Dogs on Thursday, Birthday Edition

For this week's Dogs on Thursday, we are celebrating the May birthdays of past and present residents of BritKnitterville. First up are Katie and Scarlett, born May 13, 1991.

Aren't they just the cutest little things? Those heads look huge compared to their little bodies. They were litter mates. Mom and dad brought Katie home, and the next day I went and got Scarlett. Eventually, Katie was so very bad for mom and dad, that they were at their wit's end. Katie ate holes in rugs, furniture and clothes, and even ate a pin cushion, and the pins! When she was almost a year old, she started climbing over the fence and running around the neighborhood. In short, her behavior was less than acceptable, and Katie needed a new home. She came to live with Scarlett, and never did another bad thing after that. I think she just missed her sister.

A few years later, Mellie came along. She was born May 12, 1997. See how light she was at a pup? That's why we started calling her Mellie Vanillie. What a good dog she was.

Here is a picture of my three May birthday girls. Left to right, that is Scarlett, Mellie and Katie. this picture was taken in 1998.

Notice the right edge of that photo? That's Mellie's handiwork. She was a chewer. She loved, loved, LOVED paper. This is a rare shot of all three dogs together, so I couldn't throw it away. Besides, I think the chewed edge add a little something to the photo, don't you?

Believe it or not, the next brittany pup added to the household was also born in May. May 12th, 2001 to be exact. That would be my beloved Emma. Here she is, all tuckered out after playing with her big sisters. She loved to lay on my garden shoes.
Not just my shoes - any old shoes would do.

Quite a coincidence that these four girls were all born in May! Emma is probably the last brittany whose birthday we will know, as I won't be buying any more dogs from breeders. Nothing against these sweet girls, but with so many homeless dogs out there, I'll always choose a rescue organization over breeders.

Oh, and there is one other resident of BritKnitterville with a May birthday... Me!

Yes, I was born May 12, 19-::cough,cough,sputter:: Excuse me--tickle in my throat. (Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes sent through Facebook yesterday.) Emma says she doesn't mind sharing her birthday with me, as long as it is clear that she is the #1 focus on that day.
Well, truth be told she has to be the #1 focus on her birthday and on every other day of the year!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! It doesn't matter if your children are two-legged or four-legged, you're still a mother and should celebrate today!

I want to wish a special Happy Mother's Day to the best mom I know. Fortunately, that just happens to be my mom! She is a practical, no-nonsense, kind of mom, and we always knew that there was a line you would never cross, and if you happened to get too close to that line, there would be consequences. We had what many would think was an impossibly restricted childhood. Yes, it is true. Want some examples of this "cruelty"?

• We were taught to say "please", "thank you", and "excuse me".
  
• We wore our Sunday Best on Sunday, even though my Sunday Best was more likely than not hand-me-downs from my sister's Sunday Best.
• We were grateful for new clothes and new shoes.
• We did chores around the house.
• We were given an allowance (75 cents a week), and taught how to manage money. (Sadly, that lesson didn't really sink in with me...)
• We worked for extra spending money. I started babysitting when I was 11 years old which greatly contributed to my decision, made at a very young age, that I never, ever, ever wanted to have kids. Ever.

As you can see, I survived a shockingly severe childhood. I am thankful for the upbringing I had, and for the fact that I have always felt my mother's love. Too many kids today do not have that kind of strict-but-loving mom, and I believe our communities, and indeed our country, is the worse for it.

As I was looking for pictures of mom to post today, I realized that a large percentage of the picture of mom are when she is holding a baby. I don't know if it's because she is always the one taking pictures of everyone else, or if it's because she manages to snatch any baby in her vicinity and snuggling a baby is just about the only time that she sits still. Probably a combination of the two. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the best mom in the world.

Mom holding Colette, 2005

Mom holding Sophia, 2009

Mom holding Mellie, 1997

Mom holding Lexie, Emma "helping", 2007

On this Mother's Day, what would I wish for? World peace? An end to hunger? No more homelessness, for people or pets? No, my wish is for everyone to have a mother like mine. That would accomplish the first three wishes, and so much more. I love you, mom.

Lobbying for an 11 month calendar.

