Last December: the loss of the ZIgman and the Arrival of Bella

 I started writing this in July, obviously I never finished. So, let's see how far I get this rime.

My first post this year. I haven't been feeling like writing much, obviously, I'm having trouble being motivated. But I will plow on through on the warm, hazy July evening. (Now a damp September morning.)

Christmas was fun, as usual, maybe a little less hectic, we toned down the cookie baking although the void seemed to be filled in with pies and cakes. The usual trio arrived from Massachusetts for 3 weeks. Ember and Kaylee had a blast playing constantly. Ziggy just laid about and ate goodies and stuck close to me on our walks. 

Jan 5, 2025, 2 days before I lost him

I lost Ziggy in January, on the 7th. On the 4th we discovered he had a mass on his spleen, and it was bleeding internally as he had become anemic. Three days later it had to have burst, he couldn't even stand up on his own, so I had to take him to the vet the day my sister left for home. I miss that little guy, it was a really tough loss, but I couldn't let him suffer and being practically 14, (I celebrated his birthday on the 8th) surgery would have been iffy, though I still find myself regretting not trying more.

Kaylee became depressed with me. I took her with me to the vet so she could sniff his body afterward. They were best buddies. Because the ground was frozen, I had him cremated. His ashes are sitting ijust outside my bedroom.

In happier times last year, I'm sure a lot of other stuff happened, it's just whether I can remember. I know in December while my sister and M were here with Ember, M and Hal retrieved the old semi-trailer refrigerator truck from the farm, a mile down the road and towed it with the farm tractor and dropped in off behind the pole barn. Hal is planning to use it as storage for things like the excess steel siding pieces from the house build and other crap from the garage so he can finally use it for his truck.

Hal was ill most of December through April. He had all kinds of tests, saw all kinds of specialists. He was lethargic, coping with muscle pain, had a cough that still hasn't gone away completely. In the end he finally was given 3 weeks of antibiotics after we suggested Lyme disease. He also tested positive for Mono. We're still not sure what he had but he's definitely better.

After 2 months without Ziggy, I finally looked online a little for another dog. The first couple of times I gave up, my heart wasn't in it, but eventually a couple dogs caught my eye. I meant to visit a few at some more distant shelters but then I saw a small photo at the shelter in Lincoln. It wasn't a good photo but she was only 10 miles away along with Siberian Husky that had been in and out there for 5 years. Hal wanted my next dog to be smaller like Ziggy was, (Zig was half beagle, hence his smaller size), so I wasn't even considering looking for a labrador, no matter how much I love the breed.

So here is that photo of Bella at the shelter. I'll post better photos in a later post.

As I've said before, I hope to make more posts sooner than later.

Ziggy's Mom Played Guitar.......

 ...while his dad played bass.

Last November, Hal told me he once tried to learn electric bass guitar in school when he was about 13. But the school had fewer basses than guys wanting to learn and because Hal was tall the teacher decided he would be the one to tackle the double bass. So much for Hal's fledging rock star career. So, as it was Black Friday weekend (the buying frenzy in the US) I suggested he go ahead and get himself a bass and teach himself to play. So, he went on Amazon, and he did just that, ordered a cheap bass with a small practice amp, etc. This made him extremely happy.

Ziggy's Dad

Now there I was sitting next to him while he's searching the website and it occurred to me that I once told me parents when I was around 12, 14, can't remember, that I wanted to learn guitar. I had played recorder in second grade and in 3rd switched to clarinet. It all went nowhere, and I don't really remember why though I have told people for decades my parents didn't like hearing me practice Jingle Bells in July. For all I know it could have been the cost of renting the instrument, maybe I wasn't that good, who knows? But, back to last November, while Hal was merrily loading his Amazon cart, I wondered why the heck wasn't I buying myself a guitar and learning to play it, too?

So, onto Amazon I also went and looked and looked and had no clue what to get. I had always figured in my past musings about playing guitar that I would someday get an acoustic, possibly a used one, no amp required, and I could sit around outside and strum away, etc. Hal convinced me to go with an electric guitar. We knew there was a small guitar store in the nearby town, but I didn't want to get a hard sell, or possibly be pushed into whatever they had. Plus, Amazon was right there.

