Uncategorized – Page 34 – This Old House 2

This I know for sure…

… life is so enriched when you have the love of and for a dog. If you never take anything else away from reading my blog drivel… please know.. believe… that they feel, they love, they adore, they cherish, they hurt, they worry, they grieve. For those who have said to me – Oh, it’s all about the food, you give them the food and so they follow you around – well, if you believe that … you are missing out on one of the best relationships ever bestowed on us – truth, that.

I will never forget an experience I had with my dachshund, little Rudy – the piss pot. My daughter had just been in a horrible car accident and was lying in a coma at Yale. I came home to change clothes and collapsed on my bed in tears. It was the first time I let loose since the accident and the sobs wracked my body. Suddenly I realize I heard a wailing beside me that was not my own. It was Rudy – who had jumped up on the bed, laid next to me and began crying right beside me.

Ben is a very sensitive soul – he does not like when we argue in this house and lets us know immediately if there is tension in our voices. And hey – we’re Italian, it is what it is. He loves his bed and blankets and pillow and walks in the hayfields behind the house. His face actually scrunches up in a smile when I tell him -let’s go for a walk-.

When I was sick on the bathroom floor with a migraine (you might know that kind)… Frasier sat beside me, tucked up against me, worried.

Bailey LOVES bedtime where she can tuck up against Mike or myself for the night. On nights that I can’t sleep (thank you, menopausal mania) .. she watches Golden Girls reruns with me.

When I meet the shelter dogs who come into our fold while we try to get them homes, they are sooooo grateful to be out of whatever hell they just came from. The emotion is amazing.. can’t explain it any other way.

Let me not got to any Heaven where there are no dogs….

WOW, what a weekend

We had a fantastic adoption event – all went smoothly – 40 out of approx. 50 dogs went to their forever homes! The remaining few are in foster or went back with their rescue. We are so very grateful for all the volunteers and adopters who show up and help us make this monumental task a success. I always go home exhausted and inspired with some of my faith in mankind restored after these events. It’s a beautiful thing.

Just a few of the 200 pics taken this weekend –

These two dogs are brother and sister – they were dropped off at the kill shelter when their owners got divorced and neither wanted the dogs. They were adopted together yesterday – the highlight of our event. -awesome. This couple gets a Gold Star –

If A picture can say a thousand words.. this one is it.

Here we go again!

First, let me thank every one of you who responded to my “issues” post – one of the things that makes the difficult parts of life less -difficult- is sharing information, worries, dilemnas, etc with others, gaining valuable insight and knowing you’re not alone. I don’t blog as often as I used to because – life-, but I’m sure glad you still poke your head in here now and then. Here’s what I decided to do once I read all your comments and went to the Dr. with more questions.

I’ve started a new drug (a Beta Blocker) because what I’ve been taking just ain’t cutting it. Very low dose for now, we’ll see where that goes. I hate meds but I don’t have a choice right now while I tweak other things. I am drinking more water, I’m walking, I am making A BIG EFFORT to cut out dairy, gluten, sugar. I already know when I do that, (ain’t no easy feat)… I feel so much better. The weight comes off, the aches and pains are much less, the blood pressure comes down. I know some of you are already aware that when there is inflammation present in your body, dairy, sugar and gluten are inflammatory. So why dump it in your body to compound the issue, right? I am also going to stay with the therapeutic massage to my neck and shoulders – right now I’m going twice a week to get rid of the spasms, but I will stay on a maintenance plan from here on out – maybe once every three weeks. It’s something I have not done before because… I don’t like lying on that table or spending the money because insurance won’t cover it… but I like feeling awful and immobile even less… so it’s simple science, you know? AND… I won’t cut out my farm chores, but I’m changing the way I do them. Instead of tackling them with a vengeance, I’m mosying through my morning chores, sometimes taking a break to look at my phone, chat with others, etc. I’m actually sitting down for 10 minutes every day to stretch and just breathe in and breathe out, slowly, deeply.

