Thursday, 02/01 Big, enthusiastic, happy Zeus went to another foster home yesterday afternoon. I really liked that dog - too bad Blizzard didn't. I heard from the new foster mom last night and Zeus took a shine to her daughter, following her all over. I knew he'd be good with kids! What a big teddy bear he was, though he looks so fierce.

I moved Mr. Sunshine (whose name is Snickerdoodle, I think) into the bedroom last night and put the carrier up at the head of my bed half on the bed and half on the night table next to the bed. After I got in bed and everyone settled down, I opened the carrier and got him out to cuddle a little. I started tickling his tummy and he rolled right over onto his back so I could have better access. He was patting at my hand, then he rolled his head back onto my arm and looked me right in the face and smiled. He stayed like that for a long time. This morning I opened the carrier and stuck my hand in and wiggled my fingers at him and he started batting at them. I was sleepy and kept dozing off, but the occasional pat on my fingers woke me up. Then he batted the tinsel ball at me and I batted it back - we played "catch" for quite a while. Then he came out and cuddled a little bit and when he went back in the carrier he stayed up at the front. I left him in there today so he could get used to the rest of the cats. They like to hang out on the bed during the day, so he's seen just about everybody now and they've seen him. I don't think there are going to be any problems integrating him. A couple more days and I think we can dispense with the carrier.

Got an inquiry about Bandit today that might be a good home for him. Now we'll see if they send in an application. Since Zeus left, Bandit's been hanging out with Crash. I got fed up with Blizzard this morning - she decided 6 am was a good time to get up and play and she wouldn't lay back down so I brought her out into the living room and put her into Crash's crate and moved Crash to the crate Zeus had been in and which I put Bandit in last night. I knew that Crash and Bandit would be OK crated together. In fact, after I got up and everyone had been out and back in, Crash went into the crate to nap and Bandit joined him. I walked through to get another cup of coffee and there was Bandit spooned up behind Crash with his head draped over Crash's side. Normally the camera is in the living room, but it was in the bedroom this morning and they moved before I could get a pic. It was really sweet to see, though.

I found out that my local health food store can get organic chicken necks and backs for me in a 50-pound case for 52 cents a pound. I was paying 49 cents a pound for non-organic stuff. Definitely worth 3 cents more a pound! It came in yesterday and it's fresh not frozen - the girls had fresh organic chicken for dinner last night. They can also order a 10-pound bag of mixed hearts/livers/gizzards for me for \\$16.30. I'm tickled silly! Granted I'll have to grind it myself (the beef heart I was using came already ground) but the health food store is a lot closer than the meat wholesaler, and I'm delighted to be able to get organic stuff. They have another store not too far that also sells organic beef - I'll have to go in and see if I can get heart and liver there. I'm going to have to get a freezer. I saw a small (15 cubic foot) chest freezer for $159. Sure would make life a lot easier - I could do bigger batches, order two cases of chicken at a time, and spend a lot less time and energy running around to get stuff. Now, if I could just find organic eggs I'd really be in business!

I got an itch today to start spring cleaning. (Must be the longer days.) I went shopping at Meijers this evening and got all kinds of cleaning supplies and tomorrow morning I'll get started. One room at a time. When I got up this morning the lightbulb over the stove was burned out. I get tired of replacing that bulb all the time, and I hate using energy to keep it on all the time, but I don't like having a completely dark house. So on my shopping trip I picked up a compact fluorescent bulb for in the kitchen. It'll use a lot less energy and is guaranteed for 10,000 hours. I'm not sure I like the quality of light it gives off, though - it's not as warm as incandescent bulbs. I got one for the living room too, but I'm not sure I'm going to use it. We'll see - if I get used to the light in the kitchen, I'll try it in the living room.

Mom and Dad left for their annual heat-seeking trip to Florida yesterday morning. I'm glad they get to get away for 6 weeks or so. And it makes it a little easier on me, too - they get nervous when I don't answer my phone, and mom calls at the oddest times. The middle of the afternoon, for example, and then she'll call a couple hours later and I'll get a message on my machine "This is the second time I've called! Where are you? Call me and let me know you're OK." I'm fine, Mom, I was a) out shoveling snow or b) out untangling a dog or c) in the shower or d) out running errands. (I don't check my voice mail if I've only just dashed outside to untangle or play with a dog or after I shower, so sometimes I miss the first call.) It makes me nervous that she panics so quickly. But when they're in Florida, she calls once a week, early on Sunday afternoon. I can plan around that, so I don't have to worry about her worrying about me for at least 6 weeks. *grin*

