Grow Your Blog - Part 2

For the first part of the Grow Your Blog post, go HERE.

I've blogged off and on over the last 8 years or so. I enjoy it but I'm not consistent with it. Maybe that will change with being a part of Vicki's Grow Your Blog event from 2 Bags Full.

It snowed again last night here in West Virginia. There is about 7" still on the ground. The temperature today has shot up to 48 degrees! That's so exciting. The sun is melting the snow from my car. Two friends stopped by yesterday to shovel my porch and a path to my car. I've a few appointments this week that I hope to fulfill. One is on Tuesday, when the daytime high is predicted to be 9 degrees. Doubt I'll make that one. We, as so many in the country, have been on a weather roller coaster this year of 2014.

I love to watch the birds. Especially in winter. I feed them daily and try to keep water available but in these frigid temps, it's difficult. I looked out the back door last evening and counted 14 deer eating my hemlocks. Eating what they could reach anyway. The trees are about 60 feet high. The deer stand on their hind legs to get to the tips of the branches. I really wanted to feed the deer but I researched it on the internet and it is not recommended. It throws their natural instinct off or some such scientific reason. I certainly don't want to upset the balance of nature so until I have proof otherwise, I'll follow that recommendation. I have seen them feast on the dry cat and dog foods I put out for the occasional stray passersby. They get into the sunflower seeds if they can reach the feeder.

I "craft" just about anything that can be. I cross stitch, crewel, embroider, knit, crochet, spindle spin, redo furniture, macrame, flower arranging and wreaths, took a class in stained glass (and hope to take more!). I've done weaving but don't have my own loom. I post photos of much of what I make. I have not yet posted my Christmas gifts. They'll show up later. Here is a hat I made for my aunt for Christmas a couple years ago. It's crocheted in wool and felted in the washing machine. It was my first time doing this and I was pleased.

I hope you're enjoying the trail of the Grow Your Blog party. It seems like 25 January arrived before I realized. I didn't have time to make one post for everything. I hope you will stop by again. Follow me. If I don't offer your preference, please leave me a comment and I will make that change. I'm going to add Google Friend Connect, as requested by one commenter, as soon as I figure it out.

Thank you again for visiting. I will visit you in the next few days if I know you've stopped by.

Grow Your Blog Party

I'm participating in the Grow Your Blog Party hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.

My name is LesleyAnn. I've lived in southwestern West Virginia for 51 years ... all my life.  I live with a dog, Samson (10-1/2 years); two cats, Miss Cleo (11 years) and Mister (10 years); and a Quaker parrot (14 years) named Baby. We're all AARP-eligible in this house.

While riding a motorcycle in 1981, I was hit by a drunk driver. I have a traumatic hemipelvectomy amputation. I was comatose and semi-comatose for almost three months in ICU and total hospital stay for ten months. Plus four months in rehab. All before I ever saw 19 years of age. My mother had been killed in an automobile accident in August 1980, buried on her 48th birthday. It's been a stressful life but I've honestly done the best I can. My maternal Granny dedicated the last years of her life to make sure I healed and lead as normal a life as possible. She always said I could do anything anyone else could. I did for the most part. Whitewater rafting. Hiking. I loved the outdoors activities. Still do. I'm just a spectator now for most of it. I use a wheelchair 100% now.

I worked as a cartographic technician for the US Army Corps of Engineers before I took disability retirement in 2001. I loved my job. It was difficult, emotionally, to leave. I was the only person I knew who never wanted to retire. My plan was to work until I died.

I own my home on the property I grew up on in Plum Hollow. I moved back here in 2004. I live independently for the most part. I do have a friend stop by every now and again to replace a ceiling lightbulb or the batteries in the smoke detectors. I like where I live but it's lonely. I rarely see people and in this age of electronics, I only hear the voices of the people on television or radio. Texting is as close as I get to people. Unless, of course, I take a trip to the local Walmart or vets office. It's difficult during winter months when I get snowed in ... like now. But, when the weather is warm ... I'm going to the local lake or friends' houses or just sitting on my porch admiring my flower and vegetable gardens.

Thank you for stopping by. I'll be having a giveaway posted in the next few days. I do hope you stop by again.

Random 5 Friday

1. Miss Cleo did not like being disturbed for a photo. I have the camera on silent mode. I can move around and do whatever in the room and no pet moves. I point a camera at any of them and get the stink-eye! I don't understand how they know. ha

2. It's still bitter cold here. I've left the water dripping for the past two nights and will probably do so the next few. Many around me have gone without power due to automobile wrecks.

3. There is about 7 inches of snow on the ground. Supposed to snow tonight with an additional 1 to 3 inches by morning.

4.  As cold as it is, the sun is as bright as if I were on an exotic island. It's simply beautiful. I actually laid on the floor in a sun puddle with Miss Cleo, Samson and Mister. I had a nice nap.

5.  FIFTY-FIVE days until Spring. I keep saying, "I think I can. I think I can."

I'm joining Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.

Snow

It began to snow about 6:30 this morning. Hasn't let up since ...

 

The snow is too deep for me to get out in it so I took some shots from the windows.

The snowflakes have been beautiful. Big. Light. Fluffy. Lazy.

 

  

The poor birds are having a hard time getting to the food. I put some out that isn't snowbound.

Mister loves watching the birds feed. Sometimes, he tries to jump through the glass to get one.

