Friday, December 27, 2019

Totally Free Weight Rack

I’ve been wanting a weight rack since we added the gym but I never found exactly what I was looking for. Last week I spied 8 old square weights and two lengths of board that DH was planning on throwing away. Voila! A weight rack that’s exactly what I wanted. Better yet, it was free and repurposed materials that might have ended up in a landfill.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Hey Guys, that’s my side of the bed, guys? Yoo Hoo!

Yep, that’s the “twins” taking over the bed. Absolutely too cute to move. FYI, Reilly’s paws look dirty but it’s a shadow.

Friday, December 13, 2019

First Flower! Peace on Earth!


This Peace Lily was given to me by one of my favorite patients. Over the years she taught me a lot about plants, though she never reformed my “Throw and Grow” tendencies.

She gave it to me for Christmas so it’s appropriate that it would bloom for the first time in December. It started out as two small healthy shoots and will need to be repotted in spring. It actually should have already been repotted but then there’s that throw and grow thing going on. 😝


Saturday, December 7, 2019

One of My Favorite Things

This was a Christmas gift from my eldest son and I treasure it. It has an old time holiday feel that pulls me back to my grandparent’s houses at Christmas time. It’s my kitchen nightlight during December each year. I actually limit the number and amount of holiday decorations that we display. It not only makes it easier to put them up and take them down, we can also talk about each one as the are put out and savor the memories associated with them. May your holiday season be bright and filled with wonderful memories.


Monday, November 25, 2019

Love This Trusting Little Guy

This is Hutch. He’s looking up at Reed. Hutch is an amazingly sweet dog. It’s hard to believe he’s almost 10 years old.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Early Christmas Gift From Mother Nature

This little poinsettia was given to me by a patient years ago. Every spring I cut it back and enjoy watching it regrow its greenery while living on our upstairs porch.

As long as I bring it in before first frost and place it in a specific spot in my upstairs bathroom it blooms.

Most people would consider the pictured bloom to be flea bitten. I, on the other hand love it! It symbolizes the changes in light that the changing seasons bring about - the turning of the wheel. Simple things like this bring me more joy than any expensive, perfectly coifed plant could provide.

I can’t wait to see if the lower branches also flower.


Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Bad Hair Morning after a Tough Night

Fionn didn’t actually have a tough night. He’s just the dog equivalent of Pigpen from Peanuts. I wish I had caught the toothie grin he shot me a second before I snapped the picture.
Yes, we brush him, he loves it and 10 minutes later? Yep, he looks pretty much like this picture. It’s just who he is and we love him!

Monday, November 11, 2019

They Couldn’t Wait Until Thanksgiving....

....so I guess we’ll enjoy them now.  I’m secretly hoping to get a second set of blooms when I rotate them later this winter.

Friday, October 25, 2019

What a Pleasant Surprise!

We washed our windows today - better late than never. I always do seasonal plant care at the same time as windows. My plants take the place of curtains and if I have to move them all to clean the windows I may as well get them ready for winter.

When I turned my red Thanksgiving cactus around it was filled with buds! You can see some of them below. Did you know that actual Christmas Cactuses are pretty rare? What’s pictured below is a Thanksgiving Cactus and yes, it will be in full bloom by Thanksgiving. All four of my Thanksgiving cactuses are budding so there will be red, orange, purple and cream colored blooms for the holiday.




Friday, October 4, 2019

Yin and Yang

Here are “the twins” doing what they love most - hanging out together.


Friday, September 6, 2019

Daylily Seed Pods!

This morning I discovered a few seed pods on our daylily. Until today I didn’t know that a daylily can actually grow from seed. I noticed that our daylilies were particularly thick and the flowers in one area were more yellow than what I had planted. Hindsight I believe a plant must have grown from seed. Apparently they won’t necessarily resemble the plant that produced the seed.

