Easter Sunday

Well, the bad news is that we think Molly has whatever this is too. But the good news is she doesn't seem to be that bad. In fact today she was playing and having herself a good ole time. She got her medicine, so hopefully she'll get over it before it gets too bad.

I did get to see Gromit today when I took Molly in for her medicine. He looked ok - just really sad. Rhonda said he is still really tired and not eating a lot. He is eating a little on his own and drinking some water, but still has runny poo. Rhonda said he might get to come home tomorrow, but I'm guessing it will be Tuesday before he can. I miss him lots and it was good to see him today!

Oh - if you are reading this and can spare a donation - I would really appreciate it and I know the shelter would too. I'm very impressed with the care they have given these pups. Here is the link for what they need, but I'm sure they love green donations too.
Oak Ridge Animal Shelter Donations

Saturday update

Gromit is still at the shelter. Rhonda called this morning to say he was doing ok. She gave him more fluids and more medicine. He is walking around pottying, but no vomit. She said he is showing exactly the same symptoms as his brother who went home after two days of treatment, so hopefully by tomorrow or Monday I can go get him. Cross your fingers for me!

Oh - she is going to call again tomorrow with an update - I'll post again then.

Another bad day

It's 11pm and I just got home from dropping Gromit off at the shelter. I want to first say that Rhonda the lady at the shelter is a saint and should be awarded a medal for her good will towards this puppy. She is definitely my hero.

Gromit hasn't eaten all day and only drank on his own a couple of times. He started vomiting again and continued to have diarrhea. His weight yesterday morning was 2lbs 1oz. This eveing it was 1lb 10oz. To loose 20% of your body weight in 36 hours is a pretty bad sign. So, I talked to my girl Sue and she helped convince me that I should call Rhonda. So - I took him down and he got a good dose of fluids, more antibiodics and some albon (not sure of the spelling on that one). He looked like he wanted to drink on his own, but didn't. So - I left him there. She is going to call in the morning with an update. I'm thankful he's there because if he were here I would be worrying constantly if I was doing everything I could. Plus, if he should die I won't have to see him first. At this point I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard. I can't imagine being that sick and getting better. Rhonda says "he'll be just fine". I really hope she's right.

Oh - and the darndest thing - it's snowing tonight. I'm certain that if he pulls through that the snow was a sign that he really is the little miracle dog. I miss him already.

Friday's Gromit update

Yesterday was a bad day. He didn't eat all day long. I am forcing pedialyte down him and he's drinking a little water, but not much. He's not pooping at all (which - I don't know if that's good or bad), but I'm guessing it's because he's not eating. He went back to the shelter and the nice lady gave him some more medicine and a dose of IV fluids. We got to see one of his brothers and he was doing really really bad. Sooo skinny and barely walking. You could tell he was in a lot of pain. At least Gromit as doing better than that. I really hope they all pull through. Molly is doing just fine. Dad says that she's rotten - keeps biting him on the foot so he has to wear shoes. I can't wait til Gromit is feeling better and agrivating me too. I am trying so hard to keep hopeful that he will get better. If you are reading this - I ask that you do the same and send happy thoughts his way.

I've been asked to post more pictures. So - I started a Picassa album. It's a little easier to manage. Anyway - you can see the pictures here: Gromit's Pictures

Gromit update

I heard him bark for the first time this morning. Actually - he woke me up. I was just fine w/ it!! He's eating well - a mixture of rice, chicken and chicken broth. He loves it. Poo is getting more solid and no more vomit since yesterday's feeding frenzy. His current weight is 2lbs 1oz - so he's already gained 3oz - that's great for a dog that little. He's been wagging his tail and playing a little. He tires easily and sleeps a lot - but he is getting more active by the hour.

Gromit

It all began on Monday when my dad brought a puppy by for me to see it and give my approval. The puppies final destination would be my grandmothers house to help mend her broken heart from Buddy who died a few weeks ago. I grabbed the puppy and wouldn't let go. I showed everyone at Nucsafe and everyone seemed to fall in love with her just as I did. I almost cried when dad came back to pick her up. He said she had two brothers left at the shelter. After work I called Aaron and asked him to join me in a visit. We got there and there was only one brother left. He looked just like Molly (which she had since been named). They are identical twins. I fell in love all over again and Aaron said no. He didn't say "No, you can't have the dog", but rather "I don't think we should get a new dog, especially a little dog". I couldn't convince him that this puppy would be a wonderful addition. I tried all night, he eased up. In the morning, he still said no. Then, in a last ditch effort he said "I don't think it's a good idea, but I'll support whatever you decide". I went over and bought the puppy.



