[My] Life in Wisconsin

What IS This Anyway?

What is it???? (Methinks it might have been the sun, but I am not too sure if I remember what it looks like anymore)!!!! hehehe

Good Morning All;

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I have this Alien Flower to pop up and to watch over you all as you are reading!
hehehe

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And I shall have to type fast as Master Gabriel will be joining me shortly.

I am STILL working on my rummage sale here. Have many boxes and bags yet; and am hoping that I have enough tags to be putting on everything... Easy to run out seeing that I have collected so much "schtuff" over the past 2 years. Usually I have the sale every spring and summer; and open it up frequently as I go along and have the time available... But never did finish everything last year, given the fact that Casey was so ill, hospitalized and had more than a few surgeries.

I shall try to have faith in her doctors and surgeon THIS year that they will finally FIND and CORRECT whatever the heck is wrong. Or maybe I shall be relying upon your own faith too. (My own seems to be tried, and found wanting, every now and then)...

CaseyAnne and Derek, Jenny Mella, along with Roberta, are all attending a marriage seminar this weekend. It is entitled simply, "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage!" And the funniest of it all is the fact that none of them ARE married... (yet)... But forewarned is forearmed too! hehehe The bottom line there is if you cannot laugh at the little things that seem to go wrong, they will build into the big things that can threaten every marriage. The Pastor is VERY funny, and does this around the U.S. every month or two. the seminar started last night, and starts early this morning then... I think they go only until noon today... For more info; or for when he might be in your area, please CLICK HERE.

We were outside a long time yesterday; and no I never did pick up a rake, (although I still have much to clean up too)...

Much to my dismay, I found this...

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Crappy, huh? And not too sure how to go about putting it back up...
(maybe just with a hammer and a few nails)???? Hope so...

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Miss Punk played on the barngrade... behind "The Alien Flower"...

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Sniffing in an old snake hole... (Ick)...

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While Miss Milly and her sassiness was cabled to the willow in the backyard...

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No, they haven't come to fix the ground yet...
(But that's OK, I haven't paid my bill either)! hehehe

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And I will be checking her mouth and her tummy today to see if I can figure out WHY she has been so sassy and mean to Punkin lately...

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New Spring life; even AFTER being snowed and munched upon by the wildlife at large.

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and SOMETHING that chose to croak in the driveway too...
(or maybe simply did not make "The Dreaded Dash of Death" across it)!
Sadly, (and usually), the car wins...

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Have more than a few things to get done quickly here, so will be keeping this short for now.

I hope you are ALL having a great weekend!

XOXO
Anne

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Friday the 13th? Home Again!

 

Good Morning to All!

And let me be the first to say how nice it is to be missed!

I have heard from one of you that my page wouldn't load... Has anyone else had this problem? Please let me know if you have... ~Not that I would know what the heck to do about it... 'cept complain... to someone... (But to whom)?

We are back home once again. This makes 2 trips down to Froedtert Hospital now for Casey; (not counting how many last year?)? And she will be having surgery also.

Please do keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I am thinking that since they cannot possibly remove anything else from her little body, that now they are going to do a face lift on her pancreas!
Not fair!!! (Heck, I'm the one that needs the 'lift')!!!

Case in point...

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See what I mean?

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That was taken after we had finally gotten down to Milwaukee...

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The snows began collecting on the fields right before they turned to ice on the roads.
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The roads began to turn slick just south of Fond du Lac, and so we slowed down accordingly. Many did not...

But for the Grace of God Himself, we were much luckier than a few truck drivers that got to see their trailers close~up... (Nasty, those jack~knifed rigs)... Both were in the median; (Casey and I finding ourselves thankful that we hadn't been witness to the accidents as they happened)...

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Here is just one, (of too many) "oopses"!

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A few cars in the ditches, off the roads, and in the medians too... And yes, to have heard on the news that night then, that there hadn't been any injuries... (except to drivers' pride, and pocketbooks, I would assume). Lucky we were to have left as early as we did... To find our hotel; and to be safe, warm and OFF those terrible roads for the duration of the storm.

We checked in early, and stayed put, 'til Caseys appointment yesterday morning...

