Category: Uncategorized

Let’s do it again…

This is the intake picture of Charla and Chelsea when they were dumped at the pound in Bridgeport CT a few weeks ago in a box.  They are approximately six months old.   Despite numerous pleas for a rescue to take them in,  it didn’t happen.. and so  they were sent to the contracted vet facility for “treatment”. As you can see, both had mild Demodex mange, a very treatable disorder, and neither were emaciated.

Unfortunately, under the care of the contracted vet by the city of Bridgeport, their condition deteriorated and
they contracted Parvo as well as worsening case of mange.  Both are still in serious condition, and Chelsea is just starting to show signs that she will survive.

Charla isn’t as sick as her sister and is already perking up quite a bit…

 Enter several rescuers including Lorin, who is our Dog Days Adoption Events Founder and Dog Savior Extraordinare.  The pups have been transfered to a quality veterinary facility and will go home with Lorin for care once they are stable.  Those of you who follow my Dog Days Posts know what we do. See labels on the sidebar for more information.  CHIP.. was last year’s project.  He has his own label on the left too… you would not believe the turnaround once Lorin took him in and we all chipped in to care and feed and medicate and love him.  He is a happy healthy boy a year later, living with his new loving family.  We’re hoping we can do the same for these two.
Last year we raised money for Chip’s medical expenses in several ways, but a big contributor was the widget you see on my side bar.  If you would like to contribute to Chelsea and Charla’s medical expenses, please use the widget, it’s a paypal format and I  had no trouble using it even though I don’t have a paypal account. Even $5. will help tremendously. 
 A brief recap of the story of CHIP 

He was pulled from a kill shelter looking like this….
took a while to turn around the bend to better health
with MUCH care and medication and love…
helped by YOUR contributions!!

Lorin with Chip at the vet for a checkup…

And this is Chip now, with adopted family and older “brother”.

It indeed takes a village, see what we accomplish when we pull together?
One dog at a time..
This time, two.
I’ll keep you posted on Chelsea and Charla’s progress
as I did with Chip.  You know I”ll be taking pictures as soon
as they come home to Lorin.


Lord, help me to accept the things I cannot change….

This is what happens when you send a bunch of 16 year olds
in to the Halloween Shop and say “I’ll be right back”
because you’ve got a hanker’n for those Macoun apples at the farm market
down the road… and heck, what kinda trouble can they get into
at the halloween store, right?
*sigh*
This weekend is the BIG TEST, don’t ya know.
The Drivers Test, in case you don’t.
see post title above.
*heavy…… heavy… sigh*
HIM:  Mom, you know, after Friday noon time, I’m gonna be FREE AS A BIRD!
(flapping wings in a ridiculous frenzy)
ME:  *heavy……..HEAVY…. deep and agonizing sigh*    with maybe a whimper
at the back of my throat , catching in the bile that is upchucking from my acid-riddled
anxiety prone stomach  and its contents.

Just sayin.

Pink Ponies

  My daughter competed in the final Color Breed show of the season here in Connecticut, and it was her last show aboard Beemer because she’ll be moving on with Max… a bittersweet day.  They had a wonderful time, five firsts, a second and a fifth. Not bad for a couple of rookies.  The shows theme was PINK, for Breast Cancer awareness month.  Participants were asked to don their best PINK…. and so.. they certainly did.

Could they BE any more adorable? ….

Nanny  was the keeper of the ribbons today…

The End.

Should I or shouldn’t I

  You know.. I’ve never liked politics very much…it brings out the ugly in people… sort of like religion. I hesitate to ever put it on my blog, yet I find I’m drawn  to wanting to know what others are thinking…and yet the answers still shock from time to time.  

  Discuss a religious or political idea on any forum and you’ll get a heated debate whether you asked for it or not.  Both are supposed to bring solutions and harmony… and yet these are the two subjects that bring the worst out in people.  I’ve spend alot of my life avoiding the controversies of  both.

  A friend put her concerns on facebook yesterday…. her 16 year old son told her he’s not sure he believes in God, that what he has learned in school about evolution makes more sense. It saddened her, because she raised him to love and believe in God, and she wondered what the school was teaching him.  My immediate thought was… ummmm… Evolution?    Same thing we’ve all been taught, no?

 You would not believe the fire and brimstone that befell that post.  One woman actually said  “only the saved go to heaven!”…  another.. “PRAY PRAY PRAY for him!”… “FIND HIM A GOOD YOUTH MINISTER QUICK!!”… as if the poor boy had done something horribly wrong and was headed for certain doom.  He has quite simply learned some things about life, believes in the proof of evolution, and he is questioning the religious beliefs he’s been taught.  Is this such a horrible thing?  He’s paying attention and asking the questions.   Shouldn’t we all, regardless of our conclusions?

  As I’ve gotten older  I realize the importance of paying attention and asking the questions.  I wonder how many people are paying  real attention to what exactly they are voting for, when they choose a political candidate.

   Believe people when they tell you who they are.

 – Enough said.
 

