Saved by Friends

Two days after the 4th, two friends arrived from Maine.  They helped me so much.
They let me cry when I needed to, and elected me as a tour guide so I didn't lose
myself in the grieving process.  We went out and did touristy things every day.
They got to see one white squirrel in Brevard. The others were hiding from the heat!

Mollie fell in love with them.  He taught me how to pet Mollie.  Yes, I petted her,
but not the way she wanted to be petted. Now her head lolls when I pet her.
She's calmed a lot due to increased petting and behavior snacks, she is getting
more behaved than previously.  And I owe that to them.

Despite all the events going on in my life, their presence made me stronger.
And to those two individuals., Thank You so much!


All for now---Kate Thorn

Update re: chickens

This is a very sad post.  One chicken, Cinnamon, was killed by her sisters
while I was in Florida.  I got home at 1:30 am.  So I didn't check them then.
The next day, I went out to check, and Blondie was dead, and they were con-
summing her.  I was hurt by another death--and what to do with the remaining
chickens.  I couldn't give them to someone else--they would do the same thing
over again.  Once a chicken becomes cannibalistic, they continue the behavior.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, the advice given is to terminate the
chickens committing the act.  One of my friends took care of the matter for me.
I couldn't do it.  I still get teary every time I see anything about chickens.

All about this:  Kate Thorn

My Brother Don

During trip one and trip two to Florida, Don and I talked frequently.  The
most important issue was my mother's funeral.  I felt if I waited to have
this conversation, that there was a possibility that I would not be able to
discuss this with him.

I was not present at my Mom's funeral because I had a serious case of
pneumonia.  Everyone that had contact with one certain person came
down with "viral pneumonia"--we nurses called it SARS.  Most of us
had a history of pneumonia, having worked in hospitals for most of
our careers.  But this was so severe.  I would have coughing spasms
so severe that it felt like my head was coming off.

My sister knew this.  She never told Don, but rather let him think that
I cared that little.  Three weeks prior to his first hospitalization, I wanted
to contact him, and I was told that he"had never forgiven me for not
coming to Mom's funeral."

I should have contacted him sooner: I should never have listened to
her. I was forgiven after he knew.  We made our long over-due peace
about everything.

I talked to him the day before our trip down there.  Good thing too.
He was not able to talk when I got there.  But he did awaken on  day
two of the second visit and gave me and my daughter a beautiful grin.
To my knowledge that was the last time he was awake.  Of course, my
sister did not tell me if he woke up or not after that.  Being in the room
with her and my niece was strained.  I felt unwelcome.

There was also an insult regarding my only grandchild and her only
great nephew.  She was wanting all of us to share a condo initially,
until I told her that Bailey would be with us.  She said that wouldn't
work and we.d have to find our own place.  I retorted that we already
had rented a house in Dunedin.

They stayed at Don's house.  Which on the earlier trip, they went there
to check out his house.  My daughter and I started cleaning, while my
my sister and her daughter looked for the will.  It was such a tacky thing
to do.  We didn't know about the cancer then.  No one did.  They did
get a list of his bills so they could be paid, and that was important,
had he been able to return home.

I have had one communication since we were in Florida.  She sent a
very impersonal letter.  She never called me when Don died.  She asked
a nurse to call me.  I was trying to call the hospice when they called me.
And she gave me the message in the appropriate manner.  I thanked her  for
the care given to him.

My neice previously had texted my daughter that "I was not to contact her
anymore."  So I didn't.  I did leave a message with the probate lawyer re:
who I was, my relation to Don, where I lived and my phone number.  When
I did that I was unaware the the probate attorney represented the executor,
and that was all.  I got a very rude call from my neice in regards to that call.
I didn't understand her anger.  By the next day, being a heir at law, I did
request and paid for a copy of the will.  She ranted on about the call, which
was innocent on my part, until her rant and rudeness.  I terminated the call by
telling her to get a life, and then severing telephone communication.  I haven't
heard anything further and doubt I will.  Maybe I'll change my mind later, but
I doubt it.

All for now--Kate Thorn

Updates on Everything

 My brother is doing much better.  He is able to walk down the hall now;
still is quite weak, but is making positive progress and that is really good
news..

