This October has been weird. The first part of the month was excessively hot, and instead of fall weather, we had what felt like early summer. In fact, I have violets blooming again in my yard!
Saige's boyfriend now wishes to be called Mr. Clean, so that's going to be his new name here. He said it's because he cleans up nicely and looks good, and because he helps me clean the house sometimes.
He wanted to take Saige to his homecoming, but alas, he didn't have the money for tickets, and we didn't really have the money for a new dress for Saige. Instead they dressed up and went over to a friend's house and hung out there for a little while before the friend and her date left for Homecoming. I took some pictures before they left:
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| Awww! We love this tree! |
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| So cute! (the tree, not the kids. Ha!) |
So you can see, Mr. Clean does clean up nicely, and I think he and Saige make a really cute couple. Don't you agree? Well, you should agree!
I've done a bit of decorating for Halloween and for fall, simply because I have the stuff around and I wanted to decorate. I picked up a couple things at the Dollar Store so I could make an Autumn wreath, but so far, I haven't done anything much with the materials. I love the Dollar Store. Between the Dollar Store, the thrift stores, and Aldi, I find all kinds of goodies and bargains that I can't find anywhere else.
The kids had a lot of fun stringing up the fake cobwebs.
As some of you know, we have a lot of pets around here, from a guinea pig named Piggy Gin to some dogs we rescued. We also have a handful of cats that live with us. My sister, Emmie, is volunteering at a shelter, and I thought I'd put a public service announcement here in support of those who work in shelters, and for the dogs.
If you are considering adopting a dog, please consider going through a shelter! I know that some people will not adopt from a kill shelter because they feel adopting from there will support killing the animals, but I think the opposite is true. If you don't adopt from a kill shelter, chances are the dogs will be put down. Even if you're not thinking of adopting a dog, please check out your local shelters to see what items they might need, and perhaps you can even volunteer there! Most shelters are completely understaffed and overwhelmed, and many don't have the items they need to run efficiently. There are all kinds of groups you can check out, too, that deliver things like blankets and chew toys to the shelters. Something as simple as a blanket can calm a dog, and a calm dog is more likely to get adopted. So, get out there and see what you can do to help! October is adopt a shelter dog month, by the way.
Remember to spay and neuter your pets! If you are seriously considering adopting a dog, make sure you do some research before you choose. Some people have no idea what they are getting into when they adopt a dog, and they choose based on the cuteness factor or size. A chihuahua is small and might look sweet, but I certainly wouldn't want one in the house with a little kid. Golden retrievers have a reputation of being very sweet and gentle dogs, but some of them will bite. Pit bulls have a bad reputation, but some are so sweet and gentle they put Golden Retrievers to shame. So just know what you are getting into before you bring a dog home. It's tragic that so many dogs are taken home from a shelter and are then brought back, because the adoptive family didn't realize the time and effort it takes to have a dog, or they didn't do enough research to find out what kind of dog would be best for their family.
My sister has fostered a dog who is very, very young, very hyper, and who wants to chase the cats all the time. The poor cats are distraught and upset over this rotten whippersnapper of a dog, and they spend a lot of time hiding. It takes a lot of time and patience to train a puppy not to chase, and I told my sister that her fostered dog must feel that she is the greatest owner in the world to provide such fun toys for her! My dogs and cats have been raised together, so we haven't had that problem. We used to be able to say to our littlest dog, Binnie Boo, "Go get the kitty!" And she would take off after a cat and herd it, holding it down gently with her muzzle across the cat's back. Unfortunately, we had to stop that because our other rescue dog, Fuzz Dawg, started chasing the kitty, too, only she was out for blood. She didn't want to herd the kitty, she wanted to eat the kitty! Still, for the most part, our animals all get along together.
Notice how BDG, my big, dumb, Golden, has his tennis ball with him. He loves tennis balls and shoes.
Of course, some of the cats like to hide out. My son, Jethro's cat, Lil Nocka, likes to be in a position higher than the other cats or she likes to be hidden. She also loves popcorn so much that she'll wait by the microwave when we're cooking it, and if we're not careful, she'll stick her paws into the bag to help herself to some buttery goodness. She's so funny.
Saige's cat, Kitty Dos, is a cat who likes to spend time alone. Dos would do well in a house where she was the only pet, though for the most part, she'll tolerate the others. Dos is a cat, too, with a mind of her own. She's the kind of cat you don't pick up to love, if she wants love, she will come to you, and dang it, you'd better love her when she chooses you, or you will pay. Dos crashes out in the weirdest spots in the house, though, I swear.
Like the toy box! She can't be that comfortable, but she slept in there for quite some time.
Last night we had a bunch of kids over for game night. I bought some generic sodas and a few bags of cheap chips and some M&Ms for snacks, which went rather quickly. Teens are kind of like piranhas, aren't they? They gravitate towards the food and then they tear into it with joy and abandon. I think teens are always starving to death, too. I thought Saige was going to take some pictures, but I guess she didn't have time. Anyway, there wasn't much gaming, because Lampshade's wife, Britney, is the one who was going to bring the games, and she didn't make it to the house. Still, the kids were singing and dancing and carrying on, making noise and having a good, innocent time together. Well, innocent in that they weren't doing drugs or drinking alcohol. I overheard some of the younger girls using the word "penis" more often than a urologist would.
I'm not sure what today will bring. I've been on steroids for my back (I'm a disabled veteran and have some serious health issues I fight with all the time), and they gave me so much energy it was amazing! I did a lot of cleaning and organizing, let me tell you, when I was first on them. Now, though, I'm at the period of time where I start to wean myself down from 4 pills to 1 pill a day, so my energy is slipping. I can say that the steroids helped tremendously with the pain, too. I really thought I had herniated a disk again, and I might have done that, but the steroids seemed to stop the inflammation quickly, which was good.
Last month I had a near death bout with bacterial pneumonia, which hit me hard and fast. It was scary to realize how close to dying I actually came, and if it weren't for Saige and her phone calls to Jethro, I probably would have died. That's how fast this pneumonia hit me. One day I was fine, the next, I was dying. Since then, I have been working to clear out some of the junk around the house, like extra books. I tend to collect books. I love books. Plus, I've homeschooled my kids for years, so I have lots and lots of books here. When my Mom died, I got a lot of her books. I decided that I should try to give away or donate many of these books now, so if something did happen to me, my kids wouldn't have to deal with those books. So far I have about 6 boxes filled with books we no longer want, or that are too young for my kids. I will keep my antique books and books that are very special to me, but some of the paperbacks and ones we'll never read again can go.
I wish that I could walk right now for more than a few feet at a time, because today would be a nice day to walk around the environmental center.
And on that note, I shall leave you with this picture of the bikini tree. Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember driving past this tree. Every year, a fraternity from the local university paints a bikini on this tree.
On that note, go in peace, everyone. Be warm and filled!
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