Clear the mind
Puppy breath, vocalizing queen, and 800+ miles of "how much longer"
It's no wonder that I haven't had time to blog. I've been on two consecutive trips on the weekends to places over 400 miles one way each; my black lab had 6 puppies a week ago; my new female cat is in heat (again); and my two German Shepherd dogs are feeling left out of all of this.
The trips: one to Pigeon Forge, TN with my daughter and 2 sis-in-laws. It was a lot of fun! We got to do the usual "girl stuff" - laughing most of the weekend. We all got tattoos (see previous post) except for my daughter, and we got to see it snow in the mountains. The other trip, last weekend, was to Savannah, Georgia to tour Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) with my daughter. That is her #1 pick for college so far - and the city is absolutely gorgeous! The whole family went on that trip (hubby, 2 sons, daughter, & me). Pack 3 big kids in an SUV and drive over 400 miles one way - you learn a LOT about patience! I think each child took a turn at driving all of us crazy. We made several stops to stretch, potty, and gather our wits. I wish I would have taken a picture of hubby's "backwards running" in his attempt to wake up and stretch. College was nice and we all loved the city. Tybee Island was awesome also. We plan to go back in the summer for a longer stay. I've posted pics of Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Savannah, and Tybee Island on facebook - but will move some over here when I have the time. The trip back home from Savannah was another experience in itself. It began snowing and the temp dropped incredibly fast. We had trouble keeping the windows defrosted/defogged since the air doesn't blow correctly in the SUV anymore (it was NOT hubby's fault when he installed the xm radio). Finally made a stop at walmart to get some wipes for the windshield that would help with the fogging up. We also stopped a few times to play in the snow, but found it wasn't nearly as fun when you had to get back in an SUV to warm up, instead of putting on dry, warm clothes.
Only a few days after getting home from the Savannah trip, our black lab had her illegitimate puppies by our male GSD (who was supposed to breed with the female GSD, who obviously wants no part of that). She had 6 puppies - in the house - and trying to jump on the couch the whole time. Luckily, my mom was there and helped until I could get home. The black lab is 8 years old and has NEVER gone into heat or gotten pregnant. Lesson learned in spaying my dog. So now we have 6 whining, grunting, little black puppies and one mean, irritable momma dog. The 2 big GSDs can't get anywhere near her or the puppies or momma goes for the throat! My female GSD is very jealous. She's sad and wants to stay outside most of the time. We've tried giving her special attention, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
Ok - and in the middle of all this - the new siamese cat we found has gone into heat. She's walking through the house howling and vocalizing in a tone that would scare off a mountain lion. She walks between our legs, in front of our feet, and throws herself down in front of anyone around while hiking her back-end up and rubbing it on anything (legs, sofa, wall, dogs, etc.). She has an appointment to be spayed in 2 weeks. Will we make it until then without completely losing our sanity?
Last but not least, the older cat, Luna, feeling left out and not included, has decided to bring dead mice to the front door. If only she could bring dogfood and steaks....