 

Project 24

 It’s raining this morning….and I’ve got stuff to do outside.
Barn needs mucking and coop needs cleaning.
But all that can wait till the rain stops falling.
That’s my grandmother Elsie with the horse…
gone 12 years or so now, and I still miss her.
 Have you ever known someone who was a treasure in many ways…
and you knew that already.. but didn’t have the full understanding of it
until they were gone?
I had a great relationship with my grandmother and for that I’m grateful..
but as time goes on the hole she left  in my universe grows wider.
I realize just what a rarity she was, what a true gem in the crown of our family crest.
I wish I had asked more questions, spent a little more time.
SO… what’s this “24 Project”? 
Has nothing to do with my grandmother. 
It’s raining and I’m feeling nostalgic today, can you tell?
One of my favorite books when I was young had a title that eludes me now…
something like…”A Day in the Life”.
I absolutely loved it… partly for my love of photography
but more because of the glimpse it gave into the lives of people around the world 
in a 24 hour period.  Photographers were given the assignment of a specific time of that 24 hours..
and chose something in their assigned hour to take a picture of.
Some were events out in the world, some were sleeping children at 2am. 
Some photos were a majestic view, some were no more than a cup of coffee
or kids waiting for a school bus in the snow.
Here’s what I want to do.
  I want to put a post together titled 24 – 
and I want you readers to help. 
  All you have to do is choose an hour of the day that someone else has not…
 (see comments for that info so you don’t duplicate someone else’s already chosen hour)…
 and leave a comment below this post telling me which hour you will document
with a photo of whatever you choose. 
 I need just 24 of you to do this.  Actually, 23.  I’ll do the hour that no one else wants.  
The date?  Hmmm.. How about Halloween – Wednesday, October 31st.
Quite simply, if you sign up for an hour on that day… 
Just take a picture in that hour of something in your surroundings,
no matter where you are…if you can make it real interesting that’s awesome
but there’s no pressure to do so…
and e-mail the photo to me at karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com
the next day.
So.. do I have any takers? 
PS… time zone doesn’t matter here.  
Just pick a time that someone else hasn’t. 


Yum!

I just discovered a wonderful cooking blog through Sam at My Carolina Kitchen…. click the link below for a great pumpkin cheese ball recipe from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen…
Easy to make too, I’m definitely using this recipe for fall entertaining.

http://lakelurecottagekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/09/pumpkin-cheese-ball.html#comment-form

After a Saturday of road tripping,
we had a lovely  low-key Sunday complete with comfort food.
Mike made his sauce and meatballs… food for the Gods…
and I’m not embarassed to say his is better than mine.

I made Cheyenne’s pumpkin muffins…
see two posts below for recipe..
Have to tell you, they are THE BOMB, the best pumpkin muffins I’ve ever had.
Moist, delicious.. even Mike likes them and he doesn’t do pumpkin.

Happy Fall, Y’all!

I just wanted to say that. Now if only I could master the southern accent.

Hop in the car.. Let’s go to Vermont!

This time we trek up Route 30 N into Manchester.
The leaves are not quite “peak”… hard to judge this, as weather conditions
are always a factor leading up to the event itself.
I laugh to myself, because our mission is “to see the color”…
and to find a genuine church-made apple pie. 
Never had better, not even my own, no kidding.
The laugh is because we have the same beautiful foliage in Connecticut, truth be told..
but something about the mountains and the crisp air and maple everything
makes it more magical in Vermont.
First Stop.. West Dummerston Bridge…built in 1872…
longest two-span covered bridge in Vermont  at 267 feet.
It crosses the West River, which we follow for much of our trek up 30 N.

 

 

The West River is beautiful, we step down under the bridge
and we think out loud what an awesome kayak trip that would be.
Then we drive through the town of NewFane,
where volunteer firemen are collecting donations with their boots in the street..
and we stop at the Heritage Festival.
I love this town.
There were about 100 artisans and vendors on the church green
selling all kinds of beautiful things… this festival is worth a trip up North for sure.
You know I bought some of these….
and in that church on the left?…
I found this…
What we notice most when we visit Vermont
is the genuine ease and  friendliness of the people.  Even when they know you’re a “visitor”.
Mike always says he feels instant decompression when he drives over the border.
The Town of Newfane has some really  lovely typical Vermont
 buildings and houses along it’s “Main Street”…
 

Heading up to Stratton Mountain and Manchester just beyond it,
we come across this big red barn…
and a purple one too….
In Vermont, house and barn are usually close together,
and sometimes attached… as the winters are coooold.
Less exposure to the weather. 
This is why the bridges are covered.. to protect them from the elements. 

Manchester surprised me and I didn’t photograph it…it’s a very  upscale ski and shopping town,
with stores like J.Crew, Kenneth Cole, Michael Kohrs, etc…
Although we met a very down-to-earth shop owner of the Country market and gas station at
the  entrance to  town. He’s originally from New Jersey…
moved to Vermont to get away from it all.
He said it’s absolutely lovely to live there.. .just… bring a restaurant with you.
We followed the river back home….
..got awesome Maple Cheddar and Sage Cheddar at the Grafton Village Creamery..
This is seriously so freak’n delicious. Are you a cheese lover?
Find out if you can order it online, it’s worth it.
…and a stop at the Dam Diner. 
I just couldn’t pass that sign up.

Good morning!

..and it is a glorious one here in New England.
I plan to enjoy it to the fullest…
a walk with one of the dogs in the State forest
to kick start my fitness project (that would be myself)
and later some pumpkin muffin baking with
The light was so beautiful as the mist burned off this morning
that once horses and chickens were fed I ran inside to grab my camera
  to capture some of the awesome glow.

The horses are still munching on crab apples off the old apple tree in their pasture…
and I take the extras out daily, fighting off the bees…
as we don’t want them to have too many.

New chicks and old are getting along fine…
Notice my year-olds look like a hot mess, being smack in the middle of their first “molt”.

This is Dorothy, currently outside the coop as punishment
this morning for mercilessly picking on the newbies.
I’d had enough of that crap and threw her featherless butt out for the morning.
She’s not quite sure what happened… I’m hoping it stirs up the pecking order some.

This look means:
Mom.. I ripped my new sheet already..and it’s been over a week.
Please get me a new one, my nails keep getting caught in the rip.
Love you lots though, really, BEN.

Have a great weekend, all – we’ve made a pact here at This Old House.  
WE… aren’t going to talk politics.
Ever again.
ever.