? The woman I turned out to be worries herself sick over getting bills paid and taking care of things like payments before anything else is done, the woman my sister turned out to be, could care less about paying bills, as long as she is having a good time and getting things she wants, not making sure the things she needs are taken care of first.

At any rate, I spent my whole life "taking care of my little sister" just like I was told while we were growing up, I was the oldest and I needed to look after her, etc, etc. Well, no more, it's time she gets up and takes care of herself. In the meantime, I hope Mom would understand and know that I just can't do this anymore.

I want to remember all the good times I did have with my mother. Not all these problems, that stem from her not having her affairs in order, clouding the memories.

I leave you with one of my favorite photos of Mom, taken about a year before she passed away. She loved those little birds that she raised for the pet store and you can see, they loved her as well.

Please keep a good thought, that I can get through these holidays and the memories I have will come to me as bittersweet, not just plain bitter.

Angie

Pictures finally

2008-11-29T12:38:00.004-05:00

Seems blogger is going to work now, here are the photos I promised.

Crown of Thorns
Thanksgiving Cactus, I have had this plant for 5 years and it FINALLY bloomed! Aren't those blooms gorgeous?!

These were on sale at Lowe's, I found a bigger pot & just put them all into one.

I'm having trouble deciding between these last 2 pictures which of these is my favorite. I love the "Split Rocks" or "Living Rocks" they are so different from any other plant I've ever seen.

But the"Euphorbia Lactea" is pretty cool too, I love the branches on it!

Now, keep your collective fingers crossed that I can actually keep these plants alive. :)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures

Angie

This & That

2008-11-29T11:54:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas are always a busy time around any grooming shop and my shop is no different. Folks have company coming and want the puppies to look nice, or they are going to visit with family and friends and want them to look nice and smell good, so my appointment book is pretty full already. I do have a few appointments left for December, but not many. It's also a busy time for boarding, lots of folks have to leave their babies with a kennel or vet's office to go visiting as well.
I don't board dogs here, since I don't really have the extra space, nor do I have the state required licenses to do so, but I do "puppy sit" for 2 of my long time clients when they go out of town. I have been grooming both of these dogs for alot of years and they are both wonderful to have around. "Lyn" is a mixed Lhasa Apso/Terrier that will be here with us for the Christmas holiday, she is very well behaved and you never know she is in the house. This week, we have "Claude" while his Mama is visiting with family for Thanksgiving. "Claude" is a Standard Poodle who is a blast to have around. He seems to think staying here with us is like some kind of "Doggie Camp", he has a ball playing with all of our dogs, and loves being in the middle of everything. We enjoy having him as well, he is such a good boy and talk about a clown, you can actually see him smiling when he's playing with us or our dogs. I'm trying to get a good shot of him with our Toy Poodle, "Peggy Sue", since they are both black and the size difference is so huge, I thought it would be a cute picture. Now if I can just get them both to cooperate at the same time. :)
We are also still trying to get the new house in order for us to start moving furniture in. The painting is almost finished, then after I get the carpets cleaned the moving will start. I CAN'T WAIT! I have pictures in my mind of where the tree will go and what it will look like. I will most certainly take pictures when all that happens. We have the internet/cable/phone hooked up out there now, so that part is ready to go. I am so excited to be moving and listening to critters who live in the woods surrounding the house instead of the hoodlums and folks who have no respect for anyone else that reside here in this neighborhood. What a relief it will be to have new, quiet neighbors like deer, raccoons and birds!
I was planning to go to the "Country Christmas Show" at Viking Hall this weekend, but I'm sick as a dog (pardon the pun) and guess I better just stay home and get better. It's such a great event that is here every Thanksgiving weekend, lots of vendors selling things you can't find in stores and alot of it is so very cute! I have been going to this ever since I moved to Bristol, it was a regular outing with Mom, my sister and I. I haven't been since Mom passed away, the thoughts of going without her have been too hard to deal with. This year I felt I could go and remember the good times with Mom and Linda and I was really looking forward to it, but since I'm sick, guess I'll have to wait until next year, unless I feel any better tomorrow that is. ;)
I have begun collecting house plants for the new house as well. We are decorating the living room in a "Southwest" theme and I have found some of the neatest cacti for the room. Cacti are pretty easy for someone like me who doesn't have a green thumb, if I forget to water, no harm done. :) I also found a plant I have been wanting for a long time, a "Crown of Thorns" it's beautiful to look at, but let me tell you, this thing will "bite" if you get too close to it, talk about thorns! I was going to post some photos of the cacti I have bought, but for some reason, blogger won't let me do that, maybe later it will cooperate.
Blessings to you all.....
Angie