My dog, poor Mollie, has dog flu.  She doesn't have the severe respiratory
symptoms, but she coughs occasionally and has a "runny nose".  Her appetite
is off--vet suggested chicken and rice--she threw the rice up--this was day
two of the bug.  I took her back to the vet.  X-rays and blood work were
done.  Both were negative.  I called her old vet--and he told me about
the dog flu.  She has fevers, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy.  So she
has been getting rotisserie chicken  about 4 times a day, and she goes
outside to her "bathroom".  And she wakes me frequently.  Day and night.
And I'm  on my 4th round of antibiotics since coming back from Florida.
Mine was bacterial though.

Daisy is doing fabulous now.She is on a twice or three times a week Lasix.
And 2.5 mg of Prednisone.  I'm actually wondering if the fluid overload
was causing the increased seizures.  Whatever the reason, she is full of
herself now.  She hides and pounces on mollie's nose--As I bring Mollie
through the door, I say, "Watch out for the cat!"  And this big dog
slithers behind me, keeping me between the dog and cat.

The cat and chickens are the healthiest one!

Continuing to try to do a garden and get the inside painted.  It's taking forever.
Will be worth it when completed.  Right now, I am so sleep deprived from
Mollie waking me to go out so frequently, that I can only barely focus.

All for now--

Kate Thorn

Trip to Florida

Melanie and I made an emergency trip to Florida last week.  My
sister called me crying and asking me to call my brother's doctor.
I  did manage to get through--he was very blunt--thought my brother
was a bum .  He was ill when he finally called 911.  We were in FL
(oddly enough, I worked as a traveler in ICU in that very hospital)
by the next morning,  We went to see my brother that morning,
He looked worse than I expected.  Chest tube and ventilator, arterial
line for monitoring of blood pressure and oxygen saturation level.
He did wake up for a few minutes--didn't recognize me.  I'm not
surprised.  We hadn't seen each other since 2001.  My sister and neice
arrived the next night.  My daughter took over the meals--she used those
rated highly on trip adviser.  We dealt with his house and she took over
again--changed his air conditioner filter, arranging to have carpets
cleaned.  She bought a new mattress pad for him. (I merely supplied
the credit card.)  I have set of sheets  I can send him.  They're new.

He was to transfer to another floor today.  Finally out of ICU!
Good news!  Very good news for us!

All for now,

Kate Thorn

Update on Daisy Cat

I adjusted her meds--added Lasix 2 to 3 times a week, and asked
for 2.5 mg of Prednisone.  She hasn't had a single twitch or seizure
since the addition of Lasix.  I know this isn't a permanent fix, but
for now, she is happy and healthier than she's been in a long time.

Mollie is inside the majority of the time.  She's outside around 8-10 hours a day,
which to me, is not enough.  But she gets on the deck and barks to
get in.  My critters have me well-trained!

The chickens have captured my daughter--she even wanted to get more
this Spring.  I nixed that.  I was feeding them grass, and she couldn't
believe how nuts they were over it.  I explained they needed chorophyll
in their diet.  Every day, they get sunflower seeds and grass from her.

All for now,

Kate Thorn

Mollie's Inside!

The cage had to be taken apart and put back together again, courtesy of a friend,
but Mollie is sleeping inside at night--and she is so happy about this.  I woke
up last night and looked over at her and she was lying on her back, front
legs. slightly bent, but up in the air, and her mouth was wide open,  Truly
funny,  And she snores at times.  She comes in every night at 8:00 PM.
And she goes back out  at 8 AM,

She barks at every dog that barks on TV!  And is she ever loud!  She has a
dislike for horror movies (so do I); she woke me up at 5:30 AM barking.
I changed the channel to music at low volume and she turned around a
few times, lay down, and went back to sleep.

I was outside planting flowers, vines today.  Got the yard and driveway
nearly cleaned up.  Two clematis vines were planted, some bleeding hearts.

And I'm just getting a start!  My trees that I killed last summer with the
toxic copper laced water.  I never thought they come back, but they did!
I have 4 peach trees, 2 red havens,  and plan to get one white peach tree.
I have 4 apple trees, 2 golden delicious, 1 red delicious and 1 red
Jonathan.  I need one more, a lodi.--good coooking apple.  I have one
Bartlet pear tree, want to get a red anjou  and 1 Bosch;.

All for now

Kate Thorn

Reading and Mollie

I've been sick for the past week.  I'm on antibiotics now--hopefully, that will
clear it up.  So since feeling like death warmed over, I have been reading.
Tonight I started reading Gone With the Wind. I've not read it in so many
years.  So I decided to read it still again, but slowly.  I had read only a few
pages when I found a word I was unfamiliar word: Soughing, used in a
reference to pine trees.  So I looked it up; it means rustling.  I love the
descriptive style of the author.