All I knew about electric guitars were the brands Fender and Gibson. I looked, pondered, read many, many reviews and decided on a Squier Bullet by Fender Stratocaster, made in Indonesia. It came in 2 colors, black/white and brown sunburst, the latter the color of Hal's bass. I opted for the black and white one. It didn't come with anything, not even a pick or guitar strap. Hal gave me his picks, bass players seldom use them apparently, and his wimpy strap as he bought a nicer one. I have since bought a nicer strap as well. 

Shall I name him Eric?

Of course, I was out of town when it arrived, so I didn't get to open the box for a few days. It was now December and I had no idea what to do with it (though I did discover you can hear the strings without an amp), and the "manual" was laughable, Next stop, the internet to look for lessons. I found an English guy on You Tube and learned the E major, E minor and one other easy variation and watched his next video. There didn't seem a rhyme or reason to the lessons, so I looked around some more. Stumbled upon a phone app from Justin Guitar. Downloaded that and listened to this nice, likeable man from Australia tell me useful things like how to hold the guitar, how to hold a pick, aka a plectrum, how to tune a guitar, a very important thing and easy to do now with these little electronic tuners that Hal happened to already get for me. 

The first lessons were free, so as I sat on the edge of the bed, (Hal practiced in the TV room) I learned about the A and D major chords, a little about strumming, and practiced 3 karaoke style songs, none of which I had heard before or even particularly cared about. But it was something as I was now learning how to switch between chords!

Then my sister her boyfriend and Ember arrived, the holidays quickly intervened though I still managed to practice the 20 minutes a day recommended by Justin and built up my callouses, so the metal strings didn't hurt anymore. And they really did hurt a lot for the first couple of weeks. Two days after Christmas I came down with Covid, followed by Hal a day later and neither of us felt like doing anything again till mid-January. I lost all my callouses.

I debated buying the phone app for the rest of the beginner classes and the karaoke style play along thing, but then it occurred to me to look for Justin Guitar on the internet. And there it was, everything "free" and available (there are a few paid for specialty lessons). I re-watched all the videos I had watched on the app and have been continuing on. I now count my actual learning from about Jan 25th when I started with the website. As of this writing I can play A major and minor, D major and minor, E major and minor as well as C major though that is still a bit "fuzzy" need lots of practice to perfect it.

I'm also learning a few songs, but more on that later. It's time to make dinner.

+

Another Random Update and Ziggy's Health

 I'm hardly updating at all this year! All I can say is we've been busy, just not on finishing the house though I did take four 1x4s and add wood filler where needed and sanded them, awaiting the stain which may happen next week. I dare say it will happen next week. Tonight, Hal's sister is coming up for the weekend, so we'll be doing other things, hopefully, more donating and looking at carpet remnants for the living room.

A couple weeks ago Hal tapped the 10 maple trees we used last year. We had around 5=6 days in the 40s, weird for that early in February. We only got about 25 gallons of sap and he still hasn't boiled it, fortunately it turned cold again so it ought to be fine. He's also had to plow the driveway and my walking trails more than once as winter decided to barrel right back in. 

I've been walking the dogs, of course, and unpacking the odd box or two, throwing out stuff and donating the rest if we can't use it. Also, cleaning out my sewing room of boxes of extra yarn and fabric I don't have an immediate use for. I may never have a use for most of the yarn, I just can't get enthused about crochet anymore. I think I still will sew though; I've finally set up my sewing machine and darned some socks and put buttons back on shirts. If nothing else, it cleaned up a large pile of clothing on the floor.

Ziggy is on medication now for Cushing's Disease. For the last few months, he's been getting his liver and kidneys rechecked and while we got his kidneys back in working order, his liver values went into the red. I hadn't realized all the bread he was stealing since last August, his constant begging for food, and lately his excessive drinking were actually symptoms. I figured the bread thievery was taught to him by Oakley. Doggie see, doggie do.

Cushing's is apparently often caused by a tumor on either the pituitary gland or the adrenal gland, I don't know which. From what I've read online the adrenal tumor is more likely to be deadlier, but I'm not going to have exploratory surgery done to find out. He turned 12 in January; I'm not making that same mistake I did with Rocket. He's been on these pills for about 9 days now and I do think he is drinking less, at least I haven't had to fill the water dishes as often these last couple of days. Maybe he is begging less, he doesn't try to climb on me as much anymore, which is what he was doing several times a day for the last couple of months. The pills, Trilostane, aren't a cure, but hopefully they will help him feel better.