Wonderful friends with Cute pictures

2008-10-25T17:14:00.011-04:00

Over the years of showing dogs and being involved in the sport of dogs I have made many wonderful friends, some of these friendships have lasted for alot of years. One thing about dog people, we are a kooky lot, I will freely admit that, but what makes us "kooky" to some folks is the very thing that seems "normal" to us. It's also what makes us such wonderful friends to one another, an understanding of how we each live our lives. Our dogs are the world to us, they are like our children and we will each do whatever we have to in order to keep them healthy and happy. Most of my friends have children of the two-legged variety as well, but like me, their two-legged children have all grown up and making a life of their own.

We, like parents of two-legged children, love to take pictures of our four-legged kids and show them off. So, enjoy the photos I have posted here, taken by "proud parents" and passed on to others to see and maybe get a chuckle or just say "AAWWW" ;)

Bullie kisses to you all,

Angie & her spoiled rotten tribe.

Ned & Cheri of Cherbo Japanese Chins sent this to me. How cute is this?

Be sure to click on their name & see more of those cutie pie Chins, & find out anything you want to know about them by sending them an email.

Thanks Ned & Cheri for sending this.

My friend Linda from the UK sent this one to me

of her "Cully" enjoying the swimming pool.

These Bull Terriers get the biggest kick out of playing in the pool & chasing balls, sticks, whatever you want to throw in there for them.

They really do fit the description lots of us Bullie owners use~"Kid in a Dog Suit"

These 2 children not only come from an animal shelter, they are "special needs" kids. Scooter, the Lab mix only has 3 legs, which would make it harder to be adopted. Cozy, the little Bullie mix is deaf, another milestone in the adoption process. Thanks to Dodie & her family these 2 have found a forever home!

They live in sunny FL & I had the pleasure of meeting Cozy in Orlando this year! CUTE!

This tired Bullie girl is none other than China. She is my Pappy's mother.

Vicki sent this cute picture of her after a full day of showing & enjoying the heat & fun of Florida while we were all at Silverwood this year.

Thanks Vicki for this one.

I leave you with a picture of our 2 old Mini Dachshunds watching over the ex-pen at the Chattanooga dog shows.

Dumplin' (L) is almost 10 & Tink (R) is nearing 14. They are both rescues & both take the job of "patrol officer" very seriously.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I did & if they made you laugh, I've done my job.

Silverwood & Pappy

2008-10-19T23:23:00.009-04:00

Things around here have been just crazy, of course, that's nothing new, my life seems to always be crazy. I have been trying to get over here to post something since we went to the Chattanooga dog shows.

First things first, Silverwood in Orlando was AWESOME! Tiring, but awesome! For those of you reading that aren't members of the wonderful family of Bull Terrier fanatics, Silverwood is THE premier show for Bull Terriers! This year the shows ran from Oct. 9-12 in sunny Orlando, FL. The week includes the BTCA (Bull Terrier Club of America) National Specialty and all it's classes, and it also includes the Silverwood Competition, which in short, is the best American Bred Bull Terrier. Bullies and their owners come from all over the US, Canada and beyond. It is truly the best of the best. I was in heaven being surrounded by all those beautiful dogs and their crazy, just as beautiful owners. My puppy, Pappy, didn't show in Silverwood, but did pretty well, ribbon wise, in the National. He got first in his classes, but being a puppy, and acting like a little monkey most of the time in the ring, we didn't advance to the next round. Still I am very happy to have the ribbons. He has some growing up to do and when he does, I have high hopes for this brindle tornado I call my baby. Below is a shot of him with his litter sister, Callie-Claire, and one of his litter brother, Winston. It was like a family reunion for us, 3 of his litter mates were there, a half sister, his dam, his sire, his grandmother and a great aunt were all there. AND they are all raw-fed!! Pappy is a 4th generation raw fed baby, why do you think he looks so good?!

