Not my typical Saturday.

Already, I know that it won't be a typical Saturday. So far the plan is to work on the bathroom a little. As well as I have need to release two little micey's that made it into the feed room; they were both caught in live traps; and the plan is to take them far away from home and give them the chance to settle down elsewhere. If I get my way, my day will start by making Dutch babies for breakfast; along with my Sumatra blend coffee that's been waiting for me for such a time. Then off to Lowes for Bathroom caulk and other sundry items. then back home. We will go on in the bathroom until we hopefully get it done. Then off to sorting and organizing the stuff we have accumulated. It's going to be an almost "Spring Cleaning Day" with hopefully remarkable results; a cleaning out the mice from the closets; and I mean that literally.
Happy weekend to you all!

Manure..... Yes, just that.

Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina

So.... I hope you all do not mind, I did not furbish you today with a picture of manure. Because today, I picked up my first load. Just for the garden; and it was a trailer full. Whew!! Now, don't laugh, but I can actually agree to, and share the fact, that I actually like horse manures smell. Maybe it's sentimental or maybe it's not, either way the sweet smell takes me down a country lane. And for that I don't mind it!!

One day i plan on having a horse. Not just any horse. A draft. And I am pretty sure I won't change my mind. And that farm is in my mind. Along with the produce stand I dream of. I will actually have one, this year. Just not at my farm,  yet!!! I really feel like this country girl dream of mine seems to never die. I can forget about it for awhile but it always comes back. And while raking all that good horse poo in the garden, while freezing finger's begged for attention, I pretended wholeheartedly that the manure was from my own horse. And that while I was working it I pretended I was at my own farm. And for that I felt more like myself than ever before. Working in the country. I believe it's just one other calling in my life. And I am loving it. And I am excited to see what my Lord is going to do with it all. Go Jesus!

New Kitchen

So here take a look at our new kitchen!!! All right you got me on this one. But I wouldn't mind having a kitchen like this any day! So Can you guess where I went over this last Saturday??? I will give you a few more hints.

So have you guessed it? IKEA of course!!! And in these staged rooms, the look can be had with a truckload full, and a few handymen. So if you have that, and some mula, your good to go!

We went somewhere else before this. And it was pretty amazing. More on that to come.
And finally the update you may have forgotten about. Jasmine our Calico cat has been to the vet two weeks ago and again today. She was quite an unhappy camper. She has what we believe to be a fungal infection. And that says ALOT! She was taken off her current meds today because of A GI upset and  has to go without meds a few days until the vet finds a suitable trade that doesn't upset her GI tract. My poor girl had yet another skin scraping test. A 12-chem blood test. and 2 shots. One for anti-inflammatory and another (which would be her second for a secondary skin infection) Need I say more. She is also currently on a prescription diet to help her eat better since the anti fungal meds has sent her into a self started fast. We'll see what happens. I just hope the vets will know what to do. I hate seeing her so miserable. And I fear for the rest because they tend to sleep and snuggle up each-other and it's highly contagious. The vet says separating them wouldn't necessarily help and might actually spread it worse. For now the others are still on meds to "prevent" any outbreak. Thankfully the dogs and indoor cats are fine. So it seems the cats outdoors are the only ones affected. Keep them all in your prayers!! And I am doing the same!

Went to the zoo A few days ago. They had free admission, as it was Martin Luther King day. I had this idea that I wanted to go couch shopping. But ended up going to the zoo instead. Not a bad trade off I suppose!
It was rather cold when we got there. Snow and ice were around and some melted water that puddled beneath the exhibits was a bit hazardous since it had frozen over. It was invisible ice, and we had to watch for it. The tiger's here was lounging in thery'e man made cave. From the picture you would have thought it were cooling down. When in reality the tiger was trying to heat up. The zoo is not what it used to be for me. I used to Love going to the zoo. The animals were always so awesome and I could not get enough of them. But it seems now when I see them I feel really not as excited as I once was. I really believe that this is because I know where they are and I can't really get excited about "Wild" animals. That are not that wild. Seeing one of these Bengals in the wild would be enough for me to jump up in down for joy. But seeing them in a somewhat mediocre sized cell makes you wonder what they be doing if they had more room. They can only do so much. And once they are in there home once it pretty much stays the same. The earth tends to change it's appearance over the years. And it changes from a meadow to a swamp pretty quickly.What was a modest creek gives way to its banks by torrential downpours breaking the mud and carrying what was land downstream. So I would suppose life in these 'perfect' cells would after a while get pretty boring. But believe me these tigers looked quite happy, like it never knew what they were missing. But I suppose if they did they might try to find a way out, maybe....

                                      


These lions had a lot more room, the young Male on the left is what I imagine to be the females offspring. If only the bars were removed this would of been an excellent shot. But then again I imagine I would be seeking safety. Not a picture!!

                                          

Worried about miss Jazzi

I have been feeling pretty stressed here lately. Our cat Jasmine is not feeling well. Months ago we had taken her to the vet for a concern I had. She was loosing hair around her feet and her once lustrous coat was turning a white to a stormy gray. Our good vet assured me it was probably just shedding and I had nothing to worry about. Although part of me, a big part wondered what the "real" cause was. At this same visit we had our other cat being examined for a skin condition that I thought to be related. weeks later after a shot, antibiotics, and creams the skin infection on Spooky was not getting much better. I asked the vet office again and they said to wait a little longer despite it looking a little worse than before. finally several weeks later she cleared up. Now Jasmine continued having the hair loss. Not a bunch, but a little thinned out around her toes. But now it has grown much worse than that. In just a matter less than a week she has lost all hair around her two feet. She has developed crust's all on the edges of her ears and has two spots on her body that look like infected scrapes. During the first visit months before I feared the worst. Ringworm was seemingly a strong indicator. And with all the evidence I surfaced I had already written the full story. But wonderfully I was assured it was certainly not ringworm. But now looking at our poor Jasmine cat I have doubts and wonder if that was what once was bothering Spooky has jumped on over to Jas.
To all of this I have an entire week until the vet can see her. A time that seems unbearable to the poor girl. I wish I could remedy. But I am also feeling like the worst cat mom around. What to do when I have been so busy the last week with my Christmas and new years that I didn't spend much time loving on the kitties and making sure they were well? For that I feel horrible. Like I neglected my baby. So now as I am waiting, I feel the urge to 'find' the cure. While feeling totally responsible for her condition and without answers. Is it an allergy? A fungus? An Infection? Poor diet? These are the questions that roll in my head. today just before making dinner after I had put away the groceries. I sprayed a product called fung-a-way on the spot on her neck and ears. It's been made for horses, dogs, and cats. Simply, a simple effort, to aid her during the wait. Having never used it before I am curious if it could even' cure her'. But if it at least slows what ever ails her I would be happy. She seems to be so miserable and not herself.
So as I wait I will follow up with how she progresses in the hope and prayer of her getting better. And her siblings staying healthy as well. If you have any ideas or thoughts of what this could be. Be sure to let me know. Until the Tuesday the 11th appoinment I will be trying the fung-a-way. And hopefully the vet office will get some cancellations so they can get her in sooner.