Middle aged musings from farm & hearth
I shared with you last week Jacks story… the mangy pit/american bull dog mix found on the streets of Hartford. Two weeks into his adoption, he is awesome. He loves his new siblings and especially his new family. “P” adopted against the prejudiced opinions of some of her family and friends… who have all come to love this big, inquisitive teddy bear of a dog already.
All I could make out were the words “Mommy” at the top and
We finally found the perfect affordable seaside cottage! Taxes are nothing to speak of, maintenance is a piece of cake.. or driftwood… no high insurance rates, right on the beach!
Seriously, the weather on the coast yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. No breeze, water smooth as glass and a fine haze from the warming water and air that made the horizon blend with the sea in a way that made it almost impossible to separate with the eye. We took a long walk and soaked it all in….
Are you familiar with the blog by Stephanie Nielsen, a woman horribly burned in a flying accident about six-seven years ago? Her blog HERE . I don’t remember where I first heard her story, but I began reading her blog as she chronicled her struggle to recover from a near fatal accident that burned over 80 percent of her body. At the time she was the young mother of four children. I was amazed at her courage and determination to get back to some semblance of a normal life, the family she cherished.
And now I’ll admit because I want to be honest before I accuse… that I stopped reading it other than a catch up now and then because in my opinion her blog became more of a Mormon pulpit, an advertisement for the people and companies who undoubtedly send her lovely things for all her support of their product, and … every single family event is photographed by a professional photographer. For me, reading Nienie was no longer about admiring and cheering on a journey being hard won by a determined woman against significant odds. Laced in with the happy family occasions that we all loved to see was all the commercial and Mormon peddling that became too preachy for me.
I did what is appropriate to do when you start feeling differently about something like this… I just stopped reading it so often, although I check in now and then because I do still find her story amazing, her courage inspiring, and I wish her family the best, always happy to hear of their triumph over a horrible incident that has no doubt changed their lives forever.
What really surprised me recently was… I stumbled across a blog that is set up solely to -hate- on Stephanie Neilsen. Thankfully she doesn’t get much attention. But..there is a mommy bloggers feed with 700 something comments all aimed at Nienie -hate-. This feed is out there for anyone to read.. including Stephanie and even more horribly, her children. The ugly comments range from calling her snarky to sophomoric to selfish and there’s an awful lot of what can only be referred to as jealous rage over the things she has been gifted because of her accident and incredible story.
It’s downright ugly and far worse than anything she could be putting on her blog – HER BLOG – which is a chronicle of what she wants to talk about, a chronicle of her family’s journey. HER JOURNEY. To snipe at someone in such a public fashion, the masses gathering to do so!… just because you don’t like her personality or what she chooses to believe in or the things she is gifted because of it…well, Jeez, have you held an honest mirror up to yourself lately?… is what I want to say. This particular person, no matter WHAT she has gained financially since her accident… is horribly disfigured and suffers pain every single day. Not one of these mean spirited people would trade places with her ….. ever.
There are times when I am so uplifted by the generosity of the human spirit… and times when I cry at how low it can go.
– Just sayin.
Recently a dear friend in animal rescue joked on FB about being so behind in laundry she had to borrow a pair of her sons underwear on that particular morning. I’m sure he’s scarred for life….lol…. and of course there ensued what you’ve probably already guessed.. a hilarious back and forth among commenters about the virtues of underwear… or not wearing any – a/k/a “Going Commando”.
A hilarious take on this can be seen here.. one of my favorite moments in the old sitcom, “Friends”.
I happen to be one of those people who really can’t imagine going out of the house without underwear. You might laugh at this, but I don’t think there has ever been a time when I did NOT have underwear on unless in the shower, the tub, having s*x or wearing a bathing suit. I’m not pointing any judgemental fingers at those who prefer to go Commando… I’m just sayin…it doesn’t work for me.
My grandmother lived on the Florida panhandle for a period of time. During one particular visit, we were in the company of a lovely neighbor, a southern lady of about 90 years. Virginia had a velvety southern drawl so thick, my grandmother could hardly understand it. She also had a lovely beach bungalow filled with southern charm, and she walked briskly around the house in floral summer dresses with the ease of someone much younger. I have no idea how we got on the subject… but out of her mouth with exuberance came words I will never forget. “It’s good to walk around without the hindrance of underwear. You have to let your parts breathe!”.
I nearly spit out my sweet tea.
As I sit here typing, the snow flurries float past my windows and shortly I shall be pulling up the bootstraps and putting on the layers to trudge up the hill to the barn. While I adore my horses and chickens, these are the days when I say… “why am I doing this, again?” *sigh*
I got the rest of WINTER out of my house. I don’t need to see it INSIDE as well as outside. This here is the stretch of New England Grey days that could drag a spirit down if you let it be so. I bring out the hearts right about now every year.
Thanks all for yesterday’s SOS question and answers. Now I know what you are talking about, and Mary… it’s not me, it’s you. (your browser, maybe?).
Anyway… this below from “P’… on the progress of her adopted Pit from the streets of Hartford…
If you didn’t see the beginning of Jacks story the other day on my post…click HERE.