                                                                                                                                                                 Mollie has been barking night and day.  So I decided to crate her downstairs.
She sleeps all night and is only barking at times during the day. She'll come
in the sunroom for the night in the summer--to keep her cool.  She'll be
super happy then.  She wants to be as close to me as possible.

I found a cool strawberry plant holder.  5 levels.  It starts out as 36 inches
and decreases as it goes upward.   And also movable if I end up selling
this house and sharing my daughter's lot.  She has to come here every
day.  Sharing her lot would be so much easier on her.  I haven't decided yet--
I may change my mind when it's totally remodeled.


All for tonight--


Kate Thorn                                                            

My Dearest Daisy Cat

My dearest Daisy is dying, slowly.  I took her to the vet  last Sunday.  She was having
difficulty breathing,  Time dragged by.  I have cried, and still there are more tears.
Daisy is no ordinary cat.  At age 4, she was diagnosed with endstage cardiomyopathy,
epilepsy, and melanoma on her eye.  The vet gave me very little hope.  She was put on
phenobarb for her seizures which were extremely bad.  But her heart had to wait a bit.
She was started on Benazapril, which works well on cats with this diagnosis.  Two
weeks later she went back to have her cancerous eye removed.  That one thing, which
had to be done, turned her against female vets for the rest of her life

She became an indoor cat forever.  She slept with me.  When I moved to Florida, we
were alone.  Mr. Natural was doing some work in NC.  Daisy and I bonded even closer
than ever.  My house was so close to the hosp, that Daisy would watch me disappear
through the hosp.doors.  On the days I worked, she waged a campaign to keep me at
home.  First, she would get in her cat carrier, and mewl most piteously.  When that
didn't work, she would get on my freshly laundered uniform and meow.  I knew what
she was saying, "Take me with you."

In the morning she'd be waiting, batting on the windowpane and meowing for me,
We'd talk a bit. Then I'd head for the door.  By the time I had opened the door, she
was there, greeting me, meowing her happiness.

The previous year I'd learned how to make jewelry.  Daisy loved it.  She would sit
and watch me with lustful eyes.  When I finished a bracelet, she'd grab it and run.
I'd finally catch her.  And the process would repeat itself.  She was always near me.

She was fiercely loyal and just as fiercely jealous.  I had one fish, Fred, a Siamese
fighting fish.  I kept Fred on top of the refrigerator.  Not faraway enough from Daisy.
however.  Daisy came to me as a starving, bug-catching kitten--and as a cat who
understood English better than most humans.  One "no" and that behavior was not
repeated. She jumped on  the kitchen counter top only once and received the No
word, and she never did that again.  Until Fred.  She jumped on the counter, up to
the top of fridge, managed to get his lid off,caught him with me only a room away.
I thought I heard something; I didn't think it was anything, but I checked.,  I walked
lnto the kitchen and found a very innocent Daisy under the table.  Fred the fish was
laying 2 feet away from her. Dead.  He wasn't bitten--just deprived of his necessary
environment..  She was equally rough on plants.  Until recently.  Plants never lasted
a week.  She could destroy one in less than5 minutes.  Recently, she hasn't bothered
them as much.

The years passed by.  I became terribly dehydrated while working in Southern Pines.
My heart rate dropped.  I couldn't even walk across the floor.  I'd went to doctor,
and just the trip had weakened me to the point that I laid on the sofa and went
to sleep immediately.  I had a glass of Tang beside me, but was too exhausted to
drink it.  While I was sleeping, Daisy got on top of my legs and purred.  Something
about the purring, my heart regulated itself, and I had the strength to drink.  I was
out of work for 3 days.  Daisy was by my side the entire time.

I had no knowledge of my having auto-immune diseases at that time.  The irregular
heart beat continued, but no physician diagnosed me.  Just told it was irregular.  OK,
It was during this time that Daisy saved my life.  I woke up one morning with claw
marks from my shoulder to my wrist.  I had no recall of Daisy scratching me.  She drew
blood.  I realized that my heart quit beating for a very short period of time.  Must have
been scary to not awaken me.

