Where O Where....

have I been lately!?!?  

Besides having a miserable sinus infection, I am mostly trying to adapt to living in a suburb.  It's not enough to say I miss living in the country, because I REALLY miss the country.  The smells, the views, the crops, the animals, the wildlife, the privacy and so forth. 

Don't get me wrong, I like it here.  This house is new and has tons of storage and I even have an extra room for my crafts.  The neighbors I have met are nice too.  It's just different.  And you might be saying to yourself, yeah but she lives in a neighborhood all winter and that's true, but I was always able to balance that by coming home to the country for the summer.  That was until dad had to come live with me and and wanted to be closer to rest of the family while he is home for the summer.  

So now I am left to fool myself.  In the evenings, Mr. Fix-it and I sit outside  and face the lawn chairs away from the other homes so we can look at a nearby woods.  Note, that field will be filled with houses someday but not to soon I hope!

Anyway, maybe it's just me but it doesn't seem like I have anything interesting to write about here.  There's always something going on in the country you know and I'm missing it all!


So what have I been doing?  Usually I'm taking dad to various doctor appointments and have even been going to physical therapy for my ankle that I broke last winter.  I have made a few dog collars and yesterday I finished a new project that I'm hoping will take off because I have ideas for more!

Here it is..............

I love it!  It's an overnight doggie bag for your pooch. 

 

I came up with the idea last winter.  I have lots of dogs that come to board with me and some have their possessions in a bag but many just bring stuff and hand it to me.  So, that's when I thought, 'Doggie bag'. How funny is that!

I just listed it in my Etsy store

http://www.etsy.com/listing/78743559/overnight-tote-bag-for-your-pooch 

Hopefully someone will like my idea as well. 


I have also been lucky enough to have my faux granddaughter for a visit so I can't not show off a picture of her!

 

She's just so dang cute!

Bella the Visitor

In Arizona I am busy all winter grooming and boarding dogs but not in the summer in Indiana.

Normally I return to Indiana and mow grass for a living but that changed last summer when dad had to live with me full-time.  I had to give up the lawn business to Mr. Fix-it and so this is my second summer without income. 

Now that dad has purchased a home in a subdivision I have met a few dogs (oh and neighbors too!) , and a few folks have heard about my winter job.  Now....I don't want to start grooming here, at least not this summer.  For one thing, I'm not set up to groom.  The only place I can groom is the garage and it's not insulated or cooled so maybe by next summer I could work toward that.  The other thing is, in Arizona, my customers are snowbirds like me.  They are not looking for a full-time groomer.  Here in Indiana, I don't want to set myself up to groom and only be available to people for four to six months.

I do admit though I am having 'fur withdrawals' this summer since I'm not living at home where Mr. Fix-it and I have two (very senior) dogs.  I can't bring them here, they are too old and it would probably upset them.  I have been looking for a dog to foster but the Greyhound group I contacted wanted someone who was going to be in town longer than me.  

So, when one of my new neighbors asked me to keep their dog overnight, I jumped at the chance.

 
This is Bella.  I wrote about her a couple of post's back.  She's an English Bulldog.  Dad and I had a great time with her.  She was a great boarder, very polite and neat and a personality too.


 
We played tug of war and I wore her out.  For a little thing, she is a powerhouse and all muscle.  She snores though!!!   

She's coming to stay with me again this weekend.  I wonder if they make 'Breathe Right' strips for dogs!?!?!?

Eyes of an Angel

 

Aren't those the most beautiful eyes ever!!  Well, ok...I might be a bit biased.  Those Bette Davis eyes belong to Miss Lacie and she is my 'faux' granddaughter.  Her grandpa is Mr. Fix-it, my significant other.  Since my two children don't have kids and probably won't, this may be the closest I get to a grandchild.  I have fallen head over heels for Lacie.

Mr. Fix-it had to baby-sit Lacie today so mommy could work and he brought her to see me.  Well goodness, if she's not a depression buster I don't know what is!!

 She decided to 'help' me by sorting out some of the dog collars I've made. 

 Apparently she needed my reading glasses to assist her with the task!

 I suggested to Mr. Fix-it that perhaps he needed my reading glasses to dress her!  Wow, orange shirt and bright pink crocs!!  Of course, I added to the mix by putting a red ribbon with white puppy paws in her hair.  She was quite the fashion statement today.  

Oh, and here's a picture of her showing her new baby doll to my dad.  He was pretty pleased about that because she is a bit afraid of him.  

All too soon it was time for her to go home.  Isn't she just the cutest with that little backpack and her blankie on her back.  

Sighhhhh.....what an angel!

The Motivational Hooker!

One nice thing about dad having a new place to live is that most of my immediate family, (brother's and their kids) live within 10 minutes of here.  That's not to say they come by as often as I think they should given the fact that dad and I spend about 8 months of the year in Arizona but....that's just my opinion.

We did get a visit from my sister-in-law this past week however.  And though she and my brother (the had a mid-life crisis brother!) are divorced and have been for a number of years, Jeanine is, has been and will always be, ever part of the family.  