Random 5 Friday

 I'm joining Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday ...

1. This is about all we've done for a while. That lump under the comforter is Samson. Miss Cleo and Mister like the heat he emits. I like it too on these cold nights. No electric blanket necessary.

2. I've had an aggravating time trying to post for a few weeks. So I haven't posted. My IE11 seems to be the problem. Google likes IE9 and IE10 but not IE11. I downloaded Firefox browser; had to do a few adjustments and finally it works. I don't like Google Chrome and don't want to use it if I don't have to.

3. I spoke too soon with Samson being in the clear for surgeries. About two weeks ago, I noticed the right side of his groin area swollen quite a bit. I got him an appointment to see the vet yesterday. Seems he has a palm-sized tumor that suddenly popped up. He has had four tumors removed in the last three years. This Thursday, he will have four (possibly five) more removed. I hate that he has to go through this. Poor baby. He's almost as scarred up as I am.

4. The SERVICE ENGINE SOON light illuminated on my Blazer dashboard. I stopped by the mechanic's shop on the way home. He checked it out for me. He says to have the spark plugs and wires changed at the next oil change. I hope that is the answer. I get very nervous at the thought of breaking down.

 Frozen windows ... ICE on INSIDE

5. Mother Nature is riding the roller coaster in West Virginia. We had bitter, bitter cold the first week of January. Down to -13 degrees. The second week was quite mild and even reached 64 degrees one day. This week has been up and down. Rain. Snow. Beautiful sunshine. Today it's snowing. It actually hailed little snowballs.

End of year checkup ...

December is the time of year that is both anticipated and dreaded. The anticipated part of the month is all the well-known, happy celebrations. The dreaded part: taking Samson to the vet for his yearly checkup. Usually, it's such an effort to get him there that I feel like I need a checkup too. This year was different. Getting him there was easy. As you can tell by the rapid wagging of his tail, he was anxious to see who was opening the door. The vet gets in the floor with him for the checkup because putting him on the table makes him VERY anxious and defensive. This visit was stressful in that he needed four shots, a stool sample and a blood-draw. His toenails were also clipped. He hates that more than the shots I believe. He's lost five pounds, which is great. He has a few small tumors but nothing that can't wait a while. He's had two surgeries for tumors in the past three years. I'd rather him not have anymore if at all possible for a while. Overall, he appears well and happy.

In anticipation of his high stress level, I gave him acepromazine. The vet tech told me to give it to him one hour before his appointment time. That one hour was not long enough. He was full of  vim and vigor for the entire evaluation. Unfortunately, on the way home, it took affect. The photo below is what he was like when I was trying to get him out of the car at about 5 PM to go into the house. It only got worse. I couldn't get him to comprehend what he needed to do. I couldn't pick him up. I felt helpless. I wanted to cry. I came into the house and got several blankets because it was bitter cold. I covered him very well so he wouldn't get cold. The acepromazine lowers body temperature and that worried me. I'd given him the pill at 2:30 PM. At 7 PM he was still out of it and sound asleep in the car. I went out every 30 mins to check on him. Finally, at about 9 PM I got a pocket full of jerky and headed to the car. I couldn't leave him there all night and I wanted to prepare myself for the night. I gently woke him and let him get a sniff of the jerky. My prayer was answered and it was working! Whoo-hoo! I helped him out of the Blazer. I broke very small pieces of the jerky off and tossed them, one by one, a few feet ahead of him. He'd make his way to the jerky, stop to eat it and plop down for a rest. That happened six times before we made it to the top of the ramp. Finally, after about 20 mins, we were in the house and he was on the couch under his blanket and snoring. I didn't feel comfortable not keeping an eye on him so I put the ottoman by him on the couch and I slept in the recliner. I checked on him several times throughout the night. It was the next evening before he began to stir. That pill definitely has a 24-hour effect. Unless he has another surgery, I will never again give him that sedative. ha

We made it through the checkup of 2013 and will not give it another thought until the postman delivers the reminder card for December 2014.

Random 5 Friday

I'm joining Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.

 

1. A few weeks ago, I met up with some family members for dinner at Bob Evans. My cousin (back row, center), her husband and her granddaughter (in front) was passing through and made an overnight stop to visit. The ones in the red vest, mauve pullover and black cardigan and I (in the wheelchair) grew up within a few hundred yards of each other in Plum Hollow. We were more like sisters than cousins. The visit brought lots of good memories to surface. I wish children could grow up like we did back then.

 

2. The pump went out on my septic tank. After 3 weeks and thus far $1,084, I have a temporary fix. When the pump went out, it caused electrical problems. The pump was replaced and the electrical problem has been temporarily fixed. At least I can wash clothes and take way-too-long showers and 40-gallon baths now. The latter two are on the very short list of luxuries I enjoy. I abuse them whenever I can.

 

3.  I'm getting pretty good at spinning fiber. It's quite enjoyable, relaxing and productive.

 

4. My favorite thing when it snows is watching my dog. He licks it for a bit then digs in with his teeth and eats it as he does food. I've never seen a dog enjoy snow as he does. He won't go outside if it's raining though. Forget it. Not happening.

 

5.  I think I'd like to have one of those single-serving Keurig coffee makers. I have a perfectly good Cuisinart 12-cup coffee maker that I've had for years and it will probably last a few more. I just can't decide what to do.