Itty Bitty Hooves

Getting The Spirit

I bought hubby an electric massage chair for his birthday this year and it’s really cool, but now I need a new ‘comfy’ chair for watching tv in the evenings. Mine is a really old rocker easychair. It isn’t in the best of shape, but it is comfortable. My biggest gripe with it is it’s so low that it’s hard to get out of. Maybe I’m just getting old. Okay, I am just getting old, but so is that chair. I’ve been looking around, I think I used up my ‘Christmas gift’ possibilities yesterday with my purchase, but I can play that one off as a family gift since I’m sure hubby will use it too, so maybe I can swing a new living room chair into the picture for Christmas. I found some AWESOME leather/fabric combos at Century furniture they look positively luxurious. I’d like something like that since I adore the looks of leather and yet love the comfort of a soft fabric. I’m begining to feel the Christmas spirit already. Maybe I’ll pull the lights down out of the attic this evening.

Where To Move?

Real estate prices are really sky rocketing out here even in farm country. The farm land is going up by leaps and bounds because of the new ethenol plant hopes. Farmers are plowing up fields and replanting corn where they used to have other things in hopes of cashing in on the corn craze… I hope it continues because even rural housing real estate is receiving a beneficial boost from land values jumping. They still can’t compare to the extraordinary prices you find up in the city where empty residential lots — when they can be found — can cost over fifty grand for less than a 1/4 acre. Man if I could get that kind of price for my land with ten acres here I could have a million bucks. Not too mention I could sell the parcel with the house on it for a lot more. Ah well, not likely any time soon. In the meantime still trying to decide which area of the country we’d like to retire in for good. Thoughts are leaning toward Tennessee and Kentucky. I desperately want warmer winters, but we’re afraid of the drought ridden areas like Texas and Oklahoma. The scary thing is Tennessee has been getting a bit of that just lately, and it’s even threatening to come up as far north as we are now. It’s getting so that we might not have any place moveable and still be able to have the animals.

Getting Fitter

Well I did it. I just ordered the ‘total gym’ online. I’ve seen the commercials and thought it was cool, but I finally decided that one: I spend so much time each day working at my computer that I need something that will get my blood moving. Two: I need to be able to do it AT home, and three: the older I get the more things sag so man I need this fast. Vanessa Williams was on television yesterday promoting something or other and made the comment that after 40 you have to move your body or things start to get fat… yeah boy, she got that right for sure. I do a lot around the farm but it’s the same thing all the time and other than moving hay bales from a stack to a cart it really doesn’t involve anything heavy. It’s good for cardio because it’s a lot of walking and pushing and stuff, but not really ‘exercise’ in the toning sort of way that I’m needing more and more of.

So, I bit the bullet and got the ‘try it for 30 days for only $49.95′ deal and then it’s like 99 dollars a month for 17 months if I keep it. I hope it is as good as it looks. I think I’ll like it a lot.

Great Hair Days

I’ve always loved long hair. With all that I do around the farm, and outside it’s hard to have long hair of my own. I’ve grown it to long lengths before but always end up cutting it off because it is in the way. When I go out though I do miss it. Now I’m thinking about getting a real hair wig and getting celebrity style hair that I can have when I want it, and not when I don’t. That will be great when I have to make public appearances for signings, and book talks. I love the feeling I get from having long, luxurious hair. Now I can again thanks to Remy hair.

I really love some of the styles, and can even get front pieces and add-ons to just give an accent if I’m not feeling the need for long locks all over. That’s an especially great idea for Gemini’s like me that like to change up the pace all the time. I don’t like looking the same every time I go out.

All’s quiet on the western front here today. No heads stuck, no escapes, just peace and quiet. If you think that’s no big deal, you’re so wrong. What a difference it makes when even one doesn’t get stuck like yesterday. It throws such a wrench in your day and can make blood pressure rise. I can’t wait until this weekend. I’m going to try a method I’ve heard a lot about, but never seen until just yesterday when a friend posted a picture of her horned goat with the bar method employeed. You take a stick about a foot long and duct tape it to the horns horizontally. It doesn’t interfere with the goat in any way accept that they can no longer fit their heads through small holes! Gotta try it at least on Blondie. The trick will be to catch her. LOL

Dream Home

I dream like many people about houses that I’d like to live in. If I had the money to tear down my existing house what kind I’d put in its place. If I move and manage to buy a piece of property as my husband and I talk about often what kind of dwelling to build, and barns to put up. Thankfully my husband and I are often both on the same page. We both adore log, and wood homes.