Oh, 2 weeks ago today we went back on Keto. I have determined it is impossible for us to do this all the time, we really like a nice piece of bread, or cake, or pasta, or rice, the list goes on, but we will try to go lower carb and lower fat when we go off it which tends to happen a lot when family visits. We'll see how it goes. So far, I think Hal's lost at least 4 pounds, and I've lost 7. Five of that came off in the first week, so I know that was just water weight. I plan on doing this till at least the end of April, at which time I will be attending a baby shower for one of my nieces. I am sure there will be cake.

And finally, we seem to have recovered from keto, no more coughing jags unless it's because we inhaled something we shouldn't, etc.

Doggy Swim Fun

 Being in the pond became a daily, sometimes more than once a day ritual for Ziggy and Kaylee during the 90+ degree days. For the most part Kaylee just likes splashing about the edge looking for frogs but Ziggy likes a nice swim often trying to drink at the same time which causes him to cough a lot when he gets back to shore. 

And of course, after a good swim, rolling in the grass must commence!

These shots were from different days but they certainly enjoy themselves. Time for the morning walk!

Speaking of Forsythia...

While walking Kaylee and Ziggy yesterday between bouts of gardening and wall erecting, we wandered down Luna ridge, named by Hal as Luna is buried there. We paid our respects at her grave, with Rocket's daffodils blooming above her. 

Farther on I saw the 5 forsythia we planted one summer when we were still living in Virginia. They were in full bloom. I was totally surprised, as it was so long ago I had forgotten about them. They're in clay, untended, unfertilized, it's no wonder they're still small but it pleased me to see.

20 plus year old forsythia

It's Done, We're Moved, The House Sold

So we did close on August 28th and took 5 days to finish moving out and cleaning the house. We were out on the September 2nd and the new owners arrived the next day. Heard from the wife a couple of times about internet and how to turn the heater on, they used the thermostat for the wood stove rather than the propane furnace, I forgot to mention they were separate systems. 

We are in the farmhouse that was Hal's parents' and is now owned by Hal's older brother, MSS. Plenty still left to unpack but things are a little tight because the small kitchen attached to the family room as well as a part of the family room has stacks of things purchased for the vacation home MSS and wife are building right next door. Hal's sister, C, is also staying here for a bit (leaving today) and has been extremely helpful with the cleaning of the old house and and unpacking and finding places for things. I'll have to take some photos later of the chaos.

The dogs are a little confused. We've been here a week but I'm pretty sure Ziggy thinks we can go home anytime. Kaylee seems to be handling it a bit better, but she only lived there  2 years, Ziggy, more than 9. But they got to see my neighbor and Seamus 2 days in a row when they came for a visit, so that helped. Plus as there is no fence around the house, they have to stay in the old pheasant pen which is very large and grassy but as they can't run in and out of the house anymore, they spend a lot of time barking, howling and whining. I hope they get used to it, but we're too close to a busy road to leave them loose, and Hal's cousin, who has lived in the mobile home across the driveway for more than 20 years, seems to be afraid of dogs and threatened to pepper spray them, so, better safe than sorry. Just makes things more stressful.

Hal is finally getting back to work on the new house today, he rented a trencher for laying the electric cable between the utility pole and the house, so that is a good thing. He hopes to have it done soon so the garage floor can be poured and the large doors attached so we can heat it in winter and work all winter long. We shall see.

Time for a walk.

Ziggy and Kaylee

Just a few shots of my friendly pups being themselves. Kaylee is especially friendly to neighbor John.

Kaylee's usual spot when visiting neighbor John

The pond is probably closer to completely open today.

April 1st

 Look mom, I found mud!

Yesterday Kaylee discovered the pond is thawing

 Snowball chasing isn't as fun any more.

After throwing a few last snowballs (upper right corner)

 Let's go, we're ready!

Ready to go visiting

Best water in town!

Ziggy's favorite beverage when visiting friend Tom

Well, 2020 Sure Does Suck

Excuse my language, but damn, I sure wasn't expecting the world to be falling apart from a damn virus! So this is Day 8 of the Stay At Home policy started by our governor last week. Fortunately, Hal, the dogs and I seem fine so far, as are my neighbors, family and thus far the county we live in. No reported cases yet for Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Oscoda (as of 3pm today, Oscoda now has 2 confirmed cases) and Presque Isle, of course that could change any time. I haven't been to the grocery store in 13 days and hope to stay away for a bit longer, have plenty of frozen veggies and canned fruit and of course, the freezers are still full of venison. I did just have to call in some prescription refills though so I will have to hit the pharmacy before the week is out. I do carry hand sanitizer with me.

