And The Hits Keep Coming

This morning, for several mornings in a row actually, I have heard the old kitchen clock downstairs bong three times indicating that it is 3:00 AM and I’m wondering why I am awake. One of the reasons I was awake is because of Scruffy, my little terrier. Well I guess he is most or all of the reasons I am having trouble sleeping and wide awake in the middle of the night.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Scruffy just wasn’t acting like himself. Let me catch you up a little if you are new to this blog. Scruffy is a rescue. We have had him about four and a half years. When we got him he was in pretty bad shape. He had a horrible skin infection and was almost totally blind from Cataracts. We took him to the vet and had him checked out. Other than the bad infection on his skin and the cataracts he was in pretty good shape. The vet estimated that he was about six years old although we have been told by our current vet that he is older. So that makes him at least ten years old, probably older. We took him home. I fell in love with him immediately and he loves me. He never lets me out of his sight. I am his person. After we brought him home we cleaned him up and had to bathe him about every other day with a medicated shampoo. After we had him a short time we had the cataracts removed. He has been living his best life with us, all the kitties, and until last month, Molly. He is sort of the big bro to all of them.

As I said a few weeks ago I noticed that Scruffy was just not himself. He seemed like he didn’t want to go on the walks with us every afternoon. I thought maybe he was missing Molly being with us, and that may have been a part of it. He acted like he had no energy. He has always been a fairly energetic little guy.

Last week he started this horrible coughing. It was especially bad at night or when he slept and stretched out. He always sleeps with me and usually on my bed. So of course every time he did this I would wake up. I also noticed that his stomach felt tight and maybe a little swollen. I got an appointment with the vet. I also did a video on my phone of him coughing so they could see exactly what it was like. It was terrible.

On Friday Mark took him to the vet. They ran a series of tests and told us that Scruffy is in heart failure. I was afraid that was what was going on. I hoped for anything else but I guess that fear was in the back of my mind. My sister had a dog several years ago and he went through the same thing. I remember staying with him one night when they were out of town and he did the terrible coughing just like Scruffy was doing.

They tell us that they think they have caught it early. His stomach was swollen a little from fluids and he is on Lasix for that along with a couple of other meds. So we were are hopeful that he will be okay for awhile.

But the last few days Scruffy will not eat anything. I am having to coax every bite that goes into his mouth. It is really hard to give him meds. Normally I would put the meds in a bite of food but now he won’t have anything. Even his favorite foods, he simply sniffs and walks away. He also has terrible diarrhea. I went by yesterday and picked up some medicine for the diarrhea. So far it hasn’t helped. We go for a follow up tomorrow. Maybe we will know more after that. All I know is that in the last two weeks he has really gone downhill. He is very lethargic and breaths heavy. It breaks my heart to see him this way and after losing Molly only a month ago I just don’t know how to go through it again.

Scruffy is mine. He loves Mark but wherever I am he is right there beside me. Right now he is lying beside my chair in the office. He follows me every move I make. Even if I am making the bed he follows me from side to side. When I am at home he never lets me out of his sight. When I go to the bathroom he sits outside the door waiting patiently for me. I used to think it was annoying but I will never think that again.

***This is the day I brought Scruffy home, it was over four years ago. You see why we named him Scruffy.***

***After we got his cataracts removed and that nasty skin infection cleared up. And a haircut***

***Waiting to get the cataracts checked out at U.T. Veterinary Clinic***

***He loved his big sister Molly and misses her terribly.***

***He loves sleeping in mommy’s arms. Especially when it is storming***.

So as you can see I am terrified right now and can only pray for guidance on what to do. I am trying to be positive that we can get these meds going in the right direction and he will start feeling better.

I just wanted to share all of that with you. Hug those babies close they are special little gifts. And if you would whisper a little prayer for my Scruffy that he can stay with us for a bit longer.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

A Long Fun Weekend

Hello friends how are you. Just catching up for a minute about my long weekend.

Friday night the babies had a sleep over with their little cousin Maxx. My sister and her husband went out of town overnight. I offered to keep Maxx. Maxx is a Malipoo and a very active and hyper little guy. The last time he spent the night with us was a few years ago and he was quite a handful. The babies just couldn’t get along with him. Scruffy was obsessively jealous and Kitty Kitty could not be found the entire time he was there. So I was a little worried about him spending the night last Friday. I reasoned with the babies that it would only be a matter of hours. I would pick him up at his house when I got off work on Friday and take him back Saturday morning. I explained to them that it was quite literally a few hours that he would be there. They all looked a little concerned except Gus who had not been with us last time and didn’t know what to expect.

Friday evening after work I picked Maxx up and took him home with me. As soon as we walked in the door Kitty Kitty took off and Gus started circling him. Scruffy walked right up to him giving him the sniff over. All the while Maxx was barking his head off in his yapping little voice. I finally told Maxx to shut the heck up and surprisingly he did. From that point on all was well. He and Scruffy made friends. Even Kitty Kitty came down to see what was going on. Only Gus was still a little wary. We took a walk and then I fed all of them and we settled in for the night. We watched some TV and Scruffy and Maxx both jumped on my lap and settled on either side of me. That night Maxx slept on the bed with me and Scruffy, and Kitty Kitty slept in her basket beside the bed. Gus slept downstairs. It was a very peaceful night. I was shocked!!!