Pappy (L) & Callie-Claire (R)

Pappy & brother, Winston

Vicki and Janice should be proud of the babies they have produced, they are beautiful, of course, I could be just a bit biased. ;) Pappy had a ball in the hotel room, he loved that big old king sized bed, I couldn't resist a couple of shots of him playing on it! This one cracks me up, this boy is a riot!

This is one of my favorites, the little monkey! ;)

I did so enjoy visiting with my friends, Janice & TraceyBelle (Pappy's half sister) from NJ, Melissa and John (Pappy's sire), of course, Janice & Vicki & their crew from TN who bred this beautiful boy and graciously allowed me to have him. I got to meet our Canadians, Marty & Suz, who threw a fun filled Canuck Party to get the week off to a great start. I finally got to meet Dede in person, we've "talked" online & she is just as sweet as I thought she would be in person! She has 2 great blogs as well, http://www.dedewilson.blogspot.com/ (her cooking blog) & http://www.legacybts.blogspot.com/ check them out, you'll find some wonderful writing & some awesome recipes on them. I got to meet Linda & her babies, (what a nice lady she is). Those are just few of them, if I listed them all, this post would never end. So suffice it to say, I had a great time & wish like crazy that I could make it next year, just don't know since it's in San Jose, CA next year.

Anyway, I leave you with a picture of Darla after a long day waiting for her Color Doppler Heart testing to be done, we waited for a long time & she was ready for bed, can you tell?

Bullie kisses to you all,

Angie

Chattanooga Dog Shows

2008-09-16T23:07:00.002-04:00

The Chattanooga dog shows were this past weekend and I was so excited to be showing my baby boy in his first show. A dog cannot be shown "formally" to compete for points until they are 6 months old. Some of the shows have "fun matches" that you can show puppies as young as 3 months so they can begin getting aquainted with the show ring, the surroundings and everything else that goes with being in a dog show. Pappy turned 6 months old on Aug. 25, 2008.
My excitement about getting to show him and getting out of Bristol for the weekend was slowly fading as Friday wore on. Like always, when we are trying to get out of here for a show, something usually comes up, this past weekend was no exception.
I had 2 dogs scheduled to groom Friday morning before getting the motorhome loaded with our food, clothes, make-up, drinks, dog food and of course the dogs. I also had to bathe the Bullies (thankfully, my wonderful son bathed Feather for me!) and the Crested before leaving. Time was slipping by and I had to go to the electric company to get things started on the new house, then over to the realtor's office to get the house inspection paperwork started as well. I hate clock watching, the more time that goes by, the worse my nerves get! We finally got on the road somewhere close to 11 pm (I swear it felt like it was past midnight!)
The drive was uneventful, UNTIL we got to Chattanooga! We got within a mile of the show grounds and the motorhome just up and died! Here we sat, in a parking lot of a big flea market at 4:00 in the morning and that big monster refuses to start! So, we made sure the generator was up and running and just went to sleep until morning when the auto parts stores would be open. Pappy's ring time was 9:30 am and to even think of getting to the ring on time was out of the question, there was no way! So, I just gave in to the thought that he would not be shown on Sat. I was so disappointed, but I kept saying "tomorrow is another day and it just has to get better"
My wonderful husband finally got us up and running and by 10:30 we were parked on the show grounds setting up the ex-pens and settling in. The Cresteds went on at 1:05, but by then I was so disgusted, I didn't bother to get ready to show her. She would have felt my tension and aggravation through the lead and wouldn't have shown well anyway.
Sun, Bull Terrier ring time was 10:10. I got both the dogs "made up" and all of us were ready to go in plenty of time, or so I thought. We headed to the show building at 10:05, there were 7 dogs ahead of us, 3 Staffordshire Bull Terriers and 4 Alaskan Malamutes, so that would have given us time to get our arm bands and get settled down a bit before going into the ring. As we were coming through the doors, I looked across to our ring and saw a Bull Terrier going around!! How was that possible! Judges aren't allowed to start before the posted time! Pappy was the only male entered, so that Bullie had to be a bitch, which meant Pappy missed his class AGAIN! I got to the ring just as the steward was calling Darla in for her class! Thank goodness, Darla was the one I had on the end of the lead, and was able to go right in. I didn't have her squeaky, I wasn't ready at all, but I had to go, the judge was waiting. She took Reserve Winners Bitch, which means 2nd place and showed pretty well for me considering how the morning went. I was proud of her.
When things finally settled down, Pappy got to see his breeder, Vicki and his mama China and his litter sister, Callie-Claire, but I was not a happy camper. He had a real chance at the points both days, if he had gone Best of Winners. So, Pappy's first show will be the Nationals in Orlando next month. It was good to see my Bullie friends and meet Michelle, a neat lady that Pappy's daddy, Jon Coffey owns. The Bullies were all beautiful and I did get to watch the whites show. Lori S.' white girl, Tessa took Best of Variety and went on to a Terrier Group 3 later in the day! Congrats to Lori and the Pooles for that win! I found out later, only 1 Staffie Bull showed up and none of the Malamutes showed up, so between that and the fact that our clock was about 10 minutes off from the motorhome not having power when it died THAT is how we missed the ring time! Thinking of it still irritates me, but......
I'll sign off of this post for now and fill you in on the trip back home tomorrow.
Blessings to you all

