...more bits...

this is the first year in a long time...
that I remember seeing the creeper "turn"...

before the leaves would shrivel...
turn brown and fall off...
so... I'm enjoying the foliage kaleidoscope...

before leaving for the funeral...
I renewed my car registration online...
and wasted about 10 minutes on hold...
before finally finding the mailing address, online...
to send my "traffic school completion certificate" to...

it should have been on the "contact us" page...[it wasn't]
or more logically, included in the citation letter...
but NOOO... they want to test my sleuthing skills...

*FINE*

[*explicative deleted*] local bullies...

so after mailing the certificate... I arrive at the church...
I copy my music... go into the church...
where I vest & wait...

BLT has been busy so the piano is positioned already...

RK arrives and we rehearse briefly...
then the prelude music begins...
she is playing some wonderful piano arrangements of hymns...
[think,"Dino"...] and some Celtic sounding variations...

so fluid... such a graceful touch...
I find myself transported back to DD's playing...
it sets such a transcendent mood of peace & joy...
as the stained glass glows with the overcast, early fall light...
and the old church's spirit of warmth & sweetness...
seeps into my very soul... and I smile...

then I see J & L...here from AZ for the service...
and then Miz YBee arrives...
and dogophile that she is...
she's thrilled about Molly...

we chat... then the mass begins...
progresses through the prayers...
the Psalm... and then...
the communion preparation hymn...
"Just As I Am".... one of my favorites...
but there are 6 verses...

my allergies had attacked me earlier...
forcing my to take a decongestant...
and they ALWAYS dry my throat...
so by the end of verse 3...
my throat aches...

gulping water....
swallowing as often as possible...
I throw out a quick,"help me make it through this hymn" prayer...
and I do... but just barely...
and my throat is throbbing...

with 4 verses of Eagle's Wings...
AND 4 verses of "How Great Thou Art"...
on the "menu"...

I snag another bottle of water...
start a "Fruit Breezers" cough drop...
[they make my mouth water & lube my throat...]
and send up a more detailed prayer...

asking for the stamina I had last Christmas Eve...
when I sang for about 30 minutes...
leading a carol sing...at 2 different services...
then sang the service...
and didn't lose my voice...

and I didn't lose it today either...
it just seemed to get stronger...
[God is good...all the time...]

with the service concluded...
I ended up in conversations...
and by the time I got things put away...
the group was gone to travel to the cemetery...
[in the "sleepy village" to the north...]

by the time I got to the "sleepy village"...
I was almost an hour behind the group...
so I just went to the home...
and hadn't been there 5 minutes when the group began to arrive...

we visited and ate pasta, salad, bread & dessert...
as I was leaving, the occasional spitting of the promised rain...
became steadier... until by the time I was home...
around 6:45 PM... I needed my wipers ...

of course... Fluff & Piglet were sitting in the window...
noses pressed to the glass... demanding immediate entrance...
including a full apology for making them wait...
outside...in a couple of raindrops...

I have never seen a can of food disappear, so quickly...
or completely... before...

the others were as "hungry"...
it's amazing what a bit of cool weather...
will do for the appetite...

I gave Piglet her medicine...
and I'll have to catch up with Lacy pretty quick...

there was no message on my machine...
so I'm hoping that,"no news, is good news"...
where Molly is concerned...
and tomorrow AM around 9...I'll go get her...
and bring her home...

I'm hoping that she won't have to wear...
one of those Elizabethan collars...
that would NOT be fun...and would freak her out...
not to mention what the felines would think...
of "alien dog from outer space".... whooo...

I can do without THAT drama...
thank you very much...

I'll just be glad she's "home"...
it's been a "roller coaster ride"...
for all concerned... and I'm ready to move on...

OK God... what's next ?
[I'm not even going to try to guess...]

...bits & pieces...

Molly is at the vet's...
for all the necessary stuff...
that culminates in licensing and living here, "forever"...

and though she technically wasn't here 24 hours...
before going in for her "tune-up"...
the house seems empty...

some kitties...[Mattie & Thomas...]



are, keeping her bed warm...
and some "crabby cat noises"...
that were absent in her presence...
can be heard in the distance...

Piglet is "back" to her old self...
[hummm... is that totally a good thing ?]

she made beds in my arm & snored...
she jumped on my stomach...[I was asleep...]
she stuffed her face this morning...
twice...
she complained bitterly about her medicine...
and said "thank you"... when I opened the window to "free" her...
with my usual admonition... "to stay close...& be safe..."
generally said to her rear, as she "departs" in haste...



then there was the matter of the funeral mass later today...

