February Already??

"Hey, Baxter!! Can you believe it is already February??"

"Huh? Oh, umm, no."



"But can I ask you one thing?"


"Sure! What?!"

"Would you get off of me??"

Escape

When I was a little girl, my mom used to recite a poem to me- insinuating that I was the girl for whom the poem was written. It went like this:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid.

Well, if you would now please swap our "girl" with "dog" and "she" with "he" then you will understand my current sentiments on our dog Kohana.

This weekend was a quite rough. First of all, we moved all of our furniture, etc. from our old house to the new one. And, honestly, moving is terrible. I don't like it one bit. Saturday was a terrible day (which I will explain at a later date) but we had a moving truck and we had to get it done. Sunday we had more miscellaneous things to transfer over. It was a long day. By Sunday evening we were exhausted. At 6:00 I was so ready for bed I could hardly see straight.

In addition, we were hit with torrential rains. Flood worthy rain that our county is still dealing with flooding 2 days later... It was serious.

So, in the midst of all of this, our wonderful husky Kohana decided that it was time for him to play a little game he likes to call "escape." And that he did.

Side note: On a regular day, I suspect I do a dog head count approximately one billion times. You see, I am a paranoid freak. I am constantly checking on them and making sure that everyone is present and accounted for. And on the occasion when something isn't right, I usually know about it quickly.

But, as I mentioned, we were moving. Because of this I'm not sure how long he was gone though I don't think it was more than 10 minutes. And off we went. DM took the car, I stayed on foot. But the rain! The rain was terrible!! First of all, I don't think he could hear me calling for him as he would have been able to under normal circumstances. Secondly, I couldn't hear the jingle of his collar in case he was near me. It was pitch black. We don't have street lights and we have woods all around. Visibility was extraordinarily limited. We searched and searched and searched. Typically I am an optimist and under control in situations like these. This night, however, I was extremely worried. I thought the weather conditions might ruin any chances we had of finding him. But, someone was looking out for us because DM did find him and although Mr. Mischievous Kohana did try his best to elude him he was temporarily distracted by another dog and we were able to get him home.

So, this ending is a happy one. We have our precious pup home and my car smells like dirty, stinky, wet dog and has muddy footprints all over it. Well, at least one of those things is good. :)

A few weeks in the life...

We have been super busy around here! Let me give a super quick summary.

Weather very very very cold. As in, coldest it has been in 20 years. Water troughs freeze. Must use axe to break up the ice. Feel like manly lumberjack in a woman's body.
Water line to the horse's trough breaks. Must carry water from the house to the horses one 5 gallon bucket at a time. Feel like very sad and sore lumberjack in a woman's body.

Snow on the ground increases the amount of hay we have to feed the horses. Hay supplies dwindle. Must replenish.

Dogs have to spend much more time inside due to the weather. Dog hair army rises up and tries to take control. Vacuum cries. Dogs decide that carpets are meant to be the color of red mud and try their best to cover all carpeted surfaces with as many dog prints as possible. Carpet cleaning man celebrates at the continued business we give him. I decide that putting in hardwoods on said carpeted surfaces may have to happen sooner rather than later.

Weather warms. I sing from the rooftops!!

Our old house is under contract meaning that we can finally move our furniture!! YAY! But that means moving the masses of boxes we have neglected so that furniture may move to its new home. BOO!

Baxter decides that he would like to sleep all day (which is not a change for him at all) but would like to stay awake at night. Thinks we should do this as well. Barks incessantly during the night to ensure we abide by his schedule. I argue with him that I need a good solid 9 hours of sleep a night. He disagrees. He wins. We do not sleep through night for weeks. I cry.

In my personal boycott of life due to the cold weather I neglect the laundry. It continues to grow. As it turns out, neglecting it will not persuade laundry pile to stop growing. I almost drown in laundry and then scold myself for letting it get so bad.


That is the most concise summary I can do... Sure, I left out a bajillion things but who cares?! Till next time!

S.A.D.

I know there is controversy out there about S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Since I am neither a qualified medical physician nor a psychiatrist I definitely think I have the knowledge base to declare that Seasonal Affective Disorder is most definitely real and that I am most definitely affected by it.

Winter.

I do not like Winter.

I do not like it in a house. I do not like it with a mouse. I do not like it here or there. I do not like it anywhere. I do not like it Sam-I-Am. I do not like green eggs and ham.

Sorry.... distracted.

Anyway, back to winter. I am just not cut out for winter. The cold. The wind. The dry, pallid (or in my case, extra pallid) skin. Gray skies. Leafless trees. Frozen ground. Frozen water troughs and buckets.

Yet, I am dying to move to the mountains of NC or Virginia. Can someone explain it? Am I crazy? Actually, do not answer that last one... I know the answer.

Anyway, apparently this winter I may be sporadic with my blogging because, well, it seems that apparently when it is winter I do not want to blog about what I've done with my day because I do not want to remember that I was freezing cold the entire time. And I don't take my camera out nearly as often. But, I will try harder. But more importantly, I will stop whining!!

Charleston, South Carolina : : Part Three

My sister and her family live just outside of Charleston so we stopped to visit with them briefly on our way out of town.



Their house is full of critters! Dogs, goats, pigs, cats, and a little rugrat....



It was raining quite a bit so I wasn't able to hug and smother the animals as much as I would have liked...



My niece let me snap a few pictures of her... though it wasn't easy!!



I'm pretty jealous of the menagerie... but, I definitely have my hands full at home. In fact, I think I spend 90% of my life feeding animals and husbands...


That's all I'm good for 'round here...

Charleston, South Carolina : : Part Two

I repeat. Charleston. Is. Beautiful.

It is a photographer's dream - Even on the rainy day I saw no fewer than 4 professional photographers out within a 3 block area.


I love this photo! What a precious pup!!




We chose a random restaurant for lunch. We ended up wandering into the SouthEnd Brewery.



They provide crayons for children (apparently of all ages) to express themselves on the tables.

So. We did.

My turkey in honor of Thanksgiving. A true masterpiece. It was quite delicious!


I miss it already!

Charleston, South Carolina : : Part One

DM and I were fortunate enough to go down to Charleston for a wedding a few weeks ago.

Before heading home, we went around downtown Charleston. If you haven't been, it is absolutely beautiful.

The weather wasn't the greatest that day, but that didn't stop us!




The homes, as you can see, are absolutely stunning. I am officially in love.



If only I could buy a house in downtown Charleston, across from the water, with enough acreage for all of the animals..... *sigh*.....



Although I love it, and think it is beautiful.... DM is OBSESSED!



He wants to move.... REALLY wants to move down there....



He loves the water. And the history. And the ambiance.


He loves it all.


And you can't help but admit that it is pretty fabulous.


It still has the charm of a small town though it is fairly large and it certainly has all of the amenities you could ask for.


Plus, it is chocked full of history.


I think spring and fall are perfect times to visit.... The summer? Well, it gets a tad bit toasty...