Not even 6 months later, I was hurt at work.  Then again at Physical Therapy.  Daisy
stayed with me throughout it all.  I was so depressed during this time.  I was in pain, and
I knew my life as I'd always known it, had ended.  I tried to focus on jewelry, but that
was a hobby. never meant it to be a career.   Daisy stayed by my side the entire time.
It was during this time that Daisy started having severe seizures.  She was taken to the
the vet and started on phenobarb.  A higher dose made her so drunk that she'd fall down.
So on her 2 week later appt, she had her phenobarb level checked.  And I insisted on
a chest X-ray.  And I do mean insist.  She thought I was nuts--but who was she to
turn down an insistent request.  When she came back to me, she was not smiling.  And
she started by saying, "I have some bad news for you."  And she went on to say that Daisy
had end-stage cardiomyopathy.  Her heart was very enlarged,  She wanted to look her over
more closely.  That's when she saw the melanaoma on the edge of her eyeball.  "How long
has she had this?' My reply:  "I told 2 different vets about it, and both told me to watch her."
She said, "That's a melanoma."  I had just 2 death sentences in less than 10 minutes.
She couldn't have surgery until her heart was a bit improved.

The surgery went well.  Daisy glued herself close to me.   I was still adjusting her
phenobarb, trying to give her the right amount without knocking her out.  When the
eye patch came off and activities were no longer restricted. I could tell that the loss of
the eye had affected her depth perception.  And she hated the vet with a vengeance.  She
wanted to attack her, more specifically, her eyes.  It was so bad that I started with short
term anesthesia just to get blood tests.  She finally finally got a level of medication, was
no longer wheezing, and was doing better over all.

When I moved to this house, the previous owner had brought their cat from Florida--along
with its fleas.  Two weeks later we moved in--without knowing the house was infested
with fleas.  Daisy was acutely allergic to fleas.  She had all these odd neuro symptons.
This is a rare side effect.  I took her to the vet--and she gave her 2 weeks or less to live.
I was devastated.  I spent a lot of time holding her.  The house was bombed x 3 times.
Daisy also had to de-wormed. But two days later after being told she was dying, she
started getting better.  In 4 days, all neuro symptoms disappeared.  But there was no
seizures during this time.  However, I'mcalling the vet tomorrow--it won't hurt her.  It
could be that Mollie had a stray flea and it got carried inside to the cat.  The weakness
and loss of coordination are the same. as then. Hope the Doc is in a good mood tomorrow.

I did change Daisy's phenobarb schedule today to one 16.4 mg pill every 6 hours.  Right now
she is on a 10-4-10-4 schedule  and she's a lot peppier; still sleeping a lot, but falling down less.
And she was started on Prednisone 5mg, and she does seem to be   more active


Kate Thorn

New Year, New Things

Things, well, they've not been that important to me--except for old
things that I lost when Mr. Natural and I split up.  I had Christmas
ornaments dating back when I was 6 years old.  Gone.  They,
and other things, were in a storage unit  supposedly in both
of our names. No, emotional blackmail was his specialty.  So
I lost my book collection. my poetry book collection, my
ornaments, my collection of red glass that I had collected even
before I ever met him.  And the things I had painted when I
painted ceramics.  Things that couldn't be replaced.  I spent a
great deal of time being depressed regarding this.

Back to things.  My daughter and I went looking at furniture
this past Sunday--and I realized that I had never bought "new"
furniture.  I had my mom's old chest of drawers--the other two
chests were antique.  One, I'd  had since the early 80's. So since I'd
never done it, I shopped for a living room suite and a bedroom
suite.  Huge deal for this antique old furniture person.

I found a charcoal gray sofa and loveseat, that I never would
have bought, but it was coupled with furniture that was sort
of grayish color--looked oldish and perfect for a country
home, So I got it.  Next I looked for a bedroom suite.  I had
been looking for 4 poster  bed, but I was looking for metal.
I spotted one that was wood and metal--it was gorgeous and
feminine.  I loved it.  And, since it was time for a new mattress.
I got one those IQ ones--supposedly a combination of memory
foam and baffles.  Nice.

I wanted a month before delivery.  Remember all my plumbing
woes.  My entire house was torn apart.  My bedroom has a hallway
going  to my bathroom.  My bathroom had to be torn apart,
so I went ahead and got a new vanity toilet and new flooring.

But the living room and bedroom are disastrous.  It'll take a
month for me to get everything squared away.  I'm still
battling polymyocitis and am so weak that my muscles will
spasm if I try to do too much at one time.  I have to space all
my activities.  So I'm finishing up on the kitchen. Slowly, but
getting it done--organized, each drawer and cabinet has been
emptied, cleaned, and then put back together in an organized
fashion.  The same for the living room and bedroom..