Jack finally got his physical yesterday. Nails
clipped (God in Heaven, they looked like elbow macaroni), heartworm
tested, fecal sample, “before” pix for his history and many compliments
on how well he was “out back” when they clipped his nails and tried to
shed some of the mangy spot on his head. The tech, Gabbie, walked him
back into the exam room beaming. “Was he OK?” I asked. “He was awesome! I
LOVE this dog!” and she proceeded to thank me for seeing past his
exterior to the lovebug inside. It was a nice moment. 🙂 It cracked me
up as when I arrived at XXXX, despite his sexy new coat, he was
an obvious hot mess and there were three gals behind the desk lined up
like crows on a laundry line looking at him then me then him again. “I
just adopted him from Hartford. Do you REALLY think I’d let my own dog
get to this state?” I said through an incredulous smile. (That just
sounded like a line in a book, didn’t it?) Anywho, he has a severe case
(no surprise there) of demondex mange with a secondary diagnosis of
yeast dermatitis. According to Dr. XXXX, it’s not the Demodex that
really smells but the yeast dermatitis which leads me to think there’s a
lot of underdiagnosed yeast situations out there based on how most say
how bad Demodex smells. The treatment for the yeast is really just
special semi-weekly baths along with the Cephaloxin and Ivermectin for
the Demodex. We’re looking at 2-3 months which means he should be
sitting pretty by the time I bring him to “I” s lacrosse games and
horrify everyone with my “pit bull” on the sidelines. 😉
I
have to tell you, this dog is GOOD. Every day I am more impressed with
him. He has not chewed ONE thing including the $25 puzzle toy I bought
him and several Greenies that I offered him. Until we got to know him
and he know us (four cats and two dogs), we planned on crating him
(which he now has decided is no fun so requires quite a bit of
coaxing/pulling and shoving to get him in there), but now he is on a
line (which he has never chewed). He has an ortho bed dead center in the
middle of the house where he can see everyone and they have to walk
past him to go to the bathroom, watch TV, drink from the water bowl
(that would be the dogs and cats, folks, not me) or go upstairs. I plan
to work on his off-leash skills in the house this weekend. He barks if
he has to do his business (not ONE accident yet) but other than that he
sleeps deeply (snores too) and watches the world go by from his cloud on
the floor. He sits and takes treats nicely, gets along with the
cats/kittens and Bear (the mini-Aussie) has about 9/10ths accepted him.
He is a tiny bit of a humper (Kitten’s cat bed will never be the same)
but neutering will have to wait a few months until he is healthy. Shots
will happen gradually beginning next month.
And guess
what? People are accepting him. My mother-in-law who was nervous at
first (per my son anyway) seems to like him (minus the dinosaur nails
which are much improved after yesterday’s manicure), Ian adores him
(even if he decidely smells a bit) and my mother, after some
conversation, will continue to visit our home despite my brother’s
intimations that she might not. 😉
So all things considered, Jack is doing well. And “I” likes to call him Handsome Jack.
OK, my faithful long time readers…. Who can guess what my inserted line would be on the bottom right here…..Whoever says it first is getting a little gift from me in the mail. 🙂
Dear Heritage Hall (Mary) .. I just received this comment from you but couldn’t reply because your e-mail is blocked. I am so sorry you are having such a difficult time reading my blog. I can honestly tell you I have no idea what you are talking about. I do not have advertisements on my blog because I also find them annoying. When I look at my posts I do not see any highlighted words that would have ads pop up, so I don’t know what you are referring to. If this is happening with all my readers, can you please tell me what you are experiencing?.. as it sounds very annoying.
This is what Mary had to say:…
As much as I love your blog, each time I hit a highlighted word, I am
inundated with obscure and unsolicited ads….popping up all over while I
endeavor to read, or
I lose the website when I try to
exit….I don’t know if you have
any control over these solicitations, but it is discouraging to try to follow your blog and I will take leave for awhile…too distracting.
Still love you and all you do…
Mary
Thanks, all – your input is appreciated.
What the *WHAT??*
For the truth about Pit Bulls… if you’re really interested and want more reading, click HERE I bet you wouldn’t guess that they were a very popular family dog in the beginning of the 20th century,
Petey of the little Rascals was a Pit Bull…
….. they are originally from England and Ireland and their typical characteristics include loyalty, obedience, friendly, clownish, stubborn, courageous, aggressive, intelligent, affectionate. Are you focusing on the words aggressive and stubborn? The same is said of many other dog breeds. My dachsund is aggressive and stubborn. It’s not the pit bulls fault that because of their athletic ability they were chosen by some to suffer major abuse and were tormented to participate in fighting.
It’s a crime that pit bulls have the horrible stigma attached to their being. Every living thing is capable of doing harm. It’s all in the circumstances. Dogs – more often than not… show us just how forgiving they are, how willing to love and be loved they are, regardless the abuse they may have suffered. In my experience it has become clear that no breed suffers more at the hands of man or is more misunderstood than the pit bull. There will always be those who have behavioral issues, just as there are in any other breed you might think are more worthy of trust. PEOPLE have behavioral issues, so please lets get past all that.
I have no doubt, judging by his physical condition and where he was found, that Jack had a sh*tty life before being brought to the shelter. “P” caught some flack from well intentioned friends who also believe the stigma and thought she was making a mistake. “P” wrote a beautiful post this morning about her adopted and already beloved Jack, who is settling in quite nicely with his new family -consisting of a teenager, two other dogs and a few rescue kittens. All are getting along well and Jack shows manners already around the house. She says of the prejudice she has witnessed from friends… this quote by Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind… “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Oh, how this can be applied to so many things in life, no?
