OH, MY ACHING KNEE HODGEPODGE!

Can you believe that Spring is just over a week away?  I can't wait for the flowers to bloom.

1. What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word 'spring'? Which phrase best describes the season of spring where you live right now (today)-sprung! almost there, or still waiting?

The first image that comes to mind are all the clean cars people are driving around. The automatic car washes are full with car after car going through getting all the sand and salt off the cars.
The phrase that best describes the season around here is "Almost Here."  We still have lots of snow on the ground but the air is warmer and there are even spots of brown here and there.  The septic tank is still covered in snow however.
  

2. Bed, couch, stapler, garage door, computer mouse, recliner, flashlight, door knob...which household item containing springs most needs replacing in your home? Speaking of springs...did you ever own a Slinky?

I did own a slinky and loved it.  As for something with springs that needs replacing....I would have to say that there is nothing that is in need of replacing.

3. March is Women's History Month. Share a favorite quote by a woman.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” - Maya Angelou

4. What's a question that looms large in your mind right now?

When will my knee be fixed?

5. Are you a sugar freak? By that I mean how much do you love sugar? With all the bad press sugar gets these days, have you made any efforts to reduce the amount of sugar you consume?

I'm not a huge fan of sugar. I drink my tea and coffee without it, but I do like the occasional cream horn or dish of ice cream.  So I do try to limit my sugar but I will give in once in a while.

6. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you enjoy doing?

I would rather have more work that I enjoy doing.  I don't mind working and having something to do that I enjoy doing makes the day go by faster and I feel like I'm helping someone. Plus, it's not work, if I love doing it.

7. Ever been to Texas? Of the top ten Texas tourist attractions which would you most like to see-The Alamo, The San Antonio River Walk, The State Capital, Dallas World Aquarium, Padre Island National Seashore, Houston Space Center, Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, Six Flags Fiesta Texas,  Moody Gardens, or Galveston Island?

I have only driven through Texas but if I were to visit, I would love to see the Houston Space Center.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I mentioned in # 4 wondering when my knee would be fixed.  It turns out that I have a tore Meniscus in my left knee and today I saw the orthopaedic doctor.  He agrees that my knee needs to be fixed and has agreed to do the surgery but first he wants to consult with both of my oncologists.  The one here locally and the one up in Lebanon.  The orthopaedic doctor has some questions about my cancer and my meds so it may be a few months before I have the surgery but finally, a doctor who agrees that I need this thing fixed.  

Spring, Oh Glorious Spring!

It has been quite of week up here in ther right hand corner of the USA.
More snow (it's snowing while I type this) and more cold weather means out pellet stove is working 24/7 to keep me warm and I am very tired of wearing layers of clothing.  So Spring had better be getting here soon and it will be Glorious!!

I know that you are waiting for the report from the transplant doctor.  We had a beautiful day to drive up north to the Hospital.  The 1 1/2 hour drive was just lovely.  A nurse took several tubes of blood and then we hung around to see the doctor.

He told us that my proteins were climbing and that was not good.  It looked like the ratio of cancer drugs to normal cells was 340/1.  My heart sunk.  He was going to do a test where each protein was counted by hand  to see which protein was off.  If it was only 1 protein, then we perhaps could change drugs and hit that one protein with a different chemo protocol and force it back to where it belongs.

If several proteins were out of wack, then he would want a bone marrow biopsy to see how much of my blood was cancerous.  If that was between 40-50% then I get moved up the transplant list and start preparinging for that procedure.  All I could think of was that my calendar was too full and that I didn't have time for this.  The transplant requires me to stay up in the hospital for several weeks in isolation while my body heals.  I don't want to do that!!

We agreed that we surely needed more tests to see what was going on.  We left the hosptial discouraged and depressed. One thing we both agreed on was to let our prayer warriors know what was going on and to ask them to pray.  So once we got home and told our daughter the news, we got our prayers warriors praying.

One told me that I was a miracle waiting to happen.  Another told us that the test done down here would be wrong.  As it turned out, they were both right.

Six days went by before we got the results of the latest test.  Sure enough, he felt that since the test down here was calulated by a machine, the machine was wrong and the ratio is NOT 340/1 by in fact is 27/1.  The bone marrow biopsy is off, and the stem cell transplant is off, well for at least 2 months.  We head up there again at the end of April and retest.

