Isn't this the most pitiful sight you have ever seen?

What do you think is wrong with poor old Molly?  Well seeing the bath towels there should give you a hint.  I had to haul her upstairs for a shower and she knows that's what's going to happen.  She won't go upstairs with me when I have my dressing gown on, as she knows what's going to happen, so I have to carry her upstairs!  What you don't see from that photo is how she is shaking.  Its a pitiful sight, it truly is, and it wouldn't be so bad, but it's all over in 15 minutes at the most.  I don't know, I have tried reasoning with her, that it's for her own good, as the shampoo I use eases the itchiness on her skin, but that doesn't make her feel any better!!!  I can't win.

Then when I let her out of the bathroom, she runs around the house, rolling around on any rug that we have down, quite a funny thing to watch.  As I am typing this she is sitting beside me, and I have to admit, she smells worse now than before, as wet dog smells worse than a dry dog if you ask me....LOL

On Sunday afternoon I was sitting sewing and looked up to see the two horses and wagon going over the field.  By the time I had grabbed my camera this was the only photo I had chance to take before they went behind the trees.

(click on the photo for more detail)

While I was outside I took a random photo of a Chickadee at the bird feeder.

Dh worked Sunday morning.  After church I went to get my grocery shopping, so we both arrived in the house within minutes of one another.  After a late lunch dh went to do some electrical in our bedroom, while I sat and sewed.

The sun was shining and it was above freezing I am sure in the sun.  It felt like a Spring day; however when you are reading this on Monday the snow should be coming down AGAIN!!!

Did you remember to put your mone in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

In the winter when the sun is shining make sure you open all your curtains/drapes, or pull up your blinds, to let the sun shine in and warm up your rooms.  Do the opposite in the summer, in the heat of the day close your curtains/drapes and blinds to keep your rooms cool.

Bit of a catch up..........

Molly:

Well she likes her new food.  I have her down to 1/2 steroid pill per day, she's chewing her paws, but nothing too drastic.  I am picking up some of this Holistic Blend Organic Bee Pollen now this is supposed to help with the airborne allergens, who knows, it's worth a shot.  I need to get it into her system six weeks before the grasses and trees start growing again, so this will be the right time to start this.  At this point I am willing to try most things.

I ended up donating all her biscuits (had brewers yeast in them), all her old food; fish and sweet potato flavour and her shampoo, it had oatmeal in it, to the local animal shelter.  I also gave the vet her Omega 3 supplement, as that is fish based.........

Finally her back leg seems to be fine, she's a bit stiff going up the stairs otherwise she is fine.

As of Friday I can see patches of grass on The Acreage, finally.  The sun shone all day on Friday, so melted a lot of snow.  Which in turn let me see where all the dog poop was.  Considering Molly is a small dog, she poops a lot!!  I also dug out the end of the driveway where the snow had blown over.  It must have been knee high again in a couple of places.  Right beside the road though it's a mud bath, so that will be the next thing I will be complaining about, all the mud.

I finished the staining on Thursday and as I predicted I had the headache from hell on Friday and still have it.  That stain kills me, but its still much too cold to have the windows and doors open.  However on a more positive note, with the wind chill we are now only in the minus 8oC to 10oC, which is balmy hot!!

Now with having all this sun on Friday, those new blinds of ours came in handy.  Oh and that isn't a dead dog, that is Molly sound asleep on her ottoman!!  She was snoring again, I think that dog needs her adenoids out!!

An exciting photo of the close up of the blinds!!  If you enlarge the photo you can still see the snow.

The closet situation is on a go slow.  Dh is working six days a week at the moment, and like with any job we start in this house we have ran into problems.  This time its the electrical.  One of the plugs/sockets was to move.  When dh had a look in it, the guy had wired it wrong, and to cut a long story short that is only of interest if you are electrically minded, which I'm not, dh had to rewire it and pull new wires in, or something like that, and that involved taking up part of the attic floor.  I am actually writing this as it saves me telling my dad when I talk to him next.  Then he has to move the telephone jack again not a five minute job, and on and on it goes..........