For this week's Dogs on Thursday, I've decided to start a campaign. Abolish April! It's no secret that April is my least favorite month. Why? Do I have something against spring weather? Daffodils? The Easter Bunny? Ha. It's because I lost these two lovely girls in the month of April.

Scarlett and Mellie, May 1997

Yesterday was the third anniversary of Mellie's crossing over the rainbow bridge. Rough day. Rough week. Rough month.

Melanie, aka Mellie, Mellie Vanillie

May 12, 1997 - April 14, 2007

The month of May can't come soon enough.

Missing Two Very SpecialDogs on Thursday

All this week, I've been listening to Heidi by Johanna Spyri on my iPod. It's just one of the many, many books I have enjoyed (for free!) from Librivox. I listen while I'm at work, either cleaning the sticky fingerprints off of the cases in the mornings, or while editing photos and crap and other mindless very important work on the computer.

Anyway, as I was listening to Heidi earlier this week, the following sentence jumped out at me:

". . . the grandmother said . . . 'the heart is comforted with the assurance that some day everything that we have loved will be given back to us.' "

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this. It almost took my breath away when I heard it. Literally, it stopped me in my tracks.

You see, April is a month full of memories of loss for me. I almost want to crawl into bed on March 31 and not leave it until May 1st. I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know I have so many things to be thankful for. I know that I am so very lucky when it comes to my family, and the fact that my parents are in such good health, and Emma and Tara are as healthy as can be. Still, the incredibly unreasonable and selfish part of me wants more. I desperately want my dear Scarlett who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 4, 2003...

...and my dear Mellie who crossed April 14th just last year. I miss these sweet girls more than words can say. Why do I so desperately long for something I know I can never have? I guess if I knew the answer to that, the makers of Prozac would be out of business.

Speaking of loss, there are still no sign of Ducky the Duckster, that little floozy. Even Napoleon has stopped coming by. I've heard another rooster crowing from somewhere farther away than Napoleon's house. I would think it was that crafty little Napoleon (who lured away my sweet, innocent little Ducky) throwing his voice, but it's a very different "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo," so it's definitely a new rooster in the 'hood. Maybe Ducky took up with this new rooster? I'll have to do some investigating. If I don't blog for a while, it's because one of my neighbors had me thrown in jail for trespassing. Bake me a cake with a file in it, will you? Chocolate would be my preference.

A Tale of Nine Chickies

Eleven years ago today, nine little baby chicks came to live with us. Their names were Emma, Lizzie, Joanie, Becky, Julie, Orange Feet, Peanut, Black One and Ducky. They spent their first day in a Pyrex bowl under a heat lamp.
As they grew, they explored their storage box, and found food and water...


...and a big "monster" named Mellie who liked to stick her head in the box and try to give them kisses.
They soon outgrew their storage box, and moved into a kiddie pool in the garage. Their mommy hung a hula hoop from the rafters and draped it with tulle to keep the chickies from wandering around and getting into mischief.

Soon they were too big for the kiddie pool, so they moved into their new home-- a chicken coop with a fenced-in play yard.

They had perches where they would huddle together and go to sleep at night......and nesting boxes where they could lay their eggs.
As they grew, the chicken named Julie started to look a little different from all of the others. Julie did not lay any eggs. Julie started to make cock-a-doodle-doo noises. Can you tell which chicken is Julie?Julie (now known as Julio) "played rough" with the other chickens (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), and attacked any human who dared to enter the chicken coop.
Julio went away to live on a farm. (No, not that kind of farm - Julio went to live with another family who wanted to raise chickens, but only had two hens.) Julio was very happy at his new home and right away "played rough" with his new coop-mates, much to the delight of his new owners.

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To Be Continued...

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Earlier in the week, I thought this story would end today, but my niece Jenny called my sister to wish her a Happy Birthday yesterday, and had a thought about Ducky's whereabouts. Jen thought that maybe, just maybe, Ducky did not get taken away by an evil hawk or eagle or fox (or Colonel Sanders).

And maybe, just maybe, she merely took offence at us moving her doghouse full of eggs into the coop (we wanted to keep them safe), and she wandered off to lay another nest of eggs nearby.

And maybe, just maybe, Ducky is hiding from us, for fear that we would mess with her new nest (even though we have not disturbed her original eggs, just made them safer).

