They need a home for the holidays

Charla and Chelsea… the dogs rescued from a veterinary clinic
in Bridgeport where they were sick with mange and parvo
but not cared for, are now doing just great.
They will be looking for their forever home very soon.
Both girls are very friendly and get along really well with other dogs.
Call Lorin at (860)767-6840 if interested in adopting.
This boy, Bruno,  was dumped at the Bridgeport Animal Shelter after living with his family
for 10 years!!!  How anyone can do that is beyond my comprehension.
Call Bridgeport Animal Control if you would like to adopt or foster this
wonderful, handsome senior.  He’s got years of life left! Let’s help
him find the home he deserves.  see info below
Bridgeport Animal Control  236 Evergreen Street, Bridgeport CT
Phone: 203-576-7727
PREFERRED METHOD OF CONTACT IS EMAIL:
EMAIL: animal.shelter@bridgeportct.gov

Buster is impounded at the Killingworth canine castle behind their town hall.
Buster is the only dog in the pound but his time is limited.
Friendly, loves people and is good with other dogs.
Call Killingworth Animal Control for more information. 860-663-1765 x219
   


Enough Already!!!

     Do we really give a flying F*ck about flirtateous e-mails and affairs of  Army Generals, politicans, the high school janitor?   Even President Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson had affairs.   Why has this become such a big deal and why do we think it’s any of our business at all??  These things have been happening for as long as humans exist in one form or another, it’s nothing new.  Modern technology has made it easier to detect, I guess… but SERIOUSLY… can’t we just move on here?  None of their digging has even unearthed any “giving away of spy secrets”….which I can understand would be a concern.  But just listen to the banter!  FLIRTATEOUS E-MAILS… AFFAIR!!   I’m not condoning anyone’s poor marital behavior… I just don’t think this airing of dirty sexual laundry has a place in the public eye, other than to sell alot of newspapers and magazines, boost or destroy someone’s political agenda  and give the news pundits something to yap about. 

 Everywhere I look,  I see the four faces of the “Patraeus Affairs”. Tell me, do you find justification in this witch hunt or are you just as fed up as I am?   PS… it’s ok if you have a different opinion here, maybe you’ll even shed some light.

Peace on earth…

…requires dogs and beaches, I’m convinced.
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.
 To sit with a dog on a (beach)on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.”
― Milan Kundera

“You think those dogs will not be in heaven!
 I tell you they will be there long before any of us.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

“No matter how close we are to another person, few human relationships are as free from strife, disagreement, and frustration as is the relationship you have with a good dog. Few human beings give of themselves to another as a dog gives of itself. I also suspect that we cherish dogs because their unblemished souls make us wish – consciously or unconsciously – that we were as innocent as they are, and make us yearn for a place where innocence is universal and where the meanness, the betrayals, and the cruelties of this world are unknown.”
― Dean Koontz,

“I have found that when you are deeply troubled,
there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog
that you can get from no other source.”
― Doris Day 

“Spiritual fulfillment doesn’t have to mean belief in a religion or disbelief in science.
 … Whether one believes in an unseen, all-knowing force,
or the wonder of science and the universe,
or simply the beauty of the human spirit,
 nearly every one of feels an inner longing
to feel part of something bigger than ourselves.”
― Cesar Millan – The Dog Whisperer.

It is what it is

 We are enjoying some glorious weather…. and this week the glory continues so I plan to do some  dog walking on the beach (which did not see as much destruction on Ct’s coast as last year’s Hurricane Irene).

 The guy and I ventured out yesterday, as did many others… it was great to see so many people in good spirits, faces up to the sun and out over the water, marveling at the beauty of the day.

 Now that the election is over, flared tempers have subsided and tension has eased at This Old House… I think we like each other again …..

It’s all good.

Max-a-Million

 For those of you who are horse savvy,  you know that the search for the right horse is not always easy and isn’t always found down the road you thought you’d be traveling.  Whether you’re looking for a Steady Eddie or something with a little more athletic zip … sometimes what you think you brought home to the barn doesn’t quite work out the way you had hoped.  Over the years we’ve made a few mistakes… ended up with a horse or two that had “too much engine” for our daughter, or myself.    I’m a sucker for a pretty face or a sob story, and sometimes in the horse world that ain’t a good thing.   We have always managed to re-sell or give those horses to good homes, where the rider/owner was looking for something with more ZIP.

We like the steady Eddie… and with 17 year old semi-retired show horse Max, we’ve gotten exactly that.   High praise to the horse Gods for sending him our way….

The object of his affection

It was bought for Rudy…
the pisspot, the only dog who gets locked in a crate in this house
because he marks EVERYTHING whenever you’re not around.
(I’ve been told it’s a dachsund thing)
Rudy loves the soft squeeky toys made of that pliable but
not easily broken rubber stuff.
The cupcake was his new treasure.
Frasier covets the cupcake.
When Rudy is not in his crate, Frasier immediately sees that as an opportunity
to go steal the cupcake.
I put it on top of the mantle so he can’t take it.
(and rip it up)
If the door is closed.. he tries to pull the blanket through the crate
to get to the cupcake.
He does this even when Rudy is IN the crate.
It’s an obsession.
Sometimes when I’m not looking,  he succeeds.
…..Houston… we have a problem.

  And don’t ya think I’ve already thought to buy three more @%#$! cupcakes?…
and I can’t find a one.  Not a one.

Snow = Food, don’t ya know

 First, I have to acknowledge the plight of the people of New York and New Jersey who are still coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. We’ve now been hit by a Nor’Easter… and while it’s no big deal up here… it’s like salt in the wound for them. 

  Anyone who doesn’t believe our severe weather patterns for the last few years aren’t an indication that the world is-a-changing climate-wise… is living under a rock.  I don’t know if Al Gore had it right or if this is the natural cyclical order of things, but it’s scarey.

Do you see my roses, still blooming… till now. 

  I called the manchild’s school yesterday and asked them to let him come home, new driver plus snow and wind.. not a great mix.  They obliged and assured me I wasn’t the only nutzo mom doing so.  Today they have no school.  Thank you, powers that be.  This morning although we have only a few inches out there, the wind is still strong and there is ice on the roads.  Weird.. a week ago, tropical hurricane…today, snow on the pumpkins.

 What do I do when cooped up in This Old House?  Cook!  and EAT!   I usually have company by the stove.

I made Cheyenne’s pumpkin chocolate chip muffins again…
Recipe here ..
if you haven’t tried them, believe me, they’re worth the effort.
…and for dinner last night I made sirlion in blackberry sauce..
recipe HERE….
My friend Raven let her readers in on this potato recipe..
Cut potatoes of choice in half after washing thoroughly.
I use red potatoes.
melt 1/4 lb. butter and spread in large pyrex
Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top of melted butter
add salt, pepper and a little cayenne..
then place potatoes cut face down on top.
Bake at 400 for approx 40 minutes, serve!
Looks like this when done. Delicious!

Have a great day, all – looks like we’ll be spending some of it here…

Tell me….

… is there anyone who doesn’t want this for our country?
Let’s all put our differences aside and make it happen.
We all play a part, even in our attitude.
Hard work, determination for a better way of life, and working together
is what built America.  Let’s pay it forward.   
“America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.
I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.”
Amen.
– and that’s all I’m gonna say about that.