I have to say it a bloody miracle that neither me nor dh have been shocked with these plugs in this house, dh is rewiring as and when he gets the time.  He's putting in a new electrical panel this summer, so he says.  As I have said before I have little to no interest in all of this, as I am of the opinion why do something yourself when you have someone else (dh) who can do things a heck of a lot faster and better than I can; that groaning and whining is my dad........I am so going to get a lecture next time he talks to me.....LOL

I have added more links to blogs on the section above my header photo.  If your's is not there please let me know, as due to me being nearly a year older, I have a tendency to forget things!!

We are having a day out from The Acreage on Saturday, as I got two free tickets for the National Home Show in Toronto  I was hoping to see if Stihl or Husqvarna were there as I need an industrial strength brushcutter this spring, in the hopes I don't burn out the motor this year!!!

Well that's my exciting news for today.  I will try and remember to take lots of photos at the Home Show.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Ask your real estate agent for tickets to local events, especially if the company she works for is sponsoring the event!!  Remax is sponsoring the Home Show, and our real estate agent works for Remax!!

Just call me the "Staining Queen," and a funny..

Truth be told I would prefer the title "The Dancing Queen," but not going to get that title anytime soon.  So I guess Staining Queen will have to do for now!!


I went to the trim store on Wednesday and picked up the door trim along with the corner blocks and the plinth's.  As they were all unstained I set too staining them all.  There are three more door trim pieces out of the photo.  I have to stain them all again on Thursday, so that dh can put them up on the weekend.


The down side of this staining though is the house stinks of stain, so I can see a migraine in the near future!!


Oh and on the right hand of the photo is our treadmill all folded up, so I am proud to say that I DO NOT hang laundry on my treadmill like some people do........ I just don't use my treadmill at all :0)

Here's a photo of Molly down the basement investigating my staining skills!!  Her foot is a lot better I am pleased to say.

Things Housepet Beagles (and most other doggies) Must Try To Remember....

 I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.


The garbage collector is NOT stealing our stuff.


I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.


I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.


I must shake the rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house. (MOLLY!)


I will not eat the cats' food, before or after they eat it.


I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.


I will not throw up in the car.


I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc.


I will not lick my human's face after eating animal poop.


"Kitty box crunchies" are not food.


I will not eat any more socks and then redeposit them in the backyard after processing.


The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.


I will not wake Mommy up by sticking my cold, wet nose up her bottom end.


I will not chew my human's toothbrush and not tell them.


I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.


When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside. (MOLLY!)


We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on TV. (MOLLY!!!)


I will not steal my Mom's underwear and dance all over the back yard with it.


The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are Mom & Dad's laps. (MOLLY!!!)


My head does not belong in the refrigerator.


I will not bite the officer's hand when he reaches in for Mom's driver's license and car registration.


Thanks to this site for those tips!!


Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Wrap your water heater and pipes with insulation to avoid wasting energy.

Just thought I'd mention I cashed in my Swagbucks again last night for another $5 Amazon e-card, so that makes $30 worth for doing very little!!

(oh and I felt the urge for a larger font today??)

I give up...............

Poor Molly has now hurt her back leg, on what I have no idea.  I had to carry her upstairs as she can't manage them.  Although she is managing to hobble up the basement stairs?  Those voles and mice outside the patio doors are too big a temptation for her.......LOL

It must be bad as she is not attempting to get on the ottoman, the couch or the chair!!  She is managing the three steps on and off the deck and can walk down the stairs as normal.  So I will keep an eye on her and see how things go.

Then poor dh went and hurt his back on Sunday morning.  He was walking out to his truck to go to work, by the time he got into the truck he was in agony.  His laptop bag is so heavy, it's full of "stuff" and he must have carried it wrong.  It's been a long time since he has been in so much pain with his back.  Backs are funny things though, I first pulled mine out, by bending over to put some clothes in ds chest of drawers.  One minute I was standing, the next thing I am on my knees in sheer agony.  He is talking about going to the chiropractor to has his back cracked, he goes once a month anyhow.  Hell will freeze over before I let a chirpractor touch my back!!

