Pink Panties

It never seems to end around here.. ya know.. the stuff that stops life, makes laundry pile up and just gets your mind all wonky? Our poor Bonnie (of Bonnie and Clyde, our pair of miniature pinschers) is just not doing too well lately. For months we have been struggling with what the vet told us might be 'partial colon-rectal paralysis' possibly caused by a fall she took when she was younger. Ya, you can probably guess, it was not too pretty. But that wasn't too bad to deal with until she started to bleed and yelp in pain whenever she went to the potty. :(  Finally after many vet visits and some tests that should have been done months ago, we now know she has some type of colon disease. IBS, or something that is making the walls of her colon seep blood. Ya.. yuck!! Mind you it's even worse to clean up than it sounds.. BUT hopefully once the labs come back they can tell what kind of problem it is, so we can treat it.. today has been a pretty good day for her. She was finally able to eat food again (she hadn't been able to eat for over 48 hours) and slept quite content for hours. The bleeding has appeared to stop for now. All good things.

It is astounding how quickly life can get turned upside down and exhaustion can set in. Meetings, spring training, trips to the vet, town voting (my husband was on the local ballot) it all gets to be a bit much! And trying to keep things light and perky here, well, sometimes I can't! :) Tomorrow AM I go in for minor surgery, (not a big deal) soooo.. I was going to give you a list of my favorite morning blog reads, and some other tidbits but I just don't have it in me.. I'm trying to get some dinners in the fridge, the laundry caught up, the house back to some normal level of tidy and clean before I am laid up for a few days and it all goes to hell again.

When things get overwhelming, I visit Stephanie, from the Nie Nie Dialogues. Nothing will put your blessings back into your heart faster than a quick imaginary jaunt in her shoes. Even for a few moments.. her courage, determination and honesty about her situation just make me realize I need to shut up, stop whining and move on.

So I'll be gone this weekend, but I'll be keeping it all in perspective and enjoying this very crazy ride I'm on.

Pink undies and all!

xoxo~

Abbie

Back to reality...

Oh, the parties this weekend were head spinning! If you are still visiting for Vanessa's Halloween Party, scroll down a bit, my post for it is just below this one.

I suppose it is time for reality to settle back in. It was quite dreamy, and very inspiring! Thank you to those who left such encouraging comments. It is nice to hear that others enjoy my work too. There is quite a dark side to me, and I love to bring it out in my art. A few glimpses of my journal pages. I am working on some for Kathryn's Soul Journal Halloween Blog Party. I'm not sure if I can catch up.. but it is nice to be journaling again just for the sake of it.

I thought today I'd introduce you to Bonnie and Clyde. My wee sidekicks that follow me around the house all day. Miniature Pinschers, a brother and sister. We didn't realize when we named them that their names would be so appropriate, but they can certainly raise some hell when the mood strikes.

Bonnie

Clyde

Have a lovely week, thank you for visiting! I'd love to see your journals or pets (I know, quite the combo!) leave your link in a comment and I'll take a peek!

xoxo~

Abbie

A quick tour..

View from the great room looking into kitchen/dining area. The room beyond with the transom is the old dining room. It is now my MIL bedroom. It was open to kitchen, but when she moved in we had it closed off and added doors. It turned out really well and it is as if she was just meant to be here! :)
I didn't do anything special for you this time. Most times I stage things to look extra nice but this is the way my kitchen is all the time. The bulletin board is full, our bill box is over flowing, and there is still a plastic cup on the table. (a staple in a house with three kids.. if you come over you get plastic and/or Correll.. no fancy China, no pretty drinking glasses.) the Crock pot is going beside the fridge.. we are having BBQ pulled pork tonight) We have a mish mash of chairs as I only bought 4 Windsor with the oval table. Now that there are six of us, two sit in Shaker Ladder backs until I can get some more Windsor chairs. The Co. I got the original 4 from is now out of business and I am having a horrible time finding the right match.

some up close peaks at the knick knacks above the cabinets. Bottles, we have bottles everywhere. My inlaws were avid antique bottle collectors so now they adorn every space in our home. The funky rooster in the middle pic is an old clay liquor bottle. His head is the cork. I'm not sure of his exact age, but he's no spring chicken! :) The turkey tureen also came from my MIL, the top half of him is in about 6 different pieces, but you'd never know. He is taped together on the inside. lol! I wouldn't use his for his original purpose as he is quite old and chipped around the rim, but I love him sitting up there, and he adds a wonderful touch of white!

Bonnie, one of my min pins, was quite put out by me photographing everything and disturbing her nap on the back of the couch. Her ears say it all. "Will you get that camera out of my face! I want to sleep!"

