Spring Time is here!



A Duck in the grasses and flags!

Finally Blooming after 3 years!

The newest addition!

4yr old Willow

Blooming Brenda Bush!

Honeysuckle and Bamboo

chickens and ducks

Duste's Grandma Bush!

One of the many Lilacs in Bloom!

Sadie Update!

Since my last post we took Sadie to have an X-ray. She was anything but happy about going back to the vet. What do I mean by that you ask; picture it—a part pit bull shaking all over and whining, not happy at all. Meanwhile mommy Talisa had a major melt down. I mean totally Freaking Out Man! I had my sister, father, soul mom and of course Duste very worried about me. There is something terribly wrong with sitting in a hot tub crying. To say it was a long night is an understatement! I was convinced it was Bone Cancer and I mean seriously crying my soul out at the thought of losing my Sadie. I was a mess.

In just a few short, but felt very long, hours later we had the result—Arthritis!! I have never been so happy about Mr. Arthur! This means it is manageable and we will get to keep her a little longer! Woohoo! I was too exhausted to show much excitement but on the inside I was dancing!

The vet did mention a shot called Adequan Canine. It is given two times a week for a month and then once a month there after. It helps ease arthritis symptoms as well as repair cartilage damage.  He said they have a few dogs on it right now and have seen amazing results. We talked about it and agreed right away, this is part of making her feel better and this is our job. We started the first shot right then. I have since looked up reviews for this and just like her Allergy meds, Atopica, it gets rave reviews! I am so glad this is available for her and for us. Seeing your dog in pain is a hard thing to watch. But try telling that to her, she thinks we are being so cruel taking her to the vet twice a week! For the second shot she wouldn’t go in a room and the vet had to give it to her in the waiting room. Mommy’s poor baby.

With this shot, her supplements and her allergy pills she should be like a new dog just in time for vacation!! I was so worried about what we would do when vacation time came and she wasn’t any better.

 Since the vet result we have done everything we can think of to make her daily life more comfortable. Duste redid her big dog bed—cutting an entrance in the front so she did not have to step up to get in bed. We also bought her a new mattress to go in her big bed and a smaller bed to go in the entry way. Grandpa Burnett brought her luxurious pillows and a Down Feather Comforter. We stuffed the pillows in her other bed that is in the living room, used the comforter in the bedroom and we put her old mattress in the bathroom—where she hides when there is a storm. As soon as my kitchen is done she will have one under the bar as well. Duste also built her a ramp over the back steps so she can get to the back yard easier.  On order she has a heating pad for her big bed and a ramp to help her in and out of the van. I think we are set for our older pet!

Sorry, I can not get this to flip!

Sadie in her new entry room bed

Sadie's new improved bed--before being painted

I wonder if Sadie knows how easy she has it, but it makes my heart happy that she will never know! I would never want my baby to know anything but the good life!

Aging Pet

 When I moved out on my own, with Duste of course, we adopted a dog. She is a lab/pit mix and her name is Sadie. She is named after my first family dog, a boxer, who used to walk me to and from school!

Sadie has been with us through all of life’s changes. She has been our traveling companion on all of our adventures. She loves children, especially our very own Keaton Michael and puts up with our cats.  She is a medium size dog that stands about knee high and weights a little more than she should at 65lbs. She has the head of a pit bull with mostly the personality of a lab. She is independent and hard headed but loves to sit on your lab when you sit on the floor. She thinks she owns the couch, any pillow or blanket, the yard and pretty much anything she sees. She has never been a mother but thinks the chickens and ducks are her babies. She takes food out of your hand so gently but can scare the pants off anyone who knocks on the door. If you want to see something funny, try to get her to jump-turns out not all dogs know how! When she is super happy and over the moon to see you she will do lots of “helicopters” to let you know. She used to love the snow, to dig, run and play in it was oh so fun. She has a nose like a blood hound and can track down anything from her humans, cats or underground critters. She also loves to lie in the sun or extremely close to any heat source. She used to have separation anxiety but with age comes reassurance that both her mommies will return. She knows Santa brings her a stocking filled with babies she can shred and kill the squeaky that’s inside. She has a special place to lay inside, outside on the covered porch and in the garage where she also has her very own dogie door. She is a little spoiled because she will only eat dog food that also has people food mixed in! Sadie has been in my sisters and my senior pictures and has gone to our schools to show everyone how pretty she is—and show that her breed is nothing to fear.

She is older now but still very much loved by her humans. She hasn’t done a helicopter in a very long time but her human know how much she misses them when they are gone. She no longer plays in the snow—the cold makes her hurt.

She is our dog and has been for 12 short years.