Here is a link to my column on the Eden Valley Messenger.  As always please pop by and have a read of it.  I am talking about how our house disguises itself as a "Wildlife Hotel" on the side.  If you know of anyone else who may be interested in it please forward it onto them.  The Eden Valley is a small area of Britain, which is overlooked, so the more people we tell about it the better!!

It was Shrove/Pancake Tuesday on Tuesday and we were supposed to go to the local fire hall for a pancake supper.  However I wasn't feeling 100% and dh's back was still sore.  So I made our own pancake supper:

Now I have to say although it looks good, I now realize why we don't have pancakes very often I find them very dry, even though we put butter and syrup on them, along with bananas.  Still it made a change.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Club pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Shop with a list and then STICK TO THE LIST! This one tip alone can save you a lot!! Impulse purchases tend to be expensive as well as unnecessary.

Busy day on Saturday and a Happy Valentine's Day....

We're not big on Valentine's Day in this house.  I will give dh a card but that's about it, and he will probably give me the same.  He has to work today, but will hopefully be home by mid-afternoon.

We had a busy day on Saturday.  Dh worked on putting the baseboard up in the closet.  Bit more complicated than normal as he had to join pieces and deal with other issues.

I did my usual morning chores, of doing the ironing, cleaning out the fire, bringing in the logs, picking up the poop and feeding the birdies.  Below are a couple of photos of Northern Cardinals.  The first one is a male and female pair.

Below is the male Northern Cardinal.

I then finished machine quilting the table topper, and cutting out and joining the binding for the table topper.  I just have to sew it on now.

After a lunch of cheese and cucumber sandwiches; it's ages since we have had cheese and cucumber sandwiches and they were good; we went to the city to run some errands.

I had ordered the closet organizer through the week, so we had to pick that up.  We also wanted to go to Lowes to check out a couple of things.  Glad we did as we were able to pick up some cordless Levolor  cellular shades like these that they custom cut to our sizes for only $58 a window.  There was also 15% off them as well.  I also got three spray cans of paint that covers rust, regularly $9 a can for just over $2 a can, in Hunter Green.  Not 100% sure what I will use that for, but I have a couple of projects in mind.  At that price you can't go wrong.

Got back home and dh did a little bit more in the closet, still a ways to go though.

Molly meanwhile was lying on the newly upholstered ottoman.  She looks depressed doesn't she....................though maybe not, it's her usual expression...LOL

When I was talking with Karine's mother on Friday, she though Molly may be a Beagle/Spaniel mix and I think she may be right, what do you think?

We are half way through the month, did you remember to put your money in your Daily Saving Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

When in a store, always check out the clearance section, as you never know what you may find!!!  Also I am finding our hardware stores are carrying more and more blinds that they can custom cut to fit your windows at much cheaper prices than custom ordered blinds.  It's worth checking them out!!!  Make sure you get an employee that can use the cutting machines properly though, as it easy for them to make a mess of the cutting. We originally bought blinds from Home Depot, and they made a mess of the blinds, she didn't make a straight cut and they were crooked, and we had to return them!!!

It's been a stressful week for me this week......

ever since I picked up Molly's allergy report.  We have been overwhelmed with what we should do.

The vet called back on Wednesday night and is still telling us to go with the ATOPICA, which we cannot afford.  She suggested I try some of the vet's special food; so I called around at the vet's office on Friday to discover that a small bag of the food, which would last Molly a week was over $50 :0O  So I refused to buy it!!

I spoke with Karine's mother on Friday, as she also has a dog with allergies, and I have to say what she had to say made sense and left me feeling a bit better.  I also called the pet store and found another food for Molly that doesn't have any ingredients in it that she is allergic too, it's Dick Van Patten's Venison and Sweet Potato.   This also has no fish oil in it, which a lot of foods do have.  Even the Omega 3 oil supplement we have been giving her has fish oil in it, so we have had to stop that.  The new food has flaxseed in it which is a good alternative to the Omega 3 oil.

So I feel a little better knowing I will probably have her food allergies under control in time.  The food allergies are the easier of the two things to take control of.  The environmental allergies are another kettle of fish though, and with Molly's being so severe I am not sure what is going to happen there.  As I have said before she is on Vanectyl-P which is a steroid/antihistamine.  As with any steroid it is not good for humans or animals, so the aim is to get her off those as soon as possible.

