Newest Member to Our Family

It was a hard time without our Sophie Girl. She was the best.  I miss her so much.

We all do.  We decided that our house was just too empty without doggie footsteps.

The house was too lonely when all but one of us was at work.

The kitchen floor needed more care and cleaning without our crumb catcher. She was pretty good at that! Jazzy was the BEST crumb catcher, but Sophie did a satisfactory job at keeping the floor tidy of crumbs. :)

I didn't like being alone at night.

I heard things go bump in the night.

The cats were lonelier and cozied up to us more.... that was nice.

The lawn looked better without her burn spots from her potty. And, we all admitted it was great not having poop duty.

My clothes were in less need of a lint roller as was the furniture.

Admittedly, I don't like puppy duty. Especially now with my health issues, but, she keeps me active and moving. 

Also, I refuse to own a dog that I didn't own as a puppy. I'm all for the wonderful people that can rescue adult dogs and I donate when I can.  It's just my thing. I'm actually nervous around other dogs, that's why I won't rescue one. I don't know what trauma they endured and the dog would feel my fear of them. With my own puppy though, I will train her as appropriate for me and my family.  To each their own. Thank you to those of you that CAN rescue adult dogs!

But, we were lonely for a poochy-snoochy.  We decided on getting a German Shepherd next. I already named our future girlie, Luna. Matt asked if we could make her middle name Tic.  So, Luna-Tic she became.

We searched and searched. GSDs can be expensive! Holy cow! They can come with a comma in that price tag! But, we kept searching and when we least expected it.... we found our Luna!  And, her price tag didn't come with a comma! Her blood lines are amazing - all Eurpoean/German descent. Her dad has World Champion awards and her momma is just as awesome.  I stumbled upon a great puppy for a great price!

So, here she is.... introducing our newest lovie: Luna!

Me and Luna 10/2014

Matt and Luna

Luna. Middle name: Tic

August 1, 2014 - We Lost Our Sophie Girl

My Sophie Girl

Sophie was awesome. One of the best. I miss her already. I'm sure I will miss her more than I can imagine.

Ten Things That Make Me A Happy Momma

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Another Pet Rat Dies

11-16-11

Rick & Baby Mojo

Awww... Sleepy baby.

Good Boy, eat your veggie.

Check-in out his new tube house!

Baby Moj' and Momma!!

We think Little Moj' died from a twisted intestine.  He was quite the acrobatic rattie.  He would greet you by doing back flips!  Such a sweetheart, all full of energy. He was happy just sitting on your shoulder, peeking out from under your hair.

He'd gt real still while watching the cat, but when the other ratties were out and visiting, he wanted to get out and play, play, play! Such a sweetheart. 

We were only able to enjoy him for 16 days! That hardly seems fair.  Watching him die was painful. It would be painful watching any pet die. It would be painful watching anything die.  He died while being held.

Falling in Love... sort of

These are not the rats we saw today, but this photo is so cute, I had to post it.  I found it thru google images from a blog called away from bams.

The one son #1 fell in love with looks more like this one.

He was more of a brown hooded cutie.  Very tiny and able to be away from Momma Rat about mid-month.

So, son #1 is going to get a rat baby! Good thing I like rats!

Full of Joy

November is one of my very favorite months.

There is still a touch of autumn. We can still enjoy wonderful temperatures. Scarves, long-sleeved t-shirts and God's colors are still around.

The great (low) humidity levels mean GREAT curls! The sky is a wonderful clear blue that we can't see during summer.

November is not nearly as busy as September & October. November is a wonderful way to wind down the summer months and begin to relax. November is a great reprieve before the holiday rush.  My Mom would call it my "Putzy-down-time".  She is so right.  November is the beginning of my time to putter around the house. The gardens are done. The canning is done.  My wool socks come out of hiding and the blanket throws are refluffed and tossed on the couch and chairs. 

I can snuggle down deep into the corners with my Sophie girl curled in the crooks of my knees. Her nose buried under the blanket trying to stay warm.  Leo Kitty comes a pattering around, looking for a warm snuggle and a cozy spot to hide.

November is pie month at our house. More pies are baked in November than at any other time in our family.  Would you like a slice of pie and a cuppa warm creamy something?  We often enjoy that together as a family.  One pie lasting only a day in our house.

I am content and full of joy.

Don't Kick the Dog

A Ricky quote that made us laugh... and then pet Sophie.

"I sense a presence of stupidity in the room."

"Oh wait, it's just the dog."

LOL "awww... it's alright Sophie." pat pat pat

Tiny Sweetness...

Baby Professor Reginald

"Reggie"

Introducing...



Professor Reginald W.
"Reggie"



Mojo & Rick



Mojo
5/2008 - 2/2011



You had to put your beloved rat down today.  We thought maybe he had had a stroke because his back half no longer worked.  His front half was still happy!  The vet said that he thought Mojo probably broke his back upon a fall from jumping up and down.  He didn't seem to be in any pain when we handled him, thank goodness.

