puppy

It Never Stops….

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It seems I haven’t been able to update since Halloween. Egads. I’ll try to give quick updates on everything before detailing our homestead progress.

For the holidays, my daughter, Carol, held dinner for us. She is such an outrageously good cook. I like to consider myself her first teacher, but at this point, she is teaching me!! Have I mentioned she has a cookbook out that I use and love? (click here for link to cookbook) Now she’s working on a new one, and I just know it will probably be as good, if not better, than the first!

Popcorn (our latest family addition) has gone from a little bundle of fur to a powerhouse of energy. She is sooo funny and still cuddly, but will only tolerate a quick hug before running to get one of her toys. Afterall, time for a cuddle means there’s time for play!

Due to roof leaks, we had to redo the ceiling in two rooms. First step, Jim went up and replaced most of the roof and the rest he patched. Fortunately, this was done before the weather turned arctic — it was chilly, but not insanely cold and windy yet.

We thought the living room was completed, but leaks meant having to redo the ceiling. Just look at the mess that leak made! Now it looks pretty again!

The sun room’s leak was the worst. Thankfully, we had not really started re-doing that room, so it was still in need of overall overhaul. The leak meant Jim had to redo the adobe, then stucco on the ceiling, above the window, and below the window. With all the windows, the warming sun helped dry everything quickly, so then we focused on finishing up the room.

Jim sealed all the gaps in the ceiling boards, sealed the windows, sealed the ristras to the ceiling, patched all the nail holes and cracks, and then painting.

The hodge-podge of dark colors on the walls and windows took two and three coats, but now the room looks huge!

The only thing left is scrubbing the brick flooring and sealing that. Whew! That leaves curtains and moving furniture into the room. Guess I will have to make the ultimate sacrifice and go shopping at the fabric and/or hobby store. **sigh** How I suffer! (**giggle**)

I plan on making the little alcove into a mini-office. The rest of the room will either be a guest room or our grandkid’s room. Check out the view from that room on the last night of painting!

Have I mentioned that Jim’s oldest (daughter Stephanie) has fallen on hard times. She, Novelle, and the kids had been living on the reservation, but she was booted out because she wasn’t Native. She left the kids with Novelle while she tried to get situated. Then, Novelle developed cancer, did not tell anyone, and reservation folks found out just before he passed away. Long story-short: Jim and I are trying to get guardianship of the kids instead of having them separated in various homes, but it has proven to be a nightmare. I am Native, but not from that reservation; Jim is not Native at all. Plus, Novelle had a 401K and life insurance that has been cashed in. The folks at that rez are using the kids’ inheritance plus the monthly survivors stipend from the government to live on; we opened trust accounts to hold that money for the kids’ future, which we don’t get unless we get the kids (if any is left). Put it all together and you have a mess. The Indian Child Protection Act is overall a great thing, but unfortunately, it can be manipulated in the wrong way. Nonetheless, we are going to keep trying to get our grandbabies. Wish us luck!

Family Expansion

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While my Mom was staying with us, we had some household changes – it grew!

We had gone shopping in town and when we were preparing to come home, a little girl in the parking lot got our attention.  She was almost in tears, so we obviously stopped everything.  She relayed that her dad’s dog (a purebred Blue Tick Healer) had gotten out of the yard and later come home pregnant.  Her daddy was very unhappy about it.

The puppies were born and now about 7 weeks old.  The sire had clearly NOT been another Blue Tick Healer.  Her dad intended to give the pups to a man who operated a dog fighting ring, but she convinced him to try to get them adopted.  He gave her one day, and so, she was at my car. 

After I stepped out of the car, the teary, little girl (about 10 years old), ran to the pick-up, grabbed one of the puppies and handed it to me.  She advised that one was the most sedate and loving.  As I held it, I saw it was covered with ticks and fleas, the puppy didn’t even try scratching, and looked up at me with the sweetest, sad little eyes.  Well, guess what.

Meet Popcorn.  These are the pictures of the sweet thing after we bathed and de-bugged her.  She was so tiny and sweet.  Although we already had three dogs, there was no way I was able to resist a misty-eyed little girl and that cute puppy who was in a dire situation. Mom insisted on holding her on her lap as much as possible, she too had her heart stolen by that little bundle.