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We both napped on arrival... (And yes, so did The Punkster)!
She was SO good on this trip...
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Note: Milwaukee has to be THE most "dog~UN~friendly" town in the whole world. (I have driven up to the Soo, and all the way down to Alabama with Punk, and I have never heard of any of the nonsense crap I just had to go through to take her along on this trip).
First, the place we stayed at last year wanted a $75.00 NON~refundable deposit for allowing her to stay (each visit)... (Correct me if I am wrong, but the actual definition of 'deposit' then fails to make any sense, doesn't it)?
The next 4 calls I made all had weight restrictions on the dog, of 20 or 25 pounds. (I thought of 'quartering' her, but didn't think Punkin would go for that).
I was originally trying to get as close to Froedtert Hospital as I possibly could, but THAT wasn't working...
So finally I started at the top of the freakin' list and wound up at a Best Western that I had no idea how to even get to. They did not charge extra for Miss Punk- only if she would have messed up the carpeting, or ate the darned bed, or gotten in a fight with the toilet or tub. hehehe I had then thought about diapering, hog~tying and muzzling her just to be on the safe side; (but was very thankful that she didn't have to be drawn and quartered just to come along with us)...
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But I was sorely tempted to do just that when it came time for me to lie down...
She stole my bed for cryin' out loud!
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So I just took my darned pillows and slept on the floor...
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...(NOT)! ...hehehe
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But it does bring to mind a poem that I had read (and stolen from one of you), last month...
The Happy Dog's Bedtime Prayer
Now I lay me down to sleep,
The king-size bed is soft and deep.
I sleep right in the center groove
My human being can hardly move!

I've trapped her legs,
she's tucked in tight,
And here is where I pass the night.
No one disturbs me or dares intrude
Til the morning comes and I want food!

I sneak up slowly; ...it begins
...my nibbles on my human's chin.
She wakes up slowly, smiles and shouts,
"You darling beast! Just cut it out!"
But morning's here; it's time to play
(I always seem to get my way).

So thank you, Lord, for giving me
This human person that I see
The one who hugs and holds me tight
and shares her bed with me at night!

- Author unknown
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Anyway, knowing that "Snowstorm Felicity" had the ability to keep us from our own "appointed rounds", we had decided to leave on Wednesday... The weatherman had said the storm was to last until Thursday morning... (and THAT definitely had the possibility to interfere with us getting to her appointment on time). Froedtert had told her to set aside an hour, or maybe an hour and a half, for this appointment to meet with her anesthetist...
Arriving there almost on time, the nurse called us in. She weighed Casey (who keeps getting lighter and lighter). Then took her blood pressure, her temp, verified a few answers that casey had filled in on her questionnaire; and asked her if she had any questions before she sent us on our way?
Casey began to say, "This was an appointment to see the anesthesiologist..."
The nurse dismissed her and said, "well, you won't be seeing her today"...
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...um, ...(wait for it now)...
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..."*W*H*A*T? ?!?!!? "
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We risked life and limb to drive down to Milwaukee for a 10 minute consultation with a nurse???
(Time for that nurse to be taking MY blood pressure then)!
I was irate; and Casey was just plain fuming too. I will call Froedtert today and find out just what kind of insurance scam they are pulling... (More than a bit P.O'ed at this one)... I mean, we could have stayed home and shoveled all those 8" of snow that we didn't get! Just a bit up here while we were gone; guess the weatherman made a boo~boo. (Thank goodness)...

At any rate, we are home, safe and sound and I guess that is what is most important anyway... (but yeah, I am still going to make that phone call)!

A few of you might be asking why I haven't posted about this earlier... Casey would like this to be on the quiet side; so anything that happens, I promise to post about afterward. She has been through so much in these past few years... (and more~so, these past few months), that it is very much taking its toll on her now, emotionally, physically, etc...

I will also be filling everyone in (soon) on what is/has been happening within my own little family... (I believe it will be "The Rest of The Story" as Paul Harvey calls it)... I will be looking forward to your own thoughts and comments on that issue when I do post.

Only Caseys illness, and healing is that important to me now.

But as I have asked above, just to please to keep Casey in your own thoughts and prayers.

I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend, and that you have a wonderful one too! (Supposed to be warming up around here, so maybe it will even be nicer in Wisconsin)!

Have a good one, (and do have one for me too)!

XOXO
Anne

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Coming Our Way SOON!

hehehe

Good Morning to All!

Here I sit, calmly awaiting the arrival of "Snowstorm Felicity"
(NOT)!
(Who the heck is in charge of 'christening' these storms anyway)???
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fe·lic·i·ty audio (f-ls-t) KEY

NOUN:
pl. fe·lic·i·ties
    1. Great happiness; bliss.
    2. An instance of great happiness.
  1. A cause or source of happiness.
    1. An appropriate and pleasing manner or style: felicity of expression.
    2. An instance of appropriate and pleasing manner or style.
  2. Archaic Good fortune.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English felicite, from Old French felicite, from Latin flcits, from flx , flc-, fortunate; see dh(i)- in Indo-European roots
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They have changed the forecast since yesterday, adding upwards of 2+" more to the 6" they forecasted previously...