I showered, etc... practiced the Psalm I'll cantor...
went through the service order...
[I have to copy some music at the church, before the service...]

looked in my closet for my "formal, orchestra black" clothes...
and thus began the comedy portion of our morning...

when there were 3 services within about 5 weeks before Easter...
I had worn a new black jacket & some pants that, strangely fit OK then...
[they had been too tight when I bought them a year or so before...]

they were quite loose... but new, looking nice, though baggy...
and even though I'm "vesting"...[think,"alter kid"...]
I'll be going to the committal/reception...
so I need to be "dressy" under the vestments...

the new jacket was a lot bigger than I remembered...
so I tried my "old"[a size smaller] symphony jacket...
it fit...and would even button !!! though it's tight then...
but it's a little "ratty"...[I wore it for 10 years...]

so then... out of curiosity...I tried on my old symphony trousers...
[NOT stretch... just cotton, pleated front slacks...
they haven't fit at all for years...
and before that, they were really tight...]

THEY FIT !!! and very comfortably, I might add...
[I'm wearing them now...]

BUT... and it's a big one...
[NO pun intended... I hear you laughing...]

they are sort of faded... and look rattier than the old jacket...

both were fine for gigs...
[trumpets sit in the back...]
or in "stand light" scenarios [ie,"in the pit"]
or "underneath vestments"...

NOT for "dressy"....where they can be seen in good light...

so...if you see me today... holding up my pants...
in a baggy jacket... try NOT to laugh IN my face...

hummm...I DO have a set of suspenders...

perhaps... all is not lost yet...
[and I do mean my pants...]

...a dog's day "afternoon"

so when last I wrote...Molly was discovering her new bed...
[her wrinkled face makes her look sad...she wasn't]

after I finished my last post...
I came out to find this...



she was asleep with her head on her "Octo-Korg" toy...
dead to the world...

when I called her name...
she "roused"...

and then it began...



the s-t-r-e-c-h-i-n-g...



and the dogsong that accompanies it...
[a lot like whale song...but with rowhff-ing...
sliding vocalization and grunting...]



all the while... dog yoga...[hmmm]


so after she carries on like this a bit more...
she jumps up...we attach the lead...
and go "out"...

I had planned to plant things today...
but put that on hold for the time being...

we only had about 2 hours until "vet time"...
so after a walk around the block...
we went to the back yard...

there are a few "breeches"[holes] in the fence...
so I'm not comfortable putting her there, unattended...
until the fence is fixed[replaced]...
also...the "back yard" is Piglet's Magic Kingdom...
and I wouldn't want to freak or displace her...

once in the yard... I unhooked the lead...
and sat, comfortably, in one of the green chairs...
[that I haven't "fit" in since 1986...]
watching her explore...



she wandered back by the peach tree...



being drawn to one of the fence "problem" areas...
I encouraged her to leave it alone...
and Molly did...



about that time... the Piglet was roused...
and when admonished to NOT CHASE...
Molly didn't...



she continued "exploring"...
always coming out of the undergrowth as soon as I called her...
the Piglet & Fluff beat it to my bedroom...
and hid under the bed for the duration...

since Molly was so good...
I let her come with me into the driveway...
as I planted the mums & marigolds...
she stayed "right there"...
or came as soon as I called her...

she seems to know that she's "Molly"...
I don't know where that name came from...
I've never had an animal named Molly...
but my neighbors to the north had 2 dogs named Molly...

when the first one died...
JF went to the shelter...
got another big black & white dog...
and named her Molly...

and one of Mom's last 2 dogs was named Molly...
the other was "Tisha"...
and my Molly looks just like her...
same soulful eyes...



I'd say this Molly is smiling now...
[the tail was going real fast...
and she was "singing" a happy song...]

...Molly has a home

how could anyone say "no" to this face ?

she is not only all that I had hoped for... she's more...

she whined a bit last night...
when I shut the bedroom door to go to sleep...
but when I said, "it's OK...I'm still here...go to sleep..."

SHE DID....

"at large"... in the rest of the house...
with "the gang o'cats"...

and NOT A PEEP did I hear until I got up ...
to take her out around 5:30 AM...

and I was toast... done... convinced...
"convicted in the spirit"... etc...

she was the dog I'd wanted...down to the no drooling... !



