Better Living Through Chemistry…Err, Herbs

I planned to spend this evening in the kitchen, cooking and baking yumminess to take with us as we make the holiday rounds for the next several days.  Then I remembered how annoying it is to have my every move anticipated by Border Bitch and Polar Bear Butt.  So, I pulled out a seldom used tool: my little friend Comfort Time.  The bottle promise to “promote relaxation and calm”.  Oh heck yeah.

Thus, instead of spending my evening with two of these:

I got to enjoy the quiet company of these:

It was LOVELY!

The kitty got a little, too, since he was jealous that the dogs were getting “treats”.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on him.  He spent the entire evening getting “cozy” with one of his kitty toys.

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A Posse Dog

When I was young we got a dog from the Athens Co. Dog Shelter.  He was a wee puppy (we kids were so excited!).  A few days after we brought him home, he came down with Parvo.  Fortunately, after three days at the vet’s he was in the clear. 

The pup loved to explore, so my Grandpa Moe named him “Posse”, because he said the dog plus us kids made up our own posse.  The pup grew into a big, gentle, long-haired dog.  He had a small patch of white on his chest, but other than that was all black.  He fit the Belgium Shepherd breed standard almost perfectly.  As the AKC says they should, Posse “reflect[ed] the qualities of intelligence, courage, alertness and devotion to master. ” 

Posse patrolled the farm for about a year.  Then, one day, he was hit by a car and died.  I was devastated.  He had been my obedience dog for 4-H that year and I had high hopes for showing successfully together.  Besides that, I’d lost a best friend.

Today I was reminded of my friend Posse when I was browsing the Franklin Co. Dog Shelter’s website, as I tend to do from time to time.  Check out this guy–he looks almost exactly like my Posse.  I love his eyes–they say, “I can’t wait to find a friend to guard & a job to do!  Can I be yours?”. 

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Rain, rain go away

I feel a little blah today, probably because I had a migraine yesterday, so today I have that wonderful “post-migraine hangover”.  It has nothing to do with being hung over, but your brain feels very similar to when it’s been abused by alcohol, except instead it’s been abused by Serotonin, beat back into shape by Imitrex, and is understandably worse for the wear for a day or so.  My husband and I have been fairly motivated lately, I guess we deserve a day or two to be lazy 🙂

That’s why my blog has been neglected for the past few weeks.  We’ve been working in the barn until 10 or 11 at night most nights.  But the barn is looking great and we’re very close to having our first boarders!

 The past two days I’ve come home from work to find my adorable, innocent kitty locked in the bathroom by my exasperated husband.  Now don’t get me wrong, the bathroom is Mick’s domain–he eats there, his litter box is in there, and God forbid anyone think they’re allowed to close HIS door–with him in or out–and limit his freedom in or out of HIS bathroom.  But when he’s in trouble that’s where he goes for ‘time out’.  Tim’s been finding a teddy bear that generally sits on a shelf above the refrigerator in the middle of the living room floor, covered in cat hair.  Dead giveaway.  Besides the hair, Mick’s the only one with the run of the house during the day while we’re gone.  That crazy cat had to jump on a very tiny little counter, then jump straight up to the top of the refrigerator, then reach up onto a 6″ by 4″ shelf for the bear.  I should explain that my cat has an inexplicable obsession with beanie babies, teddy bears, and all things soft and plush.  Oh yeah, and he likes to chew them open and eat the stuffing out.  Damn orphan kitties and their weirdness. 🙂

Today I went in for my allergy shots and the nurse asked me if I was allergic to Benadryl.  I almost laughed out loud!  It’s really not funny, but wouldn’t that be awful to be allergic to the drug you’re taking to help STOP an allergic reaction?  I’ll tell you what else is funny.  The same nurse and I were discussing why I seem to break out in a rash after some of my allergy shots, but not all.  I mentioned that sometimes the rash is in the shape of the band-aid, but that we’d already ruled out my latex allergy because they use latex-free band-aids.  The nurse thinks I’m allergic to the adhesive on the band-aids.  They have another patient who is.  Now why didn’t I think of that?  But then again, who ever heard of something so silly?  And–worse–if I confirm said allergy, how does one avoid band-aids for life?!?

 It’s rained so much for the past so many days that I can’t even remember when it started raining.  Sunday?  Monday?  I think?  When I woke up this morning I could see more muddy water in our yard than solid ground.  Our little Ms. Swamp Dog loves it.  Kori the Corgi thinks we’re torturing him when we let him out to do his business twice a day.  If I try to get him go out a third time he glares at me.  I swear this morning he asked me with his dark, sad eyes to buy him doggie diapers so he doesn’t have to go out in the rain any more! 

My husband and I have been married 10 months today.  I gave Tim a kiss and wished him a “happy anniversary” when he got home from work this afternoon.  He replied, “I knew there was a reason today felt special.”  I love that man so much!

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