***At least this time they were willing to share my lap.***

***Gus just doesn’t know what to think of everything.***

Early Saturday morning we all got up, and again Maxx and Scruffy hopped on my lap while I drank my coffee. I took Maxx home fairly early because I had a lot of running to do.

I first went to visit my brother who had open heart surgery a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t been to see him and his wife so I went to visit with them for a bit and took them some goodies they like to eat.

I went to visit my mother in law. She is currently in a full facility nursing home instead of the village. When she suffered the heart attack a few weeks ago it set her back a little bit and her doctor felt like she needed some physical therapy before moving back to the village. She is getting physical therapy at the nursing home. I know the nursing home is very short staffed but she was still in her gown and in bed at almost noon. They were delivering lunch and when I asked if someone could help me get her up they said they did not have time to get her dressed but they did get her up and help her into her chair. I later found out she would not get up when they had come to get her up that morning. I don’t think they should have left her until noon but I know that they have only so many people doing everything. It’s hard to do anything when we are not there. We have a meeting with the facility administrator on Friday to determine how close she is to getting back to the Assisted Living Village. She wants so bad to go back that has become her home. She has been there for four years. She loves it and the people.

After my visits I went with my niece to get a pedicure. It was the first time I had gotten a pedicure at this particular place. The guy that did my pedicure was terrible. He did a great job but he acted like he did not want to be there. It’s a family business and the dad had gone to the back to get him to make him do the pedicure. He was not happy. He huffed and puffed and did not speak one word to me. I felt so weird. My niece was next to me and the lady, his mom, who did hers was so much better. I was finished way before she was. Needless to say I won’t go there again. I usually do my own pedicures and manicures but I had gone with her so we could have a little time together.

After the pedicure debacle we went to have lunch with my other niece. She is currently visiting from California. She and her husband and four year old daughter had planned to visit for two weeks for her mom’s birthday. Her husband got Covid at the last minute and didn’t get to come. Anyway we had lunch and caught up on everything. We hadn’t seen her in several years long before Covid. We are planning a big celebration on Sunday for her mom’s birthday. I am making the birthday cake.

I picked up groceries and headed home. I had been gone all day. Sunday was a quiet day. It was hubs’ long weekend to work so he wasn’t around much for all the adventures. I cleaned and did laundry and worked a little on the temperature blanket. I did manage to watch one of my favorite movies, Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen. I love this movie and have watched it so many times. If you haven’t seen it you must watch it.

***Rami Malek did such an amazing job as Freddie Mercury. He received the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, for his performance.***

Sunday morning we had our second fog of the month. I have always heard that the number of fogs you have in August is the number of snows you will have that winter. So two so far. We will see. Old southern lore or something like that I am sure.

Monday evening we had a birthday celebration planned for my sister. We had several of our family members meet at a local Mexican restaurant. We had such a good time together.

***Happy Happy times. Family is what it is all about.***

So it was quite a weekend it started on Friday night with the sleepover and lasted into Monday night.

How was your weekend? Anything exciting going on?

Always remember

Love your day your way

Friday Favorites & Some Amazon Finds

Happy Friday. It seems like this week has gone by really fast. How about for you? I wanted to share with you some favorite things from this past week. First up are some of my Amazon finds

I had read about this heatless curling tool contraption thingy on Instagram and TikTok. It is supposed to make beautiful wavy curls just by wearing it all night. So I ordered this one and it was relatively inexpensive. It is very soft and easy to use. Your hair should be fairly wet or damp when you put it in. It is easy to sleep in. I tried it out the other night and I rather liked it. What do you think of the way my hair turned out. I have super straight hair to start with. I put it in my hair while watching the video on my phone. A few choice words were uttered but it’s really not that hard to get in. I was afraid it would fall out during the night but it didn’t it stayed nice and secure.

***From Amazon, I know it looks a little strange. You can google a video on how to use this it’s pretty simple.***

***I liked the way it turned out. Not super curly but that is o.k. I got a lot of compliments at work.***

I am also loving headbands right now. I ordered two sets from Amazon. I love wearing them on a day I’m not going to wash my hair. These are so different than when I was growing up. Those were so bad they would give me headaches but these are nice and soft. They are great for second day hair.

So far this one with the pearls is my favorite.

Another hair product I am loving is this Biosilk. One of my young co-workers just graduated from Cosmetology school and I asked her what would be good for my dry hair. She suggested this leave in hair oil. I love it!!! You can use it on wet or dry hair. The first time I used it on my hair when it was dry and I liked it. But the second time I used it on my hair after I got out of the shower and towel dried it. I should say T shirt dried it. That’s what I use to absorb the water in my hair. My hair felt so silky and smooth. I couldn’t believe it. Second day hair today and it feels just as silky.