 Jeanine introduced me to my life of crime as a hooker.  Shame on you....I know what your are thinking!!  I meant to say, as a rug hooker!  Because of her I have a huge tub of my stash wool, two cutters, patterns, yarn for whipping and various as-sundry items that I drag back and forth from Indiana to Arizona every year.  

 She brought her rug hooking with her so we could compare our winter projects!

This is her primitive flag that she is finishing.  She is having sort of a conniption fit because her stars are all whopper jawed even though they are primitive and meant to be that way!  Can we all say, OCD?? 

 This is a big rug that she has started.  It has log cabins on two sides and pine trees on the opposite sides.  Jeanine is going to hook each cabin with a different color door and chimney.  

Here is the full view laid out on the floor.

I've yet to do a project this large.  I'll get around to something one of these days.  In the meantime, her visit has motivated (yep I said motivated!) me to whip the last project I finished in Arizona before coming home for the summer. 


It seems I may be coming out of my motivational funk somewhat.  I can only hope!!!!

Painted Motivation

I'm painting my way back to being motivated. The new paint can kept staring at me and staring at me so I finally gave in.

 Pretty sure it also had something to do with the green walls in my bedroom that are making me feel seasick!

 My room used to be the nursery.  It is the only room in the house that has been painted.  All the other walls are contractor white, the basic and inexpensive paint used to 'finish' a new house.  

 Not sure why anyone would chose this color for a baby but they did.  

 Two of the walls are this emerald green color and the two opposing walls are a light mint green.  It's just not for me!

Hard to tell but the color I am painting is not white.  It's actually a soft pale whipped butter color.  I like it.  Looks good with my comforter and sheets which I will show you all at a later time when the room is done. 

Ps....thanks to all my wonderful blogging friends who left me such great comments regarding my lack of motivation!  You all are the best!!

Still Missing Motivation

I am working at it though.  I haven't napped for the past two days so that's a step in the right direction.  

Somehow, I did manage to get a few of the collars I made back in Arizona listed in my Ebay store.  Plus, a trip to the hardware store yesterday encouraged me to come home with some paint for my bedroom.  Just have to muster up the gumption to actually start the task. 

My eating has got to be curbed somehow.  I feel as if I've gained 10lbs since I've been home and I've only been here barely a month.   It's really probably more like 5lbs but I can't be sure.  I don't want to face it and step on the scale to find out.  The fact remains, however, I have gained.  We all know.....it's those subtle differences in the way your clothes fit.  I can't deny that.  

In other news, Mr. Fix-it tells me that our Greyhound, HiLite, seems to be eating better though she is deathly thin.  The infection on her back is healing and as long as she is kept on the prednisone, HiLite continues to hold her own.  


As far as Mr. Fix-it goes....poor guy.  He is wearing himself out going between our house in the country and dad's new house, where I am living this summer.  We often wonder if we will ever get to have a normal life again and live under the same roof.  

That said, I'm not sure what 'normal' really is or if it even exists!  Perhaps normal is just a figment of my imagination. 

 

Missing Motivation

Seems I've disappeared lately.  Not just from blogging, but from life.  

Dad and I have gotten pretty well settled into his new place.  There was so much to do at first.  Heck we didn't even have dish towels or pots and pans and it seemed as if every day there was something we needed to complete the house. 


There have also been doctor appointments, the Heart Specialist, the Endocrinologist, his eye doctor and a few others as well as a couple of my own appointments.  Since all of his doc's are here in Indiana, it means a hectic few months of visits to get them all in before it is time to go back to Arizona.  

But then.....about two weeks ago, everything came to a screeching halt.  No appointments, nothing that was needed for the house and most of all, the newness of us coming home has worn off and we've had no visitors.  The first thing I noticed with myself was a slightly trapped feeling and a dash of boredom.   I'd been concerned from the get-go about not spending the summer at MY house in the country and though at first, all was well...not so lately. 


I miss it.  I miss the beauty of the countryside, the crops growing, the barn kitties, my flowers, the yard that forever needs mowed along with a never-ending serious game of pick-up sticks.  

In this new place, there is not much to do.  The house is fairly new and sits on a teeny-tiny patch of land.  And there are neighbors always out and about.  I miss privacy.  There really is no where to 'hide' from anyone here.  In Arizona, although also in a neighborhood, I can always 'hide' on the back porch and not be seen by anyone.  So, consequently, the trapped feeling, I think.  Well that and always being glued to dad 24/7!  Not to mention feeling lonely and blue as Mr. Fix-it has been spending as much time as possible at our home in the country trying to keep up on it. 

This past week has been the worst.  I find myself sleeping during the day and eating and gaining weight with a touch of self-pity thrown in for good measure. 

I'm not hooking, not sewing dog collars, just not doing anything and absolutely can't seem to motivate myself back on the right track. 


Does anyone out there have some extra motivation they could lend me for a bit????   At least until mine decides to come back!