March forward

It's supposed to get cold here tonight (17-20, I think) with snow arriving on Friday. The forecast folks can't agree on whether or not we'll even get snow, so I'm guessing we'll get a foot . Mozey has a vet appointment on Friday, but if the weather's really crappy, we'll reschedule. No need to get caught off the island!  Next week--we're supposed to be in the 60s!

I'm sorry you guys are still having to deal with winter snow and/or cold temps.  Spring is in fairly high gear here -- more and more cherry and plum trees popping with pink blossoms every day on my drive to/from work, daffodils everywhere, yellow forsythia in neighboring gardens, and plenty of other shoots emerging in the flowerbeds, including some early hostas and bleeding hearts.  It's been in the mid-50's, so my guess is we're done with cold temps here.  There have been a couple winters in our 25 years here when we had ice and snow in March, so maybe I better not jinx myself!

Got an email from my sister last night -- she had to put her kitty down.  He was 19.  She thinks he had a stroke a few days ago.  He started walking and sitting oddly, one eye was partially closed, he was drooling, etc.  After a couple days, he wasn't eating or eliminating, and the vet agreed it was time.  She's devastated and says her apartment feels so empty.  One comforting thought is he'll be reunited with his sibling who died a few years ago, and he's never quite been the same without her.  They're names were Gorg and Zola.  :-)

Can't believe it's March already -- seems like we were just preparing for the holidays!

Tracy, I am so sorry to hear about your sister's kitty--what a long life he had! I love the names he and his sibling had--perfect!

Miss Mozey has been a bit under the weather and is at the vet's, Seems she has pancreatitis (which we caught early) and an enlarged liver. She is responding well to the meds/treatment  and she was much perkier today. The vet knows we live of the island, so Mozey is staying an extra day just in case. (They want to make sure she is really good to go because we couldn't get back easily.)  Ronnie and Rock both know she's not home and they don't like it. (They know she is in charge.) Ronnie has decided it's his job to hold down her bed until she gets home. Rock rearranged the blankets in his bed time crate--his rescue mom said he used to do this at her house if he was worried or unsettled.

He also had the week off from "work" because the college kids are on spring break--a hound without a job for a week--yikes! So, we've done extra obedience practice to keep him busy.

A bit of snow yesterday, cold today--then into the 60s next week! Other than that, there isn't much new here.

Beautiful warm sunny day.  Light jacket was too warm.  I need to start carrying water for Sky again.  Just wt enough out that he needs  a wash down when he runs.  Trees are budding.  Early flowers are coming up.  It may be spring.

We saw some wood turning work when we traveled and it got me interested.  Haven't used a wood lathe since high school.  Been trying to check out some prices, but nobody stocks them  around here-not even Sears-and i would like to touch the equipment before spending the money.  They are expensive, and need all kinds of extra stuff, like chisels and measuring gear.  I have some wood from trees we've trimmed and it would be a good use.  May have to hit some spring auctions and see what comes up.

Mozey was in the vet hospital for a few days--turns out she had developed pancreatitis. She responded well to the treatment and meds, is home (came home yesterday) and is feeling a lot better. In addition to the pancreatitis, she had an enlarged liver which was worrisome. So, she had an ultrasound yesterday--no tumors found--yeah! Meds here at home for 5 days plus a change in her food to a low fat content.

Today's temps in Providence broke all records--I think it got up to 70 in the city! Here right by the water, it was a good 15 degrees cooler but really nice.

Got the groceries for corned beef and cabbage dinner for St. Patrick's day (though I think I'll make it for the weekend instead). Corned beef was on sale so I got two pieces. Yumm!

The garage had to be re-roofed and it's almost done. The guys started working about 6:30 this morning and just finished their day a bit a go. I am guessing they'll finish tomorrow. (They've been working on it and a neighbor's place since Monday--the wind from the last couple storms did a number on a lot of roofs here.)

Kate I am so glad to hear the Mozey is home and feeling better.  How were the boys when she got home?  I don't usually invite myself but can I come over for corned beef and cabbage?  I have never fixed corned beef, is it like a brisket or roast?

Tracy sorry to hear about your sister's cat, Run free.

We are having rain here all week but fortunately not near as bad as south of us.   A couple more days then some sunshine will bring out the green.   Washington Hawthorns, Red Buds, Forsythia, Bridal Veil Spirea,, Daffodils are all blooming.  It will be interesting how much survives the fenced yard with Garth.   I am going to have to do a major clean up and leave nothing but dog toys out there, I don't know where he finds all this stuff..  Ron and I get a kick out of what he does.   He gets all the flower pots, tree limbs that blow down from the wind, anything he can find and makes a obstacle course.  If you watch long enough he will re-arranger the course several times .  Then he will take a nap or take his watch dog stance and pretty soon he is rearraging again.   He throws things in the air and catches them too.   I know if I made a course for him he would probably not enjoy it near as much as the one he makes.

Doug my husband used to love to watch the shows on PBS about the wood turning.  I Cant remember the actual product name but they used to travel around to the local lumber big box stores and do training and demo.   I think it was a pricey unit but he always thought he would enjoy that .  