This is called a cremation bracelet. Mark and I both got one to put some of Molly’s ashes in. That may totally turn you off and gross you out but we love them. It is just a very small amount of ashes that goes into it. It makes us feel close to our Molly.

I love this magazine. I picked this one up at Walmart earlier in the week. Country Sampler Farmhouse. It has so many neat projects I hope I get to do a few of them.

I mentioned a while back how much I love the Neutrogena foaming face wash but hold up there’s a new kid in town. New to me anyway. I couldn’t find the regular Neutrogena foaming face wash so I bought this foaming daily cleanser and I am loving it!!!! It comes out like a gel and then becomes a light lather. I love it.

I finally finished this audio book it was seventeen hours long. It was so good. I got it through the online library with the Libby app. I hated finishing it. I have been listening to it on my way to and from work.

And the best most favorite thing is spending time with my sweet hubs and family. Gus wakes me up every morning, usually around 4:00 AM, wanting snuggles. And that is fine by me.

What are some of your favorites this week?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Goodbye July, Hello Monday

Goodbye to July and hello August. I can’t say I am sorry to see July go. I love fall so that means that the end of July is bringing my favorite season closer.

July was a hard month for us. We lost our precious old Molly girl. If you didn’t catch that post you can read it here: Goodbye Molly Rose. She was fifteen years old, approximately, and she passed over the Rainbow Bridge on July 7th. I was just getting over Covid and still feeling weak and loopy from it. My brother underwent open heart surgery, but he is doing very well and that is such a blessing. My little mother in law suffered a heart attack and is still recovering from that so whew!!!! Yes it has been a rough month.

And now. July was an awesome month!!! Lots of great things happened!!! My brother is doing great and recovering wonderfully from his surgery. My little ma in law is recovering nicely and still feisty and waiting to go back to her room at the Assisted Living Center. Mark did not get Covid when I had it. I am feeling much stronger. And sweet Molly is running and playing and happy across the Rainbow Bridge. We were able to visit with some sweet family members from Texas. And while it has been hotter than Satan’s breath we have had some nice rain showers and everything is a brilliant green. I guess it’s all how you look at it.

I had a lot of fun this past weekend. I went out on Saturday morning to buy groceries and decided to make a slight detour to the farm market near my house. I knew their vegetables would be crazy good right now and yes they were and very plentiful.

***This is the long road leading to the Farm Market. Last year it was totally gravel and soooo dusty. It looks like they have put some concrete or something on it.***

***I have been craving okra I was so happy to see this.***

After I left the Farm Market I drove on over to nearby Tellico Plains, the downtown area. I went to the Museum Marketplace.
This is a thrift store and antique store with locally handmade items and just a little bit of everything. I only bought one thing this little powder box. I am not sure if it is pewter. It is heavy and old and I will probably keep my earrings in it. It just caught my eye and I had to keep circling it which usually means I need to go ahead and buy it. So I did.

***I am not really sure how to clean this if you have any ideas please let me know. It is heavy.***

This little group of music makers travel all around downtown Tellico playing in lots of different shops. Today they were set up
at the entrance to the Marketplace and I just had to stop and chill and listen for awhile. They have been playing together for ages
and they are just amazing.

I bought potatoes, cucumbers, okra and a huge cantaloupe. The prices are so much better than Walmart or anywhere else in town and so delicious and fresh.

I bought a spiral ham at Walmart and was planning to cook the ham and veggies on Sunday and maybe do spaghetti on Saturday night. Mark suggested I cook the ham after I got home on Saturday and we made sandwiches and then just reheated the ham on Sunday. That way we only had to do the veggies on Sunday. So that is what we did and it worked out great!!!

I cook okra the way my mama always did. I don’t know how you do yours but this is how we ate okra when I was growing up and I just love it this way. I wash and cut up my okra. I could’t help but laugh as I was cutting the okra. It is a little slimy and sticky inside the stalks. My brother Joe and I used to get the ends and stick them to our heads and pretend they were horns. HA!!! My mama never found that as amusing as we did. Anyway back to the okra. After I cut it I roll it in a little flour or cornmeal, whichever I have on hand, I used flour this time. Salt it. And then I put oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat and cook it until it is nice and soft. Then I drain it and put it in the oven and finish it by baking it. It makes it nice and crispy. I cannot stand soggy okra. It is so yummy this way. How do you cook okra?

It rained most of Sunday and I worked on the temperature blanket. I was a little behind but here it is through June. If you don’t know, I started crocheting the temperature blanket in January. You crochet a different color, which corresponds with the temperature, for each day. I used blues for the colder months and I have been using red and orange for the warmer months. The last couple of months have been totally orange and red. I think orange goes to 88 degrees F and anything above that I am using the red color. If you want to check out all the colors and the temperature chart just check out this blog post from a few months ago:
I am making a crocheted temperature blanket.