The dogs need their heartworm tests but except for emergency, the veterinary practices have been shut down as non-essential to help maintain social distancing. I have plenty of pills so unless they tell me otherwise, I will be starting them on their heartworm meds tomorrow, April 1, same as every year. I gave them their first flea and tick pill of the year today.

So it's kind of depressing. Since the stock market tanked, so have our investments which is what we've been living on. Hopefully we'll be spending less.

Hal has a new hobby, cabinet making which he started this year. He hopes to get good enough that he could build some of the cabinets for our new house. I have the final decision on that though, Because I know what I want and that would be really nice cabinets. But he is having fun and has confidence he will get better.

I haven't done much hobby wise, I keep trying to get back into quilting or crocheting but my heart isn't in it Eating seems to be my thing, the keto diet has gone out the window for now. That fell apart when I was downstate visiting Hal's sister and buying a new car. Two days later his mom died, she was 85 and we were expecting it but that and this virus thing has dampened my spirit a bit. I had lost 9 pounds but that came back. At least I am still down 10 of the 40 I lost last year. I call it a win.

Maple season came and went fast, barely got 4 gallons of syrup, Hal only ran 2 lines and the screwed up weather shortened the season. (there is no snow left and at the end of March that is unusual.) We just have to can what we have now. Hopefully we'll do that sooner rather than later. We waited till August last year to get around to it.

Well, that's enough for now, I have been very negligent this year posting on my blog I shall try to do better, what else is there to do?

my 2017 Chevy Equinox and Ziggy and Kaylee

Autumn Pups

It's hard to get them both to sit still and look at the camera at the same time. But I did try.

Future Doggie Door

Bought a doggie door the other day. Hal fitted it into the new house and built the tunnel through the wall for it. He has removed it since. Needed the tunnel to be able to attach the exterior wall around it. Hopefully that can happen soon as the weather is still too windy or rainy to do any more roofing.

inside with inner door

from the outside, doggie door removed

It's made by PetSafe, it's aluminum, and large enough for Kaylee to get in and out of and low enough to the floor for Ziggy to get through, too. Hopefully they won't find going through a tunnel too intimidating.

Kaylee is a Healthy Pup!

The several urine tests showing bits of red and white blood cells in her urine has been bothering me for the last couple of months. The vets even sent a sample to MSU in East Lansing for testing to see if there was any more bacteria. Nothing grew so it was just why was there blood. She was also spayed on Feb 7th and the vets wanted another sample 3-4 weeks later to see if perhaps the juvenile vaginitis she had was the cause.

Well today I brought her in, they used a needle to take a clean sample from her bladder, and yippee, no blood, totally clean. I, as well as the vets are very happy, as is Kaylee I am sure. They think it probably was the juvenile vaginitis after all. So she won't need any more of these tests unless she gets another UTI. Ironically, if she hadn't gotten the damn UTI there wouldn't have been any tests, no evidence of blood, and none of this needless worry. Ah well.

I also took Ziggy in for a blood test to ensure the carprofen he's been taking for his bad back was not detrimentally affecting his kidneys or liver. And those numbers were within the normal range so I have another bottle of pills for him. This is good because he was really messed up the last 4 days. I even had to give him tramadol 2 nights in a row his pain was so bad. Poor boy.

But he's feeling better now so for now all is right in my pups' world.

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving was fun. It was my first one in this house since I moved here 18 years ago. Till now it has been with Hal's parents every year. I invited my neighbor John and his dog Seamus. And my brother was here, too. Hadn't seen him in a little over 3 years. He seems to really like Kaylee, who likes him a lot, too. Ziggy was not ignored either. There was plenty of puppy love to go around.

Dinner was turkey, of course, and mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn (forgot the green beans and the corn, but managed to get the corn done at the last minute). gravy, mushrooms, and wine. Then blueberry and pumpkin pie. Everyone was well fed. The dogs got a bit here and there, too.

I know someone took photos of the table but I can't find them, so you'll jusst have to believe me that it looke good.