Bullies, Birds & 1 Terrier Mix

2008-09-09T00:01:00.007-04:00

Today was what I call a typical day in the Crabtree house/grooming salon. Now most folks would look at what I call 'typical' and they would use something like 'crazy' or maybe 'nuts' or they might think of calling the men in the white suits to haul me off to the institution, but alas, it was a typical day for me.

As usual, I did NOT want to get out of that bed when the alarm clock went off, there is no such thing as a snooze button at this house either, btw. To Pappy, my 6 month old Bull Terrier puppy, that noise means breakfast, so, unless I want to hear the barking version of an alarm clock, I might as well not bother with the snooze button. Off I go to get breakfast ready for him and Peggy Sue, the Toy Poodle. This morning was gizzards for them and coffee for me. I was barely awake when Justin came upstairs ready for work and needing a ride! I haven't even had 3 sips of coffee and I have to get dressed and drive somewhere?! For crying out loud! I was not happy about it, but if they don't work, we don't get rent and since he doesn't have his driver's license yet, and I'm the only driver in the house at that time, guess I drew the short straw. I should have let that be an indication of the day to come!

My first grooming client was a little Poodle I have been grooming for a while and was no trouble at all, he's very good to groom. In the middle of his grooming, I had to stop and move Chico, our Blue Front Amazon outside, he was screaming so loud I bet the neighbors thought someone was being tortured in here. I go through this about every 2 weeks with that bird, when Bo-Rounds from Bojangles won't shut him up it means he wants outside to sun for a while. We closed his cage door and locked it with the padlock (he can open all the others) and out to the carport he went. He spent the morning out there and tonight I have a tired, but happy and more importantly quiet Amazon. Hopefully he won't start that nonsense again tomorrow, moving that cage is not an easy task.

After the client picked up her little Poodle, I made my way back upstairs to let the "kids" out and see what Pappy was barking about. As I round the corner from the hall, I hear JoJo, the Quaker saying "Pappy, Pappy, Paaa-py", that little green chicken has learned not only how to say his name, but to tease him while he's doing it! Well no wonder Pappy is throwing a fit, from his crate he can hear the bird, but he can't see him, it was driving him crazy! Into his barking mouth goes a peanut butter filled cow hoof and JoJo got a piece of the Bo-Round that I saved for him, after I told him to quit teasing the dog and to settle down, his reply? "Gimme Sugars, mmmm Gooood Sugars" That little green menace knows how to play me and I freely admit it. ;)

I have some errands to run and since I have a little extra time I head out to get those done, off I go to get the dog's treats, grain-free, since Feather has grain allergies and the only place to get those is the pet store, I get there to find they have 4 bags of them left and all 4 bags have different prices on them! Needless to say, I got the cheapest 2 bags and asked them what was the deal, the kid behind the counter looks at me like I'm from Mars and says he doesn't know. Well, I know, I've bought these for quite a while and I know how much they are. After telling him what the price was, 15 minutes later he finally found it in the computer look up, says "Hmm, you're right" tells me how much my bill is, shoves the receipt at me and picks up his cellphone! Oh well, why not?

By then, it's time for me to go pick up my next grooming dog, a little Scottie/Cairn mix named Pepper, that is wound tighter than an 8 day clock, but cute as the dickens and very good to groom even with it being his first grooming. I had a ball playing with him, he's a blast! I think he was on sensory overload with all the dogs here and the birds and the chickens he saw next door, I bet he thought he was at an amusement park! Here is the best picture I could get of him, he would hold still long enough to get a great shot of him.