And maybe, just maybe, Ducky will come wandering back to us in 21 days (according to this site, that's how long chicken eggs incubate) with a little family of her own.

And maybe, just maybe, I will win the lottery, become Queen of England, and knitters will rule the world.

An Embarrassment of Riches...

"An embarrassment of riches..." I read that in a book somewhere, (maybe by Louisa May Alcott???) and can't think of a better title for this post.

I came home from work and, from the driveway, I saw a huge package at my back door. Well, I ordered some nutritional supplements for the dog's food last week, so that must be it, right? No, the box is too big for that. Could it be the box of cat treats & a snuggle that Criquette said she would be sending for the cats my niece Jen is caring for at Tabby's Place. No, the box is really too big for that, unless it is the mother-lode of cat treats. I take a look at the return address, and it is indeed from Criquette. I open the box, and there are a ton of cat treats and a lovely green snuggle to keep the kitties warm, and there is an envelope that says "Brits Gone Wild: Please open before going any further."

I read the note, and it turns out that this whole time I've been nervous about slipping up and accidentally revealing my identity to my Secret Pal spoilee because I've known her for a while now, I also knew my spoiler. Yes, my "upstream" secret pal was the lovely, kind and wonderful Criquette! I can't say too much about my "downstream" secret pal since the package just went in the mail today, but it's really freaky. You'll have to trust me on this for now.

Take a look at this package of goodies. All wrapped in orange and cream paper. Yes, Brittany colors!

Every gift related to the dogs or cats (even the chickens) in some way.

Beagle Bagel dog treats for Emma and Tara, freeze-dried chicken & salmon treats for Joey (and now Tigger and Striper, but that's a story for another post), and lovely cleome seeds from Criquette's garden for the chickens to enjoy (but they are to just enjoy looking at them, not digging them up!).

Emma and Tara immediately got into the spirit of present opening, and they are both thrilled with their bagels! Tara loves her treats!

Here is Emma trying to help herself, but mean old mommy said "Just one treat until after dinner."

They looked through the book "Not Just More Socks" that Auntie Criquette sent, and they agreed on mommy's next project--a dog bed! Better, yet, TWO dog beds!
There are also two (count-'em, two!) CDs of celtic music...

... which Criquette made especially for me to listen to with the dogs. Here is "Music for Brits" with Tara's picture on it......and here is "Music for Brits II" with Emma's picture on it. How cool is that?

There were two skeins of yarn - one the color of the dogs, one the color of the cats. How thoughtful! Also a Brittany pen, and the all-important chocolate!

I was sitting on the floor, opening each present and laughing, until I got to this one:

This one made me cry. It was a good kind of crying...the "I can't believe someone would do this for me" kind of crying. Criquette made a needle-felted "Mellie" dog. The note says "In memory of a brave, sweet dog." Mellie was the sweetest brittany ever, and we lost her to stomach cancer in April. Criquette was so supportive during that rough time. She offered suggestions for foods to try and tempt Mellie to eat (who would have thought she would like tuna?) and understood what I was going through the way only another "dog-mom" or "cat-mom" can. There are lots of pet owners out there, but only another "fur-mom" can understand what it is like to lose a "fur-kid". Criquette is, indeed, a fellow "fur-mom", and that is the highest praise I can give anyone.

I have truly been spoiled with "an embarrassment of riches", and not just the gifts. I consider Criquette's friendship the most valuable gift of all. Thank you, Criquette, for everything. You are a treasure!

Turtle Rescue

Today my sister and I decided to take the kayaks out onto the lake. It was a lovely September day...warm, but not too hot...breezy but not too windy. On the way to the lake (which is about 5 minutes from home) we came across the tiniest little baby turtle trying to cross the road. His little head was sticking straight up and he was really hoofing it. Of course, we had to turn around to make sure he got across OK, and when we went back, he was just tucked into his shell in the middle of the road with cars whizzing by. Needless to say, we picked him up, and took him for a ride. Here is the little guy next to a set of car keys for scale.The original plan was to let him go in the area where we launch the kayaks, but it's right by a parking lot near a pretty busy road, and he already demonstrated the fact that he is not exactly traffic-savvy. So, he went for another ride...in a kayak!
He thoroughly enjoyed his ride, and so did I. That is, until he peed on me. Turtle pee...ugh. Anyway, we found a nice secluded spot, far away from evil cars and trucks, and set him free.

