Shiloh

We haven't had a dog for about a year and a half. Our sweet Pyrenees, Duke, disappeared - we think someone shot him. Then Emily died and Iggy, the dog I rescued off the highway disappeared about the same time. For the first time in my life, I was dog-less. We could have gone out and bought one but when you live in the country you get used to taking in strays and I honestly figured it was only a matter of time until one showed up. But the months dragged on and the raccoons moved in. And the coyotes, like the one I saw on our BACK PATIO a couple of weeks ago. Not only did I want a dog for the companion factor but out in the country it's really a necessity. 

So I put out the word to lots of people that I wanted a Great Pyrenees. I'd always thought Golden Retrievers were the best breed - and they *are* wonderful - but after having Duke I changed my allegiance. A more laid-back, non-agressive breed does not exist and no one can deny that they are gorgeous. 

But the main issue for me was the non-aggressive trait. You see, several years ago I had a very traumatic experience with a dog and for the first time in my life I became afraid of them. I now have a bit of understanding of what post-traumatic stress syndrome is like. On one of our trips to New Orleans, a couple of dogs growled at each other on the street near where I was walking and I nearly climbed out of my skin as I quickly moved to the other side of the crowd. I know it's not entirely rational but even teeny, tiny dogs give me the jitters. Or maybe that *does* make sense as small dogs tend to be yippy, yappy things and often snap at people. 

Anyway, one of the people I told about the dog desire is a young woman we've known since she was a toddler and who is now a veterinarian here in town. Long ago I told her that if she ever heard of anyone wanting to get rid of a Pyrenees, to let us know. Well. about a week and a half ago she posted a picture of a bullet on Facebook and said she'd removed it from the shattered leg of a Pyrenees. Turns out it was a 45 caliber bullet. The poor dog had been found in Francis, the tiny town where David works, and someone brought him in to the animal clinic where Stephanie works. She removed the bullet, cleaned the wound and made arrangements at OSU for the complicated surgery he would require. She then posted his story and a couple of photos on Facebook:

"Meet Bullet! He is a 2 year old, Great Pyrenees that was found Tuesday night with a .45 caliber bullet in his front leg. We are currently trying to raise money for the surgery to plate his humerus (front leg) that was shattered by the bullet. Donations are being taken at Arlington Animal Clinic until 5:30pm today, and again during normal business hours next week. PetSense is also accepting donations for Bullet, and they are hosting a carwash to help with the cause on Sunday, from 1-4pm. Please help in any way possible. Bullet greatly appreciates your help! He will be at the Car Wash some on Sunday so come and meet him!"

She then asked if we might be interested in adopting him. Take a look at that face and try to tell me I could have said no.

So the donations poured in and "Bullet", which is what they were calling him, got his surgery. He has pins and a metal rod, plus an external fixator, but they believe he will make a full recover and regain use of the leg. 

David and I were out of town over the weekend but Stephanie and her husband drove to OSU to pick him up a few days after his surgery. Here he is during the drive home:

And here is where they found him at one point over the weekend:

You see, instead of leaving him at the clinic over the weekend, which is what I had assumed she would do, Stephanie took him to her own house. And that's where he remained until we picked him up Monday night when we returned from our trip to Kansas City...which I'll tell you about later. 

So now we have the dog I'd been hoping and praying for. He's got a lot of healing to do and he's kind of high maintenance at the moment. We never had a big dog in the house other than in the laundry room but Shiloh is already my shadow and really wants to be with me a lot. 

Oh, I forgot to mention the name change. They were calling him Bullet at the vet's, for obvious reasons, but a peace-loving hippie like myself really needed to come up with a more suitable name. I mean, I have cats named Dharma and Berkeley, for goodness sake. I wanted something either hippie/peace-related or something to do with New Orleans. I considered Gumbo or Gumbeaux but then I came across this:

Beauregard is the surname of a well known Civil War soldier who was killed in the battle of Shiloh. His ghost, it is said, wanders the streets of New Orleans at night whispering “Shiloh”.

Additionally, Shiloh means "place of peace"which suits my hippie tendencies. David liked the name immediately when I suggested it so it was settled. After the violence Shiloh experienced at the hands of a cruel individual, he deserves to spend the rest of his life in peace.

Shiloh and Chris - Pals 

I think he will be happy here on Apple Tree Farm. 

February Slow Month Final Update

I can't believe it's already March! Even with an extra day, February just flew by. Guess it's time to post my final figures for the month. As of the last update on February 12th, I had spent $204.19. Here is what I bought for the rest of the month:

February 15


Azure Standard Co-op Order:

• toothpaste
• shampoo bar
• a *personal* item
• 10# organic unbleached flour
• blue cheese dressing
• uncured, organic hot dogs
• cream cheese (2)
• bay leaves
• chocolate chips 
• 5# potatoes

$54.15

February 17

Braum's:

• 1/2 gallon milk
• 1 package cheddar cheese slices
• 1 package grape tomatoes
• 1 pound butter
• bananas

$11.59

February 20

Apple Market:

• gallon of organic milk
• grapes
• bell peppers
• lettuce
• okra
• andouille sausage
• 1 whole chicken
• 2 evaporated milk
• 1 sweetened condensed milk
• ketchup
• salsa
• jar of banana peppers
• 4 small bags Zapp's brand chips (new to this area!)

