Under the weather

 (The snow squall at its finest. Could hardly see the trees in our front yard.)

Well, today I am sick. Sick in bed, in fact. With what seems to be the most lovely influenza. (Said with a major air of sarcasm.) In truth, my body is aching, my back feels like it might split in half, my chest hurts, I'm coughing non-stop, and I'm oh-so-tired and weak. Blah. I just feel plain miserable. I think that the flu is a bit like labor in that you forget just how horrible it is until you're in the midst of it again.

And in the midst of this flu bout, I am so very thankful that my kids are old enough to make it through the day fairly independently. They got their own breakfast, Ian did his schoolwork, they're taking care of the puppy, all while mommy is in bed with a heating pad on her back for both the warmth and to soothe the body aches. I did manage to drag myself out to the kitchen and make up plates for their lunch. They could have done it themselves, but I really wanted to make sure they ate something nutritious.

And another thing I'm thankful for is that I have a warm, comfortable house to be sick in. I couldn't imagine not having the comforts of my own home while feeling like this. I have my laptop, my Kindle, and my knitting all right here beside me in my warm, soft bed. Those things are good for diverting and distracting my mind. And my warm feather duvet is good for keeping me toasty in the midst of the chills. And this book on Audible is holding my fascination and attention quite well.

We got another snowstorm over this past weekend. Saturday dropped somewhere around eight inches or so of snow (maybe more?) There were periods of complete white-outs which made me very thankful that we didn't have to go anywhere that day. Then we got more snow on Sunday and again yesterday morning. I have to admit that the Farmer's Almanac was right when they predicted a very frigid, long, and cold winter. I woke up  to a thermometer reading of -10 degrees this morning. Brrr. I was really hoping that they had predicted incorrectly. But, alas, I guess there are only two things to be done in this situation: 1. Loathe it and be miserable or 2. Embrace it and make the best of it. 

Midi and Molly are finally getting along. They actually spend a lot of time playing together. It's really cute. And Midi is now bigger than Molly. I'm astounded at how much she has grown in the short week in which we have had her. House-training is coming along fairly good. Molly is helping to keep her in her place in typical older sister fashion although there have been a few fatalities (a basket of mine, a plastic lizard of the kids'.) But that's part of having a puppy. She seems to be a quick learner and she's definitely a snuggler. I love that. Molly is a snuggler. In fact, Molly is my little nap buddy. She gets so excited when she hears me say, "Molly, wanna take a nap with me?" (Because, yes indeed, I do take naps fairly frequently.) She hops up and curls up beside me and keeps me warm.

And my dear chickens are definitely looking forward to spring and warmer temps. And they are most definitely looking forward to seeing green and brown. They do not like the snow. In fact, that last picture there is pretty much how you'll find them on a day such as this - in the coop, huddled up together.

Since I know that this frigid "Arctic" air is impacting a majority of the country, I will send everyone blessings for warmth and health. And if you're under the weather as I am, I will tell you what my mom told me this morning. Stay inside. :) 

Have a blessed day!

a new puppy

We picked up our new puppy from the animal shelter yesterday. We recently lost our big dogs this past December. And since that time, the deer have been chomping on our landscaping like you wouldn't even believe. They are demolishing it. We've never had a problem with deer even eating our gardens before, and I never realized that it was because our dogs would roam around the property and keep them away. With our beloved property guards no longer here, I was predicting a very dire gardening season up ahead. I was imagining all of our crops being totally destroyed by the deer.

And that's when I started to think that maybe it would be a good thing to get another dog. We have Molly, our inside dog. And I will say that she does a fine job of standing guard at the front windows and scaring away the deer that come to our holly bushes out front. She's been scaring many a deer away with her ferocious bark.

But for this new dog, we were imagining more of a farm dog. One that would watch the property, keep any animals we may have in line.

Our local animal shelter received a litter of lab/spaniel/mountain cur pups so the kids and I went down a couple of times last week. We applied to adopt one of the female pups (affectionately named Sassy by the foster family that raised her as a newborn pup and rightfully so.) We found out on Saturday that we had been approved, so yesterday we drove to the shelter and picked up our brand new puppy.

I'm relieved to say that she seems to be acclimating well to our family. She just wants to be with someone all of the time. And she loves Molly. Sadly, Molly hasn't proved to be as equally loving back, but I suppose that will take time. Molly's been the family's spoiled dog for the last five years, and now she must learn to share her humans with this new, spunky puppy.


I was preparing for the worst last night as far as the amount of sleep I would get, but I was surprised to find that I only had to get up once with her through the night. She started whining around 2:30am. I took her out, she went potty, and then I brought her in and played with her for about 20 minutes. Then she fell asleep on my lap so I put her back in her cage, and she slept until 6:00am. (Sigh of relief.)

And even my hubby, who wasn't sure he was very thrilled with the idea of a new dog, has become rather smitten with our new puppy. She has been following him around, cuddling into him. And I can tell by the tender look in his eyes that he's happy we have her.

And we renamed her. I wasn't keen on the name "Sassy." I mean she sure is a hyper little thing, but Sassy seemed like such a delinquent name. Lol. So we chose the name Midnight, but we've been calling her "Midi" for short, because I do tend to favor shorter names for my dogs.

Right now she must be feeling quite played out because she just fell asleep sprawled across Ian's lap. Adorable. And now Molly feels free to roam about the house without the threat of an inquisitive puppy nipping at her heels.