I don't have to worry about throwing anything away.  My
basement  was turned into a smallish apartment, which I plan
to furnish and rent out--eventually.

I wrote my New Year's Affirmations down on New Year's
Day, and have been pretty faithful regarding keeping them.
All the housework has cut into my writing time.  As long as Book
One is completed by April--that's OK--and I did work out the
two missing chapters.

My chickens are in Molly's old crate in the laundry room.
They made happy chicken noises --they liked the warmth.

Mollie sleeps in her doghouse at night only.  Frigid cold
and she'll be snoozing on the ground.!  Pyrenees are different
sort of dogs.


All for now--

Kate Thorn

Happy New Year!!!

I went out for dinner with my daughter and her friend.  Very cold!  Brrrr.
But really good food!  So they are out having a New Years--me, I watched
Ghost.  Yeah, very chic flick--but I like chic flicks.

My first book of the year is Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit.
I'm a Solnit fan.  Book begins with a humorous story of her attending this
party in Aspen.  The host said to her, in a condescending fashion, about the type
of books she wrote.  She gave him a very brief description of the latest book.
His reply was the there was this Amazing book on the same subject.  Her
friend had to tell him 4 times that was the book she'd written.  His state of
embarrassment followed.

The following chapters are quite serious.  She gets into womens right
away.  How women are silenced.  Their opinions do not mean anything,
My mother didn't want me to go to college.  She said I needed to keep my
job at Roses (equivalent to Walmarts then).  I made a nickle more than
than minimum wage and only worked 32 hours a week.  Anything was
going be a step upward.

The next chapter is statistics of women being abused, silenced.  And after
a chapter regarding politics.  The book is full of quotes, deep thoughts.
She is my favorite author,  She makes me think, learn, and hunger for more.

Entering the two missing chapters in my own book has some problems.  One
chapter is totally different from the existing.  Going to be a bear reconciling the two.

That's it for now.  Time for me to write my affirmations for the coming year.

Have a happy new year.  May the next year be blessed with more happiness
than this year!

All For Now--

Kate Thorn

Time Flies--Almost Christmas

I have been meaning to write more, but I have working on my book series
and I found out I missed  two important chapters, so I must backtrack and
insert them.  They explain things yet to come and why one of my male
main characters react the way they do.. I'm still plugging away at it.

Not done as much bird watching, but I saw one the precious little downy
woodpeckers  a few minutes ago.  Glad to know they are still here.

My critters (dog, cat, chickens, birds and occasionally a stray possum or
two) consume more food than I do.  The dog food alone cost 60.00 for
60 lbs. of Happy Hips kibbles--Loaded with vitamins and glucosamine,
chrondroitin. Her weight two weeks ago was  94 lbs  and even though
she's a year old, Pyrenees are considered puppies at this age.  If they are
going to work around animals, one isn't supposed to even try to train
them until they are 18 months old.  That is how much puppy they are.

My daughter had an allergic reaction ,which scares my daughter silly.
I do fall that easily.  So I try not to worry her.  So I called a neighbor--
whom we give eggs to--and askedif he would come over for about 5 minutes.
He started to follow meinto the pen, one glance at Mollie--was very still
and staring at him intently.  I said, "No, your job is to call 911 is she accidentally
knocks me down"  Mollie was golden, but she never took her eyes off of him.
That assured me and scared me.   These dogs cannot be trained to follow
commands.  Their genetic code is such if someone tried to harm me,
she'd come though the fence and kill them.  But only to protect me,
save me.  Never to be vicious.  They are really friendly.  But one just
want to mess with these dogs.  They are different in that they never attack
from the front.  The go for the back.  One Pyrenees scared off a
grizzly--in Montana--and saved a kids life.  The dog sustained minor
injuries.  Minor!!  After attacking a grizzly bear!  I could hardly
believe it.  I knew two Pyrenees could bring and kill a bear--I knew
they fought wolves off--and with one bite, killed the wolf.  They
kill wolves, coyotes, by one bite to the back of the neck; they literally
sever the spinal column,  You cant treat them like a toy, or a regular
pet.  And you have to be the alpha.  No matter what.  Mollies toy--
she dug up a piece of a log--it's 9" around (at least) and about 12" long.
It's heavy--even for my daughter.  Mollie grabs it up and runs up and down
her log carrying this in her mouth.  Amazing!