So for now, we change nothing, we continue with our lives and love each other and those around us.  We laugh and smile and work and live.  We are grateful to all who have prayed for us, and held us up before God.  We are even more greatful that God granted the desire of my heart to stay outside of the hospital for a bit longer.

So after a few short wild weeks, we are relaxing while it snows outside again.

Another trip up North to Check in

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 18th we travel up north to Darthmouth Hitchcock Hospital to check in with the Transplant doctor.

One of the issues with living with cancer, is the fact that I have to check in with doctors every so often to find out how I'm doing.  I see a lot of doctors and they all want blood, I just show up and roll up my sleeve and give them blood.   Wednesday, we have to be there for 9 am.  In good weather, it's an hour and a half drive.  In bad, a good 2 1/2 hours. So we leave early, get there for a bunch of blood work then wait a while to get the results, then talk and talk to the doctor's and parts of his team to see where I am and how I'm doing.

At the moment, we go up 4 times a year, I'm hopping I'm doing so well that he tells us we can drop that to 3 times a year.  That would be nice.  

In the meantime, we reflect on what the past year has given us.  A lot of laughter, a lot of love, a lot of dotors, good friends, good food, good prayers and a lot of leaning on God to keep us going.

If you would, please, pray for us to have a good drive up, good results and a good drive back home after a long, emotional day up north.

Thank you

 

Old Man Winter Wroke Up!

Our front yard in there someplace.

In November, we had snow for Thanksgiving. only enough to kill our power and make the weekend long and interesting.  In December, nothing!  We had a green Christmas and a green New Years.  I was OK with both of those.

And then came January.

Old man winter woke up and must have said "OOPS, I forgot the snow" so he opened the door to the snow storage unit and let it fall.

A lot.

And often.

In the past month we have had snow falling every few days for 3-5 inches, or a dusting to 3 inches, or  6-10 inches.  Until we have 5 feet of the stuff!  Snow banks are well over 8 feet high and trucks are on the corners knocking down the snow and trucking it away.  Where do they take the snow when they truck it out of the city?

We have icicles, or had icicles I should say.  Hubby hired someone to shovel our roof.  The man did a very nice job.  He came when he said he would, the price was fair, he got the roof clean off.

He even left a reminder for us that he was there.  Can you see it?  Look close.  There is a Dunkin Donuts Ice Coffee on top of the chimney.
Yes, we drink Ice Coffee up here in negative degree weather.  It made me laugh very hard.  I think it's still frozen up there.

So we continue to dig out.  Continue to drive slow and continue to be thankful for all we have because as Hubby put it, there are children in China without any snow at all.

Stay warm everyone,  more snow on the way.

An Anniversary of Sorts

This weekend, the 24th and 25th of Janbuary is the one year anniversary of my Stem Cell Harvesting.  It's been an odd year full of blessings and love.

We were sure that we were harvesting stem cells and getting them back in the fall of 2014.  However, the Fall of 2014 has come and gone and my stem cells are still in a freezer.

I look back and see all we have been through.  The  massive chemo that cost me my hair for the first time.  The growth hormone shots to force my body to make many more white cells and force them into my blood stream.  The port that needed to be sewed into my neck because my veins were not big or strong enough to handle the machine that would suck the stem cells out of me.  The harvesting itself which was harder than I hoped it would be and was as hard as I was told it could be.

I look back at how hard it was to gain my strenght again, to get back to work.  How hard it was to play with my grand girls or even sit at a birthday party and not cry.

It's been a year of up and downs, of illness and health.  Of good days and bad.  Of weeks of sleeping and days of energy.

It has been a year of watching my husband do it all, from cooking and cleaning to shopping and laundry.  Driving me everywhere and holding my hand while I slept.

A year of both dogs sleeping on me, near me, checking on me throughout the night.

A year of co workers helping out, doing my job, taking over at times and wishing me luck all the time.

A year of back and forth to doctors for things not really connected to cancer but still somehow connected.

A year of friends taking me out to dinner, lunch, and breakfast to talk, laugh, ask questions and just enjoy each others company.  A year of gifts, calls, emails, cards, funny stories and prayers.  Lots of prayers.

A year of leaning on God to do what I couldn't and to meet my needs.