Goodbye little Mellie. We named him after sweet Mellie who died in April. Mellie was a Brittany, which is technically a bird dog, but her first love was always turtles. If there was a turtle anywhere in or near the yard, she would sniff it out. Yes, Mellie was a girl. Yes, I'm pretty sure this turtle is a boy. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the indiscriminate pee-ing. Anyway, this little boy's name is Mellie.

One thing little Mellie won't be lacking is friends. Here are just a few of the many, many turtles we found today.

Can you tell that the turtle in the last picture has his legs sticking straight out? His back legs are fully extended - what a weird pose. I guess his legs were a little chilly and he wanted to soak up some of that September sunshine.

We weren't disappointed in the aviary department. This is my sister with a gorgeous swan.
All around, it was a very good day.

The Saddest of Days

Sweet, sweet Mellie is gone. She went downhill very quickly yesterday afternoon, so we called the vet, and he offered to come to the house or meet us at the office. We chose the office, mainly because of Emma and Tara. We took the three dogs out into the backyard together and gave them a chance to say goodbye, then took Mellie for her final ride in the car.

I really want to thank everyone who has been sending good wishes and healing thoughts our way. She fought the good fight, and left us with dignity.

Melanie, aka Mellie, Mellie Vanillie, The Caped Crusader

May 12, 1997 - April 14, 2007

Blankie Update Friday

Yes, I know it is Saturday, but it's Friday somewhere, right? Another week has gone by and what do I have to show for it? Eight squares. Not the best, but not the worst. This morning was so beautiful I took the blankie outside for its photo shoot.

This must be the calm before the storm. We're expecting bad weather here tomorrow and into the early part of next week. We were doing yard/garden chores this morning, and I just had to take a picture of the toy:

It's a 1940s Ford tractor. What fun for a couple of former city-girls, or at least suburb-girls. That is a little step ladder in between the two wheels on this side. I'm so short I can barely climb into it without the ladder. The tractor just makes everything so much easier - moving dirt or stones or hay or chicken feed...you name it, I can haul it around the grounds in the bucket of the tractor.

Speaking of chickens, belated happy birthday to Ducky.....

...and Blackie.

They were 10 years old this past Wednesday. Who knew chickens lived this long?

Mellie hasn't been doing well at all. She hasn't eaten much at all, mostly just broth, for days. She has been getting weaker, and on Thursday she started trembling and shaking. We called the vet and he said to bring her right in. I really didn't think we were going to be bringing her back home with us, but he said it wasn't her time yet. He gave her a couple of shots (B12, Valium, some other stuff that I can't remember). Our main concern was that Mellie not get to the point where she is in pain. He said he will not let that happen - he gave us his cell phone number and said to call him any time day or night. Have I mentioned how much I love my vet? Love, love, love him.

Tuna is the New Chicken Nuggets

Yesterday was my sister S's birthday, and a good time was had by all. Well, as good as we could what with worrying about Mellie. Sweet little Mellie has been going through a bad spell. She has been declining most solid food (beef, chicken, chicken nuggets, even the homemade meatloaf!) for a couple of days now. Yesterday I even had to use the baby-feeding syringe to get her to take her medicine. We crush the pills and mix them in a little melted vanilla ice cream, so she usually takes it willingly, but not yesterday.

We gave her 1/2 a valium last night. Small doses of it act as an appetite stimulant in dogs. This morning she ate her pills-in-ice-cream right down, but still wasn't too enthused about breakfast. I went home at lunchtime, and offered her some beef (no thank you), chicken noodle soup (a little broth, only), and then tuna fish. She drank all of the tuna juice (blech!), and then ate about 1/3 of the tuna! Hooray! Joey the stray cat graciously offered to finish off anything Mellie didn't eat. Wasn't that good of him? Many thanks to Criquette for this suggestion - I would not have thought to give tuna to a dog!