So we may try a holistic/natural alternative for the environmental allergies.  Any suggestions would be appreciated here.  If none of these work, we are considering putting her up for adoption.  That is a last resort, and one we don't want to do, but at the end of the day if ATOPICA is the only thing that will give her a pain free life, then it's something we will have to do.

I want to make it clear we love Molly to death and she is a great dog, but we honestly cannot afford the $100 + a month it is going to cost us keeping her on the medication.  Also having to get up before 6am each and every single day as she needs to go out for a pee, no matter how late we keep her up is getting tiring for me.  That is a side effect of the steroids, she has to pee a lot.

I will keep you informed on how things go with Molly.  Our hope is to find something that will work against all her environmental allergies before the end of March, when the snow will start to melt, as we will be heading towards her worst period of time for her allergies.

Sorry for such a doom and gloom post.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip's:

• Help your pet practice good hygiene. Grooming and trimming nails regularly helps prevent many types of infection. Brush your pet’s teeth at least three times a week to avoid tooth decay and gum disease, which can spread to other parts of the body.


• Keep pets at an ideal weight and make sure they get plenty of exercise. Obesity leads to a host of orthopedic problems as well as diabetes, heart disease and other medical disorders. Find a high-quality diet that your pet likes and stick with it. If you must switch, do so gradually to avoid stomach upset.

• Keep your pet current on vaccines and parasite preventives. Don’t wait until your pet is infested or ill. Contact your local animal-control organization to see if it offers low-cost vaccines, including shots for rabies.

• Spay or neuter your pet early. You’ll save on vet bills for serious medical conditions such as breast, uterine and testicular cancer. You’ll also greatly reduce the risk that your pet will be hit by a car or injured in a fight, since animals “on the prowl” are prone to wandering and aggression.

• Keep cats indoors. The average life expectancy of a cat that goes outside is only three to five years, compared to more than 12 years for indoor cats.

• Pet-proof your home and yard. Store medications and chemicals safely, make sure that fences and gates are secure, and keep poisonous plants out of reach.

All tips are from this site

I would also like to apologise for not visiting your blogs, but with the Molly thing and everything else I have had going on this week, I am just pooped...

Bits and bobs.....

I made fabric softener today using the last recipe from this post  However it looked a bit "thick" to me, so I used 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup baking soda, and 4 cups of water, plus a few drops of essential lemon oil.  I have made this without the oil and you do NOT have vinegar smelling clothes.  I just happen to love the smell of lemon.  Just a word of warning, make sure you shake the fabric softener bottle up before you use it each time.  I used it last night and it worked really well and everything smelled wonderful.

Molly decided that the newly upholstered ottoman wasn't good enough to sleep on, so she would sleep on the chair.  I didn't have the heart to yell at her to get off it!

Look at her paw behind her ear.....

This weeks column is up on the Eden Valley Messenger.  As always I'd love it if you could pop by for a quick read and forward the link onto anyone who may be interested.  If you twitter I would love you to "tweet" about it,  or have facebook pop the link in your page.........please and thank you!

I rang a couple of local newspapers to follow up with email's I had sent them regarding me writing for them, but no luck.  One guy did say he would keep me in mind if one of his regular columnists decided to quit or take a break???  I thought it was nice of them to accept my call, and as I said to them, if you don't ask you don't get.

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Cleaning your natural wood floors. Since no two surfaces are alike, no two surfaces should be cleaned alike. Contrary to popular belief, wood floors hate water, wet mopping or any kind of excessive cleaning. My suggestion is to clean your wood floors with a solution of one-quarter cup of white vinegar (about 2 liquid ounces) mixed in a recycled spray bottle with about 30 ounces of warm water (most commercial spray bottles hold about 32 ounces). Spray a cotton rag or towel with the vinegar and water solution and use it to lightly damp mop your floors. Once soiled, replace each rag with a fresh one. This gentle method will clean your wood floors without destroying them, and ensure years of pleasure from them.


This tip came from this site