Here she is today — about two months later.  Gadzooks – she is a bundle of energy with a never-ending appetite  Still not sure what breed(s) her papa was, but I’m guessing she has a little pitbull.  She has some faint spots starting to show on her floppy little ears.

We named her Popcorn because she is forever popping up and down.  Once all the ticks and fleas were gone, and the welts and bites healed, she became the perpetual bouncing machine. 

She’s so smart and funny.  Dear heavens, she won’t stop growing.  We have fallen in love, and Popcorn fits in well with the rest of our brood.

The Work Goes On

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With things being as they are (virus protocols), we will not be having family coming out to visit this year, nor are we planning on anything extra for the holidays. Instead, we continue to work at getting the house livable and we intend to make next year’s holidays super duper!

So what are we doing now? Focusing on the ceilings. The crawl space under the roof has little to no insulation and the ceilings are lined-up planks with space between them. Guess where the heat goes! So we are giving the ceilings one quick base coat of paint, sealing the cracks, then finishing up with a second coat of paint. We have almost finished the dining room and have already noticed a BIG difference!

Base coat being applied
Base coat plus grout filling

We plan on replacing the entire roof in the Spring/Summer, so we’ll be putting in plenty of insulation then. Meanwhile, sealing the numerous cracks should help (we hope).

We also are having a large propane tank installed to fuel the dryer and stove. Before the tank could be delivered, we had to provide a flattened area for the tank to sit. Jim did a great job leveling a spot in the location the propane company specified. While the roof is removed, we hope to install piping for a couple of propane heaters in a few rooms as well. We are determined to be prepared for living in our home next winter!!

Last big development — we have a new family member! Meet Lady Bird (she tries to talk and it sounds like bird chirping). She’s a lab mix and about 4 months old. She will be our “outside” dog one day to guard our property. I know, I know, labs are not vicious. But, we don’t want vicious — we want protective and noisy.

Lady Bird helping Daddy dig

She is surrounded by Chihuahuas, and at this time, our smallest Chi (named Princess Peaches & Cream — Peach, for short) is her bestest friend. Cracks me up how they play together.

One thing I’ve seen however, Lady is almost as bad as my pigs. She’s always on the prowl for something edible. Anything laying around is going to get chewed on (including cords, shoes, pens, etc.). And, she loves to run. Even when she trips over her own feet, she covers the entire acre in seconds flat! Lady is so lovable and cuddly.

That’s it for December. Here’s hoping and praying everyone stays safe for the holidays, and please, please — wear your mask until the dangers of dying of this awful disease has ended! Hugs to all.

A New Best Friend

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I was convinced that my poor kitty, Chamako, needed a friend to play with while I’m at work.  It was obvious he missed his old friend who died a few months ago.  So, I found him a new friend — a chihuahua a neighbor was giving away.

??????????Not sure how clear the picture may appear to you, but here is the new family addition.  The handsome fellow is my oldest grandson (Sam) holding the 3 month old bundle.  I named her Mary Agnes/Squeak (after the character from the movie “Color Purple”) because her bark sounds like a squeak toy.

Well, the first few days had Squeak screaming and shaking whenever Chamako came near (he’s only about three times bigger), which would panic my poor cat and send him running for cover.  Not sure whether the high pitched squeak hurt his ears or whether Squeak’s squeaking hurt Chamako’s feelings.

Anyway, after a week, they’ve become fast friends and play all day long, sleep together, get into trouble together, and just generally prove very entertaining.

Now for the point of this post.  Have you ever seen these cat tubes?  ?????????? It’s a perfect toy for my Chamako.  He loves going into it and attacking anything that strolls by — whether my legs, Squeak, or unsuspecting guests.

The other day Chamako lay inside and fell asleep while waiting for his next victim, with his tail poking out one end.  Squeak awoke from a nap, searched for her pal and saw the fuzzy tail sticking out one end of the tube.  So, she snuck into the tube, carefully placing her feet on each side of Chamako’s tail and without warning, Squeak starting barking.  Poor Chamako.  I think the tube elevated 12 inches off the floor before my shocked cat shot out the other end of the tube with his fur standing on end and Squeak in hot pursuit, barking happily.

I think the perfect new pal was found for Chamako.  Now if I can just convince them to terrorize each other and not me!