(Can you tell I was making jambalaya for Mardi Gras?)

$48.12

February 27

Natural Grocers:

• bananas
• tomato
• red leaf lettuce
• asparagus
• 5# potatoes
• pint of 1/2 and 1/2
• parmesan cheese
• individual bottle of peach tea for the ride home

$21.79

Braum's:

• 1/2 gallon milk

$2.27

Subtotal: $137.92

Grand total for February: $342.11

So, that was a lot more than the $169.37 that I spent in January but I splurged on some extra things for a special Mardi Gras meal. And I still have a lot of food on hand. I still haven't tried to make tortillas yet but I did make hot dog buns the other night and baked 5 loaves of bread a couple of weeks ago. Looking back on my expenditures it's clear that fresh produce and cheese form the bulk of our food expenses. I'm hopeful for a good garden this summer and enough to freeze and can some for next winter. I've also got someone lined up to raise baby chicks for me until they are big enough to put outdoors after we get back from our April trip to New Orleans. It will be so good to have our own eggs again. I used to plan at least one egg-based dinner per week back when we had plenty of eggs all the time. The organic ones I am buying are so expensive that I'm not including egg-heavy dishes like frittatas right now. 

One thing I haven't included here are purchases other than food. In thinking back over the month I can't recall any extra purchases with the exception of a couple of clothing items earlier this week. I bought a black skirt for a funeral and two other casual pieces to wear at home. I didn't buy any magazines or books. I bought a couple of cokes in town while running errands. Overall I think I'm doing well and do find myself carefully considering my purchases. One thing I'll be spending some money on this month is plants and seeds for the garden. Oh, and baby chicks! The weather has been so nice and everything is greening up. I'm really getting eager to start spring planting but other than potatoes, I'll hold off a bit longer since a late freeze is still quite likely. 

Love wins

This morning I read a blog post that made me cry. Eleven year old Emily had been eagerly anticipating Mardi Gras and her favorite parade, the Krewe of Muses. She had made a special countdown calendar, decorated with glitter, on which she would cross off each day. To say that this was a big deal for Emily would be an understatement. You see, Emily is a high-functioning autistic child and every day of her life she lives with the awareness that she is "different". But she told her mother last year when asked what she liked so much about Mardi Gras that she didn't feel so different from everyone else because during Mardi Gras, "...everyone is a little weird like me."

You can, and should, go read the blog post but in short, some rude college-age students showed up just before the parade and blocked Emily's view from the place where they had been waiting for two hours. They spilled beer on her, cussed and almost caught her hair on fire with a cigarette. When Emily's mom asked them to move over a bit so her daughter could see, one of the guys took note of the patch on Emily's coat which would indicate she's autistic to medical personnel and then rudely said while looking her in the face, "This retard is making watching the parade a challenge."

Poor Emily was devastated and the tears welled up. She insisted that her mother take her home. She went home without seeing her beloved parade and without any of the parade throws she had been looking forward to catching. She went so far as to say that she didn't think she wanted to do Mardi Gras ever again. Something that had been so special to this precious young girl had been stolen from her by a rude, thoughtless person with no concern for anyone but himself.

Fortunately the story didn't end there. Emily's mother had been encouraged to blog about the event and within hours, thousands of people had read the story and hundreds had commented. Now, ordinarily when I read comments on most things online I find myself believing that our society is doomed but these were different. I started crying again as read person after person making kind comments and offering everything from parade throws to a hand-painted Mardi Gras mural in her room. Several offered to share their private balconies on the parade route with Emily and her mother next year. A firefighter offered dinner with all the firefighters at the fire station. A NOPD officer offered one of their t-shirts. Countless people offered to send what they had caught at the parade. Person after person offered something to this child to help ease her disappointment.

And then something amazing happened. Word spread and members of the Krewe of Muses, three of whom I am privileged to know, offered to host a special private "parade" for Emily in their den (where their float resides). Within a few hours not only did Muses gather, but so did a number of other groups who march in parades. The 610 Stompers (who my friend, Roz and I had the pleasure of meeting last October), the Rolling Elvi, the Pussyfooters, the Big Easy Rollergirls and even a couple of our NOLA Wenches turned up on short notice and gave Emily an experience she'll never forget:



At the end of that video, the woman who offered to let Emily be the Queen of the Pirates is our dear friend, Cher, the current Captain of our NOLA Wenches Krewe. She and another wench friend donned their wench costumes and along with others, put together a "starter wench kit" which they presented to Emily. If Emily is willing, she will get to lead our pirate procession down the levee during our annual pirate event, Shore Leave, this April.