You were very sad. We all were.  Mojo was an amazing rat!  The best thing about Moj' was that he loved us all back. He was a great cuddle and loads of fun.  He made us say, "Awwww!" often because he was so dang cute.

Letting him go was hard on all of us.

Pets ~ 6/23/2010

It's always so sad when you have to put a beloved pet down. Today, Benny had to put down his little friend, Rascal.

Rascal was one of the best rats we've met. He was very docile, much like his owner. We aren't sure what happened to Rascal, but it sort of looked like a stroke. He had a hard time getting his left side to work. What set us off in worry was his left eye. It would no longer close, so it looked bad. It must have watered constantly, since it wouldn't close. That, in turn made it feel irritated and Rascal must have kept on rubbing it - that's what made it look bad. However, the wobbly left side also indicated a stroke.

We got Rascal as a rescue, along with Templeton. They didn't have a good healthy start due to their first owners' ingnorance. So, we rescued them and got their health to be the best that we could. Obviously, the damage of malnutrition was irreversible, since they both had some minor rat health issues. However, you did a wonderful job loving them and being a good friend. Rascal had a fun life with you as his best friend and he got to eats lots of healthy food and snacks. I'm very proud of the way you took care of him.
I've been writing children's stories with Rascal as the main character, now he can live 'forever' in the books that I hope to have published.


Today though, I thought of one more story for Rascal and that would be about how strong and caring his beloved human was to him. Good job Honey. I really believe that Jazzy met up with Rascal today. I picture him riding on her back and they are no longer in pain and they are happy chasing squirrels.

Hiking ~ 2006 to present

We first started taking you hiking in 2006. We went to Door County and hiked down the cliffside to the water below. We even took along our Golden Retriever, Jazzy. She loved it as much as the rest of us! When we arrived at the water's edge, we found a huge teepee made out of drift wood logs. The teepee was approximately 15' tall and at least 15' at the base. It was awesome! We all sat inside of it. We've tried to find it since, but no such luck.

Today, we went hiking at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin. We hiked the East Bluff Trail. This time we took our Golden Retriever, Sophie. Jazzy wasn't far from our thoughts, however. We knew that she wouldn't have been able to make the hike. We used up all of Jazzy's Fun Energy since 2006 and had to put her down. However, today we thought of her and knew that, had she been younger, she would have had fun hiking with us. But, to the present, Sophie did a wonderful job. Many people, I'd say 98% of the people that came across us hiking, would stop to say hello to Sophie. They'd ask if she had enough water. They'd give her a pet, call her a good girl or say, "Hey buddy, you're up here too?" She did well with the other dogs - actually, I think all of the dogs were so worn out that they didn't have enough energy to even sniff butts!! One little cutie white fluffy poodle type was being carried. I said to Sophie, "Don't get any ideas, I'm not carrying you." The other owner just laughed and laughed. Sophie wanted to go first and picked the trail for us most of the way. There was one time where we were on a switch-back and she thought she could just jump down and get to me. In doing so, she almost slipped off of a huge boulder.

The trail we took today was absolutely beautiful. There happened to be lots of people hiking today, but it wasn't annonyingly crowded on the trails. We even saw a blind man and his family making their way on the trail. I imagine most of the people were on the beaches and in the picnic areas. Being a holiday weekend - Memorial Day combined with great weather, it's no wonder that Wisconsin most popular State Park was jam-packed full today!

Going up to Door County last week, we bought an annual State Park sticker so we could hike at Penninsula State Park both last week and again in October when we go on vacation. We decided to use our State Park sticker every weekend that we can this year, to get our money's worth. However, I think we will be using it mostly at Devil's Lake and then Penninsula the most. We'd like to get you to Governor Dodge this year. That's a favorite because it also has waterfalls. There is one more state park that I know of, with waterfalls, but it's waaay up near Superior - an 8 hour drive; we'd need to spend the night somewhere to get in some hiking.

Both of you are so funny! You've both asked for ibuprofen since we've gotten home. Sophie's feet were so hot!! We got out her little pool and let her cool off - it was funny when she sat and cooled off her pooky - could almost hear her body go. psssssssssshooo as she cooled down. But Dad and I are good, once we got some cold iced drinks at the Kwik Trip in Baraboo, we were good to go.

We all had a really good time. Hiking is one of the things that we all like to do. Whether we are in Wisconsin, Montana or California, hiking has always been our favorite activity. Thank you boys for the wonderful day! Remember to thank Dad for driving!

Last weekend we went to Door County to find our autumn cottage. We hiked at Penninsula State Park. That was alot of fun too. We went on the Eagle Trail. Sophie did really good there. I really like that trail because of the rocky climb and the cool temperature. Also, it goes down to the water! Since Rick just got his Temps the day before, we had him do all the driving in the Park. He did a great job and got some good practice in!