The Trixie Chronicles

Hi there! My name is Trixie and I am a 4 month old Yorkshire Terrier.  I came to live with Mommy Nona and Grampsey two weeks ago.  I came from Cleburne where I  lived with my four sisters.   I am  not much dog —less than five pounds —but I am so much more than that.  I am a supreme escape artist, a potty training challenge, a cuddly ball of fluff and an Olympic grade runner every night about 8 pm.

I am also a practical joker.  The first two days I was here my human folks thought I was so quiet and polite.  I didn’t let them hear my big threatening bark for the first week.  I had to laugh because the first time Mommy Nona heard me she wasn’t sure it was a bark!  I really only bark when they put me in my crate and I don’t want to be there.  Seems they think it’s ok to ignore me.  Hmmmmp.

Mommy Nona is really beside herself because no matter how hard she tries I still have accidents in
the house.  I am really stealthy like.  So today we went on an outing to Petco.  I went and even got to ride outside my crate.  BUT, when we got there she bought a big box and some pellets and she thinks she is going to make me potty like a cat!  Haha, Mommy Nona is so fun——-ny!  We all know that isn’t going to work but we will play the game for a while because apparently she doesn’t have anything else to do.  It does look like the laundry is piling up though. Oh, the pellets are really tasty too.

So, the last two weeks have been interesting.  I have been loved on (that’s nice), yelled at (just once), taken outside a bazillion times and told to “go potty” more than that.  I am pretty independent, really slippery, rather tiny and loved by everybody even if I have no intention of ever telling them when I need to go out.

Well, it is past my bedtime.  So until the next time......Nighty nite from me, the Trixster!  Oh, hi Jack!

Today

Today this happened

Meet Trixie Brinkley.  I hope I get some sleep tonight.

Summer Has Arrived

Not much has been going on — thank goodness.  We had a tornado that tore up the street behind my daughter and broke a big tree in our yard.  I will never get used to the weather in North Texas.  Girl Scouts is over for the year so that activity is on hiatus.  One set of kids has already been to Disney and the other set is getting ready for the UK.  It will be quiet around here for a while.

It has taken me since April to get my husband an appointment with an endocrinologist.  It has been like pulling solid teeth but we are going next week to see if we can get his blood sugar under control again.  I am trying to decide if I want to go to an eye doctor close to home or go back to the guy I have been going to for years. I really can’t decide but my cute, trendy glasses are driving me crazy.

And.......I am thinking about getting a dog.  It is a toss up between a Maltichon (Maltese/Bichon Frise  mix) and another Cairn Terrier.  I have been reading about the maltichon and it seems they are adorable, companion dogs that make good support dogs BUT they can be needy and anxiety ridden.  Just what I need, another anxiety ridden something in my life.  The Cairn, well I have had one before and she was lovely but I think I am at the bottom of a very long waiting list.  Whatever I get has to be hypoallergenic which there really is no such thing but, well, we have too many allergies.  If I were a younger, non allergic woman, I would have a labradoodle but....yeah.  I would love to have a Norwich Terrier but they don’t grow them in Texas.  I think I am fixin to go down the rabbit hole.

So, that is what is going on here when things get slow.

See the Nest

See the nest at the top of my page?  Well two of the four eggs have hatched into little baby cardinals. It must have just happened because they look REALLY new.  I will try to get some photos later!

Today in the Garden

Storms are coming so Hubs is rushing to get the trimming finished. This week has been our big spring clean up week and we are getting done just in time.

Bird nest in bush

The deck from the yard

Add caption

Pinocchio

And this was today. “Pinocchio” at Bass Performance Hall.

 Fantastic! Thank you kids!

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

I just finished “A Spool of Blue Thread” by Anne  Tyler.  I have read several Anne Tyler titles and have had the same reaction to each of them. As I am reading I am thinking how tedious and mundane the story is. It is compelling enough to keep me reading but I am struck as how the story is so ordinary.

And then it ends and I am sorry because I am struck about how powerful the story really was.  This was the case with this book as well.

It is the story of the Whitshank family—Red and Abby and their four children. The story travels back to the story of the previous generation as well.  It is the story of everyday life and death, coming of age, secrets—the stuff of life.

I recommend.

My little book buddy is a little bear called Flags.

Snowball

Snowball, Computers and Hubby

The day of the funeral for Snowball there was much concern around her actual demise. In explanation, she didn't look deceased in that way that hamsters do.  So, after much deliberation amongst us adults, the decision was made to wait another day to see if possibly she was hibernating.  She wasn't.

So Friday, after girl scouts, we laid the poor little thing to rest.
I have plans for a marker but it rained so it has been out on hold.  I will post photos when we are done.

My laptop has died. Writing this on a tablet is difficult.  Not sure what I am going to do .

Husband's sleep issues are solved with the removal of Lantus from his med routine but his blood sugar is high .We have been referred to an endocrinologist for evaluation and hopefully quick resolution of the issue . I will let you know how that goes.

I really don't like autocorrect.

Milestone

Bean wanted a pet.  She is allergic to dogs and cats.  So, about a year and a half ago she got a hamster named Sprinkles.  Sprinkles is a winter white dwarf hamster and is very small. Sprinkles adapted well and is quite happy in her home.

Fast forward about six months and Bean thought she could handle a second hamster.  Enter Snowball -- another of the same variety but really rather huge and quite the acrobatic comedian. She has been quite entertaining and a joy to have.

Moving on to yesterday -- they all returned home to find Snowball asleep on top of her bedding, breathing very shallow and unresponsive.  Crisis ensused.  Daddy was summoned from the grocery store to deal with the unthinkable.

After much research, Daddy decided that Snowball might be hibernating, something that even  hamster house pets can do even though I had never heard of it.

So, Snowball was covered with a little fleece blanket and watched to see if warming her up would produce a miracle.

Apparently she moved out from under the blanket during the night but when they looked at her this morning she was no longer breathing and her ears were flat.

Daddy still thought she might be hibernating so he covered her up again and put a warm water bottle in the cage with her to see if he could warm her up. 

That was the last I heard.

My daughter doesn't think she is hibernating, she believes she has gone to hammy heaven.  I have no clue because I have never heard of hamsters hibernating even though I have had many hamsters in my children's lives. 

The funeral is planned for this evening in my back yard.

Unless there is a miracle resurrection.

I will let you know. 

Not Gone

I am not gone, just  preoccupied with the stuff of life.  On March 23 my husband had a stroke from which he completely recovered with no lasting effects.  Then on Easter Sunday I had to send him back to the hospital with dangerous hypoglycemia.  His blood sugar had tanked.  They took him off his insulin and he hasn't had it happen again but his blood sugar is running too high and we are trying to adjust his diet and exercise to maybe make a difference.

So, I am up to my eyeballs in exchange diets and trying how to make fried chicken without actually frying it and -- well, you know -- trying to keep him alive and happy. 

So, I will be back with a couple of book reviews.  Otherwise all is well, just swamped.