(How do you spell SPRING)?
Devils Claws and Wooden Drums...
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BEFORE....
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And then of course, the dreaded "AFTER" too...
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Uh~OH...

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Life goes on. (Just not for my tulips and daffodils or hyacinths... Not this year anyway)!

My Little Miss Punk is still very very stiff... And has been ordered to be taking it easy for the next week or so. (OK, so no more trips to the woods for a while. With all this snow, I would be hardpressed to venture there anyway).

I must keep this short this morning... Much to do to prepare for Miss Felicity! hehehe

"Felicity" my butt.

Have a good one!

XOXO
Anne

Oh, and one more link for you re: Pet Food Recalls. Updated daily too. CLICK HERE

The More Things Change... (edited/updated).

Good Morning!
Gee, if Yahoo moves any slower today I will never be able to post a blog! But here goes anyway!

Bad news: Here is what my weather report says for us for tonight and tomorrow... " THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREEN BAY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TOWARD WEDNESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. UP TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL."

Worse news... Once again I had a few travel plans for tomorrow... We shall see...

Really bad/worse news... Punkie has been hurt. And by Miss Milly too.

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A very nice peaceful walk to the woods, by the old campsite, and down to the river and back for some reason turned kinda ugly for Milly... (And even worse for my Punkster)...

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PunkieDog by a log??? (Greg surely has been busy)!
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down by the lazy river...
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NOTE: If you do not know how badly Punkie was injured almost a year ago, then please CLICK HERE for her story... This story is also how she came to be named "Punkin"... (I just couldn't call her 'squash')... Please go read it... I will wait for you to come back... (Really, I will)...

So, knowing that story now, yesterdays 'accident' has turned nasty. We had gone down to the river... (Where Punkie had accidentally, on~purpose, fallen in)! Milly had been standing at the rivers edge, on a rock, and barked at Punk when she had gone in the water~ then a growl... (Milly is absolutely terrified of water- And yes, she came to me that way). After Punk had come back out, they wrestled and 'played' for a while down by the water...

...Punk, noticing I had started to go back up tried to come to me. Milly growled again. (Punk came up anyway)...

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...and she even came up the hard way...
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After we had all gotten topside once again, Miss Milly (with the bad attitude), had disappeared into the woods; Punk remained by me as we started to head back home...

It was at that point that Milly chose to come charging out of the woods. She rammed Punk, (much like a dolphin would attack a shark), rolling the Punkster over then jumping onto her backside. Punk cried out, and I hollered for Milly to knock it off... She did. Punk cried 2 more times, (that whimper, & that scared, sad cry)... Then got up and shook herself off... We were really on our way home at that point, (with me thinking 'OK when we go back again, I will take one dog at a time')... Milly was happy with her squeak ball, and Punk carried her frisbee home too.

As soon as we got back, I cabled Miss Milly to her doghouse, and brought Punkie inside. I cleaned off the dirt, and she laid down right away. When she tried to get up a few minutes later, she could barely move... (And another one of those plaintive cries as she wanted to go back outside). She was not amused by what was happening out there either...

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Not amused by the snowflakes that were falling; (nor did she care for the pain in her backside).
You can tell even in this picture that she is hurting...

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Casey had stopped in later, and still in pain herself, cozied up on the couch with Punk...

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Punkie sitting oddly... I should say even more~so than usual...
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A little smooch for the kid, and she tried to sleep...

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I lifted Miss Punk onto the bed last night- Her hindquarters anyway... She lay still all night with just a few cries... So now it is time for me to call Dr. Spires and see if he will take a look~see at my little Miss Punk. (If any of you have a prayer or two leftover for my pup, would you please offer it for her; and maybe one for my little Miss KC~Face too)?

And in checking out my linked blog above I am finding it less than funny that NOTHING has changed in the past year- for either the Punk or the CaseyKid...

Yup, I have completely lost my sense of humor; (not to mention that last little marble I had)... Please let me know if you find it...