I slept until 9 AM...[sinus headache...]

not a peep until I got up...
then it was talking, non-stop...[aka"rohwff-ing"]
she jumped up a little...
but stopped when I turned my back and said "no"...

the kitties were hungry...[Mattie was lobbying...]
so I opened a can...

as soon as I fed Mattie...
and he had eaten his fill...
she swooped in & scarfed up the remaining 2/3 can...
[this was fresh, so she didn't barf it...
I put out more... & the cat food "up"...]

then it was off for a walk around the block...
during which time she piddled again...
I haven't seen her poop yet...
but since she barfed last night...
I wasn't surprised...

after the walk... it was off to the vets...

she was great in the car...
and went in the vets door, no problem...
until she saw the people with the 3 dogs...
one looked like a hound mix and barked...
she became "vigilant"...and stayed close to me...

so the vet comes in the exam room...
sees the dog...looks at me....then back at the dog...
and says,"are you Catsinger's twin sister ?...
because I know Catsinger wouldn't have a DOG...!"
in his "Ricky Ricardo" accent...
[he's the one Dearest Dragonfly once described...
as "Dr. Antonio Banderas"...he's from Argentina...]

so as I described the story of the totally uneventful meeting...
the night before...how all the kitties...
seem to accept her with out a problem...
[even Creamer who hates everyone]

no growling...hissing...barking... etc...
no chasing...no running... no hiding... no poofy tails...

he was amazed...and went from saying,
"you CAN'T have a dog with THOSE cats..."
to saying, "she sounds like the perfect dog for your house..."

she was shy of him, and he's very gentle like Mr Greenthumb...
so I picked her up and put her on the table...
as he talked to her, she relaxed & let him examine her...

interestingly... MizMinka was "spot on"...about her age and probable lineage...
she's 18 mo to almost 2 years...
whether or not she's been spayed... is not clear...
[he didn't want to freak her out,"looking"]...
she is a German Shepherd mix [probably Shar Pei...]
and she has a chipped top front right canine tooth...

Dr."A.B." said that at her age...
she didn't need more than the 7 in 1 shot...
she got at the rescue yesterday...
courtesy of Mr.GT & MM...

the vet also likes to do all the tests, vaccines, chip placement...
while they are "under" being spayed...
and since tomorrow is a full day for me...[funeral mass, etc]
a perfect time line seemed to be...

I'd take her home...
by way of the pet store...
[food, bed, collar, toys... etc]
and then bring her back to the vet's this afternoon...
around 4:30 PM...so she wouldn't be"left"... quite so soon...

tomorrow...

while I'm really busy and won't be home anyway...
she'll be spayed, chipped ...
get her heart worm test & rabies shot...
while she's "out" he'll check on that chipped tooth...

she'll recuperate over night...
and during that time, she'll be wormed...
and given a flea/tick treatment...
I don't think she needs a bath...
besides... that would really freak her out...


then... Saturday morning... she'll come home...


so today... after all these plans were made...
we went home by way of Discount Pet...

where we got her a collar and lead...
[yes, MM... she wanted THAT color...
it looks really good on her...(wink)]

then... a bed...we found one...
that SO matches the lovely red kitty nest...
knitted for the horde by MM...
and you can insert a heater/cooler pad...
or an egg crate piece...

a dish... wet & dry dog food...
from the same company who makes my cat food[Nutro Max]...
the vet said that if you mix them...
they need to be compatible...

some dog treats...

and TOYS...

I let her[DP encourages pets inside...]sniff each choice...
and she TOLD me...[she really did...]
which ones she wanted...
the fact that they are all of the same color "palette"... ?
guilty as charged... but she DID choose them...
and she didn't like everything...

so... a lot of money later... we got home...

I brought her in... then unloaded the car...

I clipped the store tags off of her collar...
and put it on her...
she looked deep into my eyes as I told her...
"this is your home...for always..."
then she thanked me by grabbing a toy, shaking it...
and rubbing against me as she was "rohwff, rohwff-ing"...

[she does bark...if anyone comes on the porch...
she lets me know...
as soon as she knows I know...she stops...]

I laid out her bed & toys to take a picture...
and of course... THIS happened...



Lucyfur MUST know everything...

so I had handed Molly a smoked rawhide bone...
after I unwrapped it...
I had seen her go towards the fireplace with it...
and then I spotted her...



as far as I'm concerned...
a slip-covered couch makes a great dog bed...

but she wasn't there long...
when I noticed her...she came to me...
and began to inspect her new stuff...
since Lucy fur got bored and left...



I think she "took" to her new bed...
because after I had left the room....
and then returned...I found this...

[I think the caption would be,"ahhhhh....]



just like her move onto the couch...
she did this all by herself...
[notice the collar ?]

