Hot Diggity Dog

  I sit here with the cold dregs of my coffee watching as the snow drifts down onto the snow covering the ground. Is this the new storm? Or is this the storm we were told to watch out for two weeks ago? At any rate this is sticking around for a while. It is 20 degrees with a feel like temp of 9. I went out on the porch to open the door and let the dogs out, then scooped their food out of the big container and came back in. The plastic we put up, that is quite ugly, by the way, seems to be doing a good job. I have two small green house structures that are housing plants that are still green and I put all the ferns and big hanging plants on the table and put a plastic sheet over them. The spider plant is looking sad, but I saw some new green shoots at the base of the plant and the ferns are still green. I need a for-real green house! I would prefer one that is half under ground level to take advantage of the insulating soil. It doesn't need to be all that big and it could double as a...

  Just when you think things have settled and you can plan the immediate future and you are smugly patting yourself on the back for having it all together, reality reaches out and slaps you in the face. I was eating and when I swallowed my tongue brushed against the big screw that was holding the tooth implant. Wait, I thought, this does not feel right. The implanted tooth is gone! I must have swallowed it with the food. I rushed to the mirror and saw the ugly screw and no tooth. I am beyond upset. Implants are expensive and you get them thinking you will never have to think about them again. You brush your teeth and floss and are happy that at least one tooth will never decay. Now I am worried that I have an opening into my jaw and your mouth has more bacteria that your intestines. I know I will have to call the dentist tomorrow and get in as soon as possible. I have a cardiac appointment Thursday, and we planned to pull out Friday and head south. I bet that won't happen now. The ...

  Finally. a quiet morning to contemplate life. The Man is helping out a neighbor, taking her to get her car from the repair shop. He likes to run errands and chauffer people around and I am happy to lend him out. The dreaded cold front is coming!! Still warm today, though. Rumor has it that "we" will be trying to lure the 3 feral cats onto the enclosed porch. I think I might leave The Man to his own devises. I know how to get them onto the porch, but why would I ruin his victory when he finally has them in what they will conceive is a prison? Food, that's all he needs. A trail of tasty morsels to entice them through the door.  Kevin has successfully acclimated himself to living indoors. How do they know what that litter box is for? I am quite sure that Kevin is wondering where the canine litter box is and why there is a big pee pad on the floor at all times. Toni's reusable diapers are here; we tried one on and she was not impressed! But her onesie that will keep the...

  Mr. BoJangles here. So many things have happened since the last time I posted. Where do I start? It is very cold outside. It makes me do my business quickly and run back to the door to go inside. My Mom says, "do your business" and it means to poop and pee. In case you didn't know. But here is the crazy part; it is just as cold inside as it is outside! Well, the wind is not blowing inside, so I guess that is worth something. All of us dogs have warm beds on the floor, and I can also jump into the bed with Dad and tunnel down under the covers. I can jump in bed; Eddie is too short and fat and Toni's too old and spindly. That means that I am just right! When Dad awoke, he insisted that we bring that kitten inside. He has been visiting inside for some time now, but Dad wants him to actually LIVE inside with us dogs. Why? The cats are outside creatures and not a part of our family!  We had a cat before that we all loved. Martha, the boy cat, lived inside and outside. Ma...

  I am still pondering a new name for our feline. Several times I woke in the night to see him either sleeping at the foot of the bed or sitting in front of the mirror on the closet admiring his image. When he was really sleepy, he cuddled next to Eddie and Eddie draped his sweet head over the kitten and slept with him safe under his chin. You might recall that Gray Lady invaded the underside of our home. When The Man built the new deck off the side of the enclosed deck, he removed the skirting around the small entrance to the door. I asked if he should replace that skirting. Oh no, said he, we are skirting the new deck, so it is not necessary. Sounded reasonable to me. So, when it was 49 degrees in here the other morning, it was not the plate that flew down behind the shelving that sits in front of the thermostat. It was equally cold in here two days later. When the man awoke at the crack of noon (it was 11:45), he proclaimed it to be too cold in here. Let's over state the obvious...

