Spiders and white lies.

A few days ago, Jigs was bit by a spider. Her nose swelled up, then her nose started to bleed followed by oozy puss. Without looking at her ::side eye:: our local vet gave us some prednisone which made her vomit 4 times in a matter of a few hours. Cue freak out.

J has been on me about taking Jigs to the vet for every little thing this is why I took her to the local vet rather than the (more expensive vet) one I prefer. I called said vet and they told us to cut her pill in half. At that point I did what anyone in my situation would do. I Googled.

That was a mistake.

After Googling thru the tears at work, I run to the drug store and buy a thermometer. If she has a fever that is a sign of infection. I will take Jigs' temperature (rectally because that is most accurate) myself and rule out a fever/infection and maybe this would bring me some peace of mind.

After several failed attempts to talk J into taking her temperature, I did it. All to save a buck. (He said I need to learn how to do this. I guess next time he's sick....oh, nevermind.) Her temperature was right where it was supposed to be, but still no peace of mind.

That evening we gave her half of the prednisone and watched her closely (aka no sleep for me). She didn't get sick again, but her nose was looking worse.

The next morning I sat on the couch with her and cried. How much is she worth to us? That's a hard question to ask and I'm sure if you have animals you've asked yourself this same question. I wasn't comfortable with giving her something that made her so sick and I felt like the local vet didn't give her a thorough exam so, I picked up the phone and called her vet (the one I prefer). J will just have to understand.

8 hours later, Jigs is showing every symptom the doctor said she would due to the new medicine she is on. Panting, large appetite, execessive thirst. I can handle all of them but the panting. Jigs has a heart murmur and I have (what I am sure is completely irrational) thought that she will pant herself into cardiac arrest. I don't even know if this is medically possible, but in my brain it makes sense. Oh.Mai.Goodness it's so good that I don't have children.

So, I stay up late and watch her chest go up and down to make sure she is breathing.

When J asked me how much the visit was I told him $70 and he said, "That's not too bad" and I just thought it was a good thing I didn't tell him the truth - the visit was closer to $200. White lies are necessary sometimes.

Here are pictures of her bite:

This is her treatment plan for those that run into this same problem.The info I found online was helpful and I want to share it with others who are freaking out trying to find some peace of mind, just like I was. *obviously I am not a vet, but this is what our vet (who I trust very much) prescribed for her along with two injections she got at her visit.

1. Soak nose with warm washcloth and gently slough off dead skin and dried blood. Pat dry. Apply antiseptic cream. We are using Panalog ointment (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, ointment for dogs and cats), but neosporin would work.  Do this 2x's a day.

2. Give Simplicef (treats bacterial infections) once a day for 7 days.

When you forget you live in the country...

found here.



When you live in the country you get used to being woken by the loud cow battle crys aka very loud mooing, stepping in sheep sh*t, having muddy paws greet you when you get home, loud diesel engines.

You get used to all sorts of things but, if you are like me...you also forget that you live in the country and that's when stuff gets bad, or stinky in this case.

I was coming home from a trip into town on Saturday night, it was dark, but it was only 8pm. One thing that I had to get used to when I moved to the country was the lack of street lights. I don't mind it although, it does result in driving about 10 under the speed limit.

I was about 5 miles from home when I saw a black dog walking alongside the side of the road. It was a small dog further adding to my worry, it was a bichon or something of the like.

As I usually do when I see a furry four-legged on the side of the road, I started to slow down and veered to the left side of the road to pull up alongside it. If I could get it in the car, then maybe it would just stay with us for the night since Animal Control has already closed.


I started to roll my window down and just then, there it was...

the white stripe of DEATH.

Found here.

I couldn't roll up my window fast enough, hence the new perfume I'm wearing today.

and that is what happens when you forget you live in the country. I seriously can not make this stuff up.

Basset Hound at the ranch?

Since I'm not allowed any more animals that don't "work" at the ranch I'm in dire need of finding a purpose for a basset hound.

Here are just a few reasons why.



Source: bestweekever.tv

For more basset hound photos (because I know you just want more!) go here.
and to see the most adorable male dog-model, click here.

Wordless Wednesdays - Spotted.

Via: reddogspottedsheep.blogspot.com

House progress...

This year is off to a great and busy start for us!
We closed on our home on 12/28 and haven't stopped since. We've primed, painted, spackled, sanded, trimmed, pumped...the list goes on and on and I've never wanted to work up a sweat like I have wanted to for this house.

The sheep are down in the winter range and we have plenty of water for them so we haven't had to make daily trips down to the range to haul water. This is great because it allows J to stay at the ranch and help out on the house. :)

We worked on getting this house for what feels like a year, but in reality it was about 6 months. Still a very long time to feel "on your toes".

J and I knew we wanted a few things in a home:
1. His and her sinks
2. A balcony
3. Land
4. Two full baths

While our new home doesn't have the his/her sinks, it does have PLENTY of room for them.
2400 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a very open floor plan. It also has a Utility Room that is bigger than our current kitchen! I can't wait to make that space my own.

Going into this I had high (and what I've learned now to be unrealistic) hopes when it came to getting everything on my list completed.

A few things we needed/need to get done before moving in include refinishing the hardwood floors, refinishing the cabinets and painting. (There are others like pumping the septic tank and changing toilets and valves, but you know I am not helping with those things so they aren't on MY list.)

Let me share with you a few of our adventures so far....



TO DO #1: Refinish Hardwood Floors - DONE!
This was a huge job and we happened to get it done in one weekend. Did I mention this was a HUGE job?! We couldn't have done it without our awesome brother-in-law. He brought his tools, put our butts to work and now we can cross that off the To Do list. Have I mentioned the ENTIRE house is hardwood floor?! Awesome? Yes. Not so awesome, when you are on your hands and knees sanding.

While sanding, we were grateful for any help we could get:


Bruises on my knees and a few fights later, the floors are done.
Here is a peek at the living room before the floors were done to give you and idea of the vast amount of hardwood flooring. I will be posted after pics soon!

TO DO #2: Refinish Cabinets - Done? Yeah, right.
Can I first show you a picture of the kitchen? (previous owners liked aqua.)

I have high hopes for this kitchen.

You might be thinking, "Wow! That's a lot of cabinets." Yep, you are right, it is.

We sanded for three damn days only to find out we need to sand more. We sanded more and then started staining.

I thought we were home free when we started staining. Um, wrong. Staining is hard and there is a certain technique (we've learned) when working with older wood. We stained for about two days. Names were called, things were said, a white flag was thrown.

After several discussions, we gave in and called a handyman with staining experience. J feels like we are giving up, but that is not how I see it at all. We have to look at these cabinets every day for the rest of our lives and I would rather them be done right the first time then have to go back and re-do them! Lawd knows, I won't be sanding like this ever again. I think we are just being honest with ourselves, saving money in the long run and probably saving our marriage. ;)

Our handyman is going to work alongside J on the staining for one day to help move us along and show him a few tricks.

Stay tuned!

Add another candle to the birthday cake.

32 years ago on this very day, the world gained one pretty awesome guy.

His name is Jesse and he's my husband. His loyalty, generosity and love makes this world a better place.

Happy Birthday, Jesse! I love you now and forever.


Via: browse.deviantart.com

xoxo,
Veronica