I think it's safe to say that she feels comfortable...

Molly & I would both like to thank MM & Mr GT [as well as Minka...]
for the wonderful gift of this new life together we'll have...
for without their kind-hearted concern and determination to help...
my "perfect dog" would be at the pound...waiting...

thanks, you guys... we do appreciate it...!

...one born every minute

some people will go to ANY length for a post...

I went out in the country...

northeast of "the sleepy village"...
that is about 13 miles north of Mudville...
to Mr Greenthumb's childhood home...
to pick up a homeless dog...
now well known to readers of Miz Minka's blog...

when I read MM's post today... I had to help...
I've been there...and it's such a horrible feeling...
to want to help an animal...but to not be permitted to...
to want to adopt it... and not be allowed to...
and meanwhile... the animal's life is in serious jeopardy...

so I emailed MM... she replied...

and after everything else fell through...
it fell to me... THE CAT LADY...

you are probably thinking...ARE YOU NUTS ?
taking in a homeless dog when you have 15 cats... ?

oddly enough...in the last few months...
I'd found myself thinking how nice it might be...
to have a dog to walk with...

at first...I just tossed it off as impending dementia...
but it kept coming back...
and getting more focused with time...

I kept thinking,"I DON'T need a dog..."
the kitties would FREAK !!!
but the feelings persisted...
so finally I said...
[pay attention ...these will be quotable some day...]

"God...if you want me to have a dog...
then send it to me...and make it clear that it is the one...

mind you...I hadn't caught on yet when I read MM's post today...
but it started to percolate when she e-mailed that...
"the dog is really good with women & cats"...
she shies from other dogs and is hand shy around men...

she also had spent some time with it and said that she was mellow...
and responsive to the lead...as well as very quiet...
and mannerly...

so then I thought...
"well God...if this dog is for me...
work out all the details..."
and promptly dismissed it from my mind...

and that's when things started moving at "warp speed"...

MM called...the other possibilities had fallen through...
my help was needed for at least a few days...

so... off I went... to pick up the dog...
and bring her back into the inner "cat-uary"...

I'm not sure what I thought the scene would be like...
when I walked into Cat-hala...with a D-O-G...
I expected some growling...hissing...yowling...
& general carrying on...

with perhaps a bit of barking....

hackles raised...tails puffed...

after all...animals are territorial...it's natural...

so... what did I get ?



nada...zip...zero...bumpkus...

absolutely NO drama...

the kitties were curious...
the dog was timid...



it was pretty much a "non-happening"...

the dog... who I started calling Molly...
for no reason I can think of...
[I hear you laughing, MM...]

made a grunting sound after this picture...
so we went on a "fast" around the block jaunt...
during which time she piddled...

she wants to go really fast but is responsive to my command...
and doesn't pull on me...
she's also not strong enough or big enough to knock me down...
unless I lose my balance...

after we came back...

I gave her some of the dry food I got at the vet's...
[it was puppy food or prescription...I got "puppy"...]
as you can tell...she wasn't the first to try it...



turnabout being "fair play"...
she then devoured the remaining canned cat food...
fortunately...there wasn't much...
[she has barfed it back...I knew she would...
it's barf or the runs when dogs eat canned cat food...]



then she had a drink...and had a few bits of her food...



now she's laying on the floor in the hall...



she whined 2 different times... so I took her out...
nothing... she wanted to lay on the lawn...

then she came back in and barfed...
now she seems more comfortable...

opps... a single small "bark"...
and Lacy, who has been a bit of a butt...
came scampering back in...fast...
tail all poofy and eyes B-I-G...

Molly was just standing there...watching her...
and with a few soothing words from me...
all was once again peaceful & calm...

did I mention that the Piglet is STILL out...?

*SIGH*

Molly WAS in the bedroom briefly...
so Pigs may be staging a protest...
Fluff left... but returned...

I'll have to make the back yard "escape-proof"...
before I can leave Molly there, unattended...
the fence needs to be fixed anyway...

if you had asked me to describe the perfect dog...
to fit into my furry family as easily as possible...
this scenario would have been really close...

oh... and as to why I lost the contractor...?
[I've been wondering about that...]

if I had been in the middle of THAT redo...
there's no way I could have taken on a dog...
of any kind... at that time...
too much upheaval & commotion...

hummm... makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up...

opps... more "hi...how are you? ...WHAT are you?" noises...

guess I'll be hearing more of that...