Thursday, 2/8 Snickers is out of the carrier for good now, and has been for about 4 days now. I didn't even put him in there to feed him yesterday, but put a dish of kitten food on the bed for him to nibble on and miracle of miracles, the other kitties left him alone to eat, for the most part. He's not running from me anymore, either. (He was running, but when I caught him he'd start to purr almost immediately. No more running.) Yesterday I ran out to the supermarket; took my sweats off and tossed them on the bed, jumped into my jeans and ran to the store. When I came home, Snicks was snuggled up on my sweats. I think he likes me! He's so easy - if I so much as sneak a finger in underneath him and touch his tummy, he rolls right over on his back to give me full access. Such a little gigolo. The other cats seem to have accepted him without a problem; I've seen him napping with Bubba and with Mysz, and seen both of them grooming him. Someone's a little ticked though, because they actually peed on a pillow on the bed during the night. (Not the one I had my head on, fortunately.) Needless to say, that got washed today.

I was looking at Gruffydd today with an objective eye, and he's looking really good. Can't see his ribs any more unless he stretches, and he shed all his icky coat in the last couple of weeks and is soft and silky. I got an inquiry from some folks interested in adopting him, but I'm not sure it's a good match. They'll probably realize that when they meet him. I'll take Crash along to the meeting too - I think that he's probably a better match for a house full of boisterous kids.

I'm still waiting for Sheltie rescue to make arrangements to transport Honey. She's a good girl and I'll miss her, but I won't miss her barking - geez, I don't know how Sheltie owners can stand that! She's quiet except when she's crated and wants out, then she barks non-stop. (I only crate her at night, but she starts barking around 6 am. *sigh*) Had a couple of inquiries about Bandit, too, but haven't gotten any applications forwarded to me so I guess maybe the board members didn't approve of something they saw on the apps. I'm supposed to be getting a 10-week old deaf Italian Greyhound puppymill rescue pup to foster next week. I can't even imagine working with a 2-pound dog - this is going to be quite an experience! They're pretty fragile, so I'll have to make sure that Blizzard doesn't trample him. I got some pictures of Barnabas with his new family this week; he sure looks happy. Wish we could find homes like this for all the dogs.

I'm really tickled with the quality of the chicken backs I got from the health food store. Not a lot of big fat pads to pull off, so less work and less waste. Tomorrow I've got to get veggies and get those ground. I also want to stop at the health food store and get some coconut and almond oil; I got some cool soap molds last week that have square bars with moons and stars on them, and crescent-moon shaped bars. I want to make a new batch of my favorite soap and use these molds. Special soap for special friends. *smile*

Hey, I found something that works really well to fluff pillows/down comforters in the dryer! They're dog toys! They're these rubber rings - three half-circle rubber pieces formed into a ball shape. I had 2 new ones - one for me, one for my sis - and when I washed some spare pillows the other day I tossed these in the dryer with the wet pillows and they came out really fluffy. I'd bought the rings for when the weather warms up - they're not always easy to find, so when I saw them I bought them - but even after we use them for fetch, I should be able to toss them in the washer to get them clean then use them in the dryer. They're really sturdy, long-lasting things; if I can find more, I might just buy a couple to keep just for fluffing.

I can't believe how big Purrnie's getting - he's about 10 months old, hasn't had his late growth spurt yet, but probably weighs 11-12 pounds. He's going to be a monster when he's full grown. He still hasn't figured out that he's way too big to climb up me now; yesterday he tried to climb the leg of my sweatpants and ended up just pulling them down. There I stood at the kitchen sink doing dishes, sweatpants down around my ankles. I pulled 'em up, he tried again. And again. I finally quit trying to do the dishes, went and cuddled him and, when he was busy elsewhere, went back and finished the dishes. What a piece of work my big black baby is!

Monday, 2/12 I took Bandit to meet a potential adopter yesterday morning. She's a real character - 71 years old, still rides her horses as often as the weather permits, has quite a few horses and sheep and a couple of very nice, well-trained working border collies. She's looking for a little lap dog, one that will fit under the seat on an airplane for when she travels to her other home in Oregon for 2-3 months each summer. She was really good with Bandit - got right down on the floor to cuddle her border collies and sort of ignored Bandit until he got so curious he had to go over to say hello. I think she'll be really good for/with him, and I think he'll fit in well there. He certainly seemed to like it there! So, it looks like The Great Bandarini will be going to his new home some time this week.