So… where are we going?… to another Homeward Bound CT Adoption Event! For the next few days, myself and about 30 other people will be pretty busy helping dogs find homes – there will be smiles, laughs, tears even… and some exhausted people at the end of the weekend – but lets hope and pray and please send positive thoughts that our 50 dogs will find their homes by Sunday night – Hooray for the Underdog!….

A few more of our adoptable adorables….

Tank

We had a fundraiser yesterday (and today but I’m not today’s crew) at Pet Valu in Guilford – pets or children’s picture taken with the Easter Bunny for a $5. donation to Homeward Bound CT – the proceeds will help us pay for the next adoption event – which is NEXT WEEKEND!!!

This big boy was such a happy fella – loved everyone he saw, including the big bunny. If this breed of dog didn’t come with so many health problems, I’d love to have one. Now and then they do come up on the rescue radar, but not too often. He has a very good home with his own family so he does not need rescuing, I just wanted to hug him. I think he’s three feet wide and two feet tall –

Anyway – A good time was had by all, except for just a few dogs who thought the Easter Bunny was something sent up from Hell to torment them specifically, judging by their reaction.

Here are a few highlights…

My favorite….

These girls are golden- good friends, good hearts, good souls. It’s a great feeling to get involved in a cause and accomplish things for the better with like minded people. Doesn’t matter how big or small the contributions might be – I highly recommend finding a cause you feel passionate about and get involved in whatever way is doable in your life. It does a body ( and soul) good.

How to break the cycle

…I don’t have a darn clue.

I’ve been struggling with the same issue for years now. Because of the nature of the physical work of shoveling shit for 35 years… and the nature of bending over a computer keyboard on and off for various work related stuff over the years… I’ve got arthritis in my neck and muscles spasms in the neck/shoulder area that occasionally FLARE.

Now throw in High Blood Pressure. And medicine sensitivities galore.

Here’s why that’s aggravating as hell – I hate BP meds, they make me feel like a slug and aren’t really effective. I’ve tried three so far – bleh. If I lose 10-15 lbs, which is about what I’ve gained over the years that I shouldn’t have… the numbers might come down some. So I start doing some intensive treadmill walking/hiking and a few Yoga routines. Which throws my neck and shoulders into a tizzy. Which causes pain, which spikes the blood pressure.

Now throw in Anxiety… because when I feel like crap, that factors in too. The muscle relaxants that are prescribed when the pain gets real bad make me feel like a zombie. Anti inflammatories make me stomach sick. The Anxiety spirals, the muscles spasm more…

and still there is shit to shovel and documents to edit.

I’m not getting rid of the horses/chickens/rabbits. I’m not quitting my day job. I really need to keep up exercise regimen for health and well being.

So I ice my neck. I go to Physical Therapy. I try to eat almost nothing to lose that 10-15 lbs, and it gets somewhere and then I fall back.

Round and round it goes, when she’ll figure out what works for good, no one knows. Or maybe I just don’t want to accept it.

Anyway… have you found yourself in a negative life cycle that you’d love to resolve? Did you manage to do so? What worked for you, do tell…

Unbroken

Have you seen the movie yet?

Amazing.. amazing true story. – 2014 , produced and directed by Angelina Jolie, based on the 2010 non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand. The film revolves around the life of USA Olympian Louis “Louie” Zamperini, portrayed by Jack O’Connell. Zamperini survived in a raft for 47 days after his bomber was downed in World War II, then was sent to a series of Japanese prison camps where he sustained unfathomable torture but showed a resilience I can’t even describe.. except to say I was in awe and in tears often throughout the movie. The icing on the cake is knowing Zamperini went on to marry his sweetheart, raise two children, and even ran with the Olympic torch IN JAPAN at the age of 81. He recently passed in July of 2014 at the age of 97.

Amazing.

Back in the day, I used to think of Angelina as not much more than a gorgeous but whacked young actress who was going to tip over the edge for certain one of these days. Of course she has always been my husbands ultimate fantasy figure.

In recent years, however, I have a whole new respect for her. She has talent behind the cameras, as evidenced in producing and directing this movie. She came to know this incredible man personally, and wanted to portray his journey as authentically as possible. I believe she did just that. Angie also shows a generosity and soul so many other celebrities do not possess. And right here I admit.. way back when it was the -thing- I was Team Aniston all the way.

