Photo Challenge Fail

So, I failed my photo challenge. 

 Miserably.  

There was just no way I could keep up with the frantic rush of the Christmas season, 

the multiple illnesses the Brat Child had, 

my own health issues, 

the dog's ongoing mystery illness, 

the cat's UTI, 

normal life and all its demands,

 taking specific photos 

and blogging. 

So, here are the photos I did take:

 Ok, so I didn't take this, my sister did 

(that's her front and center with me to the left, 

my mom to the right and my daughter in the back), 

and it was taken on Thanksgiving, 

 but it was going to be my photo for "Family".

 This is Bailey getting one of her regular baths with medicated shampoo.

Since August, Bailey has had a mysterious skin issue where she looses her hair

and scratches until she has open sores which then develop into skin infections.

We are on possible diagnosis #3: food allergy. 

I now get her meds at the Pharmacy-

the name reads "Bailey J. dog of Jamie"

 This is Gibbs the cat.

Here he is shown playing dead 

waiting for an unsuspecting Vet Tech to enter the room

so he can attack them.

Seriously.

He went from love bug to rabid jaguar in 6 seconds.

After attacking the tech and me, 

he prowled the room continuously

hissing and growling and swiping at whatever got in his way.

He had a UTI, easy enough to fix with pills.

Ever try to give a rabid jaguar pills?

 This is Gibbs hiding from getting his pills.

He learned to keep the pills in the side of his mouth

so I thought they had been swallowed,

then he's spit them out in the hallway.

Now I crush them up and mix them with canned food.

So far he doesn't suspect.

 A photo from Valley View Farms in Baltimore.

It has every ornament imaginable

even some you can't imagine.

 Christmas Day and the Brat Child with one of his favorite gifts.

 A shot of one of my favorite gifts- the game Quelf.

If you want a night full of hysterical laughing,

play this game.

So those are the photos I managed to snap this month.

Will I manage to do the January Challenge?

Who knows.

I'll make an effort, but I'm not going to make it seem like a chore

or worry about getting it done.

Cat and Dog Games

 This is Templeton.

He is one of two barn cats.

I saved him from certain death when he was a kitten

(someone was going to give him to their dog as a play toy)

Templeton has attitude.

He only pays attention to you and allows you to give him attention when he feels like it.

And he enjoys messing with Bailey the chocolate lab.

 Bailey is in the background,

leash looped over a fence post while the humans take care of feeding the horse.

Templeton is perched on the log by the barn door

pretending not to notice the dog.

 But then he looks at Bailey to make sure she's watching

while Templeton rubs up against the door.

He's also been known to sit perched on the bow of the old boat,

closer but still just out of reach.

It drives Bailey bonkers.

Blizzard of 2014

This past Wednesday into Thursday we had a significant snow storm.

A snow storm is marginally better than an ice storm.

The hens were all snug in their coop

though certainly not happy about being cooped up again.

Luckily we have a snowblower and child labor.

Inside we resorted to playing Monopoly that should be called

The Game That Will Not End.

 Jake was passed out.

It was tough for a puppy to jump around 24" of snow.

Luckily we were prepared for potential power outages.

We had our fridge stocked with esstentials

(Like Helluva Good French Onion Dip and Potato Chips)

and we had water stored

and wood.

But never lost power.

State of the Resolutions Address

I think the Arctic temperatures have everything bound up.
Like icy constipation.
Frozen pipes.

I broke another chicken waterer this morning

and I'm tired of having to keep the chickens locked up.

They aren't too happy about that either.

The dark cold snowy night treks to the coop are getting old too.

This guy is staying (like there was ever a doubt he would).

Ended up naming him Jake.

So exactly what have I managed to do as far as resolutions?

I did get groceries for the office so I won't be needing to eat out this week during work.

And what I got is salad items and celery and hummus for snacking.

So I'm improving in those couple of things.

I have not exercised. 

I did pin a couple of exercise items to Pinterest

(I don't think that counts).

I downloaded a meditation app on my iPhone

that seems like a pretty good one actually.

I haven't used it yet.

I did get rid of 2 trash bags full of toys from my son's room.

And I donated some unneeded blankets

and some shirts.

So, it's obvious I need to kick it up a notch.

 But I'm guessing I'll be doing more procrastinating

by playing with this cutie and taking 50 million instagram photos of him.

Updates: Resolutions, Warm Chickens and an Abandonded Puppy

As far as resolutions go,  

I haven't followed through with any of them yet.  

This makes me ticked off with myself and 

that hopefully means a renewed desire to get back to the plan.  

While many might think resolutions as a waste of time, 

the ones I made were items I wanted to work on to improve my life.  

So by not doing them,

I'm not improving anything 

and I'm staying in this stagnant pool and that is no longer acceptable.  

Stress, however, has a way of waylaying your best intentions.  

(of course the healthier eating and exercise will help with stress so I should just shut up and get to it)

In other news, 

the chickens lived through the Great Polar Vortex of 2014.

Not that I was overly concerned.

The biggest problem was breaking the waterer.

This Spring I'll be thinking up some other ideas for that

(someone I know uses a 5 gallon bucket, that would make things easier most of the year- 

less cleaning and fill ups)

The big news is that Big E and I found a puppy.

He's featured in the video above barking- halfheartedly- at the chickens

(if one of those hens came towards him he'd be hiding behind my legs).

(Finally had time to do a full cleaning of the coop between cold fronts and rain/snow showers)

We found him this past Sunday

along a rural dirt road.

He was nearly hit by another car.

We have, of course, sent word to the 2 area SPCA's 

and posted an ad in the local paper.

No one has called.

We also contacted the only 2 houses in the area and neither families know the dog.

That leads me to believe that he was dumped there on the country road 

in the winter.

Because if I lost a puppy I'd be frantic looking for him

since he can't protect himself from other animals 

and has not yet learned about the dangers of cars.

Both SPCA's agree that he's most likely a dump.

I can't believe this myself because he's such a good puppy.
Since Sunday we have had NO accidents in the house or crate.

He hasn't chewed up the pillow he sleeps on in the crate either

(my lab Bailey would have devoured it 30 seconds after being locked up).

So for now, while we search for potential owners who might be looking for him,

he's staying.

We're calling him Clyde.

PSA: If you have an unwanted animal, DO NOT dump them on the street, release them into the woods or dump them in a stream.  There are places that will take them in- like a humane society or SPCA.  Many have overnight holding cages. 

'Tis The Time for Pumpkin Cookies

I decided to bake some pumpkin cookies
for the annual bingo night at my son's school.
It is, after all, pumpkin flavored season. 

Pumpkin cookies baking in the oven

 Bailey laid down ever so innocently 

as though she had no interest 

in what was being placed in the oven to bake.

 Knowing only too well (from experience)
that Bailey will make a beeline
to whatever she can reach on the counter,
I had to make a barricade for the cookies that were cooling.

Golden raisin filled deliciousness.

She's nothing if not predictable!

Here is the recipe for the cookies.
I can't take original credit for them, though.
One of my coworkers used to make them for the annual
Open House he and his wife hosted at their craft store.
I'm not usually a fan of pumpkin things
but I love these cookies.

Bob's Moist Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter                                              2 1/4 C flour                             3/4 C raisins

1 C packed brown sugar                       1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 C granulated sugar                         1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 C canned pumpkin                      1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg                                                             1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla                                               1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 F

Beat butter and sugars until creamy, beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla, mix in flour and other dry ingredients, stir in raisins. Drop heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet bake 12-15 minutes, store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!