It's been quite the year!  I have hair now, I have energy now, I have things to do and places to go. I have a job to keep up with and friends to laugh with.
I have a husband I can cook for, and clean up after and even take care when he gets sick.
And someplace up north are my stem cells, frozen. They can stay there for 30 more years.

How to store grooming supplies

There are lots of things a person can use to store your grooming supplies.  Some use a drawer in the bathroom, others use a basket to hold the supplies, while still others have an entire room dedicated to grooming their dogs.

Me, I have one of these to hold my supplies.

Each draw holds supplies for both dogs.  The top carries what is needed every day while the bottom holds what I use every other week.

The top has the combs and rakes and mat splitter and scissors that are needed for either dog.  The red Zoom Groom and the Blue Rake are for Beckke.  Most of the other stuff is for August.

The dryer is perfect for both dogs.  I can either place it  in its holder and aim it at August who is on the table which allows me to  blow dry him and brush him at the same time or I can hold it over Becke and blow her dry while she stands on the floor. 

This attaches to the table in the kitchen and helps hold August in place while I work on him.  It stores behind the cabinet, out of sight until I need it.  

What do you hold your grooming supplies in?

FINALLY FEELING BETTER HODGEPODGE!

Joyce likes to keep us all thinking with some hard questions,  This week is no exception.  Come think with us. 

1. What's your best piece of advice for a newly married couple? I'm asking for a friend.

Don't have any conversations with the opposite sex, that your spouse shouldn't hear.  There is nothing Innocent about flirting with a co worker, friend, or anyone.  The only person you flirt with is your spouse.

2. Before we're too far into the new year I wanted to post a question Teresa submitted during the December giveaway. Teresa blogs over at Being Refined As Silver, so everyone go say hi.

Teresa asks, "What were you doing on December 31st, 1999?"and "Did you or your family make preparations for Y2K?"

We didn't do anything different at all.  We knew that life would go on, the sun would shine, the powers that be would figure it all out.  We were not online a lot and didn't have any fear. We believe in God and we knew we were fine.
  

3. According to Global Language Monitor, the most used word of 2014 isn't a word. It's the heart emoji. Huh? How can something that's not a word be the most used word, but I digress. What do you think was your most used word in 2014?

See, a hard question!  I use lots of words so just picking one is hard, but I guess it would be "Sick."  I was sick a lot in 2014.

4. Speaking of words, it's that time again. Time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, and general uselessness) in 2015. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

bae (before anyone else), polar vortex, hack, skill set, swag, foodie, curate/curated, friend-raising, enhanced interrogation, cra-cra (as in crazy), takeaway, and -nation (a suffering sports suffix).

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

All of them sounds pretty terrible and would like to see them all go.  cra-cra is my choice for really, really needs to go.  Come on people, how hard is it to say CRAZY.  It doesn't need to be shortened.
I can't think of anything to add.  I guess I talk to people who don't use a lot a words that drive me nuts.

5.  January is National Hot Tea month? Are you a fan? Do you like flavored teas? How do you take your tea? Have a favorite cup or teapot? How many cups of tea do you consume in a given day? 

I do like tea.  I have a few favorites. Earl Gray, Scottish Breakfast tea, PG tips are among my favorites.  I drink hot tea black but like sugar and lemon in ice tea.  I don't drink tea every day so I don't have a number of cups per day that I drink.

6. Whatever happened to________________________________?

Respect, Caring for others, Please and Thank you.

7. What is one book on your must-read list this winter? 

I don't have a must read list for winter.  Sorry.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I love my grand girls!  They are so much fun to be around.  To watch them play or do a craft with me makes me feel so happy.  There is something about a small child telling me a story and not understanding hardly any of the words and yet the story is fascinating!  Being a Grannie is the best job EVER!

So now it's your turn.  Your answers are?????

Jammies/Rompers - Whatever you want to call them.

When it only 13 degrees and your little dog goes outside to "go" it's nice to have an extra layer on.  For August, who is very styling, that means he wears one of his rompers.  Sunday he wore his "Frozen - Olaf" romper.  Who says boys can't be up on all the newest fashion.  He sure liked to be warm.  

The pellet stove is going to keep the house warm, but sometimes a little extra is always good.

Are all of you staying warm this winter.  What tips do you for you and your pets to stay warm.

Baby It's Cold Outside!!