There has been a lot of interest in Crash, the little English Setter, but so far nobody's said they want to adopt him. There's a family coming to meet him on Saturday, and I think that might be a good placement for him. I think he'd enjoy having some kids to play with. Now, if I could just get Sheltie rescue to make the arrangements to transport Honey...... If I don't hear anything from them by mid-week, I'm going to list her on the APB site and I know she'll get adopted quickly, regardless of her deafness. We had a 4-year old female Sheltie that people were actually fighting over; seems Shelties get adopted really quickly.

As soon as I get a couple of foster dogs adopted and can take down a couple of crates, I'm going to steam-clean carpets. I've got the "spring cleaning itch" and there's a lot of work to be done. It's hard to do it with so many dogs around, though, because they insist on following me everywhere ("Is she gonna feed us?! Is she gonna cook for herself and drop food on the floor?! Is she gonna go out and take one of us along?! I don't want to miss anything!")

We had an awful lot of rain on Saturday - buckets and buckets. It melted a lot of the snow, both on the ground and off the roof, but then the temperature dropped 30 degrees in about 5 hours and everything froze. Including my damn driver's door, again. I'm back to getting in and out of my car through the passenger side. *sigh* It's supposed to go up over freezing for a couple of days this week; with any luck it'll be warm enough to unfreeze my door and I can go back to getting in and out of my car like a normal person.

Snickers has completely integrated. I went in the bedroom yesterday afternoon to find him sleeping snuggled up with my sweet 'Mingo-Mango. This morning when I woke up, he was eating out of the "big kitty dish", so I think I can stop feeding him separately, too. He really is beautiful, and a complete mushball. I need to get him in to the vet for his second FVRCP vaccination, might do that later when I run some errands. My back door floodlight burned out this weekend and I need to get a new bulb. I don't even want to know how much that's gonna cost. But it's hard to call the girls in at night if I can't flick the light on and off.

There's been a tan and white dog (pitbull, I think) hanging around the last week or so - I see him out in the yard on occasion but when I open the door to go out he runs away. No collar. I thought I saw a poster for a lost dog that looks like that up at the pet supply store - I'll have a look when I go up there later to get food. I hate to see him out in the cold, running, looking for food and shelter. I don't want to call Animal Control - they'll just take him and euthanize him, and he seems to be a nice enough dog. He looks like he's been on the run for a while, and has a little limp (that doesn't seem to slow him down any).

Well, I've got a lot to do. Time to get off my butt and get to doing it.

Friday, 2/23 OK, I'm way behind. Let's see if I can get everything caught up. Snickers is such a doll. I walked into the bedroom the other day to find him sitting in the empty food dish. What a cute picture that would have made! Of course, my camera was in another room. I need to put a roll of film in the "nightstand camera" - the one I keep on the nightstand so I can catch early-morning/late-night pics of kitties or dogs or kitties and dogs snuggling on the bed. Snickers is also becoming more adventurous - Sunday I heard Blizzard barking in the bathroom and I figured she had one kitty or another "treed" in there. I went in to check, and there was Snickers sitting on the edge of the tub, fluffed up and arched, hissing at Blizzard who was laying on the floor watching him and barking at him. I "rescued" him and brought him in here with me, and he snuggled down onto my lap and went to sleep. When I had to get up to go do something, I put him in one of the cradles on the cat tree in here, and he spent the rest of the afternoon up there dozing on and off and observing the action. I still can't believe they ever thought he was "wild and not very nice" - he's such a gigolo, flopping over onto his back and inviting me to rub his tummy, coming up and sniffing my face all over when I'm lying in bed, sitting on my chest and talking to me. And he gets along with all the other kitties - he's really laid-back, easy-going, accepting. He's still a little on the wary side - quick to dash off if he feels threatened - but that's to be expected of a cat that lived outside for a while and spent heaven-knows-how-long in a live trap before being dumped at the pound. He's so pretty, too.