I have a small tree up--with only 4 sets of mini lights on it--and 5 sets
winding around the deck--what was left went around the railing and
the top of the front porch.  Looks so cheerful!

Merry Christmas to all!!


Later,  Kate Thorn

Beach Trip in Late September

A couple of weeks ago i went to the beach with my daughter
and grandson--and, of course, Daisy.  (I even take a small
vacuum cleaner just for her.)  We went out to eat--food was
great--and we stopped at one beach wares shop.  Not one of
the super large ones.  I wanted a mug--that's all.  But we walked
around perusing the other goods. And that's when I fell--no
warning.  I fell on my right shoulder--the same one broken in April.
And it hurt--really hurt.  I had just been released from the frequent
visits to the doctor.  I got up with help.  My beach trip was essentially
over.  The weather forecast was for rain.  So we did not bring my
cart.  I spent the rest of the time feeling very miserable, but Daisy and I
really enjoyed just watching the ocean.


All for now


Kate Thorn

Life in Hendersonville NC

This has to be the most pleasant small town I've ever lived in.
As we were going up the road towards Walmart, we saw blue lights
on both sides of the road.  No, not a wreck.  They were directing traffic.
So the people could could get out of the church parking lot safely.
And they do this for all churches of a large size.  They also do this
when some huge company, as a car dealership, has a sale.  Unreal!
They didn't even do that in Mayberry!

The kennel I boarded Mollie in while at the beach thew in a free bath.
Mollie weighed 70 or 80 pounds then  so it had to be an experience.
Free Bath!  Another unreal!

Anyway, I love this town.  After buying groceries today we went to
Messalunas to eat.  (spelling not checked yet).   The food was delicious
and, service was beyond excellent.  Next we went to a spice store--and I
found this wonderful vinaigrette call Gingered Honey--to die for--so
it came home with us.  They had the most unusual teapots--black
iron with a ceramic coating inside and out.  The outside was rustic
matte--with different designs on them.  My favorite was the dragonfly
purple teapot. Of course, the spice scents made you want to buy--
and I did--but only 2 packs of the flavored sugars--clove sugar and
cinnamon sugar--I am going to mix a small amt (1/2 tsp) in hot water
and see how it tastes.  Then I'll try it tea.  I usually use Stevia Pure
Via from Amazon--800 packs at a time.  Lasts forever.  I put it in Greek
yogurt and tea.

All for now

Kate Thorn

PS-We refers to my daughter and I.   Mr. Natural is forever gone.--One
last thing--Mollie ran off a bear a few nights ago--super protective now.
All pets are super spoiled. The chicken house is insulated with styrofoam
and more plywood. They are still laying eggs!

Kate

90 Minutes a Day

This idea isn't mine--I believe it came from FeedBurner.com by a person
that goes by Life Hacker., who also publishes on Feedburner.  It is a paid
site, but well worth it.  I "only" picked 140 subjects I was interested in--
and in the beginning, I tried to read all of them.  Not even possible.

Yesterday I read the How 90 minutes could change your life,  It is a simple
concept.  Pick a block of time that you are fairly free--and devote 90
minutes per day to that project.  I am day 3 with my re-writes on my book,
and I've completed 11+ chapters of Book One.  That is a lot.  They aren't short
and uncomplicated chapters.

I just wanted to pass this along to others out there who are trying to create time!


All For Now


Kate Thorn

8/24/2014

Mollie and Springing a Leak

Mollie hit with the electric wire at the bottom of her fence.  Her behavior
regressed to that of a small puppy.  And she weighs 75 lbs. now.  She
wouldn't leave the deck.  And she was stir crazy.  My daughter took her
for walks--but that only helped a little..  So I expanded her space outside.
Her dog lot is now about 30 ft. wide--she has a third of the entire back
yard--and the largest doghouse I could find.  (It it states that it will fit a
large german shepherd, well, it's too little for Mollie.  She is that large
and still growing.

After being on the deck (near me--that's her goal), she was ticked off
after being put in her space.  She promptly went into her doghouse and
to come out for 2 days.  Throughout the day, I would throw treats to her.
And what did Mollie do?  Looked at me, put her nose in the air, and turned
away from me.  Wouldn't take anything from me.   That lasted 2 days--and
then she began to explore her new yard, come out more often, and started
eating again.  I was relieved.  But I am definitely what she wants to guard.
My daughter was considering buying a pygmy goat for her to guard if
didn't start eating and being Mollie again,  And when she gets used to being
outside, she will be allowed in at night again.