Like most of us in the Northeast, it's cold, down right bloody cold!  Temps are in the single numbers with wind chills well below zero. This morning (Sunday) it's 5 degrees.  5!  Luckily there is no wind chill at the moment.  Yippee!!

That makes it too cold for snow to land and pile up so there is not much on the ground and nothing to shovel but boy is it cold!

Still, the dogs need to be cared for.  August needs a bath at least every other week so this weekend, he got one from me.  I didn't go to into the office on Friday so his regular groomer didn't get a chance to get to him. But she is so generous with her time, she showed me how to shave him and since I have the shampoo here at home, he got a full bath.  He was not happy!

In good weather, he can run around outside to zoom dry, but not when it's -7 with a wind chill of -24. So he runs around the house trying to zoom dry.  Then he hides.  Funny thing is, he hides on top of me between 2 blankets.  Silly boy.

But once he's all dried and brushed out, he looks so handsome.  Don't you agree?

My tools for every day are these.  A slicker brush, letter opener (that woks perfectly as a mat splitter), Greyhound comb and Detangle spray.  Since August has a soft coat, and it's hair not fur, I never comb him with dry hair.  A light spray is all I need to keep his hair in place.

For those of you with pets who need grooming, what are your "go to tools?"

New Year, New Me

Have you heard of the Seven Challenge?  Have you taken it? How are you doing?

For those who may not know the challenge is to do one of the workouts for 7 minutes just once a day.  In all there are several different challenges.  The app is free and it comes with one challenge.  Every other month another challenge opens up for free or you can buy them for $1.99.

So the idea is to move just 7 minutes every day.  If you do more, great!  If you do a lot more, fantastic! But for now, just move 7 minutes.  I'm doing the 7 minute stretch and some days I will do it twice, but the goal is to do as many as you can can. So Far I've done it every day for a week!  Go ME!

What are you doing to move more this new year?

New Year, New Me.

New Year, new Me.  Time to get rid of all those pounds I gained over all those sick weeks when all I did was sleep, eat, cough and craft.  Time to get back on track.  Like so many of you right?  Here is one of go to breakfast's that fill me up.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Muffins

I love these easy to make muffins that are packed with wonderful goodness! They fill me up and help me to stay trim. I also love how easy they are.  I have a small 6 cup muffin tin that fits perfectly in my toaster oven so I make 6 at a time for Hubby and me.

Here is what you do

6 eggs
2 slices bacon
Heavy Cream
Cheese of your choice ( I like cheddar cheese sliced thin)

Spray the muffin tin with spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the bacon anyway you want to and drain on a paper towel, and then break it up into small pieces.
Scramble the eggs in a bowl with the heavy cream and a little bit of water.
Pour the egg mixture into the muffin tin and place your cheese of choice into the mixture. Evenly place the bacon bits into the mixture as well.

Bake for 12-17 minutes (again I used a toaster oven so if you use the big oven, watch them). It's done when a tooth pick comes out clean.

Let cool a few minutes and for the eggs to settle and then take them out and place them on a plate.

Each muffin has 1 carb. But more importantly, it's So good!

What are you doing in the new year?

What to do when you're home sick.

Well, Craft of course.

When I wasn't coughing up both lungs and all 10 toes, I was crafting.  After all it was Christmas time.

I made some body pillows for the grand girls.  You've seen them I'm sure on Pinterest.  Basically you take 5 pillowcases and sew them together, stuff them with pillows and you have a body pillow.  Since I couldn't find 10 "Frozen" pillowcases, I made the pillow cases for both grand girls, then Hubby went shopping for 10 pillows to stuff them with.  Here is what the finished product looked liked.

It touched my heart that both girls used them to sleep on the floor for a few nights and loved them.

The other thing I did was create a better way to hold on to August's rompers.
What's a romper?  It's play clothes for a small dog to wear either as jammies or to play outside in the winter and stay warm.

August goes to day care every day with me and while I work (with Becke in my office as my office buddy) he plays.  If the weather is really terrible the small dogs will play inside with the door to the outside open  so that they can go outside to "go".  So the inside room is just as cold as the outside.  If it's not too terrible, the small dogs play outside even in the winter.  Either way, August is cold so he has play clothes to wear out there.

I've bought a few outfits but made most of them.  There is a child consignment shop in the big city and I get either 6 month or 9 month size outfits and adjust them to fit his "boy parts". T-shirts are often onezeeze with the snaps cut off and then hemmed.  Easy!  His one pants and tops are often just that, a top and pants sewed together, then the middle is cut out for his "boy parts".  It really is easy.