Only thing?..Sometimes I just want to throw her a cheeseburger, ya know?

Shown below….. with the authentic Louie.

Bravo, Angelina Jolie, and Louie – I sure hope there is a reward at the end of this life.. if anyone deserves it, you most definitely deserve it.

Where have I been!!???…

Busy, but in a good way. In my new old position as editor of our local publication, (because our town is so small we don’t have an actual newspaper) .. I am feeling creative again and contributing to the community, hopefully in a good way. I love that I can work at home, too. Right now the dogs are laying all around me and I’ve got a candle burning as the snow begins to fly once again. Oh, did I really just say that?… Indeed….

We celebrated the big FIVE OH quietly with family – because of my hearing impairment, big noisy parties and the conversations they require are hard to navigate. I asked only one thing… please, no big party. I had a lovely day and I can honestly tell you I feel the number is a present to be opened, not a thing to begrudge. Age is a privilege, a gift not all receive. I’ll take it open handed and embrace each year as it comes, wrinkles and all.

Made this recipe the other night and it was a huge hit. To the arteries, not just the taste buds. But hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do and hope for the best.

Dad’s Swedish Meatballs – Taste of Home Recipe

Ingredients

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup butter, cubed
DILL CREAM SAUCE:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dill seed

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Crumble beef and pork over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs in butter in batches until a thermometer reads 160°. Remove and keep warm.
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients until blended. Stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with meatballs. Yield: 6 servings.

Dog Rescue Dilemna

Dog rescue is a very rewarding experience. I am amazed and humbled by the resilient, forgiving nature of dogs who have been abused, tortured, starved, abandoned, turned in by families they thought were their own. The feeling you get when you see a dog thrive in it’s new home, truly enjoying a good life because of your efforts is just priceless.

Dog rescue can also be very frustrating. Example – We are a Connecticut group. We’d love to help Connecticut Dogs. There are plenty in our pounds, and while the “kill” rate isn’t as high as down south, it’s still a possibility in some of our shelters. So we reach out to CT pounds and ask if they’d like to participate in our adoption events… at no cost to them. They just have to show up with their dog!… no fee, they keep whatever their adoption fee is. Our adoption rate at events is fantastic, so you’d think it’s a no-brainer, right?

And yet, very few are willing to come. Reason? There are several …. no one at the pound willing to spend their day volunteering to bring the dog to the event. Apparently the towns or state won’t pay employees to bring a dog to a Saturday event. Hey.. we are ALL VOLUNTEER… is there really no one who is willing to help? And.. after hearing this – we’ve offered to bring the dogs ourselves. To which we hear.. oh, liability, so.. no. OR.. they don’t like that we also help southern dogs find homes. Personally, we don’t believe in borders. A dog in need is a dog in need, and down south the situation is horrible. Many many dogs die daily. Now if we could get more Connecticut pounds to participate? We’d probably become an ALL Connecticut adoption event group. Can’t have one without cooperation from the other.

Sad deal.

Anyway.. here are a few happy faces coming to our next mini adoption event to be held at Pet Valu in Guilford, CT – If you have a Pet Valu near you, support them. What an awesome organization. They do not sell animals in their store.. they DO NOT SUPPORT PUPPY MILLS. They DO support shelter dogs by letting us hold fundraisers in their stores,.. and letting us hold mini adoption events as well. It’s a beautiful thing.

THANK YOU PET VALU CORPORATION. You totally ROCK!

We’ve got a mini adoption event this coming Saturday at Pet value, flyer below..

And a fundraiser in April too!…

If you’re local, come meet the pups.. or have your pets picture taken with the Easter Bunny – Just $5. and all proceeds go to Homeward Bound CT. Visit our website for more information…

www.homewardboundadoptionevents.jimdo.com or like us on FB – Homeward Bound CT

Aging does have advantages

….And I’m not referring to all that crap the AARP has started sending my husband and I. Do they keep a record somewhere of just exactly when each citizen in the US is going to turn 50 so they can get you to jump on their bandwagon and take advantage of all that they have to SELL you ASAP? Uncanny how all of a sudden, there it is, in your mailbox, exactly when they think you should start paying attention to their stuff.