Before getting Pepper back home, it was time for Pappy to have his lunch, cottage cheese with sliced bananas, he loves it, but he has the hardest time getting all the cottage cheese out of the bowl and in his mouth, it's a comedy just watching him. I took this picture a few days ago, but it could be any day he has cottage cheese, his nose is covered like that every time!

So you see, typical around here is certainly not boring, how can it be when I live with Bull Terriers and demanding birds?? No wonder my hair is getting grayer as we speak.
Oh, did I mention Racy, my Chinese Crested is in season and I didn't get a chance to pick up the stud dog before running out of time tonight? Guess, Racy will have to wait for her "date" until morning.
Good night folks, I'm going to bed and dream about starting it all over again tomorrow! Oh, Joy! NOT
Puppy hugs, birdie sugars and Bullie kisses to you all.

We got the House!

2008-09-05T23:51:00.002-04:00

They accepted our offer! We are so excited! We have a busy couple of weeks, probably months coming up now.
We will be moving into the new house as soon as we can, the only thing it needs to move into (besides the obvious calling the utility companies to turn stuff on) are light fixtures. When the previous owners left the took all the fixtures out, not even a light bulb left! Other than the lights, everything else that needs fixing can be done while we are there. We will have to find someone to come out & put up a fence too for the dogs, but until then, we will be installing a couple of those chain link kennels that Lowes or Tractor Supply sells for them.
We will be putting this house on the market, so there will be lots to do here as well, painting, cleaning carpets, landscaping & such. Since my grooming shop is set up in the basement of this house, we will have to move that as well. Robert's family has had a piece of property that was used as a restaurant for a long time, then he used it as a commissary for his catering trucks. It's perfect for a grooming shop, but we have to get all the restaurant equipment out of there first. So as you can see, lots to do before things are set in place & we can get back to normal. I'm tired just thinking about it. But I am looking forward to it all.
I have lots of ideas running through my head about how to decorate the new house, so I've been busy looking online for ideas. I think I'm going to go with a Native American or Log Cabin theme since the house is set in the woods.
Anyway, best get off here & try to get some sleep, I hope to get started tomorrow, cleaning things out & getting things together for a yard sale or two.
Until next time......
God Bless You all & hug those furkids for me!
Angie

Disaster Relief for Pets~DO NOT GIVE TO HSUS!

2008-09-02T00:21:00.004-04:00

Below is a letter I received from my friend, Whippet breeder/exhibitor, Sharyn Hutchens, in Lexington, Va. through one of my email lists. Please consider what she is saying and check out the links to read the stories. I have included an excerpt from each story so you can get an idea of the article.
The kennel club I am the Recording Secretary for in Kingsport, TN, donated $500 to the AKC Disaster Relief Fund for the Iowa Flood Relief and we were kept informed about where the money was going and what it was spent on voluntarily, HSUS will not let you know these things even if you ask.
If you have any other questions or want more information on what the HSUS is REALLY all about, please let me know and I will do my best to answer you.
Prayers for the folks in the path of Gustav and Hanna, both human and non-human.
Angie

"With hurricane season upon us and Gustav just about on top of New Orleans, it is critical to get the word out. Three years ago, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) mounted a gigantic fundraising campaign. They raised $32 million and have still not accounted for most of that money. Serious dog folks believe that most of the money collected by HSUS with the claim that it would be used for disaster relief came right back at us helping to promote laws that are bad for pets and bad for people. Even their on-site work isn't well thought of. Many, pet rescuers who went to the Gulf Coast to help Katrina animals found themselves hindered by HSUS. Record keeping was so slapdash that many pets that were saved, couldn't be found by their owners. Many believe that the pets in the area would have been better off if HSUS had stayed at home. In any case HSUS *already takes in millions* that they do not use in helping animals. They do not run shelters (though a couple of companies they own do have sanctuaries), and in fact they compete with shelters for donation dollars. The AKC has a disaster relief fund now, which is used to support search and rescue dogs and all pets during a disaster. That's where I've just sent our contribution. I am not always a fan of AKC, but they ARE honest about the handling of their money, and when they offer help, it is real HELP -- not a clumsy self-promotional effort.

https://www.akc.org/donations/index.cfm (to donate to AKC Disaster Relief)

In normal times, give to your local animal shelters. They will nearly always use the money for actual animal care. Please investigate any charity you send money to after a disaster, Wait a few days and find an organization based in the area that needs help.
For further information on HSUS disaster relief:

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun06/060601j.asp

"Numerous pet owners filed complaints with the attorney general about problems finding their pets, according to Foti's office. Some owners claim that persons currently caring for their displaced pets are refusing to reunite the pet with the proper owners."