Christmas 2018

Christmas was AWESOME. The 4 of us humans had absolutely nothing to complain about and the 3 dogs seemed to have had a good time too. Here are a few photos.

Hal got lots of flannel

There was venison roasted over an open fire, caveman style

Kaylee and her best friend Seaums on top of Seamus' dad

6 month old Kaylee is as big as 10 year old Lyra

little sis enjoying unwrapping her big present

me and my gift box from big sis

wrestling with Kaylee, Ziggy and Seamus

My neighbor John and Seamus, his furry friend, joined us for dinner with was a ham with pineapple stuffing on the side and , green beans, asparagus and mashed potatoes with a pinot noir and a late harvest riesling.

Kaylee is 6 Months Old

She hit 26 weeks over the weekend and as of the previous Tuesday weighs 60  pounds. She is a big puppy. Currently I am treating her for her second urinary tract infection, she's doing better, hopefully 2 weeks of antibiotics will clear it up. Otherwise she is bouncy, adorable, naughty, chewing all sorts of things, including my mahogany entertainment center, but she is a wonderful pup. And most of the time Ziggy likes her, too. I took a couple photos of her in the rare sunshine we had Saturday and here they are.

So dignified in her new pink collar. 

 I can barely believe I got her to sit still for so long because as you can see, Ziggy and Lyra were not cooperating at all!

Back for the Holidays

My younger sister, boyfriend and pup Lyra, Luna's niece came back to the swamp for Christmas on Friday. Lyra had her head out the window and was making all kinds of noise, she knew where she was going, it was funny. And when Ziggy heard her he started doing the same thing, running about like a maniac like his long lost friend had come home. Here is a video of the insanity when they met.

The next day we went out on our first walk and surveyed possible Christmas trees including the one I had originally picked out a month ago. And then Lyra found a good spot to sniff. and Kaylee had to join her.

On our second walk, later in the afternoon while Lyra ranged ahead, Kaylee found a stick and Ziggy decided he wanted it, too.

It is Snowing

And I have a puppy.

Took me a minute to get my phone camera activated, but upon encountering the initial small accumulation  on the deck, Kaylee decided to eat it and ate her way across. She has since run in and out of the doggie door and jumped onto my lap. Presently she is chewing on things next to Ziggy. The forecast is for 3-5 inches. Walking in it with her ought to be fun.

There was a dusting the other morning, but nothing as puppy entertaining as this. More photos will be forthcoming assuming she doesn't just ignore it.

Kaylee is 5 Months Old Today

It's hard to get a decent photo when she's wrestling, as she was this afternoon with Seamus, the new dog next door. But later this evening I did manage to get this while she was sleeping. She is so cute, and getting so large!

5 months old and sleeping with her tongue out

Seamus and Kaylee slightly paused in wrestling

Seamus is a border collie, blue heeler mix adopted by my neighbor from the local shelter nearly 3 weeks ago. Ziggy and he became fast friends and wrestled like maniacs, keeping Kaylee from joining in due to her size. In less than 3 weeks she is big enough to keep up and poor Ziggy's bad back is keeping him sidelined.

A Doggie Door!

It only took us 18 years, and after putting the house up for sale to get around to it, but today Hal built an insert for the sliding door for the doggie door that arrived yesterday. We had to build an insert as the door is not standard so none of the premade ones would fit. It's not pretty but it should do the job assuming Ziggy and Kaylee figure it out. (And just after I typed that Ziggy came to the door and we called and he pushed through! YAY, Ziggy.) We've gotten Kaylee to go through a few times with much encouragement but it needs to become a way of life.

measuring

test fitting

thinking

preparing the space

the door with the cover plate

The finished doggie door

More Kaylee and Ziggy Photos

Here are a few photos from the past week.

Kaylee loves Duckworth, Luna's toy she got last Christmas and the last toy she carried around (she loved to carry stuffed toys around) the day before I had to let her go. I am so glad Duckworth got adopted. Kaylee sleeps with him every night, too.

Since Ziggy became extremely unhappy being left alone when I took Kaylee to the build with me (she cannot be trusted to stay home alone uncrated yet.) I started taking him, too. When I am not helping Hal I try to pay attention to them and take them on short walks. They still get very bored.

 After a swimming retrieve at Bliss Lake yesterday, relaxing in the shallows.

We're done now, mom, we can go home.