As for storage, I found this doll clothes rack and hung his clothes on it.  It was $6.99.  The hangers, were either hangers from baby outfits I bought for a gift and kept the hanger or one of these hangers from the Dry Cleaners.  Pull off the cardboard, bend to fit the new smaller outfit and hang your dogs clothes.

From this 

To this

2 pieces sewed together

All hung up and ready to find what I want.

Did you do any crafting this season?  What did you do?  How did it work out?

Where the heck have I been??

I have been away for a long time and I'm sorry for those who kept checking this blog and at the same time, I'm so grateful that you did.  Where have I been? Here at home.

Sick

Really sick

Tired

Really, really tired.

I came down with a cold that wore me out and then the cold turned into pneumonia.  I was on home quarantine and could not leave the house and no one could come to visit me.  Living with Cancer is a whole new lifestyle that I am not use to yet.

See, I'm in remission but I still have Cancer and I have to be extra careful when I get sick.  I can't handle others who are ill or even have germs on their clothing.  No one wants me in the hospital and so I am grounded at home.  It stinks.

Hubby ends up doing all the cooking, cleaning, washing, dog care, dog clean up, shopping, everything!!! The worst part was it was at Christmas time.   Good thing I do most of the Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, and this year, I sent everything out to the "west coasters" right from Amazon and my wonderful Daughter In Law (DIL) wrapped all the gifts for me to put under the tree.  The gifts for the east coasters were wrapped by us before I got really sick.  But still, the house needed to be decorated, and food needed to be prepared.  We ended up not sending very many Christmas cards at all and didn't make 1 Christmas cookie.  Hubby bought Christmas cookies for the first time in 42 years.  That made me sad.

I started this year, having my Stem Cells Harvested and loosing all my hair.  I ended the year with a full head of new hair and pneumonia.  Sick at both ends with lots of bumps in the road in the middle.  I sure hope 2015 is a better year.

May your 2015 be filled with joy, laughter, and especially HEALTH.

HAPPY NEW YEAR  See you Monday.

GRANNY NIRVANA HODGEPODGE!

1. Besides U.S. Thanksgiving, it's also National Game and Puzzle Week...what game have you played most recently, and who were you with? Have you worked a puzzle of any kind in the past week?

The last game was Domino's that I played with our grand daughters.  I've not worked a puzzle in a very long line.

2. What is one place you were thankful for this year?

One place I'm thankful for this year was Dog Mountain.  It's an amazing place to visit and to walk around.  I hope to go back soon.

3. Take a nap, watch football, go for an after dinner walk, or hit the stores...which ONE is on your must-do list for Thanksgiving day? For those of you playing along who aren't in the US, answer as it relates to any big holiday meal.

Well since we are getting a bit of snow, going for a walk is out of the picture.  A Nap is certainly in my plans for Thanksgiving day.

4. Besides Thanksgiving, what's your favorite home cooked meal?

WOW There are several favorites that I have.  I really love the meat stuffing we will have on Thanksgiving and Hubby will make it at other times of the year for me.  I like a nice pot roast that has cooked in the crock pot all day.  I like a lasagna especially the next day!

5. What product from an infomercial would you most like to own?

I tend to change channel when infomercials come on.  They make the product sound so good and after all it's only $14.99 to try it at home for 30 days right?  I wonder what happens after the 30 days and how much you are charged after that.  Not for me.

6. Christmas shopping? Have you begun? Finished? Will you shop on Black Friday? How do you feel about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day? What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done online?

Christmas shopping is almost done! I will not shop on Thanksgiving  and I'm so sorry for those people who have to work on Thanksgiving.  If no one shopped, the stores would stop opening.  They will get the message by the amount of money it cost them to pay everyone to show up and do nothing.  But since so many are greedy, they shop.  It's sad that we talk about all we are grateful for and then leave the table to go to stores to get more.  If I do shop on Black Friday, it will be online.  A lot of my shopping has been online, more than 80%!