There is just nothing more elegant in my mind than a timber built home or barn. Look at this breathtaking interior of a timberbeam home.

If you’re ready to build your new home and want the lasting quality of a real timber constructed building that far exceeds the quality of the prefab, and plywood housing structures that fall apart easily, check out these timber framers and see what they can do to create a beautiful, long-lasting home that you can be proud of for years to come.

Peace Between Goats and Fence Shortlived

It was just yesterday I was saying how wonderfully peaceful it has been without escapes, and stuck goats for the past few days. Wouldn’t you know it, it seems like I put the hex on my screnity. This morning Blondie was once again stuck in the fence bawling for me to come rescue her.

Now goats are well-known for their tendancy to put any fence to the test, and mine are certainly no exception, but it is Blondie who just can’t seem to get the idea clear in her mind that horns and small openings do not mix.

When I hear a goat bawling over being stuck I can almost to perfection name the goat–Blondie.

So it was this morning. The kind of cool thing about this morning is I got to test a theory I came up with awhile ago. Our buck Mickey is in with his herd of ladies of which Blondie is one, now. He’s a happy camper, but even though he’s not overtly aggressive he is pushy, and he does have one massively impressive set of horns that hook in an incredibly effective way that seems to always get you right behind the leg when he rubs up against you which is really all he wants to do.

He’s not mean, but his horns, and his weight make him dangerous to be around.

I’ve thought and thought about how to keep him from coming up on me and a few months ago I discovered that he, like most goats, hates water. More precisely, when I was filling a water tank in the goat pens and he came up, I sprayed some water in the direction of his face and he backed off.

Hum… I thought. Really cool but rather limiting. It’s only going to be effective so long as I’m within reach of the hose. That doesn’t help much when walking across the pasture.

The next time I went to WalMart I picked up a package of water guns. The little toy guns kids play with. I hoped that the spray from the gun would be a deterent for Mickey, but wasn’t really convinced on their effectiveness. We’re talking the difference between a full-force spray from a water hose, and a teeny little stream of water from a water pistol.

This morning armed with my little water gun I stepped into the field and began to make my way across to where Blondie was held captive by the nasty old fence, and sure enough, here came Mickey trotting through the grass towards me.

I aimed the gun when he was a few feet away and squirted him right between the eyes. He stopped and stood there while I continued to spray him and I started to think that this was a serious miscalculation. The spray was so thin and weak that it didn’t seem to have a real effect other than giving him cause to contemplate and wonder what I was doing.

… then…

he backed away.

Whew. Several times he came back over as I worked to free my stupid goat from the fence. Each time I stopped what I was doing and resumed my gunslinger stance playing target practice with a 350 pound goat.

Each time he gave up and walked away to mess with his girls.

I have found my solution. I don’t kid myself into thinking the water gun will be all the effective against him if I were carrying something REALLY interesting like… food. But just to walk around the pasture without worrying about being knocked over, or stuck with horns… it is terrific.

The Hard Work Of Owning A Home

Owning a house is a lot of work. I grew up living in an apartment and through all my young years and throughout my teens I dreamed of living in a house. When it finally happened I was overjoyed. The reality of the work involved soon became apparent. Just the normal everyday things that went so far beyond any sweeping, vaccuming, dusting, etc that I’d been accustomed to could occassionally be overwhelming. Lawn care, old pipes, knowing about furnaces and what to do when at which time of the year… all the things I’d never really learned growing up because when you have a landlord it really isn’t an issue.

Those were just the NORMAL things… then there were the really nasty problems. Wet basements, water leaks, roof leaks, MOLD.

Mold can be a huge health problem and really, really hard to get rid of. If you find a mold problem anywhere in your home please call upon a professional to help you get it under control. If you live in the New York area you can call Brooklyn New York basement waterproofing. They can help you get your leak problems taken care of, and most of all, help you get rid of that awful mold, and mildew build up that can accompany water damage. If black mold devlops do not take any chances. That type of mold can, and does cause serious health problems.