I am back on track with my health, next check up 6 weeks away so that's good.  I cant wait til time to play outside.  Already picked up a couple of spinach, lettuce and cilantro seed packets.  

Have a good weekend all

Started Sky in Obedience 2 last night. It makes me take the time to work with him. 2 other dogs in the class. I had forgotten how food driven the monster is. We were doing a figure 8 exercise, and the end dogs are supposed to sit and ignore the walking dog. I put a treat in my hand, and apparently the rest of the world vanished. He stared at the treat like he had never eaten one before.. Sky slept very well last night. Thinking is hard work. But the instructors noticed that his focus has really improved since his last class.

Another beautiful day. We ran a bit through the river WMA. Got a couple of nice poses of the little snot. on my favorite big rock. Geese sounded riled up at the lower section. Fighting for nest spots. Then watched a small flock of turkeys cross the road. Good day. Some of the farmers are starting to work the ground already.

Yard work has to start soon. Got some trees to trim and a few shrubs in the hedge to remove. Wife wants to put in a sitting area under the front picture window. Some low evergreens to cut and pull out.

I am going to look into assembling a small lathe from parts. I don't want to work on anything big. Small bowls and plates more than anything. I have an extra motor. A headstock and a few pieces to hold the wood should do it. And chisels or gouges. And dividers, and calipers. Like anything else, you can start small and then spend a young fortune on accessories. I noticed that I have one dog and 6 leashes, 4 collars, about 6 bowls. three dog beds, 3 kennels (one portable) a dog blanket for the car, and two travel harnesses, and an unused dog house. Not counting toys. It just builds and grows by its self.

We dug out a photo of me with Rags and Piper taken shortly after moving to Nicollet. Rags was old but beautiful. Piper was coming into her prime, and I was 20 lbs heavier. My hair was white even back then.

Kate, I'm so glad Mozey is recovering nicely -- and what a relief that her enlarged liver wasn't the sign of something more serious.  I'm sure she's very happy to be home after a few days at the vet hospital.  Give her some ear rubs from me.

I wouldn't be surprised if roof work is needed by a few people in our area after the winds we're having today.  The gusts are supposed to be super strong all day.  We have to go to dinner at our friends' house tonight, and I'm going to be worried about leaving Ruby alone in the house with the huge fir trees next door looking so threatening in the high winds!  We've had such heavy rain for two days that we've got standing water all over the yard.  Good thing I've got lots of indoor things to do today.

Ginger, Garth's talents with the obstacle course are so funny!  It must be cute to see him tossing things around and arranging his new "display" of obstacles.  It's nice when dogs can entertain themselves, isn't it?!  Glad that you're feeling well and continue to get good reports on your health.

Doug, my friend's husband took up wood turning several years ago, as did one of my BIL's.  They both make small projects -- nothing major.  One Christmas, my BIL gave everyone really pretty pens that he turned.  I hope you're able to find an affordable way to build the equipment you need with some used parts -- definitely cheaper than buying a fancy new lathe!  What you said about starting small and suddenly breaking the budget on accessories is SO true -- with hobbies, pets, lots of things.  That must be some kind of corollary to one of those scientific laws about how things expand or reproduce or something like that!

I find looking at old photos to be somewhat depressing -- seeing human and pet family members and friends who are no longer with us, seeing everyone looking younger and with more (non-grey) hair, etc.  I know it's just a fact of life, but seeing all those reminders in one photograph can be a bit much sometimes.  

Looking forward to having more light this evening -- one good thing about losing an hour of sleep last night!

Ginger, come on over! Corned beef is a brisket that is boiled for 3-4 hours. I think corned is a way of curing the beef. I add veggies (cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions) about 30 minutes before it's done. I love it! And, it makes great corned beef hash and Rubin sandwiches if there are any leftovers. Garth is a smart boy! It is fun to watch what they do!

Mozey is still doing well. She finished her antibiotics this morning and continues to eat well. Ear rubs delivered, Tracy. It was a gorgeous day, so I tried to get some raking done. She and Ronnie decided to "help" with yard work by digging. The garlic is up and looks good :-) It's hard to believe it's mid-March with the temps in the 50s and 60s!  I think it's going to cool down a bit, with rain (but no snow for us).

Interesting time at Obedience class last night. Sky and a young GS had a stare down. About 20 ft apart, on leashes, but staring intently. Had to bring out treats to distract Sky. He hadn't had supper yet, and was really interested in food. Skys focus has improved a lot. Sits and stays, even with other dogs near and moving, are solid. His recalls are really good from close range. I called him off a Robin in the front yard with no problem.

Snow flakes coming down right now. Not many, but they are there.

Had 5 trees trimmed and thinned yesterday. Good crew working. The climber gives lessons to squirrels on how to move in a tree. They cleaned up really well when done, and it is interesting how much more sky can be seen now. Hopefully, the gardens will benefit.

Dinner at the sons tonight. Apparently they found the surplus from the October Fest party and need to use it up.