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3674

"Pets left behind in disasters? The last “big one,” Hurricane Katrina, netted HSUS more than $32 million in fundraising, and an investigation by the Louisiana Attorney General has focused on where that money actually went. (We still don’t know.)"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501002.html

"The Louisiana attorney general has launched inquiries into two of the country's best-known charities -- the American Red Cross and the Humane Society of the United States -- after receiving complaints that they misused some of the millions of dollars they raised in the fall to help the human and non-human victims of Hurricane Katrina."

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/humane_society_of_the_united_states_under_investigation/

"According to Activistcash.com ” HSUS has accumulated $113 million in assets and built a recognizable brand by capitalizing on the confusion its very name provokes. This misdirection results in an irony of which most animal lovers are unaware: HSUS raises enough money to finance animal shelters in every single state, with money to spare, yet it doesn’t operate a single one anywhere.”"

Or just Google "HSUS misuse funds Katrina"
Please tell everyone you know.

Sharyn Hutchens
Timbreblue Whippets

We made an offer!

2008-09-01T18:56:00.003-04:00

They have until Wed @ 5 pm to let us know if they accept it or to send a counter offer.

We finally got to the bottom of the hold up with the Pre-Approval letter from the finance company. Seems the man that we have been working with, the one we worked with last year when we did some re-financing on the house we are in, quit and moved on to another company! From what we can gather, he was still trying to get us the financing, only he was trying to get it with the company he is with now. He called and told my husband he was "emailing a pre-approval letter over as we speak" and a week later, when we didn't have the letter and we weren't able to get him on the phone or get him to return phone calls, Robert finally called the main office number to see what was going on. At any rate, the Senior Lending Officer took over and we had the letter and all the other paperwork we needed to get the ball rolling again, in a matter of 2 days!!

I'm more than a little bit miffed at the first guy for causing this to go on for well over a month now, but I'm glad things are finally rolling now and that no one else has come along and put an offer on the house. The only other thing that could stand in the way fo us getting this house would be a termite inspection that showed the little boogers are taking over. I pray that is not the case, but we'll have to wait and see.

The house is in Bluff City, TN, about 12 miles from where we are now, way back in the woods, sitting on top of a small ridge. Only one other neighbor that shares the driveway, but the house we are looking at is the last one on the road, so people wouldn't be going by the house all the time. To get there you have to drive quite a distance parallel to the South Fork of the Holston River before turning off on the road the house is on. Which is another thing I love about it.

I have never been a "city girl", have always hated being around alot of people all the time, so living here, in a subdivision that is slowing going down hill has been very nerve wracking to say the least, and it gets worse every day. I only hope things work out so we can get out of here SOON!

I will keep everyone updated on what is going on with the house and if we get it, what all we are doing with it, but until then, please keep a good thought and prayer that if it's the Good Lord's Will, we will be moving to the country soon.

I included some pictures of the house that came from the realtor's listing. The first thing will have to be paint, that yellow has GOT to go!

Blessings to you all, until next time

Angie

Today was one of those days.....

2008-08-28T23:05:00.003-04:00

when I sit back & say to myself "WHY am I still doing this for a living?!? I have asked myself that many times over the years & I still haven't come up with an answer.

It started off on a bad note, when I climbed out of bed this morning, my back was no better than when I layed down last night, if anything it was worse. Still hurting, but in a different place now. But that is not what sent the day on the downhill spiral.

First, a little background on my grooming shop. I used to go to the client's house & groom their dog, but my back has gotten in such a shape now that I physically can't do that anymore. The biggest complaint I heard when I started the mobile business, clients hated leaving their dog all day long for a grooming, they loved the idea of me working on their dog & only their dog with no distractions & their baby not being put in a cage. I have tried to keep my shop as close to that as I can, so I only do one client at a time, I don't have a shop full of dogs, I don't have any cages & most dogs are out in 1.5 hours. So I HAVE to stay on schedule if I am going to run the shop that way. Now, for the play by play of my day.....