7. What are you most grateful for that adds beauty to your everyday life?

Life with Hubby adds beauty to my life everyday.  He enriches everyday with his tenderness and care.  He goes out of his way everyday to show me he loves me.  We still hold hands to watch TV and enjoy each others company.  We've been together for over 42 years and we not only love each other but like each other, respect each other and enjoy each other's company.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Well the snow has landed here in NH. It's beautiful, it's white, it's snowman making snow and there is going to be a lot of it.  It really does make it feel like the start of the Holiday season and puts everyone in the mood for eggnog, fire in the fireplace, decorations and sharing things with good friends and family.
Happy Thanksgiving All!!

Thank you Joyce for the questions,  If you all have time while your  bird is cooking, visit  others blogs and answer the questions.

Gratitude Hodgepodge!

Thanks Joyce for this weeks Hodgepodge about being grateful.  It's time to remember why and who we are thankful for.  I'm thankful for Joyce.

1. What's something you take for granted, that when you stop and think about it you feel truly grateful for?

Our Pellet stove and especially the man who feeds it!  I love our pellet stove and the heat it puts out.  Hubby cares for it, cleans it, fills it, starts it and checks on it.  I get to enjoy its warmth and I will turn it off.  I love our pellet stove and really, really love the man who cares for it.

2. The color brown-love it or no? What's your favorite shade of brown? Most loved something in your home or closet in a shade of brown?

Not a great fan of it.  It doesn't really have much color does it? It reminds me of dirt.  I do have one sweater and one vest that are brown but 'most loved', not really.

3. What's something you're looking forward to today?

Christmas wrapping for the west coasters and it's done.  Hubby now has to mail it out.

4. The word 'feminism' is not new, but it has been generating all kinds of headlines in recent days and months. What do you think/feel when you hear the word? If you're a woman, do you want to be described as a feminist? Why or why not?

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women. Well that is according to wikipedia.  It used to be a movement to get equal rights for woman that men had already.  But now, it's all about 

bullying others who think differently.  Just this past week, a scientist landed a shuttle on a moving comet 

and he was picked on for what he wore!  Sorry people, he is a nerd and that is what i makes him what he is. 

Yes his shirt was tacky for TV and so he needs someone to dress him for TV but to bully him over it was just too much.  Ladies, grow up!! No I do not want to be described as a feminist.

5. What's something you personally can't eat without making a mess?

BBQ.  So I don't eat it in public.  It gets all over my cheeks, my fingers and my face.  So I use a knife and fork and eat it at home, with the door closed, and the lights off, and the curtains pulled shut.

6. When did you last surprise someone with a little gift or when were you last surprised by someone with a little gift? What was it?

Last Sunday, I made a dog coat for a friend who has a little dog but couldn't find a coat for her.  Some little dogs are hard to fit.  It's either too short from neck to tail, or too small around the middle.  So I made her a coat.  The friend liked it and since it's reversible, she has 2 coats to put on her little girl.

7. Share a favorite quote, saying, song lyric or scripture relating to gratitude.

Psalm 107:1 - Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I have 2 thoughts this week.
1. Hubby made stuffing for me.  It was not a dry run for Thanksgiving, it was just because I asked him to and it was so delish!! He made 6 pounds of it and it is all gone.  

2. The news is covered with pictures  of snow that has hit the the great lakes.  Here in NH it's cold - teens to 20's but no snow. I'm glad for that as I'm not a fan of snow.  Yes, it's very pretty. Yes, the ski area will be up and running. Yes, it's winter in NH.  However, still, I don't really like the snow.  The first snow people have to remember how to drive in it and it is just plain cold.  I like looking at pictures of snow from inside my home, by the fire and holding a cup of hot cocoa.  How about you?
For those of you  caught in the snow, I'm sorry and I hope you are doing OK.  Stay warm, stay safe.

Vacationing With Dogs!

Going on vacation is always lots of fun, being able to bring your furry best friend makes it better and knowing how to make vacation extra special and safe for your older dog makes vacation awesome. Having 2 dogs of very different ages takes some planning, but with planning, the vacation works for everyone! 

If you’ve never taken your older dog out of state on vacation before, here are some tips on what to do.

1.     Visit your vet!  Make sure that the old girl/guy is healthy. It’s easy to miss something in your older dog because change can be very slow and subtle.  Make sure you are up to date on any changes in your old friend.  Ask about any health concerns in the states you are going to visit as that may change plans on where you go.  In our case, there were no outbreaks of Kennel Cough or Parvo Virus in the states we were going to visit so we felt safe taking them to dog parks.