I really hope the pods get to dry up before frost so I can plant them next year. Perennials don’t typically bloom the first year. I hope these bloom the second year because at my age you don’t want to be waiting too many years!

Monday, August 26, 2019

Gift From Nature

This spring we moved our fence back and added sections in order to give the dogs more running space. Almost immediately vines started growing up the fence. That’s not unusual but what is unusual are the beautiful flowers the vines are producing. These are truly a gift because I never planted them. I hope they’re a perennial so they come back and spread next year.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Feed Me!

Reilly is the smallest dog and therefore gets smaller portions. He’s forever trying to convince us that he’s a mere second away from starvation!

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Fionn Tried Kundalini Yoga

This afternoon during our family Kundalini Yoga session Fionn decided to join us. During a chant for guidance he started “singing.” I wish I could have taped him but it all happened too quickly.

The question now is whether his yodeling is a reflection on our singing abilities. I kind of think it is. :)

Purple Cone Flower

21 years ago I decided that I wanted an herb garden. My Great Grandmother and Grandmother has kitchen gardens and I wanted one too.

One of the plants I planted from seed was Purple Cone Flower and guess what? It’s still around after all these years. Go Throw&Grow Method!!

Now that I’m retired I’ve decided to harvest the seeds from these plants and see if I can grow some more clusters of them.

Here’s some additional info on this herb.

Description

Echinacea purpurea is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States as well as in the Canadian Province of Ontario. Wikipedia

Monday, August 19, 2019

Day Lilly Bulbs & The Throw And Grow Method of Gardening

I subscribe to the “Throw & Grow” Method of gardening. It’s an incredibly easy method. You throw the seeds on tilled ground or if you’re really ambitious, plant bulbs or a purchased plant and let them know that survival is more or less up to them.

I love watching them adapt and grow and, truth be told, I’m not above giving them an assist or moving them if they’re really struggling.

This is not the fast track to a showcase garden. It’s more a lesson on the attributes of your gardening area and how amazingly resilient plants can be.

So....These day Lily’s were planted over 20 years ago. I got them on clearance. Day Lily’s tend to do well in our area, but these struggled. Yet - here they are 20+ years later and totally thriving.

My plan is to plant more Day Lily varieties and see how they do. I’ll also see if I can split these and move some bulbs to another area.

You can probably make out some Lupine foliage too. There’s a story behind them but that’s for another time.


Sunday, August 18, 2019

Nate & Fionna

This is our son Nate with Fionna. She has a very interesting personality. She’s quite “in charge” when it comes to the “boys.”

Yet, for some reason she can be tentative about human affection. This is changing as she gets older. She’s turning into quite the snuggle bunny. Yet a lap is the one thing she’ll defer to the “boys.”  So we keep track of her and make sure she gets her share of lap time.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Jess, The Pet Whisperer

My son Nate and his SO Jess are visiting.  The dogs and cat gravitate to her and she’s always so gentle with them. He’s pretty much out of the shot but Reilly was sitting in front of the chair waiting for his turn.

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Little Hibiscus That Could

This hibiscus plant was given to me by a former patient and I love it. It’s really old, 30 Plus years old. It summers outdoors and winters indoors but because our home is small I have to keep it pruned.

I honestly don’t know a ton about hibiscus plants or their blooming cycle but it seems to bloom more often in the winter months and early spring.
Yesterday it gifted me with a beautiful bloom so hopefully there will be more. This year it will winter by the French doors so it will have more space to spread out. I’m also planning on learning a bit more about what I can do to encourage it to bloom.


Friday, August 9, 2019

Training is going Well

We’re still working on the peeing on command thing and it’s going really well! We now get 4 pees within a minute or so on each trip out. Fionn is now on board but Hutch is a bit resistant. Reilly is still working the game by lifting his leg multiple times and expecting a treat for each lift. Obviously Fionna doesn’t lift her leg but she’s always been really good about getting down to business before playing chase with the boys.