  Polo spent his first night inside. I slept lightly on the alert for any sound or movement that would indicate the kitten needed help. He stayed in bed with us all night until the canines decided it was time to get up. I took him out with the dogs and put him out in the front yard while the dogs took care of business in the back yard. He scampered off in search of Lucy. He seems to have adopted her as his new mother. Silly cat, does he not realize that I am his new mother? Today we will venture out into the cold snowy weather to purchase a litter box. Where will I put a litter box? Even a small one will take up valuable space. I will need to enclose it to keep the dogs out but allow a cat to gain entry. I am hoping to find inspiration as I shop. Polo seems like a wrong name since it needs Marco to go with it. I will try not to think about the fate of Marco and Gray Lady. Does Polo know that his name is Polo? If I change it, will he be confused? I use his name when I call him, just...

  As my cat population has dwindled down to three with Garfield showing up occasionally, Polo has been coming inside more often. We watch him closely as he interacts with the dogs. Bo loves this kitten. I am confident that he will not hurt the kitten. Polo is big enough to object and defend himself. He wants to play with them and so far, he has not objected to anything they do. Eddie is so jealous. He wants to play with the cat, but he tends to want to bite him. Not hard. He just wants to put Polo's head in him mouth. I think he is torn between wanting to play and being so jealous he wants to hurt him. Today I let the cat go. Out of my lap and into the floor. He examined the water and food dishes. Drank some water and then ate one piece of dog kibble. I watched Bo and Eddie watch him. After he tried out the doggie cuisine he walked toward Eddie and offered his head to rub against Eddie. Eddie opened his mouth to chew on the cat's head. Bo, ever vigilant was watching and jumped ...

  The warm spell is over! We knew the temperature was going to drop significantly. No worries, I thought as I sat here yesterday. It was warm inside and all was well. I take that back. My right leg is still grabbing my attention with sharp pains behind my knee. I am okay once I am up standing and walking. The issue is getting up and back down. Nonetheless, I have had enough of a dusty house, so I dragged out the vacuum and mop bucket and got to work while the master slept. As small as our house is, you would think it would wake him. But with no aids to hear in his ear, he remained unaware. I moved everything and found the equivalent of a small dog in fur trapped under the chairs and sofa. I moved on to the kitchen and cleaned everything in there. While putting away the clean dishes, I dropped a plate. No, it didn't break but fell behind the counter that backs up to the set of storage shelves behind that peninsula. Retrieving it was going to take some effort, but I was done for the ...

  My gouty toe is feeling better. Enough to walk around and get some chores done. The pain behind my knee has returned and I am being very careful with that. The hand woke me in the night with shooting pains. Time will take care of everything. I am old and with age comes maladies.  So, after I cleaned the kitchen to my satisfaction, I decide to sit down for a break. Turned on the TV and watched in absolute horror at the shooting of a woman by ICE agents in Minneapolis. I heard the testimony of the woman in charge of Homeland Security about the shooting before I saw the video. Two totally different points of view. Why on earth would you project a story about the officer fearing for his life before you even saw the video. She wasn't there, had only been told about it and then decided to grandstand and say with authority that the woman in the car was trying to run the officer over! "No comment" would have been a better statement. One of my grandchildren has fled this country...

  Just when you think things cannot possibly get any worse ..... You wake up free of the nagging pain behind your knee and think things are looking up, only to discover your big toe is stiff, swollen and hot to the touch. Gout. No idea what the trigger is, or I would definitely eliminate it from my diet. That was yesterday. I sat with the foot propped up and iced, drinking the nasty cherry juice that helps eliminate uric acid from the body. Does it work? I don't know, but I drink it with good faith. Today is more of the same. I did go with the chauffeur to obtain drinking water and pick up some doggie diapers. Doggie diapers, you ask? Poor old Toni is incontinent. Little puddles form in her wake. She tries to go out and even tries to pee on the pee-pad, but she can't. I dutifully measured her "waist" and found it to be a svelte 19". I looked on-line to determine the size I should buy. Medium on one site, large on another. That did not really help. I decided to ge...

  You may recall that my ring band had thinned to the point that I easily cut it off with my garden shears and I instructed the man in my life to get the diamond reset in a new ring and to feel free to add some other gems. He had the original ring restored to its original glory. You may also recall that I was disappointed. Christmas morning found a jeweler's box waiting for me to open. A separate ring was tucked into the box. A half carat diamond shined up at me. Running up the sides were tiny gems representing my children's birthstones. He has redeemed himself!!