Sadie is like many 12 yr old larger dogs and has arthritis. She is also like most labs and has a skin allergy. These two things combined makes for a very expensive last few years. But we do what we have to keep her comfortable. Her allergy meds, Atopica, are working wonders on her so far but she is only one box in. These pills are $90 a box and it takes two boxes to get through the month. Luckily, she only has to take one a day for a month then she goes down to every other day, which is half the price. Her supplements are about $60 and should last 2 months. These are to help with the swelling and mobility of her joints. She is also on an Anti-inflammatory and pain pill—those are around $50 a month. I don’t like to run a total on what is cost to keep my baby happy but with our tight budget I have to know how much this is taking a month. The price does not change our decision to keep her happy and smiling—that is priceless.

We will keep her in our lives for as long as she wants to be here, no matter what the price! I have lost both sets of my grandparents and an Aunt and know there are always signs, if you open your eyes that will let you know when it is time to let go. We are still hopeful this is a few years away.

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Spring Time!

I love spring! The weather has been wonderful here in Indiana. We’ve had lots of days in the upper 60’s-80 already! I love it when I don’t need either the air or the heat on, but we all know how I love to save money! Like I have mentioned in past post, I live in an older home that has wonderful windows lined up perfectly for the breeze and on the extra warm days I have an Exhaust Window fan that pulls out the heat and brings in the breeze. Typically my house stays comfortable; I consider anything over 80 and below 65 a little uncomfortable. But there have been times we will sit outside until the sun goes down because it is cooler outside than it is inside. I will wait for a long stretch of high 80’s before I will give in and turn on the Central Air. (One-three days is not considered a long stretch)  But that is just how I am and thankfully my partner feels the same way, or at least she puts up with it!

We are doing our best to prolong opening the pool until May, like I said we have had a few days already in the high 80’s. There is a lot of cost and work involved in opening a pool and I would like to keep both at bay for as long as possible. If you really think about it, a pool in Indiana does not make financial sense. We use it far less than it is worth, as far as the cost and time it takes to maintain it. We open in May, but often cannot get in till around June, because of water temp. We use it June and July then by August we are usually over it and use it very infrequently and typically close it by Labor Day. The cost to open and close the pool alone is $200+ not included is the cost of weekly and monthly up keep. Not to mention what it does to my electric bill when the filter is on, but as you guessed it, I do not leave the filter running. It is only turned on when I know we are going to use the pool that day.  All in all, it is a little silly to have a pool in Indiana but those days I am laying on my floatie on a hot summer day it might be hard to convince me!

I am excited to announce we have a new project! We have decided to redo my playhouse, currently being used a pool house. When I was a little girl my grandma Joan, my father’s mother, bought me a playhouse for her house. When she passed away I got the playhouse and moved it to my yard.  It was painted a few years ago, while still at my grandmas, by my father and it is manly shade of blue with black trim. When we pulled it into our yard we put a black metal 3-4ft fence around it with a double swing gate. We then planted wildflowers all around it. Now we are going to paint it “Sexy Pink” with “Butter Cream” trim. We are going to add some gingerbread trim around the window, roofline and gable. Along with a cute window box, solar porch lantern, mailbox and curtains! It is going to be so cute! We are also going to put a natural stone pathway leading from the gate to the door and a cute bench outside of the fence by the gate. It will do my heart some good to see my playhouse look so happy!

BEFORE

The nook Pergola is almost done. I have been absent from the building of this but I am hearing it is a pain in the butt and the ever doubting father is constantly questioning their ability to do this project. I am so glad my Duste did not inherit the “I can’t” attitude from her father.  That drives me crazy. She keeps pushing him and this project has become a big trust thing with them because he cannot “see” the big picture. She makes me so proud, she is amazing! There is very little she can’t do and she is willing to try anything I dream up!

So, the yard and landscaping is coming along very well and for the first time our yard is really starting to look good. Although I do worry that the way I decorate isn’t grown up enough….

Happy Easter and Spring!!

Easter Meal Plan

Easter snuck up on me this year, but I did catch it in time to make a meal plan! Typically we have Whole Roasted Chicken because of the saying Spring Chicken; chicken now reminds me of spring. But this year I was given a whole ham so we are having a ham for Easter. This changes what sides we have, of course. So here is the 2012 Easter Meal Plan!!

Ham—cooked on my countertop Roaster

Mashed potatoes—my special creamy hand mashed make ahead recipe
Pork Gravy—also with special seasonings
Greenbeans—provided by my sister
Deviled Eggs—my grandma’s recipe
Stuffing or Rolls—provided by my sister
Homemade Almond Cake—made by me (for those who don’t like cherry cobbler)
Cherry Cobbler—made by me, family favorite except by the one that doesn’t like it
Drinks—provided by our mom

 That’s the meal, now here is the plan:

The day before—

Dessert--make both

Deviled Eggs--make
Mashed taters—depending on temps the next day, if I want to have the oven on or not
Stuff Easter Eggs--fun!