During this same time period, I went downstairs to wash a small load of
clothes.  I put them in and went to check out the rest of the downstairs.
Everything was OK until I reached the hallway leading to the bathroom.
It was half-covered with about a half inch of water.  The concrete was
even wet.  The carpet in bedroom was wet.  I freaked, as plumbing isn't
one of my skills, and called a plumber.  He came soon--seems I had hole
the size of a dime in a pipe.  Over 200.00 later, that was fixed.  Then he said
I HAD to have rehab on the downstairs.  I will be paying a thousand
dollars on that--then my homeowners will kick in.

Here lately, I've been
been bleeding money due to finishing up the other house.  It should be completely
finished in a week and a half--and then the "for sale" house will go on the market.
I'v completely rehabbed this house.  Part of the floors and joists are completely
new,  Walls and ceiling are sheetrock--new.  Tile will be on kitchen and bathroom
floor. Appliances are all purchased and ready to go.  New dishwasher (on sale)
and almost new washer and dryer (used 11 times--girl moved in with boyfriend,
and no longer needed them--sweet deal.)  The stove was a good price, not very
old, a couple of years maybe, and it's the same size as mine and a glasstop.
The only thing slightly aged was the fridge--but it's not as old as mine!  It's a
2 door style, which is my preference.  And it has a really nice HVAC (ouch
on the price!) The wiring wasn't up to code--so the entire house was rewired,
inspected.  A lot of lights and outlets were added.  The plumbing also had to be
re-done.  Has a new and larger breaker box.  The guy in charge of doing all
this went out on a limb and picked out lights for house, and sconces for hallway.
This sort of worried me, but his taste was excellent; I couldm't have done as well.
The water heater is 2 years old--yes, I need a new hot water heater too, but I
got lucky.  This has heating element top and bottom.  He sold this to me for 125.00,
originally cost over 400.00.  It has all new windows.  And the paint color inside is
White Hydrangea, which a white with only a touch of cream.

All for now.

Kate Thorn

Fall, Somersault, and Trip

I don't know if anyone else has frequent power outages, but I sure
do.  This recent one lasted overnight and caused a fall.  No, not again.  I
was looking for the matches to light my candles and to find my flashlights.
And I tumbled in the process--couldn't catch myself with my right hand, I
caught myself with my head, seriously!  Turned a partial somersault.  Now
that hurt!  Hurt badly enough for me go to ER--They deemed me alive, but
bruised--in my back and my right shoulder.

Meanwhile I had a trip planned to my favorite cousin's house.  So went
anyway.  We had  (my daughter and I) a reservation at Comfort Suites--was
a large room--but I wouldn't call it a suite. But it was very clean,  had quite
comfortable beds, and was very quiet!  We left on Monday morning,
and arrived around lunch time.  We got lost about the last 5 minutes of trip.
I told my daughter to go to where we knew where we were and we'd
find the street she missed.  She wouldn't, but I didn't blame her--I have
zero sense of direction.  But I was correct this time--she heard about all
way to my cousin's house!

It was great to see him and his wife.  It had been over 30 years since I'd
seen him.  With both of us getting older, It seemed the right decision, even
if I was in a lot of pain from the fall.  The visit was wonderful!  We are
so much alike--both has a strong streak of stubbornness due to the Melton
bloodline we share. He was In Vietnam--and has PTSD, like so many that
served in that war.  I had learned not to even say the word Vietnam, war,
or anything similar.

He brought me a box of pictures--old ones--and we looked at them and
talked about them.  My favorite picture that I would dearly love to have
a 5x7 of--was a picture of him, his brother, and his sister when they were kids.
He was saluting.  A very poignant picture.

Mollie dog missed us while we were gone.  First time I'd left her overnight.  I did
hire someone to feed and water the chickens and the dog.  So they were not left
to fend for themselves.

All for now--

Kate Thorn

Back Story

Most of you realize that I sort of dropped off the edge of the earth,
so to speak.  I don't want to dramatize all that happened, but Mr. Natural
and I are no longer together.  I was nearly at the decision before I
broke my shoulder.  My shoulder being broken was painful--but my
arm was completely immobilized for 1 month and I was completely helpless.
Mr. Natural was unavailable to help me for reasons of his own.  My daughter
took a week off from work to help me.