When I woke up yesterday morning, Purrnie was curled in between my arm and torso with his head on my upper arm and one paw stretched out across my shoulder to touch my cheek. (He is such a cuddle boy! Whenever I sit in the living room, he's in my lap within seconds of me sitting down. He won't move, either, if any other kitty or doggie comes along and wants to sit there too. Last night, he and Crash napped in my lap. I'm really starting to love Crash. Wish I could keep him.) Penny was lying along side me with her head down near my feet. I raised myself up to a sitting position, and saw Domingo curled up around her head - another great picture missed. (Then Blizzard woke up and walked all over everyone else on the bed, so that was the end of my lazy morning snuggle with the kids.)

Everybody's finding new napping/hiding spots. I went into the kitchen a little while ago to get another cup of coffee and I could feel eyes staring at me - I looked up and there was Mysz on top of a little hibachi I have stored on top of the cabinets. There's 4 inches of space between the hibachi and the ceiling, and Mysz has apparently found herself a new, safe observation spot. Yesterday, I didn't see Blizzard anywhere so I went looking for her and found her curled up napping on top of my washing machine. I recently bought a bunch of Rubbermaid storage containers, and I keep the bags of cat and dog food in one in the laundry room - Blizzard had climbed on top of the storage container and from there onto the washer where I'd tossed a couple of dirty towels. She'd made herself a little nest in the towels. Purrnie likes to nap on top of Gruffydd's crate, and he'll sit up there and play with Gruffydd's wagging tail through the crate bars. Tika's new napping spot is the middle of the stove - got to put an end to that one, quick. I don't want her up there even when the stove/oven's off, because I don't want her to get into the habit of napping there so now there's a baking dish full of water in that spot.

Bandit went to his new home on Saturday, and someone came to meet Crash and Gruffydd. I had sent them a link to some pics of Gruffydd with my girls, and on those pages there are a couple pics of Chris's Weims. The wife said "You know, you really threw a monkey wrench into things with those Weim pics - my husband really likes that breed and wants one." So I ended up sending them over to Chris and I think they're going to wait for the right rescue Weim to come along. (They liked both Crash and Gruffydd, but they've decided on a Weim.) I got an inquiry from a good adopter on Honey, but got an e-mail yesterday telling me that she'll have to wait a couple of weeks because she's "emergency doggie-sitting" her son's Cairn Terrier and Border Collie. *sigh* I was really looking forward to moving her out. Don't get me wrong - she's a very nice dog and I like her, but I'm getting darn tired of being wakened by her barking at 6:30 am because she's awake and wants out of the crate. She barks two quick barks, pauses, then two more. Bark-bark, pause. Bark-bark, pause. Then a long pause and I think she's going to quiet down and go back to sleep, but then she starts up again. I lay in bed and wish I could push a button that would squirt her with water to shut her up. With a hearing dog I can just shout at them to quiet down and they do, but I have to get up and squirt Honey or she just never shuts up. It's a very high-pitched annoying bark, too - I don't know how Sheltie lovers can stand it!

I went on an interview with a job placement agency on Monday - that went well. On the way home on the expressway my car started to die. I managed to get off the expressway onto the service drive before it died entirely, but then I had to push it a couple of blocks to get it out of the way of traffic. Lots of fun with a cold wind blowing up my skirt. Got it towed, and it turned out to be an electrical problem, and a lot more expensive to fix than I thought it was going to be. I had to get a ride home and leave the car there overnight, then take a cab back on Tuesday to pick it up. One of the things they did was remount the light switch and the idiots put it right over the path my leg takes while operating the clutch - I've got to take it back and have them relocate it somewhere else. I'm not looking forward to spending another 4 hours sitting in their waiting room! Anyway, I have an interview for a permanent position on Monday afternoon - I hope it works out, because this is work I'm familiar with and enjoy doing, and it pays pretty well. Not that I'm looking forward to being back at a "straight" job, but if I have to it might as well be something I enjoy that pays good. At least it'll have benefits, and I can get some health things taken care of.

I went to vacuum on Sunday and the vacuum didn't work. Damn. I checked it over and found the problem - somedoggy had chewed through the cord. I was going to have the cord replaced and have it overhauled, but I did a little shopping and found a Fantom Cyclone XT on sale for not a whole lot more than the rehab on my old vac would have cost so I just bought a new vacuum. I think I'm sort of sorry I did - I can't believe the amount of dirt that thing sucked up from my living room carpet! I guess the old vac wasn't doing that good a job, so it's probably good I got a new one. Now when I steam vac the carpets, it should be a lot less messy. And I like that it's bagless and I can dump the dirt each time after using it. That should really help with fleas if they become a problem again this year. And I don't have to worry about making sure I always have a spare bag, either.

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