My blog yesterday, only to show what didn't happen here for Easter. As some of you already know, Casey has been placed on a "no food" diet. (She is subsisting on Ensure and/or Boost, and an occasional broth and jello thrown in just for fun)... So Easter Sunday I did not bake nor cook. Casey and Derek had come out after mass... No Sunday brunch for anyone then... And since Berta is/was still so sick, she also stayed away, not caring to share her 'bug' with Casey... (nice enough that Gabriel had shared it with his mama in the 1st place)...

Time for me to fly! hehehe I hope you are all having a grand day!

XOXO
Anna~Anna

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Updated and added at 4pm today...

I brought Punkie in to Dr. Spires.

He proceeded to check her entire hindquarters, beginning with each toe and meticulously working his way upwards... While she cringed a few times, he did not make her cry out either. And only showed pain when she tried to stand up.

He did give a prescription for anti~inflammatory and pain. He said to bring her back in if she does not improve, and he will have to xray her. He also said that the old injury would probably show up as a healed area too. That they would always keep that in mind.

**** Yes, the pup I had written about was Punkie! I could not call her "Squash" so I opted for "Punkin". I have NO idea why I wrote 'he' either. Probably a generic term as such, (and remember I hadn't slept for a long time either). When they were 1st born, we thought there were 5 males and 5 females- as it turned out there were 3 and 7...

After the run~in with the cement block, and I did return 'her' to the litter, I had marked her with blue magic marker. Once the marker had worn off, I thought I wouldn't know which one she was. But she was the one that still crawled funny, and then I marked her ear. As each week went by, it was easier to tell her apart from the rest. And quite easy to steer people away from her too. (Hard to part with a little pup like that)... Would be even harder now...

At any rate, the next step is possibly the xrays. I hope she gets better though because they have to knock a dog out for an xray...

And about the pet food recall... Again please remain vigilant; and know that they are not done recalling things yet.

I found Dick Van Pattens dog food very interesting, and have chosen to feed this to my own dogs. *No wheat whatsoever. I can live with that.

The vet today also said that MOST dogs do not ever need the high protein food... DVP's dog food has 16.5% protein AND a calorie list on the bag. (Try to find another brand that actually has that listed)... Most dogs are NOT 'working' dogs even though their breed might fall under that classification. The food is meant for a dog that actually works, not for any specific breed of dog. So do not feed your furkid any food with high protein. Please check the bag.

And check what the ingredients are too.

Not sure? Check it against this...

What's really in that can of pet food on your shelf?

Here's a guide to some ingredients listed on the label and what they really are, according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials:

Chicken, beef or fish: Clean flesh from those animals.

Meat byproducts: Blood, bone and organs such as lungs, spleen, kidney, brains, liver, stomachs and intestines from slaughterhouses.

Poultry byproducts: Necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, lungs, intestines. Not feathers.

Meat or poultry byproduct meal: Blood, bone and organs that are rendered, dried and ground up. Can include tissue from animals that died outside slaughterhouses.

Steamed bone meal: Bones separated through cooking and ground up. It provides minerals, mainly calcium and phosphorus.

Taurine: An amino acid needed by cats.

Grains: Labeled either as whole grains, such as corn or barley, or as ground milled products, which are what's left after flour and cereal are processed.

Vegetables: Dried yams, beet pulp, carrots.

Additives: Vitamins and minerals, such as flavorings and preservatives.

SOURCE: Gannett News Service

Heres where to GRADE YOUR DOG FOOD. (Click on those words). Some brands are already graded for you.

Also, an updated list re: Pet Food Recall can be found at CLICK HERE .

For a complete list of anything ever recalled... CLICK HERE . (I looked for a few people I know, and couldn't find them)... hehehe

I'd better close for now. Punk is on a limited movement regimen, so I will leash her to take her out and walk her around a bit...

XOXO
Anne

Easter Monday

Good Morning One and All;

I am guessing that this morning will find more than a few of you nursing your own little ~"sugar~hangovers"~ hehehe

But hey, I've got my own little sugar too!

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There's Master Gabriel!
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With his Mama too! hehehe

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.......
My Little Man Isaiah!

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.......
My Own Little Miss Valerie!

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.......
And of course last, but not least, My Mr. Lawrence Ramon! ... (and with his Papa too)!
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It wouldn't be complete without Derek and Casey...
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And can't forget My Pompous Punkster either!
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And after Miss Milly got through chasing all the darned bunnies...
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Now how's that for showin' off some of my own little "sweets" !?!
Ok, I don't have a sugar hangover; (am thinking 'withdrawal' would be a more accurate word).
Sad, that... right?
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I hope you all had a "fantabulous" Easter Day. Stay blessed!

XOXO
Anne