I have polymyocitis--it's an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness,
so I had been using both arms to get me upright, standing.  I couldn't even
get out of chair without help.  She found a used recliner that would stand me up--
that was embarrassing, but I didn't have to ask for help.  I also couldn't recline
the chair or sleep in a bed.  I had to sleep sitting straight up.  I wasn't allowed
change my tee shirt for 2 weeks at a time.  And I was learning to eat with my
left hand.  You can imagine how messy that teeshirt was after a week of using
my left hand. I could bathe the rest of me--that was good, but only if my daughter
was here to help.  I couldn't wash my left arm.  That, she had to do.

The used chair was hard as a rock--and I tried one in Sam's that is heavenly--
even has a heat and massage function.  I have fallen in love with that chair.
And now I can recline!  I had to sit up for a solid month and try to sleep.

Finally I get to wait 2 months before I see my doc.  I was seeing her every 2
weeks.  If you are local, her name is Suzanne Hall--and she is fabulous.
She only does shoulders.

When the two of us went our separate ways, I was able to get the chicken
house built.  It's the Taj Mahal of Chicken Houses.  The coop is very
generously sized for only 5 chickens  and the outside part,
isn't  on dirt, it's built up off the ground.  And that outer screened in part of
the chicken house is even bigger than the coop portion.  And they
are such happy chickens!  They have gotten loose once or twice,
but never left the immediate vicinity.  I think they were scared of being
loose.  Three had died, and they grieved each time.  They would
huddle together, I think out of fear.

My daughter is a saint--she not only has looked after me, but
chickens, the dog, and the cat.  And no one likes looking after
Miss Daisy Cat.  She will scratch--and not when you expect
it.

My greenhouse is 2/3 completed--it had over 1000 pieces.
I put the finishing off, because there were more pressing matters.
My roof was shot.  I went with a sort of rusty red architectural
shingles and as close the color as I could get for gutters and trim
paint.  I have new steel back door and a new screen, and Mollie
no longer has run off the entire porch.  I had another inner railing with
a gate; this prevented her jumping on me and knocking me down.
Losing the use of one's dominant hand and arm alters one's
balance.  I also had a dog run put in--originally 96 feet long
and 12 feet wide--that is already a bit small--so this weekend I am
extending it to the edge of the yard.  And after the roof was done,
I got them to build a new front porch--I had so many people
stop and complement my new porch, with its fancy ramp and steps,
a concrete area for the grill.

They had to stop there due to dire repairs needed on the house
I bought in Asheville.  It only needed everything.  So now it has new
gutters, roof, new plumbing, new wiring throughout.  And isn't
all. But it will be totally done by the middle of August.  I will
attempt to sell before I rent it.

That sorta brings me to the present.  More or less anyway.

All for now.

Kate Thorn

Catching Up

First, this has been a wild and chaotic ride--but I'm backing up to when
my daughter bought Molly a large pail for her water.  At the middle of the
day, she had not touched the water, so I gave her some in her old watering
dish.  She drank it down nonstop.

My daughter was coming later in the day.  When she arrived, I told her about
the pail incident.  She went into the down the steps, with Mollie on leash.
She went to her food bowl and called Mollie.  Mollie dropped to the ground
and quite literally slithered her way to my daughter, all the while giving
fearful and wary looks at the pail.  We both started laughing.  Mollies was
terrified of the pail!  My daughter had to come and work with her for 3
days before she was over her "pail"  fear.  Mind you, at this point, Mollie
weighed 60 lbs. and was 5 months old.

All for now

Kate Thorn

Mollie's Soul Mate

I guess this happens in the world of dogs too.  Mollie found her soul
mate.  Wrong species, wrong sex--but as far as Mollie is concerned,
this is the Human for her.  Sadly, this human doesn't like large breed
dogs or dogs that shed. 

Mollie is shedding now--the carpet in the sun room is covered with a
layer of dog hair.  And my clothes--well, I wear old ratty clothes in the
house--she covers me in 10 minutes with her white fur.  So I put her
outside, then change clothes before leaving.

The soul mate is my daughter.  She saw Mollie for 10 minutes the first
night we brought her home.  Mollie went nuts over her.  The feeling was
not returned.  My daughter prefers small breeds that do not shed at all,
like Toy Poodles.  Me, I speak Dog.  Never have had a problem
talking with or making them understand,  What's a little dog hair between
best friends?

Poor Mollie.  Unrequited love.  Been there.  Feel badly for her.
Poor Baby.

All For Now