A water leak anywhere in your house is nothing to take lightly. Dealing with it quickly, before there is too much damage is the best way to handle the situation.

Owning a home is really hard work–but when it is all done and you can kick back and relax in your beautiful house that you have worked so hard on, it is all worth the effort.

Little Big Dog

Have you heard about the brave Chiuhuahua? (Give me a break, I think that’s how it is spelled. It is probably the hardest breed of dog to remember the spelling of.) I’m sure you have. It has been all over the news. I talked about it on my other blog the day it was first reported but it is just so amazing that you really can’t stop thinking about it.

This little bitty Chiuhuahua in Colorado somehow sensed that the one-year-old toddler grandson of his owners was in danger. In their backyard the boy was splashing his hands in a bird bath when the little dog jumped between him and a rattlesnake that had slithered into the area only inches from the boy. The dog took several bites and fended off the snake. Hher owners heard the dog, whose name is Zoey, yelp and came running. They grabbed the boy and got him who had no idea what a rattlesnake was, or what was going on, out of the way. They then came back and got Zoey and rushed her to the vet. She was in very dangerous condition for quite a while. A little dog like that can’t take too much venom. She made it though. She’s doing just fine and is a pretty close to being a national hero.

What’s really so striking about this is her size. I’ve owned dogs, and I’m sure we’ve all either owned one or heard of one with such brave attributes, but it isn’t usually one so tiny. This little dog took on a snake that probably weighed as much as she did, and in pure length was much bigger.

When you hear stories like that it’s hard not to know why our pets are so very important to us. They are companions, fellow commiserators when we’re down, and ultimately our protectors in times of need.

God bless little Zoey. Someday when the little boy grows up, he will know how truly brave his little friend really is.

Show Time Memories

I’ve owned many a show dog in my life, and probably will again in the future. There is something about owning a fine specimen and showing them off that makes an owner proud. Especially if they’re also the breeder, and possibly the trainer and handler as well. What a joy. I’m sitting here right now looking at a three foot long multi-streamer Best In Show ribbon that is a cherished reminder of a beloved pet long gone.

There is so much that goes into the quality care of a show dog. Truckloads of equipment, top quality shampoos, strong, durable clippers, and much, much more. Finding those items can be more difficult that stopping by the local pet shops that are geared toward family couch potatoes.

To be sure the best of the best show dogs can also be couch potatoes at times. My Dobie Storm who was the recepient of the BIS honors of which the ribbon in my office speaks was the biggest, baddest looking creature on God’s green earth, and an even bigger couch potatoe. There’s nothing he relished more than a long snooze on the cushions of his favorite couch while I watched tv right next to him. That was just his disguise though. He was really a fearsome guardian, and a wonderful competitor.

Even with a dog with such a short coat as a Doberman there is a lot that goes into the professional grooming requirements for a sleek and shiny show coat. High quality dog grooming dryers and shampoos, along with drummels that give a fine, short finish to toe nails. Everything right down to shimmering show collar chains and leads.

Top feeds and a lot of conditioning exercise all made up the components of the winning team that we were. I was proud to stand at the end of his leash. Proud to be his owner, handler, exhibitor. I can’t claim to have been the talented individual who bred him, but I was lucky enough to own his daughter that I bred and lead to many a victory as well. It was a long winning tradition. His lovely daughter is laying at my feet as I type, long retired from the rigors of a breed show and obedience career. I never bred her because as beautiful as she is, and even though she had a great knack for obedience trails, she didn’t have the termperment of a good Doberman… guarding the house isn’t her thing.

So the last of the generation will pass with her. It has been a long and fruitful relationship with Storm, Justice the mother of Twister who remains here with me still. When that time passes on to only memories for good, perhaps it will be time to once again look for an animal to put its head through the slim silver chain and stride with pride into the ring once more.

Perhaps it will be time to create more memories. For sure it will be time to build up a stash of supplies befitting the beautiful animals that grace the show ring. The products that give them the glow and help them achieve their greatest success. If you are taking your place in the ring, visit The Show Dog Store and get the grooming equipment that will give you an edge on success.