An antique desk that I am carrying for until one of daughters is old enough to inherit it.

our bed, (uh..duh..) in the master. I just bought this comforter and pillow set at Marshall's yesterday. I rarely splurge on things like this, but we were in desperate need of a face lift in here. The small side lamps I got at Michael's 75% off, so they were $10 each. I just love a bargain!! Hope you liked peekin'!

Christmas Critters and a frog?

We have more visitors now that the snow is falling and the air is getting colder. The view from the living room couch is of our bird feeder which now is a flutter with chickadees and others grabbing seeds and filling larders. I feel that way when I go to the grocery store. Dash in, grab what I need and flitter back to my warm home. The pup is Bonnie (of Bonnie and Clyde), she loves to perch and watch all the comings and goings at the bird feeder. You can practically see her twitching in the photo. :)

This big guy stopped by last spring to nibble the buds off of the small whips in our backyard. Oh the dogs went nuts when they saw him! I don't think he was too intimidated by two 11 pound dogs yipping at him through the window, though.

And this cute tiny guy was stuck to our glass door last spring. Good gracious, the peepers make so much noise in the springtime! Not a winter friend, but too cute not include! Just think of him as the Christmas Peeper!

♥ Abbie

In a Holiday Funk...

I love the holidays, but I find that the family gatherings just deflate me. We had a surprise guest at the dinner table yesterday, my brother, whom I wrote about here and here, came for the weekend. As I have mentioned before, he ships out to the Middle East in Dec and is the middle of a divorce. It was lovely to see him, and it was a complete surprise for our mom. She thought he was in Ohio with his children and that she wasn't going to see him before he shipped out. My father was also here from Canada, although he dines at my aunt's house, as he and my mother don't get along very well. It is an emotional roller coater when family gets together and we are about as dysfunctional as they come. Divorces all around and our fair share of vices to boot. It is nice to see them come, even nicer to see them go. I was so excited to decorate today. I dreamt about it for days. When the time came and all the boxes came down from the third floor, the spark just wasn't there. They are sitting in the formal living room, half opened. I put out a few things, but it's just not a happy thing for me right now, so I think I'll wait. Besides, I get the two year old to sleep and the baby starts screaming or vice versa. The Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations need to come down first too. Another job that just exhausts me thinking about it.

On a brighter note, here is my boy, Clyde, (of Bonnie and Clyde) feeling guilty about his theft of a stuffy. Later, the stuffy hit the can. Clyde had tortured him and the stuffy spilt his beans all over the living room floor. We do have Bonnie as well. They are brother and sister and I didn't realize when we brought them home, how appropriate their names would be. They drive me crazy and bark at everything. To give you an idea, Clyde barks at the reflection of the TV on the stainless steel fridge at night, or at the reflection off the skylights of the movement down below. He is as useful as a two headed nail, but I do love him and the house would be VERY quiet without them.

Oh, what a weekend..

We laughed, we cried, we had fun, we were sad. So many things happened I don't even know where to start. Fins, our Beta Fish, got sick and was swimming sideways. We were sure he was on his way out and talked expectantly to the kids. Since Thursday he had been looking horrid. Well, now on Tuesday, he has miraclulously recovered and I am very happy, to say the least. He keeps me company (he sits in his bowl on my kitchen island and watches the world go by) and I would miss him if he were to pass on.

As far as the rest of our weekend, we went to the Sandwich Fair (not about sandwiches, but held in the town of Sandwich, NH). The drive is truely lovely, especially this week, because of the folliage. We are about to hit peak color and the landscape is starting to vibrate with colors. The pic above is one I took on the way home of a most gorgeous horse farm. White fencing line all the fields and the drive is a straight shot to the farmhouse. Oh, it is most delightful! We saw the typical oxen, fowl, and food. Baby A got a bit restless after an hour so we packed up and drove home. Sounds foolish to travel so far to only stay a short time, but it gets so crazy and with 3 little ones to keep track of, the ride is the most pleasant part of the journey.

My inlaws had to put one of their dogs down. Happens often, I know, but they are dog people and Cocoa used to be my husbands dog before we met and were married. she is buried on our hillside and enjoys a beautiful view of our field now. Happiness and sadness went hand in hand this weekend, but in the end it was all good. In the words of Dori ' just keep swimming, just keep swimming..'

oh.. T got a vicious cold and I think everyone else in the house is about to catch it.. it never ends..

New curtains..

I spent the morning furiously sewing insulated curtains for our hallway that extends between the house and the garage. Even though the house is almost brand new, that small space just cannot keep the heat. So... insulated, full drapes are the last resort. Once they are hung, I'll post a pic.. The place in the ouse I get to use florals!! (the rest of our home is very NH/lodge/plaid/deer head/moose). Speaking of plaid furniture... look who enjoys it the most!