I had 3 dogs scheduled today, the first one was a little terrier mix that I pick up & drop back off, he was scheduled at 10am. I was sitting on the couch, having a cup of coffee trying to wake up & stop hurting when someone rings my little doggie doorbell at the downstairs at my shop. It's 9am, who is ringing my bell that early? So down those horrid stairs I go & there stands the client that will end up being my client from Hades today! "I'm here ta drop th' dawg fer cuttin" he says. I politely tell him, "I'm sorry, but your appointment is not until 1:00 this afternoon, I have a dog I have to pick up/drop off at 10 & I can't possibly get to yours right now." He stood there on his 2 feet looking at me like I was speaking Latin & tells me his wife said, blah, blah, blah. Again, I tell him he DOES have an appt. today, but not until 1:00. So off he goes muttering something I couldn't understand & says he'll be back, but it won't be until around 1:30. I told him that would be fine, I'll see him this afternoon. So..

I go pick up Max, go by Bojangles & pick up my breakfast & back to the shop to eat & get to work. Max is a wonderful little dog that I love to groom, I normally have him finished in about an hour so that gave me plenty of time to eat first. Well, the phone was ringing off the wall today with some of the craziest people on the other end, the rain started again while my dogs were out back playing, so I had to stop, climb those dad-burn stairs again & let them all back in. Back down the stairs to finish up Max, when hubby called to tell me he was having trouble with the computer at our auto repair shop, after trying to "talk him through it" I finally told him since I would be going by the repair shop to drop Max back off, I would stop & see what I could do, I had a little time since the next dog wasn't going to be here until 1:30. I dropped off Max, fixed the computer problem & was almost home when Jake called & said "Mom that man is here with his dog" ~ the time? 1:05. Ok, so I did tell him 1:00 so I told Jake to tell him I would be there within 5 minutes, please wait if he can.

I pull up to find the man sitting on our car towing trailer, chewing tobacco & SPITTING IT ON MY CARPORT!! (another thing I had to do today, spray down the carport & get the tobacco off it!) I apologized & explained that I wasn't expecting him until 1:30 like he said, again, speaking in Latin. He gets the dog out of the truck & it is in horrible shape! Matted to the skin, full of fleas & sores from the mats. I told him she would be ready at 3:00 & he could come get her then.

I pulled her card & put her on the table & got started shearing her. After checking her card to see what blade I used last time, I noted that she had not been groomed since I did her last OCT 7! Almost a year since this poor dog has been groomed, from the looks of her, since she had been touched, period! I found hot spots, fleas, bruises from all her scratching & both ears so full of ear mites that the poor dog cried out in pain every time I touched her head. I was getting madder at these people by the minute & every time that poor dog cried, I wanted to smack them upside the head with a hammer! Grooming should be a pleasant experience for a dog, not a painful one & I HATE hurting a dog. There was just no avoiding it today. I finally got the poor girl done & she ran around the shop playing & bouncing! She was so happy to have all that mess off her. Now for the kicker....

It's 3:30, still no tobacco spitting, toothless (literally) grumbling man to pick up his dog, so I called the wife to let her know the dog was ready to be picked up. I explained to her what all was done & told her how much it was & that I charged her for a flea treatment today (I didn't do that last time) she says "OK, we'll come get her, can I pay you tomorrow, we don't have any money with us?" WHAT?! This woman was kidding, right?? No, she was not, I told her "No Ma'am, I don't do business that way, I expect payment when services are rendered" her reply "Well, honey, we ain't got no checks here at the house, I'm out of them. I can mail one to you though" Well, in the words of Briscoe Darling on the Andy Griffith show...That tears it! My reply was "Ma'am, I am not your "honey", my name is Angie, & I know the bank will give you a counter check until your checks come in, so you can go get a check or the cash, then come pick up the dog" She said "Well...." waiting for me to say something I guess, I then couldn't resist & reminded her that she can not go into the grocery store, ring up her purchases & tell the cashier, can I pay you tomorrow? This is no difference. Meanwhile, hubby shows up, acting like he knows nothing about the conversation with the wife & offers to just take the dog on home, then bring the money back. Nope, ain't happenin Dude, you go get the money & then you can take the dog.