The Day of--

Set up table in living room

Put table together (meaning put on table cloth and so on) unless it is warm enough to eat outside!
Put ham in Roaster.
Hide Easter Eggs

Enjoy Easter Sunday with my family! Hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter!!

Winchester Mansion?

Not exactly, we don’t build 24 hrs a day!

But this is what happens when you buy a 100 yr old house that isn’t exactly how you envisioned your dream home, plus some needed adjustments!

For 2012 the house improvement goals are (and in order):

                Replace leaking window in Bedroom

                Build front porch
                Build stairs to upstairs
                Finish the first of 4 rooms upstairs.
                Turn that first room into Keaton’s Play room
                Turn Keaton’s old room into Living Room
                Turn old Living Room into Dining Room
               Make some adjustments in Kitchen once table is gone.

 Sounds like a lot but I am sure we can get it done! I would also like to have the house painted but I’m not sure if I could get that in before winter…..

After the upstairs is done—which will be 4 rooms (one common room, two bedrooms and a bath) we will start on the bathroom reconstruction. Once the bathroom is done, we are too!! Woohoo!!

1st Blue Prints of Upstairs!

 My personal goal is to have the house done within 5 years of living there! If we keep up the pace we will just make it! As you can tell we are not slow movers! I like to get it done so I have time to enjoy it!

It seems spring has sprung here in Indiana after a very mild winter! With the warmer weather and sunshine is hard outside work to get the yard back in shape. On my tour around the grounds I was surprised to see all the plants had made it! I am so excited to see how big everything gets! Landscaping has been the biggest project for this house. When we moved here there were very few trees and flowers, most of the yard looked like a football field. So we did mass plantings and have learned the ins and outs of our yard the hard way. We have a few locations that nothing will survive so we have given up in those areas, and then in others we have super big plants.  Our main landscaping goal was to block the view of our neighbors. I hate that fact they can look down into our yard in so many areas. So, we planted grasses that get 10ft x 10ft and grow fast! We also have this type around half of our pool, which we plated first, and the second year they really took off! That is what we are hoping for these this year. This year we had our side yard, 40ft x 40ft, fenced in and a gate where it connects to the other fenced in yard to make a kid only play area! This is important if you keep kids and animals! Plus, I wanted all the kids’ toys in one area so I can have my yard back.

Gate to Keaton Playground

View inside the park. Keaton has been here!

We also have plans to make the nook, a large area between the garages and the sheds where our 8ft gate is, (so we can access the yard with the truck) cute and functional. We are putting an open roof between the buildings and a doorway with trellis so a vine can grow on the front and across the roof. We are planning to put our hammocks in this area as it is shady most of the time. I am picturing this to be super cute! Duste has decided this will be our Alice in Wonderland inspired area and is busy painting on the sides of the buildings to display this! She is so talented!

We, meaning Duste, are planting a lot of bulbs and seeds this year. I really want to focus on the small areas of our yard and work at making them cute—the corner with the bench, in front of the white picket fence row and in my wild flower area.  Mass planting, like we have done in the past, can be a little over whelming.

The view from my window--blocking the view of the other neighbors

A Pretty Corner

On that note, Duste and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Spring, now go work in your yards and together we will make the world beautiful!

Our family’s heart was that house…..

Yesterday my grandparents’ house was sold at auction.

 To understand the impact that had on me, you need to know a little background. I, as you might have figured out by now, did not have a stable childhood. My grandparents’ house was the one place that would always be. It was the place I lived on and off as I grew up. It was my safety net. We had all of our family holidays there and everything centered around that house. But what I cherish most is the memories from a typical day. We would have dinners around the table, then on a nice day, relax on the front porch with some sweet tea and watch the world go by. I listened to my grandma sing on that front porch and my grandpa tell his stories of days gone by.  This house meant so much to our family; it was one of the last things my grandma asked me about. Although she had moved out years earlier, she still asked if any of us had been by there.

I will miss that house. I miss the family we used to be, in that house. I miss the love, I miss my grandparents.

Losing both my grandparents plus this house is just too much. It is really over, they are really gone. It is never going to be the same.

I will now avoid that area of town like the plaque. I cannot stand to see what the next people will do to it. It most likely was sold to a Landlord and renters just don’t take care of properties like they should.  They will never know the history of that house and they will never know the man whose name is in the concrete out front.

Goodbye house on Sycamore Street, I will miss you but I will always remember you, just the way you were!!