Poor Miss Winnie

Remember the other day when I posted about Winnie? And we discussed (aka all agreed) that she is cute and cuddly and adorable?

Well, she still is.

But, Monday evening..... well, Monday evening Miss Winnie got into a little scuffle.

That resulted in quite a significant puncture wound, a trip to the emergency vet, a surgical procedure including anesthesia, a 7 inch drain which extends out the side of her body, and several stitches.

Poor, poor Winnie. Poor, poor precious Winnie.



She is a trooper but she is very uncomfortable and unhappy. She has to wear an e-collar - which is incredibly necessary but pathetic because she runs into things and, let's face it, just seems more sad and pathetic. She has to be separated from her siblings (and her momma) for 14 days! And she must be confined to a kennel for... 14 days! Not allowed outside on her own for... you guessed it... 14 days! This is quite a big deal for us, I might add. Our dogs are fortunate to have the run of our household. When the weather is nice (or just whenever they feel like it) they are outside. Otherwise, they are inside. To be constantly confined, separated from family, and restricted to very brief leash walks is quite a change.


I neglected all other duties today and stayed by her side. She tries so hard to fight sleep (one of her medications causes drowsiness) though she basically just sits and stares at me and whimpers. It is torture. Eventually she gives in and will lay down and sleep.


We did give her a new toy today. Under normal circumstances, this type of toy would last mere seconds in our household but she is not in a destructive frame of mind. I put it in her collar thinking she would A) bite it or B) duck her head and drop it on the ground. She did neither. So I took pictures. And then felt guilty. But, I love the little booger and couldn't help myself!


13 days to go!


Wistful for Winnie,

Blankets Galore!

We have had a slight reprieve from all of the rain. Yesterday was GORGEOUS! Blue skies. The perfect time to air out the horses' blankets. Well, some of them. One thing about horse ownership- you acquire, and acquire, and acquire. It is truly amazing. But, as usual, I'm getting off subject...

Anyway, today has been stunningly beautiful as well. Since I left the blankets out overnight (due to the fact that I made ribs for dinner. Then ate said ribs. Ate way, way, way too many of said ribs. Then realized that I could no longer stand and was unable to put the blankets away unless I could find some Oompa Loompas to roll me outside to do so and that seemed unlikely... since I couldn't even stand to call directory assistance to ask for them to connect me to the Oompas...so I left the blankets out overnight). Then this morning, it was another gorgeous day- and the blankets were slightly damp from the dew. So, I left them out to dry off and bask in the warm, loving sunshine.

Except?

Except?

It just started POURING down rain....

And the moral of the story? Don't eat too many ribs. Terrible things will happen.

Blue Skies!

It has been raining like crazy around here for the past several days.

Which means we've been doing a lot of this.



And this.


And this.
And this.

And this.

I won't complain about the rain because we've been in a severe drought but.... today the skies are blue and the temperature is great!

Which makes Winnie one happy girl!


Love,

Oh, Italy... How I Miss You

Yesterday I made a big mistake. Huge mistake. Massively huge gargantuan mistake.


I watched about 1 1/2 straight hours of Food Network.



All three shows (Paula Deen, Giada, and Barefoot Contessa) were showcasing herbs and Italian foods.




And it made me... A. Want to consume an entire weeks worth of calories in one sitting.
B. Go back to Italy.



Oh man, did it make me want to visit Italy again.


Did I tell you that is where DM and I went on our honeymoon?


It was fabulous. Magnificent. Extraordinary. Tremendous. Remarkable. Extraordinary. Amazing.
If you ever get the chance to go to Italy... please take it. I beg you. You won't regret it.


The food. THE FOOD. Oh my goodness gracious, the food. You can stop at any restaurant you pass while walking the streets and it is absolutely delicious. Despite the fact that we walked a bajillion miles a day (and literally almost died while hiking along the coast) I still managed to gain 10 pounds.


The views. THE VIEWS. It is so beautiful.


The history. THE HISTORY. Awe-inspiring.


The art. THE ART. It is so magnificent I can't even put it into words.


The pictures you are currently viewing were taken in Rome. It is fascinating... a bustling city built around ancient ruins. There is so much history to be seen... oh, and the Vatican. The Vatican left me speechless. To see the unbelievable art and to view the Sistine Chapel in person... I have no words. Other than, do your best to go and see it yourself!!


I repeat: You won't regret it. Or maybe this is just the crazy rantings of someone who is going through caprese withdrawal... I plead the 5th. And someone get me some mozzarella. STAT!

Rainbow!

My car... it needed tunin'

So, I had to go into the "city" to take it to the shop. When I went to pick it up... this is what I saw!

Granted, the photo was taken out of a moving vehicle... with my phone... in one of the ugliest parts of said "city." But, I think you get the idea!

In case you don't, here is the other side :)

Love,

w i n n i e

Hi, my name is Winnie! I am cute and cuddly and adorable... as you can see.





This is my mom, Annabelle. You read about her recently. ... She is a wonderful momma dog! I also have a biological brother, Oliver, and a sister named Tippy. We were found at a nearby farm and Tippy went to live with the owners of the farm where we were found. She loves it there! But I get to terrorize my brother Oliver on a daily basis :)


I love it here! I have lots of adopted brothers and sisters I can play with!! One of my absolute FAVORITE activities is....

Licking the other dogs' mouths!! It is so much fun! Primarily because it gets on their nerves... and what would a little sister be if she didn't try to get on everyone's nerves?!

I am definitely a tomboy! This picture... this picture is deceiving. It makes it look like I was doing something bad... like digging in the back yard which resulted in dirt all over me. But, umm, obviously I was not digging. Nope, definitely not digging. Definitely not doing anything bad. Nope! Not me! I am the definition of good behavior- no matter what the photographic evidence is!

Man, now I'm embarrassed that you caught me doing something bad....

Okay! I'm over it! Time to play!


Love,

Elaphe Obsoleta Obsoleta

The other morning, we walked out to a surprise waiting for us.

Mom! Mom! Did you see it? Did you see it? It was AWESOME!

This... is the "awesome" new toy they had discovered...

He lives in the woods... we've seen him before... but never up near the house. Fortunately, I am not afraid of snakes but I AM afraid of the pups being bitten by a snake.

After seeing them interact with this snake, they have confirmed my fears. They thought it was a really great new toy!

I actually felt sorry for the little, four foot long, guy. Fortunately we were able to corral the dogs without incident to them or the snake.... or us. Then I followed him around and took photos while he tried to escape back to the safety of his woodland manor.

Seriously, Lady... leave me alone!

And I did. Because he had started his day with quite the traumatic experience and I didn't want to contribute to his increasing therapy bills. But I'm pretty sure he won't be venturing this way anytime soon!