The outpouring of love from the people of New Orleans for a little girl with a broken heart illustrates just why David and I love that city beyond what most non-NOLA folks think is reasonable. We often tell people that the thing we love most about New Orleans is the people. One of our friends who loves New Orleans like we do summed it up perfectly today:

"People ask me why I love New Orleans so much. 100% of the time I say, "It's the people." Don't get me wrong - the food, architecture, history, music, a good stiff drink, the SAINTS, parades? All of those? Good things. But the people make NOLA go 'round and when one stupid drunkass breaks the heart of a precious child they come running to the rescue. Read the comments sent to the mother of this little girl - you'll see what I mean. If you've never been there, you owe it to yourself to discover what I'm talking about." ~Jana Jansen

I couldn't have said it better myself, Jana.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

If you're very observant you may notice that this is the same picture I shared last Mardi Gras. After a busy afternoon making potato salad, jambalaya and beignets, and sharing this meal with my parents, I decided to cheat. Maybe I'll take a picture tomorrow. Or maybe not.

Anyway, as I said, we had a wonderful dinner featuring some favorite New Orleans foods and had a nice visit with my parents. It was one of those last minute invites. As I was cooking it occurred to me that I was going to have enough food to feed a small army. I called my mom and asked if they'd eaten yet or had dinner plans. They were just going to have leftovers and were more than happy to come enjoy a meal with us.

We were all stuffed from dinner and my dad was getting tired (he's been fighting a respiratory virus) so they didn't get to try the beignets. I fried up a few small ones for David and myself just a bit ago and they are rather delicious. I have enough dough left in the fridge to keep us in crispy little French doughnuts for days. I guess I'd better not give up doughnuts for Lent.

And now it is time for me to call it a night. I've got two different books going but tonight I think I'll go with "Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans".  Bonne nuit, y'all!

Domestic Diva - Monday Tasks and Stormy Weather

Do you have a housekeeping schedule? I used to but in the past few years it's become more of a general routine - a very, very loose routine - than a schedule. As I've written here before, I'd like to develop a new routine/schedule but it hasn't happened yet. I do, however, have a short list of tasks which I nearly always do on Mondays.

I do as little as possible on Sundays, other than church and a nap, so by the time the guys go to work Monday morning, the house needs a little attention. We are all adults here so it's not like the house is trashed but there is usually some straightening up needed, as well as a few chores I choose to do on Mondays.

Here is my list of Monday tasks I nearly always manage to complete:

• remove sheets, wash, dry and remake the bed (including ironing the pillow cases, of course)
• catch up on other laundry (I generally do a load most weekdays and 3 or 4 on Mondays)
• refill parakeet's food and water
• water all the houseplants (I have around 20 so this does take a few minutes)
• clean litter box (although lately the cats have been going outside - yay!)
• generally tidy up
• write weekly menu for Dee's Kitchen blog

Well, that was *interesting*. I took a break from writing this post, went downstairs to start dinner and the power went out. We had quite a wind/rain/hail storm going on. I lit a candle, David started to take out the trash (one of the few things you can do without electricity) and his firefighter radio went off. A tornado had touched down in our area and people were trapped. He rushed out to help with the rescue while I sat in the dark and listened to the scanner. Sadly, the report is that at least one person was injured and another killed. 

After about an hour, our electricity came back on so I resumed dinner preparations. I then heard a commotion in our laundry room. Oh, no. Yes, there was a raccoon in there. I scared it out of there, locked the cats in and then tried to decide whether or not to see if I could remember how to load the gun. I opted to just yell outside instead. "Get on out o' here!" No, I didn't really say that. Well, not precisely. 

David is still out. I don't know if he's just finishing up at the scene or is one of the guys I heard out driving around looking for further damage. It's still very windy here. I don't know if we'll have anymore severe weather tonight but I've got my candles and hurricane lamps handy. For now, I think I'll just leave it at that. I'll talk about housekeeping schedules another time. 

A hurricane lamp + scanner = springtime in Oklahoma

Like a flower...

Aren't they pretty? David has been out of town on a business trip and will be home soon. He had these beautiful flowers delivered and is picking up dinner and wine on his way home. I think I'll keep him.

A Day of Winter in Oklahoma

I was thinking we might just skip winter here in Oklahoma this year. After last winter I was perfectly happy with that possibility. However, Ol' Man Winter dropped in for a visit last night and left us with a dusting of snow. Fortunately we didn't get the usual freezing rain/sleet/ice first. Just some nice, fluffy snow and safe roads. It dipped down to freezing for a few hours but warmed up enough to melt everything by mid-day. Tomorrow is supposed to reach the mid-50s and then mid-60s on Wednesday. That's the sort of winter I can deal with. Mind you, I'd rather it stay above 60 at all times but I won't complain about a few brief dips into chilly temperatures. And now that we've had winter today, let's go ahead and have springtime. I'm ready!