I think "corned" means soaked in salt brine. Sliced thin, on rye bread with Swiss cheese, warmed on a griddle, served with tomato/basil soup. Good lunch on a cold snowy day.

None of out local stores carry lathes. I really want to touch one before shelling out the money. And lathes are heavy, so freight becomes relevant. I'll check out a few Minneapolis stores and see if they have anything good. There is a Northern Tool near my sons house, and several big box lumber stores on the way. Watched a video of a turner making a wooden bowl that had a 3-D pattern. The blank was made of a couple hundred trapezoidal pieces of wood glued up. Probably took 3 days to make the blank. 15 minutes for the video.

It snowed last night.  Not much, but the ground is white.  It will probably be gone by afternoon, but the ground is white and the roads are slick.

Dinner at sons last night was really enjoyable.  Grandkids were great-lots of hugs.  Food was great.  Company was great.  We just talked.

Son was reading a self help book about addictive personalities, and decided to give up beer and wine.  Says he is sleeping better and has lost weight.  But now he is addicted to self help books.  

We're supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow overnight--seems most of our storms are messing with the Monday commute/workday!  Rain later in the week, so I don't think the snow will be here for long.

Miss Mozey is feeling so much better--she ran zoomies in the yard with Ronnie yesterday and played frisbee tug with him. Thank you for all your good wishes for her. Ronnie is practicing off lead work--we go to a beach (no people) and practice "come", etc. He's doing pretty well--but there are some great smells at the beach. Rock has this week off from pet therapy because the students have a long Easter break and won't be there.

I spent several hours yesterday working in the garden and raking the yard, etc.. yesterday. What a great work out! I was able to dig out a wild rose that had taken over part of a space I want to try to make into an English cottage garden of sorts. That took a couple hours!  I  ordered two more blueberry plants and they arrived Friday--I got the bed ready to plant, but I'll need to wait until after the snow. They are supposed to be planted in the cool weather, but snow seems a bit much!

Doug, I agree with your sandwich and soup recommendation! I have two more pieces of corned beef. (They were on sale.) They'll go in the freezer for later.

Garth, what new adventures have you created for yourself?

It's been a hectic week or two, so I went back to read what I've missed.  Kate, in an earlier post you mentioned your garlic being up.  DH is making meatballs this afternoon, and while chopping garlic, he said, "I wonder when garlic season is?"  I told him I remembered seeing a bunch of garlic hanging to dry in a friend's garage years ago, but I couldn't remember what season it was.  So, when you say your garlic is up, do you mean just starting to grow or ready to harvest?  We eat a ton of garlic, but I admit that I have no idea how it's grown or when it's picked, etc.  All I know is that I love it!

I was called to jury duty last week and was selected for the trial.  I admit I was not happy -- in the past I've been lucky to be dismissed because the case was canceled or settled out of court.  This ended up being two full days in court, so I got very behind at work AND I lost two days of pay.  I went into work yesterday to try to catch up a bit, but I'll have to work some extra hours this week.

I'm so glad to hear that Mozey is feeling well enough to do some zoomies and play frisbee tug!  And what a good boy Ronnie is for doing well off lead on the beach.  Yikes -- Ruby would head straight for the water and never look back!

Speaking of water, we had dinner with friends last weekend, and they've got an adorable pittie mix named Tank.  They moved to a new house with a huge yard, so he was having a blast playing fetch with the Chuck-It before we had dinner.  His feet were a muddy mess, and our friend went to get a towel before we headed inside.  I said, "Do you need a pail of water to rinse his paws?"  He said, "Nope, he'll use the kiddie pool."  Sure enough, Tank walked over to the kiddie pool, took several steps in it to rinse his feet, then went to the door to have them dried.  Talk about an awesome thing to teach your dog to do!

Doug, your comment about your son giving up wine and beer but now being addicted to self-help books cracked me up.  Joking aside, I've known a couple people who've substituted one addiction for another (albeit more healthy) one.  For example, a former coworker was a heavy drinker, but then became obsessed with exercise after he cleaned up his drinking issue.  He practically lived at the gym, but he definitely was more trim and healthy and feeling well.

Happy first day of spring -- I'm sorry to hear some snow is still making appearances for you guys, Doug and Kate.  We've got rain today, but it's warm.  We had two days this week of sun and high 60's -- one day I actually went without a coat in the afternoon!

Sky went swimming today.  Pond water.  He smells a little funky.  He was trying to play with a goose, so he jumped in to join it.  Then the other 25 geese came over to help out.  Sky decided to come out.  Another case of dogs not being good at perspective.  Interesting to watch the flock track Sky around the pond.  They swam along with his run, and were right there to greet him when he jumped in.  He did flush a rooster and it cackled a lot, so his day was good.

My son has a compulsive and addictive way about him.  His iron man work, while healthy, seems to go over board.  His wife took him to task on the amount of time he spent on biking.  He recognized it.  He has never done anything half way.  But he is backing off sports now, and the time pressure is falling away, making him more relaxed and balanced.