The "kids" at a dog park, in the shade.  Chasing balls and getting some love under the trees.

2.     Make sure if your older friend is on medication that you have enough to cover you while you are away and even a little extra so that you can up the medication if need be (with your vet’s OK)

3.     Bring what your pet is used to. In our case we brought Becke’s orthopedic bed from home as well as her food, treats, harness, leash, and a fan that blows on her face while she is sleeping.  All the things she has at home. We have dog bowls in the car that both dogs have used so we used those rather than bring the bowls from home.

Becke's bed and her fan is in the upper right of the picture.  

4.     For Becke, who is 14 ¾ years old, her eyesight and hearing is going.  So keeping her safe is important.  She stays on a leash and connected to one of us while we walk and we walk slowly so that she can stop and smell the flowers (the nose still works).  We limit how far she can walk and then we stop.  After letting her rest, we can then continue.  We carry water with us for her to either drink or splash over her if she is getting too hot.  She also has some arthritis so she has medication that we give her in her breakfast and can increase it if needed.  At night she got a great hip massage from Hubby which made her feel better and kept her going the next day.

Don’t forget to plan for the younger, more active dog as well!!

5.     For August (who is 3 years old) we had his food, leash, long line, coats, clothes, bed toys, stroller with blanket to lay on, and blanket to put on top of the hotel bed for him to sleep on.  August  sleeps with us but it’s just plain polite to bring a blanket to put on top of the hotel bed to keep shedding and smells down to a minimum.

August all sprawled out on the blanket in the hotel room

6.     While Becke is sitting under a tree with daddy resting, I would walk August at a faster clip around the block or park that we were visiting.  When we all walked together he would be on a long line where he could move out and explore away from us but could still keep moving while Becke, Daddy and I sat and rested.

7.     Letting August play outside with some of his toys at the hotel early in the morning on the long line while Becke lay in the grass and watched allowed August some time to burn off energy while Becke conserved energy for the day ahead.  I drank coffee which made me livable. 

     

8.     Bring medical info in case you need to go to a vet. It will come in handy for the Vet if you will info on your dog’s medical conditions and vaccination’s.  If you have a smart phone, it should all be in there with a current photo of your dog.

Yes, it takes planning to take two dogs of such different ages and needs to have a great vacation, but it’s no different than planning a vacation with kids of different needs I suspect.  After all, the idea is for everyone on vacation to have fun.

Have you ever taken your dog with you on vacation? Do tell

Arcadia National Park

Part of our vacation was going to Arcadia National Park.  It is a beautiful place where we were able to walk around and tour some of God's beauty.  The picture above is at the peak - Cadillac Mountain.  It was super cold up there and the wind was blowing so bad we left the dogs in the car. August would have become a kite and Becke would have been a tumbleweed.  Hubby had to hold me down and we got someone to take out picture so that we could get back in the car and drive down the mountain.

One of the sights in Arcadia is "Thunder Hole"  where the water hits the rocks just so, the sound is that of Thunder. While we were there we didn't hear it, but boy is it beautiful down there.

 Sand Beach is another beautiful place in the park and at this time of year dogs can go into the water.  The only problem that we didn't know about was that there are only steps to get down to the beach.  Becke would get down, but not up as it was a lot of steps.  So she and daddy stayed up and August and I went down to the water.

August chased the water back out to sea and I do believe that he feft that he was making the water go away as he chased it back out to sea.  He had on a shirt just to keep the wind off him a bit and give him a little bit of protection from the wind.  He really did like it out there and did draw attention to himself as he chased the water away.

Here is just one group that came up to ask "What is that?" as they pointed to August.  August is used to standing behind me or his sister while we explain that he doesn't have a lot of confidentce and how to meet our little man.  They were wonderful as one of the ladies has a Papion and knew to sit on the gorund.  It was wonderful to see someone who understood and August immediately climbed into her lap.

At some point on our tour of Arcadia National Park, August became overwhelmed.  At that point, we placed him in his stroller and although some people looked at us all like we were nuts, August was able to relax and calm down.  The stroller is a wonderful thing and helps him to enjoy all our outings without having to be overwhelmed.  Have you ever seen a dog in a stroller?  

He loves to look out and see the world and not have to be a part of it.   He gets lots of looks but not no touching!!!