There’s actually been a couple side benefits to this new game. All four dogs wait for me to take them down rather than rushing right down the porch steps. We’ve also gotten a lot of practice recall and “No” (which they take to mean stop what you’re doing) and in general just watching me for the cue of what I want them to do next.

Yesterday they all sat relatively quietly in the kitchen while the UPS guy noisily left a package on the gym porch. Usually Fionn goes kind of crazy.

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Can a Dog Pee on Command?

This is Hutch doing just that. Many moons ago all 4 dogs were champs at this but we’ve gotten lax with making sure it happens so remedial training was necessary.

While we were at it we figured we’d also attempt to designate a specific place in the yard as the doggie latrine.

Less than 24 hours later everyone understands the game. Fionna got it right away but doesn’t like it one bit - does it but doesn’t like it.

Reilly was the first to truly get it and true to his nature he’s working the game. On a single trip out yesterday he lifted his leg in the open pen 5 times and of course got treated each time.

Hutch, who is pictured is a follower. Reilly had just squirted and Hutch followed his lead.  How about Fionn? Well he’s not as food driven and he doesn’t like this. He’s also protective and likes to leave his scent along the perimeter of the yard against the fence. It will be interesting to see how he takes to it. So far he goes in, lifts a leg, gets his treat and goes and squirts at the fence.

Interesting thing about this kind of training, it tires the dogs out and they’re actually more relaxed for it. Oh, and the pads are temporary. They’re for scent and to give the boys a target.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Enjoying a Fire

This is Hutch and Reilly enjoying the fire. They love their doggy lounge and the extra time spent outdoors.

Poor Hutch looks pudgy but he’s actually quite lean. It’s hard to believe that Hutch is 9 years old. He’s picked up a lot of white on his snout. Reilly is 7 but acts a lot younger.

The picture looks bright but was taken at dusk. Below is a short video of the fire once it was totally dark.











Sunday, August 4, 2019

Fionna the Bone Collector

Our dogs are given meaty bones to chew for their dental health and also because it’s a great way for them to chill out. We give each dog a bone and they go off to their favorite place to enjoy it and all is peaceful - until - Fionna pretty much finishes hers and decides that the other bones, being chewed by her brothers, are probably meatier. Off she goes merrily collecting one bone at a time until she’s got them all. The crazy thing is that the boys allow her to get away with it. Oh, they might grumble a bit but then they let her take their bones! The video below shows her with 3 bones. There’s a 4th and 5th bone behind her but out of the shot! She’s such an avid chewer and yet never once chewed anything other than a bone, even as a puppy. 



Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Morgan

This is a picture of our very first Jack Russell Terrier, Morgan. Our son, Beau drew this and he really captured her.
She was quite the old girl here, probably 16 or so. She loved that chair and napped in it every day.


Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Embarrassingly Huge Fitness Collection

I’m always referring to it so I thought I’d show it off. This bookcase holds pretty much all my Fitness DVDS and my most referred to fitness books. It actually doesn’t look too bad until you notice that there are three huge and two medium sized DVD wallets on the bottommost shelf.

I currently have no exercise streaming subscriptions and don’t have a membership to a gym. Actually the only gym membership I ever had came as a perk for teaching there - and I still used my DVDs instead! So this bookcase represents 40 years of staying fit. If I calculated 40 years of gym memberships I’d definitely come out ahead of the game.

And yes, there are workouts from 40 years ago that I still use these days. They were originally VHS tapes that I replaced with DVDs as they wore out. I actually did Callanetics so many times that I wore out two VHS tapes and finally bought a DVD of the workout. Same with some of The Original Firm VHS Tapes.

This is definitely not for everyone and I understand that but, for me it’s a huge source of joy. My daily exercise time is my “me” time. It’s me taking the time to care for myself and I love every minute of the process from deciding what to do, to doing it, to thinking back over the workout as I take my post workout shower.