What I’ve learned in my first 50 years (hoping for a second 50 but we all know every day is a gift):

It’s true – LIFE IS SO VERY SHORT. And you don’t really feel or understand that until you’ve lived it for a while. Time does indeed speed up as we go along. Remember how ENDLESS summers felt when you were 8 or 9 years old? It stretched on forever. Not anymore.. it’s a blip. If you blink three times, you might miss it. Looking at the history of the World, our life span is just a period at the end of a sentence in a long essay. I have indeed learned to appreciate every.single.day.

THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS. Whatever it is that has you crazy at any particular time, you won’t always feel that way. It won’t always BE that way. Here’s a biggie…some things you have power to change, some things you don’t. Regardless, don’t waste too much energy in “the craze”… because it isn’t here forever and neither are you. Let it go, accept, move forward. (If my family is reading this right now there might be a snort or two.. .just hush – it’s a work in progress. )

TRULY, DEEPLY, AND ABSOLUTELY, LIKE YOURSELF. I don’t say “love” here, because that doesn’t come easy to a lot of us, so lets be realistic and start with LIKE. When I was young, oh I had my opinions and my ideas and desires on what I wanted my life to look like and who I wanted to be. But I also didn’t have a lot of faith in myself – that old self-esteem issue – and caved to what others wanted me to be. I didn’t often -follow my bliss-, nurture my creative side, pursue what I was capable of accomplishing, I didn’t believe in ME. First on the agenda as I have matured has been to be true to myself, my beliefs, accept my shortcomings, admit and correct them where needed without beating myself up – and nourish creativity. I also don’t give a flying F if someone just doesn’t like me for whatever their reason. Tell me – Why is it so important, especially for women, that we are -liked-. It is, though, isn’t it. We want to nurture, protect and take care of… and we want to be liked. It all starts from within, not outside sources. Took a long time for me to figure that one out.

This is my 50th birthday month. I’m very OK with that, grateful ,absolutely. I can say without a tinge of cringe.. that I love who I have become. Perfect? Heck no. But good enough for me. There aren’t a whole lot of pictures of me when I was a younger person… and those that were taken tell the story of someone who does not feel comfortable in her own skin. Look for yourself…

Graduation celebration when the world was indeed my oyster, but I didn’t know it, afraid to open it! I rarely smiled big back then, because I didn’t trust to be that happy in the moment.

Taken two days ago…

I’m more than OK with 50. I finally like me a lot, wouldn’t want to be someone else, am proud of what I’m accomplishing, accepting where I fall short, and am trying where I can to leave this world a better place where I am able to touch it. While I’m not jumping for joy over the hearing loss, the wrinkles and dry skin and grey hairs that greet me in the morning, I do like what I see,… I know it’s a privilege. ….and I smile… big.

I saw this mug in a store last week and bought one for my daughter and one for myself. Love the saying.. yes, this.

As far back as I can remember

…. we have not had this much snow and cold temps for such an extended period of time. My poor guys have been plowing and shoveling and salting and sanding for what seems like eons. There is no place to put the new snow that is currently blanketing our blanket of snow. Parking lots in this area look like snow fortresses, the banks are now so high.

Do any of you remember Bob Ross? The afro sporting happy God Bless fella who used to have a painting show on TV – back in the day-? I loved him.. .. he could whip up glorious paintings in 20 minutes where if you had all the “stuff”, you could follow along and create something not too horribly awful…. and he was always always upbeat, happy, wishing you well.

This picture has been circulating FB and it has me laughing…

So today as I sit here typing on my NEW COMPUTER THAT IS INDEED COMPATIBLE WITH ADOBE CLOUD and finally I am all set and ready to go with no more bullsh*t chats with Adobe techs in India….. I am also looking out over snow covered everything, and it’s still coming down from the skies.