Emma and Tara have been heartily cleaning their plates since I started making meatloaf for them. Who am I kidding, they have ALWAYS cleaned their plates. They eat worms and bird poo and various other unsavory things, so I guess I shouldn't be so excited that they like meat loaf. I'm telling you, since the pet food recall, it feels really good to be getting them off of commercial dog food. I went to a local health food store to get some of the ingredients, and the guy there said they have had quite a few people coming in and either ordering a more "natural" or "organic" brand, or making their own dog food. I'm going to buy a whole bunch of loaf pans so I can make several batches of meatloaf at a time. One batch makes two loaves, and after they have totally switched to meat loaf, the two loaves will last two days if all three dogs are eating it, and three days if it is just Emma and Tara eating it. If anyone wants the recipe, here it is. Enjoy!

Adventures in Dog Food Land

With the recent (and increasing) recalls of dog and cat food, my sister S and I decided to abandon commercial dog food altogether and make our own. This way, we control the quality of ingredients, and know that there is nothing in their food that we would not eat (except for the meat, of course). After scouring the Internet for information, tips and recipes for Make-Your-Own dog food, the winner is......(drum roll, please).......Mable's Meat Loaf. Really, the dogs will tell us if it is a winner, but it seems to be a well thought out recipe which includes all of the essential vitamins, etc. that a dog needs. We are still going to give them doggie vitamins - no sense in taking any chances, right?

Anyway, I went to various grocery & bulk food stores, assembled the ingredients, and here it is:

Eeeeew, what a mess, right? Ground beef, pureed veggies, cooked rice, oatmeal, pureed black beans, masa harina corn flour, eggs, wheat germ, and some seasonings & supplements. Here it is before being baked in the oven. Still not too tempting.

But oh the smell of the loaves baking. Just like Mom's meatloaf. Here they are out of the oven and cooling so I can wrap them up.

After going vegetarian, the only thing I have missed, until now, is tuna. Mmmmm... a can of tuna, mix in some Miracle Whip, and spread it on the whitest of white bread you can find...so fresh that the tuna smooshes down the bread while you are spreading it. After smelling Mable's Meat Loaf baking this afternoon, I'm going to have to add Mom's meat loaf to the list. Piping hot slices of meat loaf, covered in ketchup, with mashed potatoes and corn on the side. You put the potatoes on your plate first, and make a "well" in the center of them, and put the corn right on top of the potatoes and mix the two together with your fork.

What am I saying???? [SLAP SLAP SLAP] Thanks, I needed that.

Oh well, off to Mom & Dad's pretty soon. We're taking a ham (I know, Babe!), macaroni & cheese (S makes THE BEST mac & cheese in the world), green bean casserole, and asparagus. Mom is making her famous potato salad. Yummy.

No Blankie Update & Plea for Recipes

No blankie progress to report, and no good excuses, either. I certainly have nothing exciting to report like Shelly at a Yarn Harlot event. Check out the pictures on Shelly's site. There is a picture of Shelly and the Harlot posing with Shelly's blanket. My two knitting heroes. If only New Jersey was a little bit closer to Minnesota, I would LOVE to have been there. Or if only I was rich enough to buy an airplane ticket, and didn't have what some think is an irrational fear of airplanes, I could have flown out there. I think I would have hyperventilated, seeing them both, if the drugs that I would need to get myself on an airplane had worn off enough so that I was no longer in a semi-comatose state and I knew where I was.

But then I would have missed out on soooo much fun at home. This is Mom.

And these two pictures are of my sister D:

And this is the result of an evening of rollicking fun and creativity:

In case you can't tell, we decorated little egg-shaped and bunny-shaped cakes. A LOT of cakes. Truly, what seemed like an endless number of cakes. I must say, they look much in the picture than they did in person. But consider their fate- they will all be gobbled up by Mum's grandchildren and neighborhood hooligans cherubs by the time the weekend is over. Ohhh, the carnage.

On to the aforementioned "plea", does anyone out there make their own dog food and would you be willing to share some recipes? After the recent pet food recalls, my sister S and I decided we are no longer going to feed the dogs commercial food, even tough the brand we use (Nutro Lamb & Rice dry crunchies) has not been recalled....yet. We are going to take the bull by the horns, or rump roast, as the case may be, and have complete control over the quality of what the girls eat. I've been searching on the 'net and have found a couple of good (I think) recipes. I just subscribed to the Whole Dog Journal and they have some very helpful information. My main concern is that they still get all of the vitamins & minerals and such that they need, and I'd appreciate any and all input.