I wish I could bottle the joy and elation that my daily workouts bring me and give a bottle to anyone who wanted one. That’s not possible because we’re all individuals and you really need to discover what lights your fire and keeps you coming back for the joy. I assure you It’s worth the effort to find it.

So what type of movement, sport or exercise lights your fire? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Monday, July 29, 2019

My Serenity Place

Unfortunately the camera fails to capture the magic. :)

We have a huge area of our yard “fenced.” This keeps the critters out and the dogs safe. It also helps stave off the relentless encroachment of the forest. What can I say? Nature lives to go forth and multiply!

Anyhoo, we expanded the fencing an additional 6’ back and 6’ to one side and when we did I discovered this lovely sun-dappled view. The light plays through the tree tops so it dances about on the forest floor and the birdsong is wonderful. I took the picture through the fence. I want to put one of those benches that converts to a picnic table there so I can enjoy the view and read and journal in warm weather.


Sunday, July 28, 2019

The UPS Guy Left These

He’s new and I suppose he wants to win the dogs over. Little does he know how much they already love his arrival. The same 4 dogs who are totally quiet when a massage is going on in the massage room go crazy when the UPS truck arrives. (They’ll bark a couple times but are strangely subdued if he arrives while a massage is going on.)

Our old UPS man used to delight in trying to sneak up on the dogs and even did it a couple of times. We shared a good chuckle over that.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Reclaimed Fire Ring


We built this simple fire pit this summer. It’s almost completely built from salvaged materials, right down to the stones. It has a salvaged grate so it doubles as a barbecue grill. It’s enjoy sitting around it in the evenings. Meditating on flame patterns is very relaxing. S’mores and toasted marshmallows (the real deal) aren’t so bad either. :) 

The birds song you hear isn’t augmented in any way. We enjoy it during the warmer months. The songs dependably change from hour to hour during the course of the day. It’s a stark contrast to the winter months when it’s so still and silent. 


Thursday, July 25, 2019

Nobody But Us Pillows On This Bed!

Fionn (pronounced Finn) is allowed on the bottom of the bed on a special throw blanket just for him. On this particular morning he “hid” himself in amongst the pillows. I swear he thought he wouldn’t be seen.

He’s such a clown and keeps us laughing every single day!

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Wild Flowers with a History

 
When my sister got married, over 21 years ago, wedding guests all got a packet of flower seeds to plant in honor of the bride and groom. We live in planting zone 3-4 so I wasn’t sure that those flowers would even last a single summer.

I planted them where I could watch and nurture them. In the end the only flowers that survived that first winter were daisies. In the ensuing years the forest has encroached but those daisies come up, without fail every spring. Each year when I see them I’m reminded of Shani and John and the love that they share.

Daisies represent new beginnings and true love. Isn’t that just the best? Love you little sister!





Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Grabbing Some Lap Time

Starsky is a rescue cat. He was considered unadoptable because he has FIV and additional health issues so he was the shelter cat. That is, until we met. The minute I saw him we connected. I wasn’t planning on taking a cat home but immediately asked about adopting him and was turned down because he was, after all, the shelter cat.

One month later I got a call asking if I still wanted to adopt him. Apparently since we met he had been a changed cat. He was getting into mischief overnight and they had to keep him crated whereas he had previously had the run of the joint - open crate - at night. What kind of mischief, you ask? Once he managed to call 911 in the middle of the night. Another time he took down a cat nip display, opening every package and tossed the contents about. As they explained it, “He’s a cat with a serious cat nip problem.”


Starsky takes our Jack Pack in his stride and always has. He is now blind in one eye and is not as playful as he used to be but he’s doing well having lived several years past the expected lifespan for an FIV+ cat. He has a daily routine, which he pretty much sticks to. He has twice daily eye drops and an herbal squirt that he takes like a trouper.

All in all he’s one amazing cat and we feel blessed to have him here. Oh, and he still loves Cat Nip.

Monday, July 22, 2019

The “Twins”

They aren’t really Twins. Fionna is actually 3 years younger than Reilly but they are always together.