...planting plans

so far...it has been a busy day...

the long-restrained Piglet...
is once again "running free"...
"Queen of the Backyard"...
[actually...she thinks that she's Queen of EVERYTHING...
and to paraphrase that old TV commercial...
"it's not nice to fool with "the queen"..."]

after leaving Lacy at the vet[wheezing...]

I needed to go to the grocery store...
where I got milk... bread... butter...
soda crackers... cantaloupe... grapes...
tomatoes... zucchini... Fuji apples...
& some really nice looking green beans...

on my way to the grocery...I had stopped at OSH...
where I picked up some bedding plants...

and on my way home...I stopped at Quiznos...
[dbl cheese & veggie melt on a wheat roll...yummm...]


when I got home... I took in my groceries...
put them away...munched a couple of grapes...
they're actually ripe...& I'm very picky...
[country girl...grape ranch...]

then I went back out...
and put all the plants in the back yard...
giving them a good drink...
as some were too dry...

tomorrow...I'll plant most of them...



here are some mums to add to the planter by the fence...
also some snapdragons [mixed] for the boxes...
inside the fence by the garage...



in the ceramic doughnut planter...
there are 4 "Cathedral Windows"...
the one I had inside became a "cat salad bar"...
so these will replace it...
["they" have since decided...
that this plant doesn't taste good...
so these should be safe...]

also the only 4inch Marigold they had left...
I'm going to put it where the dill died...
in the big pot by the fence in the driveway...
[I wish I could figure out...
HOW to get dill to thrive...]

there is also one of those really cool leafed ferns...
[it's on the left...it's NOT a staghorn, but similar...
a "leather leafed" fern ?]
and a really small, 2" pot, asparagus fern variety...
that has such delicate fronds...
I've never seen one like it before...



I got 4 red cyclamen...and 3 white...
I have a large pot for them...
there are a couple left...
but the heat of summer almost always does several of them in...
these will fill it quite nicely...



I think that these are the same cool variety...
that I have one of... these say that they are a variety of "maidenhair"...
I plan to fill a couple of large hanging baskets with them...



and then... the violas...
these are all the same...
"Penny Yellow Jump-ups"...

I always look for "Johnny Jump-ups"...
and tend to find them later...
they have more orange on the bottom petal...
these are yellow...

they will go where the portulacas are now...
when the portulacas are finally spent...

the portulacas are starting to look kind of ratty...
faded and sunburned, with less blooms
probably another couple of weeks...
and they'll stop blooming...
[when the daytime temps are in the low 80's-70's...
they need the heat & bright sunlight...]

at this point...I'm due at the vets around 4:30...
to "view & discuss"the X-rays they took of Lacy...

then it's home to wait for another call...

but in the meantime...
it's time for lunch...



mmmmm... dbl cheese & veggie melt on wheat....

"...all is joy in Mudville"

"all is joy in Mudville...
the mighty Piglet has gone out..."
[with apologies to E.L.Thayer,"Casey at the Bat",1888]

the long captive Piglet was finally released this morning...
after 5 days of rest & recuperation from surgery...
she lost no time in scurrying out the window...
to make sure that all was still as it was supposed to be...
in her kingdom...the back yard...

once "out"... she climbed her tree...
the one right outside my bedroom window...
a calculated move on her part, I'm sure...
as she wanted to be sure I saw how "well" she is...

she came back in a couple of times...
[also showing off her newly regained freedom...]
the second time... she actually came and thanked me...
then was gone...in a flash... back outside...



where I hope she is sleeping in her spot...
and not roaming the neighborhood...

*sigh*

so as I left my bedroom... & went through the house...
feeding kitties and checking for overnight destruction...
I found, right in front of my bedroom door...
the empty kitty treat ball...
[hummm...I wonder how that got there ?]

so...being the nice purrson that I am...
I refilled it...[I developed an audience quickly..]
and took it back to roll on the LR/DR floor...

MJ...my first audience member...
[also the first to figure out how to get the treats from the ball...]
was right there as I rolled it...spilling out treats...
after he & Mattie cleaned up the spoils...
[they are the quickest...]

MJ went right to the source...



pawing the ball...making it roll and give up the goodies...



the rattle of the treat ball soon attracted the multitude...

as I write this... I still hear the "rattle"...
Mattie has figured out the "trick" too...

hummm... I'll bet I can fill it with the much less expensive...
dry food they get as a special treat...
otherwise...I'm going to go broke buying cat treats...

but now... I need to take Lacy to the vet...
she's been sneezing...and had a runny eye...
I've given her meds for both...
the eye is fine now...
but she's still sneezing and congested...

*cats*...

never a dull moment...