I took him back to work (and everyone thought it was Molly), but no, I explained this is my puppy. He slept. He threw up. He slept. I thought he was fine - just a little worn down from all the action - I mean puppies sleep a lot. I decided we had better go visit our vet for our well check. They told me he had parvo and it would cost $1,000 to "try" to make him better (a 50% chance he would die anyway). I cried. I couldn't call Aaron because he was at work. I cried. I called my dad and he said what I had been thinking that we couldn't pay that much money to try and make a puppy better when we barely knew it. My heart broke into a million peices and I cried some more. I called the pet store where I got him and they told me to calm down and they would call the shelter, but they didn't think it was that serious. I felt better, I felt hopeful. I took him home and quarentined myself and him. I force fed him water and a little food. He slept and I cried. My friend Patricia came over and we cried together. He got worse. We cried more. He was loosing energy and strength and we could both see it. I knew he wouldn't live through the night. Aaron came home and I was finally able to tell him that I had bought the puppy and now he was going to die. I cried. We fed him more and then went up and scrubbed our skin off with antibacterial soap and went to bed. I couldn't sleep. I checked on him at 3am and he was walking around pooping everywhere (but no vomit). I felt hopeful. I went back to bed. In the morning it was more of the same - walking around pooping, but very very lathergic. He wouldn't drink or eat on his own - so I force fed him some more. The shelter called and said to bring him in that they would pay for the parvo treatment. I rushed him down there. They took one look at him and said he probably doesn't have parvo - he's not dehydrated. They thought he looked fine - just tired. They gave him a dose of medicine and sent more home with me along with some instructions. When we got home - I did as instructed and tried a little dry food with some chicken stock over it - he ate like the wind. He drank like the wind and he went back to sleep. I went back an hour later and gave him some chicken liver and some more broth. I thought he was going to eat the spoon. Since then he has pooped and peed. Still runny poo, but at least it's going through. He's been sleeping a lot, but at least he's eating.



Ok, now that you've heard our saga, I'll introduce you to Gromit (namesake of Gromit the dog from the Wallace & Gromit cartoons - check it out if you're not familiar).

This is the dog that I have fallen in love with and has broken my heart in less than 24 hours.



Oh - he weighs 1lb 14oz (well, that was before the feeding frenzy today)

Craft Room

A while back I updated my craft room. The previous owners used it as a girls room - maybe teenager. The room was painted green with a jungle motif. It even had a large tucan bird. It was something. It's really sad that I dont' have a picture because words just can't do this room justice. But, I do have a picture of it now. This past weekend my wonderful husband helped me put up some shelves and a new light. Whew freaking hoo! The light makes it possible to work in there at night - it was just toooo dark before. And the shelves let me keep the desk clean so I actually have some work space. I took this picture before doing my organization overhaul (no, I haven't done an organization overhaul yet, but I plan on doing it along with my spring cleaning). Oh - and my wonderful husband had an amazing idea for my spinnig wheel bobbins. Check it out. You'll probably have to enlarge the picture to see it - it's between the shelves and the bookcase (the black thing on the left).

Anyway - here's the picture:

Shades

Back in November I had nasal surgery. I have had reoccuring sinus infections for several years now and finally did something about it. Well, in the winter we use the front window room as our living room because a) on a sunny day this room turns into an oven - good for winter, bad for summer and b) this is where the fire place is. So, after my surgery I had limited movement and was heavily drugged. So, I sat around watching TV all day. Anyone who has ever "tried" to watch tv in a very sunny room can tell you - it sucks. Well, it sucked big time. I was miserable, drugged, in pain and I could barely even see the TV because of all the glare. So out of desparation, I begged for help. I picked out what I wanted online and made a shopping list. My dad (also assigned to "make sure she doesn't do anything stupid on drugs" duty) kindly agreed to make the purchase. Aaron tried to put them up, but this is a big tall room and not for the faint of heart. Of course - I was still on drugs and could do little to help. Even asking me to hold the ladder was sketchy. So our friend, Bryan E., came over and helped. He's got lots of ladder experience, so it was no problem for him. So, three men and two hundred dollars later - I got my blinds. In this picture - it doesn't look like it does much good, but I promise - it does! You can actually watch movies in here now.