They even prefer to share the same crate. We got a larger crate for them once we realized that they were cramming themselves into the same smaller crate for naps.

It’s so funny to see them walk around a corner and into a room side by side and perfectly in step.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

4 Jack Russel “Terrors” Do New Years Resolutions

Fionna




First up Fionna who says:
I'm going to exercise daily and make sure I eat my nutrient dense, species appropriate dog food in proper portions to be my healthiest.

I also need to stop hanging around with mom so much because, dang it all, she's really starting to rub off on me and I'm not sure I like it!

EEK! I'm even doing run on sentences like she does!











Hutch says:
I'm going to avoid walking up too many hills and perform a series of daily Up dogs and Down dogs in order to elongate my leg muscles. I'm hoping this will give them a longer, sleeker appearance.












Reilly says:
I'm going to stop using my impossible cuteness to my advantage. Well only 50% of the time because let's face it, when you're blessed with this much cuteness it would be a sin not to use it at least part of the time. Please don't hate me. I come by it naturally.





Fionn (that's Finn to you) says:
I'm going to stop stealing Dad's gloves out of his pockets - right under his nose, hee hee.

I'm warning you though, underwear and socks? Those are still fair game!

BTW, I prefer Van Heusen undies and LLBEAN socks.






Starsky the cat says: Their Cat? THEIR CAT??? Between you and me I own those dogs. I'm going do my best to tease the life out of those dogs. THEIR CAT? They'll be eating those words in 2016.

Reilly adds: It's really a shame that mom didn't catch my best angle in that picture but even at my worst I'm still way cuter than the cat! Don't ya think? heh, heh heh


Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to see how those resolutions pan out in 2016!

PS, This is mom to this pack. I thought maybe I'd vow to put and end to run on sentences and maybe even a few of my other grammatical faux pas but honestly it drives the grammar police crazy and it's part of my charm so I guess you can't count on that changing in 2016! ;)


This is obviously an old post but it’s so darn hot and humid and the thought of January weather is a bit cooling, NOT!








Saturday, July 20, 2019

16 Reasons Why Jack Russels are the Worst Pets!


THIS brief article gave me the biggest chuckle this morning! Hope it makes you smile too! Remember that grinning is anti-aging face exercise in the form of joy!

Friday, July 19, 2019

And Then There Were 4!

Tonight Reed decided to walk on the treadmill and just see what would happen. With in 30 seconds he had three dogs walking with him. They just jumped on board.

Poor Hutch was watching and trying to figure out where he could fit in the scheme of things. Finally, he made his move and then there were four.  It looks like Hutch jumps off but he didn't. I have more video I'll put below.

Notice Fionna nipping at the hem of Reed's pants. She's letting him know she's there in case he decides to hand out treats.





Thursday, July 18, 2019

Look What Happened Yesterday

Reed was walking Fionn and Reilly on the Treadmill when Fionna decided she wanted to join in on the fun. Note she has no lead. She spontaneously jumped on and continued to walk for 20 minutes. She's a high energy little dog and would run and walk 6 times a day if you let her. She may have also been angling for another breakfast but was happy with a doggy biscuit.

Reilly wasn't sure he was too happy with the change. He's our Dandy and is pretty sure the world revolves around him. As you can see, by the time I was able to film them he got over it.



Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Tired Dogs

Another older post I found: Play hard in the snow, rest easy by the woodstove, then rinse and repeat!


Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Old post alert:

This why the dogs look so tired when they're relaxing around the wood stove. Yes, we do leave our lawn furniture out all winter. It's LLBean all weather furniture and it's worth its weight in gold. The chairs have been wintering out for 18 years without any noticeable changes.




PS: The furniture still looks great 20+years and counting. 

Monday, July 15, 2019

Napping With Her Babies

Fionna by the woodstove. She gathered her favorite toys and bones up and situated them within easy reach prior to settling down.