They did come back with a counter check, paid the money, ignored the fact that the dog was in pain with ear mites & told me they just couldn't afford to take her to the vet, especially after paying $65 to have her groomed! Where do people like this come from & WHY do they insist on bothering me?

I finished the day with a little Schnauzer that I don't have to bathe (the owner does that) & got up those dreaded stairs one more time & soaked in a much needed hot bath!

So, there you have it, a day in the life of.....complete with pictures of before & after on the dog.

Blessings to you all

Angie

Peggy Sue

2008-08-27T17:06:00.006-04:00

I promised a picture of Peggy Sue in her "grown up clothes" so here ya go. You can see part of one of her all time favorite toys, the cardboard roll out of the toilet paper. HA

Why is it...?

2008-08-27T16:29:00.002-04:00

No matter how old your children are they still manage to do something that makes you want to just wring their necks??
My son is 20 years old & I swear sometimes he still acts like a little kid! He came in early from his job Monday night declaring that he quit because of some other guy that worked there being a jerk & he just couldn't take it anymore. His words~"Mom, if I hadn't left, there would have been a fight & then I would have been in jail because I was going to punch him!" For crying out loud, I had a temper too when I was young, but I never walked out on a job because of it! I just want to strangle him. Now he's walking around the house, all nasty & ill because of it & the rest of us are living with a royal PITA! He's grumbling because he has no money & he doesn't want to work at a fast food place. He tells me it bothers him, being 20 years old & working at a fast food joint. How in the world am I going to get it through to him that if he wants something better for himself, he is going to have to get up & go after it?! I have told him more than once, things aren't handed to you in this world & if you want something, it's up to you to go get it.
Kids today seem to think the world owes them & they should be able to walk without crawling first. I swear I did not raise him to believe he was entitled to what he wanted without working for it, so where does this come from? Is it just all kids in this generation?
Jake has an old '78 Cadillac, a big, heavy tank of a car, that we are unable to get the title on, so he & hubby spent the weekend getting it ready to go to the scrap yard. (they are paying $12.50/10 pounds & the thing weighs 5300 pounds!) The car is ready to go, but hubby tells him until he gets a job, the car will sit at our auto repair shop as security. Jake does pay us rent & cell phone bill & he owes us for 2 weeks rent. Hubby wants to make sure we get our money in the event Jake decides to take his sweet time getting a job. I agree with hubby, hopefully it will go at least a little way towards teaching Jake a little about responsibilty.
So, here I sit, nerves almost completely shot, with a grumbling son, a patient husband that wants to help me wring his neck, but isn't, a 6 month old Bull Terrier puppy that needs to be worked & trained for the shows coming up in 2 weeks & I can't because of the rain, & I'm out of my Constant Comment tea! Good grief, what's next?
No wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know!
Here's hoping my day can only go uphill from here, wish me luck & thanks for listening.
Puppy Hugs & Kisses Ya'll
Angie

The Allison Kids & more

2008-08-25T23:28:00.003-04:00

Today I groomed the 3 Allison kids & as usual, they were a trip. Maddie & Spanky spend every minute they are not on the table wrestling on the floor & running through the shop. Allie, on the other hand, is above all that childish nonsense. :)
I do enjoy grooming these 3 kids & they never fail to bring a smile to my face.
My kids though showed their bratty sides as soon as the 3 got here & had to go back upstairs. Peggy Sue was a little scared of them, so Pooch & Cissy thought they needed to protect their baby sister. At any rate, my 3 went back upstairs to bed so I could get the other 3 groomed.
Speaking of Peggy Sue, she will be 7 months old in a week! Hard to believe, but it's true. Peggy Sue is the little Toy Poodle Robert gave me for my birthday & she is just the sweetest thing. I never thought, as a dog groomer who grooms dogs all day, that I would ever own a Poodle, that also has to be groomed on a regular basis, but I do. Problem is, I can't stand it when they start growing out & don't have that "fresh groomed" look, so they end up getting groomed about every 2 weeks. I hope to get pictures of Peggy Sue in her new grown up clip to post on here tomorrow.
I have posted a list over to the right of some of my favorite blogs, please check them out, I think you'll like them!
I'm off here for a bit, going to head to the ironing board & try to get some rest before working again tomorrow.
Puppy Hugs & Blessings to you
Angie