Guest Bath

This isn't anything new, I just never posted it. Well, the rug is new. The story of this room (why does every room in our house have to have a story?).... Apparently the previous owner used to enjoy having company and asked her guests to write on the walls - you know "Emily Wuz Here" and such. So, when they got the house ready to sell, they asked some local men from Mexico to paint the walls. When the painters asked what color they preferred, no color was specified. So, they picked green. Not apple green. Not mint green. Not moss green. Mexican flag green. Bright beautiful green, the last color I would ever pick to paint a bathroom, but it was done and that's how it looked when we bought it. If/when you come for a visit you can still find traces of the green poking through around some of the trim. Here's how it looks now (trust me - it's much better). Oh - I also painted the mirror frame, the vanity base and the closet door a shiny black.

Birds

Can it be? More pets from our friends Bryan and Patricia? Well, yes, it is. Two pretty little finches named Harry and Sally. And... for those of you interested in getting birds - finches (at least so far) are much less messy than canaries. Shout out to Petey in bird heaven - we miss you, you silly messy bird.

Harry is the one with the orange spots on his cheeks.

Top of the Ridge

Aaron went to the top of the ridge this weekend and I asked him to take some pictures. He's what he came back with. Note that these pictures are taken from our property. It's kind of hard to tell, but there is a really pretty view from up there.


** Note, when I say this is what he brought back - I mean litterally these are the pictures he took. Actually he took another one just like the first one. Three pictures. That's one hell of a climb for three pictures. I do love my silly silly man.

Hallway / Laundry Room

The last unpainted paneling in the house is.... finally painted. Whew Hoo!

Aaron thinks this is the most improved room. I think whatever room we did last is the most improved - it's a moving target.

Anyway - what we did was take everything out including the wire shelving, clean, prime and paint the paneling and the cabinets. Then put the stuff back in along with a new-to-us chest freezer and some new plastic baskets.

Here's 6,000 words worth of results:













* the following picture was doctored using a photo editor because it came out way too dark. And you might notice in another picture that there was a flourescent light in the room before (note - it's not there in the after pictures). This just emphasizes the drastic difference in how dark the room was before and how bright it feels now.

Thank You Dave!

My friend and coworker, Dave, recently gave us a fireplace insert / wood stove. Actually - I forced Dave to take some money for it, which, unfortunately I have yet to actually give to him (sorry Dave!). And we brought it home and cleaned it up and put it in. And now with all the fallen trees on our property - we can heat our house for next to nothing.


Here is the before picture:



Brass knobs (before and after):



In progess front view:



In progress top view:



And... After...

New carpet

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves... (note you can click on the pictures for a bigger view)

Delilah

I'm gobsmacked! My friends Bryan and Patricia surprised me with a baby sheep today for my birthday. Gobsmacked I tell you! I came home from fishing w/ my hubbie and my dad and found a book on raising sheep. What the... I thought. Then I looked out into the field and there she was with a purple bow tied around her neck. What a little angel she is. I promise there will be more posts soon with more pictures.

Speaking of....

...my husband, the dork. He's been busting his hump trying to keep up with all the growth in the front field and yard. It's really too bad you can't see more detail in this picture because he is freaking covered in grass. We seriously sweep him off before he can come into the house. What a cute dork.

Flower Beds

We've done some major work to the flower beds. Most of the work was taking out all of the weeds. The beds haven't been touched in over a year, so they were pretty out of control. This first one is the walk up to the front of the house. We added this edging that keeps all the mulch in place. And yes, that's Aaron working on his new toy - a Stihl trimmer. What a dork. :-)















This is the bed in front of the house. Aaron made a walkway around the the patio, but it's not quite finished yet. We'll be edging that with railroad ties and then fill with pea gravel. Like our tractor there? It's a John Deer and the farmer who rides it is one happy s.o.b.

April Showers

Ok, so we've had a ton of rain and a most of it coming from some intense storms. For the most part it's been pretty damn scary, but it is fun to watch the pond fill up and see the waterfalls form. This was the biggest so far - you can track it a good way up the hill.

Summer Cut

Rolly & Sam got their summer cuts yesterday and they are sooo handsome!

Rolly is the one in the front and Sam is looking away. It's nearly impossible to get a good picture of both of them at the same time. For some reason they go nuts when I have the camera out. Silly dogs.

They're not mine, but boy are they cute

Here are a couple of pics from Patricia's house. First the llama's then one of the baby sheep. Too cute!